THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS
April 22, 2025
The regular meeting of the Board of Public Works was held on April 22, 2025, at 5:00 pm in the City Council Chambers. Those in attendance were President David Ausmus, Vice President Jeff Roberts, Board Member Ryan Johnson, Board Member Chris Nelson, General Manager Dana Ulmer, Assistant General Manager Ben Stueve, Controller Jennifer McLeland, Board Secretary Lauren Watson, Mayor Tony Petre, City Administrator Scott Meszaros and Dennis Klusmeyer with MPUA.
President David Ausmus called the meeting to order at 5:00pm.
- The minutes from the regular meeting of the Board of Public Works were reviewed. Board Member Ryan Johnson made a motion, seconded by Vice President Jeff Roberts, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting from March 27, 2025. The motion carried with all votes for and none against.
Under old business
2. None
Under new business
3. MPUA Presentation of APPA Excellence in Reliability Award – Dennis Klusmeyer with MPUA presented the American Public Power Association Award for Excellence in Reliability to General Manager Dana Ulmer. Mr. Klusmeyer shared with the board that there are two thousand participants and one of two hundred and fifty-two in the nation who are chosen for this award. Macon Municipal Utilities is the one out of the fifty-two in the state of Missouri chosen for this award.
4. Review of Financials – March 2025 – After reviewing the financials, Board Member Ryan Johnson shared that reports that were presented by Controller Jennifer McLeland showed detail and that he liked the trending chart. Board Member Chris Nelson shared that he liked to see the bigger picture and the trending chart is what he would like to see as well. Mrs. McLeland shared that she will continue with the charts.
5. Approval of Municipal Financial Advisor Contract – Mr. Ulmer shared that additional bonding would be required in the short future for both improvements to the Water Treatment Plant and Wastewater Treatment Plant. To obtain additional bonding authority, a financial advisor is required to comply with state regulations. A request for qualifications was sent out to financial institutions and posted on the MMU website. Responses from First State Community Bank, Southern Bank, Edward Jones (Stacy Taylor) and Edward Jones (Shannon Isaacson) were received acknowledging the appreciation of request but to inform that they do not provide the services required. DA Davidson provided a response and met with General Manager Dana Ulmer and City Administrator Scott Meszaros. After a short discussion was held, Board Member Chris Nelson made a motion, seconded by Board Member Ryan Johnson to table the Approval of Municipal Financial Advisor Contract. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
6. Approval of Amendment # 1 to Engineering Water Treatment Plant and Wastewater Treatment Plant Evaluation and Reports (Veenstra & Kimm) – Mr. Ulmer shared that with the installation of the analytical equipment at the Water Treatment Plant nearing completion, Veenstra & Kimm extended an amendment to the existing agreement for engineering review of the system functionality and reporting to DNR for possible permit changes regarding required manned hours of the facility. President David Ausmus made a motion, seconded by Vice President Jeff Roberts to approve Amendment # 1 to Engineering Water Treatment Plant and Wastewater Treatment Plant Evaluations and Reports (Veenstra & Kimm) contract as presented. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
7. Approval of Wheel Loader Disposal – Assistant General Manager Ben Stueve shared that after doing his due diligence on market prices. Management recommends taking the trade-in-value offer from Martin Equipment in the amount of $55,000. Board Member Chris Nelson made a motion, seconded by Board Member Ryan Johnson to approve of the Wheel Loader disposal by trad in at Martin Equipment for the amount of $55,000. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
8. Approval of Cyber Security Training – Mr. Ulmer shared that after the discussion regarding cyber security training at the March BPW meeting, various entities were contacted to inquire about employee training. President David Ausmus made a motion, seconded by Vice President Jeff Roberts to approve NINJIO for fourteen months with a set-up fee of $305.04 and $37.20 per user, totaling $1,830.24. The motion carried with three votes for, none against and one abstained.
9. Employee Retention & Recruitment – Ed Samel’s official retirement is Wednesday, April 30. A fish fry will be held on Tuesday, April 29th at 12:00 in the power plant break room at 404 Vine to honor his 36+ years with MMU.
10. Board of Public Works Member Reports – Board Members Chris Nelson and Ryan Johnson expressed that they would like to have a more detailed completion schedule of each project that is currently in progress, along with the financial side of the project. With multiple projects going on they would like to track the percentage of completion of each project as well.
11. Approval of Accounts Payable – Board members signed accounts payable without revision.
A motion was made by President David Ausmus, seconded by Board Member Ryan Johnson, to hold a closed executive session regarding Legal (RsMO 610.021 (1)), Leasing, Purchase, or Sale of Real Estate and Personnel (RsMO 610.021 (3)). The roll call vote was as follows: President David Ausmus, yea; Vice President Jeff Roberts, yea; Board Member Chris Nelson, yea; and Board Member Ryan Johnson, yea.
Following the closed session, a motion was made by Vice President Jeff Roberts, seconded by Board Member Chris Nelson to adjourn the meeting at 6:17 pm, with the next regular board meeting set for Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at 5:00 pm in the City Council Chambers. Motion carried with four votes for and none against.