THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORK
February 19, 2019
The regular meeting of the Board of Public Works for February 18, 2019 was rescheduled and held on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. Those in attendance were President Tim Watts, Board Member Kevin Butner, Board Member J.D. King, General Manager Stephanie Wilson, Assistant General Manager Scott Lucas and City Administrator Avis Marshall. Guests included Doug Vaughn with Leo O’Laughlin, LLC and David Ausmus with Howe Company. Vice President John Neer was absent.
President Tim Watts called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. President Tim Watts made a motion, seconded by Board Member J.D. King, to approve the minutes from the January 28, 2019 meeting. The motion carried with three votes for and none against.
For the first item on the agenda, Doug Vaughn with Leo O’Laughlin was present to request permissions to install an 11-foot aluminum radio antenna on the north water tower. After discussing logistics and a proposed lease for the space, the item was tabled for further consideration by O’Laughlin Inc.
Next item on the agenda was a review of monthly financials for December 2018 and January 2019. Regarding December 2018, year-end adjusting entries had a significant impact on the monthly financials and all funds performed better than or slightly under budget for the year. For January 2019, the reversal of applicable 2018 adjusting entries such as payroll and interest income accruals plus three payrolls had a negative impact on the month’s financials.
Regarding the next item on the agenda, General Manger Stephanie Wilson presented bids opened on February 14, 2019 for cured-in-place-pipe to rehabilitate 3,831 linear feet of wastewater collection main in various parts of town. Board Member J.D. King made the motion, seconded by President Tim Watts, to accept the low bid from Insituform for $92,475.25. The motion carried with three votes for and none against.
Ms. Wilson also presented a list of documents to be shredded and recycled due to meeting the State of Missouri Secretary of State retention deadlines. Board Member Kevin Butner made the motion, seconded by President Tim Watts, to destroy the listed documents. The motion carried with three votes for and none against.
Under old business, promoting e-statements due to increased mailing fees and automatic payments was discussed. Board Member Kevin Butner made a motion, seconded by Board Member J.D. King, to offer customers a $5.00 one-time rebate to receive their monthly utility statements via e-mail and also a $5.00 one-time rebate for payments automatically debited from a checking or savings account each month. This promotion does not apply to credit card payments. In order to retain the rebate, customers must remain on the programs for at least one year. The motion also included that in October 2019 paper statements will be available for the printing and mailing, but the fee which is currently $0.65 per month is likely to be paid by customers. The motion passed with three votes for and none against. Ms. Wilson also mentioned that MMU will begin promoting the annual Budget Billing program and the waiving of the natural gas service installation fee of $225.00 for customers that switch from electric to natural gas for their heating source, if a natural gas main is available.
Under manager’s reports Ms. Wilson reported that Williams Keepers performed MMU’s 2018 interim financial audit on February 4, 2019 with the full audit to begin the week of April 29th – May 3rd. Also, it was noted that Macon was the host this quarter for the MPUA Water Council Meeting on February 5, 2019 with cities attending from all over the state. Key topics of discussion were; deferred maintenance, rate structures and smart sewer flow monitoring.
Under General Manager Scotts Lucas he reported run times at the Macon and Audrain Energy Centers. He noted that the Special Services Group prepared for and dealt with ice, completed annual reporting and sorting and scrapping old stored materials. Electric Distribution crew caught up on indoor activities which included preparing equipment for AMI metering along with running the system checking for any potential tree problems ahead of all the ice predictions and cutting any potential areas. This group responded to a power outage on February 10th caused by a snow plow hitting an electric pole near at the north end of Maffry Street. Underground Facilities have been dealing with frozen water meters, service leak repairs and water tower inspections. Grease trap inspection were preformed and all were good. A natural gas service line was repaired on February 5th between 10:00 and 2:00 am at McDonald’s while the restaurant was partially closed for facility maintenance.
Manager Roger Rector provided updates for the water and wastewater treatment plants. At the water plant, operators have tested for next level certifications with results to be delivered in the next month or so. At the wastewater treatment plant, the annual sludge report was submitted to Environmental Protection Agency. Due to unfavorable weather, only a few loads of sludge have been hauled to farm ground. Municipal Equipment visited with MMU staff to discuss our headworks, screen and smart sewer equipment for manholes to monitor the flow.
After approval of accounts payable and setting the next regular meeting for Monday, March 18, 2019 at 4:00 p.m., a motion was made by President Tim Watts, seconded by Board Member Kevin Butner to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed with three votes for and none against.
President Tim Watts adjourned the meeting at 3:50 pm.