THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS
June 19, 2023
The regular meeting of the Board of Public Works was held on June 19, 2023, at 5:00 pm in the City Council Chambers. Those in attendance were President Brian Terry, Vice President David Ausmus, Board Member Scott Lucas, Assistant General Manager and Manager of Energy Resources Ben Stueve, Controller Jennifer McLeland, and Mayor Anthony Petre. Board Member David Wilt was absent.
President Brian Terry called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm.
- Approval of Minutes from Prior Board Meetings – Vice President David Ausmus made a motion, seconded by Board Member Scott Lucas, to approve the minutes from the May 15, 2023, meeting as written. The motion carried with three votes for and none against.
Under old business:
- There was no old business to discuss.
Under new business:
3. Review of Financials – May 2023 – Jennifer McLeland, Controller, shared that the most substantial change in the electric fund were the near completion of the Spectrum remediation project at the former Toastmaster site and completion of sale of the six Caterpillar generators from Substations 2 and 3 including deposit refund. Mrs. McLeland continued to detail that water fund had miscellaneous revenue from the sale of a fire hydrant to the City of Atlanta and new service installation for Hudson Township, plus the wastewater miscellaneous revenue for the cost share of $15,000 for the Lakeside Drive lift station retrofit with Macon Affordable Housing. She noted that the gas fund was stable with nothing significant to note.
4. Approval of Documents for Destruction – Mrs. McLeland noted that the 2022 Audit was finalized at the City Council Meeting Tuesday, June 13, 2023. Following the completion of the annual audit termed documents dictated by the Missouri Secretary of States retention policy can be securely destroyed. Board Member Scott Lucas made a motion, seconded by Vice President David Ausmus, to approve the secure destruction of the seventeen detailed boxes per the retention policy with the Missouri Secretary of State. The motion carried with three votes for and none against.
5. Budget Extension of GIS Aerial Photography Update – Mr. Stueve shared a draft of the request for proposal (RFP) to a knowledgeable industry contact. As passed in the 2023 Budget the flight and updated photography to the GIS system must be completed by December 31, 2023, however, per communication from the shared RFP flight prior to December 31 is not feasible for sun angle and leaf loss. Vice President David Ausmus made a motion, seconded by President Brian Terry, extend the GIS aerial photograph updates into 2024 to accommodate more suitable tree and ground conditions, estimated for flight by March 2024 and completed return by May 2024. The motion was carried with three votes for and none against.
6. Approval of Equipment Purchase – Mr. Stueve reviewed the current uses for mini excavators within all utility services and how the uses have increased within the last several years. Mr. Stueve presented six purchasing cooperative bids for various brands of mini excavators. Board Member Scott Lucas made a motion, seconded by Vice President David Ausmus, to purchase the Kubota KX057-8R3A from the local Crown Power to replace the 2004 PC40 Komatsu and to sell the Komatsu mini excavator on Purple Wave. The motion was carried with three votes for and none against.
7. Approval to Proceed with Natural Gas Adder Reimbursement – Mrs. McLeland shared the updated status on the natural gas adder reimbursements. She is continuing to work with Tyler Technologies on the feasible for the adjustments to be imported into the software system versus manual entry by business office personnel. The Board Members briefly discussed that they would like all adjustments to be processed at one time for tracking purposes. The Board will review the status of the natural gas adder adjustments at the next meeting. No votes were taken on the agenda item.
8. Employee Retention & Recruitment – Mrs. McLeland shared that Keith Carter, Underground Facilities Supervisor, set his official retirement date as August 4,2023. The Board established that internal applications would be taken immediately through 5:00 pm Friday, June 23, 2023, for Mr. Carter’s replacement to allow for maximum training. Mr. Carter had shared with management that David Wood with Utility Safety & Design, Inc., who currently qualifies our natural gas pipe welding certifications free of charge will be retiring. Mr. Carter spoke with a Public Service Commission staff member and verified that pending Board acceptance of his work experience would allow him to qualify MMU natural gas pipe welding certifications. Vice President David Ausmus made a motion, seconded by Board Member Scott Lucas, to approve Keith Carter as an acceptable welding qualifications representative. The motion carried with three votes for and none against.
9. Board of Public Works Member Reports – Terry discussed commercial deposits and insufficient funds payments following a conversation with business office staff regarding bad debts. The Board Members agree that to keep deposit calculations consistent for all customers, moving forward rather than business deposit being a flat rate of $500 they will be calculated as double the service addresses utility average as residential properties are currently calculated.
Mr. Terry continued the conversation regarding insufficient funds payments. Mrs. McLeland shared that over the past five years there have been different customers that have multiple insufficient funds payments each year, some as high as eight in 12 months. The Board Members agreed that increasing the insufficient funds fee from $25 to $50 may assist to mitigate bad debt and is within the range of local businesses fees.
10. Approval of Accounts Payable – Board members signed accounts payable without revision.
11. Set Next Regular Meeting – Monday, July 17, 2023, at 5:00 pm.
A motion was made by Board Member Scott Lucas, seconded by Vice President David Ausmus, to go into executive session regarding Leasing, Purchase, or Sale of Real Estate (RSMo.610.021(2)) and Personnel (RSMo.610.021(3)). The votes were as follows: President Brian Terry, yea; Vice President David Ausmus, yea; and Board Member Scott Lucas, yea.
When the open meeting reconvened, at 6:53 pm a motion was made by Board Member Scott Lucas made a motion, seconded by Vice President David Ausmus, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed with three votes for and none against.