THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS
March 2, 2026
The meeting of the Board of Public Works was held on March 2, 2026, at 5:00 pm in the City Council Chambers. Those in attendance were President David Ausmus (arrived 5:07 pm), Vice President Jeff Roberts, Board Member Chris Nelson, Board Member Ryan Johnson, General Manager Dana Ulmer, Assistant General Manager Ben Stueve, Controller Jennifer McLeland, Mayor Tony Petre and Councilwoman Cheryl Blaise.
Vice President Jeff Roberts called the meeting to order at 5:03 pm.
1. The minutes from the previous regular meeting of the Board of Public Works were reviewed. Board Member Chris Nelson made a motion, seconded by Vice President Jeff Roberts, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting from January 27, 2026, as presented. The motion carried with three votes for and none against.
2. The minutes from the wastewater rate increase public hearing of the Board of Public Works were reviewed. Board Member Ryan Johnson made a motion, seconded by Board Member Chris Nelson, to approve the minutes of the wastewater rate increase public hearing from January 27, 2026, as presented. The motion carried with three votes for and none against.
President David Ausmus arrived at the meeting.
- The minutes from the closed session of the Board of Public Works were reviewed. Vice President Jeff Roberts made a motion, seconded by President David Ausmus, to approve the minutes of the closed session from January 27, 2026, as presented. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
Old business
- There was no old business to discuss.
New business
5. Review of Financials – December 2025 – Controller Jennifer McLeland briefly shared that December financials each year are delayed in presentation are very different from other months due to the accruals mandated by Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The most financially significant accruals include payroll, revenue, certificate of deposit interest income and pension liability. Each of these accruals other than pension liability simply moves revenues or expenses in the appropriate period. The pension liability is recorded to true-up vested employees current projected retirement payouts, if MMU were to close its doors as of December 31.
6. Review of Financials – January 2026 – Mrs. McLeland shared that like December the year-end accruals affect January’s financials, just not as substantially. Aside from the year-end entries January’s financials resembled December other than an increase in commodity expense due to the cold weather the last week of January.
7. Approval to Replace 2016 X580 John Deere Mower – Mrs. McLeland shared that Underground Facilities budgeted the replacement of a mower for $10,000. Assistant General Manager Ben Stueve noted that this mower is utilized to maintain the property at 205 S Missouri, gas regulator stations and wastewater lift stations. Sydenstricker-Nobbe in Macon has a 2025 John Deere X580 lawn tractor currently available through Sourcewell cooperative purchasing bid of $7,789. Sydenstricker-Nobbe has also offered $2,500 trade-in on the existing mower, making a purchase price of $5,289. Board Member Chris Nelson made a motion, seconded by Vice President Jeff Roberts to approve the replacement of the 2016 X580 John Deere mower with the cooperative priced 2025 John Deere X580 mower with $2,500 trade-in from Sydenstricker-Nobbe for a total cost of $5,289 as presented. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
8. Approval to Replace 2015 Ford F-550 – Mr. Stueve shared that Underground Facilities also budgeted the replacement of a primarily water service truck for $115,000. Terex USA has a Sourcewell cooperative purchasing bid of $112,593 for a 2026 Dodge Ram 5500. Mr. Stueve noted that it would likely be six months before a truck would be delivered and would like the Board’s input on disposal of the truck, he included that he had researched the current possible sale price $30,000 – $50,000 but he had not contacted any other City of Macon departments to gauge interest in the current truck. President David Ausmus made a motion, seconded by Vice President Jeff Roberts to approve the replacement of the 2015 Ford F-550 with the cooperative priced 2026 Dodge Ram 5500 for $112,593 and to sell the truck on Purple Wave unless the City of Macon showed interest in the vehicle closer to its replacement delivery in approximately 6-months. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
9. Approval of Panhandle Right of First Refusal 2026 to 2029 – Mr. Stueve shared that the Right of First Refusal and continuation of the existing small customer transportation rate that MMU has been grandfathered into has been ongoing since the original Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line agreement was signed in April 1993. The Right of First Refusal protects MMUs existing pipeline capacity from being sold to competitors. As this agreement is longer than 12 months, the ROFR will be sent to the City Council with an updated ordinance for final approval. Board Member Chris Nelson made a motion, seconded by President David Ausmus to approve the three-year extension of the Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Continuation of Small Customer Transportation Agreement and Right of First Refusal through March 31, 2029. And send the agreement to the City Council for final approval. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
10. Approval to Apply for Lead Service Line State Revolving Fund Loan – General Manager Dana Ulmer shared that following the Board meeting in January Missouri Department of Natural Resources released limited funding for assistance with lead service line replacements. The funding does include a possible match as well as maximum 5-year SRF loans. Mr. Ulmer shared that funding match will be decided by the Department of Natural Resources calculation of disadvantage communities, the community determination could provide funding between 41% grant up to $102,500 and 100% grant up to $5,000,000. Vice President Jeff Roberts made a motion, seconded by President David Ausmus to approve the submission of the application for lead service line funding through the state revolving fund and to forward the request on to the City Council for final approval. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
11. Approval to Apply for Department of Natural Resources Multipurpose Fund Membership – Mr. Ulmer shared that he had a meeting with Missouri Department of Natural Resources Water Multipurpose Fund, Macon Public Water Supply District and City of Moberly to discuss the interest in Macon extending the existing presence as a regional water supplier. Participants from Missouri Department of Natural Resources in the meeting indicated they had received interest from as far south as Higbee in the need for additional water sources and that the extension of Macon’s regional water supply is the type of project the multipurpose fund was designed to assist. Mr. Ulmer continued to explain that a community must be a member of the multipurpose fund to receive any available funding, but that to become a member you must have a written description of a project, it is not a membership that any community can simply have membership. Board Member Chris Nelson made a motion, seconded by President David Ausmus to approve the completion of the membership application to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Multipurpose Fund and to forward the request on to the City Council for final approval. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
12. Discussion to Hedge Natural Gas for 2026-2027 Winter – Mr. Stueve shared that for several years MMU has hedged a total of 90% of a three-year historical average quantity. Hedging for 2025-2026 winter was locked in 45% in April and 45% in August. Mr. Stueve recommends that we follow a similar pattern for the hedging with the Board and recommended we follow a similar plan for the winter 2026-2027. The price per dekatherm as of Friday, February 27 was $3.97 and as of Monday, March 2 was $4.11, management is requesting to purchase 45% of historical quantity for a cap of $4.25 per dekatherm. Vice President Jeff Roberts made a motion, seconded by President David Ausmus to approve the hedge of 45% of a three-year historical quantity on winter 2026-2027 natural gas at a cap of $4.25 per decatherm. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
13. Employee Retention & Recruitment – Tyler Hall started today, March 2, replacing Terrace Duncan in Underground Facilities.
14. Board of Public Works Member Reports – Mrs. McLeland noted that the Macon County R-1 School District had requested a permanent extension on their utility bills until after their Board Meeting the third Wednesday of each month. Board Member Chris Nelson stated that the school district had not had any issues paying the utility bills on time for years and he would recommend they come to a Board of Public Works meeting to make a formal request and explain the changes they require in the extension.
Mrs. McLeland has provided an update on a commercial utility customer that had been paying off a past due balance in 2025 but had not restored the account to a current balance. Board Member Chris Nelson recommended that they not be treated any differently than any other customer and as they had exhausted their goodwill with the previous extension, he recommended a 30-day notice to pay off the entire past due balance, or the services would be disconnected.
Board Member Chris Nelson and Councilwoman Cheryl Blaise requested an update on the addition of credit card fees to customer payments. Mrs. McLeland shared that a request had been sent through Tyler Technologies software support that must be forwarded to an account representative, but Tyler Technologies had not gotten back to anyone regarding the change. Mrs. McLeland stated she would begin making at least weekly reminders to the software until a plan of action was received.
Board Member Ryan Johnson inquired on the status of the Human Resources Consultant. Mr. Ulmer stated that he was preparing to send out the Request for Proposals but would contact the City Council about a representative to assist in scoring all returned proposals as he would likely provide at least a 30-day deadline for submissions. Mayor Tony Petre noted that an appointee to a committee for Human Resources Consultant review would be on the March 2026 City Council agenda.
Board Member Chris Nelson requested an update on a policy regarding connection of services for large commercial businesses following the expense of materials for the substation 3 build-out that had been purchased for a business that will now not be expanding to need additional capacity. Mr. Ulmer noted that an existing policy exists within the service policy manuals. Mr. Stueve noted that the previous Board made a special recommendation to make the purchase of materials for the substation build-out as an economic development goodwill.
- Approval of Accounts Payable – Board members signed accounts payable without revision.
A motion was made by Vice President Jeff Roberts, seconded by President David Ausmus to adjourn the meeting at 6:16 pm, with the next regular board meeting set for Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at 5:00 pm in the City Council Chambers. Motion carried with four votes for and none against.