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Home My WebLink About2018-05-10 BOWC MIN Stillwater, Minnesota May 10, 2018 Regular Meeting: The regular meeting of the Board of Water Commissioners was held on Thursday May 10, 2018 at 8:00 A.M. All Commissioners were present, with President Speedling presiding. Also present was Jim Tibbetts, Council Member Menikheim. On motion of President Speedling, duly seconded by Commissioner Vania, all voting "Aye", the Agenda was accepted as presented. On motion of President Speedling, duly seconded by Commissioner Vania, all voting "Aye", the minutes of the April 12, 2018 regular meeting were read and approved as written. Manager Benson brought back Resolution of Appreciation No. 1514 for John Crimmins from the April 12, 2018 as this needs to be approved, therefore on motion of President Speedling, duly seconded by Commissioner Vania, all voting "Aye" Resolution No. 1514 was approved. Manager Benson provided the Board with Resolution No. 1515 for Off-N-On Fees; after much discussion, on motion of Commissioner Vania, duly seconded by President Speedling, all voting "Aye" Resolution No. 1515 was approved with the understanding that staff will inform customers of the charge prior to turning off the water and the event will be logged by staff; this will also be on the City of Stillwater website. On motion of Commissioner Vania, duly seconded by President Speedling, all voting "Aye", Resolution No.1516 was approved for payment. Jim Tibbetts reported to the Board that he is waiting for bids to come back from contractors for repair work at the Olive Street Pumphouse. He is holding off on other repairs that were talked about because of the unexpected cost of three insertion valves that need to be installed. Brochman Blacktopping started working on asphalt repairs from the watermain breaks over the winter, Jim also meet with the job foremen for the Lakes of Stillwater Senior Living Campus; they will start installing watermain next week. Road Construction projects will be starting in June and Main St N will be shut down the th week of May 15 while the contractor makes water and sewer tie in’s and disconnects an old service for the Crosby Hotel. Chris Knopik with CliftonLarsonAllen presented the Board with an overview of the 2017 Audit, after discussion on motion of Commissioner Vania, duly seconded by President Speedling, all voting "Aye", the 2017 Audit was approved. Manager Benson provided the Board with a letter from Joe Richter District Appropriations Hydrologist for the DNR approving 2016-2026 Water Supply Plan. After much discussion on motion of President Speedling, duly seconded by Commissioner Vania, all voting "Aye", the Board approved the Water Supply Plan, Manager Benson will submit a certificate of adoption by the Board to the DNR. Manager Benson brought up the quote that he received from Automatic Systems to modify the EMI actuator at well #11. This will allow the use of the reservoir when the well pump is out of service. After discussion, on motion of Commissioner Vania, duly seconded by President Speedling, all voting "Aye" the quote was approved, not to exceed a cost of $6,598.00. Manager Benson provided the Board with an updated quote from Ferguson Waterworks for our service contract for $3,881.01 which will now also include Mapping & Mobility. After discussion, on motion of President Speedling, duly seconded by Commissioner Jensen, all voting "Aye", this will replace the renewal quote from the April Board Meeting. Manager Benson informed the Board that the posting for the open position was sent to the Gazette and will run for two weeks and the applications must be completed in full and returned to the Water Department by 4:30 P.M. Thursday, May 31, 2018. He will update the Board at the next meeting. Manager Benson provided the Board with three quotes for the three gate valve insertions from Greeley St N to Everett St N. on Mulberry St W. They are as follows: Mike Miller ABC Water Line $17,993.00 City of New Ulm Public Utilities Commission $10,263.92 Valley Rich $25,500.00 Miller Excavating $15,708.00 After discussion, on motion of President Speedling, duly seconded by Commissioner Vania, all voting "Aye" the City of New Ulm was approved to install the insertion valves in the amount of $10,263.92 along with Miller Excavating approved for the excavating in the amount of $15,708.00 bringing the total cost to $25,971.92. The following items were discussed, with no action taken: 1. Accounts receivable balance as of April 30, 2018 was $192,657.41 with the actual amount being $224,619.63; this is $22,000.00 lower than last years. 2. Discussion was held about the Lift Bridge Brewing’s new building site and the volume of water they will need, Manager Benson will reach out to them and have them attend a future Board Meeting and also talk with them about working with Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MNTAP) on water conservation measures. 3. Council Member Menikheim and Matt Ellingson from T.K.D.A. updated the Board on the Washington County Consortium meeting they attended. The items discussed with the Met Council and University of Minnesota were about turfgrass and an irrigation study. Brian Davis Senior Engineer with the Met Council and Sam Bauer, Turfgrass Educator with the University of Minnesota Extension conducted the presentation. A Water Efficiency Study was presented by Chris Larson, Project Manager for Short Elliott Hendrickson (SHE). After discussion the focus moving forward will be working with the city and creating a policy for smart controllers to be installed on all new construction and repaired or replaced irrigation systems. 4. Commissioner Vania, Commissioner Jensen & Matt Ellingson from T.K.D.A. updated the Board with information from the DNR meeting they attended on the North & East Metro Ground Water Management Area. The DNR is working with others to ID priority groundwater recharge areas throughout the Ground Water Management Area; an updated ground water model was turned over to the DNR in November 2017 and is now being tested. The appendix of the transient model has a section showing the impact of the total Stillwater Water Department water usage on White Bear Lake levels. They did not separate out just Well #11; we will have T.K.D.A. and L.B.G. analyze this information relative to the court case. There was other information discussed regarding 3M settlement and water conservation and efficiency activities and also there were 44 permits affected by the White Bear Lake Court Order Case, 20 permit holders have demanded a contested case hearing including the eleven cities that are affected. 5. Manager Benson updated the Board on the White Bear Lake/Department of Nature Resources Court Order. A letter was sent to the DNR requesting a contested case hearing on March 28, 2018; an acknowledgment letter was received from the DNR on April 9, 2018 stating that they must deny the portion of our appeal relating to the Commissioner’s January 17, 2018 order amending permit No. 1075-6207 to require a contingency plan to convert to a surface water source. The Board responded with a letter from Attorney Magnuson stating that st they disagree on that opinion. The March 1 permit states “This permit super- cedes the original permit and all previous amendments.”, therefore the January th 17 permit was cancelled in all respects and replaced by the permit issued on st March 1, 2018. The March 1 permit included the surface water study th requirements in the exact language that was included in the January 17 permit. Manager Benson provided the Board with cost estimates for the contested case hearing; T.K.D.A. is $11,000.00, LBG is $10,000.00 and Dave Magnuson is $5,000.00 as Dave is retiring August 1, 2018. 6. Manager Benson updated the Board on the House and Senate Bills HF4003 and SF3575 regarding the White Bear Lake/DNR court order, the House Bill passed in its third reading and the Senate Bill will be read next week, also there was an article published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press where Representative Linda Runbeck, R-Circle Pines was quoted "There’s just a myriad of far-reaching policy that never had 7. benefits of debate or public input.", Runbeck said Tuesday. For example, she said Stillwater already has exceeded its current allowance for pumping, while Hugo is approaching it. Depending on how the order is interpreted, that could bring development and new construction to a halt she stated. Manager Benson along with Matt Ellingson will reach out to Representative Runbeck to find out where she got her information from stating Stillwater has exceeded its current allowance for pumping. 8. Community education (infographic) update from Commissioner Jensen will be discussed at the June 14, 2018 Board Meeting due to time. 9. Manager Benson provided the Board with a resume from Verne Jacobson and employees that work for Donohue & Associates Inc. out of the St Paul Park office, after review the Board will stay with its current engineering firm T.K.D.A. through 2018 and go out for bids for the 2019, looking for a five year commitment. Manager Benson presented the Board with an agreement between the Board of Water Commissioner and T.K.D.A. from June 23, 1997 for professional services, the rates are adjusted every year. If the Board goes with a new firm in 2019 T.K.D.A will finish any projects started prior to the request for proposal. There being no further business, on motion of President Speedling, duly seconded by Commissioner Vania, all voting "Aye", the meeting was adjourned. Steve Speedling, President ATTEST: Robert G. Benson, Secretary