HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-03-21 BOWC MIN
Stillwater, Minnesota, March 21, 2019
Regular Meeting:
The regular meeting of the Board of Water Commissioners was held on Thursday March
21, at 8:00 A.M.
All Commissioners present, with Council Member Polehna absent with President
Speedling presiding. Also present was Jim Tibbetts.
On motion of President Speedling, duly seconded by Commissioner Jensen, 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 February 21, 2019 regular meeting were read and approved as
written.
On motion of Commissioner Vania, duly seconded by President Speedling, all voting
"Aye", Resolution No.1528 was approved for payment.
Jim reported to the Board that they are working on pumphouse maintenance; we have
had two watermain breaks, one at 1118 Linden St W and the other at Hickory St W and
Owens St N, also one service leak on Wilkins St W which Bell Trucking will repair on
th
Monday March 25, 2019.
The following items were discussed, with no action taken:
1. Accounts receivable balance as of February 28, 2019 was $153,721.52 with the
actual amount being $193,364.72; this is $19,000.00 less that last years.
2. Commissioner Jensen brought up the website progress with Dan Gustafson from
Sixteen Wins; Manager Benson informed the Board that he sent Dan a PDF copy
of the Water Department Logo. Manager Benson will also follow up with Dan on
the contract. Commissioner Jensen brought up the City of St. Cloud’s website
and she will forward this to Dan to review. Jim Tibbetts suggested that we have
something on the website informing the residents that they are responsible for
their service line from the watermain to their house. Commissioner Jensen
indicated that there will be a section that indicates who owns what and from
where. Manager Benson provided the Board with a copy of the flyer that went
out in the City of Stillwater’s newsletter which included information on the
backflow prevention program and water conservation tips and Commissioner
Vania brought up information on Smart Controllers that he had received from
Karen Kill with Brown’s Creek Water Shed District.
3. Manager Benson informed the Board that the Wellhead Protection Plan was
submitted on March 4, 2019.
4. Manager Benson explained to the Board that there have been a couple frozen
services lines and the people on our second list were called.
5. Manager Benson informed the Board that Jim Cummings paid the bill for his
service line repair; once the asphalt is repaired Mr. Cummings will be billed
accordingly.
6. Manager Benson brought up the Smart Controller Program and asked how the
Board would like to move forward; at this time we have not signed a contract with
Safe Water Commission. Manager Benson will invite Safe Water Commission to
the April meeting to discuss options moving forward.
7. Manager Benson informed the Board that after the April bill goes out he will be
reviewing the water usage for the last year at 214 Main St S and will back bill
accordingly, it was found in 2018 that the water feeding the Lofts at Studio J was
tied in before the meter.
8. Manager Benson informed the Board that there are two insurance claims from the
watermain breaks since the last meeting, the information was sent to our
insurance company; one claim has been denied and we are waiting to hear on the
second one. After discussion, the Water Department will respond to all calls for
no water, if after inspection, a plumber is required the homeowner will be
responsible to hire a plumber to make the repair, if they wish to submit a claim to
us they need to provide a copy of the invoice which will be submitted to our
insurance company for review.
9. Manager Benson was contacted by the Assistant City Engineer about a resident
that wants to hook-up to city water at 921 Second St N. Manager Benson
informed the Board that there is not watermain in Second St N or First St N south
of Wilkins St E.; all the homes are on private lines. Manager Benson will work
with the City Engineers to come up with a price for running watermain down
Second St N and First St N and setup a meeting with the homeowners to discuss
10. Manager Benson updated the Board on the meetings he has attended with City of
Stillwater staff in regards to the Asset Management System. He will talk with
Andy or James about taking the lead moving forward; they will also work with
Commissioner Vania as needed moving forward. Manager Benson was instructed
to work with Rose Holman with the City of Stillwater and move forward on the
hierarchy spreadsheet for Bee Hive and see if this will work to enter our
information into their system.
11. Manager Benson informed the Board that the information requested for the
Operational Review Process has been submitted to City of Stillwater
Administrator Tom McCarty and there has been no further action at this time.
12. Manager Benson updated the Board on the year-end audit; all things went well
but we are still waiting for the capital contribution amount from the City; this will
be figured out before or during the City of Stillwater’s Audit.
13. Manager Benson informed the Board that he was notified by Human Resources
Manager Donna Robole that the health insurance will be changing this year; this
was negotiated with the different bargaining units through the City of Stillwater as
part of the new contract. This will be changing from Group Value Network to
High Value Network and there will be lower monthly premiums with higher
deductibles.
14. New information for the next City of Stillwater Council meeting will be: Bee
Hive, Smart Meter’s and Wellhead protection which will be discussed before the
next Council Meeting.
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