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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-10-19 BOWC MINA 204 Third Street N BOARD OF WATER Stillwater, MN 55082 COMMISSIONERS 651-439-6231 MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 (VIA ZOOM - DUE TO COVID-19) President Speedling called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Present: Commissioner Jensen, President Speedling and Councilmember Polehna Absent: Staff Present: Board Manager Benson, Supervisor of Distribution Tibbetts APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Jensen requested that the following be added to the agenda: • Tank Inspection Update • Generator Building Update • Rate Increase Mailer & Questions • Council Vote on the merging of the Water Board Motion by President Speedling, seconded by Commissioner Jensen to approve the agenda including the items above. All in favor. APPROVAL OF BOARD MEETING MINUTES Commissioner Jensen stated that on Page 5 of 6, 2020 Rate Study, Paragraph 11, second sentence should read "She stated that St. Paul Regional Water draws from the Mississippi which requires extra treatment" instead of "She felt..." Motion by President Speedling, seconded by Commissioner Jensen to approve the September 10, 2020 minutes with corrections. All in favor. APPROVAL RESOLUTION NO. 1548, DIRECTING PAYMENT OF BILLS Commissioner Jensen asked for clarification for the billing for the rate study asking if this is the final bill. Mr. Benson indicated in the affirmative. She asked what was the item McGarry Insurance in the amount of $34,511.33 for. Mr. Benson responded that is insurance coverage for all the Board's insurance (i.e. buildings, towers, cars etc.). President Speedling asked what was Construction #9 and PRV listed in the T.K.D.A. billing. Mr. Benson responded that the Construction #9 references the Generator Building construction and the PRV references charges for the 4th Street Pressure Reducing Valve project. He mentioned that each project it tracked separately but one check to T.K.D.A. Board of Water Commissioners October 19, 2020 President Speedling asked when Ms. Ward's timeline to continue the minutes. Mr. Benson responded at the end of the year and would train Tracy to take over the responsibility. Motion by President Speedling, seconded by Commissioner Jensen to adopt Resolution 1548, directing payment of bills. All in favor. UPDATE ON SMART CONTROLLERS - RICK ELLIS, SAFE WATER COMMISSION Rick Ellis, Safe Water Commission reviewed the history of the smart controller program, he reviewed a presentation on the smart controller program. The presentation consisted updating the Board on the Ongoing Monitoring with Hydrawise Website which including periodic checks to see if owners were having issues and using it as designed. He reviewed the outcome of the pilot test which included: • Baseline water usage (days and run times) was significantly higher than they should have been and were corrected. This affected water reduction of approximately 15% per 24-wk. season. • As expected, the Smart Controller had an effective reduction of 35% per 24-wk. season by reducing or shutting off watering according to the weather. ■ Overall reduction in the water used from irrigation was approximately 50% as calculated on an annual basis. • Water was reduced from approximately 9,500,000 gallons in baseline gallons per season to approximately 4,800,000 gallons per season. President Speedling commented that his rain sensor was not working and asked Mr. Ellis how many had to be replaced. Mr. Ellis responded that replacement of rain sensors was not part of the program however they would replace them if the resident requested it to be replaced. Mr. Ellis stated approximately 25% were replaced. He stated the system should not be adjusted once the smart controller is installed. Mr. Ellis stated that the revised controller pricing is to reflect expected 2021 rates and that the program is expected to increase 4-times with the increase in the number of zones from approximately 500 zones to 2000 zones, but the price is expected to increase only 2.5 times. He provided the Board with additional water saving goals for 2021 to include 35% average weather -based savings from smart controller; 20% savings average from changes to number of days run and run times and an increase first -year water savings from 4,600,000 gallons in 2020 to 25,000,000 gallons in 2021 (24-week) Mr. Dave Soenen joined the conversation on the smart controller program. He suggested that the next mailing should show the data was for the 100 homes to show the savings. He stated he wanted to join the program but wanted to wait until the next round. President Speedling informed Mr. Soenen that this program was only a partial year and that next year will be a full data year on the 100 services. Mr. Ellis stated that the lessons he learned for 2021 were: • That the program be advertised much more aggressively before the season begins by making sure the program description is included with water bill notifications. Page 2 of 6 Board of Water Commissioners October 19, 2020 • Send out notifications to potential recipients (residential and commercial) via mail. • Advertise on Stillwater's webpage and on Facebook for neighborhoods and advertise early to get everything setup with installation beginning in the spring. Mr. Ellis reviewed the report for the individual residents. Mr. Ellis stated that a significant amount of savings occurs by reducing runtimes and days run to match best industry practices. Therefore, increase the number of times recommendations made. He stated that his recommendations for 2021 include: • Increase the residential program in Stillwater by an additional 90 residents (there were about 10 residents who we were aware but unable to be a part of the program due to limited availability). • Increase the number of zones to allow larger residential yards and commercial properties to be included. Open program up to 12 zones for residential and 48 zones for commercial (including Home -Owners Associations) • Install controllers/evaluate systems for 45 commercial properties President Speedling stated that he is really interested in seeing what the savings are for the full year. He continued by explaining the program to Dave Soenen which included the resident responsibilities such as wireless system is available. Mr. Ellis reviewed Exhibit A of the contract for the 1-6 Zone Residential or Commercial System, 7-12 Zone Residential or Commercial System and 13-24 Zone Residential or Commercial System. President Speedling questioned the unit numbers. Mr. Ellis stated that it was based on how long it took to get 100 people and not over promise the installation. Commissioner Jensen felt that commercial use should be tackled next year. Mr. Ellis stated that he could do a survey on the commercial. Councilmember Polehna suggested that the Liberty Homeowners Association, School District and the City that could take up a lot of the commercial properties. Mr. Ellis will send a link to the Board for the videos that were mentioned at the meeting. RATE INCREASE - DAVE SOENEN President Speedling introduced Mr. Dave Soenen to the Board. Mr. Soenen explained that he was before the Board to understand the rate increase because he felt that his billing went up for the year 41% rather than the 5% that was indicated in the letter that came with the billing. He had several questions dealing with bonding, was there a public hearing, and water conservation. Chris Knopik of CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) reviewed the presentation that was given to the City Council explaining the history of the rate increase process with Mr. Soenen. He explained that the rate change in tiers were to increase awareness on water conservation where the higher users of water would pay a higher fee. He provided information of rates for surrounding communities as well. Page 3 of 6 Board of Water Commissioners October 19, 2020 Mr. Knopik stated that the 5% only related to the commercial rates, he stated that the wording in the notice was in error, it did not relate to the residential rates. He did state that a 5% annual increase would take place to not have to have major rate increases if rates are not adjusted for a few years. Mr. Soenen felt that the notice was misleading. President Speedling stated that they will review and re -notice so that is clearer for residents. Mr. Soenen felt that comparison to other municipalities should not be done. President Speedling informed Mr. Soenen that rates were looked at from surrounding communities just to see where the Board stood in comparison. Mr. Knopik explained the slide relating to net operating margins to Mr. Soenen. Commissioner Jensen felt that the communication notice needs to be addressed. Mr. Knopik explained why bonding is not being used to save money in the form of interest. Mr. Soenen expressed concern that rates were just based on water conservation because that is how the notice was worded. He felt that the summarization should show why this increase is needed other than water conservation. The Board thanked Mr. Soenen for attending the meeting and bringing the communication issue before them. President Speedling invited Mr. Soenen to apply for the vacancy on the Board. Mr. Knopik stated he would work with Mr. Benson on a revised notice. FROZEN SERVICE INSULATION COST - ROGER RYAN Mr. Roger Ryan, 1016 3rd Street N, provided a presentation and quote to the Board regarding a request to consider including $18,000 to the 2021 or 2022 budget insulate a service that has frozen in 2015 and in March 2019. He is concerned about leaving his water on while he travels in the future. He stated that his service is unique in that the septic and grey water must be lifted to a gravity line on Wilkens. Mr. Ryan stated he would be available to work with Mr. Benson to accomplish that. Mr. Benson stated that there are several services that require water to be left running in the winter due to services being too close to the surface in the older portions of Stillwater. He continued that last year no resident was notified to leave their water running because of the mild winter and that depending upon the depth of the frost there are 3 lists of residents that the department may contact to keep their water running so services do not freeze. President Speedling stated that more research needs to be done on this issue to see if this situation is unique. He continued by stating that precedent may be set if the Board approved this request when there are other instances of frozen services. He recommended that Mr. Benson provide research and Mr. Ryan's information on this issue and it be addressed at a future meeting. Page 4 of 6 Board of Water Commissioners October 19, 2020 RESOLUTION 1549, RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION - GEORGE VANIA President Speedling read the resolution of appreciation for George Vania. Motion by President Speedling, seconded by Commissioner Jensen adopting Resolution 1549, resolution of appreciation for George Vania for his over nine years of service to the Board of Water Commission. All in favor. Mr. Vania suggested staff put the frozen services that were discussed in the previous item as a work order in the work order system, keep them in the background but it is there when you need it for each residence with service issues. He hopes that this system will be used and tied to the assets. SUPERVISOR OF DISTRIBUTION REPORT Supervisor of Distribution Tibbetts reviewed the various street projects that were almost completed or completed except for final lift. South of Walnut Creek Drive is in Phase II which will have watermain installation that will be done next year. He stated that there was an abandoned service around North 4th, Laurel to Wilkin that will be addressed. Hydrant flushing and yard cleanup is also being done. On a question from Councilmember Polehna, Mr. Tibbetts stated that the Owens hydrant will be replaced with the County project in 2021. WELL INSTALLATION - MARY RUSSELL, 921 2ND STREET N Mr. Benson reviewed a request from Mary Russell, 921 2nd Street N, to install a well on the adjacent parcel she owns. He stated that she did investigate hooking up to City water, however it was too expensive because the hookup would be at Wilkins. He continued by stating that this is the same scenario as on 1st Street N where there is no watermain and the Board approved that well installation. He stated that should City water ever become available the parcel would have to be hooked up to City water upon the sale of the home. Motion by President Speedling, seconded by Commissioner Jensen approving the installation of a well to the adjacent parcel owned by Mary Russell, 921 2nd Street N. All in favor. TANK INSPECTION & GENERATOR BUILDING UPDATE Commissioner Jensen requested update on the tank inspection & generator building. Mr. Benson stated that the tank inspection will probably take place next spring and they are looking at options for that inspection because the Department of Health has changed their requirements for a dive inspection, so they are also looking at a remote inspection which would not take the tank out of service. Mr. Benson construction has started the building is up and they are working on the roof. They are doing work inside the building. He stated that today or tomorrow the gas line would be installed. RATE INCREASE President Speedling summarized that the notice will need to be reworked for clarification and resent. Page 5 of 6 Board of Water Commissioners October 19, 2020 WATER DEPARTMENT MERGER - COUNCIL VOTE Commissioner Jensen requested that we understand that transition process and that there is a business continuity plan on transition. Mr. Benson stated that the transition team is getting to that point. President Speedling suggested that City Administrator McCarty be on the next meeting agenda for an update. Commissioner Jensen stated she is concerned with staff not being stressed out etc. She asked Mr. Benson to come up with some suggestions. Mr. Benson stated the union and he met with the City last week. Commissioner Jensen asked that the transition update item be on each agenda. Mr. Tibbetts stated that it would be beneficial to have a meeting with the Board and Mr. McCarty. COMMISSION VACANCY Mr. Benson stated that two applications have been received and interviews need to be scheduled. President Speedling and Councilmember Polehna are available next Monday, October 26 for interviews with the applicants. NEXT MEETING DATE Next regular meeting is Friday, November 13, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. ADJOURNMENT Motion by President Speedling, seconded by Commissioner Jensen to adjourn at 10:44 a.m. All in favor. ATTEST: RJ,,J4-v,,,, Robert G. Benson, Board Manager Steve Speedli ig, President Page 6 of 6