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UTILITY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
JANUARY 20, 2010
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by chair of the Utility Committee Cindy Endicott. Present for the meeting were chair Endicott, supervisors Jeff Bachke, Greg Andrews and John Goman; MSA representatives Jerome Flogel and Eric Sautbine; clerk Cammy Hansen and residents Mark North and Rick Hanson.
A motion to approve the minutes from the November utility meeting was made by Cindy and seconded by Jeff. All vote in favor. Motion carried.
BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR: Mark North asked if a decision has been made on the rate discussion that took place on 1/7/2010. Cammy stated that, no we do not yet have final numbers at this time, although we can certainly go over the preliminary numbers. His concern is the water leakage that is occurring at the Kolstad/E. Calvary intersection. He does not believe that the residents on the utilities should be paying for those discrepancies. He also believes that all residents affected by the rate should be notified of the rate discussion meetings. Cindy pointed out that all meetings are publically posted. Cammy also stated that she personally sent notices of the specially scheduled December 3, 2009 rate meetings to all those residents who attended the previous utility meeting. Rick Hanson asked about the leak at the Kolstad/E. Calvary intersection. How is that being paid for? Jerome stated that the entire water system use is paid out of the utility fund. Rick asked why the few people that have water service must pay for the water that is unaccounted for through water meters. Why isn’t that cost spread over the entire township rather than only those on the water system? He believes that cost should come out of the general fund. Cindy states that she does not know if that can be done. Jeff stated that the board will look into that. Jerome also said that there is water loss in every community and is generally considered to be part of the water utility expense. Rick also asked who will be responsible to pay for the eventual repair of the system-is that covered by the General Fund? John pointed out that those who benefit from the system have paid for it in the past. Rick stated his disappointment regarding the fairness of the residents on W. Calvary Road who complied with the 90 day connection requirement and took out loans, etc. to do so and there are 30 or so homes that have not yet connected and have not received any penalties. Jeff stated that our sewer ordinance gives us the authority to impose penalties on those who have not complied. He believes that if a rule is made, it should be enforced for all. Going back to Mark’s question regarding the utility rates, Cindy stated that the utility committee knows that utility costs must be increased as our costs have increased substantially; we know that the fund itself has operated at a loss; and we know that the fund is not absorbing the true costs that belong to that fund. The committee is attempting to divide up the amount of the fixed cost increases and the variable cost increases. Jerome has a pricing program and we are entering that information into the program. Cammy stated that our preliminary calculations indicate the need to increase monthly sewer fees to $10.59 (an increase of $3.84) and the per 1000 gallons charge to $10.16 (an increase of .56 per 1000 gallons) and water fees to a per 1000 gallons charge of $10.75 (an increase of .56 per 1000 gallons.) The monthly water service fee of $4.50 would remain unchanged at this time. Rick asked what Rice Lake pays the City of Duluth per gallon of water. Cammy did not know and will check on this. Cindy asked how we could determine what costs of the utility, if any, could be spread over the entire Town rather than the water users only. Jerome stated that last year we did amortize some costs, such as lift station repairs. Cindy also remembered that we have had discussions in the past regarding what percentage the general town facilities, like the public works building, would make up of the town’s utility costs and could be spread over the entire population. Rick reiterated that he doesn’t mind paying a fair price for water; he just doesn’t believe he should have to pay for a leak. Mark agreed. Rick stated that if the costs were spread over all residents, the increase would be nickels and dimes rather than dollars. John said he believes there would be uproar in the town if all residents were required to pay for a service that only some are using. Cammy will check on the legalities of this; her understanding is that the utility fund is required to be self sufficient. Mark asked about grant opportunities for repairs as he has heard that the Parkland community in Wisconsin received a grant for a sewer/water project. Jerome stated that the town continues to diligently search for grant opportunities and is meeting with a representative from Congressman Oberstar’s office again next week to ask about possibilities. After checking her notes, Cammy stated that the average increase in water/sewer bills, based on 2.5 people, 30 days, 50 gallons of water used per day would go from $86.00 to $93.45, or an 8.67% increase. Robert Parker joined the meeting at this time (6:25 p.m.)
Project 1B update: Jerome said that the final pay app for this project has been submitted. There are a few things to finish up in the spring, but the project is essentially closed out. Jerome asked what our E1 inventory is at. Cammy will check but thinks there are plenty on hand. Greg thinks there are about 14. Cammy said that she has 7 residents who are ready to go when weather permits.
Kolstad water project: Jerome asked for a list of residents along this line that may be assessed for a new line. Cammy will get that. Jerome passed out the design proposal for the project that totaled $85,552.00. He also discussed how we should proceed at the meeting with Jackie Morris. Greg relayed to the residents present that the Town needs to have the design ready for the Kolstad project in order to apply for grant funds. Rick asked if it is possible to repair the line. Greg responded that the line has been repaired so many times, that it is not plausible to continue repairs as one repair leads to a new break. The line needs to be replaced.
Lift Station #10 Odor Control: The data collectors that Seiman’s Water installed failed due to the cold weather conditions during the collection period. Jerome is thinking that maybe it would be wise to rent the data collection equipment ourselves so that we can gather bids from other vendors for solutions. Jerome estimates the cost to rent the equipment to be $1,500.00. Some discussion was had regarding the types of solutions available. Jeff does not believe we can make a good decision without having good data. Rick offered to call Hermantown to see if they have dealt with this issue in the past. Jeff asked Jerome to speak with some other vendors as well who may be willing to come up and consult. Greg asked if, when everyone on the road in connected, and more flows are going through the pipe will that help? Jerome thinks it may, but does not know. Jerome stated that even food waste from the school could be a factor in the smell- odor control is not an easy issue to deal with. We will discuss further at the next utility meeting. Cindy thanked the residents in attendance for participating in the discussion.
Rice Lake Road North: Jerome gave a brief synopsis for the benefit of the residents in attendance: Northland Constructors would like to extend the water/sewer line to their property at their expense. It must be engineered to the Town’s standards and must be sized for possible future expansion. When the project is complete ownership would be transferred to the Town. Rick expressed that he thinks that would be a good thing for the Town. Jerome has met with Northland once and with the RL town board twice in order to be sure all needs are met and consideration is given to what, if any, requirements would be for adjacent property owners. MSA bid the project for Northland but was turned town. At this time Northland is seeking other engineering bids. Jerome stated that if Northland contracts with another engineer there will still be MSA expenses for project review, inspections, etc. to see that the line is built to the Town’s standards. The billing will be done hourly and will be the responsibility of Northland Constructors. Jeff asked if the next step is to set up a meeting with Northland. Greg said that it is Northland’s right to have the engineering bid out. Jeff agreed and added that it is also our right, or more correctly, our obligation, to have our own engineer review the plans and inspect to make sure the line is to Town Specifications.
2009 I&I Report: Eric is working on it and it will be submitted in February. Jerome presented some data from our lift stations. He stated the more information we collect, the better we can make decisions regarding I&I problems. The trend on LS#1 is going down, but it will be another year before we have a good history. Jerome’s point is that we should continue to collect as much data as possible. In 2009 we had two exceedences: April 15th (check valve failure LS#1) and June 5th (rock jam LS#1.) Next month Jerome will submit the full report. We should discuss what the Town’s intent is for I&I for next year. The only major thing we did not complete for 2009 was the manholes and connection repairs on E. Calvary Road. Jerome will state that we intend to do the walk through in the spring. Also, we need to decide what to do about Tom Nesgoda as that is a known problem. Jeff suggests that we wait until after our meeting with Jackie to see if that may have an effect on our I&I decisions i.e. why we are not committing more funds to I&I as funds are tied up in the pressing need of the E. Calvary water main. Jerome asked if WLSSD has contacted the town regarding going over our I&I plan. So far, they have not.
The next meeting date was rescheduled to February 23, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. as Jerome will be out of the country on February 17.
Having no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned.
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