LINCOLN
PIPESTONE RURAL WATER SYSTEM
East Highway 14, P.O.
Box 188, Lake Benton, MN 56149
(507)368-4248 fax (507)368-4573 email: lprw@itctel.com
MEETING
MINUTES
February 25, 2002
The regular
scheduled meeting of the Lincoln Pipestone Rural Water (LPRW) System Board of
Commissioners was held at the LPRW office in Lake Benton on Monday, February
25, 2002 starting at 10:00 a.m.
Chairman Frank Engels called the meeting to order with
Commissioners Ken Buysse, Roger Gilliland, Jerry Lonneman, Charlie Simonson, Rod Spronk, Leonard Swenson, Bill Ufkin, Henry Van Dyke, and Joe Weber
present. Also present were Lincoln County Commissioner, Larry Hansen; LPRW
Attorney, Dan McDonald; DGR Engineer, John Madden; Director of Operations, Don
Evers; Field Superintendent, Don Drietz; and Director of Finance and
Administration, Dennis Healy.
Agenda: The Agenda was approved as presented.
Minutes: M/S/P Swenson/Buysse to approve the minutes
of the January 28, 2002 Regular Board meeting.
Treasurer's
Report:
Healy noted that cash balances are down significantly from the last report
because the bonds proceeds received last fall were paid out to refund the 1995
bonds. M/S/P Lonneman/Van Dyke to approve the Treasurer's Report as presented.
Bills: M/S/P Buysse/Simonson to approve the
following bills for payment:
· DeWild
Grant Reckert and Associates Company:
SW Minnesota Supply Project = $2,973.94; Minneota Tower #18 = $8,177.27;
NE Phase #15 =$1,846.00; Lynd Area #14 = $6,890.46; General Services #12 =
$3,389.50
· McDonald,
Gudmestad & Schramel: NE Phase = $70.00; General Services = $1,575.13
· Lewis
& Clark Rural Water System: 1st
Quarter Membership et al = $5,925.33
· LCRWS
Minnesota Joint Powers Board: 2002
Membership = $5,160.00
· Energy
Alternatives: Holland Generator
Retrofit Project = $2,712.76
· B.
A. Liesch Associates: Burr Exploration = $1,879.73
Attorney’s
Report: LPRW Attorney, Dan McDonald reported on the
following items:
• The meeting with MNDNR and USDA-RD was
productive, but we need to finalize the number of Northeast Phase connections
so the project can move forward.
• A stipulation agreement to limit LPRW’s
involvement in the Hasslen Construction v. Northern Alternative Energy, et. al.
suit was presented for Board action.
M/S/P Ufkin/Van Dyke to approve the “STIPULATION FOR PARTIAL SETTLEMENT”
between Hasslen Construction and LPRW.
• The Lynd agreements were reviewed. M/S/P Van Dyke/Simonson to approve the
“Municipal Water Agreement” as recommended by the LPRW Attorney and staff. The “Water Improvement Agreement” was not
acted on because changes need to be made to paragraphs 4.2 and 4.3, and the
owner needs to provide proof of
ownership. LPRW and the City
also need to reach agreement on the use of water from hydrants in the MS&G
subdivision for fire fighting purposes.
• The items needed to finalize interim financing
were outlined.
• The Minnesota House of Representatives has
included $125,000 for the Southwest Minnesota Water Project in the bonding
bill. McDonald encouraged LPRW to
contact Senator Lesewski for her support in getting the funding included in the
Senate bill.
Marshall
Municipal Utilities: A proposal from MMU
for an eight-year extension to the existing service agreement was
reviewed. The proposal calls for a
payment of $450,000 at signing for provision of 100 million gallons per year
(MGY) for eight years, and a surcharge of $0.56 per thousand gallons to be
added to the regular water rate for all use over 100 MGY in a year. M/S/P Spronk/Lonneman to approve the
proposal but increasing the surcharge to $0.57 per thousand gallons, and
subject to concurrence by USDA-RD.
Healy and McDonald were directed to prepare the agreement for review by
USDA-RD and action by MMU.
Regional
Water Supply: Several options are
being studied to supplement existing water supplies. Frank Engels and Dennis Healy visited a
landowner northeast of Wood Lake about possible test drilling and testing, and
they received a positive response.
M/S/P Buysse/Van Dyke to seek 5-year options for possible well sites and
possibly a treatment plant site in eastern Yellow Medicine County.
Director
of Operations Report: Don Evers and Don
Drietz reported on the following items:
· Drietz
reported that the field staff is canvassing the Northeast expansion area, but
they are not getting very many new signups because most people are not home
during the day, and those that are home have not expressed strong interest.
· Evers reported
that the President’s budget includes $2 million for Lewis and Clark but another
$10 million is being sought to keep the project on schedule.
· Evers has
visited with Edgerton and Adrian about purchasing water, and he was recently
contacted by the manager of Osceola Rural Water in Iowa about water they have
available for sale. All of the options
are being pursued.
· The SCADA
system is working much better because U.S. Filter has been working on the
problem areas. U.S. Filter has also indicated their willingness to provide us
with a license for their software so we can seek maintenance support in the
area.
· The Holland
generator switches are due in at the end of March.
Engineer’s
Report: John Madden reported that the Minneota Tower
and Lynd Standpipe projects are ready to bid.
M/S/P Weber/Van Dyke to set a bid opening date of March 20, 2002 at 3:00
p.m. at the LPRW office in Lake Benton for both the Minneota Tower and Lynd
Standpipe projects.
Lynd
Project: The project is on
schedule.
Northeast
Phase Expansion Project:
The Northeast Expansion Project was discussed and we will be presenting
long-range plans at the MRWA meeting in St. Cloud.
Burr
Service Area: We need to prepare
plans for development of new wells at the Burr WTP.
Director
of Finance and Administration Report:
· Healy
requested Board action on the meal reimbursement rate for the St. Cloud MRWA
Conference as required by the Personnel Policy. M/S/P Lonneman/Swenson to authorize the High Rate for meal
reimbursements at the MRWA Conference in St. Cloud.
· Healy
presented changes to our Section 125 Cafeteria Plan as required by federal
regulations and as prepared by AFLAC.
M/S/P Van Dyke/Simonson to approve the Section 125 Cafeteria Plan
amendments as presented.
· With the
election of new officers a new Resolution authorizing officers and staff to
perform banking functions is required.
M/S/P Weber/Buysse to authorize Francis Engels, Bill Ufkin, Donald Evers
and Dennis Healy to perform bank business at First Security Bank in Lake Benton
on behalf of Lincoln Pipestone Rural Water.
A copy of said resolution is filed with First Security Bank in Lake
Benton and is hereby attached and made a part of these minutes.
John Madden asked about the improvements
proposed for Verdi and Holland, but the Board decided to wait until the status
of the Adrian, Edgerton and Osceola Rural Water cooperative initiatives is
known.
Committee
Reports: The following
committee reports were given:
Executive
Committee:
No report.
Budget &
Finance Committee: No report.
Personnel
Committee:
No report.
Water
Resources and Equipment Committee: Two new pickups have been purchased as
authorized.
Minnesota Rural
Water Association, Board Representative:
Leonard Swenson reported that a large turnout is expected at the MRWA
Conference in St. Cloud. Don Evers
noted that the National Rural Water Association annual conference is scheduled
for October 6-9 in Spokane, Washington.
Adjournment: M/S/P Lonneman/Van Dyke to adjourn the
meeting at 3:30 p.m. The next Regular
Board meeting will be Monday, March 25, 2002 at 10:00 a.m.
______________________________________________
Rod
Spronk, Secretary