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
October 28, 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, October 28, 2002 starting at 6:00
p.m. Chairman Frank Engels called the meeting to order with Commissioners
Roger Gilliland, Ken Buysse, Jerry Lonneman, Charlie Simonson, Leonard Swenson,
Bill Ufkin, Henry Van Dyke, and Joe Weber present.
Commissioner Rod Spronk was absent. Also present were LPRW Attorney, Dan McDonald; DGR Engineer, Darin Schriever; Field Superintendent, Don Drietz;
Director of Operations, Don Evers; and Director of Finance and Administration,
Dennis Healy. Also present were Mr.
& Mrs. Ken Erickson and family; Mike Clairmont; and Murray County
Commissioner, Kevin Anderson.
Agenda:
The Agenda was approved as presented.
Minutes:
M/S/P Swenson/Weber to approve the minutes of the September 30, 2002
Regular Board meeting.
Treasurer's Report:
M/S/P Buysse/Simonson to approve the Treasurer's Report as presented.
Bills:
M/S/P Van Dyke/ Swenson (Engels abstained) to approve the following
bills for payment:
·
DeWild
Grant Reckert and Associates Company: Minneota Tower #26 = $4,334.16; NE Phase
#23 = $96,914.81; Lynd Area #22 = $14,933.42; General Services #19 = $632.87;
Southwest Minnesota Supply Project-Osceola Feasibility Study = $3,250.00.
·
McDonald,
Gudmestad & Schramel: NE Phase = $90.00; General Legal Services = $759.13
·
B.
A. Liesch Associates, Inc.: Burr Test Well Project = $1,480.20
·
Engineering
America, Inc.: Lynd Standpipe & Booster-Pay Estimate #4 = $96,900.00
·
Underground
Developers, Inc.: Lynd Schedule 1B Pipeline – Pay Estimate #1 = $67,800.48
·
Caldwell
Tanks, Inc.: Minneota Tower-Pay Estimate #2 = $195,182.25
·
Carstensen
Contracting: Schedule 1A User Additions-Pay Estimate #2 = $121,541.16
·
Journal
Printing Company: Well #8 Bid Advertisements = $118.50
·
Moseng Land
Surveying, Inc.: Minneota Tower Site survey = $385.00
·
Kockelman
Construction, Inc.: Well #8 Driveway culvert = $274.77
·
US
Bank-1997 Refunding Bonds = $219,040.00; 1992 Water Revenue Bond = $36,155.00
Attorney’s Report:
LPRW Attorney, Dan McDonald reported on the following items:
·
McDonald
explained assessment procedures for hookups outside the Northeast Phase Project
Area, and he requested authorization to proceed with the assessment petition
for the hookups currently completed.
M/S/P Weber/Lonneman to authorize McDonald to proceed with the assessment
petition for the current year. The Board
discussed whether or not they want to continue to allow assessments outside the
project area. M/S/P Ufkin/Lonneman to
allow assessment of hookup costs to continue through 2003.
·
The amended
Lewis & Clark Rural Water System agreement is being revised, and it should
be available for Board action at the November meeting.
Engineer’s Report: Darin Schriever reported on the following items:
• Lynd Project:
Winter Construction has a few items to finish to complete their contract. The standpipe and booster project is nearly
complete, and DGR is working on a change order to install the SCADA
system. Bids were opened at 5:00 p.m.
on September 30th on the Schedule 1B-Development Pipeline
project. Underground Developers have
started work on the last phase of the Lynd project, and they are moving ahead
quickly.
• Minneota Tower & Booster Project:
The Minneota Tower & Booster project is progressing. Caldwell Tanks has the concrete column
completed, and they will probably start on the steel work this winter. KHC Construction plans to begin work as soon
as possible.
• North Internal Users Project:
The Internal Users Expansion is proceeding on schedule
• Northeast Phase Expansion Project: Eatherly Constructors has moved equipment
and materials into the expansion area, and they plan to work through the winter
if the weather allows.
• The
following change orders were considered:
M/S/P Buysse/Van Dyke to approve Change Order No. 1 to increase by
$1,823.00 the Lynd Service Area, Schedule 2, Standpipe/Booster Contract
(Engineering America, Inc.); M/S/P Ufkin/Lonneman to approve Change Order No. 1
to increase by $745.00 the Lynd Service Area, Schedule 1B-Development Pipeline
Contract (Underground Developers, Inc.); and M/S/P Buysse/Swenson to approve
Change Order No. 2 to increase by $467.88 the Northeast Phase, Schedule 1A-User
Additions Contract (Carstensen Contracting, Inc.).
Request for Service
Extension: Mr. &
Mrs. Ken Erickson and family, Mike Clairmont and Murray County Commissioner,
Kevin Anderson met with the Board to request relief from the excess footage
charges for a hookup. Ericksons and
Clairmont live in Section 16 of Ellsborough Township and the nearest available
waterline would require about 1.75 miles of line extension to serve both
properties. Mr. Clairmont questioned
the price of the hookup and excess footage charges, and felt that the normal
1/2 mile per service limitation should be more flexible. The Board directed LPRW staff to explore
options such as finding another hookup in the area or finding a shorter route,
but the Board indicated that the policy could not be altered in fairness to
others who have paid the excess footage costs.
SCADA Controls:
A proposal for SCADA and controls for the Lynd and Northeast Phase
projects from US Filter Control Systems was reviewed. M/S/P Weber/Simonson to approve the Northeast Phase SCADA and
controls project at a cost of $109,607.00 subject to RUS approval. M/S/P Buysse/Swenson to approve the Lynd
Project SCADA and controls project at a cost of $30,673.00.
Burr Exploration: The Burr Well 8 contracts are being
processed, and LTP Enterprises is prepared to begin work as soon as they are
completed. The Minnesota Department of
Health has inspected and approved the well site, and they have indicated that a
wellhead protection plan will not be required at this time.
Wellhead Protection:
Healy reported that there are no new wellhead issues.
Regional Water Supply:
Liesch Associates is beginning work at the City of Adrian well field.
Water Service in the
Marshall Area: The Board reviewed a draft policy
concerning service in the Marshall
growth area, and they authorized Healy to present it to Marshall Municipal
Utilities for further discussion.
Director of Operations
Report: Don Evers reported on the following items:
· The Verdi and Burr standby generators are
here and ready to be installed.
· Evers provided an update on Lewis &
Clark progress, and reported that new agreements are being reviewed.
· The main line from the Edgerton site to
the Leota booster will be “pigged” in late October to improve flows.
· The Edgerton to Leota line was pigged to
remove manganese buildup, and the project went very well. A $36,000 upgrade to the Leota booster
station is being studied.
· Evers, Healy and Ufkin reported on their
attendance at the National Rural Water Conference in Spokane.
· Don Drietz reported that new users are
being brought on line, and crop damage payments are being processed.
Director of Finance and
Administration Report:
· The Towerlink America agreement was
reviewed.
· Healy will meet with the Tyler City
Council on November 4th to discuss water rates.
· Healy presented a “Connection and Use
Policy” for Board review and discussion.
M/S/P Van Dyke/Swenson to approve the following “Connection and Use
Policy” document:
CONNECTION AND USE POLICY
Adopted:
December 17, 1979
As
Clarified Through October 28, 2002
Lincoln
Pipestone Rural Water has had regulations concerning connection to and use of
the water system since the beginning of the system in 1979. These regulations have been modified by
interpretation as the System has developed and different situations have
arisen. The purpose of this document is
clarify current LPRW Policy concerning connection to and use of the System as
it relates to “Who is required to pay membership and hookup fees.”
LPRW policy regarding connection to and use of the System
can be summarized as follows: A member of the LPRW System will not
extend a water line from one tract of land to another without prior written
approval from LPRW. Members also agree that the water
service supplied by LPRW shall be for the benefit of the member’s premises or
those lawfully in possession of same, and the member further agrees that he
will not submeter or resell said water without specific written approval from
LPRW. LPRW will only supply water to Members who have executed a “Water
Users Agreement.”
This
Policy is further clarified and defined as follows:
1. A
“tract of land” cannot be divided by a public road right-of-way.
2. A
typical “tract of land” would be a quarter-section or similar acreage with a
single farmstead, all under one ownership, served by one rural water hookup.
1. The
key issues here are that the “tract of land” and all facilities served are and
continue to be served by the member owning the “tract of land.”
2. EXAMPLE
#1: A “tract of land” is connected to
the system and the tract contains 2 houses owned by the member. The member lives in one house and the other
house is used to house an employee and his family. The member can serve both houses through one meter so long as the
member does not resell the water.
However, if the member decides to sell one of the houses with a
surrounding acreage (creating a new “tract of land”) at some later date, a new
separate hookup will be required. As a
rule, the tract containing the original water meter will retain the original
membership, and the other tract will require a new membership and hookup fee.
3. EXAMPLE
#2: A “tract of land” is connected to
the system and the tract consists of a quarter-section and a farmstead (located
in one corner of the quarter-section) with a house and out buildings owned by
the member. The member decides to
expand his livestock operation by building a hog confinement building in an
opposite corner of the quarter-section.
The member extends a private water line from his farmstead to the new
hog confinement building after verifying with LPRW that he has access to enough
water available. At a later date the
member decides to sell the hog confinement building to an investor. When the building and surrounding acreage is
split off from the member’s quarter-section (creating a new “tract of land”) a
new separate hookup will be required.
As a rule, the tract containing the original water meter will retain the
original membership, and the other tract will require a new membership and
hookup fee.
3. EXAMPLE
#3: A “tract of land” is connected to
the system and the tract consists of a quarter-section and a farmstead with a
house and out buildings owned by the member.
The member also owns a pasture across a township road from the
farmstead, and he would like to extend a private water line from his farmstead
to the pasture which is by definition a different tract of land. LPRW staff informs the member that a
separate hookup is needed, but the member decides to request an exception to
the policy from the LPRW Board. The
Board may or may not allow the member’s request, but if the request is granted
and at some later date the member decides to sell either the pasture or the
homestead a new separate hookup will be required. As a rule, the tract containing the original water meter will
retain the original membership, and the other tract will require a new
membership and hookup fee.
·
Healy
reported that meetings have been scheduled with Hanley Falls and Lismore to
discuss water hookups.
Committee Reports:
Personnel and Budget Committee meetings will be scheduled when Rod
Spronk can be available. The following
committee reports were given:
Executive Committee: No report.
Budget & Finance Committee: No report.
Personnel Committee: No report.
Water Resources and Equipment Committee: No report.
Minnesota Rural Water Association, Board
Representative: No report.
Adjournment:
M/S/P Lonneman/Van Dyke to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 p.m. The next Regular Board meeting will be Monday,
November 25, 2002 at 10:00 a.m.
______________________________________________
Rod
Spronk, Secretary