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<br />City Council Minutes <br />September 7, 1999 <br /> <br />Page 2 <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />Mayor Klinzing indicated that the council would continue discussion on this item <br />following Item #3. <br /> <br />3. <br /> <br />Joint Citv Council/Utilities Commission Meetina to Discuss the Water and Sewer <br />Departments and a Possible Joint Water/Sewer Superintendent Position <br /> <br />Pat Klaers stated that this issue has surfaced due to the recent retirement of the <br />city's Wastewater Sewer Superintendent and the expected retirement of the <br />Water Superintendent. <br /> <br />Mayor Klinzing explained that discussion should take place regarding a couple of <br />issues pertaining to this item: <br /> <br />. Whether the Commission has considered joining the two entities (sewer <br />and water) <br />. The possibility of sharing a supervisor for the two departments <br /> <br />Chair Tralle stated that most of the discussions regarding this issue by the Utilities <br />Commission pertained to sharing a supervisor rather than combining the water <br />and the sewer utilities. <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />Council member Dietz noted that it was never his intention to have the water or <br />the sewer departments move to a different jurisdiction, but to have the <br />superintendent position be a shared position. He stated that he sees this as an <br />opportunity to have two departments that are closely associated with each other <br />work together. <br /> <br />Chair Tralle stated that if the departments were to join, he would prefer to see the <br />water department move to the sewer department. He indicated that due to the <br />continued growth of the city, it is important for the elected officials to have <br />control of the sewer department. <br /> <br />Bryan Adams, Utilities Superintendent, stated that there are not a lot of positives <br />for combining the two departments. <br /> <br />Commissioner Zabee stated that there is not total agreement among the Utilities <br />Commission regarding this issue. He noted that if the departments were <br />combined, he would like the sewer to come over to the utilities, but the city <br />would have to do the bonding and go through the assessment process. <br />Commissioner Zabee indicated that a joint supervisor could cause some <br />problems, such as in financing and deciding which department to support if the <br />city and utilities had a disagreement. Mr. Zabee indicated that he was uncertain <br />if a joint position would result in cost savings. <br /> <br />Discussion was held regarding the utilities' actual need for a water <br />superintendent. It was noted that the water superintendent is a shared position <br />with an electrical technician. Discussion was held about the possibility of <br />separating these positions in the future. <br /> <br />e <br />