3.0 ERMUSR 08-22-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 2 Regular meeting of the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission July 11, 2006 David Berg said there were 11 new security accounts added in June and most of those were from referrals. Summer staff is painting hydrants. The spin doctor is being utilized for the water valves and recording the GPS coordinates along with the valve operating torque for future reference. Theresa Slominski informed the Commission of the new employee hired to replace the previous employee that decided not to return from maternity leave. Theresa is working with the City regarding a CDL policy and will keep the Commission apprised. R.W. Beck is doing a rate study and in conjunction with this, cash reserves will be addressed. Theresa will be bringing cash reserve information back to the Commission for approval after the investment committee meets. There will be a Minnesota Sales and Use Tax audit the end of July. Several other utilities have been audited and have had to pay monies related to donated utilities not being taxed. 5.2 Review Co Rd 40 Rebuild Project With the Co Rd 40 rebuild project scheduled to start soon, the cost associated with the trunk water main installation has been projected at around $800,000. As in past discussions, the issue has been who would be fmancing this project. After further discussion with Lori Johnson, City Administrator, she indicated that the City would fund the trunk water main. The remaining question is if there will be any interest payments assessed to the utilities. Lori Johnson said the trunk water main issue is a special circumstance and as long as the future development progresses as projected there should not be a long period of time before the trunk water main could be assessed. John Dietz added that this was a unique situation and didn't feel the City would require interest payments on this trunk water main at this time if it remained short term, however, he did feel that Elk River Municipal Utilities should have proper reserves for future instances like this. 5.3 Consider Community Wide Internet System The last couple of commission meetings have included. discussions regarding a community wide broadband internet system. Currently there are three providers in the market in Elk River and they are Qwest, Charter Communications, and Northstar Access. Discussion followed as to the requirements needed if Commission desires to proceed with this service. The 900 Mhz wave is unlicensed and, therefore free but there are other wireless devices that can cause interference, such as baby monitors and garage door openers. Bryan Adams said Northstar Access is waiting for a possible 700 Mhz system to become available. Discussion followed regarding the current 900 Mhz that is being utilized by Buffalo and acknowledging that there are interference problems. There is a possibility of leasing an antenna from GRE for a pilot project covering a 2 to 3 mile directional radius on the north east side of Elk River. Bob Pearson discussed the possibilities and problems involved with the 900 Mhz system. James Tralle felt this should be looked into further and brought back to a future Commission meeting what the costs and probabilities would be.