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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20121119 UC Minutes4ROSEMOUNT PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT UTILITY COMMISSION MINUTES November 19, 2012 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof the regular Utility Commission meeting of the City of Rosemount was called to order on November 19, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the City Hall by President Don Harmsen. Those present were Commission Members Speich, Mulhern, City Administrator Johnson, City Engineer Brotzler, Public Works Coordinator Watson and Recording Secretary Dorniden. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA None. AUDIENCE INPUT None. MOTION by Harmsen to approve the minutes of the October 8, 2012, regular Utility Commission meeting. Second by Speich. Ayes: Harmsen, Speich, Mulhem. Nays: None. Motion carried. OLD BUSINESS No Old Business. NEW BUSINESS 6a. First Amendment to Tower Lease Agreement Executive Director Brotzler turned the item over to Public Works Coordinator Watson. Public Works Coordinator Watson has been working with Sprint and the City Attorney on the First Amendment. She highlighted a couple of the changes to the Lease Agreement, which is on Chippendale Water Tower: • Four additional 5 year terms through December 2032 • Annual rent increase will be 5 %, which the City is making standard on all negotiations • Additional language was added to clarify overtime charges for after hour call-outs. Executive Director Brotzler apprised the Commission that, in general, the City is now collecting a cash escrow when doing plan reviews in a way to be more diligent in recovering costs from those reviews. Commissioner Mulhern asked where the rent goes for the antenna lease agreement and was told they go into the Water Utility Fund. SPIRIT OF PRIDE AND PROGRESS 2875 145th Street West • Rosemount, MN 55068 -4997 • 651 - 423 -4411 • TDD /TTY 651 - 423 -6219 • Fax 651 - 322 -2694 www.d.rosemount.mm us UTILITY COMMISSION MINUTES November 19, 2012 MOTION by Harmsen to recommend City Council approval of First Amendment to Tower Lease Agreement with Sprint Spectrum Realty Company, LP for the Cellular Equipment on the Chippendale Water Tower. Second by Speich. Ayes: Speich, Mulhern, Harmsen. Nays: None. Motion carried. Executive Director Brotzler informed the Commission that he has gotten outside third party companies contacting the City to manage our cellular leases and he generally just disposes of them, but wanted to know if that is what the Commission would want him to do. The Commissioners all agreed that, as long as Staff can handle the negotiations in- house, that's where they should stay. PRESIDENT'S REPORT None. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT 8a. Project Update Executive Director Brotzler again turned the floor over to Public Works Coordinator Watson who briefly reviewed the projects with the Commissioners: • All projects are substantially done. • Civic Campus Connector, City Project 441, the fence has been installed so the trail is open and usable. • Prestwick Place 4th & Greystone are now paved with the wear course. Final lift will be done in the spring, 2013. • 2013 Street Improvement Project had an informational meeting last Wednesday and the Public Notices will go out soon for the project. It will be going out for bids in February. This project doesn't have trails or sidewalks so should be non - controversial. The past couple years the City has been assessing the project prior to starting work, but after the bids have been taken. Before awarding the contract there is a 30 -day appeal period. Contractors are offered a flexible start date but a firm end date, allowing them flexibility in scheduling. As a result, the bids are often more competitive. • Wellhead Protection Plan Amendment Part 2 — December 18`'' Public Hearing will meet the timeline for Part 2. 8b. Informational Attachments No discussion on the Interim Financial Report. Mayor Droste joined the meeting. A brief discussion took place on the well pumping record. It was noted that water consumption was up over 15% from last year. President Harmsen noted that the City of Apple Valley usage was up 4 UTILITY COMMISSION MINUTES November 19, 2012 10 %. It was questioned whether the new rates had any effect on pumping, but was agreed that it wouldn't have anything to do with it. It obviously hasn't resulted in any conservation. Executive Director Brotzler said at the monthly CONDAC meetings, one of the topics is the maintenance and operation of private fire hydrants. Most commercial areas are private along with the mobile home park. There are concerns that operation and flushing of the private systems should be coordinated with the City's timeframe. From a cost standpoint the City should develop a policy where the City would maintain hydrants and have a surcharge attached to their utility bill for the amount of hydrants within a complex. Fire Departments find faulty hydrants so it can be construed as a safety issue. CONDAC is considering a Joint Powers Agreement for chemicals, hydrant painting, etc. The City does have maps of the system showing public and private hydrants. In the past we have done some private systems, but the City needs to be consistent as to how they handle them, all or none. Commissioners asked if the City paints the hydrants. There are approximately 1,600 hydrants and we do contract out when they need painted. They are on a rotation. 9d. SET NEXT MEETING AGENDA FOR DECEMBER 10, 2012 There is no business at this time for the December 10, 2012 meeting. Commissioner Mulhern took this opportunity to "thank" Recording Secretary Dorniden on behalf of all the Commission for her years of service to the City and the Commission. She will be retiring on December 31, 2012. MOTION by Harmsen to adjourn. Second by Mulhem. Meeting adjourned at 6:03 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Cindy Dorniden Recording Secretary