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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMinutes_2005_07_19 416 Brookings City Council Tuesday, July 19, 2005 The Brookings City Council held a special action meeting on Tuesday, July 19, 2005 at 5:00 p.m., at City Hall with the following members present: Mayor Scott Munsterman, Council Members,Michael Bartley, Tim Reed, Julie Whaley, and Michael Reitz. Ginger Thomson and Tom Bezdichek were absent. City Manager Alan Lanning, City Attorney Steve Britzman, and City Clerk Shari Thornes were also present. TABLED ITEM: Resolution No. 54-OS—Bid Award. A motion was made by Bartley, seconded by Reed,to remove the item from the table. All present voted yes; motion carried. Discussion on the original motion made by Reed, seconded by Reitz, to approve Resolution No. 54-05,Resolution Awarding Bids on Project 2005-07STA Alley Assessment Project. Discussion: It was clarified that the Council is limited to accepting or rejecting the bids. All four projects will either be approved or rejected. The bidder submitted their bid based on quantities for four projects. Bidding projects separately gives the Council the ability to approve and reject individual projects, but the bidding prices would not be consistent and could potentially be higher due to smaller jobs. Bid laws are intended to keep the scope of the project the same from start to f nish. Re-bidding the project yet this year would probably result in no bidders or high bids. The original petitions only give the authorization to proceed to hearing. Some petitioners may have changed their minds due to costs. The Resolution ofNecessity stipulates that they estimated costs only. Paul Melby said people do change their minds, but this is an opportunity to solve some problems (i.e. mud, dust, drainage, street sweeping, and maintenance). Maintenance of alleys costs the city s regular budget more money due to having to make repairs after rain. The engineering design is already done. Petitioning is completed with the majority in favor. The bidding is done with a mid-range of prices from last year that are still competitive. Melby recommended proceeding with the project. Brad Whaley was a petition carrier for his block. He noted that several properry owners the City was unable get in touch with were in favor of the project. He recommended the ciry proceed. Steve Clarion asked if the new electrical service was installed deep enough or would it require a re-installation. If so, who would absorb that cost? The City Engineer said the lines are installed 24 inches below ground. The Utility Company would pay for lowering any of their own lines. Charles Olsen voiced objection to the project because of the high price. On the original motion; all present voted yes, except Whaley abstained,motion carried. RESOLUTION NO.54-05 RESOLUTION AWARDING BIDS ON PROJECT 2005-07STA ALLEY ASSESSMENT PROJECT Whereas,the City of Brookings has received the following bid for Project 2005-07STA Alley Assessment Project. Bowes Construction,Inc. $75,112.38 Now Therefore,Be It Resolved that the low bid of Bowes Construction,Inc in the amount of$75,112.38 be accepted. TABLED ITEM: Resolution No. 63-OS—rescindin�Resolutions of Necessitv. A motion was made by Reed, seconded by Reitz, to remove from the table. All present voted yes; motion carried. On the original motion to approve, a11 present voted no, motion failed. The city council convened at 5:30 p.m. Joint Citv Council and Utilitv Board MeeNng. The Brookings City Council reconvened at the Municipal Utility Building for a joint meeting with the Brookings Utility Board at 5:30 p.m. Members of the Board and staff gave the following PowerPoint presentation: 417 Utility Board Members: Steve Myers, President- Appointed September 2001, George Prest, Vice President- Appointed April 1997, Barbara Ward-Doherty, Secretary -Appointed May 1996, Gail Robertson -Appointed February 2003, and one vacancy Utility Board Members are appointed by the Mayor and City Council. The Utility Board operates independently from the City Council. The role of the Utility Board is as follows: manage and control the affairs of the Utility; extend, modify or improve any utility; acquire such facilities and property deemed necessary; enter into contracts; hire and fire employees and set their compensation; fix rates and fees and special assessments; manage the funds under its control and set the amount to be transferred to the City General Fund; and establish rules and regulations for utility services. The Home Rule Charter makes the following reference to the Utility Board: "The Utility Board may take any and all action it deems advisable in the furtherance of any utilities or enterprises now existing or hereafter acquired under its control ....." The Brookings Municipal Utilities Mission Statement is"To serve our customers with reliable, advanced energy, water, wastewater and communications products and services in a prompt, courteous and environmentally sensitive manner at competitive rates, generating sufficient income for continued infrastructure improvements and a return to our owners. " The Departments of BMU are Electric, Water, Wastewater, and Telephone SwifteUSprint PCS. BMU employs 170 full time people. Non-management employees are represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. City General and Utility maintain a joint self- funded health insurance program. The Water Fund main objectives are: to provide pota.ble water meeting standards promulgated by the EPA for domestic, business and industrial use; to construct and maintain distribution system to meet service and fire protection standards; and to serve the City of Aurora. The Wastewater Fund main objectives are: to construct and maintain a wastewater collection system and to collect wastewater and treat to EPA standards. The Electric Fund main objectives are: to provide reliable, dependable electric service for domestic,business and industrial use; to contract for the purchase of power or generate power; and to construct and maintain transmission lines and distribution system to serve customers. The Telephone Fund main objectives are: to provide reliable, dependable communications service for domestic, business and industrial use; to provide customer premises equipment;to construct and maintain network infrastructure (cable system and tower system)to permit communication between customer and the host Central Office; and to construct and maintain central office facilities and contractual arrangements necessary to enable call completion and/or delivery to interconnecting carriers. The Telephone services and lines of business include the following: Local Service- Custom Calling Features, Long Distance Access - LD Service through Express Communications, Directory, Telephone Systems, Cabling, Internet Service Provider, Wireless, Pagers, and Voice Mail. The affiliates have the rights and responsibilities to build, own, operate and maintain PCS infrastructure, market and sell PCS handsets, and own 100%of the revenue stream. BMU has experienced the deregulation of the electric industry. Those discussions began in the Reagan Era and encompassed selling Power Marketing Administrations (PMA's), open access to transmission, and"Retail wheeling." Deregulation's impact on BMU resulted in loss of customers, siphoning of power from Power Marketing Administrations,unbundling of Western Area Power Administration costs resulting in higher costs, and an mpact on MRES' costs, i.e. transmission congestion. That deregulation gave way to the Standard Market Design(SMD) concept, which is not the same as DEREGULATION (no choice of providers (retail wheeling). Transmission assets must � 18 be assigned to a Regional Transmission Organization(RTO). The RTO manages energy flows and Utilities must join an RTO. Open access to transmission is mandated. The intended results of SMD are to lower costs to locations of highest demand, open the industry to merchant generators (i.e. non-utility power providers), and the lowest cost provider wins. The unintended consequences of Standard Market Design are: subjecting the system to gaming, the law eliminating the Public Utility Holding Company Act which may lead to large companies abusing the market and handicapping the smaller utilities, and creating a reluctance to invest in the electric system infrastructure. The impact of SMD on BMIJ has been transmission congestion costs,restriction of local generation,unknown cost increases through MRES, and MRES staffing up to accept bidding responsibilities. . The long term effects of the Electric Industry Trends on BMU is the industry will be aligned to least cost alternatives and BMU must conform. The long term strategy for BMLJ is to align rates to market and build liquidity. The telephone business deregulated in 1984,which introduced competition and new technologies. Deregulation promotes competition which makes carriers and users pursue least cost alternatives they find through technology. New technologies include Wireless - Cellular&PCS, Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), MMDS (Microwave Multipoint Distribution System), LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution System), Broadband via fiber optic facilities,VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), and Satellite. There is competition in the telephone business for long distance (Inter-Exchange Carriers or IXC's), special access,business systems, cabling and internet services and in Wireless Carriers, Voice over IP (VoIP), Voice Service (Local and Toll), and Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLEC's). Telephone regulation includes FCC rules and approval of NECA rates for LJNE-P (Unbundled Network Elements—P), VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), USF (Universal Service Fund), and Intercarrier compensation. Public Utility Commission rules and approval of Local Exchange Caxrier Association rates also apply. The effects of these trends on Swiftel are a bypass of Swiftel switching service through special access, wireless, and VoIP. This is resulting in fewer Minutes of Use processed and fewer access lines serviced. Pressure by Interexchange Carriers to reduce Local Exchange Carriers' access rates is causing changes in FCC rules and resulting in Swiftel LD revenues stagnating. The long term strategy for the telephone portion of BMLT are to implement cost containment measures, deploy new services to generate new revenue sources utilizing new technologies, and bolster those Lines of Business that have provided solid returns. The issues for the Wastewater Utilities are on-going maintenance of a 25 year old plant, provision of treatment capacity (lagoons included in long term plan), oversight of the Industrial Pretreatment Program, and economic development and community growth that are dependent on availability of wastewater facilities. Installation of irrigation systems would result in unmanaged demand which would exceed current capacity. Industry will be aligned to least cost alternatives of which BMU must conform. BML1's long term strategy is to provide adequate capacity to support demand and economic development, align rates to cost, and increase rates to build liquidity in preparation of incurring debt. Executive Session. A motion was made by Thomson, seconded by Reed,to enter executive session for purposes of pricing and marketing strategies with the City Council, City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, and Brookings Municipal Utility Board and Staff present at 7:30 p.m. 419 All present voted yes; motion carried. A motion s made by Reed, seconded by Whaley, to leave executive session at 9:55 p.m. All present v ted yes; motion carried. Adiourn. A motion was made by Reed, seconded y Whaley,to adjourn. All present voted yes; motion carriea. Meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m. o 'ngs oQ���� Sco . unsterman,Mayor �j o�;O z: �r .:x v�i: f q� oC� n�ti� �� •y 's'+... °VT� p Z `/� Ui ari Thornes, City Clerk