Board Meeting - June 8, 2017
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE HASTINGS UTILITIY BOARD
A regular meeting of the Hastings Utility Board was held at the Hastings Utilities Board Room on Thursday, June 8, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. This meeting was preceded by notice duly published in the Hastings Tribune on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 and by notices duly posted in the lobby of Hastings Utilities, 1228 North Denver Avenue, and the City Hall, 220 N. Hastings Avenue, and was therefore open to the public.
Present: Hunt, Schreiner, Hartmann, Seberg
Absent: Hitesman
Also Present: Meyer, Cogley, Vrooman, Leonhardt, Hartman, Barfknecht, Ptak, Mayor Stutte, Odom, Eley, Crecelius, Stange, Patterson, and Tony Hermann (Hastings Tribune)
Chairman Schreiner opened the meeting and stated that the Hastings Utility Board is subject to the Open Meetings Laws and acknowledged that the Open Meetings Law poster has been posted in the room. He also declared a quorum of members present.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
During the Public Comments section, Francis Kuhlman addressed the Board with his concerns of the change from a Board of Public Works to an Advisory Board. He asked how rates and budget approval are changed. Attorney Ptak said that the process for rates and budget approval has not changed. The Utility Board will recommend the budget along with any rate changes to the City Council for their approval. He asked about contracts and the process for their approval. Contracts will go to the City Council for approval. He asked about the powers of the Advisory Board to spend money. City Administrator Patterson said that those powers have now been transferred to the Manager of Utilities.
Moved by Hunt, seconded by Hartmann, to approve the Minutes of the June 2, 2017 meeting. Roll Call: Ayes; Hunt, Hartmann, Seberg, Schreiner. Nays; None. Motion carried.
Al Meyer gave a presentation of background information for the Board. Topics covered were the Aquifer Storage and Restoration Project (ASR), Public Power Generation Agency (PPGA), Southwest Power Pool (SPP), and the Laird Avenue Substation fire and repair. Meyer shared the good news that WEC Unit 2 is now back online for the summer, after being shut down for maintenance and a soft market.
Moved by Hunt, seconded by Hartmann, to approve Chairman Schreiner’s appointment of Bill Hitesman and Shawn Hartmann to the HEDC Executive Board, as per agreement between Hastings Utilities and the HEDC. Roll Call: Ayes; Hunt, Hartmann, Schreiner, Seberg. Nays; None. Motion carried.
A discussion was held on proposed dates for the budget worksessions. Tentative dates are: Wednesday, July 26 and Thursday, July 27. The Board is to look at their schedules to see if that will work.
There were no Board Member comments.
Moved by Hartmann, seconded by Schreiner, that this Board go into Closed Session, which Closed Session is clearly necessary for the protection of the public interest in that said Closed Session will consist of a strategy session relative to litigation. Roll Call: Ayes; Hartmann, Schreiner, Seberg, Hunt. Nays; None. Motion carried.
The meeting closed to the public at 10:04 a.m. The executive session consisted of Board Members, Mayor Stutte, Council Liaisons, Dave Ptak, and Al Meyer.
Moved by Hartmann, seconded by Seberg, that the meeting be reopened to the public at 10:40 a.m., and that no decisions were made nor official actions taken during said Closed Session. Roll Call: Ayes; Hartmann, Seberg, Hunt, Schreiner. Nays; None. Motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:40 a.m.