08-27-2008 HUCMRegular Meeting
August 27, 2008
Members present: Vice President David Wetterling; Secretary Dwight Bordson;
Commissioner Craig Lenz; Commissioner Robert Hantge; General Manager Michael
Kumm
Members absent: President Donald H. Walser; Attorney Marc Sebora
Vice President Wetterling called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.
The minutes of the July 30, 2008 regular meeting were reviewed. A motion was made
by Commissioner Hantge, seconded by Secretary Bordson to approve the minutes as
written. Motion was unanimously carried.
GM Kumm presented the payables for approval. After discussion, a motion was made
by Commissioner Lenz, seconded by Secretary Bordson, to ratify the payment of bills in
the amount of $3,574,070.24 (detailed listing in payables book). Motion was
unanimously carried.
GM Kumm presented the financial statements/budget year-to-date. After discussion, a
motion was made by Commissioner Lenz, seconded by Commissioner Hantge to
approve the financial statements/budget year-to-date. Motion was unanimously carried.
Changes to the policies and requirements booklet were presented. These are verbiage
changes only. After discussion a motion was made by Commissioner Hantge, seconded
by Secretary Bordson to approve changes to the policies and requirements booklet.
Motion was unanimously carried.
Discussion was held on the progress of the Geronimo wind energy study. The study is
not complete as we are still waiting for additional information. This study will be
presented at next month’s meeting.
The HSA (Health Savings Account) for exempt employees was presented for approval.
After discussion a motion was made by Commissioner Lenz, seconded by Secretary
Bordson to continue to offer the current medical plan, and approved the HSA for exempt
employees. Motion was unanimously carried.
Discussion was held on the progress of the inventory building. A special meeting may
be necessary authorizing the signing of an indemnity agreement with KC Companies,
Inc.
Discussion was held on the coalition of Greater MN Cities. After discussion a motion
was made by Commissioner Lenz, seconded by Secretary Bordson to not participate in
the coalition of Greater MN Cities program. Motion was unanimously carried.
Discussion was held on the MRES interconnection request. A request was made by
Missouri River Energy Services for permission for interconnection of wind powered
generation on the Hutchinson Utilities Commission 69 kV transmission system on the
northwest side of town on the HUC transmission system.
Requisition #003229 was presented for approval. This is for directional boring to reroute
distribution main for Faith Lutheran Church and restoration costs. After discussion, a
motion was made by Secretary Bordson, seconded by Commissioner Hantge to
approve requisition #003229 for directional boring for Faith Lutheran Church from
Northern Pipeline Construction Company. Motion was unanimously carried.
The Natural Gas Department was presented with a 5-year safety award from APGA.
Discussion was held on the strategic plan – vision statement nine – strategic objections.
Division reports
Business – Jan Sifferath
Web site for HUC is continuing to be developed
Electric – Steve Lancaster
Meter tech applications are being reviewed and interviews will be scheduled
Gas – John Webster
Automated meter reading is being discussed
Heartland Corn is looking into anaerobic digestion for capturing methane gas
for their process and to possibly sell to the public
GM Kumm talked about an agreement between MMUA and MREA that will appear
before the legislators next session. If an agreement is reached, HUC and McLeod Coop
will follow that law as it relates to territory issues.
Legal Update
Nothing to report
Unfinished Business
Round-up Program:
Jan Sifferath reported that Attorney Sebora recommended the round-up program
is not in the best interest for HUC, based on the attorney general’s statements.
Vice President Wetterling will relay HUC’s no interest in the round-up program to
the Foundation.
Records Retention Schedule:
Tabled
New Business
Power may be needed for a music festival being held in Hutchinson. Steve
Lancaster will look into this.
There being no further business, a motion was made by Secretary Bordson, seconded
by Commissioner Lenz to adjourn the meeting at 4:30 p.m. Motion was unanimously
carried.
_____________________
Dwight Bordson, Secretary
ATTEST: _______________________
Donald H. Walser, President
Regular Meeting
August 27, 2008
Members present: Vice President David Wetterling; Secretary Dwight Bordson;
Commissioner Craig Lenz; Commissioner Robert Hantge; General Manager Michael
Kumm
Members absent: President Donald H. Walser; Attorney Marc Sebora
Vice President Wetterling called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.
The minutes of the July 30, 2008 regular meeting were reviewed. A motion was made
by Commissioner Hantge, seconded by Secretary Bordson to approve the minutes as
written. Motion was unanimously carried.
GM Kumm presented the payables for approval. After discussion, a motion was made
by Commissioner Lenz, seconded by Secretary Bordson, to ratify the payment of bills in
the amount of $3,574,070.24 (detailed listing in payables book). Motion was
unanimously carried.
GM Kumm presented the financial statements /budget year -to -date. After discussion, a
motion was made by Commissioner Lenz, seconded by Commissioner Hantge to
approve the financial statements /budget year -to -date. Motion was unanimously carried.
Changes to the policies and requirements booklet were presented. These are verbiage
changes only. After discussion a motion was made by Commissioner Hantge, seconded
by Secretary Bordson to approve changes to the policies and requirements booklet.
Motion was unanimously carried.
Discussion was held on the progress of the Geronimo wind energy study. The study is
not complete as we are still waiting for additional information. This study will be
presented at next month's meeting.
The HSA (Health Savings Account) for exempt employees was presented for approval.
After discussion a motion was made by Commissioner Lenz, seconded by Secretary
Bordson to continue to offer the current medical plan, and approved the HSA for exempt
employees. Motion was unanimously carried.
Discussion was held on the progress of the inventory building. A special meeting may
be necessary authorizing the signing of an indemnity agreement with KC Companies,
Inc.
Discussion was held on the coalition of Greater MN Cities. After discussion a motion
was made by Commissioner Lenz, seconded by Secretary Bordson to not participate in
the coalition of Greater MN Cities program. Motion was unanimously carried.
Discussion was held on the MRES interconnection request. A request was made by
Missouri River Energy Services for permission for interconnection of wind powered
generation on the Hutchinson Utilities Commission 69 kV transmission system on the
northwest side of town on the HUC transmission system.
Requisition #003229 was presented for approval. This is for directional boring to reroute
distribution main for Faith Lutheran Church and restoration costs. After discussion, a
motion was made by Secretary Bordson, seconded by Commissioner Hantge to
approve requisition #003229 for directional boring for Faith Lutheran Church from
Northern Pipeline Construction Company. Motion was unanimously carried.
The Natural Gas Department was presented with a 5 -year safety award from APGA.
Discussion was held on the strategic plan — vision statement nine — strategic objections.
Division reports
Business — Jan Sifferath
• Web site for HUC is continuing to be developed
Electric — Steve Lancaster
• Meter tech applications are being reviewed and interviews will be scheduled
Gas — John Webster
• Automated meter reading is being discussed
• Heartland Corn is looking into anaerobic digestion for capturing methane gas
for their process and to possibly sell to the public
GM Kumm talked about an agreement between MMUA and MREA that will appear
before the legislators next session. If an agreement is reached, HUC and McLeod Coop
will follow that law as it relates to territory issues.
Legal Update
Nothing to report
Unfinished Business
Round -up Program:
Jan Sifferath reported that Attorney Sebora recommended the round -up program
is not in the best interest for HUC, based on the attorney general's statements.
Vice President Wetterling will relay HUC's no interest in the round -up program to
the Foundation.
Records Retention Schedule:
Tabled
New Business
Power may be needed for a music festival being held in Hutchinson. Steve
Lancaster will look into this.
There being no further business, a motion was made by Secretary Bordson, seconded
by Commissioner Lenz to adjourn the meeting at 4:30 p.m. Motion was unanimously
carried.
ATTEST: Ji
Donald H. Walser, President
Dwight ordson, Secretary
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1
7/8 /2008
PLAN DESIGN
♦ PREVENTIVE
♦ DEDUCTIBLE
HUTCHINSON UTILITIES COMMISSION
100%
$2,500 INDIVIDUAL
$5,000 FAMILY
♦ PREMIUMS ARE LOWER FOR SINGLES & FAMILIES
EXAMPLE
♦ 2009 REIMBURSEMENT $2000 SINGLE / $4,000 FAMILY
EXAMPLE
[COMPARISONS1 CURRENT
PLAN HSA
2008 2009
SINGLE - OUT OF POCKET MAXIMUMS 500 2,500
HUTCHINSON UTILITIES REIMBURSEMENT -0 -2,000
EXPOSURE $500 $500
FAMILY - OUT OF POCKET MAXIMUMS 1,000 5,000
HUTCHINSON UTILITIES REIMBURSEMENT -0 -4,000
EXPOSURE $1,000 $1,000
IMPORTANT NOTE;
YOU AND YOUR FAMILY WOULD BE TAKING ON MORE EXPOSURE
BY USING THIS EXAMPLE BUT YOU WOULD ALSO HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE THAT MONEY IF IT WERE NOT USED.
2008 MAXIMUM HSA CONTRIBUTLONS
SINGLE $2,900
FAMILY $5,800
NOTE: THERE IS A CATCH -UP PROVISION THAT ALLOWS AN ADDITIONAL $900
PER YEAR FOR AN EMPLOYEE OVER THE AGE OF 55.
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Partial Listing of
overed Services
nnual Deductible
e Maximum
/Preventive Care
• Routine Physical & Eye Exams
• Immunizagons, Well Child CarE
and Cancer Screenings
Office Visits
• Illness or Injury (including
allergy shots)
• Chiropractic Care
• Physical, Occupational &
Speech Therapy
• Mental Health and Substance
Abuse
Prescription Drugs
Up to a 31-day supply per prescription
Specialty Prescription Drugs
Up to a 31 -day supply per prescription for
specialty prescription drugs received from
a designated specialty pharmacy.
Inpatient Hospital Services
Facility
Physician
Mental Health and Substance
Abuse
Outpatient Hospital Services
• Facility
• Physician
Lab and Pathology
X -Ray and Other Imaging
Urgent or Emergency Care
• Urgent Care Center
• Hospital Emergency Room
• Emergency Ambulance
Durable Medical Equipment and
Prosthetics
Home Health Care
Out -of- Network Benefits*
Limited to 120 days per member, per year.
80%
80%
80%
80%
80%
80%
80%
100% after in- network deductible.
100% after in- network deductible.
100% after in- network deductible.
80%
80%
2008 Medica. Medica is a registered service mark of Medica Health Plans. " Medica" refers to the family of health plan businesses that includes Medica
aalth Plans, Medica Health Plans of Wisconsin, Medica Insurance Company, and Medica Self- Insured.
1/08 MEDICA.
Page 1 of 2
Michael Kumm
From: Gary Plotz
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 3:28 PM
To: Michael Kumm; Brenda Ewing
Cc: Ken Merrill; billyjoa @hutchtel.net; Casey Stotts (cstotts @hutchtel.net); haugenar @hutchtel.net;
sun @hutchtel.net; Steve Cook (scook @hutchtel.net); Rebecca Bowers; Dan Hatten
Subject: Note Labor and Employment Relations Services : Also Update on Coalition Of Greater MN Cities
Board Meeting
Note last paragraph.
Gary
From: Steve Cook [mailto:scook @hutchtel.net]
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2008 11:37 AM
To: Gary Plotz
Subject: Coalition Of Greater MN Cities Board Meeting
Gary,
I wanted to give you an update on the Coalition's July 17th board meeting. These things will be voted on by the
membership at the membership meeting next Friday morning as part of the annual conference.
1. Annual Dues: 4% increase in dues (which I think you said is pretty similar to what the League is proposing).
2. 2009 Legislative Focus: While the legislative focus will be on the normal areas of LGA, Annexation,
Transportation, Economic Development and Environment, two areas will get heavier focus this year - LGA and
annexation. There is a lot of concern with the forecasted budget deficit that a lot of things, including LGA, will be
looked at. Maintaining the LGA legislation and funding adopted in the 2008 tax bill will be a priority. This
included the increase for 2009, but also some inflationary increases for 2010 and 2011.
An additional focus will be on annexation rules. There has been a state task force with township and city
representatives (including several Coalition members) working on this issue, but consensus has not been
reached. Apparently the townships want rules similar to what was being proposed by the orderly annexation
agreement that several of the townships around Hutch were pushing for last year with us.
Of course this was unacceptable to the city reps just like it was unacceptable to us. However, since consensus
has not been reached it is likely that township friendly legislators will propose a bill that includes many of these
provisions. The Coalition wants to make sure that doesn't happen and push for alternatives that better meet the
needs of all parties if changes are going to be made.
3. Labor and Employment Relations Services: It is being proposed that labor and employment services will
be part of the regular Coalition budget. In the past this was done on an "assessment" basis available to cities that
wished to participate. As you can imagine the number of cities would fluctuate form one year to the next, making
budgeting difficult for that.
The idea is that more cities can benefit since most cities are unionized and having a service like this available
can be a good recruitment tool to help attract other cities to the Coalition (they now have eighty members).
While the cost ($60,000) will increase the budget, the increase is not being paid from the 4% increase in dues.
Instead, it is expected to be paid from additional memberships. Also while there seemed to be consensus to do
this (at least on a trial basis) there was also a lot of talk that the board did not want to see this as a budget item
that continues to grow and get out of hand.
Advantages is that there would be knowledgeable and experienced labor assistance available to cities, more
coordination with cities on negotiation strategies, further development of statistical databases, training
opportunities for city staff, help on selection of arbitrators when needed, more networking opportunities for elected
officials and staff, and reduced fees for city specific services.
8/5/2008
Page 2 of 2
From our standpoint I could see some use of their statistical databases for city comparisons (actual benefit
comparisons and statistically which cities should we be comparing ourselves to). Listening to the discussion and
comments from other board members who have been users in the past they say the services are very good and
are valuable. They also said the services are more than what the League offers and the information is more
current.
In addition, there are several cities including Melrose and Moorhead (I believe) that have utilities that participate
in this program and who paid dues on their own or to their city to participate. I think we should ask HUC to see if
they would be interested and if so perhaps they could pay something towards our annual dues.
If you have any questions just ask. Steve
J
8/5/2008
August 21, 2008
Mr. Donald Walser
President
Hutchison Utilities Comn-dssion
225 Michigan ST SE
Hutchinson, MN 55350 -1940
Re: Interconnection Request
Dear Mr. Walser:
This letter signifies Missouri River Energy Services (MRES) is requesting permission for interconnection
of wind powered generation on the Hutchinson Utilities Commission (HUC) 69 kV transmission system
on the Northwest side of town on the HUC transmission system. It is the intent of MRES to work with
the HUC to initially utilize a generation displacement scheme with the new wind powered generation, up
to 80 MW, against the existing generation owned and operated by HUC. MRES requests the inter-
connection be available by Jan 1, 2010. At this point, MRES is intending to utilize Suzlon brand of wind
turbines. MRES is intending to install the wind powered generation west of Hutchinson and will delivery
it via radial 69 kV transmission line to the requested interconnection point.
As a supplement to this request, MRES also requests that the interconnection request be studied as a
stand -alone interconnection request. We realize that this may likely necessitate the need for transmission
upgrades, but would like to study this independent of the displacement scheme in an attempt to operate
the wind powered generation independent of the existing generation.
MRES will be contacting HUC soon to discuss this request. We look forward to working with HUC on
this project.
Sincerely,
Jeff M. Peters
Director, Marketing and Development
Missouri River Energy Services
c: Terry Wolf, Missouri River Energy Services
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