All right. I will call to order the uh public utilities commission meeting for Tuesday, November 25th, 2025. Uh the first item on our agenda is our con consent consent agenda. Is there any comments? If not, I'll
entertain a motion on that. >> I'll make the motion to approve the consent agenda. >> Second. >> All right, we have a motion and a second. Um, is there any further discussion? If not, all in favor say I. >> I. >> Opposed? Motion carries. Uh, second item
on the agenda is our employee of the month. >> Yes, commissioners. Our employee of the month for October is Ross Grathwell. Uh Ross works in the uh finance office um for the um PUC as well as the city. Ross
has spent many hours attending uh webinars and classes to understand the new Minnesota paid leave program. He's working to understand how deductions will work in our system and what regular reporting requirements are needed. He's also working to understand the pay options and requirements
when they are using the leave. He's consistently making sure the city and PUC meet all requirements as tax laws are added and changed. So, I want to congratulate Ross Ross Rothwell uh for employee of the month. >> I'll make a motion to recognize Ross
Rothwell as employee of the month for October 2025. >> Second. >> All right, we have a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? If not, all in favor say I. >> I opposed. Motion carries. Uh, next item on our agenda is uh, governance and
action. Chris, >> yes. Um, this is an informational item for you as commissioners. Uh, MMUA is putting together a training for commissioners um and and leaders. Um, the training is provided to allow commissioners to learn about any
relevant laws um, for role clarity, navigating the relationship between the city and the PUC um, utility rates, funding mechanisms, etc. Now, the training is in St. Cloud on January 23rd. It's from 9 until 4 pm.
Um, if anyone is interested, the utility will pay the cost of attendance. So, um, if you would like to attend, please either contact myself or you could contact Joanne at our office. We can get you registered. Um, if you if you do
register prior to January 5th, we can get you a discounted rate. If if you um don't and you want to go and it's after the 5th, please still uh let us know um and we can get you get you signed up.
>> I'll make the motion to receive an order file the information regarding governance in action training supplied by the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association. >> Second. >> All right, we have a motion and a second. Um
is there any further discussion? If not, all in favor say I. >> I opposed. Motion carries. Uh old business uh solar on public buildings grant. >> Yes. Um you've seen this before. Um on the September 23rd meeting, you uh
received a report on the solar on buildings grant program. And then October 28th, uh you approved Wolf Track Energy as our selected vendor for the program. At that time you did authorize the grant the application for the grant and then the finalization of the design
and specifications. Uh we are now at the point where the grant the application has been submitted to the state. Uh we did that on November 12th. Uh we expect to hear from the state relatively soon on whether or not we will receive
the 70% grant funding for the projects. Um this has a really tight timeline and so due to that tight timeline we're asking uh basically for authority to sign the contracts should we be notified of receiving the grant funding and then
once the cont contracts are signed a 10% down payment is going to be required in order to get to the next step by December 25th so that um uh we could qualify for the 30% um federal um what's
it the federal part which could would pay back would pay us 30%. So ultimately if we get the grant and the federal portion we could have 100% paid um on this solar project.
All right, I'll entertain a motion. If there's no further questions on that, >> I'll make the motion to approve and authorize the city manager to sign the Minnesota State Contracts for receipt of grant funding for the solar on public building program pending approval of the application from the Minnesota
Department of Commerce and authorize the down payment of 10% of the project after contract execution. >> Second. >> All right, we have a motion and a second. Um, is there any further discussion? If not, all in favor say I. >> I motion carries. Next up is Beth on the
schedule of fees. >> Good afternoon, commissioners. Um, we are, sorry. We are asking for approval um for the new schedule of fees and charges to be effective January 1st of 2026. Um we
just have a couple departments with um changes in natural gas and wastewater. Um the changes are listed there um in your agenda item. Uh we're having a change from on the residential service connection and installation up to 150 ft
for a 1-in service. That is changing from $600 to $800. Residential service connection and installation over 150 ft 1 in service. $600 plus $3 per foot over 150 ft. That is changing to $800 plus $5
per foot over 150 ft. Residential service connection and installation 15 ft or less assuming no main trap that would be changing from $350 to $400. Residential garage service and reroutes up to 1 in less than 15 ft changing from
$350 to $400. commercial services, minimum $600 to a minimum of $1,000. And then in the wastewater department, um onetime septic tank hauler drop fee for 1500 gallons or less ranging from
$65 to $70. Wispack of Mano Incorporated rate 12 cents to 13. And then the approved customer treatment services per contract for Waton County landfill disposal fee $60 to $65. Watton
one and county landfill per gallon from 8 cents to 9. Great river energy disposal fee $70 to $75. Great river energy per gallon 5 cents to 6 cents. Brown County Lee
treatment per gallon 5 cents to 6 cents. I will offer the resolution approving the 2026 PUC schedule of fees and charges to be effective January 1st, 2026. >> Second. >> All right, we have a motion and a second. Um, is there any further
discussion? If not, we'll call the role. Right. >> Commissioner Skelings, >> I. Yes. >> Commissioner Williams, >> yes. >> Commissioner Bugler, >> yes. >> Commissioner Shaughness, >> yes. >> And President Visser, >> yes. Uh, next item on our agenda is uh bulk
diesel fuel. Beth, I believe that's you as well. >> Yes. Um, at the last commission meeting, we asked that to go out for bids um for bulk diesel um for diesel fuel and unled gasoline at the city of Newm and New Public
Utilities um for fueling down at our fueling station on Third North. Um we did receive two bids. Um the low bid the low bid came from Lipkkey Oil and Trucking for 9 cents per gallon of
diesel fuel and 9 cents per gallon of unled gasoline um over and above um the cost of the fuel. And um the other bid that came in was from Central United Co-op and they were at 15
cents over for both unleted and diesel. So, we are recommending that we go with Lipkkey Oil at 9 cents. I'll make the motion to accept the bid to supply bulk diesel fuel and unled gasoline to the city of Newm New Public
Utilities, the police department, and the fire department to Lipkkey Oil and Trucking LLC, one of two biders for a three-year term ending January 31st, 2029 for cost plus 9 cents per gallon of
diesel fuel and 9 cents per gallon of unled gasoline. I'll second them. >> All right, we have a motion and a second. Um, is there any further discussion? If not, all in favor say I. >> I opposed.
>> Motion carries. Uh, next item is our chemical feed process change. Paul, good afternoon coun uh commissioners. Um so before you were we're were asking for approve uh approval and authorization for the water department to change the
finished water uh the disinfection process uh moving away from on-site chlorine generation to a 12 and a half% bulk solution delivered uh by a chemical vendor. Um and and this is all pending
uh process plan approval by the Minnesota Department of Health. So uh currently we are uh utilizing a on-site generation system that is approximately 6 years old. It's become very problematic. Uh it's leaking quite
constantly. Uh there are other issues with it as explained in the the memo here. Um it is uh kind of the the main factor is that one of our storage tanks has sprung a leak. um to replace that storage tank
is a significant amount of money um to continue with that same process and then we would have the additional expenses associated with repairing and bringing this system back up um into a a usable condition again. So, we're choosing or
electing to move away from that generator and go to a much more simpler uh simple process by having the chemical supplied by a a chemical provider and it'll come in on a bulk truck. We'll be able to store less amount of chemical
and then we'll just, you know, pump it from there. So, >> it's only six years old. Wow. We didn't get much time out of that one. >> So, when will we hear from the Department of Health if it's okay? Is it pending approval from them?
>> Right. They'll need to approve the the process. Uh we did have our um engineer look over the plans and we are submitting them uh today. So, it it should only take a couple of weeks for them to review it and look at it. So, I will entertain a motion if there's
>> I'll make the motion to approve and authorize the water department to change the finished water disinfection CL2 process moving away from on-site CO2 generation to a 12.5% solution stored on site delivered in bulk quantities by
chemical vendor under pending process plan approval by the Minnesota Department of Health. >> I'll second that. >> All right, we have a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? I do have one question. How often will it be delivered?
>> Uh, it's probably going to be about every two weeks. >> Okay. >> Uh, so we there's a there's a shelf life on the chemical, so we don't want to have it stored for more than 45 days. >> Uh, it will start to lose strength. So that's why our our storage is going to be much smaller.
>> Got it. Right. If there's no other questions, um all in favor say I. >> I. Opposed. Motion carries. >> Uh next up is Dan. The switch gear. >> Yeah, this is the switch gear for the
wastewater treatment plant. Um if you recall, but we went out and asked for design approval for a switch gear package A in January. And then as we got into the design about July, well, we brought it to you in July, we
wanted to add switch gears B and C. So basically, it's about 3/4 or a little more of the switch gear out at the wastewater now is being replaced with this. Now we've went out for a bid and have the complete package back. Um,
we're going with Viking. The current the existing switch gear like everything at the wastewater plant is more than 50 years old beyond its useful life. Um we have upsized this switch gear to accommodate a
generator in the future and we put in everything to 3000 amp so it's ready for the blower project which has been identified as a significant need in the condition assessment for the wastewater plant. And um oddly enough, we're going to get
it sooner than we figured. We thought it would take a year and the delivery is now 41 to 43 weeks. So, it's getting better. Actually, >> I call that significantly better, but maybe I'm used to it being longer and not shorter. >> Any other questions I can help with?
>> Did you say this replaces the rest of it? >> There will be some smaller switch gear that still is out there. We have a switch gear D identified and some smaller panels. It'll be but this is the bulk of it. This will be the significant electrical package for the wastewater
plant. The next one will be significantly smaller. >> Okay. I'll make a motion to authorize the city manager to accept the bid from Viking Electric for the wastewater treatment plant motor control center uh
replacement switch gear equipment in the amount of $492,57210. >> Second. >> We have a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? If not, all in favor say I. >> I. >> Opposed? Motion carries. Uh next up is
the 610 KVA KV breaker. Yeah, this is the fifth of five breakers that were identified several years ago of oil filled breakers that we're switching out to SF6 gas that are on our uh transmission side. So, they're 69 KVA
breakers. This breaker um has been awarded or as part of a grant package we've received from Minnesota Grid Resiliency. We couldn't do anything on it until that we are awarded the grant, but they want it all done within a year or a year and a half. So, it's if you look at the lead
time, we're going to be running when that thing shows up to hurry up and get it done, but there is a little bit of a grace period and they will let us manage it if we have to, but like I say, we couldn't do anything sooner. Um, the break the grant is for 100,000. The
breaker came in with a 5-year warranty at 96. So, basically, we will end up paying for the install, and we may try to get the install done at the same time we do the transformer, which is on
order, which will be coming later next year. So, we only see one outage on the substation tied to the generator. >> So, it's kind of it'll all work. If everything works, it'll work out really good. It'll be a good project. >> Is the transformers the same age as the
breaker? >> The transformer was >> Yep. about the same age. Actually, the transformer was a little bit older. They had reused an older transformer. The transformer was 65 years old if I remember right. >> Good lord. Okay. >> We got our money out of the transformer.
Don't worry. >> All right. I'll uh take a motion on that. I'll make a motion to authorize the city manager to accept the quote from GE Grid Solutions LLC in the amount of $96,215 for 169 KV Breaker.
>> I'll second. >> All right, we have a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? Not all in favor say I. >> I opposed. Motion carries. Uh next up we have Chris Natural Gas Supply. >> Yes, commissioners. This is um this is
an opportunity um being offered to the new public utilities. It's a natural gas prepaid opportunity and it's through community energy. Um so basically what this does is it's an opportunity that involves um private investors to sell
municipal bonds um for natural gas and then to take advantage of the spread between the taxexempt bonding and the taxable bonding. And so, um, there's a lot of there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that doesn't necessarily
affect the utility at all. Those are all contracts that, um, need to be made with Minnesota Community Energy. Um, as a utility, what we are buying is a natural gas supply. And so, what this does is, um,
it's a long-term contract. Um it's to supply new with agreed upon daily volume and I believe the volume that um we are putting into this is 750 uh mmtus in the winter months the five winter
months and 200 mm in the summer months and what we're asking for is a minimum discount of 32 cents um 36 cents before the administrative fee and the m administrative fee would be paid to uh
Minnesota Community Energy for for everything that they are doing. Um just as a point of reference and I don't know if any if any one of you was on were you on? Okay. Um this is the second this would be the second one that we would be
doing. Uh the first one was actually done with um the Minnesota uh Municipal Gas Association. Uh that they have changed their name uh to Minnesota Community Energy. um because um the
legislature has now allowed um prepaid electric prepaids also and so they they changed their name to be more encompassing but it's with the same um organization. The difference between that one and this one is it's a higher
discount. Uh the minimum is 32 cents. Um the other one was 27 but I believe when we when they sold the bonds we actually got a 29 cent discount. Um Oatana Hutchinson Centennial and Hibbing
municipals are all involved in this prepay as well and so they're all asking their commissioners um for um approval of it as well. We had Peter Scanland from um a attorney's
office out of Washington DC take a look at all of these uh prepaid documents. He's very familiar with them. He he's he looked at the first one that we did um as well and all of the um issues that he had with the contracts have been either
modified or he's agreed to them. He understands them. Um so he looked not he looked at not only the natural gas supply agreement but he did actually go into the agreements that they have between um JP Morgan and MCE and then
also um there's a there's a trust um that is also going to hold the money in a trust during this time frame. Um so with this one uh the other difference with this one as opposed to the last one is the last one BP uh British Petrole
Petroleum was our supplier. With this one we can choose our supplier. So we have a contract with connect energy. Uh we will be able to go through connect energy to put um you know to use them as our natural gas supplier which is good.
Um so um the previous one um the savings from um that prepay uh was estimated to be 2.5 million over 30 years. Uh we're looking
at savings of this one to be I have it in here somewhere um >> 1.5 million I believe it is over the 30-year period. Um, so if you have any other questions, I
can can try to answer them. It doesn't this whole agreement doesn't act much differently than what we do now. Um, we will we'll put our um we're working with connect. They're a they're aware of the other prepaid. They work
with us on that. Um the only difference between the two is um we get one bill for natural gas from connect. We get one bill from um MMGA, MCA and then if you
approve this then we would get a second um a second bill from um from MCE on this particular transaction. Um I do want to clarify I am not asking for approval on this as I don't have the
final contracts. I am just want you to receive and order file this. The intention is it would be at the December meeting. So you know if you have any questions you can ask them at that time too. But um at that meeting then I will bring the finalized contracts um and
then um contracts probably would be signed to go out for into the bonding uh process in January February. It's a $250
million bond um with all of the all of the participants. So um Oatana Hutchson Centennial Hibbing us we are the municipals that are in it. Missouri
River I I understand is maybe thinking about it. Um and then there's some other um gas either generators or suppliers in some other states that are joining this as well. >> So what's the risk?
>> Um there's not much of a risk to us. Um if if something were to happen, one of the risks for us would be we might we may have to pay the administrative fee on some gas that we may not get. Um, but if we're not going to get if we're not
going to get the gas, there's a problem with the whole deal. And what happens is there's mechanisms within this this these contracts that are with MCE and the um JP Morgan that if certain things
happen, basically um the the contract just folds. It just folds on itself and it's over. It's done. um the risk and it's not really a risk for us. Um we just wouldn't get the discount.
>> So then you'd pay market >> so we'd pay market price. Yes. >> So this whole proposal is based off market price with a discount. >> It's based on index >> index >> index price. So first of the month it could be daily gas or it could be hedge gas where we go out and get a fixed
price. We can put all of those types of um of me um financial transactions in this >> and we would still do that, right? Like normal. It's just this would >> So basically what this what this is going to allow us to do is get first of
the month gas or index gas and they'll take 32 cents off the top. And that's what's happening now. We buy under the other contract, we have a hedge or a fixed price where we are buying 500 a
day at a at $2.77, which I wish we could get way more of, but um so you know, we get a we get a uh invoice um that says 2.77 with 27 29
cents off. And then we also have um index gas, first of the month gas, and then they take the 27 cents off of that as well. >> Sure. >> And that's a percentage of our total usage. >> It's a percentage. We're not putting all >> another percentage. >> Yeah. We're not we're not putting all
our eggs in one basket. We've got um that other contract I believe we've got 500 in a fixed and we've got 750 on the two shoulder months and 1,400 in the winter months. >> So, and then and then this would be an
additional um in addition to that, I think. Um and we still have we still have other gas that's sitting outside the contract that we can do other things with. And you don't necessarily want to put all your eggs in just one
transaction because there could be another transaction that comes in the future. That's even better. So, you know, we had 27 cents. Now, this time we're up to 32 cents. So, >> right. >> Are they both Are both contracts being
repriced at 5 to seven years or? >> Yep. Okay. >> Yep. both of them repric at you know and um the there is one other difference between this one and the other one. This one if it rep if you repric at at the let's say year seven
>> and you don't get your discount what happens is then you just kind of fall out of the contract until the next pre next repricing. the other one you could choose to get out of the contract all the way. But in all reality, if
if it reprices, let's say you're repricing minimum discount that you're pricing at is 23 cents, but they're only going to give you 20 cents. That's still 20 cents discount. If you don't participate, then you're paying full index price,
>> right? Unless you find a better agreement. >> Unless you find a better agreement, right? So, >> do these come around very often, these agreements like this? I mean, I we did one five years. >> I tell you, the first one we worked about 15 years on
>> cuz it cuz it it was right at the time that um oh, that Florida >> um company folded. It was it was in 2008 when everything just kind of collapsed. Um, but this one we've been working on probably for about nine months.
>> Oh, >> yeah. It's whenever they can get enough load um to get people, you know, cuz you want >> they want a big buy. >> You want big money. Yeah. You want about a 250 to3 million million dollar deal in order to get this through.
>> Got it. >> Yep. >> All right. I'll take a motion if there's no further discussion on that. We we never had one problem with the first one, right? >> We have not had any problems. It just flows very nicely. Yep. >> You're three of that.
>> I'll make the motion to receive an order filed information regarding a proposed natural gas prepaid opportunity through the Minnesota Community Energy. >> I'll second motion and second. Is there any further discussion? If not, uh all in favor say
I. >> I opposed. Motion carries. Uh, last item on our agenda is a report of claims. >> I'll make the motion to accept list of claims paid in the amount of 3 million $6,32165.
>> Second. >> All right, we have a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion on that? If not, all in favor say I. >> I. >> Opposed? Motion carries. Last up, does anybody have any additional comments before we adjourn? Not uh meeting adjourned. Thank you
everybody.