WEBVTT 00:00:00.674 --> 00:00:08.683 - Okay, we'll call the meeting of the utility services board for October 19 2026 to order. Our first item 00:00:08.683 --> 00:00:16.922 - is to remind everybody that our mission for the city of Bloomington utilities to is to enhance the quality 00:00:16.922 --> 00:00:24.623 - of life in our community by providing safe, sustainable and high quality drinking water, wastewater 00:00:24.623 --> 00:00:30.398 - and stormwater services in a cost effective manner promoting public health 00:00:30.786 --> 00:00:38.662 - economic vitality and environmental stewardship. And our vision is to be the leading municipal water 00:00:38.662 --> 00:00:45.915 - utility organization in Indiana. All right, and with that, I'll ask if there's any petitions 00:00:45.915 --> 00:00:54.103 - or communications from the public at this point. Anybody here to speak on any issues? Seeing none, we'll 00:00:54.103 --> 00:00:58.782 - go on to approval of the minutes from our previous meeting. 00:00:59.490 --> 00:01:09.227 - first item is a certification of the executive sessions that were held on September 21st and September 00:01:09.227 --> 00:01:18.681 - 29th. That's basically a certification as long as everybody sees that the notes there that no final 00:01:18.681 --> 00:01:28.702 - decisions were made or subject matter discussed in these executive sessions other than the subject matter 00:01:29.122 --> 00:01:40.695 - specified and allowed under Indiana code. So that certification is for both meetings? For both executive 00:01:40.695 --> 00:01:53.150 - sessions, yes. Right, both executive sessions. I was not in attendance. I was not either. In the September 29th. 00:01:58.594 --> 00:02:06.279 - So we don't need to approve that. But it's in the minutes of the members who were in attendance, and 00:02:06.279 --> 00:02:13.888 - I'm listed as an attendee and I was not in attendance. But I was in attendance at the first meeting 00:02:13.888 --> 00:02:21.801 - on the 21st, but I was not at the meeting on the 29th. So we'll split those. Right, they have it listed 00:02:21.801 --> 00:02:25.758 - twice. In the second one, you and I are not listed. 00:02:27.586 --> 00:02:35.465 - Because the only four people at the executive session were Jim, Kirk, Seth, and myself. On the 29th. 00:02:35.465 --> 00:02:43.421 - I see how it is. I apologize. Got it. So it is, actually it is correct because I didn't see the other 00:02:43.421 --> 00:02:51.222 - paragraph. Thank you. So we don't need to vote on that, I just need to certify it? Okay, so it's in 00:02:51.222 --> 00:02:55.902 - the record. And I will sign that at the end of the meeting. 00:02:58.594 --> 00:03:09.565 - All right, then the next item then is the minutes of our full meeting on October the 5th. Those minutes 00:03:09.565 --> 00:03:20.219 - are in our packet. I had a chance to take a look at those. Moved in second to approve the minutes of 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:26.654 - the October 5th meeting. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? 00:03:27.522 --> 00:03:39.023 - All right, motion carries. Minutes are approved. Next item is the approval of standard invoices for 00:03:39.023 --> 00:03:50.755 - October 23rd, 2026. Everybody will review those. Have any questions about our standard invoices? Yes. 00:03:50.755 --> 00:03:53.630 - On page eight, we have a 00:03:57.314 --> 00:04:12.217 - are two invoices from quality supplying tool for the same product with significantly different amounts 00:04:12.217 --> 00:04:26.686 - for the first aid kit. Yeah I wonder if the quantity on those are different. Looks like one of them 00:04:28.898 --> 00:04:38.746 - I wonder if that's for individuals or whether it's resupply. I know we had a bunch of expires, so we 00:04:38.746 --> 00:04:48.497 - did buy some to replace those in vehicles. I'm trying to find the invoices here. It's page eight of 00:04:48.497 --> 00:04:55.518 - the packet, about three quarters of the way down. It's just on the same 00:04:55.682 --> 00:05:06.374 - It looks like the same purchase order, 26-316. That's their purchase order, not ours. It looks like 00:05:06.374 --> 00:05:17.280 - it's two separate lines for the same order. So we just got billed twice with the same purchase order. 00:05:17.280 --> 00:05:25.406 - Okay. And it was a mass ordering. Okay. Yes. Yes, Chris, my usual question. 00:05:26.114 --> 00:05:37.036 - I think I noticed a $61,000 attorney fee for the cleanup. Are we making any progress? What's the report? 00:05:37.036 --> 00:05:47.645 - I have an item on the agenda with that. You can talk about it then, or I'm happy to have a discussion 00:05:47.645 --> 00:05:55.134 - about it now. No, no. Let's wait till you want to do it. OK. Any other? 00:05:56.418 --> 00:06:06.054 - Questions or items for discussion for standard invoices? I move that we approve these standard invoices. 00:06:06.054 --> 00:06:14.864 - Second. It's been moved and seconded. Any other discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? 00:06:14.864 --> 00:06:23.582 - All right, standard invoices are approved. Next is utility bills for October the 8th pay date. 00:06:28.098 --> 00:06:38.815 - bills there any questions on those move that we approve the utility bills second moved a second to approve 00:06:38.815 --> 00:06:49.531 - utility bills for the eighth for October 8th yes all in favor say aye aye opposed all right motion carries 00:06:49.531 --> 00:06:56.542 - and next we have another set of utility bills for payday October 15th 00:07:00.802 --> 00:07:08.833 - that we approve the utility bills from October 15th it's been moved in second to approve utility bills 00:07:08.833 --> 00:07:17.253 - for October let's see 15th yeah all in favor say aye aye opposed all right utility bills have been approved 00:07:17.253 --> 00:07:25.362 - next our wire transfers totaling five hundred sixty nine dollars five hundred sixty nine thousand three 00:07:25.362 --> 00:07:29.182 - hundred ninety six dollars and thirty five cents 00:07:30.498 --> 00:07:40.526 - for a pay date of October 19th. I move that we approve the wire transfers. Second. Moved and seconded 00:07:40.526 --> 00:07:50.652 - to approve wire transfers. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Okay, the transfers are 00:07:50.652 --> 00:07:57.534 - approved. Next on our agenda is customer refunds. Two pages of those. 00:08:00.066 --> 00:08:12.685 - usual overpayments and inactive or final bills for closed accounts. Second. Moved and seconded to approve 00:08:12.685 --> 00:08:24.827 - customer refunds. Any other discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? All right motion carries. 00:08:24.827 --> 00:08:29.470 - Those are approved and next finally is 00:08:30.242 --> 00:08:39.951 - a special check run for August 16th of 26th, excuse me, October 16th of 26th. See the items listed there 00:08:39.951 --> 00:08:48.828 - for the special check run. I have a question. Yeah. On the first line item, I see where there's 00:08:48.828 --> 00:08:57.982 - a reimbursement for an error used for a personal purchase. I was just wondering if you can tell me 00:08:58.146 --> 00:09:05.936 - What's the process of how people use their cards and how was this caught? I understand accidents happen, 00:09:05.936 --> 00:09:13.354 - so I assume there's no ill intent or anything like that. And so I just wondered, what's our process 00:09:13.354 --> 00:09:20.995 - for that? The employee used it in accident instead of their personal card for a purchase. They reached 00:09:20.995 --> 00:09:26.782 - out to me. It gave us a heads up. And so they gave us a check to reimburse us 00:09:27.042 --> 00:09:33.606 - for their purchase. And if they didn't come out and say that they did this, we would have found out 00:09:33.606 --> 00:09:40.235 - when we got the statements that we wouldn't have the proper purchasing documents to make the payment 00:09:40.235 --> 00:09:46.930 - for it. Yep. Yep. I also like to add that there's a very limited number of credit cards. And there is 00:09:46.930 --> 00:09:51.262 - only one per division that that division head is responsible for. 00:10:09.218 --> 00:10:18.662 - moved and seconded to approve the special check run for October 16th all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? 00:10:18.662 --> 00:10:27.835 - All right motion carries. Okay next on our agenda is is the request for approval of the memorandum of 00:10:27.835 --> 00:10:37.099 - understanding between CBU and the Department of Economic and Sustainable Development at the Civil City 00:10:37.099 --> 00:10:38.718 - of Bloomington or 00:10:39.042 --> 00:10:45.640 - residential stormwater grants. And we're ready to hear report. All right. So first I'm going to talk 00:10:45.640 --> 00:10:52.237 - about our agreement with ESD and then I'm sure there will be questions about the future of our grant 00:10:52.237 --> 00:10:57.790 - program and I'm prepared to talk about that as well. So the economic and sustainable 00:10:57.890 --> 00:11:04.178 - development department has been doing kind of neighborhood grants for some time and they were wanting 00:11:04.178 --> 00:11:10.527 - to expand into rain gardens. We were wanting to, while still supporting resident level grant programs, 00:11:10.527 --> 00:11:16.692 - we haven't had the capacity to administer them very well and we've also had declining interest over 00:11:16.692 --> 00:11:23.041 - the recent years. So the solution we found is to transfer a portion of the money that we set aside for 00:11:23.041 --> 00:11:25.630 - grants every year to ESD so that they can 00:11:25.762 --> 00:11:31.697 - grow their kind of rain garden program. I think they're just going to call it the residential stormwater 00:11:31.697 --> 00:11:37.406 - grant program. So they can go on a resident by resident level, people that want to add a rain garden 00:11:37.406 --> 00:11:43.116 - to their yard, something like that. And then that would leave us with the balance of our grant money 00:11:43.116 --> 00:11:48.938 - to focus on larger scale projects that will have more of an impact on more residents in the watershed. 00:11:48.938 --> 00:11:50.238 - So this is the move to 00:11:50.402 --> 00:11:56.201 - take some of that money to ESD, we will still be involved in selecting grant projects. So once they 00:11:56.201 --> 00:12:02.115 - get their applications in, they're still welcoming us to help look at that. They will also still rely 00:12:02.115 --> 00:12:08.030 - on us to do inspections of these projects to make sure they're done correctly. And finally, they will 00:12:08.226 --> 00:12:13.785 - be looking to us to hopefully provide some more information and outreach regarding things like rain 00:12:13.785 --> 00:12:19.512 - gardens. And we just met with some of our colleagues in Fort Wayne. They've run a rain garden workshop 00:12:19.512 --> 00:12:24.793 - over the years. And so we're looking to model something like that. So this is kind of changing 00:12:24.793 --> 00:12:30.742 - our residential stormwater grants often where contractors were grabbed and they were doing these projects. 00:12:30.742 --> 00:12:36.190 - The idea for ESD is to be more of like a do it yourself, resident by resident type grant program. 00:12:36.578 --> 00:12:43.759 - So that's what the MOU is for. And then I can take questions or talk more about where we wanna go with 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:50.801 - our grant program if that is something you could like to discuss. Thank you, Liz. So we budget about 00:12:50.801 --> 00:12:58.191 - 100,000 a year for our program. And I think there have been years that we've not used all of the funding. 00:12:58.191 --> 00:13:05.790 - We have not used all the funding since I took this position almost four years ago. And so I think then from, 00:13:06.402 --> 00:13:14.574 - My discussions with Kat that our thought is that this would allow us to, as you mentioned, focus on 00:13:14.574 --> 00:13:22.828 - the larger projects like detention ponds that are being neglected. That's right. And this would make 00:13:22.828 --> 00:13:30.347 - it a little more user friendly for smaller neighborhood projects. The ESD already has a lot 00:13:30.347 --> 00:13:33.534 - of the connections with. That's right. 00:13:35.330 --> 00:13:39.939 - That's absolutely right. So and I can talk more about kind of what we want to do with our grant program 00:13:39.939 --> 00:13:42.686 - going forward, because honestly, it's like $100,000 was maybe 00:13:42.754 --> 00:13:48.232 - a lot of money to give out to residential scale grants and now the 80,000 that will be remaining once 00:13:48.232 --> 00:13:53.871 - we give 20 to ESD is honestly probably not quite as much as people will be asking for. So we are looking 00:13:53.871 --> 00:13:59.296 - to target post construction stormwater features. So like you said, detention ponds, things that have 00:13:59.296 --> 00:14:04.935 - been installed and maybe not kept up over the years or have just reached towards the end of their useful 00:14:04.935 --> 00:14:09.822 - age. So we're looking at targeting homeowners associations, neighborhood associations, any 00:14:09.922 --> 00:14:16.315 - group of residents that has one of these features that they would like to do some upkeep or even replacement. 00:14:16.315 --> 00:14:22.127 - So we've been tasked with item to do post construction inspections of every feature that we know of 00:14:22.127 --> 00:14:28.113 - within the city of Bloomington supposed to be on a five year rolling basis. Nobody that I know has met 00:14:28.113 --> 00:14:31.774 - that yet. But as we go through our community and we find these 00:14:31.906 --> 00:14:37.066 - these ponds, for example, that aren't working well, we're having to deliver bad news to people. And 00:14:37.066 --> 00:14:42.227 - so we've started those inspections focused on multifamily housing and commercial properties. But at 00:14:42.227 --> 00:14:47.800 - some point, we're going to have to get to the neighborhood scale. And we wanted to have an option available 00:14:47.800 --> 00:14:53.064 - for an HOA or a neighborhood association who's finding out, oh, we're supposed to be maintaining this 00:14:53.064 --> 00:14:55.902 - pond for the past 30 years. No one has ever done that. 00:14:56.194 --> 00:15:03.628 - We have some real problems. We want to see that pond function well so that it holds back storm water 00:15:03.628 --> 00:15:11.136 - and prevents flooding downstream. We want them to be successful. And we also don't want to have to be 00:15:11.136 --> 00:15:18.865 - the bearers of very bad news with no possible solution forward for folks. So that's where we're pivoting 00:15:18.865 --> 00:15:25.342 - with this. When you find a detention pond that's not been maintained, as you mentioned, 00:15:25.826 --> 00:15:34.143 - and that it needs to be, you know, if it's silted up, then it's not got the capacity to do what it needs 00:15:34.143 --> 00:15:42.223 - to do. Do we cost share or is it kind of a case by case basis? So when we do our inspections, there's 00:15:42.223 --> 00:15:43.966 - there's sort of like, 00:15:44.354 --> 00:15:50.048 - different levels of failure that we see, because I'll be honest, not a single one of them is gonna be 00:15:50.048 --> 00:15:55.854 - perfect. There might even just be some vegetation struggles, right? So we kind of have the, hey, you've 00:15:55.854 --> 00:16:01.436 - got some minor upkeep to do here. You might have a little bit of erosion happening that needs to be 00:16:01.436 --> 00:16:07.018 - receded. We send reports to folks, so that's the most basic one. Then you get into, hey, you've got 00:16:07.018 --> 00:16:12.824 - some major erosion. Maybe some of your inlet structures have been under, like eaten out from water over 00:16:12.824 --> 00:16:13.438 - the years. 00:16:13.730 --> 00:16:19.366 - And again, we send a report, we let them know about it, and then we have the ones where it's like the 00:16:19.366 --> 00:16:24.892 - pond is failing, it is so silted in, it's not functioning. We've had, there's a couple ponds I know 00:16:24.892 --> 00:16:30.529 - out there that you wouldn't know that there was supposed to be a pond there because it's just sort of 00:16:30.529 --> 00:16:36.165 - a little depression in the earth. Those ones we're asking folks to start talking to us about timeline 00:16:36.165 --> 00:16:41.747 - on corrective action for that kind of stuff. A question about cost share. These were typically built 00:16:41.747 --> 00:16:42.686 - by developers as 00:16:42.786 --> 00:16:49.909 - private infrastructure. So the responsible party for that infrastructure is a private party, be it an 00:16:49.909 --> 00:16:53.470 - apartment complex that is maintaining its grounds. 00:16:53.762 --> 00:16:59.692 - be it the Sherwin-Williams that just went in next to Lowe's on the west side. They have a bioswale that 00:16:59.692 --> 00:17:05.565 - they're maintaining over there. Or it might be an HOA or a neighborhood group. So they set that aside. 00:17:05.565 --> 00:17:11.324 - It was always intended to be private and privately maintained. So this is like our attempt to try to 00:17:11.324 --> 00:17:17.026 - help out those folks when we're talking about single family residents. But yeah, there has not been 00:17:17.026 --> 00:17:23.070 - a cost share in the past. We've kicked around ideas over the years of how we could be helpful. But again, 00:17:23.490 --> 00:17:31.471 - There are so many ponds that are not doing great. I think the cost of the utility, even to share that, 00:17:31.471 --> 00:17:39.606 - that would be very, very high. Yeah, Jim. So when you see a problem, to whom do you report it? We report 00:17:39.606 --> 00:17:47.432 - it to the owner of records so we can go look in the county parcel records to see who owns it. And we 00:17:47.432 --> 00:17:50.686 - send the report to them. And like I said, 00:17:50.850 --> 00:17:56.614 - In most cases, we're not even expecting action. We're just saying, hey, you've got some minor problems. 00:17:56.614 --> 00:18:02.157 - You might want to look at this. We're looking at major problems, major failures, where we're asking 00:18:02.157 --> 00:18:08.088 - folks to start working with us on a timeline. So who is the owner when it involves an HOA? Great question. 00:18:08.088 --> 00:18:13.742 - An HOA is a business entity in and of itself. And that pond is likely sitting on a piece of land that 00:18:13.742 --> 00:18:17.566 - was, when this area was subdivided, it was set aside as common area. 00:18:17.666 --> 00:18:24.820 - and the owner of that common area is defined on the plat, and then usually also in the CCR, which is 00:18:24.820 --> 00:18:31.903 - covenants, covenants, what's the other C? Okay, so there's documents recorded when a subdivision is 00:18:31.903 --> 00:18:39.199 - created, ponds are usually in common area, the owner of that common area and who should be maintaining 00:18:39.199 --> 00:18:46.494 - it is usually very well identified. And so there are cases though where the homeowners association has 00:18:46.494 --> 00:18:47.486 - gone defunct, 00:18:48.290 --> 00:18:54.040 - Right, because they file yearly business reports, just like any business with the Secretary of State. 00:18:54.040 --> 00:18:59.733 - And if they've gone defunct, I think we're looking at, hey, if you'd like funding, your organization 00:18:59.733 --> 00:19:05.427 - needs to no longer be defunct, because somebody needs to be doing maintenance here. It can't just be 00:19:05.427 --> 00:19:09.598 - nobody. OK, so you do make sure it gets communicated. Yes. OK, thank you. 00:19:10.242 --> 00:19:15.708 - And like I said, we haven't really delved into the HOA-owned and neighborhood ponds yet. We want to 00:19:15.708 --> 00:19:21.448 - do a lot more outreach ahead of it before, you know, your HOA gets an inspection report from the utility 00:19:21.448 --> 00:19:26.914 - that says your pond's failing. They call up an engineer and find out they've got a really expensive 00:19:26.914 --> 00:19:32.653 - problem on their hands. We'd rather approach them a little bit more from the education standpoint before 00:19:32.653 --> 00:19:38.174 - we start sending those. But the state has required us to start doing inspections. So we started with 00:19:38.174 --> 00:19:39.486 - multifamily commercial. 00:19:43.042 --> 00:19:50.658 - I appreciate your time and thought into this program. I kind of echo the cost sharing at least. I feel 00:19:50.658 --> 00:19:58.200 - like that would be a model I would be interested in hearing more about if you guys felt like that was 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:05.890 - worth it. I guess I feel like the remaining $80,000 could go really fast. And it sets a precedence here 00:20:05.890 --> 00:20:12.766 - at the beginning of the program that if we're going to take on 100% of that cost, then like, 00:20:12.994 --> 00:20:20.668 - We've got to, I feel like we would have to continue that for future projects. And then there might not 00:20:20.668 --> 00:20:28.268 - be that funding. And I like the investment of the ownership. Speaking of someone who lives in an HOA, 00:20:28.268 --> 00:20:35.794 - in the county though, so ours would not be eligible for this, but the stake of the resident owners I 00:20:35.794 --> 00:20:39.966 - think is important too, for future maintenance. And so, 00:20:40.482 --> 00:20:48.567 - That would be a comment on that. And then my other comment on the ESD would be you mentioned the ways 00:20:48.567 --> 00:20:56.969 - that CBU will be involved in that process and it sounded like pretty significantly, which is good because 00:20:56.969 --> 00:21:04.975 - that's what we want that outcome to be what we need it to be. But it doesn't sound like we're really 00:21:04.975 --> 00:21:08.542 - stepping back that much to give the funds to 00:21:08.834 --> 00:21:15.912 - them to distribute? Honestly, the Residential Stormwater Grant Program was way more work than I think 00:21:15.912 --> 00:21:23.198 - any of us realized when it was created. Even just ESD taking the day-to-day questions will be incredibly 00:21:23.198 --> 00:21:30.276 - helpful. It's been a lot of staff time. And again, we're giving out maybe half of the money. And some 00:21:30.276 --> 00:21:36.382 - of the projects towards the end of that grant's life were maybe not the most impactful. 00:21:36.482 --> 00:21:42.367 - So it will take a lot off of our plates. I feel confident. And then after ESD has done this for a year, 00:21:42.367 --> 00:21:48.308 - they may be able to take a lot more of it on in future. But it kind of fits in the wheelhouse of grants. 00:21:48.308 --> 00:21:52.382 - Thank you. That's what I wanted to hear. And before we go on to Amanda. 00:21:52.642 --> 00:22:00.061 - We plan to bring our fully flushed out new grant program to you guys to see what you think before we 00:22:00.061 --> 00:22:07.407 - start advertising on the website or anything. So we can certainly consider the cost share model and 00:22:07.407 --> 00:22:14.900 - come to you with some suggestions if that would be helpful. Thank you. Yeah. Of course. Amanda. So is 00:22:14.900 --> 00:22:21.438 - the ESD going to contribute any funds to this or this is exclusively funded through CBU? 00:22:21.794 --> 00:22:27.503 - They had a camera with their neighborhood grant program was called. So they were funding a neighborhood 00:22:27.503 --> 00:22:33.267 - grant that did include rain gardens as an option. And so they were already spending their money on that. 00:22:33.267 --> 00:22:38.757 - So we said, look, we'll give you another 20,000, but that has to be exclusively spent on stormwater 00:22:38.757 --> 00:22:44.521 - focused items. So yeah, so they have a neighborhood grant. Sometimes that grant is just like beautifying 00:22:44.521 --> 00:22:48.254 - people's neighborhoods, planting native plants. It covers a lot of, 00:22:48.354 --> 00:22:54.665 - different kinds of neighborhood projects, but rain gardens were one. So we said, well, if you're already 00:22:54.665 --> 00:23:00.796 - doing rain gardens, can we have you focus on it a little bit more, then we're not duplicating efforts 00:23:00.796 --> 00:23:07.106 - in two different departments. But they do have, they were contributing their own budget to that as well. 00:23:07.106 --> 00:23:13.237 - Excellent, thank you. Of course. Real quick, this is for 26 and 27, correct? Mm-hmm. Do we foresee us 00:23:13.237 --> 00:23:16.062 - contributing past that, like donating towards, 00:23:16.290 --> 00:23:21.764 - Honestly, yes, if they if this partnership goes well, we would be happy to do this going forward because 00:23:21.764 --> 00:23:26.977 - again, you know, this focus on infrastructure that's not doing so well, that's kind of aging out is 00:23:26.977 --> 00:23:32.243 - really important. But since we've had that household by household grant program, we felt like taking 00:23:32.243 --> 00:23:37.508 - it away completely. People would just feel like they weren't getting a benefit from their government 00:23:37.508 --> 00:23:41.470 - that they had been. So we anticipate continuing this partnership with them. 00:23:45.698 --> 00:23:58.865 - Other questions, discussion? All right, ready for a vote on the MOU. Move, motion? I move that we approve 00:23:58.865 --> 00:24:11.660 - the MOU between the City of Bloomington, ESD, and utilities. Second. Moved and seconded to approve the 00:24:11.660 --> 00:24:15.262 - memorandum of understanding. 00:24:15.970 --> 00:24:24.867 - All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed. All right. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Our next item is the 00:24:24.867 --> 00:24:33.940 - request for approval for the Fourth Amendment to our agreement with VET Environmental Engineering LLC. 00:24:33.940 --> 00:24:43.806 - Looks like attorney Wheeler is going to be with us for that one. Yes. Good afternoon. This is just catching up. 00:24:44.674 --> 00:24:53.022 - some additional expenditure with VET who have been involved rather significantly in the ongoing discovery 00:24:53.022 --> 00:25:00.975 - phase of our litigation with Leonard's Linens Dry Cleaning. And so we're asking for approval of this 00:25:00.975 --> 00:25:09.008 - amendment to catch up the expenses that VET incurred in their depositions and review of documents and 00:25:09.008 --> 00:25:12.158 - release of documents through production 00:25:12.386 --> 00:25:22.820 - of document requests in the discovery phase. And this extends our contract with them to July 30th of 00:25:22.820 --> 00:25:33.151 - 2027. Which is hopefully going to be out beyond the life of the litigation assuming there isn't any 00:25:33.151 --> 00:25:41.726 - additional delay. Okay. All right. Is this a time for you to address Mr. Sherman's 00:25:42.210 --> 00:25:51.084 - Questions? Yes, I think what well, why don't you ask me so that we know exactly what you're asking? 00:25:51.084 --> 00:26:00.046 - Another 61 or so thousand dollars in attorney fees. So I wondered how close we were to settlement. I 00:26:00.046 --> 00:26:09.719 - know mediation failed in the near past. So we are still working through discovery. So we're in the discovery 00:26:09.719 --> 00:26:11.582 - phase of litigation. 00:26:12.162 --> 00:26:19.601 - There currently is not any discussion about settlement, but I'm sure there will be more settlement discussion 00:26:19.601 --> 00:26:26.432 - down the road as we get nearer to trial. But at the moment, the parties are just busy trying to wrap 00:26:26.432 --> 00:26:33.397 - up the discovery phase. I think there are just a few more depositions to be conducted. There have been 00:26:33.397 --> 00:26:40.296 - a few issues with regards to the release of documents that had to be discussed in front of the court, 00:26:40.296 --> 00:26:41.310 - which captures 00:26:41.442 --> 00:26:49.151 - some of that additional expenditure that you're seeing there. But I wouldn't say that we're close. I 00:26:49.151 --> 00:26:56.936 - think there are still many months to go. Okay. Thanks, Chris. You mentioned the trial. Can you remind 00:26:56.936 --> 00:27:04.721 - us when that date is? I wish I could remember. I'm sorry. I did not familiarize myself with that when 00:27:04.721 --> 00:27:09.758 - I came in today. Best recollection is that it's going to be first 00:27:09.954 --> 00:27:19.716 - order of next year. Okay. I wasn't thinking it was before then. So I just can't recall the exact date. 00:27:19.716 --> 00:27:29.382 - Thank you. Okay. Any other questions on the extending this amending our agreement with VT? All right. 00:27:29.382 --> 00:27:39.902 - We approve the fourth amendment to the agreement with VT. Second and moved and seconded. Any other discussion? 00:27:40.546 --> 00:27:49.046 - All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Our next item is requesting approval 00:27:49.046 --> 00:27:57.798 - of the service agreement with Clark Dietz, Incorporated. Engineer Peden is with us today. Good evening, 00:27:57.798 --> 00:27:59.902 - Phil Peden, engineering. 00:28:00.034 --> 00:28:06.770 - So yes, this is a contract with Clark Dietz. It's an on-call contract for engineering services. We've 00:28:06.770 --> 00:28:13.373 - had one of these in the past, as you might recall, and it was for the stormwater reviews that we do 00:28:13.373 --> 00:28:20.175 - with new plan development. They assisted with that as we were bringing on a new engineer. So you might 00:28:20.175 --> 00:28:26.844 - remember Caden Swanson. As he was brought on, we used Clark Dietz. As he learned the process and the 00:28:26.844 --> 00:28:30.014 - program and how we did those reviews, we slowly 00:28:30.178 --> 00:28:36.413 - use Clark Dietz less and less, so by the time Caden actually left, he was doing all the reviews. So 00:28:36.413 --> 00:28:42.711 - we've hired a new engineer, so we're restarting this process where we use Clark Dietz to help assist 00:28:42.711 --> 00:28:46.078 - through that as the new engineer is being trained and 00:28:46.210 --> 00:28:53.271 - in that. We also use these contracts for design of smaller storm systems where we're studying smaller 00:28:53.271 --> 00:29:00.263 - watersheds to develop a stormwater system for several blocks of street in certain neighborhoods. And 00:29:00.263 --> 00:29:07.324 - we've put a list together that we're including in our new rate case for the stormwater rate case that 00:29:07.324 --> 00:29:13.278 - we're going to need some engineering design on these smaller projects. And we left it 00:29:13.442 --> 00:29:19.433 - open enough I believe in this contract where they can be used if we have a water main replacement that 00:29:19.433 --> 00:29:25.482 - we need some assistance with. They can also do some design work or permitting or whatever we might need 00:29:25.482 --> 00:29:31.415 - from an engineering standpoint. So we broaden the scope a little bit on this one just because we have 00:29:31.415 --> 00:29:37.290 - additional projects that we know we're going to need assistance on and we extended the time. So this 00:29:37.290 --> 00:29:39.326 - doesn't expire to the end of 2028. 00:29:39.682 --> 00:29:47.495 - So if you if you're looking at that price and you're wondering why we increased it from the original 00:29:47.495 --> 00:29:55.616 - contract that we had with Clark deeds we it was because that additional scope and time where we extended 00:29:55.616 --> 00:30:03.738 - it. Happy to answer any questions. The maximum amount we might not use it all. That's correct. Depending 00:30:03.738 --> 00:30:07.838 - upon how many storm water reviews you need to do and 00:30:10.434 --> 00:30:20.026 - how much training needs to happen, right? In any project design that they do, they submit a proposal 00:30:20.026 --> 00:30:29.808 - to us that we accept at staff level before we have them start that design process. So we see the price 00:30:29.808 --> 00:30:39.305 - we're agreeing to within that on call before we move forward with it. Okay. Any questions for Phil? 00:30:39.305 --> 00:30:40.350 - All right. 00:30:42.434 --> 00:30:49.768 - Moved and seconded to approve the service agreement of Clark Dietz. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed. 00:30:49.768 --> 00:30:57.032 - All right. Motion carries. Thank you. And then item eight is requesting approval of an on-call service 00:30:57.032 --> 00:31:02.110 - agreement with Wexler Engineering. And Dan Hudson is here this evening. 00:31:09.410 --> 00:31:19.115 - and capital projects manager of the city of Bloomington. Quite often we get requests from plants to 00:31:19.115 --> 00:31:29.306 - do small projects. It could be a wall with a crack in it to determine the structural integrity, walkways 00:31:29.306 --> 00:31:38.526 - across clarifiers that are crumbling, transformer that caught fire that needed to be replaced, 00:31:39.074 --> 00:31:50.461 - A chemical feed lines system and also a permit, a temporary permit to feed it. Just a number of different 00:31:50.461 --> 00:32:01.418 - projects from all different areas. And to streamline our process, we need a way to get it quicker. To 00:32:01.418 --> 00:32:08.830 - get a consultant under a contract and then go out to design and bid. 00:32:09.186 --> 00:32:16.885 - to get a consultant under contract, that's a minimum of two months. And so what we're trying to do for 00:32:16.885 --> 00:32:24.583 - these smaller projects like this is to have a way we can do that without going through a contract each 00:32:24.583 --> 00:32:32.207 - time. And so I'm gonna ask the board to go under contract for an on-call for engineering services for 00:32:32.207 --> 00:32:36.542 - these technical projects that we need these, this system. 00:32:36.738 --> 00:32:47.467 - with Wesley Engineering for $225,000. And Dan, that would run us up to October 21st of 28. Yeah, it's 00:32:47.467 --> 00:32:58.511 - a long process. And I'm hoping we don't spend the money. If we don't have the projects come to us, we're 00:32:58.511 --> 00:33:01.982 - not going to spend it. Question? 00:33:03.650 --> 00:33:13.768 - clarification though this says the contract expires 2029 oh then there's three dates on on here that 00:33:13.768 --> 00:33:24.187 - say one says first term October 21st 27 second term October 21st also 2027 and there is a mistake there 00:33:24.187 --> 00:33:30.398 - oh those are renewals I think well 28th and it expires on the 00:33:31.106 --> 00:33:43.006 - It needs to be amended here. 00:33:44.034 --> 00:33:53.152 - It goes to 2027. The second goes from 2027 to 2028. And the third one goes from 2028 to 2029. So you're 00:33:53.152 --> 00:34:02.095 - saying the first one will expire this month? No, that's when it starts. Yeah, you're going to have to 00:34:02.095 --> 00:34:11.388 - answer that. Thank you. The memo is what's in question. I think the contract's probably good. The renewal 00:34:11.388 --> 00:34:13.054 - dates are, so this 00:34:13.602 --> 00:34:22.780 - assuming that everything goes through, we expect that the contract becomes live on the 21st of October 00:34:22.780 --> 00:34:32.135 - of this year. Okay. That's that answer. And so the first term will expire in October of next year, 2027. 00:34:32.135 --> 00:34:41.046 - The renew, the first renewal date is October 21, 2027. The second term will be, um, October 21, 20, 00:34:41.046 --> 00:34:43.006 - the second term then, 00:34:43.490 --> 00:34:52.265 - runs until 28 and the third term runs until 29. So 26 to 27, 27 to 28, 28 to 29. Okay. Right, and then 00:34:52.265 --> 00:35:00.869 - the expiration date of the larger contract is October 21st to 29. Yes. They've got their years mixed 00:35:00.869 --> 00:35:09.559 - up on the memo. Yeah, the memo is incorrect, so. The memo does not control the contract. The contract 00:35:09.559 --> 00:35:11.518 - controls the contract. 00:35:13.602 --> 00:35:21.574 - Got it. It takes legal to straighten the dates out. Well, anyway, I would be pleased if you would approve 00:35:21.574 --> 00:35:29.321 - this contract so we can get started on many of these projects. Well, Dan, thanks. You know, we've seen 00:35:29.321 --> 00:35:37.068 - how some of these do pop up unexpectedly, and this gives you a chance to be a little more nimble. Yes, 00:35:37.068 --> 00:35:41.054 - yeah. And that's helpful, I think. Oh, very helpful. 00:35:41.282 --> 00:35:49.838 - It doesn't say that we won't go out to bid for the big stuff. Yeah, but we may depending on the cost 00:35:49.838 --> 00:35:58.563 - of the project. But we've had several of them big some electrical jobs that were fairly technical. And 00:35:58.563 --> 00:36:07.458 - we've had some structural jobs, you know, just all different kinds of stuff. Great. Thank you. Any other 00:36:07.458 --> 00:36:10.846 - questions? Thanks for bringing that up. 00:36:11.746 --> 00:36:20.594 - I should have, I mentioned, I noticed it this morning and I forgot to, yeah, sorry. Anything else? Okay. 00:36:20.594 --> 00:36:29.020 - I move that we approve the contract with Wessler Engineering. Second. It's been moved and seconded. 00:36:29.020 --> 00:36:37.278 - Any further discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? All right. Thank you. Motion carries, 00:36:37.278 --> 00:36:39.806 - thank you. Okay, we're up to, 00:36:40.098 --> 00:36:47.596 - Old business, any old business from the board? Board members, old business from staff? Okay, new business 00:36:47.596 --> 00:36:54.670 - from the board. I just had a question which will lead into subcommittees probably, but we only have 00:36:54.670 --> 00:37:01.815 - one handful of meetings left this year. And so I know we'll need like an administrative subcommittee 00:37:01.815 --> 00:37:08.606 - meeting. I didn't know if there's any other subcommittee meetings we need to get on a calendar. 00:37:09.794 --> 00:37:20.530 - And if so, we should get it on the calendar. Okay. Okay. Okay. Get an admin subcommittee ready to go. 00:37:20.530 --> 00:37:30.635 - So we're ready for the new year. Great. Thank you for bringing that up. Any other new business? 00:37:30.635 --> 00:37:39.582 - All right. I don't think we've had any subcommittee meetings since our last meeting. 00:37:39.906 --> 00:37:48.103 - So nothing there, staff reports. Yeah, sure. So first I'd like to start with just a brief update on 00:37:48.103 --> 00:37:56.874 - taste and odor. There was a pretty brief spike in MIMB and Geosmin, which are those two chemical compounds 00:37:56.874 --> 00:38:05.071 - that impact taste and odor. That was at the end of September, along with a lot of other things that 00:38:05.071 --> 00:38:08.350 - were happening at the end of September. 00:38:09.090 --> 00:38:18.306 - And so I just want to report that our current numbers are back down. And so our G. Osmond is below the 00:38:18.306 --> 00:38:27.253 - detectable range. So that's three nanograms per liter. And then MIB is at 22.6 nanograms per liter, 00:38:27.253 --> 00:38:36.469 - which is still somewhat in the detectable range for sensitive populations. And so we're hoping that'll 00:38:36.469 --> 00:38:38.974 - continue to trend downward. 00:38:39.330 --> 00:38:51.886 - Yeah, so that's taste and odor. And then we wanted to congratulate and welcome some new employees. First, 00:38:51.886 --> 00:39:03.968 - I want to congratulate slash welcome Evelyn Gordon, who previously was an intern in our environmental 00:39:03.968 --> 00:39:07.166 - division, our MS4 program. 00:39:07.522 --> 00:39:16.372 - now has the stormwater education specialist position in environmental. And I'd also like to welcome 00:39:16.372 --> 00:39:25.576 - Max Beauvalet in engineering, who is our new GIS specialist. And then finally, I'd like to congratulate 00:39:25.576 --> 00:39:35.134 - Katherine Liu, who passed her backflow certification exam. Great. Good additions. Thank you for the update. 00:39:36.770 --> 00:39:43.928 - Do we have any petitions or communications from the public toward the end of our meeting here? Any other 00:39:43.928 --> 00:39:50.814 - input? Okay. Well with that, I think our agenda is complete and we can adjourn. Thank you very much.