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02-06-08 JWC Minutes AGENDA JOINT WATER COMMISSION 1 :30 pm - February 6, 2008 Council Conference Room, Golden Valley City Hall 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of minutes of the January 2, 2008 regular JWC meeting. 3. Resolution 08-02 - Making Annual Elections for the 2007-2008 Insurance Policy. 4. MMKR Audit Contract 5. T-Mobile constructing a facility on the south tower site. 6. Next meeting. 7. Adjournment. . . . Joint Water Commission February 6, 2008 Page 1 of 3 JOINT WATER COMMISSION MINUTES Golden Valley - Crystal - New Hope Meeting of February 6, 2008 The Golden Valley - Crystal - New Hope Joint Water Commission meeting was called to order at 1 :30 pm, in the City of Golden Valley Council Conference Room. Commissioners Present: Tom Burt, City Manager, Golden Valley Kirk McDonald, City Manager, New Hope Anne Norris, City Manager, Crystal Staff Present: Guy Johnson, Public Works Director, New Hope Paul Coone, Operations Manager, New Hope Bernie Weber, Utility Maintenance Supervisor, New Hope Tom Mathisen, Public Works Director, Crystal Randy Kloepper, Utility Maintenance Supervisor, Crystal Bert Tracy, Utility Maintenance Supervisor, Golden Valley Dave Lemke, Utility Maintenance Supervisor, Golden Valley Sue Virnig, Finance Director, Golden Valley Jeannine Clancy, Public Works Director, Golden Valley Other: Scott Harder, Environmental Financial Group (EFG) Approval of JWC Minutes MOVED by Norris, seconded by McDonald to approve the minutes of the January 2 meeting. The motion carried unanimously. Makina Annual Elections for the 2007-08 Insurance Policy Resolution: 08-02: Commissioner McDonald introduced the following resolution WHEREAS, the Golden Valley-Crystal-New Hope Joint Water Commission must declare whether or not to waive the statutory limits on tort liability established by Minnesota Statues 466.04, and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Commissioners of the Golden Valley-Crystal-New Hope Joint Water Commission does not waive the statutory limits on tort liability established by Minnesota Statues 466.04 for the 2008 insurance policy. The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was seconded by Commissioner Norris and upon a vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof: Burt, McDonald, and Norris; and the following voted against the same: none, whereupon said Joint Water Commission February 6,2008 Page 2 of 3 . resolution was declared duly passed and adopted, signed by the Chair and her signature attested by the Vice-Chair. MMKR Audit Contract: The MMKR contract was distributed by Sue Virnig that addressed specifics in the Audit Contract. The amount of the contract for services is $7500. MOVED by Norris, seconded by McDonald to approve the MMKR Audit Contract. The motion carried unanimously. T -Mobile constructina a facilitv on the south tower site: T-Mobile approached Paul Coone expressing interest in constructing a facility on the south tower site. The group agreed to proceed with the lease after T -Mobile pays a $5000 deposit which covers attorney fees and an engineer consultant to determine the location of equipment on the tower. The unused deposit would be refunded or the lease amount would be adjusted accordingly. MOVED by McDonald, seconded by Norris to allow T-Mobile to proceed with a lease agreement for the south tower site upon receipt of a $5000 deposit. The motion carried unanimously. . Other: Scott Harder reported: . he met with the two task force co-chairs and agreed on an agenda for the Joint Task Force meeting that will be held in March or April. Agenda items will include outlining strategies and forming an advisory board. The report should be ready by June. . Minneapolis started work on a cost for services analysis and will be delivered to the Joint Water Commission to review by June 30, 2008. . Stakeholder meetings have been set for February 27 and March 5 from 9-12 at the Department of Health located at Energy Park Drive. The purpose of these meetings is to receive input from stakeholders on priorities and how to award points to cities that are working together. Tom Mathisen reported: . the status of the Columbia Heights Filtration Plant problems and the new facility to be built in Fridley. Details of the plants are outlined in a hand-outthat was distributed. . . he is working with the T AC to form a plan in the event of an emergency where backup water is needed. This is particularly important since the interconnect project between Minneapolis and St. Paul was taken out of the bonding bill at the state level and there is no back up plan for a water emergency currently in place. Potential . . . Joint Water Commission February 6, 2008 Page 3 of 3 consultants and dollar amounts are being researched and specifics will be reported back to the Joint Water Commission in June. Value Operator Machine Randy Kloepper discussed the purchase of a Valve Operator Machine that is priced at $60,000. A valve operator would automatically set the torque when the pipe diameter is entered versus employees performing this task manually. Exercising valves manually raises concerns from a safety/worker's compensation perspective which validates the purchase of the machine. The machine would be shared between the three cities and stored in one city during the winter months when it is not used. MOVED by Norris, seconded by McDonald to delay the valve replacement in 2008 for Golden Valley and replace with the purchase of a Valve operator machine. The bids or quotes will be presented at a subsequent meeting. The motion carried unanimously Next Meetina: The next meeting will be April 2, 2008. Adiournment: McDonald moved to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 pm. ATTEST: ~& !1M a..~ Carol Broermann, Administrative Assistant ~ Resolution 08-01 February 6, 2008 Commissioner ~ introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION MAKING ANNUAL ELECTIONS FOR THE 2007-08 INSURANCE POLICY WHEREAS, the Golden Valley-Crystal-New Hope Joint Water Commission must declare whether or not to waive the statutory limits on tort liability established by Minnesota Statues 456.04, and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Commissioners of the Golden Valley-Crystal-New Hope Joint Water Commission does not waive the statutory limits on tort liability established by Minnesota Statues 466.04 for the 2008 insurance policy. Thomas D. Burt, Joint Water Chair ATTEST: Sue Virnig, Treasurer The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was seconded by Commissioner and a vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof: and the following voted against the same: none, whereupon said resolution was declared duly passed and adopted, signed by the Chair and her signature attested by the Vice-Chair. Resolution 08-01 February 6, 2008 Commissioner'!! introduced theJollowing resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION MAKING ANNUAL ELECTIONS FOR THE 2007-08 INSURANCE POLICY WHEREAS, the Golden Valley-Crystal-New Hope Joint Water Commission must declare whether or not to waive the statutory limits on tort liability established by Minnesota Statues 456.04, and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Commissioners of the Golden Valley-Crystal-New Hope Joint Water Commission does not waive the statutory limits on tort liability established by Minnesota Statues 466.04 for the 2008 insurance policy. Thomas D. Burt, Joint Water Chair ATTEST: Sue Virnig, Treasurer The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was seconded by Commissioner * and upon a vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof: Burt, McDonald, and Norris; and the following voted against the same: none, whereupon said resolution was declared duly passed and adopted, signed by the Chair and her signature attested by the Vice-Chair. January 25, 2008 PRINCIPALS Kenneth W Malloy, CPA Thomas M. Montague, CPA Thomas A. Karnowski, CPA Paul A. Radosevich, CPA William J. Lauer, CPA James H. Eichten, CPA Aaron J. Nielsen, CPA Victoria 1. Holinka, CPA M CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS To the Board of Commissioners Golden Valley - Crystal- New Hope Joint Water Commission 7800 Golden Valley Road Golden Valley, MN 55427 Weare pleased to confirm our understanding of the services we are to provide for the Golden Valley - Crystal- New Hope Joint Water Commission (the Commission) for the year ended December 31,2007. We will audit the financial statements of governmental activities, each major fund, the aggregate remaining fund information, and the budgetary comparison for the General Fund, which collectively comprise the Commission's basic financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2007. Accounting standards generally accepted in the United States provide for certain required supplementary information (RSI), such as management's discussion and analysis (MD&A), to accompany the Commission's basic financial statements. As part of our engagement, we will apply certain limited procedures to the Commission's RSI, if applicable. These limited procedures will consist principally of inquires of management regarding the methods of measurement and presentation, which management is responsible for affirming to us in its representation letter. Unless we encounter problems with the presentation of the RSI or with procedures relating to it, we will disclaim an opinion on it. Supplementary information other than RSI, such as combining and individual fund financial statements, may also accompany the Commission's basic financial statements. We will subject the supplementary information to the auditing procedures applied in our audit of the basic financial statements and will provide an opinion on it in relation to the basic financial statements. We will perform the required State Legal Compliance Audit conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the provisions of the Legal Compliance Audit Guide promulgated by the State Auditor pursuant to Minnesota Statute ~ 6.65, and it will include such tests of the accounting records and other procedures we consider necessary to enable us to conclude that, for the items tested, the Commission has complied with the material terms and conditions of applicable legal provisions. Audit Objectives The objective of our audit is the expression of opinions as to whether your basic financial statements are fairly presented, in all material respects, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and to report on the fairness of the additional information referred to in the first paragraph when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole. Our audit will be conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and will include tests of accounting records and other procedures we consider necessary to enable us to express such opinions. If our opinions on the financial statements are other than unqualified, we will fully discuss the reasons with you in advance. If, for any reason, we are unable to complete the audit or are unable to form, or have not formed opinions, we may decline to express opinions or to issue a report as a result of this engagement. Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich & Co., P.A. 5353 Wayzata Boulevard. Suite 410 . Minneapolis, MN 55416 . Telephone: 952-545-0424 . Teiefax: 952-545-0569 . www.mmkr.com Golden Valley - Crystal- New Hope Joint Water Commission January 25, 2008 Page 2 Management Responsibilities Management is responsible for establishing and maintammg effective internal controls, including monitoring ongoing activities; for the selection and application of accounting principles; and for the fair presentation in the financial statements of the respective financial position of the governmental activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the Commission and the respective changes in financial position and where applicable, cash flows, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Management is responsible for the basic financial statements and all accompanying information as well as all representations contained therein. You are also responsible for management decisions and functions; for designating an individual with suitable skill, knowledge, or experience to oversee our financial statement preparation services and accepting responsibility for them. Management is responsible for making all financial records and related information available to us and for the accuracy and completeness of that information. Management is responsible for adjusting the financial statements to correct material misstatements and for confirming to us in the representation letter that the effects of any uncorrected misstatements aggregated by us during the current engagement and pertaining to the latest period presented are immaterial, both individually and in the aggregate, to the financial statements taken as a whole. You are responsible for the design and implementation of programs and controls to prevent and detect fraud, and for informing us about known or suspected fraud or illegal acts affecting the Commission involving (1) management, (2) employees who have significant roles in internal control, and (3) others where the fraud or illegal acts could have a material effect on the financial statements. Your responsibilities include informing us of your knowledge of any allegations of fraud or suspected fraud or illegal acts affecting the Commission received in communications from employees, former employees, regulators, or others. In addition, you are responsible for identifying and ensuring that the Commission complies with applicable laws and regulations. Audit Procedures - General An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements; therefore, our audit will involve judgment about the number of transactions to be examined and the areas to be tested. We will plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable, rather than absolute assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether from (1) errors, (2) fraudulent [mancial reporting, (3) misappropriation of assets, or (4) violations of laws or governmental regulations that are attributable to the Commission or to acts by management or employees acting on behalf of the Commission. Because an audit is designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute assurance and because we will not perform a detailed examination of all transactions, there is a risk that material misstatements or noncompliance may exist and not be detected by us. In addition, an audit is not designed to detect immaterial misstatements or violations of laws or governmental regulations that do not have a direct and material effect on the financial statements or major programs. However, we will inform you of any material errors and any fraudulent financial reporting or misappropriation of assets that come to our attention. We will also inform you of any violations of laws or governmental regulations that come to our attention, unless clearly inconsequential. Our responsibility as auditors is limited to the period covered by our audit and does not extend to any later periods for which we are not engaged as auditors. Golden Valley - Crystal- New Hope Joint Water Commission January 25, 2008 Page 3 Our procedures will include tests of documentary evidence supporting the transactions recorded in the accounts, and may include tests of the physical existence of inventories, and direct confirmation of receivables and certain other assets and liabilities by correspondence with selected individuals, creditors, and financial institutions. We will request written representations from your attorneys as part of the engagement, and they may bill you for responding to this inquiry. At the conclusion of our audit, we will also require certain written representations from you about the financial statements and related matters. Audit Procedures - Internal Control Our audit will include obtaining an understanding of the Commission and its environment, including internal control, sufficient to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements and to design the nature, timing, and extent of further audit procedures. An audit is not designed to provide assurance on internal control or to identify deficiencies in internal control. However, during the audit, we will communicate to management and those charged with governance internal control related matters that are required to be communicated under professional standards. Audit Procedures - Compliance As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, we will perform tests of the Commission's compliance with applicable laws and regulations and the provisions of contracts and agreements. However, the objective of our audit will not be to provide an opinion on overall compliance and we will not express such an opinion. Audit Administration, Fees, and Other We understand that your employees will prepare all cash or other confirmations we request and will locate any documents selected by us for testing. The assistance to be supplied by your personnel, including the preparation of schedules and analysis of accounts, typing all cash or other confirmations we request, and locating any invoices selected by us for testing, will be discussed and coordinated with you. The audit documentation for this engagement are the property of Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich & Co., P.A. (MMKR) and constitutes confidential information. However, we may be requested to make certain audit documentation available to a regulatory agency pursuant to authority given to it by law or regulation. If requested, access to such audit documentation will be provided under the supervision of MMKR personnel. Furthermore, upon request, we may provide photocopies of selected audit documentation to the regulatory agency. The regulatory agency may intend, or decide, to distribute the photocopies or information contained therein to others, including other governmental agenCIes. The audit documentation for this engagement will be retained for a minimum of five years after the report release or for any additional period requested by the regulatory agency. If we are aware that a federal awarding agency, pass-through entity, or auditee is contesting an audit finding, we will contact the party(ies) contesting the audit finding for guidance prior to destroying the audit documentation. Golden Valley - Crystal- New Hope Joint Water Commission January 25,2008 Page 4 Our fees for these services will be based on the actual time spent at our standard hourly rates. We will also bill you for travel and other out-of-pocket costs such as report production, typing, and postage. Our standard hourly rates vary according to the degree of responsibility involved and the experience level of the personnel assigned to your audit. Our invoices for these fees will be rendered each month as work progresses and are payable upon presentation. Unless additional work is requested, or circumstances require additional work, we estimate that the basic audit fees [excluding fees related the change in auditing standards described in Statement on Auditing Standards Nos. 104 to 111 (SAS Suite)] to be $7,500. If we find that additional audit procedures are required, or if additional services are requested by the Commission, those services will be billed at our standard hourly rates. Additional audit procedures may be required for certain accounting issues or events such as new accounting or auditing standards, due to turnover of key accounting personnel, or if there is an indication of misappropriation or misuse of public funds. In recent years, a number of highly publicized events occurred that weakened the general public's confidence in financial reporting and the audit process. In an effort to help restore credibility, the auditing profession has issued guidance which reengineers the audit process, requiring a "risk-based" audit approach and prescribing more extensive audit procedures. These changes have specifically been directed at increasing the likelihood of auditors detecting and reporting material inaccuracies within financial statements and increasing the overall analysis and testing of the internal controls of each organization. The newest set of standards issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants are the Statement on Auditing Standards Nos. 104 to 111, "Auditor's Assessment of Risk in a Financial Statement Audit" (SAS Suite). We have explained these new required standards in more detail to all of our governmental audit clients in recent management reports or within other communications. The concept behind the required changes is good, and it should provide additional benefits to your organization, but unfortunately it will come at an additional cost. We understand the funding constraints of our governmental clients, and the scrutiny that may be directed towards you to control costs and keep within established budget parameters. Others in our profession have estimated the additional audit costs to implement the new requirements could be as high as 30 percent of the existing audit cost. Because of our efficiencies in auditing governmental entities, and the thoroughness of our existing audit process, we are confident that we will be able to keep the increase to implement these additional procedures to a range of 10 percent to 15 percent of our normal fees. We believe this is also consistent with industry standards, including guidance published by the Government Finance Officers Association. We will bill you for these additional costs as a separate line item in the first year of the requirement. If the audit process results conclude that the assessed risks exceed this projected level, the nature and scope of the engagement may change and we may require a modification of our fee estimate. This modification will be fully discussed with management of the Commission during the normal course of our audit procedures. Please let us know if you have any questions regarding these new standards. With regard to the electronic dissemination of audited financial statements, including financial statements published electronically on your Internet website, you understand that electronic sites are a means to distribute information and, therefore, we are not required to read the information contained in these sites or to consider the consistency of other information in the electronic site with the original document. If you intend to publish or otherwise reproduce the financial statements, and make reference to our firm name, you agree to provide us with printers' proofs or masters for our review and approval before printing. You also agree to provide us with a copy of the final reproduced material for our approval before it is distributed. Golden Valley- Crystal- New Hope Joint Water Commission January 25, 2008 Page 5 We appreciate the opportunity to be of service to the Commission and believe this letter accurately summarizes the significant terms of our engagement. If you have any questions, please let us know. If you agree with the terms of our engagement as described in this letter, please sign the enclosed copy and return it to us. Sincerely, MALLOY, MONTAGUE, KARNOWSKI, RADOSEVICH & CO., P.A. J:f2tc- ~ cf~ William Lauer, CPA Principal WJL:lmb Response: This letter correctly sets forth the understanding of the Golden Valley - Crystal - New Hope Joint Water Commission. By: Title: Date: WIPFLi". November 3, 2004 To the Principals Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich, & Co., P.A. Minneapolis, Minnesota We have reviewed the system of quality control for the accounting and auditing practice of Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich, & Co., P.A. (the "Firm") in effect for the year ended May 31, 2004. A system of quality control encompasses the Firm's organizational structure and the policies adopted and procedures established to provide it with reasonable assurance of conforming with professional standards. The elements of quality control are described in the Statements on Quality Control Standards issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The design of the system and compliance with it are the responsibility of the firm. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the design of the system, and the Firm's compliance with the system based on our review. Our review wa.s conducted in accordance with standards established by the Peer Review Board of the AICPA. In performing our review, we obtained an understanding of the system of quality control for the Firm's accounting and auditing practice. In addition, we tested compliance with the Firm's quality control policies and procedures to the extent we considered appropriate. These tests covered the application of the Firm's policies and procedures on selected engagements. Because our review was based on selective tests, it would not necessarily disclose all weaknesses in the system of quality control or all instances of lack of compliance with it Because there are inherent limitations in the effectiveness of any system of quality control, departures from the system may occur and not be detected. Also, projection of any evaluation of a system of quality control to future periods is subject to the risk that the system of quality control may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or because the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. In our opinion, the system of quality control for the accounting and auditing practice of Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich, & Co., P.A. in effect for the year ended May 31, 2004, has been designed to meet the requirements of the quality control standards for an accounting and auditing practice established by the AICPA and was complied with during the year then ended to provide the Firm with reasonable assurance of conforming with professional standards. w~. LLfJ Wipfli LLP Eau Claire, Wisconsin Wipfli LLP 3703 Oakwood Hills Parkway Eau Claire, WI 54701 PO Box 690 Eau Claire, WI 54702-0690 715.832.3407 fax 715.832.0475 www.wipfli.com November 3, 2004 To the Principals Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich, & Co., PA We have reviewed the system of quality control for the accounting and auditing practice of Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich, & Co., PA (the "Firm") in effect for the year ended May 31, 2004, and have issued our report thereon dated November 3, 2004. That report should be read in conjunction with the comments in this letter, which were considered in determining our opinion. Matters That Did Not Result in a Modified Report Engagement Performance Findinq~ The Firm's quality control policies and procedures require that all engagements be properly documented in accordance with the requirements of professional standards, regulatory authorities, and the Firm. However our review disclosed instances (expectations of results of analytical testing, compliance testing procedures in an ERISA plan audit) where the testing documentation was lacking. Through discussions with engagement personnel, we were able to satisfy ourselves that appropriate testing had been completed. Recommendations-The Firm should discuss at a staff training session its policies regarding engagement testing documentation. All Principals should be advised to monitor compliance with these policies when reviewing audit working papers. w~. LLfJ Wipfli LLP Eau Claire, Wisconsin 1:\WORD\Audit & Accounting\70390 Malloy Montague\70390 Letter Of Comments.Doc Minneapolis Water Works Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) January 16,2008 - Meeting Minutes Columbia Heights Membran~ Filtration Plant, Training Room Columbia Heights, Minnesota 55421-3270 Attendees: Citizen's Advisory Committee Present Absent Gerry Sell (MPHAC) Tom Mathisen, City of Crystal (JWC) Kirk Smith (MDH) Chris Elvrum (MCES) Ray Hozalski (U of M) J.L. Strand (CLlC) Lorraine Teel Pam Blixt Others Shahin Rezpnia (MWW) Chris Catlin, MWW, Supt. of Operations and Maintenance Rob Verke, MWW, Director of Engineering Marie Asgipn (MWW Supt. Of Distribution) Trisha McDonald, MDH Greg Stonehol,lse, HDR Engineering Meeting called to order -., 3:10pm 1. Welcome and In~roductions of all, specifically introducing all of his Minneapolis Water Works staff. (Shahin Rezania) 2. Current Projects Update - Commentary regarding the number of projects MWW has programmed; and, the limited budget thatMWW has to implement that work. Rob introduced himself to the CAC and briefed the group on ongoing projects. (Rob Verke) a. Columbia HeiGhts Membrane Filtration Plant - Working on final project closeout. Dale Folen, Project Manager, is working closely with contractor to. finalize all punchlist items. Retainage on the project is still maintained in the form of a bond. Still working with GE to pursue resolution of issues relative to ongoing issues within the plant. Currerit issues outstanding include backwash system equipment failures (warrantee covered item); control and valve timing issues (warrantee item); and the combination of those that are potentially linked to membrane breakage (warrantee item). MWW is working on this with City Attorney to resolve issues. Not leading to capacity problems during normal operations, but pinning of modules is very labor inteflsive; and therefore, cost intensive. Old plant is available.for production as reqI,Jired. Chris Catlifl outlined fiQer breakage impact on operations and the means and methods for maintaining and repairing memb(anes fornormal operation.Causeof problem is still not completely quantifiable; and, MWWis cautious about trying to provide solutions to a problem that belongs to GE. Failures, under the original contract, have occurred and the city has run through the inventory of membrane cartridges maintained by the City. Therate of breakage to date is beyond what is expected for normal operation. Appearances indicate that solving pressure spikes and control issues will drive resolution of this issue. b. Columbia HeiahtsSecuritvProiect. Gates, security cameras, bollards and other improvements will be incorporated tomake security at the Columbia Heights facility a remote operation. Project bids on 23 January for 2008 construction. c. Fridlev Membrane Filtration Plant - 30% design has been completed by CH2MHill. Pall is the selected membrane manufacturer for this project. Membranes were selected using a competitive, pilot test- based process, similar to that used for the CHMFP. City staff is reviewing the 30% design and will complete that review by February 1. During the week of February 11, the City will complete a Value Engineering workshop for this project. . From this workshop, the project design will proceed. There was also a. brief discussion of taste and odor issues during 2007. Current plan is for Fridley membrane plant operation in early 2011. d. Pump Station #4 Reconstruction - City's MWW Project Manager retired and Bonestroo has taken over the design of that project, providing the opportunity for a value engineering study as well. This resulted in the elimination of the suction header piping from the design, saving the City approximately $5 million. Plant internal piping design was modified and simplified, again resulting in likely drastic cost savings. Below grade pipe gallery was also removed, saving additional cost. Project will likely be bid in spring 2008 forfall 2008 construction. e. Dewaterinq Facilitv at Fridlev - February begins the capital long range facility planning process. Dewatering plant program will likely be a 2009 effort unless city finances allow slight acceleration of that project in late 2008. City is currently using centrifuges and plans to replace those with migrating filter presses as a least cost option for long term operations. f. Bio Monitorinq of Source Water - (Chris Catlin) MWW continues to use clams to monitor raw water quality in terms of the presence of toxins in the water. This project is an ongoing study being implemented in conjunction with an EPA grant. St. Cloud and a location in Coon Rapids are also planning on installing a similar "early warning" system that would give the city of Minneapolis approximately 1 day of notice of the presence of a potential toxin in the raw water supply. g. Air Monitorincr- Chemical Release - (Shahin Rezania) Project initiated by the Department of Health to ensu~e an adequate means of notifying surrounding area of a potential chemical release. A table top exercise is being developed for both air release andfdr a potential water qUality contamination event. The intent is to develop a coordinated MWW effort within the City of Minneapolis to ensure that internal safety and public works staff have developed and understand the response needs. h. Water/WastewaterResIJonse Network (WARN) -(Shahin Rezania) In short, thIs is a "utilities helping utilities" effort. Getting very close to a draft "joint powers" type of agreement between local municipalities. Exarnples ofthe potential application of this network might include the southeast MN flood event in the summer of 2007 or the St. Peter tornado of several years ago. These have been established in many states in recent years, especially on the gulf coast and west coast which are more prone to hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters. i. MFnneapo/is/ St. Paul Interconnection - (Shahin Rezania) Governor subrnitted proposal for capital bonding in 2008 and the interconnection did not receive any funding under this administration's outline. John Stine (MDH) indicated that work needs lobe done to advance this decision; and, that this interconnection is not dead, but just not funded at this time. There is a bit of a push at the legislature to call this a "regional" interconnection because this would service 18 additional metro-communities. Shahin will continue to work with John Stine at the MDH to advance this project. J. Watermain Cleaninq and Lininq - '(Marie Asgian) Planning on lining 49,000 feet of cleaning and lining in Minneapolis, 5,000 feet in Columbia Heights and 5,000 feet in Edina. City typically uses cement lining primarily due to costs.. Operationally, the pipe must be bone dry for epoxy lining. Marie Asgian outlined the pro~ess used for'cement mortar lining of the waterrnains to create a uniform lining thickness in the system; Lining can be completed pipe from 6 to 36 inches. 2008 focus will be primarily within the street reconstruction capital improvements because of cost savings in pavement restoration. Shingle Creek is one exception to that approach in 2008. A ten year plan has been developed for cleaning and lining to inform the City Engineer of the magnitude of the program and of the limitations of each project. MWW is working to keep this effort free of the political drivers because the program needs to be approached from a technical and systematic perspective. Selection of mains is very "color complaint" driven. k. Fridley Softening Plant Optimization - (Chris Catlin) Due to time constraints, this agenda topic waS pushed to the April meeting, at which time the improvements will have b~enimplemented, allowing a discussion of both the implementation and the results of these efforts. In short, MWW staff is working to optimize the softening process through mixing and re-utilizing lime sludge. This will hopefully result in a reduction of extensive labor and chemicql savings. I. MCES Regional Water Supply Study Update- (Chris Elvrum) MCESis undertaking a regional water supply effort to develop a regional water supply plan by tQ~end.Qf2QO? TDis relates to ground water availability in the metro area. Barr Engineering is updating the Metro Ground Water Model to make projections through2050 and potentially through "ultimate development" of the rn~tro area. Northwest metro area is an area of real concern where the Prairie du Chien aquifer runs out. Hope is to develop the process for ongoing analysis and planning. Metro area is not facing any crisis, but working towards a plan to develop possible responses to "worst case seenarios." Ground water model will allow sensitivity analyses such as continued climate change, drought impacts, worst winter/worst summer scenario, etc. Also working on ground water contaminant mapping, submittal process for water appropriation permit:3,comprehensive planning for water supply, etc. MCES is using Techl1ical Advisory Groups and Stakeholder Workshops in late February and March. Workshop is focused upon regional involvement in these scenarios versus isolated municipalities. 3. Additional Meeting Topics Discussed.- a. City of Waters Fountain Capital Project - (Shahin Rezania) Mayor RT Rybak has been speaking extensively recently about marketing the City's water. Because of the great quality of water in Minneapolis, the Mayor's idea is to fund the marketing of water by applying $1 million in funds from the membrane project. Council reduced that to $250K, which was. 5 fountains at $50,000 each. Provisions were added through public works and $250,000 was added from other city departments. Fountains will be artistic drinking water fountains, and shall not require maintenance from city staff. There are concerns related to stewardship, sponsorship, maintenance, public safety and the potential for vandalism. . b. Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention. Jeff Strand, in a foreclosure response role for the City, outlined that 5;668 foreclosures occurred in Hennepin County in2007. Jeff distributed information regarding the effort to aid and prevent foreclosures from oceurring. 4. Conclusion. (Shahin Rezania) Outlined the future meeting dates as well as the proposed future MWW topics of discussion. 5. Next Meeting Dates: a. April 16, 2008 b. September 17, 2008 c. January 14, 2008 6. Potential topics of dis.cussion: a. Fridley Softening Plant Optimization b. Pre-Treatment c. Financial Strategy d. Infrastructure Funding Bill e. Water Marketing f. Water Usage Trends 7. Meeting Adjourned at 4:58 pm