RPU BOARD MEETING MINUTES March 27, 2001

 

Members Present: Mr. Toulouse, Mr. Bourgeois, Mr. Hunziker, Mr. Carlson

Absent: Mr. Landwehr

Also Present: Mr. Adkins, City Attorney

 

Board President Toulouse called the meeting to order at 4:38 p.m.

 

1. Mr. Hunziker moved to approve the minutes of the February 27, 2001 meeting, seconded by Mr. Bourgeois. All voting "AYE"

 

2. Mr. Carlson moved to approve the accounts payable report, seconded by Mr. Bourgeois. All voting "AYE"

 

3. Mr. Tom Williamson, Senior Mechanical Engineer, provided the Board with an explanation of the boiler control project benefits, scope, schedule and costs. RPU's machinery insurer, Hartford Steam Boiler, and engineering consultants, Burns & McDonnell, have recommended the existing boiler control systems for replacement. The primary goal of the project is to replace the aging pneumatic and relay-based controls with a highly reliable, state of the art, integrated control solution. A request for bids was sent out February 23, 2001 with a due date of March 14, 2001. A pre-bid meeting was held at the Silver Lake Power Plant on March 1, 2001. All bidders had the opportunity to review the package, tour the site and ask questions or request clarifications concerning the project. Eleven potential bidders attended the pre-bid meeting. Only one bid was received for the project. The firm of Sebesta Blomberg & Associates was retained to review the specification to assure that it was a fair and impartial document, that the schedule was reasonable and to allow the maximum participation in the bid process. After the pre-bid meeting, RPU extended site accessibility to allow all potential bidders and their sub-contractors virtually unlimited access to the plant site. Mr. Paul Blomberg, Sebasta Blomberg & Associates, appeared before the Board and stated that his firm had reviewed the documents for the project which were sent to the potential bidders both on paper and compact disk. He said no one complained that they could not bid the specifications. He also stated that all potential bidders were contacted in advance to make sure they had sufficient time to prepare bids. Mr. Adkins, City Attorney, informed the Board that award of the contract to Novaspec, Inc. was acceptable in that potential bidders were allowed to inspect the site, request exceptions, and that several manufacturers and potential bidders had visited the site.

 

Mr. Carlson moved to approve a contract agreement with Novaspec, Inc. for the boiler control project, seconded by Mr. Bourgeois. All voting "AYE"

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the Public Utility Board of the City of Rochester, Minnesota, that the Common Council of the said City is requested to approve a contract agreement with Novaspec, Inc., and that the Common Council authorize the Mayor and the City Clerk to execute the agreement for Furnishing and Installing Boiler Controls - Silver Lake Plant

 

The amount of the contract agreement to be $2,965,103.00 plus a contingency of 5% ($148,255.00) for a total approved amount of THREE MILLION ONE HUNDRED THIRTEEN THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT AND 00/100 DOLLARS ($3,113,358.00) and Novaspec, Inc. being lowest responsible bidder.

 

4. Mr. Hunziker moved to approve payment of the Silver Lake Plant 2001 air emission fee in the amount of $73,299.40, seconded by Mr. Carlson. All voting "AYE"

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the Public Utility Board of the City of Rochester, Minnesota, that the Common Council of the said City is requested to approve payment of an invoice from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for 2001 EMISSION FEE – SILVER LAKE PLANT

 

The amount of the payment to be SEVENTY-THREE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED NINTY-NINE AND 40/100 DOLLARS ($73,299.40).

 

5. Mr. Koshire provided the following report to the Board:

a. A brief update on the status of proposed deregulation legislation in Minnesota.

b. The American Public Power Association (APPA) has contacted RPU about contacting the Board and management employees for personal contributions to PowerPac. Mr. Adkins stated that the names of the employees of RPU are considered public data, but their addresses, and APPA can solicit employees if they wish.

c. Utility Board President Toulouse called a special meeting of the Utility Board to be held on April 11, 2001 at 5:00 p.m. at the RPU Service Center. This meeting will be an informal planning session. The Board will not act on any of the items discussed.

 

6. The management/financial reports were discussed.

 

7. Mr. Hunziker moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mr. Bourgeois. All voting "AYE"

 

The meeting was adjourned at 5:38 p.m.

 

Approved by the Board: April 24, 2001