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The North Branch Water & Light Commission July 19 lightly grazed the topic of fashioning  a campaign to educate the public on the November utility referendum. Members took no direct action to start any outreach.  The City of North Branch is prohibited from being involved in a ballot promotion but the utility  may pursue mailings, videos, digital propaganda etc.  The consensus was to review the role of the utility more,  in the commission’s August meeting.  

There will be a citywide ballot November 7 asking voters to okay abolishing the utility commission and to transfer water utility functions and assets to the city.  North Branch was only responsible for wastewater operations and billed residents for sewer. This vote is to authorize the city to absorb all the water operations (treatment, towers, wells, lines.)

 In other business: on a vote of 4-0, with Commission member Baxter absent,  commissioners approved an agreement to separate employment of the utility finance director. 

(North Branch City Council was expected to act on accepting the separation agreement at this week’s Tuesday’s council session.) 

The utility commission  will continue to pay a regular wage to finance person Brenda Jepsen into the late October pay cycle and cover health insurance premiums through November 2023. 

The city “absorbs” her duties for November and December which the commission was advised would amount to avoiding two months’ worth of budget payroll for the position.

Jepsen and the utility are going their separate ways in “the best interests of each party” according to language in the agreement.  Under a gag clause, she promises to not talk about the utility and the utility/city agree to not talk about her. Jepsen ceases all employee duties immediately upon the agreement being approved.

In other discussion at the utility commission session last week the bid was awarded to Osseo Construction for watertower #1 rehabilitation.  Thier low and best bid was $773,760.  Shawn Williams told the utility commission there’s a pre-construction meeting July 26.  This tower is north of downtown and the project is budgeted, neither the utility nor city are borrowing to fund this.

Information was distributed on three-phase system locations,  and where EV charge stations potentially could be installed.  Initially they’d be overseen by the utility but later by the city,  in the event the utility commission is abolished in the upcoming November referendum. The generators that were not sold in the deal with ECE for electric distribution assets would presumably power these stations.

Utility commissioners heard that fact-finding is still underway as to identifying who may be interested in cooperating on hosting an EV charge station.  For example, Anderson & Koch Ford dealership was contacted and reportedly is planning for its own electric vehicle charging services.  One station is functional now and not open to the public,  but more stations planned in the near future would be for public use.  

Meanwhile, Tesla has several charge platforms at the northeast corner of I35 and Highway 95, put in as part of a cooperative effort, where Water & Light was reimbursed for certain expenses.  

The Water & Light Commission has EV stations adjacent to the bike trail parking area at Highway 95 and County Road 30. This was a joint project with SMMPA, the electric utility’s former power agency before assets were sold to East Central Energy, which is affiliated with Great River.

Commissioners directed staff to keep looking into potential formats for EV agreements and develop associated expenses and a fee table for future consideration.   There is a work session  August 2.

Drought conditions and new incoming properties have contributed to an increase in billed water usage— and as of last week’s meeting there were no drought related restriction orders from the state.  Year to date water use charges are up by $121,000 over the same time last year.

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