HomeMy WebLinkAbout11.08.2023.telecommunications minutesTELECOMMUNICATIONS UTILITY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
City Clerk's Office
November 8, 2023
11:30 p.m.
1. Roll Call
Members present: Van Fleet, Kurtenbach, and Batemon. Mr. Young joined at 11:35 a.m.
Absent: Wienands.
2. Approval of Agenda.
Moved by Kurtenbach seconded by Batemon that the Agenda, as presented, be approved.
Voice -vote Ayes: Three. Motion carried.
3. Motion approving appointment of Erin Langenberg to the Strategic Communications
Manager position, effective December 18, 2023, subject to the approval of an employment
agreement.
Moved by Kurtenbach seconded by Batemon Voice -vote Ayes: Three. Motion carried.
Eric Lage, General Manager, provided an overview of the position.
Erin Langenberg provided a brief introduction and shared she is excited to get started.
4. Motion approving appointment of Julie Eastman to the Accounting Manager position,
effective November 20, 2023, subject to the approval of an employment agreement.
Moved by Kurtenbach seconded by Batemon. Voice -vote Ayes: Four. Motion carried.
Eric Lage provided an overview of the position.
Julie Eastman provided a brief introduction to the board.
5. Resolution approving a request for proposal for the FY2024 Billing System, Operational
Support System, and Flow -Through Provisioning, Contract No. 1097.
Eric Lage, General Manger, provided an overview of the software they are looking to acquire
through the RFP process. The software interacts centrally with the other software that the
utility would utilize to create a centralized ecosystem.
Mr. Van Fleet questioned if they have an idea of some of the software companies that may
respond.
Eric Lage explained that a few companies are likely to apply and will likely be from outside
of the area.
Mr. Van Fleet questioned if we have an estimate of the potential cost.
Eric Lage explained that he was unsure of what the cost would be however the software would
be subscription based. There would also likely be an upfront cost.
Mr. Kurtenbach questioned how soon we would have figures back to approve.
Eric Lage explained the timeline for providing responses to the RFP and shared that these
responses would include software costs.
Moved by Young seconded by Batemon Roll call -vote Ayes: Four Motion carried.
6. General comments from staff, consultants, and board members.
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Mr. Van Fleet shared that this is getting to be a very exciting time for the utility. He is seeing
construction happening in the community and likes to see the physical progress. He commented
that it may be beneficial to have additional magnets put on the construction vehicles with pricing
as our pricing is coming in much lower than the competitors.
Eric Lage, General Manager, shared that staff will be at the state of the city tomorrow. Erica
Christiansen and Ian Crowther -Green are holding screening interviews with prospective
customer service representatives.
Mr. Van Fleet shared that they met with Amperage Marketing yesterday and good momentum is
happening with the website and video marketing.
Mr. Kurtenbach questioned if the contractors could have additional flashing lights and barriers to
help keep the workers safe when working in the evening.
Mr. Van Fleet questioned if there have been any injuries on the job so far.
Eric Lage explained only one incident has occurred.
Mr. Van Fleet questioned when the next meeting would occur.
Kelley Felchle, Board Secretary, shared that the next meeting would occur on November 15,
2023.
Mr. Van Fleet asked Mr. Lage to invite the new project manager, Marcellus Nixon, to join the
next meeting.
7. Adjourn.
With no further business before the board, it was moved by Young seconded by Batemon that
the meeting be adjourned at 11:45 p.m. Voice -vote Ayes: Four. Motion carried.
Ne1Tey Fef(ife
Kelley Felchle
Board Secretary