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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.24.2024.telecommunications minutes TELECOMMUNICATIONS UTILITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES City Clerk's Office July 24, 2024 2:00 p.m. 1. Members present: Van Fleet, Batemon, and Young. Ms. Wienands joined at 2:03 p.m. and Mr. Kurtenbach joined at 2:13 p.m. 2. Moved by Batemon seconded by Young that the agenda as amended by changing the dollar amount of Item 7 to $2,282.51 , be approved. Voice vote-Ayes: Three. Motion carried. 3. Moved by Young seconded by Batemon that the minutes of June 20, 2024, Regular Session and June 25, 2024, Special Session, as presented, be approved. Voice vote-Ayes: Four. Motion carried. 4. Moved by Young seconded by Batemon to approve a Right-of-Way Agreement with the City of Waterloo and authorizing the General Manager of Telecommunications to execute said document. Mr. Van Fleet commented that he has concerns about the nature of the contract. He believes that this was written about ten years ago and is geared more towards protecting the city from other utilities coming in. He would like to have additional review of the agreement by legal counsel. Mr. Batemon commented that it was very city biased and it needs to be modified to reflect a more partnership friendly version. Mr. Young shared his concerns regarding the language and agrees it needs to be reviewed. Kelley Felchle, Board Secretary, commented on the agreement and process for further review of its terms. Maggie Burger, Speer Financial, commented that if it turns out that Waterloo Fiber is required to pay fees to the city, you have General Obligation Bonds with the city that are available. The board discussed the contract with Eric Lage, Kelley Felchle and Maggie Burger. Moved by Young seconded by Batemon to table Item 4 to the August meeting. Voice vote-Ayes: Five. Motion carried. 5. Moved by Young seconded by Batemon to approve an Independent Contractor Services Agreement with Kielkopf Advisory Services, LLC and authorizing the General Manager of Telecommunications to execute said document. Voice vote- Ayes: Five. Motion carried. Eric Lage, General Manager, commented that items 5 and 6 are somewhat tied together and explained that they have not been successful in finding the level of candidate they need for the accounting manager position. Ideally, the candidate would have a CPA level accounting background and be able to manage all the financial functions. By entering into this agreement, Kielkopf Advisory Services would provide very high-level CFO services, including projections, setting up the accounting software, providing a second look at our financials, etc. Mr. VanFleet questioned what the time frame might be to make this temporary fill into a full-time hire. Eric Lage explained it could be three to five years. Mr. VanFleet questioned what percent FTE is anticipated for this in year one. Eric Lage explained that currently we are looking at three to five hours per week. Page 2 The board further discussed the item with Eric Lage. 6. Moved by Batemon seconded by Young to approve creating a bookkeeper position within Waterloo Fiber. Voice vote-Ayes: Five. Motion carried. Eric Lage recapped that this will replace the accounting manager position. It will include more day-to-day bookkeeping tasks and be an hourly position reporting directly to him. 7. Moved by Young seconded by Batemon to approve Change Order No. 2024-0013, for an increase of$16,350.75 $2,282.51, in conjunction with the FY2023 Construction of a Fiber-to-the-Premise Feeder/Distribution and Backbone Network Project, Contract No. 1088. Voice vote-Ayes: Five. Motion carried. Eric Lage provided an overview of the item. 8. General update from the General Manager of Telecommunications and consultants. Eric Lage, General Manager of Telecommunications, shared that the utility is continuing to work on redundancy and is still working with Camvio on the software roll out. The first task orders will be released to us in the coming weeks. Along with that, they have been working with ITG on an emergency repair maintenance agreement for the first three years. He shared that they will be pouring beer at Irish Fest on Friday from 4:00-8:00. Ms. Wienands questioned how soon we would be turning customers on. Eric Lage commented it would be within the next couple of weeks. Mr. VanFleet questioned the progress on the Sales and Marketing position. Eric Lage explained that he is currently talking with two people, and has also spoken with a placement agency that has a more technical IT sector and he thinks they seem promising for candidates. Ms. Wienands questioned if there is an update we can put out to the people when it's coming because she has been hearing from people that communication with Waterloo Fiber feels delayed. Eric Lage commented that he will check into updates. Mr. Kurtenbach requested monthly pushouts or a newsletter. The board discussed the need for important touchpoints with Eric to communicate to future customers. Maggie Burger, Speer Financial, shared that she has been talking with Eric about working capital. She explained that of the two million dollars borrowed last November, there is about five hundred thousand or so dollars left in the bank. She shared that there has been great assistance provided by both Bridgett and Kim in the finance department and the mail goal is to get you more working capital debt at the lowest cost of issuance as possible. There is currently a conversation going on with Piper Sandler to see if we can renegotiate existing debt. Mr. VanFleet questioned how often the board could get a view of our spend as compared to what our projected spend was, categorically. Eric Lage commented that they are working on a quarterly basis. Page 3 Kelley Felchle, Board Secretary, commented that she continues to work with Eric on filling positions in a more effective way, creating the bookkeeper job description and meeting with Eric and Mike to continue looking at the office lease RFP. 9. Adjourn. With no further business before the board, it was moved by Young seconded by Wienands that the meeting be adjourned at 2:44 p.m. Voice vote-Ayes: Five. Motion carried. Kef(ey Fe(ch(e Kelley Felchle Board Secretary