HomeMy WebLinkAbout12.20.2023.telecommunications minutesTELECOMMUNICATIONS UTILITY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Harold E. Getty Council Chambers
December 20, 2023
4:00 p.m.
1. Members present: Van Fleet, Kurtenbach, Young, and Bateman. Ms. Wienands arrived at
4:13 p.m.
2. Moved by Batemon seconded by Kurtenbach that the Agenda as amended by changing the
dollar amount to $1,082,556.00 in item seven, be approved. Voice vote- Ayes: Four. Motion
carried.
3. Moved by Kurtenbach seconded by Batemon that the minutes of December 6, 2023 regular
session and December 11, 2023 special session as presented be approved. Voice vote- Ayes:
Four. Motion carried.
4. Moved by Bateman seconded by Young that the resolution approving appointment of John
Rath to the position of Technical/NOC Support Manager, including an employment
agreement, and authorizing the Board Chair and Board Secretary to execute said document,
be approved.
Eric Lage, General Manager, provided background information on Mr. Rath. He noted that
John would start effective January 2, 2024.
Mr. Kurtenbach requested and Eric Lage provided an overview of the responsibilities for the
position.
Roll call vote -Ayes: Four. Motion carried. Resolution No. 2023-038.
5. Moved by Kurtenbach seconded by Batemon that the resolution approving depository and
authorizing official banking signatures for Waterloo Fiber, be approved.
Eric Loge explained that this resolution will add Julie Eastman, Accounting Manager, as a
signer on the bank accounts.
Roll call vote -Ayes: Four. Motion carried. Resolution No. 2023-039,
6. Moved by Kurtenbach seconded by Bateman that the resolution approving hiring Tony
Staebell to the position of Field Services Technician 2, at a rate of $35.00 per hour, plus
benefits and hiring Min Tien to the position of Field Services Technician 1, at a rate of
$24.18 per hour, plus benefits be approved.
Eric Lage provided comments on both individuals selected for the positions and the
difference with the Tech I and Tech 2 positions. He noted that the two individuals would
start work on January 2, 2024.
Roll call vote -Ayes: Four. Motion carried. Resolution No. 2023-040.
7. Moved by Young seconded by Kurtenbach that a Professional Services Agreement with EN
Engineering, LLC, formally Magellan Advisors, LLC, in an amount not to exceed
$151979300,00 $1,082,556.00, for project and construction management, inspections, and
engineering support services for the fiber backbone and fiber -to -the -home network project
implementation in calendar year 2024, and authorizing the Board Chair to execute said
document be approved. Voice vote- Ayes: Four. Motion carried.
Warren Lyon, EN Engineering, provided an overview of the contract.
8. Moved by Kurtenbach seconded by Bateman that an agreement with gWorks for financial
and human resources software, in the amount of $26,740.00, and authorizing the Accounting
Manager to execute said document be approved. Voice vote- Ayes: Five. Motion carried.
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Julie Eastman, Accounting Manager, provided an overview of the so are, Ms. Eastman
discussed the software purchase with the Board.
9. Moved by Young seconded by Batemon that an agreement with T-Mobile for cellular
services be approved. Voice vote- Ayes: Five. Motion carried.
Eric Lage provided an overview of the agenda item.
10. General comments from staff, consultants, and board members.
Eric Lage shared that tomorrow the first three customers will be set up and the fourth
customer on Friday. He reported that Erin Langenberg has started as the Strategic
Communications Manager and that we are looking at our 2024 Marketing Plan with
Amperage. They are reviewing the RFP for OSS/BSS billing software and are hoping to
award this at the next meeting. He noted that the employee handbook should be ready for
approval mid -January.
Mr. Kurtenbach questioned if it is possible to get more crews in for 2024 and begin phase 2
and 3.
Eric Lage shared that he has spoken with ITC about having subcontractors bring on more
crews and is also discussing creating crews in house.
Mr. Bateman questioned if there will be an increased cost to this.
Eric Loge commented that there would not, however if we scaled this up enough there is a
chance we would have to hire some out of town locators.
Maggie Burger, Speer Financial, provide an overview and shared there are bond proceedings
coming up in the next few weeks, which will fund construction.
Warren Lyon, EN Engineering, provided an overview of their work on various aspects of the
project.
Bryan Siebenberg, ITG Communications, provided an update and answered questions from
the board regarding progress, challenges and timelines.
Kelley Felchle, Board Secretary, commented that the 2024 Budget was approved by the
board at a special meeting held on the December 11, and the budget was received and filed
by council at a special session also on December 11. She met with PDCM, Julie and the
finance department on procurement and vendor liability to make sure that all of our liability
language is appropriate and consistent when we are doing our RFPs. Kelley shared a recap
of the board meeting and activities from 2019 through 2023.
1 L Adjourn.
With no further business before the board, it Was moved by Wienands seconded by Young that
the meeting be adjourned at 4:33 p.m. Voice vote -Ayes: Five. Motion carried.
Kelley
Board Secretary