Board Meeting Minutes- January 26, 2026

Monday, January 26, 2026 at 5:00 PM | 601 Cherokee Leavenworth, KS 66048-0576

Directors in Attendance

• Eric Peterson
• William Daniels
• Camalla Leonhard

Directors Absent (Excused)

• Nick Poff
• Eric Price

Staff in Attendance

• Joel Mahnken, General Manager
• Dana Splichal, Finance Manager
• John Hodgden, Distribution Manager
• Neil Seichepine, Treatment Manager
• Britni Huff, Staff Engineer

Others in Attendance

• Tom Crowley, Carollo Engineers
• Nolan Graff, Carollo Engineers
• Rob Baker, Carollo Engineers
• Ben Armel, Carollo Engineers

Director Peterson called the meeting to order at 4:52 PM.

Director Peterson noted that a quorum was present.

None

None

Upon motion from Director Leonhard and seconded by Director Daniles, motion passed 3-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15644), that the Board approved minutes from January 12, 2025.

Upon motion from Director Leonhard and seconded by Director Daniels, motion passed 3-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15645), that the Board approved the consent agenda as presented.

The Finance Manager presented an Administrative Water Reconnection Fee policy. The purpose of this policy is to recover the administrative and operational costs associated with the disconnection and subsequent restoration of water service due to non-payment. This fee ensures that the costs of managing delinquent accounts are borne by the accounts generating the expense, rather than the general customer base.

Without a board-approved policy, the utility is left in a vulnerable position where:

• Customer Service Team has no "Hard Line" and our CSR team is forced to negotiate or justify fees on a case-by-case basis.
• Technicians are Interrupted as they may be confronted by customers claiming "I just paid," leading to safety concerns and operational delays.
• Legal Risk in that inconsistent application of fees can lead to claims of "arbitrary or capricious" billing.

The Finance Manager requested that the Board adopt the following resolution:

The Administrative Reconnection Fee shall be assessed to all delinquent accounts at the start of the business day on the scheduled date of disconnection. Once an account is dispatched for service termination, the fee is nonrefundable and must be paid in full to maintain or restore service, regardless of whether the physical disconnection has been completed by utility personnel, as outlined in the presented policy.

After discussion and upon request of Director Daniels to reword the last paragraph to note that no other notification is legally required, the board tabled approval to the next meeting.

During the last meeting, the General Manager shared that he had been contacted by a property management firm for Verizon Wireless this past week, proposing a reduction in the sublease agreement payment for the Pilot Knob tower. Further noted there is currently a three-party agreement in place with Verizon, Evergy, and Leavenworth Waterworks for rental of space on Evergy’s communication tower.

The General Manager confirmed with Evergy that they had not been contacted by the property management firm and recommended that the Board reject proposed changes at this time.

Upon motion from Director Leonhard and seconded by Director Daniels, motion passed 3-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15646), that the Board reject the proposal received from Verizon Wireless.

Administration

1. December and year end reconciliations
2. Continue review of job descriptions
3. Working on continuing education for license renewal
4. Updating/documenting various policies and procedures

Distribution

Water Distribution Projects

1. Lead & Copper Service Inventory
   • Total 3/37 for the year.
2. Mount Olivet Project
   • Tank electric taken over, awaiting KDHE cert.
3. Lawrence Ave
   • Final plan set complete and submitted.

Water Distribution Operations

1. No breaks since last meeting.
2. Trench safety class scheduled.
3. LVN Led safety committee started 1.23.26

Director Peterson suggested we invite Lan-Del to participate in the trench safety class. Distribution Manager agreed to send an invitation.

Water Treatment

Treatment Summary

1. Completed the 2025 Water Usage report
2. C&B Equipment replaced the Water Motor (1/18/2026)
3. Reviewed South Treatment Plant Capacity Improvement proposals
4. January Usage: 79,523,817 gallons Daily Average Usage: 3,786,848 gallons

Discussion held on the replaced pump motor

General Manager

• KMU Safety Training to be held January 23rd on “Slips/Trips/Falls” and “Back Injuries/Sprains/Strains. (delayed due to MLK holiday)
• Water Tank Project
  • Working to finalize Contract #2.
  • Working to close out the KPWSLF loan next month.
• South Treatment Plant Resiliency Project
  • Working with Consultant on Funding Quest.
  • Consultant trying to arrange a meeting with Senator Moran’s office to discuss FY 27 budget beginning of March.
  • Reviewing Engineering RFQ’s.
• Signed & Sealed Plans & Specifications for the Lawrence Ave./9th St. WMR Project. Submitted to KDHE for construction permit.

Reported that he had heard that the President signed bill with the $1.25 million CDS

Directors in Attendance

• Eric Peterson
• Camalla Leonhard

Staff in Attendance

• Joel Mahnken, General Manager
• Dana Splichal, Finance Manager
• John Hodgden, Distribution Manager
• Neil Seichepine, Treatment Manager
• Britni Huff, Staff Engineer

Others in Attendance

• Andrew Hansen, Black & Veatch
• Tim Malcolm, Black & Veatch
• Marl Bushouse, Black & Veatch
• Karen Deitze, Black & Veatch

A quorum was not present; therefore, no official action was taken. The session proceeded for the sole purpose of hearing a presentation from Black & Veatch.

Representatives from Black & Veatch presented a proposal for the South Treatment Plant resiliency project speaking of options and their specific approach to the project.

The Board and staff inquired about their experience and discussion was held.

Following the presentation by Black & Veatch, an informal discussion took place between management, and the Board members present. No official positions were adopted. The discussion focused on the comparative merits of the firms and their approach to the project.

There was no quorum to recess the meeting. The discussion ended at 7:35 PM and the matter is to be carried over to the next meeting on February 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM.

The Board reconvened the recessed meeting of January 26, 2026 on February 9, 2026 at 5:00. A quorum being present, Director Leonhard moved to formally adjourn the meeting that had been recessed through January 28, 2026. Seconded by Director Daniels. Motion carried, 5-0.