Board Meeting Minutes- June 9, 2025

Monday, June 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM | 601 Cherokee Leavenworth, KS 66048-0576

Directors in Attendance

• Richard Gervasini
• Chad Lough
• William Daniels
• Eric Peterson

Directors Absent (Excused)

• Nick Poff

Staff in Attendance

• Joel Mahnken, General Manager
• Christine Owens, Billing Clerk
• John Hodgden, Distribution Manager
• Neil Seichepine, Treatment Manager
• Britni Huff, Staff Engineer

Others in Attendance

• None

Director Gervasini called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM.

Director Gervasini noted that a quorum was present.

None

None

Upon motion from Director Daniels and seconded by Director Lough, motion passed 4-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15583), that the Board approved minutes from May 27, 2025.

Upon motion from Director Peterson and seconded by Director Daniels, motion passed 4-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15584), that the Board approved the consent agenda as presented.

Currently, we send out approximately 2,000 delinquency letters each month notifying customers that their bill is past due. We then allow them one week to contact us to request a one-week payment extension, leading to a significant volume of inbound calls and administrative effort to manage these requests. Also, we do not currently assess late fees, which can disincentivize timely payments. This proposal seeks to standardize our payment policies by establishing clear due dates, assessing late fees for overdue accounts, and defining a subsequent shut-off date.

To encourage timely payment, improve financial stability, and streamline billing processes, we propose implementing a late fee structure for delinquent accounts and eliminating the current practice of granting payment extensions. This change aims to reduce the administrative burden associated with managing individual extensions and provide a clear, consistent policy for all customers.

Upon motion from Director Peterson and seconded by Director Lough, motion passed 4-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15584), that the Board approved the proposal as presented beginning in August, and to review the policy after six months.

Upon motion from Director Peterson and seconded by Director Lough, motion passed 4-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15585), that the Board approved the April Financial Statements.

The draft 2024 Audit Report and communications were previously provided to the Board for review. An unqualified opinion on the financial position of the Leavenworth Waterworks Board was issued by the audit firm, SSC CPAs, P.A.

Upon motion from Director Peterson and seconded by Director Lough, motion passed 3-0, with Director Daniels abstaining…

RESOLVED (No. 15586), that the Board approved the 2024 Audit Report.

This item was tabled until the next meeting.

Administration

1. BS&A Software - go live date July 28th
   • Continuing to work with the conversion team
     1. Bi-weekly meeting to discuss status and questions
     2. On-site training begins July 22nd
     3. Working with BS&A on new bill design
        • We have received 2nd draft
2. Info Send
   • Conducting weekly meetings to discuss status and questions
   • We have provided draft for the back of the bill info
3. Held a continuing education/staff development day on the topic of HR June 17th
4. Attended AWWA ACE Conference June 8th through June 11th
   • Met with several vendors including CDM Smith, Black & Veatch, DNTanks, US Pipe, Carollo, Sherwin Williams, Hach, Pedrotti
   • Attended various classes all day Monday through Wednesday
   • Attended Kansas section of the AWWA lunch
   • Attended Women in Water networking lunch and social
5. Looking ahead
   • Annual Leave June 23rd to June 27th

Distribution

Progress pictures were shared of the Mount Olivet Tank Project and Lecompton WMR Project.

Water Distribution Projects

1. Lead & Copper Service Inventory
   • Total 12/37 for the year.
2. Lecompton Water Main Replacement (2023)
   • MCON has all the pipe on Springdale installed, working east now. They have cleared the brush from the south side of the BPS, pictures on the z:drive.
3. Mount Olivet Project
   • Scaffolding up, new pictures. Slowing down due to weather
4. Lawrence Ave
   • Survey ordered, expected delivery in 8-10 weeks.

Water Distribution Operations

1. No main breaks since last meeting!
2. Working on Property Damage Policy.
3. Service line and valves on-going maintenance.

Water Treatment

Ohio Street Booster Station

1. Nothing new to report.

North Plant Summary

1. Back to full time operations.

South Plant Summary

1. Held a meeting with Carollo regarding the South Plant expansion project.
2. The Lagoon pump project is finished.
3. Briefly discussed potential of Pellet Softening Process.

General Manager

• Water Tank Project
  • Contract #1 Pipeline: Waiting on Final Pay Request.
  • Contract #2 Tank: DN Tank has completed the base of the tank, prepared wall & roof panels, and is assembling falsework for the same.
  • Preparing Loan Disbursement Request No. 5.
• South Treatment Plant Resiliency Project
  • Worked on the CDS program with consultant.
  • Attended meeting with Carollo Engineering at the STP.
• MCON is making excellent progress on the Lecompton WMR project.
• Reviewed draft 2024 Audit Report.
• Reminded Board we will be closed Thursday, 6/19 for the Juneteenth Holiday and the next board meeting packet will be sent out on June 20th.

THE SCHEDULED EXECUTIVE SESSION WAS TABLE UNTIL THE NEXT MEETING.

Upon motion from Director Peterson, seconded by Director Daniels, motion passed 4-0.

Director Gervasini adjourned the meeting at 5:54 PM.