Board Meeting Minutes- September 28, 2026

Monday, September 28, 2026 at 5:00 PM | 601 Cherokee Leavenworth, KS 66048-0576

Attendance

Directors in Attendance

  • Eric Peterson
  • Camalla Leonhard
  • Eric Price
  • Nick Poff

Directors Absent (Excused)

  • William Daniels

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

  • None

Call to Order

Director Peterson called the meeting to order at 4:58 PM.

Roll Call, Announcement of Quorum

Director Peterson noted that a quorum was present.

Request, Comments, Petitions by Members of the Public

None

Board Member Items Outside of Executive Session

None

Approve Minutes of September 14 2026

Upon motion from Director Leonhard and seconded by Director Poff, motion passed 4-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15706), that the Board approved the minutes from September 14, 2026 as presented

Consideration of Consent Agenda

After brief discussion and upon motion from Director Leonhard and seconded by Director Price, motion passed 4-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15707), that the Board approved the consent agenda as presented.

Consider August 2026 Financial Statements

Upon motion from Director Poff and seconded by Director Leonhard, motion passed 4-0...

RESOLVED (No. 15708), that the Board approved the August 2026 Financial Statements.

Consider General Manager Succession Plan

After discussion and upon motion from Director Poff and seconded by Director Price, motion passed 4-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15709), that the Board approved on this day of September 28, 2026 the proposed General Manager Succession Plan naming current Distribution Manager John Hodgden the successor to the role.

Consider Authorizing the GM to Submit EPA Grant Application

After brief discussion and upon motion from Director Poff and seconded by Director Leonhard, motion passed 4-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15710), that the Board authorizes the General Manager to submit the EPA Grant Application as presented and be authorized to execute the required documentation on behalf of the Waterworks Board.

Consider Amendment to Engineering Services Contract with Carollo

Upon motion from Director Price and approved by Director Leonhard, motion passed 4-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15711), that the Board approves adding the consideration of Amendment to Engineering Services Contract with Carollo to the meeting agenda.

The amendment to the Engineering Services Contract with Carollo, received last Friday, was discussed. Specific wording needs to be included in the contract to be able to use EPA Grant funding towards the contract.

Upon motion from Director Price and seconded by Director Poff, motion passed 4-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15712), that the Board approves the amendment to the Engineering Design Contract with Carollo as presented.

Review Proposed 2027 Budget

The General Manager presented a draft of the 2027 budget and proposal for wholesale rate increase of $0.10 per CCF, except for the highest usage category. Potential retail rate increases are still being reviewed.

After discussion and upon motion from Director Leonhard and seconded by Director Price, motion passed 4-0…

RESOLVED (No. 15712), that the Board approves the rate increase to the wholesale price to $0.10 (ten cents) per CCF.

The 2027 Budget will be finalized at a future Board Meeting.

Divison Reports Presented:

Administration

  1. August financials
  2. Grant administration of the EPA grant, “Community Grants Program” received through CDS – FY26 allocation of $1,250,000
    • Completed required training for grants
    • Working on submission of application
  3. Continued work on Grants Procedures and Policies Manual
  4. 2027 budget in progress
  5. Filed annual SAMS registration which allows us to apply for federal grants
  6. STP Expansion
    • Attended progress meeting with Carollo Engineering
      • Total Fee: $1,687,859
      • To Date Billing: $463,351.92
      • Total Remaining: $1,224,507.08

January – 1,520 late notices sent and worked 261 shutoffs

February – 1,643 late notices sent and worked 209 shutoffs

March – 2,017 late notices sent and worked 173 shutoffs

April – 2,742 late notices sent and worked 194 shutoffs

May – 1,623 late notices sent and worked 239 shutoffs

June – 2,041 late notices sent and worked 183 shutoffs

July – 1,733 late notices sent and worked 181 shutoffs

August – 1,561 late notices sent and worked 176 shutoffs

8-month average of 1,860 late notices and 202 shutoffs

Distribution

Water Distribution Projects

  1. Lead & Copper Service Inventory
    • Total 30/37 for the year
    • LSLI Mailers to be sent out in October
  2. Lawrence Ave. WMR Project
    • Lawrence Ave complete
    • 9th St in prgress

Water Distribution Operations

  1. Completing services on Vilas
  2. Main breaks since last meeting, all three had corrosion holes
    • 2918 Virginia Circle, 2”, CI, 1967
    • 1500 Klemp, 6”, DI, 1977
    • 428 Muncie Ter, 2”, CI, 1942

Water Treatment

Treatment Summary

  1. Attended Safety Meeting
  2. North Plant is coming back online this week
  3. South Plant will begin Fall maintenance next week
  4. Attended progress meeting with Carollo
  5. September Usage: 107,461,996 gallons
    • Daily Average Usage: 4,672,261 gallons

General Manager

  1. KMU Safety Training held September 21st on “Inclement Winter Weather”
  2. South Treatment Plant Resiliency Project
    • Continued working on EPA Community Development (CDS) Grant
    • Requested assistance from Carollo’s financial team for the Federal WIFIA program for the Debt Financing portion
    • Inquired about status of FEMA BRIC grant to KDEM contact. Best guess was that we would not hear from FEMA until the end of the year.
  3. Working on 2027 Budget
    • Comparing costs with other regional water utilities.
    • Updated financial projections for funding the South Plant Project and rate setting.

Adjournment

Upon motion from Director Price, seconded by Director Poff, motion passed 4 -0...

Director Peterson adjourned the meeting at 5:53 PM.