HomeMy Public PortalAbout11-17-2003 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF RICHMOND,INDIANA,SERVING AS A BOARD
IN CHARGE OF THE OPERATION OF THE RICHMOND POWER&LIGHT PLANT
MONDAY,NOVEMBER 17,2003
The Common Council of the City of Richmond,Indiana,serving as a Board in charge of the operations of the
Richmond Power&Light Plant met in regular session at 7 p.m.Monday,November 17,2003 in the Council Chambers
in the Municipal Building in said City.Chairperson Bruce Wissel presided with the following Councilmembers in '
attendance:Howard"Jack"Elstro,Etta J.Lundy,Karl Sharp,Bing Welch,Larry Parker,Steve Rabe,Phil Dickman and
Sarah"Sally"Hutton.The following business was conducted:
ROLL CALL
Nine present.
MINUTES FOR NOVEMBER 3,2003
Councilmember Parker moved to approve the minutes of November 3,2003,second by Councilmember Sharp and the
motion was carried on a voice vote.
APPROVAL OF BILLS,INVESTMENTS AND TRANSFERS
Upon recommendation of the Finance Committee,Councilmember Hutton moved to approve the following bills for
payment,seconded by Councilmember Dickman and the motion was carried on a voice vote.
Bills Already Paid:
Payroll and Deductions $271,465.24
Investments Purchased From:
Cash Operating Fund
Bond Sinking Fund
Utility Bond Reserve Fund
Depreciation Reserve Fund
Insurance Reserve Fund
Consumer Deposit Fund
Cash Reserve Fund
Group Insurance Fund
Total
Telecommunications Division Investments Purchased From:
Cash Operating Fund
Transfer from Cash Operating Fund to:
Cash Reserve Fund for Payment
To City in lieu of taxes
Transfer from Cash Operating Fund to:
Depreciation Reserve Fund
For Property&Plant
Transfers from Depreciation Reserve to:
Cash Operating Fund
Transfers from Consumer Deposit to:
Cash Operating Fund
Transfers from Utility Bond Reserve Fund to:
Bond Sinking Fund
Transfers from Cash Operating to:
Interest and Bond Principal
Bond Sinking Fund
Cash Reserve Fund
Utility Bond Sinking Fund
Depreciation Reserve Fund
Insurance Reserve Fund
Consumer Deposit Fund
Interest and Bond Principal
End of Month Petty Cash
Revenue Bonds
Interest Coupons Redeemed
Miscellaneous Prepaid Invoices $ 125,319.21
Telecom.Div.Misc.Pre Paid Invoices: 14,491.21 '
Total Prepaid Invoices: 411,275.56
Total EFT/Direct Deposit of Payroll: (93,067.51)
Total Prepaid Invoices: 318,208.05
Total EFT Transfers: 72,728.04
Total Prepaids plus EFT Transfers: 390,936.09
Total Bills Not Paid: 765,957.99
Grand Total of Bills to be approved: $ 1,156,894.08
RP&L Minutes Cont'd
November 17,2003
Page 2
REMARKS BY CHAIRPERSON
There were none.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
There was none.
STREET LIGHT COMMITTEE REPORT
No report.
REPORT BY GENERAL MANAGER
General Manager David Osbum recommended that the Board accept the lowest bid received at the last meeting for a
2004 70-foot bucket truck for$106,084 made by Al Tech,adding that it met all the specifications.Councilmember
Dickman moved to award the bid to Al Tech,second by Councilmember Welch and the motion was carried on a voice'
vote.
Osburn said that after review of the bids received at the last meeting for a new trencher with backhoe attachment it was
found that the low bid by Ditch Witch for$30,974 had several parts of the bid they did not meet.The next highest bid,
he said,was made by Vermeer at$30,984.30 did meet specifications,and at that point they would have gone with that
one because for$6 more it met all the specifications.However,he said,Vermeer bid a third second unit at$34,611.30
which would be an additional$2,887.He said the difference in the two Vermeer units was that the lower priced one is
an older model that is being discontinued and the one they bid with the higher dollar amount is the new model that is
out now and is also a heavier duty model with a bigger engine with 50 horsepower versus 45 and it has a stronger
hydraulic system.
Taking all of this into consideration,he said,the group out of the line department said they would prefer spending the
extra money to get a current model and a bigger unit.In answer to a question by Councilmember Parker,Osburn said
they had budgeted$60,000 for this piece of equipment,saying that they anticipated it would cost a lot more than the
bids received.Osburn pointed out again the main reasons for selecting this model,adding that the backhoe attachment
has a 170-degree swing radius where the other model has 130 degrees.Councilmember Dickman moved to approve the
purchase of the one recommended by Osburn,second by Councilmember Sharp.However,before the vote,City
Attorney Bob Bever suggested that since the bid was not being awarded to the actual lowest it might be a good idea to
put on the record how it did not meet specs,due to the deviation of specs on the alternate model.,
Osbum complied by pointing out a few of the exceptions which included the backfill blade raises only 11 inches where
the spec called for the minimum of 13 'A inches,the fuel tank is metal and not plastic as called for in the spec,the unit
is not equipped with a hydraulic bypass cold start,the trencher engagement lever is on the left versus the right where
the others tend to be which means the operator would have to re-learn how to operate it,the fuel mileage is not up to
what the spec was and the digging chain tension was rated at a strength that didn't meet the spec.
Chairperson Wissel then stated that the motion on the floor was to accept the alternate bid by Vermeer for a trencher
backhoe attachment in the amount of$34,611.30 and the motion was accepted by a voice vote.
Osburn said RP&L is getting ready to start the design work for the rebuild of its Whitewater Transmission line which
is the line that runs from the generating station by the utility's offices to the Johnson Street Substation which is one of
the main hubs.He explained that the first step is to do the design which will be followed next year by the rebuild.He
introduced Steve Saum,engineering operations manager,who explained that he had sent out bids to 10 different
engineering firms and received 5. The result was that RP&L chose to stay with the firm they had used in the past
which is Sargeant Lundy,adding that they did test the market to see what was out there to make sure they're getting a
good bid. Osburn said the budget on this was$120,000.Councilmember Welch moved to authorize the General
Manager to enter into a contract with Sargeant Lundy for the design,second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion
was carried on a voice vote.
The Board was asked by Osburn for authorization to purchase SO 2 allowances not to exceed$525,000,explaining that
the market is climbing and costs are going up so he needs this higher amount than was authorized earlier by the Board.:
He said the deadline to buy is the end of February which means that he would be buying by early February and he said
he anticipated that it would take 3,500 to 4,000 allowances to cover the need.At the current prices,he said,the utility
would be spending over$1 million for allowances this year,stating that prices earlier this year were in the$130 range
and now they're over$200.Councilmember Welch moved to authorize Osbum to purchase SO 2 allowances not to
exceed$525,000,second by Councilmember Dickman and the motion was carried on a voice vote.
In an update of the Mobotec unit,Osburn said that Unit No.2 is still in operation and they are happy with the
performance although the final numbers are not set yet.He reminded Board members of the budget meeting at 7 p.m.
Tuesday at RP&L.Osburn said RP&L had been working with Earlham College on relocating its substation there
because plans are to build a new dormitory and added that possibly he would be bringing some requests for bids for the
work to be done before this Board before the end of the year.
NEW BUSINESS
There was none.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business,on a motion duly made,seconded and passed,the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
Bruce Wissel,Chairperson
ATTEST:
Norma Schroeder,Clerk