Laserfiche WebLink
<br />understand more fully the cost to the City for 3-~ million gallons of water. Mr. Jones stated the <br />contract between the City and Connexus is a 3-year contract from 2000 through 2003, with <br />automatic renewals every year. He would suggest a service level agreement as an addendum to <br />the contract. He would agree with a minimum level of service, but would like to dig deeper into <br />the common factor on the no-readings. He would love to get 100% reads, but there are a lot of <br />factors that prevent this from happening. There is a responsibility to the customer, but he also <br />believes Connexus and the City owe it to the resident to come up with a fair agreement. Mr. <br />Jones indicated he will review the contract and determine what can be added, he would also like <br />to review the cost of the water to the City and determine the best solution. Connexus has waived <br />all late fees to the resident. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec inquired about the possibility of a list to be generated when usage in a household <br />exceeds the average use. <br /> <br />Mr. Jones replied this is typically done with a high/low list, where the computer calculates based <br />on history and usage the high and low use. There is also an additional check where the typical <br />usage of a particular City can be inserted into a specific calculation. Mr. Jones indicated <br />Connexus conducts readings quarterly for the cities of Ramsey and Andover, and for other <br />municipalities they conduct readings monthly. <br /> <br />Acting Chairperson Elvig suggested the City be presented with a list of options for the contract, <br />including monthly readings. He commented there are many new homeowners in the City with <br />irrigation systems, and he could see this type of situation happening again. As the demographics <br />change in the City there may be more merit in readings being completed more frequently. <br /> <br />Councilmember Cook stressed the importance of not setting a precedent with this situation that <br />would require the City or Connexus to pay in the future if a resident were to have a watermain <br />break. <br /> <br />Acting Chairperson Elvig explained the Finance Committee has discussed the importance of not <br />setting a precedent. If there is an anomaly in this situation it would take the concern of a <br />precedent out of this case. <br /> <br />Public Works Director Olson stated regarding the earlier discussion of the real cost to the City <br />for 3-~ million gallons of water, the City does not have a profit built into the cost of water. <br /> <br />Acting Chairperson Elvig noted Ms. Smith has admitted she heard something in the basement, <br />and has not stated she does not have any liability. She and her representative are looking for <br />some sort of relief, and have also stated if someone had been at the house checking on the <br />situation the damage could have been minimized. It is also important not to set a precedent with <br />this case. He requested Mr. Jones to work with Finance Officer Lund, and to provide the <br />Committee with the additional information at a future meeting. <br /> <br />Mr. Jones explained it boils down to how much the City is willing to pay to have the ability to <br />catch this type of situation. He does not know that it is fair to the rest of the residents to pay the <br />additional cost for readings to be completed every month. <br /> <br />Finance Committee I August 22, 2006 <br />Page 3 of5 <br />