SMBS: March 19 Minutes
Content
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA BROADBAND SERVICES
BOARD MINUTES
March 19, 2015
6:15 PM
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Bingham Lake – Darren Kalvig
Heron Lake – John Hay
Jackson – Donnie Schoenrock
Lakefield – Ern Malchow
Round Lake – Keith Stubbe
ALTERNATE BOARD
Bingham Lake – Carol Goeman
Jackson – Ken Temple
Lakefield – Doug Anderson
Round Lake – Kurt Lintelman
MANAGEMENT PRESENT: Travis Thies, Naomi Pederson
GUESTS PRESENT: Gary Larson, Doug Knuth
1 – Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:17 PM by Keith Stubbe,
Chairperson.
2 – Review and Approve Board Minutes: The minutes of the February 2,
February 19, and March 5, 2015 minutes were approved on a motion by Ern
Malchow and second by Donnie Schoenrock. All were in favor and the motion
carried.
3 – Review Financials & Approve Payables: The group reviewed the February
Financials and payables presented for approval. A motion to pay the bills but hold
the billing from the City of Windom for managerial services was made by Donnie
Schoenrock and seconded by Ern Malchow. All were in favor and the motion carried.
Naomi will request detail from the City of Windom on the bills being held. A motion
to have Travis discuss back-billing from the City of Windom with Pat Costello was
made by Darren Kalvig and seconded by John Hay. All were in favor and the motion
carried.
Naomi reported that Olsen Thielen had been at SMBS the last three days for audit.
Everything went well. There are a couple of open audit items that she will try and
clear up before her last day. Close out documents still haven’t been received from
CNE and Calix. Naomi will work with Glenn at CNE to get the documents. The City of
Heron Lake loan paperwork has different due dates than the rest of the cities. She
will work with Brenda at Heron Lake City Hall to get them corrected.
1
a. Review 2015 Budget: Having received preliminary estimates on network
increases from the City of Windom and customer rate increases, Naomi
completed the 2015 operations budget. A motion to approve the budget
was made by Donnie Schoenrock and seconded by John Hay. All were in
favor and the motion carried.
4 –Old Business:
a. Other: Darren reported that he would be attending the quarterly meeting
with SynKro the first week in April and will have a report at the next
meeting. Lee Untiedt has been the tech primarily responsible for SynKro
installs and trouble tickets. After some discussion, a motion to appoint Lee
to attend the quarterly SynKro meeting along with Darren was made by
John Hay and seconded by Donnie Schoenrock. All were in favor and the
motion carried. Travis will bring the SynKro contract to Pat Costello for
review.
b. Other: Donnie reported that he discussed financing fiber installation with
the Jackson City Administrator for the 42 unit housing project in Jackson.
This will not be a viable option. The group discussed financing it through
operations. Travis will talk to the project manager about a timeline and
order fiber and pedestals as necessary.
5 - New Business
a. Other – The SMBS credit card is in Dan Olsen’s name. Dan asked Keith to
inform the board that he would be canceling it as of April 1, 2015. After
some discussion, Naomi will work with Doug Anderson at First National
Bank to get a prepaid credit card for SMBS and cancel the current SMBS
card right away.
6 – Manager Report: Travis informed the group that he will have a vitals report for
the next board meeting. The board agreed that Travis should have the SMBS locks
re-keyed. Pat Stenzel was hired for 24-32 hours per week but will be handling
accounts payable and payroll until a replacement for Naomi is found. Payroll and
accounts payable are more complicated tasks and should be compensated at a
higher rate. A motion to allow Pat to work up to 40 hours on a temporary basis while
she is completing additional duties and be paid at a rate of $15 was made by
Darren Kalvig and seconded by Ern Malchow. All were in favor and the motion
carried. Naomi will draw up a statement of understanding for Pat stating that the
rate of pay and hours are temporary.
Travis inquired about a policy for set-top box distribution. Set top boxes and DVR’s
are quite expensive and we don’t always get them back. There are some customers
that are habitually past due and disconnected for non-pay. He requested a policy for
2
requiring customers to be current on their bill before they receive a set-top box or
DVR. He will bring a recommendation back to the board.
Travis inquired about payment arrangements. SMBS started allowing payment
arrangements early on in the installation process. The more customers we add the
more time consuming this practice is. A motion to discontinue payment
arrangements with residential customers and follow the disconnection policy was
made by Darren Kalvig and seconded by Ern Malchow. All were in favor and the
motion carried.
Travis distributed and reviewed the new residential bundles and rates. The board
reviewed a letter being mailed to businesses introducing the higher internet speeds.
7 – Board Concerns/Issues: Ern Malchow inquired about re-payment of mileage
that had been paid to Kurt Lintelman in error. Naomi reported that she pays
meeting and mileage reimbursement by the meeting roll call. She pays both unless
someone lets her know that they didn’t drive. It was suggested that a sign-in sheet
be used at future meetings where board members can indicate whether they should
be paid mileage or not. A motion for Kurt Lintelman to pay SMBS back for mileage
paid for meetings that he didn’t drive to was made by Darren Kalvig and seconded
by John Hay. All were in favor and the motion carried. Naomi will calculate how
much mileage was paid and give the figure to Kurt to be paid back.
Keith Stubbe inquired about reimbursement for his attendance at future Minnesota
Public Broadband Alliance (MPBA) meetings in Shakopee. Travis will also be
attending these meetings and a company vehicle will be used when possible. A
motion for Keith to attend and be reimbursed for meetings and mileage was made
by Ken Temple and seconded by Darren Kalvig. All were in favor and the motion
carried.
Keith reported that his attendance at MPBA meetings was discussed at previous
meetings and it just wasn’t included in the minutes. A motion to pay back-dated
expense requests for meeting and mileage was made by Darren Kalvig and
seconded by Ken Temple. The majority vote carried with Lakefield voting no.
8 - Adjournment: Having no further business to discuss, a motion to adjourn was
made by John Hay and seconded by Ern Malchow. All were in favor and the meeting
adjourned at 8:50 PM.
Respectfully Submitted by
Naomi Pederson, Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services
Keith Stubbe
Date
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BOARD MINUTES
March 19, 2015
6:15 PM
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Bingham Lake – Darren Kalvig
Heron Lake – John Hay
Jackson – Donnie Schoenrock
Lakefield – Ern Malchow
Round Lake – Keith Stubbe
ALTERNATE BOARD
Bingham Lake – Carol Goeman
Jackson – Ken Temple
Lakefield – Doug Anderson
Round Lake – Kurt Lintelman
MANAGEMENT PRESENT: Travis Thies, Naomi Pederson
GUESTS PRESENT: Gary Larson, Doug Knuth
1 – Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:17 PM by Keith Stubbe,
Chairperson.
2 – Review and Approve Board Minutes: The minutes of the February 2,
February 19, and March 5, 2015 minutes were approved on a motion by Ern
Malchow and second by Donnie Schoenrock. All were in favor and the motion
carried.
3 – Review Financials & Approve Payables: The group reviewed the February
Financials and payables presented for approval. A motion to pay the bills but hold
the billing from the City of Windom for managerial services was made by Donnie
Schoenrock and seconded by Ern Malchow. All were in favor and the motion carried.
Naomi will request detail from the City of Windom on the bills being held. A motion
to have Travis discuss back-billing from the City of Windom with Pat Costello was
made by Darren Kalvig and seconded by John Hay. All were in favor and the motion
carried.
Naomi reported that Olsen Thielen had been at SMBS the last three days for audit.
Everything went well. There are a couple of open audit items that she will try and
clear up before her last day. Close out documents still haven’t been received from
CNE and Calix. Naomi will work with Glenn at CNE to get the documents. The City of
Heron Lake loan paperwork has different due dates than the rest of the cities. She
will work with Brenda at Heron Lake City Hall to get them corrected.
1
a. Review 2015 Budget: Having received preliminary estimates on network
increases from the City of Windom and customer rate increases, Naomi
completed the 2015 operations budget. A motion to approve the budget
was made by Donnie Schoenrock and seconded by John Hay. All were in
favor and the motion carried.
4 –Old Business:
a. Other: Darren reported that he would be attending the quarterly meeting
with SynKro the first week in April and will have a report at the next
meeting. Lee Untiedt has been the tech primarily responsible for SynKro
installs and trouble tickets. After some discussion, a motion to appoint Lee
to attend the quarterly SynKro meeting along with Darren was made by
John Hay and seconded by Donnie Schoenrock. All were in favor and the
motion carried. Travis will bring the SynKro contract to Pat Costello for
review.
b. Other: Donnie reported that he discussed financing fiber installation with
the Jackson City Administrator for the 42 unit housing project in Jackson.
This will not be a viable option. The group discussed financing it through
operations. Travis will talk to the project manager about a timeline and
order fiber and pedestals as necessary.
5 - New Business
a. Other – The SMBS credit card is in Dan Olsen’s name. Dan asked Keith to
inform the board that he would be canceling it as of April 1, 2015. After
some discussion, Naomi will work with Doug Anderson at First National
Bank to get a prepaid credit card for SMBS and cancel the current SMBS
card right away.
6 – Manager Report: Travis informed the group that he will have a vitals report for
the next board meeting. The board agreed that Travis should have the SMBS locks
re-keyed. Pat Stenzel was hired for 24-32 hours per week but will be handling
accounts payable and payroll until a replacement for Naomi is found. Payroll and
accounts payable are more complicated tasks and should be compensated at a
higher rate. A motion to allow Pat to work up to 40 hours on a temporary basis while
she is completing additional duties and be paid at a rate of $15 was made by
Darren Kalvig and seconded by Ern Malchow. All were in favor and the motion
carried. Naomi will draw up a statement of understanding for Pat stating that the
rate of pay and hours are temporary.
Travis inquired about a policy for set-top box distribution. Set top boxes and DVR’s
are quite expensive and we don’t always get them back. There are some customers
that are habitually past due and disconnected for non-pay. He requested a policy for
2
requiring customers to be current on their bill before they receive a set-top box or
DVR. He will bring a recommendation back to the board.
Travis inquired about payment arrangements. SMBS started allowing payment
arrangements early on in the installation process. The more customers we add the
more time consuming this practice is. A motion to discontinue payment
arrangements with residential customers and follow the disconnection policy was
made by Darren Kalvig and seconded by Ern Malchow. All were in favor and the
motion carried.
Travis distributed and reviewed the new residential bundles and rates. The board
reviewed a letter being mailed to businesses introducing the higher internet speeds.
7 – Board Concerns/Issues: Ern Malchow inquired about re-payment of mileage
that had been paid to Kurt Lintelman in error. Naomi reported that she pays
meeting and mileage reimbursement by the meeting roll call. She pays both unless
someone lets her know that they didn’t drive. It was suggested that a sign-in sheet
be used at future meetings where board members can indicate whether they should
be paid mileage or not. A motion for Kurt Lintelman to pay SMBS back for mileage
paid for meetings that he didn’t drive to was made by Darren Kalvig and seconded
by John Hay. All were in favor and the motion carried. Naomi will calculate how
much mileage was paid and give the figure to Kurt to be paid back.
Keith Stubbe inquired about reimbursement for his attendance at future Minnesota
Public Broadband Alliance (MPBA) meetings in Shakopee. Travis will also be
attending these meetings and a company vehicle will be used when possible. A
motion for Keith to attend and be reimbursed for meetings and mileage was made
by Ken Temple and seconded by Darren Kalvig. All were in favor and the motion
carried.
Keith reported that his attendance at MPBA meetings was discussed at previous
meetings and it just wasn’t included in the minutes. A motion to pay back-dated
expense requests for meeting and mileage was made by Darren Kalvig and
seconded by Ken Temple. The majority vote carried with Lakefield voting no.
8 - Adjournment: Having no further business to discuss, a motion to adjourn was
made by John Hay and seconded by Ern Malchow. All were in favor and the meeting
adjourned at 8:50 PM.
Respectfully Submitted by
Naomi Pederson, Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services
Keith Stubbe
Date
3
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