President Paul Johnson called the meeting to order.

Moved by Ron Felten, seconded by Jim Schroeder, to approve the agenda.  Approved unanimously.

Moved by Jim Schroeder, seconded by Ron Felten, to approve the regular meeting minutes of December 11, 2009.  Approved unanimously.

Moved by Jim Schroeder, seconded by Ron Felten, to approve the vendor’s payable list, additional bills and expenses, and authorize warrants to be drawn for their payment.  Approved unanimously.

Sherry Lunt, Customer Services Supervisor, presented the 2009 fourth quarter charge-offs.

Moved by Thomas C. Baudler, seconded by Ron Felten, to approve the fourth quarter 2009 charge-offs in the amount of $24,085.91.  Approved unanimously.

Kim Duncomb, Support Services Director, stated she invited Craig Jones, SMIG, to February’s Board Meeting to update the Board on the new Wi-Fi system regarding complaints, advertising, number of registered customers, and growth expectations.

Moved by Ron Felten, seconded by Jeanne Sheehan, to adjourn the 2009 Board of Commissioners of the Austin Utilities Sine Die.  Approved unanimously.

The Secretary convened the 2010 Board of Commissioners of the Austin Utilities as follows:
Commissioner - Thomas C. Baudler
Commissioner – Ron Felten 
Commissioner – Jeanne Sheehan
Commissioner – Jim Schroeder 
Commissioner – Paul Johnson

Moved by Paul Johnson, seconded by Jeanne Sheehan, that the Secretary close the nomination for President and pass a unanimous vote for Ron Felten as President of the Commission.  Approved unanimously.

The Secretary stated Ron Felten has been unanimously appointed President of the Austin Utilities Board of Commissioners.

Moved by Paul Johnson, seconded by Jeanne Sheehan, to nominate Jim Schroeder as Vice President of the Commission. Approved unanimously.

Moved by Jeanne Sheehan, seconded by Paul Johnson, to appoint Jerry McCarthy, General Manager, as Secretary to the Board for the ensuing year in accordance with Chapter XI, Section 1, Austin City Charter.  Approved unanimously.

By Board consensus, the following are the 2010 Committees of the Austin Utilities Board:

Personnel Committee    Thomas C. Baudler & Jeanne Sheehan
Budget Committee        Paul Johnson & Ron Felten
Mower County Water Management   Jim Schroeder

Jerry McCarthy, General Manager, presented year 2009 review. Jerry thanked the Directors and Employees for 2009 accomplishments and stated the employees of Austin Utilities are the utilities biggest asset.

Jeanne Sheehan also thanked all the employees. Ron Felten reiterated the thank you on behalf of the Board and stated Austin Utilities is ‘very blessed’ with excellent staff.

Jerry McCarthy, General Manager, presented letters of resignation from Jason Schimek, Gas & Water Construction, and Mark Williams, Generation, and retirement letters from Jean Clark, Accounting, and Jerry McCarthy, General Manager.

Moved by Jeanne Sheehan, seconded by Jim Schroeder, to accept with regret the resignation letters from Jason Schimek, Gas & Water Construction, and Mark Williams, Generation, and retirement letters from Jean Clark, Accounting, and Jerry McCarthy, General Manager. Approved unanimously.

The Board discussed various recruitment processes for the General Manager position and directed Kim Duncomb to schedule a meeting with the Personnel Committee to discuss the issue and bring back a recommendation for the February Board Meeting.

Jerry McCarthy, General Manager, updated the Board on the Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency Meeting.

Kim Duncomb, Support Services Director, updated the Board on safety.

Jerry McCarthy notified the Board that Austin Utilities has been nominated for the Chamber Business of the Year award and invited the members to attend the Chamber’s Winter Banquet on Thursday, February 25th .

The next Regular Board meeting was established for February 9th.

Moved by Paul Johnson, seconded by Jeanne Sheehan, to adjourn.  Approved unanimously.