Purchasing and selling equipment and reorganizing the personnel chart highlighted discussed during Tuesday’s Clarksdale Public Utilities meeting.
CPU general manager Curtis Boschert proposed amending the organizational chart by eliminating the electrician position and replacing it with a maintenance technician II position. That employee would report to the maintenance supervisor.
Boschert said he proposed the change because two employees were qualified for the maintenance technician II position and there was not a need for the electrician position. The board unanimously approved the proposal.
The board unanimously approved purchasing a new lawnmower for the buildings and grounds department on a state contract for $10,763.22.
CPU has four lawnmowers and the one being replaced was a 2008 60 inch exmark with 1,157 hours of usage.
“The other ones will wear out the next few years, but we’re not buying one every year,” said Boschert, estimating CPU would need a new lawnmower every two to four years.
“It’s a good mower, so it should last,” said Boschert about the new lawnmower. “We’re going to take good care of it, keep it serviced and have the driver operate it in a safe manner not running over stuff to tear up the motor blades or the decks. We’re going to take good care of it.”
The board unanimously approved declaring several pieces of equipment including batteries, computer items and VHS players no longer useful for CPU. Some of the items may be sold.
“We can always try and, if no one makes a deal, we can dispose of it,” Boschert said.
“I’m going to go through them and we’ll have a list of what’s worth even trying to sell. Some of this stuff might be cracked up. I’m not going to offer that. If it’s all busted up, we’ll just pitch it in the garbage.”
Boschert said he would put out a notice and people could place bids on the items.
Boschert also mentioned issues with chopper pumps for the board to consider.
“At the wastewater treatment plant, we have three influent pumps,” he said. “That means, where it’s influent, they’re coming into the plant. We have two that are down, so we need to get these back going so we can keep everything going.”
CGI Inc., already partnering with the city of Clarksdale to do a project on the city website, requested a CPU sponsorship that would have cost $1,500.
“I don’t recommend we do it,” Boschert said. “I think we’d be wasting money. I probably should have even brought it up.”
Boschert said CPU’s logo already was on the city’s website.
No motion was made after a short discussion.
CPA Arnold Himelstein provided the monthly financial report.
He said the profit for the current fiscal year, which started in Oct. 2019, was $391,195.80. The net loss for the month of January was $215,363.56, but that was to be expected.
“That’s about par for January,” Himelstein said.
The total assets for the fiscal year are $39,192,967.32, the liabilities are $17,793,410.57, and the total equity is $21,399,556.75.
