October 2024 Message From Your Board
10/23/2024
October is here, and in full swing! We LOVE Fall, and everything Fall brings with it. Unbelievable that time is slipping away so quickly, as we are entering late fall. We pray for moderate temps and normal Fall weather.
At our August 20th Meeting, the Board of Directors appointed Matt Zelinski. The Board of Directors voted Roll Call Vote and approved. He is replacing Tara Shannon, who moved out of state with her family. We appreciate having had Tara as a Board Member, and she will be missed! At the same time, we are happy to have Matt join us again! Your current Board of Directors consists of: Darrel Loftesnes, Matt Zelinski, Austin Hanson, Kelly Drevecky, Crystal Hendrickson, Mike Rudnick and Lisa Krueger.
We are still working on our revised website. Our goal is to present a better organized and more functional site for you, the member. We would love it if the new website was up and running before the end of this month, but we also love it more – to facilitate correctly and mindfully.
There are many ways to judge a healthy business and organization. Our Auditor: Daryl Heizelman from Brady Martz presented the completed Audit from 2023. He mentioned numerous times that the NPRWD Audit was a Clean Audit. They also did extra testing on some categories, per the request of a NPRWD Board of Director. Brady Martz presented a Clean Audit on all. FYI: Our Net Position has increased from $ 37,783,408 in 2020 to $ 46,114,470 ending in 2023. We also have Reserve Funds that meet the requirements of The State of ND, regarding the Federal and State Grant Dollars we have received.
NPRWD is the 2nd oldest rural water system in N.D. As we have stated before, we have pipelines that are over 50 years old in our system. The Board of Directors continues to be aware that we need to be prepared to replace these. Soon. So that our members – you - can continue receiving our rural water.
At our September 27th meeting, our General Manager, Teresa Sundsbak advised the Board of Directors that we need to begin working on a Succession Plan for her role. At NPRWD. We appreciate that she is giving The Board of Directors time to research and look for her replacement. It will be no small task to find someone who can step in and take over North Prairie Regional Water District. Our search for a General Manager will be facilitated professionally, and we will take our time and conduct interviews to make sure this person’s qualifications and experiences are suitable for the demands of this position. We will keep you updated with our Monthly Messages from The Board. Thank you for your patience.
It has come to our attention, that our Water Cents Program needed some reviewing and overhauling. It was created in 2012, which is 12 years ago. We want to continue honoring the original intent of this program, which was to support young adults with financial scholarships, to allow them to pursue a career in Water Management. And bring it current with today’s laws and procedures.
If you encounter water issues, low pressure, or anything out of the ordinary with your NPRWD water, please call the NPRWD front office number. And report your issue. There is a process in place, and calling the front office is the 1st step. The calls will then be taken in order of being received. If we want this process to work like it should; quickly and efficiently, the above routine needs to be followed. The front office number is: 701-852-1886. Karla and Kaylie will take your name, number, concern and process all according to procedure.
Reminder: Our October meeting will be held Friday, October. 25th at The Minot Public Works Building. 10:00 o’clock in Conference Room #3.
We appreciate all of you, our members, and please know your Board of Director’s are continuing to move forward in a positive manner. Our goal and mission remains to deliver clean, affordable potable water to you – our Members. Enjoy the remainder of your Fall!