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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Hastings Utility Board Meeting Summary - February 12, 2026

Utility Board — Thursday, February 12, 2026

BodyHastings, Nebraska

SessionUtility Board

DateThursday, February 12, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

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Transcript — Verbatim

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

To in uh meetings to come.

0:02

Um, one, we are finishing up the the solar IATC refund process for solar phase two.

0:09

Uh, hopefully we'll get that completed this week.

0:11

I really appreciate everybody's help uh getting us to the hopefully to the finish line there.

0:16

Um I bring that up because we do have the potential option to do a solar phase three.

0:23

Uh we did take it out of the budget.

0:25

Um we wanted to look into, we changed it to evaluating for future generation.

0:30

We're we're always evaluating for future generation, and we're we're finding that there's still some opportunity to get in on some of that ITC tax credit.

0:40

If we were to get this project moving, and we may have to get it moving prior to the uh approval of next year's budget.

0:48

So we want to throw some numbers in front of people, uh run stuff through the advisory board here, and then we'll have to have discussion obviously with city council on what makes the most sense for our ratepayers moving forward.

0:59

Um there's definitely an opportunity.

1:01

Uh I feel it's our responsibility to make sure that we bring every opportunity in front of uh the city to decide

Speaker 2

1:07

whether this is a good decision for

Speaker 1

1:09

our ratepayers.

1:10

But there's some some exciting stuff that we can maybe do

Unassigned speaker

1:12

there

Speaker 1

1:13

with gas generation, um, which was something we looked at for the replacements or potential uh future replacements with four and five.

1:21

The cost of turbines and the lead time of turbines just is um something that we can't with our our current rate structure.

1:28

We we just don't feel like we can stomach that um comfortably.

1:31

Um discussions with nuclear are still ongoing.

1:35

I still think that there's a promising future for neutral nuclear, but it's uh unfortunately at least another 10 years away and probably more for us.

1:43

Um the reality with nuclear right now is you need somebody to come come in and back that behind you.

1:49

So you know the the Googles and Facebooks and Amazons of the world are probably where the first ones are gonna happen.

1:55

Um, which nothing's saying they won't come here, but ultimately I think for things that we can do short term to help alleviate some of the concerns.

2:04

I know that Shane's team and their JCs are running some numbers.

2:07

Um we'll have some more information, get that in front of you so you guys can see what we're seeing.

2:11

Uh budget process right around the corner.

2:14

Um we'll plan to continue to do uh what we do there.

2:17

Uh last year we tried to hit on all the different systems to kind of give a baseline of where we are and where we plan to go before we get into the budget season.

2:28

So then the budget season kind of those projects correlated to some of the discussions we already had.

2:32

We're gonna try to do that again.

2:34

Um, if there's anything you guys would like to see different, we'd be more than happy to switch that up.

2:39

But I think the pro uh the process for on as far as uh on the utility side, I I thought went very well.

2:45

Um but if there's some changes or tweaks or things we'd like to see changed there, open obviously from this board and then city council as well.

2:53

So with that, I think that's all I

Unassigned speaker

2:55

have.

Unassigned speaker

2:56

Thank

Speaker 3

2:57

you, Derek.

2:57

And I think you know, some of that with the solar, there's opportunities that we probably need to look at and take advantage of at this point.

3:04

But it's always good, and I think this board and the utilities is certainly not throwing everything into one thing, but looking at hey, what happens if this or that?

3:13

So uh being able to have those backup plans are always good.

3:16

And I know we talked a little bit about uh with the nuclear and where that may or may not be, but uh whether it is or it isn't, we got to have that backup.

3:25

We want to keep that reliability with the utilities.

3:27

So uh outside of that, um I'll turn it over to board members' communication and citizens communication.

3:39

I believe there are there is none.

3:41

So we can move to the consent uh agenda and approval of the minutes of the Hastings Utility Board meeting of December 11th, 2025.

3:50

So moved.

Speaker 4

3:52

Second Heitzman,

Speaker 3

3:55

yes,

Speaker 4

3:55

dwell, yes, Coles,

Speaker 3

3:57

yes,

Speaker 4

3:58

Meski, yes.

Speaker 3

4:00

Regular agenda, unfinished business.

4:03

I don't of the preceding meeting there's nothing that's been carried over, so we'll just go to general business and I'll turn that back over to Derek.

Speaker 1

4:12

Yeah, thank you.

4:13

Uh as we we always do here with finance, we do have the status uh monthly monthly financials, which you should all be receiving as they come due.

4:21

Um course, Larry's here, Roger's here if we have any questions on that.

4:26

I don't know, Larry, if you wanted to just kind of give an update on where we currently sit with our monthly financials.

Speaker 5

4:31

Yeah, sure.

4:32

Good morning.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Water And Wastewater Management█████████████████████████████████████████████51%

Energy Management███████████████████22%

Fiscal Sustainability█████████████15%

Capital Improvement████5%

Procedural████4%

Budget Equity Analysis███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Hastings Utility Board Meeting Summary - February 12, 2026

The Hastings Utility Board held its regular meeting on Thursday, February 12, 2026, at 9:00 AM in the Airport Conference Room. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Bill Hitesman and adjourned at 9:34 AM. Board members Jeanette Dewalt, Scott Kvols, Susan Meeske, and Bill Hitesman were present, with Regg Rutt absent. The board discussed updates on generation projects, monthly financials, a rate comparison study, and conducted a final discussion on a proposed Late Fee Ordinance.

Consent Calendar

The board unanimously approved the minutes from the December 11, 2025 meeting. (Moved by Kvols, seconded by Dewalt. Passed 4-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

None were provided.

Discussion Items

Manager’s Communications (Derek Zeisler): Derek reported that the Solar Phase II ITC refund process is nearly complete. He introduced the potential for a Solar Phase III project, though it was removed from the budget and would require further evaluation. He stated that the cost and lead time for gas turbines are prohibitive under the current rate structure, and that nuclear power discussions are ongoing but are at least 10 years away. The annual budget process is approaching, and staff intends to provide baseline projections.
Status of Monthly Financials (Larry, Roger, Derek): The preliminary financial statements for September through November were distributed. The Fiscal Year 2025 audit went well, with only four journal entries. The final audit will be formally presented by auditor Marcy Luz on March 12th. Board member Jeanette Dewalt requested follow-up information on the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) account. Chairman Bill Hitesman expressed concern about the impact of the mild winter and rising material costs on income versus spending. Staff responded that the electric generation side helps balance costs and that the gas Purchase Gas Adjustment (PGA) adder helps capture fluctuations, though water and sewer continue to face inflation challenges.
At Your Service Rate Comparison Review (Jaci Higgins): Jaci presented the rate comparison sheet included in all February customer bills. The comparison uses standardized usage metrics and shows Hastings is highly competitive, particularly in gas and sewer rates. Board members thanked staff for the clear communication to customers and noted Hastings' strong competitive position.
Water and Sewer Cost of Service Study (Kyle Patten): Kyle reported that a contract has been informally awarded to JK Energy Consulting, who submitted a substantially lower price. The study will include an analysis of tiered water rates, driven by a conservation plan requirement with the Little Blue NRD. The kickoff meeting is scheduled for February 17th. Tentative presentations are scheduled for the Utility Board on June 11th and City Council on June 22nd. Responding to board questions about the potential for rates to decrease, Kyle stated it is too early to say, but the study will focus on fair cost allocation and identifying subsidies between rate classes.
Late Fee Ordinance Final Discussion (Karl Block): Karl presented data showing Hastings is the only utility in its peer group without a late fee. The hard cost of mailing delinquent notices is approximately $17,000 per year. A fee of 3% on delinquent balances was proposed, projecting roughly $144,000 in revenue at current delinquency levels, though staff expects this to drop as the fee incentivizes timely payment.
- Board Positions: Board member Susan Meeske explicitly stated the fee should recoup costs and not generate profit. Chairman Bill Hitesman agreed, suggesting the fee target the bottom of the peer group structures. Staff confirmed the ability to waive fees for customers working with assistance agencies would be retained.
- Next Step: Staff was directed to draft the ordinance based on this feedback.

Key Outcomes

Approved: Minutes of the December 11, 2025 meeting (4-0).
Adjourned: Motion by Kvols, second by Meeske. Meeting adjourned at 9:34 AM.
Decision (Directive): Staff directed to draft the Late Fee Ordinance with a focus on cost recovery, setting the fee at or near the bottom of the peer group, and retaining the ability to waive fees for agency-assisted customers.
Decision (Award): Contract for the Water and Sewer Cost of Service Study informally awarded to JK Energy Consulting.
Next Steps: Audit presentation scheduled for March 12, 2026. Draft late fee ordinance to be brought back for a vote. Water and sewer study findings to be presented in June.

Meeting Transcript

To in uh meetings to come. Um, one, we are finishing up the the solar IATC refund process for solar phase two. Uh, hopefully we'll get that completed this week. I really appreciate everybody's help uh getting us to the hopefully to the finish line there. Um I bring that up because we do have the potential option to do a solar phase three. Uh we did take it out of the budget. Um we wanted to look into, we changed it to evaluating for future generation. We're we're always evaluating for future generation, and we're we're finding that there's still some opportunity to get in on some of that ITC tax credit. If we were to get this project moving, and we may have to get it moving prior to the uh approval of next year's budget. So we want to throw some numbers in front of people, uh run stuff through the advisory board here, and then we'll have to have discussion obviously with city council on what makes the most sense for our ratepayers moving forward. Um there's definitely an opportunity. Uh I feel it's our responsibility to make sure that we bring every opportunity in front of uh the city to decide whether this is a good decision for our ratepayers. But there's some some exciting stuff that we can maybe do there with gas generation, um, which was something we looked at for the replacements or potential uh future replacements with four and five. The cost of turbines and the lead time of turbines just is um something that we can't with our our current rate structure. We we just don't feel like we can stomach that um comfortably. Um discussions with nuclear are still ongoing. I still think that there's a promising future for neutral nuclear, but it's uh unfortunately at least another 10 years away and probably more for us. Um the reality with nuclear right now is you need somebody to come come in and back that behind you. So you know the the Googles and Facebooks and Amazons of the world are probably where the first ones are gonna happen. Um, which nothing's saying they won't come here, but ultimately I think for things that we can do short term to help alleviate some of the concerns. I know that Shane's team and their JCs are running some numbers. Um we'll have some more information, get that in front of you so you guys can see what we're seeing. Uh budget process right around the corner. Um we'll plan to continue to do uh what we do there. Uh last year we tried to hit on all the different systems to kind of give a baseline of where we are and where we plan to go before we get into the budget season. So then the budget season kind of those projects correlated to some of the discussions we already had. We're gonna try to do that again. Um, if there's anything you guys would like to see different, we'd be more than happy to switch that up. But I think the pro uh the process for on as far as uh on the utility side, I I thought went very well. Um but if there's some changes or tweaks or things we'd like to see changed there, open obviously from this board and then city council as well. So with that, I think that's all I have. Thank you, Derek. And I think you know, some of that with the solar, there's opportunities that we probably need to look at and take advantage of at this point. But it's always good, and I think this board and the utilities is certainly not throwing everything into one thing, but looking at hey, what happens if this or that? So uh being able to have those backup plans are always good. And I know we talked a little bit about uh with the nuclear and where that may or may not be, but uh whether it is or it isn't, we got to have that backup. We want to keep that reliability with the utilities. So uh outside of that, um I'll turn it over to board members' communication and citizens communication. I believe there are there is none. So we can move to the consent uh agenda and approval of the minutes of the Hastings Utility Board meeting of December 11th, 2025. So moved. Second Heitzman, yes, dwell, yes, Coles,

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Hastings Utility Board Meeting Summary - February 12, 2026

Consent Calendar

The board unanimously approved the minutes from the December 11, 2025 meeting. (Moved by Kvols, seconded by Dewalt. Passed 4-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

None were provided.

Discussion Items

Manager’s Communications (Derek Zeisler): Derek reported that the Solar Phase II ITC refund process is nearly complete. He introduced the potential for a Solar Phase III project, though it was removed from the budget and would require further evaluation. He stated that the cost and lead time for gas turbines are prohibitive under the current rate structure, and that nuclear power discussions are ongoing but are at least 10 years away. The annual budget process is approaching, and staff intends to provide baseline projections.

Status of Monthly Financials (Larry, Roger, Derek): The preliminary financial statements for September through November were distributed. The Fiscal Year 2025 audit went well, with only four journal entries. The final audit will be formally presented by auditor Marcy Luz on March 12th. Board member Jeanette Dewalt requested follow-up information on the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) account. Chairman Bill Hitesman expressed concern about the impact of the mild winter and rising material costs on income versus spending. Staff responded that the electric generation side helps balance costs and that the gas Purchase Gas Adjustment (PGA) adder helps capture fluctuations, though water and sewer continue to face inflation challenges.

At Your Service Rate Comparison Review (Jaci Higgins): Jaci presented the rate comparison sheet included in all February customer bills. The comparison uses standardized usage metrics and shows Hastings is highly competitive, particularly in gas and sewer rates. Board members thanked staff for the clear communication to customers and noted Hastings' strong competitive position.

Water and Sewer Cost of Service Study (Kyle Patten): Kyle reported that a contract has been informally awarded to JK Energy Consulting, who submitted a substantially lower price. The study will include an analysis of tiered water rates, driven by a conservation plan requirement with the Little Blue NRD. The kickoff meeting is scheduled for February 17th. Tentative presentations are scheduled for the Utility Board on June 11th and City Council on June 22nd. Responding to board questions about the potential for rates to decrease, Kyle stated it is too early to say, but the study will focus on fair cost allocation and identifying subsidies between rate classes.

Late Fee Ordinance Final Discussion (Karl Block): Karl presented data showing Hastings is the only utility in its peer group without a late fee. The hard cost of mailing delinquent notices is approximately $17,000 per year. A fee of 3% on delinquent balances was proposed, projecting roughly $144,000 in revenue at current delinquency levels, though staff expects this to drop as the fee incentivizes timely payment.

Board Positions: Board member Susan Meeske explicitly stated the fee should recoup costs and not generate profit. Chairman Bill Hitesman agreed, suggesting the fee target the bottom of the peer group structures. Staff confirmed the ability to waive fees for customers working with assistance agencies would be retained.
Next Step: Staff was directed to draft the ordinance based on this feedback.

Key Outcomes

Approved: Minutes of the December 11, 2025 meeting (4-0).

Adjourned: Motion by Kvols, second by Meeske. Meeting adjourned at 9:34 AM.

Decision (Directive): Staff directed to draft the Late Fee Ordinance with a focus on cost recovery, setting the fee at or near the bottom of the peer group, and retaining the ability to waive fees for agency-assisted customers.

Decision (Award): Contract for the Water and Sewer Cost of Service Study informally awarded to JK Energy Consulting.

Next Steps: Audit presentation scheduled for March 12, 2026. Draft late fee ordinance to be brought back for a vote. Water and sewer study findings to be presented in June.

Meeting Transcript