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Oskaloosa hears report on 20/80 wastewater agreement; staff say operations improving
Summary
Deputy Public Works Director Sean Murphy and Oskaloosa Municipal Water Department General Manager Kelly Hepner told the City Council that the 20/80 wastewater operations agreement is functioning, staffing is restored and service tracking is improving, though one metric (mainline camera footage) was missed and council members urged adding dispute-resolution language.
The Oskaloosa City Council on an ordinary agenda heard a detailed update on the 20/80 wastewater operations agreement from Deputy Public Works Director Sean Murphy and Oskaloosa Municipal Water Department General Manager Kelly Hepner.
Murphy told the council the department is "fully staffed again" after more than a year with vacancies and said service-call tracking and operational reporting have improved under the agreement. He summarized recent operational work — main repairs, storm repairs, new service taps and sinkhole responses — and said the department met most performance targets but missed one: mainline camera footage.
Kelly Hepner described continuing use of a third-party laboratory for certain analyses and said the department has been sharing equipment and cross-training staff to cover both water and wastewater work. Murphy and Hepner noted the departments have worked to put more work orders and billing into a common database, and that combining resources has produced efficiencies: "When we're able to share," Murphy said, "we're all a lot better." (Quote attributed to Sean Murphy.)
Council members pressed staff on transition planning and dispute-resolution mechanisms in the 20/80 agreement. One member suggested an addendum that would add binding arbitration or mediation if the parties could not resolve a disagreement. Murphy said the agreement never had such a formal dispute-resolution clause and council discussion focused on whether to add one before the next renewal.
Council members also asked about lab contracting; staff confirmed routine operational samples are sent to an external lab (packet references Keystone) while some in-house operational testing continues. There was a short, light exchange about the department's mowing duties — staff reported they mow roughly 70 acres in summer — and several council members praised the efficiency gains and staff training since the agreement was revised.
No formal action was taken on changes to the 20/80 agreement at the meeting; the presentation served as an operational update and prompted council direction to staff to consider including dispute-resolution language and to continue reporting performance metrics to the council.
