Minutes of PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1 OF PEND OREILLE COUNTY December 19, 2017 NEWPORT CONFERENCE ROOM, NEWPORT, WA

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1 Minutes of PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1 OF PEND OREILLE COUNTY December 19, 2017 NEWPORT CONFERENCE ROOM, NEWPORT, WA Present: Staff Present: Others: Daniel L. Peterson, President Curtis J. Knapp, Vice President Richard A. Larson, Secretary F. Colin Willenbrock, General Manager Management/District Staff Karen Willner, Clerk of the Board Eight Members of the Public Don Gronning, Newport Miner The meeting was called to order at 8:02 a.m. by Daniel L. Peterson, President. CONSENT AGENDA: The minutes from the December 5, 2017 meeting and today s revised agenda were reviewed. Vouchers audited certified by the auditing officer as required by RCW , and those expense reimbursement claims certified by RCW , have been recorded on a listing, which has been made available to the Board. As of this date, December 19, 2017, the Board, upon motion by Commissioner Knapp and seconded by Commissioner Larson approved the following: The minutes of December 5, 2017 and the revised agenda for December 19, Payment of those vouchers, included in the list referred to above and further described as follows: Umpqua Bank Voucher Nos. 600 through 685 in the total amount of $197,642.24; ACH payments in the total amount of $358,308.50; Wire Transfers in the total amount of $2,840,146.49; and ACH payroll transactions in the total amount of $238, for the payroll ending November 30, EXECUTIVE SESSION PERSONNEL: A 35-minute executive session on personnel commenced at 8:05 a.m. The following were in attendance: Board of Commissioners; F. Colin Willenbrock, General Manager; Lloyd Clark, Director of Safety & Human Resources; and Kevin Conway, District Reliability Compliance Consultant. The executive session adjourned at 8:38 a.m. and the Board returned to open session. No final action was taken. BOARD WORKSHOP/LED PRESENTATION: Amy Sawyer, District Project Coordinator, Engineering & Operations provided a powerpoint presentation on the District's completed LED Area Light Change Out Program. She reported the project started and finished on time and stayed on budget. She thanked staff for their help on the project and using new technology and GIS tools in the field. She reported that 1,428 total lights were changed out. She reviewed the project budget and explained the project was made possible through a Transportation Improvement Board grant and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Energy Conservation funding. April Owen, District Director, Finance/Auditor reported the cost to the District was approximately $300,000 which will be recouped within three years. She commended the engineering staff for staying on budget.

2 Chris Jones, District Director, Operations/Superintendent explained how the lights and photocells work. Discussion was held. The Board thanked Ms. Sawyer and staff for the presentation and work on the project. BUSINESS FROM THE PUBLIC: John Galley, member of the public appeared before the Board. The Board thanked Mr. Galley for attending and for his comments. A member of the public reported he is establishing a new business in the county and is in the process of acquiring land. He thanked the District and staff for its assistance in the process. He is currently in process of doing a feasibility study. The Board thanked him for attending and they welcomed him to the county. SAFETY SPOTLIGHT: Cecil Taylor, District Safety & Environmental Coordinator provided a holiday safety awareness presentation. Included were safety tips for Christmas trees, cooking, space heater usage, shopping and parking in well-lit areas. CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT: Discussion was held regarding customer questions regarding the proposed 2018 Budget and Electric Rates. ACTION ITEMS: Resolution No Budget. Discussion was held. A motion was made by Commissioner Larson and seconded by Commissioner Knapp to adopt the resolution. The motion passed unanimously. Resolution No Electric Rates. A motion was made by Commissioner Knapp and seconded by Commissioner Larson to adopt the resolution. Sarah Holderman, District Treasurer reviewed the proposed changes that were made since the public rate hearing was held. She explained the secondary meter rate will be spread out over a few years and the irrigation servability charge increase will be implemented over time. Discussion was held. Ms. Holderman reviewed the proposed rate changes for residential, commercial and industrial customers. Discussion was held. The motion passed. Commissioner Larson voted against the resolution. COMMISSION BUSINESS: 2018 Board/District Organization Representation. Discussion was held. A motion was made by Commissioner Larson and seconded by Commissioner Knapp to approve the representation with changes. The motion passed unanimously. Appointment of District Staff to Area Service Clubs. Discussion was held. A motion was made by Commissioner Larson and seconded by Commissioner Knapp to appoint District staff as presented. The motion passed unanimously. Early Dismissal and Closing of Business on December 22, A motion was made by Commissioner Larson and seconded by Commissioner Knapp to close the District at 2:00 p.m. on December 22, The motion passed unanimously. Discussion was held regarding the Board s attendance to the January Washington Public Utility Districts Association (WPUDA) meetings. COMMISSION REPORT: Page 2 Minutes, December 19, 2017

3 Commissioner Knapp attended a Ponderay Newsprint Company (PNC) deposition on December 12 in Spokane, a Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) Board meeting on December 13 in Spokane, and an employee holiday gathering on December 15 in Ione. Commissioner Larson attended a Tri-County Economic Development District (TEDD) meeting on December 6 in Colville, a PNC deposition on December 7 in Spokane, a NoaNet Board meeting on December 13 in Spokane, and an employee holiday gathering on December 15 in Ione. Commissioner Peterson attended a Public Power Council Annual meeting on December 7 in Portland and an Army Corps of Engineers Albeni Falls meeting on December 13 in Sandpoint. COMMISSION BUSINESS (continued): Commissioner Larson will attend a HiTest Sand Executive Committee budget meeting on December 28 in Newport. BREAK/BUSINESS FROM THE PUBLIC: A member of the public asked if the District is doing anything to bring businesses to Pend Oreille County for economic development. Discussion was held regarding the Board s involvement with TEDD and Economic Development Council meetings. Colin Willenbrock, District General Manager reported the District is constantly looking at its resources and how it can add value and benefit to the county. Members of the public inquired about the irrigation rate increases. Discussion was held. ACTION ITEMS (continued): Cost of Living Adjustment for Lloyd Clark, District Director, Safety & Human Resources provided the details. A motion was made by Commissioner Knapp and seconded by Commissioner Larson to approve the adjustment. Discussion was held. The motion passed unanimously. Damage Claim DC Amber Orr, District Director, Engineering reported this claim was from the November 3 snowstorm and outages. She reported on a conversation she had with a customer regarding a pilot project and explained the details. Discussion was held. Based on staff recommendation, a motion was made by Commissioner Knapp and seconded by Commissioner Larson to deny the damage claim. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Peterson read a thank you note from the Cusick Food Bank for the Board s donation and a customer thank you letter to the District s tree trimming crew for their help in removing danger trees from the customer s property. MANAGEMENT REPORT: F. Colin Willenbrock, General Manager: He will meet with Stevens County PUD Commissioners and county members on January 3 in Loon Lake to discuss the District s membership with NoaNet and how NoaNet may benefit Stevens County PUD. April Owen, Director, Finance/Auditor: She provided an overview of today s payments. Discussion was held. She provided a financials update and reported funds will most likely be added to the rate stabilization fund. She reported Moss Adams auditors will be here to do a District audit in February. Page 3 Minutes, December 19, 2017

4 Kenna Tornow, Communications & Public Contracts Manager: She distributed and explained a revised list of District breakfast meetings with county officials. The first meeting is scheduled for January 5 at the District. She reported messages regarding the Newport front office remodel beginning on January 19 will go out to customers. Bob Pebles, Information Technology Manager: He reported staff is creating an electronic document image vault program. Mark Cleveland, Power Production Manager: He reported construction is continuing on the fish passage. J.W. Fowler Company is doing two concrete pours a week and the project is moving forward. Commissioner Larson thanked staff for organizing and having a holiday gathering. Kim Gentle, Director, Power & Risk Management: She reported that a potential customer is in the process of acquiring land along Highway 2. She reported staff has been working on revamping how load resources are allocated. She explained it is currently done as a dual process. They will go live with the new process on January 1. She reported HiTest Sand has executed a collateral agreement and has given a formal request for service to the District. Amber Orr, Director, Engineering: She reported BPA is waiting for her to submit an application for a line load request for HiTest Sand. She is finishing the application today and is gathering information for the study work to BPA. Discussion was held. She reported staff is working on the Transmission Operator Services Agreement with BPA. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) visited BPA s Monroe Station and did a recertification effort with the control station as a formal process. NERC submitted the report and BPA submitted its response and now it is in the waiting period for NERC and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council to approve. More to follow. She reported staff has received a few requests for high density load which is a different process due to the nature of the load. She explained these requests initially go to the Power Supply department who develops a term sheet to determine if the load is a credit risk for the District. This is a good arrangement between the Engineering, Power Supply and Operations departments. Chris Jones, Director, Operations/Superintendent: He reported that crews are changing out all current meters in south county to AMR meters. He reported there are a few outages today due to the snowstorm. Robert Fritz, Community Network System Supervisor: He provided an overview on the Community Network System Fees Policy customer line extension fiber optic costs. He explained the fiber equipment was supplied by Zhone. He Page 4 Minutes, December 19, 2017

5 spoke with NoaNet staff on the equipment they use. Staff is checking with other companies for a lower cost. Discussion was held. LEGISLATIVE PRINCIPLES FOR 2018: Mr. Willenbrock distributed and explained legislative principles handouts. He reported the District has suspended its memberships with American Public Power Association, Public Generating Pool and Northwest River Partners. Discussion was held. Discussion was held regarding a Newport/Oldtown Chamber of Commerce letter. ACTION ITEM (continued): Non-Union Compensation Administration Policy. Mr. Clark provided the details. A motion was made by Commissioner Larson and seconded by Commissioner Knapp to approve the revised policy. The motion passed unanimously. There being no further discussion to come before the Board, the meeting adjourned at 11:38 a.m. President ATTEST: Secretary General Counsel Approved as to Form Page 5 Minutes, December 19, 2017