Tillamook People s Utility District 1115 Pacific Avenue, PO Box 433 Tillamook, OR 97141

Transcription

1 Tillamook People s Utility District 1115 Pacific Avenue, PO Box 433 Tillamook, OR January 16, 2018 Regular Meeting Minutes Board Members Present: Doug Olson, President Ed Jenkins, Vice President Ken Phillips, Treasurer Harry Hewitt, Secretary Barbara Trout, Director Staff Present: General Manager/Human Resources Todd Simmons, General Manager Terri Filosi, Human Resources Director Nancy Dillard, Executive Assistant; Recording Secretary Customer Services Marty Holm, Customer Services Manager Marissa Durrer, Customer Services Representative Vinny Martinez-Ybor, Meter Reader/Collector Engineering KC Fagen, Engineering Manager Finance Jim Martin, Finance Manager Information Technology John Luquette, Information Technology Manager Operations Wade Scott, Operations Manager Public Relations Barbara Johnson, Public Relations Manager Dave Wimpy, Energy Services Specialist Joanna Stelzig, Community Relations Coordinator General Counsel: Page 1 of 5

2 Guests: Dave Mast and Doris Mast Installation of New Officers The board assumed their new offices as follows: Doug Olson, President; Ed Jenkins, Vice President; Ken Phillips, Treasurer; Harry Hewitt, Secretary; Barbara Trout, Director. Call to Order President Olson called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Carl Rawe meeting room. Presentation by Public Minutes MOTION: By Director Hewitt and seconded by Director Jenkins to approve the minutes of the December 12, 2017, Regular Board Meeting, The motion was approved. General Manager Simmons handed out and reviewed the Quarterly Performance Scorecard. Throughout 2018 there will be additional information on the worksheet as staff works through the new Strategic Plan. Every quarter Simmons solicits information from each manager and uses this information to put together the quarterly scorecard. Public Relations The Public Relations Department had a lot of activity in December. The Hydro Holiday Open House and the Light up the Tree Holiday Party for customers were both great successes. Tillamook PUD participated in the BPA-sponsored 12 Days of Hydropower social media campaign for the holiday season. The budget for Community Grants was increased in the 2018 budget from $50,000 to $75,000. Advertising for Community Grants has begun and the application deadline is February 23 rd. Simmons thanked Barbara Johnson for her many years of service. After Johnson s retirement on January 31 st, Joanna Stelzig take over the position of Public Relations Manager and Dave Wimpy will become the Key Accounts and Energy Efficiency Manager. Operations Wade Scott reported on the Highway 6/Highway 101 interchange project. The f-line is completed. The shoe-fly was taken out. The f-line is feeding the load to the g-line. Work will need to be done near Rosenberg s so that the g-line ties can be completed. Director Hewitt asked about the failure of the voltage regulator downtown that occurred last month. Scott reported that the bridge reactor burnt up in the three phase regulator. It was looked at by a forensic investigator, but they are not sure why it happened. It has a five year maintenance cycle and was in its fifth year. A new one is being expedited to us. Having a forensic investigator inspect the failed equipment is part of the insurance process due to the cost of the item, over $250,000. The forensic investigator is hired by the insurance company. The District has spares that are used in maintenance, but they are ¾ of the size they should be. We are still feeding out of the Garibaldi and Trask substations and are trying to limit exposure to Page 2 of 5

3 the mill. We are limited to about 18MW out of the 33 that the transformer is capable of. The transformer was slotted to be replaced spring of 2020, but it is being moved up. Staff will order it next month and it will be delivered in November or earlier. The new transformer won t need a regulator because it is built into it. Director Jenkins asked if there was spare capacity on the Trask Substation. If it is a normal cold winter there is spare capacity, but if a feeder goes out or there is a car hit pole, we would not be able to move load around. Engineering Staff has been wrapping up some of the Engineering Department projects. About 90% of the work has been completed on Tillamook PUD s portion of the Highway 6/Highway 101 project. A new control building will be installed at the Beaver Substation and the substation should be reenergized by the end of August or September. Staff will be ordering a spare set of 833 s and a replacement for the Wilson T1 Transformer. The existing regulators are from Staff reviewed transformer capacity and corrected name plate capacities referenced in the upper table of page 25 in the board packet. Winter capacities are under review given the inconsistencies in the current values shown. Finance Staff asked the board to approve a transfer of $600,000 to the Rate Stabilization Fund for the year ending December 31, It is staff s intent to use this fund to help keep rates lower. MOTION: By Director Trout and seconded by Director Phillips to transfer $600,000 to the Rate Stabilization Fund for the year ending December 31, The motion was approved. Staff reviewed the District s 2018 Load Forecast with Shelley Egerdahl from BPA and gave her an update regarding Tillamook PUD s system. Staff agreed with BPA s forecast of Tillamook PUD s load period going forward. Information Technology The new color bill conversion project is completed with the first batch of bills mailed out on January 8 th. The new bill colors can be used to highlight different areas and to inform customers of new information. Staff can also add messages and graphs and can utilize the back of the bill. Customer Services Marty Holm gave an update on the front lobby remodel. The District has gone through the bid process and received three bids that were opened last week. The anticipated start date of the project is February 19 th. Employees are currently moving offices in preparation of the project. Holm asked the board to authorize the General Manager to negotiate a final contract with the successful bidder of the Front Lobby Remodel construction project. MOTION: By Director Hewitt and seconded by Director Phillips to move forward with the remodel of the front lobby and authorize the General Manager to negotiate a final contract with the successful bidder of the Front Lobby Remodel construction project. The motion was approved. Page 3 of 5

4 MOTION: By Director Jenkins and seconded by Director Trout to approve write-offs in the amount of $3, The motion was approved. Tillamook PUD was the recipient of a Special District s matching Security and Safety Grant of $5,000 that will be used to install four additional building security cameras. Human Resources In an Executive Session prior to the board meeting, the Board of Directors reviewed the General Manager s performance. The board found his performance satisfactory and granted a salary increase of 6.5%, of which 2.5% is COLA and 4.0% based on merit. Filosi asked the board to approve Resolution No A Resolution Establishing the General Manager s Salary. MOTION: By Director Hewitt and seconded by Director Trout to approve Resolution No A Resolution Establishing the General Manager s Salary with an increase of 6.5% as of January 1 st. The motion was approved. At the December 2017 board meeting, the board asked staff to research board compensation. Filosi looked at the compensation of the other Oregon PUD boards and recommended increasing the board compensation to $500 per month and $200 per day for out of district travel. The board of directors compensation has not been increased since MOTION: By Director Jenkins and seconded by Director Hewitt to approve Policy Bulletin No. 1-5 Directors Expenses and Compensation. The motion was approved. Many of the District s employees are taking on new duties. The equipment operator position, vacant since June 2017, has been awarded to Haden Werner. Casey Burden was awarded the Utility Asset Coordinator position. Filosi suggested that the board take a look at the Thankful wall poster in the main hall before it is taken down. This is part of the Wellness Committee 2017 activities. Jesse McClain attended a wellness training that discussed the six aspects of wellness, and the Wellness Committee is being creative finding ways to address all of the aspects of wellness. Employees are gearing up to participate in the Three Capes Relay in February with running and walking teams. Accounts Payable MOTION: By Director Phillips and seconded by Director Hewitt to approve the December 2017 Accounts Payable in the amount of $3,527, The motion was approved. Director Olson asked for the Accounts Payable packets be sent electronically as well as mailing a paper copy monthly. If there is a holiday, the board doesn t always receive the Accounts Payable information timely. Items from the Board Director Olson thanked Barbara Johnson for her years of dedicated service. She will be missed. Page 4 of 5

5 Adjournment With no further business to come before the board, the Regular Board meeting adjourned at 7:24 p.m. Ken Phillips, Secretary Date Page 5 of 5