Minutes of the Board of Directors Regular Meeting July 23, 2018

Transcription

1 Page 1 of 5 Minutes of the Board of Directors Regular Meeting July 23, 2018 The Lane Electric Cooperative, Inc. (LEC) Board of Directors convened its regular board meeting on July 23, 2018 at the LEC corporate office at 787 Bailey Hill Road in Eugene, Oregon. Call to Order President Knudsen Obermeyer called to order the LEC Board regular monthly meeting at 9:00 a.m. with a quorum present. Directors present were: Vice-President J. Ingrid Kessler, Secretary Kathy Keable, Treasurer Hugh Buermann, Chris Seubert, Jack Billings, and Jerry Shorey. Also present at different times in the meeting were: Charles N. Fadeley, LEC attorney (arrived at 9:00 a.m.); Matt Michel, General Manager; Debi Wilson, Finance & Administration Director; Tony Toncray, Engineering & Operations Director; Cynthia Scoble, Controller; Andy Cave, IT Manager; Rick Engstrom, Engineering Supervisor; Shelby Sanders, Administrative Specialist; Debbie Payzant, Operations Assistant; John Murray and Zechariah English, Energy Services Representatives. Guest: Austin Ramirez, Lane County Community & Economic Development Officer. Executive Assistant Brenda Everts acted as recording secretary. Approval of Agenda President Knudsen Obermeyer asked if there were additions or amendments to the agenda. General Manager Michel asked to add a late arriving Donation for the McKenzie Community Foundation. President Knudsen Obermeyer declared the agenda approved as amended. Executive Session The directors along with Attorney Fadeley entered executive session. The Board convened regular session. Approval of Minutes President Knudsen Obermeyer asked if there were additions or corrections to the June 25, 2018 Regular Board meeting minutes. Treasurer Buermann asked for a clarification to the minutes to remove and was an excused absence. Hearing no objection, President Knudsen Obermeyer declared the June 25, 2018 Regular Board meeting minutes approved as amended. Member Input No members in attendance. Safety Report E&O Director Toncray reported on the Inside and Outside Safety Meeting minutes that were included in the board packet. Treasurer Buermann s name was inadvertently left off the Outside safety minutes and will included. Discussion occurred on the MayDay training. By CONSENSUS, the Board expressed a desire to participate in the MayDay exercise again next year. He presented the current safety graphs and noted 397 days without a workplace accident. Secretary Keable will attend the August 8 Inside Safety Meeting. Director Shorey will attend the August 23 rd Outside Safety Meeting.

2 Page 2 of 5 General Manager s Report General Manager Michel reported on: Policy 401 expenditures including a procurement price shopping example for transformers; introduced new employee Shelby Sanders, Office Specialist; pre-pay; net metering; Veneta Middle Mile Project progress and McKenzie Chamber website project; load forecast from PNGC; Oversupply Management Protocol by BPA and its effect on LEC s cost of power; LEC employee mentioned in NWPPA magazine this month; Update on interviewing for Manager of Marketing & Public Relations position; Lowell Blackberry Jam parade; out of office Monday, July 30 th and the week of August 6-10; August 15 th PPC Chief Joseph dam tour; and August 18 th Cottage Grove Toga party event, among other items. Appoint PNGC Director General Manager Michel presented PNGC s request for a nominee for LEC s director position on the PNGC Board. Discussion occurred. Upon motion made and seconded the Board appointed Matt Michel as Lane Electric Cooperative s Director of the Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative for a term of three years beginning October Appoint PNGC Member Representative General Manager Michel presented PNGC s request for a nominee for LEC s member representative position at the PNGC. Discussion occurred. Upon motion made and seconded the Board appointed Director Chris Seubert as the designated representative Lane Electric Cooperative, and Director Jack Billings as the designated alternate of the Cooperative for voting purposes at the member meetings of the Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative for a term of three years beginning October Reports Directors: President Knudsen Obermeyer reported on the NRECA Governance class the Board attended in Hood River. She asked the Board how they would like to incorporate a peer review. Discussion occurred. By CONSENSUS, the Board will discuss potential governance review topics on the same day as the self-evaluation scheduled for August 8th. President Knudsen Obermeyer will send to the Board sample self-evaluation tools to choose from. Secretary Keable reported the member of the year award was presented to Ken and Louise Engelman at the Chainsaw Arts Festival on Saturday, July 21 st ORECA: Director Seubert reported on ORECA matters. He also introduced the question of participation with other Oregon co-ops in a long-term program with NRECA International on a Guatemala or Bolivia project. Discussion occurred. By CONSENSUS, Director Seubert will express to ORECA Lane Electric s financial support and lineman interest in the project for He will also inquire about NRECA s engagement with recovery efforts in Puerto Rico. Policy Review & Renewal General Manager Michel presented Policy 100 (Director Duties & Standards of Conduct), Policy 108 (Director Fees & Expenses), Policy 200 (Employee Ethics & Code of Conduct), Policy 210 (FEMA Procurement Policy), and Policy 311 (Net Metering Service) Amendment Proposal-Member Hearing. Discussion occurred. Upon motion made and seconded the Board adopted Policy 100 (Director Duties & Standards of Conduct) as amended and with additional changes suggested by the attorney. Upon motion made and seconded the Board adopted Policy 108 (Director Fees & Expenses) as amended to include an additional $50.00 stipend to all travel days in place of not using a per-diem;

3 Page 3 of 5 and remove related language in parentheses in Section II. Upon motion made and seconded the Board adopted Policy 200 (Employee Ethics & Code of Conduct) as amended in the board packet. Upon motion made and seconded the Board adopted Policy 210 (FEMA Procurement Policy) as amended in the board packet. Member Hearing The Board President adjourned the regular Board meeting and convened the Net Meter Member Hearing. The purpose of the Hearing was to solicit member input on increasing the statutory kwh cap on net metering facilities LEC would accommodate based on the General Manager s decision and consistent with the energy needs for the member generator s premises. The proposal would credit excess generation to member assistance or cap the credit at a specified dollar amount. Member Glen Carpenter attended. He was accompanied by Eric Hill, both of Advanced Energy Systems. Mr. Carpenter was in favor of the increased cap to accommodate larger projects. Mr. Carpenter and Mr. Hill asked the Board to consider applying the cap to the specific project, as opposed to the member s premises. The Hearing was adjourned with action by the Board to occur at a later Board meeting. The regular July Board meeting was reconvened. Guest Speaker Austin Ramirez, Lane County Community & Economic Development Officer gave a presentation and explained Lane County s strategic work plan for the years Financial Report Finance & Administration Director Wilson, along with Controller Cynthia Scoble reported on LEC s financial condition for the period ending June F&A Director Wilson presented a new quarterly balance sheet and statement of operations to show financial changes throughout the year. Resolution 4-18 F&A Director Wilson presented the CoBank Loan documents that need to be renewed. Upon motion made and properly seconded the Board adopted Resolution 4-18, A Resolution authorizing the Officers and General Manager of the Cooperative to execute documents with and borrow from CoBank. Wellness Update Andy Cave, IT Manager updated the Board on the Wellness program. Discussion occurred. Construction Mid-Year Update Rick Engstrom, Engineering Supervisor provided the Board with a mid-year update on the 2018 construction budget projects. Discussion occurred. Energy Services Program Overview John Murray and Zechariah English, Energy Services Representatives, provided an overview to the Board of the energy efficiency program and a day-in-the-life perspective of the work they perform for

4 Page 4 of 5 the members. Discussion occurred. Donations President Knudsen Obermeyer presented the following donations for consideration: Creswell Food 4 Kids Kids First Spencer Creek Grange Unity in the Community Discussion occurred. Upon motion made and seconded it was approved to donate $500 to the Creswell Food 4 Kids. Upon motion made and seconded it was approved to donate $500 to Kids First. Vice President Kessler abstained from the vote. Upon motion made and seconded it was approved to donate $500 to the Spencer Creek Grange. Upon motion made and seconded it was approved to donate $200 to Unity in the Community. Agenda Topics for August 27, 2018 President Knudsen Obermeyer reviewed next month s agenda items. Travel Check-In: Brenda Everts gave a travel and training update. Action Review General Manager Michel reviewed Board actions: approval of amended agenda, approval of amended minutes; the Board expressed a desire to participate in next year s MayDay exercises; Treasurer Buermann s name to be added as an attendee to the Outside Safety Minutes for June; Secretary Keable to attend the 8/8 inside safety meeting; Director Shorey to attend the 8/23 outside safety meeting; General Manager Michel appointed to be LEC s director on the PNGC Board; Director Seubert to be LEC s member representative to PNGC with Director Billings as alternate; President Knudsen Obermeyer to send to the Board self-;-governance topics discussion to occur at 8/8 Board self-evaluation form 8:30 a.m. to noon; Director Seubert to express LEC s interest in finically supporting and sending lineman to an NRCE International coordinated project in either Guatemala or Bolivia; Director Seubert to inquire of ORECA as to NRECA s involvement with Puerto Rico recovery; Policy 100 adopted as amended and with suggested changes by the Board Attorney; Policy 108 amended as presented in the Board packet with additional language narrowing the additional stipend to travel days only; Policy 200 adopted as amended in the board packet; Policy 210 amended as presented in the board packet; President Knudsen Obermeyer opened a Members Hearing on proposed changes to Policy 311 (Net Metering Services) for discussion; President Knudsen Obermeyer closed the Members Hearing; adopt Resolution 4-18 renewing a line of credit with CoBank; donate $500 to Creswell Food 4 Kids; donate $500 to Kids FIRST (Vice President Kessler abstaining); donate $500 to Spencer Creek Grange; donate $200 to Unity in the Community; and schedule a Chat with Matt on August 15 th from 8:30 a.m. to noon (no lunch). Adjournment Being no further business to come before the Board, President Knudsen Obermeyer adjourned the meeting at approximately 4:15 p.m.

5 Page 5 of 5 President Secretary