Minutes of PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1 OF PEND OREILLE COUNTY September 4, 2012 BOX CANYON CONFERENCE ROOM, NEWPORT, WA Present: Staff Present: Others: Daniel L. Peterson, President Curtis J. Knapp, Vice-President Richard A. Larson, Secretary Jay Pickett, General Manager Management/District Staff Jerry Boyd, General Counsel Karen Willner, Clerk of the Board Terry Knapton, Kalispel Career Training Center Director Jamie Wyrobek, Economic Development Council Director Ben & Lorraine Kirkpatrick, Members of the Public The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Daniel L. Peterson, President. The minutes from the August 21, 2012 meeting and today s revised agenda were reviewed. CONSENT AGENDA: Vouchers audited certified by the auditing officer as required by RCW 42.24.080, and those expense reimbursement claims certified by RCW 42.24.090, have been recorded on a listing, which has been made available to the Board. As of this date, September 4, 2012, the Board, upon motion by Commissioner Larson and second by Commissioner Knapp, approved the following: The minutes of August 21, 2012 meeting and the revised agenda for September 4, 2012 as amended. Payment of those vouchers, included in the list referred to above and further described as follows: Voucher No. 79580 through 79727 in the total amount of $1,555,139.42; six wire transfers in the total amount of $632,718.08; 319 ACH Payroll transactions in the total amount of $636,686.03. Reserve for bad debts in the total amount of $10,242.52. The Electric System amount is $8,409.70 and the Metaline Falls Water System amount is $1,832.82. BUSINESS FROM THE PUBLIC: Ben and Lorraine Kirkpatrick, members of the public, referred to an article in the Grays Harbor County Public Utility District s (PUD) August Energy Newsletter regarding a recent policy statement from the United States Department of Energy regarding government takeover of many regional programs. They explained that Grays Harbor County PUD is asking its customers to contact their Congress representatives. They inquired if the District would be having any information in its newsletter. Commissioner Peterson reported that he is working on an article. Discussion was held. The Board thanked the Kirkpatricks for attending and providing this information. The Kirkpatricks left the meeting. Terry Knapton, Kalispel Career Training Center (KCTC) Director, explained that he is also a mentor and trainer with the Kalispel Tribe and that they too are experiencing upcoming retirements and will be doing succession planning. He commented on the recent storm in Ferry County and commended the District linemen for their help to restore power there. He reported that the Kalispel Tribe will be needing natural resource workers and are working with Kootenai College for the Kalispel Tribe to be a satellite campus.
Jamie Wyrobek, Economic Development Council (EDC) Director, distributed handouts on KCTC s fiscal year information and Adult Education Annual Progress Report. Mr. Knapton explained the handouts. He is asking the District for its continued support of KCTC and explained that KCTC s mission is to train young people in the community to serve the employers in the county. He reported there will be a career day in the near future which will focus on the employers in the county. Discussion was held. Commissioner Peterson reported that the Board will take Mr. Knapton s request into consideration as the District calculates its budget for next year. John Jordan, District Director, Finance & Administrative Services, raised a concern about the District s authority to be able to do this type of funding. Discussion was held regarding the Kalispel Tribe s Visitors Center Ceremony. The Board thanked Mr. Knapton and Ms. Wyrobek for attending. Mr. Knapton and Ms. Wyrobek left the meeting. MANAGEMENT REPORT: Rhonda Thomas, Information Technology Manager: She reported the Information Technology Department has many projects in the works. One such project is the implementation of a wireless corporate network in the Newport Administrative Building. She explained that staff is working on Phase 1 of the project and will then budget for additional coverage in the administration building and include other areas such as the crew headquarters, substations and Box Canyon Dam. She reported the District is realizing the benefits from the recent Virtualization Project. She reported that staff is looking at the District s video surveillance and is working with a company that will evaluate all District sites including the crew headquarters, substations and the customer service area for system requirements. Discussion was held. She reported the AMX Audio/Video System in the Box Canyon Conference Room in Newport was reprogrammed last week which will make it easier for staff to use. John Jordan, Director, Finance & Administrative Services: He reported the bond issuance team will be attending the September 18 Board meeting. He will be going to New York on Thursday to talk with the bond rating agencies. Discussion was held. He provided a Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) Strategic Planning meeting overview. He distributed and explained a handout on Pend Oreille County census data. He reported that a governance discussion was held at the meeting and that a task force committee may be formed. Discussion was held. He provided a Central Washington Public Utilities meeting overview and reported that August 1 was the renewal date for 12 months. He explained there was discussion at the meeting about moving the renewal date to the calendar year end to make changes and how this would affect the employees. April Owen, Auditor/Senior Manager, Financial Planning: She explained that today s vouchers have two lines for payroll. She reported the payment has been made to the court for the Rodenbough judgment and interest amounts. The attorney s fees have not been paid at this time. She reported the firm-up calculation for Box Canyon is done. She noted the personnel changes at the Ponderay Newsprint Company. Page 2 Minutes, September 4, 2012
Mark Cauchy, Director, Regulatory & Environmental Affairs: He is working on the budgets with District staff and consultants. He reported the Forest Service permit for the gauges at Sullivan Lake Dam is getting an approval. He has been working with Karen Nooney of the Forest Service. She replaced Kim DiRienz who recently retired from the Forest Service. He is working on the costs and budgeting for the Boat Launch Project at Greggs Addition. Discussion was held regarding the facility there. He is working with the County and the Water Trails group on getting public launch signs on state and county roads. Staff is working on getting the Gregg s Addition boat launch parking area paved this year. This is a budgeted item. He reported the River Road Project at Cusick has gone out to bid. The city has received all the permits except from the Army Corps of Engineers. He explained that the grant was for the engineering design and some construction for the District s land. Discussion was held. Chuck Frandrup, Engineering Department Manager: He distributed and explained a reliability study handout comparing the scenarios with and without the Riverbend Crossing. Discussion was held. Sandra Pea, Compliance Manager: She reported there is a lot of regional activity going on at the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) as a result of the September 8, 2011 blackout recommendations from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. The District will be impacted by the regional operating changes. New training requirements (PER-005) becoming effective April 1, 2013, will impact the District s System Operator Training Program. She is working with Chris Jones, District Operations Manager and Bryant Kramer, District Senior System Operator on this project. She will be working on the internal audit of the remaining District standards not audited by WECC, in the months of September and October. Charlie O Hare, Chief Operating Officer: He provided a Production update and reported that turbine unit #2 (the third unit to be refurbished) is well on its way to being disassembled. Testing is occurring for unit #2 hub and charges will be invoiced back to Andritz per the contract. A meeting with McMillen, LLC Consultants will be held on Thursday at Box Canyon to discuss the total dissolved gas (TDG) design. He will be traveling to Iowa in September to watch the TDG gate model testing. He reported turbine unit #3 is running well. Elaine Averyt, Treasurer/Customer Services Manager: She did the invoicing for the Ferry County PUD mutual aid pertaining to the recent storm and reported that Ferry County PUD complimented the District s linemen for their help in restoring the power. She reported that she will have a July Financial Report at the September 18 Board meeting. Discussion was held regarding mutual aid. Chris Jones, Operations Manager: Page 3 Minutes, September 4, 2012
He provided an update on the NoaNet Usk to Tiger Project make-ready work and reported the work on the west side of the Pend Oreille River is just about complete. He explained today s action item regarding the bid award for the general right-of-way clearing and reported there was only one bidder. He explained the background information pertaining to the bid for the vegetative management spraying and reported the bid came in high so he and Pat Buckley, District Natural Resources Manager will be using the District s milfoil staff. Jay Pickett, General Manager: He participated in a tour of Box Canyon and Boundary Dams with District staff, Avista, Bonneville Power Administration and Seattle City Light on August 29. He attended a NoaNet meeting in Tacoma on August 22 23 with Commissioner Knapp and Mr. Jordan. He noted his appreciation of their support for NoaNet. He will attend the Bond Rating Trip in New York this week with Commissioner Peterson and Mr. Jordan. He is working on building lines of communication between District employees and departments. COMMISSION REPORT: Commissioner Knapp attended the NoaNet meeting in Tacoma on August 22 23. Discussion was held. ACTION ITEMS: Resolution No. 1345 NoaNet Sixth Payment Agreement to Line of Credit. Mr. Jordan provided an overview of the resolution. A motion was made by Commissioner Knapp and seconded by Commissioner Larson to adopt Resolution No. 1345. The motion passed unanimously. Bid Award General Right-of-Way Clearing, Contract No. 12-044. Based on staff recommendation, a motion was made by Commissioner Knapp and seconded by Commissioner Larson to award the bid to Bronkhorst Company, in the total amount of $130,270.24. Bronkhorst Company was the only bidder. The motion passed unanimously. Declaration of Surplus Property Miscellaneous Items from Box Canyon Dam. A motion was made by Commissioner Larson and seconded by Commissioner Knapp to declare miscellaneous items listed from Box Canyon Dam as being no longer necessary, material to, or useful in the operations of the District and, therefore, surplus to the needs of the District. The motion passed unanimously. COMMISSION BUSINESS: Commissioner Peterson will attend a Bond Rating meeting in New York on September 5 7 and an EDC Budget Committee meeting on September 12. Commissioner Larson will attend a Metaline Falls Town Hall meeting on September 11. Commissioner Knapp will attend a NoaNet meeting in Seattle on September 12. Discussion was held regarding the Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers visit to Box Canyon. EXECUTIVE SESSION PENDING AND/OR POTENTIAL LITIGATION: Page 4 Minutes, September 4, 2012
A 20-minute executive session on pending and/or potential litigation was held at 11:49 a.m. The following were present: Board of Commissioners; Jay Pickett, General Manager; Jerry Boyd, General Counsel; Management Staff; and Karen Willner, Clerk of the Board. The executive session was extended for 10 minutes and ended at 12:14 p.m. There was no action taken. EXECUTIVE SESSION INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: A 30-minute executive session on an individual employee performance evaluation was held at 12:16 p.m. The following were present: Board of Commissioners; Jay Pickett, General Manager; Mark Cauchy, Director of Regulatory & Environmental Affairs; April Owen, Auditor/Senior Manager, Financial Planning; and Karen Willner, Clerk of the Board. The executive session ended at 12:45 p.m. There was no action taken. Following a 30-minute working lunch, the meeting resumed. There being no further discussion to come before the Board, the meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m. ATTEST: President Secretary General Counsel Page 5 Minutes, September 4, 2012