January 26, 1999 The
Salem Electric Board of Directors met on January 26 at 7:00 pm. Board members
in attendance were Jim Dyer, Nancy Towslee, Bill Wolf, Jeff Anderson, Alicia
Bonesteele, Curt Culver and Murray McCreary. Manager's Report Manager Bob Speckman updated the board on preparation for Y2K.
Our attorney, Bill Sheridan, has advised that the board needs to set an agenda
item to discuss the issues and that we prepare a resolution to direct staff to
take steps to protect the organization from any foreseeable consequences
relating to Y2K. Speckman indicated that this will be part of the February
agenda. Speckman indicated that staff is scheduled to come back with a
report on the proposal by For the Sake of the Salmon (4SOS) at the February
meeting. Dyer has written an article for "The Board Report," but it will not
reach all members prior to this meeting. Motion was made by Anderson, seconded
by Towslee, and carried unanimously to move the 4SOS report to the March board
meeting to allow for all customer responses to be returned. Member Services Report Member Services Manager Terry Kelly reported that Helen Findley
has been referring many of her Salem Electric Member Assistance Program (SEMAP)
clients to the weatherization program this year. In December there were nearly
60 referrals and there were 24 low-income projects completed in 1998, compared
to 11 in 1997. Retirement Plan Trustee-Resolution Administrative Services Manager Jack Belleque presented the board
with a proposal to appoint a new trustee to provide employees a more
sophisticated package. The new plan will allow employees to move their earnings
among different investment accounts, provide information on a daily basis, and
simplify administration. Salem Electric sent out requests for proposals to
seven service providers. After evaluating their responses, staff recommended
Merrill Lynch as best suited to be the service provider for Salem Electric's
retirement plans. Towslee asked what the administration fee is. Belleque said
it is about $3,000 per year compared to about $13,000 we pay now. Motion was
made by Anderson, seconded by Culver and carried unanimously to approve
Resolution No. 01-26-99 as presented. Meeting adjourned at 8:13 p.m.
The
Salem Electric Board of Directors met on February 23 at 7:02 pm. Board members
in attendance were: Jim Dyer, Nancy Towslee, Bill Wolf, Jeff Anderson, Curt
Culver and Murray McCreary. Alicia Bonesteele was present via a conference
call. Member Services Report
Member Services Manager Terry Kelly reported that SE receives
many calls from customers who want to go through the heat pump program, but
they do not have an existing electric heating system. The intent of the program
is to conserve electricity by upgrading existing electrical heating systems. By
changing the program to include these customers, SE would be involved in
promoting fuel switching. Kelly indicated that most of the conversions would be
from oil heat. There was further discussion among board members, which Dyer
brought to a close by asking if the board wanted to have a proposal brought
back. Motion was made by Anderson and seconded by Culver to have staff prepare
a proposed program design to be reviewed at a later board meeting. McCreary
stressed that we need to be sure we are helping the customers make the best
energy decisions they can. Motion carried unanimously. President's Report President Jim Dyer proposed that the board attend a retreat to
review company goals and policies. The board has not recently engaged in a
process of setting goals for the future and has handled day-to-day business as
it is presented by staff. Motion was made by Culver, seconded by Bonesteele and
carried unanimously that the Chair appoint a committee to coordinate a time,
place and manner to hold this type of meeting/retreat. Dyer appointed Towslee,
McCreary and himself to serve on the committee. Manager's Report Manager Bob Speckman announced that SE made it through the month
of January without a single outage. This followed a month where a new system
peak of 91.07 Mw was set on December 23, 1998. A pizza feed is planned for all
employees and their families to congratulate them on a job well done. Speckman informed the board that SE now owns the three BPA
substations that we have been in negotiations over for several months. All the
deeds have been recorded. He thanked attorney Bill Sheridan for his work on
closing the deal. Y2K Report Kelly summarized the work of the Y2K committee and reviewed the
report and attachments included with the board packets. Y2K compliance is
targeted for July 1, 1999. Wolf said that the staff plan looks good and it
appears that SE is on top of the problem. Wolf asked about Bonneville's Y2K
compliance. Kelly responded that they plan to be compliant by March. A great
amount of time was spent discussing the plan. A resolution was prepared for the board on the advice of SE's
attorney to mandate that staff continue to identify and solve Y2K problems and
be compliant by the Year 2000. It further resolved that staff report on their
progress to the board at regularly scheduled board meetings until further
notice. A motion was made by Towslee and seconded by Culver to adopt the
resolution. Motion carried unanimously. Heat Pump Resolution Kelly presented a staff recommendation for a program modification
which would offer a rebate for heat pump installation as an option instead of
the low-interest loan. The average low interest loan is $4,200 for 60 months,
which costs SE an average of $594 per loan for the interest buy-down and loan
fees. The rebate would be $500 for a minimum efficiency heat pump, and $750 for
a heat pump with a HSPF rating of 8.0 or higher. Motion was made by Anderson,
seconded by Towslee and carried unanimously to approve the staff
recommendation. New Business I (Bill Wolf) announced that I have decided not to run for
re-election to the board at the end of my term this year. I have experienced
increasing demands on my time in my job as a computer programmer as the year
2000 approaches. I feel that I am not fully able to perform the duties of a
director as a result. I struggled with this decision and did not make it
lightly. I believe that a director must commit fully to this position, and this
requires time during the regular day to attend functions. I will miss working
with the board and the staff at SE. I will leave knowing that the co-op is in a
very healthy condition and is one of the most dedicated and talented
organizations that I have ever seen. Meeting adjourned at 9:09 p.m. Secretary/Treasurer
| Board Reports |
April 1999
Minutes of the Meeting Held on:
Minutes of the Meeting Held on:
February 23, 1999
"SE made it through the month of January without a single outage. This followed
a month where a new system peak of 91.07 Mw was set..."
Bill Wolf
