1999
Annual Membership Meeting Board
President Jim Dyer introduced the board to those in attendance and then spent
some time discussing SE accomplishments for 1998. His highlights included the
wind power project, substation purchases and community involvement. He also
thanked Director Bill Wolf, who is leaving the board after 3 years of service,
for his contributions. Bob Speckman, General Manager, introduced the special guests
attending and reviewed 1998 by updating the attendees on deregulation and Salem
Electric's goals. Member Services Manager, Terry Kelly, outlined the Salem Electric
Year 2000 Readiness Plan with a compliance date targeted at July 1, 1999. Directors Alicia Bonesteele and Jim Dyer, both incumbents, were
re-elected to three-year terms. John Elliott was also elected to the board for
a three-year term. Employee Presentations Energy Specialist, Jeff Lewis, reviewed the past and present
Salem Electric conservation programs and gave the audience a feel for what the
future might bring. Vicki Klopfenstein, Accounting Assistant, reviewed the
involvement of Salem Electric and employees in the United Way, a fundraising
event she has chaired at Salem Electric for the last several years. Engineer, Nick Reding, provided an overview of the many
construction projects our line crews worked on in 1998. Officers Elected Following the annual meeting, the board held an Organizational
Meeting and elected the following officers: Vice-President: Murray McCreary
Secretary/Treasurer: Curt Culver
The Salem Electric
Board of Directors met at 7:00 p.m. April 27, 1999. Board members present were:
Jim Dyer, Nancy Towslee, Bill Wolf, Jeff Anderson and Murray McCreary. Auditor's Report
Administrative Services Manager Jack Belleque introduced Jenny
Standage from PriceWaterhouseCoopers to present the annual audit report. Salem
Electric got a clean, unqualified opinion and was complimented on the
efficiency of the staff throughout the audit. She went through the report with
the board and said that the cash flow statement is one of the strongest she has
ever seen. The board was given a printout comparing Salem Electric with other
local cooperatives. I was particularly impressed with the fact that Salem
Electric spent a smaller percentage on administrative costs than all others,
while spending more on the member services/conservation category. Motion was
made by Anderson, seconded by McCreary and carried unanimously to accept the
auditor's report as presented. Manager's Report General Manager Bob Speckman reported on the status of the Oregon
Rural Electric Cooperative Association Deregulation Task Force. SB1149 passed
the Senate and seems likely to pass in the House without changes. The
cooperatives, as an association, had agreed to remain neutral on this bill as
long as some specific language was included in it. Some of the most important
language was regarding local control. Salem Electric and many other co-ops are
now in the unfortunate position of having their hands tied by not being allowed
to oppose the bill even though they are adamantly against it. Anderson said he
feels the cooperatives have been led down a path and that now the door is open
to power deregulation, when it could have been killed in the Senate. Although Salem Electric, as a co-op must remain neutral, I, as a
member of Salem Electric, will stand up and oppose the deregulation of power in
Oregon. It is a certainty that no benefit will come to residential customers
and that cheaper rates will only be available to industrial customers using
large quantities of power. The Northwest stands to lose the low-cost power they
have enjoyed for so many years. The local control language and all other
consumer safeguards included in this bill will only be assured for the time
being, as our legislators meet every two years and all bets are off in 2001.
You can expect that bills will be introduced at that time to erode the local
control language and other consumer protections in the law. I hope that the
ORECA will once again unite to lead the way for the protection of our members,
when that time comes. In other business, Speckman informed the board that the SE logo
may be redesigned and that the board room has been fitted with an additional
exit door so the room can now be used for community meetings after hours.
Speckman asked for the board's approval to pursue renaming the
Brush College Substation, now owned by Salem Electric, in memory of a former SE
employee who contributed 16 years to the operation of the system. Motion was
made by Anderson, seconded by McCreary and carried unanimously to provide
authority to the manager to change the name of the Brush College Substation to
the James R. Hughes Substation. I would like to thank the board, Bob Speckman, the Salem Electric
staff and the members of Salem Electric for the support I have received during
my three years as a director. I am honored to have served. Meeting adjourned at 8:19 p.m. Secretary/Treasurer
June 1999
President: Nancy Towslee
Minutes of the Meeting Held on:
April 27, 1999
Bill Wolf
