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HomeMy WebLinkAboutElectric Board - Minutes - 01/16/2002ity Council Liaison Eric Hamrick Staff Liaison DeEtta Carr 221-6702 January 16, 2002 Electric Board Chairperson Electric Board Vice Chairperson Alison Mason 493-1295 Jeff Lebesch 221-0543 Secretary Vicki Mesa C Roll Call Board Present: Alison Mason -Chairperson, Jeff Lebesch-Vice Chairperson, Barbara Rutstein, Richard Smart and Linda Stewart Board Absent: Guy Helme Staff Present: Patty Bigner, Lori Clements -Grote, Eric Dahlgren, Bob Kest, Tom Rock, Mike Smith, Dennis Sumner, Wendy Williams and DeEtta Carr Meeting Opened Vice Chairperson Richard Smart called the meeting to order at 5:17 p.m. Minutes Approved Barbara Rutstein made a motion to approve the minutes. Jeff Lebesch seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously. Election of Officers Barbara Rutstein made a motion to nominate Alison Mason for the position of Chair. Allison stated that she would accept the position but she would like to share the responsibility with another Board member. She stated that at the retreat, they discussed having two co-chairs with equal responsibility. Barbara Rutstein stated that the bylaws require that there be a Chair and a Vice Chair, however, she stated that they could work it out however they wanted. The Board discussed how the "chain of command" worked when the Chair was not available, i.e., receiving correspondence and/or direction. After further discussion, Alison stated that she would accept the nomination. The vote on the motion was unanimous. Richard Smart made a motion to nominate Jeff Lebesch as Vice Chair. Jeff stated that he would accept the nomination. The vote on the motion was unanimous. Facilitated Meetings Richard stated the reason for placing this item on the agenda was to acknowledge that the meetings had occurred and to thank Mike and his staff for the suggestion. He reported that the Board had met twice. Electric Board Minute Mcctin.-s Page 2 January 16, 2002 It was the consensus of the board that the retreats were very beneficial and that as a result, the Board feels more like a team. During the retreat they discussed that at general meetings, the environment seemed to be too formal but the Board did not reach a conclusion on what to do. The Board spoke of its desire to meet in a smaller room and discussed ways to configure the space to make it more comfortable. Alison mentioned that at the retreat the Board expressed a desire to get more acquainted with staff. Council's Request for a Draft Electric Energy Supply Policy Richard spoke of an ad -hoc meeting he attended with both current and former Council Members, the Mayor, City Manager, Mike and members of PRPA. Mike Smith explained that the direction for this item came from the Mayor and Councilmember Bertschy. The consensus of the ad -hoc meeting members was that there was a need for an Electric Energy Supply Policy. The result of the meeting was to ask the Electric Board to draft a policy to present to Council. Richard stated the Board needs to discuss how to accomplish this task and a preliminary time line. The Board discussed a process for developing the Draft Policy and agreed it was important to set specific time lines. After a lengthy discussion, the Board agreed on the following timelines: February & March — Brainstorming discussions and input information April — Draft conclusions to form the draft policy May — Last revision cycle June — Endorsement of the Policy to City Council Mike stated that staff would give the board a brief report at its next meeting addressing reliability, rate comparisons, wind power (how many turbines and how many customers, etc...) as well as a summary of current Demand Side Management programs. He stated that he would request information from PRPA regarding capacity and usage. Council will hold a Study Session in July or August to review the draft plan, and Mike explained to the Board how the Council might proceed with adopting the plan. He stated that the Board should not plan on gathering public input at this time, however, they might have to do some public outreach in the future. Alison noted that their goal was to set a target for energy renewable options, understanding that the emphasis was on wind power options. The Board decided to use some of the goals that were outlined in a Resolution passed in 1995 as a Electric Board Minute Meetings Page 3 January 16, 2002 beginning point. Mike stated that the reason this is being done again is because the previous policy lacked specific targets and the targets are what give the focus. He stated the Resolution was a general guide and that when Council adopted the Demand Side Management policy for the Water Department, it provided staff with specific direction. He concurred with comments from the Board that both population and average per capita usage has continued to increase. Barbara requested a copy of the Water Demand Side Management plan so that they could use it as a reference to see what the finished product might look like. Alison questioned if it would be wise to create a committee to look into what other cities are doing. Mike responded that his staff would gather the information and put a list together for the Board before its next meeting. He responded to the Board's concern regarding not meeting the deadline. He clarified that if it couldn't be met, they would inform Councilmember Hamrick that they needed additional time. The game plan for the next meeting was outlined. The Board agreed that it would communicate between each other by e-mail prior to the next meeting. They discussed arrangements for having different speakers talk to them about what has been done in the past with public owned Utilities that has worked and it was the consensus of the Board that they would not be ready to hear from anyone until perhaps the March meeting. Mike stated the Hydrogen Task Force has finished its work and will be making a presentation to City Council at the Study Session on February 12. He stated the Committee would recommend continued monitoring as well as looking for grant funds. He also noted that the Board could draft a letter in support of the Hydrogen committee. Alison asked that staff draft a letter for her signature. Jeff stated that he feels it is not appropriate for the Board to focus on the issue of hydrogen due to the recent request from City Council. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:38 p.m.