Board Members present: Sandra Bishop, Dorothy Anderson, Peter Bartel, and Susie Smith. President Dyer was excused.
Others Present: Randy Berggren, Louise Bangs, Jim Bemis, Deborrah Brewer, Terry Bequette, JoAnn Andersen, Tom Buckhouse, Marty Douglass, Garry Kunkel, Jim Origliosso, Dick Varner, and Krista Hince of the EWEB staff; and Kim Kunkel, Minutes Recorder; and members of the public.
Noting the absence of President Dyer, Vice President Bishop called the Special Board Meeting of the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) to order.
AGENDA CHECK
Vice President Bishop noted that Item 7, Hyundai Update, was an action item.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Vice President Bishop noted that the items presented for approval on the Consent Calendar included the following:
Vice President Bishop requested that items the Work Session on Item 1 and Item 2 be removed from the Consent Calendar.
Commissioner Bartel moved, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve the Consent Calendar with the exception of the March 21 Work Session on Item 1 and Item 2. The motion passed unanimously.
ITEMS FROM BOARD MEMBERS
Commissioner Bartel noted that changes to the Solar Ordinance, including some design standard modifications, were recently made by the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Smith requested that a Work Session discussion regarding the Solar Ordinance be scheduled for the purpose of determining what will be EWEB's input to the City Council.
Vice President Bishop reported that she recently spoke to issues related to EWEB's Telecommunications Project during a neighborhood group meeting.
CORRESPONDENCE
General Manager Randy Berggren announced that a public forum was scheduled for May 9 with regard to EWEB's West Eugene Electric Transmission Line project.
Mr. Berggren reviewed a number of materials included in the Board Meeting agenda packet including:
Mr. Berggren reviewed draft agendas for the May 2 Work Session and Regular Board Meeting.
PUBLIC INPUT
There was no public input.
UMATILLA PROJECT
Noting that the City of Hermiston and Confederated Tribes were awaiting EWEB's decision as to whether it will participate in the Umatilla project, Mr. Berggren reviewed EWEB's potential responses, as follows: 1) tell them that EWEB is not interested in executing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and decline a meeting; 2) tell them EWEB is interested and will meet with them; or 3) tell them EWEB may be interested at a later date and is willing to participate in a joint meeting. He stated that if EWEB elects to defer its decision on this matter, EWEB representatives ought to meet with City of Hermiston and Confederated Tribes representatives as a means by which to maintain the lines of communication.
Mr. Origliosso briefly reviewed EWEB's, the City of Hermiston's, and the Confederated Tribes' respective interests in pursuing the Umatilla Project. He then presented a brief overview of the project in terms of size, scope, and location.
Commissioner Anderson expressed interest in having a Board discussion regarding the definition of "environmentally superior" prior to issuing a decision concerning the project.
Commissioner Smith echoed Commissioner Anderson's interest in discussing the definition of "environmentally superior" and completing the IERP work prior to making a decision on the project. She expressed support for Option 3.
Mr. Berggren conveyed President Dyer's support for pursuing the project.
Vice President Bishop stated that if the Board was to choose Option 3, it would be important to establish a date certain by which the Board would issue a decision. She expressed support for moving forward with the MOU, as it commits only to an exploration of the feasibility of the project.
Commissioner Bartel expressed support for deferring the Board's decision on the project, pending a Board discussion of the definition of "environmentally superior."
The Board agreed to issue a definite response to the project partners by July 1.
Vice President Bishop said it was her opinion that the proposed site was "perfect" given its location. In addition, she said the potential financial benefits were astounding in terms of the up-front capital and environmental mitigation fund.
HYUNDAI UPDATE
Referring to a memorandum, copies of which were included in the meeting agenda packet, EWEB Director of Facilities Services Tom Buckhouse said the purposes of this presentation were: 1) to provide the Board with a proposed Amendment to the Power Sales Agreement that establishes the energy charges for Hyundai for the period from May 1, 2000, through December 6, 2000; and 2) to brief the Board on the progress of staff's discussions related to a number of outstanding issues.
Mr. Buckhouse summarized the outstanding issues related to the Hyundai Agreements, as follows:
Electric Issues:
Water Issues:
Referring to and reviewing the First Amendment to the Hyundai Power Sales Agreement, copies of which were included in the meeting agenda packet, Mr. Buckhouse requested that the Board authorize the General Manager to sign the First Amendment to the Power Sales Agreement, as presented.
Mr. Buckhouse noted that the negotiation for the period beginning December 7 would be complete by the end of September.
Commissioner Anderson moved, seconded by Commissioner Smith, to authorize the General Manager to sign the First Amendment to the Power Sales Agreement, as presented. The motion passed unanimously.
Vice President Bishop expressed her opinion that the contract was well-negotiated and said that as a Board Member, she would want to enforce the contract.
MASTER PLAN VISIONING
Referring to a document entitled "Eugene Water & Electric Board Headquarter's Visioning," copies of which were distributed to the Board, Consultant Brian McCarthy presented an overview of the final report in conclusion of the visioning process.
Mr. McCarthy explained that the visioning process was intended to help ground the upcoming master planning to be undertaken for the EWEB Headquarter's site. Noting that Commissioners addressed during the visioning process physical, political, environmental, and economic issues related to the Headquarter's site, Mr. McCarthy summarized that the Board wishes to remain true to the short- and long-term needs of EWEB's customers. He said the Board also supports incorporating stewardship of the environment in both its long-range planning and daily operations. Mr. McCarthy stated that in particular, the Board had an interest in improving the adjoining Willamette River Greenway. In conclusion, he said the Board wanted to ensure that EWEB is a good neighbor and citizen in advancing the interests of the larger community it serves.
Referring to an Appendix to the visioning process report, Mr. McCarthy presented a brief overview of both the Board's and staff's ranking of a list of identified issues in terms of their relative importance.
Commissioner Smith expressed appreciation for the visioning process and the results it yielded.
Vice President Bishop stated that in considering next steps, she was interested in comparing the Board's and staff's ranking of issues. Noting that she found the process to be extremely valuable, Vice President Bishop said her only criticism of the process was the use of the term "visioning."
With regard to next steps, Commissioner Smith suggested that the Board and staff discuss how to utilize the functional diagrams and the identified goal in upcoming Master Plan work.
Vice President Bishop suggested that next steps include a tour of the site.
ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT CALENDAR
With regard to paragraph 4 on page 4 the March 21, 2000, Work Session minutes, Vice President Bishop requested that "revisit" be replaced with "rely upon."
Commissioner Anderson moved, seconded by Commissioner Bartel, to approve the minutes of the March 21, 2000, Work Session, as amended.
With regard to Consent Calendar Item 2, Vice President Bishop said she had concerns, which were somewhat alleviated by a conversation with a staff member earlier that evening, about why EWEB was retaining an outside consultant to implement the Benefits Valuation Survey.
Louise Bangs, Human Resource Specialist II, explained that the bulk of $49,400 cost of the Benefits Valuation Survey was related to assessing employee's perceptions of EWEB's benefits. Jim Origliosso, Treasurer, noted that utilizing a consultant added a valuable element of confidentiality with respect to employees' reported perceptions.
Commissioner Bartel moved, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve the new business services agreement with Watson Wyatt & Company for consulting services for the benefits valuation survey project. The motion passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m.
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Assistant Secretary President