Board Members present: Dorothy Anderson, Susie Smith, and Patrick Lanning. Vice President Peter Bartel and Commissioner Sandra Bishop was excused.
Others present: Randy Berggren, Dick Helgeson, Dick Varner, Jim Origliosso, Tom Buckhouse, Jim Bemis, Eric Hiaasen, Cathy Grey, Marty Douglass, Dean Ahlsten, Jean Meyers, Laurie Muggy, Scott Spettel, Mike Logan, and Krista Hince of the EWEB staff; members of the public, and Anton Schmidt; and Ruth Atcherson, City of Eugene Minutes Recorder.
President Anderson called the Regular Session Meeting of the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) to order.
AGENDA CHECK
The Commissioners agreed to pull agenda No. 7, the Stateline Wind Power Project, as it had been sufficiently addressed in the course of the work session held previous to the regular meeting.
APPROVAL OF CONSENT CALENDAR
Minutes
Commissioner Smith pulled the minutes of March 17, 2001. President Anderson pulled Item 3, and Commissioner Lanning pulled Item 8.
Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Lanning, moved to approve the remaining items on the consent calendar. The motion passed, with unanimous approval from the three Commissioners present.
ITEMS FROM BOARD MEMBERS
Commissioner Smith noted that the Pipeline memo had been improved and asked staff if the cost of producing it had remained the same. Staff affirmed that it had.
Commission Smith requested information, in regard to the use of Vitamin C for de- chlorination, as to whether there had been any research into its environmental impact. She noted that it was an improvement over chemical remediation.
President Anderson discussed the invitation to the Sustainability Conference. Commissioner Lanning noted that he was interested in attending, but that time did not permit it.
CORRESPONDENCE
General Manager Randy Berggren circulated an announcement/reservation card for a University of Oregon Alumni Association Energy Series conversation. He stated that it takes place on May 14, 2001 at 5:30 p.m. and that the speakers are Phil Romero, Peter DeFazio, and himself.
Mr. Berggren said that the discussion on Board Governance will be scheduled for June although at the present time he was unsure of which Saturday it would occur on.
Mr. Berggren stated that a draft of the letter on DSI issues was included in the board packet. He requested feedback from the Board.
Mr. Berggren noted that there will be a Board retreat at the Hilton Hotel on May 11 and 12 for the purposes of refining the goals and the priorities of the utility.
Mr. Berggren briefly discussed the letter to Ron Eachus and Roger Hamilton thanking them for their service on the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC).
Continuing, Mr. Berggren stated that an agenda item for the May 15 Work Session would be water conservation and emergency curtailment plans. He said that the regular meeting may have an action item on the electric bond authorization for the capital plan and will have an action item on the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) power factor rate increase. He added that the Board will address the ESA re-licensing settlement agreement and will also be updated on the load curtailment customers at the May meeting.
In response to a request from President Anderson, Mr. Berggren agreed to have a letter of thanks written to State Senator Dirk.
PUBLIC INPUT
President Anderson read on behalf of Charles Biggs' written request that he has been following the master plan for several years and wanted it known that he feels that the design lacks planning that addresses the potential for an access terminus and that the steam plant view from the Ferry Street Bridge is not pleasant.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PHASE II RECOMMENDATIONS
Jean Meyers, Human Resources Manager and Laurie Muggy, Senior Human Resource Generalist gave an overview of employee benefits recommendations with the aid of overhead projections and printed materials on Vacation, Medical, Dental and Disability Scenarios and Ancillary Options. Ms. Meyers noted that implementing all of the recommendations of the project team would move EWEB up from 8th in the market survey to 6rd in ranking.
Ms. Meyers stated, in response to a question from President Anderson, that vacation time is a priority for employees.
Ms. Muggy noted that, if the Board supports the new vacation schedule, implementation will occur in July.
Ms. Muggy discussed the changes in medical plans. She stated that the project team is proposing to shift the medical plan for employees and retirees from a choice of three programs to one program, called the Three Tiered Medical Plan, also known as a point-of-service plan. She noted that this will eliminate the cash-back plan that gave employees monetary reimbursement for choosing a plan that cost less, with the exception of employees who have dual insurance coverage through two working spouses at EWEB or a spouse working for another employer.
Ms. Muggy highlighted some of the improvements in the medical plan, noting that there will be an option for employees to purchase vision coverage additional to the 24-month vision plan currently offered.
Continuing, Ms. Muggy recommended that the Board re-examine the insurance options in August after the bids come in from the different insurance carriers and then reassess the insurance policies with the possibility of increasing some of the enhancements.
Commissioner Smith asked for clarification on the preliminary financial impact. Responding, Ms. Meyers stated that the enhancements are projected to cost $150,000 per annum. Dick Varner, Fiscal Services Supervisor added that there is room for some budget fluctuation of as much as $500,000 and that this could also be applied to additional enhancements of benefits.
At President Anderson's request, Ms. Muggy stated that the long term recommendation is to study retiree benefits in 2002.
Ms. Muggy stated that staff would continue, with Board approval, to leverage the knowledge that the present insurance broker has in order to find good insurance providers.
Ms. Meyers emphasized, in response to Commissioner Lanning, that it is a goal of EWEB to be an employer of choice and that providing a comprehensive benefit package facilitates that goal. Mr. Berggren commented, in response to a question from Commissioner Smith, that it is somewhat difficult to evaluate benefits in the simplistic way of the market, e.g. moving up to a ranking of 6th. Commissioner Smith expressed concern for the cost, but affirmed her support. Continuing, she suggested that, given the volatility of the marketplace, the benefit package not be "cast in stone." She commented that at a future date it may become cost prohibitive to provide benefits at this level in the future. She recommended that the employees be aware that the level of benefits could change. Ms. Meyers responded that it is paramount that employees be educated about the benefits so that users can access the benefit resources in the best manner possible.
Mr. Varner stated, in response to a question from Commissioner Lanning, that the built-in salary increase will amount to circa _ percent.
Commissioner Lanning moved, with a second from Commissioner Smith, to approve the Employee Benefits Phase II core recommendations. Motion carried, with the assent of the three members of the Board present.
ELECTRIC BOND AUTHORIZATION - CAPITAL PLAN
Jim Origliosso, Treasurer, gave an overview of the bond authorization as it was presented in the memo to the Board entitled Bond Authorization for Electric Utility Capital Plan. He stressed that this was for information purposes and that the action on this issue would be requested at the regular meeting of the Board to be held on May 15.
Commissioner Smith noted that the last bond passed for EWEB was ostensibly for something that could be considered elective, but that the current project was essential. She requested that the action be put on the consent calendar. Commissioner Lanning agreed.
HYNIX POWER SALES AGREEMENT UPDATE (FORMERLY HYUNDAI)
Tom Buckhouse, Facilities Services Division Director, highlighted the update on the contract negotiation as outlined in the memos entitled Hyundai Contract Update and Disposition of EWEB Non-Declared Resources and a copy of a letter to Mr. John P. Lebens of the Bonneville Power Administration. He noted that the Lane Electric Cooperative (LEC) payment and the CILT (contributions-in-lieu-of-taxes) payment will be calculated at the rate of eight percent.
Scott Spettel, Power Management and Planning Manager, stated in response to a question from President Anderson, that the load from the Stone Creek Co-generation plant is roughly equivalent to 20 average megawatts.
At Commissioner Lanning's request, Mr. Spettel clarified that the two projects were chosen because they had not been declared to meet the load in the past and, as specified, the output from them can not be exported from the region. Given that criteria, he noted, these were the only two resources that EWEB has that qualified. Mr. Berggren added the BPA had threatened to decrement EWEB.
GLENWOOD SERVICE TERRITORY TRANSFER
Marty Douglass, Public Affairs Manager, gave an overview of the historical background of the transfer of Glenwood to the Springfield Utility Board (SUB) as outlined in the memo to the Board entitled Status of Glenwood Negotiations with Springfield Utility Board. He characterized the discussions as friendly.
Dick Helgeson, Director of Water & Steam Divisions, gave a presentation, with the aid of overhead projections of a handout that included a Map of the EWEB Water System in the Glenwood Area and Two Pages of Explanation on the Transfer and Cost.
Mr. Helgeson explained, at the request of Commissioner Lanning, that Glenwood has been served by surplus water and, as such, the water rights will not be affected by the transfer.
Dean Ahlsten, Engineering Manager, gave a presentation on the transfer of electric service with the aid of overhead projections and a handout that included a Map of the EWEB Electric System in the Glenwood Area and a Cost Worksheet (of the amounts of money that EWEB and SUB have yet to agree on for the transfer). He explained that the lost margin element is based on future lost revenue and is modeled after the Willow Creek agreement. SUB does not want to pay the amount that EWEB has set forth for the lost margin.
Mr. Douglass said that the two groups have been brainstorming and it has been challenging to determine what to negotiate on. He noted that the fiber optic access to the Hayden Bridge area is provided by SUB, adding that this could be germane to the discussion.
Commissioner Smith and President Anderson stressed that EWEB should not back down on the number for the lost margin. Commissioner Smith added that it was important to get out of it what had been put in.
Mr. Berggren likened the position EWEB is in to being between a rock and a hard spot. Mr. Douglass said that if an agreement could be "close" to the one that EWEB initially set forth, it would be satisfactory.
ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR
Commissioner Smith requested that the word facility be stricken throughout the minutes of March 17, 2001 and replaced with the word utility.
Mr. Buckhouse clarified for Commissioner Lanning that the vehicle replacement was due to a combination of maintenance costs and a lack of "fixability" for some of them. He gave background information on the pick-up trucks to be purchased. Commissioners expressed support for the use of hybrid cars for some EWEB transportation.
Mr. Logan shared information on the request for a donation from the Institute for Sustainable Ethics and Economics with President Anderson.
Commissioner Lanning moved, with a second from Commissioner Smith, to accept the items removed from the Consent Calendar. Motion carried with the assent of the three members of the Board present.
The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
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Assistant Secretary President