Board Members Present: Dorothy Anderson, Peter Bartel, Patrick Lanning, Sandra Bishop.
Others present: Randy Berggren, JoAnn Andersen, Jay Bozievich, Tom Buckhouse, Terry Bequette, Mel Damewood, Marty Douglass, Dick Helgeson, Roseanna McArthur, Mark Oberele, Jim Origliosso, Keri Stocks, Dick Varner, Jim Wiley, John Yanov, and Krista Hince of the EWEB staff; Joe Sams, City of Eugene Minutes Recorder; and members of the public.
President Anderson called the Special Board Meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
AGENDA CHECK
General Manager Randy Berggren noted that the second item on the consent calendar, (Geo-Tech Exploration, Inc.), had been removed so the Board could consider it individually.
CONSENT CALENDAR
1. Iris Communications - Public Affairs - Corporate Services Division - $23,000
2. Geo-Tech Exploration, Inc. (pulled for discussion in regular board meeting)
Vice President Bartel, seconded by Commissioner Lanning, moved to approve the items on the consent calendar. The motion passed unanimously.
ITEMS FROM BOARD MEMBERS
President Anderson said she had attended a Northwest Energy Coalition meeting and had heard that Lane Electric and EPUD had not had any rate increase complaints, even though their increases had surpassed EWEB's, while EWEB had been receiving numerous complaints. She surmised that the reason was because EWEB had raised its rates all at once while other utilities had raised their rates in smaller increments.
Vice President Bartel reported that the Public Agency Network, (PAN), was moving forward. He said that fiber optic circuitry was saving time and money and added that he was proud that EWEB was a member partner in the process and doing a good thing for the community at large.
Commissioner Bishop said she had visited two wind power sites. She distributed written material about the wind project - Sate Line on the Oregon and Washington border. She said there were 399 wind towers and stressed that they were very quiet. She noted that wind power was now an economic alternative.
CORRESPONDENCE
Mr. Berggren reported that he, President Anderson and EWEB's Treasurer, Jim Origliosso, would be traveling to San Francisco to meet with bond rating agencies to review upcoming bond sales. He said there was a good chance for the utility to maintain its "AA" bond rating.
Mr. Berggren said the strategic retreat for the Board would be on the upcoming Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. He said there would be written material going out to the Board before that meeting.
Mr. Berggren said that EWEB would be participating in Earth Week events on Saturday April 20, and Monday April 22, 2002 at Broadway Plaza in Eugene. He noted that there would be information tables at the events.
Mr. Berggren said that EWEB would be hosting the annual Pacific Northwest Conference of the American Waterworks Association on May 1-3. He said the Board would be receiving background information on the event and was welcome to participate.
Regarding upcoming agendas, Mr. Berggren said the May 7 Work Session would have an update on the Wanapa project and added there would be a discussion regarding rate surcharges and CILT payments to the City of Eugene. He said there would also be an update on the post 2006 Bonneville Power Administration, (BPA), allocation.
PUBLIC INPUT
Jeff Matthews, representing Jerry Jensen and Jensen Drilling, spoke on the GeoTech Inc. drill contract award. He said Jensen Drilling had bid on the contract twice. He said Jensen Drilling had been the low bidder both times. He also said that GeoTech had protested the low bid and asserted that Jensen Drilling was not qualified to handle the project based on its submissions. He noted that he had requested a review by the Contract Review Board.
Mr. Matthews requested that the Board not grant GeoTech the contract at this evening's meeting and let the internal review process run its course. He maintained that Jensen Drilling was qualified to handle the project for EWEB.
Mark Hudson urged the Board to reconsider its rate increase slated to take effect in May. He noted that BPA had cut its rates by four percent in April and added that BPA's rates would be similar to its August 2001 rates in the near future. He said that BPA was cautiously optimistic that power rates would decrease through a process of buy down agreements and settlements of pending litigation. He said this would ultimately lead to lower power costs for EWEB.
Jim Seaberry, Santa Clara, submitted a list of questions to the Board. Regarding the question of reviewing the policy of customers paying their bills by credit card, Mr. Berggren said the Board was not intending to look further into the matter.
GEOTECH EXPLORATION INC. GROUND WATER DEVELOPMENT PROJECT CONTRACT
Mr. Berggren recommended that the Board not take any action that evening and delay action until it had reviewed the bid appeal by Jensen Drilling.
Vice President Bartel, seconded by Commissioner Lanning, moved to delay action on the contract award, per staff recommendation, until it had reviewed the bid appeal by Jensen Drilling. The motion passed unanimously.
MISCELLANEOUS FEES AND CHARGES
Dick Varner, Fiscal Services Supervisor, provided a presentation on recommended changes in fees and charges. The presentation included recommended changes in customer service, resumption of service, electric temporary service installation charges, hydrant permits, and interest on customer deposits as well as a date for implementation of the fee changes.
Mr. Berggren noted that the proposed fee changes were based on costs of providing service.
In response to a question from Vice President Bartel regarding true costs of service, Mr. Varner said he would return to the Board with more cost data.
Commissioner Bishop said she was not in favor of implementing the fee changes in May in any event.
Vice President Bartel expressed a desire to implement the fee changes by June 30, 2002.
TRANSMISSION RATES
John Yanov, Senior Rate/Financial Analyst, said the rate revision was intended to keep the rates consistent with costs on an annual basis. He said the recommended action of the Board was essentially a housekeeping item.
Commissioner Bishop, seconded by Vice President Bartel, moved to approve the transmission rates as recommended by staff. The motion passed unanimously.
MASTER PLAN STATUS UPDATE
Deborrah Brewer, Master Plan Project Manager, noted that she had distributed a revised recommendation from what had been presented during the previous Work Session. She noted that the language had been softened and she tried to accommodate opportunities that might arise without saying exactly what was going to be done. She added that there was an additional recommendation of an annual progress report to make sure the assumptions were still the same regarding working toward the other recommendations.
Vice President Bartel, seconded by Commissioner Lanning, moved approval of the staff recommendation. The motion passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
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Assistant Secretary President