Board Members Present: Sandra Bishop, Dorothy Anderson, Mel Menegat, and Ron Farmer. President Patrick would join the Commissioners at 7:07 p.m.

Others Present: Randy Berggren, Jim Origliosso, Dick Varner, Tom Buckhouse, Jim Wiley, Roseanna McArthur, Dick Helgeson, Terry Bequette, Debra Smith, Judy Chase, and Krista Hince of the EWEB staff; Ruth Atcherson, City of Eugene Minutes Recorder, and John Simpson.

Vice President Bishop called the Work Session of the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) to order at 5:34 p.m.

BOARD GOVERNANCE

• New Commissioner Orientation

Debra Smith, Assistant to the General Manager, presented a reworked version of the draft New Commissioner Orientation Process, and asked for comments and questions from the Commissioners.

Commissioner Anderson thought the bullet point under "Invites all Commissioner candidates to one or more of the following" should include the Board. Regarding the third bullet point under that same heading, she felt providing tours of EWEB facilities to candidates might be too time-intensive for staff members whose work loads were already heavy. She also suggested that the "Step 3 Be flexible" be placed at the beginning of the document.

Commissioner Menegat agreed with Commissioner Anderson regarding her first suggestion, and asked if staff or the Board would present information on the Board's role and responsibilities. Mr. Berggren responded that most likely it would be the Board presenting the information.

Commissioner Menegat pointed out that a Board member is not a Board member until he or she has been sworn in. He felt staff should not invest a lot of time in a candidate and the language should be clear about this. He also thought it noteworthy that different candidates had different abilities to participate. Some could spend a lot of time on pre-election orientation and others could not.

Regarding the second heading on the second page, Commissioner Menegat questioned the concept of assigning a mentor from the Board as he was concerned a mentor might not be able to be completely objective when presenting issues and could unintentionally influence policy.

Commissioner Menegat suggested there be language regarding the fostering of a relationship with the City Council and individuals be included in the draft.

Commissioner Farmer echoed Commissioner Menegat, and said he felt there were a lot of good ideas in the document. He wished to clarify in the language that this was not orientation for all candidates running. He also did not want to devote a "huge amount of staff time" to orienting a new Commissioner in the six or seven months between an election and when the new Commissioner was seated. He asked that the language also clarify what was voluntary and what was not.

Vice President Bishop expressed appreciation for the work President Lanning had put into the draft. She did not think there should be anything done with candidates prior to election. She also was concerned that too much staff time could be tied up in such an orientation. She suggested "filed for election" be stricken from the first sentence of page 1.

Vice President Bishop did not think it critical to provide information about the roles and responsibilities of governing boards in policy decision-making models. She felt, however, that it should be underscored that the Board was a policy-setting body.

Vice President Bishop expressed concern that the first bullet point under the third heading on page 2 could cost money. Commissioner Anderson suggested it be reworded, as follows:

• "Arrange for Take advantage of invitations to new Commissioners for community events or meetings with key community people."

She also thought scheduling information and discussion sessions for new Commissioners, as per the first bullet point under Step 2, could also cost money.

Continuing, Vice President Bishop felt that new Commissioners who attended conferences should be asked to report back to the Board.

Mr. Berggren recommended the lines between a Board member and a Commissioner-elect when representing EWEB at conferences, et cetera, be very clear. Commissioner Farmer agreed, stating that attendance at an event of that sort should not be scheduled by EWEB staff or paid for by the utility until after a new Board member was seated.

Mr. Berggren took no issue with providing a Commissioner-elect with the Board Manual, but thought more specific information should not be provided until such time as the new member was seated.

Commissioner Anderson asked Mr. Berggren if providing incoming Commissioners tours was a concern. Mr. Berggren called this a grey zone, but surmised that it would likely help to have general tours to further the understanding of the function of the utility.

Commissioner Farmer remarked that everyone had a different amount of time to devote to being oriented. He related that he had familiarized himself with the utility on his own time, taking five days over a five month period after having been seated. He had found it invaluable.

Commissioner Menegat shared his initial experience. He said he had been retired when he first took on being a member of the Board, but since then had gone back to work. He has, due to time constraints, learned over time and had yet to tour any facilities.

Vice President Bishop said she had attended meetings prior to being seated in order to become acquainted with the utility. She noted that staff had been very helpful.

Ms. Smith summarized the discussion. She said how orientation was currently handled was governed by the public meeting laws.

Vice President Bishop suggested, and those present agreed, that the New Board Orientation Process be brought before the Board on June 16 as an action item.

Vice President Bishop closed the Work Session at 6:19 p.m.

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Assistant Secretary President