Board Members present: Sandra Bishop, Dorothy Anderson, and Peter Bartel. Commissioner Smith arrived at 7:20 p.m., and President Dyer was excused.
Others present: Randy Berggren, JoAnn Andersen, Ken Beeson, Cathy Bloom, Terry Bequette, Tom Buckhouse, Sandy DeLuna, Tim Downey, Dick Helgeson, Jerry Hohman, Garry Kunkel, Jim Maloney, Roseanna McArthur, Jim Origliosso, Laurie Power, Dick Varner, and Krista Hince of the EWEB staff; Win Calkins, General Council, members of the public, and Kim Kunkel, Minutes Recorder.
Noting the absence of President Dyer, Vice President Bishop called the Work Session of the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) to order.
PROPOSED AGREEMENT WITH MCKENZIE LAND TRUST
Referring to a memorandum and attachments, copies of which were included in the meeting agenda packet, EWEB Environmental Manager Laurie Power stated that the purpose of this discussion was to present to the Board a proposed agreement to donate funds to the McKenzie River Trust (MRT) for the purpose of acquiring property to further EWEB's watershed health objectives.
Ms. Power explained that EWEB issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in mid-November for a land trust to manage a grant from EWEB to purchase land and/or conservation easements in riparian habitats in the McKenzie River basin to accomplish EWEB's watershed health objectives. She said the RFP resulted from a determination by the Board, based on a study completed by the Lane Council of Governments, that a land trust donation could benefit the McKenzie watershed. Ms. Power said EWEB sent the RFP to seven national and regional land trust organizations and received one proposal from the McKenzie River Trust (MRT).
Tom Bowerman, representing MRT, presented a brief overview of MRT's mission, goals, and activities.
Vice President Bishop noted that how the success of the program was measured had been raised as an issue of concern by some Commissioners. Mr. Bowerman said MRT has a list of 10 criteria by which to evaluate its efforts. With regard to this proposed agreement, Mr. Bowerman said a more specific list of criteria focusing on clean water and protection of species would be developed.
Referring to a series of overhead projections, Ms. Power reviewed EWEB's McKenzie Watershed Health Objectives, as follows:
1. Maximize protection of water quality
2. Maximize protection of critical fish and wildlife habitat
3. Promote cooperative approaches
Commissioner Bartel inquired as to the impact of including "restoration" of lands in the proposed agreement. Ms. Power responded that adding "restoration" would take away from resources available to purchase "quality lands." Mr. Bowerman noted that, scientifically, it was more acceptable to acquire and protect quality lands than to restore damaged lands. Mr. Bowerman agreed that the agreement should provide flexibility to restore potentially valuable lands.
Ms. Power presented a brief overview of the components of the proposed agreement, as follows:
Liz Bell, Director of Land Trust Alliance, explained the concept of "stewardship" in relation to land trusts. She said the stewardship fund component included in the proposed agreement appeared adequate for meeting the needs of the subject land trust.
Ms. Power reviewed the following "next steps:"
With regard to the proposed three trustees, Vice President Bishop inquired as to whether this trustee model has been utilized in the past. Mr. Bowerman responded that the three-trustee model has been used in the past. Vice President Bishop said she did not see the necessity of having three trustees and requested that staff explore an alternative, such as an EWEB representative sitting on the MRT Board.
Commissioner Bartel agreed that EWEB involvement, at some level, in MRT's expenditure of funds would be prudent. Mr. Bowerman said MRT would prefer having three trustees over EWEB reviewing land purchases. He said EWEB reviewing the purchases would be "awkward."
Vice President Bishop requested that staff poll President Dyer and Commissioner Smith as to their opinions concerning the three trustees. She said that if neither President Dyer nor Commissioner Smith express concern regarding the matter, staff should not expend resources on exploring alternatives, but rather proceed in the direction proposed by the agreement.
BOARD RETREAT STRATEGIES
Referring to a memorandum and attachments, copies of which were included in the meeting agenda packet, EWEB General Manager Randy Berggren recalled that during the April 14, 2000, Board Retreat, Commissioners requested that staff return with a re-draft of the strategic goals to reflect the Board's input and comments. Noting that there were now six goals, Mr. Berggren requested that the Board focus on the strategies supporting each goal.
Staff members reviewed strategies related to each of the following goals:
Goal 1: To increase citizen confidence in EWEB as a responsible community-owned institution.
Goal 2: To conduct all aspects of our business as responsible stewards of the environment and champions of a sustainable future.
Goal 3: Improve EWEB efficiency by lowering cost, increasing speed, and redirecting employee talent to higher value outcomes.
Goal 4: Improve EWEB's ability to respond effectively to uncertainty in the external business environment.
Goal 5: Explore the important elements of customer satisfaction to deliver more value to our community.
Goal 6: Develop and preserve our access to viable sources of supply.
With regard to Goal 5, Commissioner Smith inquired as to how EWEB might address the interests of customers who do not view EWEB as a community-invested entity. Mr. Berggren responded that public communication strategies would address such customers.
Noting that staff was beginning to identify priorities within each of the strategies, Mr. Berggren stated that preliminary work tasks for each strategy would be presented to the Board during its July retreat.
With regard to Goal 2, Commissioner Smith suggested that the applicable Board Principles be clearly reflected in the text. In addition, Commissioner Smith said the Board must clarify EWEB's commitment to sustainability. She stressed the importance of maintaining the strength of the individual goals, while achieving an overall balance, in terms of financial versus environmental interests, among them. In conclusion, Commissioner Smith suggested adding a goal related to long-term sustainability.
Commissioner Bartel commented that the goals should be "accessible" to the general public. He stated that, in their current form, the goals were somewhat "bureaucratic."
The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
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Assistant Secretary President