Board Members present: Sandra Bishop, Dorothy Anderson; Peter Bartel, Susie Smith, Patrick Lanning.

Others present: Randy Berggren, Dick Helgeson, Dick Varner, Jim Wiley, Dave Koski, Mel Damewood, Tom Buckhouse, JoAnn Andersen, Burt Dunn, Roseanna McArthur, Jim Maloney, Eric Hiaasen, Cathy Grey, Mat Northway, Scott Spettel, and Krista Hince of the EWEB staff; and Joe Sams, Minutes Recorder of the City of Eugene.

President Bishop called the Special Board Meeting of the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) to

Agenda Check

President Bishop adjusted the order of the agenda items so that items 8, 9, and 10 became items 6, 7, and 8.

Approval of Consent Calendar

Vice President Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Lanning, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar. The motion passed unanimously.

Correspondence

General Manager Randy Berggren noted that there was a meeting on October 24 and said that all the members should have already received the meeting packet. There was general consensus to schedule the meeting from 6:30 to 8:30.

Mr. Berggren reported that there was a conference on understanding telecommunications to be held on November 1, 2000.

Items from Board Members

Vice President Anderson reported that EWEB had not been successful in maintaining adequate solar access provisions with the City Council. She noted that the Council was developing a "Green Points" program that solar provisions could be worked into.

Vice President Anderson reported that the "Ad Hoc Committee for Greater Downtown Visioning" (GDV) would be meeting on October 19. She noted that she tried to explain to the committee that EWEB may not leave its current site and we would not make that decision until after the consultants completed their analysis. She stressed that EWEB controlled the use of its property and that EWEB's primary concern was to serve its customers. She commented that one of the consultants, a few of the committee members, and some of the staff for the committee wanted EWEB to move off its site.

Commissioner Smith suggested stressing to the GSA EWEB's concerns over appropriate riparian protection of its river frontage.

President Bishop recalled that there had been a Board Resolution to oppose Ballot Measure 93. She thanked Vice President Anderson for her work on the resolution.

Public Input

Jean Liittschwager spoke in favor of renaming Leaburg park for Lloyd Knox who's health was declining. She stressed that Mr. Knox had devoted his heart and soul to the park for decades and the surrounding community loved him. She urged the Board to make its decision quickly since Mr. Knox's health was declining rapidly.

Terry Liittschwager urged the Board to rename the park after Mr. Knox. He suggested that the dam could be named after him if the park could not be.

Judith Olsen submitted signatures in support of renaming the park after Mr. Knox. She urged the members of the board to meet Mr. Knox and spoke of his 27 year dedication to the park and the surrounding area. She remarked on the affection of the local community for the man and urged the board members to take the opportunity to do something special. She stressed the fact that Mr. Knox was one in a million.

President Bishop commented that a decision had not yet been made regarding renaming the park.

Vice President Anderson said that staff had suggested naming the park's picnic shelter after Mr. Knox with a display board bearing his name and telling about his service to the area.

Mr. Berggren stressed the importance of the Board moving quickly on its decision.

Drinking Water Source Protection Plan

Laurie Power, Environmental Manager, took an opportunity to compliment the work of her teammates on developing the Drinking Water Source Protection Plan.

Ms. Power said the McKenzie was the sole source of drinking water for Eugene. She noted that there was high community interest in the development of the plan. She added that the plan was voluntary and not the result of legislative direction. She said that there had been opportunity for public input on the plan and that the public comment received was in strong support.

Public Hearing on Drinking Water Source Protection Plan

Ms. Bishop opened the public hearing.

Jim Thrailkill, coordinator for the McKenzie Watershed Council, said that the Council lent its support to the protection Plan since it ran parallel with McKenzie Watershed Council decisions.

Mr. Thrailkill noted, for the record, that he was in favor of the idea of renaming Water Board Park after Lloyd Knox.

President Bishop closed the public hearing and called for Board Member comments/questions.

Drinking Water Source Protection Plan

Vice President Smith, seconded by Ms. Anderson, moved to approve the Drinking Water Source Protection Plan. The motion passed unanimously.

Declaration of Surplus Property and Variance from Property Disposal Policy

Mark Oberle, Real Property Specialist, reported on a small piece of property that he suggested be sold to an adjacent owner.

In response to a question from Commissioner Smith regarding the reason the property was being sold for the same price it was purchased for, Mr. Oberle said that EWEB would maintain an easement on the property with all rights. He noted that land, under EWEB's ownership was undevelopable.

President Bishop raised concern about going through the exception process to get the area developed.

Mr. Oberle observed that exceptions did not detract from the public hearing opportunities about development on the site.

In response to a reiteration of President Bishop's concerns, Mr. Oberle added that development of the site would actually make it easier for EWEB to access their existing facility on the site.

In response to a comment from Commissioner Smith regarding the lack of appreciation in the price of the land, Mr. Oberle said that the administrative and staff costs of dealing with the sale would be covered in the price of the land.

Vice President Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Smith, moved to accept the staff recommendation on the surplus declaration request and proposed deviation from policy, with the understanding that the sale price will cover all of EWEB's costs.

President Bishop stressed that the motion was not, in any way, advocating a zone change for the site.

The motion passed unanimously.

Telecommunications Development Status

Ken Beeson, Telecommunications Project Manager, reported that staff was reviewing the status of the Phase II telecommunications development for the utility. He noted that staff would be going over the material, in detail, in the next few months.

Mr. Beeson stressed the importance of keeping development options open. He said that the goal was for a platform that could handle multiple providers. He said that staff had been looking for providers that were interested. He noted that there had not been a lot of response, but that staff was making follow up calls. He said that if EWEB became a provider it would be because of a lack of interest from other providers.

Mr. Beeson said that telecommunications functions could provide applications to the electrical utility such as automated meter reading, automatic connection and disconnection of services, load management and control, and energy management services.

Regarding financing, Mr. Beeson said that it was related to ownership and that no less than 51 percent of the project would be owned by EWEB. He added that staff were exploring the option of 100 percent ownership to get tax exempt financing and no content restrictions.

Commissioner Smith stressed the importance of seeing the benefit of telecommunications to the utility's business functions.

Vice President Anderson suggested contacting communities that had already made telecommunications a part of their utility.

Mr. Berggren stressed a critical self evaluation first.

Bonneville Subscription

Scott Spettel, Power Management & Planning Manager, said that the purpose of the agenda item was to receive authorization for Mr. Berggren to sign the SLICE Block Contract with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).

Mr. Spettel said that part of the contract was a cost recovery adjustment clause. He said that he would have no information on the clause until approximately November 13. He said that the deadline for signing the contract was October 25, 2000. He noted that the deadline might be extended until October 31.

Mr. Spettel recommended purchasing a 10 year block for the lowest possible rate.

Vice President Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Lanning, moved to approve staff's recommendation and provide authority to sign the contract. The motion passed unanimously.

Before adjourning, President Bishop asked if there were any suggestions regarding the Lloyd Knox question.

Mr. Berggren stressed the importance of quick action.

The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m.

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Assistant Secretary President