EUGENE WATER & ELECTRIC BOARD
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
EWEB BOARD ROOM
JULY 5, 2005
7:30 P.M.
Board Members Present: Ron Farmer, President; Sandra Bishop, Vice President; John Simpson, Commissioners. Commissioners Mel Menegat and Patrick Lanning were excused.
Others Present: Randy Berggren, Debra Smith, Dick Varner, Jim Wiley, Tom Buckhouse, Roseanna McArthur, Jim Origliosso, Lance Robertson, Matt Northway, Ed Case, Bill Fletcher, Mark Oberle, Laurie Muggy, Jennifer Joule, Jay Bozievich, and Krista Hince of the EWEB staff; Rich Dickman, consultant for Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA); members of the public and Ruth Atcherson, minutes recorder for the City of Eugene.
President Farmer convened the Regular Board Meeting of the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB).
AGENDA CHECK
President Farmer, with agreement from those Commissioners present, changed Agenda Item 10 to Agenda Item 4. He noted for the record that Commissioner Menegat was on vacation and Commissioner Lanning had undergone unplanned surgery.
PUBLIC
INPUT
Neil
Mann, 2470 Lawrence Street,
spoke about the College Hill Reservoir.
He said the first time he had heard of the proposed fence around the
reservoir had been in a very recent EWEB newsletter. He felt such a decision required
a slow deliberate process. He averred the property was used daily by people in
the neighborhood and that it had been meeting its design objectives since its
inception by providing a reservoir for clean water and a recreation site for
area neighbors. He listed the wide variety of ways the property was used. He
predicted that closing the site would create a dead space in the neighborhood
and promote vandalism. He was not convinced that a fence would secure the site,
but thought active use of the property served to do so. He accused the
Commissioners of “quietly closing” the site without public input.
Zack
Vishanoff, Patterson Street,
thanked the Commissioners for having its public forum on the possibility of
building a hospital on the EWEB site. He said the Commissioners were leading by
example. He invited the Commissioners to attend an alleged forum on the
proposed basketball arena. He alleged that Mayor Kitty Piercy had agreed to
hold a public forum on the topic.
Mr. Vishanoff provided the Commissioners with information on nanotechnology and copies of his newsletter.
In addition, Mr. Vishanoff asked the Commissioners to explore the possibility of a greenway committee. He encouraged the Commissioners to remain active.
1.
Minutes of the
May 17, 2005, Regular Board Meeting and the June 7, 2005, Work Session and
Regular Board Meeting.
2.
OBEC Consulting
Engineers – Engineering Services for Rehabilitation of Smith Reservoir Intake
Cable Car – Electric Division - $8.600
3.
OBEC Consulting
Engineers – Walterville Fish Return Channel Review – Electric Division -
$22,100
4.
Morris P.
Kielty, General Contractor, Inc. – Leaburg Site – Maintenance Shop and Office
Building – Electric Division - $471,058
5.
Morse Brothers,
Inc. – Walterville Chevrons Project – Electric Division - $112,000
6.
R.W. Beck, Inc.
– Economic Consulting – Fiscal Services - $60,000
7.
Johnson HR
Consulting Incorporated – 2005 Market Pricing Cycle – Human Resources –
Corporate Services Division - $24,400
8. USDA Forest Service – Implications of Water Management on the McKenzie River Basin – Environmental Management – Corporate Services - $30,000
Land
Management
9.
ODOT Beltline
and Interstate 5 Interchange – ODOT requests the purchase of EWEB utility
corridor property located north of Beltline Road and west of Interstate 5 to
facilitate the Interstate 5-Beltline Road Interchange Improvement Project.
10.
Bertelsen Road
South of West 11th Avenue – Due to new information from a Wetland
Report and time on the market, EWEB property previously declared surplus by the
Board at $126,500 has not sold.
Supplemental Resolution – Series 2005 Water
Bonds
11.
Resolution No.
0509 - Supplemental Resolution Series 2005 Water Bonds – to obtain interest
cost savings. This Resolution sets out
the terms and conditions of the bond’s sale and is the final delegation of
authority needed to carry out the transaction.
Public Agency Network (Pan)
12.
As the
Executive Operating Authority for PAN, EWEB is responsible for the adoption of
an annual operating budget. Staff is
requesting the Board authorize the General Manger to approve the annual budget
for the 2005-2006 budget year.
BOARD POLICIES (Ongoing)
13.
Continued
Policy approval for your Board Governance Policy Review
·
GP10 Public
Input
·
SD11 General
Compensation Policy
·
SD13 Real
Property Policies
Commissioner Simpson pulled Item 1, the
minutes from both meetings.
Vice President Bishop pulled the Items 3, 4,
5, 11, 12, and 13.
President Farmer noted that Item 9 (ODOT Land
Management) had been pulled by staff for further research.
Vice President Bishop moved approval of Items
2, 6, 7, 8, and 10 in the Consent Calendar.
Commissioner Simpson provided the second. The motion passed unanimously, 3:0.
Vice President Bishop asked that Agenda Item
11 - Items Removed from the Consent Calendar - be presented next on the
agenda. The Board was amenable to this.
ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR
Vice President Bishop indicated that she had
pulled Items 4 and 5 (Morris P. Kielty and Morse Bros. Inc., respectively)
because they were related to the budget amendment.
Though she had not pulled Consent Calendar Item 10 (Bertelsen Road South of west 11th Avenue Land Management), Vice President Bishop wished to convey her desire for more information to be printed under the item as it appeared on the agenda.
Vice President Bishop said she was uncomfortable with the placement of a bond item on the Consent Calendar, as it was under Item 11 (Supplemental Resolution – Series 2005 Water Bonds). She did not have an objection to the bond item; she merely did not want it voted through in this manner.
Vice President Bishop explained that her concerns with Item 12 (Public Agency Network) were the same as concerns with Item 10. She wished to see an explanation that included the cost of the Public Agency Network (PAN) budget that the General Manager would approve.
Vice President Bishop said she pulled Item 13 (Board Policies) because she wished to offer a change in wording for Policy Number GP10, which governed public input at EWEB Board meetings. She offered the following change to paragraph one, third sentence, of the policy:
·
Members of the audience wishing to speak fill out a sign-up sheet at the meeting beforehand and
are called by the presiding officer to address the Board when this agenda
item appears.
In response to a question from Vice President Bishop regarding Item 3 (OBEC), staff explained that ‘geo-morphogy’ had been a typographical error. The intended word was geo-morphology.
Vice President Bishop asked that the vote on items removed from the Consent Calendar be deferred until after Budget Amendment Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 on the Agenda. Commissioner Simpson and President Farmer were amenable to this.
Commissioner Simpson offered the following correction to the minutes from the May 17, 2005, Regular Board Meeting:
·
Page 5, the third bullet point under Mr. Damewood’s presentation: “…require moving the fiber control center and all of the computer systems
would be very expensive to move.”
Commissioner Simpson offered the following
correction to the minutes from the Work Session held on June 7:
·
Page 8: “… He agreed that a
temporary employee aside a versus
a permanent employee…”
Commissioner Simpson noted that Carrie Shaw
had been incorrectly referred to as Carry
Shy throughout the Public Input section of the minutes from the Regular
Session held on June 7.
BUDGET AMENDMENT NOS. 3, 4, 5, AND 6
Treasurer Jim Origliosso explained that
should a projected expenditure increase by 20 percent it was required to come
before the Board as an action item pursuant to Board policy. He outlined the
four items that had exceeded their respective budgets, as follows:
Budget Amendment No. 3: For the Leaburg maintenance shop and office facility; originally budgeted for $435,000. The scope had changed because a decision had been made to co-locate a telecommunications facility with the shop facility, adding $70,000 to the cost. Bids received indicated a substantial increase in building materials and subsequently the total of the budget amendment was $170,000. Funds were being allocated from unspent telecommunications bond proceeds previously unbudgeted for this year, as well as the UHF microwave job and the Trailbridge capital improvement which were both running under budget.
Commissioner Simpson asked if the
telecommunication room had not been part of the original plan. Mr. Origliosso
explained that the 1998 bonds had included $15 million to construct a fiber
network and the network had cost substantially less than that and some of the
bonds had been paid off early. He said money had been held out for several
related projects, one of which was the work to be done for utility purposes
only to extend the fiber network into the McKenzie River Valley. However, he stated
that the County had engaged EWEB in a joint venture for fiber facilities and
the remaining bond proceeds were being used to fund various small fiber
projects within the definition of the EWEB fiber network.
President Farmer asked Mr. Origliosso to clarify
whether the room project had been part of the original plans. Mr. Origliosso
replied that it was a new project altogether.
Vice President Bishop asked if having two
years elapse between a project’s plan and its execution was normal. Mr.
Origliosso responded that it was consistent, though it might not be
normal.
President Farmer asked if it was really the increase in costs that drove the budget amendment or was it due to the telecommunications room. Mr. Origliosso reiterated that the budget amendment included $70,000 due to the change in scope of the project and $100,000 due to the increase in material costs.
Senor Water Engineer Jay Bozievich said the
original intent was to build a separate building for the telecommunications
facility, but the building had a covered area that was outside the footprint of
the shop that was easily utilizable. He underscored that this was less
expensive than the building that was part of the original master plan for the
site. He attributed some of the material costs to requirements set forth by the
State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO) as the original building had some
historical significance.
In response to a question from Vice President
Bishop, Mr. Bozievich stated that staff likely did not adequately adjust
material costs for inflation in the year the project was delayed. He thought
some of the materials had increased in cost by 20 percent.
In response to a question from President
Farmer, Electric Division Director Jim Wiley indicated that the Trailbridge
project was not done, but it was ahead of schedule. He noted that some bids had
come in much lower than had been anticipated.
Commissioner Simpson asked if the funding for
the telecommunications room only built the room or would it also fill the room
with the necessary equipment. Mr. Bozievich responded that it built the room
and provided the mechanical and electrical infrastructure necessary to support
the room. He said the racks and equipment would not be purchased at this time.
He underscored that because it was a critical piece of infrastructure built in
partnership with the Lane County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) it took the building
from being a standard wood-frame building to a building that had to meet
seismic standards. He added that one major cost was the installation of a
separate HVAC system for that room.
Mr. Origliosso outlined the next budget
amendment, as follows:
Budget Amendment No. 4: Called the 5th Street job; this
job was intended to be completed in 2004. At the request of the High Street
commercial community the job had been postponed to avoid the holiday season and
moved to 2005. However, the budget for 2005 had already been passed. Because of
this the entire amount, $112,583, was spent this year. In order to accommodate
this work, some lower priority main replacement projects had been deferred.
In response to Commissioner Simpson, Mr.
Origliosso affirmed that this was the project that was planned to traverse
below the railroad tracks and that it had been started and stopped.
Mr. Origliosso proceeded to the next budget
amendment, as follows:
Budget Amendment No. 5: A water main replacement project; in this project the scope had increased substantially as excavation had exposed more of the main, which was in a more deteriorated condition than had been expected. The project expenditure was $217,000 but had been budgeted at $111,500. The remaining $105,000 was reallocated from a water reservoir project, which was not going forward in the current budgetary year.
In response to a question from Commissioner
Simpson, Water & Steam Division Director Tom Buckhouse explained that the
water reservoir project was a “filter rebuild” project and extra funds were
left over when it had been completed.
Mr. Origliosso reprised the last of the four
budget amendments, as follows:
Budget Amendment No. 6: The chevron work at the Walterville/Leaburg site and the Carter/Shaw claim made for damages; it had been budgeted at $532,000. The additional chevron work together with the claim brings the projected expenditures to $1,377,000. The $847,000 in additional funding was from the Walterville fish return channel work that had been in the budget and the self-insurance reserves.
Commissioner Simpson asked if the fish return
channel project had cost less or if it had not been undertaken. Electric
Division Director Jim Wiley clarified that it was a project ordered by the Army
Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and EWEB had permission to stop that activity until
2006. He added that the fluid geo-morphology required more study before a
permanent solution could be proposed to the ACOE. He predicted that the scope
of work would be reduced upon completion of those studies.
President Farmer asked what the total of the
settlement had come to be. Mr. Origliosso replied that it had not been
settled at this point. He clarified that the family had filed a claim because
their property had been inundated with water over the course of changes
resulting from fish return channel work.
In response to a follow-up question, Mr.
Origliosso explained that the self-insurance fund would be used and then
replenished in the coming budget year.
Vice President Bishop asked if the work was
comprised of modifications to the chevrons. She wondered if there was a
projected date by which the chevrons would be redesigned and stable. Mr. Wiley
replied that the chevrons had been designed but the ACOE had not issued a
permit for the work. He said the window for work in the water was July and
August and it did not look like the permit would be issued in time for the
present year.
President Farmer asked if the chevrons would
have an effect on boaters. Mr. Wiley replied that it could have an impact on
drift boaters.
President Farmer asked if funding remained
intact for a project if it was not completed in the current budget year. Mr.
Origliosso responded that this budgeting was determined on a case-by-case basis
because every year the projects were reprioritized.
Vice President Bishop moved approval of
Budget Amendment Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6. Commissioner
Simpson provided the second. The motion passed unanimously, 3:0.
Commissioner Simpson moved to approve the
minutes from the May 17, 2005, Regular Board Meeting, and the minutes from the
June 7, 2005, Work Session and Regular Board Meeting, as amended. Vice
President Bishop provided the second. The motion passed unanimously, 3:0.
Vice President Bishop moved approval of
Consent Calendar items 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, and 13. Commissioner Simpson
provided the second. The motion passed
unanimously, 3:0.
(Note: Item
10 was passed both under the Consent Calendar and here.)
ITEMS FROM BOARD MEMBERS
Vice President
Bishop expressed concern about the article in the Register-Guard regarding preferential rates the Bonneville Power
Administration was allegedly granting some larger industrial customers. She
asked staff to provide more information.
President Farmer asked if this referred to
aluminum companies. General Manager Randy Berggren indicated that it did.
Vice President Bishop opined that it was unfair
for the BPA to raise rates for utilities such as EWEB while providing a break
to industry. Mr. Berggren said he would provide the Commissioners information
on the issue.
Vice President Bishop reported that Sean
Murphy, a diving representative, had approached her and he indicated he would
attend a future EWEB meeting to ask the Board to consider adoption of national
dive standards for those workers who do this sort of work.
Vice President Bishop wished to know more
information on how the property owners referred to in the memorandum regarding
the claim that had resulted from damage caused by flooding felt at this point.
Mr. Wiley stated that the day after the last
board meeting an EWEB civil engineer looked at the property and talked with
Norm Carter, property owner. He said Mr. Carter’s fields would dry out and Mr.
Carter seemed to be satisfied. Regarding the hatchery, he stated that the
hatchery would fix the leak located near the point where the water was taken
from the Leaburg canal to return to the river.
Vice President Bishop cited the memorandum
from Electric Operations Manager Dave Koski regarding the damage claim from
Carrie Shaw and wondered if the resolution was adequate. Mr. Berggren responded
that the physical aspects of the problem had been fixed, the pole and wiring
had been replaced, but the damaged appliances had presented more of a problem
because the person in question had not provided complete information on the
damages.
President Farmer commented that Ms. Shaw was
asking for a replacement value as if the lost appliances had been new.
Vice President Bishop said she would discuss
the matter with Mr. Koski to learn more about the situation.
Commissioner Simpson related that he had
lunched with staff in order to ask the questions he needed to ask regarding
this situation. He felt his questions had been answered to his
satisfaction.
Vice President Bishop asked if this situation
had fallen through the cracks. Mr. Berggren replied that it had been
overlooked for approximately three weeks and staff had made adjustments to
their procedures to ensure this did not happen again. Mr. Wiley added that upon
having it brought to the Board’s attention, crews responded on May 28 and
conducted the restoration work so that the electrical facility was made safe.
Commissioner Simpson reported on his recent
attendance to the American Public Power Association (APPA). He said the APPA
had re-elected Alan Richardson as its president and had launched a new
marketing campaign called “Public Power is Good for Business.” He shared that
he had attended public seminars on electric utility basics, broadband,
improvement of customer service through benchmarking, development of strong
relationships with news media, understanding the value of public power, and the
evaluation of the chief executive officer’s (CEO’s) performance. In conclusion,
he read an introduction to the marketing campaign aloud that highlighted how
service-oriented a publicly owned utility tended to be.
Commissioner Simpson thanked the general
manager and other staff for meeting with him to discuss the Holden Creek Road
issue. He reiterated that all of his
questions had been answered regarding a topic he found to be particularly
disturbing. He looked forward to a prompt resolution to the problem.
Commissioner Simpson related that the General
Manager Compensation Subcommittee had met with Mr. Berggren on June 27 to hear
his point of view about a new employment contract. He said the subcommittee had
learned about the history and motivation behind the deferred compensation
contract. He stated that the next steps involved recalculating a new total
compensation figure that took into account current comparable salaries in the
public utility marketplace and the expiration of the general manager’s deferred
compensation contract. When completed, the subcommittee would frame a proposed
contract for Board review. He stressed that the goal was to create an
employment contract that would be attractive and functional for the current and
future general managers.
Continuing, Commissioner Simpson stated that
he had not received any customer feedback regarding the survey on customer
service.
Regarding a 12-hour
power outage in the vicinity of Seneca Street and West 11th Avenue,
Commissioner Simpson reported that he had made courtesy follow-up calls to
managers of the affected companies. One such company, Izzy’s Pizza, had
indicated an interest in filing a claim for money lost when frozen food thawed.
He said he had referred the business to the general manager’s office and an
investigation indicated no negligence on the part of EWEB.
Commissioner Simpson added that a customer
had reported to him that the EWEB Web site was difficult to navigate. He said
he forwarded his response letter to the public relations staff.
President Farmer also had attended the APPA
conference. He commented that the classes were a mixed bag, some very
beneficial and others less so. He indicated he would share some of the more
beneficial information at a future meeting.