VILLAGE OF MORRISVILLE WATER AND LIGHT DEPARTMENT
December 15, 2008
MONDAY 6:00 PM
Water and Light Office
The meeting duly noticed and warned was called to order at 6:05 PM.
PRESENT:
Trustees: Dana Wildes, Tim Sargent, Peter Bourne, Ed DeBor and Keith Thompson.
Staff: Craig Myotte, Jim Fontaine, Penny Jones, Linda Osgood
1) PUBLIC MEETING:
No members of the public were present.
2) CURRENT PRIORITY PROJECTS:
Craig briefly updated the Board on the status of the current priority projects. The current priority projects are line purchase, hydro review RFQ, 2009 Budget, SSMA (WWTF Act 250 Permit Conditions), FERC Part 12 Dam Safety Inspection, Website Redesign, Sale of Zack Woods Property, Bradley Lawsuit, Rate Forecast for Electric, Water, Sewer.
3) MANAGEMENT REPORT:
Trustee Bourne asked if any Federal funds are available
for the proposed water reservoir project.
Penny pointed out that was a requirement of the engineers to see if any
funds were available. The Board questioned
if we should independently pursue this or leave it up to the engineers.
We have only received a few calls to date on the proposed
water and sewer rate increase. The final
projected purchased power budget from VPPSA is up compared to the previous draft. Plant #2 will be down longer than planned at
a monthly impact of $26,000. The project
is still scheduled to be completed in January 2009.
The transmission line transaction is scheduled to be
completed by the end of February 2009.
The RFP bids for the water storage project are due 12/17 and Trustee
Bourne volunteered to help evaluate the proposals. The Chairman sees the biggest issue is access
to the site with the best access being across an existing ROW. He pointed out that outside of construction,
vehicle traffic to the proposed reservoir would probably be limited to just a
few pick-up trucks a year. Trustee DeBor
doesn’t feel we will have a problem with the land owner but the ROW is a joint
ROW and the previous owner never cleared up who was responsible for
maintenance.
Trustee Wildes asked how the hydro generation assessment
was coming. Craig is still trying to
find middle ground between the $50,000 proposal and the $15,000 proposal.
4) APPROVE MINTUES OF MEETING HELD DECEMBER 1, 2008:
On a motion by Trustee Sargent, seconded by Trustee DeBor and abstained by Trustee Thompson, the Board approved the minutes of the December 1, 2008, regular meeting by majority.
5) APPROVE WARRANT FOR VILLAGE GENERAL GOVERNMENT EXPENSES FOR 2008:
On a motion by Trustee Sargent, seconded by Trustee Thompson and unanimously approved, the Board approved the warrant for Village General Government Expenses for 2008 contingent upon how many hours in the salary summary were for Village business.
6) APPROVE AUTHORIZATION TO EXCEED LIMIT ON ISSUANCE OF BONDS AND NOTES FOR VPPSA PROJECT NUMBER 10 (PEAKER):
Trustee DeBor stated it was his understanding we were going to request an independent review of VPPSA’s numbers. The Chairman did not remember any reference to an independent audit. Craig stated that VPPSA has hired a second firm to double check the first firm’s numbers. Penny pointed out that the only way to truly find difference in the costs would be for MW&L to hire an independent auditor at our expense ($20,000). Craig added that at some point we have to hold VPPSA accountable for their numbers. Trustee DeBor asked if Craig was comfortable with VPPSA’s numbers and he is. The Chairman’s only concern was the life expectancy of the turbines and what has VPPSA assumed for maintenance. Trustee Bourne was concerned that the numbers did not reflect the initial filling of the fuel tanks. The Trustees made it clear that they are basing their votes on Craig’s recommendation.
On a motion by Trustee Sargent, seconded by Trustee Thompson, the Board approved the authorization to exceed limit on issuance of bonds and notes for VPPSA Project Number 10. Trustee Bourne opposed the motion. Motion passed by majority.
7) UPDATE ON WWTF PROJECT:
Pipe is still being installed. Half of the SBR building is up. They are working on getting the sewer line to the pumping station. The UV building has been insulated allowing work to continue inside. Still need 2 feet of grade at the bottom of the road. Still shooting to have 1st SBR online in May 2009.
8) UPDATE ON WATER METER PROJECT:
170 meters have been installed to date. The plumber is off this week. Now snow and frost are causing problems because we are having to replace a lot of curb valves.
9) REVIEW DRAFT POWER SUPPLY BUDGET FOR 2009:
The budget the Board received in their packets was the second version. A final version was received Friday but Craig and Penny have not had a chance to chase down what changed. Craig is not so optimistic that we can avoid an electric rate increase in 2009 anymore. The Chairman asked why we don’t see an increase in budget for when the Hydro Quebec contracts and McNeil contracts expire. He is not comfortable with the 2012-2013 forecasts and asked if VPPSA was actively pursuing long-term contracts. Craig commented that Ludlow’s fuel costs for the proposed woodchip plant went up only slightly but the financing costs went up significantly. Unless these numbers change, that project will probably be scrapped. The Chairman commented that there is no money out there so therefore there is no competition for lenders.
No progress on Hydro Quebec negotiations and the East Mountain Wind project is being reviewed. The Chairman pointed out that in the feasibility of any new project, oil at $140/barrel versus $40/barrel plays a huge role. He also feels that Entergy (owners of Vermont Yankee) will drag its feet on any long-term contracts pending the Legislatures decision on their relicensing.
10) OTHER BUSINESS:
We received a letter from Ed Stanek on the Act 250 restrictions. The letter states that Morrisville is on the right track. Trustee DeBor stated that the Selectboard are looking to approve zoning bylaw changes in the 1st week of March.
Not much progress on Hearthstone. Hearthstone went to Spain and found their economy in worse shape than the US’s so they won’t be expanding at this time.
Craig has a contact at the State to find comparable parcels in determining a value of Zack Woods. The Patnoe letter still needs to go out.
The Chairman proposed using most of the remaining Green River funds for a proposed electric facility purchase. Then we should come up with a hydro proposal before the Annual Village Meeting and get the Village to bond for any upgrades that come out of that proposal. Our own hydro generation gets more important every day we run it. Trustee Bourne agreed because he did not think the incoming administration would be willing to dole out public funds to purchase electrical facilities but might to invest in hydro. The Chairman added that using the GR funds to buy the facilities directly benefits our rate payers and is what it is there for.
Craig invited the Board to a Christmas luncheon to be held in the office at noon on Monday, December 22, 2008.
Trustee DeBor gave the startling fact that 60% of the linemen in New England will be of retirement age in the next 5-10 years. Trustee Sargent suggested we should offer some type of scholarship at the local tech center to help train linemen.
11) EXECUTIVE SESSION:
At 7:30 PM on a motion by Trustee Sargent, seconded by Trustee Bourne and unanimously approved, the Board went into Executive Session to discuss contracts.
At 7:50 PM on a motion by Trustee Bourne, seconded by Trustee Sargent and unanimously approved, the Board came out of Executive Session.
On a motion by Trustee Bourne, seconded by Trustee DeBor and unanimously approved, the Board approved the use of Green River Funds for the purchase of electric facilities.
12) ADJOURNMENT:
At 7:52 PM, on a motion by Trustee Bourne, seconded by Trustee Sargent and unanimously approved, the Board adjourned the meeting.
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Tim Sargent, Clerk