December 21, 2009
MONDAY 6:00 PM
Water and Light Office
The meeting duly noticed and warned was called to order at 6:00 PM.
PRESENT: Trustees: Ed DeBor, Peter Bourne and Dana Wildes
Staff: Craig Myotte (by Tel.), Jim Fontaine, Penny Jones and Linda Osgood
ABSENT: Tim Sargent, Wally Reeve
1) PUBLIC MEETING:
No members of the public were in attendance.
2) CURRENT PRIORITY PROJECTS:
Tabled.
3) MANAGEMENT REPORT:
Crews are rehabing the lines on Industrial Drive to accommodate Comcast expansions. Our new radio system has been installed. It seems to be working but we still lack information about the new VELCO radio system which we will become a part of. A new radio tower on Lazy Lane should significantly improve radio coverage in all parts of our service territory.
Hydro generation is down 15% to budget. Both SBR’s are operating at the WWTF. The centrifuge has been tested and is running. We are still having issues with HVHC and SCADA. We are expecting a determination on RDA funding for the headworks project this week.
All reading issues with the new water meters have been corrected. There are still 4-5 installations left and they are still following up on the original plumber’s work. FA&A are working on new rates and are looking at March for implementation. Landlords will need sixty days notice if they intend to rewrite their rental agreements to accommodate the landlord now being billed for water & sewer. Penny hopes to have some rough numbers for the Board to look at by year’s end. The water storage project is shut down for the winter.
Johnson Electric built a temporary substation while they rebuilt a main sub. Now they want to keep the temporary sub as an emergency tie to MW&L’s transmission system and are seeking a Certificate of Public Good from the State.
Penny has been working on budgets and hopes to have preliminary numbers at the next regular meeting. A multiplying factor on 1½ “ water meters was mis-billed affecting 7-10 customers. Staff is correcting the issue. Trustee Wildes asked Penny if it was possible to get the draft budgets a week before they get their Board packets so they can review them.
Craig is trying to get Hardwick and Johnson to focus on transmission wheeling. Crocket Engineering is developing a model to show hour-by-hour the losses on our 34.5 KV system. Power supply budgets from VPPSA are being reviewed. Attorney Simon is trying to wrap up the Patnoe property purchase. CVPS will stop assigning us losses over the B-22 line although CVPS still insist they have north-south losses over our system.
The backbilling issue for Raymond Belanger ($5400) has gone to the PSB as Mr. Belanger filed a complaint. We have rebutted by stated we delivered a service and are offering a flexible payback period of 10 years. Mr. Belanger does not feel he owed the entire $5400 and has offered to pay only a portion. We will let the PSB make a ruling.
There have been many meetings at VPPSA, including a meeting of the Group of Electric Municipal Utilities (GEMU) formerly known as the Group of 14. GEMU does not include Stowe Electric. Ken Mason has asked for consideration of VPPSA bylaws that allow a utility to appoint anyone they want as a representative. Stowe is representing Hyde Park Electric even though Stowe is no longer a member and pays no dues. In essence, VPPSA members are concerned Stowe is getting VPPSA representation without paying for it.
The Board asked what “under frequency load shedding” means. As a member of ISO-NE, we’re required to shed load when the whole system generation doesn’t match load and “under-frequency” relays are used to shed load quickly. VPPSA members are not in compliance.
Brice Simon is leaving Steven’s Law Office to open his own firm. We signed a release for Steven’s Law Office to release our files to Brice so that we may continue to use Brice for legal services at $125/hour.
4) APPROVE MINUTES OF MEETING HELD DECEMBER 7, 2009:
Trustee Wildes asked that the last sentence of the second paragraph on the last page be deleted.
On a motion by Trustee Wildes, seconded by Trustee Bourne and approved by all present, the Board approved the minutes of the December 7, 2009, regular meeting as amended.
5) DISCUSS HYDRO REPORT AND FUTURE POWER SUPPLY STRATEGIES:
Tabled.
6) RATE MITIGATION STRATEGIES:
Tabled.
7) REVIEW 2010 DRAFT GOALS & BUDGET:
VPPSA sent a review of benefits they provide. The average cost for VPPSA’s services to a customer who uses 600 kWh/month is $2.70/month. Trustee Wildes pointed out that it really boils down to the quality of advice VPPSA is giving MW&L and its true value. Further discussion was tabled.
Trustee DeBor verified that it was our intent to change the meter reading and billing cycles in 2010. Were the headworks a goal of 2010 regardless of funding? We need to assess what RDA will fund. Paul Guilianni doesn’t think we’ll need further bonding. Trustee DeBor stated we need to mark the goals that are contingent on financing. Craig will provide further details on goals at the next meeting and then the Board can approve them.
8) OTHER BUSINESS:
Craig has been fielding calls from the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) in regards to Zackwoods. They are trying to get a commitment from MW&L to hold off on asking for further offers on the property while they get their appraisal done. The full “Yellow Book” appraisal is estimated to cost $12,000. The Trustees agreed they would prefer to pay for the appraisal and not sign any Option or other Agreements with TPL. Trustee DeBor stated that this is a public piece of land. Put out the offer and see what comes in. It needs to be offered to the general public to get the highest price.
On a motion by Trustee Bourne, seconded by Trustee Wildes and approved by all present, the Board agreed to pay up to $12,000 for an appraisal on Zackwoods, no strings, no Purchase & Sales Agreement, 12 month limit from time of signing, MW&L will own the appraisal, reserves the right to pursue other interested parties, and the cost of the appraisal will be added to the sale price.
On the Patnoe property, we are pushing Brice Simon to complete the closing ASAP and we are pushing to get a MOU with Ernie Patnoe.
Max Paine attended the second meeting of the TSSA. They drew up options for extending sewer lines into the town. There was not too much talk on the agreement itself other than trying to get the Town to commit to use the WWTF. They need to develop a plan for how they will reserve excess capacity. They don’t have to rush because they know we have a lot of excess capacity. Selling capacity to Hyde Park may wake them up.
The Highgate Converter was installed in 1985/1986 and has reached the end of its life. The numbers to keep it in service are pretty steep. Maintenance is less expensive at this point than rebuilding or replacing. It is believed that some portion of the upgrade costs ($25 million) can be spread out over all of New England.
On a motion by Trustee Wildes, seconded by Trustee Bourne and approved by all present, the Board approved the 2010 schedule for Board meetings.
The Board’s 2010 calendar was deferred until the next meeting.
At the next meeting, Trustee Wildes would like an Executive Session to discuss Copley Cogeneration due to a conflict of interests.
Five Hyde Park Trustees will be in attendance at the second meeting in January 2010 to discuss electric issues.
9) EXECUTIVE SESSION:
None.
10) ADJOURNMENT:
At 7:30 PM, on a motion by Trustee Bourne, seconded by Trustee Wildes and approved by all present, the Board adjourned the meeting.
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Edward DeBor, Clerk & Acting Chairman