VILLAGE OF MORRISVILLE WATER AND LIGHT DEPARTMENT

October 13, 2008

MONDAY 6:00 PM

Water and Light Office

The meeting duly noticed and warned was called to order at 6:00 PM.

PRESENT:

Trustees: Dana Wildes, Tim Sargent, Ed DeBor, Keith Thompson, Peter Bourne

Staff: Craig Myotte, Jim Fontaine, Penny Jones

ABSENT: Linda Osgood (Holiday)

1) PUBLIC MEETING:

No members of the public were present.

2) CURRENT PRIORTY PROJECTS:

The following are the top priority items currently in front of staff 1) Line Purchase, 2) Zack Woods Property Appraisal, 3) Water RFQ, 4) Hydro Review RFQ, 5) 2009 Expense/Capital Budget, 6) SSMA (WWTF Act 250 Permit Conditions), 7) FERC Part 12 Dam Safety Inspection, 8) Website Redesign.

3) MANAGEMENT REPORT:

Plants No. 2 repairs are underway. The station has been dewatered. The contractor is recommending additional excavation out beyond the sheathing to reduce material falling on the racks when the sheathing is removed. In addition the check of the underlying steel supports came back as “in good shape.”

There was a brief discussion on the Green River project. One unit has been off line for several years. We started replacing the PLC. With the PLC replaced, the governor unit was replaced but the hydraulic unit that operates the governor was found to be unreliable and could cause major damage if it failed to operate properly. The Trustees discussed the economics of the project and some possible options that might be considered.

Penny stated that she had sent letters to Churches communicating a change in billing practice.

There are a number of tasks being worked on regarding the water meter project including discussions with Harris about new program in the billing system for transfer of customer records, reviewing proposal for handheld integration with Harris and working on customer information database with East National Water.

Penny responded to questions regarding the financial reports through August 2008 provided in the Trustee packets. Chair Wildes stated that monitoring cash flow for the electric, water and sewer is important.

Craig stated that the losses dispute with CVPS and GMP is finally behind us. The Settlement Agreement has been signed. In addition, Craig stated that he has drafted an Agreement with Hardwick for the allocation (50% split) of the legal costs associated with the dispute. The Trustees asked Craig to provide a summary of the amount to be refunded to MWL.

MWL completed the template for the T&D section of the Integrated Resource Reports for VPPSA. MWL made the first filing with the DPS on October 3. Morrisville reviewed Swanton’s filing made on October 8.

Craig reported progress on the negotiations with GMP regarding the facility transaction related to the Lamoille County 115 kV project. He stated he hopes the negotiations can be wrapped up in October.

4) Approve Minutes of Meeting Held October 6, 2008:

On a motion by Trustee Thompson, seconded by Trustee Bourne and approved by all present with Trustee DeBor abstaining, the Board approved the minutes of the October 6, 2008, regular meeting.

5) Approve lien on property located at 3210 Laporte Road in Morrisville, owned by Farm Resort & Golf Course:

On a motion by Trustee Bourne that MWL apply the full lien after management has decided it is the proper course of action, seconded by Trustee Thompson and approved by all present, the Board signed the lien documents.

6) UPDATE OF WWTF PROJECT:

The new SBR tank #2 floor and walls have been poured and the tank is being filled with water to check for leaks. The concrete on the UV building is complete and work is progressing on the building shell. The excavation for the new SBR control building is complete and work on the concrete foundation has been initiated. Jim provided the latest site pictures that he had taken.

7) UPDATE OF WATER METER PROJECT:

The water meter project has encountered several issues regarding meter installations. A check of the plumber credential requirements for installing meters on a municipal water system shows that meters need to be installed by a licensed plumber in the State of Vermont. FA&A has asked for a revised action plan from Ti-Sales to address the issues raised.

8) 2008 capital budget status and 2009 draft capital budget:

Jim provide the Trustees with the status of the 2008 capital budget projects. For the electric, the headgate project for Plant 1 and the surge gate tanks have been deferred. In addition, we don’t plan to work on the voltage regulators, radio or office equipment line items. For water, the Goodell project will be deferred until 2009. For sewer, the Hutchins street line relocation will be deferred into 2009.

The Trustees discussed the draft 2009 capital budget projects and the financing of the projects. The primary focus of the electrical projects is to convert the distribution system to 12 kV per the recommendations in the 2006 system study. The final decision on generation projects will be made after hydro assessment is completed. The Trustees discussed options for funding the electric projects. The main water project for 2009 is the installation of the water reservoir. The main sewer project will be the completion of the wastewater treatment facility upgrade.

The Trustees asked staff when the 2009 expense budget will be available. Staff plans to work on the expense budget in November for discussion with the Trustees in December.

10) OTHER BUSINESS:

On a motion by Trustee Bourne, seconded by Trustee Thompson and approved by all present, the Board approved signing the line of credit form for $300,000 from the Union Bank as authorized by the Village voters at the annual meeting.

Chairman Wildes asked staff to look at all other sources of revenue available to MWL. This includes reviewing our tariffs compared to others.

The Trustees reviewed the draft letter prepared for MWL by LCPC. The Trustees thought the letter was overall very good and only very minor modifications would be needed to finalize it. The Trustees directed staff to get a legal review of the letter.

On a motion by Trustee Bourne, seconded by Trustee Thompson, the Board discussed a request from the Town to send out a letter regarding the Bridge Street bridge repairs with our customer bills. The motion was defeated on a 3 to 2 vote. The Trustees agreed to revisit the bill stuffer policy to consider changes that would allow request from non-profit organizations.

11) EXECUTIVE SESSION:

At 7:40 PM on a motion by Trustee Sargent, seconded by Trustee Bourne and approved by all present, the Board went into Executive Session to discuss contractual issues regarding LARC, Hardwick Electric, and power supply strategies.

At 8:11 PM on a motion by Trustee Bourne, seconded by Trustee Thompson and approved by all present, the Board came out of Executive Session. No action was taken.

12) ADJOURNMENT:

At 8:12 PM, on a motion by Trustee Bourne, seconded by Trustee Sargent and approved by all present, the Board adjourned the meeting.

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Tim Sargent, Clerk