A meeting of Commissioners of Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County was held in the District offices, 1200 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, Washington, on Tuesday, the 9th day of February at the hour of 9:00 a.m.
Present: President Nancy Barnes, Vice President Jane Van Dyke, Secretary Jim Malinowski, Commissioners; CEO/General Manager Wayne Nelson, Director of Water Doug Quinn, Director of Finance Rick Dyer, Director of Energy Resources Dan Bedbury, Director of Information Services Mike Harris, Director of Customer Service Lisa Fix, Director of Engineering Cal Morris, Director of Communications Lena Wittler, Director of Operations Dan Krebs, Corporate Communications Manager Erica Erland, Communications Services Manager Heather Allmain, Communications Coordinators Maxie Lofton and Martha Foley, Key Accounts Manager Bart Hansen, Energy Services Project Manager Matt Babbitts and Assistant to CEO/General Manager Margaret Anderson.
Press Representatives: None
Others Present: (Materials A)
The order of business recorded below reflects the published agenda (Materials B)
At 9:00 a.m., President Barnes called the meeting to order for the transaction of formal business.
Consideration of the Minutes of January 26, 2016
There were no changes or corrections.
Consideration of Accounts Payable
The Board, by a unanimous vote, approved the following payment amounts as listed on the Letter of Transmittal dated February 9, 2016 from the District Auditor:
Electric Revenue Fund – $5,836,807.46
Water Revenue Fund – $117,129.00
Generating System Fund – $648,875.01
For a total of $6,602,811.47
Consideration of Solar Incentive Program Hold
Key Accounts Manager Bart Hansen and Energy Services Project Manager Matt Babbitts addressed the board (Materials C). The presentation included refined projections that indicate reductions could be much lower than the 12 percent for 2016 and 25 percent for 2017-2020 reductions originally projected. Pending state legislation (HB 2346) in its current language, however, would retroactively raise the cap and effectively eliminate the current overage for the remaining five years of the program.
Because the final impact to state incentive levels, if any, cannot be calculated until June 30, 2016 staff made the following recommendations to the board: continue a hold on new system incentive registrations; track and participate in pending legislation that would retroactively raise the incentive cap; and continue to evaluate options to meet reasonable expectations of current solar customers should new legislation fail to pass.
Before asking for a motion Commissioner Barnes opened the meeting for public comment, asking commenters to state their name, address and to keep comments to one to two minutes, if possible. Commissioner Barnes used the sign in sheet to call members of the public to the podium.
Summary of in person comments (Materials D) and email comments (Materials E) were added as part of the meeting record.
The board thanked all the members of the public for attending the meeting and thanked the many that shared thoughts and concerns regarding the incentive program for their feedback.
Commissioner Malinowski moved to maintain the hold on new system registrations and instructed staff to stay involved in the legislative process and to work toward a solution to meet the reasonable expectations of our current solar customers should the legislation fail to pass. Commissioner Van Dyke seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Consideration of Establishment of LUD Nos. 1216, 1227, 1228, and 1229
Director of Engineering Cal Morris addressed the Board regarding the Establishment of Local Utility District Nos. 1216, 1227, 1228 and 1229 for street lighting.
Resolution No. 7249 – LUD No. 1216 – The Gardens
Resolution No. 7250 – LUD No. 1227 – Avalon Grand PH 4
Resolution No. 7251 – LUD No. 1228 – Avalon Grand PH 5
Resolution No. 7252 – LUD No. 1229 – Kramer’s Corner PH 1
After the presentation by Mr. Morris, Commissioner Barnes opened the public hearing for comment. There being no public comment, a motion was made by Commissioner Malinowski, seconded by Commissioner Van Dyke , and unanimously carried that Resolution Nos. 7249 – 7252 (Materials F) be adopted.
Consideration of Intent to Establish LUD Nos. 1221, 1232 and 1240
Director of Engineering Cal Morris addressed the Board regarding the Intent to Establish Local Utility District Nos. 1221, 1232, and 1240 for street lighting.
Resolution No. 7253 – LUD No. 1221 – Gaiser Estates
Resolution No. 7254 – LUD No. 1232 – Jessie Hollow
Resolution No. 7255 – LUD No. 1240 – Avery Lane
After the presentation by Mr. Morris, Commissioner Barnes opened for comment. There being no public comment, a motion was made by Commissioner Malinowski, seconded by Commissioner Van Dyke and it was unanimously carried that Resolution Nos. 7253 – 7255 be adopted and a public hearing was set for March 8, 2016 (Materials G).
Commissioner Reports and Comments
Commissioner Malinowski reported on his attendance at the Energy Northwest meetings.
Commissioner Barnes and Van Dyke reported on their attendance at the Public Power Council meetings.
Staff Reports
Communications Coordinator Maxie Lofton shared a recap of the Race for Warmth fundraising run/walk benefitting Operation Warm Heart (Materials H). Just over 900 walkers and runners participated resulting in over $36,000 (est.) in net proceeds to be contributed to Operation Warm Heart. Registrations and net proceeds far exceeded expectations and last year’s numbers. The event continues to be a resounding success with contributions both monetary and in-kind from partners to help provide for event needs.
Other Business before the Board
There being no further business before the Board, Commissioner Barnes adjourned the meeting at 12:12 p.m. to executive session to discuss contract negotiations. The executive session was not expected to last longer than ten minutes and no formal action would be taken.
Commissioner Barnes reconvened the public meeting at 12:28 p.m. She stated no formal action was taken during the executive session, and there being no further business to come before the board, the meeting was adjourned at 12:28 p.m.