Regular Meeting of Commissioners of
Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County, Washington
July 7, 2026
A meeting of the Commissioners of Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County was held at 1200 Fort Vancouver Way on Tuesday, July 7, 2026.
Present: President Jane Van Dyke, Vice President Sherry Erickson, Secretary Nancy Barnes Commissioners; CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler, Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny, Director of Energy Resources Steve Andersen, Director of Engineering Ryan Kerr, Director of Customer Service Lisa Fix, Director of Operations Gene Morris, Director of Water Tyler Clary, Director of Employee Resources Nichole Reitzenstein, Director of Communications and Corporate Citizenship Erica Erland, General Counsel John Eldridge, Director of Information Services Jeff Groff, Senior Communications Manager Heather Allmain, Strategic Communications Manager Morgan Van Fleet, GIS Analyst Jeremy Hood, Security Supervisor Steve Neal and Training and Development Manager Gretchen Alexander.
Staff present via digital conference (phone or video):
Corporate Communications Manager Dameon Pesanti
Others present in person or via digital conference (phone or video):
Gordon Matthews, Jeff Fuller, Cathryn Chudy, Don Steinke, Jim Meyers, Jim Malinowski, Rick Marshall, Petina Gee, Nancy Reinker, Tom Gordon and Carol Matthews.
At 9:00 a.m., President Van Dyke called the meeting to order for the transaction of formal business and the agenda was approved as presented (Materials B).
Public Comment
Don Steinke provided comment about the Electric Vehicle Charging project at Columbia Shores and the upcoming Utility AMI rollout. Mr. Steinke voiced his support for more renewable energy projects such as solar and battery storage.
Cathryn Chudy provided comment on Energy Northwest’s current Small Modular Reactor nuclear project.
Consideration of the Minutes of June 16, 2026
The minutes were approved as submitted.
Consideration of Accounts Payable
The board, by unanimous vote, approved the following payment amounts as listed on the Letter of Transmittal dated July 7, 2026 from the District Auditor (Materials C):
Electric Revenue Fund – $33,787,421.62
Water Revenue Fund – $4,527,362.27
Generating System Fund – $8,456,092.24
For a total of $46,770,876.13
Employee Service Awards
Director of Employee Resources Nichole Reitzenstein recognized Training and Development Manager Gretchen Alexander for her 25 years of service. Director of Engineering Ryan Kerr recognized GIS Analyst Jeremy Hood for his 25 years of service (Materials D).
Consideration of Performance Review and a Resolution for the CEO/General Manager Salary
Commissioner Erickson shared that a review of salary surveys, a market analysis and budgetary constraints were all taken into consideration when evaluating CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler’s salary. Citing numerous Utility achievements, safe and reliable Electric and Water service to our customers, secure and resilient infrastructure, sound resource and policy planning for the future, and a workforce committed to award winning service to our customers, Commissioner Erickson proposed increasing Ms. Wittler’s salary to $373,000, which she said was fair and reasonable and in her understanding would be the highest salary for a public employee in Clark County.
Commissioner Barnes thanked Commissioner Erickson for her thorough analysis and praised Ms. Wittler’s leadership, hard work and commitments to service. Commissioner Barnes acknowledged the amazing staff Ms. Wittler has put in place throughout the Utility.
Commissioner Van Dyke praised the talent and leadership Ms. Wittler brings to the CEO/General Manager position, recognizing that the Utility continues to provide safe reliable service while preparing for future needs with projects like Community Solar, the new BPA contract, AMI conversion and Water infrastructure projects, while receiving multiple industry awards for customer satisfaction, safety and planning.
Commissioner Erickson moved to increase Ms. Wittler’s salary to $373,000 annually, provide a $400 monthly car allowance, a one-time award of 100 hours of compensatory time in recognition of 2025 utility goals achieved, and all other benefits provided to employees of the utility. Commissioner Barnes seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously (Materials E).
Ms. Wittler thanked the board for their kind words and thanked staff for their continued hard work and service to our customers.
Consideration of Resolutions of Establishment of LUD Nos. 1496 and 1514
Director of Engineering Ryan Kerr addressed the board regarding the Establishment of Local Utility District Nos. 1496 and 1514.
Resolution No.7961 – LUD No. 1496 – Kunze Farms PH 2
Resolution No. 7962 – LUD No. 1514 – Cody Property PH 2&3
After the presentation by Mr. Kerr, Commissioner Van Dyke opened for public comment. There being no comment, a motion was made by Commissioner Barnes, seconded by Commissioner Erickson and unanimously carried that Resolution Nos. 7961 and 7962 be adopted (Materials F).
Consideration of 99th St Water Transmission Main Ph. 3 Public Works Board Loan Application
Director of Water Tyler Clary reviewed the memo dated July 7, 2026 outlining the loan application process, loan terms and how the funds would be used for the 99th St Water Transmission Main Ph. 3 (Materials G). The Public Works Board requires Utility Commission approval as part of the loan process; staff is requesting board approval to move forward with the application process as outlined.
Commissioner Barnes moved for approval to allow staff to apply for the Public Works Board loan as presented, Commissioner Erickson seconded the motion and it unanimously passed.
Draft 2024 Integrated Resource Plan Update Review
Jim Meyers with The Energy Authority provided the board with an overview of the Washington State Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) requirements, Clark Public Utilities’ IRP process and a progress report since the 2024 plan was submitted (Materials H).
Mr. Meyers outlined the changing conditions at the Utility since the 2024 plan was submitted including lower load projections than the 2024 forecast, similar price forecasts with an anticipated increase post 2040, the carbon compliance strategy to meet Washington State requirements, and the transfer of resource adequacy compliance obligations to BPA associated with the move to a load following product. A progress report on the 2024 IRP action items was provided.
The draft IRP will be posted to the Clark Public Utilities website on July 8, 2026 for public comment through August 7, 2026. Comments will be posted to the IRP section of the website and the final IRP update will be presented to the Board August 11, 2026 for approval.
2026 Electric and Generating System Revenue and Refunding Bonds Introduction
Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny outlined the project team, financing schedule and the historical debt principal balances for each system (Materials I). Ms. Ankeny reviewed the purpose of the bonds, the projected capital for the Electric and Generating systems and a summary of the projected not to exceed amounts for each system bond resolution.
May Financials
Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny presented the May report of financials (Materials J). The weather was warmer and drier than normal, which resulted in electric sales revenue and off-system sales being below forecast. May residential sales were 97.7% of budget, commercial sales were 99.7% and industrial sales were 97.1% of budget. May ended the month with a net income of $3.5 million compared to a budgeted net income loss of $958,000 for a year-to-date net income of $18.6 million compared to $7.3 million budgeted.
The Water System finished May with 331 new customers year-to-date, which is a growth rate of 1.87%. May ended with a net income of $129,000 compared to a budgeted net loss of $54,000 for a year-to-date net income loss of $443,000 compared to a $1.2 million net income budgeted loss.
May Wholesale Power Operations
Director of Energy Resources Steve Andersen addressed the board (Materials K). Mr. Andersen provided an update on power supply noting that May average daily load was 473 aMW, which was 8 aMW below budget.
Combine Hills I generation was 8.7 aMW, which was 4% lower than the budgeted 9.1 aMW. Generation was 0 MW approximately 41% of all hours. Combine Hills II generation was 20.9 aMW, 13% higher than the budgeted 18.4 aMW. Generation was 0 MW approximately 39% of all hours.
Box Canyon generation output was an average of 69 MW, 18 MW above the budget of 51 MW.
Commissioner Reports and Comments
Commissioner Barnes reported on her attendance at the Western Public Agencies Group meeting.
Commissioner Erickson reported on her attendance at the American Public Power Association national meeting.
Commissioner Van Dyke reported on her attendance at the entrance conference for the upcoming Energy Independence Act compliance audits.
Staff Reports
CEO/General Manager reminded the board that employee appreciation lunches are next week, Wednesday at the Electric Center and Thursday at Operations and commissioners are welcome to attend.
Final Board Comments
There were no additional comments and the meeting was adjourned at 11:13 a.m.