Meeting of Commissioners of
Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County, Washington
June 27, 2023
A meeting of Commissioners of Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County was held at Clark Public Utilities, 1200 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, Washington, on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.
Present: Vice President Jim Malinowski, Secretary Nancy Barnes Commissioners, CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler, Director of Energy Resources Dan Bedbury, Director of Operations/Interim Director of Water Gene Morris, Director of Engineering Cal Morris, Director of Communications Erica Erland, Director of Information Services Jeff Groff, Director of Employee Resources Nichole Reitzenstein, Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny, Director of Customer Service Lisa Fix, Community Engagement Specialist Morgan Van Fleet, Senior Communications Manager Heather Allmain, Materials and Purchasing Manager Cathy Wannamaker, Energy Resource Program Manager Matt Babbitts, Water Operations Manager Oscar Maciel, IT Systems Engineer Mike Andone, Program Coordinator Ashley King and Assistant to the CEO/General Manager Margaret Anderson.
Staff present via digital conference (phone or video): PIO/Media Specialist Dameon Pesanti, Energy Resource Manager Terry Toland, Manager of Energy Services Debbie DePetris and General Counsel John Eldridge.
Others present via digital conference (phone or video) or in person: Tom Gordon, Don Steinke, Cathryn Chudy, Rick Marshall, Bryan Kast, Don Auguston and Peter Harrison.
Press representatives: None
At 9:00 a.m., Vice President Jim Malinowski called the meeting to order for the transaction of formal business. The agenda was approved and Commissioner Van Dyke was excused from the meeting. (Materials B).
Public Comment
The following represents a brief summary of comments made by members of the public in attendance:
Donald Auguston shared that he thought Commissioner Malinowski should have recused himself from voting on the small modular nuclear study decision at the last meeting due to his board participation at Energy Northwest.
General Counsel John Eldridge shared he saw no conflict of interest, and Commissioner Barnes noted it was a unanimous decision.
Rick Marshall praised staff for a great Pollinator Festival and he shared comments surrounding solar and land use. Mr. Marshall encouraged staff and commissioners to review the recent report from National Renewable Energy Laboratory regarding rooftop solar.
Don Steinke provided comments on mid-size solar projects stating we will need more projects. He encouraged the utility to focus on rooftop solar projects, to move quickly on meter infrastructure upgrades so there is a potential for time of use metering and to investigate deep well geo thermal generation
If written comments are submitted, they may be obtained by contacting Margaret Anderson at [email protected] or 360-992-3378.
Consideration of the Minutes of June 6, 2023
The minutes were approved as presented.
Consideration of Accounts Payable
The board, by a unanimous vote, approved the following payment amounts as listed on the Letter of Transmittal dated June 27, 2023 from the District Auditor (Materials C):
Electric Revenue Fund – $26,141,674.54
Water Revenue Fund – $427,998.70
Generating System Fund – $3,890,643.76
For a total of $30,460,317.00
Employee Service Awards
Director of Information Services Jeff Groff introduced Mike Andone, IT Systems Engineer. Mike was recognized for 25 years of service
Director of Operations/Interim Director of Water Gene Morris introduced Oscar Maciel, Water Operations Manager. Oscar was recognized for 30 years of service (Materials D).
Consideration of Bid Award No. 655 – Community Solar East
Materials and Purchasing Manager Cathy Wannamaker reviewed the memo dated June 27, 2023 detailing the bid results (Materials E). Commissioner Barnes moved to recommend that Bid No. 655 be awarded to the low evaluated bidder Power Northwest, Inc. in the amount of $1,274,007.00 plus applicable taxes. Commissioner Malinowski seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Consideration of Resolutions of Intent to Establish LUD Nos. 1445, 1456 and 1461
Director of Engineering Cal Morris addressed the board regarding the Intent to Establish Local Utility District Nos. 1445, 1456 and 1461.
Resolution No. 7786 – LUD No. 1445 – Stone’s Throw PUD Ph1
Resolution No. 7787 – LUD No. 1456 – Walnut Grove Subdivision
Resolution No. 7788 – LUD No. 1461 – Rachels Ranch
After the presentation by Mr. Morris, Commissioner Malinowski opened for public comment. There being no comment, a motion was made by Commissioner Barnes seconded by Commissioner Malinowski, and unanimously carried that Resolution Nos. 7786 – 7788 be adopted and a public hearing was set for August 1, 2023 (Materials F).
Consideration of Resolution Updating the Clark Regional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan
Director of Operations/Interim Director of Water Gene Morris presented the Clark Public Utilities Hazard Mitigation Plan (Materials G). Mr. Morris outlined the purpose of the plan, who participated in the process of updating the plan and the top hazard concerns of Clark Public Utilities in the event of a natural disaster. In order to receive final approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the plan must be formally adopted by the board.
Commissioner Barnes moved to approve Resolution No. 7789, Adopting the Updated Clark Regional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, as presented. Commissioner Malinowski seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Commission Reports and Comments
Commissioner Barnes reported on her attendance at the NewsData Resource Adequacy Webinar.
Commissioner Malinowski reported on his attendance at the American Public Power Association meeting in Seattle and the Energy Northwest meeting in Vancouver.
Staff Reports
Program Coordinator Ashely King provided a final recap of the Community Energy Efficiency Program noting that through six funding cycles Clark Public Utilities received $3.9 million dollars. With that funding, the utility was able to realize over 7,100,000 in kWh savings, an equivalent to energy use for 674 households (Materials H).
CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler reported on her attendance at the American Public Power Association meeting and a meeting with the local representative for Governor Inslee’s office.
Other Business before the Board
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.