Meeting of Commissioners of
Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County, Washington
October 20, 2026
A meeting of the Commissioners of Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County was held at 1200 Fort Vancouver Way on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
Present: President Jane Van Dyke, Vice President Sherry Erickson, CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler, Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny, Director of Energy Resources Steve Andersen, Director of Employee Resources Nichole Reitzenstein, Director of Operations Gene Morris, Director of Water Tyler Clary, General Counsel John Eldridge, Director of Information Services Jeff Groff, Director of Communications and Corporate Citizenship Erica Erland, Director of Engineering Ryan Kerr, Corporate Communications Manager Dameon Pesanti, Strategic Communications Manager Morgan Van Fleet, Energy Services Manager Debbie DePetris, Materials and Purchasing Manager Cathy Wannamaker, Construction/Maintenance Superintendent Jaylon Muonio, Customer Service Manager Leah Veitenheimer, Industrial Key Accounts Manager Aaron Frechette, Executive Assistant Energy Resources Katie Hinton and Assistant to CEO/General Manager Margaret Anderson.
Others present either in person or via digital conference (phone or video): Gordon Matthews, Carol Matthews, Michael Miller, Cathryn Chudy, Mark Leed, Jim Malinowski, Don Steinke, Petrina Gee, and Peter Harrision.
At 9:00 a.m., President Van Dyke called the meeting to order for the transaction of formal business. Commissioner Barnes was excused from the meeting, and the agenda was approved as presented (Materials B).
Public Comment
Don Steinke provided comments related to the use of farmland for solar arrays.
Cathryn Chudy provided comments on the Energy Northwest Small Modular Reactor project and the Utility’s contribution to the feasibility study.
Consideration of the Minutes of October 6, 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 October 20, 2026, from the District Auditor (Materials C):
Electric Revenue Fund – $21,132,459.50
Water Revenue Fund – $1,511,437.57
Generating System Fund – $169,546.93
For a total of $22,813,444.00
Consideration of Bid Award No. 729 – Street Light Maintenance & Installation
Materials and Purchasing Manager Cathy Wannamaker reviewed the memo dated October 20, 2026, detailing the bid results (Materials D). Commissioner Erickson moved to recommend that Bid No. 729 be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, Magnum Power LLC., for the 3-year estimated contract amount of $892,055.00 plus applicable taxes. Commissioner Van Dyke seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Commissioner Reports and Comments
Commissioner Erickson reported on her attendance at the Columbia Springs Board meeting, Washington PUD Association budget meeting and the Public Power Council Members’ Forum.
Commissioner Van Dyke reported on her attendance at the Public Power Council Executive Committee Meeting.
Staff Reports
Industrial Key Accounts Manager Aaron Frechette and Director of Water Tyler Clary provided the board with an update on the Paradise Point Well 1 De-Staging project (Materials E). Mr. Frechette outlined the industrial custom project process and Mr. Clary shared the project efficiency measure was reducing the pump from 6 stages to 4 which saved 407,430 kWh per year which is the equivalent to the energy use of about 48 Clark County homes, or $32,400 in electric service cost savings. The total eligible project cost was $49,155.73 which resulted in a $34,409.01 incentive payment to the Utility for the project.
CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler provided an update on the recent substation outages, department budget meetings and LIHEAP funding.
Final Board Comments
There were no additional comments, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:40 a.m.