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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-05-22 RMLD Board of Commissioners MinutesReading Municipal Light Board of Commissioners Regular Session 230 Ash Street Reading, MA 01867 May 22, 2013 Start Time of Regular Session: 5:00 p.m. End Time of Regular Session: 8:49 p.m. Commissioners: John Stempeck, Chairman Philip B. Pacino, Secretary David Mancuso, Commissioner David Talbot, Commissioner Robert Soli, Commissioner Staff: Beth -Ellen Antonio, Human Resources Manager Jeanne Full, Executive Assistant (for a portion of meeting) Kathleen Rybak, Operational Assistant Call Meeting to Order Chairman Stempeck called the meeting of the Reading Municipal Light Board of Commissioners to order at 5:00 p.m. Chairman Stempeck stated that the meeting was being broadcast at the RMLD office at 230 Ash Street, Reading, MA. Live broadcast is available only in Reading due to technology constrict. The meeting is being videotaped for distribution to the community television stations in North Reading, Wilmington, and Lyruffield. Opening Remarks Chairman Stempeck thanked those who were present at the meeting and noted that the sole focus of the meeting would be to interview three candidates for the position of General Manager of the RMLD and to appoint one to that position. Chairman Stempeck stated that the qualifications of each candidate are outstanding and that the Commissioners were Battered and honored to have them. Chairman 'tempeck thanked Ms. Beth -Ellen Antonio for conducting an intensive and professional watch effort. Secretary for Meeting Chairman Stempeck noted that Mr. Pacino would serve as Secretary for the meeting. General Guidelines for Meeting Chairman Stempeck reviewed the general guidelines for the meeting: • Each candidate will be given one hour. • Each Commissioner will be given approximately ten minutes during which to ask questions of each of the candidates. Interview of General Manager Candidate — James Palmer Chairman Stempeck introduced Mr. James Palmer and invited him to make opening remarks. Mr. Palmer gave an overview of his background and experience. Mr. Palmer is presently with the Town of Belmont Light Department where he has worked for the past seven year — running the Light Department for the last few years. Mr. Palmer outlined some of the challenges that he has faced at the Town of Belmont Light Department. Previous experience includes NSTAR Electric/Boston Edison. Chairman Stempeck thanked Mr. Palmer and then opened the foram up to the Commissioner. Commissioners asked a series of questions. Once questioning was complete, Chairman Stempeck offered Mr. Palmer the opportunity m ask questions. Mr. Palmer asked what the Board is expecting from a General Manager. Chairman Stempeck stated it's really focused on leadership - a very key element of what we are looking for. And, certainly understanding all the functional needs of each department because they need to work together for the department to work together and meet the needs of our customers. If any one of them doesn't it becomes extremely difficult We are looking for that unique person to bring that leadership across all the different groups and make everything work correctly. Or. Palmer expressed his appreciation to the Board and to Ms. Beth -Ellen Antonio. Chairman Stempeck thanked Mr. Palmer and then called for a short recess. Regular Session Meeting Minutes May 22, 2013 Interview of General Manager Candidate — Coleen O'Brien C Chairman Stempeck introduced Ms. Coleen O'Brien and asked her to give a brief overview of her background and experience. • Ms. O' Brien started by thanking the Board for the opportunity; she stated that she was honored and privileged to have been selected as a finalist for Reading Municipal Light. Ms. O'Brien stated that she was from the North Shore Area —grew up in Saugus and went to Northeastern University Coop Program. She has had the opportunity to travel almost all over the United States working for a multitude of utilities. Ms. O'Brien described some of the projects that she led at various public utilities. Ms. O'Brien moved back to the North Shore area in the mid - nineties and took the job at the Danvers Electric Department where she has been for the past 18 years. Chairman Stempeck thanked Ms. O'Brien and then opened the forum up to the Commissioners. Commissioners asked a series of questions. Once questioning was complete, Chairman Stempeck offered Ms. O'Brien the opportunity to ask questions. Ms. O'Brien did not have any questions, but asked if she could provide a summary. She provided a brief summary of the qualifications and attributes that she would bring to the job. Ms. O'Brien stated that she thought she would be a good fit, and is certainly up for the challenge. Ms. O'Brien stated that she was honored to have been chosen as a finalist, and thanked the Board Chairman Stempeck thanked Ms. O'Brien and then called for a short recess. Interview of General Manager Candidate— Jonathan Fitch Chairman Stempeck thanked Mr. Jonathan Fitch for being present and asked him m give a brief overview of his background and history. Mr. Fitch introduced himself and stated that he is currently the manager of the West Boylston Municipal Light Plant where he has been for a little over a year and half Prior to West Boylston, he managed the Princeton Municipal Light Plant for over twelve years. In addition to his work in public power, Mr. Fitch worked in private industry doing very similar activities at high -tech firms in Silicon Valley that had very large loads in some of the biggest municipal light plants in the nation. Mr. Fitch was a Captain in the US Army, and graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. In the course of all his work experience, he earned an MBA from WPI in Worcester. Mr. Fitch holds professional engineers' registrations in both California and Massachusetts. Chairman Stempeck thanked Mr. Fitch and then opened the forum up to the Commissioners. Commissioners asked a series questions. Once questioning was complete, Chairman Stempeck offered Mr. Fitch the opportunity to ask questions. Mr. Fitch asked, given that the power portfolio was about 80% of the budget, does the Light Board have any long -term strategy for Power purchases or actual ownership in power plants. Is there a strategy in place, or even any desire to own actual power plants, or just the power output of the power plant? Mr. Mancuso staled that he would like to hem Mr. Fitch's thoughts. Mr. Fitch gave an overview of the process and factors that impact decision - making for the purchase of power supply and/or power plants. Mr. Fitch stated that he would present any and all options to the Board and at the end of the day whatever the Board direction is he would follow it. The Board is the elected representation of the rare payers and at the end of the day the General Manager follows those directions. Chairman Stempeck thanked Mr. Fitch and moved to a short break. Discussion of Candidates and Selection of General Manager Chairman Stempeck stated that he would like to illicit any discussion from the Commissioners. Chairman Stempeck also stated that each and every one of the candidates is an excellent choice. Chairman Stempeck thanked them once again for appearing before the Board and going through this process. Chairman Stempeck opened the form for discussion. Mr. Pacino thanked the Chairman for leading the Search Committee and the fine) ob that was done as well as the fine job the recruiter did. Mr. Pacino also thanked Beth -Ellen Antonio and George Hooper who served on the Search Committee and Marsie West, who was in the audience. Mr. Pacino stated that all three candidates are excellent candidates as he had experienced from the search process. Any of the three would be a fine candidate. Looking at ranking them, Mr. Pacino ranked James Palmer as number one, Ms. O'Brien as number two, and Mr. Filch as number three. Mr. Pacino went on to say that he feels that Mr. Palmer would be the best o to come in and inn the Department; he's run a similar department over in Belmont and he'd be the one that could get in here and aboard the fastest. Ms. O'Brien is not far behind but he feels that Mr. Palmer would be the best one to come forward at this point. Regular Session Meeting Minutes May 22, 2013 Discussion of Candidates and Selection of General Manager Chairman Stempeck thanked Mr. Pacino. Chairman Stempeck shared his comments as well. Chairman Stempeck would provide the mg of Ms. O'Brien number one, Mr. Palmer two, and Mr. Fitch three. And noted that it is close, but the rationale with Ms. 440'Bnen is that she's clearly very competent technically; she's worked for Stone & Webster, she's seen a very broad base of projects, not just in the Northeast, but across the country. She has strong opinions, but she deserves those because It appears that they've worked and the things she's attempted she's been very honest about. He stated that he very much liked the employee development piece and the connection to the public; he also noted her 20 year took -ahead strategy. Chairman Stempeck stated that we're in an industry where things move kind of glacially and other things move very quickly. But, in general, it's a slow moving environment and the five -year update on a twenty-year plan is an excellent strategy and she does focus on strategies. Other factors include the team building, the answers to the union -based questions — she would be excellent for Reading and I think she could bring everybody together. Chairman Stempeck stated that Mr. Palmer has, again, a very strong leadership posture, and he was impressed with that. He's faced a number of issues in his present position and yet he was able to bring everyone together and get the job done, and he is still doing that, so it's very impressive. Chairman Stempeck stated that Mr. Fitch did very similar types of things; he went through a major reorganization; he's done an excellent job in his environment. The only thing that is perhaps of some question is just the scale of the operation, and there is a scale related question in terms of being able to move seamlessly into a larger organization. But, that said, he's also an excellent candidate. Mr. Soli stated that Ms. O'Brien and Mr. Palmer are his one and two. Mr. Soli noted that Mr. Palmer inherited a system in such bad shape. Mr. Soli reported that he had looked at the view graphs that they had at town meeting for the substation and it showed where transients come down the line andjust blow out receptacles. It showed some of the maintenance operations they did there and they had stuff from 1929. Some things for maintenance they have to get from the junkyard in Connecticut. Danvers is a little bit more up -to- dam. None of the ancientness of the system is due to Mr. Palmer, but it says, I think, he is a little bit behind. Mr. Mancuso agreed that they really are three very good candidates. Mr. Mancuso stated that he agreed with the Chair on the scalability question for Mr. Fitch; he certainly understands the industry and the business. Mr. Mancuso stated that he was incredibly impressed with how so much of what he had to say was at the tip of his tongue. And so, it's hard to put him into third place because he is such a strong candidate, but would do that based on the applicability and scale of moving from that environment into the RMLD. Ar. Mancuso staled that he was very impressed with Ms. O'Brien's energy and innovation and with her approach to management. He �oted that she has a wonderful sense of humor and an inclination not to take herself too seriously. Mr. Mancuso went on to say that be looked at Mr. Palmer in some ways as his first candidate, and looked at him in that light because of the challenges he had at Belmont. Belmont was a highly neglected system; it is not a question of whether or not he wanted to, or wants to innovate, or understands how to innovate — I think he does — I think that's why he's interested in this position. Mr. Muncuso stated that as a community, or a series of communities, we would actually reap the benefits of what he would consider to be a very hardcore understanding of how to run and maintain an incredibly reliable system because he's essentially rebuilt Belmont from scratch. Mr. Mancuso summarized, if you had to edge one out or the other, he would not feel too terrible bad one way or the other. He stated that he would like to see what Mr. Palmer can do with some of the innovative opportunities that he has not yet had the chance to do at Belmont. Mr. Talbot stated that he found himself very impressed by Mr. Fitch and particularly by his experience in the private sector in California. Knowing that he was from such a small department, he didn't expect to be as impressed by him as he was. Mr. Talbot thought Ms. O'Brien and Mr. Palmer were both also great. Mr. Talbot noted that he did not like to rank one, two or three. But, if he had to choose, it would be a toss -up between Ms. O'Brien and Mr. Fitch. Mr. Talbot echoed the comments of others about Ms. O'Brien that she would be the best individual for the job, but wanted to give Mr. Fitch his due for the performance that he put on tonight and his obvious knowledge and command of so many aspects of what we need done here including what Mr. Talbot thought was the beat answer to how to do demand -side management. Chairman Stempeck called for a nomination for the position of General Manager. Mr. Pacino made a motion, seconded by Mr. Soli to nominate James Palmer, Coleen O'Brien and Jonathan Fitch for the position of General Manager of the Reading Municipal Light Department. Chairman Stempeck then stated that he would conduct a vote for each one of the candidates by reading off the candidate's name, and asking each Commissioner to vote for that candidate or not vote for that particular candidate. For the General Manager Candidate lames Palmer, by show of hands; the record shows that there were two votes. For the General Manager Candidate Coleco O'Brien; by a show of hands, the record shows that there were three votes. liiiw For the General Manager Candidate Jon Fitch; by a show of hands, the record shows that there were no voles. Mr. Pacino wanted to present a united front in support of the individual receiving the most votes and thus made a motion, seconded by Mr. Soli, that the RMLD Board of Commissioners vote that Coleco O'Brien be appointed to the position of the General Manager of the Reading Municipal Light Department., Hearing no further discussion, Motion carried 5:0:0. Regular Session Meeting Minutes May 22, 2013 Chairman Slempeck congratulated Ms. O'Brien, and noted that the offer was pending contract discussions. Ms. Fofi noted that the appointment of a subcommittee for negotiation of a contract would be placed on the Agenda for the meetrn• scheduled for May 29. Chairman Slempeck again, thanked everyone for participating including members of the public and those who submitted questions. At 8:49 pm, Mr. Soli made a motion, seconded by Mr. Pacino, to adjourn the Regular Session. Motion carried 5:0:0. A train copy of the RMLD Board of Commissioners Minutes As approved by a majority of the Commissioners. Philip Punic, Secretary RMLD Board of Commissioners C 11