Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-10-08 RMLD Board of Commissioners MinutesReading Municipal Light Board of Commissioners Regular Session 230 Ash Street Reading, MA 01867 VED October 8, 2002 + v CLERK G_ MASS. Start Time of Regular Session: 7:35 p.m. N V End Time of Regular Session: 9:15 P.M. d~; j Attendees: Commissioners: Messrs. Hughes, Ames, Herlihy and Soli RMLD Staff: Mr. Cameron, Acting General Manager, Messrs. Blomley and Fournier Mses. Antonio, Cavagnaro and Blomley CAB: Mr. Corbett This meeting of the Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) Board of Commissioners, October 8d' is being broadcast live at the RMLD's office at 230 Ash Street, Reading, MA. Live broadcasts are available only in Reading due to technology constraints. This meeting is being video taped for distribution to the community television stations in North Reading, Wilmington and Lynnfield. Chairman Hughes called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Mr. Hughes announced Mr. Pacino, Secretary of the RMLD Board of Commissioners, will not be in attendance this evening and appointed Mr. Herlihy as Secretary Pro Tem. Minutes of September 25, 2002 Mr. Herlihy made a motion seconded by Mr. Soli to approve the minutes of September 25, 2002. Motion carried by a show of hands: 3:0:1. Mr. Ames abstained, as he was not present at the September 25, 2002 meeting. Report of the Chairman of the Board Ad Hoc RMLD Governance Committee Mr. Hughes informed the Board of the letter he sent to Mr. Daniel Ensminger, Ad Hoc RMLD Goverance Advisory Committee. As Mr. Hughes explained, this letter was to update the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on the progress of the General Manager's Search Committee (GM Search Committee). This letter was intended to assure the members of this Committee that all semi- finalist and finalist candidates will be fully educated regarding the issues surrounding the RMLD. Mr. Hughes acknowledged Mr. Arthur Carakatsane, Citizen's Advisory Board and GM Search Committee member, who originally suggested keeping the Ad Hoc RMLD Governance Advisory Committee updated on GM Search Committee's progress. Letter from the Roger Lessard, Chairman, Citizen's Advisory Board regarding Motions Mr. Hughes noted the letter from Mr. Lessard regarding motions stating one of the motions from the Citizen's Advisory Board was to endorse the prompt action of the RMLD Board responding to the Inspector General and the other motion was the appointment of a new CAB member, John Norton, to the Capital and Operating Budget Subcommittee. Selectmen Liaison, Citizen's Advisory Board and Customer Comments Mr. Hughes noted the CAB met with the Ad Hoc RMLD Governance Advisory Committee on Thursday, October 3, 2002 at the Reading Town Hall. Mr. Corbett, CAB member, highlighted the joint meeting of the CAB and Ad Hoc RMLD Goverance Advisory Committee on October 3rd, stating it was more of a question and answer period. Mr. Corbett stated it also gave the CAB the opportunity to ask for an update of what has transpired thus far. Discussion ensued. Presentation Presentation to Reading Town Meeting Mr. Hughes stated at the last meeting the Board suggested a rehearsal of the presentation to the Town which will be given at the Town Meeting in the fall. -Regular Session Meeting Minutes October 8, 2002 Page Two Presentation to Reading Town Meeting Mr. Hughes began the presentation with introductions then turned the presentation over to Mr. Cameron, Acting General Manager of RMLD. Mr. Cameron proceeded with a mock presentation to the Board as he explained each of the following items: • Legal costs expended by the RMLD and the Town of Reading; • The costs of both, the Town and the RMLD Audits (PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Melanson Heath); • Costs paid to the former General Manager, Assistant General Manager and the Electric Maintenance Manager for their Leave of Absence; • Any and all past employment costs for any employees who resigns or is terminated as a result of the Inspector General Report; • Legal costs to review all Anonymous Letters (Choate, Hall & Stewart); • The estimated time spent by the RMLD employees assisting in the data collection for the audits (which were not part of their regular responsibilities); • Cost of newspaper ads and miscellaneous expenses; • Estimated cost of Town Accountant and Town Manager in response to the Inspector General's Report (the Town will respond to this item); • Cost of any future payments to the General Manager associated with Contracted terms to share of the new ventures for years of past employment; • Included review of the General Manager's Contract provisions relative to the Inspector General's Report; Questions arose for each section of the presentation and suggestions for modification were made. Discussion ensued. Update on Acting General Manager's Bond Mr. Cameron stated Mr. Blomley created a table outlining whom in the Town who is bonded, the amount of the bond and who pays for the bond. Mr. Cameron stated the issue that arose while discussing bonds was Chapter 164, section 56, which states, "the General Manager shall give bond to the Town," and the Board should agree upon the amount. Mr. Cameron also stated there was discussion implying since the Town pays the RMLD bills, the RMLD has no direct access to funds; therefore, the amount of the bond is not as pertinent to the Board as it is for the Town Treasurer. Mr. Cameron noted he and Mr. Blomley both spoke to others within the municipal community and found some General Managers are bonded while others are not. Since the bond covers the duties of the General Manager according to Chapter 164, Section 56 by job description and does not cover anything done outside of the General Manager's job description, i.e., purchasing alcohol, longer than needed hotel stays, etc., he recommends the Board consider setting the bond at $5,000. Mr. Cameron stated although there are purchase power contracts that could go array and cost millions of dollars, the contracts are so carefully written that if something were to go wrong there are options with the parties of the agreement so no other General Manager carries million dollar bonds. Mr. Hughes pointed out that this issue has been discussed in depth on three previous occasions and asked the Board if they want to revisit this issue again at the next Board meeting or go ahead with a motion. Mr. Soli stated he previously asked what the bond does and/or does not cover and suggested obtaining an answer from the bond company prior to making any decision. Mr. Cameron suggested having an insurance consultant answer some example of scenarios so the Board could get a better vision of the bond coverage. Mr. Ames reminded the Board this bond issue was originally raised by the Ad Hoc RMLD Governance Committee because they questioned whether the former General Manager had bond would some of the expenses he incurred relative to the Inspector General's Report have been recovered. Mr. Ames stated he understands the bond differently and there seems to be a variety of understanding, therefore, suggests having an insuranceconsultant educate the Boardon the bond coverage. Mr. Cameron stated for the insurance consultant to travel here to meet with the Board and travel back the cost at least $2,000. Mr. Cameron left it up to the Board as to whether that expenditure is worth it stating this is something that could be done via telephone as well defray some of the cost. Regular Session Meeting Minutes October S, 2002 Update on Acting General Manager's Bond Discussion ensued. Page Three Mr. Blomley will find out if the bonding company has a brochure, or written information, for the Board to review. Mr. Ames suggested the Board obtain a recommendation from the Ad Hoc Committee relative to bonding for the General Manager given the special circumstances of the RMLD. Specifically, Mr. Ames wants an answer as to what is the bond, what would it do, what it would not do, etc. Mr. Cameron will discuss this with Mr. Hechenbleikner and report back to the Board. Financials, August, 2002 Mr. Fournier reviewed the August, 2002, RMLD Financials with a brief question and answer period. Mr. Cameron reiterated although a lot of funds were expended the beginning part of this year with audits and legal expenses the budget is still ahead for the year and a lot of expenses has been cut. Mr. Hughes asked what the approximate amount of money to be returned to the rate payers in November. Mr. Cameron stated that the three million dollars which which will be refunded to the ratepayers in November. A residential customer using 500 Kwh will receive a refund of $35.00. Letter from United States Senator, John Kerry Mr. Cameron explained the letter received from Senator John Kerry was a thank you letter in response to a letter sent by Chairman, William J. Hughes, Jr., to U.S. Congressman Markey relative to an Energy Reform Bill presenting being discussed. Energy New England (ENE) Quarterly Meeting Mr. Cameron noted an ENE Board of Director's meeting on October 16, 2002 at 3:00 p.m. and an ENE Member's meeting at 5:00 p.m. at Taunton Municipal Light Plant, 55 Weir Street, Taunton, and asked if any Board members plan to attend. Messrs. Hughes, Soli and Herlihy stated their desire to attend. Mr. Cameron stated as of the end of July, 2002, the RMLD terminated the service agreement with ENE and at that time had a deposit of $756,000 returned to the RMLD. Mr. Cameron stated he and Mr. Fournier are working to account for that money to be added to the Rate Stabilization Fund, however, Mr. Cameron will update the Board once those funds are accounted for. Mr. Cameron also stated he recently sent a letter to ENE giving notice of termination on the Residential Conservation Program due to the decision that the RMLD could manage this program in-house for less money. Public Power Week Ms. Cavagnaro gave an update on Public Power Week and the activities planned to celebrate this annual public power acknowledgement week. Board Discussion ENE Management Report, July, 2002 Mr. Herlihy asked Mr. Cameron for his comments relative to the letter, which states ENE, did not accrue the substantial savings which it could have. Mr. Cameron responded this statement is disappointing from a Founding Member's point of view and gave the Board a brief history of the relationship between ENE and RMLD and how business was performed. )eptember 11th Observance _4r. Hughes announced the RMLD-employees are noted in the Northeast Public Power magazine for the observance of the September 11th anniversary by placing American flags on the company vehicles. Department Handling of System Outages As Mr. Ames reminded the Board, he requested the Department to review the handling of outages. Mr. Ames stated this request was a result of a dissatisfied ratepayer who called him during one of heat waves. Extensive discussion ensued. Regular Session Meeting Minutes Page Four October 8, 2002 Town of Reading Meeting Calendar 2001-2004 Mr. Hughes noted the Town of Reading meeting schedules are included in the Board books. Mr. Herlihy noted an article that was presented at the Town Meeting Member's meeting he attended on October 7t'. Mr. Herlihy stated the article was concerning the use of hiring retired Reading Police Officers as detailed officers which would allow retired Reading Police Officers up to the age of sixty-five who have kept up a certain training criteria to go out on details including the RMLD details. Mr. Herlihy also noted another comment from the meeting, which was relative to the Longwood Farm disposition, and development plans. When the map was shown, Mr. Herlihy noticed land tracks on the map, which indicated the parcels of land that, belong to RMLD. Mr. Herlihy asked how much land the RMLD owns and are there any parcels that are not used for'any operational reason that could possibly be sold or donated. Mr. Cameron replied positively to the RMLD owning land in that general area, however, there are transmission lines on the land. Mr. Blomley stated he would have specific information on all parcels of land for the Board at the next meeting. Mr. Hughes asked for an update relative to the Board meeting in other Towns. Mr. Cameron stated at the CAB meeting there was a discussion relative to the Board's desire to meet in the outside Towns. As Mr. Cameron stated, the CAB all thought it was a good idea and agreed to get back to Mr. Cameron. Next Meeting Date Thursday, October 24, 2002. , Motion to Adjourn At 9:15 p.m., Mr. Herlihy made a motion seconded by Mr. Ames to adjourn the Regular Session. Motion carried by a show of hands 4:0:0. A true copy of the RMLD Board of Commissioners minutes as approved by a majority of the Commission. Mr. Andrew K. Herlihy Secretary Pro Tern RMLD Board of Commissioners