HomeMy WebLinkAboutLight Comm. 04/22/2024Mansfield Municipal Electric Department
Minutes of Light Commissioners Meeting
April 22,2024
Present: Chair Michael Trowbridge, Vice Chair Neil Rhein, Clerk Maureen Doherty, Commissioner Brer�x�ar rc�1� Light
Department Manager Joseph Sollecito, Joseph Pereira, and Mayhew Seavey of PLM. il+ ; I" F 'i`,i OFFICE
1) Open Meeting —Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance. The meeting was held at the Mansf q,VTpc hrSII Rboq: 10
3AB and called to order at 5:30 PM followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
A complete copy of the Board packet containing all documents that are referenced in the minutes is on file At the
Mansfield Municipal Electric Department office.
2) Review and consideration to approve Board Minutes of February 26, 2024 and March 20, 2024
Motion to approve Board minutes of February 26,2024. (Doherty/Roache) passes 4/0
Motion to approve Board minutes of March 20, 20242024. (Doherty/Roache) passes 4/0
3) Managers Report
a) Review Power Supply with Mayhew Seavey, PLM
Mr. Seavey provide a summary of results for FY2025 Power Supply Budget. He explained that the Total cost is forecasted
to be lower by $0.8 million then the original FY24 budget from April of 2023. He also goes over that the Energy costs are
$1.5 million lower and the Transmission costs increase by 1%. And lastly, he goes over the Capacity cost and that it will
Increase 4% and total impact on power supply budget is a 3.8% decrease in total power cost. Mr. Roach asked if uptick
on energy usage was both residential and commercial. Mr. Seavey explained that he believes it was the commercial side
Mr. Rhein asked what are 'transmission costs'. Mr. Seavey explains transmission is the cost of owning, operation, and
maintaining of the power lines at 138 thousand volts and above and to deliver power to customers.
b) Review and consideration to approve FY25 Operation Budget
Joseph Pereira reviewed the operation budget for FY225. The highlights are lower purchase power expenses and lower
kWh Sales. He continues to go over that there's a higher contractual payroll increase and employee benefits are the
major driver of 2025. Mr. Rhein asked when the Seabrook benefit will end. Mr. Sollecito explained the contract was
renewed to 2049 along with Millstone to 2040. Mr. Sollecito went over how the customer charge impacts the budget.
Motion to approve the operating budget for FY25 as presented. (Doherty/Roache) Passes 4/0
c) Review and consideration to approve FY25 Capital Budget
Mr. Sollecito reviews the capitol budget going over labor expense, expense for outside resources, vehicle hours, timeline
to complete, and total cost estimate. He also goes over that each capital work plan falls Into either a one-time project,
recurring project, billable project, or general plant improvements. Mr. Sollecito reviewed the different capital work
projects which are carried over from FY2024 and for FY2025. Ms. Doherty asked who they use for the garage doors. Mr.
Sollecito let everyone know that'National Alarm' Is the firm that won the award and will be redoing the gates, doors,
and controllers.
Motion to approve the capital budget for FY25 as presented. (Doherty/Roache) Passes 4/0
d) Review and consideration to approve Rate Recommendations by m. Seavey, PLM
Mr. Seavey went over rate design objectives and that MMED rate design is to continue to move the customer charges
towards full recovery of the cost of service. It will be a gradual increase so the customers don't feel the impact. The
proposed rate increase is increasing the customer charge for residential and small commercial by $1. Mr. Rhein asked if
it is really $20 to send a bill. Mr. Seavey explained yes, it is $20 a year per resident to send out a bill and that it's due to
the recovery of capital cost of meters, the cost of the service drops, and administrative overhead. Ms. Doherty asked if
there was any way to not increase the customer charge based on the other increases for the town. Mr. Sollecito
explained that the increase is necessary to capture internal costs and that other utilities have higher 'customer charge.'
The plan is to make small increases over time so that there is not one large increase in future years. Mr. Trowbridge
explains this has been part of the plan for a slow increase.
Motion to approve the rate structures for residential, commercial and municipal (Doherty/Roache) passes 4/0
e) Review Hamid Jaffari's memo regarding East Street UG Project bid award recommendation
Mr. Sollecito recommends awarding the contract to the lowest bidder which would be Peter DeGirolamo and sons in
located in Foxboro ma. Mr. Trowbridge asked if there would be overhead poles still and Mr. Sollecito explained that the
new infrastructure will provide an underground pathway in the future to improve connectivity between the two
substations. The overhead system will remain to provide service the customers along East Street. Mr. Rhein asked if the
bike path needs to be dug up and Mr. Sollecito explained that a portion will be and it will be repaved.
Motion to approve the 2024-01 East ST underground project bid results to Peter DeGirolamo & Sons for the
lump sum bid of $670,360 and to also include alternate #1 for $165,250 for a total bid contract of $835,610
(Doherty/Roache) passes4/0
f) Review issue regarding publication of warrant items
Mr. Sollecito reviewed whether or not the warrants items being presented on the town website will be a problem. The
only concerns would be the same as the town which Is the HIPA laws. Also, any individual Power Supply contracts are
typically protected by Mass law because of contractual competitive pricing. When approving the warrant, we will redact
anything that is not a concern.
4) Citizens Questions and Comments
None
5) Commissioners Questions & Comments
a) Performance Review of General Manager Joseph Sollecito
Mr. Trowbridge goes over the performance review for Mr. Sollecito. Mr. Sollecito's scores are as follows, Work Quality
4.60, Productivity 4.4, Job Knowledge 4.8, Dependability 4.4, Communication 4.6, Acceptance 4.2, Interpersonal skills
4.6, Work Ethics 4.6, Public Relations 4.8, Planning and Organizing 4.4, Decision Making 4.0, Teamwork 4.4, Attendance
4.75, Technology 4.4, Safety 4.8, Education 4.6, Any addition factors 4.6. Overall rating is a 4.526. Ms. Doherty said she
looks at his organization as a shining example or what good management looks like and she appreciated the Mr.
Sollecito takes the time to explain things. Mr. Sollecito expresses he is blessed for the opportunity to work in Mansfield
and that we have such a dedicated staff & Commissioners who support our success. Mr. Roache thanks Mr. Sollecito for
answering his questions.
6) any items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting
Mr. Rhein asked if we were going to get a sign that we are a Green town and Mr. Sollecito said he would contact the
town to see if that is going to happen.
7) Motion to Adjourn at 6:15pm
(Doherty/Roache) passes4/0
pectfully submitted: Toni -Ann D'Ambra
& gn ture ` Datef Approvaal