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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLCMIN09/21/2011Mansfield Municipal Electric Department Minutes of Light Commissioners Meeting September 21, 2011 Present: Chairman George Dentine; Vice Chairman Kevin Moran; Commissioner Douglas Annino; Commissioner Jess Aptowitz; Direc Assistant Jacqueline Lee and Acting Town Manager Nick Riccio Light Commissioners Meeting Rf��ldr�D 10f! ©CI ITS pFF /cF 20 4/1 �2 C i �p1i ,leer,Kozlowski; for Odr}� i aJ?i}� c ancial Motion: To suspend the Board of Selectmen meeting and begin the Light Commissioners meeting (Moran /Kozlowski) Passes 510 Chairman Dentino stated that this meeting was being televised and taped by Mansfield Cable Access. Motion: To approve the minutes of the August 22, 2011 Light Commissioner's meeting (Aptowitz / Annino) Passes 5/0 Hurricane Irene Summary — Director Babin gave the Board a summary of the impact of Hurricane Irene. He said that the integrity of MMED's system was outstanding and the operational response of MMED was also outstanding. He wanted to compliment everyone involved in the operations staff on a job well done. Out of 9,600 customers, an estimated 7,300 were affected by the storm at one point or another with 99% of customers being in service by Sunday night and 100% by Tuesday night. Director Babin also noted how well businesses and restaurants in Town did on Monday and Tuesday because power was out for an extended period in surrounding towns. He said that because of MMED's ability to restore the power quickly the Town's restaurants and the mall were very crowded, mostly from out -of -town residents coming to eat and shop. The Board complimented MMED on a job well done. Director Babin also thanked the DPW for their hard work. Solar Energy Net Metering Tariff- Director Babin gave the Board an update on the Net Metering Tariff. He reminded the Board that VAM Realty Trust, who is installing solar panels at their facility, came to the Board in May and in June the MMED staff brought a draft tariff to the Board. Director Babin said that for the most part, MMED followed the state regulations regarding net metering when constructing the tariff. He requested that the Board schedule a public meeting where the tariff would be voted on by the Board. Commissioner Aptowitz questioned whether MMED could lose a high percentage of energy sales if many businesses installed solar facilities and were able to take advantage of the tariff. Director Babin stated that the tariff could be adjusted accordingly to provide standby service. Vice Chairman Moran thinks there is a cap of 2% in the tariff that would address that concern. Chairman Dentino commented that he likes the way the tariff is written. Motion: To call for a public hearing on October 19, 2011 and for all necessary paperwork to be posted for the Net Metering Tariff. (Aptowitz/Moran) Passes 5/0 New System Peak- Director Babin announced that a new system peak had been established on Friday, July 22, 2011. The former record of 55,500 kW was broken with anew peak demand of 55,685 kW, further validating the need for the new East Mansfield substation. PILOT History- Director Babin distributed a summary of the history of PILOT votes since 2001 so that the Board could see how the current amount was arrived at. In the past the Board had questioned how MMED arrived at the amount it now pays. This summary was provided in anticipation of discussions with the Finance Committee on the PILOT. Solar RFP for Town Landfill Update- Director Babin reported that MMED distributed 15 copies of the RFP for installation of a solar energy facility at the Town landfill and 4 proposals were received. MMED first evaluated the merits of the non -price proposals before opening the price proposals. Director Babin then said that MMED is presently working with one of the bidders but couldn't say who it is as of yet. East Mansfield Substation — Director Babin told the Board that the color of the new substation wall had not been selected and he was hoping for a vote this evening. He told the Board that the abutters had chosen the color Desert Brown so the architect had done all the renderings in Desert Brown. He said that this color, however, seemed to be an issue at the Board level. Director Babin brought along a color chart for the Board with 13 different colors. There was then a discussion amongst the Board where everyone expressed their opinion as to what color they thought should be used for the wall and the consensus was a gray tone. It was eventually decided that Director Babin will contact the abutters again about this issue so that they can also see all of the available colors and he would come back to the Board with their feedback. Old and New Business- Director Babin told the Board that last year's budget did not include any funding for the Health Care Liability issue, which was based on a recommendation from the Finance Committee to stop funding it. He said that at the 2011 Town meeting it had been voted to authorize a level of funding on the Town side so Director Babin called Jack Goldberg from the Finance Committee, who said that he thought it was appropriate for MMED to fund their obligation at some level. Chairman Dentine thought that the entire Finance Committee should weigh in on this so Director Babin will put it on a future agenda. Chairman Dentino then questioned Director Babin about seeing a time card which had 30 hours of sick time converted to 30 hours of comp time. Director Babin responded that there is an option in the collective bargaining agreement to convert sick time to comp time and it would probably be better classified as personal time, not comp time, as that implies reimbursement for overtime worked. It is intended to reward people who minimize sick time usage during the year. Chairman Dentine stated that if you work overtime you get . paid for it and said he would have to think about this. Motion: To adjourn the Light Commissioners meeting at 8:55 (Kozlowski/Annino) Passes 5/0 Respectfully submitted: Jacqueline Lee 10/19/11 Signature of Clerk Date of Approval 2