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Home My WebLink Aboutmin light commission 12/14/05 - . (, r Mansfield Municipal Electric Department Minutes of Light Commissioners Meetin~, December 14, 2005 ? ('" L, ~ ,):: f' ..... iL_UJ 1'''1 {. \. ,:; (' 1.1; I 'r T S I L ",,} ':,..' j.~.....:; ',,) , Present: Chairman Bernie Dolan; Vice Chairman Louis P. Amoruso; Clerk David McCarter; Commissioner Roger Achille; Director Gary Babin; Engineer Ann Langille; Engineer Chris Cox; Line Foreman Gary D' Ambra; Financial Assistant Jacqueline Lee and Manager John D' Agostino Light Commissioner Meeting The meeting was called to order at 7:35 followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Motion: To approve the minutes from November 16, 2005 (Achille/Amoruso) Passes 4/0 Director's Report Financial Statements for October 2005 - Director Babin presented MMED's financial statements for October 2005. He reported that net income is down from the same period in the prior year, reflective of increased power supply costs. He also pointed out that the month of October's billing was before MMED increased the PPCA by 0.5 cents, which was effective with November's billing. r Director Babin said that MMED's cash position is good. He explained that the first quarterly PILOT payment was made to the Town in October in the amount of $276,553. A payment was also made to MMWEC in the amount of $214,673 which was due to the increase in the working capital requirement. Energy sales have experienced a 6.6% growth rate year-to-date. This is 3.5% above budget projections. Director Babin stated that at the request of Commissioner McCue, he has developed three new charts that were included in the financials which will provide more detailed information for the Board's review. They are Billed Revenue per Month, Billed Energy per Month (kWh) and Net Income per Month for 2003 through 2005. Review of MMED FY06 Capital Budget Plan -At the November 16 Light Commissioners meeting, the Board deferred approving the revised FY06 MMED capital budget until the MMED staff met with the FlNCOMM to discuss the revisions. Director Babin reported there was a meeting with the FINCOMM, and they indicated that they did not feel compelled to meet with MMED staff over these types of minor revisions. Director Babin also said he understood the revised capital budget that was presented to the Board on November 16 was, in fact, approved at the November 30 Board of Selectmen's meeting upon Chairman Dolan's recommendation, as he was also at the MMED-FlNCOMM meeting. r MMED Policy Revisions - Engineer Chris Cox reviewed changes that were made over the r last year to the MMED policy manuals, which were originally approved by the Board on October 13, 2004 and April 13, 2005. These revisions were minor changes to the existing policies based on MMED experience, as well as new policies implemented since the original approvals. There was a revision of Section 213 and addition of a new Section 214 to the Construction Requirements for New Developments - Residential and Commercial/Industrial. Residential compound street lighting will be metered and the bill paid to MMED. For conventional residential subdivisions the Town pays the cost of the street lighting once the development is accepted as a public way. Section 204 of Information and Requirements for Electric Service was revised to include an allowance for reimbursement of costs for general construction work not specifically categorized as either residential, commercial or industrial. Engineer Cox said there was also a clarification of Section 721 of Information and Requirements for Electric Service. Where metering transformers are located inside customer owned switchgear, MMED requires the customer to own and maintain the transformers. In Section 1008 of Information and Requirements for Electric Service the cost of a new overhead service to a residence was raised from $150 to $275 based on MMED's tracking of the actual cost to perform the work. r A new section, Section 500, the Residential Customer Deposit policy, was added to Customer Service Terms and Conditions manual. Motion: To approve the policy revisions and clarifications to the existing policies found in MMED's policy manuals as recommended by the MMED staff (Amoruso/Achille) Passes 4/0 Completion of MMED Professional Unit contract - Director Babin announced that MMED negotiations with IBEW Local 104 Professional Unit concluded 2-3 weeks ago. Town Manager D' Agostino stated that MMED had started contract negotiations from scratch as this was a new bargaining unit. Clerk McCarter inquired if the provisions of the contract were in conformity with other contracts in Town. Town Manager D' Agostino answered yes, that the cost of living adjustments were in line with the other units, but that there were some contract differences because of the bargaining unit being professional. r-- Clerk McCarter asked if this unit included the office staff. Town Manager D' Agostino answered no. Director Babin clarified that it includes two Electrical Engineers, the Business Manager and when the unit was originally formed, the Chief Financial Officer. He further explained there are 3 bargaining units within MMED; AFSCME for the operations staff, one IBEW unit for the office staff and the new IBEW unit for the professional staff. r Director Babin announced that, as a result of these negotiations, the CFO position has been replaced as of July 1, 2005 with a Staff Accountant position. The other change he brought to the Board's attention was that the Business Manager's salary received a one-time $6,000 increase to make it commensurate with similar positions in other light departments. Update on MMED's Work on the Route 106 Project - Foreman D' Ambra reported that MMED, along with Town Engineer John Sullivan, has made some progress with Verizon on the Route 106 project. Verizon has set seven priority poles from Hope Street to Eastman Street. Verizon had said they would finish by the first week of December with their design and then the project would move up the line for approvals. As MMED's work is still dependant on Verizon completing their pole installations, Foreman D' Ambra suggested this would be an opportune time for the Board to exert pressure on them. He said that he and John Sullivan are still working on getting an easement which would expedite the situation. He also said MMED has quite a bit of work to do once the poles are set. Chairman Dolan asked about the School Street project. Foreman D' Ambra said MMED has installed four manholes, which now need conduit installation between them and are also required to be tied into existing facilities at either end. He stated that MMED can only work on School St. for as long as they can have a street opening permit during the winter weather. Chairman Dolan added that he lives in that area and feels the traffic has not been too bad. r Old and New Business Clerk McCarter mentioned a letter he had received from a resident regarding the lack of holiday lighting on the North Common. Director Babin explained that the proper facilities are not in place, particularly underground conduit, to allow any holiday lighting. The common would need to have those facilities installed to be in compliance with the National Electric Code. Town Manager D' Agostino stated that the common needs to be redesigned and landscaped in conjunction with the railway station before conduit can be installed. He said it has not been forgotten but the Town is waiting on GA TRA. Adjournment Motion: To adjourn the Light Commissioner's meeting at 8:00 Passes 4/0 Respectfully submitted: Jacqueline Lee 1/18/06 flI!/If/~ Sigrtature of Clerk Date r- c _