Meeting of Commissioners of
Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County, Washington
October 15, 2024
A meeting of Commissioners of Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County was held at 1200 Fort Vancouver Way on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
Present: President Jim Malinowski, Vice President Nancy Barnes, Secretary Jane Van Dyke Commissioners, CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler, Director of Communications and Corporate Citizenship Erica Erland, Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny, Director of Engineering Cal Morris, Director of Energy Resources Steve Andersen, Director of Employee Resources Nichole Reitzenstein, Director of Operations/Interim Director of Water Gene Morris, General Counsel John Eldridge, Director of Information Services Jeff Groff, Director of Customer Service Lisa Fix, Manager of Construction Design David Tetz, Public Information Officer/Media Specialist Dameon Pesanti, Human Resources Coordinator Ashley Stimmel, Key Accounts Energy Solutions Manager Bill Hibbs, Senior Applications Analyst/Developer Kathy Durdick, Key Accounts Manager Lori Froehlich, Key Accounts Manager Mike Wallace, Community Engagement Specialist Morgan Van Fleet, Environmental Sustainability Manager Michael O’Loughlin, Manager of Energy Services Debbie DePetris, Energy Resource Manager Terry Toland, and Assistant to CEO/General Manager Margaret Anderson.
Others present in person or via digital conference (phone or video): Gordon Matthews, Sherry Erickson, Rick Marshall, James Oneil, Cathryn Chudy and Tom Gordon.
At 9:00 a.m., President Malinowski called the meeting to order for the transaction of formal business and the agenda was approved as presented (Materials B).
Public Comment
There were no comments.
Rick Marshall asked if the board had seen the Brattle Group report and asked if we considered being a member of NW Energy Coalition.
Peter Harrison shared the process he went through to change his electrical panel and thanked Clark Public Utilities staff for their support in the process.
Full written comments if provided are available upon request – please email [email protected] for a copy.
Consideration of the Minutes of October 1, 2024
The minutes were approved as presented.
Consideration of Accounts Payable
The board, by a unanimous vote, approved the following payment amounts as listed on the Letter of Transmittal dated October 15, 2024 from the District Auditor (Materials C):
Electric Revenue Fund – $14,131,417.63
Water Revenue Fund – $1,165,014.95
Generating System Fund – $5,647,417.51
For a total of $20,943,850.09
Employee Service Awards
Director of Employee Resources Nichole Reitzenstein recognized Ashley Stimmel for her 20 years of service and Director of Information Services recognized Senior Applications/Analyst Developer Kathy Durdick for her 20 years of services (Materials D).
Consideration of Wildfire Mitigation Plan
Director of Engineering Cal Morris and Manager of Construction Design David Tetz reviewed the Wildfire Mitigation Plan (Materials E). Mr. Tetz provided a recap of the plan, outlined the utility service territory most at risk, situation awareness, preventative strategies and the plan for response and recovery.
Mr. Morris reviewed what our current infrastructure looks like and how the utility plans to make improvements as we move forward. Once approved, the plan will be sent to the Department of Natural Resources and posted online for public access.
Commissioner Reports and Comments
Commissioner Barnes reported on her attendance at Public Power Council meetings, Pacific Northwest Utilities Committee Conference meetings, the Community Roots ribbon-cutting event, ComCare Roundtable and the celebration of Public Power Week.
Commissioner Malinowski reported on his Energy Northwest resource meetings.
Staff Reports
CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler asked the board for feedback regarding Clark Public Utilities’ votes for the Public Power Council Executive Board.
Director of Operations/Interim Director of Water – Gene Morris provided the board with an update on the employees helping with restoration in Florida in the aftermath of hurricane Milton (Materials F).
Key Accounts Energy Solutions Manager Bill Hibbs provided the board with an update on Commercial Programs (Materials G).
Executive Session
Recess in to executive session to discuss site selection or acquisition of real estate purchase or lease if the likelihood of that disclosure would increase the price in accordance with RCW 42.30.110(1)(b). The public meeting was set to reconvene at 11:40 a.m. At 11:40 a.m., Commissioner Malinowski extended the executive session until 12:00 p.m.
The public meeting reconvened at 12:00 p.m.
Final Board Comments
There being no further board comments the meeting was adjourned at 12:01 p.m.