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HomeMy Public PortalAbout03-19-2001 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND,INDIANA,SERVING AS A BOARD IN CHARGE OF THE OPERATION OF THE RICHMOND POWER&LIGHT PLANT MONDAY,MARCH 19,2001 • The Common Council of the City of Richmond,Indiana,serving as a Board in charge of the operations of the Richmond Power&Light Plant met in regular session at 7 p.m.Monday,March 19,2001 in the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building in said City.Chairperson Phil Dickman presided with the following Councilmembers in attendance:Howard"Jack"Elstro,Etta Lundy,Bruce Wissel,Karl Sharp,Bing Welch,Larry Parker,Paul Combs and Sarah"Sally"Hutton.The following business was conducted: ROLL CALL Nine present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Since there was no meeting March 5,only the minutes of February 26,2001 were available and were approved on a motion by Councilmember Hutton,second by Councilmember Parker and carried on a voice vote. APPROVAL OF BILLS,INVESTMENTS AND TRANSFERS Upon recommendation of the Finance Committee,Councilmember Hutton moved to approve the following bills for payment,seconded by Councilmember Combs and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Bills Already Paid: Payroll and Deductions $500,730.66 Investments Purchased From: Cash Operating Fund Bond Sinking Fund Utility Bond Reserve Fund Depreciation Reserve Fund 91,000.00 Insurance Reserve Fund Consumer Deposit Fund Cash Reserve Fund 223,830.84 Group Insurance Fund Total Investments $314,830.84 Transfer from Cash Operating Fund to: Cash Reserve Fund for Payment To City in lieu of taxes Transfer from Cash Operating Fund to: Depreciation Reserve Fund For Property&Plant 111. Transfers from Depreciation Reserve to: Cash Operating Fund Transfers from Consumer Deposit to: Cash Operating Fund Transfers from Utility Bond Reserve Fund to: Bond Sinking Fund Transfers from Cash Operating to: Interest and Bond Principal Bond Sinking Fund Cash Reserve Fund Utility Bond Sinking Fund Depreciation Reserve Fund Insurance Reserve Fund Consumer Deposit Fund Interest and Bond Principal End of Month Petty Cash Revenue Bonds Interest Coupons Redeemed Interest Coupons Redeemed Bond Coupons Miscellaneous Prepaid Invoices $ 185,965.04 Telecommunications Division Transfer: 2,700,000.00 Cash Operating Transfer: 231,347.44 Total Prepaid Invoices 3,932,873.98 . Total EFT/Direct Deposit of Payroll: (156,852.53) Total Prepaid Invoices: 3,776,021.45 Total EFT Transfers: 422,872.73 Total Prepaids plus EFT Transfers: 4,198,894.18 Total Bills Not Paid: 1,595,262.49 Grand Total of Bills to be approved: $5,794,156.67 • RP&L Minutes Cont'd March 19,2001 Page 2 REMARKS BY CHAIRPERSON Chairperson Dickman said he had no comments to make. Councilmember Combs commented that in a recent Street Tree Commission meeting he had a request by a resident at 35 South 18th Street in regards to the streetlights.He said this is in a section where several trees had been cut down and the streetlights now are very bright because of the absence of the foliage of the trees.He said that he had thought of an alternative to what she had asked,which was to do away with the street light,and that was possibly a shade which would be on the side of the residents. Councilmember Elstro,who serves as the Street Light Committee representative,responded that as far as he was concerned he would say no.He said it has never been done in the past,and if it is done it would open up Pandora's Box. General Manager David Osbum responded that the shade issue is not unheard of but it depends on the fixture and if the Board wants him to he would look into that,but he cautioned the Board to prepare themselves for numerous requests if they decide to do that.He asked that they proceed with caution when looking at possible changes along with line. Councilmember Welch suggested that if the lights in question are the mercury vapor lamps they could possibly be replaced with the low sodium bulbs.Again,Osbum said he would go along with whatever the Board decides. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was none. STREET LIGHT COMMITTEE REPORT Councilmember Elstro said he had a request to put in two lights at the intersection of Salisbury and Industries Roads in the new industrial park at a cost of$6.68 for each,making a total of$13.36 per month. REPORT BY GENERAL MANAGER General Manager David Osburn asked the Board's approval of the minutes of the two special meetings held at RP&L; on the dates of February 19 and March 13.Councilmember Welch so moved,second by Councilmember Sharp and the; motion was carried on a voice vote. Osburn also requested authorization to receive bids for two 2001 four-door sedans to replace Unit No.33(to be converted to the electric car)and Unit No.42 with a mileage of 101,306 miles(to be traded in)Councilmember Welch moved to authorize Osburn to receive those bids,second by Councilmember Parker and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Authorization to submit bids at the Annual EPA Allowance Auction was requested by Osbum who explained that each spring this auction is held for SO 2 allowances.He said he is coming to the Board after the fact because he had already submitted the bid because it had to be in their hands tomorrow morning.He said if the Board did not agree with the bid' he presented he could call and request that the bid be withdrawn.He went on to explain that he had submitted three separate bids—one was for 3,000 allowances at$110,another for 2,000 at$120 and the third for 1,000 at$130.He said • if all three of those bids went through the utility would acquire 6,000 allowances for$700,000 and that average price would be$117. He explained that allowances currently on the market are trading for$172,adding that if they got lucky enough to get any one of the bid or all of them he feels it would be a tremendous savings.He said he doesn't expect to get any of these bids because he feels that the larger companies would buy up all the allowances but he felt like it was worth a shot.He said its early in the year and there is a chance that allowances on the market could come down and they might be available for around$130.Councilmember Elstro moved to authorize Osbum to submit the three bids,second by Councilmember Parker and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Osbum asked Harry Phillips,the Energy Services Director,to give a presentation on the issue of telecommunications. Prior to that presentation,Phillips said at the beginning of April the utility would be beginning the survey in conjunction with its market research. Speaking about the telecommunications marketing,Phillips thanked the Telecom Committee made up of Board members for its efforts and courage to look beyond what now exists in the industry.His comments,in their entirety,are on file in the Clerk's office.Phillips announced the new name for the division is Parallax Systems with a tag line of"a new view in communications." He said it is also going to be billed as a division of RP&L adding that the name means the apparent change and position of an object caused by the change and position of the observer.He said marketing and advertising for the service would vary according to the specific target segments.He distributed samples of the brochures with the artwork and entertained questions. Councilmember Wissel questioned the name chosen and defending the decision to use it,Phillips said that after awhile it is a name that you become comfortable with.Osbum said that name has not been settled on yet because the Board has to do that,but all of the brochures and printed matter given to the Board is in draft form.He said this is a result of several meetings with the Telecom Committee,which agreed that the name was something that really did catch on. RP&L Minutes Cont'd RP&L Minutes Cont'd March 19,2001 Page 3 Osburn said one thing they learned through this entire process is that it is amazing that the intemet sites are all being used which is true with any kind of name you might think of.Councilmember Welch commented that when RP&L started talking telecommunications business it was not talking Internet provider.He said the sole purpose in getting into telecommunications was to utilize the fiber-optic cable for higher technology data transmission,adding that the utility wanted to supply something to the City and the industrial commercial base and even to the residents if the need was there.He said the Internet business is coming on as a secondary adjunct to the telecommunications company and that company is Parallax which is a division of RP&L.And,he continued,as a service of Parallax the utility will become an intemet provider service.He said the company is actually one to provide another high-grade service to the City and the industrial base of the City.He said the Internet would be a secondary service to all citizens. There being no further comments on the issue,Councilmember Hutton moved that the name of Parallax be approved, second by Councilmember Combs and the motion was carried on an eight to one vote,with Councilmember Wissel voting against. Councilmember Parker had some suggestions for the logo,calling upon his background in the printing business, commenting that the way it is laid out makes it very expensive. Osburn also asked that the Board approve the Telecommunications Budget,adding that Rich Cody is present to answer any questions.Councilmember Hutton said she wanted to clarify the salaries,asking whether or not all the positions would be filled right away.Osburn explained that the money allocated is to cover Cody's salary,the telecom engineer which has been approved but they're still trying to fill that slot,and it also has to do with salaries within the organization which are allocated to this operation.Chairperson Dickman said the Telecom Committee had gone over the budget and had brought the numbers down to reflect a little bit later start.Cody expressed his appreciation to the Board for the success of this venture. Councilmember Welch moved that the budget be approved for 2001,second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Osbum informed the Board that RP&L would be celebrating its 100`1'anniversary in 2002 and asked for their thoughts along that line.He added that they would be doing some brainstorming within their ranks along that line. NEW BUSINESS There was none. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business,on a motion duly made,seconded and passed,the meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Phil Dickman,Chairperson ATTEST: Norma Schroeder,Clerk • -Y •