HomeMy Public PortalAbout08-04-1997 Zbi
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. AUGUST 4.1997
1 The Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana, serving as a Board in charge of the operations of the
2 Richmond Power&Light Plant met in regular session at 7 p.m. Monday,August 4, 1997, in the Council Chambers
3 in the Mumicipal Building in said City. Chairperson Bing Welch presided with the following Councilmembers in
4 attendance: Howard "Jack" Elstro, Etta Lundy, Bruce Wissel, Sarah "Sally" Hutton, Geneva "Gene" Allen, Alan
5 Stamper,Bob Dickman and Larry Parker. The following business was had to-wit:
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7 APPROVAL OF MINUTES
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9 The minutes of the meeting of July 21, 1997 were approved on a motion by Councilmember Parker,second by
10 Councilmember Hutton and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote.
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12 APPROVAL OF BILLS. INVESTMENTS AND TRANSFERS
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14 Upon recommendation of the Finance Committee, Councilmember Hutton moved to approve the following bills for
15 payment,seconded by Councilmember Wissel and by unanimous voice vote the motion carried.
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17 Bills Already Paid 230,519.20
18 Payroll and Deductions
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20 Investments Purchased From:
21 Cash Operating Fund 171,385.00
22 Bond Sinking Fund
23 Utility Bond Reserve Fund
24 Depreciation Reserve Fund 111,000.00
25 Insurance Reserve Fund
26 Consumer Deposit Fund
27 Cash Reserve Fund
28 Group Insurance Fund
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30 Total Investments 282,385.00
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32 Transfer from Cash Operating Fund to;
33 Cash Reserve Fund for payment
34 fo City in lieu of taxes
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36 Transfer from Cash Operating Fund to;
37 Depreciation Reserve Fund
38 for Property & Plant
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40 Transfers from Depreciation Reserve to:
41 Cash Operating Fund
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43 Transfers from Consumer Deposit to:
44 Cash Operating Fund
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46 Transfers from Utility Bond Reserve Fund to:
47 Bond Sinking Fund
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49 Transfers from Cash Operating to :
50 Interest and Bond Principal •
51 Bond Sinking Fund
52 Cash Reserve Fund
53 Utility Bond Sinking Fund
54 Depreciation Reserve Fund
55 Insurance Reserve Fund
56 Consumer Deposit Fund
57 Interest and Bond Principal
58 End of Month Petty Cash
59 Revenue Bonds
60 Interest Coupons Redeemed
61 Bond Coupons
62 Miscellaneous Prepaid Invoices 274,343.90
63 Total Prepaid Invoices 787,248.10
64 Less EFT/Direct Deposit of Payroll (49,712.96)
65 Total Prepaid Invoices 737,535.14
Total EFT Transfers 347,051.40
Total Prepaids plus EFT Transfers 1,084,586.54
Total Bills Not Paid 457,615.09
Grand Total 1,542,201.63
4°2'
RP&L Minutes Cont'd
August 4, 1997
Page 2
1 REMARKS BY CHAIRPERSON
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3 Chairperson Welch reminded Board members of the executive session at 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 5 in the RP
4 & L service building for the interview of a potential candidate for the general manager's position. He also called
5 their attention to an issue of the Public Power magazine entitled "Revisiting the 20's"which he said speaks to the
6 situation of deregulation and restructuring. He said six major electric companies controlled 70 percent of the
7 power produced in the U.S. during that time. He said if that is what deregulation is going to do,this Board should
8 start speaking up.
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10 Alluding to the letter each of the Board members received from Jim Daugherty about the security fencing project,
11 Chairperson Welch said $40,000 was set in the budget, but since the fencing project has started and because of
12 the unfortunate burglaries and thefts that have occurred, RP& L would like to go ahead and complete the fencing
13 parameter and put in security to prevent any unauthorized entry. He said the Board will be discussing this item
14 further and he encouraged Board members to read all of Daugherty's letter.
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16 UNFINISHED BUSINESS
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18 There was none.
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20 STREET LIGHT COMMITTEE REPORT
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22 Councilmember Elstro stated he had a couple of memos from City Engineer Bob Wiwi for some minor changes
23 entailing the switching from the old type of lights to the new ones and he had shared those with Councilmember
24 Stamper and passed them along to the Board of Works.
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26 MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS
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28 There was none.
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30 REPORT BY GENERAL MANAGER
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32 General Manager Irving Huffman said the first item is a request for authorization to receive bids for maintenance
33 work on Unit No. 1,which had been discussed once before by the Board. He said he had sent a letter to Board
34 members about the replacement of the tubing and would like to be given the authority to receive bids at the next
35 meeting. Chairperson Welsh said he understands that those bids will give the Board a total amount of that project
36 so they will know what the actual dollar value is for doing that job,then there can be a discussion with the Board
37 as to the total amount and length of time it will take to do it.
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39 Huffman said once the amount is received,the Board needs to have a meeting to go over the figures because the
40 project is of great interest to RP& L as well as I.M.P.A. Chairperson Welch said in the No. 1 Unit that is producing
41 electricity for RP&L,there are pipes carrying the water and steam which are deteriorating after 47 years of
r 42 operation and is causing a loss of efficiency in the unit and the Board is talking about replacing all the tubes and
43 putting them back in new condition to raise that efficiency level.
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45 Councilmember Stamper said this is a 47-year-old plant that is deteriorating and asked Huffman what plans have
46 been made to replace other things. He said he has been on the RP&L Board for one year and seven months and
47 has yet to see a single long term plan.Then, he asked how a 47-year-old boiler fits into that, adding that at the
48 A.P.P.A.conference there were 10 speakers,supposedly experts,who talked,and not one of them said to put
49 money into a 47-year-old plant. He added that he felt he did not have enough information to vote on this tonight.
50
51 Huffman responded,stating that some of the sessions Councilmember Stamper attended had speakers who
52 came from high generating cost and if they owned a high generating cost they would be interested in selling it.
53 However, he said, RP &L is a low generating cost and is competitive. He said I.M.P.A. is very concerned that RP
54 &L may not go ahead and do the work, noting that years ago people thought a utility plant was good for only
55 about 30 years, but today, all utilities are looking at plans to have a 75-year life. Huffman said a study done by
56 Riley Boiler in 1991 showed RP& L should replace immediately the generator tubes and economizer tubes, but
57 the reason those weren't replaced then was because the LEBS project was underway. However, it has gone by
58 the wayside and RP&L needs to get on with the recommendation made by Riley Boiler. He said that work has
59 been completed and the only work that needs to be done is the steam generator section and the economizer tube
60 and that boiler will be in excellent shape.
61
62 Councilmember Dickman asked Huffman if there is any way he can put together what the future holds for the
63 utility and what it is going to take. Huffman responded that it is hard to predict what will go wrong. Councilmember
64 Dickman then commented that for the next 10 years all Huffman envisions is fixing something that breaks, and
65 Huffman answered that he was correct.
RP&L Minutes Cont'd
August 4, 1997
Page 3
1 Chairperson Welch asked about the maintenance schedule for the No. 1 generator and Huffman said it has been
2 seven years since the unit was brought down. He said there will be a two-week outage usually for one unit in the
3 spring and in the fall, another two-week outage. Huffman said the estimated cost next year would be less than$1
4 million.
5
6 Councilmember Elstro moved to authorize Huffman to take the bids for the maintenance work on Unit No. 1,
7 second Councilmember Hutton and the motion was carried on the following call of the roll:
8
9 Ayes: Elstro, Lundy,Wissel, Hutton,Allen, Dickman, Parker and Welch (8)
10 Nays:Stamper(1)
11
12 Chairperson Welch recognized Herschel Philpot, RP& L's financial officer for the past six years,who is resigning
13 after 31 years of service with the utility. He plans to be a visiting professor at Miami University in Oxford,Ohio,
14 where he will teach finance and business accounting. Chairperson Welch thanked him for his service and wished
15 him well.
16
17 ADJOURNMENT
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19 There being no further business,on a motion duly made,seconded and passed the meeting was
20 adjourned.
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27 Bing Welch, Chairperson
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32 ATTEST:
33 Norma Schroeder, Clerk
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