HomeMy Public PortalAbout04-03-1995 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, APRIL 3,1995
111
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, April 3, 1995, in the Council Chambers
3 in the Muncipal Building in said City. Chairperson Howard "Jack" Elstro presided with the following
4 Councilmembers in attendance: Gene Allen, Jane Brookbank, Bob Dickman, Mary Ellen Donat, Sarah "Sally"
5 Hutton, Etta Lundy, Don McBride and Larry Parker.The following business was had to-wit:
6
7 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MARCH 20.1995
8
9 Councilmember McBride moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as prepared, seconded by
10 Councilmember Hutton and on a unanimous voice vote the motion was carried.
11
12 APPROVAL OF BILLS, INVESTMENTS AND TRANSFERS
13
14 Upon recommendation of the Finance Committee, Councilmember Donat moved to approve the following bils for
15 payment,seconded by Councilmember Hutton and by unanimous voice vote the motion carried.
16
17 Bills Already Paid
18 Payroll and Deductions 219,223.07
19
20 Investments Purchased From:
21 Cash Operating Fund 1,500,000.00
22 Bond Sinking Fund
23 Utility Bond Reserve Fund
24 Depreciation Reserve Fund 91,000.00
25 Insurance Reserve Fund
26 Consumer Deposit Fund
111 27 Cash Reserve Fund 161,500.00
28 Group Insurance Fund
29
30 Total Investments 1,752,500.00
31
32
33 Transfer from Cash Operating Fund to:
34 Cash Reserve Fund for payment
35 to City in lieu of taxes 161,500.00
36
37 Transfer from Cash Operating Fund to:
38 Depreciation Reserve Fund
39 for Property& Plant 91,000.00
40
41 Transfers from Depreciation Reserve to:
42 Cash Operating Fund
43
44 Transfers from Consumer Deposit to:
45 Cash Operating Fund
46
47 Transfers from Utility Bond Reserve Fund to:
48 Bond Sinking Fund
49
50 Transfers from Cash Operating to :
51 Interest and Bond Principal
52 Bond Sinking Fund
53 Cash Reserve Fund
54 Utility Bond Sinking Fund
55 56
Depreciation Reserve Fund
Insurance Reserve Fund
57 Consumer Deposit Fund
58
59 Interest and Bond Principal
60
61 End of Month Petty Cash
62 Revenue Bonds
63 Interest Coupons Redeemed
64 Bond Coupons
65 Miscellaneous Bills Already Paid 1,663,415.50
Total prepaid invoices 3,887,638.57
Total Bills Not Paid 618,541.68
Grand Total 4,506,180.25
RP&L Minutes Cont'd
April 3, 1995
Page 2
111 1 REMARKS BY CHAIRPERSON
2
3 There were no remarks.
4
5 UNFINISHED BUSINESS
6
7 There was none.
8
9 STREET LIGHT COMMITTEE REPORT
10
11 There was no report.
12
13 MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS
14
15 There was none.
16
17 REPORT BY GENERAL MANAGER
18
19 In the absence of General Manager Irving Huffman,James Daugherty, head of personnel, and Herschel Philpot,
20 financial manager,sat in on the meeting.
21
22 Philpot asked the Board for authorization to award the bid for the repair work on Unit No. 1 motor control center at
23 the Whitewater Valley station to Wagner/Smith for the lowest and best bid of$60,786.He said the other bid
24 received was from Cummins Electric for$123,000. Councilmember Parker so moved,second by Councilmember
25 McBride and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote.
26
27 Philpot asked the Board for authorization to accept bids to replace the 1986 Chevy Celebrity as a trade in on a
28 1995 front wheel drive four-door sedan to be used by the meter readers. Councilmember McBride so moved,
29 second by Councilmember Parker and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. In answer to a question
30 by Councilmember McBride, Philpot said the trade in has 79,475 miles, has been used by meter readers for two
31 or three years and is not in very good shape.
32
33 Daugherty informed the Board the roof is leaking at RP&L, noting that it started late last fall and is getting
34 progressively worse. He said when they were working on the budget last fall that TREMCO came in to do some
35 analysis of the roof and it was thought at the beginning it would take some ordinary maintenance,but final reports
36 which came back after the budgets were approved showed the damage to be quite extensive. He noted that 25
37 percent of the existing roof is going to have to be torn off and replaced. He said the statute allows to declare an
38 emergency and that is what exists since the water threatens to get into the computer equipment. He asked the
39 Board for a motion to declare an emergency, noting that they had taken bids from qualified contractors that
40 TREMCO recommended. He provided the Board with a summary of those bids and list of references TREMCO
41 has engineered. He added that TREMCO is a subsidiary of B.F.Goodrich and the 10-year warranty would come
42 from TREMCO and Goodrich. Councilmember McBride asked if the funds were available and Daugherty
43 answered they were but they had not been budgeted.
44
45 In answer to a question by Councilmember Dickman, Daugherty said 25 percent of the roof would be repaired,
46 noting that is about 12,600 square feet.Councilmember Dickman asked if any local contractors could provide this
47 repair service and Daugherty said he did not know,adding that they had worked through TREMCO.
48 Councilmember Allen asked about the other 75 percent of the roof and Daugherty said 25 percent is the new
49 addition which is about eight years old and the other 50 percent is the same age that is being repaired. He said
50 that is about 12 years old and only has small minor damage which can be taken care of with some ordinary
51 preventive maintenance of about$1,000 to$2,000 per year.
52
53 Councilmember Lundy asked if there is no contractor in town who could handle these jobs and Daugherty said he
54 could check but RP& L was geared and ready to go April 17 if the Board gives its approval. He added that
55 according to TREMCO no local contractors they work with could be ready to go to do this. He said the last roofing
56 job was advertised and no one from Richmond bid on that job. He said they chose TREMCO to set up preventive
57 maintenance, noting that the company is reliable and has contracts to do many of the other City properties.
58 Councilmember McBride moved to authorize the emergency work,second by Councilmember Allen and the
59 motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote.
60
61 Chairperson Elstro honored the request made by Damita Armstead to appear before the Board,stating that after
62 hearing her if the Board members decide the issue should go to executive session that is what will be done.
63 Councilmember Lundy asked about the whereabouts of Huffman and Philpot said he was on vacation. She stated
64 that the last time he was asked about the subject he was asked to be at this meeting.
65
RP&L Minutes Cont'd
April 3, 1995
Page 3
1 Armstead,who resides at 4173 Hodgin Road,said she would not be appearing before the Board tonight if
2 Huffman had allowed the Chairperson to look at her scores to compare them with the two applicants RP&L did,
3 in fact, hire.She said he denied the request which is why she is bringing it before the Board.She said she
4 requested a meeting with Huffman to ask why she had been denied employment at RP&L because she felt she
5 met the qualifications, and in fact had exceeded them.She said when she got to the meeting Philpot and
6 Daugherty were both in attendance as well as Huffman. She said she questioned their presence.
7
8 During that meeting,Armstead said, none of them could tell her why she was not selected.She stated that there
9 were 11 other applicants. Daugherty told her,she said,there were three areas they were looking at which were
10 appearance,testing and the interview process.When she asked which of these she did not meet, he told her she
11 was fine. She said she asked if she could have the test and at first that was denied, but then was allowed.When
12 she picked up the results she saw that they were good.She added that when she asked Huffman to allow
13 Chairperson Elstro and Councilmembers Hutton and Lundy to see them he denied the request.
14
15 Armstead said she is a ratepayer and spends$1,200 to$1,500 per year for electricity and also pays$100 in
16 economic development tax.She pointed out that it is the ratepayer who pays Huffman's salary and yet she is
17 denied this position at RP&L.She noted that one of the two applicants hired lives in Ohio and asked the question
18 that if she lives in Richmond and Wayne County and everything else is equal how can Huffman justify hiring
19 someone from across the state line. She said all the lady that lives in Ohio could have brought in that she couldn't
20 was the fact that she is Caucasian and Armstead is not.She stated that her 60 days to appeal is fast approaching
21 an end and she would like a decision as soon as possible and if she doesn't receive something she thinks is
22 adequate she will move on and will pursue it further.She added that she felt she had been done a disservice and
23 her intent is to follow through to right the wrong.
24
25 Councilmember Brookbank brought before the Board other problems in the Human Resources Department,
26 specifically asking the question as to why Pam Broering received a 9 percent salary increase after causing the RP
27 &L Board to pay out$18,000 in court fees. Chairperson Elstro said that is a personnel issue which is not going to
28 be discussed.Councilmember Brookbank said she realized the Board could not do anything about the employee
29 but many Board members feel that someone caused a woman to be fired because of marital jealousy.
30 Chairperson Elstro pounded the gavel and told Councilmember Brookbank she was out of order.Councilmember
31 Donat asked for an executive session to ask questions so Board members could understand more fully what has
32 happened in this situation,second by Councilmember Dickman and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice
33 vote.
34
35 ADJOURNMENT
36
37 There being no further business, on a motion duly made,seconded and passed the meeting was
38 adjourned.
39
40
41
42
43
44 Howard"Jack"Elstro,Chairperson
45
46
47
48
49 ATTEST:
50 Norma Carnes, City Clerk
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65