HomeMy Public PortalAbout02-01-1988 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, FEBRUARY 1, 1988
1 The Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana,serving as a Board in charge of the operation of the
2 Richmond Power& Light Plant, met in regular session February 1, 1988 at the hour of 7:00 P.M. in the Municipal
3 Building in said City. Chairman Williams presided with the following Councilmembers in attendance: Elstro, Brook-
4 bank, McBride, Parker, Hutton, Morris and Paust. Absent: Hankinson. The following business was had to-wit:
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6 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JANUARY 19,1988
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8 Councilmember Parker moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as prepared,
9 seconded by Councilmember Hutton and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried.
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11 APPROVAL OF BILLS. INVESTMENTS AND TRANSFERS
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15 Bills Already Paid
16 Payroll and deductions 1/22/88 169,836.83
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18 Investments Purchased :
i9 Cash Operating Fund 1,475,000.00
20 Bond Sinking Fund .00
21 Utility Bond Reserve Fund 666,477.45
22 Depreciation Reserve Fund 190,988.65
23 Cash Reserve Fund 126.000.00
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25 Total Investments 2,458,466.10
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27 Transfers from Cash Operating :
28 Bond Sinking Fund .00
29 Cash Reserve Fund 126,000.00
30 Utility Bond Sinking Fund .00
31 Depreciation Reserve Fund .00
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33 Total Transfers 126,000.00
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35 Interest Coupons Redeemed .00
36 Coupons Purchased 103,087.50
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38 Miscellaneous Bills Already Paid 1,101,881.93
39 Total Bills Not Paid 639,303.25
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41 Grand Total of All Approved Bills 4,598,575.61
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44 Upon recommendation of the Finance Committee,Councilmember Parker moved to approve the investments pur-
45 chased,transfers made and bills to be paid, seconded by Councilmember McBride and on unanimous voice vote
46 the motion was carried.
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48 REMARKS BY CHAIRMAN
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50 Chairman Williams said it was his job as Chairman to preside over the meetings and see that the agenda is in line,
51 not for the position to be used for speech making. He said he will attempt to do this and, if necessary, will request
52 the Vice Chairman to preside if he wants to make comment.
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54 UNFINISHED BUSINESS
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56 None.
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58 STREET LIGHT COMMITTEE REPORT
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60 Councilmember Morris reported that Councilmember McBride had presented a request for a street light n N.W. L
61 Street and after investigation had given approval of the Street Light Committee.
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63 REPORT BY GENERAL MANAGER
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65 In the absene of General Manager Huffman, Mr. Richard Barker addressed the state of the utility.
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RP&L Minutes Cont'd
February 1, 1988
Page 2
1 Mr. Barker informed the Board that Richmond Power& Light is one of the most successful and innovative utilities
2 in the country with one of the lowest rates in the mid-west.
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4 Mr. Barker said in a comparison of commercial rates in five mid-west states, Indiana has the lowest rates and
5 RP&L out performs the Indiana average. On the residential side, RP&L rates 100th in the State out of 102 with In-
6 diana&Michigan rating 58th. RP&L has had no base rate increase since 1980 and have adequate cash flow for
7 capital projects, economic growth and emergency situations.
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9 Mr. Barker said that RP&L has returned over 2,000,000.00 to the City in lieu of taxes and support for the Econom-
10 is Development Office. Mr. Barker reminded the Board the utility had been selected by EPRI and EPA as the site
11 for the LIMB Project.
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13 Mr. Barker stated that on the Technical and Design side the service availability index is 99.9%compared to a
14 99.6%Indiana average. He said there is also a fine technical and administrative staff and that RP&L is the only
15 non-investor owned utility represented on a General Electric founded corporation.
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17 Mr. Barker explained to the Board that five years ago they installed a supervisory control and data acquiring sys-
18 tem at a cost of only 700,000.00 with the assistance of their own staff personnel. He said this was the most
19 unique, advanced and innovative system in the country and they anticipate another five years use from the sys-
20 tem.
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22 He said they are now developing their own management information system since none available could do what
23 they wanted. The operating departments have almost tripled productivity and efficiency and they are now building
24 a fibre optic telecommunications network.
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26 Mr. Barker stated that RP&L provides more and better support services than any other and are relied on for their
27 technical support. He ended by saying that they have built a good reputation of national proportions, including six
28 of the local staff serving on APPA committees.
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30 Chairman Williams said they should be proud of accomplishments, management and staff and they are headed i
31 the right direction.
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33 ADJOURNMENT
34 There being no further business,on a motion duly made,seconded and passed the meeting was adjourned.
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38 Marion Williams, Chairman
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40 ATTEST:
41 Mary Merchanthouse, City Clerk
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