HomeMy Public PortalAbout10-07-1974 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, SERVING AS
A COMMITTEE IN CHARGE OF THE OPERATION OF THE
RICHMOND POWER & LIGHT PLANT, OCTOBER 7, 1974
1 The Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana, met in regular
2 session October 7, 1974 at the hour of 7:00 p.m. in the Council
3 Chambers in the Municipal Building in said City serving as a committee
4 in charge of the operation of the Richmond Power & Light Plant. Mr.
5 Merchanthouse presided with the following members present: Messrs.
6 Brown, Cornett, Elstro, Geier, Marino, Mills and Williams. Absent:
7 None. The following business was had to-wit:
8
9 Greg Merchanthouse, Chairman of the Board, commented as follows:
10 "Before moving on to regular business, I think a few words are in
11 order regarding the death last week of Councilman Shields.
12
13 Dr. Shields fought cancer for many months. During this time he
14 managed to attend many of our Board meetings and contributed
15 greatly. His wisdom and intelligence were highly regarded by
16 all of us.
17
18 Dr. Shields was a good Board member, but more importantly, he
19 was a good friend to all of us. "
20
21 Mr. Williams moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting,
22 seconded by Mr. Mills and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried.
23
24 Mr. Elstro moved to approve the following bills , seconded by Mr. Cor-
25 nett, and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried.
26
27 APPROVE THE FOLLOWING:
28 Bills in the amount of $ 226,993.26
29 Interest Coupons 16,715.00
III30 2 Payrolls 121 ,570.15
31
32 INVESTMENTS PURCHASED:
33 Cash Reserve Fund $ 122,760.00
34 Consumers Deposit Fund 15,000.00
35
36 C.D. 's Maturing 12/29/75,
37 yielding 9.5% Interest.
38
39 Mr. Irving Huffman, General Manager, reported that last Thursday, the
40 Public Service Commission approved Mishawaka's request for a rate
41 increase. He said this indicates the local utility will be given its
42 requested ten per cent rate increase.
43
44 Mr. Huffman said it is getting more difficult to obtain the coal supply
45 for Richmond Power & Light. More freight cars are available to deliver
46 the coal , but now miners threaten strikes and this creates a supply
47 problem.
48
49 The slowdown at the mines could mean less coal and less ability for
50 the city owned utility to generate electricity. This could result in
51 the need to buy more power from Indiana & Michigan Electric Co. to
52 supply customers. Coal on the open market is $46.00 per ton which is
53 reflected in the fuel clause.
54
55 The utility burns 600 tons daily in generation needs. It has a 55 day
56 supply on hand. Mr. Huffman indicated the stock pile could be extended
57 to 110 days by buying more power.
58
59 Mr. Robert Lawson, international representative of the I .B.E.W. appeared
60 appeared before the Board saying the union won bargaining rights by a
61 70 - 11 vote July 1 , 1974. He stated that a letter was sent to Mr.
62 Huffman requesting recognition and that Mr. Huffman refuses to recognize
63 the I.B.E.W. We are only asking for recognition he said.
64
RP&L Minutes
October 7, 1974
Page 2
1 Bill Johnson, employee of Richmond Power & Light, said he would like
2 for this Board to meet with the employees of Richmond Power & Light
3 and the representatives of the I.B.E.W. for the purpose of getting
4 the facts on the table to clear up the confusion.
5
6 E.J. Bailey, international representative of the I .B.E.W. , said,
7 "We are here at the beckoning of the employees of the Richmond Power
8 & Light Plant and the I.B.E.W. is here to stay".
9
10 Bill Wright, president of the local Communications Workers of
11 America Union, General Telephone Co. , said 250 members support the
12 light plant workers' desire to have a bargaining agent.
13
14 Greg Merchanthouse, Chairman of the Board, said, "We are interested
15 in doing what is best for the Richmond Power & Light employees and
16 the citizens of Richmond".
17
18 City Attorney Robert Burton stated the light plant is municipally-
19 owned and the Board will not be intimidated by threats of unrest. He
20 said the Board will act in good faith for the citizens as it has been
21 and will follow the law that strikes by public employees are illegal .
22
23 There being no further business on motion duly made, seconded and
24 passed, the meeting was adjourned.
25
26
27 Greg Merchanthouse
28 Chairman
29
30 ATTEST: Margaret Mellen
31 City Clerk
32