Summary of board’s meeting in September

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Posted on Nov 29 2020 in Decatur County REMC
  • The meeting was opened by Chairman Michael Brelage and Brian Scheidler kept the minutes of the meeting.
  • All board members were present, also present was CEO Brett Abplanalp, and employees Eric Busch, Rachel Sullivan, and Crystal Greathouse.
  • Upon motion made by Dale Wernke, seconded by Suzanne Parmer, and carried, the agenda was approved with Jeff Lawrence and Carl Riedeman opposing.

Safety Minute and Cool Moment – Brett Abplanalp

  • Breakfast with Brett resulted in a member forming a more personal relationship with the REMC and having a more in-depth understanding of his bill. Abplanalp also presented Michael Brelage and Carl Riedeman with their CCD certification plaques and Jason Barnhorst with his BLC certification plaque.
  • After an amendment by Dale Wernke, upon motion by Jason Barnhorst, seconded by Steve AmRhein, and carried, the minutes for the July 23, 2020, board meeting were approved.
  • The board then moved to executive session at 6:42 p.m. and reconvened at 7:09 p.m. 

Member Appreciation/EV Event – Rachel Sullivan

  • There will be a member event on Oct. 30 from 4 to 6 pm. It will be a drive-through style with ice cream, goodie bags and a $10 bill credit for all who attend. Hoosier Energy will provide two electric vehicles so interested members can learn more about them. They can ask questions about them and sit inside.
  • Sullivan then presented the marketing plan for Operation Round Up.

CEO Update – Brett Abplanalp

  • The CEO report was reviewed as presented on Call to Order. Abplanalp gave an update to the upcoming process for the vision, mission, and strategic plan. The project updates were reviewed including: the yearly safety improvement plan is on track to being completed by the end of the year, the construction work plan projects are behind for the year but the team is in process of planning the details for 2021-23, 2017-18 pole replacements on are track to being completed by the end of the year, the new bill print project will be completed for October bills, and then there was discussion on the priority of two active projects. Abplanalp then reviewed the monthly dashboard metrics.

Financial Update – Eric Busch

  • The financials were reviewed as presented on Call to Order. The board was presented with a revised format to review the monthly financials at the meeting. The focus of the materials is to highlight key items, any material variances, and provide trending of financial metrics. The internal financials (Balance Sheet, Statement of Operations, and Cash Flow) will continue to be provided to the full board monthly. For the month of August 2020, Operating Margins were at $213,524 compared to a budget of $121,850. Year-To-Date Operating Margins are at $1,005,956 compared to a budget of $614,175. The variances to budget for August and YTD are primarily due to controllable expenses being under budget. A large part of this is related to COVID-19. There was also discussion related to the REMC’s current cash position and margin surplus to budget. Management will work to provide more detail on the cash balance and provide the board with potential options.

Policy Reviews – Brett Abplanalp

  • Policy 1-8, Director Fees and Expenses, was reviewed. It was suggested to change 111.C. to read that the chairman authorizes the CEO to reimburse directors. A redline will be presented at the October meeting for approval.

Member Advisory Committee

  • The member advisory committee had a meeting on Sept. 15 but only two members attended. There was good discussion and feedback but there may be a need to invite a new group of members to hopefully boost participation.

Union Negotiation Director Committee

  • Michael Brelage asked if there were directors that would like to participate. Two directors said they would review their schedules and get back.

Commercial Tariff Recommendations

  • A redline was presented and upon motion by Steve AmRhein, seconded by Jason Barnhorst, and carried, the redlines were approved.

CFC Meeting Delegate

  • Upon motion by Steve AmRhein, seconded by Suzanne Parmer, and carried, Jason Barnhorst was appointed as the CFC meeting delegate.

Hoosier Energy Board/Committee Update – Jason Barnhorst

  • The board was presented with proposals for replacing the generation portfolio for the Merom coal-fired generation station. One of them included fossil fuels which was met with board members questioning why we would replace fossil fuel energy with fossil fuel energy. The other proposals were renewable energy solutions. The board authorized the CEO and her team to negotiate contracts on the board’s behalf.

Broadband Committee

  • The Broadband committee will meet Sept. 29 and report results of that meeting in the October board meeting.

IEC Director Election

  • Jason Barnhorst nominated Steve AmRhein. Suzanne Parmer nominated Jeff Lawrence. Nominations were closed and the ballots were cast. Steve AmRhein was elected IEC director.

IEC Annual Meeting Voting Delegate

  • Jason Barnhorst nominated Michael Brelage. There were no other nominations and Michael Brelage was named the IEC voting delegate.
  • Dale Wernke reported on a meeting of concerned members he attended. He was the only director invited to it. He stated that it went well and hoped to continue to work with members to alleviate their issues and hopefully allow other directors to meet with them as well.
  • Upon motion by Jason Barnhorst, seconded by Brian Scheidler, and carried, the meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m. to executive session.