Chairman Steve AmRhein opened the meeting, and Brian Scheidler kept the meeting minutes.

All board members were present; Clay Nuhring, Jason Barnhorst, and Suzanne Parmer were virtual. Also present were CEO Brett Abplanalp and employees Matt Raver and Jeanne Loechle. Special guest John Cassady, CEO of Indiana Electric Cooperatives (IEC), was in attendance.

Steve Nobbe moved to approve the agenda. Dale Wernke seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

SAFETY MINUTE AND COOL MOMENT

Abplanalp covered the building’s tornado shelters as a safety measure with tornado season upon us. The cool moment highlighted the work completed on the potential fiber project.

IEC PRESENTATION

Cassady gave an update on events at IEC. There was also a question-and-answer session.

APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES

Jason Barnhorst moved to approve the minutes from the Jan. 24, 2024, board meeting. Nobbe seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

CEO UPDATE

Abplanalp updated the board on strategic projects: operations Kaizen event, work management software integration, organization open/filled positions, 2024 prioritized project list, and culture and vision work. He then covered the company metrics as prepared on CTO. January’s median temperature was 11.8% cooler than our five-year average. Wholesale purchased energy was up 2.2% when compared to our five-year average, with demand -1.8% higher than our five-year average. Year-to-date (YTD) energy sales ended 8.6% above budget. There was no major storm for the month of January. Lost consumer hours were 1,778 compared to our five-year average of 1,832. The number of outages was 61 compared to our five-year average of 34.

FINANCIAL UPDATE

Raver gave the financial update. Net utility plant increased $165,942 in January and our current equity is 61.28%. Revenues are over the YTD budget, and power costs are over, resulting in a gross margin above the budget of $80,257 YTD. Controllable expenses are under budget by $40,620. The cash flow statement shows a beginning balance of $587,558, and we ended the current month with a net decrease in cash of $123,471, resulting in an ending cash balance of $464,087.

NEW BUSINESS

HOOSIER ENERGY ANNUAL MEETING DELEGATE

Schielder nominated Nobbe as the Hoosier Energy annual meeting voting delegate; no other nominations were made.

Schielder moved to approve the candidate. Wernke seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

HOOSIER ENERGY DIRECTOR ELECTION

Wernke nominated Barnhorst as the Hoosier Energy director; no other nominations were made. Wernke moved to approve the candidate. Nobbe seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

COMMUNITY TRUST REPORT

The board reviewed the organizations that were granted through the RoundUp program.

Redlines were presented for the following policies: 10-06: Holiday and Personal Leave Days, 10-01: Salary Wage Administration, 10-22: Use of Corporate Electronics, and 10-19: Employee Job Training & Safety – Bloodborne Pathogens.

Nobbe moved to approve the redlines. Wernke seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS

NOMINATING COMMITTEE CANDIDATES

Barnhorst nominated Bill Huffmeyer and Patti Fischer as the candidates for District 7.

FIBER PROJECT UPDATE

Abplanalp reviewed the areas covered by the grants submitted for state funding (six grants, entire territory). He also covered the partnership details with SEI Communications.

Barnhorst updated the board on Hoosier Energy. Hoosier’s annual meeting is coming up on April 3.

AmRhein gave an IEC update. This included the location change for IEC and the upcoming director retreat, which will offer education on the weekend for working directors.

Wernke moved to adjourn the meeting, and Nobbe seconded it. The motion passed unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned at 7:28 p.m.