REGULAR BOARD MEETING
August 31, 2020
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of Newberry Electric Cooperative, Inc. was held in the Newberry Electric Cooperative, Inc. Board Room located in Newberry County, State of South Carolina on Monday, August 31, 2020 at 6:32 pm. Chairman Johnnie L. Dickert presided. Trustee Blake Brigman was absent. The meeting was also available on Webex.
After the call to order, invocation, and establishing members present, Stephanie Sullivan, Operational Support Manager, presented a Broadband Update. NEC had applied for the ORS Fiber Grant to help with bringing broadband to the rural areas and was awarded 3.1 million for the project.
EJ Altman, Distribution Engineer, gave a Smart Thermostat Program presentation. Similar to the water heater program, the unit will be placed on the heat and air units and will work through Wi-Fi. After some discussion, Trustee Leon Fulmer made a motion to add this program to the 2021 budget with an estimate of $90,000. The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.
Trustee Craig Kesler made a motion to approve the Regular Board Meeting minutes from July 27, 2020 as emailed. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Finance Committee Chairman John Nichols reported that the Finance Committee met on Monday, August 24, 2020. All members were present, and they are submitting the finance report as information. The consensus of the Board was to accept the report.
Attorney Thomas Pope stated that he did not have an Attorney Report at this time. President and CEO G. Keith Avery reviewed his activity and meetings for the month. He had a G-20 meeting, and a meeting with KRA on a future expansion.
President Avery reviewed in detail the financial and operational data for July 2020. The amount of write offs for July is $1,172.83. Trustee Doug Hipp made a motion to accept this amount. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
President and CEO Avery, with Nick Shealy Vice President of Engineering and Operations, reviewed the Engineering and Operations, Operational Support, and IT reports for the month. Engineering is working on the blinking lights. Covid-19 precautions are still being observed. Five men are in Louisiana helping restore power from the storm.
The Trustees accepted as information the ECSC Board Meeting Highlights for August 6, 2020.
The Trustees reviewed information from ECSC to appoint a voting delegate and alternate for the Annual Meeting to be held on December 8, 2020. Also trustees need to be appointed to serve on the ECSC Board. After some discussion, Trustee William Lominick made a motion to appoint Trustee Dickert as the delegate, President Avery as the alternate, and both of them to serve on the ECSC Board. The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.
The Trustees accepted as information the Central Electric Power Cooperative August Executive Committee Meeting Report.
The Trustees accepted as information the Central Electric Power Cooperative M & ES Committee Meeting Report.
The Trustees accepted as information the Central Electric Power Cooperative FAR Committee Meeting Summary.
The Trustees reviewed the information for the NRECA Online Regional Week to be held October 12-16, 2020. After some discussion, Trustee Lominick made a motion to keep President Avery as the delegate and Trustee Nichols as the alternate for the meeting. The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.
The trustees also accepted as information a report from NRECA that moves the 2021 Annual Meeting to virtual events.
President Avery reviewed a donation request from Ronnie Cromer for SC Senate. After some discussion, Trustee Nichols made a motion to make a donation. The motion was seconded and passed without any opposition.
President Avery and Trustee Kesler reviewed a donation request for the Fall Harvest Meat Goat Show. After some discussion, Trustee Kesler made a motion to be a Gold Show Sponsor. The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.
The Trustees accepted as information the 1st Cooperative Credit Union memo on changes to their website.
There being no further business and without objections, Chairman Johnnie L. Dickert adjourned the August Regular Board Meeting at 8:40 pm.
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SECRETARY APPROVED
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CHAIRMAN