REGULAR BOARD MEETING

June 26, 2023

 

         The Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of Newberry Electric Cooperative, Inc. was held at the Newberry Electric Cooperative, Inc. located in Newberry County, State of South Carolina on Monday, June 26, 2023.

         Chairman Johnnie L. Dickert called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. followed by the invocation with the determination of a quorum present. 

         The Chairman reported that the following Board Members were present:

                        Barbara Bishop           Leon Fulmer               Craig Kesler

                        Blake Brigman            Melanie Hawkins        William Lominick

                        Johnnie Dickert          Doug Hipp                             

            Also present were President and CEO G. Keith Avery, Attorney Thomas H. Pope, III, and Executive Secretary Deirdre Murphy.  Mrs. Bishop attended by Web Ex, and Mr. John Nichols was absent.

            The Board dispensed with the reading of the minutes of the May 30, 2023 Regular Board Meeting.  A motion was made by Trustee Hipp to accept the minutes as emailed. The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.

            Chairman Dickert reported that the Finance Committee held its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.  The committee members are Trustees Johnnie Dickert, Craig Kesler, William Lominick, and John Nichols. All were present along with President and CEO Avery. 

            Chairman Dickert reported that the Finance Committee reviewed cash disbursements for May 2023.  All expenditures were in order, and the committee is presenting this report as general information.  The consensus of the board was to accept the report.

 Attorney Thomas H. Pope, III stated he needed an Executive Session.  Trustee Hipp made a motion to go into Executive Session.  The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.  After some discussion, Trustee Hipp made a motion to return to Regular Session.  The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.  No actions or voting took place during the Executive Session.

Attorney Pope explained a resolution from CoBank to extend a loan for CarolinaConnect and recommended that the officers sign the documents.  Trustee Hipp made a motion to accept the resolution.  The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.

Kevin Shull, Vice President of Engineering, briefed the trustees on a noise evaluation conducted by Davis & Floyd Engineering on June 14 concerning a customer’s complaint.  Solutions were discussed, and the consensus of the Board is to follow the engineering firm’s recommendations to install six storage containers to block the noise.

President Avery reviewed the functions and activities he attended or participated in during the month.  He attended a virtual G-20 meeting to discuss a settlement between Santee Cooper and a cooperative.  He also met with a representative from EZ Blockchain.  He attended a lunch for Senator Danny Verdin. 

           President and CEO Avery reviewed in detail the operational data for May 2023.  The amount of write offs for May is $3,814.79.  A motion was made by Trustee Hipp to accept this amount.  The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

           President and CEO G. Keith Avery reviewed the Engineering and Operations and Operational Support reports for the month. Engineering has begun installing Substations AMR Gateways.  They have also completed the Hollands Relay upgrade.  They are also continuing to identify and replace aging primary underground cable system wide.  Engineering is continuing to add isolation devices to minimize outage times.  EZ Blockchain is running at a constant load and looking to add an additional load.  Newberry Electric received the No Lost Time Accident Award for 2022 from Federated Insurance.

           The Central Electric Power Cooperative May 30, 2023 G-20 and the Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. June 7, 2023 Executive Committee Meeting Summaries were accepted as information.  The ECSC Board Meeting Highlights for June 6, 2023 was also accepted as information.

            Trustee Hipp attended the ECSC Trustee Association Meeting in June.  The Association wants to increase the annual dues from $500.00 to $1,000.00.  There has not been an increase since 2007.  Trustee Kesler made a motion to accept the increase.  The motion was seconded and passed without opposition. 

            President Avery reviewed information on the NRECA Regional to take place in October.  Six trustees expressed an interest in attending.  

            President and CEO Avery referenced a letter from Jim Matheson, President of NRECA International, requesting a donation to help along with Heifer International, to bring electricity to over 1,200 farmers and their families in northeastern Guatemala.  Trustee Kesler made a motion to donate $500.00.  The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.

            President Avery reviewed a letter from Anne Pinckney Smith, the Executive Director of the Newberry Opera House, asking NEC to consider renewing funding for the 2023-2024 season, which is also their 25th anniversary.  After some discussion, Trustee Kesler made a motion to increase the yearly donation to the Opera House.  The motion was seconded and passed without opposition. 

           President Avery directed attention to the Cooperative Electric Energy Utility Supply (CEE-US) Patronage Capital Certificate and dividend check for the year ending September 30, 2022.  This was accepted as information. 

           President and CEO Avery referenced a letter from Mike Couick, President and CEO of ECSC, asking if any trustees were interested in attending a luncheon for Congressman Jeff Duncan.  Two trustees and President Avery expressed interest in attending. 

           President Avery reviewed information on transitioning from DirectorPoint to BoardEffect for the trustees’ information software.  Several training sessions are set up for July, and recordings will be available. 

           President Avery reviewed CoBank documents for a Line of Credit extension for Newberry Electric and loan documents for CarolinaConnect.  Trustee Kesler made a motion to accept the documents’ changes.  The motion was seconded and passed without opposition. 

           Lyle Fulmer, son of Trustee Fulmer, was elected at the Washington Youth Tour to serve on the NRECA’s Youth Leadership Council.  He will be representing South Carolina at the NRECA Annual Meeting in Spring 2024.

            There being no further business and without objections, Chairman Johnnie L. Dickert adjourned the June Regular Board Meeting at 8:30 p.m.

 

___________________________________                                      ___________________

SECRETARY                                                                                     APPROVED

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CHAIRMAN