Board Spotlight: Board Discusses Planning, Wind Power, Banking
A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of SEMO Electric Cooperative, Inc., (hereinafter referred to as “Cooperative”) was held on Monday, December 21, 2020, at the office of the Cooperative in Sikeston, Missouri. The following Directors were present: Rick Faulkner, Butch Dirnberger, Carl Eftink, Dennis Fowler, Myron Hawes, James Deneke, Carla Moore, Keith Haynes, Dicky Hanor, Tim Coppage, John Bledsoe, Hamil Corse. Directors absent: none. Also present were Sean Vanslyke, CEO/General Manager; Megan Ray, General Counsel; Joe Wilkinson, Senior Vice President and Chief Member Relations Officer of AECI; and staff members Angie Byford, Amanda Burnett, Becky Ivester, Loyd Rice, Chris Freed, Marty Vineyard, Dannett Cooper, Ron Montgomery and Brad Milam.
The meeting was called to order at 12:57 p.m. by President Faulkner. A prayer of invocation was offered by Angie Byford. The chair asked for approval of the agenda. On motion made, seconded and passed, the agenda was approved. The Board considered its consent agenda consisting of: the minutes of the regular meeting of November 16, 2020; new membership applications; membership cancellations; initial review of Policy 301, Occupational Safety and Health Administration-Hazard Communication Standard; and initial review of Policy 302, Cooperative Funds.
Montgomery presented the monthly safety report. He shared information on the monthly safety focus about carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. CO is a gas that has no odor or color. But it is very dangerous. It can cause sudden illness and death. CO is found in combustion fumes, such as those made by cars and trucks, lanterns, stoves, gas ranges and heating systems. CO from these fumes can build up in places that don't have a good flow of fresh air. Following his report, Montgomery left the meeting.
Burnett reviewed the financial summary for the month of November 2020 with revenue and expense analysis, budget comparisons, and a review of the arrears report. Compared to budget, year-to-date expenses are down 7.31%, revenue is down 2.87% and power costs are down 3.43%.
Eftink reported on business from the M&A November and December meeting. Items of interest included: safety; FEMA; sales; reliability; construction; and finances. Haynes reported on business from the AMEC meeting. Wilkinson gave a presentation to the board covering the importance of having a well-defined crisis communication plan and the need for communications planning in general. He said Associated added power from two new wind farms in the northwest part of the state, bringing the cooperative’s total to eight wind farms and 1,240 megawatts.
Under old business the Board reviewed its schedule of meetings; Policy 231, Manager Compensation from Other Sources, was affirmed as presented; and Policy 233, Employee Business Ethics, was affirmed and presented.
Under new business the Board discussed uncollected electric accounts of $27,787 and fiber accounts of $25,177 to be written off; 2021 board meeting dates; and 2021 voting delegates for NRECA (National Rural Electric Cooperative Association) and CFC (Cooperative Finance Corporation). Burnett presented information regarding a new checking account to collect members’ electronic payments executed by the banks bill pay process. The account will allow a third-party online banking interface to electronically deposit these payments into the checking account. Third-party bill paying is a popular option, but banks may manually call to make the payment or aggregate the payments and wait until the last day to pay. Members are confused as they authorized the bank to make the payment several days earlier than it arrived at the cooperative. After discussion, on motion made, seconded, and passed, the board authorized utilization of a new checking account.
Ivester presented a subscriber update and provided information on sales. Rice discussed TV service issues and Milam provided information on fiber circuits and firmware updates. The board reviewed written staff reports. Department leaders were present to supplement their reports and to answer questions. The remaining staff members were excused from the meeting. Therefore, the Board entered into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters. There being no further business to come before the Board, on motion made, seconded and passed, the meeting was adjourned at 5:52 p.m.
