The Arrowhead Cooperative crew—or most of it, that is. Newly reelected Director Keck Melby is not pictured. (L-R) Acting General Manager Joe Buttweiler, Director Les Edinger, Accounts Representative Sara McManus, Director Mike Littfin, Accounts Representative Molly Wickwire, Lineman Brian Schroeder, Customer Service Representative Sandy Petty, Operations Manager John Twiest, Administrative Assistant Kari Carter, Operations Assistant Rose Thoreson, Lineman Donald Sorlie, Director Tom Spence, Engineering Technician Steve Waver, Director Sharon Bloomquist, Director Howard Abrahamson. (Not pictured Financial & Administration Manager Jenny Kartes, Lineman Jerry Paine, Lineman Aaron Sjogren, Right of Way Technician Mickey Brazell, Communications Lineman Andrew Strand and Directors Scott Harrison and Keck Melby.)
After a hearty pancake breakfast served by the Cook County High School softball team, an interesting and moving video about the lives—and hazards—of electric line workers and their families, and a flag ceremony courtesy of the Girl Scout Northern Lights Flag Corps, the members of Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. got down to business at the 61st annual meeting at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on Saturday, June 7.
Arrowhead Board President Mike Littfin welcomed the crowd of nearly 100 people and thanked them for their participation in the meeting. He said he hoped they appreciated the video about the nation’s hardworking linemen. He said it is a true representation of the dangers linemen face and he said thank you to the Arrowhead line workers.
Littfin thanked all of the Arrowhead employees, especially the cooperative’s management team. “They are our ‘A’ team, but we also call them the ‘J’ team—Joe, Jenny and John.”
He was speaking of Acting General Manager Joe Buttweiler, Financial & Administration Manager Jenny Kartes, and Operations Manager John Twiest. Buttweiler also thanked members for participating and said, “We’re a cooperative and it can’t happen without your support.”
Broadband beginning to be available
Buttweiler said he hoped everyone had the opportunity to visit Arrowhead’s various informational booths—Electric Town, with its safety message; the lighting display powered by bicycle; and the Broadband station.
“Broadband is the question of the day, of the year— of the last three years,” said Buttweiler, acknowledging that the Broadband build-out has taken a lot longer than the cooperative had wished.
Finally though, Buttweiler said, the project is nearing the end of the construction phase. He said there are about 100 more miles to be completed. Buttweiler said 715 miles of fiber had been placed throughout Cook County— enough to run a continuous line from Grand Marais to Springfield, Illinois.
Some good news, said Buttweiler, is that the project is ahead of the projected budget. He said about $16 million had been spent so far on the almost $21 million project. “The balance is $4,378,979,” he said, noting 87 percent of construction is completed with 78 percent of the budget spent.
Buttweiler talked about the Internet speeds that would be available to customers, offering comparisons to satellite and ATT/Verizon “hot spots.”
Buttweiler also presented a proposed schedule of when service would be available, acknowledging that the timeline may be disappointing for customers on the east end of the county and up the Gunflint Trail. “We want to be realistic and set realistic expectations. If we can exceed those expectations, good. But we want to be realistic, based on how long construction takes and the work that Arrowhead staff can do.”
Arrowhead working to keep rates down
Buttweiler said Arrowhead continues to focus on its core offering, electricity. “While Broadband is a very important thing, no matter how great fiber is, if you don’t have power, you don’t have Internet. That’s still the most important piece of the cooperative.”
Buttweiler said, “Electricity continues to be a good deal.”
He said that the cooperative’s service availability had been unchanged since 2011. He said rates had not changed since 2012.
Buttweiler said Arrowhead, and its power provider, Great River Energy work together to try to keep prices low. He noted that the increased prices of propane and natural gas, as well as transmission constraints, make it a challenge.
Buttweiler spoke briefly about off-peak heat and dual fuel programs and encouraged members to contact the cooperative to learn more.
He also reported on reliability investments to the electrical system, including right of way management. Management calls for mechanical treatment only; no spraying is planned in 2014.
The cooperative is also working on a Hovland to Grand Portage rebuild, Grand Portage to the Canadian border installation and Gunflint Trail underground work. Addressing climate change concerns
Buttweiler said Great River Energy was being proactive regarding President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, which directs the Environmental Protection Agency to work with the energy industry to reach the goal of reducing carbon emissions by at least three billion metric tons cumulatively by 2030.
Buttweiler said GRE is moving ahead to meet the requirements, without a mandate, thanks in part to Arrowhead Director Tom Spence, who was instrumental in writing the plans and the resolution that set them in motion.
GRE plans a number of actions to curb greenhouse gases including reducing carbon dioxide emissions, ensuring solid waste is diverted to GRE’s waste-to-energy plant, instead of landfills and to develop solar projects in cooperation with member cooperatives.
Part of the plan includes the installation of a 250k solar array at GRE’s headquarters, to be completed and in service this summer. More exciting is a solar array planned for Arrowhead’s Lutsen headquarters. The solar array will be built behind the cooperative’s maintenance building and should be in service in the fall of 2014.
Arrowhead is also looking at expanding its solar array through a “Community Solar Option.” Members can elect to voluntarily contribute to the construction of additional solar panels or portions of panels. The panel output would be credited to the member’s monthly statement. “This will be another source of energy,” said Buttweiler. “We hope you are excited about this as we are!”
Members interested in participating in a Community Solar Option should contact the cooperative at (218) 663- 7239.
Keck Melby continues as director
Election results were announced—Keck Melby was reelected to continue to represent the Hovland/Grand Portage area. Melby was the first cooperative board member to strongly support Arrowhead’s Broadband initiative. He encourages members to submit ideas to Arrowhead about additional services Broadband can bring to the community.
Plenty of Q&A participation
The floor was opened to questions and there were many—about greenhouse gas regulations, about off-peak heat rates, Broadband rates and business prices. There were many questions about how the solar array would be affected by North Shore weather.
Finally, the audience ran out of questions, some terrific door prizes were awarded and members headed home to enjoy the electricity that they so often take for granted.
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