Above: The Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. annual meeting on Saturday, June 19 wrapped up with a presentation of Operation Round Up funds to a variety of organizations in Cook County. Accepting grants were (L-R, front) Veronica Weadock, Care Partners; Louise Trachta, Tofte Fire Department; Becky Bartol, Explorer’s Club Child Care; Lynn Sheils and Landon, LOTS reading program; Gwen Bacon, Human Development Center and School Community Action Team; Michelle Hoy, Grand Portage Wisdom Steps and Grand Portage Community Gardens. (L-R, back) Karl Hansen, North Shore Health Care Foundation and Dragon Boat Festival; Barbara Jean Johnson, WTIP Community Radio; Kasia Schmidt, Lutsen Fire Department; Jody Yuhasey, Violence Prevention Center; Sherrie Moe, North Shore Dragon Boat Festival; Jerry Sivets, Boundary Waters Amateur Radio Club. Left: Arrowhead Electric said goodbye to longtime board members Alta McQuatters and Les Edinger at the annual meeting on June 19, 2010. They both had served for 12 years.
Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI) members gathered to enjoy a delicious pancake breakfast prepared by the Cook County girls’ softball team on Saturday, June 19, 2010. After pancakes, the co-op’s 57th annual meeting was convened, with AECI Board Chair Wayne Anderson welcoming the standing room only crowd.
Anderson announced the names of the cooperative members running for the board of directors—Tom Spence Sr. in District 7, Tofte; Forrest Parson and Daryl Popkes in District 3, Gunflint; and Tom Fredeen, Tim Goettl, Don Goodell, Marland Hansen, Scott Harrison, Sam Parker and Paul Quinn in District 6, Lutsen.
Members had to wait to see who would represent them on the co-op board though, as tellers counted ballots and guest speaker David Saggau, CEO of Great River Energy, addressed the membership.
Arrowhead’s power
provider reports
Saggau thanked the co-op for the opportunity to speak, noting that this was his second visit in a week. Arrowhead had just hosted a meeting of the 28 distribution system cooperatives served by Great River Energy (GRE).
Saggau talked about wholesale rates and how changing energy policies may impact electrical rates. He said the news was not “all bad” however, as the energy experts at GRE are predicting overall increases of 3% annually for the next five years, consistent with the consumer price index. But, he said, that could be impacted by things the power provider cannot control—the weather and legislation.
Saggau proudly reported that GRE was now producing 450 megawatts of wind power, which meets its renewable resource mandate until 2025. A member asked if GRE planned to continue to seek other renewable energy options, to “stay ahead of the curve.” Saggau said it was not likely, since wind power is not cost-effective. He said new energy alternatives would be “folded in slowly.”
Another member asked both Saggau and AECI Manager Don Stead if right-of-way clearing plans called for the use of herbicides. Stead said to save money, AECI was not using chemicals, but in the long run, it could cost the cooperative more, as mechanical treatment must be done more often. Saggau said GRE uses a combination of herbicide and mechanical treatment on its transmission lines. However, no chemical treatment is planned in Arrowhead service territory in the immediate future.
Saggau ended by saying, “We are big fans of your Operation Round Up program. Not all co-ops have this and we want to support you.” Saggau presented AECI Manager Don Stead with a check for $1,000 from GRE employees in support of Operation Round Up.
Arrowhead considers
restructured rates
Stead also talked about finances, noting that AECI had met its financial goals last year, although it was a bit of a struggle. Stead said like many other businesses, AECI was affected by the economic slowdown. He said normally the co-op gains 20-50 new electrical services each year. In 2009 there were only three new electrical services built. He said cost containment measures were taken such as no bonuses, reduction in overtime through clearing of power lines, and ending the contracted meter reading program. Stead also answered questions about the electrical facility charges. He acknowledged that the facility charge has gone up every year in recent years. He said the co-op is attempting to change the billing structure to keep fixed charges stable and variable costs variable. “We used to put everything on the kWh cost. So the facility cost has been going up, but the kWh charge has been relatively flat.”
He said the co-op is considering implementing increment pricing, charging 10 cents for the first 600 kwh used; 11 cents for the next 600; and 12 cents for the next 600. Stead said, “The more you use, the more you would pay.” He said the cooperative is also looking at “real-time” pricing, which would allow members to know when rates are lower so they could make decisions on when to run a dishwasher or do laundry.
A member noted that the increased facility charge would hit seasonal members the hardest. Board Member Keck Melby said that may be, but there is a 5% line loss going to seasonal properties whether they are using electricity or not. “That is factored into the base rate and consumption rate,” said Melby.
Another person asked if members would have any say in the matter. Stead replied, “That is why we are here today, so you can elect your board of directors to represent you.”
New board members
After a few more questions, the teller committee returned with election results. Elected to the board of directors were Forrest Parson in District 3; Scott Harrison in District 6; and Tom Spence in District 7.
Stead thanked Les Edinger and Alta McQuatters for their service on the board of directors from 1998 to 2010. They were each presented with a plaque and McQuatters took a moment to wish her replacement well. She shared a photograph of the hydroelectric plant that once stood on the Poplar River. She thanked the members who voted for her through the years and allowed her to be on the board. She remembered her father worked to bring power to Cook County. She said she was happy to see that two of his goals had been fulfilled. She said he wanted to see the cooperative have a bigger building. And she said, his main goal was safety. She said two relatives had perished in electrical accidents and another was seriously injured. “Thank you to Don and Jeanne for our safety program, and I commend our linemen for staying current in their safety training.”
McQuatters said she had enjoyed all of her 12 years on the board and grinned, “I’m ready to come back!”
Operation Round Up awards
The favorite part of the annual meeting for many is the awarding of Operation Round Up grants. Before turning the microphone over to Customer Service Representative Georgene Daubanton, Anderson said the program doesn’t cost any co-op member more than 99 cents a month. “And it adds up to a lot of good,” he said.
Daubanton thanked the members of the Operation Round Up Trust board—Sue Prom, Jim Holmen, Floyd Pearson, LaVonne Anderson, and Mary Petz. “Operation Round Up is near and dear to my heart,” she said.
Sixteen organizations received a total of $8,946.
Grants were
awarded to:
• North Shore
Collaborative for the
Learning Opportunities
Through Stories (LOTS)
program, $1,000.
• North Shore
Dragon Boat Festival,
$500 for family-related
activities.
• North Shore
Music Association,
$500 for microphones
• Violence Prevention
Center, $200 for a
new sign on its building
• Explorer’s Club
Child Care, $250 to
help with transporting
children to various field
trip destinations
• Tofte Fire
Department, $400 for
a wye hose connection
• WTIP radio,
$500 to help support
a headlining band at
the Radio Waves Music
Festival
• North Shore
Visitation Center,
$500 to help with costs of
supervised visits
• Human
Development Center,
$1,200 for socialization
activities for clients
• Good Harbor
Hill Players, $600 to
help fund the Summer
Solstice Puppet Pageant
• School Community
Action Team, $750
to bring a trainer to train
educators and parents
on how to engage and
nurture teens
• Grand Portage
Wisdom Steps, $300
for 26 elders to attend an
Anniversary Celebration
• Grand Portage
Community Garden,
$300 toward cost of
equipment
• Boundary Waters
Amateur Radio
Operators, $856 for a
power amplifier for radio
repeaters
• Lutsen Fire
Department, $440 for
rescue equipment
• North Shore Health
Care Foundation,
$1,000 to provide RN
supervision and insurance
coverage for Care Partner
volunteers
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