Marblehead Municipal Light meeting, Feb. 27
LWVM observer: Maggie Smist
In Attendance:
Light Commissioners Jean Jacques Yarmoff, Michael Hull, Simon Frechette and Chair Lisa Wolf
Light Department: General Manager Joe Kowalik, Colin Coleman and Matt Barrett
1.Call to Order at 4:40 p.m.
Minutes approved, reading of land acknowledgement and there were no public comments
2. Outstanding items and requests from previous meetings
a) Polco survey (employee satisfaction survey) – Kowalik spoke to Polco yesterday about concerns of MMLD. Small employee population so identifiable demos will NOT be used on the survey (gender, age etc).
MMLD wants to emphasize confidentiality and anonymity of employees. There will be no way to track back to the employee. Survey will be mailed to employees by Polco and will take 15 minutes to complete.
The MMLD will see questions before they go out. A summary report will be provided back to MMLD once info is gathered. Polco is preparing the price for the survey and MMLD would like to get it done by the end of April.
b) FY 2023 goals review: Progress tracking report was sent out over the weekend by Kowalik on a word document. Commission members should review and send comments on goals directly to him.
c) FY 24 goals setting: Kowalik proposed some minor wording changes to a few items on the objectives document which were briefly discussed. This document was voted and approved.
d) FY24 budget comparison with FY23 budget and actuals. Financial spreadsheets were reviewed, and this included the expanded headcount. There a discussion about reviewing portfolio reallocation for 2024 and the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company will come to discuss in March when all of the commissioners are in attendance.
3. Itemize payroll for expected new hires.
Green Marblehead Committee and MMLD are aligning goals and priorities. Lisa Wolf introduced the new Sustainable Coordinator Logan Casey. Casey gave his past work experience and how he started a car-share program. He will be working initially on transportation with bike plan/EV chargers and town buildings where he will work with the DPW and the Town Planning Department especially with all the municipal buildings. All of this will involve applying for state and federal grants. He discussed Green Communities and working with them as Marblehead moves forward. Green Communities will open us up for more grant funding.
Wolf presented out a planning document to begin aligning Green Marblehead with MMLD with carbon free goals. She reviewed the MMLD goal and Logan will begin working on this document after he has settled in a bit more.
MMLD goals are 10-20 year goals. Kowalik asked for more specifications on these goals which will be discussed in March. There was further discussion on Casey’s work in town and the coordination between the departments in town.
4. General manager updates
a) Critical hires IST (Information Services) manager positions will have interviews next week and Frechette and the new HR director will be assisting Kowalik with interviews. Wolf asked if this will possibly become an assistant GM in the future. Kowalik said this is possible as the position is crucial for working with the billing systems and other infrastructure.
Future work with MMWEC will also rely on good and timely data. Capital project manager position is the new focus of the recruiter. A posting is being prepared for a new department mechanic.
b) Tioga Way
A map was reviewed of the battery electric storage facility along Tioga Way/Hood Lane. The site looks adequate and Kowalik will begin working on easement access. An outside engineering firm will likely be contacted about a final evaluation of the full parcel including drainage and the wetlands. There was a discussion about whether to install ballistic walls which would be quite expensive (about $500K,000). There was further discussion about battery storage options and further expansion.
c) Village 13
Kowalik stated there have been two bid documents sent out. Land Bridge Precast contract signed. Bridge install bids are opened on Feb. 28 and work should be done by early May. Transformer will be delivered on April 29. There was a discussion about timing of project and minimizing costs with the project. Kowalik would like the MMLD to speak to the Select Board further about the project scope and timing.
d) Power portfolio and actuals
Good news: wholesale power costs were down 6.3% and total wholesale power costs down 4%. ISO NE peak was in September and those costs are down 16.9% which gives us capacity cost relief in 2024.
Sobering news: Carbon free generators such as wind and nuclear didn’t perform as well in 2023, and the carbon free percentage of the MMLD portfolio was down to 41% from 44%. There was a discussion about the results and what that may mean.
e) Pilot (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) payment to the town
Kowalik was approached about this. Usually the MMLD votes on this in March. There is data out there on how it will impact rates. The MMLD will discuss this further in March once they can analyze the data. It was discussed how Green Marblehead surcharges may also affect cost to ratepayers.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 26.
5. Meeting adjourned at 5:58 p.m.
