Reorganization Vote Held for the Lamar Utility Board

The Lamar Utility Board conducted a reorganization of the board, voting for and appointing members to specific posts during their regular August 13^th meeting.  The action was called for due to a continued vacant seat for one board member and the re-appointment of Doug Thrall to the board after his regular term expired.  The by-laws call for reorganization vote when this occurs.  Both city and the board are open to any resident who wishes to be considered as a new board member.  Contact the Light Plant for additional information at 336-7456.  Board members attend two meetings per month, at noon on the second and fourth Tuesdays.

Thrall will continue as board chairman and Leo Hernandez, who has seniority among the other board members, was voted in as vice-chairman. His time on the board does not necessarily have a bearing on his new position.  That leaves Pat Leonard and Clifford Boxley as active board members with Lamar Mayor Roger Stagner serving as a non-voting representative from the City of Lamar.  Don Steerman was re-appointed as Lamar Utility Board attorney and Houssin Hourieh was re-appointed as Lamar Light Plant Superintendent.  Stagner has indicated he will not run for re-election when the November ballot comes due, so a new liaison, historically the mayor, will be assigned.  Lamar City Administrator, John Sutherland, continues to serve in an interim capacity until his departure later this month.  He and Hourieh are the two Lamar delegates to the ARPA board and a future appointment will have to be made to fill his absence.  Holly will host the next ARPA board meeting on Thursday, August 29^th. Purchase Orders totaling $921,694 were approved, including $885,591.98 requiring specific approval from the board.  Of that, $845,098.64 was the figure for ARPA power purchases.  The payment of bills was approved, amounting to $128,593.48.

The board approved the purchase of 50 street light fixtures for stock inventory, amounting to $15,895 out of five bids received. Superintendent Hourieh explained that as the old lights burn out, the Plant will continue to upgrade to LED models and are purchasing the same brand currently being used by CDOT to maintain uniformity with other street lights.  He said the expected lifespan of the new lights is around 20 years.

Replacement work on failed front and rear generator bearings on the T-1 and 2 wind turbines has been completed. Work has also been completed on the Springfield T-5 unit including replacement of a generator cooling fan, two generator bearings and skip rings.  The ARPA turbine, T-4 was offline for two weeks and a replacement has been ordered and quotes are being sought for the T-3 turbine which requires repair for the generator’s mounting blocks.  He noted there was some sporadic power outages associated with last weekend’s storm, but they were quickly corrected, mostly in outlying areas west of Lamar.

By Russ Baldwin