Lamar Utilities Board meeting of October 28, 2025

The Lamar Utilities Board held a regular meeting on October 28, 2025. Board member Jill Bellomy was unable to attend.  Chairman Doug Thrall welcomed new City Administrator Mitch Hammes, who introduced himself and expressed how much he is enjoying Lamar so far.  First on the agenda was the approval of  minutes from the October 14 meeting followed by approval of purchase orders 2025-01009 through 2025-01229.  Of the total $36,131.80 in purchase orders, 3 totaling $7,595.36 needed board approval. These were: $6,603.75 to Minsait ACS, Inc for quarterly support, $7,595.36 to Western United Electric Supply for line materials, and $3,691.81 to McCandless Truck Center, LLC for truck repair. Payment of bills totaling $800,480.84 were approved, the largest of which was from ARPA in the amount of $700,330.64.  Other large bills included $46,175.56 to the county health pool, and $20,829.00 to the City of Lamar for sales tax.

Due to the ongoing Tyler System software conversion, there again were no reports on the July, August, or September financials.

Resolution #25-10-01 “A Resolution Adopting Certain Modifications to Rules and Regulation” was adopted by the board.  The resolution includes modifications to the Budget Billing Plan for residential customers.  (sheet R13). Specifically, it states that customers served under Residential Service Rates who do not have any past due payments, are not on a Payment Agreement or have no Discontinuance of Services pending may elect, at their option, to pay monthly bills for service on a Running Budget Plan beginning with any billing month.  The Budget Billing amount is calculated on a rolling average based on a 12-month period.  The 12-month period will be calculated by the current bill plus the previous 11 bills to determine the average amount billed each month.  In addition, 1/12 of any account balance or credit will be applied to the current monthly bill.  The Budget Billing Program will remain in effect unless a) the customer cancels or opts out from the program, b) services are discontinued by the customer, c) the customer transfers services to a new location, or d) the customer has past due payments or pays less than the budgeted payment.  If the customer discontinues services, transfers services, or opts out from the program, the remaining balance will be calculated and reflected on the next bill.  If the customer misses two payments or underpays for two billing cycles, normal Discontinuance of Service by the Board shall apply and the customer will not be allowed to re-enroll in Budget Billing for 12 months.  Other modifications addressed in the Resolution are to Sheet R21 which state that the Board will re-institute service to any customer whose service has been discontinued for non-payment during normal business hours, subject to full payment or the appropriate arrangements for payment of the past due amount, and subject to applicable charges for discontinuance and re-instituting of service on Page R45.  Finally, modifications to Sheet 54 state that if a customer desires to have ornamental type lighting and/or underground service to the lighting, the customer will be responsible for the cost difference between the desired lighting and the standard facilities as a non-refundable cost in aid of construction. The Board reserves the right to approve the type of ornamental lighting to which this section would be applicable.  For more information regarding this Resolution or for specific questions, please contact Lamar Light and Power directly, where a full copy of the Resolution will be posted.  Persons already enrolled in budget billing will be receiving a letter explaining the new system and how to opt out if they so choose.

The Superintendent’s System Operating Report stated that through the end of September, the wind turbines have generated 6,267.78 MWHs of electricity.  This is about 1.20% lower than the same period in 2024.  The turbines have an average capacity factor of 27.14% which is also lower than last year by about 2.86%.  When compared individually, T-3 ranked first, followed by T-1.  ARPA’s turbine, T-4, generated 3,060.42 MWHs.  The Springfield turbine generated 4,133.29 MWHs through the same period, with an average capacity factor of 42.10%.  The wind turbine crew completed the annual maintenance program on all four turbines per GE’s guidelines.  The line crew completed the upgrade of 2,000 feet of 3-phase, 25kv overhead power line east of Wiley.  This line will provide a backup feed to Wiley.  The crew also replaced a 40-foot, Class II wooden pole which failed testing on West Olive and replaced a 45-foot wooden pole that was struck by a vehicle west of Holly at 11:00 pm on October 18 – this caused a power outage to the north side of Holly for about 6 hours. A recent early morning car crash at Oak and 14^th Street destroyed two power poles, one owned by the city, causing a power outage for several homes in the area.

By: Barbara Crimond