2003 11 05 BAWA Minutes•
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE BAYTOWN AREA WATER AUTHORITY
November 5, 2003
The Board of Directors of the Baytown Area Water Authority, Harris County, Texas, met in
special session on Wednesday, November 5, 2003, in the Lobby, 7425 Thompson Road,
Baytown, Texas, with the following in attendance:
Robert L. Gillette, President
Dan Mundinger, Vice President
Peter Buenz, Secretary
Knox Beavers, Board Member.
Absent was: Dan Conejo, Board Member.
The meeting opened with a quorum present, and the following business was conducted:
Consider approval of the minutes for the meeting held on October 15, 2003.
Board Member Buenz moved approval of the minutes of the meeting held on October 15, 2003.
Board Member Beavers seconded the motion. The vote follows:
Ayes: Board Members Buenz, Beavers, and Mundinger
President Gillette
Nays: None.
The motion carried.
Consider Proposed Resolution No. 031105-1, authorizing the General Manager and/or Plant
Manager to execute an agreement on behalf of the Baytown Area Water Authority with a retail
electric provider.
Proposed Resolution Number 031105-1 authorizes the General Manager and/or Plant Manager to
execute a contract on behalf of Baytown Area Water with a retail electric provider. This will
allow the Authority to respond to changes in the electric retail market and take advantage of
favorable pricing. Fred Pack, Plant Manager, explained that the current contract for electricity
expires on December 31, 2003. The Finance Department is busy seeking new bids for electric
power. The authority granted in the proposed resolution gives administration the ability to
respond to the quickly changing market to lock in the most advantageous terms for the Authority.
President Gillette asked if the meeting was called at the special date to give staff authority to
make the decision rather than the Board, because calling a meeting could preclude the Authority
from securing the most advantageous rates. Mr. Pack assured him that he was correct.
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Minutes of the Special Meeting —November 5, 2003
Board Member Buenz moved approval of the proposed resolution. Board Member Mundinger
seconded the motion. The vote follows:
Ayes: Board Members Buenz, Beavers, and Mundinger
President Gillette
Nays: None.
The motion carried.
Consider Proposed Resolution No. 031105-2, authorizing an electric sales agreement with the
Texas General Land Office.
Proposed Ordinance No. 031105-2 authorizes an electric sales agreement with the Texas General
Land Office ("GLO") for the purchase of electricity through the state power program. The
program allows the land commissioner to convert oil and gas royalties from public land into
electricity and sell it to public schools, state universities, state agencies and local governments at
a discount. Under this program, Reliant Energy Retail will purchase the state's natural gas and
arrange for the generation and delivery of electricity to the participating public entities at a
discounted rate, off of the Reliant Energy/HL&P base rate. The City of Baytown participated in
this program prior to electric deregulation, which commenced on January 1, 2002. Since
deregulation, BAWA has participated in the aggregation group established by the H-GAC
Energy Purchasing Corporation; and BAWA's contract with HGAC expires on December 31,
2003. While the proposed ordinance approves the agreement, the same will not be executed until
BAWA obtains indicative pricing from the GLO as well as HGAC and any other retail electric
provider or aggregation group so that the best value to BAWA can be determined. This
proposed ordinance preserves BAWA's option in locking in an advantageous rate with the GLO
since rates change daily. The rate that BAWA approves may be for a one-year, two-year or
three-year term.
Board Member Buenz moved approval of the proposed resolution. Board Member Beavers
seconded the motion. The vote follows:
Ayes: Board Members Buenz, Beavers, and Mundinger
President Gillette
Nays: None.
The motion carried.
Manager 's Report.
Mr. Pack informed the Board that several bids for chemicals would be ready for consideration at
the December meeting. He asked if the Board would prefer to meet on December 10, as opposed
to the regular meeting date of December 17. The Board, by consensus, agreed to meet on
December 10.
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Minutes of the Special Meeting —November 5, 2003
Mr. Pack reported that staff will schedule interviews with engineering firms for the design of the
new transmission line on Wallisville Road during the January meeting. Staff will select three
firms to make presentations to the Board and the Board will select the firm.
Mr. Buenz asked that the Board be provided with a projection for future distribution/transmission
lines.
Adjourn
As there was no further business to be transacted, the meeting adjourned at 8:08 a.m.
Assistant Secretary
