PUD busy with pay, recordings, water issues

The Wahkiakum PUD met Tuesday to discuss computer and other issues.

Westend resident Pam Anderson was present to question the board what is needed for a water connection on the Westend. She said she had signatures of residents interested in the project.

Manager Dave Tramblie told her the project is very large in scale. He said it was the opinion of the board that the PUD had their hands full with other projects at this time.

He told Anderson that if residents on the Westend are interested in pursuing a project to obtain water, they would need to form a local improvement district.

Tramblie reported he has spoken with the electric firm of Brown & Keiser and they are looking into a backup system for the Grays River substation.

He said that there is a fairly large transformer available of a similar age of the existing transformer, but he said that because of the location, he is unsure of getting the “new” transformer to the location because of its size.

More research was needed before a decision was made, he said.

Auditor Erin Wilson reported that after a conference in Spokane she has learned more about the importance of network security, not just for Wahkiakum PUD, but each individual district.

The conference covered a lot of technical information which would be imperative for the computer system, she said, and it may be a good idea to have someone available who would be able to keep up with computer system changes.

Wilson said she met with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) last week and turned in the bulk of information of storm damage. She said the PUD still hasn't been billed for the work that Cowlitz assisted with. When she has that information she will forward it as well.

Pay increases were approved for PUD management. Details will be made available in a future edition of The Eagle.

The issue of the recording the PUD meetings has been tabled once again and will be brought back into the agenda for the next meeting, which will be held February 5.

PUD staff and commissioners have been discussing having their own recordings of meetings since the reporter from The Eagle began recording the meetings.

Commissioner Larry Reese said he looked into equipment at a local electronics store and found the cost to be somewhat minimal. However, it was brought to the attention of the board that the cost would not be limited to just equipment, as there would be guidelines to follow such as storage costs and, if requested, public copies to be made available.

Commissioner Esther Gregg questioned the need for the PUD to record. Attorney Tim Hanigan said that the PUD should have its own copy of recordings in case there's a disagreement over what was actually said and recorded at a meeting.