PUD board handles varied business

With no pressing business to act on, Wahkiakum PUD commissioners met briefly Tuesday morning to sign vouchers and to hear reports.

PUD Attorney Tim Hanigan told the commissioners that he had been present on Friday at the opening of bids for a new bucket truck. Four bids were submitted; they ranged in price from $99,429 to $109,831. PUD Manager Dave Tramblie, who was out of town on Tuesday, is reviewing the bids and will give his recommendation, Hanigan said. The budgeted amount for the purchase was $120,000.

Commissioner Dennis Reid noted that one of the vouchers submitted for commissioner approval was the utility’s $71,000 privilege tax payment, which utilities pay in lieu of real property tax. Some of the money comes back to the county, Auditor Erin Wilson explained.

Wilson reported that Wendt Elementary fifth graders heard a presentation about electrical safety last Friday from PUD employees Shane Pfenniger and Lia Sealund. The presentation seemed to be well-received, Wilson said.

Pfenniger had constructed a tabletop model of a live power line for the demonstration, which he demonstrated for the commissioners at a January meeting.

The utility now has more energy conservation incentive funds available to its customers, Wilson told the commissioners. The PUD had not anticipated receiving further money until October, but Bonneville Power Administration recently made $15,693 available. PUD staff had been keeping a waitlist of customers eligible for rebates, and with that list now exhausted, there is $4,500 still available. The utility will still receive its new round of funding in October.