PUD board discusses broadband progress, Skamokawa water LOC

The Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday to listen to reports and to adopt two new resolutions.

Commissioner Dennis Reid suggested that the current evaluation form for the general manager was too long and cumbersome. He said he would look for other samples in order for the board to consider making changes. He also suggested that the board discuss a 2 percent cost of living allowance for the manager at the next meeting.

The PUD has been considering how they will secure funding to build broadband infrastructure in Wahkiakum County, and General Manager Dave Tramblie reported that he had met with a representative from the USDA’s ReConnect Program, which offers grants and loans for the building of broadband infrastructure in rural communities.

Employees have been collecting GPS data on poles for a broadband feasibility study being conducted by Noanet for the PUD, and Tramblie believed they would be done with that task by the end of this week.

“This data will be used to estimate the cost of constructing the broadband system,” Tramblie said.

There are only a few more automated meter reading meters to install in the county, according to Tramblie.

“We’ve gone from 13 days of reading meters to four and a half,” he said.

Tramblie said he would be meeting with a regional engineer from the Department of Health on Friday to review the engineering on the Skamokawa Water System expansion project, which is being funded by a grant from the Department of Health.

Commissioners voted to adopt a resolution that authorized an unsecured line of credit (LOC) up to $500,000 from the PUD’s electric department to the Skamokawa Water System/Western Wahkiakum Water System. The interest rate for the loan was set at 1.5 percent per annum, to be paid in full on December 31, 2010. The PUD is awaiting a grant from the Department of Health to complete a water system consolidation project in Skamokawa, and will use the loan to cover costs in the meantime.

They also adopted a resolution that authorized access to the USDA’s ReConnect Progam online application system and named Tramblie the Representative-Signature-Certify security role on behalf of the PUD.