July 2008

LA PLATA ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION, INC.
Durango, Colorado

The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of La Plata Electric Association, Inc. was held Wednesday, July 16, 2008, in the headquarters building in Durango, Colorado. Director Formwalt led the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance.

President Patton called the meeting to order at 9:00 A.M. The following directors were present:

Excused absence: Tom Compton

Also present were:
Greg Munro, Chief Executive Officer
Barry Spear, Attorney
Steve Gregg, Manager of Operations
Ron Meier, Manager of Engineering
Mark Schwantes, Director of Corporate Services
Keith Brant, Controller
Linda Wilsey, Executive Secretary

GUESTS (from sign in sheet)
No guests attended the meeting.

AGENDA
The agenda was addressed. President Patton indicated that following lunch, a conference call may be held with the LPEA auditor following a financial discussion.

LA PLATA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND COUNTY MANAGER DISCUSSION
Questions were taken from the commissioners. Questions and discussions concerned the new organization of 4CORE, LPEA's green power programs, the potential Ignacio Solar Farm, and the gas and oil industry. With so much happening in the area, it was noted that more communication is needed between the LPEA Board and the County. It was suggested meetings of the two entities should be held twice a year, rather than once a year as done in the past. CEO Munro asked that if an item is on the commissioners agenda that involves LPEA interests, to notify him and he'll try to attend that meeting, and vice versa.
President Patton presented LPEA's 2008 position paper on greenhouse gas emissions to the commissioners.

CONSENT BOARD ITEMS
The consent board items were presented and reviewed.

ITEMS REQUIRING BOARD ACTIONS
Director reimbursements were presented and reviewed.

Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council Meeting 7/10/08

Committee of the Whole 7/14/08

Administration Committee 7/14/08
Terry Alley      Jeffrey Berman     Herbert Brodsky    Tom Compton     Robert Formwalt    

External Organizations & Issues 7/14/08
Ed Zink     Robert Formwalt     Tom Compton       Pam Patton      Harry Goff

Board Meeting 7/16/08

Meetings

QUARTERLY WRITE-OFFS
The quarterly write-offs were noted in the Board packet and questions were answered.

NRECA REGION VII MEETING DELEGATE AND ALTERNATE
President Patton polled the directors on who can attend the meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on October 1-3. This meeting immediately follows the CREA Semi-Annual meeting.

CEO REPORT
CEO Munro officially introduced Keith Brant, the new Controller. Highlights of the written CEO report were expanded. After researching lockbox services options, the decision has been made to bring it in-house after the first of the year. A part time staff employee may be hired to help in this process.

An Annual meeting update was given.
Mark Schwantes, Director of Corporate Services, gave a brief presentation on the Four Corners Utility Efficiency Exchange that is occurring on August 14-15 at Fort Lewis College. It is co-hosted by Tri-State, Empire Electric, CREA, the Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities and LPEA. A Home Energy Makeover Workshop & Expo is being held August 16th.
CEO Munro explained that Cooperative.com requested inclusion of LPEA's Staker Tools Unplugged in the "tool box" for cooperatives.

Controller Keith Brant gave the June 2008 financial presentation.

Steve Gregg, Manager of Operations, gave the safety and outage reports.

CEO Munro updated the directors on Jeff Wadsworth leaving the company to accept another position and the current search for a new CFO. He stressed that he contacted LPEA's major bankers and LPEA auditor and they are comfortable with our company's financial checks and balances system. The Board addressed the possible need for a mid year audit as a fiduciary responsibility since the company has lost two CFOs in a short time frame. The decision was made to call Mr. Lane of Schmidt & Co. for his opinion regarding pros and cons of a mid-year financial audit. Following that telephone call and Board discussion, it was decided a mid-year audit is not necessary.

Mark Schwantes gave the Renewable Generation Contributions report. He noted that 2.4% of LPEA's total sales are from green power.

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
The Committee was given the Strategic Planning Status update.

ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
Director Berman reported on the committee's actions.

EXTERNAL ORGANIZATIONS & ISSUES COMMITTEE
Director Zink reported the meeting with the Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council was good.
The Durango Town Council is being invited to attend the August LPEA Board or committee meeting.

LA PLATA ELECTRIC ROUND UP FOUNDATION
Director Brodsky reported the Foundation considered one Round Up and two educational requests. The Round Up request was for $26,000; a portion was granted in the amount of $5,160. The number of members rounding up continues to decline. Reasons for the decline are unknown.
The educational requests were thoroughly discussed. Total monies requested were $7500 for both; one was tabled and the other was granted $1500.

FASTTRACK REPORT
Director Gardella reported that FastTrack had a profitable month though much of the cash is being used for equipment and maintenance plus paying down the accounts payable to LPEA. The GM compensation package is being reviewed and will be approved in August. He noted that the network switch is currently bringing in $22,000/month in revenue. FastTrack is installing a new accounting and billing software.

WESODI REPORT
Director McCaw reported that WESODI made a small profit in June. They have 84 employees as of July 1. He noted projects that have been finished, ongoing projects, and a big project to start soon in Mancos.

TRI-STATE REPORT
Director Goff gave the Tri-State report. Tri-State did approve a proposed agreement between Tri-State and LPEA on scoping and initial design activities for the San Juan Major Project. He commented on the strategic planning session held in conjunction with the Board meeting. There will be a continuation of this planning meeting at the next few Board meetings.

CREA REPORT
In Director Compton's absence, CEO Munro directed the Board to the written CREA report. He commented that the Governor's Energy Office (GEO) has contacted all the cooperative managers requesting that they get together and adopt a reduction of carbon emissions by 2020. CEO Munro stated that CREA and Tri-State are taking the lead working with the GEO by informing them of all the different energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy programs that the Colorado Coops and Tri-State are involved in.

WESTERN UNITED REPORT
Director Formwalt reported there have been a few staffing changes with the new CEO. Western United is still rated 81 among the top 200 distributors. Lead times on materials were reviewed. Sales are down by 19% from last year but the company continues to gain in market shares. The yearly material turn over rate is down from 6 times a year to 4.
When the board was polled on including the full set of minutes in the Board packet, the consensus was to include only the CEO report.

4CORE REPORT
Director Zink said most of the efforts of the Board are to get 4CORE properly organized so it is not politically involved, but task oriented.

ATTORNEY REPORT
Attorney Spear reported on the lawsuit filed by a member. Judge Dickenson dismissed the case in LPEA's favor.

FUTURE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETINGS AND AGENDA ITEMS
The Committee of the Whole will meet on Monday, August 18th. The Durango City Council has been invited to attend either the Committee or Board meeting in August. The Budget Audit and Finance Committee will be presented with the 2009 Operating Forecast parameters for review and recommendation to the Board for approval. CEO Munro will be giving a presentation regarding capital credits. The Administration Committee will appoint a teller committee for the Annual meeting and review Board Policy 118. Agenda items include the Washington Youth Tour participants, the communication plan update, and appointing a delegate/alternate for the CREA and Western United Semi-Annual meetings.

UPCOMING EXTERNAL MEETINGS
The CREA Semi-Annual meeting is coming September 27-30th; President Patton encouraged all the directors to attend and be thinking of a delegate and alternate.

COUNTY FAIRS
CEO Munro asked that whoever plans to purchase livestock at the two county fairs should contact him for the allotted amount.

With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:20 P.M.

Recorded by Linda Wilsey
Original Signed by Jeffrey A. Berman, Secretary
Original Signed and Approved by Pam Patton, President

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