MEUW - Live Lines

Widespread, relentless rain and flood waters pounded dozens of Southern Wisconsin communities in June with many MEUW Members taking the brunt of the storms.

Floods hit tiny MEUW Member Viola, closing state highways in all directions. Residents and businesses there will begin to rebuild for the third time in three years after an August 2005 tornado and an August 2007 flood. As Viola worked through this latest devastation, many other MEUW Members battled rising water that breached dams, cut new branches of rivers and creeks, caused evacuations and generally put a stop to normal life in Wisconsin.

Among those hit hardest were Columbus, Elroy, Jefferson, LaFarge, Pardeeville, Reedsburg, Richland Center, and Waupun. City and village leaders along with utility and city crews were mentally and physically taxed to the limit; working against Mother Nature and Father Time to save their facilities and their communities from water levels never before seen in Southern Wisconsin.

According to reports, no one was injured while responding to the floods or working to repair utility assets. That is a tribute to each utility’s safety efforts and quality of their personnel. President Bush declared nineteen Wisconsin counties eligible for federal disaster funding through FEMA to help put these communities on the road to recovery.

MEUW sends best wishes to the Member utilities and their crews as they begin the long road to recovery and restore a sense of normalcy to their communities.

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Safety Achievement Awards Presented at Annual Conference

The 2007 MEUW Safety Achievement Awards were given out at the 2008 MEUW Annual Conference in Stevens Point in the morning on Thursday, June 12.

In its ninth year, the Award is a voluntary reporting system that MEUW developed to recognize safety achievement and to encourage pro-active safety activities. This year, 67% of the MEUW membership (55 Members) participated by filing reports, an all time high. Thirty-nine Members received awards this year.

If any recipients would like an electronic copy of one of the photos on this page, or a sample press release, please contact MEUW Office Manager Linda Olson (608/837-2263 or lolson@meuw.org). If you would like extra copies of this issue of Live Lines, please contact MEUW Receptionist Shari Baumann (608/837-2263 or sbaumann@meuw.org).

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Management Certification Program “Class of 2008” Recognized

Eighteen individuals comprised the “Class of 2008” after completing all six sessions in the MEUW Management Certification Program. The graduates were recognized at the MEUW Annual Conference on Thursday, June 12, 2008. The certificates were presented by APPA President and CEO Mark Crisson, who was also the luncheon speaker at the Conference.

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2008-2009 MEUW Officers and Board of Directors

Based on the district elections held in May 2008, and the general elections held during the Annual Business Meeting on June 13, congratulations to the following members of the 2008-2009 MEUW Board of Directors:

Officers: President Scott Reimer, Rice Lake; 1st V.P. Jeff Feldt, Kaukauna; 2nd V.P. David Tracey, Pardeeville; Secretary-Treasurer Zak Bloom, Waupun; Past President Bob Friberg, Florence; Executive Director David Benforado, MEUW.

Board of Directors: District 1: Director Carl Gaulke, River Falls; Alt. Dir. David DeJongh, Cornell; District 2: Director Tim Putz, Arcadia; Alt. Dir. Jerry Ewert, Black River Falls; District 3: Director Lisa Christensen, Oconto Falls; Alt. Dir. Vacant; District 4: Tom Bushman, Two Rivers; Alt. Dir. Doug Young, Menasha; District 5: Director Cecil Rolfe, Bangor; Alt. Dir. John Hauser, Cashton; District 6: Director Dave Mikonowicz, Reedsburg; Alt. Dir. Pat Drone, Prairie du Sac; District 7: Director Vacant; Alt. Dir. Joshua Schoemann, Princeton; District 8: Director Mike Reynolds, Boscobel; Alt. Dir. Jim Kolbe, Hazel Green; District 9: Director Tim Herlitzka, Waunakee; Alt. Dir. David Herfel, Mount Horeb; District 10: Director Dennis Bednarski, Oconomowoc; Alt. Dir. Dale Lythjohan, Cedarburg.

At-Large Directors: John Andler, Columbus; John MacKinnon, Plymouth; Joe Pacovsky, Marshfield; Steve Thompson, New London.

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Resolutions Adopted at MEUW Annual Meeting

Since 1998, MEUW has made a special effort to pass substantive policy resolutions each year at the Annual Meeting. The resolutions have become an effective tool to develop MEUW positions on issues, direct MEUW staff regarding those issues, and to communicate MEUW’s positions to others.

The following four resolutions will be printed into a booklet and circulated to all members of the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation in Washington, DC, the Governor, PSC Commissioners, all Wisconsin Legislators, MEUW Members and other interested parties. If you are interested in past MEUW policy resolutions, please find them on MEUW’s website: http://meuw.org/govrelpolicyres.htm.

● 2008-1: In Support of Federal Bills to Reign in Monopolistic Abuses by the Nation’s Freight Railroads;

● 2008-2: In Support of Equal and Fair Electric Provider Eligibility for Grants and Loans from Wisconsin’s New “Energy Independence Fund”;

● 2008-3: In Support of Governor Doyle’s Energy Independent Communities Program;

● 2008-4: Thanking the Wisconsin Legislature, the Public Service Commission and the Dept. of Workforce Development for Studying the Demographics of the Aging Workforce and Solutions to the Potential Shortage of Electric Line Personnel.

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Successful 79th MEUW Annual Conference in Stevens Point

The 79th MEUW Annual Conference, celebrating 80 years of public power communities in Wisconsin working together, was held at the Stevens Point Holiday Inn on June 11-13, 2008.

This year’s theme was Time for a (Utility) Check-Up. Tim Blodgett of APPA’s Hometown Connections gave a special four-part presentation on how to evaluate the core areas of your utility: Customer Service, Power Supply, Distribution Operations, Administration, Accounting, Finance, Planning, Human Resources, Labor Relations and Governance.

The WUSA Trade Show and Social Hour was held on Thursday, before the Awards Banquet. There was a special door prize drawing this year. Attendees collected six different stickers from vendors scattered around the room to enter to win one of four $100 gas cards. Participants had fun visiting the trade show to validate their door prize entry card.

New APPA President & CEO Mark Crisson was a special guest at the Luncheon. He gave the group an update on Congressional activities relating to public power, including the U.S. Senate’s recent debate over proposed global warming legislation. He also helped present the MEUW Management Certification Program graduation certificates.

Receiving a Meritorious Service Award at this year’s conference was Attorney Anita Gallucci, who has represented MEUW and its Members for over a decade. Her expertise in and passion for the rights of communities to provide vital utility services to their residents and businesses in an efficient and economic manner is unmatched in Wisconsin.

Thanks to those who braved the floods to help MEUW celebrate its 80th Anniversary. We hope to see you all next year, June 24-26, 2009, for the MEUW Annual Conference at the Manitowoc Holiday Inn. Also, please mark your calendars for the next MEUW/REC Joint Superintendents Conference, January 7-9, 2009, at the Stevens Point Holiday Inn.

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New MEUW Northwest Regional Safety Coordinator on Board

Dan Becker, Chetek, has joined MEUW as the Northwest Regional Safety Coordinator, starting on June 16. The Northwest Regional Safety Group consists of Barron, Rice Lake, River Falls, Menomonie and Chetek. Becker, formerly a public works employee for the City of Chetek, is also a part-time fire safety instructor for Indianhead Technical College. Welcome aboard, Dan!

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