NEBRASKA POWER REVIEW BOARD
Minutes of the 826th Meeting
December 27, 2021
The 826th meeting of the Nebraska Power Review Board (“the Board” or “PRB”) was held in the First Floor Hearing Room, Nebraska State Office Building, 301 Centennial Mall, Lincoln, Nebraska. The roll was called and present were Chairman Reida, Vice Chairman Hutchison, Mr. Grennan, and Mr. Moen. Mr. Moen attended via Webex. Ms. Loutzenhiser had informed the Board that she would not be able to participate in the meeting due to a scheduled vacation. Executive Director Texel stated that public notice for the meeting had been published in the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper on December 17, 2021. The Board also made the meeting available to the public through Webex. The Webex log-in information was available on the Board’s website and was published in the Lincoln Journal Star notice. The agenda on the Board’s website also includes links to the agenda items with associated documents the Board will consider, as well as a link to the Nebraska Open Meetings Act. Executive Director Texel explained that if any member of the public watching the meeting on Webex wanted to speak, they could click on the “raise your hand” icon. At that time, they would be unmuted, they could announce who is speaking, provide an address, and disclose if they represent an organization. All background materials for the agenda items to be acted on were provided to all Board members prior to the meeting and a copy of the materials was in each Board member’s notebook. The executive director announced that a copy of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act was on display on the south wall of the room for the public to review, and another copy was available in a black three-ring binder on the table at the back of the room. A copy of all materials that the Board would consider was available for public inspection on a table in the back of the room, as well as extra copies of the agenda.
The Board first considered the draft minutes from its December 13, 2021, public meeting. The minutes were sent electronically to the Board members. The staff did not have any recommended changes. Chairman Reida asked the executive director if he has had any communication with the electric utilities about the discussion at the previous meeting regarding decommissioning and holding a meeting to review the status of regulation of the electric industry in Nebraska. The executive director stated he did raise the issue with Shelley Sahling-Zart (administrative coordinator for the Nebraska Power Association and general counsel for the Lincoln Electric System), but he has not followed up again on the conversation yet. Vice Chairman Hutchison moved to approve the draft minutes. Mr. Grennan seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen – yes. The motion carried 4-0 with one absent.
Executive Director Texel told the Board members that the next agenda 13 items will be charter amendments. The first two will be final approvals for Loup River Public Power District and Norris Public Power District. The following 11 will be conditional approvals. The Board is publishing notices and if a protest or objection opposing approval of a district’s petition is filed, the Board is required to hold an evidentiary hearing and then issue a final decision. If no protest or objection is filed, the Board may waive the hearing and give final approval of the petition for charter amendment. The final approvals will be at either the January 21 or February 18 public meetings, depending on the time frame for the notices and subsequent three-week wait period.
The first charter amendment to consider is the Loup River Public Power District’s Amended Petition for Charter Amendment 9. The original petition was filed on October 29, 2021. There were several issues to clarify in the original petition, so the District submitted an Amended Petition on November 15, 2021. The petition sets out the amendments to sections (b) and (f) of the District’s charter. In section (b), some terms will be updated. Section (f) will redraw the district’s subdivision boundaries based on the 2020 Census, and the number of directors will be reduced from 10 to 9. The petition is submitted pursuant to §70-604(6), which is the “substantially equal population” standard. Subdivisions 1 through 5 are separate, and each is represented by one director. Subdivisions 6 through 9 will be at-large and elected from the City of Columbus. Exhibit A is a map showing the subdivisions and how they are being changed. Exhibit B shows the population figures. Chairman Reida previously informed the staff that he wants to have the total variance in population and the percent above and below the ideal distribution provided to the Board in all charter amendments submitted under the “substantially equal standard.” The difference from the ideal is +3.5% in the largest subdivision and -2.6% in the smallest, for a total variance of 6.1%. The total variance amount is therefore below the 10% total variance standard that allows for a presumption of compliance. The Board is required by state law to publish notice in at least two local newspapers for three consecutive weeks and then wait three weeks from the date of the last publication before acting on a charter amendment. Notice was published on November 17, 24 and December 1, 2021 in the Columbus Telegram, Albion News/Boone County Tribune, Colfax County Press and the Fullerton Nance County Journal newspapers. The Notice was published in the Schuyler Sun newspaper on November 18, 25, and December 2, 2021. Due to the dispersion of Loup River PPD’s territory, the District asked to have the notice published in the five aforementioned newspapers instead of only two. The notice stated that any interested party could file a protest or objection by 5 p.m. on December 22, 2021. No protest or objection was filed. The executive director told the Board that to approve the Petition it needs to find that the charter amendment will not be contrary to the best interests of the district, will not jeopardize or impair the rights of creditors of the District or of other persons, and that the District’s proposed subdivisions have substantially equal population. Neal Seuss, Loup River PPD’s general manager, participated via Webex. He said that Mr. Texel laid out the details of the amendment pretty well and did not have anything to add, but could answer any questions the Board might have. Mr. Grennan noted that going through the process of rechartering the territory and reducing the directors from ten to nine is a good approach that benefits the District’s customers, but is not always an easy decision. Mr. Grennan made moved to waive the hearing and approve Loup River Public Power District’s Amended Petition for Charter Amendment 9. Vice Chairman Hutchison seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen – yes. The motion carried 4-0 with one absent.
The next agenda item was Norris Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 21. The petition was filed on November 9, 2021. The petition sets out amendments to sections (2) and (6) of the District’s charter. In section (2), the description of the District’s chartered territory is updated. Section (6) will redraw the district’s subdivision boundaries based on the 2020 Census, and the number of directors will be reduced from 13 to 9 by 2026. The petition is submitted pursuant to § 70-612(1)(b), which is commonly known as the “will not be prejudiced thereby” standard. The statute allows a district to form its subdivisions following precinct or county boundary lines without regard to population if the Board finds: 1) the district includes all or part of 2 or more counties, 2) the district is engaged in furnishing electric light and power, 3) more than 50% of the district’s customers are rural customer s, and 4) the interests of the rural customers will not be prejudiced by the amendment. Norris operates in all or parts of Butler, Gage, Jefferson, Lancaster, Saline, Seward, Thayer and York Counties, which obviously meets the two or more counties requirement. The Petition, in paragraph 5, confirms that the District’s customers are more than 50% rural. Exhibit A is the resolution adopted by the District’s Board of Directors regarding the charter amendment. In the resolution, the District’s Board makes a finding that the rural customers would not be prejudiced by the amendment. In the proposed amendment, Norris would replace its current 13 subdivisions with one subdivision for each of the six primary counties it serves, along with three new subdivisions comprised of multiple counties with one director elected on an at-large basis in each of the West, Central and East subdivisions. Exhibit C shows the configuration of the “at-large” subdivisions. Exhibit B shows the population figures for the three “at-large” subdivisions. The total variation from largest to smallest at-large subdivision is .2%, with one subdivision +.1% and another -.1%. The Board is required by state law to publish notice in at least two local newspapers for three consecutive weeks and then wait three weeks from the last date of publication before acting on the charter amendment. Notice was published on November 17, November 24 and December 1, 2021 in the Beatrice Daily Sun, Hebron Journal-Register and Seward County Independent newspapers. Due to the Norris PPD’s territory covering a large territory, the District asked to have notice published in three newspapers. The Notice stated that any interested party could file a protest or objection by 5 p.m. on December 22, 2021. The Board did not receive any protests or objections. Mr. Grennan asked if population figures were available for each county in the District’s chartered territory. Ellen Kreifels, legal counsel for Norris PPD, stated that she did not have the population for each county, but she had provided the population for the West, Central and East subdivisions. The other new subdivisions 1 through 6 were drawn based on § 70-612(1)(b), so the population was not included with the exhibits. Ms. Kreifels also pointed out that Norris is reducing its directors to 9. When Norris and Seward County PPD merged the Power Review Board had asked the District work to see if the number of Directors could be reduced after the Census results came out. Vice Chairman Hutchison talked about the individuals around Lincoln in Lancaster County and asked if those customers would be prejudiced by the amendment. He also commented that the District did a good job redrawing the lines. Dave Jarecke (also legal counsel for Norris PPD) and Ms. Kreifels explained that the reason for the three at-large directors would cover the area in Lancaster County. The at-large subdivisions would ensure all customers have two directors representing them. The executive director reminded the Board that to approve the charter amendment, the Board needs to find that the charter amendment will not be contrary to the best interests of the District, and that it will not jeopardize or impair the rights of creditors of the District or of other persons. Vice Chairman Hutchison moved to waive the hearing and approve Norris Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 21. Mr. Grennan seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen – yes. The motion carried 4-0 with one absent.
The remaining charter amendments will all fall under § 70-663(2), which was enacted during the 2021 Legislative session. This was done due to the very late release of the 2020 Census data. The public power district’s must submit their proposed charter amendment on or before December 17, 2021. The new subsection of 70-663 states “If the proposed amendment is in proper form, the Nebraska Power Review Board shall give conditional approval of the amendment on or before December 30, 2021.” All the remaining eleven charter amendments on the agenda were filed by December 17, 2021, and will be under the conditional approval standard.
The next agenda item was to give conditional approval to Butler Public Power District’ Amended Petition for Charter Amendment 10. The original petition was filed on November 10, 2021. An amended petition was filed on December 10, 2021. The purpose of the petition is to amend charter section 6 to redraw the district’s subdivision boundaries based on the 2020 Census and update the list of directors. The Petition is filed pursuant to §70-604(6), which the substantially equal population standard. Butler PPD has 7 subdivisions, with one director for each subdivision. Exhibit A is a map showing the subdivisions and how they are being changed. Exhibit B shows the population figures. Population figures are also provided on pages 4 and 5 of the amended petition. Executive Director Texel stated that the variance from the largest to smallest subdivision is .9%, with on subdivision .42% above the ideal, and one subdivision .48 below the ideal. None of the subdivisions are more than 5% from the ideal, and the total variance is far below 10% total variance standard. Notice of the proposed amendment was published on November 25, December 2 and December 9, 2021 in the Wahoo Newspaper and the Banner Press newspapers. The notice stated that any interested party could file a protest or objection by 5 p.m. on December 29, 2021. All necessary information has been provided in the Amended Petition and attached exhibits. Executive Director Texel stated that he believed the Amended Petition was in proper form and recommended conditional approval. Both Jim Papik, legal counsel for the District, and the District’s general manager were available on Webex. The Board asked what the dots were on the map. Mr Papik told the Board the dots represent the location of the current directors. Vice Chairman Hutchison moved to grant conditional approval for Butler Public Power District’s Amended Petition for Charter Amendment 10. Vice Chairman Hutchison seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen –yes. The motion carried 4– 0 with one absent.
The next agenda item was to consider conditional approval for the Polk County Rural Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 10. The petition was filed on November 10, 2021. The purpose of the petition is to amend charter section 6 to redraw the district’s subdivision boundaries based on the 2020 census and update the list of directors. The executive director told the Board the Petition is filed pursuant to §70-604(6), which is the substantially equal population standard. Polk County Rural PPD has 3 subdivisions, with two directors for subdivisions 1 and 3 and 3 directors for subdivision 2. Exhibit A is a map showing the subdivisions. The population in each subdivision is shown on the map. The District’s total population is 6,347. The ideal distribution would be 907 people per director. There are 948 people per director in Subdivisions 1 and 3, and 852 people per director in Subdivision 2. The executive director said that the population distribution equates to 15% of the population per director in subdivisions 1 and 3, and 13 per director in subdivision 2. The variance from the ideal is +.7 percent in subdivisions 1 and 3, and -1.3 in subdivision 2, for a total variance of 2%. The Board published notice of the proposed charter amendment in the Polk County News and the Central City Non-Pareil newspapers on December 2, 9 and 16, 2021. The Notice stated that any interested party could file a protest or objection by 5 p.m. on January 7, 2022. Executive Director Texel noted that the file does not contain population figures as they currently exist, as proposed, and the mathematically ideal as required in the Board’s rules in Chapter 3, section 29.08. These numbers were requested and can be supplied prior to the final approval. Mr. Papik, legal counsel for the District, was present via Webex and said he could provide the population figures as an exhibit. Exhibit A is a map of the District’s current subdivisions and Exhibit B shows the proposed boundaries.
Vice Chairman Hutchison said that his calculations show the variance is actually greater than 10%. He asked if the District could explain the population differences and how the subdivision boundaries were drawn. Mr. Papik stated that there were two major goals when redistricting. The first was to get away from the District’s previous practice of following voting precinct boundaries when creating its subdivisions. The second was to have the boundary lines drawn along the county or section lines so it would be easily identifiable by the customers. Vice Chairman Hutchison asked why it was one of the objectives to get away from using the voting precincts. Mr. Papik said during one of the prior elections Polk County changed one of the voting precincts. The county created new voting precincts and some of the District’s customers did not receive the correct ballot. Vice Chairman Hutchison asked why the District wanted to move away from the boundary lines of the new voting precinct. Mr. Papik stated that during discussions with the county clerks the clerks’ preference was to use the section and township boundary instead of using the voting precinct boundaries. In other words, the township and county boundary lines will not change like the precinct boundaries. Vice Chairman stated that he did not like that the population variance is larger than ten percent. He asked if Polk County RPPD has a primary election. Mr. Papik stated it does not. Vice Chairman Hutchison stated that the District needs to explain why the numbers are not substantially equal. He felt that because the county clerk preferred that the section lines be followed instead of the voting precinct lines is not a good enough reason. Vice Chairman Hutchison wanted to set this for hearing so that the District could make its case explaining how the population in the subdivisions is substantially equal. There was discussion as to whether the ideal population number is 907 people for each director, or 903. Vice Chairman Hutchison calculated 903 would be the ideal. Mr. Moen said he arrived at 907, which is the same number as the executive director. Vice Chairman Hutchison moved that Polk County Rural Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 10 be granted Conditional Approval, and the issue of final approval be set for hearing at the Board’s January 21 meeting. Mr. Grennan seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen –yes. The motion carried 4– 0 with one absent.
The next item on the agenda was the Howard-Greeley Rural Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 7. The petition was filed on November 17, 2021. The purpose of the petition is to amend charter sections 2 and 6 to redraw the District’s subdivision boundaries based on the 2020 census and update the list of directors. The number of directors would be reduced from 9 to 8 at the end of 2022. The Petition is filed pursuant to §70-612(1)(b), which is the “not prejudiced thereby” standard when a District follows precinct or county boundary lines. Howard-Greeley currently has 5 subdivisions. The proposed configuration would have 6 subdivisions on a permanent basis. A 7th subdivision would exist during 2022 and terminate at the end of the year. Exhibit C, page 1, is a map showing the proposed subdivisions and how they are being changed. Exhibit C, page 2, is a map showing the District’s current subdivisions. Exhibit B provides the population figures. Exhibit A is the District’s resolution approving the amendment. The resolution states findings that the District operates in two counties, more than 50% of its customers are rural, and the rural customers would not be prejudiced by the amendment. The Board published notice of the charter amendment on December 8, 15, and 22 in the St. Paul Phonograph-Herald and on December 9, 16, and 23 in the Greeley Citizen newspapers. The notice stated that any interested party could file a protest or objection by 5 p.m. on January 14, 2022. Executive Director Texel said all necessary information has been provided in the Petition and attached exhibits. He believed that the petition was in proper form and recommended conditional approval.
Ellen Kreifels, one of the legal counsels for the District, told the Board that the District had significant population reduction in the 2020 census. The two county clerks condensed the voting precincts, so this is why the precincts are larger. Dave Jarecke, the other legal counsel for the District, described the unusual situation with the District. The primary sources of the population for this district is around the City of St. Paul. The majority of the population is around just a couple of communities. This makes it difficult to draw the boundaries to equalize the population. Dirk Dietz, the District’s general manager, told the Board that the district has been serving St. Paul for at least twenty years. Vice Chairman Hutchison asked the representatives to go through how many directors there will be. Mr. Kreifels explained there are currently nine directors serving five subdivisions. In the new configuration, there will be six subdivisions There will be one director each in subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, and three in subdivision 4. There will also be a seventh subdivision elected “at-large” from the entire District. The at-large subdivision will terminate at the end of 2022. The boundary lines were drawn based on the counties’ voting precincts. The Board asked if the City of St. Paul was its own subdivision. Ms. Kreifels said that is part of the problem. Due to its large population St. Paul will have more than one director. Subdivision 4 includes St. Paul and that is why it will have three directors. The Board asked if the directors for subdivision 4 live in St. Paul. Ms. Kreifels replied they do not live within the city limits. Vice Chairman Hutchison asked about the lines on the map. Ms. Kreifels confirmed the lines show voting precinct boundaries. Mr. Grennan asked about the number of directors. Ms. Kreifels explained that all of the subdivisions will have one director except subdivision 4, which will have three. Then there is the one at-large for subdivision 7 that will expire at the end of 2022. Mr. Jarecke explained that the population is not particularly balanced because the District is following precincts lines. Ms. Kreifels added that the county clerks drastically condensed the voting precincts. Vice Chairman Hutchison explained that the difficult part to understand is that some rural customers will be less represented than customers in other subdivisions. He stated that the Board must make a finding that the District’s rural customers are not prejudiced by the amendment. He compared two subdivisions, which had populations of 948 and 1,462. Ms. Kreifels stated that the area referred to includes a lot of acreages, but is not necessarily agricultural in nature. Mr. Jarecke explained that as you go north in the District you get into the sandhills, so the rural nature shifts from row crops to livestock. Vice Chairman Hutchison remained concerned that there are some rural customers that are disadvantaged by the amendment. Ms. Kreifels explained that the Board of directors had a difficult time trying to figure out the best way to draw the District’s lines. The directors asked some of the same questions and experienced the same struggles. The directors’ focus was the rural customers. They did not want the primary source of the District’s customers coming from St. Paul, where the primary population center is located. Chairman Reida stated that the answer to this is that if these rural customers feel that they are being prejudiced they have the opportunity to file a protest or objection with the Board opposing approval of the charter amendment. Mr. Grennan asked if there was any thought given to combining subdivisions 1 and 2. Ellen said that would be all of Howard County. The directors felt that those customers would be prejudiced by having only one vote. It also would unseat an additional director to accomplish that. Vice Chairman Hutchison stated that he appreciated hearing what alternatives were considered when drawing the subdivision boundaries. Mr. Grennan agreed this is a difficult decision and it is a challenge. Chairman Reida stated that it is a difficult mix, but the District met the statutory criteria. The deadline for filing protests or objections is still running, so those rural customers still have an opportunity to come forward. Mr. Grennan moved to give conditional approval to the Howard-Greeley Rural Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 7. Mr. Moen seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen –yes. The motion carried 4– 0 with one absent.
The next item on the agenda was to consider Cornhusker Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 6. The petition was filed on November 17, 2021. The purpose of the petition is to amend charter sections II and VI to redraw the district’s subdivision boundaries based on the 2020 census and update the list of directors. The Petition is filed pursuant to §70-612(1)(b), which is the “not prejudiced thereby” standard. Cornhusker PPD currently has 10 voting subdivisions. Exhibit B, page 1, is a map showing the proposed subdivisions. The primary changes are in subdivisions 7, 9 and 10. Exhibit C shows the population figures. The subdivisions follow precinct boundaries. Exhibit A is the District’s resolution adopted approving the amendment. The resolution states that the District operates in two counties, more than 50% of its customers are rural, and the rural customers would not be prejudiced by the amendment. The Board published notice of the amendment on December 8, 15, and 22, 2021, in the Albion News and Columbus Telegram newspapers. The Notice stated that any interested party could file a protest or objection by 5 p.m. on January 14, 2022. All necessary information has been provided in the petition and the attached exhibits. Ms. Kreifels is one of the legal counsels for Cornhusker PPD. She told the Board there are a number of counties where the county clerks have updated the county voting precincts lines. The changes are basically updating the lines to match the updated voting precinct lines. Vice Chairman Hutchison pointed out that the petition was filed under the same standard as the previous district, which requires the Board to find that the rural customers are not prejudiced by the amendment. Ms. Kreifels explained that Cornhusker’s existing subdivisions are already drawn using that same standard. Vice Chairman Hutchison asked if the counsel if she could describe the population diversity as she did for the previous charter amendment. Ms. Kreifels explained that the population distribution has issues similar to those with Howard-Greeley. Mr. Jarecke stated that the District’s headquarters is in Columbus, Nebraska. Loup River Public Power District serves many of the smaller communities in the area and Cornhusker serves mainly the rural customers. Mr. Jarecke stated that it is a unique District due to this formation. Mr. Moen asked about the orange lines on the map. Mr. Jarecke said those show the county lines. Chairman Reida asked about the statute that the charter is filed under. The statute has had several amendments but apparently not to the approval criteria. No one was aware that the approval criteria had ever been challenged. Vice Chairman Hutchison talked about the previous amendment and how that protected the rural customers. He said it was not entirely clear to him how the rural customers are being protected in this amendment. Mr. Grennan agreed. Executive Director Texel told the Board he believed the petition was in proper form and recommended conditional approval. Vice Chairman Hutchison moved to grant conditional approval to Cornhusker Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 6. Mr. Grennan seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen –yes. The motion carried 4– 0 with one absent.
The next item on the agenda was to consider Twin Valleys Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 8. The petition was filed on November 22, 2021. The purpose of the petition is to amend charter sections II and VI to redraw the District’s subdivision boundaries based on the 2020 census and update the list of directors. The Petition appears to be filed pursuant to section 70-612(1)(b), which is the “not prejudiced thereby” standard. Twin Valleys PPD currently has three voting subdivisions. Exhibit C is a map showing the current subdivisions. Exhibit C, page 2, shows the population figures. Exhibit A is the District’s resolution approving the amendment. In paragraph 5 of the Petition the District states that the rural customers would not be prejudiced by the amendment. The Petition also states that the population is substantially equal among the district’s subdivisions under 70-604(6). There was a question as to which statute the petition was filed under. Cody Siegfried, legal counsel for the district, confirmed that the district intended to file under 70-604(6), although the Petition refers to both statutes and standards. The Board publish notice on December 9, 16, and 23 in the Valley Voice and Harlan County Journal newspapers. The notice stated that any interested party could file a protest or objection by 5 p.m. on January 14, 2022. Executive Director Texel told the Board all necessary information has been provided in the Petition and attached exhibits. Chairman Reida stated that the population figures on page two of Exhibit C shows the District’s amendment meets the substantially equal standard. Executive Director Texel stated that the petition was in proper form and recommended the Board grant conditional approval. Vice Chairman Hutchison moved to grant conditional approval to Twin Valleys Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 8. Mr. Grennan seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen –yes. The motion carried 4– 0 with one absent.
The Board took a break at 11:09 a.m. The Board reconvened its meeting at 11:15 a.m.. All four Board members were again present.
The next item on the agenda was to consider Southwest Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 5. The petition was filed on November 22, 2021. The purpose of the petition is to amend charter sections 2 and 6 to clarify that the Villages of Trenton and Wauneta are excluded from the District’s chartered territory, and to update the list of directors. The petition was filed pursuant to §70-612(1)(b), which is the “not prejudiced thereby” standard. In section two, subsection II, the language that is added clarifies the exclusion of the Village of Trenton. In section four it clarifies the headquarters is located in Hitchcock county. Executive Director Texel noted that in this case adding the county is important because the City of Palisade, Nebraska, in which the District’s headquarters is located, straddles the county line between Hitchcock and Hayes counties. Southwest’s headquarters is in the part of Palisade that is in Hitchcock County. Exhibit C is a map showing the District’s subdivisions. The subdivisions follow precinct boundaries. Exhibit A is the District’s resolution approving the amendment. The Board published notice of the charter amendment on December 8, 15, and 22, 2021, in the McCook Gazette and Benkelman Post & News Chronicle newspapers. The Notice stated that any interested party could file a protest or objection by 5 p.m. on January 14, 2022. The executive director stated that all necessary information was provided in the Petition and the attached exhibits. Cody Siegfried, legal counsel for the District, stated that the major change was to clarify that Trenton was not part of the District’s chartered territory. He explained that Trenton was now a customer of the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN), which happened around two years ago. Executive Director Texel stated that he believed the petition was in proper form and recommended the Board grant conditional approval. Mr. Grennan moved to give conditional approval to Southwest Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 5. Vice Chairman Hutchison seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen –yes. The motion carried 4– 0 with one absent.
The next item on the agenda was to consider the Omaha Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 8. The petition was filed on November 23, 2021. The purpose of the petition is to amend charter section 6 to redraw the district’s subdivision boundaries based on the 2020 census and update the list of directors. The petition was filed pursuant to §70-604(b), which is the “substantially equal population” standard. Omaha PPD currently has 8 voting subdivisions, with one director for each subdivision. Exhibit B is the District’s resolution approving the amendment. Exhibit C is a map showing the proposed subdivisions. Exhibit D shows the population figures for the proposed subdivisions. The total variation from largest to smallest subdivision is .3%. One subdivision is +.1%, while the smallest subdivision is at -.2%. All subdivisions are less than 5% from the ideal, and are far below the 10% total variance standard. Exhibit E is a map showing the current configuration of OPPD’s subdivisions. Exhibit G shows the population figures as they currently exist. The Board published notice of the charter amendment on December 8, 15, and 22, 2021, in the Omaha World Herald newspaper. Notice was also published on December 10, 17, and 24, 2021, in the Blair Enterprise and Nebraska City News-Press newspapers. Due to the size of the District’s territory, the District asked to publish notice in three newspapers instead of two. The notice stated that any interested party can file a protest or objection by 5 p.m. on January 14, 2022. The executive director said all necessary information was provided in the petition and exhibits. Steve Bruckner, legal counsel for OPPD, stated that the description of the charter amendment was handled well by Mr. Texel. He said that the amendment is pretty straightforward, but he would be happy to answer any questions. Executive Director Texel stated that he believed the petition was in proper form and recommended the Board grant conditional approval. Vice Chairman Hutchison moved to grant conditional approval to the Omaha Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 8. Mr. Grennan seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen –yes. The motion carried 4– 0 with one absent.
The next item on the agenda was to consider Roosevelt Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 8. The application was filed on December 2, 2021. The purpose of the amendment is to better align the chartered territory with the District’s retail service area, redraw the voting subdivision boundaries based on the 2020 Census, and update the names and terms of the directors listed in the charter. An amended petition was filed on December 20, 2021. The amended petition is submitted pursuant to section 70-604(6). This is the substantially equal population standard. Roosevelt PPD has seven voting subdivisions, each with one director. A colored map labeled Exhibit 3 shows with specificity the exact boundary of the District’s subdivisions. The map will actually be part of the charter. In the legal notice the map was included, as the District incorporated the map as part of its proposed charter. The total variation from the largest to smallest subdivision is 1.32%. The largest subdivision is +.64%, while the smallest subdivision is -.68%. The variance is obviously well below the 10% standard needed for a presumption of validity. The notice is being published in the Scottsbluff Star-Herald and the Gering Courier newspapers on December 29, 2021, January 5, 2022 and January 12, 2022. The notice states that any protest or objection must be filed February 4, 2022. Executive Director Texel explained that during his preparations for today’s meeting he found that the Notice in the newspapers omitted a short paragraph which incorporates the map as part of the charter. This will be added back into the notice. Unfortunately, it will require an additional week of publication because the first edition of the notice was already printed. The notice states the deadline for protests or objections is February 10, 2022. He also pointed out that the amended petition includes the District’s board of directors’ resolution which is dated for the day following today’s meeting and is not signed yet. Steve Smith, legal counsel for Roosevelt PPD, stated that the amended petition would be presented to the Board of Directors at its public meeting tomorrow. At that time he will get the stamp of approval for the new amended petition and resolution. Executive Director Texel told the Board he had discussed this with the person at the Secretary of State’s office that handles elections. The conclusion of the discussion was that the Board could give a conditional approval on the condition that the amended petition would be submitted and signed before the December 30 deadline. Vice Chairman Hutchison asked about the maps. It was explained that Exhibit 3 is the map of the proposed subdivisions and will be the map included with the charter. Exhibit 4 shows the current boundaries. The population figures are provided on the third page of the petition. Both the current and proposed figures were shown. Vice Chairman Hutchison asked about the two petitions. He asked if there was any reason the Board should not give conditional approval to the original petition that was approved by Roosevelt’s Board and signed. Mr. Smith stated that he does not know why the Board would grant conditional approval to a petition that did not have all the information required. The second petition has everything that the Board requires. He stated that he does not see any reason why Roosevelt’s board of directors would not approve the amended petition tomorrow. The PRB could give the conditional approval with the condition that the petition that has the necessary information is approved. It was also discussed how the Chairman would get this order signed once the conditions were met. The Board felt that it could delegate the authority to the executive director, especially since this involves a deadline. Vice Chairman Hutchison moved to find the Roosevelt Public Power District’s Amended Petition for Charter Amendment 8, if approved by the District’s board of directors as expected, is in proper form once the exhibits are signed and provided to the Power Review Board. Roosevelt Public Power District’s Amended Petition for Charter Amendment 8 is therefore granted conditional approval conditioned on the Power Review Board’s receipt of documentation showing that the Roosevelt Public Power District’s Board of directors approves the proposed language in the Amended Petition for Charter Amendment 8 and a copy of the signed Amended Petition and Resolution are provided to the Power Review Board’s staff by December 29, 2021. The Board hereby delegates the authority to sign the Order of Conditional Approval to the Board’s executive director if the aforementioned conditions are met. Mr. Grennan seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen – yes. The motion carried 4-0 with one absent.
The next item on the agenda was to consider Nebraska Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 8. The application was filed on December 13, 2021. The purpose of the amendment is to better align the District’s chartered territory with its retail service area, redraw voting subdivision boundaries based on the 2020 Census, and update the names and terms of the directors listed in the charter. The petition is submitted pursuant to section 70-604(6). This is the substantially equal population standard. NPPD currently has 11 subdivisions with one director representing each subdivision. In the proposed reconfiguration, the total variance would be .69%. The population in the largest subdivision is +.34% over the ideal, while the subdivision with the smallest population is -.35% below the ideal. The Executive Director Texel noted that NPPD’s total population during its last charter amendment was 600,445, and the total population after the 2020 Census was 530,565. The reason for the change is that several of NPPD’s wholesale partner utilities did not renew their contracts with NPPD, so their territory is being removed from NPPD’s chartered territory. The notice is being published in the Ainsworth Star-Journal, Columbus Telegram, Kearney Hub, Lincoln Journal-Star, Norfolk Daily News, North Platte Telegraph, Scottsbluff Star-Herald, and the York-News Times newspapers on December 22, December 29, 2020 and January 5, 2022. Due to NPPD’s large chartered territory, the District asked the Board to publish notice in eight newspapers instead of just two. The notice states that any protest or objection must be filed by January 27, 2022. Vice Chairman Hutchison asked about the statement about forecasted population figures on page 2 of the petition. The language states that forecasted population figures are not relevant to the charter amendment. Chris Elliott, NPPD’s legal counsel, said he was not sure the basis for that language. Vice Chairman Hutchison also asked about the voting precincts in Lancaster County. Chris Elliott, legal counsel for NPPD, stated that they were able to get the descriptions from Norris PPD so that they could put those descriptions in the charter. Mr. Grennan moved to grant conditional approval of Nebraska Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 8. Vice Chairman Hutchison seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen – yes. The motion carried 4-0 with one absent.
The next item on the agenda was to consider Dawson County Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 4. The application was filed on December 16, 2021. The purpose of the amendment is to better align the District’s chartered territory with it retail service area, redraw voting subdivision boundaries based on the 2020 Census, and update the names and terms of the directors listed in the charter. The petition is submitted pursuant to section 70-604(6). This is the substantially equal population standard. Dawson PPD currently has 3 subdivisions with 11 directors. There are 4 directors in the Buffalo Subdivision, 4 in the Dawson Subdivision, and 3 in the Lincoln subdivision. Exhibit 1 shows the population figures, Exhibit 2 shows the current boundaries, Exhibit 3 shows the proposed subdivisions, Exhibit 4 is the Resolution approving changes, and Exhibit 5 is the minutes of Dawson’s Board meeting where the charter amendment was approved. In the proposed reconfiguration, the total variance would be .45%. The largest subdivision is +.23% over the ideal, while the smallest is -.22 under the ideal. The notice was published in the Kearney Hub, Lexington Clipper-Herald, and the North Platte Telegraph newspapers on December 29, 201 and January 5 and 12, 2022. The notice states that any protests or objection must be filed by February 4, 2022. Gwen Kautz, general manager for Dawson PPD, was on Webex and said that the overview described by Mr. Texel was well done, but she is available to answer any questions. The Board did not have any questions. Vice Chairman Hutchison moved to grant conditional approval of Dawson Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 4. Mr. Moen seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen – yes. The motion carried 4-0 with one absent.
The next item on the agenda was to consider Northeast Nebraska Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 10. The application was filed on December 17, 2021. The PRB staff identified several issues and an amended petition was filed on December 22, 2021. The purpose of the amendment is to better align the District’s chartered territory with its retail service area, redraw voting subdivision boundaries based on the 2020 Census, and update the names and terms of the directors listed in the charter. The petition is submitted pursuant to section 70-604(6). This is the substantially equal population standard. Northeast NE PPD currently has 8 subdivisions with one director in each subdivision. The amendment would remove section 13, which is the list of directors, and add a new section 17 with language authorizing the District’s legal counsel to make non-substantive grammatical corrections to charter amendments as necessary. The first exhibit is a colored map of the entire district, and each of the subdivisions. There is also a map of the current and proposed subdivisions. In the proposed reconfiguration, the total variance would be 9.8%. The largest subdivision is over the ideal by +5%, while the smallest is below the ideal by -4.8%. Notice is being published in the Wayne Herald and the Pierce County-Leader newspapers on December 30, 2021 and January 6 and 13, 2022. The notice states that any protest or objection must be filed by February 4, 2022. Mr. Levy, legal counsel for the district, was in attendance along with Spencer Murphy who also represents the District. Mr. Levy stated the population changes made it a challenge to draw the new boundaries. Vice Chairman Hutchison moved to grant conditional approval of Northeast Nebraska Public Power District’s Petition for Charter Amendment 10. Mr. Grennan seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen – yes. The motion carried 4-0 with one absent.
John McClure, general counsel for NPPD, told the Board his staff had checked about the language on page 2 of NPPD’s petition regarding forecasted population figures not being relevant. The language is in response to language in the PRB’s Rules concerning charter amendments appearing in Chapter 3, section 29.08(3)(d). The Board members thanked Mr. McClure for checking on that issue.
Executive Director Texel told the Board that he requested letters from the districts that did not file charter amendments addressing why they did not file one. The staff has received letters from most of the districts that did not file charter amendments explaining why. There are still several districts that the staff needs to contact to request a letter. The Board notebooks included letters from Custer PPD, KBR RPPD, Central Public Power and Irrigation District, and Burt PPD. Some of the districts elect their directors on an “at-large” basis and therefore have no need to change any subdivisions based on a Census. The Board members said they would like to have a letter from each of the districts that did not file a charter amendment.
The next item on the agenda was to designate a new board member to represent Nebraska on the Southwest Power Pool’s Regional State Committee. Mr. Grennan moved to designate Vice Chairman Hutchison as the Power Review Board’s new RSC representative effective January 1, 2022. Mr. Moen seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison – yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen – yes. The motion carried 4-0 with one absent.
The next item on the agenda was the director’s report. Since this is a special meeting the executive director did not have anything for the director’s report.
Executive Director asked if Mr. Grennan had any new SPP items for the Board. Mr. Grennan talked about the RCAR study that is required to be done in 2022. This will be something that the new RSC member will be working on in order to present the report to the SPP Board in October.
The Board discussed following up with the utilities concerning the issue of the PRB obtaining decommissioning information from the utilities with generation assets. Vice Chairman Hutchison said he would like to ask OPPD to give a briefing to PRB on OPPD’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), and to have NPPD do the same when it has an IRP prepared.
Executive Director Texel reminded the Board that the next meetings are January 21, February 18, and March 18, 2022.
Mr. Grennan moved to adjourn the meeting. Vice Chairman Hutchison seconded the motion. Voting on the motion: Chairman Reida – yes, Vice Chairman Hutchison –yes, Mr. Grennan – yes, Ms. Loutzenhiser – absent, and Mr. Moen – yes. The motion carried 4-0 with one absent. The meeting was adjourned at 12:38 p.m.
Timothy J. Texel
Executive Director and General Counsel
POWERED BY