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Toledo Bend Bi-State Alliance
Minutes March 26, 2007
Maurice Patterson, Texas Co-Chairman, called the meeting to order and gave the opening prayer.
James Clemons presented the U.S. American Flag and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Minutes of the February 26, 2007 monthly meeting of TBBSA were approved as written.
Treasurer Janna Lehman reported there are 17 organizational members and 362 associate members (individuals) plus 2 new members tonight now paid. The new members are Tom Trussell and Chuck Truax. The current balance in the regular account is $7,319.96 and approximately $4,000 in the Legal Account. The Treasurer's Report was approved as presented.
Approval of Outstanding Bills: The following bills were approved for payment:
1) A check to Janna Lehman in the amount of $177.77 for Ink ($113.91) and Paper, Envelopes, Frames, and Name Badges ($63.86).
2) Payment of $75 to purchase 1000 Tri-Fold Flyers.
Presentation of Monthly Award: Maurice presented this month's Special Award for volunteer service to this organization to James Clemons. The certificate read: 'AWARD of the MONTH to James Clemons in Recognition of Performance in Non-Combat Situations.' Toledo Bend Bi-State Alliance. Janna presented a Special Award to Don Driscoll for positive comments at the SRA-TX Board meeting in Carthage, where 41 of our members were present. The certificate read: 'Congratulations Don Driscoll - We Knew You Could Do It'. Toledo Bend Bi-State Alliance.
New Business:
Maurice shared a phone message from Bill Erickson at Fox's Lodge he received prior to the meeting. Bill said he would be unable to be at the meeting because they had so much business over the weekend he was still cleaning up.
Reports from Meetings: Glen Provost was asked to give updates on where we are with our efforts. Glen said the latest snag turned out to be a big problem with Louisiana balking, which came as a big surprise since Louisiana was ahead of Texas by getting the statutes passed mandating not generating below 168 msl. Glen has asked Larry Kelly to tell the group what happened to get that resolved. Glen said the good news is he has received nothing but positive indications from the folks at Entergy, the legislators' offices, and SRA members. There is no disagreement whatsoever about the 168 level and if there is an agreement about establishing a reserve account whereby the utility companies can be compensated for any losses from not generating below 168, then there would be only the new rate to consider. Glen said the word he has received is that even the new rate to be charged per megawatt hour of electricity has pretty much been settled. Glen feels things are moving again, but would suggest businesses that have been seeing an increase in business around the lake to send 'testimonials' in a little note to our legislators and let them know things are really looking up. It is very important that both Louisiana and Texas SRAs and power companies are in agreement with any modification or change to the Power Sales Agreement, so Glen asked Larry Kelly to tell the members about the Louisiana problem. Larry said word had gotten back to the Public Service Commission in Louisiana that the SRA-LA was about to enter into a water sales agreement that would bring in a lot of money. What the people didn't tell the PSC was that would not happen for about 15 years, if it happens at all. Jim Pratt, Executive Director of SRA-LA was able to get Rep. Joe Salter, Speaker of the House, to meet with the Secretary of the PSC, Entergy-CLECO, and the SRA-LA. The outcome of that meeting was the PSC would favorably consider increasing the cost of power by using the contract. Larry said there are two ways to file for a rate increase. He said one is to file with the commission and ask for a rate increase. The second is to modify the existing contract and file with the PSC and they will determine if the price is applicable. If the increase is justified, the PSC would approve the modification and give the SRA the rate increase. Larry went on to explain how changes to the contract would bring about compensation for any loss due to not generating below 168. Larry says if everything goes right and all the parties agree, hopefully the amendment can be taken before the PSC when they meet on April 25th.
Nominations for SRA-TX Board: Glen said Senator Nichols requested TBBSA give him a list of 5 or 6 names we formally recommend for the SRA-TX Board. Gene Nethery and Susan Cowgill of Sabine County, and Bill McCarty of Newton County have already been listed. In response to a question regarding the qualifications of these candidates, Maurice read credentials for each. Tonight, the names of Skip Austin and Richard Buttross were nominated and added to the list. James Clemons moved the TBBSA send a letter of recommendation for these five names. Joe Kelley seconded the motion and motion passed.
Old Business:
East Texas Region I Water Planning Board: Bill Huegel, representative to the board, said he is now taking part in the regional water planning activity for the state. The planning boards are working on the water requirements to meet the needs of the people for the next 50 years. They have just completed the first five year planning cycle study, and are now going into the next five year planning cycle. The power generation is a 'today' problem and the water sales are a 'tomorrow' problem. Bill said he attended a meeting this week where a couple of really important things came up. One was about moving water from the Sabine Basin to the Trinity Basin and the control over how that water gets moved, particularly at the basin from where the water is being moved. He said they went through a series of bills that are in legislation now, and one new bill that Bill thought was of interest was HB 911 called The Inner Basin Transfer of Water. The plan was to make it easier to move water by removing any restraints of count judges, etc. The other two bills of interest were those submitted by Senator Nichols and Representative Christian. Bill went on to explain how the census records are used in determining how much water will be needed, and that was the basis for the first planning cycle study. That study has been approved and is posted on their website. The new study will be different in that several projects will be looked at in detail to form concepts for where water will be needed and how to get it there. The single most important project to be looked at by this group will be the transfer of water from Toledo Bend north to the Dallas area. Half of it will go north and remain in the Sabine River Basin, and the other half will go to Dallas and end up in the Trinity River Basin. Bill went on to explain how the study will be done, but he was concerned that there was no mention of how Toledo Bend might be affected. Bill noted our water is cheap now, but will continue to get more expensive. The next meeting of the Water Planning Board will be June 13th at 10 A.M. at the Community Center Library, Nacogdoches, Texas. Maurice thanked Bill for a very informative report.
Closing Comments: Someone noted attendance at this meeting was down considerably since the lake level is up and business is on the rise, but we must keep encouraging our legislators, the SRAs and power companies to help us make the 168 level a reality.
Next Meeting Date: April 23, 2007
Meeting Adjourned.
Respectfully Submitted,
Betty Griffin, Secretary
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