Many members of the Orcas Power and Light Co-op gathered at the ferry terminal on Orcas to board the Elwha for OPALCO’s annual meeting on the ferry.

Members and their guests were treated to a sack lunch prepared by The Galley on Lopez served in little, yellow OPALCO lunch bags. While those who boarded on Orcas ate their free lunch, the ferry made a stop at Shaw and Lopez picking up more members. Overall there were more than 100 members in attendance.

Each member was offered the choice of a free gift from the San Juan Islands Conservation District as they waited for the meeting to begin; either a LED nightlight or a “solar powered dryer,” which consisted of a piece of rope and clothes pins.

Once the members from Lopez boarded the ferry, it set sail for Anacortes and the meeting officially began.

Jim Lett, president of the board of directors for OPALCO, began the meeting by thanking everyone for coming; thanked The Galley for catering; thanked Orcas Island Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Patrick Shepler for attending; and welcomed Joan Crosby, wife of the late Roger Crosby who served on the OPALCO Board of Directors for 22 years.

Then the three recipients of this year’s Nourdine Jensen Cooperative Youth Scholarship were announced. Each student will receive a $500 scholarship and all-expenses paid trip to the Youth Rally leadership camp at the College of Idaho. Anneke Fleming of Orcas, Tenley Nelsen of Friday Harbor and Ryanne Pluff of Friday Harbor were the recipients of this year’s scholarships. One of last year’s recipients, Ray Doss, was voted by his peers at the Youth Rally to return as a youth director.

Next, Vince Dauciunas, board vice president, gave a short lecture on grid modernization. He explained the need to replace aging infrastructure and the necessity to facilitate green energy. Dauciunas explained the grid system as big tree-like structure. All energy is currently flowing only one direction, but the future of energy transfer will need to allow for energy to flow both ways.

Following Dauciunas was Foster Hildreth, general manager of OPALCO. Hildreth gave a short talk on the “state of OPALCO.”

“Isn’t this the cutest cover you’ve ever seen?” he asked a giggling audience as he held a copy of the 2016 annual report, referencing the photo of young children posed in front of one of OPALCO’s work trucks. Members who attended the meeting were given a small pamphlet outlining the annual report, and Hildreth said the entire report is available online.

Hildreth focused quite a bit of attention on a topic that has received a bit of criticism from various members of the co-op: the acquisition of Rock Island.

As of right now, according to Hildreth, there are about 1,000 members subscribed to Rock Island, and that number is an average of raising six new customers a day.

“We’re going to be solving the internet crisis,” said Hildreth, who continued by stating that there are 17 poles currently erected to distribute Rock Island’s internet service, by the end of 2016 there will be 31. According to Hildreth, the importance of the acquisition of Rock Island rivals the introduction of electricity in 1937 and the installation of the submarine cable from Bonneville Power Administration.

Hildreth went on to apologize for the “bumps” members have experience along the way, but assures members that there will be improved service, which will reward members for their patience.

The topic shifted as Hildreth turned to the death threats a new OPALCO employee received earlier this year.

“It rattled us, me, right to the bones,” said Hildreth. Who thanked Sheriff Ronald Krebs for his work on the case and OPALCO employees for their steadfast support.

“The employees didn’t want to leave,” Hildreth said, talking about the day the threats were received and the office decided to close for safety purposes. “They wanted to circle their wagons and protect OPALCO.”

Next came the results of the election. A total of 2,397 ballots were cast by members who attended the meeting and absentee voters.

Jim Lett, with 1,100 votes, and Brian Silverstein, with 1,422 votes, were chosen to fill the two seats available representing District 3. The incumbent candidate for District 4, Jerry Whitfield, received 1,207 votes, barely beating out Gabriel Jacobs who had 1,013. Members also rejected a bylaw amendment allowing the board to review how many people serve on it every 10 years, and adjust according to what population needs are for each district. There were with 1,207 votes against the bylaw change.

A questions and answers segment came next.

While many members simply wanted to thank OPALCO for their service and for acquiring Rock Island, a few had some complaints to make.

The first person to approach the microphone was Michael Baker of Orcas. Baker noted that Rock Island is currently at a deficit of $2 million a year, and wanted to know “how long will we put up with it?”

HIldreth explained that Rock Island is a start-up, and start-up businesses tend to run in the red for a while. Rock Island should be turning a profit in 2018, Hildreth added.

Michael Riordan took to the microphone to propose that an independent group of members should investigate OPALCO’s financial decisions. Legal counsel for OPALCO, Joel Pasener, ruled that the proposition is not in accordance to bylines and therefore was not valid. He said that it wasn’t a ruling on the substance of the proposition, but of a lack of prior notice. Bylines state, according to Pasener, that there must be notice of such movements made to OPALCO 10 days prior to the meeting, and no more than 50 days in advance.

One Lopez member brought up concern over the construction of the towers. Hildreth addressed her concern stating that before Rock Island teamed up with T-Mobile to provide internet, the plan would have required 120 towers be erected, now there will only be 38. He continued that Rock Island is trying their best to have as minimal an impact to aesthetics of the scenery as possible. They try to “wiggle them into trees,” he said.

Another concerned member stated that OPALCO had been secret in their decision making. Claiming that “decisions were made but not explained,” and that members were “locked out.” The member suggested there should have been a vote by the members on whether or not to purchase Rock Island.

“We need to earn the trust back in this organization,” said Hildreth, explaining there was no vote on Rock Island because that is why board of directors exists. “We elect the board to make decisions.”

Stephanie Froning of Lopez thanked Rock Island for listening to her concerns over a tower being built in a property adjacent to her home, the view obstruction in particular. When Hildreth agreed that the location was probably not the best, and that Rock Island had been searching for an alternative location for the tower. Froning and Hildreth then shared a high five in celebration.

Ed Sutton of Orcas noted the recent electrical outages Orcas has experienced were directly related to an issue on Shaw. Hildreth assured Sutton that OPALCO is planning a second connection to Orcas, via Decatur and Blakley Islands to act as backup.

“What is my benefit? What is the effect? Will it increase taxes? How much is membership paying for Rock Island?” asked Tim Grant, curious of how the purchase of Rock Island financially affected OPALCO members, specifically those who chose not to utilize Rock Island’s services. Hildreth then said that each OPALCO member is currently paying $3 per month. That $3 payment will continue until the end of the year, when OPALCO hopes that Rock Island can take over the start-up loan that OPALCO took out for it.

Shepler approached the microphone as a member, not representing OIFR, but still thanked OPALCO for their help in advancing internet technology on the islands, stating that current radio communication problems that OIFR experiences can be solved with broadband.

Once the ferry left the dock in Anacortes to return to the islands, Jim Lett complimented the entire OPALCO staff and adjourned the meeting.

Many door prizes were then distributed to members based on a ticket they received upon registration. Six members who sent in their absentee ballots were drawn for $50 credits on their next OPALCO bills. The winners were: West Sound Marina; David and Beckie Heinlein; Charles and Laura Deach; Scott Meyers and Brigit Waring; Holly Liberatore and Elizabeth Strash.