Your PUD News Release
Public speaks in favor of PUD fiber build-out
Chelan County PUD
News Release
4/30/2007
Twenty-one customer-owners and business people spoke in favor of Chelan County PUD’s fiber-optic build-out Monday. Many recommended accelerating the build-out pace.
The meeting, held in a full PUD Auditorium, was a session to discuss the future of the PUD’s wholesale fiber system and is a precursor to a June 11 strategic planning session. Commissioners will be asked at the June 11 meeting to set financial policy for the fiber program, as well as other PUD programs.
General Manager Rich Riazzi and John Smith, PUD Networks director, detailed four options for the fiber build-out, including exiting the program. Continuing today’s plan, as set by PUD commissioners in 2002, would bring fiber service to 75 percent of Chelan County residents by the end of 2008, and 95 percent by 2012.
Other options include an extended plan, which would slow construction, resulting in service to 60 percent of residents by 2008, and 76 percent by 2012, with the remaining residents connected 2 percent each year after 2012.
A minimal build-out option would bring fiber to 50 percent of residents by 2008, and 54 percent by 2012. Under this plan, the rest of the county would be built out 1 percent each year after 2012.
George Wilson, a Lake Wenatchee resident, encouraged commissioners to consider speeding construction in areas that have no access to high-speed Internet, saying that it is the PUD’s responsibility to “serve the underserved.”
“Fiber is information. Information is power. So in essence, fiber is power,” said Cashmere resident Steve Godfrey.
Access to the Internet, telephone and television services over Chelan County PUD fiber is now available to almost 20,000 homes and businesses. There are about 5,400 end-users buying services from 15 private service providers.
PUD employee survey in line with previous years
Job satisfaction, gender fairness, and pay and benefits again received the highest rankings in an annual survey of PUD employees. Overall, favorable ratings were midway between the last two years’ surveys.
Dawn Allen of Vangent, Inc., summarized results of the 2007 survey for PUD commissioners and staff on Monday morning. Employees answered the Web-based questionnaire between Feb. 26 and March 14 -- before the recent organizational realignment announced by General Manager Rich Riazzi.
Allen told commissioners that communication effectiveness (30 percent), work efficiency (28 percent), management effectiveness (27 percent) and reactions to the survey (27 percent) received the highest unfavorable ratings. Results suggest that employees want increased efficiency, a clear sense of direction and stronger management follow-through.
A new comparison this year matched the PUD against public sector organizations, and the PUD was above the norm in 12 of 14 categories.
“We can be proud once again of our results in the areas of job satisfaction, pay and benefits compared to organizations nationally,” said General Manager Rich Riazzi.
“However, we have work to do in areas that have also shown up in the two previous years – explaining our organizational strategies and increasing efficiency in our organization.”
Riazzi said he thought the recent realignment begins to address some of the issues.
“I and the management team pledge to work on the key employee concerns that emerged from the survey,” he said.
Participation in the annual PUD employee survey increased this year, with 485 out of about 705 employees responding (69 percent), compared with 406 employees who took part in 2006.
View complete employee survey results.
In other business, PUD commissioners:
- Authorized the sale of around $134 million in bonds to capture interest savings and provide funding for new capital projects. The sale will refinance nearly $94 million in existing debt, and provide about $40 million for capital projects at the dams and for construction in the electric system. Interest savings of about $16 million are expected from the refinancing.
- Approved emergency negotiations to replace the Stehekin turbine runner. Costs are expected to be about $125,000. The runner has cracked and must be replaced after several cracks have appeared and been repaired since 2004. While the runner is being replaced, power is being generated for Stehekin homes and businesses by a diesel generator, costing the PUD up to $1000 a day.
- Set a special meeting for 1 p.m. on May 9 in the PUD boardroom to discuss the integrated water system strategy.
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The next regular meeting of the PUD commission is at 1 p.m. on Monday, May 7.
Most PUD commission meetings are recorded, and a link to the audio is available on the PUD’s home page at http://www.chelanpud.org/.
Christy Shearer
Communications Audio-visual Specialist
Chelan County PUD
509.661.4258 office
509.421.4258 cell
509.661.8133 fax
christy.shearer@chelanpud.org