Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority
Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
7:00 pm
Cupertino Community Hall
10350 Torre Avenue
Cupertino, CA
Administrative Conference Room, Gilroy City Hall
7351 Rosanna St.
Gilroy, CA 95020
Morgan Hill City Hall
17575 Peak Ave.
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
MEETING MINUTES
Call to Order:
Chair Tyson called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
Prior to Roll Call, Director Mohan made a statement that she was appearing remotely pursuant to AB 2449 under the Just Cause provision because she was unable to attend in person due to a physical disability that could not be accommodated. Director Mohan noted there were no other individuals present in the room with her.
Roll Call
Present:
George Tyson (Chair), Los Altos Hills
Tina Walia (Vice Chair), Saratoga
Elliot Scozzola, Campbell
Sheila Mohan, Cupertino (Participated via teleconference) Zachary Hilton, Gilroy (Participated via teleconference) Sally Meadows, Los Altos
Rob Rennie, Los Gatos
Bryan Mekechuk, Monte Sereno
Yvonne Martinez Beltran, Morgan Hill (Participated via teleconference) Margaret Abe-Koga, Mountain View (Arrived at 7:13 p.m.) Murali Srinivasan, Sunnyvale
Otto Lee, Santa Clara County
Absent:
Evelyn Chua, Milpitas
Public Comment on Matters Not Listed on the Agenda
No speakers.
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Consent Calendar
Trisha Ortiz, General Counsel, announced prior to taking action, the Brown Act requires a verbal report of a summary of an adoption of a salary schedule or compensation paid to an agency executive. General Counsel Ortiz reported that on the Consent Calendar there were two items that needed to be summarized:
Item 1c) Approve Amendment No. 6 to Employment Agreement for Chief Executive Officer, that extends the contract, includes two terms related to compensation, provides for reimbursement of travel expenses, and provides for a $50,000 retention payment, and
Item 1d) Adopt Salary Scale for Chief Executive Officer, with a proposed salary schedule of $325,000 to $450,000.
1a) Approve Minutes of the August 9, 2023, Board of Directors Meeting 1b) Receive July 2023 Treasurer Report
1c) Approve Amendment No. 6 to Employment Agreement for Chief Executive Officer 1d) Adopt Salary Scale for Chief Executive Officer
1e) Adopt Resolution Establishing October 4, 2023 as Clean Air Day 1f) Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute an Agreement for FY23-24 with HBT Energy Management LLC for Power Resource Management Services
1g) Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute an Agreement for FY23-24 with Richards, Watson & Gershon for Legal Services
1h) Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute Agreement with Maher Accountancy for Accountant Services
1i) SVCE 2022 Annual Power Source Disclosure Report Attestation 1j) Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute a Second Amendment to the PCE Cost Share Agreement for Technical Support for the Reach Code Program 1k) Executive Committee Report
1l) California Community Power Report
1m) Audit Committee Reports
MOTION: Director Mekechuk moved and Director Martinez Beltran seconded the motion to approve the Consent Calendar, Items 1a through 1m.
Chair Tyson opened public comment.
No speakers.
Chair Tyson closed public comment.
The motion carried by verbal roll call vote with Directors Abe-Koga and Chua absent.
Regular Calendar
2) CEO Report (Discussion)
Chair Tyson announced that since the last meeting, CEO Girish Balachandran announced his intention to retire effective March 2024.
CEO Balachandran’s report included the following:
1) Announcement of promotions of the following staff:
a. Bena Chang, Director of Government and Legislative Affairs, b. Pamela Leonard, Deputy Director of Marketing and Communications, and c. Nik Zanotto, Senior Manager of IT and Administrative Services Announcement of the hiring of a new Human Resources Director who would be introduced at the next Board meeting;
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2) An announcement that CEO Balachandran would be on vacation for the month of October, where COO Monica Padilla would serve as Acting CEO.
3) Introduction of new SVCE employees:
Joey Lande, Energy Services Principal,
Juli Miller, ESCR Climate Corp Fellow, and
Sophia Zhang, 4PRO Climate Corp Fellow
All provided brief welcome comments.
4) An update from Director of Government and Legislative Affairs, Bena Chang, on the Budget Trailer Bill on reliability, who responded to board member questions; 5) Highlight of SVCE’s 2022 GHG Inventory Update from Rebecca Fang, Manager of Data and Analytics and Justin Zagunis, Director of Decarbonization Programs and Policy, who responded to board member questions regarding the results.
Chair Tyson opened Public Comment.
No speakers.
Chair Tyson closed Public Comment.
3) Update on Strategic Plan and Adopt FY24 SVCE Focus Areas (Action) CEO Balachandran presented an update on the Strategic Plan and proposed focus areas, noting there had been one addition from the last presentation in June under Attract and Retain Employees (Hire a new CEO).
Chair Tyson opened Public Comment.
No speakers.
Chair Tyson closed Public Comment.
MOTION: Director Mekechuk moved and Vice Chair Walia seconded the motion to adopt the FY24 Strategic Focus Areas:
Expand Clean and Reliable Grid Actions;
Expand Customer Base & Interaction;
Accelerate Building & Transportation Electrification;
Implement Innovative Financing Solutions; and
Attract & Retain Employees
The motion carried by verbal roll call vote with Director Chua absent. 4) Adopt the FY 2023-24 Recommended Operating Budget and Updated Reserves Policy (Action)
Amrit Singh, CFO and Director of Administrative Services, provided a presentation on the FY 23-24 recommended operating budget and revised reserves policy. The main areas of discussion in the presentation were to recap the budget process and timeline, recap key messages, and review the recommended budget.
Staff responded to board member questions and comments regarding electricity prices and the proposed reserve target change from 285 days cash on hand to 300.
Chair Tyson opened Public Comment.
No speakers.
Chair Tyson closed Public Comment.
MOTION: Director Martinez Beltran moved and Director Abe-Koga seconded the motion to adopt Resolution 2023-16 approving the fiscal year 2023-24 Operating Budget and approve the updated Reserves Policy that increases the reserve target from 285 days of cash on hand to 300.
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The motion carried by verbal roll call vote with Director Chua absent.
Board Member Announcements and Future Agenda Items
Director Meadows thanked Director of Decarbonization Programs and Policy Zagunis for attending the Los Altos City Council Meeting on September 12, 2023 to present the Electric Showcase Award.
Vice Chair Walia thanked CEO Balachandran for attending the September 6, 2023 Saratoga City Council Meeting and noted it was good to have a presentation for the Electric Showcase Award at the beginning of the meeting for awareness to other members of the public in attendance at the meeting.
CEO Balachandran thanked SVCE staff members Michaela Pippin, Pamela Leonard, and Bena Chang for their work on coordinating the Electric Showcase Award presentations at member agency council meetings.
Director Mekechuk announced the City of Monte Sereno’s picnic was held August 27, 2023, and noted residents learned a lot about SVCE and the move to clean energy, and commented SVCE’s fiscal year would be ending September 30, 2023 and SVCE’s Audit Committee would be meeting September 19, 2023. CEO Balachandran thanked SVCE staff member Juliette Pascual for her work at the picnic and noted SVCE’s Ford F-150 Lightning Electric Truck was at the picnic and would also be brought to the next board meeting in October.
Director Lee announced on October 14, 2023, Santa Clara County would be hosting a free community event, Day on the Bay, in Alviso from 10am – 3pm; Director Lee thanked SVCE for sponsoring the solar stage. Director Lee shared his positive experience in using an induction cooktop, which he noted is his new favorite appliance.
Director Martinez Beltran announced the City of Morgan Hill held a groundbreaking ceremony September 12, 2023 for its new all-electric fire station, and shared her gratitude to SVCE for the grant that contributed to funding the project.
Alternate Director Srinivasan thanked CEO Balachandran for attending the City of Sunnyvale’s City Council meeting September 12, 2023 to present the Electric Showcase Awards.
CEO Balachandran announced there will be an Electric Homes Tour on October 14, 2023, the same day as Director Lee’s event, and noted an invitation had been sent to board members.
Chair Tyson announced that the Closed Session item scheduled for the evening, Public Employee Appointment, Title: Chief Executive Officer, would not be heard.
Adjourn
Chair Tyson adjourned the meeting at 8:11 p.m.
ATTEST:
_____________________________
Andrea Pizano, Board Secretary
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