New MEA board tightens reins

PALMER — Matanuska Electric Association has a new look to its board of directors and a new president.

Lois Lester of Eagle River was elected without objection Tuesday by other board members to loud applause from the audience. Valley resident Peter Burchell was seated for another term and Janet Kincaid replaced former board president Lee Jordan.

Lester thanked the board for choosing her and said she would strive “to be true to the MEA members.”

Lester is serving her third term on the board, having been first elected in 2000. According to an MEA press release, she is the longest-serving member on the board.

Also chosen as officers were David Glines of Eagle River to serve as vice president and Burchell, a Wasilla resident, to serve as secretary/treasurer.

The board elects its officers after each yearly election to serve one-year terms.

Tuesday also saw the swearing in newly elected board member Kincaid and of Burchell to a new term. Both were elected March 1. Burchell and Glines thanked Jordan Tuesday for his years of service and lamented the fact that nobody had thought to prepare him a plaque or other recognition.

The newly constituted board wasted no time in getting down to business.

Lester had barely taken her position as president before proposing changes to the board’s policies, the most striking of which seemed to ask utility General Manager Wayne Carmony to take more direction from the board and exercise less discretion.

The change wasn’t universally welcomed.

“I need to study this before I know how much I want to swallow,” board member Larry DeVilbiss said.

Glines agreed with DeVilbiss, saying he objected to moving forward with changes so quickly. The changes eventually passed with Glines and DeVilbiss in opposition.

Next, Burchell took his turn, making a motion that the co-op’s bylaw committee be dissolved and reconstituted. Under his proposal, sitting members who wish to remain on the committee would have to reapply.

Burchell’s motion stemmed from a dispute this last election cycle when Lester and others noticed that the co-op’s bylaws say committee members serve three-year terms. By that measure, only one committee member has not seen her term expire.

“I don’t think you guys should beat yourself up over this,” Carmony said, noting that his reading of the rule is that a committee member sits until replaced and thus the current committee members, though most of their terms are expired, are still legally serving.

“I think,” Lester said of Burchell’s motion, “it’s just been something that’s in his craw and he wants to get it out.”

Eventually the measure passed unanimously with Glines abstaining.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.