Potential MEA member says co-op decisions subjective

SOAPSTONE ROAD -- Janet Burts, as she pours gasoline into the recently dry generator, jokes that maintaining a family of five on a generator takes a little more planning than they're used to. There's no more getting up in the middle of a movie to make a quick bag of microwave popcorn; that'll throw the breaker and shut everything down.

It's popcorn first, then movie now, and, like everything the Burts family does now, the movie is watched to the tune of a generator's hum. On their quiet property at the end of Soapstone Road, the noise is a constant backdrop for homework, Burts' children riding their bicycles up and down the driveway, Douglas Burts' work on the barn roof and Janet Burts as she cleans out stalls for their newly arrived batch of foals.

The Burtses weren't seeking a rustic Alaska way of life when they decided to move forward on construction at their 10 acres off Soapstone Road. Burts joked that her idea of extreme camping is staying a few days in their motor home, which she has been doing now for weeks on end. They intended to hook up power from Matanuska Electric Association as soon as possible, but were told by MEA officials on Aug. 21 they did not meet MEA's qualifications for the line extension assistance called the CAP used to help new members receive permanent

service.

According to MEA's regulations regarding types of service, "permanent electric service is electric service to premises the Association has reasonable assurance will take electric service permanently."

The regulation goes on to state that criteria for determining permanency "may include such items as: (a) permanent foundation, (b) city water or water well, or (c) sewage disposal system."

But the line extension

policy as it pertains to the tariff is somewhat more restrictive.

"The eligibility to receive a CAP allowance is limited to new services to bona fide residential or commercial facilities …" the policy states. And, according to a memo sent from MEA Engineering Manager Bob Drake to MEA engineering technicians on the same day Burts visited MEA's main office, a bona fide residence should have a permanent foundation with walls, doors, windows and a roof. It should be fully enclosed, but need not be finished.

"A shed does not qualify for a CAP, a garage does not qualify, a cabin using concrete blocks or timbers laying on the ground as the foundation does not qualify, a barn does not qualify, a travel trailer does not qualify, a motor home does not qualify," the memo states. "What I accept as CAP qualified should be exactly the same thing you accept. If not, we have a problem."

Drake's memo listed several acceptable permanent foundations. If there are questions about eligibility, Drake suggested that engineering technicians should take a picture of the structure to have the decision approved.

Burts guessed it was no coincidence that the memo appeared on the day of her visit. Although the memo would generally remain an internal document, a copy fell into Burts' hands -- one was left on the table of her motor home by an unseen visitor that afternoon.

"Somebody thinks we're getting the shaft," Burts said. "Everybody has said it -- there's no reason they haven't passed us for the CAP. I qualify under the tariff. I should have earned the right to receive this CAP just like all the other places along this road that receive power."

Burts pointed to her father, Guy Greene's property across the street as a prime example. She said he had essentially the same setup as she did -- a motor home and a well -- and he received power under the CAP in June.

She mentioned several neighbors up Soapstone Road who had received power similarly, including a school bus renovated as a living space and a mobile home still on its axles.

"I want them to abide by their tariff," Burts said, "and I don't think they are. I'm willing to pay the $6,000 or whatever it costs. I will sign the five-year agreement."

But MEA spokesman Mike Pauley said the tariff must be taken as a whole document -- while one portion may require one of three items to determine permanency, another portion brings up the "bona fide residence" phrase. That section states in greater detail that eligibility hinges on the "reasonable assurance that the monthly revenue generated by the new service will equal the system-wide average upon which the CAP is based …"

"Our policy is designed to be fair to the rest of our members," Pauley said. "That's pretty specific language. That's why just having a foundation in the ground, in our view, doesn't provide that type of assurance."

The $4,500 construction credit Burts is seeking to receive, Pauley added, is not taken lightly.

"The association has to have some reasonable assurance that, over the long term, we'll see a return on that investment," Pauley said.

Burts rattled off a list of assurances that prove she intends to remain a permanent resident. She has a post-and-beam barn, several horses, a considerable pile of hay, a well, permanent phone service, a post office box, her children are enrolled in Valley schools and her house in Anchorage is up for sale.

"What more do you want?" she asked.

Mary Ann Helie, who lives just down the road from Burts, said she, too, was not sure why MEA had not approved Burts' property for the CAP. When Helie's family moved in recently, they

requested service when they had a travel trailer with a shed attached, but were told they needed a permanent structure. After constructing an A-frame, they eventually got service. Helie was unsure whether the structure was fully enclosed at the time their service was granted.

"It's really hard because you don't always have the same person come out [to look at the property]," Helie said. She added that one MEA employee who had stopped by said, in the past, people would request the extension and then, once the power was extended, abandon the property. "I understand that they have requirements," Helie said.

Pauley said without conducting an audit of past CAP investments, it would be difficult to determine how much MEA has lost due to CAP investments made on property that generates less revenue than expected or on property that was later abandoned by a would-be permanent resident.

"We certainly have a transient population up here," Pauley said. "I wouldn't want to say it's a frequent problem."

As for what appeared to be an inconsistent application of the CAP in extending service to Burts' father's property and potentially other property in the Soapstone Road area, Pauley said although he hadn't seen the memo Drake issued on Aug. 21, it may have been written to remind MEA employees of the need for consistency.

"Certainly, the norm should be to follow the tariff that is our operating handbook," Pauley said. "If we made a mistake in one case, it certainly doesn't justify another mistake."

If qualification under the CAP is out of the question, the easiest solution for the Burtses would be to pay for the line extension out of pocket -- an approximate cost of $15,000, Burts said, to extend the electrical line the nearly 300 feet necessary for a power hook-up. Burts said when she and her father met with MEA officials in August, she was told that was her best option. And, under the tariff, once she has a bona fide residence, MEA will refund the money that would have been paid out. But Burts didn't see that as a workable option.

"I explained to [them], when you're out here building, your money is all tied up," she said. "They're holding their ground, I'm holding mine. I'm not about to back down."

Burts said she spoke with a lawyer about the situation, and was told the case could have class-action lawsuit potential. But she's not sure whether that's the best way to proceed at this point.

"I have to pick my battles," Burts said.

Instead, she presented the information to the MEA board of directors at its Sept. 9 meeting. She read the tariff and sections of the documents that pertain to the CAP and asked to be accepted under the CAP program.

Although Burts' comments were addressed in board member comments at that meeting, no action was taken and Burts said she's heard little from MEA since. She's hoping that, once the living space above the barn is fully enclosed, engineers will determine that the property qualifies under the CAP. An engineer was at Burts' property Thursday and said although the barn below the Burts' living space is fully enclosed and walls are up on two sides of the upstairs space, the two end walls must be enclosed before it can be considered for the CAP.

Burts said she was unsure what her next step would be.

"I have to sit down and discuss it with my husband," Burts said.