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FKEC’s Sara Hamilton trades her hard hat for a mask and snorkel and prepares to identify and measure coral living on a co-op structure at the Indian Key Fill water crossing. FKEC’s Jason Richards captains the co-op boat with David Bogue scribing Hamilton’s findings. See page 6.Photo by Nikki Dunn Cullen
Florida Keys Electric Cooperative
M AY 2018
Cooperative Difference PAGE 4 n Preventative Maintenance PAGE 6 • Anniversaries PAGE 8
Preserving Our Environment
As a cooperative, FKEC is different from an investor-owned utility because we are owned by you, the members we serve. This unique relationship allows us to measure our success beyond our bottom line, and make decisions based on what is right for you and our communities. Being an influential community partner and working toward the sustainable development of the territory we serve is a value FKEC whole-heartedly embraces. Another benefit of your Co-op membership is democratic control or “equal say.” Unlike corporations, your voting rights are not limited by the amount of shares you own. With a cooperative it doesn’t matter how many kilowatt-hours of electricity you buy or how many accounts you have in your name – you have one membership and one vote. An important use of your vote is to elect representatives to the FKEC Board of Directors. These directors represent your best interests and are tasked with keeping the Co-op focused on improving the quality of the power delivered to you and your community. Our directors
make important decisions and take their positions very seriously. FKEC’s board is composed of nine Upper and Middle Keys residents representing four districts: Key Largo, Tavernier, Islamorada and Marathon. The directors serve three-year terms and must reside in the districts they represent. The board meets every month. Meeting dates and times, as well as meeting minutes, agendas and director profiles are available online at www.fkec.com/Cooperative/board.cfm. We are proud to be one of the 833 distribution electric co-ops who power 56% of the nation. Together we play a vital role in transforming the electric sector, and improving the resiliency and efficiency of power systems locally and throughout the country. At FKEC it is our mission to remain committed to being a progressive employer and influential community partner that sets the benchmark in providing high quality, environmentally sensitive, and safe electrical power.
SCOTT NEWBERRYChief Executive Officer
The FKECCooperative Difference
VMAY 2018 www.FKEC.com
FKEC NEWS
FLORIDA KEYSELECTRIC COOPERATIVEASSOCIATION, INC.Member Owned Since 1940
BOARD OF DIRECTORSJames J. BoiliniDistrict 1, Key Largo • President
Gretchen HollandDistrict 1, Key Largo • Vice President
Cale SmithDistrict 3, Islamorada • Treasurer
Michael H. PutoDistrict 4, Marathon • Secretary
David C. RitzDistrict 1, Key Largo
Craig BelcherDistrict 2, Tavernier
Joseph RothDistrict 2, Tavernier
George D. HertelDistrict 3, Islamorada
Karl M. WagnerDistrict 4, Marathon
CONTACT US:(305) 852-2431 • (800) 858-8845 Pay by Phone 1-855-385-9912 www.FKEC.comMailing Address:P.O. Box 377, Tavernier, FL 33070
MEMBERS SHOULD KNOW:Before an outage occurs, verify FKEC has all of your current phone numbers, including cell phone numbers. This expedites power restoration.
Unless otherwise noted, “FKEC NEWS” writing, design & photography by:Nikki Dunn Cullen• [email protected] by: Rebecca Callahan Newman
4 M AY 2018
Dr. Jim Boilini • Dist. 1President
Gretchen Holland • Dist. 1 Vice President
Cale Smith • Dist. 3Treasurer
Mike Puto • Dist. 4Secretary
Joseph Roth • Dist. 2 George Hertel • Dist. 3 Karl Wagner • Dist. 4
Joe Roth Elected to Cooperative BoardJoe Roth was recently elected to serve a three-year term on FKEC’s Board of Directors in an election for District 2, Tavernier. On March 22 polls were open in District 2 at the Tavernier Florida Keys Electric Co-op office from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Don Horton and Donald Davis opposed Roth for the seat. Roth received 271 votes, Horton 229 and Davis 25 votes. Roth was elected according to FKEC bylaws. In 2017 Joe Roth was appointed to the FKEC board to fill the Tavernier, District 2 seat left vacant when Frank Hawkins retired. Roth has lived in the Upper Keys for nearly four decades and for the past 18 years he has owned and operated Regan Insurance,
serving clients throughout the Florida Keys and the state of Florida. Prior to that, he owned and operated Holiday Isle Watersports. Roth is also highly involved in community organizations, having served as the chairperson for many non-profit boards. His board experience includes serving as the past president and current director of the Upper Keys Rotary Club; past assistant governor of Rotary District 6990; past president and current director of the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce; regional board director for Centennial Bank; ten-year chairman of the Plantation Key School Advisory Council; and current president of the Islamorada Fishing Club.
David Ritz • Dist. 1 Craig Belcher • Dist. 2
Meet Your FKEC Board of Directors
FKEC’s Board of Directors represents power consumers in the four voting districts of Key Largo, Tavernier, Islamorada and Marathon. The Board has nine seats, and each director must be nominated and elected by their home district’s members according to FKEC bylaws. Directors serve three-year terms and meet monthly. For more information about the FKEC Board of Directors visit www.fkec.com/Cooperative/board.cfm.
M AY 2018 5
To maintain reliable power service FKEC conducts routine inspections of all elements of the electric system. This practice allows the co-op to identify potential issues before a problem occurs. Recent preventative inspections of structures in the water crossings identified corrosion and spalling issues at the waterline and below. To address this, FKEC is currently working to reinforce and strengthen the poles in water crossings by having concrete “LifeJackets®” constructed at the base of the poles. FKEC hired Structural Preservation, a company that specializes in corrosion repairs, to implement a cathodic protection solution to stop the corrosion. The preventative maintenance also increases pole strength. “Routine inspections and preventative maintenance are key to maintaining our power system’s reliability,” explains Tom Anthony, FKEC Director of Power Supply and Delivery. “By addressing minor issues with corrosion now, we avoid more costly repairs or potential structure failures in the future.” This will be an ongoing project as FKEC works on poles in its 11 miles of water crossings. Once the “LifeJacket®” technology is installed, FKEC will evaluate the repairs annually. Prior to Structural Preservation starting these jobs FKEC has to first apply for permitting. One of the tasks required for permitting is a benthic study to check for corals living on each structure. When performing any work on the power system, it is paramount to FKEC that it is done with respect and preservation of our local environment.
Preventative Maintenance Ensures Reliability
6 M AY 2018
Maintaining and improving our power systems is a priority at FKEC, and doing so with respect and sensi-tivity to our unique environment is equally important. While FKEC is working to reinforce poles (see facing page) in our 11 miles of water crossings, the co-op is also working to preserve the coral found on those structures. After decades in the water, FKEC’s poles have attracted sea life including a wide variety of coral. To ensure the preservation of the marine invertebrates, before doing construction to any poles each structure is inspected and all coral deemed suitable for transplant is removed and relocated. To remove and relocate the coral, first Sara Hamilton, FKEC’s Environmental Manager, inspects the base of each structure and reports the type and size of coral found to the to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The corals to be relocated are determined according to Sanctuary protocols. Then the Coral Restoration Foundation, hired by FKEC, schedules a team to carefully remove the viable pieces and relocate them to thrive in an offshore nursery. “At FKEC it is our goal to provide power with as little impact to our environment as possible,” said Hamilton. “And I take pride in my work and FKEC’s efforts to protect and preserve our local environment.”
Working with Environmental Sensitivity
Jessica Levy of the Coral Restoration Foundation shows FKEC’s Sara Hamilton a Lesser Starlet Coral (Siderastrea radians) removed from an FKEC structure to be relocated.
The Coral Restoration Foundation is a nonprofit ocean conservation organization working to restore the coral reefs, educating others on the importance of our oceans, and using science to further research and monitoring techniques. The foundation is dedicated to creating offshore nurseries and restoration programs for threatened coral species. These programs have allowed the organization to take the lead in innovative nursery and resto-ration techniques that are now implemented worldwide. Through propagation techniques, tens of thousands of corals are grown and maintained in multiple offshore coral tree nurseries before being strategically outplanted on reefs allowing them to continue on a path to natural recovery.
The Coral Restoration Foundation
FKEC’s Sara Hamilton identifies and measures coral living on a co-op
structure at Indian Key Fill.
Photo courtesy of Coral Restoration Foundation
M AY 2018 7
Employees Celebrate 10-Year Milestones
Switlik Career Day
FKEC was happy to once again participate in Stanley Switlik’s Career and Truck Day in Marathon. This year marks the 44th year for the event, which includes a classroom discussion of FKEC careers and electric safety as well as a touch-the-truck event where students tour co-op equipment.
Lisa Baxter Erin Ornelas David RaglandRob Christensen Rory White
Good Luck FKEC Yankees!
Good luck to the FKEC Yankees and all the teams playing in the Upper Keys Athletic Association little league this season. Pictured from left, back row, FKEC’s own Head Coach Phil Guinta with coaches Jeff Gaver, Adam Hill and Johnathon Lindmar. Middle row, players Michael Guinta, William Davila, Austin Vogt, Alexander Ovalle, Jack Hill and Dylan Lindmar. Front row, Ryas Loftus, Colin Costlow, Zane Martinez and Angel Delos Santos.
FKEC thanks these employees for their 10 years of service to the Co-op. Anniversaries are recognized in five-year intervals.
Photo by Rory White
8 M AY 2018
