LOCAL PAGES

BY PHIL CASKEY, PRESIDENT & CEO

HEALTHY TREES, HEALTHY COMMUNITY

Nineteenth-century essayist Alexander Smith is famous for writing, “A man doesn’t plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity.” Just as a man does not plant trees for himself, we do not cut trees down for ourselves, either. Instead, my team works hard to maintain the trees that we do have, nearly 40,000 of them within our rights-of-way, to be exact. Our vegetation management program carefully maintains about 1,240 miles of above-ground power lines. David Tidd, our system arborist, is our man with the mission. His Bachelor of Science degree in forestry, along with certifications by the International Society of Arboriculture as a certified arborist and a utility specialist, can assure you that he is always thinking about the members of Consolidated Cooperative and the environment.

Our routine

Our vegetation maintenance program runs on a fouryear cycle. Annually, we aim to clear approximately 310 miles of power lines. We also target off-right-of-way danger trees for removal, which are determined by the likelihood that they’ll fall into a power line or pole. Consolidated also practices integrated vegetation management (IVM), which combines vegetation pruning and removal, mowing where appropriate, and spraying low volumes of herbicides that control only vegetation that could interfere with our rights-of-way. We adhere to all standard practices and pruning guidelines that are accepted and endorsed by the International Society of Arboriculture. They promote directional pruning methods, which minimize pruning stress and focus on tree health while keeping necessary clearance from power lines. That means we no longer prune them in ways that are aesthetically pleasing but in ways that are effective at keeping them out of the way and promoting better growth in the trees — a benefit for everyone!

The results

Thanks to IVM, we’re able to keep low-growing vegetation in our service territory, which is important as a habitat for pollinators. Our members also benefit from our well-managed vegetation maintenance program: Our number of outage minutes per year, per meter, related to controllable vegetation outages have steadily declined since 2015. The length of time in 2015 was almost 12 minutes, and in 2020, that time was down to a little over three minutes. We reached our goal of a four-year cycle, and our outage numbers have reduced immensely. At Consolidated Cooperative, we continue working hard to bring you safe and reliable utility services with minimal interruptions.

Right tree, right place. How do you know?

To learn more about trees and how they benefit our homes and our environment, see page 22. A free resource, i-Tree MyTree, can help you learn more about the trees already in your yard or the right tree for your area. I encourage you to look at this guide and then consider planting a tree in your own yard — not for yourself, but for future generations — and, as always, far away from overhead power lines.

2021 annual meeting in the books

Cooperative celebrates 85 years of service

Consolidated Cooperative members attended their annual business meeting virtually for the second year in a row on May 15. Despite the challenging circumstances presented by COVID-19, members gathered for the 85th year, 25 of those as the merged Consolidated Cooperative.

Board chairman Don Breece opened the meeting by acknowledging the difficulties of the past year and asking members, employees, and his fellow trustees to take a moment of silence to reflect.

Members learned they reelected Mike Shuster, Mike Huston, and Mary Fuller to another term on the board. Voting was conducted online and by mail prior to the meeting.

President and CEO Phil Caskey highlighted the People Fund’s local impacts, including $40,000 granted for COVID hunger relief efforts to four local charities. Consolidated’s nonprofit foundation, which has a separate board of trustees, is funded nearly 100% by the generosity of co-op members rounding their bills up to the next whole dollar, with the change benefiting individuals and community groups right here at home.

Caskey also reported on the generosity of members who donated to help others with their utility bills through Consolidated’s Home Utility Gift program. In 2020, members gave a total of $5,060.65 to help Consolidated members in all of our utility services.

“Thank you for helping our neighbors and our communities,” Caskey said.

He continued his report with an overview of how unprecedented weather in nearly the entire United States caused a one-time price spike for natural gas members, and he said cooperative leaders are examining how to prevent such a situation in the future, if at all possible.

Caskey also reported on the fiber internet expansion to residential homes, which is anticipated to be available to about 2,000 homes by the end of 2021. Consolidated’s engineering team anticipates finalizing areas of expansion for 2022 later this year. Finally, Caskey recognized employees for maintaining the fiber internet expansion and all the regular operations necessary to provide electric, gas, and internet services throughout the pandemic, never skipping a beat and even improving some processes that the co-op will keep as the pandemic ends.

“We rolled up our sleeves” in 2020, Caskey said, and we will continue to work hard for our members to improve our value and service to you.

Thank you to all of our members who attended the virtual meeting, and we look forward to seeing you in person next year. If you missed the meeting, log into SmartHub via mobile app or from consolidated.coop and find the link to view the recording in the communication/alerts section.

TRUSTEE ELECTIONS

During Consolidated Cooperative’s 85th annual meeting of members, Secretary Michael Struck announced the results of the recent trustee elections.

• District 7: Mike Schuster

• District 8: Mike Huston

• District 9: Mary Fuller

Voting was conducted online and by mail prior to the meeting. Consolidated’s board is composed of trustees from nine districts in our service area. Each year, members in three of those districts elect trustees, and this year, districts 7, 8, and 9 were up for election. If this wasn’t your year, please keep an eye out for future elections.

Mike Schuster Mike Huston Mary Fuller

You don’t have to do it alone

Local agencies can help with utility bills this summer

We know that your utility bills can add up. Your local community action agency can help you find assistance for your cooling bills this summer. You might qualify now even if you haven’t before.

Ohio’s Summer Crisis Program provides financial assistance to income-eligible households determined eligible by the current SCP State Issued Grant Agreement, Exhibit 1, Scope of Work. The SCP program year runs from July 1 to Aug. 31.

Call the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies at 614-224-8500 or visit oacaa.org to find your local agency and get help applying for the program. You can also visit consolidated.coop and search for “assistance” to learn more about community resources.

Help a fellow member with a bill

Do you know of someone who could use a HUG? Times have been tough. You can purchase a Home Utility Gift (HUG) and credit the utility account of any Consolidated Cooperative member of your choice at any time, or you can choose to give anonymously, and Consolidated will allocate the funds to a member.

HUGs are always available and can be purchased in any denomination. You can use the night drop box at either Consolidated office when purchasing a HUG, but please don’t leave cash because the drop boxes are not secured. If you’re giving to a specific person, please be prepared to provide the address of the HUG recipient when making your purchase. Forms can be downloaded from Consolidated’s website, www.consolidated.coop, or call member services at 800-421-5863 to send your HUG.

SAVE WITH PROPANE PRE-BUY

Though warmer weather is finally here, the heating season is only a few months away! Plan and beat the cost of energy next winter by enrolling in one of Consolidated’s money-saving programs, propane prebuy. In past years, co-op members have experienced considerable savings through this program.

Propane pre-buy will be available from Aug. 1 to Sept. 7. Please watch for details in the next issue of Ohio Cooperative Living magazine, on Facebook, and on our website at www.consolidated.coop.

FROM THE BOARDROOM

May

• Trustee Larry Roof and President/CEO Phil Caskey reported on the May board meetings of Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives, the statewide trade association, and Buckeye Power, the cooperative power supplier, which focused on upcoming strategic planning and Ohio House Bill 2. • General Counsel Adam Landon administered the oath of office to reelected trustees Mike Schuster, Mike Huston, and Mary Fuller. • The board reelected officers to his or her seat: Don Breece, chairman; Huston, vice chairman; Michael Struck, secretary;

Fuller, assistant secretary; and Kent Kramer, treasurer. • The boards for Bright Energy (natural gas) and Consolidated

Gas (propane) rotated. On the Bright Energy board are Struck, chairman; Fuller, secretary; Tim Bachelder; Breece; and Kramer.

On the Consolidated Gas board are Schuster, chairman; Roof, secretary; Breece; Huston; and Don McCracken. • All trustees signed board policy 118, regarding conflicts of interest. • Chief Operating Officer Tim Applegate reported on safety, including trainings and incidents, scheduled crew audits, and plans for National Safety Month. • Chief Financial and Human Resources Officer Teri Wallis discussed first-quarter financials. Year-to-date net margins for electric were $1.9 million; natural gas, $380,000; propane, $551,000; and fiber, $180,000. Wallis also reported on April financials: Net margins for electric were $356,000; natural gas, $-8,000; propane, $25,000; and fiber, $-68,000. • Applegate reported that more than 3,360 homes are now eligible to subscribe to Consolidated fiber internet, with the overall subscription rate at 48%. • Caskey reported that 208 new meters have been installed in 2021 and 21 members attended the virtual annual business meeting May 15.

Plant right with iTree-MyTree

Did you know that planting trees in your yard can help you save up to 20% on your summer energy bills? Trees also improve your community by cleaning the surrounding air and water. Trees are good for energy savings and for the environment.

But how do you know which trees to plant — and where? What about the trees already on your property?

iTree-MyTree is a great place to find answers. This free website is part of a suite of software from the USDA Forest Service.

Simply visit mytree.itreetools.org and plug in your data. This easy-to-use website will quantify the benefits and energy savings of the trees already in your yard — or the trees you want to plant.

Consolidated is a TreeLine USA Utility

As a certified TreeLine USA utility, Consolidated Cooperative supports a dual goal of dependable utility service and abundant, healthy trees in our communities. Sponsored by The Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters, the TreeLine USA program recognizes public and private utilities across the nation that demonstrate best practices to protect and enhance America’s urban forests. Consolidated Cooperative is honored to be certified by this prestigious organization.

CONSOLIDATED COOPERATIVE

CONTACT — 24-HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE

800-421-5863 | service@consolidated.coop www.consolidated.coop

MAIN OFFICE

5255 St. Rte. 95 P.O. Box 111 Mount Gilead, OH 43338

DISTRICT OFFICE

4993 St. Rte. 521 Delaware, OH 43015

OFFICE HOURS 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Don Breece

Chair

Mike Schuster

Vice Chair

Michael Struck

Secretary

Mary Fuller

Asst. Secretary

Kent Kramer

Treasurer

Tim Bachelder Michael Huston Don McCracken Larry Roof

OUTAGE WATCH

866-567-2753

866-567-2753 is a special automated Outage Hotline to help speed up outage reporting and provide you with any outage information that is known at the time of your call.

You can also text your outage to 55050 after preregistration with a service representative.