Springfield City Council's Committee of the Whole made recommendations last week for five members of the Board of Public Utilities, and only one is a familiar face to the board.
Three seats for city residents and two seats for county residents are open on the board, which manages the operations of City Utilities. Two of the seats were held by board members who cannot apply for reappointment due to term limits. Expiring board terms ended Dec. 1.
From among the 12 applicants, the council committee selected one of the three incumbents eligible for reappointment: Tom Rankin, developer and real estate agent with Sperry Van Ness/Rankin Co. Board member Mike Chiles did not apply for reappointment, while board member Lisa Crump was not selected.
The other four proposed appointees:
• In the city, the committee selected Dianna Parker, director of student life at Ozarks Technical Community College; and Dan Scott, architect and owner of Jericho Development LLC and The Design Agency.
• In the county, the committee chose attorney Brian Hamburg of Hamburg & Lyons LLC, and Brooks Miller, executive director of Jordan Valley Community Health Center.
Hamburg said he is especially interested in energy efficiency issues.
"If you look regionally, the rates that are charged for electricity here are pretty low compared to other regions of the country, but there is a lot of potential for reduction in customers' bills based upon the amount of energy that they use," Hamburg said. "I think that we have the ability, if we can properly ... and aggressively implement an efficiency campaign, to allow customers to see bills that are lower than what they thought they could pay."
Hamburg said he also wants to look at the city bus system and the potential for expanding the utility's SpringNet telecommunications program.
The next step is for the council committee to send the recommendations to the full council, which will likely happen at council's Dec. 14 meeting. Council will then formally approve the slate of nominees at its next meeting, scheduled for Jan. 11, in time for the new members to be seated at the board's Jan. 28 meeting.
Applicants had to complete a written application including a cover letter and the candidate's vision for the future of the utility. Council took those applications in November.
According to the city charter, applicants for city positions must have lived in Springfield for at least two years, and county applicants must live in Greene County, have subscribed to at least one utility service for at least two years and must maintain that service during their board terms.[[In-content Ad]]
