Joey Lamond new Osage City Utilities Director

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Congratulations are in order and it is our privilege to announce that Joey Lamond has been selected as the new Utilities Director for Osage City.  There was no shortage of strong applicants, which says a lot about what Joey brings to the table.  Joey will be taking the reins in Osage City on August 3rd, leaving his current position as City Superintendent for Burlingame, where he has served since 2010.  Joey has a rich and diverse set of skills and experience which he honed in Burlingame.  His work included oversight of water, sewer, electric, gas, streets, city buildings, parks, and city construction projects.  Joey has proven himself as an accomplished manager of people, projects, and budgets, and is hands on in dealing with city council and county department initiatives.  Joey began his career at the tender age of 22 when he started working for Northern Pipeline.  He quickly advanced to general superintendent for Canadian Utility Construction in Surrey, B.C. Canada and then general superintendent of NPL Construction of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Joey is returning to the community where he graduated from high school, Osage City High School.  From Osage City High, Joey went on to Spartan School of Aeronautics, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, receiving his Airframe and Power Plant license in 1992.  Osage City is enthusiastic to have Joey in place as their new Utilities Director and we couldn’t be happier for him.  Please join us in congratulating and extending our best wishes to Joey as he begins this exciting new chapter.

Kendal Francis new Coffeyville City Manager

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Kendal Francis 2We wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate Kendal Francis who has been appointed the next City Manager for the City of Coffeyville. Kendal will be heading to Coffeyville in a couple of weeks, leaving his current post as City Administrator for the City of Lakin. Kendal certainly made his mark in Lakin, including his success in attracting businesses and working with Kearny County to improve service delivery and reduce expenditures. Coffeyville was particularly impressed with Kendal’s integrity and his proven ability to navigate the challenges of operating a full service city. Prior to his time in Lakin, Kendal was Director of Water/Wastewater for the City of Beloit, where he spent 20 years working for the city. Kendal is a member of the League of Kansas Municipalities Board of Directors and earned his master’s certificate of public administration from Kansas State University in 2011. Kendal officially starts his career in Coffeyville on August 3rd. Please join us in congratulating Kendal on his new position as Coffeyville City Manager.

 

2014 Annual Report on the way

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The 2014 Annual Report is hot off the press and ready to go out.  We trust you will find it to be informative and insightful as you reflect back on what we accomplished together in 2014.  We want to acknowledge and thank you, our members, for taking time out of your busy schedules to provide important information and data that makes the Annual Report possible. Your copy of the Annual Report will be mailed in the next couple of days and should hit your door step within a week.  Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you do not receive your copy.

Eudora hit by EF-1 Tornado

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Eudora Tornado PhotoMonday night’s EF-1 tornado put a scare into Eudora residents as they endured heavy rain and winds up to 107 miles per hour.  This is the first tornado to hit Eudora since the July 9, 1969 tornado, which was an EF-2 tornado with winds clocked as high as 135 miles per hour.  The tornado initially knocked out power to about two-thirds of the city, with quite a few trees on power lines.  Despite the severity of the storm, fortunately no major injuries were reported, and property destruction was minimal with only minor incidences of roof damage and vehicle damage.  City workers were out late Monday trimming back trees from power lines.  Eudora City Manager, Gary Ortiz, was quick to point out that though the clean-up is a big job, he is thankful for the help of the many volunteers from surrounding communities.

Mike Gilliland Retiring After 40 Years

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Mike Gilliland, Osage City’s Director of Utilities is retiring after 40 years of service.   While Mike will be entering a new chapter of his life, the rest of us are left with that feeling that all good things must come to an end.  Mike’s retirement reverberates well beyond the confines of Osage City with the many friendships and relationships he has forged over the years as well as his leadership and countless contributions.  With the timing of his retirement, it is particularly befitting that Mike was selected by past winners as KMEA’s 2014 Gil Hanson Award winner.  The award, named in honor of KMEA’s first General Manager, Gil Hanson, recognizes those who have made significant contributions to municipal joint action, their communities, the electric utility industry and public power.

Mike will be dearly missed by his KMEA/KMGA family as he has been involved with KMGA from the very beginning of the Agency and an Executive Committee Member since its inception, including terms as President and Vice President.  Mike truly exemplifies the adage “if you want something done, ask a busy person.”  Mike’s finger prints can be found all over the good work he has done in Osage city, including management and oversight of the municipal swimming pool, two city owned and operated cemeteries, and many of the city’s buildings and facilities. As Director of Utilities for the past 14 years, Mike always had a full plate of regulatory, compliance, and technical projects as well as contractual agreements and energy purchasing.   Even still, Mike was always actively engaged with municipal, state and national trade organizations.  Mike especially enjoyed his involvement with various Kanas utility organizations including KMEA, KMGA, KMU, KWEA and KSWWA.  Mike officially retired on June 30th.  Please join us as we extend our gratitude and best wishes to Mike in his retirement.

 

Ottawa Receives National Recognition

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Ottawa Playground

When good things are happening in one of our member cities, we don’t like to keep it a secret.  That’s why we want to brag on the City of Ottawa for being honored with a 2015 Playful City USA designation for the sixth time.  Kaboom!, a national non-profit, recognizes cities across the country for making their communities more playable.  Ottawa has fully embraced Kaboom!’s mission of fostering healthy productive lives by creating opportunities to bring play near to their residents, especially kids. Ottawa is certainly a worthy recipient.  Their Play Task force has done truly inspiring work.  Among the many initiatives they have completed is building and strategically locating several play structures in neighborhoods that do not have parks or playgrounds within walking distance.  In addition, Ottawa has held annual Play Day events and painted 40 hopscotch courses around the community to promote fun and active play through their “Hoppin’ Ottawa” campaign.  Ottawa’s Play Task Force has ambitious plans to add more pods and undertake a project to develop a teen park to provide a healthy outlet to encourage teens to stay active outdoors and reduce detrimental activities such as drug and alcohol use.  Congratulations to Ottawa for investing in the quality of life of their residents and earning this most distinguished national designation.

KMEA Welcomes Pomona to EMP1

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Tom Onboarding Pomona 1Earlier this week KMEA Staff arrived in Pomona to provide “onboarding” to acquaint the city with invoicing, the dashboard, and a host of other details to prepare Pomona to receive power from KMEA. Mayor, Marie Seneca, City Clerk, Seth Mettling, Public Works Director, Dean Wineinger, and Treasurer, Linda Grob were are all on hand for the meeting. On July 1st, Pomona will officially start receiving power from KMEA and at the same time become the newest member of the EMP1 group.

Pomona is located in northwestern Franklin County, about 50 minutes from the Kansas City metro area, with a population of 952. Pomona has long been a valued KMEA member and just last year KMEA had the privilege of honoring the city with a centennial award to celebrate their 100 years of public power.   The city is excited about their future with KMEA, joining EMP1 and what it will mean for their electric costs. Please join us in congratulating and welcoming Pomona to EMP1.

Paul Mahlberg selected as the next General Manager for KMEA/KMGA

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Overland Park, Kansas – June 24, 2015 – The KMEA/KMGA Search Committee, comprised of ten municipal member utilities, selected Paul Mahlberg to be the next leader of the Kansas Municipal Energy Agency and Kansas Municipal Gas Agency (KMEA/KMGA).  Paul will take over for Bob Poehling, who served as KMEA’s/KMGA’s General Manager for five years. Paul will assume his new role on August 10, 2015.

Currently, Paul is Deputy Director at Independence Power & Light (IPL). In that role, Paul reports to the Utility Director and co-manages the utility’s staff of over 230 people. This includes responsibility for all support services, generation, transmission and distribution activities, and IPL’s market participation in the SPP Integrated Marketplace. IPL is a 300 MW peaking utility.

Paul obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University in 1988. His early career was spent as a consultant in power supply planning and rates. During his 19-year tenure at IPL, Paul was instrumental in efforts to replace 80% of the utility’s energy supply and also helped IPL to transition to the SPP Integrated Marketplace.

“I’m excited by the idea of a new challenge and to continue my career in the public power sector,” said Mahlberg.  I’m looking forward to working with all the member cities and KMEA staff to continue the successes of the organization.”

Leveraging Meeting Technology

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liEarlier this week, Matt Rehder, City Administrator for the City of Seneca and Chairman of the EMP3 group, conducted an EMP3 meeting via WebEx.  Several cities were represented.  KMEA Staff also participated in the meeting and hosted the WebEx from our office in Overland Park.  KMEA staff conducts WebEx meetings throughout the year. The WebEx online meeting platform has been used for EMP meetings, informational webinars and other opportunities that allow us to leverage technology to make the best use of our members’ time and resources.

 

Introducing a New Leader in Gardner

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Gonzalo Garcia

Gonzalo Garcia

We want to extend our hearty congratulations to Gonzalo Garcia on his recent appointment as Director of Utilities for the City of Gardner.  In this role, Gonzalo will lead the Utilities Department, which includes water, waste water, and electric divisions.Gonzalo joins Gardner with an impressive utility career that spans over 25 years, working in both the United States and abroad.  Gonzalo began his career at Florida Power and Light, rising through the ranks of electrical supervisor, power source specialist, operations manager and operations assistant superintendent.  Prior to taking the helm in Gardner, Gonzalo served in several leadership roles around the world with Duke Energy, the largest electric power holding company in the United States.  Gonzalo had worked for Duke Energy since 1997. In his most recent position, Gonzalo served as the Operations Regional Director in Lima, Peru.

This is a new position for the City of Gardner and Gonzalo is excited to bring his diverse range of utility experience and skills to the Gardner community.   In addition to Gonzalo’s utility industry experience, he holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with an emphasis in control design and energy conservation from Clemson University, S.C.  He also has a master’s degree in business administration from Tulane University in New Orleans, La.

Please join us in congratulating and extending our best wishes to Gonzalo as he embarks on this next exciting chapter.