PEC

The Pedernales Electric Cooperative board of directors voted at its July 17 meeting to keep its current board leadership.

District 2 Director Emily Pataki of Williamson County will continue to serve as board president, with District 6 Director Paul Graff of Comal County serving as vice president and District 7 Director Amy Lea SJ Akers of Hays County serving as secretary-treasurer.

Other directors include District 1 Director Cristi Clement of Burnet County, District 3 Director Randy Klaus of Travis County, District 4 Director Jim Powers of Hays County and District 5 Director James Oakley of Burnet County.

The PEC board elects its board officers each year after the cooperative's annual meeting.

For more information about PEC board members, see pec.coop/bios.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Granite Shoals became the first city in the entire Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) service area to hear a presentation on the current status of the co-op's new solar farm initiative when Jim Spaulding, director of Project Development Energy Services, attended a meeting of the city council Tuesday night, March 14.

“The PEC is partnering with the City of Johnson City to construct two, one-megawatt (MW) solar facilities as part of a cooperative-wide solar power generation project,” said Spaulding. “Solar has become very cost competitive and could to be at or below what you pay now.”

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Pedernales Electric Cooperative now has a new vice president and secretary-treasurer for its Board of Directors after holding elections at Monday's (Feb. 20) regular board meeting.

Paul Graf, who was serving as the cooperative's secretary-treasurer, was elected vice president, while Amy SJ Akers was elected to succeed Graf in his position.

The need for the election came about when the board voted last month to remove District 5 director and Burnet County Judge James Oakley of his vice president title and issue him a warning as its response to a complaint filed by District 1 director Cristi Clement regarding a Facebook post Oakley had made last year that brought scrutiny to the PEC.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

A Pedernales Electric Cooperative complaint committee has stopped short of calling for the removal of Burnet County Judge James Oakley from the Board of Directors entirely but has recommended his removal as Vice President of the cooperative's board.

The recommendation of the Complaint Committee will be discussed and action taken during Tuesday's regular Board of Directors meeting at the cooperative's headquarters in Johnson City.

The board will also consider a resolution by Oakley to rescind the bylaws for removal and discipline of a PEC director from bylaw amendments that were put in place just one week before Oakley made a post on Facebook which brought national media spotlight to the PEC and cast Oakley in an unfavorable light.

The Pedernales Electric Cooperative Board of Directors voted 6-0 Wednesday, Nov. 30, to give written notice to director James Oakley that the board will consider his possible removal on Jan. 17 if a complaint filed against Oakley is found to merit such discipline.

In a resolution approved at a special called meeting, the board voted to establish a committee to investigate the complaint against Oakley and determine what punishment, if any, he may face for a social media post made earlier in the month in which Oakley commented it was “time for a tree and a rope” for the suspected killer of a San Antonio police officer.

Board President Emily Pataki indicated the committee, which will be comprised of directors Kathy Scanlon, Paul Graf and herself, can consider all avenues open to them through the cooperative's bylaws, including removing Oakley from the position he has held since 2013.

Facebook is a wonderful tool for people to use, but like any tool, it should be used with great care.

The social media site is useful for helping people keep in contact with friends scattered across the globe whom they haven’t spoken to for years. It allows family to reconnect and allows the sharing of photos, ideas and news with others within one’s peer group.

However, it also instantly shows, without context, intent or clarity, the thoughts and ideas a person clacks out on their smartphone or computer keyboard and exposes those posts to instant scrutiny.

Such is the case involving Burnet County Judge James Oakley, who learned a very hard lesson this past week about the lack of anonymity Facebook affords.

On Monday, Nov. 21, Oakley shared a post from the San Antonio Police Department about the arrest of an African-American man, Otis Tyrone McKane, accused of killing San Antonio police Det. Benjamin Marconi on his personal Facebook account.

By Lew K. Cohn, Managing Editor

The Highlander

Proposed changes to the bylaws of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative that change how directors are elected were passed Monday, Aug. 15, by the co-op's board of directors during a meeting that, at times, was very heated and tense.

The amendments to the bylaws — passed by a 5-2 supermajority vote — now create single-member districts in which only members who live within a district may vote for the director from that district. They also create a different quorum requirement for election of directors than that required for the annual PEC meeting, which is when director elections have traditionally taken place. The changes would take effect for the 2017 election cycle.

The Llano County Historical Society will be able to purchase new climate control equipment and lighting for its facility thanks to an $18,096 community development grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and the City of Llano.

The historical society will buy two new air conditioners and two commercial ceiling fans to better cool and circulate air in the museum, and LED lighting fixtures to better illuminate the exhibit area.

Llano County Historical Society Board Director Martha Long said providing a comfortable viewing experience and preserving the artifacts entrusted to the museum’s care are paramount.

The City of Cottonwood Shores will soon have a new police patrol vehicle thanks to a $19,100 community development grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Pedernales Electric Cooperative.

The new patrol vehicle will help the city schedule officers and improve response time to emergency calls.

By Lew K. Cohn

The Highlander

Managing Editor

Burnet County Judge James Oakley of Spicewood and Carlos Palasciano described their respective visions about the future of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative during a Thursday evening forum in Johnson City.
The two men are candidates for the District 5 place on the board currently held by Oakley, who also serves as the board president. PEC hosted a forum for the candidates at their cooperative headquarters.