Executive Committee Meeting - April 6, 2026

Call to Order

F. X. Flinn called the meeting to order at approximately 2:00 PM ET.

Attendance and Introduction of Guests

John Powell confirmed attendance and quorum. Four of seven Executive Committee members were present: F. X. Flinn, Jerry Ward, Chris Noble, and Dan Leavitt. Dan Childs, District Treasurer, was also present. VISPO representatives included Al Iuppa, Liane Allen, Cliff Rankin, Corey Klinck, Stan Williams, and Joe Canavan.

Changes to Agenda

No changes to the agenda were requested.

Public Comments

No public comments were offered.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes from February 23, 2026 and March 3, 2026 were adopted by unanimous consent with no requested changes.

Operations Update

Al Iuppa reported that he and Dan Leavitt have been meeting weekly with the “Core 3” VISPO staff to maintain board-level awareness of day-to-day operations. Liane Allen provided an update on recent outages, highlighting improved customer communications. During the weekend outage, ECFiber received 17 calls on Saturday and 24 on Sunday, compared to the hundreds typically received during major outages. Several customers called to thank ECFiber for the improved communication rather than to complain. Both Bradford and Thetford outages were resolved. The Bradford outage was caused by a large pine tree that took down all utility lines, while the Thetford outage resulted from a splice failure due to water infiltration that expanded and contracted with temperature changes.

Liane reported that construction in Topsham is complete, with most FAPs (Fiber Access Points) finished and remaining splicing to be completed over the next few weeks.

Corey Klinck reported achieving 99.9978% uptime for the first 100 days of VISPO operations. He provided details on a recent power issue in Royalton where a transformer failure revealed that the facility’s battery backup was insufficient to bridge to generator power. The equipment load of approximately 96 amps was too close to the 100-amp battery capacity. Two 200 amp-hour batteries have been ordered to quadruple the backup capacity and provide approximately four hours of runtime if needed.

The Board discussed backup power options, with F. X. Flinn suggesting consideration of larger lithium-ion battery systems. Cliff Rankin noted that the generator functioned properly, and the battery upgrade should resolve the capacity issue.

Cliff Rankin provided an update on the 2025 audit, reporting that he met with auditors the previous Friday and has been responding to their requests for additional information. He has one outstanding item: providing the issued copy of the 2024 Uniform Guidance Report. The audit appears on track for bond requirement delivery this month.

Q4 Financials and Audit

F. X. Flinn mentioned meeting with the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) on Thursday morning and indicated he needs to discuss audit-related matters with Cliff Rankin regarding overhead and indirect cost guidance that may simplify current issues.

Dan Childs reported that the end of the month was relatively normal with nothing significant to report as Treasurer.

Chair Report

F. X. Flinn provided several updates:

RDOF Certification: ECFiber sent a letter to RDOF officials indicating readiness for 100% certification for the New Hampshire RDOF that LymeFiber fulfills. The request was accepted, and documentation requirements were transmitted. Completion of this certification will eliminate the letter of credit requirement and restore RDOF money flow for LymeFiber.

Vermont Legislature: The Executive Committee is tracking the “battery bill” that passed the House, which would impose ECFiber’s current VoIP phone service battery backup practices on other providers like Fidium. The bill was introduced by Laura Sibilia, a Vermont House member and VCBB board member who has been advocating against Consolidated Communications’ service issues.

VCBB Meeting: F. X. Flinn’s proposal to the VCBB was met with great interest. The state expects to know available funding amounts by the end of May, with any resulting activities not beginning until June.

Office Lease: Eli has been asked to consolidate the existing office lease and garage extension into a single document. The property owners were receptive to having ECFiber’s lawyer rewrite the agreements.

Data Warehouse: F. X. Flinn and Jeff Brand have made significant progress on the data warehouse project, with automated statistical reporting expected to be available soon.

Cliff Rankin requested that the new lease include various exit points rather than the current 99-year term to simplify asset capitalization for accounting purposes. Stan Williams noted that the owner has consistently expressed interest in selling the buildings, though the shared septic system complicates any potential purchase.

F. X. Flinn moved that an executive session was necessary to discuss contractual matters, the premature disclosure of which would be to the disadvantage of the district. Seconded by Chris Noble. Motion passed.

F. X. Flinn moved to enter executive session, seconded by Jerry Ward, and the motion was adopted by unanimous consent.

The Board entered executive session with Executive Committee members, Al Iuppa, Stan Williams, and Joe Canavan participating.

The Board returned from executive session with nothing to report and no actions to take.

Adjournment

F. X. Flinn deemed the meeting adjourned.