Governing Board Meeting - June 9, 2026

Draft minutes — subject to approval.

Call to Order

F. X. Flinn called the June 2026 meeting of the East Central Vermont Telecommunications District Governing Board to order at approximately 7:00 PM ET.

A quorum was present, with 22 of 31 member towns represented.

Attendance and Introduction of Guests

John Powell conducted roll call attendance, shown in the table below.

Changes to Agenda

F. X. Flinn requested modifications to move the district website changes and fee schedule discussion to follow the operator report. No objections were raised to these agenda modifications.

Public Comments

F. X. Flinn opened the floor for public comment. Public comment was invited; no members of the public commented.

Approval of Minutes

F. X. Flinn noted that members had an opportunity to review the May 2026 Governing Board meeting minutes. Hearing no requests for changes, corrections, or revisions, the minutes were deemed adopted by unanimous consent.

Operator Reports

Al Iuppa introduced the VISPO team presentation covering operations, marketing, and construction.

Finance Report (Cliff Rankin)

Cliff Rankin reported that the grant audit remains in process, with final response pending on capitalized labor. The schedule of expenditures of federal awards will be finalized by week’s end.

April highlights included:

• Average recurring revenue just over $1.1 million, running slightly under budget
• Year-to-date operating income at $4.15 million, beating budget
• April operating income of $315,000
• $2.7 million in grant revenue still awaiting receipt from VCBB
• Cost of goods sold remains high but expected to decrease after June transition
• Unrestricted cash position of $4.5 million (not including pending $2.7 million)

Financial performance showed EBITDA of $366,000 for April, approximately $160,000 short of the 1.25 times debt service covenant requirement. The shortfall is attributed to high cost of goods sold, with expectation of $190,000 monthly improvement after July transition completion.

Average revenue per unit remains steady at approximately $104 residential and $184 business. The organization continues working toward the budgeted goal of 140 new customers per month.

Operations Report (Corey Klinck)

Corey Klinck reported on network performance and the phone transition project. A significant network issue was resolved where subscribers experienced brief connection drops every five minutes, caused by overly aggressive security settings on Calix devices. The problem was resolved by applying the setting only where most needed.

The June 4th outage affected Norwich when a tree took out the Wilder substation. Battery runtime limitations caused breakers to trip, and configuration was lost in the core router when power returned.

Phone transition progress included completion of a pilot batch and the first major batch of 550 lines. Some PIN code issues with GWI’s upstream carrier are being addressed. Remaining batches are scheduled for June 16th, 18th, 23rd, or 25th depending on resolution of technical issues.

Ken Parrot commended the customer communication regarding the outage.

Marketing and Construction Report (Liane Allen)

Marketing efforts continue with the conduit grant program, including dedicated Tuesday calling campaigns for non-responders and upcoming postcard mailings. Community engagement includes yard signs, Green Up Day participation, Race Around the Lake, and the Quechee Balloon Festival.

The organization launched an event venue in-kind sponsorship program, identifying two locations per town for year-long sponsorship arrangements. An online shopping cart was launched, with custom referral codes and double referral specials in progress.

Construction updates:

• Topsham: Complete
• Windsor: Complete
• Corinth: Construction and mainline testing complete, audit completed, final FAP installation underway
• Chelsea extensions: Just started, estimated 5-7 weeks (Eustis estimates 5 weeks)

F. X. Flinn emphasized that all work must be completed by June 30th.

Customer support metrics show continued work on average time to close tickets. Technical support volume is expected to decrease in June following resolution of the connection drop issue.

Installation statistics for May: 92 new and remote installs, 34 disconnects (most expected to return), 58 net additions.

Financial Report

Dan Childs deferred to Cliff Rankin’s comprehensive financial report but highlighted significant progress on the John Van Vught receivable. The Florida property was sold for $180,000, with closing completed late Friday and $172,000+ received via ACH transfer Monday. These funds will be provided to ValleyNet to reduce the outstanding receivable.

F. X. Flinn provided background on the Van Vught embezzlement, noting he was a contractor who stole approximately $50,000 annually for 10 years. Cliff Rankin discovered the theft during bank reconciliation work.

Cliff Rankin clarified that Van Vught’s theft affected only ECFiber and ValleyNet, with no evidence of impact on LymeFiber.

Jerry Ward questioned a $6,000 wiring fee entry in the treasurer’s report. Dan Childs identified this as a duplicate entry error from the bucket truck loan payments and provided a corrected version.

Discussion included the organizational challenges faced during ECFiber’s early development, including insufficient oversight due to resource constraints.

Fee Schedule

F. X. Flinn presented proposed updates to the district’s fee schedule, noting that current fees were established in 2011 and no longer reflect actual costs.

Repair Fees

Motion: Irv Thomae moved to adopt the repair fees as proposed (~7:58 PM ET). Seconded: Dave Karon.

Discussion focused on customer education and cost recovery. F. X. Flinn clarified that customers generally accept charges for damage they cause, but current fees don’t cover actual costs. The fees apply to approximately 20% of repair cases where customer action caused the damage.

Al Iuppa noted the user agreement already discloses damage charges, and the volume affects only 5-10 customers annually. Staff analysis supports break-even pricing rather than profit generation.

F. X. Flinn moved for a vote on the motion (8:16 PM ET)

Vote: Unanimous, passed

Installation Fees

Motion: Chris Noble moved to adopt the new installation fee schedules as presented (~8:17 PM ET). Seconded: Jeff Brand.

Extensive discussion covered competitive analysis, customer perception, and financial necessity. Key points:

• Proposed residential fee of $199 remains below competitor pricing
• Current $99 fee significantly below actual installation costs
• Installation represents 3+ hours of inside work
• Fee increases reflect rising labor and operational costs
• Authority exists to waive fees in appropriate circumstances
• Effective date would be July 1st at earliest

Concerns raised about impact on customer acquisition, particularly given the challenge of reaching 140 new customers monthly. Supporters emphasized the need for cost recovery and noted that installation fees are standard industry practice.

F. X. Flinn moved for a vote on the motion (9:06 PM ET).

Vote: 16-6-0, passed (Bradford, Brookfield, Corinth, Fairlee, Granville, Hartford, Norwich, Pomfret, Randolph, Reading, Royalton, Sharon, Thetford, Washington, Windsor, Woodstock voted yes; Barnard, Bethel, Rochester, Strafford, Topsham, West Windsor voted no)

Chair Report

F. X. Flinn provided an update from the monthly VCBB meeting, with the VCBB emphasizing on ARPA projects needing closure by June with some allowances for projects that are underway. There are 16 FSAs that need to be lit, so an extension request will be made to 9/30 which will help with the single audit too. The Affordable Long Drop Program deadline can be extended as well.

District Website Changes

Due to time constraints, John Powell will send an email to Governing Board members with a request to review the updated website.

Adjournment

F. X. Flinn adjourned the meeting at approximately 9:20 PM ET.