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The Town Mayor Brian Barefoot hoped to resolve the issues today to avoid the costs and risk of <br /> litigation. He recalled at the December 17, 2014 Mediation Meeting, it was agreed upon to <br /> continue abatement of the Town's lawsuit, during which time the City would pursue <br /> opportunities to reduce rates and provide concrete recommendations for doing so. The Town <br /> Council voted to further extend the abatement an additional 75 days to expire on May 15, 2015, <br /> to give the City time to explore these opportunities to continue negotiations with OUC and <br /> FMPA. <br /> Mayor Barefoot expressed his disappointment with the FMPA's continued refusal to be part of <br /> the solution, their mismanagement, and their performance or lack thereof, before the Joint <br /> Legislative Auditing Committee. The Town continues to be disappointed that the City has not <br /> chosen to aggressively pursue amendments to the FMPA contract, or even attempted to cancel <br /> the contract through every legal means available. <br /> Mayor Barefoot compared FPL electric rates to the City electric rates and he explained when the <br /> cooling off period began, the rate disparity between the two electric utilities was approximately <br /> 25%. It has increased to almost 31%, which leads the Town to believe the City has no control <br /> over its electric utilities destiny. He indicated FPL has opened the door to discussions with the <br /> City about a potential sale of utility assets in the Town, which could solve the rate disparity crisis <br /> in the Town, provide the City with an influx of funds to enhance its financial viability and <br /> potentially provide cost reductions to be passed on to all of its remaining customers in the City <br /> and the County. <br /> Terry Deason, the Town's Electric Utility Consultant, referred to his handouts on the Town of <br /> Indian River Shores Buyout. He reiterated the Town does not know what a buyout would be if <br /> one would take place, and explained there were various moving parts to be considered. He <br /> reviewed the information on the Transfer Coverage Range Analysis and indicated the Town was <br /> not taking a position on the transfer, whether it was the right thing to do or not. However, the <br /> impacts of a buyout on various levels could be beneficial. <br /> Mr. Deason turned the focus to the theoretical amount of savings in debt service payments that <br /> could be achieved on the buyout bonds. He emphasized that the Town felt strongly, given what <br /> they knew about other amounts of buyouts of utilities on a per customer basis. The Town <br /> presented an opportunity to the City for an infusion of capital dollars to be used as they see fit, <br /> whether it be a rate stabilization fund or cancellation of the OUC Contract. <br /> Mayor Barefoot summarized the $542,000 on the transfer coverage range analysis handout, <br /> which was the amount of the transfer lost without the Town's customer base. <br /> Amy Brunjes, Area Manager with FPL, stated that for the last seven years, FPL has been focused <br /> on a whole Vero Electric sale and believed it still could be achievable. She pointed out that FPL <br /> continues to look for solutions to bring lower electric rates to as many of the Vero Electric <br /> customers as possible. She felt a sale or acquisition of the customer base in the Town of Indian <br /> River Shores was achievable and would not negatively impact the Vero Electric customers. <br /> Town of Indian River Shores - City of Vero Beach - Indian River County <br /> Electric Utilities Mediation Page 4 <br /> May 1, 2015 <br /> 30 <br />