Oct. 16, 2007 — The Public Services Commission board took a step in a different direction Tuesday, with members selecting Joseph Boschulte as their new chairman and former Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole as vice chair.
Cole's nomination came down quickly and received unanimous approval from the rest of the board's members. Cole then made a motion to retain Alecia Wells as the board's chairwoman, but the motion was lost after it failed to receive a second. PSC board member Verne C. David subsequently nominated Boschulte to fill the position — a motion supported by four other board members.
Boschulte himself abstained from voting on the nomination, while board member M. Thomas Jackson was absent when the vote was taken. Voting in favor of Boschulte's nomination were Cole and David, Sirri Hamad and Wells.
Stepping up to make remarks after the votes, Boschulte and Cole kept their sentiments brief, saying they hoped to continue to "strike a balance" between local consumers and the utilities the PSC regulates.
"I think as we move forward, the commission has some significant challenges, which we're trying to overcome," Boschulte added. "But we also have the opportunity to educate the public on the intricacies and responsibilities of the commission and the duties we carry out on a regular basis. I also look forward to working in a transparent way with all the stakeholders."
As outgoing chairwoman, Wells also made a few remarks, saying the board had come "full circle" since last year's release of a controversial letter that acknowledged the PSC's alleged support of a plan to finance the debts of Innovative Communications Corp. owner Jeffery Prosser with local phone-company assets. During previous Senate hearings, Wells has said that the letter, which bears her signature, was actually written by attorney Jeffrey Moorhead, former counsel to the commission on telecommunications matters. (See "PSC Counsel, Chairwoman Come Clean About Letter Supporting ICC Bankruptcy.")
The Source uncovered the signed letter that Wells initially denied any knowledge of.
During Tuesday's meeting, Wells also spoke about her feelings for three local newspapers, saying that articles written by the V.I. Daily News about previous PSC meetings were "fair and accurate," while some articles written by the V.I. Source have "besmirched" her character. Until recent court rulings in his bankruptcy case, Prosser owned the Daily News.
Wells is also suing the Source over an article that was altered, then corrected, when someone hacked into the newspaper's website. (See "Wireless Provider Put Off By PSC Yet Again.") Moorhead is representing Wells in the lawsuit.
Wells, who has served on the commission since 1998, also addressed rumors about the PSC's alleged ties to Innovative, along with other challenges the commission will have to face in upcoming years, including moves made by unnamed individuals to change the structure of the board so that it consists of only private-sector representatives.
After emerging from a nearly three-hour executive session reportedly convened to discuss pending litigation, board members tried to move quickly through a two-page agenda consisting mostly of V.I. Water and Power Authority matters. Addressing a one-item section labeled "telecommunications matters," the PSC board also heard a brief presentation from Tony Wolk, senior vice president and general counsel for Centennial Communications Corp.
Since April 2005, Centennial representatives have repeatedly come before the PSC requesting that they be granted eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) status to obtain at least $1 million in federal universal service funds — a program controlled by the Federal Communications Commission designed to bring better telecommunications services to rural areas.
The PSC has not yet taken action on the company's request, which has recently been affected by disputes between board members and William L. Roughton Jr., Centennial vice president of legal and regulatory affairs.
Pushing board members to act on Centennial's request during next month's PSC meeting, Wolk said he appeared on Tuesday to "stress the importance of this matter to the corporation," and apologize for any offensive behavior exhibited by Centennial representatives in the past.
"Hopefully, we can put all that beside us and move forward," he said.
While Wells said the board accepted the company's apology, she also described Roughton's behavior at a past PSC meeting as "very rude."
"I thought it was an affront, because he couldn't have done it anywhere else and he knows that," she added.
Wolk reiterated his apologies.
Switching gears, board members also received an update on the implementation of environmental and wastewater user fees by the V.I. Waste Management Authority. So far, a review and analysis conducted on the proposed fee schedule is going smoothly, said PSC counsel attorney Boyd Sprehn. The matter should be before the PSC's hearing examiner by the end of the month, with a final hearing scheduled for Nov.2, he said.
"All parties are working cooperatively to get the fees reviewed by Nov. 29, and then Waste Management can begin collecting them by the new year," Sprehn added.
Opening up the discussion later in the meeting to representatives from local ferry companies, board members also discussed how two recent gubernatorial vetoes would impact the two franchise operators running between St. Thomas and St. John.
Last week, Gov. John deJongh Jr. cut out sections of the fiscal year 2008 budget proposal that would have provided about $1 million in subsidies to the franchise ferry companies. During Tuesday's PSC meeting, attorney Claudette Feron — representing both Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures — said that without an annual appropriation from the government, the ferries would not be able to continue to fund their day-to-day operations.
Feron said she would sit down soon with the governor to discuss sections of the V.I. Code that call for the government to subsidize, through the General Fund, local franchise ferry operations.
All board members were present during Tuesday's meeting.
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