Five people have petitioned to have their names on the ballot to fill two seats on the Empire Electric Association’s seven-member board of directors.

Brett Peterson is challenging incumbent Jerry Fetterman for the District 1 seat on the board of directors, and incumbent Sue McWilliams is vying to keep her seat for District 2 against competitors Jerry Koskie and John Hernandez. Both district seats are designated four-year term positions.

To keep costs down and the election process running smoothly, a tabulation company, Survey and Ballot Systems, was hired to handle the printing, mailing and tallying of all the mail-in ballots. The ballots have been delivered to EEA members and will need to be returned by June 15. Only the ballots cast in person by members attending Empire’s annual meeting June 20 will be counted on site. Those votes will be added to the mail-in tally.

Two amendments to Empire’s bylaws also are on this year’s ballot. Amendment 1 would eliminate term limits, and Amendment 2 relates to the disposition of property.

Term limits became part of EEA’s bylaws following the 2002 election. Beginning in 2003, the directors’ service tenure began to be limited to no more than three full consecutive four-year terms without a break of one full term of four years. Among the reasons the board has recommended discontinuing term limits is that EEA is a private organization and not a political one. Professional training, an expense to the cooperative, is required to lead the organization effectively as a board member. Term limits could end a board member’s service just when that training may be most effective, and they limit leadership roles on associated boards of organizations like Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Colorado Rural Electric Association, Utah Rural Electric Association or Western United Electric Supply Corporation. Board members are periodically replaced under the routine election process, as demonstrated by the fact that 33 different directors have served on the board during the last 30 years.

The board is also recommending a bylaw change with Amendment 2, regarding Article IX, Disposition of Property. The amendment is intended to clarify the language and provide the board the authority to sell or otherwise dispose of property if it is in the best interest of the cooperative and only when in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. The amendment eliminates language addressing the cooperative’s right to borrow or encumber cooperative property, as these corporate powers are already addressed in Article III of the Articles of Incorporation. In the event of a bona fide merger, consolidation or sale of the entire cooperative, this amendment will require the approval of at least two-thirds of the members with an active account voting by mail or in person at a special or annual meeting.

Each member of the cooperative is entitled to vote on all issues properly brought before the membership either by mail-in ballot or at the annual meeting.

The annual business meeting will be held June 20 at EEA’s Calvin Denton Room, 801 N. Broadway, Cortez. Registration will begin at 4:30 p.m. and the business meeting will start at 5:30 p.m.

EEA, a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, established in 1939, provides electricity to more than 15,000 members.

For additional information, call EEA at (970) 565-4444 or visit www.eea.coop.