May SCECA General Meeting

5/18/23

S.C.E.C.A. General Membership Meeting Minutes

There were approximately 45 members in attendance.  Those Officers and Board of Directors present were: Rob Szalay, Robert Tschoke, Dave Kennedy, Ralph Lambiase, Jack Morrell, Tom Orlando and Mahesh Panchal.

Excused: Scott Eastman, Brian McAuliff and Joe Mikulas.

Called to Order:  7:22 p.m.

David Kennedy led the Pledge of Allegiance.  A motion to accept the General Meeting Minutes of 4/20/23 was made by Jack Morrell and seconded by Rob Tschoke.

**President’s Report:

Rob S. called up Jack Morrell to the podium.  Jack read the slate of Officers and Board Members to be voted on:  President:  Rob Szalay, Vice President: Rob Tschoke, Secretary: Dave Kennedy, Treasurer: Tom Orlando, Board Member:  Brian McAuliffe (who could not attend tonight) and Board Member: Mahesh Panchal.  Jack then announced we are closing the slate for voting of the Officers and two Board Member open positions.  If anyone wants to run the any of the positions, do it now.  No one raised their hand so Jack asked the Secretary, Dave Kennedy, to vote.  Dave said being Secretary he cast one vote for the slate as read.  Jack congratulated everyone.  Rob S. said the members can see the general minutes on our website and encourage them to read it; they might see something there that you can bring up at a meeting.  Rob S. deferred his report.

COMMITTEE REPORTS: 

Treasurer’s Report:  Tom Orlando

Tom O. reported for the month ending April 2023 the income was $2,456.74 and the expenses were $5,960.90.  Dues renewals are coming up July 1^st.  Sorry to say we are increasing dues by $25 for Contractor members.  There is an option to still pay $200 instead of $225 if you pay for 2 years.  The 2-year membership will cost $400.  As usual the TPSF is still open for donations at any time.      A motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report was made by Jason Goetz and seconded by Dave Kennedy.

 Secretary’s Report:  David Kennedy

Dave reported we have few awards to hand out later.  Also, it is sad to say everyone knows Mike Krug passed away about a week ago.  He was Treasurer for 41 years, served on the Board for 7 years, Secretary for 1 year and a member for 55 years.  He was very instrumental with getting Tom Orlando up to speed as Treasurer.  It is a very difficult job.  A motion to accept the Secretary’s report was made by Ralph Lambiase and seconded by Mike Towers.

Legal Counsel:  Michael Ganz

Mike Ganz was not present.

Insurance: Patti Muldoon from Borg & Borg, Wally Boorum from Sunrise Benefits Solutions, Diane Mullahey-Senior from Executive Ins. & Financial Svcs. 

Patti and Diane were not present.  Wally Boorum wanted to comment on what Kyle Barton spoke about at the educational class earlier.  If you are the sole owner of a business and die, your family has to decide if they want to keep running the business or sell it.  The family may not have the knowledge to run the business.  You can protect yourself with term insurance.  If you have partners, you can protect each other with a written business agreement.  Kyle added transactional lawyers can help with estate planning, drafting wills, and power of attorney, when the sole owner dies.  If you have partners or shareholders, you can create an arrangement so your family does not have to worry when you die.  It becomes effective on that trigger.  Rob S. announced that we have educational classes half an hour before our general meetings.  Take advantage of the classes.

PROGRAMS:  Sean O’Neill, authorized dealer for Briggs & Stratton gave an informative presentation on Energy Storage Battery and Inverter Systems.  He has a battery in the back to look at after the presentation.  These batteries are the safest on the market.  The SimpliPHI Energy Storage System is the most advanced, safety-certified ESS available for homes and businesses. They use Lithium Phosphate (LFP) powered batteries.  They are sleeved and every one has its own sack.  They will not get compromised at high temperatures.  There are 4 batterie per inverter. They have 10,000 cycles at 80% depth of discharge with a 96% round-trip efficiency and a 10-year warranty.  The Federal government gives a 30% rebate.  Not sure about State rebates.  They are new to the market.  In the next 30 to 60 days, they will meet UL ratings.  They are available now.  The lead time is 4 to 6 weeks.  He will bring brochures to future meetings.  This is only the second time he as shown this battery.  Dave Kennedy asked what the process is to recycle these batteries.  Sean did not know.  Mike Towers asked what the rating is.  Sean replied 4.9 kWh DC @ 100% DOD and 3.9 kWh DC @ 80% DOD.  Mike also asked if they can be put in the garage or basement.  Sean replied they can be put indoors or outdoors.  You have to go by the local codes of the Town.  They tell you where to put them.  For outside installation they sell a cabinet to put it in for climate control.  You can also add to the system.  Jack asked what the output is.  Sean said it depends on what you draw.  You can consult with a Briggs & Stratton team to determine your use – how many days you want your system to run.  They will add as many batteries to get the highest peak.  Jack asked if it ties into a solar system.  Sean said yes it does.  They accept DC and AC.  Frank Navetta of PowerPro said they originally started to be marketed to solar panel people.  Sean said Briggs & Stratton is targeting residential.  One member asked if you run the solar in the daytime and the battery at night.  Sean said you have the ability to run the battery.   Jack asked if there is a fixed price.  Sean replied you get one pricing for the reselling of the equipment.  There is a Wi-Fi app that tells you the usage 24/7 on your phone, laptop or computer.  Mahesh asked what happens if one battery goes bad.  Sean said the inverter will bring up which battery is bad and what is wrong with it.  When the battery is completely drained, it will take 2 hours to recharge.  A 20KW system with 4 batteries cost you guys $17,000.  That is the hardware.  You get a 30% rebate and add in your labor.  Steve Danielson asked if it works with net metering.  Sean will find out.  Rob S. said that Briggs & Stratton has a website for contractors to investigate so we will email blast members so if you want to ask further questions, you can contact them.  Sean gave out his business cards.  You can email him with questions.  He then went in the back to show the components he brought – main battery system.   Rob S. announced we have two generator vendors at the meeting tonight – Frank Navetta of PowerPro and Mike Towers of Long Island Emergency Power.  Mike Towers urged everyone to read the installation instructions to understand all the rules so you do not have to do it again.  The purpose of generators was standby power and the purpose of solar was to sell back to the grid.  That is changing with products like this and they are starting to incorporate the two together.

Frank Navetta said he does a lot of presentations and there is always a question from the audience that you do not have an answer for.  This reminded him of an anecdote about Thomas Edison driving around with his Chauffer.  He was tired of doing presentations and asked the chauffer to switch places with him.  Edison would drive and his chauffer would do the presentation.  So, his chauffer was doing a presentation on physics and then sone wiseacre in the audience asked a really hard question.  So the chauffer looks at the guy who asked the question and said he is surprised the guy did not know the answer to that question so he is going to have his chauffer answer it.

By-Laws & Nominating:  Jack Morrell

 Jack had nothing to report on by-laws.

Education/Seminars:  Rob Szalay, Mahesh Panchal, Scott Eastman

Rob S. reported we have a CEH class on June 10th on 1 & 2 Family Dwellings.  It will be at our office on a Saturday.  We have openings.

Electrical Safety:  Robert Tschoke

Rob T. reported he had 3 things he wants to go over.

• He asked how many members here are certified with OSHA 30? Frank Navetta thought you just needed 10 but some places are asking for 30.  Jack said the City of Glen Cove now says any project over 10,000 feet needs to have OSHA 30 certification.  Member Keith Budka said the certification class for this is very generic.  He wants something more specific to electricians.  Jack said they do not have it specific for the trades.  Rob S. added that earlier this week there was a fatal accident of a steam cutter.  Someone pulled a grate and he fell down 50 feet and died.  This has nothing to do with electricians but it is a safety issue.  The NYC requires 40 hours of certification.  Rob T. said once you take the OSHA 30 certification, it does not expire except for NYC.  They require you to take it every 5 years.  Jim Smith suggested taking the NFPA70E course; that is more specific to electricians.
• He wanted to echo what Mike Towers said about reading instructions. It can save you a heartache.  He has been getting better at reading them.
• He passed around a light that had exploded at his rental unit. His tenant had moved out and did not tell him the pull chain on it was bad.  When he went in the crawl space and turned the bulb it went into flames.  He did extinguish it.  It was scary.  It caught him off guard.  Stay safe.  He hopes everyone is reading all the safety articles in the newsletter and is enjoying then.

 Entertainment:  Dave Kennedy, Scott Eastman, Mahesh Panchal

Dave reported our June meeting will be at Smokey Bones and we will be swearing in the Board and Officers.  It is only for members.  This is in place of Lucky Louie.

 Good & Welfare: Joe Mikulas

Joe was not present.  As Dave mentioned before we are sorry to hear the passing of Mike Krug.  Rob S. said he held him in high esteem and asked everyone to take a moment of silence to remember him.

Inspection Agencies: 

 Certified Electrical Inspectors: #896-A Jim Smith was present.  Rob Ceriello was not present.  Member Keith Budka asked Jim a question about bonding which Jim answered.

East End Inspection Agency:  #1193-A Ed Seltenreich was not present.

EII: NYBFU:  #1109-A Philip Goehring and Richard Jendzo were not present.

Suffolk Bureau of Electrical Insp.: #856-A Gene Surdi was not present.

Long Island Electrical Inspectors: (Bay Shore): #1178-A Joe Deubel was not present.

Southampton Town:  Ron Linsalato was not present.

Alliance Electrical Inspect.  Ltd.: Michael Dumitru was not present.

Electrical Inspection Service (of East Patchogue):  Not present.

Licensing: Jack Morrell

Jack reported they are still aggressively going after everyone that is licensed but it is not their primary business.  They are calling in more guys to go over the requirements.  One member asked about unshelving your license.  Jack said to just follow all the requirements.  There is no minimum or maximum timeframe for shelving.

PSEG Representatives:  Joe Mikulas, Jack Morrell

Rich Inserra reported they brought connectors.  The future of the industry is in high voltage and it is very bright.  Everyone knows NYS wants to be green by 2050.  How are they going to do that?  They are building windmills out in  the ocean – 30 miles off Montauk.  They will need transmission lines to get the power upstate.  They will need a lot of high voltage electrical workers.  There will be many windmills.  They build a substation on one of the pylons and then it goes underwater for 30 miles.  The whole thing is amazing.  Jack said last fall he was in Palm Springs California and they have the largest windmill farm.  It supplies 350,000 houses a year with electricity.  Jack reported two weeks ago they had a Trade Ally meeting.  John Keating who used to run them, announced his retirement.  The new fellow is Anthony.  He seems very friendly and outgoing.  We try to meet twice a year to go over key issues.  If you have any concerns or issues, please see Jack.

Membership/Plaques & Awards:  Robert Tschoke/Brian McAuliff/Jack Morrell

Rob T. announced we are awarding the three Suffolk County Skills USA winners tonight.  They worked really hard; there was a lot of competition.  One of the moms he spoke with said they went to the State contest also.  Rob T. then called all three winners up to the podium:  1st place:  Elek Green, 2nd place Anthony Scalia,         3rd place Sarah Alessi.  Jack added that he and Rob S. were judges of the contest.  Dave took individual and group pictures of the three winners for the newsletter.  Jack continued that this contest means a lot to the organization.  Without the students going through the program, there is no one replacing us.  There is a shortage of electricians.  For every electrician that is retiring, there are only two people going through the field.  Today is Jack’s 34^th anniversary but he is here tonight because he takes this very seriously.  Forty-three years ago, Jack was in the same BOCES class.  Hopefully 43 years from now these 3 Skills winners are just as successful as we are.  It is a great field.  Our future is much brighter because of the technology and the shortage of electricians.  The opportunities will be endless.  This is also the first time the top three winners were all from Suffolk County.   He told the 3 winners they all did a great job and good luck with your future.

Dave announced before he calls up Kyle D’Amico for the Tom Palk Scholarship award, he will tell you why we are honoring Tom.  Tom Palk was in Dave’s position as Secretary for many years.  He held many positions on the board position except Treasurer.  They used to go to meetings together.  Tom was a member for over 30 years and served on the Board and was Secretary for many years.  He filled in where he was needed.  He also served on the Licensing board with Mike Towers and Jack Morrell.  He was active in the NEL and a strong advocate for the electrical industry.  He ran training seminars and code change classes.  He always made it interesting.  He was a great guy.  Our very first recipient of the Tom Palk Scholarship which is $1,000 towards their school of choice is Kye D’Amico.  Kyle is from West Babylon high school and Eastern Suffolk BOCES.  His essay stood out.  He will be attending SUNY Delhi and we wish him the best.  Rob T. took a picture of Kyle with Dave Kennedy and Rob Szalay for the newsletter.

Nassau Electric League:  Mahesh Panchal, Ralph Lambiase, Scott Eastman

 Rob S. reported they had their dinner dance last night and it was fantastic.  Bill Cain thanked them for coming.  They are done for the year.  Their next meeting is in September.  Their last meeting was at Leviton and it was very good.

IAEI:  Mahesh Panchal, Ralph Lambiase, Scott Eastman, Tom Orlando

Mahesh reported they are done until September.  Rob S. will keep everyone posted.

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS: (Rob Szalay, Brian McAuliff – Co-chairs, Joe Mikulas, Editor – “Light,” and Jack Morrell

 Rob S. asked Rob T. to show everyone our new bumper stickers.  They are for the members to put on their vehicles.  The new banner was also put up to show the members.  Mahesh said the stickers will be given out every year with the date of membership.  Rob T. thinks it is a good advertisement for our association.  So, place them on your vehicles.  So, grab some bumper stickers and connectors.

Newsletter:  Joe was not present.

 Energy Expo:  Rob Szalay, Jack Morrell, Dave Kennedy

 Rob S. reported we are working on it and will keep everyone posted.

Legislative Review:  Jack Morrell

Jack reported other than the OSHA 30 requirement by Glen Cove, he is hearing a lot about advertising for help to put it in writing a minimum and maximum rate of pay.  They have it in NYC.  It is not in NY State but it is coming soon.  It died and it is back again.  If anyone knows anything about this, please pass it along.

Old Business: 

Nothing to report.

 New Business:

Dave reported the associations – SCECA, NEL, 5-Boro and Westchester are having a meeting to be more cohesive with each other.  He asked 3 to 4 officers of each organization to attend.  The meeting is on Wednesday, May 24at the Snapper Inn in Oakdale at 6:30 pm.  He will send out a reminder email.

Raffles:            

2 – $75 cash prizes were won by John Cangemi and Steve Danielson.

1 – $80 cash prize was won by John McGinn.

$100 attendance award was drawn for Joseph Recine (#1198-CR) who was not present to win.

A motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:58 p.m. was made by Rob Tschoke and seconded by Ralph Lambiase.

Respectfully submitted,

APPROVED BY:   

Barbara George                                                                      Dave Kennedy

Recording Secretary                                                             Secretary

                                                                                                6/1/2023