Cobb EMC meeting turns contentious

Business

Cobb EMC meeting turns contentious

Cobb EMC’s 70th annual meeting quickly turned rebellious Thursday as angry members passed motions calling on the board to resign and to reverse last month’s decision to nearly double the management fee paid to the utility’s for-profit operating affiliate, Cobb Energy.

Cobb EMC attorney Bob Silliman (left) listens to Lenney Hickman's remarks during the co-op's annual meeting Thursday in Marietta.

Former U.S. Rep. Fletcher Thompson hands Silliman a written motion calling for the board to reverse their decision to increase the fee paid to Cobb Energy. The board voted for the fee increase last month, raising it from 6 percent of operating costs to 11 percent, a difference of roughly $2.5 million a year.

Thompson raises his hand along with most of the crowd to vote on his motion to rescind a recent rate increase. By hand votes, the more than 750 members present passed that motion and one calling for the board members' resignations.

The co-op held its annual meeting in a covered loading dock in its Marietta facility. Several co-op members sued Cobb EMC and Cobb Energy last fall, saying the relationship between the two had siphoned co-op assets.

Sims Maddox listens during the meeting. Cobb EMC members also voted to prohibit the utility's officers and their family members from working for, or having ownership interests in, Cobb Energy.

Seth Gunning speaks to the board during the meeting. Cobb EMC attorneys called the members' votes at the meeting 'non-binding' for the board, an assertion some in the audience rejected.

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Cobb EMC attorney Bob Silliman (left) listens to Lenney Hickman's remarks during the co-op's annual meeting Thursday in Marietta.

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