HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 755 Offered January 16, 2007 Commending the Harrisonburg Electric Commission on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. ---------- Patron-- Lohr ----------

WHEREAS, the Harrisonburg Electric Commission will celebrate in 2007 the 50th anniversary of its founding; and

WHEREAS, after World War II, the demand for electricity and other city services increased as the nation began its recovery, and Harrisonburg's electric utility system soon became overloaded and run-down and the quality of electric service deteriorated; and

WHEREAS, shortly after the Elizabeth Street substation fire in 1954, the Virginia Electric and Power Company offered to buy Harrisonburg’s electric system and purchase a 30-year franchise, promising lower rates and improved service, and the City Council voted four to one to sell the system subject to a public referendum to take place on February 14, 1956; and

WHEREAS, the public debate on whether to sell or not was heated, and citizens found themselves fervently divided in their opinions; but with such strong public interest, when February 14 arrived, a record number of citizens turned out for the special referendum and the vote to sell was defeated 1,311 to 958; and

WHEREAS, on September 18, 1956, during a special session of the Virginia General Assembly, the body authorized an amendment to Harrisonburg's city charter that permitted the city council to form the Harrisonburg Electric Commission (HEC), and on November 7, 1956, a bond issue of $550,000 was approved by the voters two to one for rehabilitation of their electric system; and

WHEREAS, the day after the bond referendum, the city council voted to establish the HEC, accepting a special study committee's recommendation that the system be run by an independent, nonpolitical commission made up of five persons who were resident voters within the city; and

WHEREAS, the first members of the HEC were sworn into office on January 1, 1957, marking the first real change in the management of the city system since 1905; and

WHEREAS, on April 1, 1957, the new HEC began operating from an office in the old National Hotel building located at 224 North Main Street; and

WHEREAS, the HEC served 4,592 customers when it was established in 1957, with a contribution to the City of Harrisonburg that year of $60,000; and

WHEREAS, as of December 31, 2006, the HEC serves 18,057 residential, commercial, industrial, and government entity customers, with a service territory of 17.4 square miles within the Harrisonburg city limits; and

WHEREAS, the HEC contributed $4.6 million to the City of Harrisonburg in 2006 and has contributed more than $76 million in total taxes and contributions since its founding in 1957; and

WHEREAS, the HEC has provided the citizens of Harrisonburg, who own their electric company, with reliable electric service at the most competitive rates for 50 years; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend and congratulate the Harrisonburg Electric Commission on the occasion of its 50th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Michael J. York, General Manager, of the Harrisonburg Electric Commission as an expression of the General Assembly’s appreciation of its longtime service to the citizens of the City of Harrisonburg.