The Rochester Public Utility (RPU) Board met on April 1, 2026, to approve consent agenda items, receive informational presentations on bond rating analysis and customer relations operations, and review board policy progress. All votes were unanimous.
It's 4 p.m. and we will call the Rochester Public Utilities Board Meeting to order. As a quick reminder, this is going to be a recorded session. A recording will be available on the city's website. And the first item on the agenda is the approval of the agenda. May I have a motion to approve the agenda as presented? I'll make a motion. Second. We have a motion, a second. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed. The agenda is approved. I'm going to switch spots quickly for this uh second portion here. Well, sadly, and happily for him and sadly for us. Um, the next item number two recognition of service for safety manager Bob Cook. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Cook has demonstrated a strong commitment to fostering a culture of safety and accountability across the organization. His leadership and expertise have left a lasting impact on the safety and well-being of our employees and the community. This meeting marks his final day of full-time service and his last safety moment presentation to the board. We extend our sincere appreciation for his contribution and wish him all the best in his retirement. Bob, would you come up for two items? One, we have a certificate from Rochester Public Utilities. Thank you. And second, we have recognition from the city of Rochester. Okay, good for all your time. Thank you, sir. I had to write this down because I wasn't sure I'd get through it. So in uh May of 1979, I graduated from college with a degree in occupational safety. Two weeks later, I began my first full-time job. Grateful of to have found something in the field I'd chosen. Now nearly 47 years and six employers later, I'm thankful to be moving into the next chapter, retirement, but I'll admit it's a little scary. Looking back on my career, one idea about safety stands out above all others. No matter how much training we provide, how much we invest in protective equipment, or how vigorously the safety guy waves his arms on a job site. Injuries are only truly prevented when safety happens in the moment. I learned this firsthand. At one point, I conducted week-long detailed safety audits and large high production iron foundries. As a side note, if you've never been in a foundry in South Carolina in July, you've not lived. During one audit, as I walked down an aisle focused on my work, a plant safety employee suddenly shoved me out of the way. In that instant, he saved me from being struck by a massive ladle of molten iron hanging from an overhead conveyor system. Several tons of molten iron. Had I been hit, I would have become another workplace fatality statistic. For him, safety happened in a moment. For me, it had not. That individual and I didn't know it was C eye to eye, but that didn't stop him from putting safety first, my safety in that moment. He quite literally saved my life. Without him, I wouldn't be here today reaching retirement. That experience changed me and made me a better safety professional by reinforcing just how vital it is that safety lives in the moment. And so with that story, I share my final safety moment.