by Ilyssa Weiner

Scriba, NY- Exelon Generation, owner of the nation’s largest nuclear energy fleet, has officially taken ownership and management of all operations at the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant.

“We look forward to bringing FitzPatrick’s highly skilled team of professionals into

the Exelon Generation nuclear program, and to continue delivering to New York the environmental, economic and grid reliability benefits of this important energy asset,” President and CEO of Exelon Chris Crane said.

According to a press release, Entergy, the FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant’s former owner, has transferred the plant’s operating license to Exelon as well as its decommissioning trust fund and liability.

Joseph Pacher has also been named the new site vice president of the plant. Pacher was the former site vice president at R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant in Ontario.

“Joe knows the Exelon Management Model well and led Ginna during its transition into

the Exelon Generation fleet in 2014,” Exelon’s Chief Nuclear Officer Bryan Hanson said. “We are confident that his leadership will ensure a smooth transition for employees and the community, as FitzPatrick continues to deliver safe, clean and reliable electricity to the regional power grid.”

FitzPatrick’s former site vice president, Brian Sullivan, was retained by Entergy as part of the original transaction agreement.

Entergy and Exelon announced the $110 million transaction back in August 2016 after the Clean Energy Standard (CES) was adopted in New York State. The CES has saved the $3 billion nuclear plants contribute to the state’s economy annually as well as the 25,000 jobs in nuclear plants throughout the state. It has also spent millions of dollars in energy infrastructure investments. Without the CES, the FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant would close and other upstate nuclear plants would also be at risk of closure.

Exelon does not have an immediate changes to staffing at the FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant, which normally employs about 600 people.

The FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant generates carbon-free electricity for more than 800,000 homes and businesses. Exelon Generation operates two other nuclear energy facilities in upstate New York including Nine Mile Point, which is right next to FitzPatrick.

On Tuesday evening the Student Association held their weekly meeting of the Senate, making it the twelfth one of the semester. Quorum to begin the meeting was met and following the approval of the minutes and the agenda, the meeting was well under way.

Seeing as there were no guests to the Senate and no public comment, the meeting moved into executive reports. Emily Nassir, SA President was the first to deliver her report. Nassir announced that all of her Directors have been hired and their positions filled. The Directors were introduced during this evening meeting and include Jill Kranz incoming senior appointed as Chief of Staff, Sarah Wood appointed as Director of Student Advocacy, Alex George appointed as Director of Legislative Affairs, Xochitl Santamaria appointed as Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Allie Stango for Director of Graphic Design, Emily Stasko for Director of Public Relations, and finally Keith Jacobson appointed as Director of Academic Affairs. The directors have all been involved with the Student Association prior to accepting their position and they will continue to work next to Nassir in the upcoming 2016-2017 academic year. Nassir happily announced more tickets for OzFest have been purchased, though they would still like to see these numbers increase. The Oswego Food pantry was the focus of this semester’s “Miss-A-Meal” which was a great success and those who donated help to fund the food pantry begin developed on campus. Nassir stated that she is currently trying to request and receive more funding for SUNYSA to allow more senators the opportunity to attend the event.

Shelby Gallaro, Vice President of SA, was the next to deliver her executive report. Gallaro revealed that she is currently working on the budget for next year which may involve breaking up the pay scale for senators. Gallaro is also working on getting dinner for the senators for the last meeting of the semester. The focus then shifted towards Matthew Peters, Director of Finance for his executive report. Peters stated he is looking into increasing the student activity fee steadily each semester, however it would only be an increase of one dollar. The Senate voted on the idea of increasing the student activity fee and the proposal passed. Peters will begin working on the budget and proposal for that. Matthew Peters closed his executive report and was then reappointed to his position as Director of Finance for the 2016-2017 academic year.

Following executive reports, committee reports was next on the agenda. Rules and Judiciary presented the Senate with the referral binder they have been working on which will be handed out to the clubs and organizations on campus. Involvement Committee has been working on their Pageant event which will take the place of King and Queen during homecoming week. The pageant will be separated by gender, and those who wish to participate will be required to send in a video submission. From there rules and requirements will be drawn up to eliminate contestants following a series of rounds. The goal is to have this during homecoming week.

In Hall Council Reports, Johnson Hall is going over the final edits for their constitution and they also have new floor representatives. Cayuga is working on brainstorming ideas for prizes which will be raffled of at their end of the year raffel. Riggs Hall is hosting their laker night this Friday. It is a “Spring Fling” 5o’s themed event.

Due to the fact that there were no special orders, the meeting moved to general orders for the evening. The increase in Student Activity fee was referred to the Finance and Involvement committees for the week. They will discuss increasing the fee at their meetings and the matter will be voted on at the next meeting.

The meeting came to a close following the general orders for the evening. The Student Association holds their weekly meeting of the Senate Tuesdays in Lanigan 106 and 6pm. All meeting are open to the public and students are encouraged to attend to express any concerns or opinions they may have.