|
become members of said Association."45 By September, an amendment to the group's articles of
<br /> incorporation removed this objection,but by this time the Village Council was entrenched in its
<br /> stand against the sale to the Cooperative. In a special meeting on December 10, the Council
<br /> voted to terminate its franchise with the Baehr Organization. Three days later it learned,
<br /> however, that the franchise could not be terminated as easily as the Council had assumed. By the
<br /> end of the month, a compromise appeared to be reached: the Anoka County Cooperative would
<br /> buy the generating facility, while the Village of Elk River would acquire the distribution system.
<br /> Special meetings and discussions continued with Anoka regarding the purchase of the generating
<br /> system through the beginning of 1944. Village officials were also exploring an arrangement with
<br /> NSP.46
<br /> A turning point for municipal ownership came in June 1944,when Elk River held a special
<br /> referendum to authorize issuance of$70,000 of bonds to either purchase the existing generating
<br /> system or construct a new facility. Apparently the controversy didn't inspire much interest by the
<br /> general public: voter turnout was less than 50 percent. The measure passed 195 to 74.47
<br /> The issue, however, was far from resolved. William Baehr had died suddenly in 1943. His
<br /> successors at the Baehr Organization wanted$120,000 for the plant, machinery, and lines, a
<br /> $35,000 discount from the deal negotiated with the Anoka Cooperative. The Village, however,
<br /> offered $25,000, based on the depreciated value of the company's equipment. This was
<br /> summarily rejected by Baehr's group in October 1944. Negotiations remained at a standstill for
<br /> the rest of 1944 and the first half of 1945.
<br /> In frustration, the Village hired the Saint Paul engineering firm of Toltz, King and Day (now
<br /> Toltz, King, Duvall, and Anderson) to draft plans for a new electrical distribution system
<br /> independent of Baehr's equipment. Although the Council had not established a source of power
<br /> for the system, it apparently anticipated no problem in making arrangements with Baehr or
<br /> another company once the lines were in place. The plans, which were approved by the
<br /> Council in April 1945, called for a brilliantly lit"White Way" in the business district around
<br /> Main and Princeton Streets. New lights would also be added along the new"superhighway,"
<br /> Trunk Highway 10, in cooperation with the Minnesota Highway Department. Heavier wiring
<br /> would be installed throughout the system to take care of increased postwar demand for
<br /> electricity.48
<br /> Elk River Mayor Glenn Davidson travelled to Chicago in July 1945 to discuss a sale with the
<br /> Baehr group, to no avail. A deal was finally negotiated on August 2 at a meeting in Minneapolis
<br /> with representatives from Elk River, Baehr, and Toltz, King and Day. Baehr vice president A. C.
<br /> Winters cut the asking price in half, to $60,000. The Village countered at $50,000, and refused to
<br /> 45 Village of Elk River v.Elk River Power and Light Company,Sherburne County District Court,Civil Case No.
<br /> 19080,filed February 4, 1943,State Archives,Minnesota Historical Society,Saint Paul.
<br /> 46 Barnier,Our Silver Anniversary, 1937-1962,21;Elk River Village Council Minutes,September 14, 1943,
<br /> October 7, 1943,December 10, 1943,and December 13, 1943.
<br /> 47"Commercial Club Asks Council Investigate Electric Situation"; Seelhammer and Mosher, Growth of Sherburne
<br /> County,481;"Elk River Makes Purchase of Local Hydro-Electric System,"Sherburne County Star News,August 9,
<br /> 1945.
<br /> 48"Village Council Orders Plans for Electric Distribution Plant,"Sherburne County Star News,January 18, 1945;
<br /> "Plans Complete for Municipal Electric Distribution System,"Sherburne County Star News,April 19, 1945.
<br /> 13
<br />
|