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close to residences and"would intensify the use"to the point of nuisance. Jim Simpson, the
<br /> chairman of the Utilities Commission, was infuriated by the denial, calling it"two-bit politics."
<br /> The addition was approved after the commission revised its plans to be more compatible with the
<br /> adjacent neighborhood. The addition was clad in stucco,with a line of trees planted to minimize
<br /> the visual impact of the industrial building.88
<br /> In 1992, ERMU invested time and money updating infrastructure, soliciting bids for a new
<br /> building at the former city hall site, a new well, and a treatment facility. An eighteen-megawatt
<br /> substation was planned for the Industrial Park site to back up current operations and also serve
<br /> the future demands of a growing Elk River.89
<br /> ERMU completed a study in September 1992 to assess how its rates compared to neighboring
<br /> towns. The study concluded that in relation to other utilities, ERMU was charging much less for
<br /> water and water connection fees. In fact, the current water connection fee was not enough to
<br /> offset installation costs and ERMU was losing money when water service was extended to new
<br /> customers.90
<br /> In response, in 1993, ERMU
<br /> increased water connection ��`
<br /> fees, as well as other fees it '' '� �,410i r ��` K
<br /> charged developers for new €` 0 ' ' 54' " , r1 I 1 4 ■.' , '
<br /> extending services to new " ��� �' �';'�° a;, �' ;:p,44,-. ;
<br /> plats. Revenue was earmarked ,0
<br /> for future water towers and F. ` ' 'Y ��
<br /> N � 1 M
<br /> wells to serve new a i' aL a,. - � r '
<br /> developments like Hillside ; ",'' ' � ,� , 11; t
<br /> Estates. For example, ERMU t .. ;
<br /> purchased a site for a tower, r.,',--, , , +
<br /> s r+ ��,%s < �
<br /> well, and service station from �f , - 1:,,`
<br /> r ,
<br /> the city for$10,000 to service � . � �
<br /> Hillside Estates.91 ' ''3,'`
<br /> ERMU consolidated its ;, ;`' `�
<br /> management structure in 1993 �'
<br /> and replaced individual "� � � ti r`
<br /> department superintendents
<br /> with a general manager, who Bill Birrenkott
<br /> was responsible for governing (Sherburne County News, undated clipping
<br /> the organization as a whole. at Elk River Municipal Utilities)
<br /> Bill Birrenkott was the first
<br /> 88"City Stuns Utilities,"Elk River Star News,April 17, 1991;Don Heinzman,"Furor over Utilities Dispute Is
<br /> Defused,"Elk River Star News,April 24, 1991.
<br /> 89 Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Minutes,May 5, 1992;Bill Birrenkott,"Elk River Municipal Utilities,"
<br /> The Current: The City of Elk River Newsletter 3 (August 1992).
<br /> 9°Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Minutes,September 8, 1992.
<br /> 91 Ibid.,April 6,and September 7, 1993.
<br /> 95
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