11-17-2015 ERMU MIN - Laserfiche WebLink

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Beck inquired as to how sensitive the Commission wants to be in protecting the rate payers and still participating in the cities overall efforts to attract new businesses to the city. The Commission agreed that there is a sensitive balance but a commercial business with no track record should have a specific set of rules. It's difficult because with the nature of our business ERMU's customers get to use the product before they pay for it. One suggestion Peter Beck had was that they produce a letter of authorization to the landlord that would allow ERMU to access the meter. There Was further discussion. Based on Commission direction staff will come back with some options to strengthen the policy. 6.0 OTHER BUSINESS 6.1 Staff Updates In his staff report,Troy Adams shared that the award winning Minnesota Municipal Power Agency's(MIVIPA)Hometown BioEnergy facility was the subject of a critical Star Tribune article.The article cites facility run statistics suggesting that the facility is a failure because it runs well below capacity. John Dietz inquired as to whether MMPA was able to mitigate some of negative publicity the article created. Troy shared that MMPA made a conscious decision to not respond as the stats are completely irrelevant because the facility was designed to be dispatchable,meaning that it runs when economic conditions are favorable. It is true,however, that MMPA is working on resolving odor issues related to the plant. Theresa Slominski and Troy Adams met with our auditors,at their request,on November 10th. The auditors wanted feedback on their services and our satisfaction,which were all positive. John Dietz asked Cal Portner what the time frame was on the cities agreement with their auditor. Cal said that the cities policy is to go out for bids every four to five years on all of their contracts. Tom Sagstetter gave the Commissioners a hard copy of the Energy Guide that was developed to help ERMU staff and customers determine the cause of high electric bills. Tom also shared some of the additional ways we're promoting the LED holiday lighting contest. Interest has been very high and we already have six registered participants. 6.2 Set Date for Next Meeting The next regularly scheduled Commission meeting will be held on December 8,2015. The Commission recessed the regular meeting at 5.52 p.m. 6.3 Closing of Meeting: "Meeting to be Closed pursuant to MN Statute 13D.05, Subd. 3(c)(3)to develop or consider offers or counteroffers for the purchase or sale of real or personal property." Page 8 Special meeting of the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission November 17,2015