08-12-2008 ERMU MIN - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 2 Regular meeting of the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission August 12,2008 Roger Stradal,DNR representative, said Elk River is very pro-active on water conservation which is necessary in a growing community such as Elk River. Denny Aleckson asked for suggestions on attempting to keep lawns healthy. Roger Stradal replied that the Elk River area is on the Anoka sand plain which causes a lot of water to infiltrate very quickly and suggested trying different grasses which are more draught tolerant. Bryan Adams said a proposal will be brought to the City Council to adopt a black dirt policy for future developments. Bryan Adams advised of the daily and monthly pumpage for Elk River showing a large disparity between summer and winter. Of the eight wells and four water towers, five wells and one tower are taken off line in the winter because they are only needed to support the sprinkling requirements. This represents approximately$6.5 million of infrastructure investments being utilized only 5 to 6 months of the year. John Dietz said Elk River is one of the newest communities with large growth. Due to the slowed economy,the WAC fee funding is not supporting the water department anymore. Lori Johnson,City Administrator,expressed concern over a flat rate for water. Senior citizens water bills would almost double. The infrastructure was necessary because of the higher water users. The two issues involved are promoting conservation and the costs involved,either the infrastructure is funded by customers who use the water or by the tax payers who possibly do not. Jerry Takle said if the top tier water rate was lowered,the other rates would have to be raised to support the financial burden. At this time Jerry Takle thanked Dennis Aleckson for voicing his concern and the commission would take it under advisement. Jerry Takle then requested 6.3 be moved up to accommodate Bruce LeGare. 6.3 Review UHG Electric Load Bruce LeGare, a resident west of the United Health Group(UHG)facility,voiced his concern of the noise level when their generators are running. Bruce LeGare was informed that the generators are for backup in case of an outage however they would be testing them monthly but not all at once. With the cost of fuel it would not be feasible for UHG to run their engines anymore than necessary. Discussion followed regarding the uninterruptible load program and the zoning of this facility. John Dietz asked if UHG was asked to run their engines,Bryan Adams affirmed. Jerry Gumphrey asked what time of day this was. Bryan Adams responded from 4:00 p.m.to 10:00 p.m. to offset the peak usage,which in turn saved Elk River Municipal Utilities and the rate payers approximately$150,000. Lori Johnson said it is becoming a sound issue,and UHG's schedule is to run engines every other Saturday with testing once a month. John Dietz suggests Bryan Adams meet with UHG to solve the noise issue and to report back to Bruce LeGare.