5.5. ERMUSR 07-17-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Elk River -�--- Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Troy Adams, P.E. —General Manager John Dietz—Chair Daryl Thompson—Vice Chair Al Nadeau—Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: July 17, 2012 5.5 SUBJECT: Property Adjacent to Diesel Power Plant BACKGROUND: In June 1915, Fred Waterman incorporated the Elk River Power and Light Company. This private company built a 200 horsepower turbine generator at the Elk River Dam on Lake Orono. In 1945, the Village of Elk River purchased the Elk River Power and Light Company. And on July 11, 1947, the Elk River Village Council created statutory authority a"Water, Light, Power and Building Commission,"the birth of a public power and water utility in Elk River. One of the first capital improvements made by the Utilities was to build the Diesel Power Plant. The Diesel • Power Plant was built next to the Elk River Dam. To the east of this power plant and the ERMU property is a 6.6 acre lot with the address 1703 Main St NW(Parcel ID 75-133-4210). This property has no recorded easement for access to Main Street and currently accesses the property through the ERMU Diesel Power Plant property (Parcel ID 75-411-0110) and ERMU Shop and Storage Building(Parcel ID 75-411-0130). DISCUSSION: The owner of the 1703 Main St NW property is working to secure a loan for improvements to their property which include connecting to the City of Elk River Sanitary Sewer System to replace their septic system. The owner is not able to secure the loan without a recorded easement to their property. There are concerns with ERMU agreeing to a permanent easement through our property relating to liability, security, and potential regulation and compliance issues with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation(NERC). The owner and Utilities staff and been working to find a mutually beneficial resolution to this situation. The owner and Utilities staff have discussed a number of options for rerouting a driveway to the north. Staff will provide more detailed information on options for the Utilities at the time of the Commission meeting. • R HIS aft P0VFRII 9 Page 1 of 2 NATURE Reliable Public Power Provider P v.r F r o T o S r F V r