Laserfiche WebLink
C <br />E1kRiver <br />Municipal Utilities <br />UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING <br />TO: <br />FROM: <br />Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission <br />Troy Adams, P.E. — General Manager <br />John Dietz — Chair <br />Theresa Slominski — Finance & Office Manager <br />Daryl Thompson — Vice Chair <br />Al Nadeau — Trustee <br />MEETING DATE: <br />AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: <br />March 19, 2013 <br />5.5 <br />SUBJECT: <br />2013 Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association Legislative Conference <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Formed in 1931, Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association (MMUA) has a mission to "unite <br />and serve as a common voice for municipal utilities and to provide them with the support they <br />need to be able to improve service to their customers and community." MMUA represents 125 <br />municipal electric utilities and 31 municipal gas utilities in Minnesota. And although MMUA <br />provides a "common voice" as a joint action agency representing our concerns and advocating <br />for our needs on the legislative front, they cannot do it alone. As legislative issues become more <br />complex and affect the municipal utilities differently, it has become increasingly more important <br />to provide local support to MMUA's efforts. <br />One of the more critical times for this local support is during the legislative sessions when there <br />is still an opportunity to provide comments and /or provide direction for the draft legislation. As <br />a way to increase municipal utility awareness during session, MMUA organizes a Legislative <br />Rally at our State Capitol. Packaged with this rally, MMUA also provides a conference with <br />timely and appropriate training sessions targeted at the municipal leadership demographic in <br />attendance. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />The 2013 Winter Legislative Conference was held this past February 13 -15. The conference <br />seminars included: a panel discussion on the drought and the potential impact to municipal <br />utilities water rates, a video documentary "Liquid Assets Minnesota" on the importance of <br />budgeting for scheduled maintenance on municipal water distribution systems, a MN <br />Conservation Improvement Program update, MN Electric Service Territory Boundary and <br />Website update, and Electric Service Territory Legal Update. <br />The Legislative Rally was held at the State Capitol on February 14. MMUA organized for the <br />rally presentations to approximately ten elected officials. Typically municipal utility constituents <br />Reliable Public <br />Power Provider <br />Page 1 of 2 <br />rIIIaEI I <br />NATURE <br />P o w r a r o T o S r N v r <br />v 1�. <br />O <br />V /� <br />