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Elk River <br /> Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING <br /> TO: FROM: <br /> ERMU Commission Troy Adams, P.E.—General Manager <br /> MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: <br /> March 13, 2018 6.3 <br /> SUBJECT: <br /> American Public Power Association Legislative Rally Update <br /> ACTION REQUESTED: <br /> No action requested <br /> DISCUSSION: <br /> Commissioner Stewart and I attended the American Public Power Association(APPA)2018 <br /> Legislative Rally in Washington, D.C. This year the rally was held February 26-28. We were <br /> among approximately 50 Minnesota municipal utility representatives. The Minnesota Municipal <br /> Utilities Association (MMUA) organizes Minnesota specific events in coordination with this <br /> conference. Through the MMUA Government Relations Committee which I am currently the <br /> Chair, MMUA develops Federal position statements. These are communicated to all of the <br /> Minnesota elected officials and their key and/or energy policy staff. These position statements <br /> are developed over a number of committee meetings and are prioritized for the members. The <br /> MMUA 2018 Federal Position Statements are attached. Typically but not always,these positions <br /> are consistent with the APPA Issue Briefs, which can be found on the following website: <br /> https://www.publicpower.org/policy-positions <br /> Our three top key messages this year were regarding: <br /> Infrastructure—maintaining tax exempt financing and increasing federal dollars for projects. <br /> Pole attachments—maintaining local control over pole attachment process and fees. <br /> Power Marketing Administrations—protecting Minnesota municipal utilities that depend on <br /> the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) <br /> MMUA had booked meeting rooms and scheduled a large group meeting for Wednesday. <br /> Unfortunately,the passing of Rev Billy Graham affected our schedules as his casket was at the <br /> Capitol for viewing. This resulted in all meeting room reservations being canceled. MMUA did <br /> an incredible job to reschedule everything. However,this resulted in fewer large group meeting <br /> and small group meeting. Feedback from MMUA and the other Minnesota municipal utility <br /> representatives in attendance was that the meetings with elected officials were generally <br /> successful despite the changes. <br /> Page 1 of 2 <br /> 231 <br />