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UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING <br />TO:FROM: <br />ERMU CommissionMark Hanson – General Manager <br />MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: <br />March 11, 20255.1 <br />SUBJECT: <br />ERMU Power Plant Project Update <br />ACTION REQUESTED: <br />Discuss project status <br />BACKGROUND: <br />At the August 13, 2024, commission meeting, the Commission discussed the future of the Elk <br />River Municipal Utilities (ERMU) power plant. ERMU has maintained the existing power plant <br />since its construction in 1947. Since 1978, however, ERMU has met all its power generation <br />needs through a cooperative purchasing agency. Since then, the plant has been maintained for <br />auxiliary purposes only. <br /> <br />All five of ERMU’s substations are connected to multiple transmission lines and we have <br />multiple distribution tie-lines between our substations providing highly resilient back-feeding <br />capabilities. As such, due to the age and condition of the engines and their relatively low value <br />as back-up operational assets, staff proposed the plant be decommissioned, the salvageable <br />assets be sold, and the building be repurposed, potentially as a history/education center. The <br />Commission officially decommissioned the plant at their September 10, 2024, meeting via <br />Resolution 24-10 - Authorizing the Decommission of the ERMU Power Plant. <br /> <br />DISCUSSION: <br />Staff retained the services of LEO A DALY Architects to review the building’s structural integrity <br />for repurposing as a potential history/education center, identify potential funding sources, <br />explore potential design layouts, and estimate the potential construction costs. LEO A DALY will <br />be presenting the results of their work to date at the meeting. <br /> <br />The objectives of the presentation/discussion are: <br />1) Reach consensus and provide direction on the desired audience for a potential <br />history/education center (students/children, organizations/adults, or a combination of <br />both). The intended audience will influence the design layout. <br />2) Reach consensus and provide direction on the prioritization of costs vs architectural <br />value. It will be considerably more expensive to keep the architectural features of the <br />building such that it could be listed on the national register of historic places. <br />______________________________________________________________________________ <br />Page 1 of 2 <br />82 <br /> <br />