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02-17-2010 ECC MINMEETING OF THE ELK RIVER ENERGY CITY COMMISSION HELD AT ELK RIVER CITY HALL ELK RIVER, MN WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010 Members Present: Scott Hagen,Vance Zehringer, Denny Chuba, Mayor Stephanie Klinzing, John Setala, Jeff Vassar, Tim Steinbeck, Bruce Sayler, Ron Touchette Members Absent: Susie Overholser, Stephen Rohlf, Staff Present: Rebecca Haug, Environmental Administrator Nicola Blake-Bradley, Environmental Technician Others Present: Annie Deckert, Economic Development Assistant Rachel Leonard, Sherburne County Commissioner The regular meeting of the Energy City Commission was called to order by Chair Zehringer at 1:36 p.m. 1. Consider February 17. 2010 ECC Agenda No items were added to the agenda. MOTION BY COMMISSIONER TOUCHETTE AND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CHUBA TO APPROVE AGENDA AS SUBMITTED. ALL IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED. 2. Consider January 20, 2010 ECC Minutes Commissioner Touchette requested a change to the minutes under Project Conserve. He stated that he did not note a newspaper article regarding using water from Lake Superior to service water needs in other states such as Arizona. The change will be made accordingly. MOTION BY MAYOR KLINZING AND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER SETALA TO APPROVE THE MINUTES WITH CHANGES. ALL IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED. 3. Election of Officers MOTION BY MAYOR KLINZING AND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CHUBA TO KEEP THE CURRENT CHAIR (ZEHRINGER) AND VICE-CHAIR (SETALA) FOR ANOTHER YEAR. Chair Zehringer stated that he was not interested in maintaining the Chair position for another year. Mayor Klinzing stated that she understood his feelings but expressed concern that Energy City needs Mr. Zehringer's leadership and passion for at least another year. She asked that he remain in his position for the next year. Commissioner Setala was asked if he would be willing to stay in Vice-Chair position with the potential for being Chair next year. He stated that he would be willing to be Vice-Chair again and would possibly be interested in being Chair next year. A vote was called for Chair Zehringer and Vice-Chair Setala. Chair Zehringer was the lone opposition. All others voted aye. Motion carried. Mayor Klinzing commented that Energy City is something the Council has always liked. She feels that Energy City still needs to be made a part of Elk River though. Commissioner Touchette added that Chair Zehringer does an excellent job in the position and is unequalled due to his passion. Agreement from the commission followed Commissioner Touchette's comments. Chair Zehringer thanked him and added that he does have passion. 4. Project Conserve Update A grant was applied for which would help with costs associated with the next phase of Project Conserve. The applicants will be notified in March as to whether they have received the grant or not. Project Conserve participants have signed up to be at the Energy Expo for recruiting at the Energy City booth. Environmental Administrator Haug stated that she has really enjoyed this group. A recent edition of Mainstreams (from Elk River Star News) focused upon resource conservation topics because of Project Conserve. Participants and commissioners should let organizers know of things they'd like to learn about. Guest speakers from the Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) were at the last meeting. There will be one more meeting in May where they'll focus upon the natural gas usage and get final electricity and water use. A complete report will be done for replication purposes for any other communities. Phase II will be starting in June. Because this phase is so large, a larger meeting space is necessary. Commissioners were asked for ideas of locations. Discussion regarding possible locations and funding potential followed. One note made was that blower door and infrared tests may not be able to be done if there is no grant money available. Six building inspectors and two interns will be trained to do the tests. Participants for Phase I were asked if they'd be willing to pay for such a service. Several stated that they would be willing to pay a portion of the cost ($50 - $75 for example), especially if it resulted in overall savings. Commissioner Rohlf arrived at 1:50 p.m. At this time, Tim Steinbeck from Great River Energy was introduced as the newest member of the Energy City Commission. Introductions were made and everyone greeted Commissioner Steinbeck. 5. 2010 Energv Expo Update The expo is up to approximately 50 exhibitors. Anoka Ramsey Community College has informed students they will receive extra credit if they attend. This could really boost numbers. Ms. Deckert showed the advertising efforts that she has coordinated through a local radio station and with the assistance of a marketing contractor. The radio station (KBOB) will give us 18 ad spots for the cost of 9 which will play February 25th through the morning of February 27th. Elk River Star News will run a full page ad. The Chamber of Commerce, EDA (Economic Development Authority), Environmental Educator, Elk River Current, and metro newspapers have been used for advertising. Blink Bonnie and Dunn Bros. will supply food items for sale. There will be a spinning wheel with door prizes and prizes from exhibitors to boost traffic at their booths. The agenda and times were discussed. Chair Zehringer thanked the ECC staff and Ms. Deckert for the work that has been done for this event. 6. CBAC Update Commissioner Touchette stated there really isn't much to report. There are four sites under consideration (2 in Elk River and 2 in Ramsey). March 1St is the date for the decision, then the city chosen will have 14 days to resubmit plans. Ramsey has promised dedicated ramp space if they are chosen, which is a concern. However, Ramsey does not have a Northstar rail stop, which Elk River does. 7. Photovoltaic Update- Vance Zehringer Chair Zehringer provided a presentation on wind at the last meeting so he offered a quick presentation on photovoltaics (PV) at this meeting. There is definitely more interest in solar now likely because electricity prices are going up. High schools are making cells now as science projects. There is one demonstration site in town, although the cost is still high. Residential costs are at $10/watt now, but Chair Zehringer is hoping for $2/watt. (side note: a mega watt =one million watts) Discussion of companies offering components and success stories (Mars Rover and International Space Station, for example) followed. Winelectric is open to being a demonstration site. Metalcraft is also a potential demonstration site. Discussion of locations where solar electric kits are available (Menards, Tractor Supply Co.) and how they work followed. Essentially an inverter converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). Germany, Japan, and the US are leaders in PV production. It is much more popular commercially. It needs to be more economical for residents to implement. Incentives were discussed. There are 97 PV companies world-wide. 37 are located within the United States. Mayor Klinzing questioned how to incentivize a company to locate in Energy City. Sand is a main resource needed for production (and Elk River has plenty). 8. Other 8.1 Volunteer Dinner: The volunteer dinner is set for February 17th from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Senior Activity Center. It will mainly be hors d' oeuvres. All commissioners are invited. 8.2 March 8th City Council Worksession: discussion of whether this should be the date to discuss the question of Energy City mission statement and goals. A comment was made that there is no rush. Discussion followed and the decision to wait until the April 12th worksession to discuss the mission and goals of Energy City. Commissioners Touchette and Rohlf will assist Environmental Administrator Haug with a draft to bring back to the Commission. Chair Zehringer commented that Energy City should be trying to attract PV and turbine manufacturers. Commissioner Rohlf questioned whether there would be any Minnesota School of Business interns. Discussion followed. 9. Schedule Next ECC Meeting and Identify Agenda Items The next meeting will be held March 17, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. at City Hall in the Uppertown Conference Room. Potential topics include grants update, expo update, Green Cities (MPCA), CBAC update, Mission Statement and Goals, and Water Conservation at the Source (Mayor) 10. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 2:45 p.m. 3 Minutes prepared by iglake-Bradley. /~ Tina Allard City CI rk a ance Zehrin r Energy Ci ommissi Chair 4