06-15-2011 ECC MINMEETING MINUTES OF THE ELK RIVER
ENERGY CITY COMMISSION
HELD AT ELK RIVER CITY HALL
ELK RIVER, MN
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2011
Members Present: Tim Steinbeck, Bruce Sayler, Dennis Chuba, Ryan Setterholm, John Setala, Ron
Touchette, and Vance Zehringer
Members Absent: Councilman Matt Westgaard, Stephen Rohlf, and Scott Hagen
Staff Present: Rebecca Haug, Environmental Administrator
Nicki Blake-Bradley, Environmental Technician
Ross Pomeroy, GreenCorps, City of Elk River
Denny Anderson, Building Inspector
Others Present: Don Heinzman, ECM Publishers
Terry Pickens, Xcel Energy
1. Call Meeting to Order
Chair Zehringer called the meeting to order at 8:36 a.m.
2. Consider June 15. 2011 ECC Agenda
Ms. Haug requested the addition of Oath of Office to be administered to Commissioner
Touchette.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER STEINBECK AND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER SETALA TO
APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED. ALL IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED.
3. Consider Mav 18. 2011 Minutes
Chair Zehringer commented that he had a change to the minutes. Under item number 6, he
requested that the wording of the sentence be changed from "He noted that LP doesn't have to
meet the 1.5% goal that all other utilities have to meet." to "He noted that LP companies don't .
have to meet the conservation goals established for other State energy utilities."
MOTION BY COMMSSIONER CHUBA AND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER SETTERHOLM TO
APPROVE THE MAY 18, 2011 MINUTES WITH CHANGES. ALL IN FAVOR. MOTION
CARRIED.
3(a). Oath of Office -Commissioner Touchette
Chair Zehringer administered the oath of office to Commissioner Touchette.
4. Monticello Nuclear Power Plant Presentation -Terry Pickens
Chair Zehringer introduced Terry Pickens, Director of Xcel Energy Nuclear Regulatory Policy who
was present to discuss security measures in place and changes being made to the Monticello
Plant as a result of the Fukushima Daiichi reactor issues on March 11 m in Japan.
Mr. Pickens first discussed the Fukushima Daiichi reactor site and what happened following the
9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami (40' in height) that were both above design specifications
for the reactor site. Only three of six reactors were operating at the time. The power was cut off
due to the earthquake so back up diesel generators were operating. When the tsunami hit, it
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Energv City Commission Minutes
June 15, 2011
wiped out the above ground diesel fuel tanks and sea water inundated the diesel engines,
removing their ability to pump water to cool the reactors
Mr. Pickens then discussed the Monticello and Prairie Island nuclear power plants and their
protections, including below ground storage tanks, air intakes above 1,000 year floodplain
elevations, and redundancy measures in place to protect against terrorist attacks or natural
disasters. He added that the plants have considered multiple natural disasters at once (due to
Fukushima) and that changes have been planned or implemented as a result. Monticello has eight
independent ways to get water to the core in an emergency, while Prairie Island has nine.
5. Energv Expo Discussion
Ms. Haug stated the plans are moving forward for the Energy Expo although a date and keynote
speaker have not been determined yet. Discussion followed regarding possible speakers. Amy
Klobuchar had been discussed previously. Suggestions included having nuclear power discussed
(with Fukushima Daiichi as contrast) or Dr. Moussad (sp?) Amin from the University of MN
regarding smart grids.
Chair Zehringer expressed concern over the "draw" of nuclear power discussion but added that it
would be an inexpensive keynote. Discussion regarding school involvement followed.
Commissioner Sayler questioned whether the subcommittee has been activated yet. Ms. Haug
stated that the subcommittee will be meeting at the next meeting date.
Ms. Haug added a caution that budgets are very tight this year and that the Expo may not get
funded this year. The City Council had budgeted $5,000 and the EDA had budgeted $5,000 for
last year. Any thoughts concerning possible cost savings or funding sources are most welcome.
Commissioners were invited to be part of the subcommittee as well.
6. June 13 Citv Council Update
Ms. Haug and Chair Zehringer attended the City Council meeting on June 13th to seek support for
Project Conserve and the Energy City Commission as a whole. The Council approved $10,000 for
the budget to support Project Conserve Phase III in a vote of 4 - 1. In general, the Council was
supportive, although they questioned staff time and directed Ms. Haug to search for grants.
Discussion followed regarding additional training for the energy auditors.
Commissioner Steinbeck left the meeting at 10:15 a.m. The following items were discussed briefly
with no actions being taken.
7. Update Elk River Municipal utwnes ~t~
Some lights are being converted to LED in City
$18 rebate.
all. The $45 lamp fixtures will receive at least an
8. Energv City Business Education Event
The event was held June 15 and had the most participants yet (30). The utilities representatives
were thanked for their participation. Energy City High Fives, the new EDA Financing tool, and
utilities rebates were the topics. Ms. Haug asked for suggestions for what businesses would like to
hear about at the next event.
9. Other
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An energy audit for City Hall was discussed. RETAP (Retired Engineer Technical Assistance
Program) cannot do the audit as thought. Suggestions for other potential services are welcome.
Ms. Haug and Mr. Pomeroy will be traveling to Rochester to receive an award for Energy City
being part of the MN Greenstep Cities program tomorrow.
Mr. Pomeroy discussed Phoenix's sustainability programs.
10. Schedule Next ECC Meeting and Identify Agenda Items
The July meeting will be canceled. The next meeting will be held August 17, 2011at the Elk River
City Hall in the Upper Town Conference Room at 8:30 a.m. Items for the agenda include:
• Approval of June 15, 2011 Minutes
• Website update
• Energy Expo
11. Adjournment
Since there were no further topics for discussion, Chair Zehringer adjourned the meeting at 10.32
a.m.
Minutes prepared by Nicki Blake-Bradley
~~
Tina Allard
City Clerk
a
Vance Zehrin er
Energy Cit ommi 'on Chair