ERMUSR MICS. ITEMS 09-09-2003 Elk River ----
Municipal Utilities
322 King Avenue phone: 763.441.2020
Elk River,MN 55330 Fax:763.441.8099
September 4, 2003
To: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission
John Dietz
Jerry Takle
James Tralle
From: Bryan C. Adams
Subject: Miscellaneous Issues
Enclosed is the packet for the September 9, 2003, commission meeting at 4:00 p.m.
The attached memo from Pat Hemza, reflects some very good news about our health
insurance rate increase.
Also attached are a couple of new articles that are of interest. They are as follows:
a) "Supply, demand drive watering restrictions", from August 20, Pioneer Press.
Our watering restrictions appear to be in line with other communities with year
round, even-odd watering, no watering from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
b) "Without electricity, digital era turned into the dark ages", from the Wall
Street Journal. Much continues to be written about the large power outage in
Eastern United States. System operations in our area saw voltage and
frequencies changes in the transmissions system as well. It is a scary thought
that the federal government will get to the bottom of the cause. Building more
power plants and transmission lines will go a long way in solving the problem.
More maintenance and testing of relaying scheme by utility companies help as
well. Due to the continued threat of deregulation of our industry, the IOU are
reluctant to invest. This is not helping the situation either. This issue was
discussed at the MMUA summer meeting and the conclusion was blackouts
will continue to happen until the above referenced problems are solved.
As a final note, I have concluded my term as President of MMUA, although I still have 3
years to serve on the MMUA board. This has been a good experience for me and it has
given Elk River some positive exposure.
August 29, 2003
To: Bryan Adams, General Manager
From: Pat Hemza, Office Manager
Re: Information only, health insurance
Recent information regarding our health insurance renewal rates has been sent to me. It
appears that are rates will increase 8.3%. If our group was community (age/gender)
rated, the rate would have been 16.9%. Trend is around 14%, which is the cost increase
to health insurance. Our experience rating called for 8.3% increase, and that is what they
will give us. The coop is definitely a good thing for a small group, as ours is.
TWIN CITIES
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- 0551,PIONEER PRESS
Minneapolis firefighter DaRoss Jones, left, aerates a tree as it is watered, assisted by firefighter Carla McClellan, right, and driver -
Kris Baird in south Minneapolis.The firefighters on Tuesday were helping the city's Park and Recreation workers water trees.
Cities take BYJESSIESTOMSKI usingayear-roundodd-evenwater SPOTTY RAIN
Pioneer Press ing system — addresses ending in
odd numbers can water on odd- Scattered rain fell
different
n St. Paul, you can water your numbered dates — and cha gng in Minnesota oe
lawn at high noon, today and more for heavy water users. Tuesday. Parts of
pp every day. Ozzello said it's simply a matter
approaches A few miles away in Woodbury', of supply. Dakota and
watering is restricted to every other "We have 14 wells. and there's Washington counties got
t0 Ovate? day and even then your garden hose only so many' gallons per minute about a half-inch Tuesday
must bedr'durngmdday. per well,"he said. evening, but most of the
conservation, Why the difference? Although the long dry spell — metro area saw little rain.
Reasons for the disparity vary, Some rain amounts:
keening but the biggest factor is a need by WATERING RESTRICTIONS.sR Minneapolis .03"
smaller cities to conserve water
in
1 B
case of an emergency. St. Paul
On Page 86: Campfires restricted St. Cloud .01
emergency
"Our primary goal is to always in blowdown area of Superior
have drinking water and, in case of National Forest. Warroad .29
needs at the an emergency'. have sufficient International Falls .09
reserves to fight a fire." said Tom Online: Read more about the Windom 1.43
Ozzello.Woodbury utilitc supervisor. hot life in the Weather Weblog at d
jorefl"Ont. Woodbury conserves water by www.twinciiles.com. t
t
6B C WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2003 LOCAL NEWS
FROM PAGE 1B
WATERING RULES
+Water restrictions in area cities, odd-even restrictions Minneapolis: No restrictions Clncott
subject to change if heavy rain Coon Rapids: No watering New Brighton: Year-round a -
returns: from noon to 8 p.m., plus watering ban from 4 p.m.to
Anoka: Odd-even schedule odd-even restrictions until 10 p.m. BY ROBIN JAME,
until Aug. 31 further notice Oakdale: Year-round odd-even Special to the Pioneer c
Apple Valley: No watering Hugo: Year-round odd-even watering Peter Cincotti want
between noon and 8 p.m., watering, voluntary restriction Roseville: No restrictions an orchestra someday
except for new trees from 10 a.m.to 6 p.m. write songs for other a
Bloomington: No water Lake Elmo: Year-round St Paul: No restrictions too. At 19, the jazz pi:
restrictions odd-even watering Savage: Year-round watering singer and compose
Brooklyn Center: Odd-even Lakeville: Residents ban from noon to 5 p.m., plus might get his wish.
restrictions until Sept.30 discouraged from watering odd-even watering He's faring well in the
of the media, just like a
Burnsville: No watering from from 7 a.m.to 9 p.m. Woodbury:Year-round who broke out of th
11 a.m.to 5 p.m., plus Maplewood: No restrictions watering from noon to early in their careers, , e
5 p.m., plus odd-even watering Harry Connick Jr., wy
WATERING TIPS Mamas and Joshua Rear,
The groundwork for---i
ti's rise was laid when C
Some tips on watering during a ■Don't water the sidewalks. pile—to increase your soil's Records invited industry
dry spell: •Newly planted shrubs and `Hater-holding capacity. to his debut release per
• Make sure all plants are trees need deep watering regu- •Mulch. Cover plant beds with ante in January.
receiving water. larly during their first summer composted leaves or grass to Now with a caree
.Even if you are using soaker in the landscape. help retain moisture. launched,the Manhattan s:
hoses, some plants may still •When hot and dry conditions —whose teachers include
need to be watered by hand. prevail, established wood plants Source:4-H Wildlife Stewards Williams,, Ellis Marsalis,-
water at least three benefit from a deep watering
'Typically,
Willia and Cliff Kor
every several weeks. is doing his part to that
. times a week. //�� //�� jazz to a whole new genera
•Water in the morning or
•Test your soil.Add organic d`7_ Making his of5
matter when necessary �Y7� A debut Tuesday to
evening. t3
maybe from your own compost crowd, Cincotti's first set.
his debut self-titled CD, IA
perfect introduction 1
In addition to concerns about gallons per day during the hot fans who may wonde
ater111g keeping water on hand for spell. he's all about.
restrictions emergencies,Blaine public utili- "We have always asked peo- From the start,Cincott.
ty director Mike Ulrich said ple in White Bear Lake to con- his band set out to "ri' i
social responsibilities also play serve and use wisely when
a role. needed," said Mark Burch,pub-
(continued) "We have an obligation as a lit works director.
city and residents to conserve Burch said a strict water
broken by a bit of rain Tuesday— our natural resources," Ulrich conservation policy, such as an Will KAl TF _
hasn't depleted Woodbury's said. odd-even system,can be contra-
water supply, it causes people to Of course, residents can dictory
use more water. make a water park out of their "We fmd people overuse Tt's a testament both
And Woodbury is serious yards in some cities. water," he said. "People will bfagers' popularity i
about its rules. In the last eight There are no restrictions in water on their day whether they the Twin Cities'dearth is
days, the city has issued 223 Minneapolis and St. Paul, both need it or not." fide celebrities that we"I
citations to people who ignored of which draw most of their Without restrictions, people probably remember wt -
the water regulations. water from the Mississippi might wait for a predicted rain- were when we heard tl
Eagan has relied on an odd- River. St. Paul also provides storm, but under restrictions, he was leaving.
even policy since 1988.The rule water to eight surrounding sub- they may think,"on an odd day, Magers has a sense
"allows us to even out the peaks urbs. if Pm an odd,I'm going to water" humor. I have to thh '"
so we don't get spikes in water But Helga Kessler, public just to make sure,"he said. i even laughing at the : r
use," said Wayne Schwanz, the service manager for St. Paul's Maybe,but Ozzello,of Wood- the coverage he's getting.
city's utilities superintendent. water system, emphasizes that bury, said people should realize Phase 1 of The Dep.:
Schwanz notes that a lawn residents shouldn't abuse their that an afternoon of watering (to give it the biblical -'
needs only about 1 inch of water enviable water privileges. can make a difference. apparently deserves) i r
each week. "We do not encourage peo- "People don't realize how tering reaction and , )
Water rules get a bit complex ple to waste water,"she said. much of an impact their sprin- who wins and who s b
in Blaine, which has a three- Some smaller communities icier system has on fighting a process.
tiered system. also don't limit their residents' fire in the case of an emer- Phase 2 is preparing m
It starts with an odd-even water usage. gency,"he said. months of speculation. a
rule, followed by time con- In White Bear Lake, for Magers'successor,what a,
straints and finally a ban on example,there are no water lim- Jessie Stomski can be reached at him in Los Angeles a--'
lawn sprinkling. Blaine is now its, even though water use has jstomski@pioneerpress.com or here is best positio r.
under second-tier regulations. more than doubled to 7 million 651-228-5201. exploit the opportunits
Departure presents.
Without electricity, digital z
era turned into the dark ages
By Susan Warren "When you get to the point where you can't '
and Melanie Trottman - 1
wall Street Journal wash your hands,you can't go to the 1 I
bathroom,you can't get a drink o water '; .1
Fbeena irerpart of less, y g f )
ode,the digital dream has in a tall building above the fifth floor,you're , 1.
been a w wireless,cashless, '
instantly connected society. getting into some not-so-humorous things."
But when the lights went out in —Ralph Wyndrum,engineer -
the northeastern United States,
the Electronic Age blew a fuse.
When you are unplugged,even things,"says Ralph Wyndrum, he arrived at LaGuardiaAir-
very simple tasks became f n- who has spent his life design- port,New York hotel sales
possible. ing electrical systems and is manager Greg Kooser,37,took !
Weary travelers at Detroit now a vice president for the In- the first bus that came along— 1 ;
Metro Airport couldn't coax stitute of Electrical and Elec- to Stamford,Conn. '!
water from the bathroom sinks tronics Engineers Inc.,a pro- At a darkened Marriott Ho-
because the electronic"eyes" fessional association. tel,it took an hour for the desk
didn't work Companies with Shirley Saunders of Queens clerk to check him in manually, a
electronic cash registers tried found a grocery store that used and hours more before hotel II „
to make do with paper,pencil an old-fashioned cash register. staff could escort him to his a -'
and,sometimes,the calcula- But the cashier couldn't weigh room,guiding him through the 3 1
tors built into cellphones.Ho- her potatoes and yams because pitch-black halls with a glow- v 1
tels had to dislodge guests be- the scale was electronic. stick.The electronic door locks II
cause electronic keycards and Back at home,the 65-year- were down,so staff had to use a 3
locks couldn't be programmed. old Saunders,a retired nurse, master key to open rooms for it
Phones fancied up with caller found matches from her guests one at a time."It's (t
ID,built-in answering ma- daughter's 1990 wedding,so amazing how a loss of power d
chines and cordless capability she was able to see by candle- can ruin your day,"he said. +I
were silent. light.But she kept walking into
At Charly's restaurant in the kitchen to check the time H andwritten invoices a .
Manhattan,the gas ovens were on her microwave's digital n
working and the pizza boxes clock."I'd say,'Oh,dummy. Cash gained new value,too. 2
were folded.But proprietor The lights are off.'But then I Long lines formed at pay '+
George Zamfotis,47,couldn't did it again.Old habits die phones,with some people "!
make pies because his electric hard." walking away in frustration r;
cheese-shredder was out of Eventually,she dusted off when their credit cards '1
commission.He never saw the an old transistor radio.It kept wouldn't work.Automated- tr
sense in keeping a manual her company through the night teller machines were dead,as t[
grater around. and reminded her not to fall well. 3
"We do so much cheese,it asleep with candles burning. Regular old phones worked
just wouldn't work,"he says. Not havingworkingeleva- just fine—if youwerelucky -
tors or water pumps in high- enough to have a plain model. n
New gadgets now necessities rise buildings might be expect- After walking and hitchhiking 9
ed without electricity.But An- home from his stranded train,
The toys and tools of the gela Jones,a Manhattan fash- New York energy consultant
21st century,from electronic ion assistant,was surprised to Larry Goldstein realized the
address books to toilets that discover that even her gas-fired three cordless phones in his 3
flush on their own,weren't stove has an electric ignition to home weren't working.He re- o
even conceived in the huge spark flame.She could have lit sorted to making calls from the B
blackouts of 1965 and 1977, the stove with matches,but she bathroom,which had a phone o
and were far less common in hadn't stocked them. wired directly into the wall. b
the western failure in 1996. Eduardo Velez practiced an
This time,with numerous gad- A 'ruined' da I
ancient brand of retailing to ' II
of convenience unwork- help keep a RadioShack store '1
able,many people found With cordless phones dead, in Manhattan opeh.He hand- 3
themselves lacking simplest many turned to their cell wrote sales invoices and ac- 9
necessities—such as matches, phones.Some found the net- cepted only cash from custom- 'i
battery-powered radios,flash- works jammed.Some of those ers.
lights and old-style communi- who could use their cell The Texas-based chain re-
cation devices tethered to the phones then remembered they ported strong sales of battery- Ti
wall by short cords and called couldn't plug them in for re- powered radios,flashlights and ?
telephones. charging.Some resorted to old-style phones in stores af- d
"When you get to the point driving around in their cars to fected by the blackout r I
where you can't wash your recharge their phones,but that Velez reassured customers +I
hands,you can't go to the bath- yielded another problem:Elec- that regular landlines function
room,you can't get a drink of tronic gasoline pumps weren't when the lights are offi"I had I
water in a tall building above working,so empty tanks to explain that telephone lines 1
the fifth floor,you're getting couldn't be refilled. do carry a little bit of current," 1
into some not-so-humorous With no cab in sight when he said. " t
`I