4.1. ECCSR 02-19-2020 City or
El ,w,�" Meeting of the Elk River
River Energy City Commission
Held at the Elk River City Hall
Wednesday,November 20, 2019
Members Present: Commissioners Aaron Brixius, Garrett Christianson,Trish Curtis,
Henry Griner,Harley Hanson,Jason Hoskins,Amy Lord and Alec
Plaisted,Tim Steinbeck
Members Absent: Chair Tom Sagstetter
Staff Present: Amanda Erickson,Environmental Coordinator
1. Call Meeting to Order
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Energy City
Commission was called to order by Vice Chair Griner at 8:30 a.m.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
Griner led the Pledge of Allegiance.
3. Consider Agenda
Agenda approved unanimously by members.
4. Consider Minutes
Consider minutes from both the August 28, 2019 meetings. Minutes approved
unanimously by members.
5.1 Member Updates
Commissioner Steinbeck provided a brief update about the GRE facility in Elk River
that will be begin demolition in early 2020. They are currently working on
decommissioning the site and the power will likely be off at the site completely by
the end of the year. No physical removal of material will occur on the site until
spring 2020. This site previously had nuclear power, but there is no radiation present
currently. They continue to share information with the city and public about the
process.
5.2 Henry Griner presentation: Climate Reality Project Counterpoint
In response to the Iverson's presentation at the last ECC meeting, Commissioner
Griner asked to present his own counterpoint information to their information.
Griner previously worked for a power company and owned his own solar company.
The presentation was his own opinion and he does not claim to be a climate expert.
Griner does not consider himself a"climate change denier" but felt the Iverson
presentation presented issues in an extreme way and the issues are not as bad as they
suggested. He feels that humans have little influence on the climate and that the
earth's climate changes naturally over many years. Griner stated that many credible
scientists don't believe the climate is facing a catastrophe. He does not feel that CO2
is a threat and not a poison that we should be concerned about. Griner stated that
utilizing coal and carbon products does not make us bad people or morally wrong
for utilizing available resources. He also discussed some specific topics from the
presentation including the Polar Vortex and California wildfires and related them to
his own experiences. Griner does not feel that solar and wind power can meet our
current needs and technology for them is not a good option. He does not believe
subsidies are beneficial for these industries. Griner feels the commission should
focus on conservation,water,waste management and other local projects.
There was very brief discussion after about how Griner's personal beliefs fit into the
goals and priorities of the Energy City Commission and specifically the Climate
Smart Municipalities program.
5.3 Energy City programming/demonstration site ideas
Looking forward to 2020, the commission discussed both demonstration sites and
new programs to be included to expand Energy City.
Demonstration sites include still working on the solar picnic table (a continued
challenge), adding a wind turbine via a partnership with MMPA and possibly adding
rain garden projects in the future. Energy City tours previously included GRE and
members suggested other sites including GRE's headquarters and Xcel's facilities
including one in Becker.
The commission discussed past programing that had challenges including the High
Five program that didn't get much interest and Project Conserve that no longer has
available staff to assist with. The group discussed doing a survey somehow to gauge
what topics resident would be most interested in. The commission still feels that
there is a general lack of awareness from the public about Energy City and the goals
of the commission. Continued partnership with the city's economic development
department has been beneficial and Commissioner Lord attends some BR&E visits.
The commission would like to begin monthly updates to the public from Energy
City to be shared on the city's various communication outlets. These monthly
updates would highlight various aspects of the ECC's goals not just limited to energy
or conservation. This will also allow the various commission members to share
information about their specific area of expertise as well. The group plans to
collaborate on this with the assistance of the city's communication department,more
to come in the next months.
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6. Next Meeting Agenda Items (Wednesday, February 19, 2019)
Meeting start times for 2020 will begin at 8:00am to better accommodate schedules.
7. Announcements
None
8. Adjournment
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m.
Minutes prepared by Amanda Erickson.
Tina Allard, City Clerk Tom Sags tetter, Chair
Energy City Commission
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