INFORMATION #3 01-02-2007
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor & City Council
FROM: Rebecca Haug,Environmental Administrator
DATE: December 18, 2006
SUBJECT: Update from the Energy City Commission onE 85
SUlce directiol1 \vas giv-en by tlle City COl111Cil to tlle Energy City COlmnission to researcll E
85, tlle C011111ussioners and staff llR\re been collecting inforlnation and discusslllg it during
our llleetll1gs. ..:\ttached you \vill fuld a list of pros and cons and lninutes froln tlle October
llleeting in \vlucll tIus \vas discussed.
.!~t tlle October lneering, a ll1.0ti01l \vas ll1.ade by the cOllumssiol1 recolllil1end tlle City
Council consider requirlllg all future vellicles pllrcllased by tlle City be equipped to utilize E
85. Tlus lnay or l1lay not \vork for all tlle 'lelucles tlle City purcllases but it \vould be a step
in tlle right direction. Tllere are COlTI1TIunities and ev-en tlle State of IvIinnesota tllat purcllase
only this ty'pe of v-elucle. Discussion follo\ved as to \Vllere tlle \Telucles \vould purcllase tlle
fuel since tlle city currently does 110t ha\re all E 85 pUlnp. TIlls lnay be sOlneth..ing tlle city
sllould look llltO lllstalling at tlle Street Dept. i\. lnotion \vas also l1.lade for tlle City Council
to consider researching tlle legalities alld eCOnOl1.llCS of requiring ne\v gas statiol1s to be
equipped \\iitll E 85.
C011111llssioner Rohlf spoke \VitIl represel1tati\res froln Super ~L\lllerica since tlley are
proposing to locate a gas station in dIe Lefebre-'r-e 2nd ~'\ddition de\relopl1lent. Tlley inforl11ed
hun tllat it is l10t a big deal to install an E 85 pU1np. Possibly. dming the perlnitting process
for a ne\v or expanding gas station, tllls could be a required condition upon appro\ral to
operate in tlle City.
If you \vould like dIe Energy City COlmnission to do allY furtller researcll or anytlUng else
regarcfulg E 85, please feel free to contact l11e at 763.635.1068 or e-lnail me at rllallg({U,ci.ell(-
ri~7er.lnn.us. Tllank you.
MEETING OF THE ELK RIVER
ENERGY CITY COMMISSION
HELD AT THE ELK RIVER CITY HALL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18,2006
1Jernbers Present:
Ron Bratlie, ~'-\.rne Hendrickson, J eEE Gongoll, Bryan .!\dalTIS, Ed Stoutenburg 1\T, Susie
Overholser, ,\1 ance Zehringer
~Ien1bers ~'\bsent:
Sharon IZan1pa, J efE \T assar for Deb \X/alters, Stev"e Rohlf, Gary Connett, and Stephanie
I<linzing
Staff Present:
Rebecca Haug and Heidi Steinlnetz
Others Present:
Todd Leonard, 1:1D
Ivleeting \vas called to order at 1 :30 p.ln. by Chair ",\1 ance Zehringer.
1.
Consider October 18_ 2006 ECC .!'\genda
The agenda \vas approved as presented.
')
Consider Sepre111ber 20_ 2006 ECC :Lvlinutes
The nunutes \vere approved as subnutted.
3.
Presentation by Todd Leonard_ 1\:0)
Todd Leonard, IvID and President of Jrv1RS~'\ provided background inforn1ation regarding his connection
\\~th Elk River, including the fact that Conurussioner Rachael Leonard is his mother. He pro"vided
inforlnation about ]rvfRS.!\, \vluch is a c0111pany that produces air handling systellls. He provided statistics
regarding the energy' cost savings attributed to the product.
The C011111ussioners inquired about the different aspects of the product/ cOlnpany and asked for additional
articles/inforlnation regarding \vhere the air handling systelTIS are installed, ete. EnvironlTIental J.'\dlninistrator
Rebecca Haug indicated that she \vould fOl\vard the information to the COl1mussion via e-Inail once provided
by Dr. Leonard.
4. Elk River Library Update
Tlus iteln \vas postponed since the architects \vere not able to attend.
:>. Sherburne County i-\ssistance Prograln
The COllllmssion approved the letter frOlTI IvIayor I<Jinzing that \vould be sent to the County requesting a
potential contribution to\vard the Energy City conference.
6. Energy Issues Conference
1\fs. Haug provided the COl1umssion "\vith an update regarding the conference Subcollliruttee's planning
efforts.
.!\ssistant Director of Econolmc Development Heidi Steinlnetz inquired if she could begin expending
111arketing dollars for the conference since the 111ajority of the funds are part of the 2007 budget.
COlllimssioner Gongoll indicated "yes" since the total conference budget \vas already approved by the City
Council this past ...~ugust. 1ifs. Haug added that conference expenses may be incurred in 2006 since \\lebsite
expenses are under budget.
Chair Zehringer asked for the COlllilussion's input regarding a survey he drafted dlat '\vould potentially be
distributed in Elk River l\lu11icipal Utility bills. The purpose \vould be to generate interest for the conference.
Conumssioner Overholser l1lentioned the idea of color coding the surv.eys to keep better track of responses.
COl1Ulussioner ~\dan1S Inentioned providing a tree as an incentive for people to complete the survey. Staff
offered to e-Inail the draft surv.ey in addition to a sponsor request letter drafted by Environlnental Technician
Nicki Blake-Bradley to the COlnmission for additional input.
1:v1s. Haug indicated that the conference subcolrumttee's next Ineeting \vould be held on Novelnber 9, 2006 at
8:30aln.
7. Energy City. Loan Progralll
Chair Zehringer inquired about the status of the potential loan prograln. COlrumssionor Gongoll stated that
the subcolnnllttee had not 111et recently. Chair Zehringer asked that an update be provided at the next ECC
lneeang.
8. Energy City Tradelnark
t'fs. Haug provided the COllun1ssion \vith an update regarding the status of the Energy City rradelnark. The
COl1Ul-llSsion's goal is to cOlnplete the state traelelnark prior to the City of IvIinneapolis' efforts to beco111e an
"energy city." COl1mussionor Hendrickson provided the Conunission \vidl a ne\vsletter \vritten by
IvIinneapolis tIayor Ryback outlining his proposed energy conservation initiatives. The COlnlnission
discussed the fact that the City of Elk River began such initiatives in 1997.
9. E 85 Research
hIs. Haug sUl111narized City Council 111en1ber Paul 1\iIotin's direction to staff to research requiring all Elk River
gas stations to offer E 85 fuel. She indicated that dle City ~\ttorney \vas looking into the legal issues of dle
idea. The COlllinission discussed ideas such as recorrunending dlat all ne\vly purchased city velucles be
equipped to utilize E 85 or to install an E 85 pUlnp at the Public \\lorks garage.
MOVED BY COMMISSIONER ADMIS AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER
HENDRICKSON TO RECO:L\1MEND THAT THE CITY COUNCIL CONSIDER
RESEARCHING THE LEGALITIES AND THE ECONOMICS OF REQUIRING NE\V ELK
RIVER GAS STATIONS TO BE EQUIPPED TO SELL E 85.
MOVED BY COM:L\1ISSIONER HENDRICKSON AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER
GONGOLL TO RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY COUNICL CONSIDER REQUIRING ALL
FUTURE VEHICLES PURCHASED BY THE CITY BE EQUIPPED TO UTILIZE E 85.
10. Schedule Next ECC ..:\genda Iten1s and tJeeting
The next SUbCOllliluttee 111eetlng has been scheduled for Thursday, November 9, 2006 at 8:30 a.m.
The next scheduled Ineeting \vill be held on \Vednesday, November 15, 2006 at 1:30 p.m.
The "usual and custolnary." itelns \vill be discussed per COlllimssioner Zehringer.
11. Other
COlll1IDSsionor ~\dalns 111entioned that an article entitled "Energy City: Elk River I:vIun1cipal Utilities Inakes.
sure itnpressive title [is] lTIuch lnore d1an a slogan" appeared in 1Iinnesota l\'Iunicipal U tilities ~\ssociation's
The Resource ne\vsletter.
[vIs. Haug ll1entioned upcollung conferences that l1lay provide staff/Commissioners \vith ideas for speakers
for the Energy City conference.
12. ~'\djournlnent
The meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.nl.
Respectfully submitted by,
/:j!/~ ~;tec;1J~R,F
Heidi S teill1netz
~~ssistant Director of ECOnOln1C Developlnent
E 85
Pros
Cons
Higher octalle tlla1l gasolille Eats a\vay l11etal & plastic palis(Star
Tribune - 10/27/06)
Sells for approx. sal1le price as gasolille Less el1ergy content tllan gasolil1e
Etllanol reduces iIlcidellce of greenllol1se E 85 cannot be used in diesel applicatio11s
gas eI111SS1ons
Etha1lol is donlestically prodllced and Uses a lot of water ill the feI1nentatioll
proI1lotes ellergy iIldepe1lde1lce process
Etl1allo1 illcreases vallIe of feed grains COllsl1111er Repolis detel111illed that E 85
grO\Vll by fanl1ers will cost COllSlllners 1110re 111011ey tllan
gasa lille
Etllall01 is biodegradable alld does 110t Pro\Tides fe\ver Illiles per gallo11, costs lllore
c01ltall1illate \vater al1d is l1ard to fiIld
Does 110t take 1110re ellergy to produce a Gov't suppol1 for FFV is il1directly callsillg
gallon of etl1anol tl1an the e1lergy \ve get 11lore gasalille consllnlptioll ratller thal1less
Ollt of it
MN offers a gasolille tax retlUTI Flleling stations are 1110re expensive
Elllits less slllog-causi11g polllltants tl1a11 Most conversiol1 kits are not legal ill the
gaso lille US
Grants available to service statiolls It l1as been estinlated that the land area
i11stallil1g equipll1eI1t or COll\Teliillg existillg reqllired to operate a nlotor vellicle for Olle
eqlliplnellt for dispensillg E85 fuel to year on pure etllal101, 11 acres, could feed 7
flexible fuel \Tellicles people O\Ter the same timefranle potentially
il1f1atillg food prices dlle to less supply
l1ew clleap fuel call be lllade ill anYOl1e's
OWll backyard. All tllat is Ileeded is a
Sil11ple conversion l<it
I
SOllrces:
. Milmeapolis Star Tliblule aliicle "Ulldervvriters Labs raises qlIestions about E 85
pllnlps", dated October 27, 2006
. Natiollal Etl1allol Vehicle Coalitioll \vebsite: \V\V\v.e85fuel.cOlTI
. COllsul1ler Reports "TIle Etl1al10l Myth" dated October 2006
. Wil<ipedia \vebsite