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ERMUSR Misc Issues 05-10-2005~/ Elk River Municip al Utilitie s 13069 Orono Parkway Elk River, MN 55330 May 4, 2005 To: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Jerry Takle John Dietz Jim Tralle From: Bryan Adams Subject: Miscellaneous Issues phone: 763.441.2020 Fax: 763.941.8099 Enclosed is the packed for Tuesday May 10, 2005 commission meeting at 4:00 p.m. Your staff has been researching the use of direct deposit for pay checks. Many of our employees would utilize this option. The cost is very minimal. Theresa will address this issue at the staff update portion of the agenda. After placing an ad in the local paper, we are finally getting some good applications for summer help. The annual APPA conference is June 20-22, 2005 in Anaheim, California. Attached is the agenda for this meeting. I plan to attend unless this commission desires otherwise. I would also encourage this commission to attend as well. Classic Protective Coatings has moved on site and has started the repair work and painting of the Hillside water tower which is east of Menards. Dave will address the progress in his staff update. Enclosed are the following articles for your review. 1) Article from April 2005 Water World titled, "California Water Resource Managers Turning to Water Conservation, Recycling.'' 2) April 15, 2005 Energy article from The Kiplinger Letter. 3) Article from April 13, 2005 Wall Street Journal titled, "California Electricity Planners Hope They're Ready for Summer." 4) May 2, 2005 Star Tribune article titled, "What's good for GM workers is bad for industry." Interesting quote GM says, "There is more health care than steel in a GM vehicle price tag." 5) May 4, 2005 Star News - "Elk River Municipal Utilities building demolished for lot." 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U ~ ~ X ~i U d ~ i W d L 2 Z H ~ ~ ° C C T a c ~' ~ ~ - ° ~ m n _ o i ~- as ~, N i ~ U ~- ~ d C O N ,~ m h e c C ~ ~ w ° rnN ~~~ ~.~ ~ 3 ~ ~ 4 4 ~ r, ~ o~ o z=Q 0 ~~~ %~ ~~! L _ ~ ~ CJ O v '6~ / VIEWPOIWT California Water Resource Managers Turning to Water Con Water conservation and water recycling are both az the dse in California, driven by concerns about water supple issues. At the same time, interest in water securry remains strong but the impact of security finding on day-to-day budgets seen to be declining, according to a recent survey by EIP Associates' Water Resources Group EIP has just released the results of its second annual California Water Resources Industry Survey. Although not intended to be a comprehensive survey based on rigorous statistical methodologies, the sur- vey provides a glimpse into what water resource pro- fessionals consider to be some of their more pressing issues, what is being done to address them, and some short-term trends re- flecting how respondents' views have changed over the past year. The survey found that use of conservation as a water manage- ment technique is on the rise in California. More than half (58%) of respondents report using water conservation as a current seater management technique -compared to only about a quarter (26%) of last year's respondents. More districts also are considering the use. of recy- cling as a water management technique in the future. A majority (60%) of this year's respondents indicate that their agency is considering the implementation of recycling, up from one third (33%) of last year's respondents - almost a 100 percent increase. Water security is still a major concern, but diversion of resources to security has decreased significantly. Though the importance of water system security was ranked slightly higher this year than last year, a vast majority of seater professionals (90%) indicated that seater security concerns have not diverted resources from efforts to improve water quality and supply, compared to roughly two-thirds (67%) last year. Possible reasons for the change include the pos- servation, Recycling sibiliry that security improvements are requiring less emergency funding because much of the initial work has been completed, and security finding has become more of a budget line item. When asked about dteir "greatest water priori- ties," some 8C percent said that water supply was their greatest concern. In order of priorit)~, water quality was next, followed by conservation and then security. When asked about regulatory challenges, drinking seater standards and, oddly, the endangered species act s~~ere to top two challenges for water resource manag- ers. TMDLs, stormwater regulations and CF,QA/ NEPA reviews were also listed as regulatory challenges. When asked about tools and processes used to solve water resource allocation issues, the respondents cited hydrologic modeling as their top tool. Facili- tated public involvement was ranked second, nosing up from fourth place during last year's survey. According to survey respondents, groundwater management is the most frequently used seater man- agement technique and is increasing in size. More than three quarters of respondent report that they use groundwater management, up from just over half last year. Water conservation is the fastest growing technique, however. The reported use of water con- servation grew from a quarter of respondents in 2004 to more than half in 2005. EIP Associates is a listed consultant with the Cali- fornia Urban Water Conservation Council, providing specific expertise in the areas of water conservation and water resource planning. The complete survey and its results can be found on the company's website at http://wv«v.eipassociatescom/EIP_Water_ Group_Website/index. htm. James Laughlin, Editor ^ ^ e ~ in er ester FORECASTS FOR MANAGEMENT DECISIONMAKING 1729 H St. NW, Washington, DC 20006-3938 • KiplingerForecasts.com • Vol. 82, No. 15 Dear Client: Washington, April 15, 2005 The bad news: Energy will remain costly at least through the end of this decade. Unlike the spike of the late 1970s-early 1980s, recent oil price gains will stick, not abate. ® But there's a good side to this story: Pricey fuels are sparking investments in conservation and expanding energy sources. Both will temper the U.S. appetite for energy. So pain now will yield gain later. Energy firms are reviving many projects previously on hold. Sustained high fuel costs in the coming years will make them worthwhile. Natural gas extraction from sand, shale and coal beds will supply as much as a third of U.S. demand for natural gas in 10 years. The Economy GDP, interest rates SarbaneS-Oxley Regulatory relief TaxesThe future of the estate tax CongresSTom Delay on the edge HR Pay raises, workers' leave policy Oil produced from shale will supply 2 million barrels a day of the 25 million barrels a day of total U.S. oil demand by 2020. Liquefied natural gas terminals will handle 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas imports by 2015, up from 1 trillion cubic feet this year. Wind power generation capacity is poised to rise 30% a year as R&D on blades, motors, wind sensors and batteries accelerates. Investments by GE, Vestas, American Superconductor and others ensure it. Solar power is due for a lift, now that BP Solar is moving ahead with plans for thin-film, flexible solar cells for use on buildings. Crude Oil (per barrel, 2005 dollars) ~~. 2000-2010 Energy users are busily searching for savings, notably in the most-fuel-dependent industries: Airlines will opt for more-efficient airplanes, such as Boeing's 787, which is due out in 2008. Truckers can use power packs instead of idling to run coolers, etc., when trucks aren't moving. Manufacturers will turn to heat-power systems, capturing waste heat from industrial processes. Many firms are seeking to cut electricity use. So "Super T8" lights reduce lighting bills by 15%. Sources: Energy Dept., Kiplinger Tuning up HVAC systems and repairing leaky ducts improve heating and air-conditioning performance, lowering costs by 20%. Consumers will favor energy-stingy appliances and equipment... water heaters, AC systems...bearing Energy Star high-efficiency ratings. Another popular move: Installation of programmable thermostats that reduce homeowners' costs for heating and cooling by about 10%. The economy's energy efficiency is poised to rise 10% by 2010, meaning it'll take 10% less energy to produce a given amount of GDP. Efficiency will have gone up 50% since the first oil embargo hit in 1973. The Kiplinger Letter (ISSN 15287130) is published weekly for $B4lone year, $154,~Fwo years, $222/three years Subscription IngWlIBS: 800 544-0 7 55 or subservices(a~kiplingercom by The Kiplinger Washington Editors, 1729 H St., NW, Washington, DC 20006-3938. EdifOllal In/OIIi18h011: Tel„ 202 88 7-64 62; Fax, 202-178-8916; Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Kiplinger Leiter, P0. Box 3295, Harlan, IA 51593. E-mail, letters@ktplinge!com; or Web site, KiphngerForecasts.com WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2005 D13 California's Electricity Planners Hope They're Ready for Summer By REBECCA SMITH California officials are preparing for tight electricity supplies this summer, de- spite improvements that include several new power plants and the elimination of a major power-line bottleneck. If summer temperatures are normal, no problem is expected. But if it's unusu- ally hot, the organization responsible for electric-system reliability says there could be power shortages in Southern Cal- ifornia that will require special interven- tion, including pleas to cut usage. In 2004, a strong economy created record electricity demand on seven occasions, but there were no electricity disruptions. No matter how hot it gets this year, there won't be a repeat of 2000-O1, when tight supplies and market manipulation spawned runaway prices and rolling blackouts. Since 2001, California has shifted most of its buying out of the spot market and into long-term contracts. The state is also protected by a federally man- dated electricity price cap of $250 a mega- watt hour in the spot market. Tight conditions this year are being blamed on strong economic growth and a lack of hydropower available for import from the Pacific Northwest, where the snowpack as of April l was only 64% of normal. "We're not swimming in megawatts but we're not looking at blackouts," said Stephanie McCorkle, spokeswoman for the California Independent System Operator, based in Folsom, Calif. The organization is conducting a test on April 26 to make sure it can deliver all the power that's under contract for summer. Statewide demand this year is growing at a 3.7% pace. Prices for hydroelectricity from fed- eral dams have been high-$50 to $60 a megawatt hour this month, compared with as little as $10 in past years. This is the sixth year of low water for the Pacific Northwest, which traditionally helps Cali- fornia with electricity in the spring and summer and in return gets power from .California in the fall and winter. There has been unprecedented cooper- ation between California energy agen- cies this year to prepare the state. Joe Desmond, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's energy adviser, said the state has tried to plan for the worst but "you cannot plan to protect yourself against every possible contingency," such as a major forest fire knocking out a big power line in the mid- dle of a heat storm. By the summer of 2006, California's in- vestor-owned utilities will be required to obtain more than enough power to meet their customers' needs. Meanwhile, fund- ing for new power plants has declined. Calpine Corp. is expected to put two big new plants into service by the end of June, but supplies remain especially tight in the southern part of the state, where fewer new plants have been constructed. 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(Photo by Joni Astrup) Elk River Municipal Utilities building demolished for lot by Joni Astrup Associate editor Demolition of the for- mer Elk River Municipal Utilities building in down- town Elk River began Monday, as the city pre- pares to expand the park- ing lot in the area. The demolition is being done by Brenteson Companies of Big Lake. The parking lot is expect- ed to take four to six weeks to build, with a goal of fin fishing it up by the Fourth of July. The existing parking lot behind Kemper Drug and other Jackson Avenue busi nesses will remain open during construction. The Elk River Municipal Utilities building has been vacant since those offices moved into City Hall last year. The building demolition is the first evidence of a major downtown redevelop- ment project that will begin in earnest in the coming months. A new commercial and residential building will be built on Jackson Square and a second new commer- cial and residential build- ing will go up along the Mississippi River where Nadeau's, US Bank and the former Jungle building now stand. Signs have been put up in downtown indicating the general locations where the buildings will be construct- ed. Web sites will also be established, offering infor- mation for people interest- ed in learning more about the business and residen- tial spaces available.