Agenda Packets - 1999/07/12 - Laserfiche WebLink

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UNAPPROVED under 216b of the statutes, the City had the right to require under grounding and, under their tariff, Northern States Power had the right to surcharge the added cost to the residents of the community requiring the under grounding. He stated that the tariff has been filed, and not yet approved, noting that it will be another sixty to ninety days before it is in final form and approved by the Public Utilities Commission. He stated that if the City orders under grounding, the added cost will be charged to the residents. He added that without an ordinance, the City is free to request Northern States Power to underground. He advised that under grounding was at such a great cost, the City should look at it on a project -by -project basis, and not a blanket requirement, unless they decide that their residents can afford it. Council Member Marty asked if a date had been set with the League of Minnesota Cities for discussion of these issues. Attorney Bagley stated that they had not yet received a commitment from the League, but he had made comments to the General Counsel and Jim Strummond, who indicated they will review them and get back with him. He stated that he had received no commitment from the League in regard to when they will come out with the final form, or to what degree they would take his comments into consideration. Mr. Swintek stated that he had written comments regarding some very minor changes to the ordinance, and requested the Council's consideration. He presented the written comments to the Council. Mayor Coughlin closed the Public Hearing at 8:52 p.m. Mayor Coughlin asked City Attorney Long if he was recommending the Council lay over action on the ordinance until a time to be determined. City Attorney Long stated if the Council was going to proceed with the ordinance, they could include under grounding with a statement to the effect of "they could request under grounding on a project -by -project basis," adding that he thought the Council should lay it over. He stated that Attorney Bagley's comments were appropriate. He stated that the League of Minnesota Cities had spent approximately one and one-half to two years meeting with engineers in the industry, and although the ordinance had not yet been formally adopted, it was the ordinance that was being distributed as the model ordinance. He stated that a number of cities had acted upon it. He stated that there would be modifications and an additional two weeks would provide the opportunity to take Attorney Bagley's comments into consideration, as well as the comments presented by Mr. Swintek, and others. He stated that the Council might wish to discuss the matter one more time at a Work Session. Council Member Stigney commented that he had not received a complete copy of the ordinance in his packet. He stated that he had previously read that under grounding was up to the discretion of the city, and not a requirement. Attorney Bagley stated that his comment was that the city could request under grounding without it being referenced in the ordinance. He stated that they already have rules and regulations on file, and if the city pays for it, they will go underground. He stated that if the city did not want to pay for it, Northern States Power had the tariff available to surcharge the residents. Another option, he noted, would be to amend the franchise agreement to cover the additional cost of underground facilities. He stated that the city had the ability to request under grounding without putting it into the ordinance, and he did not think any action would be necessary at this time. Council Member Stigney stated that the ordinance simply indicates that the city has the option of requesting under grounding, and Northern States Power would be surcharging its customers for that process. He stated that he understood Northern States Power had other avenues of covering the costs, but this did not mean that many of the things in the Right -of -Way Management were not good. He stated that 15 CAADMIN\MINUTES\CC\6-28-99.CC