The Ely City Council discussed ordinance changes, water metering and support of municipal power at Tuesday evening’s meeting.
Council member Al Forsman served as acting mayor in the absence of mayor Heidi Omerza. Council member Adam Bisbee was also absent.
The council adopted a recommendation from the Ely Utilities Commission to resolve a water metering discrepancy at the joint maintenance facility with St. Louis County.
The metering issue dates back to 2007 when the facility was constructed with a water meter that measured usage in gallons. This was in contrast to the city’s system, which measures flow rate in cubic feet.
Clerk-treasurer Harold Langowski said this led to a large discrepancy, as there are 7.48 gallons to the cubic foot. The county currently invoices Ely for the city’s percentage of water use in the buildings, meaning there is an amount Ely owes to the county.
St. Louis County noticed the problem within the last year and proposes that the city-owned land on which the salt building and sand dome sit be transferred to county ownership to clear up the discrepancy.
“It’s unfortunate, but it is a rather large sum if we were to make that correction,” Langowski said.
Langowski said the usage wouldn’t change, and the City of Ely would continue to use their portions of the land.
“It’s land that’s already encumbered with all these uses, but the county is contemplating their future needs in the next 20 years and maybe putting some other facility or structures on that property,” Langowski said.
The proposal will next go to the projects committee for review. A land sale would require an ordinance.
The new metering system will not impact the city’s budget, as utility rates are adjusted each year to incorporate changes in utility customers and revenue.
The council discussed changes to the storage container ordinance. The planning and zoning commission’s suggested alterations would allow storage containers to stand with a building permit during times of construction, or not to exceed 30 days in temporary use.
Forsman expressed opposition to the idea that a container could only stand for 30 days without a building permit. He would prefer to change the allowed time length to one year through an administrative permit.
Council member Emily Roose said there would still be a process to obtain a city zoning or building permit if the ordinance changes are adopted, allowing storage container use.
“With the building permit, you would be allowed to keep it there as a permanent structure,” Forsman said. “I’m saying we could have a one-year temporary administrative permit to have it.”
A motion to pass the changes failed 2-3, with “no” votes from Forsman, Campbell and Debeltz. The council then voted to table the decision until the next meeting, with only Roose voting against the tabling.
“I think we can still come to a decision tonight, whether that’s calling for a study session or not,” Roose said.
The council voted unanimously to send a letter to Sen. Grant Hauschild to support the City of Slayton’s request to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MN PUC) to hear Slayton’s testimony regarding the purchase of utility infrastructure from Xcel Energy.
Both Ely and Slayton are members of the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association (MMUA), Langowski said.
Slayton is a town of approximately 2,000 in Minnesota’s southwestern corner. Slayton officials hope to take ownership of an Xcel Energy facility within their municipal boundaries.
The state PUC proposed that Slayton would be required to pay 11.6 cents per kilowatt hour for lost revenue, rather than the three cents per kilowatt hour that the state’s PUC has required in previous cases.
Langowski said the move is unprecedented, and Slayton could not or was not able to testify at the state PUC hearing regarding the issue.
Langowski said the issue is pertinent to Ely, as the city considered purchasing Lake Country Power territory within municipal boundaries several years back. The city could not take on the lost revenue expense at the time.
“We feel local energy, local municipal power is the best option, the best opportunity for citizens to participate and know what their utility is doing, and to work with the utility and elected officials when rates are considered,” Langowski said.
In other business, the council:
• Denied a variance application for an accessory structure at 202 West Camp Street, citing a finding the structure would “change the essential character of the locality.”
• Approved a contract change order reducing the Miners Lake boat landing project bid by $36,840.
• Voted to post a bidding notice for a dump truck for the Prospectors ATV Club.
• Adopted a resolution to increase the benefit level for firefighters vested in the statewide volunteer firefighter plan.
• Approved the facility use agreement with the Ely Pickleball Club for the Semer’s Park pickleball courts.
