MEAN meets with council ahead of visit from renewable energy advocates

    Representatives from the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska challenged claims that the agency is hindering local renewable energy generation during the March 19 Holyoke City Council meeting.
    The comments came ahead of a scheduled visit by the Sustainable Development Strategies Group — a Gunnison-based green energy advocacy group that published a study critical of MEAN in February.
    MEAN serves as the energy wholesaler for the City of Holyoke. In the SDSG study, which the group sent to the City, the group argues that MEAN policies are geared toward shutting down local pushes for renewable energy generation.
    NMPP Energy Director of Retail Utility Services and Member Relations Andrew Ross, speaking on behalf of MEAN, noted that the agency was founded on a belief in local control and that its board of directors is made up of representatives from each of its member communities. He was joined by Amanda Hansen, also of NMPP Energy.
    He said that MEAN is happy to work with its members to help them meet local renewable goals.
    “Every community has a different take on what’s important to them,” he said. “[MEAN] is a public organization run by its participants. There are no shareholders.”
    Ross identified Aspen, Glenwood Springs and Lyons as Colorado members who have coordinated with MEAN to increase the amount of renewables in their mix.
    By working in tandem with MEAN, Aspen was able to switch to a 100 percent renewable power blend without increasing costs for other MEAN customers.
    The most important thing, Ross said, is communication and cooperation between members and the agency. Also, while he said renewables are a useful resource and an important part of the MEAN energy mix, the natural fluctuations of wind and solar resources mean the agency has to rely on a backbone of fossil fuel-fed plants.
    Ross did not refer to SDSG by name but warned that their work is continuing to misrepresent MEAN and the savings from local renewable generation.
    “You have an organization coming up next week that wants to talk to you without a lot of fundamental understanding of the electric business, in my opinion,” he said. “They are very big on getting renewables into the state of Colorado and see MEAN as a blocker of that, which is false.”
    City Superintendent Mark Brown serves as Holyoke’s representative on the MEAN board. In response to a question by council member Steve Moore, Brown said the only local solar power is generated by off-the-grid systems.
    SDSG will present to the council at its next meeting Tuesday, April 2.
    
Tabling sanctuary city vote
    At the recommendation of City Attorney Al Wall, the council tabled voting on a resolution that would declare Holyoke a “Second Amendment Sanctuary City” in response to Colorado’s proposed “Red Flag Law.”
    If passed, the law, which worked its way through the Colorado Senate last week, will allow law enforcement to confiscate the firearms of individuals deemed sufficiently dangerous to themselves or others.
    By passing the resolution, Holyoke would declare itself opposed to the law and agree to support the police department in the event that it refuses to enforce the law.
    Wall said the resolution could carry with it serious legal consequences whose depth and breadth are still unclear.
    “It’s kind of a complicated issue when you’re potentially trying to flaunt a state statute and the attorney general of the state of Colorado,” he said.
    Wall said that only a few municipalities in the state have voted on the measure and advised the City to wait to see how the situation develops.
    Mayor Orville Tonsing agreed and said it isn’t appropriate for the City to weigh in yet.
    “We probably need to let this evolve a little bit,” he said. “I don’t think we should just step right in.”
    In his report, Wall also mentioned that he has been asked to redraft some ordinances by the City’s recodification partner Municode, which will delay the recodification project.
    
Brown, Bergstrom report
    Despite taking out a light pole at the intersection of Kellogg Street and Wynona Avenue, the March 13-14 winter storm caused no power outages, Brown reported.
    Two unrelated outages were handled by electrical crews on March 10 in the 1300 block of East Johnson Street and on March 19 in the 200 block of South Worley Avenue.
    Brown also said his department is looking into repairing the City Park playground after it was damaged in a vehicle crash March 9. He said it will cost several thousand dollars to fix and discussed with Wall and Holyoke Police Chief Doug Bergstrom about contacting the driver’s auto insurance company.
    Bergstrom reported that his department, including code enforcement, handled or generated 249 calls for service from Feb. 28-March 13. They made no arrests, wrote five citations and three reports, and gave out 20 warnings. Code enforcement handled eight ordinance violations.
    HPD officers also assisted Phillips County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies with rescues and highway closures during the storm.
    
Other business
    In other business at the March 19 meeting, the council:
    — Held a 12-minute executive session to discuss business concerning real estate.
    — Approved the purchase of a six-cylinder Dodge police vehicle from Korf Continental for $30,116.
    — Agreed to contribute $10,900 to Phillips County Economic Development.
    — Approved a bid for seal-coat rock hauling from Nick Ferguson at $10 per yard.
    — Accepted the renewal quotes from the Colorado Employer Benefit Trust.
    — Renewed the liquor license for The Skillet.