Is solar farm the answer?

    A solar contractor is interested in building a facility on the west side of Holyoke that could nearly cover the City’s peak needs, said City Superintendent Mark Brown to Holyoke City Council during its Dec. 4 meeting.
    However, because of the amount of energy that the proposed farm could generate — as much as 5 million kilowatts — Brown said it is unclear how the contract with Terawatt Energy would interact with the City’s other power contracts.
    “There’s a lot of unanswered questions, and my recommendation is to table this so we can gather more information,” he said. “There’s a lot of questions we need to ask before we get too far into this.”
    If an agreement were reached, Terawatt Energy would sell the power directly to the City. Brown said the quoted cost of the power generated by the farm is high but negotiable.
    The discussion regarding the proposed farm was ultimately tabled, and Brown said he would continue looking into its potential impact on the City’s other contractual obligations.
    
City adopts 2019 budget
    Following a public hearing, council members adopted their 2019 budget, totaling $7,317,191 in appropriations.
    The budget includes:
General Fund — $3,252,838
Utility Fund — $3,895,468
Sale of Heginbotham Land Fund — $736
Equipment Replacement Fund — $134,250
Library Land Fund — $2,218
Cemetery Perpetual Care Fund — $3,385
Fire Pension Fund — $9,884
Massman Memorial Fund — $712
Cemetery White/Leeper Memorial Fund — $12,975
LeBlanc Estate Fund — $4,725
Total Approp — $7,317,191
    In addition, a levy of 22.263 mills was certified, including  21.2 mills for the general fund, 0.6 for Holyoke Volunteer Fire Department, and 0.463 for refunds and abatements.
    The amended and final certification of assessed values for 2019 from the Phillips County Assessor’s office amounted to $16,472,690, which equates to $359,104.64, or 21.8 mills, for the City, not including the $7,626.86, or 0.463 mills, for refunds and abatements.

Brown, Bergstrom report
    Brown said crews responded to several calls relating to problems caused by high winds, which also caused isolated power outages.
Water and sewer crews finished winterizing the system at the golf course and are designing the sprinkler system at the cemetery.
    Piles of grass, dirt and other plant debris were also disposed of by street crews, in addition to snow that fell during recent storms.
    Brown also said he spoke with a representative of TCC Corporation in Windsor regarding construction of the new fire shed. The company will be providing a free estimate based on the current drawings.
    Holyoke Police Chief Doug Bergstrom reported that his department, including code enforcement, handled or generated 269 calls for service from Nov. 15-29. They made no arrests, wrote seven citations and seven reports, and gave out 31 warnings. Code enforcement handled two animal complaints, five dogs at large and five ordinance violations.
    Bergstrom also said that he planned to attend the graduation of officer cadet Jorge Salas from the police academy the following night.
    In response to a question from council member Steve Moore, Brown and Bergstrom said their departments had tried to coordinate efforts with the hospital and Holyoke EMS to assist oxygen machine users during power outages but that a single list of vulnerable residents does not exist.
    
Other business
    In other business at the Dec. 4 meeting, the council:
    — Introduced and approved on first reading an ordinance authorizing and directing the execution of an amendment to the City’s supplemental agreement for firm power with the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska.
    — Set the refuse fee schedule at $19.85 per month for residential customers, which represents an increase of $1.80 from 2018. Commercial fees will start at $21.71 per month, up by $1.97, with an additional $53.25 to be assessed outside City limits, up $4.84.
    — Moved the regular council meeting scheduled for New Year’s Day to the following day.
    — Heard from Heginbotham Library director Kathy Bornhoft and board member Sandy Triplette. Bornhoft introduced herself to the council, and Triplette invited them to the Library Extravaganza.
    — Renewed the liquor license for Red’s Liquors LLC.
    — Agreed to put up two individual vacation days as a door prize for City employees at the Dec. 12 Christmas party.