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Franchise agreement with IP&L passes first council test
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| KEDC board president Joe Steil reads a statement asking the Keokuk City Council to adopt a franchise agreement with Interstate Power and Light Company. |
By Steve Dunn/Gate City Managing Editor
After hearing from six organizations, the Keokuk City Council Thursday approved the first reading of an ordinance to adopt a franchise with Interstate Power and Light Company.
However, the vote was not unanimous. Council members Gary Stepp and Justin Tuck dissented for different reasons. One council member who had been opposed to the franchise, Bill Olmsted, changed his mind after hearing from representatives of the Keokuk Economic Development Corporation, Keokuk Area Hospital, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Great River Area, Keokuk Area Chamber of Commerce, Keokuk Area Convention and Tourism Bureau and Keokuk Concert Association.
Stepp voted not to give the subsidiary of Alliant Energy a 25-year franchise agreement because it contains a provision concerning eminent domain.
Noting that most of the organizations represented at the council meeting could lose funding from Alliant Energy if the franchise is not approved, council member Justin Tuck said the issue centered on money.
Saying he understood Tuck's misgivings, which left an impression of heavy handedness on the utility's part, O'Connor added before the vote he would vote for the franchise because it contained five-year outs and represented what is best for Keokuk citizens. It will cost about $7,000 to remove light poles from Fourth to Second streets, a cost the city will have to absorb if the franchise is not approved.
“We don't have anything to lose and a lot to gain,” O'Connor added.
“I've had one phone call asking me to vote no due to eminent domain,” council member Roger Bryant said. “If Alliant is not a good partner, we can get out in five years. The money is a side issue.”
Olmsted said he came to the meeting prepared to vote against the franchise on philosophical grounds. Referring to the recent show of public support to keep stop lights on Main Street in downtown Keokuk, Olmsted said the presentations made Thursday night led him to change his mind about the franchise issue.
KEDC President Joe Steil read a letter to the editor from the KEDC board in the Daily Gate City supporting the franchise.
The letter says the franchise “protects the city's interests and preserves Alliant Energy's ability to effectively plan for future investments in electrical infrastructure as our community grows.”
“In addition to delivering safe, reliable electric service to our community,” the letter says, “Alliant Energy has provided technical assistance and energy efficiency programs to our local industries and financial support to local organizations and service clubs.”
Speaking for KAH CEO Al Zastrow, COO Richard Thomason said, “As you might imagine the provision of high quality and technologically advanced health care to our citizens and residents is greatly dependent on the constant availability of consistent, dependable electrical power regardless of weather or other environmental forces. In my opinion we have enjoyed having that essential expectation being met here in Keokuk with our long association with Alliant Energy.”
However, the relationship with Alliant goes beyond the basic supplier-consumer interface, Thomason said, quoting from Zastrow's remarks.
Alliant Energy has helped KAH in total energy conservation and research in finding the best energy efficient products and providing incentives to move in those directions, according to Thomason.
The KAH leadership also cited Alliant's contributions to economic development, community development, service on not-profit boards and commissions, civic and service club projects, educational efforts and long term environmental initiatives throughout the region.
MIke Maher, chairman of the Big Brothers Big Sisters board, asked the council to support the franchise and noted his non-profit agency could get grants through Alliant's foundation of up to $10,000 with a franchise in place.
Ron Westby, a KEDC board member for 14 years, called Alliant “a great community asset.”
“To operate all these years without a franchise is ridiculous,” Westby added.
He also said he has never found problems with eminent domain in other communities and asked the council to provide specific examples if that was the case.
Referring to an earlier letter to the editor in the Daily Gate City, Keokuk Area Chamber of Commerce President Terry Knoke xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Mike Beaird, representing the Keokuk Area Convention and Tourism Board, said Alliant has supported the annual Civil War re-enactment and Bald Eagle Appreciation Days as well as other tourism efforts. Like Westby, he said he has not seen other communities have problems with the franchise's eminent domain provision.
Noting that the Keokuk Concert Association has received grant money from Alliant in the past, Kathy Wolf asked the council to approve the franchise on behalf of the arts group.
Comparing the situation to a long engagement, Alliant Energy spokesman Keith Sherman said during the workshop that the council had done a good job of protecting the city up to this point in the discussions about the franchise.
“We're at the time we want to solidify the relationship,” he said.
Sherman said the company has invested more than $2 million in the community and has made about $187,000 of relocations of equipment at no cost to the city in recent years. The company also has been involved with the city's economic development efforts, he added.
When asked about Alliant's involvement in wind energy, Sherman said the company is adding 100 megawatts of wind energy to its system.
Kathy Asbury, strategic account manager for Alliant, said she would investigate whether moving abandoned power lines would be covered by a franchise agreement.
However, the vote was not unanimous. Council members Gary Stepp and Justin Tuck dissented for different reasons. One council member who had been opposed to the franchise, Bill Olmsted, changed his mind after hearing from representatives of the Keokuk Economic Development Corporation, Keokuk Area Hospital, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Great River Area, Keokuk Area Chamber of Commerce, Keokuk Area Convention and Tourism Bureau and Keokuk Concert Association.
Stepp voted not to give the subsidiary of Alliant Energy a 25-year franchise agreement because it contains a provision concerning eminent domain.
Noting that most of the organizations represented at the council meeting could lose funding from Alliant Energy if the franchise is not approved, council member Justin Tuck said the issue centered on money.
Saying he understood Tuck's misgivings, which left an impression of heavy handedness on the utility's part, O'Connor added before the vote he would vote for the franchise because it contained five-year outs and represented what is best for Keokuk citizens. It will cost about $7,000 to remove light poles from Fourth to Second streets, a cost the city will have to absorb if the franchise is not approved.
“We don't have anything to lose and a lot to gain,” O'Connor added.
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Olmsted said he came to the meeting prepared to vote against the franchise on philosophical grounds. Referring to the recent show of public support to keep stop lights on Main Street in downtown Keokuk, Olmsted said the presentations made Thursday night led him to change his mind about the franchise issue.
KEDC President Joe Steil read a letter to the editor from the KEDC board in the Daily Gate City supporting the franchise.
The letter says the franchise “protects the city's interests and preserves Alliant Energy's ability to effectively plan for future investments in electrical infrastructure as our community grows.”
“In addition to delivering safe, reliable electric service to our community,” the letter says, “Alliant Energy has provided technical assistance and energy efficiency programs to our local industries and financial support to local organizations and service clubs.”
Speaking for KAH CEO Al Zastrow, COO Richard Thomason said, “As you might imagine the provision of high quality and technologically advanced health care to our citizens and residents is greatly dependent on the constant availability of consistent, dependable electrical power regardless of weather or other environmental forces. In my opinion we have enjoyed having that essential expectation being met here in Keokuk with our long association with Alliant Energy.”
However, the relationship with Alliant goes beyond the basic supplier-consumer interface, Thomason said, quoting from Zastrow's remarks.
Alliant Energy has helped KAH in total energy conservation and research in finding the best energy efficient products and providing incentives to move in those directions, according to Thomason.
The KAH leadership also cited Alliant's contributions to economic development, community development, service on not-profit boards and commissions, civic and service club projects, educational efforts and long term environmental initiatives throughout the region.
MIke Maher, chairman of the Big Brothers Big Sisters board, asked the council to support the franchise and noted his non-profit agency could get grants through Alliant's foundation of up to $10,000 with a franchise in place.
Ron Westby, a KEDC board member for 14 years, called Alliant “a great community asset.”
“To operate all these years without a franchise is ridiculous,” Westby added.
He also said he has never found problems with eminent domain in other communities and asked the council to provide specific examples if that was the case.
Referring to an earlier letter to the editor in the Daily Gate City, Keokuk Area Chamber of Commerce President Terry Knoke xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Mike Beaird, representing the Keokuk Area Convention and Tourism Board, said Alliant has supported the annual Civil War re-enactment and Bald Eagle Appreciation Days as well as other tourism efforts. Like Westby, he said he has not seen other communities have problems with the franchise's eminent domain provision.
Noting that the Keokuk Concert Association has received grant money from Alliant in the past, Kathy Wolf asked the council to approve the franchise on behalf of the arts group.
Comparing the situation to a long engagement, Alliant Energy spokesman Keith Sherman said during the workshop that the council had done a good job of protecting the city up to this point in the discussions about the franchise.
“We're at the time we want to solidify the relationship,” he said.
Sherman said the company has invested more than $2 million in the community and has made about $187,000 of relocations of equipment at no cost to the city in recent years. The company also has been involved with the city's economic development efforts, he added.
When asked about Alliant's involvement in wind energy, Sherman said the company is adding 100 megawatts of wind energy to its system.
Kathy Asbury, strategic account manager for Alliant, said she would investigate whether moving abandoned power lines would be covered by a franchise agreement.
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