2009-12-22_PWETC_Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Member Stenlund moved, Member Felice seconded, recommending to the City Council the proposed ordinance, with amendments as discussed tonight and corrected by staff. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Abstentions: 0 Motion carried. 6. Overhead Electrical Undergrounding Discussion (Rice Street Interchange Project) Mr. Schwartz provided an update from the Rice Street Interchange Project Design Committee attended by Chair DeBenedet and him, with pictures provided to the PWET Commission along the Rice Street corridor of existing overhead electric lines; and visual impacts of those power lines. Mr. Schwartz noted that this was a local issue, and unfortunately all the lines were located on the Roseville side, but serving Little Canada as well. Mr. Schwartz noted that Xcel Energy had been asked to provide a cost for undergrounding the lines, with their estimate at $574,000, subject to approval by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for Xcel to recover their cost, when required by a local municipality as part of a road project, with a process laid out by the PUC for a surcharge to be applied across the entire City, based on customer class (residential or business). Mr. Schwartz further noted that those surcharge rules would not allow for the Cities of Roseville and Little Canada to cost-share them equally, even though the feeders from those lines served Little Canada. Mr. Schwartz noted that discussions on this option had only been held at a staff level to- date, but that both cities anticipated going before their City Councils in January. Mr. Schwartz provided an option, approved by Xcel, for Little Canada to reimburse their portion to Roseville via other payment methods, and paid for upfront to facilitate a portion of the Roseville surcharge. Mr. Schwartz noted that, if Little Canada responded negatively and only paid for their side, Roseville's share would be approximately $478,574, with a three (3) year payback with $0.76 per month on residential customer bills, with businesses paying depending on their size, projected at $2.28 - $3.04 per month. Mr. Schwartz noted that it applied throughout the entire community, anticipating future projects. Mr. Schwartz further noted that Ramsey County anticipates that the project could be started as early as 2010, with construction of B-2 to Little Canada Road (on Rice Street); and that this may be a consideration for the entire Rice Street corridor. Mr. Schwartz advised that PUC rules indicate that only up to $4.50 per month in surcharges could be applied within a certain time; however, he noted that this didn't appear to be a problem, as one surcharge could expire before another was added depending on construction cycles. Page 5 of 7