GRANITE FALLS -- City Council members in Granite Falls have adopted a resolution supporting the proposal to build the 600-megawatt, coal-fired Big Stone II power plant.
The resolution of support was requested by Bill Radio, representing Missouri River Energy Services. Otter Tail Power is leading a group of utilities, including Missouri River Energy Services, in seeking to develop the power plant.
City Manager Bill Lavin said that council members at their meeting Monday expressed some concerns about the power plant's environmental impact on the region. Environmental groups have raised concerns about the mercury emissions from coal burning that have led to advisories on fish consumption in waters in the Upper Minnesota River Valley, which is downwind of the existing Big Stone I plant. There have also been concerns raised about greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that result from coal burning.
Lavin said that while council members cited their environmental concerns, they also noted the increased demand for electricity in the region.
The city of Granite Falls is among municipal utilities who have committed to the project. It is committed to 1.5 megawatts of power from the plant as a partner in the proposed project.
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In other matters Monday, City Council members awarded the low bid of Northland Securities for refinancing $1,455,000 in short-term bond issues. The bid offered a net interest rate of 4.0819 percent. Northland Securities was the bidder, but the bid also listed the Yellow Medicine County Bank, now part of Citizens State Bank, as a participant in the purchase of the bonds. In another matter, council members declined to apply for funding through the Area Transportation Partnership to repair the pedestrian bridge that spans the Minnesota River downtown. Council members are still debating whether to seek a historic designation for the bridge and repair it, or replace it with a new bridge.
Council members expressed concerns about the costs of repairing the bridge. A preliminary engineering study indicated that the repairs would cost in the range of $800,000 to $900,000 and that funding might not be available until 2011.
If state funds were awarded through the Area Transportation Partnership, the city would be responsible for more than $400,000 of the total. The program would be awarded in two phases, and there would be the possibility that state funds could only be available for the first phase. If that were the case, the city could see its costs exceed $400,000, Lavin said.
With those concerns in mind, council members decided to continue investigating their options, he said.
The Area Transportation Partnership decides which state, county and city projects receive the federal funding allocated annually to the particular Minnesota Department of Transportation district. Granite Falls is part of District 8.
