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Orono City Council <br /> Committee of the Whole <br /> November 12, 2008, 6:15 p.m. <br /> Orono City Council Chambers <br /> Present: Council Members Cynthia Bremer, Lili McMillan, Jim Murphy and Dave Rahn; City <br /> Administrator Bill Wells, Finance Director Ron Olson, Assistant City Administrator <br /> far Long-Term Strategy Mike Gaffron, Public Works Supervisor pon DeBaere, Public <br /> Works Supervisor Scott Oberaigner, City Clerk Lin Vee, City Engineer Tom Kellogg, <br /> Xcel —Kim Marinac, Senior Area Engineer, and Michelle Swanson, Manager of <br /> Community and Government Relations, Civic Systems—Alex Gibson and Mike Lash <br /> 1) Casco Point Project—Question and Answer Session with Xcel <br /> a) Marinac summarized the outage history on Casco Point and noted that most outages are <br /> related to overhead lines along Shoreline Drive. The majority of these outages were a <br /> result of trees on lines, with a few related to equipment and animal issues. <br /> b) A"loop" system on Casco Point wouldn't guarantee fewer outages or that power would <br /> be restored sooner, especially if the problem is along the main feeder line on Shoreline <br /> Drive. If the utilities were put underground, a loop design would be used. <br /> c) While Xcel has had numerous requests to underground utilities, they are not looking to <br /> do this type of project. Undergrounding doesn't necessarily increase reliability or help <br /> Xcel locate problems and often increases the time for troubleshooting. Aesthetics is often <br /> the main reason far undergrounding utilities. <br /> d) Xcel has a 10 year pole testing policy and plans to test every pole within the next 10 <br /> years. This is the only pro-active replacement policy of the overhead system. <br /> e) Xcel has addressed outages by the following: <br /> i) Tree trimming has begun along Shoreline Drive and will continue in the Casco Point <br /> area in mid-January if it is determined that utilities will not be placed underground. <br /> ii) The Mound substation has been upgraded. <br /> iii) Pole testing policy is in place. If a resident calls Xcel to complain about a <br /> deteriorating pole, Xcel would send someone to check it out. <br /> � Xcel has no plan to reconfigure or shorten the feeder lines. Lines and equipment aren't <br /> overloaded. <br /> g) Xcel prefers not to install part of the utilities underground and part overhead in the same <br /> area. If the City requested this type of configuration, they would have to redesign the <br /> project. Underground utilities are generally used only in new development where all <br /> other utilities are underground using a joint trench. Orono's Code requires underground <br /> utilities for all new developments. <br /> h) If joint utilities are installed—Xcel, cable, telephone—Xcel prefers to follow the street <br /> work. <br /> i) Finance mechanisms. <br /> i) Customer Related Facility Surcharge (CRFS)—This is the only finance mechanism <br /> that really works for this area. Every customer in the City is charged a fee per month <br /> over a given amount of time to pay for the project. The design estimate is a large <br /> dollar amount for the number of residents in Orono. The money needs to be collected <br /> in 60 months, although there may be an option to request an extension. CRFS has <br /> been used by a number of communities, including Maple Grove. <br /> *Indicates Staff Action Item Page 1 <br />