Questions regarding utility service boundaries plague joint meeting, in-fighting stalls session

By Karyn Spory, Mt. Pleasant News

NEW LONDON ? Not much was accomplished Tuesday night during a joint meeting of the New London City Council and the city?s Utility Trustees as in-fighting stalled out the meeting.

The two boards were asked to take action on two items ? approving an RFP for the annual audit and sharing the costs for meter reading software. But the bulk of the largely hostile meeting was spent discussing the utility boundaries between the City of New London and Access Energy, and how the new Dollar General store?s property falls under the latter.

Last month, during the city council meeting, members questioned the reasoning behind why Access Energy would be providing utilities for the general store. City Clerk Kasi Howard had explained that despite the development being within city limits, it fell under Access Energy?s territory. She added that the Iowa Utilities Board draws the boundaries for utility services.

Unsatisfied with the answer, councilman Greg Malott once again brought the issue to the table. ?I have questions regarding the territory conflicts whether it?s New London Utilities or a private utility company servicing the Dollar General store,? he said.

Malott questioned whether boundary lines could be changed. City attorney Steve Ort said in the eyes of the law, private utility services and ones operated by municipalities were treated the same under the law.

Utility trustee Steve Rotter said Mt. Pleasant had gone through a similar dilemma when the Wal-Mart Distribution Center was built. It was within city limits, but not the purview of the city?s utilities. Rotter said despite attempts to change the boundary lines, the distribution center is still serviced by Access Energy.

Malott, still unsatisfied with the answer, questioned if an agreement could be made with Access Energy, or if that failed, a complaint could be filed with the state board.

?Where it was placed first, (Dollar General) had our utilities,? said utility plant foreman Tom Pry.

Last summer, the Overland Group, which develops land for Dollar General stores, had signed a contract with the city to build near the nursing home. However, in August 2016, the company asked for an addendum that would allow the store to be built further south, and within Access Energy?s utility territory. The city council approved.

?If you guys hadn?t allowed them to move, we wouldn?t be having this conversation,? utility trustee Jerry Wilhelm said.

?It?s great you got them, it?s fantastic, you did a hell of a job,? said Wilhelm. ?But at the same time you did a hell of a good job of moving it out of our service area. You guys moved it.?

?At the request of Dollar General,? Malott added.

As the dialogue heated up, the mayor interrupted, ending the conversation.

As for the RFP for the annual audit, the city received two bids ? one from the State Auditor?s office and the second from Ted Wiegand. The bids were for three-year contracts.

Wiegand, who came in at the lowest with a three-year contract of $28,665, held the previous three-year contract. The State Auditor?s Office would charge $10,050 for 2017, $10,340 for 2018, and $10,655 for the final year.

Malott said he would prefer to spend the extra money, as some training would also be provided to the city clerk.

Councilman Kirk Miller countered that Howard, the city clerk, already receives training throughout the year.

?Ted has done a good job, what more can you ask for,? said Wilhelm. ?I think it?s a waste of good money to (go with the State Auditor?s Office).?

Wilhelm?s fellow trustees agreed and approved a second three-year contract with Wiegand.

The council, which only had three members present as Dan Berner and Tom Davis were absent, approved the State Auditor?s Office in a 2-1 vote. Miller had the lone ?nay? vote.

?I don?t know what you want me to do,? Howard said following the votes.

Howard said she thought it was ?silly? to pay two firms to do the exact same job, which is what the votes dictated. Following the meeting, Howard said the two boards would have another joint session next month and that she would verify how they would like her to proceed and how city funds are spent.

As for the meter reading software, hurt feelings seemed to dictate the vote as Miller?s motion to share the costs with the utility board were left unanswered. With no second the motion died.

?And they want us to work together,? Wilhelm scoffed before the utility trustees voted to pay for the program themselves.