 City may reconsider BlueStar Energy
A press release issued by AEP earlier in the week had notified media
that BlueStar Energy had been purchased by
American Electric Power, an Ohio-based company that is a provider of
electricity in 11 states.
According to the company website, AEP is among the nation's
largest generators of electricity and also owns the nation's largest
electricity transmission system.
AEP currently offers service in Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia,
West Virginia, and operates under the company names of AEP Ohio, AEP
Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia, West Virginia), AEP
Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky
Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric
Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas).
BlueStar is a Chicago-based firm that serves communities as
consultants in the selection of electric providers and also sells
electricity.
Recently BlueStar has become the consultant for Logan County,
Lincoln and several surrounding smaller communities in the county.
When the company presented its consulting program to the city of
Lincoln, they agreed that as consultants, they would not bid on the
sale of electricity to the city, satisfying a concern among the
aldermen about conflict of interest.
However, with this turn of events, the city may wish to
reconsider the contract with BlueStar.
Mayor Keith Snyder said Tuesday evening he'd had conversations
with Aaron Rasty of BlueStar about what the buyout amounted to.
Because BlueStar agreed not to bid on the city's electric
service, the agreement will transfer to AEP as well. Therefore as it
stands now, BlueStar will continue to honor the contract by serving
as consultants only.
However, with AEP being one of the largest electric providers in
the country, the city may miss out on getting the best possible
price because that company cannot bid.
Rasty told Snyder the city could back out of the agreement with
BlueStar if they were now interested in having AEP bid on the
electric.
Rasty also recommended another consultant that could take
BlueStar's place: Illinois Community Choice Aggregation Network, or
ICCAN.
Snyder said one of the principal people in ICCAN is Mark
Pruitt. Pruitt is formerly the director of the Illinois Power
Agency, the state agency that deals with obtaining electricity for
the entire state.
Snyder said he has met Pruitt twice and is impressed with him.
Snyder said he would suggest that this company be contacted to meet
with the council.
Snyder also said the city doesn't have to do anything; they can
stay with BlueStar. Alderwoman Melody Anderson said initially
without knowing a great deal yet, she likes the idea of having AEP
being allowed to bid on the electric.
The role of the consultant in electric aggregation for the city
will be first to educate the public on what aggregation is and work
to get the necessary referendum passed in the March election.
Once that is accomplished, the consultant is to assist the city
in designing a bid package for potential electric providers.
With the package designed to city specifications, the consultant
will then seek bids from a variety of electric providers and assist
the city in choosing the company to provide electricity to Lincoln
residents and small businesses.
The result will be that local residents will be offered an
opportunity to switch their electric service from Ameren to a less
costly provider. Residents will be given the option to "opt out" of
the city program, which will keep them with Ameren. If they do not
take action, they will be transferred to the new provider
automatically.
As far as how their service is delivered and how they are billed,
residents will see little or no difference. Residents will continue
to receive their bills from Ameren and will pay them to Ameren as
they always have.
The discussion on this ended with Snyder reminding the council
that if there was to be a change, it needs to happen soon so that
whoever the consultant is, that firm is able to do the work needed
to get the referendum passed in March.
Fire and police space issues
It is a well-known fact that the Lincoln Fire Department is in a
space that is much too small and antiquated to be fully effective as
a department.
It is believed that the current fire station may be the oldest
working station in the state. Originally designed for horses and
horse-drawn equipment, the station consists of three small apparatus
bays on the ground floor and firemen's quarters and offices on the
second.
The station cannot hold all the large equipment the department
now uses. Therefore equipment is being stored in other buildings
away from the station.
The police department is also in cramped quarters. The offices of
that department are in the Logan County Safety Complex on Pekin
Street.
Inside their share of the facility, there is a front office and
only a couple of other smaller spaces. There is no room for officer
lockers, so officers' personal items are stored in file cabinet
drawers.
Police Chief Ken Greenslate said that when officers are in the
offices, they are very crowded and have to take turns getting to
computer terminals to do their report work.
He also noted there are issues with evidence handling because the
lack of secure space is a great concern to him.
For several years, the city has talked about the need to do
something for the fire department, and last year they began
discussing the concerns of the city police department.
When the lease agreement for the space at the safety complex came
due in 2011, the city decided not to sign a full-year lease and went
to a month-to-month rental instead.
The year has passed and the county is once again asking for the
one-year lease, and the city is once again considering maintaining
the month-to-month rental.
Tuesday evening Snyder said he had met with Greenslate, fire
Chief Mark Miller and Alderman Joni Tibbs to discuss the situation
the two departments are in.
Tibbs is the head of the building and grounds committee for the
city council.
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When the city was building a budget for the 2011-12 year, they
set aside $10,000 to hire an architect to do some research on the
space needs and availability in the city. Snyder said that work has
not yet been done.
Greenslate told the council he thought it was time for that money
to be used. He said he wanted to look at the space needs and what
the city has available in buildings that are not being used.
Several weeks ago Greenslate provided the council with a
multi-page report on the conditions at the complex and the needs of
the department.
Snyder agreed it is time to use the budgeted money and do some
research.
In regard to the fire department, Snyder also noted the floor
space where apparatus is stored at the station measures only about
1,000 square feet. He said the recommended space for a department
the size of Lincoln with the equipment they have is approximately
16,000 square feet.
Snyder said: "Basically we want to get an outside opinion on our
space that we can use to guide us as we move forward. We're not
negotiating with anyone on land. We're not walking down any path
until we get the information pulled together."
Other happenings at City Hall
In recent weeks, city engineer Mark Mathon has moved out of his
office on the second floor of City Hall and in with the street
department offices on Third Street.
His former office is now getting a fresh coat of paint and will
soon be the new offices for the fire chief and assistant chiefs.
Miller currently occupies a two-room office at the top of the
stairs on the second floor of City Hall. Once he is relocated, the
space will then be designated as the office of the city
administrator. That area has a small, narrow space that could be
used by a secretary or an assistant, with a larger office directly
behind it.
Firefighter resigns
Miller announced that firefighter Beau Friday has resigned from
the city department. Miller said that Friday has been an asset to
the department and will be missed, but the chief wishes him well in
his future endeavors.
Miller said he would like to take the first name on the list of
eligible applicants as a replacement for Friday. He said if the
first person is available, he has his certification and training
done, which will be good for the department.
Fire chief's car on its way out
Miller told the council his chief car is losing its
transmission. He said right now the car is usable in town when
driving at lower speeds, but on the highway it slips, then
eventually stops. He said the car is a 1999 with 115,000 miles on
it. It was purchased used for the department three years ago. To
replace or repair the transmission will cost in the range of $2,000,
give or take a few hundred.
During discussion Anderson said there was no money in the budget
for replacing the vehicle. However she is also not in favor of
sinking $2000 or more in a 1999 car. She said the city could
consider using the general obligation bond money for the purchase of
a good used car.
Fire department wants to get rid of excess inventory
Miller said the fire department has items in storage that it no
longer needs, such as ladders and other small equipment items. He
told the council he'd like to try to sell the items, and if they
don't sell, would like to donate them to a firefighter's college
training program.
As it was discussed, Greenslate said he too might have some items
to get rid of, and Tibbs said there might be more elsewhere. It was
decided the various departments would investigate what they might
have that needs to be disposed of.
In order for the city to sell property, there must be an
ordinance passed for "disposal of excess inventory."
New street signs to be ordered next week
Tracy Jackson, city street superintendent, said he'd provided the
aldermen with a list of street signs that need to be replaced in the
city. He asked them to review the list and notify him if there are
any additions to the list. He said he plans to order new signs next
week.
It's that time again
Anderson reminded department heads and committee chairmen that it
is once again approaching budget-building time for the city of
Lincoln. She encouraged chairmen to have discussions with their
departments about possible increases in expenses in the coming year
and potential for grants for the city. The department heads are also
supposed to have their initial budgets turned in to Snyder by the
end of the month.
After Anderson finished, Alderman Buzz Busby spoke up, saying he
wanted to thank all the department heads for their efforts this
year. He noted every department is coming to the end of the year at
or below budget.
City gets a windfall from a wind farm
Snyder said the city had recently received a check from the Rail
Splitter Wind Farm in the amount of $15,000. The check was sent
because for the last three years the farm has not made its annual
$5,000 payment to the city.
When Rail Splitter came into Logan County, they agreed to pay the
city $5,000 per year for 29 years. They made their first payment in
2008 but after that failed to do so.
The agreement was made with the city allowing the wind farm to
use enterprise zone acreage in return for the funds.
Greenslate headed to Alabama
Greenslate said he and two of his officers will go to Alabama for
training for the Central Illinois Mobile Field Force. He said this
was a new program designed to train officers in handling protestor
situations. He said the G-8 Summit will meet in Chicago in May.
Summits like that attract protestors, and additional trained forces
may be needed.
[By NILA SMITH]
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