In a regular meeting with the Sioux Center City Council, representatives from DGR Engineering presented a plan for a standby generation plant for the community. Missouri Rive Energy Services, Sioux Center’s electrical service provider, is providing incentives to communities who provide back-up power services to their own communities. The plan includes a plant with four diesel engines to be located by the north electrical substation. Sioux Center Utilities Manager, Murray Hulstein says this is an effort to provide reliable energy to Sioux Center in the event of a catastrophe and is also in response to MRES’s plans to eliminate coal fired energy. Projected cost is $21 million – market dependent, and MRES will cover anywhere from 73% to 105% of the construction cost over 30 years of operation. Several area communities are planning similar plants, some have been operating them for many years. Instead of authorizing staff to proceed, the council has requested more detailed information to be reviewed at their October 2 meeting.
The council passed a resolution to vacate an easement north of People’s Bank in preparation for the construction of a 2-story addition to the north of their existing building. The city council then set a public hearing for requests to vacate easements and move easements on two properties in Sioux Center; one to expand parking along the north edge of the north parking lot at the Ridge Golf Course, the other to allow for construction of a new business in the South Ridge Commercial Park.
The council authorized the purchase of an upgrade to the finance software package which gives the ability to integrate more of the city operations. The council also reviewed cash farm rent received from land tenants; a $10 per acre increase was approved for most tenants.
The city council also approved a resolution to establish October 1-7 as Public Power Week and Public Natural Gas Week.
The next meeting of the Sioux Center City Council is scheduled for Monday, October 2nd at 4pm.
