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In Case You Missed It.... At the Desk: Dean Monke Greeter: Lori Larson Invocation: Lois Josefson Songs: Hal Leland - #5 Sing a Song to Rotary
- #41 Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie
- #58 Happy Wanderer
- #3 Smile
Guests: Steve Austvold (Guest of Kathy); Dr. Saurav Paul (Guest of Lois); Ed (Missed his last name) - Ed was present to extend an invitation to a Thursday, August 17th free lunch & presentation at Pebble Lake Golf Course, hosted by Lutheran Social Service of MN. He is an ambassador helping the community to understand & learn about what LSS does here and how people can become involved and make a difference. To RSVP for the lunch, call Maggie at 651.969.2284 or email maggie.overmanlarson@lssmn.org. Announcements Keith announced the latest on peaches. Expecting to load on Tuesday August 22nd with expected arrival August 25th or so. Stay tuned for updates. Report your numbers to kolson@prtel.com. Rotary Minute Bob opened with a reminder that our Exchange student is scheduled to arrive August 19th and will be living with the Ryan Welle family for the first quarter of the year. We are still looking for a 2nd & 3rd family to host - contact Bob to get more info. Our scores on the Rotary Minute Quiz were customarily poor. Brags & Fines Bob threw in a dollar hoping Lois will someday say it is a privilege to sit next to him (like she did about her guest today). Dan bragged about his son, Lucas Keith, who turned 3 on Monday. Mary has a brag for her son Joey who graduated form ASU with Masters in Classical Bass Performance is going to be the principle bassist for the national Ecuadorian Symphony. She had a second brag for her grandson Gabe for being in the Youth Triathlon sponsored by LRH. Hal paid a fine for the notoriety for he received in the Journal for receiving the Jack Murray award from the Coalition of MN Cities for 14 years of service to that organization. He called it the finest organization in the state of MN that is an advocate for all of us in greater MN. Program Pete Wasberg introduced program speakers from Otter Tail Power Company to speak on the Relicensing of Hydros along the Ottertail River - Stephanie Hoff, Public Relations
- Michael Olson, Engineer in Energy Supply
- Megan Lisburg, Environmental Services
Stephanie opened with some key messages about Otter Tail Power (OTP) as a company. - Vision of OTP: "Growth and Success - for our company and the rural communities we serve. We collaborate and prosper through responsible, resourceful action. We balance community, economic and environmental commitments. Always."
- They serve
- 70,000 square miles in western MN, Eastern North and South Dakota
- 422 Communities
- 131,551 Customers
- They employ 796 people (472 in MN, 205 in ND, 119 in SD)
- They create energy via coal, gas/oil, renewable & purchased resources
- 80% was produced by coal in 2001, which is now closer to 50%
- Renewable methods in 2001 accounted 10% and now is closer to 30%
- Key take away message: "It's about BALANCE for every decision made at OTP" - Balance between communities, economic impact and environmental impacts.
Mike Olson then took the floor as the leader of the effort in the relicensing of these five hydro dams along the Ottertail river that are licensed through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: - Friberg
- Hoot Lake
- Wright
- Pisgah
- Dayton Hollow
Mike explained the process of relicencing and that OPT has proposed to relicense the plants as they are today because it is cost effective and retains what customers are accustomed to. The licenses expire in November 2021 and the relicensing is a 5-year process that began in 2016. He said this timeline is designed to give time to identify and obtain information from the public & the organization including potential benefits, effects and recommendations. If approved, the new license would be good for 30 to 50 years. OTP is currently conducting studies with help from a contracted engineering firm on these topics: - Fish Entrainment Study
- Instream flow studies at Friberg & Hoot Lake
- Fish passage feasibility study
- Fishery survey
- Lake Sturgeon survey
- Mussel Survey Wildlife Resources survey
- Botanical Resources survey
- Recreation use and facility inventory study
- Cultural resources study
Results will be tabulated into a proposal that will go out to stakeholders in 2019. There will be key opportunities in 2019 and 2021 for public input. Mike emphasized that participation is important : - Submit online comments to FERG
- Subscribe to their eSubscription
The program ended with time for Q&A that again stressed the importance of active participation by concerned individuals and ongoing education about the process and potential implications. Thanks to Steph, Mike and Megan for preparing this excellent presentation. |
