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WHO HAS THE POWER OF OZ? WHEN POWER OUTAGES OCCUR IN VICTORIA Vicky Bont, a resident at Deer Run, spoke to councilmembers on February 14th during the Open Forum part of the meeting, addressing recent power outages. She referred to the “lack of electricity” and “Xcel Energy or NSP or No Power, as we like to call it, and it happens at least twice a season.” “It has gone beyond an irritation,” she continued. “We don’t think you have the power of Oz here, but this is America. We want to find something out about this. They always have power 100 yards over the hill, but we don’t. We don’t know where to start. Is there someone here in Victoria to help us change things? This is our public forum. Thank you.” Stated City Administrator Don Uram, “As you know, Council, I’ve been working with Xcel since I arrived. The chances of changing anything are very slim, but we’ll check into it. The challenge for Victoria is that we’re located between two substations. All consumers experience difficulties with this power issue. Last year, Minnesota Valley Electric was without power for 24 hours. Sitting here tonight, I can’t say there was any problem with Xcel’s response.” Councilmember Kim Roden spoke to Vicky Bont, “I’m sympathetic to your situation. It’s been a real winter here. We haven’t had such a winter for a while, which isn’t a justification, of course.” Councilmember Jim Crowley, a resident in the Laketown neighborhood stated, “We’re on Minnesota Valley and we’ve looked longingly at Deer Run when we were without power and Xcel was still working.” Countered Bont, “It’s overwhelmingly that we are off and you are on.” Administrator Uram will collect data related to the issue with an eye toward improvement in power service in Victoria.
PROBLEMS WAITING TO HAPPEN WITH SPEED DESIGNATIONS IN VICTORIA Council discussed on February 14th the speed issues addressed in recent times related to County Road 11, also known as Victoria Drive, past several Victoria neighborhoods and intersections on its way northward to Highway 5 and downtown Victoria. Victoria resident Jim Crowley, elected to the Victoria City Council this past fall, had highlighted especially the intersection of Victoria Drive at Red Fox Drive, and spoke at a city council meeting last fall in that regard. City staff related that complaints have been received about several intersections with Victoria Drive. "We contacted the county [Victoria Drive is also County Road 11] and learned they hadn't gathered specific intersection data," reported City Engineer Cara Geheren February 14th. "None of the intersections warranted traffic signals. The volume of traffic is just not there." The city engineer stated, "There is a section [of Victoria Drive] currently marked as 50 mph and it will be reassigned 55 mph." She said that it often happens that speeds are increased rather than decreased after a study is conducted, and residents should be aware of this. "Speeds are set at what the 85th percentile of traffic is going," she said, explaining that people on average drive according to what they perceive to be a safe speed limit. She added that "the speed limit on County Road 43 is also going up." Stated Councilmember Tom O'Connor, 'This is a big problem waiting to happen. It's too high of a speed. One morning we'll wake up and there'll be a terrible accident. It's just wrong." Asked Councilmember Jim Crowley, "What are the legal ramifications?" Replied City Attorney Mike Norton, "Generally, governmental entities are exempt. We're not causing the speed limit changes. I don't see an increase in city liability." "I would like staff to investigate that," said Councilmember Crowley. Stated Mayor Mary Thun, "We've got to be working with our County Commissioner and state legislators."
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March 2011 |
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The Scoop at City Hall |
