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Council adopts 10-year franchise agreement with Northwest Natural Gas
Summary
The council approved a decade-long franchise agreement with Northwest Natural Gas to allow gas utilities in public rights-of-way and repealed the prior ordinance; fees and franchise language remain largely unchanged.
The Keizer City Council on March 17 voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance establishing a 10-year franchise agreement with Northwest Natural Gas for placement of gas utilities in the city's public rights-of-way, repealing Ordinance No. 2012-669.
Nut graf: The ordinance preserves the status quo for franchise-fee rates and formalizes the relationship between the city and the utility for the next decade; staff emphasized that the citycontrols only the franchise fee portion, not the company's customer rates.
City Attorney and staff told the council the language mirrors recent franchise agreements the council had approved with PGE and Salem Electric, and that no rate increases are included as part of the franchise. Mayor Kathy Clark clarified that the cityportion the council controls is the franchise fee, not the utility's customer rates.
Ending: The ordinance was adopted without objection; the agreement now provides a ten-year framework for permitting and policing utilities in city rights-of-way.
