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Earlham council unanimously approves 25-year gas and electric franchises with MidAmerican Energy
Summary
The Earlham City Council on Aug. 12 unanimously adopted Ordinances No. 449 and No. 450 granting MidAmerican Energy 25-year, non-exclusive natural gas and electric franchises and authorizing the city to collect franchise fees; both public hearings drew no comments.
Mayor Jeff Lillie opened the Aug. 12 meeting and the council moved quickly to adopt two franchise ordinances for MidAmerican Energy Company.
Council approved the first reading of Ordinance No. 449, granting a 25-year, non-exclusive franchise to acquire, construct, operate and maintain a natural gas system in the city, and then voted to waive the second and third readings and adopt the measure. The council took the same steps on Ordinance No. 450, which grants MidAmerican Energy a 25-year franchise for electric service and communications facilities. Both motions passed unanimously.
Clerk Mary Sue Hibbs told the council there were no public comments: "there were no oral or written comments received at City Hall," and no members of the public spoke at either hearing. The waivers of additional readings meant both ordinances were adopted at the meeting.
Why it matters: the ordinances formalize MidAmerican Energy's rights to operate gas and electric infrastructure in Earlham for the next quarter-century and authorize the city to collect franchise fees under the terms in each ordinance.
What the council did: the council recorded the first readings and then approved motions to waive the remaining readings and adopt each ordinance by a unanimous vote.
Next steps: because the council waived further readings and adopted the ordinances, they are enacted per the council's action; the clerk's office will retain the adopted ordinances in city records.
