New Hampton is facing many of the same projects Decorah is facing

The Decorah Telecommunications Utility Board is studying the question of whether the city ought to form a telecom utility.  A Decorah citizens group is studying the question of whether the city ought to form a municipal electric utility.

Half an hour away, New Hampton is already working on some of the same issues.  New Hampton has operated a municipal electric utility since 1902.  Next month it is expected to hire a firm to conduct a feasibility study of a municipal telecommunications utility.

Electric utility manager Brian Quirk visited Decorah Tuesday to speak with community leaders here.  He told the Winneshiek Energy District breakfast, "We're able to control more of our destiny" with its own utilities.  New Hampton's electric utility has been using a fair amount of wind-generated electricity--it's "fairly economical," says Quirk--and has been studying solar energy, although Quirk says it's "expensive now."  But the utility has been able to keep rates low while providing good service.

Quirk says a consultant should be selected March 10th to conduct the telecommunications feasibility study.  He's expecting some homes to be connected to a fiber network late this fall.

What's the biggest problem facing New Hampton?  Quirk says there would be more economic development in the town because of the municipal electric and possibly telecommunications utilities--but there are 100 unfilled job openings.