Letter to the Editor: The public needs to be able to ask questions about the proposed municipal electric utility

(The following Letter to the Editor has been submitted by Charles Lore of Decorah):

"This post is meant to give the citizens of Decorah some background on the energy discussion that is occurring.

Last year,  the City Council agreed to allow the Water Department to upgrade the water meters.  The Council agreed to this upgrade because of efficiency, fewer man hours and less cost to citizens.  These are the same reasons that Alliant Energy is upgrading their meters.  The City Council voted 6 to 1 last year not to send a letter asking Alliant to stop their upgrade of meters.  This year the council voted 6 to 1 to send that letter.  What changed?  Why did they change their vote?

In the corporate world with the buying and selling of businesses, there would be three appraisers: ours, theirs and an agreed upon 3rd party.  During this process, we did not put forth or accept demands (letters) until there was earnest money on the table.  What the city did by sending the letter raises concerns about their understanding and the accuracy of assumptions being presented on this huge project.  If equipment upgrades cause problems now, how will a city company handle minor upgrades? 

This is a BIG BIG undertaking and the citizens need to be allowed to ask their questions and to receive answers."