City of Sidney to assist Lodgepole with electricity service

SIDNEY -- The Sidney City Council Tuesday night discussed a proposal for the City to assist the Village of Lodgepole with maintaining its electrical system.

In his memo to the city council, Sidney's electric superintendent Mike Palmer said the Village of Lodgepole requested assistance fro Sidney's electrical department in the operation and maintenance of their electrical system. The memo says the Lodgepole staff member who was assigned to electrical system maintenance resigned.

"A few weeks back, Lodgepole approached us about giving some assistance to their electrical system. They had a one-member crew. He resigned. So they're down to one person with no electrical experience. They reached out to us to see if we would have an appetite to help them. Morally, I feel like we should, just to try and keep someone's life. This isn't a trade you should be doing if you don't know what you're doing," Palmer said.

He said he and City Manager David Scott met with a board representative and utility personnel. An interlocal cooperation agreement was presented to Lodgepole representatives and to the city council Tuesday evening. 

"We drew up the interlocal agreement. J (Leef, city attorney) has gone through it. It will cover all costs, plus a small adder just kind of take care of some of the wear and tear on equipment and things of that nature. Really, that is a 30-day contract, and it rolls over month to month, with a 30-day out. So if it doesn't work out, we give them a 30-day notice and say 'you need to go find someone else,' and hopefully they can find someone qualified to work on the electrical system," Palmer said. 

Palmer said the agreement states the City's first priority is Sidney, so electric department personnel may not be able to respond every time. He said he wants to do a review of Lodgepole's electrical system before entering the agreement. Sidney personnel will assist Lodgepole as requested; not set hours or routine services.