Petitioners start collecting signatures for recall of city council member

South Columbia residents began to collect signatures Sunday afternoon for the recall of Fifth Ward council member Laura Nauser.

Residents from several Fifth Ward subdivisions have formed a political action committee calledColumbians for Responsible Government in response to Nauser’s vote to reopen the discussion of power line routes in an ongoing transmission line project.

Many residents stopped by the Thornbrook Clubhouse Sunday afternoon to sign their names on the petition.

Taylor Burks, founder of the PAC, said many residents are frustrated with how long the project is taking.

“As constituents of Laura Nauser we’re the ones who are best placed to take action,” he said. “The reason we’re taking action is because the city has not made progress.”

Columbia could face some hefty fines from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERCS) if the project, which started in 2007, doesn’t move forward soon.

“We’re lucky we haven’t had high growth rate,” said Connie Kacprowicz, spokesperson for Columbia Water and Light.

Kacprowicz said the city hasn’t seen a huge increase in electric usage since 2007. She said right now the city’s electric growth rate is at about 1.25% per year. She said that should allow the electric substations to meet federal reliability requirements until 2020.

“What the city needs is to get on with it,” said Bill Malone, who has lived in the Thornbrook subdivision for the past 15 years. “Too many of these projects get delayed over the most minor things.”

Malone said he thinks the transmission line project is necessary to keep up with Columbia’s growing population.

Like Columbians for Responsible Government, Malone is in favor of Route A for the transmission line project. However, he doesn’t agree with the petition for Nauser’s recall.

“I never judge anyone off of one mistake, you might say,” he said. “If I did, a lot of us would be in a lot of trouble. I just hope they go ahead and not waste all they money they spent.”

More than 1,500 south Columbia residents lost power Friday night due to a bad underground line near the MKT Trail.

Burks said the outage only solidifies the city’s need for an electrical infrastructure update.

“I think that underscores the fact that for years we have been discussing the need for it,” he said. “The problem is only going to get worse, so delaying is not a feasible action for the city to take.”

The committee needs 408 signatures to bring the recall election issue to city council for a vote. The city clerk said the ordinance must be introduced by May 2 at the latest.