Residents push back on Columbia transmission line project at meeting
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
City of Columbia had its monthly 'Let's Talk Local' this Thursday, and it was an interested parties meeting where residents pushed back against the idea of the proposed transmission lines project.
Roughly 25 people were at the meeting, City Councilwomen Betsy Peters (Ward 6) and Christina Hartmann (Ward 5) attended the meeting at the Columbia Sports Fieldhouse at 4251 Philips Farm Road.
"There is certainly a lot of citizen questions and things we need to take into consideration as we move this project forward," Peters said.
During the meeting, one resident was commenting on a previous study done by the Integrated Electric Resource and Master Plan Task Force Resources, where a statistic of the study said the transmission plans were not necessary.
This resident declined an interview but did say during the meeting that "Columbia does not need the installation of a new transmission line."
The city's engineering staff told ABC 17 News that due to the delay of the project from 2015, when it was originally proposed, many studies have been conducted and more information has been gathered about these transmission lines as the delay continues.
"This is not a one-time, done-and-done study; it's people monitoring the grid 24/7, 365 days a year. These things are ongoing," said Gwen Corches, who is the city's assistant director of electric utilities. "Even the information we have today in this fast-paced industry, it will change in a few years again, and we'll continue to communicate that."
Public comments focused on safety and contingency plans for the project. Corches said that his team works through many contingency plans to find the best possible outcome, and said experts believes the proposed transmission lines are that.
"We are looking at all possible options to guarantee and anticipate any future events and try to prevent any potential negative situations from happening," Corches said. "We want to make sure that we are providing the best possible grid for our residents here in the city of Columbia."
Comments for Boone Electric users was brought up because although they would not pay for the transmission lines electric but the lines would be placed in their backyard, according to one Boone Electric user.
This resdient expressed concerns of the citys lack of outreach to Boone electric users. Corches said after hearing about these concerns his team plans to reach out to those residents and invite them to participate in meetings.
"This is a city-wide project, and anyone is welcome to come to any of our meetings," Corches said. "[Staff] will look at ways to contact them in the best manner so they feel included and can join the meetings like anybody else."
The lines will run through Scott Boulevard south to Vawter School Road, then east along the Vawter School-Nifong-Grindstone corridor.
If the project follows through, it is estimated to cost $35 million and take roughly eight-to-10 years to complete, the city stated in previous reporting.
This meeting is one of many that the city plans to host to get public input on the transmission lines. The second interested parties meeting will be held in early October according to the city.
