The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1924-07-24
Expert Engineer Confers
with Light Commission
Relative to improvements

The problem facing the Sank Cen
ire Water, Light and Power Commits
sion relative to the manufacture and
distribution of electrical energy re-
quired by the citizens following the
expiration of the contract with the
St. Cloud Public Service Corporation
in December, is most serious one.
The Public Service company have
submitted several propositions to the
Commission looking to the renewal of
the contract. They are asking an in
creased price over the present con-
tract and the Commission are not at
all in favor of renewing.
There has long been a desire ex-
pressed by many citizens that the
City should own, control and operate
the dam and fowage rights owned by
the Central Mimi. Power & Milling
Co. Several weeks ago the Commits
sion asked Manager w. M. Parker of
the Milling Co. to submit PROPOSE
ton to the Commission for the sale of
the water power rights to the City.
A few weeks ago Mr.. McCulloch
of the Pillsbury Engineering Com
pany of Minneapolis came to Sank
Centre and went over the entire
ground with Chairman F. w. Perry
of the Commission and j. N. McGib-
bon of the Light and Power system.
Last weeks Herald published a
letter received from the Pillsbury
Company sent in connection with a
detailed report in which they recon-
mended the purchase of the water
power, stressing the point that the
aesthetic value to the city would be
very essential one to consider in
negotiating for the purchase of the
power rights from the Milling Com
pany.
Mr.. Parker desired definite. assur-
ance as to the exact price he would
be required to pay for electrical en-
ergy to operate the mill for long
term of years before he submitted his
proposition to the commission.
Tuesday evening of this week H.
Meyer, an expert power engineer
from the Pillsbury Company, came ia
Sank Centre at the request of the
Commission and went over the en-.
tire lighting problem with them.
One of the interesting features
brought o9tsat this meeting was that
it would cost the City over $500 to
pump the water used by the citizens
in July-the peak month of the year
In discussing the dam Mr.. Meyer
said that when the aesthetic value tc
the city was taken into consideration
the power rights were worth at least
$4,000. AS strictly power propo.
sition it would be worth approx.
mately $4,000. This estimate was
based on the number of kilowat
hours which the hydro-plant would
produce after the $4,000 improve.
ments necessary had been completed
He stated, however, that the power
rights would become more valuable
to the city as time went on. AS the
Water, Light and Power Commission
can only take the power value of the
water power into consideration they
were compelled to drop negotiations
with Mr.. Parker.
There is a active movement to
conserve natural resources where.
ever possible. If Sank Centre took
over the local Water powe,
$4,000 gallons of fuel oil would
be, conserved yearly and thus
make that much more oil avail.
able for the U. S. Navy, steam sbins
and industrial institutions of the
country who cannot get water power
Secretary Hoover is very active
In this conservation movement. En-.