Page 8 - the NOISE March 2014

On February 20, Sedona’s City Council held a special meeting to consider “pos- sible actions that can be taken in response to citizen concerns about the proposed instal- lation by Arizona Public Service Company of
‘smart meters’ within the City limits.” Deploy- ment of smart meters in Sedona is currently scheduled for March 31, 2014.
Mayor Rob Adams, Vice Mayor Mark DiNunzio and Councilors Barbara Litrell, John Martinez, Dan McIlroy, and Jessica Williamson were in attendance. Councilor Mike Ward was absent and excused. The meeting was held at the request of Coun- cilors Litrell and McIlroy. It was standing room only in the council chambers with many in the crowd forced to stand in the foyer straining to hear the proceedings.
In his usual fashion for this type of meet- ing, Mayor Adams started off with a warn- ing to the crowd. He cautioned attendees against outbursts including both booing and applause. He proceeded to explain his reasoning stating that “we are here for civil dialogue.” He mentioned that representa- tives in attendance from Arizona Public Ser- vice (APS) were concerned for their safety. He told the crowd a first disturbance would garner a warning but a second occurrence would result in removal from the room. “This is a very sensitive issue here but this isn’t my first rodeo.” He then asked everyone to stand and greet the people sitting around them. This appeared to help break the tension a bit so that the meeting could then proceed.
Mayor Adams indicated that there are two main issues facing the council at this time. The first is the possibility of formal interven- tion in the case currently before the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) filed by APS. In that case, APS has requested the right to formally implement an automated meter opt out program. They have asked the ACC to approve an initial $75 charge fol- lowed by a $30 monthly charge for anyone who chooses not to accept installation of a smart meter.
The second option would be possible liti- gation and an injunction imposed by the city to prevent APS from further deploying smart meters within the city limits. City Manager Tim Ernster deferred to City Attorney Mike Goimarac for the initial discussion.
Mr. Goimarac was hesitant to discuss par- ticulars of possible legal actions in an open forum suggesting that detailed conversation might be better had in an Executive Session of the council, where the public would not be in attendance. But he did talk about his discussions with representatives from the town of Fairfax, California.
On February 5, the town council of Fair- fax unanimously passed an ordinance that forbids the installation of smart meters and
any other related equipment for three years. Members of Sedona Smart Meter Aware- ness and other Sedona residents have urged Sedona City Council to follow suit. This California town has had the same concerns about smart meter implementation as Se- dona. But Fairfax has decided to take the bull by the horns and take aggressive action to stop their utility company from deploying the controversial meters.
In its newly created ordinance, the Fairfax Town Council noted they had been engag- ing in ongoing discussions with the Califor- nia Public Utility Commission (CPUC) and with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) but still had concerns regarding the security, privacy, safety, accuracy, and health effects of smart meters. In addition, the inequity and dis- criminatory nature of the proposed opt out plan was a concern for the council.
The ordinance states that violations will be charged as infractions or misdemeanors and that they “shall be deemed public nuisances with enforcement by injunction or any other remedy authorized by law.” But the enforce- ability of this ordinance is questionable and sources have indicated that smart meters are still being installed in Fairfax.
Mayor Adams limited public comment on the issue to the first 19 people who had turned in their requests. He also asked each person to limit their comments to only two minutes instead of the usual three in the in- terest of time.
The majority of the speakers were Sedo- na residents but included others from the Village of Oak Creek, Cottonwood, Payson, Phoenix. All were opposed to the installa- tion of smart meters.
Linda Davis of Cottonwood told a cau- tionary tale to the crowd. She related her story that, even though she had written and called APS in 2012 and had been in commu- nication with them several times since, the utility company sent installers to her resi- dence who removed her analog meter any- way. Only the threat of a lawsuit convinced the APS employees to reinstall her old me- ter. But she lives in an apartment complex where there are now several smart meters surrounding her lone analog one.
Councilor Litrell said that she had met with the Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS) which has been tasked by the ACC to produce a health study about the effects of smart meters. Ms. Litrell said that DHS expects to return results to the ACC by the end of the year. DHS said that they will be looking at the existing literature and research for their study. Ms. Litrell was also told that DHS would be hiring someone to do field research by measuring emissions from existing smart meters. While Ms. Li- trell’s tone was cautious, she said that she and Councilor McIlroy both felt that the DHS intends to do a “fair evaluation of the health effects of smart meters.” Mr. McIlroy said that he directly asked them to take an unbiased approach to the issue.
Following additional discussion about the possibility of litigation or pursuing passage of an ordinance to prevent smart meter in- stallation in Sedona, the council voted unani- mously not to pursue this option at this time.
However, the council unanimously ap- proved an agreement to have Mayor Adams, Messrs. Ernster and Goimarac arrange a meeting with APS to pursue further delaying the installation of smart meters in Sedona until the DHS health study is completed. The City Attorney is also directed to retain an attorney to conduct preliminary analysis re- garding the options available to the city.
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