For the second time item 21-0873 which would update Municipal Code Section 4-392 related to electrical work by a home owner has been referred back to the Municipal Services committee.
It was first referred back by Alderperson Alex Schultz (District 9) at the 07/07/2021 Common Council meeting because he was concerned that, as written, the change would prevent homeowners from, on their own, installing small scale renewable energy units even though those types of units were not particularly difficult to install and could be handled appropriately by a homeowner.
During the 07/12/2021 Municipal Services Committee meeting, the item was held at the request of Director of Public Works Paula Vandehey to give the city’s electrical inspector time to weigh in on Alderperson Schultz’s question.
The Common Council rules state that an alderperson who refers an item back to committee, “shall appear at the next meeting of the committee of jurisdiction. If the Alderperson is unable to attend the committee meeting, he/she shall communicate to the Committee Chair or the Committee contact person via telephone or in writing of his/her intent.”
As far as I can tell, Alderperson Schultz was not present at the 07/12/2021 Municipal Services Committee. He’s not a member of that committee; he did not speak even briefly when that item came up for discussion; and my notes do not show him participating in any of the other discussions during that meeting. Obviously, because the item was held at Director Vandehey’s request, his presence wasn’t necessary, and my assumption is that, per Council Rules, he contacted the Committee Chair and informed him that he was unable to attend the meeting. [Update: Alderperson Schultz thinks he was there, so I’ll take his word on that; it’s possible he just didn’t have an opportunity to speak given how quickly the item was referred back.]
At any rate, he was again not present at the 07/26/2021 Municipal Services Committee meeting, even though that was the committee meeting at which this item was going to be discussed and voted on.
Director Vandehey told the committee that one of their electricians sent a pretty long email to Alderperson Schultz, and she had not heard back from him so she assumed he was satisfied with that response.
Lacking any sort of feedback from Alderperson Schultz and seeing no issue themselves with the proposed updates to the Municipal Code, the Municipal Services Committee voted once again to recommend the changes for approval.
That then brings us to the 08/04/2021 Common Council meeting at which Alderperson Schultz separated the item out for an individual vote.
He explained that he had had some exchanges with staff regarding the language of the code and the definition of the photovoltaic installations. In general, if an installation feeds into the electric system/grid as a feedback loop allowing homeowners to sell energy back to the utility company, it made sense to have that installation done by a certified electrician; however, there are smaller, rapid install photovoltaic systems that some residents use which are not tied into the electrical grid and are basically backup systems that have a number of cells in a storage space. His concern was that by using the term “photovoltaic installations” they may be end up preventing homeowners from using these quick deployment battery backup systems. He knew some individuals used those sorts of systems during the severe storm of 2019 that helped them maintain the refrigerators in their homes and have a little bit of power for the 3-4 days when the power was down. At that time, there was no requirement that they have a certified inspector inspect and install those units in their homes. He wanted the language of the code to specify that the units that require installation by a certified electrician are, specifically, units that tie into the energy grid, and he wanted to provide some separation for smaller units that homeowners might want to use for battery backup systems in the case of storm events. To that end, he made an amendment to include the words “utility interactive” before the term “photovoltaic installations” to offer an amendment that simply includes the word “utility interactive” before “photovoltaic installations” so that the language would then read, “In the case of installing or replacing service equipment in a single-family dwelling, utility interactive solar photovoltaic installations or electrical work performed on a residential property which is not a single-family owner occupied dwelling, the electrical work shall be performed by a license electrical contractor meeting all the requirements of SPS 305.41 as amended from time to time.”
Mayor Woodford asked Director Vandehey to speak on this.
She respectfully asked that the item be referred back to the Municipal Services Committee again. She was completely unaware of the proposed amendment and wanted time to talk to the electrical inspectors to see what their thoughts on it were.
Alderperson Chad Doran (District 15) said he was going to make the same suggestion. He had hoped that they could have heard about this amendment at the previous Municipal Services Committee and he thought that would be a more proper place to have that discussion.
Alderperson Schultz withdrew his motion to amend, and then Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) requested that it be referred back to the committee.
Attorney Behrens explained that, because this was a second refer back, it required a majority vote by the Council.
They held a voice vote, and, if I heard correctly, they voted unanimously to refer it back, and we will see how that discussion goes during the 08/09/2021 Municipal Services Committee meeting.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=873331&GUID=05E94B95-E8A1-4761-82D5-5668A4FB8932&Options=info|&Search=
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