Council votes to reconsider high voltage transmission line

Columbia Missourian

COLUMBIA — The Columbia City Council voted to reconsider the route of a high-voltage transmission line after pushback from residents, including a petition with 1,200 signatures. More than a dozen residents recoiled, citing concerns over property values and adverse health effects such as leukemia.

Resident Mark Farnen, who spoke as a representative of multiple retirement homes near the proposed line's route, asked the council to reconsider the route over concerns including communication and neighborhood aesthetics.

Kent Hendrix, another resident, said he thought the process of gathering public input could have been better.

"I feel like there was a lot of information that wasn't properly shared with the council and the people who live in the city, especially the areas impacted," Hendrix said.

According to a city report, $7.1 million has already been spent on the route. The city's report estimates about $5.6 million would be lost if the city were to choose a different option.

Resident Detelina Marinova presented the petition to the council, including support from the Boone Hospital Center Board of Trustees.

The transmission line was proposed to make Columbia's energy grid more reliable and to meet federal regulations.

Three options were originally considered for the line, according to previous Missourian reporting:

• Option A: A 161-kilovolt line running along Providence Road, Grindstone Parkway, Nifong Boulevard, Vawter School Road and Scott Boulevard.

• Option B: A 69-kilovolt line connecting the Mill Creek substation with the Grindstone Parkway and Hinkson Creek substations.

• Option B-2 was similar to Option B, though a section of the line would have been moved to a city-owned property near the Waste Water Treatment Plant, according to the city's website.

• The criteria had changed for what the city wanted as far as reliability, longevity, project cost and effects on residents, Farnen said.

"Here's what they did — they took the most expensive option, they ran it through the most highly residential neighborhood of any of the options, they tear down more trees, and they have to revisit it in 15 years anyway," he said.

The city council voted for Option A in July 2013 after sending out surveys to Water and Light customers living within 500 feet of the proposed route.

The survey was not representative of the people that would be affected, Marinova said, as most people living near the line's route are Boone Electric Cooperative customers. As she did at an Oct. 5 open house put on by the city, Marinova cited the survey's low response rates.

After discussing the matter at the end of its meeting, the council voted to hold another public hearing on the line. The hearing was scheduled for Jan. 19.

"I feel that the council made the right decision to reconsider," Marinova said.