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Show CedarCity Council to react to 'straw vote' on power issue The Cedar City Council will vote tonight on several resolutions which if passed, will support the public's vote in a straw poll last week favoring a municipal power system. The resolutions were not approved at the special meeting held last week to canvass voting results as another media source reported. The resolutions will move the city forward ? in actions to stop the proposed-sale of CPNaitonal's electric utility system in the city to Utah Power and Light. City voters last week favored a municipal system with 1771 votes or 55 percent of the vote. The UP&L purchase was supported sup-ported by 1443 ballots. "This was not really a m andate but certainly more people want to go with a municipal system. I think that the first thing to do is to stop the sale to UP&L," said Mayor Jack Sawyers. "We need a resolution saying that we will not accept the sale and are going municipal no matter what and stopping the sale will take some active ac-tive work." - While UP&L has not as yet scheduled . a hearing concerning the proposed sale before the Public Service Commission, the resolutions hope to sway the commission's view against the sale. One of the resolutions to be considered tonight is one being supported by many communities com-munities throughout southern Utah signing a statement for the Southwest Utah . Co-operative Power Federation's position for a locally owned and operated utility system in southern Utah. The second resolution would be another commitment by the city to go municipal and the mayor said that City Attorney Robert Braithwaite would be asked to write that draft. "We will have a more positive negotiating position and get a better price on the system if we stop this sale," commented Councilwoman Barbara Starr. Councilman Harold Shirley backed up her view saying, "We don't want them (CPN) to use duplicity as they did before. When the Southwest Power Agency (the financial arm of the federation), was negotiating with CPN before, they were told that there were no other bidders. We were lied to by CPN. We need to take UP&L totally out of the city's power future." ' Shirley was referring to a surprise announcement in December that UP&L had reached a negotiated price with CPN of some $2 million plus for their power system in southern Utah. The agreement was announced directly preceding a meeting of the federation and,agency which had been negotiating to purchase CPN's system April 1979. Lee Fife questioned whether the city was laking the correct steps. "We are lay people trying to turn , a sale between two jcorporations around. I question if we do know what to do." Fife suggested that the city consider setting up a Municipal Power Board "as soon as possible." Starr called it "premature" to , consider possible appointments- to such a board at this time: , . "It is to UP&LJs advantage to make a sale to Cedar City as difficult as possible".' : We need to buy CPN's system at the cheapest price and I don't think that we can talk about delaying city action to stop the sale to UP&L," said Starr. . UP&L officials a year ago gave the council information. Sid Baucom (a vice president ': of UP&L) told the city that CPN's system was worth 18 million and would need to hve $ $4 million put in to upgrade it. They said that such a purchase by UP&L would result In a 2 percent rate increase over their entire system," continued Starr,' "Cedar City has to get them UP&L) out : of here. We need to know ., exactly what this system will cost:' Our jshare of CPN's total' system -is -only 28 percent although it had been' thought that Cedar's share 40 percent. , .... 'Hi.'.. .' |