Austin's Waste Water Treatment Plant might make better use of energy if a feasibility study demonstrates that the process is possible.

The process is called co-generation. It uses methane gas, a byproduct of the biological treatment process at the plant, to generate electrical power.

Currently, the methane is used to fuel boilers during the heating season. Unused gas is simply disposed of through torching.

The city council gave Public Works Director Jon Erichson the go-ahead to enter into a contract with Alliant Energy to do a feasibility study for the plant. The study will cost $24,535.

The city will pay 50 percent of the cost. Hormel Foods Corp. has agreed to pay the other 50 percent because of industrial generators involved with the project.

If the process is deemed possible in Austin, a state grant could recover the costs of the study as well as capital costs for the project.

In other business at the work session:

n Residents of 10th Drive SE could still be annexed by the city.

Many residents of the area want sewer and water services, which can not be supplied without annexation.

Previously, the area had been included in talks between Mower County and the Bellmans Addition to receive sewer services, however those residents were left out of the final agreement.

If the area is annexed, the approximately $330,000 cost would be assessed to those residents.

At an informational meeting on June 24, opinions from residents were mixed. Erichson estimated that 25 percent of the residents were opposed to annexation.

Options for the city include annexing the entire area or annexing just those residents that want in.

The down-side of annexing the area is that if it is contested in court, the city could be stuck with the entire cost. The down-side of only annexing willing owners' lots is that the city boundary would be inconsistent.

The council instructed Erichson to send out waivers to the residents, on which they would indicate whether or not they would like to be annexed. Erichson will take the results back to the council at a future work session.

n The council will vote to approve a vision statement and list of organizational values at its next meeting.

The vision statement covers issues like public safety, cultural diversity and creating jobs in the community.

The organizational values include areas like teamwork, positive leadership, efficient government services and respect for employees.

Matt Merritt can be reached at 434-2214 or by email at matt.merritt@austindailyherald.com