SDMEAHometown Power -Arlington

By Chris Hill, Director of Municipal Electric Services

ARLINGTON

I’ ve passed by Arlington several times traveling on Highway81. August10th,2018wasthefirsttimeIdrove throughArlington. ThefirstthingInoticewasthepondon thewestsideof81,thenofcoursethebaseballfieldcaught my eye. Electrical Superintendent MattAsmussen let me know that the maintenance shop is on the left side of Highway 14 as you are heading towards main street. I showed up a little bit early to drive through town and instantly appreciate the wonderful roads, nice street light poles with LED lights, and the lack of overhead wires.

Arlington is 99.9% underground with only 1 overhead primary left in the town. They have been replacing light poles and lights as needed and have replaced all along the mainroads. Mattinformedmethattheyhaveabouthalfof the poles left to replace and have used grants for street lights from Heartland Consumers Power District.

In the center of town is a new sub station that was completed in 2017 as they converted the town voltage from 2400/4160 to 7200/12470. The sub station is fed from a 1-mile feeder line from East River Electric.

Utility Superintendent Marshal Mix and Electrical Superintendent Matt Asmussen New Sub Station completed in 2017

Utility Superintendent Marshal Mix mentioned a new developmentonthesouthsideofArlingtonwiththreenew houses developed so far and a few more lots for sale. Marshal and Matt also drove me out to the Industrial Park which has three businesses and hopes to add more businesses in the future.

Main Street looking south

VisitingwithMarshalandMatt,IcantellthatArlingtonis a very proactive community with a lot to offer. They have residentialandindustriallotsforsaleandareproudoftheir school system which has one of the highest ratings for ACTscores in the state. I enjoyed spending time with

Marshal and Matt and am excited for the future of Arlington as they have two great guys on their side.

Mural on Highway 14 Upon saying my goodbyes to Matt and Marshal, I stopped by the beautiful Municipal Building to talk to Finance Officer Sue Falconer and Assistant Finance Officer Jodie Henry. It is always nice to put a face with a name as I do ask a lot from the Finance Officers throughout the year. Sue and Jodie were great to visit with and Iagain had a great time visiting another great community. I got to meet four great city employees in Arlington, and it was not tough to see what makes their HOMETOWNgreat!

Questions? Comments? Email chris@sdmunicipalleague.org or call 605-770-6299

Arlington Municipal Building

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