We are looking forward to the time when the city of St. Cloud inks the deal with the Orlando Utilities Commission that would allow the utility to burn methane gas from an old city landfill near Peghorn Park to generate electricity. As we have said before, this utility has the know-how and experience to make such a project work.

Some hurdles to that deal have been overcome recently, such as OUC and the city agreeing that the city should get 30 percent of the profits that OUC might make by using the landfill’s methane to generate power.

In light of the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and oil now covering some of our state’s beaches (most recently in Pensacola), we all should be re-examining our energy use and how we might curtail that consumption if it is wasteful. We believe the St. Cloud-OUC project is one small step in moving toward greener alternatives.

We agree with the council’s opinion that allowing OUC to begin energy production quickly would produce the best results for the city. And if the methane produced by the landfill runs out in 15 or 20 years rather than the anticipated eight or nine, well that’s just icing on the cake and will mean more revenue for the city, and less dependence on property taxes.

A busy day ahead

Osceola County commissioners Monday will have a busy day. At 9 a.m., there will be another workshop on the proposed county budget. At 1:30 p.m., commissioners will hold a regular meeting and will consider the contract to buy the Starling property on West U.S. Highway 192 for use as a museum of military history and also will consider a contract for health insurance for county employees.

And then at 5:30 p.m., the commission will hold a public hearing on fire fees. We’ve been told that the fire fee assessment task force that reconvened recently will recommend that the county for fiscal year 2010-11, which starts Oct. 1., use the current methodology for determining the fee rather than adopt a controversial new method based on building square footage and fire risk. That’s the same recommendation we made recently.

We urge county residents, if they have the time, to attend some of Monday’s meetings and see their local government in action.