Woodbury council adopts ordinance exempting agricultural grain dryer from CenterPoint franchise fee

The Woodbury City Council on April 22 unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 2077, amending Chapter 9 (Franchises) to exempt agricultural grain-dryer customers from a CenterPoint Energy franchise fee in Schedule A.

City staff said the exemption responds to a change in CenterPoint’s tariff that transformed an annual fee for a single grain-dryer operation from roughly $90 to more than $1,000 by making that tariff charge apply year-round. Angela Gorrell of city staff explained that the dryer operates only one to two months per year and that staff confirmed it is the city's sole grain-dryer customer affected by the tariff change.

"We did confirm it is the only such operation in the city, so it's a very narrow exemption we would be providing," Gorrell said during the public hearing.

Staff told the council the change must proceed by ordinance and include statutory notice to the utility; if approved the exemption would take effect Aug. 1, 2026 to allow CenterPoint to update its billing. The council had no public green-sheet comments on the item and closed the hearing before moving to adopt the ordinance.

Council member (4) moved to adopt Ordinance No. 2077, and the motion was seconded and approved by roll-call vote. Council members Santini, Stafford, Wilson, Morris and Mayor Burt recorded 'Aye.' The ordinance affects only the single exemption and does not alter the franchise fee schedule amounts for other customers.

City staff said the franchise-fee revenue funds the Parks and Trails Replacement Fund and other capital programs, and that staff reviewed the impact on the capital improvement plan before recommending the limited exemption.

The council’s action does not change the franchise fee amounts in general but adds the exemption class for agricultural grain-dryer customers beginning Aug. 1, 2026.