Imagine how much easier moving would be if you could have your water and power disconnected and reconnected instantly, with the flip of a switch. Or how much you would save if a utility could alert you to a water leak or electric connection burnout before it happens?

That’s the promise of a new utility management system that could save the city and the public plenty of money and headaches.

Gallupians won’t notice any difference for about a year, because that’s how long it will take to install new electric meters for all customers and information transmission nodes onto a couple dozen utility poles around town.

Right now, the city is operating under the Automated Meter Reading system that requires city staff to drive by customers’ electric and water meters to collect the usage data with a receiver. That’s time consuming, subject to human error and it runs up the fuel bills.

The new system from a British Columbia-based company called Tantalus is designed to transmit information directly from meters and service points in the field to the city’s central control system, in real time.

“We will bring in hundreds of thousands of intervals of data all day long. We’ll use that to be proactive to make the system better, stronger and safer,” Andrew Mitchell, director of utility solutions for Tantalus, told the city council in a presentation Dec. 13. “It is really powerful to be able to see this kind of data on a day-by-day, hour-by-hour basis, from a customer service perspective.”

Staff will be able to see exactly what’s happening in the city’s water and electric systems, from impending system failures to when an individual property’s water system has a leak or a meter connection is about to fry, all the way down to electric service “blinks.”

“It will formulate a grid that turns from green to red [to show] those areas that our electric department specifically needs to target,” Deputy Electric Director Chuck Nourse said. “Right now our system is reactive.”

Staff will be able to connect or disconnect service and create payment plans for customers who fall behind from a computer dashboard. The system will effectively eliminate estimates, which come up when AMR field data is not available for a customer account.

The department will also be able to alert individual customers if their water or power use suddenly spikes. Instead of sticker shock from a higher-than-usual bill, the department will be able to call a customer the day the drain shows up in the system, so they can catch a leak or fault before it racks up big bucks.

About 95% of the city’s water and power meters will be connected. That’s about 8,000 new smart electric meters; the system will work with the 10,000 existing water meters around town.

The new smart meters will be built around computers using the Linux operating system. At installation they will only use about 25% of their capacity, so the city can upgrade to offer features like load management, streetlight control and distribution automation to self-heal the grid, and new capabilities as they become available.

“We simply push it out over the airwaves and your old meter becomes a new meter pretty much instantaneously,” Mitchell said.

“This will require a large up-front cost, but can be completed in about one calendar year,” Nourse told the council.

The whole system will cost about $2.2 million for equipment, installation and training, plus $60,000 a year after that for ongoing use.

The new system will be a boon to the Electric Department, which has been working with about half staff since the pandemic began, Nourse said.

“We’re already in the process of reclassifying them and adding duties,” he said. “This is going to reduce their time in the field by about 80%.”

When they do have to go out into the field, techs will know what they’re looking for based on information in the central system.

“It will greatly assist our crews in locating and detecting problems,” Nourse said. “Every blink, outage – whatever the cause that some of these happen, like if it comes from tree branches rubbing lines – they create something like an electrical signature. We can tell the crews to ‘specifically look around for this’ when they go on a call.”

Possibly the best part for employees and customers is avoiding angry confrontations over higher bills or service disconnections, which will be more efficient and safer all around.

Tantalus has more than 245 utility customers and 3 million endpoints deployed, Mitchell said. The company is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol GRID.

By Holly J. Wagner
Sun Correspondent

A thriving downtown to help businesses, the arts prosper

Since joining Gallup MainStreet Arts & Cultural District in November we have been working to help would-be entrepreneurs create new businesses, attract new businesses to the district, expand the existing businesses by creating a population density in the downtown, and make physical improvements to the public areas to revitalize and redevelop downtown Gallup to make you proud of where you live.

Creating a thriving downtown, of course, is no small task. It requires local leaders, business owners, and community residents to come together to identify our strengths, strategically situate ourselves within the regional economy, and develop a shared vision and identity to sell to the world. Through things like creating quality public spaces, prioritizing local entrepreneurship, emphasizing production, and supporting downtown housing, we can make this a reality.

Activating public spaces creates a sense of excitement and pride in Gallup that can sustain long-term revitalization efforts and promote outside investment in our community. Nationally, MainStreet programs generate $39.70 of private investment money for every public dollar. Dollar for dollar it has been the most successful economic development program created. In Gallup we’re not there yet, but we’ve started moving the needle – last year we generated $13 of private money for every $1 of public investment. We’re well past that number already this year only 5 months into the year and we’re continuing to learn how to bring more investment and density into our downtown.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the annual conference of the National Main Street Center, Inc. Over 1,600 Main Street directors from small towns, mid-sized cities and urban neighborhood business districts shared successes and insights, addressed challenges, and planned for the future of our communities.

The conference affirmed what we’ve been working on and gave us more goals to aspire to. Here’s what we learned and what Gallup MainStreet will continue working to accomplish:

Placemaking – a people-centered approach to transforming public spaces into community places – helps to create a sense of belonging and emotional connection to place. This sense of connection is critical to quality of life and is an important factor in successful talent attraction by helping build a place where people want to be. Gallup MainStreet ACD does this through the planning and designing of new community public spaces. You’ll start to see more of this as the weather gets warmer.

Connection is the single best indicator of a community’s prosperity. A higher level of community attachment – an emotional connection to a place that transcends satisfaction, loyalty, and passion – corresponds with a higher GDP growth. One way GMSACD is promoting this type of connection is to encourage residents and business owners to “buy local.” This helps to build relationships within the community and creates a ripple effect that can include the creation of new jobs.

Economic gardening is an alternative ED model based on the principle that it is entrepreneurs that drive economies, rather than large firms. Every Tuesday morning at 9 am we meet at Gallup Coffee Company to talk through ideas for the community and struggles of local business owners so that we can find solutions together.

Storytelling: Every community needs a storyteller. Working with the City of Gallup’s Tourism Department, GMSACD is working to tell your stories to get the word out about the amazing people who work and live in Gallup.

Use infographics to communicate important, but complicated, points more quickly and easily. I’m just barely a millennial but I’ve bought into the idea that storytelling through graphics is a quick and easy way to get people’s attention. Gallup MainStreet ACD provides free graphic and marketing services to all the interested business downtown.

When faced with the challenge of determining potential re-uses for an empty commercial or industrial building, it can be helpful to “listen to the building.” Does it have a large, reinforced, open floor plan, like, for example, an old printing company? What other types of companies need a large facility with this type of floor? A brewery? A restaurant? GMSACD works with entrepreneurs and existing businesses to find the right use for each building and fill in the vacant spaces downtown.

You need big ideas to create excitement and momentum, but if you actually want to get something accomplished, chunk those big ideas into smaller, more doable parts. For example, we have thousands of talented artists in the area and we want to showcase and support them. It is more feasible for us to start with an artist incubator that can help entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses than it would be to try to open a multi-million-dollar museum to start out. GMSACD works in incremental and visible change to create lasting development that will make you proud to be from Gallup.

Economic development isn’t just oil, gas and coal so don’t overlook the potential of Gallup MainStreet as a partner or an ally in your business development. The boat will go further, faster if everyone is rowing in the same direction.

If you would like to get involved or would like to learn more, please contact us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (505) 399-2890.

By Liz Hannum
Executive Director
MainStreet Arts & Cultural District

A multi-agency effort led to the early morning arrest of alleged wanted murderer Josiah Smith in Gamerco.

The McKinley County Sheriff's Office, Gallup Police Department, and the FBI were able to locate Josiah Smith, 27, from Smith Lake, on Aug. 21 around 7 am.

According to McKinley County Undersheriff James Maiorano, Smith had an outstanding warrant for a murder that was connected to a shooting that happened in Church Rock earlier this year. That case is being handled by the FBI.

Smith was taken into custody without any incident or injury.

On May 17 Smith allegedly shot and killed a man by firing into a window from outside a Church Rock home.

Smith is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. He had his initial appearance in court on Aug. 25. He will be in custody until his dentention hearing, which is scheduled for Aug. 26. If he is convicted, Smith will face a sentence of up to life in prison.

Rating: ««« out of 4 stars

Running Time: 118 min.

Director Denis Villeneuve has been on a great run. His previous films, Sicario, Enemy, and Prisoners have been unique films tackling deeper themes and raising as many questions as they answer. The science-fiction drama Arrival (based on a short story by Ted Chiang) may be the most cerebral of the bunch. Despite focusing on the mysterious appearance of alien spacecraft in locations around the globe and that have a worldwide impact, this tale manages to maintain a small and intimate focus.

The central character is Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguist who is called in as a translator by U.S. Army Captain Weber (Forest Whitaker) after the alien ships arrive. She’s teamed with physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to establish communications and find out why they’ve arrived on our planet. It’s isn’t as easy to understand one another as it seems, leading to consternation on the part of governments around the world.

Amazingly, the film sharply deals with the numerous challenges characters face in simply attempting to make contact, let alone understanding why the extraterrestrials have visited.

Understanding the alien language on a basic level, as well as its many possible interpretations, results in confusion and fear from the military and various factions. It leads nations on a path to war and greatly adds to the tension. This is compelling stuff that builds slowly as events progress and conflict rises.

The photography is also beautiful, capturing the alien ship and its interiors in a plausible way. There isn’t an overabundance of CGI imagery. Obviously, there are plenty of effects, but they’re used in a subtle way.

The camerawork is also effective in its restraint, following its characters from a distance and moving in on events very slowly. It’s a clever technique that almost makes viewers feel like they’re tagging along with the group members as they meet in Army barracks and discuss the next course of action.

Adding to the striking look are the otherworldly creatures. Referred to as Heptapods, they are interesting and memorably rendered, as are the strange gravitational changes that occur within the craft. Characters find themselves off balance and turned around when entering, which in a sense mirrors their emotions after what will be revealed late in the film. The look of the movie is subdued and cool, matching the bittersweet tone and sadness afflicting the main character.

Without getting too specific, this is also a very melancholy effort. Adams effectively navigates some very complex emotions as Banks. Her actions are intercut with footage of her young daughter passing from a terminal illness. And the protagonist’s eventual ability to understand and process the alien language comes with an unexpected cost. Sensitive viewers be warned: the end itself is powerful and packs an emotional wallop.

It’s heady stuff, using themes like language, communication, and the perception of time.  As expected, viewers will likely be left with a lot on their minds afterward.

This is the type of movie that doesn’t explicitly explain the minute details with exposition (although it is certainly clear enough to understand), asking the viewer to consider what they’ve seen and whether or not they might make the same personal choices as the protagonist.

Arrival may seem like a big and epic story, but ultimately it’s told in a very small and personal manner. It’s also a pretty fantastic movie, expertly handled to deliver suspense and, with quiet force, a big emotional punch. This is one unique film that isn’t easily forgotten.

Visit: cinemastance.com

By Glenn Kay
For the Sun