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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - January 26, 2015 - UBAZUS.A UGHT A NATEt CITY OF AZUSA MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE AZUSA UTILITY BOARD/CITY COUNCIL MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015 — 6:30 P.M. The Utility Board/City Council of the City of Azusa met in regular session, at the above date and time, in the Azusa Light and Water (AL&W) Conference Room, located at 729 N. Azusa Avenue, Azusa, California. Chairman Gonzales called the meeting to order. Pledge to the flag was led by Mr. Jorge V. Rosales. Call to Order Flag Salute ROLL CALL: Roll call was taken by Secretary Cornejo. Boardmember Carrillo joined the meeting at 6:33 Roll Call P.M. after roll call. PRESENT: BOARDMEMBERS: MACIAS, CARRILLO, ROCHA, GONZALES ABSENT: BOARDMEMBERS:ALVAREZ ALSO PRESENT Elected Officials: Secretary Cornejo. Staff Members: Interim City Manager Penman, City Attorney Ferre, Utilities Director Morrow, Police Captain Hunt, Assistant Director of Resource Management Lehr, Assistant Director Customer Care Solutions Kalscheuer, Assistant Director of Water Operations Anderson, Administration and Financial Services Manager Johnson, Utility Program Specialist Reid, Assistant Director Electric Operations Langit, Senior Administrative Technician Cawte, Assistant/Deputy City Clerk Hernandez. Also Present: Mr. Troy Butzlaff who will begin employment on February 17, 2015, as City Manager for the City of Azusa. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Mr. Jorge V. Rosales addressed Consent Calendar Items: D-5, Notice of Completion (NOC), he learned from staff that State Law changed in 2012, to reduce the percentage amount of the payoff retention, until after the NOC has been filed with the Los Angeles County, from 10% to 5%; D-6, T -Mobile Lease Agreement, he questioned if the Planning Commission reviewed the site and design of the tower; D-7, selection of Stetson Engineers, he questioned if it was the sole source as no Request for Proposals (RFP) was conducted. Also Present Public Part J. Rosales Comments ' Utilities Director Morrow requested that Consent Item D-6, T -Mobile Lease Agreement, be pulled from the G. Morrow agenda for further review by staff; he responded to Mr. Rosales comments stating that T -Mobile prefers Comments to secure approval of the agreement prior to obtaining the required permits from Planning, in order to avoid unnecessary procedures should the agreement not be approved; Stetson Engineers are the most qualified for the project as they are the engineers for the Water Master and the Four Cities Group, and also have knowledge of the water quality in the San Gabriel Basin and the discharge of water in the aquifer. UTILITIES DIRECTOR COMMENTS Util Director Comments Utilities Director Morrow gave the Board an update on the following: the Columbia 2 Solar Farm located in the Mohave Desert went online in December 2014 and is now operating, it is the first of 6 or 7 farms that are planned for the next 3 to 4 years to help meet the green renewable obligations; there was the need to install a special drainage system by the water treatment plant in order to remove solids such as dirt, from the water, it consists of three layers of filtration to help the water collection; staff addressed concerns from residents regarding poor lighting at Russell St. and Azusa Ave., a new light pole was installed and a damaged intermittent light at one of the poles was replaced; he wished everyone a Happy New Year. Interim City Manager Penman introduced Mr. Troy Butzlaff who will begin employment with the City as D. Penman the City Manager, on February 17, 2015. Comments Mr. Troy Butzlaff thanked the Board for their confidence in him, he gave a brief description of his T. Butzlaff experience with the water treatment plant from when he worked for the City of Palm Springs, and he looks Comments forward to working with everyone. UTILITY BOARD MEMBERS COMMENTS None given. Boardmembers Comments CONSENT CALENDAR: Moved by Boardmember Rocha, seconded by Boardmember Carrillo, to Consent Cal approve Consent Calendar Items D-1 to D-11, with the exception of Item D-6 which was pulled from the Agenda, by the following vote of the Board: 'YES: BOARDMEMBERS: MACIAS, CARRILLO, ROCHA, GONZALES ABSENT: BOARDMEMBERS: ALVAREZ 1. The minutes of the regular meetings of November 24, 2014, were approved as written. Minutes 2. The following Resolution No. UB -1-2015, accepting the Grant of Permanent Easement for Water Resolution Utility purposes from property owner, Rosedale Partners 11, LLC, for Tract No. 54057-21 portions of UB -1-2015 Lot C and E in the City of Azusa, was adopted and entitled: Easement Rosedale A RESOLUTION OF THE UTILITY BOARD/CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA Partners ACCEPTING A CERTAIN GRANT OF PERMANENT EASEMENT AND DIRECTING THE RECORDING THEREOF. and the City Clerk was authorized to file said easement documents with the Office of the Los Angeles County Recorder. 3. The following Resolution No. UB -2-2015, accepting the Grant of Permanent Easement for Water Resolution Utility purposes from property owner, Tacos El Gavilan, located at 887 S. Azusa Avenue in the City of UB -2-2015 Azusa, was adopted and entitled: Easement Tacos EI A RESOLUTION OF THE UTILITY BOARD/CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA Gavilan ACCEPTING A CERTAIN GRANT OF PERMANENT EASEMENT AND DIRECTING THE RECORDING THEREOF. ' and the City Clerk was authorized to file said easement documents with the office of the Los Angeles County Recorder. 01/26/2015 PAGE TWO 4. The Notice of Completion (NOC) from Pre -Fab Builders, Inc., for the completion of the Truck Storage NOC Shed Shed Installation Project W-276 at the Gladstone Yard was accepted, and the City Clerk's Office was Installation directed to execute the Notice of Completion, and record and file it at the Office of the Los Angeles Gladstone Yard Recorder. 'County 5. The Notice of Completion (NOC) from Los Angeles Engineering Inc, for the completion of Project NOC Drying W-281 Installation of Sludge Drying Bed Improvements at the Hsu Canyon Water Treatment Plant Bed Impr Hsu was accepted, and the City Clerk's Office was directed to execute the Notice of Completion, and Water Plant record and file it at the Office of the Los Angeles County Recorder. 6. The Lease of City Property at the Dalton Reservoir site to T -Mobile to install a cell phone tower, was Item Pulled pulled from the agenda. 7. The selection of Stetson Engineers to prepare a discharge permit application necessary to test pump the Pump Aspan Azusa Light & Water Aspan Well was approved. Well 8. The formal sealed bids in accordance with AMC Section 2-522, sub -section C, were waived, and the Purchase 2 purchase of one (1) Ford F150 pickup truck for $22,333.01 and one (1) Ford F-350 pickup truck for Trucks $38,313.96 was awarded to Downtown Ford Sales under the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS Contract No. 1-08-23-20) in the total amount of $60,646.97 including tax and delivery, was approved. 9. The purchase a 14 -inch Bailey sleeve valve for the Interconnection Line between the San Gabriel Interconnection Valley Municipal Water District (SGVMWD) and the Hsu -Canyon Water Treatment Plant, Project to Water W-280 was approved, and the following Resolution No. UB -3-2015 was adopted and entitled: Treatment Plant with ' A RESOLUTION OF THE UTILITY BOARD/CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA SGVMWD AUTHORIZING A BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR FY 2014/15 BUDGET IN THE WATER UTILITY FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $170,000 10. Staff was authorized to renew the energy exchange and firming arrangement for San Juan Unit 3 with APS Renew Arizona Public Service Company (APS) for the period of February 1, 2015 through December 31, Agreement for 2015, and the Director of Utilities was authorized to execute the associated final agreement with APS. San Juan Unit 11. The following Resolution No. UB -4-2015, accepting a Grant of Easement from Thalia Corona, Resolution property owner at 547 East 10th Street in City of Azusa, was adopted and entitled: UB -4-205 Easement 547 A RESOLUTION OF THE UTILITY BOARD/CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA E. 10th ACCEPTING A CERTAIN GRANT OF PERMANENT EASEMENT AND DIRECTING THE RECORDING THEREOF. and the City Clerk's Office was authorized to file said easement documents with the Office of the Los Angeles County Recorder. Sched Items SCHEDULEDITEMS Professional Services Agreement with Invoice Cloud and Proposal by ystem & Software for Electronic PSA Payment Payment Processing, and Contract Amendment with Infosend to Effect Change in Payment Vendors and Processing & 'Continue Bill Print and Mail Services. Bill Payment Assistant Director of Customer Care and Solutions Kalscheuer presented the item stating that AL&W C. Kalscheuer currently contracts with two outside vendors to process electronic payments; Infosend provides background Introduces Item for web payment through checking or savings account as well as bill print and mailing services; Paymentus 01/26/2015 PAGE THREE provides credit/debit card payments over the website and telephone; payments are logged by their independent systems, they send them to AL&W to download, and the process can take up to 2 days for the account to be updated; Paymentus charges a $3.25 fee per transaction to residents, and $3.75 to 'commercial, up to $500.00 per month; in addition AL&W is not set up to accept credit or debit card payments over the counter; staff researched and found a company that is partnered with the current AL& W Systems & Software vendor, it offers payments over the Web, by telephone, over the counter credit/debit swipe card, and all of those types of payments can be integrated into the system in real time; staff is proposing that AL&W absorb the convenience fee for credit card transactions; municipal utilities were surveyed, and 9 out of 10 do not charge a convenience fee; credit card companies offer a convenience fee discount to utilities, AL&W would pay approximately $34,800 per year, compared to $61,500 that customers currently pay; the cost to implement a new module in the billing system that works hand in hand with the AL&W Webconnect, is $30,750.00 initial fee, plus $2,000.00 annual maintenance fee; staff is also proposing an amendment to the InfoSend agreement to phase out the electronic services and keep the bill print and mailing service only; staff recently notified Paymentus that the contract will not be extended and is going through 30 day notice phases that will roll over until credit card payments can be processed using the new vendor; potentially other programs can evolve such as placing a kiosk inside or outside of the lobby to assist customers on Fridays, and a mobile application could be connected to the Web product; staff is transitioning to modernization to make it more convenient for customers at a lower cost and also process payments quickly through the counter cashiers. Moved by Boardmember Carrillo, seconded by Boardmember Macias, to approve a professional services agreement with Invoice Cloud and the proposal by Systems & Software for electronic payment processing, and to adopt Amendment No. 2 with InfoSend to discontinue electronic payment processing and continue bill print and mail services, by the following vote of the Board: YES: BOARDMEMBERS: MACIAS, CARRILLO, ROCHA, GONZALES ' ABSENT: BOARDMEMBERS:ALVAREZ STAFF REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS Draft Recovery Plan for the Santa Ana Sucker: Utilities Director Morrow informed the Board that Azusa's water rights in the San Gabriel Canyon River (SGCR) are being jeopardized by the proposed Santa Ana Sucker Recovery Plan. The Department of Fish and Wild Life did not meet and confer with affected entities of a new recovery plan for the Santa Ana Sucker, a tiny fish that lives in the SGCR and is endangered; they are looking at significant changes to AL&W and other utilities ability to divert water from the SGCR, for Azusa it is the source of water for the treatment plant; the L.A. County submitted comments to the Department of Fish and Wild Life regarding such plan, but they have not received a response from them nor have they made an effort to meet with the affected agencies on the issue; the Water Master has expressed concerns, AL&W submitted a letter with comments that are similar to the ones submitted regarding the NRA; the letter introduces the agency, its water rights, and expresses the concerns should the water patterns in the river change. In addition, staff was notified, by the office of Congresswoman Napolitano that Congresswoman Chu will be re -introducing the National Recreation Area (NRA) proposal in the area that was recently named a National Monument; staff feels that the NRA may be better proposal, the water companies were able to work with Congress on protective language for water rights, and the National Monument stripped that protection. Employee Recycling Program: 'Utilities Director Morrow stated that Azusa does a variety of community recycling programs; AL&W staff met with City Department representatives to propose an internal recycling program as suggested by CalRecycle; the program is funding through AB 939, and special handling devices and barrels will be facilitated; Senior Administrative Technician Cawte stated that the annual recycling calendars will include 01/26/2015 PAGE FOUR Staff Rprts/ Communic Draft Recover Plan Santa Ana Sucker Employee Recovery Program L all the programs scheduled for the year, such as Green and Clean Month, Mulch and Compost Giveaway, and the Household Hazardous Waste collection event. Update on Utility Modernization Project and Video: Utilities Director Morrow stated that staff conducted a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Utility Modernization Project, 6 proposals were received and the top 3 responsive finalists were interviewed; the project will benefit electric and water, as staff is trying to better understand the location of the losses on the water and electric systems; with this project there are several things that staff can find out about the water network and the demands and timeframes of the customers; once real time two way communication can be accessed from the meter devices, staff can check water pressure, electric voltage, and customers can be informed of their usage and of ideas on how to use wisely. Restaurant Water Conservation Posters: Utility Modernization Project and Video Restaurant Water Utilities Director Morrow informed the Board that staff has provided water conservation posters to Conservation approximately 18 sit down restaurants. Posters Boardmember Macias addressed the dirty sidewalks on the public right-of-way in front of businesses, and asked that staff look into the possibility of cleaning them with water pressure; Interim Director Penman responded that water pressure is not allowed, unless the water can be captured to avoid going into the public drainage system, and the businesses are not equipped for this process; however, he will meet with staff to figure out the best way to clean the sidewalks. CLOSED SESSION Closed Session The Utility Board recessed to Closed Session at 7:15 P.M. to discuss the following: CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL -ANTICIPATED LITIGATION. Significant exposure Anticipated to litigation pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (4) of subdivision (d) of Government Code Section Litigation 54956.9. One Potential Case. Adjourn The Utility Board reconvened at 7:22 P.M.; City Attorney Ferre announced that there was no reportable action taken in Closed Session. Moved by Boardmember Caffillo, seconded by Boardmember Rocha, and *unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting. TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 7:22 P.M. �_ aM / ;W"; / NEXT RESOLUTION NO. UB -5-2015. Next Meeting: February 23, 2015, 6:30 P.M. * Denotes Boardmember Alvarez was absent. 01/26/2015 PAGE FIVE