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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - September 28, 2015 - UBCITY OF AZUSA MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE AZUSA UTILITY BOARD/CITY COUNCIL MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 — 6:30 P.M. Chairman: Edward J. Alvarez Vice -Chairman: Angel A. Carrillo Boardmember: Joseph Romero Rocha Boardmember: Uriel Edward Macias Boardmember: Robert Gonzales Secretary: Jeffrey Lawrence Cornejo, Jr. 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 (ALW) Conference Room, located at 729 North Azusa Avenue, Azusa, California. Chairman Alvarez called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. Call to Order ' Pledge to the flag was led by Mr. Charles Alvarez. Flag Salute ROLL CALL: Roll call was taken by Secretary Cornejo. Boardmember Carrillo joined the meeting at 6:32 Roll Call p.m., and Boardmember Macias at 6:35 p.m. after roll call. PRESENT: BOARDMEMBERS: ROCHA, MACIAS, GONZALES, CARRILLO, ALVAREZ ABSENT: BOARDMEMBERS: NONE ALSO PRESENT Also Present Elected Officials: Secretary Cornejo. Staff Members: City Manager Butzlaff, City Attorney Ferre, Utilities Director Morrow, Assistant Director of Resource Management Lehr, Assistant Director of Electric Operations Langit, Administration and Financial Services Manager Johnson, Utility Program Specialist Reid, Engineering Associate Barbosa, Police Chief Gonzalez, Administrative Analyst Holmes, Storekeeper Alvarez and Administrative Technician Juarez. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Public Part None given. UTILITIES DIRECTOR COMMENTS Utilities Director 'Utilities Director Morrow announced that staff is proposing to underground a portion of an electric circuit Comments near Vincent Avenue and Gladstone Street, which has been repeatedly hit by cars and trucks causing the nearby businesses to lose power. 0 UTILITITY BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Chairman Alvarez stated that he was contacted by a resident that received a warning for water run-off and watering on the wrong day. The resident also provided photos of City Hall and Memorial Park showing water waste and excess water run-off. Utilities Director Morrow responded that the photos have been forwarded to the appropriate City Official for consideration and that even City departments are subject to citation for failing to comply with mandatory water restrictions. In this case, the photo of the resident's property showed an overspray which is why a warning was given. The ALW department is not obligated to issue warnings under the Drought Ordinance but they generally do and did in this case. A problem with watering on the wrong day is that it makes it difficult for ALW to monitor compliance with watering limits. In response to a question posed by Boardmember Gonzales, Utilities Director Morrow stated that the Drought Ordinance does not define specifically what constitutes a "rain event" and hence it is judgement call by the individuals that do the drought enforcement. Over 1,000 citations and fines have been issued and very few individuals have provided feedback to the department. Chairman Alvarez also addressed his concerns about the amount of dry dirt in the area where the food booths will be located for the upcoming Golden Days Carnival at Memorial Park. He suggested watering the area before the carnival in order to keep the dust from being in inconvenience to those eating at the event. Utilities Director Morrow responded that an exemption process in the Drought Ordinance allows extra watering for qualifying reasons, which he believes this instance will qualify for. CONSENT CALENDAR: Moved by Boardmember Gonzales, seconded by Boardmember Macias, to approve Consent Calendar Items D-1 through D-9, by the following vote of the Board: YES: BOARDMEMBERS: ROCHA, MACIAS, GONZALES, CARRILLO, ALVAREZ NO: BOARDMEMBERS: NONE 1. The minutes of the regular meeting of July 27, 2015, were approved as written. Board Member Comments Consent Calendar 2. The contract with RT Lawrence was amended and extended by two years and the issuance of a Minutes contract purchase order to RT Lawrence in the amount of $21,900.00 in year one and $18,100 in year two was approved. RT Lawrence Contract 3. The Notice of Completion for CIP Project No. LD2015-2 for the Furnishing and Installation of Underground Electric Substructures at Citrus Crossing to serve the electric vehicle charging station was approved, the Mayor was authorized to execute the document on behalf of the City and the City Notice of Clerk was authorized to submit the Notice of Completion for recording. Completion, Project 4. The issuance of a Request for Proposals (RFP) to qualified consulting firms for the update and LD2015-2 amendment of the Azusa Light & Water's Urban Water Management Plan was approved. RFP, Water 5. The 2015 Azusa Light & Water's Water Master Plan was approved and adopted. Mngmt Plan 6. The Professional Services Agreement with Black & Veatch for Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Water Plan assistance through March 31, 2016 was approved. Black & 7. The Specifications for a 60 Foot Double Bucket Hybrid Truck for the Electric Division was approved Veatch Agmt and staff was authorized to advertise and solicit bids from vendors. Bid, Double 8. The Contract awarded to MJ Starlite Inc. for urgent installation of underground electric conduits along Bucket Truck Point O' Woods Drive, South of Sierra Madre Avenue was ratified. 09/28/2015 PAGE TWO MJ Starlite Contract 9. The plan and specifications ED2015-4 for Project LD2015-4 to Furnish and Install Underground Project Electric Substructures along Vincent Avenue South of Gladstone Street was approved and staff was LD201 S-4, authorized to advertise the project and solicit formal bids. Plan and Specs ' SCHEDULED ITEMS Scheduled Item Adopt Resolution Approving an Electric Rate Schedule Applicable to DC Fast Charging of Electric Reso UB -14 - Vehicles (EV). 2015, Electric Rate Schedule Utilities Director Morrow presented the item stating that ALW recently completed the installation of a DC Fast Charger at Citrus Crossing which was funded by a CEC matching grant of about $50,000 and ALW supplemental funds. A rate schedule was developed and staff proposed that the Utility Board set a price for DC Fast Charging Service to enable recovery of electricity costs, other O&M expenses and capital/installation costs. The following approaches can be used to set the rate/price: Fixed price for a charge, charge by KWH consumed, variable charge by time -of -day and free charging. A rate survey was conducted and the rates vary from free to 59 cents/kWh. Staff recommended a rate of 35 cents/kWH be set to begin on January 1, 2016, which is based on an estimate of 4 cars with a depleted battery per day, and free charging until then to encourage use of the fast charger. The rate tariff also included the ability to increase the price every 3-6 months as needed for the purposes of competitiveness, economics, evaluating different price levels, changes in market price for electricity and/or to evaluate time -of -use pricing. He thanked Assistant Director of Electric Operations Langit and his staff for their work to implement the grant and getting the fast charger installed at Citrus Crossing. Staff is in the final stages of completing the billing and accounting portion of the project so that users can pay by credit card. 'Assistant Director of Electric Operations Langit expressed his thanks and gratitude to the owner of the shopping center, Mr. Andy Trachman for allowing the use of his property. Utilities Director Morrow and Assistant Director of Electric Operations Langit responded to questions posed by Vice -Chairman Carrillo stating that only 1 vehicle can be charged at a time, the charger is handicap accessible. There was discussion held regarding limitations to the length of time that individuals are allowed to park at the charging station. Signage at the location encourages electric vehicle drivers to only park for 30 minutes at a time, but as of now there is no legal obligation to move your vehicle after the 30 minutes have passed. Data regarding the length of time that a vehicle is connected to the charger can be made available for monitoring purposes. There is a service provider that has a rate mechanism which adds an additional cost for the vehicles that are overstaying, which can be an option at a later time. Should the City wish to limit the parking time, an Ordinance will have to be adopted. Boardmember Rocha offered a Resolution entitled: A RESOLUTION OF THE UTILITY BOARD/CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA CALIFORNIA, APPROVING ELECTRIC UTILITY RATE SCHEDULE DC "ELECTRIC VEHICLE DC FAST CHARGING SERVICE" FOR PROVIDING PUBLIC CHARGING TO ELECTRIC VECHICLES USING A DC FAST CHARGER Moved by Boardmember Rocha, seconded by Vice -Chairman Carrillo, to adopt Resolution No. UB -14- 2015 approving an electric vehicle public charging rate schedule applicable to utility operated Direct Current (DC) charging equipment, by the following vote of the Board: YES: BOARDMEMBERS: ROCHA, MACIAS, GONZALES, CARRILLO NO: BOARDMEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: BOARDMEMBERS: ALVAREZ 09/28/2015 PAGE THREE STAFF REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS Fiscal Year 2014-2015 Fourth Quarter Budget Reports for Water and Electric Funds Utilities Director Morrow presented the Year End 2015 Financial Report. Water Revenues broke even on a cash flow basis; revenues are at 96% of budget; O&M Expenses are at 94 % of budget; retail water sales are down 12.0% over the past year; debt service coverage is 1.40; and cash reserves are at $21.6 Million. The Electric sales are up 3.0% compared with last year; the cash flow is positive; O&M Expenses are at 93% of annual budget; electric revenue is at 101% of budget; Debt services coverage of 8.08; and cash reserves are at $20.3 Million. Water Bond Refinance Results Budget Reports Water Bond Refinance Utilities Director Morrow presented the Water Bond Refinance Results which closed on August 18, 2015. Results The 2006 bonds, which had an outstanding balance of $51.18 million, were refinanced; there was a $3.65 million cash reserve which was used to write down the outstanding balance; the interest rate was brought down from 4.97% to 3.99%; there is a 12.3% net present value; there will be a savings of about $0.5 million per year, which is about $13.8 million over the next 24 years. Customer Service Call Management System Utilities Director Morrow discussed the new Customer Service Call Management System (CIS) which was launched February 2015; the system routes calls through the intemet using "voice over internal" protocol (V OIP); the CIS system enables callers to be matched with the representative that has the needed skills such as language, payment extensions and opening & closing accounts; supervisors are able to see who is logged in and taking calls; the system displays what the caller is calling about and uses caller ID to automatically pull up account information; the "service level" is measured and displayed to all CSR's constantly and indicates what percent of calls were answered in 30 seconds, which is the department's target; all incoming calls are recorded, for the protection of the employees, and can be easily retrieved; callers are provided with wait times and may request to be called back should they not want to remain on hold; a "post call" customer service survey was added in June 2015 and results indicate a high degree of satisfaction, 94.2% in the first month. Utilities Director Morrow and Administrative Analyst Alicia Holmes responded to questions posed by Chairman Alvarez stating that periodically there are issues with VOIP if the City's network is down, but there are procedures in place where the phones will be reverted back to the desktop system until the network is running again; there is never a point when customer service is not taking calls. HERO/Califomia First Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Programs Update The PACE program allows individuals to make improvements to their property and financing is provided by bond issues. The Los Angeles County PACE Program offers two providers to the City of Azusa, Home Energy Renovation Opportunity (HERO) and CalifomiaFirst. These two providers have been thoroughly vetted by the County and are credible. Staff has been approached by other PACE providers, but are comfortable with the current providers. Utilities Director Morrow answered questions posed by Vice -Chairman Carrillo, stating that the bond issue size can grow depending on the number of projects within Los Angeles County's jurisdiction. There are many different pricing structures among the other PACE providers but from an economic standpoint, they are comparable. Nicole Ocoha, representative for HERO confirmed that the program has not received negative feedback. Utilities Director Morrow further responded to questions posed by V ice -Chairman Carrillo stating that 127 projects have been approved for funding in Azusa. 09/28/2015 PAGE FOUR Customer Service Call Management System HEROIPACE Programs Update Annual Energy Efficiency in California's Public Power Sector -A 2015 Status Update Annual Energy Efficiency Utilities Director Morrow announced that the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) noted that out of Status Update smaller publicly owned utilities, ALW was one oftwo that met the national best Practice which is energy '23 savings equal to I% of sales. 2014 Annual Summary Inspection Reports (GO 165 and 174) Annual Summary Utilities Director Morrow provided information regarding General Orders 165 and 174 which are orders Inspection from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) which oversees the inspection of electric facilities Reports by public and private utilities. The Electric Division performs annual inspections of electric facilities such as circuit and street light patrols, infrared inspections, overhead and underground visual inspections, intrusive wood pole inspections, and substation reviews; the results have been provided to the CPUC. Assistant Director of Electric Operations Langit also added that in 2013, a "spy glass" was inserted in the circuit breakers which allow staff to inspect it without opening it and exposing the high voltage equipment. AB 939 Annual Report for 2014 AB939 Annual Report Utilities Director Morrow provided information regarding the AB 939 report which state law requires be Fled annually. The state's diversion requirement allows up to 6.3 pounds of waste per person per day and the City did 4.8 pounds per person per day. The City is required to divert 50% of waste and overall, Azusa achieved a 61.9% waste diversion level. Final 2015 California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA) Legislative Update CMUA Legislative 'The final 2015 Legislative Report was summarized for the board and it was announced that SBI 10 (de Update Leon) which requires 50% renewables by 2030, it is currently at 33% in 2020, and a doubling of energy efficiency in existing buildings was passed. Drought Update Drought Update Utilities Director Morrow provided an update on the drought, stating that the City is meeting targets of 20% which began in June 2015. The drought penalty was implemented in September to ensure that the City met the State's requirement of 20% and also give customers the incentive to conserve. The Utility Board recessed to closed session at 7:26 P.M. to discuss the following: CLOSED SESSION Closed Session CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNCIL — ANTICIPATED LITIGATION Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (4) of subdivision (d) of Government Code Section 54956.9 No reportable action taken. The Board reconvened at 7:45 PM following the Closed Session and City Attorney Ferre announced that there was no reportable action taken in closed session. ADJOURNMENT Adjourn ' It was consensus of the Utility Board to adjourn the meeting. 09/28/2015 PAGE FIVE i TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 7:45 P.M. C1^ft/EPt4,WCRETARY/ NEXT RESOLUTION NO. UB -15-2015. Next Regular Meeting: October 26, 2015. 09/28/2015 PAGE SIX