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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - February 24, 2014 - UB jar . £ 1 a AZUSA LIGHT it,WATER CITY OF AZUSA MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE AZUSA UTILITY BOARD/CITY COUNCIL AND THE SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE UTILITY BOARD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24,2014—6:33 P.M. The Utility Board/City Council of the City of Azusa met in regular session, and the City Council and the Utility Board met in special session, at the above date and time, at the Azusa Light and Water(AL&W)Conference Room, located at 729 N. Azusa Avenue, Azusa, California. Chairman Macias called the meeting to order;he addressed the Secretary to report that as of the date of this Call to Order meeting, he resumes his duties as Chairman of the Utility Board, as he is back from active duty in Afghanistan, and thanked everyone for their work and for assisting with his duties in his absence. Pledge to the flag was led by City Clerk/Secretary Cornejo Flag Salute ROLL CALL: Roll call was taken by City Clerk/Secretary Cornejo. Roll Call PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS/BOARDMEMBERS: GONZALES, CARRILLO, MACIAS, ALVAREZ ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS/BOARDMEMBERS: ROCHA ALSO PRESENT Also Present Elected Officials: City Clerk/Secretary Cornejo. Staff Members: City Manager Makshanoff, City Attorneys Ferre and Martinez, Director of Public Works/Assistant City Manager Haes,Utilities Director Morrow,Finance Director Paragas,Police Captain Chavez, Assistant Director of Electric Operations Langit, Assistant Director of Resource Management Lehr, Assistant Director Customer Care Solutions Kalscheuer, Assistant Director Water Operations Anderson,Administration and Finance Services Graham, Assistant/Deputy City Clerk Hernandez. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Public None was given. Participation UTILITIES DIRECTOR COMMENTS Director's Utilities Director Morrow addressed the meeting to welcome back Chairman Macias. Comments UTILITIES BOARD MEMBERS COMMENTS Boardmembers None given. Comments CONSENT CALENDAR:It was moved by Boardmember Gonzales,seconded by Boardmember Carrillo, Consent Cal to approve Consent Calendar Items D-1 to D-3, by the following vote of the Board: YES: BOARDMEMBERS: GONZALES, CARRILLO, MACIAS, ALVAREZ NOES: BOARDMEMBERS:NONE ABSENT: BOARDMEMBERS: ROCHA 1. The minutes of the regular meeting of January 27, 2014, were approved as written. Minutes 2. The following Resolution No. 14-C10 was adopted and entitled: Reso 14-C10, Accepting A RESOLUTION OF THE UTILITY BOARD/CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA Easement ACCEPTING A CERTAIN GRANT OF PERMANENT EASEMENT AND DIRECTING THE RECORDING THEREOF. Azusa Land Reclamation, Inc., Gladstone Street between Mira Loma Drive and Vincent Avenue. 3. The Contract with Pre-Fab Builder, Inc. of Fullerton, CA to supply and construct a pre- Contract engineered shed at the Gladstone Water Yard for protection of the Water Division's hydroexcavator w/Pre-Fab trucks in the amount of$42,821.00, including tax,delivery,and erection of the building,was approved Builder SCHEDULED ITEMS Sched Items Declaration of Phase III Water Shortage Restrictions. Declaration of Phase III Water Utilities Director Morrow addressed the item stating that 2013 was the worst water drought year on record; Shortage in January 2014,the Governor declared a drought,requesting to reduce consumption by 20%;the dams are Restrictions at their minimal level, the Canyon Basin for this time of year is low, the State Water Project(SWP) is currently set at 0%and snow pack is below 10%;AL&W has been in business since 1899,and it currently services parts of the Cities of Covina,Glendora,Irwindale,West Covina and County Areas,in addition to Azusa; Azusa's wells are located at the Canyon Basin, those wells provide water to the Hsu Water Filtration Plant;the State Water Project(SWP)also provides water to the treatment plant that comes down from Northern California through the Four Cities' foothill pipeline; the wells typically provide approximately 80%of the water needs and the filtration plant the other 20%;Azusa withdraws water from the smaller Canyon Basin,next to the Main Water Basin,it is recharged by the 3 dams located in this area, Morris Dam, San Gabriel Dam and Cogswell Dam,the San Gabriel Valley(SGV)Mountains/Rivers,and the SWP;Azusa has paper water rights that allows to withdraw water from the Main Basin,but it is limited by the hydrology of its well locations,water travels by gravity and it is expensive as it requires maximum energy to carry it uphill;since 2007,no water has been purchased from the Metropolitan Water District(via USGVMWD); during fiscal years 2009 to 2012, there was a 20% consumption reduction due to conservation, since then sales have gone up approximately 10%;Phase II is currently in effect,customers have been conserving as much as possible,but at least 10%additional conservation is needed;he explained the drought Phases I thru IV and staff recommended to move to Phase III, starting May 1, 2014, for mandatory conservation measures and rate adjustments; 50%-60% of water consumption is landscape watering;some communities currently prohibit outside watering;he showed the rates for Phase III and the penalties associated with over usage. Discussion was held between staff and Boardmember Carrillo regarding how long can the implementation A. Carrillo of Phase III be delayed in hopes that rain comes soon; letters and educational information will go out to Comments customers by the end of March. Discussion was held between staff and Chairman Macias regarding current rebates for water conservation U. Macias landscaping, reclaimed water for outside watering, the various water associations to which AL&W is a Comments member, and the possibility of water desalination programs. 02/24/2014 PAGE TWO It was moved by Boardmember Carrillo, seconded by Boardmember Gonzales, that pursuant to Azusa Approve Phase Municipal Code Section 78-506,and Rule No. 21 of Azusa Light&Water Rules&Regulations,to ratify III Water the Director of Utilities to declare that Phase III Water Shortage to go into effect on May 1, 2014,by the Conservation following vote of the Board: YES: BOARDMEMBERS: GONZALES, CARRILLO,MACIAS, ALVAREZ NOES: BOARDMEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: BOARDMEMBERS: ROCHA STAFF REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS Rprts/Comm FY 13-14 Second Quarter Budget Reports for Water and Electric Funds. FY13-14 Second Quarter Utilities Director Morrow presented the second quarter budget report as follows: Budget Review Water: $1.4 million positive cash flow;annual revenues are at 55%and expenses at 45%;a slight reduction in sales;debt service coverage was tight due to the bonds for the water treatment plant;reserves are at a$22 million level. Electric: $477 thousand positive cash flow; annual revenues 53%, expenses 48%; a slight reduction in sales; excellent debt coverage; reserves are at$19 million, better than expected. Report on study evaluating Athens Services' increased costs to transfer waste to more distant Report on facilities/landfills following closure of Puente Hills Landfill. Athens Rate Increase Study Assistant Director Customer Care Solutions Kalscheuer gave an update on the item, stating that Puente Hills Landfill closed the at end of October 2013, and staff worked with Athens to find a new location to take waste; there were two options, El Sobrante by Waste Management, and Mid Valley Landfill by Athens,yard waste is now being taken to a new location at Recycled Wood Products,in Pomona;the Board requested from staff a study of Athens incremental costs vs.El Sobrante;a consultant to do the study was approved by Athens,they signed a confidentiality agreement with the consultant,and currently they have draft figures, which we estimate to present to the Board at the March, 2014, Meeting. THE UTILITY BOARD RECESSED AT 7:14 P.M. AND RECONVENED AT 8:12 P.M.TO GO Recess, JOINTLY WITH THE AZUSA CITY COUNCIL,INTO CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS THE Reconvene FOLLOWING: CLOSED SESSION Closed Session CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR Pursuant to California Government Code,Section Labor 54957.6 Negotiations City Negotiators: City Manager Makshanoff AMMA Organizations: AMMA(Azusa City Employees Association). 02/24/2014 PAGE TWO CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL-ANTICIPATED LITIGATION- Government Anticipated Code, Section 54956.9(d)(2). Litigation 1 potential case: Verizon v. City of Azusa/Azusa Utility Verizon v. Azusa The City Council and the Utility Board reconvened at 7:50 P.M., City Attorneys Martinez and Ferre, announced that there was no reportable action taken in Closed session. 02/24/2014 PAGE THREE It was consensus of the City Council/Utility Board to adjourn the meetings. Adjourn TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 8:50 P.M. dr // ,01°- liarT ECRETAR / V NEXT RESOLUTION NO.2014-C14. *Indicates Boardmember Rocha was Absent. 02/24/2014 PAGE FOUR