HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-23-2023, Minutes Special MeetingCITY OF AZUSA
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE AZUSA UTILITY BOARD AND
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2023– 6:30 P.M.
Chairperson/Mayor Pro-Tem: Dennis Beckwith
Vice Chairperson/Councilmember: Edward J. Alvarez
Board Member/Mayor: Robert Gonzales
Board Member/Councilmember: Andrew N. Mendez
Board Member/Councilmember: Jesse Avila, Jr.
Secretary/City Clerk: Jeffrey Lawrence Cornejo, Jr.
The Utility Board of the City of Azusa met in regular session, at the above date and time, in the Azusa
Auditorium located at 729 N. Azusa Avenue, Azusa, California.
Chairperson Beckwith called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M.
ROLL CALL: Roll call was taken by Secretary Cornejo.
PRESENT: BOARD MEMBERS: AVILA Jr., ALVAREZ, GONZALES, MENDEZ, BECKWITH
ABSENT: BOARD MEMBERS:
The pledge to the flag was led by City Clerk Cornejo.
ALSO PRESENT
Elected Officials: Secretary Cornejo
City Attorney: Jeff Ferre
Staff Members: City Manager Gonzales, General Manager Singh, Assistant General Manager of
Electric Operations Hien Vuong, Assistant General Manager Power Resources Richard Torres, Assistant
General Manager Water Operations Barbosa, Environmental Programs Manager Paul Reid, Administration
and Finance Manager Daniel Smith, Captain Landeros, Chief Deputy City Clerk Garcia.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
None
GENERAL MANAGER COMMENTS
General Manager Singh stated he had no comments.
PAGE 2 – 10/23/23
UTILITY BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
None
JOINT UTILITY BOARD AND CITY COUNCIL SCHEDULED ITEMS
1. Public Hearing for Water Rate Adjustment Effective FY 2023/24 Through FY 2027/28
Recommendation: 1) Open the Public Hearing, receive Public Testimony, and close the Public
Hearing; and 2) Approve the proposed water rate adjustment to increase revenues by 15% in FY
2023/24, 9% in FY 2024/25, and 4% annually in FY 2025/26 through FY 2027/28; and 3) Adopt
Resolution 2023-UB02, amending Azusa Light & Water’s Water Rate Schedule.
Chair Beckwith opened the Public Hearing and requested proof of publication.
Secretary Cornejo stated proof of publication was in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune on September 5, 2023,
and October 9, 2023. Attached to the packets were all the correspondence with the exception of one that
came after the packet was printed. Each Board Member was provided with a copy. There are six cards for
public comment.
General Manager Singh introduced Mark Beauchamp, President of Utility Financial Solutions (USF), LLC,
who provided staff with a presentation of their findings for the long-term financial projections and cost of
service study with comparisons to key financial targets in order to maintain Azusa’s Utility Bond Ratings
and the rate adjustments needed to maintain both; and responded to Board Member/Councilmember
questions with staff and City Attorney Jeff Ferre, who explained the requirements for Proposition 218.
Chair Beckwith opened Public Comments.
Ani Buday (phonics) commented that in the presentation they didn’t say the need for rate increases was
critical and with the current challenges of inflation he questioned the rate increase taking effect immediately
versus after residents had an opportunity to adjust to inflation with everything else.
Mary Merando (phonics) thanked the City of Azusa for the quality of water and their attention to all aspects
considered and the work put into providing good quality water. Further commenting that many residents
don’t understand the need for different pricing tiers which regulate the usage of water during restrictions.
There also seems to be confusion regarding meter sizes, it would be helpful if they provide those
explanations, so the community understands what size meter they need based on their usage amount.
Thomas A Hartvigsen commented that he saves water to water his lawn and inquired if consideration would
be given to seniors on fixed incomes who conserve water; he also didn’t understand the pricing tiers and
questioned why he continues getting penalized with higher prices for water he’s not using.
Don inquired where their water is coming from and had noticed recently that authorities are dredging the
filth out of the San Gabriel Dam and moving it up hill into the mountains which will again flow down into
the dam during heaving rains, and inquired if that was also a factor in the rate increases. Additionally, he
questioned if the systems storing water is adequate and expressed that his water bill had already doubled,
yet during months he used more water, his bill decreased. Also commending the Board for Azusa having
the best quality water in the area.
Luz Guiterrez commented that she stores and collects water and as a senior on social security fixed income,
increasing water rates is a struggle for her.
PAGE 3 – 10/23/23
Mary L. Proctor commented that she tries to conserve water and questioned if the city had considered
obtaining water from flooded areas or other states.
Chair Beckwith Closed Public comments.
Motion: Board Member/Councilmember Mendez moved, seconded by Board Member/Mayor Gonzales,
to close the Public Hearing.
AYES: BOARD MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: AVILA Jr., GONZALES, ALVAREZ,
MENDEZ, BECKWITH
NOES: BOARD MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: BOARD MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ABSTAIN: BOARD MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
Mark Beauchamp and staff responded to public comments.
Motion Passed 5-0-0
Motion: Board Member/Mayor Gonzales moved, seconded by Board Member/Councilmember Mendez,
to Approve the proposed water rate adjustment to increase revenues by 15% in FY 2023/24, 9% in FY
2024/25, and 4% annually in FY 2025/26 through FY 2027/28; and Adopt Resolution 2023-UB02,
amending Azusa Light & Water’s Water Rate Schedule.
AYES: BOARD MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: AVILA Jr., GONZALES, ALVAREZ,
MENDEZ, BECKWITH
NOES: BOARD MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: BOARD MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ABSTAIN: BOARD MEMBERS/COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
Motion Passed 5-0-0
CONSENT CALENDAR
Chair Beckwith asked if any Boardmembers wished to pull an item.
1. The Minutes of the Utility Board Meeting on September 25, 2023, were approved.
2. Award of Contract for Electric Project LD2023-3 to Miron Electric Construction Corporation in an
amount not-to-exceed amount of $484,150 with a built-in 15% contingency; and Authorize the
Mayor to execute the Contract in a form acceptable to the City Attorney was approved.
3. The purchase of twenty-one (21) Motorola APX 900 UHFR3 model 3 radios and accessories for
Electric and Water Operations; and authorize the issuance of a Purchase Order to Motorola
Solutions in the amount not to exceed $70,259.91 was approved.
4. The SCPPA Task Order for the Energy Efficiency (EE) Audit and Direct Installation (DI) for
Residential and Non-Residential Programs from Synergy at a total multiyear contracted amount
not to exceed $450,000 through a SCPPA joint purchase agreement pursuant to AMC Sections 2-
520(b) “sole source” and 2-521(a) “cooperative and piggyback purchases”; and Authorize the
General Manager of Utilities to execute the associated SCPPA Task Order in a form acceptable to
the City Attorney was approved.
PAGE 4 – 10/23/23
Board Member Mendez, seconded by Vice Chair/Councilmember Alvarez, to approve Items 1-4 of the
Consent Calendar: Unanimously passed 5-0.
AYES: BOARD MEMBERS: AVILA Jr., GONZALES, ALVAREZ, MENDEZ, BECKWITH
NOES: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE
ABSTAIN: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE
Motion Passed 5-0-0
STAFF REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS
None
VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS
1. Power Supply Update
Assistant Director Power Resources Richard Torres reported that everything is on schedule at the
Mesa Wind Project. Final assembly of two turbines remain. The access road that was washed out
by Hillary now is open and restricted to one lane. Walkdown inspections have begun. The
substation was energized on September 26. The Meteorological tower is scheduled to be installed
in early November. The solar output has lowered due to the stormy and cloudy weather. There are
still plenty of credits left and they plan to meet their target for renewable generation for the year.
The winter is expected to produce El Nino conditions which would mean it will be another wet
year. Gas injection season is winding down, Aliso has a storage capacity of 68.6 Bcf and is at 67%
full as of September 20. SoCal Gas has a systemwide storage capacity of 135 Bcf and they are at
65% full as of September 21.
2. Water Supply Update
Assistant General Manager Water Operations Barbosa provided the water update and stated the
rain on October 1 kicked off the rainfall amounts for the new year. Key well is at about 227 ft., the
river and ponds are over saturated which has dropped the percolation rates substantially. The basin
is working with the County to see if they can pause the time for deliveries to let the basin dry out
some prior to what is expected to be another rainy winter. They’d like to be able to capture runoff.
San Gabriel Dam has almost finished their cleanout efforts, all of the water has been moved into
Morris Dam. All the dams statewide seem to be holding water and she expects they will still receive
100% of the state’s allocation.
Azusa Light & Water staff answered Board Member questions.
CLOSED SESSION
None
ADJOURNMENT THE AZUSA UTILITY BOARD AND CONTINUE AS SPECIAL CITY
COUNCIL MEETING
The Regular meeting of the Utility Board was adjourned by consensus of the Utility Board.
PAGE 5 – 10/23/23
TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 7:33 P.M.
CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
Financial Impacts of Implementation of Classification and Compensation Study
Talika Johnson, Director of Administrative Services presented a PowerPoint and provided an overview of
the Classification and Compensation Study. No action was taken.
ADJOURNMENT OF THE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
The Special City Council meeting was adjourned by Mayor Gonzales.
TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 8:20 P.M.
__________________________________________
CITY CLERK/SECRETARY