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Home My WebLink About3-24-25 Utility Board Minutes CITY OF AZUSA MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE AZUSA UTILITY BOARD MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2025 – 6:30 P.M. Chairperson: Edward J. Alvarez Vice Chairperson: Jesse Avila, Jr. Board Member: Robert Gonzales Board Member: Andrew N. Mendez Board Member: Sabrina Bow, Ed.D Secretary: 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 Light & Water First Floor Conference Room located at 729 N. Azusa Avenue, Azusa, California. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Edward Alvarez called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. ROLL CALL: Roll call was taken by Secretary Cornejo. PRESENT: BOARD MEMBERS: BOW, MENDEZ, GONZALES, AVILA, JR., ALVAREZ ABSENT: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE The pledge of allegiance was led by Secretary Conejo ALSO PRESENT Elected Officials: Secretary Cornejo City Attorney: Jeff Ferre Staff Members: General Manager Tikan Singh, Assistant General Manager Electric Operations Hien Voung, Assistant General Manager Water Operations Melissa Barbosa, Admin and Finance Manager Danny Smith, Environmental Programs Manager Paul Reid, Senior Management Analyst Yesenia Paez, City Manager Sergio Gonzalez, Customer Care Operations Supervisor Alisha Devezin A. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None. B. CLOSED SESSION Page 2 – 03/24/25 1. None. C. GENERAL MANAGER COMMENTS General Manager Singh advised the Board of the events for the month of April. The Clean and Green events starting with compost and mulch giveaway for Azusa residents on April 5th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, at Memorial Park. On April 5th and 6th is the free yard sale from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM; the outdoor recreation and eco fair will be on the 12th from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Memorial Park, and Azusa Shred- A-Thon on the 19th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Light & Water parking lot; and the E-waste, Lightbulb and Batteries collection on April 19th from 8:00 A.M. to 9:00 AM at Public Works yard, the Household Hazards and E-waste collection on the 26th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Veolia facility, and the free old tire disposal from April 1st through the 30th at the Waste Management facility. D. UTILITY BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS None. E. SCHEDULED ITEMS 1. Request Authorization to Use $6M of the Water Fund Capital Reserve and Perform an Updated Cost of Service Study Recommendations: 1) Authorize the use of $6 million of the water fund capital reserves to complete the South Tank project and contingencies; and 2) Authorize staff to perform an updated cost-of-service study. Assistant General Manager of Water Operations Barbosa provided a brief report explaining the South Tank has reached its useful life and has fractures all the way around it. DDW mandated its replacement. She advised the board that a bid was solicited in July and awarded in September to Pacific Hydrojet Corporation for a cost of $10.7 million which includes a 10% contingency. She provided information on the amount of funds the City has received toward the project, noting that staff were requesting $6 million of the unrestricted capital reserve portion of the Water Fundto allocate to the South Tank Reservoir Project, which would reduce the balance to $4 million in the unrestricted capital reserve of the Water Fund. The board asked questions about the project; to which Ms. Barbosa responded. Ms. Barbosa continued her report explaining water consumption patterns have significantly decreased in the last few years with storm events. She advised the amount in the water fund at the end of 2024 was $19.2 million. Expenses are typically about $23 million, and revenue is also about $23 million. She presented graphs showing the trend over the past four years in consumption patterns of both residential and industrial indicating a decline and shortfall of about $3.5 million in water sales over just the last year. She advised that, in addition to using the $6 million in water reserves, an updated cost of service study needs to be done to replace the $6 million in the water fund to bring it back to $19 million. Ms. Barbosa summarized by listing the reasons for the cost-of-service study. Thereafter, the board discussed various issues, and the staff responded to questions. Motion by: Board member Gonzalez and seconded by Board member Bow to: 1) Authorize the use of $6 million of the water fund capital reserves to complete the South Tank project and contingencies; and 2) Authorize staff to perform an updated cost-of-service study. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Page 3 – 03/24/25 AYES: Bow, Mendez, Gonzalez, Avila, Jr., Alvarez NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Motion Passes: 5-0-0 F. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Minutes of the Utility Board Meeting on February 24, 2025 Recommendations: 1) Approve Minutes as written. 2. Approval of Blanket Purchase Order Increase for Veolia Environmental Services Recommendations: 1) Approve an increase in Veolia Environmental Services Blanket Purchase Order from $60,000 to $100,000 for FY 2024-2025. 3. Approve Grant Easement and Authorize the Record Thereof for the Electric Facilities Installed on Private Property from Property Owner for Site Address 1150 E Alosta Avenue, Azusa, CA 91702 Recommendations: 1) Certificate of Acceptance of Grant of Permanent Easement for Electric utility purposes from property owner for site address 1150 E. Alosta Ave in the City of Azusa; and 2) Adopt Resolution No. 2025-UB-02; and 3) Authorize the City Clerk to file said easement documents with the Office of the Los Angeles County Recorder. 4. Award Underground Line Extension in Accordance with Plans and Specifications LD2025- 2 to Outsource Utility Contractor, LLC and Authorize the Issuance of the Purchase Order in the Amount not to Exceed $348,395 Recommendations: 1) Approve the award of a construction contract for Project LD2025-2 to Outsource Utility Contractor, LLC in an amount not-to-exceed $348,395.00 with a built-in 15% contingency; and 2) Authorize the issuance of a Purchase Order to Outsource Utility Contractor, LLC in the amount not to exceed $348,395.00 with a built-in 15% contingency; and 3) Authorize the Mayor to execute the Contract in a form acceptable to the City Attorney. Motion by: Member Gonzalez and seconded by Member Bow to approve Items 1 through 4 of the Consent Calendar. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Bow, Mendez, Gonzalez, Avila, Jr., Alvarez NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Motion Passes: 5-0-0 G. STAFF REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS City Manager Gonzalez addressed the South Tank item on the agenda and advised the board that staff did not come to the board with these recommendations as a default. Staff actively vetted many different options, and thought the most responsible option was to recommend the use of the money that is set aside for this purpose. He stated that money is there for the catastrophic failure of infrastructure, like a reservoir. The Aspan well would be a great addition to water reliability, but the South Reservoir is a critical Page 4 – 03/24/25 component of the city’s reliability for water. He advised that the policy that staff asked the board to look at regarding utilization is an internal policy set by the Utility Board. When the cost-of-service analysis is done, the operations will be taken into account, and the board must go through the difficult task of looking at rates in the future. He noted that Azusa has one of the lowest rates in the area, but the city must stay on top of fixed costs. H. VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS 1. Power Supply Update General Manager Singh advised the board that the entire resources staff is learning about hydrogen in Sacramento and will bring something back to the board. There is a natural gas facility south of Sacramento where staff are looking to convert that into hydrogen, which will get the city to the goals mandated by the state. He advised that the city is doing okay with renewables. 44% of the power is coming from wind, and another 16% from solar. The current mandate is 47% this year, and it goes to 52% by 2027. He provided a quick market update, noting that spring is expected to be normal, which will drive the power costs down through April and May. He advised the cost of the megawatt hour for spring, summer, and late fall. Thereafter, staff responded to questions from the board. 2. Water Supply Update Assistant General Manager of Water Operations Barbosa provided a report stating that in February, the city received seven inches of rain and in March, 2.7 inches, for a total of 11 inches this season. She noted it has been raining up north, and the snowpack is good. USG3 from the upper district just got turned on at 250 cfs, and the current groundwater is at 243 feet. She stated the reservoirs are full throughout the state, and the allocation is currently at 35%. Ms. Barbosa responded to questions from the board members. I. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board, the meeting was adjourned. TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 7:00 pm _________________________________ CITY CLERK/SECRETARY