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Home My WebLink AboutE-1.1. UB Draft Minutes_August 28, 2023CITY OF AZUSA MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE AZUSA UTILITY BOARD MONDAY, AUGUST 28, 2023– 6:30 P.M. Chairperson: Dennis Beckwith Vice Chairperson: Edward J. Alvarez Board Member: Robert Gonzales Board Member: Andrew N. Mendez Board Member: Jesse Avila Jr. 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 Building 1st Floor Conference Room 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, BECKWITH ABSENT: BOARD MEMBERS: MENDEZ The pledge to the flag was led by Chair Beckwith. ALSO PRESENT Elected Officials: Secretary Cornejo City Attorney: Jeff Ferre Staff Members: City Manager Sergio Gonzalez, General Manager Tikan Singh, Assistant General Manager of Electric Operations Hien Vuong, Assistant General Manager Customer Care & Solutions Alicia Holmes, Assistant General Manager Power Resources Richard Torres, Assistant General Manager Water Operations Melissa Barbosa, Environmental Programs Manager Paul Reid, Environmental Programs Specialist Liza Sagun, Administrative and Finance Manager Danny Smith, Captain Robert Landeros, Chief Deputy City Clerk Adrian Garcia. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None GENERAL MANAGER COMMENTS General Manager Singh reported they have an update regarding power outages. If they receive notification from the State, they are required to shut down services. They updated their program to comply with the State’s potential orders and will minimize the effects on their customers as much as possible. They will reduce their own load before shutting off customers. If further reduction is needed, they will implement rotating outages. Those outages will last roughly an hour or so, and they will notify the customers as soon as possible via social media. The State’s outlook looks better than last year. They had a wet winter and a cooler June. They also added more resources. The expectation is that the need for rotating outages will be highly unlikely. Approved Utility Board 09/25/2023 PAGE 2 – 8/28/23 General Manager Singh responded to Board Member questions. UTILITY BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS None SCHEDULED ITEMS 1. Water Cost of Service Study Results and Authorization to Mail Notice of Public Hearing to be Held October 23, 2023, for Water Rate Adjustment Recommendation: 1) Approve the attached public hearing notice of the proposed water rate adjustment to increase revenues by 15% in FY 2023/24, 9% in FY 24/25, and 4.0% annually in FY 2025/26 through FY 2027/28; and 2) Authorize Staff to print and mail the notice (pending final legal review for verbiage) to all water customers 45 days before the public hearing to be held October 23, 2023, at the regular Utility Board meeting time and place. General Manager Singh introduced the item and introduced Mark Beauchamp, President of Utility Financial Solutions, LLC, who presented the City of Azusa Water Financial Projection and Cost of Services study results to the Board with Jill Jurczyk and responded to Board Member questions. The Board Members expressed how important it is to educate the community on what the needs are and why, and using the upcoming events would be a good way to expand their outreach efforts while also showcasing comparable rates from communities within close proximity to Azusa. Board Member Gonzales moved, seconded by Board Member Avila Jr., to approve the public hearing notice of the proposed water rate adjustment to increase revenues by 15% in FY 2023/24, 9% in FY 24/25, and 4.0% annually in FY 2025/26 through FY 2027/28; and authorize Staff to print and mail the notice (pending final legal review for verbiage) to all water customers 45 days before the public hearing to be held October 23, 2023, at the regular Utility Board meeting time and place. AYES: BOARD MEMBERS: AVILA Jr., ALVAREZ, GONZALES, BECKWITH NOES: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: BOARD MEMBERS: MENDEZ ABSTAIN: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE Motion Passed 4-0-1 (Mendez Absent) CONSENT CALENDAR Chair Beckwith asked if any Board Members wished to pull an item. It was recommended by staff to pull both items 3 and 4 from the Calendar as a new contract would be better suited than an amendment. 1. The Minutes of the Utility Board Meeting on July 24, 2023, were approved. 2. The plan and specifications for the underground line extension Project LD2023-4; and authorize the advertisement and solicitation of bids for the construction of LD2023-4, the underground line extension Project was approved. 3. The Third Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement (“Third Amendment”) with Infosend, in an amount not to exceed $275,000 annually, in accordance with Azusa Municipal Code Section 2-517(a)(16); and authorize the Mayor to execute the Third Amendment, including any related forms required by Infosend, in a final form acceptable to the City Attorney was approved. PULLED FROM CALENDAR PAGE 3 – 8/28/23 4. The Second Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement (“Second Amendment”) with Invoice Cloud, in an amount not to exceed $275,000 annually, in accordance with Azusa Municipal Code Section 2-517(a)(22); and authorize the Mayor to execute the Second Amendment, including any related forms required by Invoice Cloud, in a final form acceptable to the City Attorney was approved. PULLED FROM CALENDAR Board Member Gonzales moved, seconded by Board Member Alvarez, to approve Items 1-2 of the Consent Calendar: Unanimously passed 4-0. AYES: BOARD MEMBERS: AVILA Jr., GONZALES, ALVAREZ, BECKWITH NOES: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: BOARD MEMBERS: MENDEZ ABSTAIN: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE Motion Passed 4-0-1 (Mendez Absent) STAFF REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS None VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS 1. Power Supply Update Assistant General Manager Power Resources Richard Torres reported that as of August 28th, they are almost through the hottest part of the summer, and their systems overall are better than they were last year. They had an increase in electric-hydro generation. There was an increase of 86% more hydropower generated because of the healthy rainfall. They also depended less on the imported power from other states. There has also been an increase in the amount of battery sources in the grid. They had 500 megawatts of storage installed in 2020, currently, there is 5000 megawatts of storage. Through the end of July, there was about 32% of renewable output. The Mesa Wind project is running nicely, about half of the turbines are erect. Substation energization is set for early to mid-September and they are on schedule for test energy in November 2023 or sooner. The only caveat to that may be the last storm that blew through. It impacted a lot of wind generation in the Palm Springs area. Edison is still trying to repair the grid from the damage. 2. Water Supply Update Assistant General Manager Water Operations Melissa Barbosa reported that they received five inches of rain from Storm Hillary. A total of 5.26 inches of rain fell in August for a season total of 45.88 inches. The key well which monitors the ground water is at 228.3 feet. It has leveled off due to the aquifer mounding effect which is causing the water to distribute out. They are still capturing water; the key well is increasing at a slower rate. The San Gabriel Dam was completely empty and after this last storm, it now has water in it and is quite full. They may have to pause their clean-out project because of all the water. The State’s reservoirs are still pretty full, there is still water to be delivered to southern California. Azusa is still set to get its full allocation which is 100% this year. They worked with LA County to repair the water mains along the wash before the recent storm. They used water clamps in three different areas. Azusa Light & Water staff answered Board Member questions. ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS UPDATE Environmental Programs Specialist Liza Sagun reported that the light bulbs, e-waste and batteries collection has kicked off and will be on the 3rd Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Public Works yard. The first one was held PAGE 4 – 8/28/23 on August 19th, and they had seven cars with a mixture of fluorescent and LED light bulbs. The storm likely affected the numbers as most people were trying to get sandbags in preparation for the hurricane. The next event is scheduled for September 16, 2023. There are three recycling events scheduled for September. Dump Day for bulky items is being sponsored by Caltrans and is scheduled for September 16th from 8-12 p.m., also in the Public Works yard. The Compost- Mulch giveaway event is September 23, 2023, from 9-12 p.m. at Memorial Park parking lot. Azusa Shred-A-Thon will be on September 30, 2023, from 9-12 p.m. in the Azusa Light and Water parking lot. All of the events will be advertised on social media and there will be bill inserts as well. ADJOURNMENT The Regular meeting of the Utility Board was adjourned by consensus of the Utility Board. TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 7:36 P.M. __________________________________________ CITY CLERK/SECRETARY