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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Commission - Minutes - 05/20/2021 WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING May 20, 2021, 5:30-7:30 p.m. online via Zoom 05/20/202 1 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER 5:31 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL • Commissioners Present: Kent Bruxvoort (Chairperson), Greg Steed (Vice Chairperson), Michael C. Brown, Jr., Cibi Vishnu Chinnasamy, Tyler Eldridge, Paul Herman, Randy Kenyon, Phyllis Ortman, John Primsky, Jason Tarry • Staff Members Present: Eileen Dornfest, Matt Fater, John Song, Brian Tholl, Jamie Gaskill, Theresa Connor, Liesel Hans, Andrew Gingerich, Katherine Martinez, Lisa Schroers • Mayor Jeni Arndt, Council Liaison to the Water Commission • Members of the Public: None 3. AGENDA REVIEW • Vice Chairperson Greg Steed briefly summarized items on the agenda. 4. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION • None 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Vice Chairperson Steed asked for comments and revisions on the April 15 minutes. Commissioner Brown moved to approve the April 15 minutes. Commission Eldridge seconded the motion. Vote on the Motion: it passed unanimously 10-0. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Staff Reports (Attachments available upon request) WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 05/20/2021 – MINUTES Page 2 i. Financial Monthly Report (meeting packet only) Discussion Highlights A commissioner noted that revenues are in the black and expenses seem to be underbudgeted across the board, excepting Wastewater, and wondered if it was likely due to the economic situation of the past year. Interim Utilities Executive Director Theresa Connor noted that, yes, they are coming a bit under revenue in accordance to the recent trend, but as revenues rely on variables throughout the year and seasonal use is highest in the summer, we’ll likely see that revenues will relatively be on track. ii. Memo: Update on Water Shortage Planning Efforts and Potential for Restrictions in 2021 (meeting packet only) Discussion Highlights A commissioner inquired if there’s a date or point when the restrictions will be lifted. Ms. Theresa Connor noted that the City is just starting to see the impacts of last year’s fire now, namely the turbidity, the ash and the debris, etc. Interim Utilities Deputy Director Liesel Hans added that staff is still waiting to see what the full impact will be to assess the Water Shortage Watch, but are grateful to see the recent precipitation adding to the water supply and that Utilities is still able to take water from the Poudre River for the community’s drinking water. iii. Water Resources Monthly Report (meeting packet only) Discussion Highlights A Water Commissioner wondered about the absence this month of a regular report in the Monthly Report regarding stream flows in the Poudre River. They noted it would’ve been helpful to see as they’ve seen banks full these past few weeks. Ms. Hans will follow up regarding the report. iv. Halligan Water Supply Project Quarterly Update Special Projects Manager Eileen Dornfest gave a verbal update to announce a briefing book that will be ready in about a week to give good background information to new council members and commissioners regarding the Halligan Water Supply Project. As for the project itself, there’s some ongoing WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 05/20/2021 – MINUTES Page 3 design and permitting efforts, but no substantial updates to give just yet. Discussion Highlights A commissioner inquired if property acquisition issues are ongoing, which Ms. Dornfest responded that they are. She clarified that the City has access to the dam and reservoir itself, which were critical parts of the timeline, and there are negotiations regarding compensation and easement, which are not impacting the proposed schedule. v. Water Utility Overview Interim Utilities Executive Director Theresa Connor, Interim Utilities Deputy Director Liesel Hans, and Interim Utilities Deputy Director Andrew Gingerich gave the second presentation in a series of Utility overviews for City Council in 2021. The Water Commission has previously seen the Wastewater Utility Overview and now saw the Water Utility Overview tonight. Discussion Highlights A commissioner inquired about the areas that have relatively newer piping in comparison to the Old Town area, but are still categorized as poor to fair and susceptible to main breaks, and if that’s attributable to the materials used. Mr. Gingerich responded that there’s currently a root cause failure analysis to evaluate the causes of main breaks, but what they’re seeing now is that the city’s soil acts corrosively to the metal used in that time period. The soil doesn’t seem to affect the cast iron pipes as readily due to greater wall thickness. b. Regular Items (Attachments available upon request) i. Utilities Income-Qualified Assistance Program Update and Proposed Changes Utilities Program Specialist Supervisor Jamie Gaskill and Energy Services Supervisor Brian Tholl, Utilities Affordability Programs (UAP) staff, provided an update on UAP impact in 2020 and on the in-depth analysis that was conducted on the effectiveness of the Income-Qualified Assistance Program. They presented proposed changes to UAP programs and will motion for Water Commission and Energy Board to recommend that City Council adopt the proposed changes. Discussion Highlights A commissioner recalled that several years ago, the UAP team proposed to reach a maximum of 2,000 accounts through the Income-Qualified WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 05/20/2021 – MINUTES Page 4 Assistance Program (IQAP), but inquired how it’s potentially estimating 8,000 accounts per a slide in the presentation. Ms. Gaskill responded that the number actually includes five separate programs rather than just the IQAP. Later slides showed that for IQAP, the planned participation was for 2,000, while the actual was 717, from which a commissioner calculated that the average discount was about $16 a month, or about $200 a year. The commissioner also inquired if this was just for water, which Mr. Tholl clarified that it was for water, wastewater, and electric utilities. The commissioner also wondered aloud on the different circumstances between homeowners and renters, and how the IQAP may have unforeseen impacts on them differently. A commissioner wondered about the end goal to assist low-income households, and found that the pilot may seem arbitrary as it’s currently defined, noting that the program may gain more support with a better-defined goal. Mr. Tholl and Ms. Gaskill touched on how the City is forming an Equity Office with more efforts to establish metrics for equitable service delivery, which is likely to include efforts that lighten the disproportionate utilities burden on low-income customers. In addition, they explained that the City is working to streamline low-income program offerings across the organization. Interim Utilities Executive Director Theresa Connor commented that that this program is a pilot, and it’s shedding light on the needs, which help to define the goal. A commissioner shared that it seems like a bad idea to make it an auto-enroll program simply to double the number of participants, and should make customers apply and make a justification to qualify beyond LEAP, e.g. credit card usage to show that they’re not monetarily irresponsible. The commissioner would not like to see it become a permanent program that leads customers to perpetually rely on government assistance. Another commissioner commented that the program does in fact seem like a good program to serve the low-income customers of the city. Another commissioner noted that this serves 2-3% of the population based on the number of residential electric premises in the community. Another commissioner inquired if the auto-enroll option would help families who are working several jobs and also reduce staff time needed to run the program, which Ms. Gaskill confirmed. Another commissioner inquired about the number of CSU student participation in the program, which Ms. Gaskill will follow up with demographic information. Commissioner Brown moved that the Water Commission recommend City Council support the extension of the IQAP rate pilot an additional three years and align it with the Utilities’ fall rate ordinance. Commissioner Eldridge seconded the motion. WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 05/20/2021 – MINUTES Page 5 Vote on the Motion: it passed unanimously, 10-0. Commissioner Brown moved that the Water Commission recommend City Council support changing IQAP from an application-based/opt-in program to an auto-enroll/opt-out program. Chairperson Bruxvoort seconded the motion. A commissioner approved auto-enrollment and commented that it would be good to eliminate the possibility of those who need the program to fall to the wayside if they don’t find the opportunity to apply. Vote on the Motion: it passed 9-1 with Commissioner Primsky voting against as he’d like to see participants apply and provide justification. 7. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • Commissioner Brown attended the Super Board meeting last month. He reported that there were about 20 board and commission members present to explore ideas to raise earlier participation for budget offers. One highlight to mention was the creation of the Our City Public Engagement Hub to raise community engagement. Water Supply Requirements was another topic that covered water allotments, and he thought it was telling that board members and commissioners weren’t informed enough to have meaningful discussion. Lastly, they discussed the Reimagine Boards and Commissions and the impact that the changes will have on the individual boards and commissions. • Commissioner Kenyon mentioned that the Rocky Mountain Water Conference is coming up virtually in September and is looking for participation and abstracts. The Western Colorado Water and Wastewater Conference will have a live event in October and is looking for abstracts as well. • Commissioners wondered about the Tri-Cities event and whether it’ll be held this year. Staff Liaison Matt Fater will follow up on that. • Chairperson Bruxvoort wondered if we’ll be meeting soon in person. The City announced that it will open its buildings to the public on June 7th, so it may be a discussion for the Commissioners if that’s something that would be desirable. Hybrid models are being considered internally to accommodate preferences. 8. OTHER BUSINESS • None WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 05/20/2021 – MINUTES Page 6 9. ADJOURNMENT 7:21 p.m. These minutes were approved by the Water Commission on June 17, 2021.