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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 08/18/2011Water Board Minutes August 18, 2011 1 Fort Collins Utilities Water Board Minutes Thursday, August 18, 2011 Water Board Chairperson City Council Liaison Gina Janett, 493-4677 Wade Troxell, 219-8940 Water Board Vice Chairperson Staff Liaison Steve Balderson, 223-7915 Brian Janonis, 221-6702 Roll Call Board Present Chairperson Gina Janett, Vice Chairperson Steve Balderson, Board Members Becky Goldbach, Brett Bovee, Brian Brown, Johannes Gessler, Reagan Waskom, Phil Phelan, Duncan Eccleston, and Steve Malers Board Absent Board Member Lori Brunswig Staff Present Kevin Gertig, Phil Ladd, Dennis Bode, Laurie D’Audney, Robin Pierce, and Harriet Davis Guests Jim Manire (BLX Group) and Craig Godbout Meeting Convened Chairperson Gina Janett called the meeting to order at 5:34 p.m. Public Comment None Approval of July 21, 2011 Minutes Vice Chairperson Balderson moved to approve the minutes from the July 21, 2011 meeting. Board Member Malers seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Board Members Brown and Gessler abstained from the vote due to their absences on July 21, 2011. 2002 Storm Drainage Revenue Bonds (Attachments available upon request). Interim Finance Director John Voss introduced the topic and introduced Jim Manire, Financial Advisor for the City of Fort Collins. Mr. Voss stated the City is refinancing debt from 2002. At that time, the City borrowed $12.3 million for the Dry Creek Basin project and the Canal Importation, Ponds, and Outfall (CIPO) project. Currently, there is less than $9 million outstanding. The remaining bonds have rates ranging from 4.25 to 5 percent. He anticipates a new rate between 2.8 and 3 percent, with a net present value savings of approximately $500,000. Water Board Minutes August 18, 2011 2 Mr. Voss stated the City is amending Ordinance No. 008. This eliminates the bond reserve requirement and authorizes the City to make U.S. Bank the registrar, paying agent, and escrow agent. Mr. Voss desires to have this completed by the end of September 2011. The entities involved include Sherman and Howard serving as the bond counsel and BLX Group serving as the financial advisor. Chase Bank will purchase the bonds. They are the holder of the 2007 Storm Drainage bonds and are consenting to the amendments. Council has approved on first reading and it will be presented for a second reading on September 6, 2011. Board discussion: Is the $500,000 a total or annual amount? It is a total amount. Is repayment of the bonds pushed back for a certain number of years? No, the bond terms are the same with 10 years remaining. Why is it a private negotiation with Chase Bank? The amendment to the 2007 ordinance requires the consent of Chase Bank. How much money was in reserves? Currently, there is no cash in the reserve. What is the total amount in bonds for stormwater? The total for stormwater was $31 million as of the end of 2010. Will the maturity date change? No, it will be paid off under the same terms as the 2002 bonds. There is no more debt service scheduled for the stormwater utility past 2022. Mr. Voss stated there are three outstanding debt issues that equal the $31 million. Two of the debt issues will be paid off earlier. Is there an opportunity to refinance the other debt issues? No, the 2007 bonds were refunding bonds themselves and were offered with no prepayment option. Is there a competitive selection process with the bank chosen? Chase Bank was chosen after a competitive selection process in 2007. The City would have preferred to have completed a Request for Proposal (RFP), but there was the consent issue regarding Chase Bank. What is the role of U.S. Bank? U.S. Bank is the entity that receives the City’s payments and transfers them to Chase Bank. U.S. Bank serves as the paying agent. This allows the City to have one point of contact. Why was the item presented to the Water Board for review when it has already been presented to the City Council Finance Committee and to Council? Mr. Voss asked Utilities Executive Director Brian Janonis if the item should be reviewed by the Water Board. Mr. Janonis stated it should be reviewed by the Water Board; however, the timing prevented it from going to the Water Board before it went to Council because it was scheduled to be presented to Council on August 16, 2011. Water Board Minutes August 18, 2011 3 Chairperson Janett expressed concern that the item was presented to the Water Board after it had already gone through the Council process since the Water Board serves in an advisory capacity to Council. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously. Committee Reports Conservation and Public Education Committee (Board Member Phelan): The committee reviewed the 2010 Water Conservation Annual Report presented by Water Conservation Specialist Laurie D’Audney. Board discussion: Board Member Phelan requested more detail in future reports concerning conservation paybacks such as the City’s rebate programs. The committee would like to look at more of the modeling tools used to quantify the savings in regard to water conservation. A board member stated the water conservation program is working well. The City is approaching average usage of 144 gallons per capita per day (gpcd). The Water Conservation Plan sets a goal of 140 gallons per capita per day. The board members discussed the fact that the landscape begins to suffer with much lower usage. Water Resources Manager Dennis Bode stated only 2-3 percent of the water available in the Poudre River is used for irrigation. This percentage is for the City of Fort Collins Utilities service area. A board member requested the 2011 Water Conservation Annual Report contain a section defining future programs and include information such as the AMI data. Chairperson Janett questioned if the total amount offered with the zero-interest loan program for the high efficiency clothes washers and replacement of water service lines was close to the amount budgeted (13 loans were issued in 2010, totaling more than $15,000). Ms. D’Audney stated the budgeted amount was close to $15,000. A board member questioned the graph on page 15 of the report for Annual Treated Water Use from 1960 – 2010. The acre-feet amount doubled from 1979 to 1988. He questioned if the increase is due to population growth. Ms. D’Audney stated the City of Fort Collins was the number one growing city in the United States during the late 1970s. Mr. Bode also stated the increase was partially due to the addition of the Anheuser Busch Brewery and the absence of water meters. Chairperson Janett noted Ms. D’Audney was awarded the Alice Darilek Water Conservation Award in 2010. The award recognizes an individual for exceptional performance and Motion: Board Member Brown moved that the Water Board recommend that the City Council approve the ordinance appropriating the proceeds from the refunding bonds to pay off the 2002 bonds, and the Storm Water Enterprise Board to approve the issuance of the refunding bonds and amending ordinance 8. Board Member Malers seconded the motion. Water Board Minutes August 18, 2011 4 commitment to water conservation in the region. This region includes Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico. A board member questioned the table on page 14 of the report for Number of Accounts by Customer Class. Do these numbers influence where Utilities’ efforts are being targeted? Ms. D’Audney stated Utilities is trying to implement more programs for commercial accounts and recently implemented a program for commercial rebates. Is there any particular customer class that could improve their water conservation efforts? Ms. D’Audney stated commercial customers struggle with this. It may be because of waste or due to the nature of their business. A board member reminded the board that demand is usually fixed for commercial customers, but can fluctuate for residential customers. Engineering Committee (Board Member Balderson): The committee did not meet during the month of August. They are scheduled to meet on September 7 to discuss the topic of emerging contaminants and new fluoridation limits. Chairperson Janett reminded the board to notify Board Secretary Harriet Davis when meetings need to be rescheduled. Legislative, Finance, and Liaison Committee (Board Member Goldbach): The committee is scheduled to meet August 25. Water Supply Committee (Board Member Gessler): The committee did not meet during the months of July or August because the committee chair was out of town. The discussion concerning the water sharing issue between the City and the agricultural sector has been tabled until the end of 2011. The committee has requested more information from George Wallace with the Larimer County Agricultural Board. Mr. Wallace will obtain more information from the North Poudre Irrigation Board relating to the subject of water sharing. Staff Reports Monthly Water Resources Report Water Resources Manager Dennis Bode provided this report and stated demand has been pretty steady for the last couple of weeks. A board member questioned if Utilities has a concern with revenue and reduced demand. Water Resources and Treatment Operations Manager Kevin Gertig stated staff will work on a rate assessment. Chairperson Janett requested the information go through the LFL Committee before presentation to the full board. Mr. Gertig stated the item for the Watershed Program was removed from the agenda because of the recent departure of Senior Process Engineer Judy Billica. The item has been pended to the October agenda and will be presented by another staff member. The update on the Water Supply and Demand Management Policy has also been pended to the October agenda because the committee felt it was too early to update the board. 2010 Water Conservation Annual Report Ms. D’Audney provided this report. The report was discussed earlier in this set of minutes. Other Business Chairperson Janett expressed thanks to staff for Mulberry Water Reclamation Facility (MWRF) Open House held on July 28, 2011. She was impressed by the facility and operations. Mr. Gertig stated the plant is online and operational and is performing very well. The baseline data will provide information for future improvements at the Drake Water Reclamation Facility (DWRF). Three board members attended the event along with Mayor Karen Weitkunat and Councilmember Ben Manvel. Mr. Gertig stated an additional tour can be planned for other Water Board members if they are interested in touring the facility. Future Agenda Items Chairperson Janett requested an update on the Lake Canal Project. This is a demonstration project between the Colorado Water Innovation Cluster (CWIC) and the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB). She asked that it be added to a future agenda as an informational presentation. She also requested an update on the Joint Front Range Climate Change Vulnerability Study and asked that it be added to the agenda when the time is appropriate. Mr. Bode stated this study is still under review. Chairprson Janett stated the City of Boulder Water Board requested meeting with this board to discuss the topic of budget billing and to discuss information pertaining to current floodplain regulations. She requested an update on floodplain regulations be added as a future agenda item. A board member questioned when the Stormwater Criteria Manual would be presented (it was removed from the August agenda pending legal review.) At this time, the item is on the September agenda as tentative. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 6:26 p.m. Submitted by Harriet Davis, Administrative Assistant, Fort Collins Utilities Approved by the Board on I c , 2011 Signed: 4--,d Board Secretary Date Water Board Minutes 5 August 18, 2011