[CALL TO ORDER]
[PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE]
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UNITED STATES AMERICA, ONE NATION
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ROLE.UM, STARTING OUR REGULAR AGENDA, WE'RE GONNA TAKE, UH, ITEMS EIGHT AND NINE, UH, OUT OF ORDER.
AND WE WILL START WITH ITEM EIGHT.
[8. 24-53357 Receive and file a report on Ten-Year Vehicle/Equipment Replacement Plan. Suggested Action: Receive and file. ]
AND THAT IS MR. TY WHO BROUGHT US LOVELY BANANA, PLEASE.I TOLD HIM IT WAS BETTER THAN MY SOUTHERN GRAND AND MOM, I MAY NEED SOME HELP HERE.
IT'S, IT'S ON, IT'S ON ALREADY.
UM, THANK YOU FOR, FOR MOVING THIS AGENDA ITEM UP.
AND I WILL TRY TO BE BRIEF BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE DO HAVE A PRETTY BUSY SCHEDULE.
UM, SO AS I RUN THROUGH THIS RATHER QUICKLY, UM, WE CAN ALWAYS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRING THIS ITEM BACK FOR MORE DETAILED DISCUSSION.
SO, SO THAT'S WHY I'M KIND OF, I WILL BE RUNNING THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION RELATIVELY QUICK.
AND SO AT THE LAST BUDGET WORKSHOP, BRANDON HAD PRESENTED THE, UM, THE OVERALL PICTURE FOR THE FY 25 BUDGET SCOPE.
UM, AND ONE OF THE LINE ITEMS HE QUICKLY ALLUDED TO WAS OUR FLEET REPLACEMENT PLAN.
UM, AND SO I WANTED TO BRING A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT TO, UM, THAT PARTICULAR LINE ITEM AND KIND OF GIVE AN EXPLANATION OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH OUR 10 YEAR FLEET REPLACEMENT AND HOW DOES THAT FIT INTO THE ADVANCED CLEAN FLEET MANDATE.
SO, REAL QUICK FOR THIS PRESENTATION, I WANT TO KIND OF GO BACK THROUGH WHAT THE CLEAN FLEET REGULATION IS, OUR STRATEGIES TO MEET THE ADVANCED CLEAN FEET REGULATION, THE ACTUAL 10 YEAR PLAN, AND THEN JUMP INTO A LITTLE BIT OF HOW THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE WOULD WORK FOR THIS CAMPUS.
UM, THE AIR RESOURCE BOARD HAS A NEW MANDATE OR NEW REGULATION OUT TO TRY TO TRANSITION MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY FLEETS TO ZERO EMISSION VEHICLES.
UM, THE IDEA IS THAT WE WANT TO GET TO, UM, ZERO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE SALES BY 2035.
AND SO THAT WAS A GOAL THAT GOVERNOR NEWSOM HAS SET.
AND SO THE AIR RESOURCE BOARD HAD SET A PRETTY LOFTY GOAL.
AND, UH, AND ONE OF THE GOALS, LIKE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF IT WAS THIS NEW MANDATE.
UM, I DO WANT TO CLARIFY, ZERO EMISSIONS DOES MEAN, UM, IT'S LIMITED TO ELECTRIC AND HYDROGEN.
SO HYBRID VEHICLES DOES NOT FALL INTO THIS CATEGORY.
UM, NOR DOES ALTERNATIVE FUEL LIKE CNG AND LNG.
SO IT HAS TO BE BASICALLY ELECTRIC OR HYDROGEN VEHICLES.
NOW, WHO MUST COMPLY? UM, THERE'S CATEGORY LIST OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE TO COMPLY, BUT WE FALL UNDERNEATH THE PUBLIC FLEET, STATE, FEDERAL, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, INCLUDING SPECIAL DISTRICTS.
SO METROPOLITAN WILL ALSO HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT.
UM, ALL THE SPECIAL WATER DISTRICTS WILL HAVE TO.
NOW, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF OPTIONS OF COMPLYING WITH THIS, THE SAU OPTION AND THE PURCHASE OPTION.
SO I'LL GO THROUGH THOSE IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
THE MILESTONE OPTION BASICALLY SAYS THAT YOU HAVE TO START REDUCING YOUR FLEET OR CONVERTING YOUR FLEET, UM, BY CERTAIN TIMELINES TO ZERO EMISSIONS.
UM, THIS OPTION IS NOT BEING USED BY THE CITY, AND WE HAVE ALSO ELECTED TO NOT USE THIS OPTION.
WE'RE GOING WITH THE PURCHASE OPTION, BASICALLY SAYING THAT AS WE START TO BUY VEHICLES, WE'RE GONNA START BUYING ZERO EMISSION VEHICLES.
NOW, THE STATE DOES HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A TRANSITION PLAN.
THEY SAY THAT BETWEEN NOW AND 2027, JANUARY 1ST, 2027, UM, IT'S 50% OF THE ZERO, 50% OF THE MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY FLEET HAS TO BE ZERO EMISSION THAT YOU BUY.
UM, AND AFTER 2027, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE VEHICLES, UM, THAT YOU BUY, THAT FALLS INTO THE MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY CATEGORY HAS TO BE ZERO EMISSIONS.
UM, SO THAT 50%, UM, TRANSITION DOES GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF WIGGLE ROOM TO HELP US, UM, TRANSITION INTO THIS NEW ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE FLEET.
UM, THIS WILL ALLOW US TO OBSERVE
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THE MARKET AND ALLOW THE MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY FLEET TO KIND OF MATURE.'CAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S RELATIVELY NEW AND THERE'S SOME UNCERTAINTY IN TERMS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THESE, ESPECIALLY THE HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES.
AND SO, UM, THIS TRANSITION DOES ALLOW US TO KINDA WATCH AND TRANSITION IN A MORE, UM, KIND OF A REASONABLE, REASONABLE RATE.
UM, JUST REAL QUICK, WHAT IS A MEDIUM DUTY VEHICLE? SO BASICALLY AN F TWO 50 TRUCK AND ABOVE A PICKUP TRUCK IS A MEDIUM DUTY VEHICLE.
SO ALL THE MEDIUM DUTY, ALL THE PICKUP TRUCKS, UM, THAT'S F TWO 50 AND ABOVE WILL HAVE TO BE CONVERTED TO ZERO EMISSIONS, UM, GOING FORWARD.
AND THEN THE HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES, THESE ARE LIKE THE 10 WHEEL DUMP TRUCKS.
UM, THOSE WILL HAVE TO BE, UH, ZERO EMISSIONS AS WELL IN THE FUTURE.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE FLEET MAKEUP OR ACTUALLY THE EQUIPMENT MAKEUP OR THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE 28 LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES, 95 MEDIUM DUTY VEHICLES, 30 HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES.
AND THEN IN TERMS OF EQUIPMENT, 12 BACKHOES, TWO LOADERS, FORKLIFTS, TRAILERS, AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT.
AND THE MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT IS LIKE, UM, GENERATORS ON TRAILERS, UM, PUMPS ON TRAILERS, UM, AND EVEN, UM, LIKE A LITTLE STEAMROLLER FOR US TO DO A COMPACTION AND SO ON.
BUT AS FAR AS THE, UM, ADVANCED CLEAN FLEET, THE A CF REGULATION ONLY, THESE TWO CATEGORIES ARE MANDATED TO HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE A CF, SO THE MEDIUM DUTY FEE AND THE HEAVY-DUTY FLEET.
SO I WANT TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE PRIMER ON THE FOLLOWING GRAPHS THAT'S COMING UP.
UM, I'LL GIVE YOU A, A PICTURE OF WHAT THE 10 YEAR CAPITAL REPLACEMENT COST LOOKS LIKE USING OUR PAST PRACTICE.
UM, AND THEN, UM, WHAT WE HAVE ALTERED IT TO LOOK LIKE, UM, BY OPTIMIZING THE 50 50 PURCHASE AND ALSO LEVELING OUT THE PRACTICE, THE THE PURCHASE PLAN.
IN ADDITION, UM, WE HAD A, WE HAD AN AUDIT IN 2022 BY THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE ON OUR FLEET.
AND ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME OUT OF THE AUDIT WAS THE CREATION OF A FLEET REPLACEMENT FUND.
HISTORICALLY, WE WOULD JUST PULL THE MONEY OUT OF, UM, RESERVE, WE WOULD BUDGET IT, AND IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT IF IT WENT OVER BUDGET, IT WOULD BE JUST COVERED UNDER RESERVES.
UM, IT WASN'T PLANNED OUT IN A 10 YEAR CAPITAL FUND STANDPOINT.
UM, SO THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE DID RECOMMEND US TO CREATE A FUND SO THAT, UM, THAT PURCHASE PLAN WOULD BE MORE STABLE.
UM, NOW THERE'S TWO WAYS THAT, UM, WELL, ACTUALLY THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS TO CREATE THIS CAPITAL REPLACEMENT FUND.
UM, WHAT I'LL BE PRESENTING IS TWO, TWO WAYS, TWO BASIC WAYS.
ONE IS, UM, REPLACEMENT FUND WITH A CATCHER STRATEGY.
SO BASICALLY WE WOULD FUND, UM, CAPITAL REPLACEMENT FOR FY 25.
IN ADDITION, WE WOULD START PUTTING AWAY MONEY FOR ALL THE REPLACEMENTS THEREAFTER.
UM, AND SO IT HAS A LOT OF FRONT LOADING OF CAPITAL COSTS AND RESERVE COSTS.
UM, THE OTHER WAY THAT PRESENT IS TO KIND OF CREATE THE FUND AS WE GO.
SO AS SOON AS WE REPLACE A VEHICLE, THEN WE'LL START TO COLLECT FUNDS, UM, THEREAFTER ON A 10 YEAR CYCLE TO CONTINUE TO REPLACE IT.
SO THIS IS THE HISTORICAL, UM, WAY OF REPLACING VEHICLES FOR THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND SO YOU CAN SEE IT'S KIND OF VARIABLE.
ONE OF THE REASONS WHY IT'S VARIABLE IS FLEET REPLACEMENT IS ONE OF THE LEVERS THAT, UM, WE HAVE PULLED IN THE PAST TO DEAL WITH BUDGET AND STABILIZING BUDGET, UM, RATE HIKES.
AND SO SOMETIMES WE'LL WITHHOLD, UM, REPLACING A, A HEAVY DUTY VEHICLE BECAUSE IT'S HALF A MILLION DOLLARS BECAUSE WE WANT TO LOOK AT, UM, HOW IT AFFECTS OUR RATES.
AND WE LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN WAIT ANOTHER YEAR.
AND SO THEN THE PURCHASES START TO SPIKE THIS WAY AS WE LOOK AT WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO AND WHAT CAN WE WAIT ON.
BUT AS YOU CAN SEE WITH THE WAY IT SPIKES, IT'S A LITTLE HARD, UM, EVERY YEAR IN TERMS OF THE BUDGETING FORECASTING.
'CAUSE WHAT BRANDON IS LIKE, WELL, WHAT IS IT GONNA BE NEXT YEAR? AND IT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, 1,000,001 YEAR AND 6 MILLION A DIFFERENT YEAR.
AND SO WE DO WANT TO LOOK AT STABILIZING THAT.
SO LOOKING TO STABILIZE IT, UM, AND TO ALSO OPTIMIZE OUR PURCHASING WITH THAT 50 50 OPTION.
UM, WE TRY TO STABILIZE IT AROUND THREE AND A HALF TO $4 MILLION GOING OUT.
AND THAT DOES MAKE US BRING SOME OF THE PURCHASES THAT WAS ORIGINALLY, UM, POTENTIALLY SLATED FOR 20, SAY FY 33.
UM, AND THIS IS ALSO TO KIND OF TAKE ADVANTAGE OF 50 50.
SO IF I BUY A MEDIUM DUTY VEHICLE THAT'S ELECTRIC, I'M ALLOWED TO BUY AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE HEAVY DUTY VEHICLE.
SO IF I BUY F-150 LIGHTNING EXTENDED BATTERY, THEN I CAN BUY A
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10 WHEEL DUMP TRUCK THAT'S CNG.UM, AND THAT WILL ALLOW ME TIME TO ALLOW FOR THE HEAVY DUTY VEHICLE FLEET TO TRANSITION INTO ELECTRIC.
LOOKING AT THE CAPITAL REPLACEMENT FUND CREATION.
UM, SO YOU HAVE ROUGHLY A $4 MILLION CAPITAL REPLACEMENT IN FY 25, BUT WE HAVE TO START COLLECTING MONEY FOR ALL THE OUT YEARS COMING UP.
AND IF WE DO THAT, UM, THE VERY FIRST YEAR IN FY 25, WE'RE LOOKING AT 11 MILLION AND IT'S ALL FRONT LOADING TO CREATE THE FUND.
AND THEN BY 2031, WE'VE CREATED THE FUND AND WE JUST HAVE TO STABILIZE IT AROUND 5.5 MILLION.
THE ALTERNATIVE WAY IS TO KIND OF BUILD THE FUND AND BUILD IT UP.
UM, SO IN THE FIRST YEAR WE'RE JUST BUYING THE CAPITAL, BUT THEN BY THE NEXT YEAR IN FY 26, IN ADDITION TO PAYING FOR THE ACTUAL CAPITAL IN FY 26, WE'RE ALSO COLLECTING SOME MONEY FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THESE VEHICLES.
'CAUSE WE'RE USING A 10 YEAR REPLACEMENT CYCLE.
AND SO EVERYTHING THAT WE BOUGHT HERE, WE'RE GONNA START COLLECTING ONE 10TH OF THE REPLACEMENT COST AND ADDED TO THIS FUND.
AND SO WE START TO BUILD IT UP AND EVENTUALLY WE'LL BUILD UP THE FUND AND THEN IT WILL THEN STABILIZE BY FFY 36 AT AROUND FIVE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THIS IS ACTUALLY THE, UM, THE PLAN THAT STAFF DOES RECOMMEND AND IS BEING PROPOSED IN THE, IN THE FY 25 BUDGET.
NOW, IN TERMS OF THE ZERO EMISSION TRANSITION TIMELINE, UM, FOR FY 25 THROUGH 29, WE HAVE 31 MEDIUM DUTY VEHICLES THAT WE PLAN ON TRANSITIONING TO ZERO EMISSIONS.
UM, IN, IF WE LOOK AT FY 25, 26, 27, SO IF WE'RE BUYING FOUR MEDIUM DUTY VEHICLES, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE OPTIMIZING.
WE'RE BUYING FOUR HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES TO OFFSET, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MEDIUM DUTY ZERO EMISSION CREDIT AND BUYING SOME INTERNAL COMBUSTION VEHICLES.
THAT'S VERY EXPENSIVE IF WE WENT ELECTRIC RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND SO, SO WE ARE OPTIMIZING THE PURCHASES HERE.
UM, SO FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, UM, WE ONLY PLAN ON REPLACING THE MEDIUM DUTY, UM, TO ZERO EMISSIONS.
AND FOR THAT WE CAN USE LEVEL TWO CHARGERS.
UM, AND WE DON'T HAVE TO GET INTO LEVEL THREE CHARGING UNTIL FY 30.
SO A LITTLE LITTLE BIT ABOUT CHARGING.
SO AN F1, F-150 LIGHTNING EXTENDED IS AROUND 130 KW BATTERY.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THE RULE OF THUMB IS IT'S ABOUT TWO MILES PER KW.
AND SO IF THE BATTERY IS 130 KWS, YOU'RE GONNA GET 260 MILES OF RANGE ON THAT TRUCK.
NOW WITH THAT, YOU CAN USE A LEVEL TWO CHARGER, AND THESE ARE THE CHARGERS THAT YOU TYPICALLY SEE IN HOMES.
UM, AND THESE ARE OFF OF TWO 40, UM, AT VOLTAGE POWER, AND IT TAKES ABOUT AN HOUR PER 10 KWS.
AND SO IF WE DRAIN THE F-150 ALL THE WAY DOWN TO ZERO, IT WOULD TAKE US ROUGHLY 13 HOURS WITH A LEVEL TWO CHARGER TO BRING IT ALL THE WAY BACK.
SO LEVEL TWO CHARGING IS JUST LIKE RESIDENTIAL CHARGING, IT'S OVERNIGHT CHARGING, BUT IN TERMS OF OPERATIONS, WE'LL NEVER RUN A VEHICLE ALL THE WAY DOWN TO ZERO.
UM, WE WOULD BE CONSTANTLY CYCLING OUR VEHICLES AND ROTATING THAT, UM, CHARGING IT AFTER ABOUT 50 MILES OR SO.
IN ADDITION, THERE ARE SOME UNCERTAINTY.
FOUR TELLS US WE CAN GET 260 MILES, BUT THAT'S KIND OF LIKE UNLOADED.
ONCE WE START DUMPING A THOUSAND POUNDS OF MATERIALS IN THE BACK AND TOWING 10,000 POUND TRAILER, UM, WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE WHAT THAT RANGE IS.
UM, SO WE DO HAVE TO KIND OF THINK ABOUT THAT AND TRY TO ANTICIPATE HOW WE MAY CHANGE THAT.
IN TERMS OF, UH, CREATING OUR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT THE FAST CHARGERS.
SO THIS IS, UM, LIKE THE 150 KW TYPE CHARGERS, THAT'S LIKE THE, UM, THE TESLA SUPERCHARGERS THAT YOU SEE IN PARKING LOTS.
UM, THOSE ARE THE, UM, FAST CHARGING.
WHAT THEY DO IS THEY TAKE AC POWER, BASICALLY PIPE IT INTO A BIG BATTERY, AND THEN THEY USE A BATTERY TO CHARGE A BATTERY AT A VERY HIGH RATE.
UM, NOW THIS IS LEVEL TWO CHARGING, AND WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT LEVEL TWO, LEVEL THREE CHARGING YET IN TERMS OF WHAT CAN WE DO ON THE CAMPUS.
UM, SO THE AIR RESOURCES BOARD HAS ALWAYS BEEN TRYING TO GET US TO TRANSITION TO MORE AND MORE CLEAN, CLEAN AIR, UM, OPERATIONS.
AND SO WHEN WE WERE OPERATING A LOT OF DIESEL FLEET, WE HAD TO PUT IN A LOT OF DIESEL TRAPS.
UM, WHAT THEY WERE, THEY WERE HEATERS THAT KIND OF COOKED UP TO THE DIESEL TRUCKS TO HELP US MAKE THE DIESEL MORE CLEAN.
AND SO THIS IS ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, WE INSTALLED A, A LOT OF THESE DIESEL TRAP, UM, OUTLETS ALL OVER THE, THE WARLOW CAMPUS, UM, TO DEAL WITH THE DIESEL TRANSITION.
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BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS WE CAN USE THAT POWER, UM, AND SIMPLY INSTEAD OF HAVING THIS LITTLE PLUG, WE CAN PUT IN A LEVEL TWO CHARGER.AND SO IT'S A VERY EASY TRANSITION FOR US TO PUT INTO LEVEL TWO CHARGERS ACROSS THE CAMPUS.
AND WE HAVE, UM, PLENTY OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ALREADY IN PLACE TO DEAL WITH THE MEDIUM DUTY, UM, SCHEDULE THAT I PRESENTED A LITTLE EARLIER.
AND SO FROM THAT STANDPOINT, UM, WE'RE IN GOOD SHAPE.
UM, BUT WE DO NOT HAVE PLANS FOR LEVEL THREE CHARGING YET.
UM, AND AND BIG PART OF THAT IS WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT THE CAMPUS IS GONNA LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE.
SO IT'S HARD FOR ME TO DESIGN OUT AND PLAN OUT, UM, A BIG SEE FEED THAT COMES IN AND WHERE DOES IT COME IN AND HOW DO I PIPE IT INTO WHAT LOCATION ON THE CAMPUS AND WHETHER OR NOT IT IS THIS CAMPUS OR DIFFERENT CAMPUS.
UM, ALL THAT STILL IS UP FOR DISCUSSION.
AND SO WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO PLAN OUT THE LEVEL THREE CHARGING, AND THAT'S WHY.
SO WITH THAT, I KNOW I RAN THROUGH THAT REALLY QUICK AND I HOPE I DIDN'T, UH, MAKE IT MORE CONFUSING.
UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS RELATED TO OUR 10 YEAR FLEET AND A CF UM, TRANSITION PLAN.
UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, KEVIN, SCOTT.
UM, AND THIS MIGHT BE MORE OF A BRANDING QUESTION, BUT THE, UM, REPLACEMENT FUND, UH, THE, THE RESERVES THAT ARE PLACED IN THAT, WOULD THAT COUNT TOWARDS OUR, UH, RESERVE FUNDING THAT WE'RE RESERVE FUNDING BALANCE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN? I'M GONNA LET THE FINANCE SUPERSTAR ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
WHEN ONE COMES, I'LL LET YOU KNOW.
UM, THE ANSWER IS SHORT ANSWER IS YES.
SO ESSENTIALLY IT WOULD REROLL IT, BUT WHAT WE WOULD DO IS DESIGNATE THAT IN FUTURE PRESENTATIONS SO YOU KNOW THAT IT'S AVAILABLE FOR USE.
AGAIN, AT THE BOARD DISCRETION, THAT MONEY CAN BE RE DIVERTED.
BUT AS TY MENTIONED, THIS IS A STANDARD PRACTICE IN THE INDUSTRY, IS BEING ABLE TO PUT MONEY AWAY FOR, FOR FUTURE PURCHASES.
AND I THINK WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING, WE DON'T DO THAT, IS YOU'RE IN A, IN A BIND EVERY YEAR.
AND AS THESE MANDATES COME UP, AND AS TY MENTIONED, THESE, THESE CAR ARE VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE.
SO PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE IS SOMETHING WE'RE LOOKING TO DO.
SO AGAIN, THOSE WOULD BE EARMARKED, YES, BUT WE WOULD, IT WOULD BE AT MORE DISCRETION HOW TO SPEND THOSE IN THE FUTURE.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? JUST GLORIA, A QUICK QUESTION.
I, IN TERMS OF, UM, TERMS CLEAN FLEET REGULATIONS FROM THE STATE, UM, THERE'S AN OPTION RIGHT NOW AND AT SOME POINT IS WE, ARE WE, DO WE THINK WE WON'T HAVE AN OPTION? YES.
SO, WELL, THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO COMPLY.
THERE'S THE MILESTONE OPTION AND THE PURCHASE OPTION.
WE'RE GOING WITH THE PURCHASE OPTION.
AND SO THERE IS A TRANSITION PLAN.
SO PRIOR TO JANUARY 1ST, 2027, IT'S A 50 50 PURCHASE PLAN.
SO FOR EVERY MEDIUM, FOR EVERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE WE BUY, WE GET TO BUY ONE COM INTERNAL COMBUSTION VEHICLE.
IN THE MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY CATEGORY, IT CAN BE MIXED.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, I DON'T HAVE TO BUY A HEAVY DUTY ZERO EMISSION TO GET A HEAVY DUTY, UM, UH, INTERNAL COMBUSTION.
I CAN BUY A MORE AFFORDABLE, MORE WELL TESTED, MORE STREET TESTED F-150 LIGHTNING, AND THEN TAKE THAT CREDIT AND BUY A 10 WHEEL DUMP TRUCK THAT'S ALL ELECTRIC.
I MEAN, THAT'S, UH, INTERNAL COMBUSTION.
THIS IS WHAT WE CURRENTLY OPERATE.
SO AFTER 2027, COULD THAT CHANGE AND IT IS IT GONNA BE A LITTLE MORE STRINGENT? YEAH, SO AFTER 2027, I DO NOT HAVE THAT OPTION.
AND SO, UM, WE DID LOOK AT OUR FLEET AND THE AGE OF OUR EXISTING, UM, HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES AND WHAT WE CAN ACCELERATE THE PURCHASES OF, AND SO THAT WE CAN BUY OURSELVES SOMETIMES TO ALLOW THE HEAVY DUTY ZERO EMISSION MARKET TO MATURE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR, UH, COMMISSIONERS OR STAFF? OKAY, DO WE VOTE, TAKE THE TWO ITEMS TOGETHER OR VOTE THEM ONE BY ONE? I THINK WE'RE VOTING ON THESE ONE BY ONE AS USUAL.
SO MOTION TO RECEIVE AND FILE.
I IT HAS BEEN, UM, MOTION SECOND BY GLORIA CORDERO AND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER SHANNON.
ANY OPPOSITIONS? HEARING NONE, THE MOTION CARRIES.
[9. 24-53364 Receive and file Overview of the Utilities Department Proposed Budget and Rates for Fiscal Year 2025. Suggested Action: Receive and file. ]
NINE.SO THIS KICKS OFF BUDGET WORKSHOP NUMBER TWO, TO GIVE A RECAP OF WHAT WE DISCUSSED IN BUDGET WORKSHOP ONE.
ESSENTIALLY THERE WERE THREE TRENDS WE REALLY FOCUSED ON.
AND I, AND I THINK, AS I MENTIONED, WHETHER IN THE GAS SITE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PG AND E, SDG AND E ON THE WATER SIDE, US L-A-D-W-P METROPOLITAN, WE'RE ALL FACING SIMILAR ISSUES FROM
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A FINANCIAL CONSTRAINT PERSPECTIVE.WHEN IT COMES TO RUNNING UTILITIES OPERATION, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THREE MAJOR THEMES WHEN IT COMES TO UTILITIES.
ONE, IT'S A VERY, VERY HIGH COST FIXED BUSINESS.
THE, UH, AMOUNT OF EFFORT AND MONEY IT TAKES TO EXTRACT A RESOURCE, TRANSPORT IT, TREAT IT, MONITOR IT, DELIVER IT TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
IN THE CASE OF SEWER DISPOSING OF THAT IS A VERY, VERY CAPITAL INTENSIVE BUSINESS.
AND A FEW STATS I WANNA REITERATE FROM LAST, LAST WORKSHOP.
THERE'S A LOCAL CONSTRUCTION INDEX, THE ENR ESSENTIALLY THAT, THAT ESSENTIALLY MEASURES THE, UH, THE PRICE INCREASES OF CONSTRUCTION RELATED COSTS IN THE LA INDUSTRY.
THAT'S GONE UP 25% TO 5% IN THE LAST THREE YEARS.
SO WE'RE SEEING, UH, COST PRESSURES ON THE DELIVERY OF INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE.
UM, LABOR COSTS, PENSION INCREASES STILL CONTINUE TO RISE YEAR OVER YEAR.
AND AS YOU NOTICED EARLIER THIS WEEK, WEEK, THE BBL, THE FEDERAL BLS RELEASED CPI, UM, INFORMATION FOR LAST MONTH STILL AT 3.5%.
SO INFLATION IS VERY, VERY STICKY.
WE'RE SEEING IT ACROSS THE BOARD, WHETHER IT'S LABOR, WHETHER IT'S PIPE, CHEMICALS, TREATED WATER, EVERYTHING IS, IS GOING UP.
SO I THINK THAT YOU'RE SEEING THAT ON THE FIXED COST SIDE.
COSTS REMAIN, CONTINUE TO RISE.
ON THE REVENUE SIDE, WE'RE A RELATIVELY BUILT OUT CITY WITH THE BUILT OUT CUSTOMER BASE, THE PACE OF REVENUE IS NOT CATCHING UP AND MAINTAINING WITH THE COST OF INCREASES ON THE, ON THE EXPENSE SIDE.
SO I THINK A MAJOR TREND YOU'RE GONNA SEE HERE IS WHAT DO WE DO TODAY TO ADDRESS THAT IMBALANCE WE SEE GOING IN THE FUTURE, HIGH FIXED COSTS INFLATION HERE TO STAY A CUSTOMER BASE, UM, WHOSE REVENUE SOURCE IS NOT KEEPING UP WITH THOSE, THOSE COST INCREASES.
SO AS UTILITY, WE HAVE THREE MAJOR, UH, MISSION MISSIONS IN DELIVERING SERVICES TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
NUMBER ONE, FIRST AND FOREMOST IS, IS SAFE DELIVERY OF A COMMODITY, ESPECIALLY ON THE GAS SIDE.
WHAT WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON TODAY IS OUR CIP PROGRAM.
WHAT, WHAT ARE WE DOING TODAY TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PIPELINE REMAINS UP TO DATE AND SAFE FOR ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS ACROSS LONG BEACH AND, AND PORTIONS OF SIGNAL HILL.
A MAJOR FOCUS FOR ANY UTILITY IS WHEN A CUSTOMER TURNS DOWN THE FAUCET, WATER CLEAN, FRESH WATER COMES OUT.
WHEN THEY'RE ABLE TO TURN ON THEIR NATURAL UTILIZER, NATURAL GAS, THEY'RE ABLE TO HEAT THEIR HOMES AND COOK THEIR FOOD.
THAT'S A, A CORE SERVICE THAT WE, WE WANT TO, UH, KEEP IN THE FORE OF OUR BRAINS WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING FINANCIALLY.
AND LAST, BUT PROBABLY MOST IMPORTANTLY, IS AFFORDABILITY.
I THINK YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE IN THIS PRESENTATION THAT MAKING SURE THAT RATES ARE AFFORDABLE COMPARED TO OUR RELATIVE AGENCIES AROUND THE AREA IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TO US.
SO, UM, WE ARE GOING, WE ARE ACTUALLY, I'LL TELL YOU UPFRONT, PROPOSING RATE INCREASES ACROSS THE BOARD FOR WATER, GAS, AND SEWER.
WE'LL GET INTO EACH ONE OF THOSE RESPECTIVELY.
BUT AGAIN, THIS TRENDS I, I'M OUT LAYING IS, IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PUT OURSELVES IN A FINANCIAL SITUATION.
NOW WE'RE NOT KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD, AND WE'RE ABLE TO MAINTAIN OUR SAFE INFRASTRUCTURE MOVING FORWARD.
SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS, AGAIN, LIKE LAST WORKSHOP, GO THROUGH EACH OF THE FUNDS, UH, ONE BY ONE.
AND AGAIN, IF THIS IS A WORKSHOP, SO ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS THAT POP UP, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JUMP IN WITH ANYTHING.
THIS IS A, AN ONGOING DISCUSSION.
SO ON THE GAS FUND SIDE, AS, AS A REMINDER, UH, THERE ARE TWO MAJOR COMPONENTS OF A CA OF A CUSTOMER'S GAS BILL.
FIRST AND FOREMOST IS THE COMMODITY CHARGE.
WE MAKE ZERO MONEY FROM THE COMMODITY.
WHAT ESSENTIALLY WE'RE DOING IS THE PURCHASE PRICE WE GET OF BUYING THAT COMMODITY, GETTING IT TO OUR CITY BORDER IS WHAT WE CHARGE THE CUSTOMER.
TONY, UH, DIANA AND THE GAS TEAM HAS DONE, AND DENNIS HAVE DONE A REALLY GREAT JOB IN MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PURCHASE GAS AT A VERY, VERY COST COMPETITIVE PRICE.
UM, THAT'S THROUGH HEDGING TECHNIQUES, THAT'S THROUGH A, A INNOVATIVE PREPAID DEAL WE HAVE WHERE WE GET AN 83 CENT DISCOUNT OF EVERY THE WE WE IMPORT IN, UH, WORKING WITH OUR LOCAL SUPPLIERS.
WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING PRICE, THE GAS PRICE AT A VERY, VERY, UH, PRICE COMPETITIVE, UM, RATE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
SECOND MOST IMPORTANT PART IS THE COST.
ONCE THAT GAS GETS TO OUR BORDER, DELIVERING IT THROUGH OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND GETTING IT TO THE CUSTOMER'S HOMES, THAT'S THE TRANSPORTATION, THE TRANSMISSION RATE.
YOU SEE, WE HAVE NOT, WE'VE ONLY RAISED THAT RATE ONE TIME IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS.
SO ALL THIS, THESE COST INFLATION INFLATIONARY PRESSURES WE'RE SEEING OVER THE LAST SEVEN YEARS.
WE'VE ONLY RAISED RATES ONCE IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT HOW WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES.
AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A REHASH OF LAST, UH, LAST UH, WORKSHOP.
ESSENTIALLY WHAT THIS IS SHOWING IS AT A HIGH LEVEL, YOU'LL NOTICING THE IMBALANCE HERE AT THE BOTTOM.
OUR TOTAL EXPENSES ARE INCREASING IN, UH, OUTPACING OUR TOTAL REVENUE.
SO WHAT'S EMBEDDED IN FY 25, WE'LL GET IN MORE DETAIL, IS A 4%, UM, INCREASE ON THE GAS SIDE.
WE'LL GET IN MORE DETAIL IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES.
SO WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT RESERVES AND I, I, I CAN'T, I CAN'T, YOU KNOW, HARP ENOUGH WHY, WHY RESERVES ARE IMPORTANT.
THREE MAJOR REASONS WHY RESERVES ARE IMPORTANT.
UM, WE PLAN AND, AND DO PROACTIVE PLANNING.
KEVIN AND ROB AND THEIR TEAMS DO A VERY GREAT JOB OF BEING PROACTIVE WITH OUR PIPELINE MAINTENANCE.
HOWEVER, EMERGENCIES DO HAPPEN.
AND WHEN WE DO HAVE EMERGENCIES, THESE CAPITAL PRODUCTS ARE VERY, VERY TIME INTENSIVE, BUT ALSO COST INTENSIVE.
WE UTILIZE OUR RESERVES FOR, AS AN EMERGENCY BACKSTOP, SHOULD A PIPELINE BURST, SHOULD THERE BE LEAKAGE IN THE, IN THE GAS LINE.
THIS, THESE RESERVE LEVELS ARE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS.
SO SERVICES ARE NOT INTERRUPTED, UH, TO ANY OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, SECOND I MENTIONED HOW WERE WE ABLE TO ONLY RAISE RATES ONCE IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS? RATE STABILIZATION IS VERY, VERY KEY.
[00:25:01]
LITTLE BIT WITH DEBT, BUT WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN YOU'RE SEEING COST INCREASES SPIKE YEAR OVER YEAR, WE TRY OUR BEST NOT TO PASS THOSE ON TO CUSTOMERS RIGHT AWAY.WHAT WE WANT IS, IS CONSISTENT, RELIABLE SERVICE AT A, AT A RATE THAT CUSTOMERS ARE COMFORTABLE WITH AND ARE ARE, ARE ABLE TO AFFORD.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE RESERVES, YOU'RE ABLE TO BUFFER THOSE COST INCREASES.
YOU'RE ABLE TO BUFFER THOSE YEARS OF, OF SLOW REVENUE GROWTH.
SO HAVING RESERVES, AGAIN, EMERGENCY RESERVES FOR CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, THE RATE STABILIZATION IS VERY, VERY KEY.
AND THE THIRD VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TOOL, ESPECIALLY ON THE WATER SIDE, IS, AS I MENTIONED, UTILITIES IS A VERY CAPITAL INTENSIVE INDUSTRY.
DEBT IS A VERY, VERY GREAT TOOL TO BE ABLE TO SMOOTH OUT AND AMORTIZE THESE COSTS FOR THESE CAPITAL PROJECTS.
A NEW WELL PROJECTS UP UPWARD TO $3 MILLION.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE PROJECTS.
WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS UTILIZE DEBT IN A VERY FISCALLY PRUDENT, BUT VERY SMART APPROACH TO BE ABLE TO SMOOTH THOSE COSTS OVER GENERATIONS.
UH, A GOOD EXAMPLE, I'LL, UM, WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR GAS CIP $50 MILLION.
A MAJORITY OF THAT IS FUNDED WITH NEXT YEAR WITH, WITH DEBT ABOUT 30, 34 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IF WE WEREN'T USING DEBT THAT'S IN A DIRECT HIT TO CUSTOMERS OUTTA THEIR CUSTOMERS, UH, POCKETBOOK.
SO WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS USE DEBT TO KEEP RATES LOW, BUT CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN OUR INVESTMENT IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO YOU NOTICE HERE, UM, THE GAS FUND, UH, BECAUSE OF, UH, EXPENSE PRESSURES, THE FUND BALANCE IS, IS SEVERELY DROPPING IN FY 25.
I'M GONNA FOCUS ON TODAY THE PROPOSALS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR RATES ARE ONLY GOING TO AFFECT FY 25.
THE OUT YEARS ARE JUST FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES.
JUST TO GET, JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WHAT WE DO NOW AFFECTS THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
AND I'D LIKE TO MENTION THE BIGGEST BENEFIT I SEE ON THE FINANCIAL SIDE OF HAVING THE GAS UTILITY NOW UNDER A COMMISSION IS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT FORWARD LOOKING OUTLOOK OF WHAT ARE WE DOING TODAY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IN A FINANCIAL, A GOOD FINANCIAL SITUATION IN THE OUT YEARS.
UM, YOU, BY KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD, WE'RE ONLY, WE'RE ONLY PUSHING THE PAIN DOWN IN THE OUT YEARS.
SO I THINK, UM, THOUGH RATE INCREASES ARE VERY, VERY PAINFUL, I THINK THEY'RE A NECESSITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE NOT COMPOUNDING THE ISSUE MOVING FORWARD.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO KEVIN TO DIG IN INTO OUR GAS, UH, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS MORNING COMMISSIONERS.
SO, UM, THIS IS OUR PROPOSED GAS CIP BUDGET.
UM, WE'RE PROPOSING ABOUT $6 MILLION IN PIPELINE REPLACEMENT.
AND THEN YOU'LL ALSO SEE 6 MILLION THERE IN BILLABLE PROJECTS.
UM, THAT'S FOR, UH, WORK IN THE PORT OF LONG BEACH.
SO BOTH OF THOSE PROJECTS ARE PIPELINE REPLACEMENT.
SO I KIND OF VIEW IT AS A $12 MILLION, UH, PIPELINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT, UH, OR BUDGET.
WE'RE GONNA GET, UH, ABOUT HALF OF THAT REIMBURSED.
BUT I EMPHASIZE, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, WHILE THE THE REIMBURSEMENT IS GREAT, IT'S, IT DOES TAKE OUR STAFF AND OUR IN IN INSPECTORS, OUR ENGINEERS, IT TAKES THEIR TIME TO WORK ON THESE BILLABLE PROJECTS.
UH, WE HAVE ABOUT, UH, 2 MILLION FOR CROSS BOARD INSPECTIONS.
AND I, AND I THINK I'VE TALKED TO YOU GUYS BEFORE ABOUT CROSS BOARDS, BUT, UH, IT IS A, IT IS A CRITICAL PROGRAM.
THE, THE INSPECTIONS THAT WE DO ARE, ARE TO AVOID POTENTIAL HAZARDS.
UH, SO WE RUN, UH, CAMERAS THROUGH THE SEWER LATERALS LOOKING FOR WHERE WE'VE, UM, WITH OUR TRENCHLESS INSTALLATIONS HAVE PUT A GAS LINE THROUGH A SEWER LINE, AND THEN SOMETIMES THE CAMERA, IF IT WORKS, IT'S GREAT.
AND SOMETIMES WE HAVE, UH, OBSTRUCTIONS IN THERE LIKE TREE ROOTS AND THEN SO WE HAVE TO EXCAVATE.
SO, UH, THE DOLLAR AMOUNT MAY SEEM HIGH, BUT THERE'S, IT'S, IT'S A LOT OF ACTUAL WORK TO ENSURE THAT, UH, WE'RE ELIMINATING THOSE CROSSBO HAZARDS.
AND, AND LEMME JUMP IN THERE REAL QUICK.
SO WHEN KEVIN TALKS ABOUT THE CROSS BOARD PROGRAM, IT, AND HE SAYS IT'S A VERY CRITICAL PROGRAM.
IT, IT CERTAINLY IS, BUT IT'S RELATIVELY NEW.
AND SO, UH, THE IMPACT ON THE GAS BUDGET IS RELATIVELY NEW TOO.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING THE CROSS BOARD INSPECTIONS? UH, SINCE 2014.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST ONE ON THERE, UH, IT'S KIND OF NEW.
UH, TYPICALLY WHEN WE TALK CIP WE'RE REALLY JUST TALKING CROSS BORDERS AND PIPELINE REPLACEMENT, BUT THIS IS OUR, UH, FOR SCADA UPGRADE.
UH, MOSTLY JUST UPGRADING SOME OBSOLETE EQUIPMENT IN OUR SCADA SYSTEM.
AND THEN SOME, UH, METER REPLACEMENT, UH, WORK.
WE, WE DID, UH, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHEN WE STARTED, BUT WE, UH, WE DID THE A MI ON THE GAS SIDE AND THEY HAVE BATTERIES IN THERE THAT HAVE A, A, A 20 YEAR LIFE.
SO IT WASN'T 20 YEARS AGO THAT WE STARTED, BUT WE, WE INSTALLED THEM ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
SO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT HITTING, UH, THE 20 YEAR SITE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO GET AHEAD ON THAT.
SO THAT'S THE START ON THAT WORK.
SO, UH, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE GO ABOUT SELECTING OUR PROJECTS.
SO WE DO WHAT'S CALLED A LEAK SURVEY, UM, EVERY YEAR ACROSS, ACROSS THE FIELD.
AND WE HAVE A REQUIRED BY OUR REGULATOR, WE HAVE TO, UH, DO A FIVE YEAR INSPECTION OF ALL OF OUR PIPELINES, THOSE, THOSE RESULTS, AND, AND SOMETIMES FINDING AREAS THAT WE'LL NEED IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.
SO THAT, THAT'S ONE OF OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITIES.
[00:30:01]
IF SOMETHING'S LEAKING, WE'RE GONNA FOCUS OUR CAPITAL ON, ON FIXING THAT.WE ALSO HAVE, UH, DOT REGULATED INSPECTIONS THAT WE HAVE TO DO, UH, EVERY TWO YEARS WE HAVE TO DO LIKE OUR BRIDGE INSPECTIONS, SO ANY OF OUR BRIDGE CROSSINGS.
UH, SO ANYTHING THAT WE FIND THERE, WE WOULD AGAIN, PRIORITIZE THAT AS A IMMEDIATE RESPONSE.
AND THEN THE TWO PROGRAMS WE JUST TALKED ABOUT, MEDIA REPLACEMENTS, CROSS BORDER, THAT'S, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY ANOTHER PRIORITY.
AND THEN LASTLY, OUR, OUR DIM RISK SCORES.
SO DIM IS OUR DISTRIBUTION INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT PLAN, AND WE HAVE, UH, VARIOUS RISK FACTORS.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE AGE OF THE PIPE, THE TYPE OF THE PIPE AND MATERIAL WE'RE USING, THE COATING THAT WE USED IN THE PIPE.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A, A SAFETY SCORE THAT WE APPLY TO IT.
SO IF A PIPELINE IS NEAR A SCHOOL, UH, A HOSPITAL, AND THEN ALSO THE, THE PRESSURE, UH, WE HAVE VARIOUS PRESSURES THROUGHOUT OUR SYSTEM.
THE HIGHER THE PRESSURE, THE MORE THE RISK.
SO THAT ADDS UP TO A TOTAL DEM SCORE.
AND THEN HERE'S OUR, UH, OVERALL MAP.
THAT MEANS WE HAVE VERY LOW RISK IN OUR SYSTEM.
AND I, I WOULD, I MEAN, I LIKE, THERE'S ONE AREA I WOULD SHOW RIGHT IN HERE WHERE THAT'S AT.
YOU SEE THAT'S KIND OF ORANGE RED, BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING IN THAT AREA RIGHT NOW TO, TO REPLACE THAT.
SO, UH, ALL THE, YOU KNOW, BEFORE MY TIME IN, IN THIS GROUP, UH, LOTS OF HARD WORK AND CONTINUOUS INVESTMENT INTO OUR PIPELINE INTEGRITY RESULTS IN, IN SEEING A, A VERY, UH, LOW RISK DISTRIBUTION GAS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
AND THEN, SO JUST SOME PICTURES OF, UH, OF OUR GAS CIP PROJECTS, UH, KIND OF RARE FOR US TO DO A, UH, OPEN TRENCH, BUT HERE'S AN OPEN TRENCH INSTALLATION.
AND THEN I WANNA HIGHLIGHT OVER HERE, THIS IS A CROSS COMPRESSION DEVICE.
SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO BE CONSCIOUS OF IS WHEN WE'RE DOING OUR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF METHANE EMISSIONS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT WORK.
SO THIS DEVICE HELPS US REDUCE IT, IT DOES ADD, I MEAN, THE DEVICE COSTS MONEY AND IT ADDS TIME, BUT WE FEEL THAT TO, UH, BE A, UH, A MORE RESPONSIBLE SUSTAINABLE GAS UTILITY.
WE'RE DOING EVERY STEP WE CAN TO REDUCE OUR EMISSIONS.
UH, AND THEN OUR, UH, CROSS BOARD PROGRAM, WHICH, SO LIKE, IF, IF YOU DON'T RECALL A CROSS BOARD WHEN WE'RE DOING OUR TRENCHLESS INSTALLATIONS, THERE ARE CHANCES, UH, WE, WE, YOU KNOW, SEWER LINES ARE MADE OF, UH, CLAY.
SO THEY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE HARD TO LOCATE AND, UH, AND SO IT'S EASY FOR US TO JUST DRILL THROUGH 'EM AND IN, AND BECAUSE THEY'RE MADE OF CLAY, IF YOU, IF YOU DRILL THROUGH 'EM, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW.
SO WE DID A TON OF INSTALLATIONS BEFORE WE REALIZED THAT THAT WAS POTENTIALLY A PROBLEM.
SO WE HAVE A, A LEGACY TRUCK THAT GOES AND, AND AS WE MENTIONED EARLIER, WE STARTED THAT PROGRAM IN 2014.
AND SO JUST SOME NUMBERS WE'VE DONE ROUGHLY, UH, I THINK 14, 12,000, UH, INSPECTIONS SINCE 2014.
AND WE FOUND ROUGHLY 120 PROSPERS.
WE HAVE PROBABLY ABOUT 28,000, UH, INSPECTIONS THAT WE STILL HAVE TO DO.
SO THAT'S POTENTIALLY 280, UH, CROSS BOARDS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
SO OBVIOUSLY THE CROSS BOARD PROGRAM GOING IN, INSPECTING, ENSURING THAT WE CAN REMOVE THOSE, UH, HAZARDOUS SITUATIONS.
BUT WE DON'T JUST RELY ON THAT.
WE TRY TO LET CUSTOMERS KNOW THAT IF, IF YOU HAVE A, UH, A SEWER BACKUP THAT LIKE TRY TO CALL US FIRST, OR AT LEAST RUN A CAMERA IF YOU'RE GONNA HAVE YOUR, UH, YOUR PLUMBER COME OUT BEFORE THEY RUN THE CUTTER, BECAUSE IF THEY RUN THE CUTTER, THEN YOU COULD POTENTIALLY GET IN GAS LEAKING INTO YOUR, UH, YOUR HOME.
AND THEN, OH, SO, AND THEN THIS IS, UH, SO BILLABLE PROJECTS HAS MOSTLY BEEN THE PORT.
SO OUR BIGGER ONE IS PURE B RAIL.
AND, UH, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT, THIS IS A, UH, INLINE INSPECTION TOOL.
IT'S ACTUALLY THE FIRST TIME WE'VE EVER RUN THAT TOOL IN OUR, UH, DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
THEY'RE TYPICALLY RUN TO DETERMINE THE WALL THICKNESS OF A PIPELINE, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE AN UNDERGROUND PIPELINE WHERE YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO IT.
AND, UH, SO THIS IS, WE, WE RAN THIS IN A, UH, WHERE WE DID A DIRECTIONAL DRILL TO GO ACROSS OR UNDER THE LA RIVER.
UM, BUT THE REASON WE RAN IT IS IT ALSO GIVES YOU PINPOINT LOCATION OF WHERE YOUR X AND Y AND Z COORDINATE IS FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR LOCATION OF YOUR PIPELINE.
AND THE PORT IS DRIVE, UH, DRIVING SOME PILES FOR PART OF THEIR PROJECT.
SO THEY WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE KNEW WHERE THAT WAS, UH, BEFORE THEY, UH, DID THEIR WORK.
AND I THINK THAT WAS IT FOR ME.
QUESTIONS I CAN, I CAN COME BACK NEXT.
[00:35:02]
ALRIGHT, TO CONTINUE FOR THE RECORD, MY TONY FOSTER ON THE GAS BUSINESS, UH, SERVICES MANAGER FOR THE UTILITIES.UH, GENERATING SUFFICIENT FUNDS IS NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN CRITICAL GAS INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMS LIKE THE CIP PROGRAM THAT KEVIN JUST HIGHLIGHTED.
UH, SOUND FISCAL MANAGEMENT INCLUDES PRUDENT RATE ADJUSTMENTS FOR ONGOING OPERATIONS.
SO THIS SLIDE, UH, REPRESENTS PROPOSED RATE ADJUSTMENTS FOR RESIDENTIAL GAS CUSTOMERS FOR FISCAL YEAR 25.
THE ADJUSTMENTS ARE TRANSMISSION RATES ONLY AND SEEK TO MATCH MARKET RATES.
IN OUR CASE, THE MARKET IS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY, UH, PER OUR CITY CHARTER.
OUR CURRENT BASELINE ON TIER ONE, AS YOU CAN SEE, IS ABOUT 74 CENTS A THERM.
WHILE THE SOCAL GAS RATE, AS YOU CAN SEE IS 75.20 CENTS A THERM.
AND OUR CURRENT NON BASELINE RATE IS A DOLLAR SEVEN A THERM WHILE, SO-CALLED GAS RATE IS A DOLLAR 18 A THERM.
SO MATCHING THESE RATES FOR ALL RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WILL YIELD AN ADDITIONAL $2.3 MILLION, AND THAT'S ANNUAL.
AND WHILE MAINTAINING, UH, UH, A MINIMALLY INCREASED, UH, AVERAGE BILL, UH, FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS AS SEEN ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THIS SLIDE PRESENTS THE IMPACT ON RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS OF THIS PROPOSED INCREASE.
THIS BAR CHART ILLUSTRATES HOW THE PROPOSED RATE ADJUSTMENT IMPACTS AVERAGE CUSTOMERS.
BILL, AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER BILL LONG BEACH UTILITIES OFFERS OUR CUSTOMERS THE LOWEST GAS RATE IN THE STATE.
THE LEFTMOST BAR REPRESENTS LAST YEAR'S AVERAGE BILL OF ABOUT $73 A MONTH.
UH, THIS WAS A DIFFICULT YEAR DRIVEN BY UNUSUALLY HIGH COMMODITY PRICES.
NOW THE PRICES HAVE DROPPED AND STABILIZED.
OUR AVERAGE BILL IS ABOUT $55, WHICH IS THE LOWEST IN THE STATE.
THE YELLOW BAR SHOWS THE PROPOSED RATE ADJUSTED BILL FOR LONG BEACH, UH, AT $57 AND IS PROJECTED TO REMAIN THE LOWEST.
YOU MAY ASK YOURSELF WHY SOCAL GAS IS $5 MORE IF WE MATCH THEIR TRANSMISSION RATES, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO DO.
THE ANSWER IS THAT THEY HAVE ADDED SOME FEES, SUCH AS THE PUBLIC PURPOSE FEE, WHICH COVERS THEIR ASSISTANCE AND REBATE PROGRAMS, UH, AND A STATE REGULATORY FEE, WHICH, UH, REIMBURSES, UH, THE PUC FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.
AND WE DON'T FEEL THAT WE ARE JUSTIFIED IN ADDING THOSE FEES.
ALL OTHERS, PG AND E SDG E AND PALO ALTOS WILL REMAIN HIGHER.
BUT WHAT ABOUT RATE CLASSES OTHER THAN RESIDENTIAL? SCHEDULE TWO IS OUR SMALL CUSTOMER AND INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMER RATE.
SCHEDULE THREE IS OUR COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL RATE.
AND SCHEDULE FOUR IS OUR LARGE COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL RATE.
THERE ARE THREE TIERS, THE BASELINE TIER AND THE NON BASELINE, WHICH ARE TIERS TWO AND THREE.
WE ARE CURRENTLY SIGNIFICANTLY LESS FOR BASELINE FOR RATES, UH, FOR SCHEDULES TWO, THREE, AND FOUR.
ALRIGHT, THAT'S WHAT I WAS AFRAID WOULD HAPPEN.
OH, WAIT, YEAH, BACK, BACK IT REALLY JUMPS.
I'M JUST GONNA NOD TO GEORGE GOING FORWARD.
UH, SO WE'RE CURRENTLY SIGNIFICANTLY BEHIND, AS YOU CAN SEE IN OUR CURRENT RATES COMPARED TO THE SCG RATES.
SO THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS RATES.
SO FOR SCHEDULES TWO AND THREE, WE ARE CURRENTLY 78.30 CENTS PER THERM PER TIER ONE.
WHILE SOCAL GAS IS 95.10 CENTS A THERM PER TIERS TWO AND THREE, WE CHARGE 42.7 AND 18 CENTS PER THE RESPECTIVELY WHILE SOCAL GAS CHARGES 46.6 AND 17.30 CENTS PER THERM PER FIRM RESPECTIVELY.
FOR SCHEDULE FOUR, THE SAME TREND OCCURS WHERE WE CHARGE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS ACROSS ALL TIERS.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS A 5 CENT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SOCAL GAS AND OUR PROPOSED RATE.
UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, LEMME SEE IF I CAN JUST HIT THE USER ONLY, UH, 5 CENT DIFFERENCE HERE.
UH, AND THIS IS BECAUSE WE, UH, BELIEVE IT'S PRUDENT TO, UH, ASSESS WHAT WE CALL A A TRANSACTION FEE.
UM, IT'S ESSENTIALLY A BROKER'S FEE.
UH, THE RATE FOR CUSTOMERS CONSUME A LARGE AMOUNT OF GAS, AND, UH, IF WE, IF THEY NOMINATE AN AMOUNT AND DON'T CONSUME THAT AMOUNT, WE'RE ON THE HOOK FOR IT AND WE HAVE TO
[00:40:01]
FIND SOME WAY TO RESELL THAT GAS.OTHERWISE, UM, WE CAN RUN INTO TO PROBLEMS. SO, UH, WE BELIEVE THAT FEE IS PRUDENT AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE SLIGHTLY OVER, UH, ON THOSE FEES FOR THE SCHEDULE FOUR CUSTOMERS.
AND, AND TO CLARIFY, WHEN TONY SAYS WE'RE OVER ON ON SCHEDULE FOUR, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT, UH, THOSE CUSTOMERS HAVE THE ABILITY TO GO OUT AND BUY THEIR OWN GAS.
THEY HAVE CHOSEN TO STAY WITH THE UTILITY AND HAVE US BUY THE GAS ON THEIR BEHALF.
SO THEY, IF THEY WANNA AVOID THIS 5 CENTS, THEY CAN, OOPS, THEY CAN GO OUT AND, UH, PURCHASE THEIR OWN GAS SUPPLY.
THIS IS A, UH, A PROGRAM THAT SOCAL GAS DOES, DOES NOT OFFER TO ITS LARGE CUSTOMERS.
WE HAVE DONE THAT FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
YEAH, WE HAVE OUR TRANSPORT CUSTOMERS, WHICH WE'LL SEE IN THE NEXT, NEXT SLIDE, WHERE OUR LARGE CUSTOMERS WHO PROCURE THEIR OWN THEIR OWN GAS AND BRING IT IN INTO OUR SYSTEM.
SO THE LAST ONE ON THIS SLIDE, JUST REAL QUICK, EXCUSE ME.
WHO, WHAT, WHAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF SCHEDULE FOUR? WHO, WHO COULD WE NAME? IT'S SCHEDULE FOUR DENNIS VETERANS HOSPITAL.
YEAH, THERE'S, THERE'S NOT MANY.
YEAH, THERE'S VERY FEW OF THEM.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THE RATHER DRAMATIC, UH, INCREASES, UM, ARE SPREAD ACROSS THESE SUPER LARGE CUSTOMERS AND, UH, WILL HAVE VERY LITTLE IMPACT ON THE RE THE BASE OF OUR CUSTOMERS, THE CORE CUSTOMERS, WHICH ARE RESIDENTIAL.
SO, MATCHING SOCAL GAS ACROSS ALL TIERS FOR ALL THREE COMMERCIAL RATE SCHEDULES WILL INCREASE, UH, REVENUE AS SHOWN ON THE RIGHTMOST COLUMN.
800,000 FOR SCHEDULE TWO, 500,000, UH, EACH FOR SCHEDULES THREE AND FOUR.
ALRIGHT, THIS FINAL SLIDE, UH, IN THIS PORTION OF THE PORTION OF THE PRESENTATION ILLUSTRATES MORE DRAMATIC, UH, GAS INCREASES, UH, IN THE, UH, COMPARATIVE, UH, TO SOCAL GAS, UH, IN THE TRANSMISSION RATE STRUCTURES.
SO, UH, THE LAST TWO RATE STRUCTURES ARE SCHEDULE SEVEN, WHICH ARE OUR ELECTRIC GENERATION CUSTOMERS, AND RATE NINE, WHICH ARE OUR TRANSPORT CUSTOMERS THAT, UH, WE JUST ALLUDED TO, ELECTRIC GENERATION CUSTOMERS CONSUMING LESS THAN 3 MILLION.
THE ANNUALLY ARE CHARGED 17.6 UH CENTS.
A THERM WILL SOCAL GAS CHARGES 25.10 CENTS.
A THERM, UM, ELECTRIC GENERATION CUSTOMERS CONSUMING MORE THAN 3 MILLION.
THERMS ARE CHARGED 6.20 CENTS A THERM WHILE SOCAL GAS CHARGES 16 CENTS A THIRD MATCHING SOCAL GAS WILL PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL $1.1 MILLION INCREASE IN ANNUAL REVENUE.
SIMILARLY ARE FOR OUR TRANSPORT CUSTOMERS WHO PROCURE THEIR OWN GAS TO BE DELIVERED THROUGH OUR SYSTEM, UM, WILL CHARGE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS.
UH, WE CHARGE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS ON ALL FOUR TIERS.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THE COMPARISONS THERE BETWEEN OUR CURRENT RATES AND THE SEG RATES AND OUR PROPOSED MATCHING RATES.
SO, MATCHING SOCAL GAS IN THIS RATE CLASS WILL YIELD AN ADDITIONAL $1.3 MILLION ANNUALLY.
I THINK THAT CONCLUDES THIS PORTION OF THE PROGRAM.
I IF I CAN JUMP IN THERE REAL FAST ON THIS PART.
UH, THE REASON WE EMPHASIZE OUR RATE COMPARISON WITH SOCAL GAS IS BECAUSE ON THE CITY CHARTER, ON THE GAS SITE, IT'S DIFFERENT THAN THE WATER AND SEWER SITE ON WATER AND SEWER.
THEIR COST BASED RATES ON GAS, IT'S MARKET BASED RATES PER THE CITY CHARTER.
SO THE CITY CHARTER SAYS THAT WE HAVE TO OFFER RATES THAT ARE COMPARABLE TO SURROUNDING GAS UTILITIES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
WE'VE ALWAYS USED SOCAL GAS AS THE OBVIOUS BENCHMARK BECAUSE IF WE DIDN'T EXIST, SOCAL GAS WOULD BE SERVING LONG BEACH CUSTOMERS.
SO THAT'S WHY WE BENCHMARK WHEN WE SAY THE MARKET, WE BENCHMARK AGAINST SOCAL GUESTS.
UH, BEFORE TONY LEAVES, ARE THERE ANY COMMISSIONERS OR STAFF AUDIENCE QUESTION? OKAY, WE WILL MOVE ON.
SO IF ANYTHING COMES UP, HE'S COMING RIGHT BACK UP HERE TO ANSWER A QUESTION, SO I'LL GET COMFORTABLE.
SO THINKING SUMMARY BEFORE WE PIVOT OVER TO WATER IS, MAJORITY OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE, ARE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
AND WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IS ABOUT A $2 A MONTH INCREASE ON, ON THEIR CUSTOMER BILL.
AND I THINK, I THINK I DON'T WANNA, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T OVEREMPHASIZE THE AMOUNT OF US BEING STILL CHEAPER OBVIOUSLY COMPARED TO LAST YEAR WITH THE COMMODITY PRICES, BUT COMPARED TO OUR COMP AGENCIES AS, AS CHRIS MENTIONED.
SO YES, RATE INCREASES ARE PAINFUL, BUT AGAIN, WE TRY TO MAINTAIN OUR, US BEING THE MOST, THE CHEAPEST AND MOST PRICE COMPETITIVE, UM, UTILITY PROVIDER FOR GAS IN THE STATE.
SO LET'S NOW PIVOT TO THE WATER FUND.
UH, I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE GAS FUND, GAS FUND BALANCE PROJECTION.
UM, BUT OUR GOAL IN FISCAL YEAR 25, IT LOOKS TO BE ABOUT 22 MILLION, 23 MILLION, SOMETHING IN THAT RANGE.
JUST LOOKING AT THE GRAPH AND WE'RE, WE'RE AT EIGHT.
UM, WHAT'S THE LOGIC BEHIND NOT TRYING TO BOLSTER THAT? I THINK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TWO MAJOR LEVERS IS ONE IS, IS EXPENSE REDUCTIONS AND, AND WE'VE LOOKED AT THAT AND DEFERRING
[00:45:01]
PROJECTS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE VERY COST CONSCIOUS AND DOING WHAT'S CRITICAL TO FUND THE PROGRAMS THAT KEVIN MENTIONS.UH, THE OTHER BIG THING IS RATES.
AND I THINK THAT WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A GUESS, WE ARE A, A QUASI REGULATED MONOPOLY AS A UTILITY PROVIDER SENSITIVITY TO RATES.
AND I THINK TO AN, THE SHORT ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS, YES, WE COULD ESSENTIALLY INCREASE RATES FAR ENOUGH TO GET TO A HEALTHY FUND BALANCE, BUT I THINK IT'S, IT'S, IT'S AN ART MORE THAN A SCIENCE.
IT'S WHAT CAN CUSTOMERS AFFORD? HOW CAN WE STAY PRICE COMPETITIVE WITH SOCAL GAS WITH THE GOAL OF RIGHT SIZING OVER TIME, THOSE THOSE IMPACTS.
SO I THINK THE SHORT ANSWER IS YES, WE COULD RAISE RATES EFFECTIVELY, THAT WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT DOUBLE DIGIT RATE INCREASE FOR ALL CUSTOMERS TO GET TO THAT LEVEL.
BUT WE FEEL THAT YES, WE'RE IDENTIFYING TRENDS.
UM, I THINK THE, THE, THE ISSUE IS NOW RAISING RATES ONCE OVER THE PAST SEVEN YEARS, WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE THE FUND BALANCE WAS QUITE HIGH.
I THINK WE'RE AT A CROSSROADS NOW WHERE MODEST SINGLE DIGIT INCREASES TO MID, MID SINGLE DIGIT IS PROBABLY A WAY OF LIFE MOVING FORWARD.
IF YOU DON'T, YOU START SEEING RATE SHOCKS.
SO I THINK THE SHORT ANSWER IS, UH, TO AVOID RATE SHOCKS IS NOT WHY WE'RE NOT, UH, PROPOSING A MORE, UH, AGGRESSIVE APPROACH TO GROWING FUND BALANCE IN FY 25.
DO WE HAVE A TIMEFRAME IN MIND? UH, 10 YEARS, SEVEN YEARS, THAT GETS US TO WHERE OUR, OUR, AT LEAST OUR MINIMUM FUND BALANCE SHOULD BE? SO YES, I, I THINK EMBEDDED HERE IS STILL ABOUT A 6% RATE INCREASE.
SO I THINK YOU'RE GONNA ALWAYS SEE RATE PRESSURE AS A MAJOR CONSTRAINT OF HOW WE CAN GET TO THAT POINT.
UM, I THINK WE'VE MENTIONED IN PREVIOUS, UH, WORKSHOPS TOO IS OUR, OUR, OUR GOAL ONES BUDGET TO ADOPT IT IS HAVE A, AN OFFSITE RETREAT WITH THE BOARD OF PUBLIC MEETING.
TALK ABOUT OUR 10 YEAR FORECAST.
I THINK THAT GOES ACROSS THE BOARD.
I THINK WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT 10 YEAR TRENDS, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT CAMPUS REBUILDS, SECOND TREATMENT PLANS, LARGE SCHOOL CAPITAL PROJECTS.
SO YEAH, I THINK THAT SHORT ANSWER IS YES, OUR GOAL AND ACROSS ALL THREE FUNDS IS HOW DO WE GET BACK TO THAT MINIMUM LEVEL OF RESERVES, AGAIN, STRESSING THOSE WHY RESERVES ARE IMPORTANT.
SO YES, THERE'S A SHORT TERM PLAN, BUT A LOT OF THIS EMBEDDED IS VERY, VERY MAJOR ASSUMPTIONS, RIGHT? IS THE LEVEL OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING SUFFICIENT? IS IT ENOUGH? IS IT, SHOULD WE DO MORE? WHERE DOES DEBT PLAY INTO THIS? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE EXPENSE CONSIDERATIONS WE CAN CONSIDER? WHAT DO WE INSOURCE? WHAT DO WE OUTSOURCE? WHAT ARE NICE TO HAVES? WHAT ARE CORE SERVICES? VERY, VERY BIG HAIRY STRATEGIC DIRECTIVES.
WE WANNA WORK WITH THE BOARD ON TO MAKE SURE THAT, AGAIN, ALL THAT LEADS TO HOW DO WE GET THAT NUMBER CLOSER TO THIS BOTTOM LINE HERE.
SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
SO THE WATER FUND, UM, AS YOU YOU'VE SEEN THE STATISTIC BEFORE WE GET ABOUT 60 OR 40% OF OUR WATER IS IMPORTED FROM METROPOLITAN.
AND AS YOU'VE SEEN IN THEIR WORKSHOPS, THEY WERE ORIGINALLY PROPOSING A 13% RATE INCREASE.
AGAIN, I STARTED OFF THE PRESENTATION WITH COST PRESSURES.
WE'RE SEEING IT FROM OUR DIRECT SUPPLIER OF IMPORTED WATER.
LUCKILY ENOUGH, THEY WERE ABLE TO REDUCE THAT DOWN TO 8%, BUT THEY WERE VERY FORTUNATE ENOUGH OF HAVING, UM, UH, THE ABILITY TO ASSESS ESSENTIALLY AN ASSESSMENT ON THE LA COUNTY PROPERTY TAX ROLL.
SO AGAIN, THEIR REVENUE NEEDS WERE DOUBLE DIGIT, NECESSARY RATE INCREASES TO MAINTAIN SERVICES AS THEY ARE.
WE ARE, WE ARE UNFORTUNATELY NO DIFFERENT.
SO EMBEDDED IN HERE, AS YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE, IS A PROPOSED 11% RATE INCREASE ON THE WATER SIDE, WHICH IS ABOUT ABOUT $6 A MONTH TO A CUSTOMER'S BILL.
SO WE'LL GET INTO WHY THIS IS, AND AGAIN, ALL, YOU KNOW, ROADS LEADING TO DRIVING THAT 40% DOWN, DRIVING THAT IMPORTED WATER COST, THE MORE EXPENSIVE WATER, GETTING THAT DOWN AS, AS QUICKLY AND AS SUSTAINABLY AND AS FINANCIALLY PRUDENT AS POSSIBLE.
SO THAT'S WHAT ROB WILL GET INTO WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
AGAIN, A LITTLE, A LITTLE BIT, UM, MORE ROSE YOUR PICTURE ON THE WATER FUND SIDE.
I THINK TO, UH, COMMISSIONER SCOTT'S POINT ABOUT, UM, OUT YOUR FORECASTING.
I WANT TO CAVEAT, WE ARE JUST ALL TALKING ABOUT THIS YEAR, THIS YEAR HERE.
BUT AGAIN, THOSE COST PRESSURES ARE ARISE HERE.
THERE ARE MAJOR DEBT ASSUMPTIONS, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE WANNA DISCUSS WITH THE BOARD AND GET DIRECTION ON MOVING FORWARD.
BUT AGAIN, LOOKING AT OUR MURKY CRYSTAL BALL, NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT MID-LEVEL, UH, SINGLE DIGIT RATE INCREASES JUST TO BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN, UM, RELATIVELY STABLE RESERVES MOVING FORWARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, AGAIN, KEEPING RATES STABLE, AFFORDABLE, BUT AGAIN, INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE SPECIFICALLY ON THE WATER SIDE IS BRINGING THOSE COST PRESSURES DOWN.
THE, THE, THE BIGGEST IMPACT WE CAN HAVE IS REDUCING OUR RELIANCE ON IMPORTED EXPENSIVE WATER.
THAT'S OUR FOCUS, WHICH ROB AGAIN, ROB WILL TALK ABOUT IN A BIT.
SO THIS IS BOB SHANNON'S FAVORITE CHART.
I WENT, I WANT TO CALL THE BOB SHANNON CHART EVERY YEAR.
I, WE PRESENT THIS, HE, HE, LIKE, HE LIKES IT.
UM, I DUNNO IF IT'S THE COMPETITIVE SPIRIT OR THE UCLA COLORS, BUT EITHER WAY HE LIKES THIS CHART.
SO THIS IS THE AVERAGE WATER BILL, UM, FOR LONG BEACH.
SO WHAT THIS IS DOING IS COMPARING US, OUR CURRENT RATE NOW IS ABOUT $57 A MONTH FOR A TYPICAL RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER.
AND AGAIN, WITH OUR PROPOSED RATE INCREASE HERE, THIS COMPARES US WITH THE TOP 10 LARGEST CITIES IN CALIFORNIA, WITH ONE EXCEPTION.
THE GOLDEN STATE, UH, WATER COMPANY IS A PRIVATE FIRM THAT, OR SEMI-PRIVATE FIRM THAT, UH, PROVIDES WATER TO CERTAIN UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF LONG BEACH, I THINK AROUND HARTWELL PARK.
SO IT'S A LOCAL COMPARISON, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, UM, THANK GOD WE DON'T LIVE IN THE BAY AREA.
I THINK THE ISSUE IS WITH HERE IS THAT THERE'S A GENERAL TREND
[00:50:01]
HERE.THE HIGHER RELIANCE ON IMPORTED WATER, THE HIGHER THE COSTS.
AND I THINK YOU'LL SEE THAT MORE AS, AS A SIGNIFICANT TREND HERE IS THAT THESE LARGE AGENCIES, AGENCIES HERE, EXCUSE ME, HAVE A HEAVILY, HEAVILY RELIANT RELIANCE ON IMPORTED WATER.
THAT IS WHY WE'RE ABLE TO BE QUITE AFFORDABLE COMPARED TO OUR, OUR PEER AGENCIES.
ONE CAVEAT I WANNA MENTION IS FRESNO, WHY ARE THEY SO CHEAP? THEY WERE THEY, AND TALKING AND CHIME IN HERE, THEY GET A LOT OF THEIR, UH, SURFACE WATER.
I THINK THEY HAVE THREE SURFACE WATER, UH, PLANTS.
SO A LOT OF, UH, THEY'RE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE IN A GEOGRAPHICAL REGION WHERE THEY HAVE THEIR ACCESS TO AGAINST THE EASILY EXTRACTABLE, UH, TREATABLE WATER.
SO THAT'S WHY THEIR BILL IS AN OUTLIER.
AND AGAIN, THEY'RE AN EXTREME OUTLIER COMPARED TO A LOT OF OUR, UH, LARGER BRETHREN UP NORTH IN, UH, JUST UP THE FREEWAY.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO ROB TO TALK ABOUT OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM ON THE WATER SIDE.
UH, FOR OUR PROPOSED FY 25 WATER FUND, CIP BUDGET, UH, WE ARE PROPOSING A BUDGET OF $50 MILLION.
AND OF THAT $50 MILLION THAT WILL CONSIST OF, UH, AT THE VERY LEAST 40 PROPOSED PROJECTS, UH, THE BREAKDOWN OF THAT 40 IS WE HAVE TWO STUDIES, UH, THAT WILL BE PERFORMING IN FY 25.
ONE OF THEM IS THE PORT OF LONG BEACH WATER SYSTEM TRANSFER STUDY, UH, WHICH WE ANTICIPATE TO COMPLETE IN JANUARY OF NEXT YEAR.
AND THE SECOND STUDY IS OUR GROUNDWATER AUGMENTATION STUDY, UH, WHICH WE ORIGINALLY KICKED OFF, AND THAT WILL GO ON FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.
UH, WE'LL HAVE 18 PROJECTS IN VARIOUS STAGES OF DESIGN AS WELL AS 20, UH, PROJECTS IN CONSTRUCTION.
NOW CONSTRUCTION IS WHERE THE BIG DOLLAR AMOUNTS ARE SPENT WHEN IT COMES TO CIP.
UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU CONTEXT FOR A GIVEN PROJECT, CONSTRUCTION IS ROUGHLY ABOUT 70, 75, 70 5% OF TOTAL PROJECT COST.
SO, UH, WE WILL BE CONSTRUCTING FOUR NEW GROUNDWATER WELLS, UH, AGAIN TO, UH, MAKE US MORE, UH, RELIANT ON LOCAL GROUNDWATER RESOURCES AND LESS RELIANT ON IMPORTED WATER.
UH, WE'LL BE REHABBING FOUR EXISTING WELLS.
UH, WE'LL BE REHABILITATING THREE OF OUR EXISTING TANKS AT THE ALAMEDOS RESERVOIR.
UH, WE HAVE VARIOUS TREATMENT PLAN IMPROVEMENTS PLANNED AND WE WILL ALSO, UH, BE CONSTRUCTING ABOUT 13,000 LINEAR FEET OF PIPELINE IMPROVEMENTS THAT COMES OUT TO ROUGHLY ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MILES.
SO THE PICTURE IN THE MIDDLE IS, UH, THE FILTER GALLERY AT THE TREATMENT PLANT.
WE HAVE AN ONGOING PROJECT THERE, UH, REPLACING A NUMBER OF VALVES.
AND THE PICTURE ON THE RIGHT IS OUR 32ND STREET BOOSTER STATION.
UH, WE'LL START CONSTRUCTION ON THIS PROJECT, UH, LATE FY 25.
UH, IT'S CURRENTLY, UH, IN CON UH, DESIGN RIGHT NOW.
SO, SO THIS IS A PIE CHART THAT THE COMMISSION HAS SEEN IN PAST, UH, PRESENTATIONS.
UH, IT'S A BREAKDOWN OF THE WATER FUND, CIP ACCORDING TO PROJECT TYPES.
UH, WE HAVE ABOUT $13 MILLION PROPOSED FOR PIPELINE SYSTEMS. AGAIN, THIS IS ALL OUR PIPELINE REPLACEMENT PROJECTS, LARGE VALVE REPLACEMENTS, CATHODIC PROTECTION, AND BRIDGE CROSSINGS.
UH, THE GRAY SLICE, UH, BOTTOM RIGHT IS FOR RESERVOIRS AND TREATMENT PLANT, WE HAVE ABOUT 7 MILLION.
UH, BUT FOR THAT CATEGORY, UH, THESE ARE OUR TANK REHAB PROJECTS.
AND AS I MENTIONED, THE TREATMENT PLANT IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
UH, THE BIGGEST SLICE ON THIS PIE CHART IS FOR WATER SUPPLY.
UH, THIS IS WHERE OUR GROUNDWATER WELLS RESIDE, THE NEW WELLS THAT WE'RE DESIGNING AND CONSTRUCTING, AS WELL AS OUR WELL REHAB PROGRAM AND ALSO THAT 32ND STREET BOOSTER STATION.
SO WE HAVE ABOUT 17 MILLION PROPOSED FOR FY 25.
WE HAVE ABOUT $8 MILLION, UH, BUDGETED FOR RECYCLED WATER.
AND JUST TO, UH, MAKE A NOTE OF THIS, UH, PIE SLICE, IT'S ACTUALLY A PROJECT THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH, UH, LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER FOR THEIR HAYES PLANT, UH, BUILDING A RECYCLED WATER LINE.
UH, AND THAT AMOUNT, THE TOTAL AMOUNT IS REIMBURSABLE.
SO, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, NOT RELATED TO OUR WATER SYSTEMS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE 5 MILLION BUDGETED FOR FACILITIES SECURITY AND TECHNOLOGY.
SO WE ALL SURVIVED THE ROOF REPLACEMENT ON THIS BUILDING, UH, LAST YEAR.
UH, WE HAVE SEVERAL OTHER BUILDINGS THROUGHOUT OUR CAMPUS THAT REQUIRE THE SAME SERVICE.
UH, WE HAVE SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS, UH, AND UPGRADES, UH, THROUGHOUT, UH, THE DEPARTMENT.
[00:55:01]
WE ALSO HAVE TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS PLAN.AND THAT WAS BASED OFF OF, UH, IT MASTER PLAN THAT WAS COMPLETED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
SO I HAVE SOME TIME LAPSE VIDEOS FOR YOU, UH, OF SOME NEW WELL CONSTRUCTION.
THIS IS ACTUALLY IN JACKSON PARK IN NORTH LONG BEACH.
AND LEMME SEE IF I CAN, GEORGE, CAN I GET YOU, UH, TO RUN THAT TOP LEFT VIDEO.
SO THIS IS NORTH LONG BEACH 13 AND 14 PROJECT IN JACKSON PARK.
UH, THE VIDEO SHOWS THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SOUND, UH, SOUND WALLS AROUND THE CONSTRUCTION SITE.
UH, THE REASON WHY WE DO THAT IS TO MITIGATE, UH, ANY SOUND COMING FROM THE ACTUAL DRILLING OF THE WELL, UH, DURING THE WELL DRILLING PROCESS.
WE DO HAVE PERIODS OF 24 7, UH, CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS.
SO WE ARE COGNIZANT OF, YOU KNOW, THE NEIGHBORS AROUND THE PROJECT SITE.
UH, ONE LESSON LEARNED FROM THAT IS WE NEED TO MOVE THE CAMERA INSIDE, UH, THE ENCLOSURE
SO WE HAVE A NUMBER OF WELLS, UH, PLANNED FOR THE FUTURE.
SO THIS IS JUST A, UH, TIME LAPSE OF SOME PIPING ABOVE GROUND PIPING THAT'S BEING INSTALLED.
UH, RIGHT NOW THE PROJECT IS IN A HOLDING PATTERN.
WE'RE WAITING ON DELIVERY OF THE PUMPS AND MOTORS AND ALL THE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT FOR THE WELL.
AND THE LAST VIDEO, THIS IS JUST SOME SITE RESTORATION.
UH, OUR CONTRACTOR HAS PULLED OFF, AS I MENTIONED, AND LITERALLY YOU'RE WATCHING BRASS GROW WITH THIS VIDEO.
SO, SO WE EXPECT THIS PROJECT TO BE, BE COMPLETED AT THE END OF THE YEAR AND HOPEFULLY GET THE WELLS ONLINE EARLY NEXT YEAR.
OKAY, SO THESE ARE A COUPLE MORE PICTURES OF NEW WELL CONSTRUCTION.
UH, THE PICTURE ON THE LEFT IS THE ACTUAL DRILL RIG, UH, FOR THE NORTH LONG BEACH WELLS.
UH, I BELIEVE THE WELLS ARE ABOUT 1200 FEET BELOW, UH, GROUND SURFACE.
AND THE PICTURE ON THE RIGHT IS, UH, CASINGS THAT WERE DELIVERED TO THE SITE.
UH, YOU NOTICE THERE'S OPENINGS IN THE CASINGS, AND THAT'S WHERE WATER COMES IN, UH, AS THE WELL OPERATES.
AND THESE ARE VARIOUS PICTURES OF, UH, A NUMBER OF CIP PROJECTS, UH, FROM THE PAST.
UH, TOP LEFT IS ONE OF OUR EXISTING TANKS AT THE ALAMITOS RESERVOIR.
UH, BOTTOM LEFT IS WHAT THE INTERIOR OF THE TANK LOOKS LIKE AFTER IT IS RE COATED, SO IT LOOKS PRACTICALLY BRAND NEW.
UH, THE PICTURE CENTER, UH, TOP IS A TYPICAL, UH, MAIN REPLACEMENT PROJECT.
I BELIEVE THAT PROJECT WAS ON CHERRY AVENUE, UH, THAT WE DID A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
THEN THE PICTURE ON THE RIGHT AND BOTTOM CENTER IS LARGE VALVE REPLACEMENTS.
SO THE ONE ON THE RIGHT IS A 36 INCH GATE VALVE, UH, THAT WAS PULLED FROM THE GROUND.
UH, IT WAS OVER 50 YEARS OLD, AND, UH, YOU NOTICE IT'S QUITE LARGE AND IT'S BIG AS A PERSON.
UH, THE BOTTOM CENTER IS A NEW BUTTERFLY VALVE OF THE SAME SIZE.
IT HAS A MUCH SMALLER FOOTPRINT.
UM, IT DOESN'T EXTEND AS HIGH AS THE, UH, GATE VALVE.
AND WITH THAT FURTHER THE BRAND.
ANY QUESTIONS? SO WE'RE, WE'RE ALMOST DONE BEFORE I HIT SEWER.
I THINK, AGAIN, YOU ALL THIS IMPRESSIVE PICTURES AND WORK YOU'RE SEEING DONE, INVESTMENT, AS I MENTIONED, PRIMARY FOCUS IS, IS RE REDUCING OUR RELIANCE ON, ON GROUNDWATER, OR SORRY, ON IMPORTED WATER AND INCREASING THE GROUNDWATER, UM, ACCESS.
I THINK ONE FROM A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE, BUT, YOU KNOW, AN EQUALLY IMPORTANT, IF NOT MORE IMPORTANT IDEA IS THE IDEA OF RESILIENCY.
I THINK THIS YEAR WE SAW A RECORD SNOWPACK, THE STATE WATER PROJECT WAS WELL FUNDED AND WELL RESOURCED.
WE'RE ONE RIGHT YEAR AWAY FROM AGAIN, SEEING RESERVOIR AND LAKE LEVELS DROPPING DOWN.
THE LESS RELIANT WE ARE AND EXPOSED TO THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE STATEWIDE, I THINK THE MORE STABLE OUR, OUR WATER SOURCING IS, IF IT'S GROUNDWATER AND THEN MORE COST EFFECTIVE, IT IS ALSO.
SO, AGAIN, NON NON-MONETARY BENEFITS, AGAIN, EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT.
SO LET'S WRAP UP WITH THE SEWER FUND AGAIN FOR CONTEXT.
SEWER'S ABOUT A SEVENTH THE SIZE OF THE WATER FUND.
SO MUCH SMALLER NUMBERS, BUT EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT.
I THINK THREE MAJOR TRENDS WE'RE SEEING ON THE SEWER SIDE.
NUMBER ONE, FIRST AND FOREMOST, COST PRESSURES, AGAIN ON THE INFLATION SIDE.
HEAVY RELIANCE ON CAPITAL PROJECTS, WHICH ROB WE'LL GET TO IN, IN A BIT.
THE SECOND IS A MAJOR REVENUE RESOURCE OR SOURCE
[01:00:01]
IS DEVELOPER FEES.AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, AS NEW DEVELOPMENT COMES ON, THERE'S AN ACCESS FEE TO BE ABLE TO TAP INTO OUR SEWER SYSTEM.
LITERALLY, UM, WE'RE SEEING DEVELOPMENTS SLOW DOWN.
SO WE DID SEE A BOOM PERIOD THE LAST THREE YEARS WHERE REVENUE WAS QUITE HIGHER THAN EXPECTED, WHICH WAS ABLE TO GROW OUR FUND BALANCE, WHICH IS THE MAIN REASON WHY WE WERE ABLE TO ONLY RAISE RATES ONCE ON THE SUICIDE IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
SO AGAIN, COST PRESSURES THAT EXTRA REVENUE, UH, COMING DOWN, WE'RE SEEING, UM, UH, COST PRESSURES.
UM, THE NEXT MAJOR THING, WHICH IS A MORE PROACTIVE THING, IS, UH, A RAMP UP OF OUR, UH, SEWER MASTER PLAN.
ROB DANA AND THEIR TEAM HAVE, UH, IMPLEMENTED AND ARE STARTING TO KICK OFF THE SEWER MASTER PLAN MOVING FORWARD.
UM, WHAT THIS IS, IS, IS PROACTIVE WORK.
WHEN A SEWER EMERGENCY HAPPENS, IT STINKS BOTH, UH, PHYSICALLY, LITERALLY, AND METAPHORICALLY.
AND I THINK THAT WHAT ROB IS DOING IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO, UH, SOLIDIFY AND INVEST IN OUR SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO THE PRICE SPIKES AND THE EXPENSE SPIKES YOU SEE, IS MAINLY DRIVEN BY ADDITIONAL PROACTIVE CIP WORK, WHICH ROB WILL GET INTO IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES.
BUT AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, WITH A MUCH SMALLER FUND, WE ARE VERY, VERY PRICE SENSITIVE TO SWINGS AND DE BLADE PROJECTS.
REVENUE STREAMS NOT AS HIGH AS POSSIBLE.
COST PRESSURES, THE BANDWIDTH HERE IS ROUGHLY $5 MILLION.
A TYPICAL PUMP STATION PROJECT, I THINK RANGES BETWEEN THREE TO $5 MILLION.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A VERY, VERY TIGHT BANDWIDTH.
SO AS A RESULT, WE'RE THIS, UH, THE SEWER FUND IS VERY, VERY SENSITIVE TO ANY COST PRESSURES OR REVENUE DECLINES, BUT WE ARE PROPOSING FOR FY 25 AND 8% RATE INCREASE, WHICH EQUATES TO ABOUT 88 CENTS FOR EVERY, UM, RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER, AGAIN, WITH, UH, INFLATIONARY PRESSURES.
THESE, THESE BAKED IN ASSUMPTIONS JUST REFLECT COST PRESSURES AND DON'T REFLECT NECESSARILY MORE INVESTMENT PER SE, BUT JUST US KEEPING UP WITH THE PACE OF CPI AS WE MENTIONED IN PREVIOUS SLIDES.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN OVER TO ROB TO WRAP UP ON THE CIP BEFORE WE ALMOST FINISH UP, UH, BECAUSE THE SEWER FUND IS MUCH SMALLER.
UH, I ONLY HAVE A COUPLE OF SLIDES LEFT FOR THIS ONE.
UM, SO WE HAVE 12.4 MILLION, UH, PROPOSED FOR, UH, THE SEWER FUND, CIP AND FI 25.
USUALLY, UH, WE HAVE TWO TYPES OF PROJECTS.
UH, WHEN IT COMES TO SEWER, WE HAVE, UH, OUR SEWER LIFT STATIONS AND WE HAVE SEWER PIPELINE IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, THERE'S LIKE THREE CATEGORY IN THIS PIE CHART.
AND UNDER SEWER DEVELOPER PROJECTS, AGAIN, THIS IS US WORKING WITH L-A-D-W-P AND THEIR HAYES PLANT, UH, TO RUN THE SEWER FORCE MAIN AS PART OF THEIR, UM, YOU KNOW, FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS.
SO WE HAVE 4.2 MILLION IN SEWER LIFT STATION WORK AND ABOUT 4.3 MILLION WITH SEWER PIPELINE IMPROVEMENTS.
THIS IS MAINLY OUR, UH, REHABILITATION OF SEWERS.
IT'S TRENCHLESS, UH, INSERTING LINERS WITHIN EXISTING SEWERS TO EXTEND ITS USEFUL LIVE.
UH, AS BRANDON MENTIONED, WE DID COMPLETE OUR SEWER MASTER PLAN UPDATE THIS YEAR, UH, AND IT HAS GENERATED A LIST OF, UH, ADDITIONAL PIPELINE PROJECTS, UH, MAINLY CAPACITY DEFICIENCIES IDENTIFIED THROUGHOUT OUR SEWER SYSTEM.
SO THAT, WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE ARE POTENTIALLY UPSIZING SOME OF OUR SEWERS TO ACCOMMODATE ADDITIONAL FLOW, UH, IN THE SYSTEM.
SO THOSE PROJECTS WILL BE COMING IN THE OUT YEARS.
SO, SO THIS IS A VIDEO, UH, IT'S A 3D RENDITION OF ONE OF OUR LIFT STATIONS, AND IT'S USED DURING THE DESIGN OF A REHABILITATION PROJECT.
UH, IT ALLOWS OUR DESIGN ENGINEERS TO, YOU KNOW, VISUALIZE WHAT THE STATION LOOKS LIKE IN THE INTERIOR, UH, AND HELP ASSIST WITH, YOU KNOW, UH, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES.
ENSURE WE HAVE ENOUGH ROOM TO PULL PUMPS AND MOTORS IF NECESSARY, AND TO DO DAILY ACTIVITIES, UH, AS NECESSARY BY OUR STAFF, UH, FOR A LIFT STATION.
UM, SO OUR SEWER SYSTEM IS, IT'S A GRAVITY SYSTEM, SO SEWAGE FLOWS FROM HIGH TO LOW POINT.
UH, WE EVENTUALLY ARRIVE AT LOW POINTS TO RUN OUR SYSTEM, AND AT THESE LOW POINTS WE HAVE THESE LIFT STATIONS.
SO THE SEWAGE IS ACTUALLY COLLECTED WITHIN, FOR LACK OF A BETTER DESCRIPTION OF VAULT INSIDE THE STATION.
AND IT IS THEN LIFTED TO A POINT, UH, PIPELINE AT A HIGHER ELEVATION, UH, WHERE IT CONTINUES TO GRAVITY FEED.
SO THESE, UH, PROJECTS ARE VERY COMPLEX, MULTI-DISCIPLINE, AND NORMALLY THEY TAKE UP ABOUT HALF THE SEWER CIP, UH, BUDGET FOR ANY GIVEN FISCAL YEAR.
JUST TO WRAP UP, I THINK THE TRENDS YOU'VE SEEN ARE COST INCREASES THAT ARE UNAVOIDABLE AND GOING AWAY, AND UNFORTUNATELY NOT LOAN TO JUST LONG BEACH AND ALL UTILITIES IN THE REGION.
I THINK OUR FOCUS IN 25 HAS REALLY BEEN ON INVESTMENT AND RESOURCES NOW, PROJECTS NOW TO BRING
[01:05:01]
AFFORDABLE, SAFE SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS.SO I THINK, UM, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, RATE INCREASES ARE, UH, UH, UNFORTUNATELY UNAVOIDABLE, BUT THEY ARE OUR LAST RESORT FOR A UTILITY LIKE OURSELVES.
SO ALL IN ALL, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD, THE GAS RATE INCREASE, THE WATER AND SEWER, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $9 ADDITIONAL A MONTH TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
AGAIN, TO COMMISSIONER SCOTT'S POINT, WHY, YOU KNOW, YES, WE CONSIDER FUND BALANCE AND RESERVES, BUT I THINK FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE WANNA MAKE SURE OUR SERVICES ARE AFFORDABLE.
SO THOUGH IT'S PAINFUL TO HAVE TO PROPOSE RATE INCREASES, I THINK AS YOU'VE SEEN THROUGH OUR COMPETITIVE OR CO COMPARABLE AGENCIES, WE'RE STILL VERY, VERY, UH, COST CONSCIOUS, COST COMPETITIVE, AND WE, WE HOPE TO MAINTAIN THAT IN THE FUTURE.
AND AGAIN, THE REASON WHY WE FOCUS IN CIP IS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THAT COST COMPETITIVE NATURE, WE HAVE TO MAKE INVESTMENTS TODAY TO BE ABLE TO, UM, REALIZE THE FRUITS OF, OF THOSE BENEFITS LATER.
SO WITH THAT, AGAIN, WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR ANY ACTION TODAY.
THIS WAS, UH, PURELY JUST FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES COMING UP IN ON JUNE 6TH, WORKSHOP NUMBER THREE, WHERE WE WILL BE PROPOSING A, UH, THE FORMALIZED RATE AND BUDGETS FOR FY 25.
AND AGAIN, THIS DOESN'T END IT, UH, WE HAVE PROP TWO 18 REQUIREMENTS.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS A PUBLIC WORKSHOP FOR A COMMISSIONER AND PUBLIC TO, TO WEIGH IN ON OUR PROPOSED BUDGET.
BUT AGAIN, IN LATE AUGUST, THERE WILL BE A PROP TWO 18 HEARING, UH, WHICH IS A LEGAL REQUIREMENT WHERE I, UM, RESIDENTS CAN PROTEST AND, AND, AND COME TO DISCUSS OUR PROPOSED RATE.
SO WITH THAT, A LOT OF INFORMATION, I APPRECIATE THE PATIENCE.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, I'M HAPPY TO ADDRESS.
ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS OR
I KNOW WE HAVE ONE MORE, UM, SESSION, UM, BUT WE FIND OURSELVES HERE EVERY YEAR.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANYBODY FROM THE PUBLIC HERE TODAY.
I, I HOPE, AND I WOULD WISH THAT WE WOULD HAVE PEOPLE HERE SO THAT THEY COULD HEAR ALL THREE PRESENTATIONS, UM, BECAUSE WE DO FIND OURSELVES HERE EVERY YEAR HAVING TO, TO DO THIS, UM, FOR SOME REASON I HAVE A FEELING THAT IT, IT, IT COMES DOWN TO WE, WE DID A, A SURVEY AT METROPOLITAN.
THEY DID FOCUS GROUPS, AND THEY FOUND THAT, UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST SEEM TO HAVE A, A LACK OF TRUST, UH, WITH REGARDS TO AGENCIES, UM, LIKE METROPOLITAN, LIKE THE SMALLER DISTRICTS, BECAUSE THEY JUST DON'T, DON'T KNOW IF THEY NECESSARILY TRUST THE DECISIONS THAT ARE BEING MADE.
I THINK IT ALSO COMES FROM A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING.
SO, UM, I REALLY HOPE WE GET SOME OF OUR PUBLIC HERE TO, TO UNDERSTAND THIS AND BETTER UNDERSTAND IT AND ASK THE GOOD QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE HERE TO HOPEFULLY, UM, HAVE STAFF ANSWER THAT.
THAT IS A MAJOR, UH, POINT THAT WE, WE WERE, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT THIS BUDGET CYCLE ALSO IS, I THINK A LOT OF THE EFFORTS IS, IS IS THE OUTREACH, RIGHT? WHETHER IT'S OUR WEBSITE JUST BEING MORE INFORMATIVE, WHERE DOES EVERY DOLLAR GO? AND I THINK THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE A CONCERTED EFFORT OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AND MONTHS OF, UH, JOIN DIANA AND RPIO TEAM OF, OF REALLY PUSHING INFORMATION OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, AT LEAST FILLS INFORMED INSTEAD OF, HEY, YOU'RE JUST RAISING OUR RATES.
BECAUSE I THINK WE, WE, WE OWE IT TO OUR CUSTOMERS TO EXPLAIN WHY, WHY WE'RE DOING THIS, AND WHY THIS IS NOT THE FIRST OPTION.
AND I KNOW YOU ALL TAKE IT VERY SERIOUSLY, DIANA, AND ALL OF YOU WHO PRES, YOU KNOW, PRESENTED AND, AND PREPARED THIS.
GLORIOUS, UH, THANK YOU BRANDON.
UM, KEN, YOU AND, UM, COMMUNICATION, TELL US, UH, OR HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL IDEAS OF WHAT WE CAN DO TO GET OUR COMMUNITY MORE INVOLVED.
LIKE, IS THIS ANNOUNCED ALSO AT THE CITY COUNCIL? UH, DO CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS HAVE WAYS THAT THEY CAN ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO COME TO, I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS CAN'T DO ALL THIS.
WE CAN'T, UH, WE CAN TRY, BUT WHAT IS BEING DONE TO GET MORE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT? SO THE, THE, UM, THERE ARE MANY OPTIONS.
I THINK THE, THE COUNCIL DISTRICT NEWSLETTERS, THERE ARE OTHER VENUES, I THINK.
SO I THINK WHAT WE'LL DO IS IN A WORKSHOP THREE AFTER DIANA CHIMES INTO, WE'LL COME BACK AND WORKSHOP THREE TO GIVE YOU KIND OF MORE OF THE CONCRETE LIST OF WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING, WHAT WE CAN DO WHEN IT COMES TO NOT ONLY THIS BUDGET CYCLE, BUT BUDGET CYCLES IN THE FUTURE.
BUT I'LL LET DIANA CHIME IN ON THE OUTREACH EFFORTS.
BEFORE YOU GO, BUT, BUT BEFORE YOU GO, YOU KNOW, OUR CITY POSTS ABOUT OUR DIVERSITY AND THE, UM, CHRIS, HELP ME, HOW MANY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES THERE ARE.
I, I FOUR, FOUR OFFICIAL CITY ONES, CAN I, UH, TAGALOG, IT'S ENGLISH, SPANISH.
UM, BUT I, I WANT US TO, UM, I MEAN ALL UNITE AND WORK HARDER IN GETTING THE, UH, COMMUNITY INVOLVED, BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONLY ONE SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, UH, WHERE I, 'CAUSE MY NUMBERS ARE PUBLIC BECAUSE OF, UH, THE NACP.
I GOT A CALL AT SIX O'CLOCK THIS MORNING, TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ABOUT WHAT WE RAISED LAST YEAR,
[01:10:01]
I MEAN, THE INCREASE LAST YEAR, BUT LET'S JUST WORK A LITTLE HARDER.AND I GUESS YOU COULD, I COULD SPEAK FOR MY COLLEAGUES, I MEAN THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS REGARDING WHAT WE COULD DO TO HELP YOU GUYS IN ADDITION WITH, UH, COMMUNICATIONS.
AND I APPRECIATE THAT FEEDBACK.
SO I THINK, UM, YOU GUYS ARE VERY INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY.
THEY OBVIOUSLY HAD YOUR NUMBER TWO.
SO IF YOU HAVE IDEAS, UM, CHURCH FUNCTIONS, SUPPORT GROUPS, SOCIAL GROUPS, ANYTHING, ANYTHING, EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN DO, ESPECIALLY WITH, YOU KNOW, THE MARGINAL COST OF DISTRIBUTING INFORMATION OVER THE, THE INTERNET IS ESSENTIALLY FREE, RIGHT? SO WHATEVER WE CAN DO, UM, TO SPREAD THE WORD AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, WE'RE OPEN TO ANY AND EVERY IDEA.
SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP AND, AND IS OUR, UH, COM VARIOUS COMMUNITIES ARE AWARE THAT I DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE THE LOWEST.
I MEAN, LIKE, WE HAVE THIS VERY LOW RATE, UM, IN MANY AREAS.
I THINK WE'RE NOT BRAGS, BUT I THINK, I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS.
BUT YEAH, I THINK THE, THAT IS A GOOD POINT.
I THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S WORTHY OF, YOU KNOW, PUTTING THAT MESSAGE OUT THERE IN CONTEXT.
SO I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT IDEA BECAUSE LIKE CERTAIN AREAS, LIKE THEY'RE COMPUTER SAVVY, BUT, UM, IT IS THOUGHT THAT NORTH LONG BEACH, UH, I THINK IT'S SIXTH DISTRICT.
I MEAN, THEY DON'T HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE HOMES AND THIS CAME OUT WITH, UH, COVID AND TAKING THE, SOME, SOME KIDS WERE KIDS TRY TO HELP THEIR PARENTS, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE IT.
AND I DON'T, WHAT, DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED ABOUT THE LIBRARIES? LIKE WE'RE TELLING THEM WHERE THEY COULD GO TO GET CERTAIN INFORMATION.
SO, UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD.
UM, I THINK MAY 2ND OR MAYBE THE MEETING BEFORE THAT WE'D SHARED WITH YOU A FLYER, UM, WHAT WE PUT ON YOUR DESK BEFORE THE MEETING.
THOSE FLYERS HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO EVERY PUBLIC LIBRARY AND COMMUNITY CENTER THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.
SO MACARTHUR PARK, UM, HOUGHTON PARK, MICHELLE OBAMA LIBRARY, AND, AND OTHERS.
SO THOSE ARE AT ALL OF OUR LIBRARIES AND COMMUNITY CENTERS.
WE ALSO HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTING THOSE FLYERS WITH THOSE, WITH THESE THREE BUDGET WORKSHOP DATES AT ALL OF OUR CET EVENTS, UM, THAT WE DO IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, SINCE, SINCE MAY 2ND.
UM, WE'VE ALSO, UM, ASKED LBTV AND THEY HAVE, AND THEN OUR OWN CALL CENTER.
SO WHEN PEOPLE ARE CALLING THE CITY OF LONG BEACH FOR WHATEVER REASON, AND THEY'RE PUT ON HOLD, THEY HEAR HOLD MESSAGE THAT TELLS THEM ABOUT THESE THREE BUDGET WORKSHOPS FOR THE UTILITIES AND OUR RATES.
UM, AND THE, THE, UM, SORRY, HOLD MESSAGING AT OUR CALL CENTER, WHICH IS DIFFERENT FROM THE CITY, ALSO HAS, UM, SIMILAR MESSAGING SHARING THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO COME TO THESE THREE MEETINGS TO TALK ABOUT, UM, RATES AND OUR BUDGETS WITH US.
I THINK LASTLY, WE DID A SMALL AD IN THE PRESS TELEGRAM TO, TO FURTHER, UM, REACH A, A DIFFERENT AUDIENCE IN ADDITION TO THE TRADITIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA THAT WE WOULD DO FOR ANY, UM, OUTREACH LIKE THIS.
UM, WE, WE STARTED THE WHOLE PROCESS OFF WITH A QUICK PUBLIC NOTICE.
UM, I KNOW MOST PEOPLE DON'T USUALLY READ THAT, BUT THAT IS ON THE RECORD.
AND THEN WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DO ONE-ON-ONE OUTREACH, UM, AT CT EVENTS, AND THEN KIND OF THE, THE STATIC INFORMATIONAL OFFERING AND IN PERSON FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT USING COMPUTERS AT OUR PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND, UM, COMMUNITY CENTERS.
BUT WE WILL ENDEAVOR TO DO MORE AND IN, IN MORE LANGUAGES IN THE FUTURE.
AND, UM, IS ONE LAST ONE IS THE, ARE THE, THESE MEETINGS ARE, UM, EARLY NINE WHEN A LOT OF HEAD OF HOUSEHOLDS, THEY CAN'T BE HERE 'CAUSE THEY'RE WORKING OR WHATEVER.
IS THERE, CHRIS, DIANA, IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO? THE, THESE MEETINGS ARE RECORDED.
UM, SO IF FOLKS AREN'T ABLE TO COME, THEY CAN LISTEN, UH, STREAM, UM, AT ANY TIME ON DEMAND.
I THINK IN THE PAST, UM, AND I'LL DEFER TO CHRIS ON THIS, THERE WAS AN EFFORT TO MOVE IT TO A DIFFERENT TIME, BUT I'M NOT SURE WE RECEIVED A DIFFERENT RESULT.
WE'VE ALWAYS HAD THE PROP TWO 18 AT I, I THINK AT SEVEN O'CLOCK.
UM, IF THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS OR WE'LL CALL FOR A VOTE, DO WE HAVE A MOTION? I MEAN CALL FOR, FOR THE MOTIONS AND THE VOTE SHOULD RECEIVE AND FILE MOTION TO RECEIVE AND FILE COMMISSIONER SHANNON SECOND.
SECOND BY COMMISSIONER KEVIN SCOTT, UH, HEARING NO OP, ANY OPPOSITION? HEARING
[01:15:01]
NONE WILL HAVE THE ROLL CALL.[ANNOUNCEMENTS]
ON, DO YOU MIND IF I MOVE THE ANNOUNCEMENTS UP TO THIS POINT? UH, 'CAUSE I HAVE TO TAKE OFF A LITTLE EARLY TODAY.WE WILL HEAR, UH, THE ANNOUNCEMENT.
SO, SO FIRST OFF, THE REASON I HAVE TO LEAVE IS WE HAVE THE, UH, CELEBRATION OF THE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR GAS UTILITY SERVICE.
SO IN MAY OF TWO THOU, I'M SORRY, 1924 IS WHEN THE CITY, UH, ACTUALLY STARTED INITIATING AND SERVING THE ENTIRE CITY OF LONG BEACH AND SIGNAL HILL, UH, WITH NATURAL GAS SERVICE, UM, AS VOTED BY THE PUBLIC IN 1923.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE A CELEBRATION TODAY.
YOU'RE ALL INVITED, UH, TO ATTEND IF YOU'D LIKE.
IT'S, UH, I THINK IT'S SCHEDULED FOR FROM 11 O'CLOCK TO TWO O'CLOCK TODAY.
IT'S PRETTY MUCH AN OPEN HOUSE, SO THERE'S NO REAL FORMAL AGENDA FOR THAT.
UM, SECONDLY, UH, SHE'S NO LONGER HERE.
UH, I DON'T THINK PAUL IS HERE.
SO PAULA, UH, UNFORTUNATELY HAS ACCEPTED A JOB AT ANOTHER AGENCY, AND SO SHE'LL BE LEAVING US.
AND, UH, SO THIS IS HER LAST MEETING WITH ALL OF YOU.
UH, SO PAULA, IF YOU WANNA STAND UP YEAH.
SO WE WANNA THANK HER FOR ALL HER WORK.
UH, SHE, SHE REALLY HAS TAKEN OUR MIS GROUP, BUT TO A WHOLE DIFFERENT LEVEL.
UM, AND HER SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE WERE SO INVALUABLE WHEN THE CITY HAD THEIR CYBERSECURITY, UH, INSTANT.
AND SO, UH, HOPEFULLY SHE'S DONE A GREAT JOB WITH THE STAFF AND SO SHE'S LEAVING US IN GOOD PLACE.
BUT, UH, WE WISH HER WELL AS, AS SHE MOVES ON, CAN WE TAKE UP A, CAN WE TAKE UP A COLLECTION TO MAKE YOU STAY? CAN WE TAKE UP A COLLECTION TO MAKE YOU STAY? THANK YOU.
BUT AS SHE LEAVES, WE ALSO HAVE SOMEONE NEW.
UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, GETTING THE, THE WORD OUT.
WE HAVE JOY CONTRERAS IN THE BACK IF JOY COULD STAND UP, IF YOU WANNA COME TO THAT MICROPHONE, JOY.
AND, UH, SHE'S OUR NEW PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER.
AND, UH, MAYBE YOU CAN SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
COULD EVERYONE HEAR ME OKAY? YES.
I NOW SERVE AS YOUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER FOR LONG BEACH UTILITIES.
I'VE, UM, COMING FROM LONG BEACH PUBLIC WORKS, SO VERY FAMILIAR WITH PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE, AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE MORE OF A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO, YOU KNOW, IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS, DID STREETS, ROADS, AND TREES, AND NOW IT'S UTILITIES UNDERNEATH.
UH, LONG BEACH, BORN AND RAISED.
WENT TO LONG BEACH POLY GOAT JACKRABBITS.
WHAT YEAR DID YOU GRADUATE? OH,
UH, BUT I DID GROW UP IN CAMBODIA TOWN, SO I, UH, VERY MUCH RESONATE WITH THE COMMENTS THAT YOU MADE REGARDING COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
AND I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT I, UM, HAVE GATHERED LOTS OF EXPERTISE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, UH, ESPECIALLY PROFESSIONALLY ON HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR, UM, HISTORICALLY DISENFRANCHISED COMMUNITIES, UH, ESPECIALLY SOMEONE WHO'S BORN AND RAISED HERE IN LONG BEACH, AND WHO LOVES THIS, THIS CITY SO MUCH I KNOW LIKE CHRIS DOES.
AND LIKE, UM, HOW ALL OF YOU DO.
AND I HAVE A DOG NAMED RODNEY.
HE'S NAMED AFTER RODNEY DANGERFIELD.
ASK ME LATER TO SHOW YOU A PICTURE.
AND YEAH, I'M, I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL AND, YOU KNOW, PUSHING FORWARD, UM, UTILITIES, MISSIONS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, CUSTOMER SERVICE FOCUSED, UH, MISSION.
WHAT'S, UM, UH, IN, I WAS IN BEACH AND THEN MOVED OVER TO PACE.
SO YEAH, SO MATH AND SCIENCE, AND THEN WENT TO REED COLLEGE.
I WAS A CHEMISTRY MAJOR, UH, AT FIRST, AND THEN I TOOK A POLITICAL SCIENCE CLASS AND I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT.
AND THEN, UH, GOT MY MASTER'S IN ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FROM PEPPERDINE.
AND THEN I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SHARE THAT I'LL BE PARTICIPATING IN A DOCTORATE PROGRAM IN PUBLIC POLICY AT USC THIS FALL.
IT'S A PART-TIME, SO I, I'LL STILL BE WORKING
OH, I LIKE YOU TOO, NAOMI
REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING TO KNOW ALL OF YOU.
ONE, ONE LAST THING, UH, I WANNA RECOGNIZE, UH, JENNIFER ROJAS.
UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A TOUR OF 30, UH, STUDENTS FROM LAKEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL.
COME JOIN US ON NEXT WEDNESDAY.
[01:20:01]
TO JOIN ON THE TOUR? STARTS AT, UH, I BELIEVE 9, 9 30 OVER AT HERE? YEAH, HERE IN THE, UH, ASSEMBLY ROOM.SO, YEAH, SO HE'S BEEN WORKING ON THIS, UH, SINCE FOR SEVERAL MONTHS.
AND SO GETTING 30 STUDENTS TO COME HERE AND, UH, TALK ABOUT, UH, UH, NOT ONLY WHAT WE DO AS FAR AS THE UTILITIES, BUT ALSO HOW THEY COULD LOOK AT THIS AS A POSSIBLE, UH, JOB FUTURE FOR THEM.
SO IF YOU WANNA SAY A COUPLE WORDS.
UH, SO, UM, AT, AT LAKEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL, THEY HAVE A, UM, AN ODYSSEY PROGRAM, WHICH IS A, A CAREER PATH FOR, UM, ENERGY ENVIRONMENT AND UTILITIES.
SO WE'VE PARTNERED WITH LB USD TO, UM, ON, ON A COUPLE OF THINGS.
WE'VE GONE OVER AND DID A CAREER DAY WITH THEM, AND THEY EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN WANTING TO DO A TOUR OF OUR FACILITIES.
SO WE'RE SETTING THAT UP FOR, FOR MAY 22ND.
UM, THE STUDENTS, THEY'RE PROVIDING THE BUS, SO THEY'RE COMING, UH, AROUND NINE 15.
WE'LL BE READY THAT WE WILL GIVE 'EM A LITTLE BREAKFAST AND WE'LL, UM, WE'LL DO A SHORT PRESENTATION AT NINE 30 TO 10, AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA DO A TOUR OF THE DIFFERENT, UM, DIFFERENT AREAS, UH, IN, UM, ON THIS CAMPUS.
AND THEN AT LUNCHTIME, THEY'LL MOVE OVER TO THE TREATMENT PLANT.
SO, UM, SO YEAH, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
WE'RE HOPING TO, UM, TO EXPAND OUR APPLICANT POOL, UH, WHEN THEY'RE READY TO GRADUATE AND READY TO APPLY, ESPECIALLY IN THE, IN THE, IN THE FIELD, UH, PROFESSIONS AND THE FIELD, UH, CLASSIFICATIONS.
BUT WE'LL MENTION ALL OF THE AVAILABLE PROFESSIONS AT, AT UTILITIES, AND NOW THAT IT'S, IT'S EVEN EXPANDED WITH GAS.
AND, UH, AND WE'RE JUST EXCITED TO HAVE, HAVE THEM COME VISIT.
SO YOU'RE ALL WELCOME TO COME AND JOIN US.
I, I WOULD LOVE TO, UM, TO, TO, AND IF YOU HAVE CONTACTS, UH, UH, WITH THOSE, UM, INSTITUTIONS, WE WOULD LOVE TO, UM, INVITE THEM BECAUSE, UH, WE WE'RE GONNA NEED, UH, IT'S FOR OUR FUTURE WORKFORCE AND WE'RE GONNA NEED AS MUCH TALENT AS POSSIBLE.
SO I WOULD BE HAPPY TO, TO, TO, TO SPEAK WITH YOU ABOUT, ABOUT THAT.
SO, GINA, I MEAN, GINA CAN GET YOU, UH, ST.
REMEMBER, I'M YOUR SEWER COMMISSIONER,
[1. 24-53347 Recommendation to approve May 2, 2024 Board meeting minutes. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
WILL HAVE, UM, THE APPROVAL OF MAY, THE SECOND BOARD, UH, MINUTES.ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS, ANY COMMISSIONER'S, UH, COMMENTS REGARDING THE MINUTES? DO WE HAVE A MOTION? AND A SECOND? MOTION TO APPROVE? MOTION TO APPROVE GINA MCGUIRE.
UH, IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND.
SECOND BY COMMISSIONER SHANNON.
UH, ANY OPPOSITIONS? HEARING NONE, THE MOTION CARRIES.
[2. 24-53348 Recommendation to approve Retirement Order No. 6177 for inventory items that are no longer being used during the current year. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
WE HAVE ITEM TWO, APPROVE RETIREMENT ORDER 6 1 77 FOR INVENTORY ITEMS THAT ARE NO LONGER BEING USED.UM, ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? ANY COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS, SHANNON? NO.
DO I HAVE A MOTION? MOTION TO APPROVE.
MOTION TO APPROVE BY TO COMMISSIONER CERO.
ANY OPPOSITION? HEARING NONE, THE MOTION CARRIES.
[3. 24-53350 Recommendation to adopt Specifications UD-24-161 and authorize the General Manager to execute an agreement with Bradley Tanks, Inc., to provide excavation material hauling and disposal services in an amount not to exceed $1,100,000 for a period of one year, and to exercise the option to renew for two additional one-year periods in an increased annual amount not to exceed 7% for each renewal period. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
TO ITEM THREE, ADOPT SPECIFICATIONS, UH, UD 24 1 61, AND AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EX EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH BRAD LEE TANK, INC.UM, I WAS TRYING TO LIMIT MY SPEAKING, UM, TIME, BUT ORIGINALLY MIKE WAS GONNA GIVE THIS PRESENTATION, BUT HE HAD A FAMILY, UM, ISSUE THAT HE HAD TO DEAL WITH.
SO I'M GONNA TRY MY BEST TO, UH, TO PRESENT THIS ITEM, UM, TO THE BOARD, UM, AND TRY TO BE QUICK SO THAT, UH, FOR THOSE THAT WANT TO ATTEND THE GAS CELEBRATION, THEY CAN GET TO IT.
AND SO FOR THIS AGENDA ITEM, I HAVE A QUICK PRESENTATION ON THE EXECUTION MATERIAL HAULING AND DISPOSAL SERVICE.
[01:25:01]
JUST A LITTLE BACKGROUND, WHY IS THIS SERVICE NEEDED? UM, FOR WHEN WE DO MAINLINE CONSTRUCTION, UM, WE ACTUALLY WILL EXCAVATE AND CREATE A LOT OF, UM, EXCAVATION MATERIALS FROM THE ACTUAL TRENCH PIPELINE.NOW, DEPENDING ON, UM, THE TYPE OF MATERIAL THAT WE EXCAVATE, FOR THE MOST PART, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO PUT BACK INTO THE TRENCH.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO HAUL IT OFF.
AND SO WE GENERATE AN AVERAGE OF 12,000 TONS OF EXCAVATION WASTE PER YEAR.
NOW, TO GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT, HERE'S A 10 WHEEL DUMP TRUCK.
AND GENERALLY A 10 WHEEL DUMP TRUCK WILL HOLD 10 YARDS OF MATERIAL, AND EACH YARD IS ROUGHLY ONE TON.
AND SO ONE DUMP TRUCK WILL ONLY CARRY 10 TONS OF, UH, MATERIAL AWAY.
ONCE WE EXCAVATE THE MATERIAL, WE'LL ACTUALLY BRING IT BACK TO THE CAMPUS AND STORE IT ON THE CAMPUS.
UM, AND THEN ON A BI-MONTHLY AND MONTHLY BASIS, WE WILL HAUL IT OFF TO A LANDFILL THAT WILL ACCEPT THIS WASTE.
NOW, CURRENTLY WE ARE USING A WASTE HAULER AND THEY'RE USING A LARGER TRUCK, AND THESE TRUCKS ARE ABLE TO TRANSPORT UP TO 26 TONS PER TRIP IN TERMS OF WHERE CAN WE DISPOSE OF IT.
UM, IN THE PAST, WE USED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE IT TO PALS VER EAST TO CHANNELERS.
UM, THERE WAS A LANDFILL UP THERE THAT WE COULDN'T DUMP THE SOIL, UM, THAT HAS SINCE CLOSED.
AND THEN CHANDLER OPENED A TRANSFER STATION IN WILMINGTON, AND WE WERE ABLE TO DRIVE OUR WAYS TO WILMINGTON AND DUMP IT THERE.
AND THEN CHANDLER HAD A RAIL OPERATION AT THE TRANSFER STATION THAT WOULD MOVE THE DIRT.
SUBSEQUENTLY, CHANDLER HAS CLOSED THAT TRANSFER STATION, SO THOSE ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO US.
AND SO WE HAD TO LOOK FOR A PLACE TO GET RID OF OUR SOILS THAT WE CAN TAKE THE QUANTITIES, THE 12,000 TONS OF SOIL.
UM, AND REALLY THERE WERE ONLY TWO LOCATIONS THAT WE CAN FIND THAT WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER LOCAL.
AND ONE IS IN AZUA, UM, WHICH IS ABOUT 72 MILES ROUND TRIP.
AND THE OTHER IS IN SIMI VALLEY, WHICH IS 130 MILES ROUND TRIP.
NOW, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO SITES IS WHAT THEY WILL ACCEPT.
SO DEPENDING ON THE SOIL CONTENT, UM, AND WHAT WE FIND IN THE SOIL AFTER WE EXCAVATE IT, UM, IT WILL DICTATE WHERE WE CAN SEND IT.
SO THE WAY THAT PROCESS, OOPS, THE WAY THAT PROCESS GOES IS, UM, WHEN THE SOIL IS BEING STORED, WE WILL COLLECT SAMPLES AND HAVE A TESTING COMPANY TEST THE SOIL TO SEE IF IT CONTAINS ANY OTHER, ANY HAZARDOUS MATERIAL, WHETHER IT'S HYDROCARBONS, LEAD, OR, UM, ANY OTHER, UM, VOCS THAT MAY BE PRESENT LIKE DIESEL COMPOUNDS, UM, IN THE SOIL.
AND THAT THEN WILL CREATE A CHAIN OF CUSTODY.
SO WE HAVE TO HAVE PRETTY CLEAR RECORDS OF WHAT WE ARE DISPOSING OF, AND WE KEEP THOSE RECORDS, AND THEN WE CAN THEN CONTRACT AND FIGURE OUT WHERE WE CAN DUMP IT.
UM, SO THAT IN THE FUTURE, IF THERE'S ANY PROBLEMS AT THE LANDFILL, WE HAVE RECORDS OF WHAT WE HAD DISPOSED OF.
AND SO, UM, THAT IS A VERY IMPORTANT CHAIN OF CUSTODY ASPECT OF HOW WE DISPOSE OF THE SOIL.
SO WITH THAT, UM, BECAUSE OF THE DISTANCE, UM, AND THE COMPLEXITY OF, UM, ALL THE TESTING, WE DO HAVE, UM, WE DO RECOMMEND GOING TO GET A HAULER TO GET RID OF THE EXCAVATION MATERIAL.
SO WE DID A RFP REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, OR SORRY, UM, ITB, SORRY, INVITATION TO BID.
UM, 281 VENDORS WERE NOTIFIED, 30 WERE LONG BEACH VENDORS.
UM, THE BIDS WERE OPEN ON APRIL 9TH.
TWO BIDS WE RECEIVED, THE LOWEST BIDDER WAS BRADLEY TANKS.
UM, AND WE USED OUR PREVIOUS BID ANALYSIS, OUR BID PREVIOUS DISPOSAL QUANTITIES, AND THE QUANTITY CAME OUT TO AROUND, UM, ALMOST A MILLION DOLLARS.
SO STAFF IS RECOMMENDING THE BOARD TO, UM, AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH BRADLEY TANKS TO PROVIDE EXCAVATION, MATERIAL HAULING AND DISPOSAL SERVICES IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 1.1 MILLION FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR, AND TO EXERCISE THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR TWO ADDITIONAL ONE YEAR PERIODS IN AN INCREASED ANNUAL AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED 7% FOR EACH RENEWAL PERIOD.
SO WITH THAT, I'M BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MCGUIRE.
[01:30:01]
THANK YOU.[4. 24-53352 Recommendation to authorize the General Manager to execute an agreement with Base Hill, Inc., to provide custodial services in an annual amount not to exceed $542,256 for a period of three years, and to exercise the option to renew for two additional one-year periods in an increased amount not to exceed 3% for each annual renewal period. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
LAST ONE FOR TODAY.UH, SO ONCE AGAIN, UM, FOR THIS AGENDA ITEM, STAFF REQUEST THE BOARD TO AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT WITH BASE HILL INC.
TO PROVIDE CUSTODIAL SERVICES IN AN ANNUAL AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED 542,256 $56 FOR A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS.
AND TO EXERCISE THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR TWO ADDITIONAL ONE YEAR PERIODS IN AN INCREASE AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED 3% FOR EACH ANNUAL REVIEW PERIOD.
SO, AGAIN, A LITTLE BIT MORE BACKGROUND ON THIS.
THE WARLOW CAMPUS AND THE TRU CLIENT PLACE HAS HISTORICALLY USED A CUSTODIAL SERVICE, UM, TO HANDLE CUSTODIAL JANITORIAL SERVICES.
UM, THE GAS CAMPUS, THEY DO HAVE, UM, A COUPLE OF MAINTENANCE ASSISTANTS TO HANDLE THE DAYTIME, UM, PORTING OF THE JANITORIAL SERVICES, BUT THEY ALSO USE A CONTRACTOR TO SUPPLEMENT THE NEEDS AT THAT CAMPUS.
AND SO THAT CUSTODIAL CONTRACT HAS EXPIRED.
SO STAFF WENT OUT TO RFP FOR A NEW CUSTODIAL SERVICES CONTRACT.
THE PREVIOUS CUSTODIAL CONTRACT WAS $1.3 MILLION.
AND AGAIN, THAT ONLY INCLUDED THE WATER, UM, WARLOW CAMPUS AND ALSO THE TREATMENT PLANT CAMPUS.
AND DID NOT INCLUDE THE, THE EXPENDITURES THAT WAS BEING, UM, EXPENDED BY THE GAS CAMPUS.
THE GAS WAS USING THE CITY'S CONTRACT BECAUSE PRE, PRE-MERGER, THEY WERE, THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO USE ALL CITY CONTRACTS AND NOT UTILITIES CONTRACTS.
AND SO WITH THAT, UM, WE RAN THE RFP AND SELECTED BASE HAIL BASED ON A VARIETY OF CRITERIA, INCLUDING COST.
THEY ARE THE LOWEST BIDDER, BUT THAT'S NOT THE ONLY REASON.
THEY, THEY UNDERSTOOD THE SCOPE AND THEY HAD A GOOD PROCESS OF HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH STAFF, UM, ON THE NEEDS THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND WORK BEING COMPLETED.
UM, AND SO BASE HILL WAS SELECTED AS THE, UM, AS THE, UH, THE PREFERRED VENDOR.
UM, THE ONE POINT, WELL, IT COMES OUT TO BE 1.626 MILLION FOR THREE YEARS.
UM, WITH BASE HILL, THAT'S 1 5 42, 2 56 TIMES THREE.
UM, THAT DOES INCLUDE A 20% CONTINGENCY IN CASE WE HAVE ANY, UM, UNANTICIPATED WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, DURING THE RAIN EVENT, WE HAD A LOT OF, UM, WET CARPET AND DAMAGED, UM, AREAS THAT WE USED, THE CURO SERVICES CONTRACT TO HELP US CLEAN THE CARPET, TO DRY THINGS OUT AND SO ON.
THOSE ARE NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN SCOPE OUT AS PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE.
SO THOSE ARE JUST KIND OF REACTIVE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO DO.
SO WE DO BUDGET SOME MONEY TO DEAL WITH, UM, SOME REACTIVE NEEDS.
SO WITH THAT, UH, THAT CONCLUDES MY VERBAL PRESENTATION.
I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS OR COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS? OKAY.
HEARING OR SEEING NONE PUBLIC.
UH, DO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND? MOTION TO APPROVE? MOTION TO APPROVE.
OH, COMMISSIONER SHANNON, SECOND.
UH, ANY OPPOSITIONS? HEARING NONE.
[5. 24-53353 Recommendation to authorize the General Manager to execute a contract with The Hawkins Company for conducting an executive search for a replacement General Manager for the Long Beach Utilities Department. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
WE GO TO ITEM FIVE.AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH HAWKINS COMPANY.
UM, WE ARE REQUESTING THE BOARD AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO ENTER IN A CONTRACT WITH THE HAWKINS COMPANY FOR REPLACEMENT GENERAL MANAGER.
I HAVE A BRIEF VERBAL PRESENTATION JUST TO OUTLINE THE STEPS PROPOSED BY THE HAWKIN COMPANY, HAWKINS COMPANY, AND THEN WE WILL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
UH, THEY PROVIDED A SIX STEP RECRUITMENT PROCESS WITH STEP ONE, DEVELOPMENT OF A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING AND ASSESSMENT OF THE LONG BEACH UTILITIES DEPARTMENT.
STEP TWO, DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE GENERAL MANAGER POSITION.
AND THEN STEP THREE, DEVELOPMENT OF A SEARCH STRATEGY AIMED AT ATTRACTING THE MOST QUALIFIED CANDIDATES.
STEP FOUR, CANDIDATE RECRUITMENT AND SCREENING.
STEP FIVE, EVALUATION AND PRESENTATION OF FINAL CANDIDATES.
AND THEN STEP SIX, CANDIDATE AND LONG BEACH UTILITIES DEPARTMENT FOLLOW UP.
UM, AT THIS POINT IN TIME, THAT CONCLUDES MY VERBAL PRESENTATION.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL MIGHT HAVE.
UM, ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS OR COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS? OKAY.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION? OKAY, GLORIA? YES.
UM, WHAT YOU JUST READ, HAVE YOU PROVIDED THAT TO US? THAT, UH, NO, MA'AM.
WAS IT IN? CAN WE GET THAT? OF COURSE.
[01:35:02]
MOTION.UM, SORRY, MRS. COMMISSIONER, UM, IT WAS PROVIDED IN THE PROPOSAL, THOUGH.
IT'S JUST A SUMMARY, HIGHLIGHTING THEIR, THEIR STEPS.
[6. 24-53354 Receive and file a report on California Climate Action Corps Education and Outreach. Suggested Action: Receive and file. ]
GO TO ITEM NUMBER SIX, RECEIVE AND FILE A REPORT ON CALIFORNIA CLIMATE CORP EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.UH, SO TODAY THERE ARE ACTUALLY TWO ITEMS RELATED TO THE CALIFORNIA, UH, CLIMATE ACTION CORPS.
UH, THE FIRST ITEM WILL BE I RECEIVE AND FILE ITEM ABOUT ALL OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE AS STAFF AND WITH OUR FELLOWS THAT THE BOARD AUTHORIZED LAST YEAR, UH, PRESENTING OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE.
AND THEN THE SECOND PRESENTATION, I'LL BE HANDING OVER TO DANNY LIMA FROM MY STAFF TO PRESENT ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS THAT WE ASPIRE TO DO IF THE BOARD AUTHORIZES ANOTHER YEAR OF THIS PROGRAM.
SO, TODAY, IN THE AUDIENCE, WE ALSO HAVE WITH US ANDREA ANTHONY MOORE, WHO IS THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE CALIFORNIA CLIMATE ACTION CORPS.
UH, IF YOU WANT TO, I GUESS YOU WAIVED.
UH, SO ANDREA IN A, A PAST LIFE WAS ACTUALLY, UM, UH, A FELLOW, UH, WORKING HERE WITH US AT THE FORMERLY, UH, WATER DEPARTMENT.
AND SO SHE HAS A HISTORY OF WORKING HERE, AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE HER IN HER, HER NEW ROLE, AND, UH, CONTINUING TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON HER COMMUNITY.
UM, ALSO IN OUR AUDIENCE, I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND COMMEND, UH, ALAN ARSLANIAN FROM MY TEAM.
UH, AND SO I REALLY WANT TO JUST, UH, THANK HIM FOR ESSENTIALLY, UH, FINDING THIS OPPORTUNITY, PURSUING IT, AND ALL OF THE, UH, ENERGY AND, UH, ENTHUSIASM THAT HE'S PUT INTO MAKING ESSENTIALLY EVERYTHING THAT I'M ABOUT TO PRESENT ON ALL THESE SLIDES, UH, POSSIBLE.
SO THE CALIFORNIA CLIMATE ACTION BOARD, UH, IT'S A 11 MONTH PROGRAM, UM, FROM AMERICORPS, UH, AND AS THE NAME INDICATES, UH, THE CLIMATE ACTION PROGRAM IS, UH, AND MEANT TO TAKE ACTION ON DIFFERENT CLIMATE RELATED PRIORITIES.
SO ONE OF THOSE PRIORITIES IS URBAN GREENING.
AND SO FOR US AT THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT, THAT MEANS ALL OF OUR OUTDOOR LANDSCAPE, UH, CONVERSION PROJECTS.
UH, AND SO, UH, FOR THIS PRIORITY, UH, WE, OUR STAFF WAS ABLE TO INTERVIEW AND SELECT TWO HIGHLY QUALIFIED, UH, ENERGETIC FRIENDLY, UH, FELLOWS, UH, WHO AREN'T HERE TODAY.
UM, BUT NORMALLY, IF, IF YOU'RE OVER THERE AT THE BOARD, UM, FOR BOARD MEETINGS, UH, THEY, THEY SIT RIGHT BY THE KITCHEN.
THOSE, UH, UH, ON THE LEFT IS, UH, LAURA AGU AND ON THE RIGHT, UH, VERONICA LONZO.
AND SO, UH, THEY'VE BEEN DOING GREAT WORK FOR US, UH, SINCE THEY STARTED, UH, WITH US BACK IN SEPTEMBER.
SO, UH, THEY'VE BEEN REALLY HELPFUL FOR STAFF AS FAR AS PROVIDING HELP ON OUR GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM, MAPPING OUT ALL THE DIFFERENT TURF AREAS, UH, IN THE CITY, UH, LETTING US KNOW WHERE TO, TO FOCUS OUR EFFORTS.
AND THEY'VE ALSO REALLY HELPED TO BUILD PARTNERSHIPS THROUGH WATER CONSERVATION OUTREACH.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, DIANA AND, UH, JOY HAVE MENTIONED THE DIFFERENT COMMUNITY EDUCATION, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM, PROJECTS OR PROGRAMS, EVENTS, UH, SUCH AS, UH, THE, THE GRAND PRIX OR PRIDE THIS WEEKEND.
AND SO, REALLY THE FOCUS OF OUR OUTREACH FROM OUR TEAM AND THE FELLOWS IS CENTERED AROUND WATER CONSERVATION AND WATER, WATER RESOURCES SPECIFIC EVENTS.
UH, AND SO, UH, HAVING THAT ABILITY TO HAVE, UH, STAFF AUGMENTATION IS REALLY HELPFUL IN, IN GETTING OUR WORD OUT, UH, HELPING TO, TO SPREAD THE AWARENESS OF ALL THE WONDERFUL RESOURCES THAT OUR DEPARTMENT HAS TO OFFER.
SO TH THIS SLIDE IS JUST REALLY TO HIGHLIGHT ONE OF THOSE EFFORTS.
ONE OF THE WAYS THAT OUR FELLOWS HAVE HELPED US TO, UM, ENGAGE OUR PUBLIC AND EDUCATE THEM, UH, IS TO, UH, OFFER DIFFERENT VOLUNTEER, UH, WORKDAY EVENTS.
AND SO, AT THESE EVENTS, GIVES OUR CUSTOMERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET A HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE AS FAR AS REMOVING THE TURF, LEARNING ABOUT STORMWATER RETENTION FEATURES ON THE LANDSCAPE, LEARNING HOW TO SELECT AND PLANT NA UH, NATIVE PLANTS.
AND SO, UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, TH THIS IS A, A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW WE AS A DEPARTMENT HAVE LONG VALUED AND REALIZE THAT TURF CONVERSION ISN'T JUST ABOUT SIMPLY PROVIDING, YOU KNOW, DOLLAR PER SQUARE FOOT REBATE INCENTIVE.
AND, AND, UM, AND JUST HANDING THAT OUT TO CUSTOMERS.
IT REALLY TAKES MORE, UH, SUPPORT AND RESOURCES AND EDUCATION, UH, FROM, FROM US AND OUR STAFF AND OUR DEPARTMENT TO MAKE THOSE PROJECTS WORK.
UH, AND SO, SO OFFERING THIS TYPE OF, UH, SUPPORT TO OUR COMMUNITY IS, IS REALLY BENEFICIAL.
UH, THIS IS THAT SHORELINE VILLAGE.
AND SO THAT ALSO JUST HIGHLIGHTS, UM, ANOTHER, UH, MENTALITY AND APPROACH THAT OUR STAFF HAS HAD TOWARDS TURF CONVERSION, WHICH IS REALLY TO, TO LOOK AT, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR MULTI-BENEFIT.
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YES, UH, THE WATER SAVINGS IS GREAT, UM, BUT THERE'S ALSO OPPORTUNITY FOR STORM WATER RETENTION, DIFFERENT, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS AS WELL.AND SO, UH, LOOKING AT THAT ALSO HELPS US AS A DEPARTMENT AND, AND OUR CUSTOMERS TAP INTO ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR THESE TYPE OF PROJECTS.
AND SO, YOU'LL SEE THE PARTNERS ON THIS PAGE.
UH, SURF RIDER FOUNDATION, UH, HELPED TO, TO ORGANIZE AND, AND, UH, PROVIDE MATERIALS, UH, OUT OF THEIR, UH, FUNDING.
AND THEN WE ALSO PARTNERED WITH THE PARKS REC AND MARINE, UM, UH, DEPARTMENT.
UH, AND THAT'S, THAT SHORELINE VILLAGE PROPERTY WAS THEIRS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO, TO HOST A VOLUNTEER DAY EVENT.
SO IT REALLY STARTS TO, TO SHOW, UH, THROUGH THESE NEXT FEW SLIDES HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO FORM THESE PARTNERSHIPS.
'CAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS CLICHE AS IT SOUNDS, WE CAN ACCOMPLISH MORE TOGETHER THAN JUST INDIVIDUALLY ON OUR OWN.
UH, SO, SO OUR TEAM HAS REALLY TAKEN TO HEART, YOU KNOW, ALL THE FEEDBACK FROM THE, THE COMMISSIONERS, UH, PRESIDENT RAINEY, YOU KNOW, JUST EARLIER YOU'RE MENTIONING, HOW CAN WE DO A BETTER JOB OF COMMUNITY GETTING OUT THERE, GETTING THE WORD OUT, SPREADING THE, THE, THE WORD OUT TO, UH, AUDIENCES THAT WE HAVEN'T HISTORICALLY, UM, UH, GOTTEN AS, AS MUCH ENGAGEMENT FROM.
UH, AND SO THIS IS REALLY, UH, TAKING, UH, BOOTS ON THE GROUND APPROACH.
UH, OUR FELLOWS HAVE BEEN MEETING WITH DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, YOU KNOW, MEETING THEM WHERE THEY ARE IN THIS CASE, YOU KNOW, MEETING THEM ON THEIR TURF, LITERALLY, UH, IN THIS CASE, HOPEFULLY WE, THEY TAKE OUT THE TURF SOON.
BUT, UH, IN THIS CASE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE AT THESE DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOOD FUNCTIONS WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE GO TO THEM WHERE THEY ARE.
UH, WE'RE THERE WITH OTHER CITY, UH, ENTITIES.
PD WAS THERE, THE COUNCIL DISTRICT WAS THERE, AND WE'RE HELPING THEM TO, UH, INFORM THEM OF ALL THE DIFFERENT RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE, ALL THE WAYS THAT WE CAN HELP THEM, UH, CHANGE THEIR LANDSCAPE, AND THEN ALSO TO LISTEN TO THEIR CONCERNS, UH, TO HELP SHAPE OUR PROGRAMS FOR THE FUTURE.
AND SO, OUR, OUR FELLOWS HAVE BEEN GOING TO DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, REALLY, REALLY GETTING OUT THERE.
UH, ANOTHER WAY THAT THEY'VE BEEN GETTING OUT INTO COMMUNITY IS AT DIFFERENT SCHOOLS IN LONG BEACH.
AND SO, UH, THE, THE PICTURES FROM HERE ARE FROM STANFORD MIDDLE SCHOOL.
UH, BUT ESSENTIALLY OUR, OUR FELLOWS, LAUREN VERONICA, UH, DID A PRESENTATION, UH, FOR THE SCHOOL ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION, WATER RESOURCES.
AND, UM, THE SCHOOL LIKED IT SO MUCH THAT THEY WERE INVITED BACK.
UH, AND THIS IS, UH, THE PICTURES OF A, A CALIFORNIA NATIVE SEED PLANTING DAY.
UH, THE STUDENTS FROM SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH GRADE, UH, SPENT THEIR, THEIR LUNCH PERIOD, UH, INTERACTING WITH OUR FELLOWS AND, AND LEARNING ABOUT, UH, DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT TOPICS.
AND, AND REALLY IT WAS SO WELL RECEIVED THAT WE RECEIVED REFERRALS TO, TO DO THIS PROGRAM AT OTHER SCHOOLS.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY, UH, STARTING TO, TO BRANCH OUT INTO THE SCHOOLS.
UH, ANOTHER IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THE OUTREACH THAT OUR FELLOWS HAVE HELPED US, UH, ACHIEVE, IS TO, TO ENGAGE WITH OUR DIFFERENT COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS.
SO ON THE LEFT IS, UH, PICTURE OF, UH, A OFFICE OF CLIMATE ACTION EVENT, OUR SISTER CITY DEPARTMENT.
AND THEN ON THE RIGHT IS AN EVENT OVER AT RANCH RANCHO LOS CERRITOS, UH, WHERE OUR FELLOWS LED A TOUR, UH, FOR STUDENTS IN, UH, UH, UM, WHAT DO THEY CALL IT? UH, CI CITIZEN SCIENCE, UH, LED TOUR, UH, LEARNING ABOUT THE LOCAL FLORA AND FAUNA.
AND SO REALLY TRYING TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES WHERE OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS HAVE A SHARED AND OVERLAPPING MESSAGE, AS WELL AS A SHARED AND OVERLAPPING AUDIENCE.
AND SO, AGAIN, WORKING TOGETHER, UH, TO, TO ACHIEVE MORE TOGETHER THAN WE WOULD INDIVIDUALLY ALONE.
AND SO ALL OF THAT CULMINATES IN WHAT WILL BE ESSENTIALLY THE, THE LARGEST OUTREACH EVENT THAT WE HAVE, UH, THROUGH THIS FELLOWSHIP YEAR, UH, WHICH IS THE EXPLORE TO FOR EXPLORE TO FOREST WETLANDS EVENT.
UH, SO THAT WILL BE ON JUNE 1ST.
UH, AND AGAIN, HUGE CREDIT TO, TO ALAN FOR LEADING AND, AND, AND PULLING TOGETHER OVER 20, UH, COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND NONPROFITS.
UH, IT'S GONNA BE A, A GREAT EVENT.
UH, IT'S FOCUSED ON HOW THE WETLANDS SUPPORT OUR WATERSHED, AND THEN THERE WILL BE DIFFERENT CONSERVATION, STORMWATER SUSTAINABILITY PRESENTATIONS.
UH, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF, UH, FREE FAMILY, FUN, UH, ACTIVITIES.
UH, REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE, THE LOCAL ARTISTS THAT ARE GONNA BE PARTICIPATING.
SO THERE'S GONNA BE A LOCAL POET, UH, LOCAL PAINTER, UH, LONG BEACH LOCAL, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, INDIGENOUS MUSICAL PERFORMANCE.
UH, AND ALL THIS IS GOING TO BE FUNDED BY A $3,000, UH, METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY PARTNERING MICRO GRANT.
AND SO ON THAT, I JUST WANT TO REALLY PAUSE AND, AND, UM, UH, EMPHASIZE HOW, HOW LONG BEACH IS ONE OF THE VERY FEW AGENCIES HAS ACTUALLY BEEN ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DIFFERENT FUNDING AVAILABLE FROM METROPOLITAN.
UH, REALLY, UH, EVEN FROM A STATE AND AND FEDERAL LEVEL, THERE'S THIS EMPHASIS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER RESOURCES AND WATER CONSERVATION.
YOU'LL SEE THAT THROUGH REGULATIONS COMING DOWN, REQUIREMENTS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MEET, UH, THAT DANIEL WILL TALK ABOUT.
UH, AND WITH REQUIREMENTS AND REGULATION, AL ALSO COMES FUNDING AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
BUT REALLY IT TAKES STAFF TIME AND EFFORT TO PUT THAT FUNDING INTO USE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THIS GRANT FROM METROPOLITAN, IT, IT WE'RE ONE OF THE FEW AGENCIES TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S REALLY A CREDIT TO STAFF.
AND I, I LIKE TO THANK ANTO AND CHRIS FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP
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AND SUPPORTING OUR TEAM TO, TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO, TO PURSUE THESE OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL AS THE BOARD FOR ALWAYS BEING SUPPORTIVE OF EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE FOR WATER CONSERVATION.IT ALLOWS US TO REALLY BE AT THE FOREFRONT AND, AND LEAD IN, IN BEING ABLE TO DO EVENTS LIKE THIS.
UM, YEAH, SO WITH THAT, I EXTEND THE IN INVITATION TO THE BOARD FOR OUR EVENT.
YOU ALL HAVE THE FLYER IN FRONT OF YOU ALL, ALL THE DETAILS THERE.
UH, SATURDAY, JUNE 1ST, 9:00 AM TO 1:00 PM UH, AND, UH, EXTEND THE INVITATION TO, UH, ALL THE STAFF THAT THAT'S STILL HERE, UH, AS WELL.
IT'S A, A PUBLIC EVENT OPEN TO EVERYONE.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL, I'LL PASS IT OVER TO DANNY, UH, TO, TO THE SECOND PRESENTATION, AND I GUESS WITH THE, THE CITY ATTORNEY AND THE BOARD'S INDULGENCE, UH, TAKE QUESTIONS ALL AT THE END ON, ON BOTH ITEMS. SO WE'RE GONNA TAKE THE QUESTIONS FOR BOTH ITEMS AT THE END, CORRECT? IF THAT'S OKAY.
[7. 24-53356 Recommendation to authorize the General Manager to execute a Memorandum of Understanding with Bay Area Community Resources to provide Fellows from September 2024 to August 2025 to assist in water conservation program development. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]
DANNY, UH, LIMA AUTHORIZED THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE A MEMORANDUM OF UNDER MOU WITH BAY AREA COMMUNITY RESOURCE MORNING PRESIDENT RAINEY AND DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE UTILITIES COMMISSION.CAN YOU HEAR ME PROPERLY? JUST LITTLE BIT LOUDER.
I'M PRETTY NERVOUS, SO, UH, I APOLOGIZE IF I STUMBLE MY WORDS.
I'M AN ANALYST WITH THE RESOURCES TEAM.
I MANAGE OUR WATER CONSERVATION GRANTS, OUR COMMUNITY EDUCATION CLASSES, AS WELL AS OUR OUTDOOR WATER USE EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS. MOST OF 'EM LAUNCH TO GARDEN AND PARKWAY NEXT YEAR.
WE HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO BE A HOST FOR THE CALIFORNIA CLIMATE ACTION CORPS FELLOWSHIP.
AND WITH YOUR APPROVAL, I AM HAPPY TO BE NEXT YEAR'S SITE SUPERVISOR.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THE INCREDIBLE WORK THAT ALAN AND OUR FELLOWS, UH, HAVE STARTED THIS YEAR.
WE HAVE FIVE CATEGORIES THAT WE WILL FOCUS ON FOR THE SCOPE OF WORK, PUBLIC EDUCATION, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, TURF TRANSFORMATIONS, AB 1572 IMPLEMENTATION, AND CONTINUING TO DEVELOP A COLLABORATIVE ECOSYSTEM IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.
AND I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT, MANY PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT AB 1572 YET.
AB 1572 IS A BILL THAT PASSED IN OCTOBER, 2023, AND IT BANS THE IRRIGATION OF NON-FUNCTIONAL TURF WITH POTABLE WATER.
AND THIS APPLIES TO ALL CII PROPERTIES IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, INCLUDING HOAS SCHOOLS, UM, COMMERCIAL, INSTITUTIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES.
SO WHEN I USE, UH, CII, I'M REALLY REFERRING TO THESE TYPES OF PROPERTIES WITHIN THE CITY.
AND AS THE WATER PROVIDER IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, WE ARE BEING TASKED WITH, UH, ENCOURAGING COMPLIANCE WITH AB 1572.
AND SO, NON-FUNCTIONAL TURF IS CATEGORIZED AS, UM, GRASS IN THESE PUBLIC SPACES THAT DON'T, THAT DOESN'T ACTUALLY SERVE A FUNCTION.
SO IT'S PURELY THERE FOR DECORATIVE PURPOSES.
UM, FUNCTIONAL TURF IS CATEGORIZED AS GRASS AREAS WITHIN PUBLIC RECREATIONAL SPACES OR COMMUNITY GATHERING SPACES.
UM, JUST FOR A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT ABOUT WHAT AB 1572 IS, AND I WANTED TO, UH, PROVIDE YOU AN EXAMPLE FOR EACH OF THESE CATEGORIES TO BROADEN YOUR, UM, UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCOPE OF WORK WITH THE FOLLOWING SLIDES, PUBLIC EDUCATION.
SO WE PARTNERED WITH THE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT AND GREEN GARDENS GROUP TO PROVIDE, UH, RECURRING CLASSES EVERY SINGLE MONTH, UNPACKING, UM, COMPLEX AND TECHNICAL TOPICS SUCH AS LANDSCAPE DESIGN, SOIL CHEMISTRY, REGENERATIVE METHODS OF, UM, REMOVING GRASS, UH, IRRIGATING OR RETROFITTING A TRADITIONAL IRRIGATION SYSTEM TO A WATER EFFICIENT IRRIGATION SYSTEM.
AND SO WE HAVE ONE LIVE CLASS HERE AT OUR HEADQUARTERS AND ONE VIRTUAL CLASS PER MONTH.
UM, AND WE ARE ALSO COMMITTED TO EXPANDING OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, CAL STATE LONG BEACH AND LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE TO DELIVER RECURRING PRESENTATIONS THAT ENCOURAGE ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP AND WATER STEWARDSHIP IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.
SO, SO MUCH OF THE WORK THAT OUR FELLOWS HAVE DONE INVOLVES, UH, OUTREACH, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOCUS THAT EFFORT WITH STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT NEXT YEAR.
UH, WE RECENTLY DID A, A PRESENTATION FOR THE WRIGLEY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION LAST WEEK WHERE WE WERE INFORMING THEM ABOUT AB 1572.
SO WHAT THE BILL IS, HOW IT IMPACTS THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, HOW IT IMPACTS LONG BEACH, HOW IT IMPACTS THEM, UM, THE RESOURCES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE AVAILABLE TO FACILITATE COMPLIANCE.
UM, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE REAL INTENTION OF THIS, OF THIS PRESENTATION WAS TO, UH, SURVEY OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS BY ASKING THEM WHAT ELSE COULD WE
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DO AS THEIR WATER PROVIDER TO CREATE INITIATIVES OR HOST ROUND TABLES, OR MAYBE DEVELOP A MEANINGFUL MARKETING CAMPAIGN OR PROGRAMS THAT WILL FACILITATE, UH, THEIR COMPLIANCE WITH AB 1572 BY THE STIPULATED GUIDELINE DATES.UM, AND I DO WANNA MENTION FOR AB 1572, THERE ARE SPECIFIC DEADLINE COMPLIANCE DATES FOR EVERY SUBCATEGORY IN THE CII SECTOR.
SO PUBLIC AGENCIES SUCH AS LIBRARIES OR SCHOOLS, OR MAYBE EVEN OUR PROPERTY, UH, WE'RE SUBJECT TO BE COMPLIANT WITH AB 1572 FIRST ON JANUARY 1ST, UM, UH, 20, UH, 27.
AND, UM, SO IN, IN OUR TEAM, WE, WE REALLY VALUE THE INSIGHTS OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
WE'RE HOPING WHEN WE REACH OUT TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND WE, UM, SURVEY THEM, UH, WE BELIEVE THAT HARNESSING THE COLLECTIVE INSIGHTS AND WISDOM OF THOSE WE SERVE WILL, UM, HELP US TO CREATE INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS THAT RESONATE WITH THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THIS ENGAGEMENT WITH THE WRIGLEY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MARKS JUST THE BEGINNING IN THE FORTHCOMING YEAR, OUR INTENTION IS TO EXPAND THIS DIALOGUE TO EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION IN THE CITY AND KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN THE CITY.
UM, FOSTERING A CULTURE OF COLLABORATION AND INCLUSIVITY AT THAT LIES AT THE HEART OF OUR COLLECTIVE PROGRESS TURF TRANSFORMATION.
SO WE RECENTLY DID A REALLY COOL PROJECT AT LAFAYETTE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
THIS IS A SCHOOL THAT IS IN A HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.
AND MANY OF US IN THIS SPACE UNDERSTAND THE, UM, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL DISPARITIES THAT DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES ARE FACED WITH.
AND WE ALSO UNDERSTAND THE MULTI BENEFITS A GREEN SPACE CAN HAVE ON A COMMUNITY, LIKE BUILDING COMMUNITY COHESIVENESS AND IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL RESILIENCE.
AND SO, UM, INITIALLY THIS PROJECT WAS JUST TO REMOVE A STRIP OF GRASS IN FRONT OF THE, THE SCHOOL, AN INSTALL BEAU, A BEAUTIFUL WATERWISE GARDEN, A DEMONSTRATION GARDEN FOR THE STUDENTS TO ENJOY.
BUT IT ENDED UP BEING A MUCH BIGGER EVENT.
PUBLIC WORKS STOP BY TO FACILITATE A SCHOOL CLEANUP AND A NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUP.
WE HAD LOCAL ARTISTS PAINT THE CHILDREN'S FACES IN BETWEEN PLANTINGS.
WE HAD A BEAUTIFUL LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT CEREMONY AT THE TOP OF THE EVENT, AND WE WERE SO PLEASED TO BE PART OF IT.
AND I WANTED TO SHOW YOU A LITTLE VIDEO THAT DEMONSTRATES HOW THIS, THESE COMMUNITY OR THESE GARDEN, UM, INSTALLATION EFFORTS, THEY'RE MORE THAN JUST GARDENS.
THEY CAN REALLY BUILD AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
AND WITH MY BOTANICAL BACKGROUND, I REALLY BELIEVE THAT GARDENS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.
I'M GONNA GO BACK, IF YOU DON'T MIND BRINGING UP THE VOLUME, PLEASE.
SO THIS, THIS VIDEO IS A HIGHLIGHT REEL THAT LAFAYETTE NATURE CLUB CREATED FOR THE EVENT.
UM, CAN I PLEASE ASK YOU FOR YOUR HELP TO GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE? THANK YOU.
SO, AB 1572 IMPLEMENTATION AS WE EMBARK ON THE IMPLEMENTATION JOURNEY OF AB 1572, OUR DEDICATED FELLOWS ALONGSIDE AARON, A VALUED ANALYST WITHIN OUR
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TEAM WHO IS HERE TODAY.AARON, IF YOU WANNA, WE'LL BE METICULOUSLY CHARTING THE ENTIRE CITY OF LONG BEACH, IDENTIFYING WHICH AREAS OF THE CITY ARE NON-FUNCTIONAL TURF AND WHICH AREAS ARE FUNCTIONAL.
THIS PIVOTAL ENDEAVOR, UH, UNDERSCORES OUR COMMITMENT TO THE EFFECTIVE REALIZATION OF AB 1570 TWO'S OBJECTIVES IN IDENTIFYING WHICH AREAS WE WANNA FOCUS FIRST TO REMOVE THE GRASS AND INSTALL WATERWISE GARDENS TO BE COMPLIANT WITH AB 1572.
I DO WANNA MENTION THERE ARE VARIOUS PATHWAYS TO COMPLIANCE WITH THIS BILL.
OUR TEAM IS CURRENTLY, UM, PRIORITIZING REMOVING THE NON-FUNCTIONAL GRASS AND INSTALLING GREEN SPACES THROUGHOUT THE, THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.
AND, UM, IT'S, IT'S INCREDIBLY VALUABLE TO HAVE TWO FULL-TIME STAFF MEMBERS AND OUR FELLOWS TO HELP US WITH THIS EFFORT, BUT ALSO FOR US TO PROVIDE THEM SKILL SETS, TRANSFER TRANSFERABLE SKILL SETS THAT WILL, UH, HELP THEM BUILD THEIR CAREER, WHETHER THEY WANNA STAY IN WATER OR WHETHER THEY WANNA GO INTO THE ENVIRONMENTAL SECTOR.
GIS UH, TRAINING IS INCREDIBLY VALUABLE FOR THE WORK THAT WE DO.
AND BEYOND THAT, WE ARE EQUALLY FOCUSED ON FOSTERING A WIDESPREAD AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF AB 1572 THROUGH A BLEND OF VIRTUAL AND LIVE ENGAGEMENTS.
WE, UM, ARE ACTIVELY REACHING OUT TO STAKEHOLDERS IN OUR CII COMMUNITY TO INFORM THEM ABOUT AB 1572 AND ADVISE THEM ON VARIOUS PATHWAYS TO COMPLIANCE.
SO EACH PRESENTATION THAT WE DO SERVES AS A BEACON, ILLUMINATING THE SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPLICATIONS OF AB 1572.
AND LAST, UM, THROUGH COLLABORATIVE ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT, WE AIM TO ENHANCE SUSTAINABILITY AND PROMOTE RESPONSIBLE WATER USAGE IN THE CITY OF CALIFORNIA, I'M SORRY, IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH
WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOSTER PARTNERSHIPS WITH PUBLIC AGENCIES, NGOS, AND COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS TO INSTALL AS MANY WATERWISE GARDENS AROUND THE CITY OF LONG BEACH AS POSSIBLE.
AND ON THIS SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE OUR NEXT AB 1572 PROJECT THAT'S TAKING PLACE IN FRONT OF THE HARBOR'S MASTER'S OFFICE.
AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE FAR RIGHT HAND ON THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER, THAT'S A DIGITAL RENDERING OF WHAT THIS SPACE IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE.
AFTER WE ARE DONE REMOVING THAT GRASS AND INSTALLING THE WATERWISE GARDEN WITH CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS, UM, FOR THE ENTIRE PUBLIC TO ENJOY.
ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE IS AN IMAGE OF, UH, THE FIRST PROJECT THAT WE DID WITH SHORELINE MARINA, UH, TO REMOVE GRASS AND INSTALL A WATERWISE GARDEN.
SO, UM, YOU'RE PROBABLY ASKING YOURSELF, UH, HOW ARE WE GONNA FUND ALL OF THIS? THIS SEEMS SO EXPENSIVE.
YOU'RE ASKING FOR TWO MORE FELLOWS.
YOU'RE DOING ALL THIS INCREDIBLE WORK NOT TO WORRY.
WE ARE ACTIVELY, UH, SOURCING, UH, GRANT OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH OUR ROBUST WATER USE EFFICIENCY GRANT, UH, STRATEGY, AND, UM, ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR NEW GRANTS TO APPLY TO.
AND TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW, WE HAVE SECURED A-U-S-B-R SWEPT GRANT, TOTALING $75,000, ANOTHER GRANT THIS YEAR FOR $400,000.
AND, UH, WITH THE WORK OF ALLEN, WE SECURED A $3,000 METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT GRANT.
AND THE GRANTS THAT WE RECENTLY APPLIED TO WITHIN THE LAST FEW MONTHS INCLUDE A-U-S-B-R SWEPT GRANT FOR 100,000 A-U-S-B-R WAGE GRANT FOR 200,000.
AND, UM, SO MOREOVER, WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO SEEKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ENHANCEMENT THROUGH SMALL GRANT FUNDING THROUGH THE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT, UH, COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM, WHICH WILL SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY SCHEDULED FOR NEXT YEAR.
AND LASTLY, OUR FELLOWS WAGES WILL HAVE ZERO FISCAL IMPACT AS THEY ARE ENTIRELY FUNDED BY THE BACR GRANT.
SO OUR, OUR WORK WILL NOT STOP.
WE WILL CONTINUOUSLY FIND SOURCES OF FUNDING TO, UH, HELP US EXPAND OUR WORK IN WATER USE EFFICIENCY EFFORTS IN THE CITY.
AND LAST STAFF RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE A GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH BAY AREA COMMUNITY RESOURCES TO PROVIDE FELLOWS FROM SEPTEMBER, 2024 TO AUGUST, 2025 TO ASSIST IN WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
UH, ANTHONY, DO WE TAKE SIX AND SEVEN TOGETHER OR INDIVIDUALLY? I THINK, UH, YOU CAN DO EITHER, BUT WE DIDN'T VOTE ON SIX YET, DID WE? SO WE DID.
WHY DON'T WE JUST DO ONE VOTE FOR SIX ON SEVEN.
WILL ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS, ANY CONDITIONERS COMMENTS? IS THIS ON? GO AHEAD.
CAN YOU GO TO THE PODIUM PLEASE? JENNY? THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL TURF AND NON-FUNCTIONAL TURF? IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO, FUNCTIONAL TURF IS CATEGORIZED AS AREAS WITHIN CII PROPERTIES THAT SERVE A PUBLIC USE FUNCTION.
SO THESE ARE AREAS THAT ARE WITHIN PUBLIC RECREATIONAL SPACES OR COMMUNITY GATHERING SPACES.
AND TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF THAT, LET'S IMAGINE A CITY HALL.
SO MANY OF THE AGENCIES THAT I'VE WORKED FOR HAVE A
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CITY HALL THAT'S SURROUNDED BY GRASS AREA, AND WE ARE ALSO SURROUNDED BY GRASS AREA TOO.UM, IF THESE AREAS, UM, SERVE A PUBLIC FUNCTION, WHICH MANY OF THESE CITY HALLS DO, WE FIND THAT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND, UM, COMMUNITY GROUPS UTILIZE THIS GRASS SPACE, UH, SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR, UH, FOR EVENTS AND PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS OR MAYBE, UM, UH, FARMER'S MARKETS.
SO THIS AREA, EVEN THOUGH IT'S BEING IRRIGATED BY POTABLE WATER, WHICH IS DRINKING WATER, UM, IT IS CONSIDERED FUNCTIONAL TURF BECAUSE IT'S SERVING A, A, AN ACTUAL FUNCTION.
UM, NON-FUNCTIONAL TURF ARE AREAS WITHIN THESE SPACES.
SO, UM, CII SPACES, COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONAL INDUSTRIAL SPACES, HOAS SCHOOLS, UH, THAT DOESN'T SERVE A PUBLIC USE FUNCTION.
SO, UM, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AROUND THE CITY AND YOU'RE DRIVING AROUND THESE CII PROPERTIES, IF YOU ASK YOURSELF, DOES THIS GRASS SERVE A FUNCTION OR IS IT PURELY THERE FOR DECORATIVE PURPOSES? IF IT'S PURELY THERE FOR DECORATIVE PURPOSES, UM, IT'S GOTTA GO.
DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES.
UM, WE, ANY, ANY OTHER COMMENTS, COMMISSIONERS OR, UH, OR PUBLIC? GLORIA CERO.
UM, I, I, I, THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PROGRAM.
UM, THE, THE LEGISLATION AB 1572 WAS ACTUALLY SPONSORED AND CO-SPONSORED BY METROPOLITAN, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, AND THE NRDC AND HEAL THE BAY.
SO THOSE THREE GROUPS GOT TOGETHER.
UM, LAURA FRIEDMAN FROM BURBANK CARRIED IT ASSEMBLY MEMBER, UH, ASSEMBLYWOMAN CARRIED THAT BILL FOR US.
AND, UM, THIS IS THE FRUITS OF THE LABOR OF, OF A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE WHO HAD A, A GREAT VISION.
UM, IT DOESN'T INCLUDE RECYCLED WATER.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL THE WORK YOU DO, UH, ALAN, EVERYONE ON THIS, APPRECIATE IT.
AND I'D LIKE CAN MAKE THE MOTION TO, UH, RECEIVE AND FILE.
OH, I'M HAVEN'T FINISHED ANOL.
UH, I USUALLY FIND MYSELF GIVING YOU COMMENTS ABOUT ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT WE DO.
UH, BUT I ACTUALLY HAVE A QUOTE FOR YOU FOR SOMEBODY.
SO I WAS AT THE VERDE EXCHANGE CONFERENCE, UH, AT THE START OF THE WEEK, WATER ENERGY NEXUS AND THE LIKE.
BUT THE POINT OF ME BRINGING THAT UP IS THAT I WAS ABLE TO RECONNECT WITH FELICIA MARCUS, WHO IS THE FORMER HEAD OF THE STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD.
SHE'S CURRENTLY AT THE WATER IN THE WEST PROGRAM AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY AS AN ADJUNCT PROFESSOR.
HER COMMENT TO ME WAS WHEN WE RECONNECTED WITH EACH OTHER AND SHE SAID, YES, I REMEMBER YOU.
SHE SAID, ALMOST A QUOTE, YOUR PROGRAMS ARE WELL KNOWN THROUGHOUT THE STATE AS BEING LEADERS IN INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY IN THE DESIGN OF PROGRAMS FOR WATER USE EFFICIENCY.
AND THAT QUOTE IS SIMPLY THE RESULT OF ALL THE GREAT EFFORT THAT DEAN AND STAFF THAT PRESENT TO YOU.
THAT'S ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT THEY DO THAT'S RECOGNIZED BY NONE OTHER THAN THE FORMER HEAD OF THE STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD.
ANATOL, THANK YOU FOR THAT, UH, SHARING THAT COMMENT, UM, WITH US.
SO NOW WE WILL, UM, ASK IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER COMMENTS, AND IF THERE ARE NONE, DO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND? A MOTION TO RECEIVE AND FILE MOTION? ACTUALLY, THE MOTION OUGHT TO BE TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS OF SIX AND SEVEN.
RECEIVE AND FILE IS ONLY NUMBER SIX.
UH, ITEM NUMBER SIX AND ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.
IS THAT OKAY? ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, IS THERE A SECOND? I SECOND.
UH, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER GINA MCGUIRE.
UH, ALL IN FAVOR? I, I A ANY OPPOSITIONS? HEARING NONE.
[PUBLIC COMMENT Opportunity to address the Utilities Commission on non-agenda items. Each speaker is limited to three minutes to make their comments unless extended by the Board.]
WE'VE HAD PUBLIC COMMENTS, BUT THAT WAS FROM, UH, OUR GENERAL MANAGER.IS THERE ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS? OKAY.
WE'VE DONE OUR PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS.
ANY OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS? OKAY.
HEARING, UH, NO PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS, WE WILL
[ADJOURNMENT]
A.