* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. CALL TO ORDER. [00:00:02] THE MEETING'S CALLED TO ORDER. MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY. . IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL. UM, I CALL ON DEAN WANG TO LEAD [PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE] THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. I PLACE ALLEGIANCE TO THE AMERICA, THE REPUBLIC . WE, WE DON'T NEED ANYBODY TO LEAD US IN THAT . OKAY. UH, COLIN DINA FOR THE [ROLL CALL] ROLL CALL. PRESIDENT MCGUIRE HERE. VICE PRESIDENT SCOTT. PRESENT. SECRETARY CORDERO. HERE. COMMISSIONER SHANNON. HERE. COMMISSIONER RAINEY IS ABSENT. WE HAVE A QUORUM. THANK YOU FOR THE RECORD. COMMISSIONER RAINEY'S EXCUSED FROM TODAY'S BOARD MEETING. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS FROM THE BOARD? SEEING NONE, WE'LL NOW MOVE ON TO THE REGULAR AGENDA WITHIN OUR REGULAR AGENDA. ITEM NUMBER SIX ON STAFF. RECOMMENDATION HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS TO THAT WITHDRAWAL? HEARING NONE. WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE REGULAR AGENDA. ITEM NUMBER ONE IS TO APPROVE [1. 24-55918 Recommendation to approve December 5, 2024 Board meeting minutes.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] DECEMBER 5TH, 2024. BOARD MEETING MINUTES. ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? ANY COMMISSIONER COMMENT? DO I HAVE A MOTION? MOTION? MOTION TO APPROVE AND SECOND RECEIVED. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? THE MOTION CARRIES. ITEM NUMBER TWO [2. 24-55919 Recommendation to adopt Specifications UD-25-217 and award a contract to Los Angeles Truck Centers, LLC, dba Velocity Truck Centers, to furnish and deliver one (1) compressed natural gas (CNG) six-yard dump truck, in a total amount not to exceed $350,000, and authorize the General Manager to enter into the contract, including any documents and necessary subsequent amendments.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] IS TO ADOPT SPECIFICATIONS UD 25 2 17 AND AWARD A CONTRACT TO LOS ANGELES TRUCK CENTERS DBA VELOCITY TRUCK CENTERS TO FURNISH AND DELIVER ONE CNG DUMP TRUCK CALL AND MIKE S MORNING COMMISSIONERS. MORNING FOR AGENDA ITEM TWO. STAFF REQUESTS THAT THE BOARD ADOPT SPECIFICATION UD 25 DASH TWO 17 AND AWARD OF CONTRACT LOS ANGELES TRUCK CENTERS DOING BUSINESS AS VELOCITY TRUCK CENTERS TO FURNISH AND DELIVER ONE COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS SIX YARD DUMP TRUCK, A TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED $350,000 AND AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO ENTER INTO THE CONTRACT, INCLUDING ANY DOCUMENTS AND NECESSARY SUBSEQUENT AMENDMENTS. AND FOR THIS AGENDA ITEM, WE HAVE A SHORT PRESENTATION. AS PART OF OUR ROUTINE WATER OPERATIONS, OUR CREWS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INSTALLATION, REPAIR, AND MAINTENANCE OF THE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM THROUGHOUT THE CITY. AS MUCH OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS BURIED UNDERGROUND DUMP TRUCKS ARE AN ESSENTIAL TO OUR DAILY OPERATION. ONE OF OUR CURRENT DUMP TRUCKS ORIGINALLY PURCHASED IN 2010, HAS REACHED THE END OF ITS USEFUL LIFE. IT REQUIRES REPLACEMENT. OUR DRUM TRUCKS ARE USED DAILY, NOT ONLY FOR TRANSPORTING MATERIAL TO AND FROM THE JOB SITES, BUT ALSO FOR TOWING TRAILERS WITH BACKHOES. THE NEW VEHICLE WILL BE PRIMARILY USED BY OUR SERVICE CONSTRUCTION SECTION TO COMPLETE NEW SERVICE INSTALLATIONS THAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE, OUR ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT GROUP AS PART OF EMER, AND ALSO AS PART OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO REPAIR BRAKES THAT OCCUR DURING THE DAY AND ALSO AFTER HOURS. THE SPECIFICATION WAS FOR THIS VEHICLE WAS POSTED ON LONG BEACH BUYS AND ADVERTISED IN LOCAL PAPER A TOTAL OF 18. PROSPECTIVE VENDORS WERE NOTIFIED VIA LONG BEACH BUYS, THREE OF WHICH WERE LOCAL LONG BEACH VENDORS. OF THOSE ONLY THREE VENDORS, INCLUDING ONE LONG BEACH VENDOR, DOWNLOADED THE SPECIFICATIONS AT THE CLOSING OF THE BID PERIOD. WE RECEIVED JUST ONE BID FROM LOS ANGELES TRUCK CENTERS, WHICH WAS THE LOWEST RESPONSIVE BIDDER. GIVEN THE LOWEST THE THE LIMITED NUMBER OF BIDS WE RECEIVED. WE DID CONDUCT FURTHER RESEARCH TO ENSURE THAT THE BID WAS WITHIN THE EXPECTED RANGE FOR THE COST OF THE DUMP TRUCK. WE FOUND THAT THE BID IS PRETTY CONSISTENT WITH THE PRICES SIMILAR TO OTHER VEHICLES PURCHASED EARLIER, EARLIER THIS YEAR, WHICH HAVE COMPARABLE GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT RATINGS. THE SLIGHT ADDITIONAL COST COMPARED TO THAT VEHICLE WAS DUE TO THE CNG FUEL SYSTEM THAT HAS TO BE ADDED TO THE VEHICLE. UM, LOS ANGELES TRUCK CENTERS HAS SUPPLIED SIMILAR VEHICLES TO BOTH US AND THE CITY FLEET IN THE PAST, AND WE'VE ALL BEEN SATISFIED WITH THEIR WORK IN THE PAST. WITH THAT, WE REQUEST THAT THE BOARD ADOPT SPECIFICATION ED 25 2 17 AND AWARD THE CONTRACT TO LOS ANGELES TRUCK CENTERS DOING BUSINESS AS VELOCITY TRUCK CENTERS TO FURNISH AND DELIVER ONE COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS, SIX YARD DUMP TRUCK, AND A TOTAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $350,000 AND AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT, INCLUDING ANY DOCUMENTS AND NECESSARY SUBSEQUENT AMENDMENTS. [00:05:02] IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER. THANK YOU, MIKE. I'VE SEEN THAT TRUCK AROUND TOWN, I BET. 15 YEARS. THAT'S AMAZING. UM, ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? ANY COMMISSIONER COMMENT? UH, COUPLE QUICK QUESTIONS. HOW MANY CNG UH, LARGE VEHICLES DO WE HAVE? JUST A ROUGH, PROBABLY AROUND 20. OKAY. SO A GOOD NUMBER. UH, DO WE PLAN TO KEEP AND MAINTAIN THE EXISTING, UH, HEAVY DUTY TRUCK THAT'S, SO THE EXISTING, THE EXISTING VEHICLE THIS IS REPLACING WILL BE RETIRED. RETIRED, BUT WILL WE KEEP THAT IN, UH, AS A, A BACKUP OR A SPARE IN CASE NEED IT? NO, WE DO NOT. THE THE MAINTENANCE THAT IS STARTING TO OCCUR ON THESE VEHICLES IS BECOMING PRETTY EXCESSIVE EACH YEAR. SO IT'S, IT'S TIME. IT'S, IT'S OUTLIVED ITS USEFUL, USEFUL LIFE, EVEN IF IT JUST SITS AND DOESN'T DO ANYTHING, AND WE JUST KEEP IT WASHED AND FUELED. I JUST, I ONLY ASK, UH, I, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS, UH, FIRE ENGINES THAT ARE 25 YEARS OLD, UH, AND THEY WILL USE THEM AND TERRIBLE EVENTUALITY THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, A LARGE PORTION OF THEIR ENGINES ARE EITHER OUT OF SERVICE OR, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY NEED STAFF UP FOR A MAJOR EVENT. THAT HAS NOT BEEN THE PAST PRACTICE, BUT I GUESS I COULD IDEA OF AN OPINION ON THAT. BUT WE CERTAINLY WILL EVALUATE VEHICLES THAT DO HAVE SUBSTANTIAL USEFUL LIFE AFTERWARDS. IT IS A BIT OF A DEBATE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN SELL IT AND HELP WITH THE BUDGET SITUATION OR WHETHER OR NOT WE KEEP IT AS A KINDA A SPARE FLEET. SO WE HAVE BEEN KEEPING SOME VEHICLES AS SPARE FLEET, AND SO WE'LL DEFINITELY EVALUATE THIS VEHICLE. BUT THIS PARTICULAR DUMP TRUCK, IT'S, IT'S BEEN THROUGH SOME ROUGH, ROUGH YEARS. SO MAYBE NOT THIS ONE, BUT MAYBE THE NEXT ONE WE'LL LOOK AT. UM, MAYBE KEEPING AS A SPARE FLEET. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER? COMMENT? OKAY. SEEING NONE, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SECOND. THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? SEEING NONE, THE MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. [3. 24-55920 Recommendation to adopt Resolution UT-1525 authorizing the General Manager to execute an agreement and any amendments with Sonsray Machinery, LLC, for the purchase of CASE parts and as-needed repair services for CASE equipment in an annual amount not to exceed $200,000 for an initial term of one year, with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods at the discretion of the General Manager.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] ITEM NUMBER THREE, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION UT 1525 AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH SANS RAY MACHINERY FOR THE PURCHASE OF CASE PARTS AND AS NEEDED REPAIR SERVICES FOR CASE EQUIPMENT. LISA GUTIERREZ. GOOD MORNING COMMISSIONERS FOR AGENDA NUMBER THREE. STAFF IS REQUESTING AS THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH RY MACHINERY, LLC FOR THE PURCHASE OF CASE PARTS AND AS NEEDED REPAIRS FOR CASE EQUIPMENT. HAVE A SHORT PRESENTATION TO EXPLAIN THE REQUEST. IN THIS PRESENTATION, I WILL EXPLAIN THE SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT SHOW EXAMPLES OF THE CASE EQUIPMENT AND STATE THE RECOMMENDATION. CITY CHARTER ALLOWS FOR SOLE SOURCE AS THE METHOD INCLUDING BYPASSING TRADITIONAL BIDDING PROCESSES WHEN AUTHORIZED BY BOARD RESOLUTION SANSBURY MACHINERY. LLC IS THE ONLY LOCAL AUTHORIZED CASE DEALER OF THE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURED, ALSO KNOWN AS OEM MACHINERY ARTS AND REPAIRS. THIS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED THROUGH A SOURCE LETTER PROVIDED BY CASE. WE'VE SEEN THAT USING ORIGINAL MANUFACTURE MACHINERY, PARTS AND REPAIRS HAVE BEEN THE BEST PRACTICE FOR OPTIMAL FLEET PERFORMANCE. IT ENSURES QUALITY FIT FUNCTION VERSUS USING AFTERMARKET PARTS. IT DOESN'T VOID WARRANTY AND MAINTAINS RESALE VALUE. THE DEPARTMENT OPERATES A FLEET OF 15 CASE UNITS FOR THE WATER AND SEWER DIVI TO MAINTAIN THE VALIDITY OF THEIR WARRANTIES. REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE REQUIRE OEM PARTS. THESE EQUIPMENT ARE USED FOR BREAKING ASPHALT PAVING, DIGGING TRENCHES AND DITCHES, PIPE LAYING AND BACK FILLING EXCAVATIONS. NEXT TWO SLIDES ARE EXAMPLES OF WHAT THE EQUIPMENT LOOKS LIKE. SO THIS HERE IS THE BACKHOE, ONE OF OUR NEWER ONES, AND THIS ONE IS A SKID STEER IN WHICH I ALSO LEARNED THAT THE FRONT ATTACHMENT, THERE'S MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS THAT COULD BE ATTACHED TO THIS MACHINE. AND THIS ONE IS THE BROOM ATTACHMENT. THE SWEEPER MIKE? YES. OKAY. UM, SANSBURY MACHINERY, LLC HAS BEEN A TRUSTED PROVIDER TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR SEVERAL YEARS. ENSURING HIGH QUALITY REPAIRS AND TIMELY SUPPORT STAFF [00:10:01] RECOMMENDS THE BOARD TO ADOPT RESOLUTION UT DASH 1525 AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT AND ANY AMENDMENTS WITH SANSBURY MACHINERY, LLC FOR THE PURCHASE OF CASE PARTS AND AS NEEDED REPAIR SERVICES OR CASE EQUIPMENT IN AN ANNUAL AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED $200,000 FOR AN INITIAL TERM OF ONE YEAR WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR TWO ADDITIONAL ONE YEAR PERIODS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE GENERAL MANAGER. THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. THANK YOU. UH, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? ANY COMMISSIONER COMMENT? SEEING NONE, THIS IS A ROLL CALL VOTE. DINA. OH, WE, I'M SORRY WE DON'T JUMP TO THE VOTE TILL WE HAVE A MOTION. NOT A SECOND. DO I? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SHANNON. DO I HAVE A SECOND? OKAY. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER SCOTT. ROLL CALL. VOTE VICE PRESIDENT SCOTT AYE. SECRETARY CORDERO? YES. COMMISSIONERS SHANNON. COMMISSIONER RAINEY. ABSENT. PRESIDENT MCGUIRE? YES. MOTION CARRIED. GREAT. MOTION'S CARRIED. THANK YOU. ITEM NUMBER FOUR [4. 24-55921 Recommendation to adopt Resolution UT-1526 authorizing the General Manager to execute a contract, and any necessary documents and subsequent amendments, with Ganahl Lumber Company, of Anaheim, CA, for purchase of miscellaneous building supplies and materials as-needed, on the same terms and conditions afforded to the County of Orange, CA, in an annual amount not to exceed $150,000, until the County of Orange, CA contract expires on August 16, 2027, with the option to renew for as long as the County of Orange, CA contract is in effect, at the discretion of the General Manager.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] IS TO ADOPT RESOLUTION UT 1526 AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH GAL LUMBER COMPANY TO PURCHASE FOR PURCHASE OF MISCELLANEOUS BUILDING SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS AS NEEDED. LISA? ALL RIGHT. MORNING AGAIN. SO FOR AGENDA NUMBER FOUR, STAFF IS REQUESTING THE BOARD TO AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH AL LUMBER COMPANY, THE PURCHASE OF MISCELLANEOUS BUILDING MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES. THE CITY OF LONG BEACH PURCHASING DIVISION RESEARCHED PROCUREMENT OPTIONS FOR BUILDING SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS, AND DISCOVERED OTHER AGENCIES HAD COMPLETED AN OPEN, FAIR, TRANSPARENT AND COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT PROCESS. THE CITY REVIEWED THE CONTRACT OPTIONS AND DETERMINED THAT THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE COUNTY OF ORANGE, CALIFORNIA AND GAL LUMBER COMPANY PROVIDED THE BEST VALUE TO THE CITY. THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT REQUESTS TO ESTABLISH A CONTRACT WITH GAL LUMBER COMPANY BY RELYING ON THE CITY'S REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS TO PIGGYBACK ON THE COUNTY OF ORANGE CONTRACT FOR FURNISHING AND DELIVERING AS NEEDED. MISCELLANEOUS BUILDING SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS. THE CITY CHARTER ALLOWS FOR THIS ALTERNATIVE PROCUREMENT METHOD TO PURCHASE OR OTHERWISE OBTAIN SERVICES, SUPPLIES, MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT, AND LABOR. WHEN AUTHORIZED BY A RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION, COMMISSIONERS STAFF RECOMMENDS THE BOARD TO AUTHORIZE A GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH GENERAL MAN, GENERAL GAL LUMBER COMPANY OF ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA FOR THE PURCHASE OF MISCELLANEOUS BUILDING SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS AS NEEDED ON THE SAME TERMS AND CONDITIONS AFFORDED TO THE COUNTY OF ORANGE, CALIFORNIA IN AN ANNUAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $150,000 UNTIL THE COUNTY OF ORANGE, CALIFORNIA CONTRACT EXPIRES ON AUGUST 26TH, 2027 WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR AS LONG AS THE COUNTY OF ORANGE CONTRACT IS, IN EFFECT AT THE DISCRETION OF THE GENERAL MANAGER. THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. GREAT. GREAT. THANK YOU. DO I HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? ANY COMMISSIONER COMMENT? SEEING NONE. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SECOND MOTION AND SECOND RECEIVED. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONERS. ROLL CALL VOTE WITH DINA. MS. PRESENT. SCOTT AYE. SECRETARY CORDERO. COMMISSIONER SHANNON? YES. COMMISSIONER RAINEY ABSENT PRESIDENT MCGUIRE? YES, THE MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. OKAY, ITEM NUMBER [5. 24-55922 Recommendation to adopt Resolution UT-1527 authorizing the General Manager to execute a contract, and any necessary documents and subsequent amendments, with Stuart C. Irby Company, LLC, of Jackson, MS, for furnishing and delivering Mueller products, in an annual amount not to exceed $650,000 for a period of one year, with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods at the discretion of the General Manager.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] FIVE, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION UT 1527 AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH STEWART C IRBY COMPANY FOR FURNISHING AND DELIVERING MUELLER PRODUCTS. CHUCK CIDA. MORNING COMMISSIONERS. WHAT I HAVE BEFORE YOU IS A RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH STEWART C URBY COMPANY FOR FURNISHING AND DELIVERING MUELLER PRODUCTS. AND I HAVE A SHORT PRESENTATION. MUELLER IS A LEADING MANUFACTURER FOR LINE STOPPING EQUIPMENT FOR GAS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS. MUELLER LINE STOPPERS ARE UTILIZED TO SAFELY STOP THE FLOW OF GAS INACTIVE PIPELINES LONG BEACH ADOPTED MUELLER PRODUCTS AROUND THE SEVENTIES TO EIGHTIES. AND STEWARD SEA URBY COMPANY IS THE SOLE DISTRIBUTOR AUTHORIZED TO SELL MUELLER PRODUCTS IN THE WEST COAST. IN THIS NEXT SLIDE, UH, WE JUST HAVE SOME EXAMPLES OF MUELLER PRODUCTS USED BY LONG BEACH. THE TWO ON [00:15:01] THE RIGHT, UH, TWO ON ON THE LEFT ARE EXAMPLES OF LINE STOPPER FITTINGS, AND, UH, THE PICTURE ON THE ON, ON THE RIGHT IS, UH, AN EXAMPLE OF THE TOOLING THAT'S USED ON THESE FITTINGS. THIS SLIDE SHOWS, UH, SOME OTHER MUELLER PRODUCTS. UH, ACTUALLY, THESE PRODUCTS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE MOST COMMONLY STOCKED IN THE GAS WAREHOUSE. AND IN CONCLUSION, UH, STAFF RECOMMENDS THAT, UM, THE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION UT 1527 AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT AND ANY NECESSARY DOCUMENTS AND SUBSEQUENT AMENDMENTS WITH SEWER LLC OBJECT, MISSISSIPPI RE FURNISHING AND DELIVERING NEW PRODUCTS IN AN ANNUAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $650,000 FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR TWO ADDITIONAL ONE YEAR PERIODS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE GENERAL MANAGER. AND, UM, AT THIS TIME, UH, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, CHUCK. ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? ANY COMMISSIONER COMMENT? GLORIA, I DON'T KNOW HOW RELATED THIS IS, BUT, UM, I'VE HEARD THAT SOME COMPANIES IN ANTICIPATION OF THE POSSIBLE TARIFFS OR GETTING MORE PRODUCTS, ARE WE DOING ANY OF THAT OR THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE CONCERNED WITH? NO. SO, UM, THAT I, I WE'RE NOT BUYING MORE THINGS BECAUSE THEY WILL BE MORE EXPENSIVE IF THEY'RE BROUGHT IN FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY. I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY, UH, ISSUE OF THAT, UH, FOR THIS PRODUCT SPECIFICALLY PRODUCT. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER? COMMENT. OH, SECOND MOTION AND SECOND RECEIVED. THANK YOU. I CALL ON DINA FOR OUR ROLL CALL VOTE VICE PRESIDENT SCOTT. SECRETARY CORDERO. COMMISSIONER SHANNON. COMMISSIONER RAINEY ABSENT. MR. MCGUIRE? YES, THE MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. MOVING TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, [6. 24-55923 Recommendation to authorize the General Manager to execute an agreement, and any necessary documents and subsequent amendments, with Woodard & Curran, Inc., a Maine corporation, to provide professional consulting services to develop a 2025 Water Resources Plan, in an amount not to exceed $674,245. WITHDRAWN       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] [7. 24-55933 Receive verbal presentation – Water Supply Update.       Suggested Action: Receive verbal report. ] NOW WE HAVE A VERBAL PRESENTATION, THE WATER SUPPLY UPDATE. AND DEAN WANG. THANK YOU. MORNING COMMISSIONERS. UH, FIRST OF ALL, UH, THANK YOU TO DINA FOR COVERING THE PLEDGE AND APOLOGIES FOR , REMEMBERING THAT I OFFERED HER TO DO THAT. SO A VERY RESPO IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITY. UH, SO GOOD, GOOD MORNING COMMISSIONERS. TODAY I WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THE FIRST WATER SUPPLY UPDATE OF THIS WATER YEAR. UM, AND SO TO JUST GIVE A, A OVERVIEW OF THE WATER YEAR, UH, THE WATER YEAR EXTENDS FROM OCTOBER THROUGH SEPTEMBER. UH, AND SO IN THE OCTOBER TIMEFRAME, AS YOU'LL SEE IN THE COLOR CODING ON, ON THIS TIMELINE, UH, WE DO OCCASIONALLY START TO GET A LITTLE BIT OF RAINFALL. AND AS YOU GET INTO NOVEMBER, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT EVEN MORE RAINFALL. BUT REALLY THE CORE OF OUR, UH, WET SEASON HERE IN CALIFORNIA IS FROM DECEMBER THROUGH MARCH, INDICATED BY THE, THE DARK BLUE. AND THEN IN APRIL, UH, THE, THE RAIN TYPICALLY STARTS TO TAPER OFF THE RAIN AND SNOW. UH, AND THEN MAY IS REALLY, UH, ONLY OCCASIONALLY DO WE DO, WE GET SIGNIFICANT RAIN IN MAY. AND THEN JUNE THROUGH SEPTEMBER IS, UH, ESSENTIALLY A DRY SEASON FOR US HERE IN CALIFORNIA. AND SO HERE WE ARE, UH, AT THE VERY BEGINNING IN OCTOBER, OR I GUESS WE'RE NOT HERE ANYMORE, BUT AT THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER WAS THE WATER YEAR, UM, REALLY TOO EARLY TO TELL WHAT THE WATER CONDITIONS WILL BE LIKE FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR. SO, FAST FORWARD TO NOW IN DECEMBER, OUR FIRST WATER SUPPLY UPDATE, UH, DECEMBER IS WHEN THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES PROVIDES ITS INITIAL STATE WATER PROJECT ALLOCATION. AND SO I'LL, I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT GOES INTO THAT, UH, LATER ON. BUT THEN BETWEEN DECEMBER AND MAY, UH, IT'S THE PLAN, UH, TO COME TO BOARD AND PROVIDE AN UPDATE EACH MONTH. UH, AND RATHER THAN PROVIDE A SUPER LENGTHY UPDATE TODAY AND, AND GIVE YOU INFORMATION OVERLOAD, THE IDEA IS TO, UH, DELVE INTO A DIFFERENT TOPIC EACH MONTH AND PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT ON THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF OUR WATER SUPPLY, UH, AS WE GO ALONG THROUGH THE WATER YEAR. AND THEN, SO CONCLUDING IN MAY, UH, THAT'S TYPICALLY WHEN THE, UH, STATE WATER PROJECT PROVIDES ITS FINAL ALLOCATION. AND, AND SO THAT, THAT WILL COINCIDE WHEN WE WILL PROVIDE THE BOARD WITH THE FINAL WATER SUPPLY UPDATE. SO TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF, UH, THE, THE WATER SUPPLY UPDATE, WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT WATER SUPPLIES WE NEED TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON. AND SO, UH, ONE OF THE PRIMARY, UH, SOURCES OF OUR WATER SUPPLY COMES FROM THE STATE WATER PROJECT, AS I MENTIONED, THE INITIAL ALLOCATION. ANOTHER, UH, SOURCE IS THE COLORADO RIVER. AND, UH, THE BOARD MAY BE AWARE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT NEGOTIATIONS AND ISSUES THAT THE COLORADO RIVER IS FACING, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER CORE SUPPLY FOR US HERE IN LONG BEACH. UH, AND BOTH OF THOSE, THE STATE WATER PROJECT AND COLORADO RIVER, ARE MANAGED FOR US THROUGH THE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT, WHICH HAS INFRASTRUCTURE AND STORAGE AND, AND [00:20:01] DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM TO, UH, PROVIDE THAT IMPORTED WATER TO US. AND SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW METROPOLITAN IS MANAGING OUR WATER SUPPLIES FROM THOSE IMPORTED WATER SOURCES. AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, IS OUR GROUNDWATER SUPPLY. AND AS YOU'LL SEE IN THE, THE PIE CHART HERE, UH, LOCAL SUPPLIES ACCOUNT FOR 70% OF OUR WATER SUPPLY HERE IN LONG BEACH. AND SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW OUR GROUNDWATER BASIN, UH, IS DOING, UH, ONE OF THE LOCAL SUPPLIES LISTED HERE. RECYCLED WATER, UH, IT, IT ACCOUNTS FOR AS PART OF THE 70%, BUT WHERE I DON'T INTEND TO PROVIDE REGULAR WATER SUPPLY UPDATES ON RECYCLED WATER BECAUSE IT'S NOT AS HYDROLOGICALLY IMPACTED, IT'S RELATIVELY STABLE, UH, SUPPLY. BUT IF THERE'S, UH, SOMETHING THAT ARISES THAT'S, THAT'S WORTH NOTING, I WILL BRING THAT TO BOARD. SO STARTING WITH, UH, THE STATE WATER PROJECTS, UH, SO WHAT YOU'LL SEE HERE ON THIS MAP, UH, IN THE UPPER LEFT IS THE NORTHERN PART OF, UH, CALIFORNIA. AND THAT AREA IS IMPORTANT FOR OUR WATER SUPPLY BECAUSE MUCH OF OUR STATE WATER PROJECT SUPPLIES IS, UH, DUE TO THE SNOW PACK, UH, AND PRECIPITATION AND SNOWFALL OCCURS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. AND SO, UH, THE STATEWIDE PROJECT HAS WHAT THEY CALL THE NORTHERN SIERRA EIGHT STATION INDEX. AND SO YOU'LL SEE THE EIGHT DIFFERENT, UH, WEATHER STATIONS THAT THEY HAVE, UH, TO TRACK THE, THE RAIN AND SNOWFALL, UH, IN THIS AREA. AND SO, UH, THE, THE NORTHERN SIERRA EIGHT STATION INDEX, UH, OVER THE HISTORY OF 30 YEARS HAS SHOWN AN AVERAGE, UH, RAINFALL PATTERN, UH, AND PRECIPITATION PATTERN, UM, THAT YOU'LL SEE HERE IN THE BLUE. AND SO, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER IN OCTOBER, YOU'LL SEE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF RAINFALL AND PRECIPITATION NOVEMBER IT PICKS UP. BUT REALLY DECEMBER THROUGH MARCH IS WHERE YOU'LL SEE THE STEEP INCREASE IN OUR WATER SUPPLIES. AND THEN AGAIN, IN APRIL AND MAY IS WHEN IT TAPERS OFF IN JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER, YOU REALLY DON'T SEE ANY ADDITIONAL RAINFALL. SO THAT'S THE TYPICAL PATTERN. UH, IF, IF ANYTHING HERE IN CALIFORNIA, THERE'S RARELY A YEAR THAT FOLLOWS EXACTLY A LONG AVERAGE. TYPICALLY, WE'RE WELL ABOVE AVERAGE OR UP, UP BELOW AVERAGE. UH, AND SO THAT, THAT IS JUST THE, UM, THE AVERAGE. AND SO WE'LL SEE HOW WE TRACK THIS YEAR. THIS YEAR WE'RE SURPRISINGLY CLOSE TO AVERAGE, UH, SO FAR. AND, UH, THIS, THIS DATA IS A LITTLE OUTDATED, AND I BELIEVE IT'S FROM A WEEK OR TWO AGO. UH, BUT JUST EVEN THIS LAST WEEK, WE'VE HAD ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AND SNOW IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. AND SO, UH, AS WE GO ALONG EACH MONTH, I'LL PROVIDE THE BOARD WITH AN UPDATE OF WHERE WE STAND ON THE WATER, UH, STATE WATER PROJECT. SO I MENTIONED THE INITIAL ALLOCATION, UH, STARTS IN DECEMBER, AND THE INITIAL ALLOCATION THIS YEAR WAS 5%. SO WHAT GOES INTO THE STATE WATER PROJECT ALLOCATION, THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES LOOKS AT THE AVAILABLE STORAGE IN ALL THE DIFFERENT RESERVOIRS. THEY LOOK AT THE, UM, THE, THE EXPECTED DEMANDS AND SUPPLIES. SO THEY, THEY PROVIDE A FORECAST OF WHAT THEY BELIEVE, UH, WILL, UH, OCCUR IN THIS YEAR. AND THEY, THEY WANT TO AIR ON THE SIDE OF BEING CONSERVATIVE THIS EARLY ON. UH, ESPECIALLY IN RECENT YEARS, THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHERE THE STATE WATER PROJECTS, UH, ALLOCATION, INITIAL ALLOCATION, UH, WAS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN ACTUALLY ENDED UP BEING THE FINAL ALLOCATION. AND SO THEY ARE DEFINITELY TAKING A CONSERVATIVE APPROACH GOING FORWARD. UH, SOME OF THE THINGS TO CONSIDER IN THIS INITIAL ALLOCATION, A SOIL MOISTURE. AND SO THIS LAST SUMMER HAD SOME RECORD HEAT. UH, AND SO WHEN, WHEN THE TEMPERATURE IS EXTREMELY HIGH, IT DRIES OUT THE SOILS AND THEREFORE THE SOIL MOISTURE IS LOWER. AND SO IN THE SPRING, UH, WHEN THE WATER ACTUALLY IS SUPPOSED TO RUN OFF THE, THE MOUNTAINS INTO THE RIVERS, THE DRY SOIL ACTUALLY ABSORBS A LOT OF THAT BEFORE IT'S ABLE TO BECOME WATER SUPPLY. AND SO DUE TO THE, UH, EXTREMELY HIGH TEMPERATURES AND DRY SOIL MOISTURE, UM, AND ALSO THE FORECAST OF LA LA NINA FOR THIS YEAR, LA NINA TYPICALLY, UH, RESULTING IN HIGHER TEMPERATURES AND LOWER RAINFALL, UH, DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES IS BEING CONSERVATIVE WITH AN INITIAL 5% ALLOCATION. AND SO, AGAIN, THIS IS A, UH, UH, ALLOCATION THAT IT CAN BE UP UPDATED MONTHLY. IT'S NOT ALWAYS UPDATED EVERY MONTH IF CONDITIONS DON'T SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGE. BUT IT'S TYPICAL TO HAVE A, A, UH, ALLOCATION UPDATE EACH MONTH FROM THE STATE, UH, WATER PROJECT, UH, WITH THE FINAL ALLOCATION IN MAY OR JUNE. SO THE OTHER WATER SUPPLY, THE COLORADO RIVER. UM, THE WAY TO, UH, ONE WAY TO LOOK AT, UH, THE, THE SUPPLIES ON THIS SYSTEM IS TO LOOK AT THE LAKE MEAD ELEVATION. LAKE MEAD BEHIND HOOVER DAM, UH, IS A MAJOR RESERVOIR FOR THE COLORADO RIVER. AND SO, UH, WE CAN START WITH THE HOT PINK LINE UP HERE AT THE TOP INDICATING THE LEVEL FOR LEVEL ONE SHORTAGE. UH, THAT WAS THE LEVEL THAT, UH, PRIOR TO A, A FEW YEARS AGO HAD NEVER BEEN. UM, WE'VE NEVER GONE BELOW THAT LEVEL PREVIOUSLY. AND THAT'S [00:25:01] WHAT REALLY HAS SPURRED A LOT OF THE A CONVERSATIONS AND NEGOTIATIONS ON THE COLORADO RIVER AS FAR AS HOW TO ADDRESS THAT. BECAUSE AS YOU'LL SEE, THE, UH, FORECASTED WATER, UH, LEVELS IN LAKE MEAD ARE PROJECTED TO CONTINUE TO GO DOWN. AND SO THAT'S AN ANTICIPATED STRUCTURAL DEFICIT IN THE SUPPLIES VERSUS THE DEMANDS. SO THAT'S WHAT NEEDS TO BE SHORED UP. UH, BUT THE IMPORTANT PART FOR THIS YEAR TO MONITOR IS, UH, THAT THERE, THERE AREN'T ANY PROJECTIONS THAT INDICATE THAT WE WILL GO FROM LEVEL ONE SHORTAGE DOWN BELOW THE, THE LEVEL, UH, REQUIRED TO, TO MEET THIS LEVEL TWO SHORTAGE, UH, ON THE COLORADO RIVER. UH, AS OF NOW, UH, THE RIGHT NOW, UH, THE WAY THE, THE NEGOTIATIONS ARE IS CALIFORNIA DOES NOT HAVE ANY IMPACT TO OUR WATER SUPPLIES IN A LEVEL ONE SHORTAGE. UH, WE WOULD ONLY START TO EXPERIENCE, UH, WATER SUPPLY, UH, CURTAILMENTS AT, UH, BELOW THE LEVEL TWO, UH, LAKE ME WATER LEVEL, UM, THAT COULD BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. THERE'S THE, UM, BEER, I, I WILL SAY, OF, UH, US BUREAU OF RECLAMATION STEPPING IN IF THERE ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATIONS TO IMPOSE A, A DIFFERENT, UH, ALLOCATION, UH, METHODOLOGY. BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW, UH, CALIFORNIA WOULD NOT BE IMPACTED UNTIL LEVEL TWO. SO MOVING ON TO METROPOLITAN, UH, METROPOLITAN TAKES THE STATE WATER PROJECT SUPPLIES AND THE COLORADO RIVER SUPPLIES AND STORES THAT WITHIN THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE. AND SO OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, THE STORAGE HAS INCREASED. IT'S BEEN, UH, AVERAGE OR ABOVE AVERAGE YEARS, UH, ON, ON BOTH, UH, THE COLORADO AND THE STATE WATER PROJECT. AND SO METROPOLITAN HAS ACTUALLY BEEN ABLE TO, UH, PUT AWAY A LOT OF THAT WATER IN THEIR DIFFERENT STORAGE, UH, UH, FACILITIES. AND SO NOW THEY'RE, THEY'RE LOOKING AT RECORD AMOUNT OF STORAGE, UH, IN, IN THEIR HISTORY, UH, OF MANAGING THOSE SUPPLIES. AND SO THEY'RE IN GOOD, UH, GOOD SHAPE. AND IF YOU'LL LOOK AT THE HISTORY, IT TYPICALLY TAKES TWO OR THREE YEARS FOR THEM TO DRAW DOWN THE STORAGE BEFORE THEY GET INTO AN ALLOCATION SCENARIO WHERE MEMBER AGENCIES, UH, WOULD HAVE REDUCED, UH, ACCESS TO METROPOLITAN WATER. AND SO ALL SIGNS ARE THAT, UH, AT LEAST FOR THIS YEAR, WE ARE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE. SO THE FINAL, UH, WATER SUPPLY THAT WE HAVE, UH, GROUNDWATER, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CENTRAL BASIN BECAUSE RIGHT NOW ALL THE LONG BEACH WELLS ARE PUMPING FROM CENTRAL BASIN. AND SO WITHIN CENTRAL BASIN, UH, THERE ARE ADJUDICATED AMOUNTS THAT EACH PUMPER CAN TAKE FROM THE BASIN. AND THAT WAS BASED OFF A HISTORICAL OVERDRAFT, UM, OVERDRAFT OF THE BASIN THAT LED TO SEAWATER INTRUSION. UH, AND SO NOW, UH, THERE HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED BOTH AN IDEAL MINIMUM QUANTITY AND AN OPTIMUM QUANTITY THAT THE BASIN SHOULD BE AT. UH, AND SO THAT RANGE IS 288,000 ACRE FEET OF, OF, UH, FLEXIBILITY TO OPERATE WITHIN THAT RANGE. AND SO DUE TO THE LAST FEW YEARS OF RAINFALL, UH, EVEN HERE IN LOCALLY IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, UH, THAT, UH, OPERATING, UH, STORAGE IS AT 87% OF THE OPTIMUM. AND SO, UH, OUR GROUNDWATER BASINS ARE ALSO IN GOOD CONDITION. SO LOOKING FORWARD AT THE REPLENISHMENT OF THE BASIN, BECAUSE THE PUMPING DEMANDS IN THE BASIN EXCEED THE NATURAL REPLENISHMENT, UH, THE WATER REPLENISHMENT DISTRICT, WRD, UH, HAS THE, UH, RESPONSIBILITY OF AUGMENTING, UH, OR SUPPLEMENTING THE NATURAL REPLENISHMENT WITH, UH, UH, MANMADE OR, UH, SUPPLEMENTAL REPLENISHMENT. AND SO THEY DO THAT AT THE MONTEBELLO FLOOR BASE SPREADING GROUNDS, AND THEY USE A COMBINATION OF BOTH RECYCLED WATER AND POTABLE WATER, UM, OR RECYCLED WATER AND STORM WATER CAPTURE. AND SO FOR THIS YEAR, UH, THEY'VE INJECTED OVER 17,000 ACRE FEET OF TERTIARY RECYCLED WATER. THEY HAVE AN ADVANCED TREATMENT FACILITY, UH, THAT INJECTS 4,000 ACRE FEET OF ADVANCED TREATED RECYCLED WATER. AND SO THAT'S ALL WORKING TOWARDS THEIR GOAL THIS YEAR OF 64,000 ACRE FEET OF REPLENISHMENT USING RECYCLED WATER. UH, THAT, THAT'S COUPLED WITH 54,000 ACRE FEET IS THEIR TARGET OR FORECAST FOR, UH, REPLENISHMENT THROUGH STORM WATER CAPTURE. UH, AND SO RIGHT NOW IT'S EARLY IN THE WATER YEAR. WE'RE ONLY AT 2% OF THE, THE ANNUAL, UH, STORM WATER CAPTURE GOAL. SO AS WE PROGRESS, WE'LL SEE HOW, UH, THE, THESE, BOTH OF THESE REPLENISHMENT GOALS GET, GET REACHED OVER THE WATER. SO, LOOKING AHEAD, AND THIS IS, UH, THIS IS ALWAYS INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THE, WITH THE YEAR TURNS OUT, UM, BY LOOKING AT THESE EARLY YEAR FORECAST, AT LEAST FOR NOW, UH, THE FORECAST FOR JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND MARCH IS THAT THE SEASONAL TEMPERATURE IS GOING TO BE ABOVE AVERAGE HERE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THROUGHOUT THE MOST OF OUR, UH, NORTHERN SIERRA. UH, IT WILL BE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, UH, WHICH IS IMPORTANT. UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT SNOWPACK, UH, YOU DON'T WANT NECESSARILY AN EARLY, UM, MELT FROM THE SNOWPACK BECAUSE THAT LEADS TO, UM, ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES FOR OUR STORAGE INFRASTRUCTURE. [00:30:01] UM, AND SO, SO TEMPERATURES, UH, BEING NORMAL IS, IS GOOD TO SEE, AT LEAST IN THE FORECAST ON THE PRECIPITATE PRECIPITATION SIDE OF DUE. THE LA NINA, UH, THAT, THAT TYPICALLY PUT PUSHES THE, UH, PRECIPITATION FURTHER UP NORTH. AND SO YOU'LL SEE, UH, DOWN HERE, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, WE'RE ALSO FORECAST TO HAVE LOW AVERAGE, UH, RAINFALL IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, BUT AT LEAST FOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, THERE'S A CHANCE THAT WE MAY HAVE ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION. UH, SO THAT IS THE FORECAST, AT LEAST AS OF, UH, NOVEMBER 21ST FOR JANUARY, FEBRUARY AND MARCH. UH, WITH THAT I CONCLUDE MY PRESENTATION OPENING UP TO ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD. THANK YOU, DEAN , GOOD TO KNOW. THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT INFORMATION. WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE. UM, THIS WAS AN INFORMATION ONLY, SO I BELIEVE THERE, IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS YES. JUST I WANTED TO ADD A COUPLE OF COMMENTS TO, AS, AS DEAN GOES THROUGH AND BRINGS YOU DIFFERENT TOPICS ON WATER SUPPLY, UM, LATELY THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION ON THE COLORADO RIVER, AND CAN YOU BRING UP THE, THE HOOVER, I MEAN, YEAH, THE LAKE MEAD SLIDE, UH, INTUITIVELY SPEAKING, YOU THINK OF LAKE MEAD AND YOU THINK OF A DAM, YOU THINK OF THE COLORADO RIVER, AND YOU SEE THE LINES GO UP AND DOWN, AND YOU INSTINCTIVELY HEAR ABOUT SNOWPACK IN THE STATE OF COLORADO AND UTAH. AND YOU THINK THAT THAT WATER COMES TO LAKE MEAD. BUT THE WAY THE COLORADO RIVER IS OPERATED, THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN. THERE IS A LAKE ABOVE LAKE MEAD, LAKE POWELL. LAKE POWELL IS SITUATED SUCH THAT IT CAPTURES ROUGHLY 90% OF ALL PRECIPITATION HAPPENING IN THE COLORADO RIVER WATERSHED DRAINS TO LAKE POWELL. THAT PRECIPITATION, AS IT ACCUMULATES IN LAKE POWELL, LAKE POWELL HAS GOVERNING RULES FOR OPERATING THAT TRIGGER RELEASES TO LAKE MEAD. IT'S THE RELEASE OF THE WATER COMING OUT OF THE DAM THAT CAUSES THE FLUCTUATIONS THAT YOU SEE. THE FACT THAT IT'S DECLINING MEANS THAT LAKE POWELL, IN THE AREAS OF UTAH, COLORADO, AND THOSE AREAS, THERE'S JUST SIMPLY LESS AND LESS RUNOFF COMING TO LAKE POWELL, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY HAVE TO ADJUST THE WATER THAT THEY DELIVERED TO ME. AND THAT'S, THAT'S FUNDAMENTALLY ONE OF THE CRITICAL ISSUES THAT YOU SEE THERE. YOU GO TO YOUR CALENDAR SLIDE, DEAN. SO IT SOMETIMES IS A PRECARIOUS THING TO TALK ABOUT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR WATER SUPPLY PICTURE, WHETHER IT'S RUNOFF THAT GOES TO CENTRAL BASIN OR WHETHER IT'S WATER THAT'S COMING FROM METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT, THE SHAPE OF THINGS IN CALIFORNIA IS LITERALLY THE LAST WEEK IN JANUARY, MOST OF FEBRUARY. AND THE FIRST TWO WEEKS IN MARCH, SOMETIMES WHEN IT FALLS IN MARCH, IT'S SO LATE THAT THEY USE THE PHRASING MARCH MIRACLE TO DESCRIBE WHAT'S HAPPENING. BUT FOR WATER SUPPLY, FOR US, THAT'S THE CRITICAL NATURE OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS HOW JANUARY, FEBRUARY IS GOING TO GO AND A LITTLE BIT OF MARCH. AND DINO CARRY MORE OF THAT AS THE DATA AND THE INFORMATION COMES FORWARD. UH, BUT IN PARTICULAR ON THE COLORADO, WHICH COMMISSIONER CORDERO'S INVOLVED IN THAT WILL BE A, A VERY DIFFICULT DISCUSSION GOING FORWARD BECAUSE NO MATTER HOW THE FLUCTUATIONS GO UP AND DOWN, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE GENERAL DIRECTION IS DOWN. THAT'S, THAT'S ENOUGH INFORMATION OVERLOAD FOR TODAY. YEAH, I, I WAS GONNA SAY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT LATER ON IN OUR FINAL ITEMS, BUT, UM, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP. AND CAN YOU PUT UP BACK UP THE, UH, LAKE MEAD ELEVATION? OKAY. SO, UM, PART OF THE, DISCUSS A LOT OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT GREW UP, THE COLORADO RIVER WATER USERS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE WAS AROUND THIS, OBVIOUSLY. AND, UM, THE UPPER BASIN AND LOWER BASIN DID NOT DO WELL TOGETHER. THERE WAS, IT WAS, IT WAS VERY INTERESTING TO WATCH THE DYNAMICS, UM, BETWEEN THE FOUR COMMISSIONERS AND THE THREE COMMISSIONERS THAT REPRESENT THREE THAT REPRESENT LOWER AND THE FOUR THAT REPRESENT THE UPPER. UM, THERE WAS REALLY NO MOVEMENT. AND SO, LIKE DEAN ALLUDED TO, THE LAST THING WE WANT IS, IS THERE TO BE LAWSUITS. 'CAUSE IT'LL TAKE US INTO YEARS AND YEARS OF, OF, OF LITIGATION. BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE ISSUES IS THE TRIGGERS. THE UPPER BASIN SAYS, IS BASICALLY IN A, MY MIND, I TRY TO BRING IT DOWN TO THE BOTTOM LINE, IS, UM, IS THAT THEY, THEY BELIEVE THE TRIGGERS SHOULD BE BASED ON THE SNOW MELT. CORRECT. THE SNOW MELT, THE, THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT THEY GET BECAUSE OF THE SNOW THAT'S MELTING THAT GOES INTO LAKE POWELL. THE LOWER BASIN SAYS THAT THAT SHOULD NOT BE THE CASE. IT SHOULD BE THE, UM, THE ELEVATION AND THE, IN THE, IN THE LAKE ITSELF. AND, AND, UH, AND THE, THE RELEASE OF THE WATER FROM LOWER FROM LAKE POWELL TO LAKE [00:35:01] MEAD. THE OTHER THING IS THE UPPER BASIN WANTS PROPORTIONAL REDUCTION, AND THE LOWER BASIN SAYS IT SHOULD BE A CUT ACROSS. THAT SHOULD BE, IT SHOULD BE EQUAL. WE SHOULD ALL TAKE A PART IN, IN THIS CUT. SO IT REALLY GOES BACK TO, YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT THE UPPER BASIN DOESN'T USE ITS FULL ALLOCATION, AND WE DO. AND SO THEY'RE SAYING, WELL, IT'S ALMOST LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE, THESE ARE OURS. WE HAVE, WE, WE HAVEN'T USED EVERYTHING. WHY SHOULD WE NOW PLAY A ROLE IN THIS? THEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT CONSERVATION EFFORTS. THERE WAS LIKE A, A TIT FOR TAT BASICALLY SAYING, WELL, LOWER BASIN'S BEEN DOING CONSERVATION FOR YEARS, AND HERE'S HOW MUCH WE'VE DONE. WE'VE PUT WATER INTO AND INTENTIONALLY CREATED SURPLUS METROPOLITAN HAS DONE THAT, AND THE UPPER BASIN HAS SAYS, WELL, HERE'S WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING. AND SO THEN YOU THROW THE TRIBES IN THERE AND IT'S, IT'S BECOME VERY CONVOLUTED. SO WE ARE, WE ARE REALLY AT A STANDSTILL RIGHT NOW. I KNOW THEY ARE MEETING ON FRIDAY IN MANHATTAN BEACH. UM, THE LOWER BASIN HAS NOW, UM, DECIDED THEY'RE GONNA MEET WITH A COUPLE OF THE LO OF THE UPPER BASIN FOLKS, UM, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS A GREAT IDEA BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY HEARD THAT THERE'S, THE NEW MEXICO IS KIND OF N WYOMING ARE KIND OF GOING, WELL, WE WANNA WORK WITH THE LOWER BASIN AND KIND OF DO SOMETHING. WHEREAS COLORADO, BECKY MITCHELL, IT JUST, IT WAS NOT GOOD. IT JUST, THERE'S BEEN A STANDSTILL. SO WE'RE HOPEFULLY GONNA HAVE SOME MOVEMENT ON FRIDAY AND WE'LL, WE'LL FIND OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE. AND MEXICO SITS AT THE END YEAH. WATCHING IT ALL SAYING UNDER, UH, MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES ARE GOVERNED, UH, BY A DIFFERENT TREATY THAT IT'S NOT JUST THE COLORADO, IT'S THE COLORADO AND THE RIO GRANT. MM-HMM . SO THEY HAVE OBLIGATIONS TO EACH OTHER AS SOVEREIGN NATIONS GOVERNING THOSE TWO WATERSHEDS. AND SO MEXICO SAYS YES, BUT IN THE END, THERE IS SOME WATER THAT STILL NEEDS TO COME TO ME. AND THAT'S ALSO PART OF THE DISCUSSION. RIGHT? AND THEN THROW INTO THAT, THAT BECAUSE OF THE NEW ADMINISTRATION, OUR, UM, COMMISSIONER CAMILLE TOOTIN IS, UM, OUT, SO SHE'S GONE AND SHE'S MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS. PEOPLE HAVE REALLY, REALLY LIKED THE WAY SHE'S WORKED, UM, WITH ALL THE STATES. SHE'S WORKED WITH THE TRIBES REALLY, REALLY WELL. UM, WE ALSO MET WITH MEXICO. UM, WE HAD DINNER WITH THE MEXICAN, UH, DELEGATION. AND, AND THEY'RE JUST KIND OF WATCHING. THEY KIND OF HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN. AND THEN, UM, THEY, THEY, THEY HAVE BEEN REALLY KEY PLAYERS AND THEY'VE BEEN VERY WILLING TO DO CONSERVATION EFFORTS AND, UM, TAKE THEIR PORTION OF CUTS AS WELL. UM, AND THEN WE'RE LOSING, POSSIBLY LOSING ONE OF OUR, UM, COMMISSIONERS ON THE INTERNATIONAL WATER AND BOUNDARY, UM, COMMISSION WHO'S BEEN VERY WILLING TO WORK WITH MET ALSO. SO, A LOT, A LOT OF NEWS AT 11. IT'S BEEN VERY INTERESTING. ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER COMMENT? UH, I JUST WANT THANK A**L FOR INITIATING THIS, UH, THIS PRESENTATION AND THE CONTINUING EFFORTS. THIS IS GREAT INFORMATION, UH, THAT, THAT FOR SURE WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO USE IN THE FUTURE. UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UM, AS WELL ABOUT THAT. DEAN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. CLEAN, EASY, PRECISE. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. PERFECT. WE LOOK GOOD. LOOK FOR MORE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. [PUBLIC COMMENT] IS THERE ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON A NON AGENDA ITEM BEING NONE, THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD IS NOW CLOSED. [ANNOUNCEMENTS] DO WE HAVE A GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT? YES, I, I HAVE SOME, UH, GENERAL INFORMATION ITEMS FOR YOU. ON DECEMBER 10TH, I DID PRESENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, THE AFTER ACTION REPORT ON THE BOIL WATER NOTICE. UM, I SENT THE BOARD COPIES OF THE COUNCIL LETTER, THE TRANSMITTAL MEMO, AS WELL AS THE AFTER ACTION REPORT ITSELF. UM, I THINK IMPORTANT FOR THE BOARD TO NOTE WAS THE, THE COMMENTS THAT I GOT BACK, UH, LEADING UP TO THE PRESENTATION WAS THAT THE AFTER ACTION REPORT WAS WELL RECEIVED BY ALL OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS. THE APPRECIATED ITS STRUCTURE. THEY APPRECIATED THE INFORMATION THAT WAS CONTAINED IN IT. THEY FOUND IT CONCISE, DIRECT, UH, AND INFORMATIVE TO GIVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE UTILITY WAS DEALING WITH AND HOW IT WAS RESPONDING. ALL THAT BEING SAID, OF COURSE THERE WAS, UH, TO ECHO SOMETHING THAT COMMISSIONER SCOTT BROUGHT UP WAS THE ASPECT OF COMMUNICATION. NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, COMMUNICATION CAN ALWAYS BE IMPROVED. AND SO IT WAS IN THAT CONTEXT THAT I PRESENTED TO THE COUNCIL. UH, IN, IN THE END, THAT WAS ALL WELL RECEIVED. UH, I CONSIDER THAT ITEM NOW IS KIND OF RUN ITS FULL COURSE, BUT WE HAVE INTERNALLY TO DO GOING FORWARD FROM A MORE STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE, IS THAT AS A CONSOLIDATED UTILITY WE HAVE NOW TO KIND OF JOIN IN AND HAVE A UNIFIED SENSE OF INCIDENT COMMAND RESPONSE. AND [00:40:01] SO I ASKED SEAN CURTIS TO BE DOING THAT GOING FORWARD. UM, AS THAT MOVES FORWARD INTO THE BUDGET YEAR, I IMAGINE THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME PERSPECTIVE UPDATE AS TO WE GO THROUGH TABLETOP EXERCISES THAT GIVE YOU SOME BACKGROUND ON THAT. UM, YOU HAVE A COPY AT YOUR DESK OF THE PRESENTATION THAT I GAVE TO CITY COUNCIL ITSELF. SO THAT'S FOR YOUR BACKGROUND. UM, I WAS, UH, NOTIFIED THAT, UH, THIS TIME OF YEAR IS USUALLY WHEN THE VARIOUS CITY DEPARTMENTS ENGAGE IN PARTNERSHIP DISCUSSIONS WITH THE MAYOR FOR THE STATE OF THE CITY. AND SO WE RECEIVED THAT REQUEST. SO I'LL BE TAKING A LOOK AT THAT. WE'LL BE SETTING EVERYTHING UP AND BRINGING THAT BACK TO THE BOARD, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN CONSIDER THAT PARTNERSHIP REQUEST FOR THE STATE OF THE CITY EVENT PLAN TO DO THAT AT THE NEXT, UH, BOARD MEETING. SO JANUARY 9TH, I BELIEVE IS WHEN WE'LL BE DOING THAT. UM, WE ARE DILIGENTLY WORKING TO, UH, STRUCTURE WHAT I HAD TALKED TO VICE PRESIDENT SCOTT AND PRESIDENT MCGUIRE ABOUT, ABOUT A SERIES OF INFORMATION SESSIONS LEADING UP TO A RETREAT. AND ALSO WE'RE QUICKLY ORGANIZING THAT. I EXPECT THAT COMING INTO JANUARY I'LL BEGIN TO SHARE MORE INFORMATION WITH THE BOARD AS THAT BEGINS TO TAKE SHAPE, GET SOME OF YOUR INPUT AS WELL AS WE MOVE TOWARDS SETTING THOSE UP AND GETTING THOSE DONE. AND THEN FINALLY, UH, TODAY IS THE HOLIDAY LUNCHEON. I UNDERSTAND SOME OF YOU CANNOT MAKE IT, BUT, UH, WE WELCOME THOSE OF YOU THAT CAN, IT'S GONNA BE A BIG EVENT FOR US AS A CONSOLIDATED UTILITY. IT'S NOT EASY TO FIT 500 PEOPLE INTO ONE SPOT, UM, BUT WE DO OUR BEST. AND SO WE'RE GONNA DO THAT TODAY. IT'S ALSO GONNA BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR RETIREES TO SHOW UP. AND ONE PARTICULAR RETIREE WHOSE NAME IS CHRIS GARNER, IS GONNA BE THERE. SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING HIM HERE QUEUE UP. AND THAT'S MY ANNOUNCEMENTS. MATT, UH, I JUST WANNA CONGRATULATE YOU ON YOUR PRESENTATION TO CITY COUNCIL. I'M SORRY THAT I WASN'T THERE BEING IN PERSON, BUT I DID WATCH IT ON THE VIDEO STREAM. UM, I REALLY APPRECIATED HOW, UH, YOU BEGAN YOUR PRESENTATION. AND A, IN A LARGE PART OF THE BEGINNING OF YOUR PRESENTATION WAS ABOUT THE UTILITY AND A, A GOOD EDUCATIONAL, GENERAL EDUCATIONAL THOUGHTS FOR THE COUNCIL AND, AND FOR THE PUBLIC AT LARGE. UH, I APPRECIATED THAT. AND THE, UH, REST OF THE, THE PRESENTATION WAS CONCISE, IT WAS CLEAN, UH, AND I, I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY WELL, WELL DONE. THANK YOU FOR THAT. GLORIA, GO AHEAD. I JUST WANNA ECHO THAT. THANK YOU FOR THIS. THIS IS, I THINK THE WORDS CL UM, CLEAR AND CLEAN AND CONCISE ARE PROBABLY DEAN FOR YOU. AND THEN ALSO FOR THIS, THIS IS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY WELL DONE. AND I THINK, UM, I CAN SEE WHY THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, LIKED HAVING SOMETHING . THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT. AND I, I THINK THE EFFORTS ON PART OF OUR, OUR TEAM WAS INCREDIBLE. YEAH. IT, IT WAS, IT WAS INDEED A TEAM EFFORT. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I, I DID, UM, GIVE A, A PERSONAL NOTE OF THANKS AND, AND IT MERITS ACKNOWLEDGING THEM HERE TODAY. SO FOR SEAN CURTIS AND JOY CONTRERAS, THEY, THEY REALLY PUT IN A LOT OF EFFORT AT THE END. THE REASON THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS RESPOND, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER KERRS SAID, I'M HOLDING ONTO THIS DOCUMENT BECAUSE IT GIVES SUCH A GOOD BACKGROUND ON THE DEPARTMENT THAT I'LL USE IT AS A FOUNDATION FOR ANSWERS. THE ABILITY TO SAY THAT WAS REALLY THE RESULT OF THOSE TWO KEY INDIVIDUALS GATHERING UP ALL OF THE INFORMATION AT THE END AND REALLY DRIVING THAT DOCUMENT TO WHAT IT WAS AT THE END. SO MY, MY THANKS TO THEM PERSONALLY FOR THAT. GOOD JOB. YEAH. CONGRATULATIONS ON LEADING US THROUGH YOUR FIRST FEW MONTHS. YEAH. IN YOUR JOB, . FIRST WEEK, FIRST WEEK, THERE'S WEAK . OH MY GOD, YES. I THO THOSE, THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU FOR THE, FOR THE COMPLIMENTS. UH, I'M ALWAYS TAUGHT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THE THANK YOU. UH, AND AT THE SAME TIME WE WERE TALKING INTERNALLY ABOUT THIS ASPECT OF, YOU SEE THE SITUATION UNFOLD BEFORE YOU, AND YOU HAVE A COLLECTION OF INDIVIDUALS THAT YOU IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZE, BUT THEN YOU REALIZE THAT THAT WAS THREE DAYS OF 24 HOUR EFFORTS, WHICH MEANS THAT WHEN THOSE PEOPLE STEPPED UP, OTHER PEOPLE CAME IN FROM STANDBY, OTHER PEOPLE COVERED FOR EACH OTHER, OTHER PEOPLE. AND THAT REALLY IS THE SOUL AND ESSENCE OF THE UTILITY. IN THE END, YOU COULD PROBABLY LINK ALL 500 PEOPLE IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER FOR ALL THE ACTIONS THEY DID THAT DELIVERED THAT RESPONSE. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE THANKS FOR ME AND THANKS FOR THE UTILITY AS WELL. AND WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO CONVEY THOSE THINGS TO ALL OF THEM. SOMETIMES DISASTERS CAN BE ACTUALLY UNIFYING AND CLARIFYING TO EVERYTHING. SO, UM, ARE, ARE THERE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS, DINA? CAN I, UH, CAN I JUST [00:45:01] GIVE A COUPLE THINGS? YES, YES. THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO FINISH WITH A COUPLE THINGS. ONE IS THE DELTA CONVEYANCE. WE ACTUALLY HAD A VOTE AT METROPOLITAN, UM, ABOUT, UM, APPROVING THE, THE, UM, STUDY, THE FINAL, THE STUDY TO MOVE FORWARD. SO WE HAD PROBABLY WITHIN THE TIMES THAT WE MET, PROBABLY CLOSE TO 60 SPEAKERS, UM, SOMEONE CALLED SOME IN PERSON. UM, A LARGE MANY OF THEM WERE OPPOSED, UM, TRIBAL ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITIES. THEY DIDN'T LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE WERE SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY ON THIS. UM, BUT WE REALLY DID OUR DUE DILIGENCE AND, AND I FELT VERY STRONGLY, UM, AS WELL AS I KNOW OUR MAYOR DID AND OTHERS THAT WE, WE NEEDED TO SUPPORT THIS EFFORT AT THIS TIME. SO, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD ON THE STUDY. UM, IT'S, IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. IT'S GONNA, I THINK, TAKE A COUPLE YEARS. THE VOTE WON'T EVEN COME BACK TO US FOR THE FINAL APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL. UM, FOR A COUPLE YEARS, THE MAYOR WILL BE OUT AND I MEAN, THE GOVERNOR WILL BE OUT AND THERE'LL BE A NEW GOVERNOR, BUT, AND HOPEFULLY IT WON'T CHANGE. BUT ANYWAY, SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE WHEN, UH, ON THAT. AND, UM, AT SOME POINT I'VE ASKED ANNA TO IF WE COULD DO SOMETHING IN THE WORKSHOP SO THAT, UM, THE COMMISSION CAN BE BROUGHT UP TO SPEED ON THIS BECAUSE, UM, I THINK IT'D BE VERY IMPORTANT. UM, AND THEN YOU MIGHT KNOW THAT WE HAVE INTERNAL ISSUES THAT ARE GOING ON AT METROPOLITAN, UM, THAT HAVE TAKEN OUR, OUR EYES OFF THE GOAL OF GETTING SOME OF THESE THINGS THROUGH. UM, SEVERAL THINGS GOING ON WITH OUR GENERAL MANAGER. WE'VE HAD A, SOMEONE ON THE BOARD THAT HAD TO BE CENSORED. WE'VE HAD, UM, ALL DIFFERENT THINGS THAT HAVE COME UP THAT HAVE BEEN ANONYMOUS AND SOME THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ANONYMOUS. SO WE'RE DEALING WITH THAT. AND THEN LASTLY, I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I WAS, UH, AM HAVE BEEN APPOINTED ON, AS AN AD HOC MEMBER OF THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION. I'VE BEEN TO TWO MEETINGS, AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU, IT WAS AN EYEOPENER, AND I'M LEARNING IT. THE LEARNING CURVE IS VERY HIGH FOR ME ON THIS. BUT WHAT IT DID SHOW ME IS THAT EVERYTHING BEGINS AND ENDS WITH OUR EMPLOYEES. AND SO HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR HUMAN RESOURCES AND FOR CIVIL SERVICE TO COME TOGETHER AT THIS POINT, BECAUSE THE VOTERS HAVE, HAVE, YOU KNOW, VOTED ON THIS AND WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD ON THIS. SO HOPEFULLY, UM, I WILL NEED SOME HELP FROM OUR COMMISSION AS TO HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS TO, AND OUR GENERAL MANAGER, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO US HERE IN THIS DEPARTMENT, UM, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH KEEPING, GETTING AND KEEPING GOOD EMPLOYEES. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. GOODNESS, , I, I APOLOGIZE. I MISSED ONE THING IN, IN MY ANNOUNCEMENTS. AND SO, UM, I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE, EVEN THOUGH THE PERSON IS NOT HERE, AND THE PERSON ALSO INFORMED ME THAT THEY WILL NOT BE HERE FOR THE LUNCHEON EITHER. UM, BUT LISA SQUIRES IS RETIRING, UM, LISA'S LAST DAY, I UNDERSTAND IT'S DECEMBER 27TH. I SAT DOWN WITH LISA AND, AND TALKED TO HER AND TRIED TO UNDERSTAND, OKAY, SO WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO? AND, AND LISA WAS, LET ME SEARCH FOR THE WORDS, WAS EMPHATIC, UM, TO DO NOTHING. UM, IN FACT, LISA WAS EMPHATIC TO NOT BE HERE. UM, AND LISA, I'VE JUST DISCOVERED WAS EMPHATIC TO NOT BE AT THE LUNCHEON. UM, BUT EVEN WITH THAT, UH, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE FOR THOSE OF YOU HERE, AND FOR YOU, THE BOARD, THE INCREDIBLE PROFOUND VALUE THAT A PERSON BRINGS TO THE ORGANIZATION, LISA AND HER SERVICE HERE AT THE UTILITY. AND IT TRANSCENDED THAT BECAUSE SHE WAS THE RIGHT HAND PERSON OF CHRIS GARNER FOR SO LONG. LISA PROVIDED INCREDIBLE VALUE ACROSS THE BOARD, WHETHER IT WAS WORKING WITH YOU, WHETHER IT WAS JUST SIMPLY ALWAYS MINDING THE PROCESS AND TRYING TO KEEP US ALL IN TUNE WITH THINGS THAT HAD TO PROCEED IN A PARTICULAR WAY. UM, A LITTLE BIT FOCUSED ON THE DETAILS, ADMITTEDLY, UM, BUT I THINK IN GOOD HUMOR, THAT WAS ALL WELCOME. AND SO IT IS A PROFOUND CHANGE HERE AT THE UTILITY WITH LISA RETIRING. I WILL DO MY BEST TO MAKE SURE THAT I CAN COLLECT ANY COMMENTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AND PASS THEM ALONG TO HER. I WILL WORK WITH YOU ON THAT. UM, BUT I DID NOT WANT TO PASS UP THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACKNOWLEDGE HER CONTRIBUTIONS AND TO LET YOU KNOW, UM, SO AS OF DECEMBER 27TH, SHE WILL JOIN CHRIS AS SOMEONE ELSE THAT WE HOPEFULLY EXPECT TO COME TO LUNCHES. THANK YOU. UM, IT'S ALWAYS HARD WHEN YOU LOSE SOMEONE AND, AND, UH, LISA HAD SUCH, UM, PROFESSIONALISM AND STYLE AND IN TERMS OF WORKING WITH US, AND I THINK SHE WAS, UM, AMAZING. I MEAN, SHE KEPT US IN LINE, SHE KEPT US INFORMED. UM, SHE JUST, SHE'S GONNA, IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT LOSS, [00:50:01] BUT IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN HER CHRISTMAS CARD, YOU WILL KNOW THAT SHE HAS A VERY FULL LIFE. SO I'M ACTUALLY VERY EXCITED FOR HER. I THINK, UM, SHE'S GOT SO MUCH GOING ON IN HER FAMILY AND HER KIDS AND TWINS AND, AND PICKLEBALL AND ALL OF THAT. SO I'M ACTUALLY VERY EXCITED FOR HER. AND I, I HOPE TO GET TO TELL HER THAT IN PERSON. ABSOLUTELY. I, I SPOKE TO HER LAST NIGHT, UH, WHICH IS HOW I KNEW SHE WASN'T COMING TO THE LUNCH NEITHER. AND, UH, WE WERE DISCUSSING, YOU KNOW, WHAT LIFE'S GONNA LOOK LIKE, AND THE PERSON WAS PROFOUNDLY HAPPY OF WHAT WAS COMING, THINGS THAT SHE WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO. IT WAS DEFINITELY, IT WAS A, IT WAS A GREAT MOMENT TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH HER THAT WAY THAT, THAT, THAT TOPIC SOMEHOW DID NOT COME UP. SO THERE, THERE'LL BE MORE ON LISA. I KNOW , I'M JUST GONNA, I'M REALLY GONNA MISS HER. I KNOW YOU ALL ARE TOO. I DO HAVE ONE ANNOUNCEMENT. UH, DUE TO THE HOLIDAYS AND VACATION SCHEDULES, THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING OF JANUARY 2ND AND JANUARY 16TH HAVE BEEN RESCHEDULED TO JANUARY 9TH AND 23RD. SO THAT'S FOR YOUR CALENDARS. PLEASE ADJUST ACCORDINGLY. THANK YOU FOR THAT CONSENSUS ON THOSE DATES. AND, UM, ANATO, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU HAVE FOR US? ANY OTHER OKAY. [ADJOURNMENT] SEEING NO OTHER COMMENTS, THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED. AND MERRY CHRISTMAS. MERRY CHRISTMAS. HAPPY HOLIDAYS. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.