* 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.
          GOOD MORNING 
          [00:00:01]
EVERYONE. 
          UH, WELCOME TO OUR BOARD RETREAT NUMBER 10TH, 2025. 
          CALL, MEETING. 
          TO ORDER. 
          UH, I WOULD LIKE TO CALL ON 
          [PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE]
SEAN , PLEASE. 
          PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, RIGHT HAND OVER YOUR HEART. 
          READY? BEGIN PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE. 
          THIS IS STATES, AMERICA AND LITIGATION INDIVIDUAL. 
          AND DINA, MAY WE PLEASE HAVE ROLL CALL 
          [ROLL CALL]
AS PRESIDENT SCOTT, PRESENT VICE PRESIDENT CORDERO. 
          HERE. 
          SECRETARY PARKIN. 
          SURE. 
          COMMISSIONER MCGUIRE HERE. 
          COMMISSIONER AUSTIN HERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU DINA. 
          UH, SO GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. 
          WELCOME TO OUR 2025 BOARD RETREAT. 
          IT'S PRIVILEGED TO GATHER HERE ON THE QUEEN MARY, A SYMBOL OF ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE, RESILIENCE AND PUBLIC SERVICE VALUES THAT MIRROR THE MISSION OF LONG BEACH UTILITIES. 
          UH, I WANT TO THANK OUR GENERAL MANAGER, ANNA GON, UH, OUR EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM AND THE ENTIRE UTILITIES WORKFORCE FOR THE TREMENDOUS PREPARATION BEHIND TODAY'S RETREAT. 
          UH, WHAT YOU'LL SEE TODAY REFLECTS A FULL YEAR OF FRONTLINE OPERATIONS, FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP, SYSTEM MODERNIZATION, AND SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY. 
          UH, FIRST, UH, TO REFLECT HONESTLY ON FY 2025 PERFORMANCE, NOT JUST OUTCOMES, BUT THE LEADERSHIP AND COORDINATION BEHIND THEM. 
          SECOND, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES THAT COME WITH OPERATING A MODERN UNIFIED WATER AND GAS UTILITY. 
          AND THIRD, TO ALLINA'S BOARD AND MANAGEMENT TEAM ON FY 26 STRATEGIC PRIORITIES. 
          OUR DECISIONS REMAIN DISCIPLINED, TRANSPARENT, AND FOCUSED ON LONG-TERM RELIABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY. 
          THIS YEAR PRODUCED REAL MEASURABLE RESULTS. 
          WE PROTECTED PUBLIC HEALTH DURING HIGH VISIBILITY INCIDENTS. 
          WE DELIVERED MAJOR PROJECTS UNDER BUDGET. 
          WE AVOIDED FUTURE COSTS THROUGH IN-HOUSE SCADA MODERNIZATION, AND WE STRENGTHENED TRAINING, CROSS TRAINING AND WORKFORCE READINESS ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT. 
          EVERY DECISION THIS BOARD MAKES AFFECTS HOMES, HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS, BUSINESSES, AND EMERGENCY EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACROSS LONG BEACH WATER QUALITY, GAS, SAFETY, HYDRANTS. 
          FLEET READINESS AND CYBERSECURITY ARE NOT ABSTRACT SYSTEMS. THEY'RE LIFE SAFE SAFETY SYSTEMS. THE PUBLIC EXPECTS THEM TO WORK PERFECTLY EVERY DAY. 
          THAT TRUST DEFINES OUR RESPONSIBILITY. 
          LOOKING AHEAD, FY 26 BRINGS FOUNDATIONAL WORK. 
          OUR FIRST UTILITY STRATEGIC PLAN, CAMPUS REDEVELOPMENT DECISIONS, GROUNDWATER RESILIENCE, HYDRANT INSPECTIONS, SCADA MODERNIZATION, WORKFORCE SUCCESSION PLANNING, LONG RANGE FINANCIAL MODELING, AND PREPARATIONS FOR LA 28. 
          THESE PRIORITIES DEMAND, DISCIPLINE, UNITY, AND CLARITY OF PURPOSE. 
          UH, BOARD MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIP IS KEY. 
          THE HEART OF THIS RETREAT IS NOT SIMPLY WHAT MANAGEMENT PRESENTS TO US AS A BOARD. 
          IT IS HOW WE AS A BOARD RECEIVE IT, CHALLENGE IT RESPONSIBLY AND ALIGN OUR GOVERNANCE PRIORITIES WITH OPERATIONAL REALITY. 
          THE MOST SUCCESSFUL UTILITIES IN THE NATION SHARE ONE CORE TRAIT. 
          STRONG RE RESPECTFUL, MISSION-DRIVEN ALIGNMENT BETWEEN BOARDS AND EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TODAY IS ABOUT STRENGTHENING THAT ALIGNMENT. 
          IN CLOSING, I WANT TO THANK EVERY EVERY EMPLOYEE REPRESENTED THROUGH THE WORK WE WILL REVIEW TODAY. 
          OPERATORS IN THE FIELD, ENGINEERS AND DESIGN ROOMS, CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAMS ON THE PHONES, CYBERSECURITY SPECIALISTS BEHIND THE SCENES, AND MANAGERS COORDINATING IT ALL UNDER CONSTANT PRESSURE TO MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS. 
          THIS RETREAT IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO STEP BEYOND AGENDA PACKETS AND INTO TRUE LEADERSHIP TO LEAD STRATEGICALLY, NOT JUST PROCEDURALLY LET US USE IT. 
          WELL THEREFORE, IN ORDER TO BEGIN THE PROCEEDINGS TO RECEIVE AND FILE THE REVIEW OF FY 2025 BUSINESS PLAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND FFY 2026, LOOK AHEAD. 
          MAY I PLEASE HAVE A MOTION TO RECEIVE AND FILE MOTION TO APPROVE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND A SECOND. 
          SECOND. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, WITH THAT, IT IS MY HONOR TO WELCOME OUR GENERAL MANAGER, ANOL FAGAN, TO BEGIN TODAY'S PROGRAM WITH INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND LET'S GET TO WORK. 
          THANK YOU P SCOTT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MEMBERS OF COMMISSION. 
          I WAS GOING TO ASK IF I CAN BE HEARD, BUT I REALIZE PRETTY CLEARLY THAT I CAN'T BE HEARD. 
          UM, I WANT TO FIRST OF ALL ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR COMMENTS, PRESIDENT 
          [1. 
	
		
			25-57224
			Recommendation to receive and file the Review of FY 2025 Business Plan Accomplishments and FY 2026 Look-Ahead.
		
		
			 
			 
		
		
			 
			Suggested Action:
			Approve recommendation.
		
	]
SCOTT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THOSE COMMENTS. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT STATEMENT OF WHAT WE DO, UH, THE TRUST THAT YOU PLACE IN US, AND THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, THE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM HERE TODAY FOR THE WORK THAT THEY DO. 
          UM, I, I COULD NOT HAVE SAID IT ANY BETTER, SO I AGREE MUCH FOR THAT. 
          MY INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS ARE MERELY AN INTRODUCTION. 
          UM, THERE IS A WEALTH OF INFORMATION 
          [00:05:01]
THAT WE ARE PLEASANTLY GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU. 
          UM, IT IS FOR US A FIRST TIME. 
          UH, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE COMMISSIONER CORDERA FOR HAVING THE VISION TIME AND AGAIN OF TELLING ME THAT MOMENTS LIKE THIS WERE IMPORTANT FOR THE UTILITY FOR US TO COME TOGETHER AND TO BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH YOU THE INFORMATION IN A PUBLIC SETTING. 
          AND SO THIS REPRESENTS OUR FIRST ATTEMPT AT THAT. 
          HAVING SAID THAT, IN THE CONTEXT OF A FIRST ATTEMPT, WHAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE BEFORE YOU TODAY IS THE COLLECTION OF PRESENTATIONS FROM THE EXECUTIVE TEAM. 
          EACH OF THEM IN THEIR OWN PARTICULAR APPROACH IS SHARING WITH YOU A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS SPAN IN THE BREADTH OF OPERATIONS AND INCLUDING THE DEPTH AND UNDERSTANDING OF CRITICAL ISSUES THAT ARE STRATEGIC KEY AND DELIVER VALUE. 
          WHETHER IT'S THE BREADTH OF SOMETHING BEING PRESENTED TO YOU OR WHETHER IT'S THE DEPTH. 
          THE KEY THING THAT I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU AND SHARE WITH THE AUDIENCE, IT'S THE INSIGHTS THAT YOU CAN DRAW FROM THE WORK THAT SO MANY PEOPLE ARE DOING EACH AND EVERY DAY FOR THE UTILITIES AND YOUR GOVERNANCE AS A BOARD. 
          SO, WITHOUT ANY FURTHER ADO, I'M GONNA TRANSITION OUT. 
          I'LL PASS SOME CLOSING REMARKS AS WE DO THE LOOK AHEAD AND I PASS IT OVER TO WHO'S GONNA START THE PRESENTATION. 
          SORRY, I THINK I CAN SPEAK LOUD ENOUGH. 
           THE MIC. 
          THAT'S BETTER. 
          I'M GONNA BE UP. 
          UM, GOOD MORNING, PRESIDENT SCOTT, COMMISSIONERS HOLLY FRIEND. 
          UM, THANK YOU FOR, UH, PARTICIPATING IN THIS FIRST TIME BASED OF OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THIS MANNER. 
          UM, AND SO FOR ME, I'M GONNA PRESENT OUR FY 25 ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR MY BUSINESS UNIT. 
          UM, BUT BEFORE WE DO THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO ACTUALLY INTRODUCE MY BUSINESS UNIT. 
          UM, UH, I APOLOGIZE FOR HOW BUSY THIS SLIDE IS, BUT THE CORE IN THIS IS THAT FOR MY BUSINESS UNIT, THERE ARE SIX CORE DIVISIONS STARTING WITH WATER TREATMENT. 
          AND SO I'M GONNA TAKE A MOMENT TO KIND OF RECOGNIZE THE MANAGERS THAT OVERSEE THE DIVISIONS. 
          SO FIRST, FOR WATER TREATMENT, WE HAVE SKIP FULTON. 
          WE'RE SKIP, WE'RE SKIP. 
          SO SKIP FULTON IS OUR MANAGER OF WATER TREATMENT. 
          HE OVERSEES ALL THE WATER TREATMENT OPERATIONS. 
          THAT INCLUDES ALL THE WELLS, ALL THE RESERVOIRS, ALL THE SEWER PUMP STATIONS, BASICALLY ANY FACILITY ABOVE GROUND. 
          SO THAT'S THE WAY WE KIND OF LOOK AT IT, UM, IN THE WATER. 
          AND THEN WE HAVE THE WATER QUALITY LAB. 
          UM, AND THAT'S THAT BY KEVIN HUONG. 
          WHERE'S KEVIN? KEVIN IS OUR WATER QUALITY LAB MANAGER. 
          AND THEN UNDER KEVIN, IT'S KEVIN CALDWELL, WHO'S OUR QAQC OFFICER. 
          QUALITY CONTROL, QUALITY ASSURANCE, MAKE SURE THAT THE DATA THAT WE PRODUCE OUT OF THE LAB MEETS MUSCLE. 
          RIGHT. 
          UM, THEN, THEN ON THIS SIDE WE HAVE GAS CONSTRUCTION, OVERSEEING GAS CONSTRUCTION. 
          WE HAVE PAUL DE YOUNG, THE MANAGER OF GAS CONSTRUCTION. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, WE DO HAVE A ACTIVE INCIDENT RIGHT NOW. 
          SO THE GAS TEAM IS ACTUALLY OUT ON RESPONDING TO THAT INCIDENT. 
          SO PAUL IS NOT HERE THIS MORNING. 
          UM, BUT WE THANK PAUL FOR HIS DEDICATED SERVICE. 
          UM, ON THE WATER CONSTRUCTION SIDE, WE HAVE MIKE SALAS, WHO IS THE MANAGER OF WATER CONSTRUCTION. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, MIKE IS ALSO OUT TODAY, BUT HE'S MORE ON PERSONAL BASIS. 
          FOR SUPPORT SERVICES, WE HAVE LISA GUTIERREZ . 
          SO SUPPORT SERVICES IS FLEET WAREHOUSING, PROCUREMENT, AND, UM, FACILITY SUPPORT. 
          FACILITY SERVICE. 
          AND THEN LASTLY, WE HAVE SEAN PIERCE, THE MANAGER OF SECURITY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS. 
          AND THESE SIX OPERATIONAL DIVISIONS HELP KIND OF MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO DELIVER THE SERVICE THAT WE NEED TO DELIVER TO OUR CUSTOMERS. 
          I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT THE ONLY, THEY'RE JUST MY GROUP . 
          OKAY. 
          SO LOOKING AHEAD FOR THE PRESENTATION, UM, I'M JUST GONNA GO OVER TO FY 25 OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS FOR MY GROUP. 
          AND STARTING WITH KIND OF GROWLING THE PRESENTATION, I KIND OF WANT TO REITERATE 
          [00:10:01]
THE, THE BUSINESS IN TERMS OF THE OBJECTIVES, WHICH ARE CUSTOMER, FINANCIAL AND TRIAL AND WORKPLACE CULTURE. 
          AND THEN THE INITIATIVES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF THESE OBJECTIVES. 
          SO IN THE SLIDES AHEAD, I WILL TRY TO CROSSWALK THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS WITH THESE OBJECTIVES AND INITIATIVES TO KIND OF, UM, BRIDGE IT ALL TOGETHER. 
          SO FIRST WE'LL GO TO THE CUSTOMER OBJECTIVE. 
          SO FOR THIS OBJECTIVE, THE INITIATIVES ARE SAFE, WATER AND GAS, RELIABLE AND RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND INNOVATIVE PROGRAM. 
          SO THE KEY ACTIONS, UM, UNDER THE CUSTOMER OBJECTIVE, UNFORTUNATELY OUR RESPONSES TO A COUPLE OF, UM, HIGH PROFILE WATER MAIN BREAKS. 
          UM, FIRST ONE BEING THE WATER MAIN BREAK ON OR JAM. 
          AND UNFORTUNATELY WITH THAT PARTICULAR MAIN BREAK, WE DID HAVE A MOMENT OF PRESSURE LOSS IN THE SYSTEM THAT CREATED A SITUATION THAT POTENTIALLY WE HAVE RISKS IN THE SYSTEM. 
          CONSEQUENTLY, WE WOULD HAVE TO DO WATERFALL AND MONITORING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE CONTAMINATION WITHIN THE SYSTEM. 
          NOW, AS A PRECAUTION TO OUR CUSTOMERS, WE ISSUED A BOIL WATER NOTICE THAT AFFECTED A HUNDRED THOUSAND . 
          UM, THAT'S ALL KIND OF PROTOCOL, BUT WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT IS THAT TEAMS REALLY COME TOGETHER TO DEVELOP A WATER QUALITY MONITORING PLAN, GET THE WATER QUALITY MONITOR APPROVED BY THE STATE DIVISION OF DRINKING WATER, EXECUTE THE PLAN, GET THE RESULTS, GET THE RESULTS, UM, CERTIFIED, PRESENT THE RESULTS OF DDW, AND THE ORDER OR THE DDW CAN THEN LIFT THE ORDER WITHIN 36 HOURS. 
          MIND YOU, WITHIN THAT 36 HOURS, 24 HOURS OF IT IS JUST INCUBATION TIME FOR THE SAMPLES. 
          UM, SO THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO TO SPEED UP THAT 24 HOURS. 
          SO IN THAT 12 HOURS, WE HAVE TO EXECUTE A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF WORK, WORK IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH, UM, LIFTING THE, THE WORLD. 
          NOW WITH THE CRISIS, OF COURSE, THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO LEARN, UM, AND WE LEARNED THAT WE COULD IMPROVE ON OUR COMMUNICATIONS, UM, TO THE PUBLIC AND EVEN WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT FAMILIES. 
          SO WITH THAT, UM, INCIDENT, WE WERE ABLE TO TO DEVELOP CRISIS COMMUNICATION WORKFLOWS TO KIND OF HELP IMPROVE, HELP IMPROVE  OUR, OUR COMMUNICATION. 
          AND UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAD A SECOND UNUSUALLY LARGE MAIN BREAK, UM, THAT OCCURRED AT BIXBY HILL, AT THE RANCHO LOS ISLAND. 
          THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY A BIGGER PIPELINE, THE 24 INCH PIPELINE. 
          UM, QUITE A BIT OF CHAOS. 
          THE TEAM QUICKLY MOBILIZED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RESIDENTS STILL HAD WATER AND THAT WE CAN RESTORE SERVICE AND TRY TO GET THE RESIDENTS BACK TO A NORMALCY, SOMEWHAT NORMALCY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. 
          THE RESULT IS WE PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH AND WE MAINTAIN CON CUSTOMER CONFIDENCE DURING THESE HIGH VISIBILITY EVENTS. 
          MOVING TO THE FINANCIAL OBJECTIVE WITH THE INITIATIVE BEING COST OF SERVICE, UM, SUSTAINABLE FINANCE AND LONG RANGE FINANCIAL TIME IN TERMS OF ACTIONS, UM, WITHIN MY TEAM, WE DELIVERED A $4 MILLION FILTER BEHALF PROJECT. 
          NOW THIS PROJECT IS, UM, ONE OF THE LARGEST RENEWALS THAT HAS UNDERTAKEN. 
          UM, AND IT WAS, IT WAS WHERE WE WERE FINDING MEDIA COAL, BASICALLY IN OUR FILTER EFFLUENT, AND WE WEREN'T SURE WHAT WAS GOING ON. 
          UM, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY IN TRYING TO, TO REPAIR THE FILTERS. 
          SO MAKE SURE THAT THE FILTERS ARE . 
          SO STAFF HAVE TO WORK AND DEVELOP A KIND OF A NOVEL SCOPE OF WORK WHERE WE WORK WITH THE CONTRACTOR WITH A BASIC SCOPE OF WORK AND THEN ADJUST AS WE FIND DIFFERENT THINGS AND WE WORK CLOSELY WITH THE CONTRACTORS SO THAT WE CAN THEN LEVERAGE THE PROJECT ON SCHEDULE. 
          AND ACTUALLY BELOW BUDGET OF VERY POSITIVE TEAM FOR MAKING THAT CLOSE ORATION. 
          WE RESTRUCTURED OUR SC MODERNIZATION BACK IN 2019 AND WE CONTINUED THAT PROJECT WHEN WE WERE RENEWING OUR SCADA SYSTEM. 
          AND SCADA STANDS FOR SUPERVISING CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISITION. 
          UM, BY MODERNIZING THAT APPROACH, WE'RE ABLE TO AVOID A MILLION DOLLARS IN PROJECT PROJECTED PROJECT COSTS FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR. 
          AND CONTINUING WITH IMPLEMENTING THE 10 YEAR BUSINESS PLAN IS THE OTHER ACTIVITY. 
          UM, HERE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE RENEW OUR FLEET IN A FINANCIALLY SUSTAINABLE WAY. 
          BUT THEN AT THE SAME TIME, ALSO WE ARE, UH, ADVANCED FLEET REGULATION THAT WAS PUT INTO EFFECT AND BECAME EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1ST, 2024. 
          AND SO THEN THAT RESULT IS WE REDUCE THE PROCESS SERVICE, UM, PRESSURES AND STRENGTHEN OUR LONG RANGE FINANCIAL STABILITY TO ACTIONS IN THIS OBJECTIVE. 
          MOVING TO INTERNAL OBJECTIVE INITIATIVES ARE INFORMATION SYSTEM DATA, PROACTIVE AND INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS. POSITIVE COLLABORATION 
          [00:15:01]
AND  IMPROVE. 
          SO KEY ACTIONS TAKEN AGAIN, WE GO BACK TO IMPROVING OUR STATE OF RELIABILITY, POSITIONING THE SYSTEM FOR FUTURE CYBERSECURITY UPGRADES. 
          SO WHAT WAS HAPPENING WAS THE OLD SCADA SYSTEM WAS BEING PHASED OUT BY MANUFACTURING AND BY BEING PHASED OUT, IT'S JUST KIND OF LIKE WINDOWS WHERE PATCHES ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE AND YOU COULD NOT INSTALL PATCHES AND PREVENT CYBERSECURITY ATTRIBUTED. 
          SO WE NEED TO UPGRADE THE SYSTEM SO THAT WE CAN BE READY AND CONTINUOUSLY UPDATE AND PATCH OUR SYSTEM SO THAT WE'RE CYBER SECURITY AS WELL AS IMPROVING OUR VISIBILITY AND CONTROL OF OUR REMOTE SYSTEMS. WE UPDATED OUR INSTANT COMMAND SYSTEM STRUCTURE AND INSTANT ACTION PLAN TO CLARIFY OUR ROLES AND RESPONSE. 
          WE SUPPORTED A DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTERIZED MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN, AND IRON WATER INTEGRATION AND WATER CONSTRUCTION TO HELP IMPROVE DATA VISIBILITY. 
          AND THIS IS HELP US TO IMPROVE OUR WORK ASSIGNMENTS AND TRACKING AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WORK PRODUCT. 
          THE RESULT IS STRENGTHENED INTERNAL SYSTEMS, DATA AND COORDINATION THAT REALLY HELP SUPPORT A MORE RESILIENT DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS. 
          LASTLY, WORK WORKPLACE CLOSURE. 
          UM, THERE IS A MISTAKE IN THIS SLIDE, I APOLOGIZE. 
          INITIATIVES IN WORKPLACE CLOSURE ARE AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING EQUITY RETENTION AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND COMPETENCIES. 
          UM, KEY ACTIONS FOR US IS, UM, WE DEVELOPED A STRUCTURAL WATER TREATMENT OPERATING TRAINING MODULE THIS YEAR TO BUILD TECHNICAL COMPETENCY. 
          UM, WE IMPLEMENTED A 12 HOUR SHIFT MODEL AND A WATER TRADING PLANT. 
          AND THIS WILL HELP US IMPROVE OUR COVERAGE AS WELL AS IMPROVE THE MORALE AND BE COMPETITIVE WITH THE INDUSTRY. 
          WE DEVELOPED CLEAR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES AND EXPECTATIONS TO HELP SUPPORT FAIRNESS WITH OUR, UM, COHORT AND CONSISTENCY AS WELL AS ACCOUNTABILITY. 
          THE RESULT IS IMPROVED SCALE, RETENTION AND READINESS ACROSS OPERATIONS WHILE REINFORCING OUR ONE UTILITY MODEL. 
          SO THAT'S KIND OF A QUICK OVERVIEW, BUT I DO WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO TAKE A DEEPER DIVE INTO THREE PROJECTS. 
          'CAUSE AS THESE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS ARE IMPLEMENTED, THEY ACTUALLY CROSS MORE THAN ONE OBJECTIVE. 
          THEY ACTUALLY CROSS MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES IN MULTIPLE INITIATIVES. 
          AND SO I WANT TO TAKE A DEEP DIVE INTO SOME OF THESE PROJECTS AND SEE HOW THEY ACTUALLY IMPACT SOME OF THE OTHER OBJECTIVES AND INITIATIVES. 
          SO FIRST OF WE'LL MOVE INTO WATER AND SOURCE, UH, SCALER PROGRAM. 
          SO HERE, UM, WHAT SCALER REALLY IS, IS A SYSTEM TO MONITOR AND CONTROL OUR REMOTE FACILITIES, RIGHT? SO THE MOST COMMON COMPARISON WOULD BE, UM, IRRIGATION CONTROLLER. 
          THAT WOULD BE THE SIMPLEST, UH, PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLER, RIGHT? THAT THAT IS OBVIOUSLY OURS IS A LOT MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT, BUT I JUST WANNA GIVE YOU AN IDEA. 
          HAVING SAID THAT, SOMETIMES I'M NOT ABLE TO EVEN PROGRAM THAT. 
          SO THE PROGRAM, THE ACTUAL TLCS THAT ACTUALLY ARE IN THE SYSTEM IS QUITE A FEAT. 
          AND SO WE HAVE TO TAKE, UM, HARDWARE AND BUILD THE HARDWARE TO CREATE THE PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLERS. 
          AND THEN THAT'S JUST THE HARDWARE THAT OPERATES OFF OF CODE. 
          AND AT THE RISK OF DATING MYSELF, UM, ONCE UPON A TIME I USED TO PLAY IN DOCS, RIGHT? THIS OPERATING SYSTEM BY MICROSOFT, RIGHT? AND THAT'S ALL CODE. 
          AND, AND SOON MICROSOFT REALIZED THAT, UM, IT'S HARD TO USE. 
          IT'S NOT VERY USER FRIENDLY, SO YOU HAVE TO TAKE CODE AND CONVERT IT IN A WAY SO THAT THE HUMAN CAN INTERFACE WITH THE MACHINES. 
          SO THEN WE HAVE THEN PROGRAM CODE INTO THE SYSTEMS SO THAT THEY HAVE A HUMAN MACHINE INTERFACE SO THAT THE OPERATORS CAN THEN CAN CONTROL THE SYSTEMS IN A, UM, I GUESS, EFFICIENT WAY. 
          UM, AND THEN WE HAVE TO INSTALL INTO THE SYSTEM AND BRING ALL THAT INFORMATION BACK TO THE PLC, BACK TO THE NETWORK, AND THEN BRING IT BACK TO OUR CONTROL ROOM. 
          AND THEN PRIOR TO DEPLOYMENT OF ANY OF THIS, UM, THE TEAMS WILL BUILD IT ON SITE AND THEN TEST IT BEFORE DEPLOYMENT. 
          AND SO THIS IS ACTUALLY OUR SCADA LAB THAT'S LOCATED AT THE, SO THE SCADA UPGRADE PROJECT WAS A PROGRAM THAT STARTED IN 2016 AND IT WAS A 10 YEAR PROJECT AND THE ORIGINAL ESTIMATE WAS ROUGHLY 10 MILLION BUCKS. 
          AND THEN IN 2019, WE TRANSITIONED FROM CONTRACTOR LED SCADA UPGRADE TO IN-HOUSE SC SO THAT WE ARE DOING IT IN-HOUSE. 
          SO BY THAT TIME, THE ESTIMATE TO COMPLETE THE WORK WAS 7.88 MILLION. 
          AND WHAT WE REALLY REALIZING IS BY RIGHT NOW OUR 
          [00:20:01]
ESTIMATE TO CLOSE FOR THE ENTIRE PROJECT IS LESS THAN 5 MILLION ACHIEVING SUBSTANTIAL SAVINGS BY BRINGING THE WORK IN HOUSE BEYOND JUST THAT FINANCIAL SAVINGS. 
          THOUGH BRINGING THE WORK IN HOUSE BUILDS TALENT, RIGHT? IT BUILDS A WORKFORCE THAT IS ABLE TO BUILD THE HARD ART INSTALL CODE, FIGURE OUT HOW TO COMMUNICATE AND SECURE THE COMMUNICATIONS. 
          AND THAT REALLY BUILDS SKILLS AND ALLOWS US TO KIND OF REACT TO, UM, SYSTEM FAILURES AND REACT IN A PROP MANNER. 
          IN ADDITION, UM, IT HELPS WITH WORK , THE, THE TEAM THAT WORKS ON THIS, THEY TAKE OWNERSHIP AND THEY TAKE PRIDE IN KNOWING HOW TO DO THIS. 
          UM, AND BY BRINGING THAT IN, IT REALLY BROUGHT THAT LEVEL OF OWNERSHIP AND PRIDE TO THE TEAM. 
          SO THAT'S HOW, BEYOND JUST FINANCIAL, IT'S ALSO TOUCHING INTERNAL SYSTEMS WHERE WE CAN BETTER MONITOR. 
          WE CAN ALSO TOUCH WORKPLACE CULTURE WHERE WE CAN PROVIDE, UM, PRIDE AND UM, AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 
          NEXT PRODUCT, NEXT PROGRAM IS WORKFORCE GOVERNANCE. 
          SO THE BIGGEST, THIS PROGRAM WE HAVE MULTIPLE, UM, PROJECTS AND ACTIONS. 
          UM, AS MENTIONED BEFORE, WE DEVELOPED, UM, TRAINING MODULE FOR TRAINING PIPE. 
          AND THESE ARE MODULES DESIGNED FOR US TO, FOR FORMALLY TRANSMIT INFORMATION, UM, AND OPERATIONAL KNOWLEDGE TO OUR INCOMING OPERATORS. 
          'CAUSE IN THE PAST IT'S MORE INFORMAL LEARN ON THE JOBS. 
          AND WE REALLY WANT TO SOLIDIFY A PROCESS WHERE WE CAN FORMALLY TRANSFER THAT KNOWLEDGE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE COVER EVERYTHING. 
          AND THAT WILL IMPROVE THE OPERATOR COMPETENCY. 
          COMPETENCY AS WELL AS IT WILL HELP THEM IMPROVE THEIR CONFIDENCE KNOWING THAT THEY'VE BEEN TRAINED PROPERLY AND THEY CAN DO THE WORK THEY NEED TO DO. 
          UM, WE IMPLEMENTED OF OUR SHIP SCHEDULE FOR THE TREATMENT PLANT CONTROL ROOM. 
          UM, MANY OF THE OUTSIDE AGENCIES ARE IN THAT MODEL. 
          AND SO FOR US TO COMPETITIVE, UM, WITH RETENTION, BY GOING TO THIS MODEL, IT HELPS US KIND OF NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT EXPLANATION OR THAT EXCUSE FROM THE OTHER AGENCIES. 
          AND THE FEEDBACK ON THAT IS THEY ACTUALLY REALLY LIKE IT. 
          UM, IT'S IN A, IN A TWO WEEK PERIOD, PAY WEEK, THEY WORK SIX 12 HOUR DAYS AND THEN ONE EIGHT HOUR DAY EQUAL 80 HOURS. 
          AND SO THEY'RE ABLE TO THEN MANAGE THE WORK. 
          THEY CAN HAVE A WORK LIFE BALANCE AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, BEING COMMITTED TO THE OPERATIONS. 
          WE UPDATED OUR INSTANT COMMAND SYSTEM AS WELL, INSTANT COMMAND STRUCTURE AS WELL AS OUR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. 
          AND THIS WILL HELP US TO BE MORE, I GUESS, AWARE OF WHAT ALL OUR ROLES ARE. 
          'CAUSE SOMETIMES IN A CRISIS WE MAY NOT BE ALL FAMILIAR WITH OUR ROLE AND BE READY TO JUMP IN. 
          AND THEN WE WORK ON CROSS-TRAINING INITIATIVES. 
          WE WANT TO CROSS-TRAIN OUR GROUPS SO THAT THEY CAN JUMP IN AND HELP EACH OTHER OUT ON THEIR, SO AGAIN, THE INITIATIVE PROCESSES, MULTIPLE, UM, OBJECTIVES. 
          IT HELPS WITH INTERNAL OPERATIONS, MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN DO OUR JOBS COMPETENTLY AS WELL AS IT DOES HELP MORALE. 
          UM, AND IT, AND WITH THAT, IT REALLY TRANSLATE TO OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE RELIABLE, RESILIENT SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS, WHICH HAS BEEN ON CUSTOMER OBJECTIVE. 
          AND THEN LASTLY, FILTER, INSPECTION AND REPAIR. 
          SO THIS IS THE PROJECT I ALLUDED TO. 
          HERE'S A PICTURE OF A FILTER, UM, IN THE FILTER UNDER DRAIN SYSTEM. 
          SO ABOVE THIS, YOU WOULD ACTUALLY SEE ABOUT 80 INCHES OF COAL THAT GOES ON TOP OF THE FILTER. 
          AND SO WE WERE FINDING FILTER MEDIA IN THE PIPELINES AND UNDERNEATH IN OUR LAB CYCLES. 
          SO SOMETHING WAS HAPPENING IN THE SYSTEM AND WE COULDN'T, WE HAD TO GO FIGURE OUT. 
          SO WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO REMOVE HUNDREDS OF CUBIC FEET OF THIS POLE, GO IN THERE, FIGURE OUT WHAT'S WRONG, MAKE THE REPAIRS, STABILIZE THESE, UM, CAPS. 
          SO THAT'S WHAT THESE, THESE LITTLE BOLT DOWNS ARE. 
          WE HAD TO STABILIZE THIS COVER IF THOSE COVER WAS LIFTING. 
          UM, THANKFULLY THAT WAS WHAT WAS THE CAUSE. 
          AND THEN WE HAD TO COME UP WITH A WAY TO PUT THE MEDIA BACK IN A WAY THAT WE CAN NOT DESTROY THE MEDIA AND CAN REUSE THE MEDIA 'CAUSE THAT MEDIA IS REALLY EXPENSIVE. 
          UM, AND SO THAT PROJECT, UM, WAS ABOUT $4 MILLION. 
          AND WITH THE COAST COORDINATION AND DISCUSSION AND JUST REAL TIME ADJUSTMENTS TO THE PROJECT, UM, WE DID THROUGH THIS PROJECT ON TIME AND UNDER BUDGET. 
          AND SO THAT, UM, I THINK AGAIN GOES TO, UH, IMPROVE THE SKILLSET OF OUR TEAM, IMPROVES AND MAKE SURES OUR, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS GONNA LAST. 
          UM, SO HELPS WITH OUR FINANCIAL STABILITY AND OBVIOUSLY HAVING HIGH QUALITY DRINKING WATER IS ONE OF OUR CHARTERS TO PROVIDE TO OUR CUSTOMERS. 
          SO THESE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS REALLY TOUCH MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES AND SO THEY DON'T JUST TOUCH ONE. 
          SO IT'S KIND OF HARD TO JUST REFER TO ONE 
          [00:25:01]
PROJECT AND HOW IT RELATES TO ONE OBJECTIVE. 
          SO I WANTED TO REALLY KIND OF HIGHLIGHT, UM, HOW THEY CROSS, UM,  WITH EVERYTHING ELSE. 
          SO WITH THAT, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND LISTENING TO ME . 
          UM, AND I, I DO WANNA TAKE A MOMENT AND REALLY THANK THE TEAM. 
          UM, OH, AND NATE, NATE'S HERE. 
          HE SHOWED UP. 
          NATE, STAND UP PLEASE. 
          SO NATE IS MY DIRECTOR OF, UH, GAS CONSTRUCTION. 
          AND I ALSO DID NOT, I FORGOT TO INTRODUCE YEN YEN, PLEASE STAND UP. 
          SHE'S MY SENIOR DIRECTOR OF, UH, WATER QUALITY AND PROCESS. 
          SO SHE OVERSEES THE WATER TREATMENT AND WATER QUALITY. 
          AND NATE OVERSEES PAUL IN WATER CONSTRUCTION AND THEN SUPPORT SERVICES, WATER CONSTRUCTION. 
          SORRY, NATE OVERSEES GAS CONSTRUCTION SUPPORT SERVICES, WATER CONSTRUCTION AND SECURITY PREPAREDNESS REPORT DIRECTLY TO ME AT THIS TIME. 
          UM, SO THAT'S OUR REPORT INSTRUCTION. 
          SO WITH THAT, UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL YOUR WORK. 
          I'D JUST LIKE TO, BUT EVERYBODY IN THIS UTILITY, UM, AND I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU, TY. 
          THAT WAS VERY EDUCATIONAL, VERY WELL PUT TOGETHER. 
          IT WAS, IT WAS AWESOME. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, IS THERE ANY BOARD QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER QUESTION? OH, YOU SURE. 
          JUST PROBABLY A SILLY QUESTION. 
          WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THE MEDIA THAT A MEDIUM OR A PULP, HOW WAS THAT STORED WHILE YOU WERE REPAIRING THIS? SO, SO THEY COME UP WITH A, IT'S A VENTURI VACUUM SYSTEM. 
          SO THEY, THEY RUN WATER THROUGH LIKE A VENTURI THAT CREATES THEN A VACUUM THAT SUCKS OUT THE MEDIA IN A LIQUID SLURRY. 
          AND THEN WE PUMP IT INTO, UM, LIKE A CANVAS BAG SO THAT THE WATER CAN DRAIN. 
          BUT THEN WE HOLD BACK THE MEDIA AND IS THAT IN THAT SLURRY VENTURI SYSTEM THAT PREVENTS US FROM, UM, CAUSING THE, THE GRANULES TO KIND OF SHADE EACH OTHER AND GET TOO SMALL? 'CAUSE THAT'S THE FEAR IS, IS IN THE EXTRACTION PROCESS, YOU CAN CAUSE THE GRANULAR ACTIVE PART OR THE, THIS EXERCISE, IT'S INACTIVATED CARBON. 
          UM, IT CAN ACTUALLY SHAVE ITSELF AND IT GET TOO SMALL IF IT GETS TOO SMALL. 
          THE, WHEN THE GRANULES ARE TOGETHER, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH PORE SPACE FOR FOR PARTICLES TO GET BY. 
          AND SO WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO REMOVE THAT. 
          AND THEN, SO THERE'S JUST BAGS AND BAGS, SO THEY HAVE TO, THERE'S BAGS AND BAGS IN THIS VEHICLE IN THE PARKING LOT WHEN WE'RE DOING THIS WORK. 
          OKAY, THANKS. 
          WHERE DID IT GO, TY? PUT IT BACK IN . 
          SO THAT WAS, UM, THAT WAS ONE OF THE COST SAVING MEASURES IS IF YOU CAN TAKE IT OUT SAFELY, UM, WE CAN REUSE IT. 
          NOW OBVIOUSLY THERE'S GONNA BE SOME THAT DON'T MEET MUSTARD. 
          UM, SOME OF THE FINES WILL GET, UH, WASHED OUT AND SIT UP. 
          AND SO WE WILL HAVE TO BRING IN ADDITIONAL ENTEROCYTE AND THEN TOP IT OFF. 
          BUT THAT, THAT PROCESS DOES CREATE SUBSTANTIAL SAVINGS BY NOT HAVING TO REPLACE IT ALL. 
          YEP. 
          HEY TY, I COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IF IT'S AN ISSUE ANYMORE ON THE WATER TREATMENT OPERATORS? I KNOW THAT THE RETENTION IS VERY, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU'RE DOING STUFF FOR THE RETENTION. 
          IS THAT STILL AN ISSUE WITH OUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE WITH OTHER OPERATORS TO KEEP OUR FOLKS, IT COMES IN WAVES. 
          WE STILL HAVE SOME CHALLENGES WITH OPERATING RETENTION. 
          UM, THE, THE CHANGE IN 12 HOUR SHIFT SCHEDULE DEFINITELY HAVE IMPROVED THAT ASPECT OF THINGS. 
          'CAUSE WE WERE LOSING STAFF TO, UM, UN COUNTY WATER DISTRICT WHO OFFERS A LITTLE BIT MORE PAY AND THAT SCHEDULE, AND THAT WAS VERY ENTICED FOR OPERATORS TO JUMP SHIFT. 
          BUT BY OFFERING THAT SCHEDULE, THE OPERATORS YOU'D LIKE THEM TO SAY, WELL, IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT PAY, IT'S ABOUT THE WORKPLACE CULTURE. 
          AND SO I HAVE THE SCHEDULE, IT MEETS MY WORK LIFE BALANCE. 
          PAY IS GOOD, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE BARGAINING UNITS TO WORK MY SALARY ISSUES. 
          THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I CAN'T GET INVOLVED IN. 
          BUT THAT HAS IMPROVED. 
          AND, AND TO BARGAIN UNIT'S CREDIT AND TO THE CITY'S CREDIT, UM, THEY HAVE MADE GREAT STRIDES, UM, IN TERMS OF PROVING SOME EQUITY IN THAT AREA THAT HELPS WITH YOUR RETENTION. 
          NOW THAT HURTS FINANCIAL SITES DEFINITELY IS NOT HAPPY, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE A LITTLE HAPPY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT TY, THAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION. 
          UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WAS ON THE MULTI-YEAR UPGRADE PROGRAM THAT WAS BROUGHT IN-HOUSE, UH, THE SAVINGS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK I LIKED WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT BUILDING TALENT, WHICH I THINK IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, UM, FOR OUR, FOR OUR STAFF, AND TO BE ABLE TO FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE SOMETHING THAT THEY COULD POSSIBLY MOVE INTO. 
          SO I, I GREATLY APPRECIATE THAT. 
          THE OTHER THING IS THE RESULTS IN YOUR SLIDES, THE LAST, THE LAST COMPONENT IS A RESULT ON EVERYTHING THAT'S BEING DONE. 
          AND AGAIN, I WISH THAT THE PUBLIC COULD HEAR THESE SORTS OF THINGS BECAUSE IN ADDITION TO ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE SAID THAT YOU'RE DOING, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GOING TO TRY AND DO MORE AND DO BETTER. 
          YOU'RE DOING ALL THE STUFF THAT YOU DO 24 7, SO PEOPLE KNEW THAT, THAT 
          [00:30:01]
THERE'S, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE STILL TRYING TO UP YOUR GAME WITH ALL OF THE STAFF HERE. 
          SO GREATLY APPRECIATE THAT AS WELL. 
          AND THEN LASTLY, THE EMPHASIS ON WORKPLACE CULTURE I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT. 
          METROPOLITAN, UM, THIS LAST YEAR, UH, CREATED A, A GROUP CALLED WORKPLACE CULTURE AS WELL. 
          UM, SO I THINK THAT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. 
          I APPRECIATE THE IMPROVED SKILLS AND, AND LIKE, UH, BISHOP PARKER SAID, THE RETENTION, UM, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. 
          AND I KNOW, I BELIEVE WE HAVE THE PROGRAM WITH CITY COLLEGE IN THE PIPELINE TO BRING STUDENTS. 
          YES. 
          SO NOT ONLY BUT BRINGING DIANA HAS HELPED. 
          IT'S, IT'S DAN AND JENNIFER, THE ACADEMY. 
          JUST, JUST LIKE EVERYTHING. 
          WE'RE ALWAYS GETTING BETTER. 
          GREAT. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          AND SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA INTRODUCE THE NEXT SPEAKER. 
          DIANA, GOOD MORNING COMMISSIONERS. 
          I'M GOING TO GIVE MY COLLEAGUES A MOMENT TO COME UP AND JOIN ME HERE. 
          WE'RE GONNA DO FURTHER PANEL TYPE PRESENTATION AND WE'RE GONNA TRY AND MAKE THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE CONVERSATIONAL. 
          SO FEEL FREE TO RAISE YOUR HAND, JUMP IN, UM, ASK SOME QUESTIONS. 
          WE'RE GONNA STICK WITH ONE SLIDE, BUT IT'S GONNA BE A BIG ONE. 
          MORNING. 
          I'M LISA MARTINEZ, I'M THE UTILITY SERVICES OFFICER, AND I SEE THE BILLING COMPONENT FOR THE ON BEHALF OF LONG BEACH UTILITIES. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          I'M ERIC SHERMAN. 
          I'M ACTING DIRECTOR OF GAS SERVICES IN THE GAS SERVICES UNIT. 
          UH, IS ESSENTIALLY THE FIELD SERVICES, THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN AND OUT OF YARDS AND HOMES EVERY DAY. 
          ALRIGHT, GREAT. 
          AND SO REALLY QUICKLY INTRODUCTIONS FOR THE REST OF MY TEAM WHO, UH, WILL NOT BE JOINING US UP HERE TODAY, BUT ARE IN THE AUDIENCE. 
          WE HAVE JENNIFER ROJAS, WHO'S OUR SENIOR DIRECTOR OF FIELD CUSTOMER SERVICE. 
          SO SHE OVERSEES GAS SERVICES, WATER SERVICES, AND ALSO SEWER OPERATIONS. 
          SO SEW OPERATIONS, WE, MIKE AUGH, MANAGER OF SEWER OPERATIONS, AND I BELIEVE THAT JARED VITAL, WHO'S OUR MANAGER OF GAS SERVICE, I'M SORRY, WATER SERVICES IS, IS OUT TODAY. 
          UM, WE'VE GOT TONY FOSTER. 
          TONY FOSTER IS OUR SENIOR DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES BUSINESS SERVICES. 
          HE OVERSEES LISA. 
          AND IN BILLING, WE'VE GOT MARIBEL VEZ IN THE CALL CENTER, AND THEN DENNIS BURKE, WHERE DENNIS DENNIS IS BACK THERE. 
          DENNIS IS OUR ENERGY RESOURCES OFFICER. 
          THEN WE'VE GOT WAYNE, UM, WAYNE JOHNSON. 
          WAYNE JOHNSON IS OUR SENIOR DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION AND HE OVERSEES PERSONNEL SERVICES. 
          WE'VE GOT JAIME GARCIA AS OUR MANAGER OF PERSONNEL SERVICES. 
          UH, ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ, WHO'S OUR ACTING MANAGER OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND RACHEL ROCK, OUR, UM, STRATEGIC POLICY OFFICER. 
          AND THEN ROUNDING OUT THE TEAM IS JOY CONTRERAS, OUR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER AND MY EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT. 
          SO GRATEFUL TO HER AND MARYS. 
          ALRIGHT, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          SO AGAIN, GOOD MORNING COMMISSIONERS. 
          MY NAME IS DIANE TING AND I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING WITH OUR BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS TEAM HERE AT LONG BEACH UTILITIES. 
          SO, AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE PRIMARILY A RATE PAYER FUNDED ORGANIZATION, AND THAT MEANS NOT JUST A LITTLE BIT, BUT THE LARGE MAJORITY OF OUR BUDGET COMES FROM OUR RATES. 
          YOU SET THEM ANNUALLY, STEPHANIE BUDGETS FOR THEM, BUT SOMEONE HAS TO COLLECT THEM. 
          SO TODAY'S PRESENTATION IS GOING TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THIS WORKS. 
          OKAY? SO WHAT WE HAVE BEFORE YOU TODAY IS A GRAPH THAT BLENDS BOTH THE TOP PART, WHICH IS THIS LINE GRAPH HERE. 
          THIS REPRESENTS THE DATA THAT LISA AND HER TEAM IN BILLING ARE LOOKING AT. 
          THEN THIS IS A SECOND CHART THAT REPRESENTS THE FIELD ACTIVITIES THAT ARE DONE OUT IN THE FIELD BY ERIC SHERMAN AND HIS TEAM. 
          THE REASON WHY WE STOPPED THE TWO OF THESE ON TOP OF EACH OTHER IS BECAUSE ONE INFORMS THE OTHER AND THE AMOUNT OF DEBT THAT WE HAVE INFLUENCES, UM, ALONG WITH POLICY, THE NUMBER OF SHUTOFFS THAT WE DO OUT IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO SHUTOFFS OR TURNOFFS FOR NON-PAYMENT ARE AN INDUSTRY STANDARD PRACTICE FOR COLLECTING ON UNPAID DEBT THAT IS OWED TO THE UTILITIES. 
          WE AS UTILITIES, WE FRONT THE MONEY TO BUY THE COMMODITY. 
          OUR CUSTOMERS USE THE COMMODITY, AND IDEALLY THEY PAY US FOR THE AMOUNT OF THEY USE. 
          SO IN THIS PRESENTATION TODAY, WE'LL SEE HOW, UH, WE, WE HOPE THAT YOU'LL SEE HOW THE INTERCONNECTIVITY BETWEEN OUR FIELD OPERATIONS AND BUSINESS TEAMS BENEFITS LONG BEACH UTILITIES, OUR CUSTOMERS, AND ENSURES THAT WATER, GAS, AND SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE WORK SAFELY, SMOOTHLY AND WITHOUT FAIL. 
          AND TO PUNCTUATE THIS POINT, WE'RE 
          [00:35:01]
GOING TO HIGHLIGHT THE COLLECTION OF $13 MILLION IN DEBT THAT WAS OWED TO THIS UTILITIES AFTER YEARS OF NONPAYMENT DURING COVID-19. 
          SO LET'S START AT THE BEGINNING, PRE-MERGER AND PRE COVID. 
          LISA, CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT WITH US ABOUT HOW WE MANAGED DEBT PRIOR TO COVID AND WHAT THAT DEBT LOOKED LIKE? WELL, MANAGING THE DEBT PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC WAS EASY. 
          THE VOLUME THAT WE HAD DURING THE TIMEFRAME FOR ANYTHING OVER 60 DAYS WAS A HUNDRED, ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. 
          UH, GIVE OR TAKE, THREE TO 3000 TO 3,500 UTILITY ACCOUNTS THAT WAS PRE PANDEMIC. 
          SO REMEMBER THOSE TOYS, CAN YOU REPEAT THEM ONE MORE TIME? A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, THAT'S ESTIMATED ROUND. 
          UM, AND THEN ABOUT, UH, 3000 UTILITY ACCOUNTS RESIDENTIAL WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. 
          AND THAT WAS IT. 
          AND THAT WAS IT. 
          . 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          SO DURING COVID, MANY UTILITIES, INCLUDING LONG BEACH, CHOSE TO PAUSE FOR MASKS FOR NONPAYMENT. 
          AND WE DID THAT FOR GOOD REASON. 
          UM, IF YOU RECALL FROM ABOUT 2020 TO 20 22, 20 23, MANY PEOPLE WERE HURTING BUSINESSES CLOSED. 
          A LOT OF PEOPLE LOST THEIR JOBS. 
          UM, SOME PEOPLE UNFORTUNATELY ACCRUED A GOOD AMOUNT OF MEDICAL DEBT BECAUSE IT, MEDICAL ISSUES JUST GOT MORE DIFFICULT AND COMPLICATED TO DEAL WITH. 
          AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE COULD STAY IN THEIR HOMES, UM, HAVE SAFE WATER, SEWER, AND GAS. 
          AND SO WE ALLOWED PEOPLE TO CONTINUE RECEIVING SERVICES, UM, WITHOUT LATE FEES AND WITHOUT NONPAYMENT. 
          SO WHAT DID THAT DO TO OUR DEBT? THIS IS THE LINE. 
          SO HERE'S 2022, HERE'S 2023. 
          YOU'LL SEE, UM, VERY, UM, THESE ARE SOME SLOTS ARE NONPAYMENT, BUT THEY'RE FOR, UM, COMMERCIAL ONLY. 
          WE DID NO RESIDENTIAL TURNOFFS FOR NONPAYMENT, AND THAT RESULTED IN DEBT RISING. 
          SO LISA, CAN YOU TELL US, UM, AT THE HEIGHT OF OUR DEBT, WHICH WAS ABOUT $13 MILLION IN 2023 IN 2023, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? IT WASN'T PRETTY . 
          WE HAD ABOUT, OUR PEAK WAS FOR RESIDENTIAL UTILITY COUNTS WAS $13.1 MILLION. 
          AND I REMEMBER I MENTIONED FOR THE DEBT OVER 60 DAYS PRIOR WAS AT A HUNDRED THOUSAND. 
          SO WE NOW ARE AT 13.1 MILLION AND WE'RE SLIGHTLY OVER 13,000 RESIDENTIAL UTILITY ACCOUNTS WHO HAVE NOT PAID ON THE UTILITY ACCOUNT FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO TO TWO AND A HALF YEARS OF SERVICE. 
          AND THAT'S WHERE OUR STARTING POINT BEGAN IN ORDER TO DETERMINE WHICH WAY WE'RE GONNA GO DOWN THE PATH. 
          SO WE HAVE TWO SETS OF NUMBERS. 
          ANY QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, SO WE'RE AT $13 MILLION AND, AND THESE GUYS ARE SCREAMING AT US LIKE THIS CAN'T KEEP GOING, THIS CAN CAN'T CONTINUE. 
          BUT OF COURSE, WE HADN'T TURNED ANYONE OFF FOR SERVICE FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS AT THIS POINT. 
          SOME PEOPLE MOVED INTO LONG BEACH AND THIS WAS THEIR NORMAL DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS. 
          SOME PEOPLE HAVE LEFT THE CITY AND LEFT, THEY'RE DEAD. 
          AND SO WE HAD TO REALLY FIGURE OUT HOW WE WERE GOING TO RESUME THE SHUTOFFS FOR NON-PAYMENTS. 
          AND WE CHOSE THE WORD RESUME, UM, VERY COGNIZANTLY BECAUSE THIS WAS NOT NEW. 
          UM, AT ONE POINT WE DID SHUTOFFS FOR NON-PAYMENT, THEN COVID HAPPENED AND WE STOPPED. 
          SO ALL WE WERE DOING WAS RESUMING AN INDUSTRY PRACTICE THAT IS USED WIDELY. 
          AND, AND BY JUNE, 2023, MANY UTILITIES HAVE ALREADY BEGUN THIS. 
          SO RESUMPTION OF TURNOFFS FOR NON-PAYMENTS, WE STARTED WITH A ROBUST PUBLIC OUTREACH CAMPAIGN. 
          UM, WHEN WE WERE AT ABOUT THIS $13 MILLION DEBT, UH, WE PROVIDED CUSTOMERS WITH A HEADS UP THAT THEY WOULD NEED TO PAY THEIR DEBT, OTHERWISE OTHER UTILITY ACCOUNT HOLDERS, WHETHER YOU'RE STRUGGLING OR NOT STRUGGLING FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO WERE PAYING THEIR BILLS, THOSE PEOPLE WERE IN A WAY CARRYING THE DEBT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT. 
          AND THAT WAS, UM, NOT WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING AS A UTILITY. 
          SO KEEPING WITH THE THEME OF INTERCONNECTIVITY WITHIN THE UTILITIES, OUR PUBLIC AFFAIRS TEAM TOOK THE LEAD ON CREATING CONTENT FOR PUBLIC OUTREACH. 
          AND WE DID A LOT OF IT. 
          WE COORDINATED THE CITY COUNCIL OFFICES, WE PROVIDED SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLKITS FOR THE COUNCIL OFFICES TO USE THEM FOR OURSELVES. 
          WE DROPPED OFF PRINTED FLYERS AT COMMUNITY CENTERS AND LIBRARIES AND USING BILLING DATA, WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY ZIP CODES IN OUR CITY WHERE DEBT WAS THE HIGHEST. 
          AND WE CONDUCTED DIRECT OUTREACH IN THOSE LOCATIONS WITH GREATER INTENSITY IN AREAS WITH HIGHER SOUND SPEAKING CUSTOMERS. 
          AND WE USED CENSUS DATA TO CROSS REFERENCES INFORMATION. 
          WE PARTNERED WITH L CLASS, WE DID, UM, THOSE LITTLE WIRE RACK, UM, ADVERTISEMENTS, UM, TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY COULD CALL THE CALL CENTER AND REQUEST PAYMENT ASSISTANCE OR OTHERWISE SIGN UP FOR BILL PAYMENT PLANS TO AVOID SHUTOFF. 
          [00:40:01]
AND IN AREAS OF THE HIGHER DENSITY OF CAMBODIAN CUSTOMERS, WE WORKED DIRECTLY WITH THE UNITED CAMBODIAN COMMUNITY, WHICH IS THE TRUSTED COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION, UM, IN THAT AREA. 
          SO IN COORDINATION, UM, WITH, WITH THESE TRUSTED COMMUNITY BASED GROUPS, WE WERE ABLE TO REACH A NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS AND WE ACTUALLY HAD SOME CALL INTO THE CALL CENTER AND THEY SAID, WE KNEW THIS WAS REAL BECAUSE WE SAW IT ON AN OUT CLASS OF PETTA WHERE WE ACTUALLY SHOP FOR OUR GROCERIES. 
          AND SO IT WAS A TRUSTED PLACE AND A TRUSTED LANGUAGE. 
          UM, THEY CALLED THE NUMBER THAT WAS ON THAT FLYER AND THEY GOT REAL INFORMATION FROM A LIVE UTILITIES CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE. 
          SO, UM, WHAT DID THAT DO? THAT HAD THE EFFECT OF DRIVING DOWN SOME DEBT BECAUSE PEOPLE THEN KNEW THAT IF THEY DIDN'T PAY THEIR BILLS, THAT THEY WOULD, UM, POTENTIALLY BE SHUT OFF FOR NON-PAYMENT. 
          AND AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, EVEN BEFORE WE HAD IMPLEMENTED, UM, TOO MANY NEW SHUTOFFS FOR NON-PAYMENTS, THAT DEBT BEGAN TO DIMINISH SIMPLY FROM THAT MESSAGING ALONE AND THE NOTICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS THAT THEY DID HAVE TO PAY. 
          UM, AND, AND SO AS WE'RE NOTICING, OUR CUSTOMERS, LISA AND AND ERIC ARE HAVING SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW WE'RE FUNCTIONALLY GOING TO DO THIS BECAUSE WE HAD MORE ACCOUNTS THAN EVER THAT WERE IN, IN A REAR INCH AND A NUMBER OF NEW EMPLOYEES IN OUR GAS FIELD SERVICES TEAM. 
          SO ERIC, UM, HOW DID THIS IMPACT YOUR WORKLOAD IN THE FIELD? WELL, WE WORKED WITH, UH, LISA'S GROUP AND THE CALL CENTER GROUP BECAUSE, UH, WE ALL ARE IMPACTED WHEN WE DO THESE TURNOFFS BECAUSE THE BILLING SYSTEM DOES, CREATES THE BILL, PUTS THAT OUT. 
          UM, WE DO THE WORK AND THE CALL CENTER GETS THE TURN ON REQUESTS AND PAYMENT PROCESSING. 
          SO IT'S A VERY COMPLICATED SYSTEM, BUT WE ALL HAVE TO WORK IN, UM, TOGETHER TO BE ABLE TO NOT OVERLOAD ONE GROUP OR THE OTHER. 
          SO LISA'S GROUP WAS PROVIDING DATA FOR US, AND SHE WOULD GIVE US THRESHOLDS AT CERTAIN DOLLAR AMOUNTS, HOW MANY ACCOUNTS HELD INTO THAT, AND THEN WE WERE ABLE TO KIND OF TAKE AN ESTIMATE TO SEE HOW LONG IT WAS GONNA TAKE TO WORK. 
          UM, THE ORDERS AT, AT EACH, UM, THRESHOLD, SO THERE'S A SAYING WITH THE FIVE PS, PROPER PLANNING PROMOTES PEAK PERFORMANCE. 
          AND SO THAT WAS A LOT OF COORDINATION TO PROPERLY PLAN BETWEEN BILLING AND OUR CALL CENTER AND GAS SERVICES TEAM. 
          WE, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, FOR WORKPLACE CULTURE THAT WE WERE PROVIDING OUR EMPLOYEES WITH AN ACHIEVABLE WORKLOAD. 
          UM, AND THEN FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT IF THE CUSTOMER CHOSE AND WAS ABLE TO MAKE THEIR PAYMENT THAT THEY HAD, UM, TURN TURNOUT FOR THEIR SERVICE WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME AS AS WELL. 
          UM, SO IN FEBRUARY, 2024, THAT BRINGS US TO ABOUT HERE. 
          WE HAD BEGUN SHUTOUTS FOR NON-PAYMENT, BUT THEN, UH, WE HAD A SURPRISE , WE HAD A SURPRISE AND, AND WE GOT NEW STATE FUNDING TO PAY OFF SOME OF THIS DEBT. 
          SO THE STATE FUNDING, UM, WAS APPLIED TO DEBT THAT WAS, UM, THAT WAS PRIMARILY WATER DEBT AND IN SOME CASES GAS DEBT. 
          BUT IN ORDER FOR US, IT, IT, I, I SHOULD BACK UP. 
          IF WE TOOK THE MONEY, THEN WE COULD NOT TURN OFF THE ACCOUNTS THAT WERE EMERGES. 
          AND SO WE HAD THESE FITS AND STARTS , UH, WHERE WE WERE TELLING CUSTOMERS, WE'RE GONNA TURN YOU OFF, YOU DON'T PAY. 
          AND THEN WE MAGICALLY, BUT NOT MAGICALLY BECAUSE IT WAS STATE FUNDING, UM, I SUPPOSE WE, WE FORGAVE SOME OF THEIR DEBT AND WE SAID, WE'RE GONNA TURN YOU OFF ANYWAY IF YOU DON'T PAY THE REST OF YOUR DEBT . 
          SO IT WAS SLIGHTLY CONFUSING, IT WAS SLIGHTLY, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF, OF OF CHAOTIC SOMETIMES, UM, WITHIN THE WORK GROUPS, BUT THEY REALLY STUCK TOGETHER. 
          AND WHAT IT DID ALLOW US TO DO, UM, WAS, WAS REALLY PLAN. 
          SO WE WENT BACK AND WE LOOKED AT LISA'S DATA AND WE SAID, HOW ARE WE GONNA DO THIS IN A WAY THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE? WELL, SOME PEOPLE OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE YEARS ACCRUED UP TO $10,000 IN DEBT ON A SINGLE ACCOUNT. 
          AND SO WE SAID THOSE PEOPLE GET NO GRACE  AND WE ARE GOING TO START ON THOSE CUSTOMERS, UM, AS SOON AS WE BEGIN AGAIN. 
          AND SO WHEN ERIC SAYS WE WORKED ON THRESHOLDS, THAT'S WHAT HE REALLY MEANS. 
          IT WAS NOT BY SERVICE AREA, IT WAS BY AMOUNT OF DEBT OWE TO THIS DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, AND AND SO IN IN EARNEST IN APRIL, UM, I'M SORRY, FEBRUARY, 2024 WHEN DEBT HAD CRETS BACK UP TO ALMOST 12 MILLION BECAUSE WE HAD SUSPENDED SHUTOFFS FOR NONPAYMENT AGAIN. 
          AND WE FINALLY WERE ABLE TO REALLY AT THIS POINT RESUME SHUTOFFS FOR NONPAYMENT, WHICH, 
          [00:45:01]
UM, REPRESENTS, UM, WHICH THESE BARS HERE REPRESENTS. 
          SO PRIOR THE BARS, WARS, OR NON PAYMENTS WE'RE DOING. 
          AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE GET THE CORRESPONDING DECREASE IN DEBT AND DECREASE IN DEBT MEANS INCREASED REVENUE TO OUR DEPARTMENT OR INCREASED, UM, REVENUE OWED REALLY TO OUR DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, UH, SO TO WRAP IT UP HERE, UM, BY APRIL, 2025, SO JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO, UH, WE REACHED THE $500 LIMIT. 
          SO AS WE WERE DOING THE THRESHOLDS, $500, UM, WAS A PRETTY BIG TRANCHE OF, UM, ACCUMULATED DEBT THAT SOME PEOPLE HAD ACCRUED. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THIS LARGER, UM, BUMP HERE TODAY. 
          BUT THEN IN DECEMBER, UH, ACTUALLY, UH, I'M SORRY, UM, $500 IN DEBT AND NOW WE'RE CLOSER TO WHAT WE WERE PRE PANDEMIC. 
          AND SO LISA, I'M GONNA TURN YOU BACK TO WHERE WE ARE NOW ON DEBT MANAGEMENT. 
          SO AS DIANA MENTIONED, WE KEPT TRACK AND JUST SO WE ADD ON TO THE $500 DEBT ONE. 
          IN ADDITION, WE ALSO RECOGNIZED THAT PEOPLE WERE NOT RESTORING SERVICES. 
          SO, UH, WE WERE AT A LOWER THRESHOLD THAN WE ARE NOW. 
          AND UM, AT THAT TIME WE DECIDED TO PUSH MORE OF THE TURNOFFS OUT JUST A LITTLE BIT, JUST SO WE CAN TRY TO MAKE A DENT INTO THIS. 
          THE HIGHEST ARREARAGE AMOUNT THAT WE HAD WAS BETWEEN 500,000 BUCKS. 
          SO WE HAD TO SPLIT THAT IN HALF IN ORDER TO MEET  FOR F 5 25. 
          AND THEN BASED ON THAT  THAT WE CAN AS A TEAM, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT NOW, WE'RE AT 2.1 MILLION, WHICH IS STILL HIGHER THAN THAT A HUNDRED THOUSAND, BUT WE'RE DOWN TO ABOUT 2,500 RESIDENTIAL UTILITY ACCOUNTS. 
          90, I WOULD ESTIMATE 98% OF THE PANDEMIC DEBT IS PAID. 
          1 MILLION OF THAT 2.1 IS IN ACTIVE PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS. 
          SO THAT'S ABOUT 3000 RESIDENTIAL ACCOUNTS. 
          THE REST ARE JUST STANDALONE ACCOUNTS, UM, THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE AT OUR THRESHOLD. 
          AND JUST TO SHARE INTERNALLY WHAT OUR THRESHOLD IS, IT'S $150 PRE PANDEMIC. 
          WE TURNED OFF FOR 50, SO I DOUBT IT'LL EVER BE BACK TO $50 AGAIN. 
          UM, 150 SEEMS TO BE WORKING, IT'S OUR NORM. 
          IT'S MAINTAINING OUR REVENUE COMING IN. 
          SHUTOFF NOTICE IS VERY POWERFUL. 
          A LOT OF PEOPLE PAID BEFORE THE ACTUAL TURNOFF. 
          SO, UM, VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT WE DID AS A GROUP. 
          AND ERIC SUPERVISES A TEAM OF ABOUT 70 PEOPLE WHO DO, WHILE THEY'RE THEIR TECHNICAL, UM, CLASSIFICATION IS GAS FIELD SERVICE REP. 
          THEY DO WATER TURNOFFS AND GAS TURNOFFS AND GAS TURN ONS. 
          SO ERIC, UM, YOUR TEAM IS REALLY THE GROUP THAT'S OUT THERE IN THE FIELD DOING THE WORK. 
          SHARE A LITTLE BIT WITH US ABOUT HOW THIS PROCESS, UM, COORDINATION BETWEEN BILLING CALL CENTER AND YOUR TEAMS HAVE WORKED OVER THE YEARS AND HOW YOU THINK IT MIGHT GO FORWARD INTO THE FUTURE AS WELL. 
          WELL BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, UH, LAST FULL MONTH THAT WE DID TURNOFFS, UH, FOR NONPAYMENT WAS OCTOBER. 
          WE DON'T TURN OFF DURING THE HOLIDAYS AS A COURTESY. 
          SO THE LAST FULL MONTH WE DID, UM, NORMAL WORKLOAD WAS OCTOBER OF 2019 AND WE WERE DOING ABOUT 700 TURNOFFS A MONTH, UM, ROUGHLY 40 A DAY. 
          SO AS OF OCTOBER OF 2025, WE'RE AT 1,350 TURNOFFS A MONTH AND ROUGHLY 80 A DAY. 
          SO THAT HAS GREATLY IMPACTED OUR WORKFORCE. 
          UM, OUR NUMBERS ARE THE SAME AS FAR AS EMPLOYEES, BUT WE HAD SHIFTED THEM THROUGH OTHER, UM, TASKS WITHIN OUR WORK GROUP DURING THAT TIME. 
          SO GIVING 'EM ALL BACK, UM, TO THIS TURN OFF, TURN ON, UH, ROUTINE HAS HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE. 
          BUT THE BIGGEST PART OF THAT CHALLENGE IS PROBABLY 80% OF OUR WORKFORCE WASN'T EVEN HERE. 
          UM, IT'S SINCE 2020. 
          SO THEY'RE ALL BRAND NEW. 
          THEY'VE NEVER SEEN A TURNOFF FOR NONPAYMENT, THEY'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED, UM, THE FUNNESS OF SNEAKING INTO PEOPLE'S YARDS AND CUTTING . 
          WE DO OFFER BILL PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
          SO WHILE WE ARE DOING THIS TYPE OF OUTREACH IN THIS TYPE OF FIELD ACTIVITY, PUBLIC AFFAIRS IS OFFERING THE LB UTILITIES.ORG/BILLPAY. 
          UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL BILL PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, LOW INCOME ONE IS PROBABLY THE MOST ACCESSIBLE, UM, THROUGH THE STATE. 
          WE STILL DO OFFER UH, LIE HEAP, UM, AND LB CAP, UM, ADMINISTERS THAT PROGRAM FOR US. 
          SO THERE ARE STILL OPTIONS OUT THERE. 
          LEVEL PAY, WHICH 
          [00:50:01]
IS UM, A, A RESOURCE THAT YOU CAN NOW SEE ON YOUR, MY UTILITY PORTAL WILL HELP CUSTOMERS PLAN THEIR MONTHLY UTILITIES BILL A LITTLE BIT BETTER. 
          I THINK. 
          UM, SOME, THE ABILITY TO PLAN TO MEET A CERTAIN DOLLAR AMOUNT WE ARE HOPING WILL HELP PEOPLE BE ABLE TO, UM, MEET THEIR, THEIR OBLIGATIONS TO US FOR HAVING USE IN COMMODITIES. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THIS, FOR GOING ON THIS JOURNEY WITH US. 
          I KNOW THERE WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION ON THE SLIDE, BUT WE REALLY WANTED TO SHOW, UM, YOU HOW BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS WORK TOGETHER IN SERVICE OF OUR CUSTOMERS. 
          ANY QUESTIONS? ? AWESOME. 
          THANK YOU DIANA. 
          THAT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE. 
          THANK YOU TO YOUR TEAM AS WELL. 
          UH, I, I LIKE THE INTERACTION. 
          THAT'S GREAT. 
          UH, I'VE GOT A COUPLE QUESTIONS. 
          UM, UH, ONE IN REGARDS TO WRITING OFF BAD DEBTS. 
          SO YOU MENTIONED THAT, UH, THERE'S, THERE'S FOR SURE A GROUP OF FOLKS THAT UH, THAT JUST CUT AND LEFT TOWN WITH THEIR DEBTS. 
          UM, IS THERE ANY EFFORT TO TRY TO COLLECT FROM THEM OR ARE WE WRITING THOSE OFF OR, AND, AND WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S, HOW DO YOU ESTIMATE THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF OF THOSE FOLKS? WE FOLLOW THE CITY POLICY ON, ON DEBT MANAGEMENT. 
          AND SO THERE IS A COLLECTIONS PROCESS THAT THAT ENSUES. 
          UM, CITY FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT THROUGH COMMERCIAL SERVICES. 
          THEY GIVE IT A SHOP FIRST. 
          UM, AND IF THEY'RE UNSUCCESSFUL THEN THE CITY DOES HAVE A COLLECTIONS AGENCY THAT THEY USE TO TRY AND, UH, RECOUP THIS FUNDING AND, AND WE PARTICIPATE IN THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          IS THAT AMOUNT INCLUDED IN THE 2.18 MILLION, THE, THE FINAL NUMBER UP THERE? NO, IT'S NOT. 
          OKAY. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          THIS IS ONLY ON ACTIVE CURRENT ACTIVE SERVICES. 
          GOT IT. 
          UH, IS, DO YOU OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD KNOW WHAT THAT AMOUNT IS THAT'S GONE TO COLLECTION? NOT AT THIS POINT. 
          OKAY. 
          NO, OUR FOCUS POINT WAS THIS BECAUSE KEEP IN MIND DURING THE PANDEMIC WE, WE WERE REQUIRED TO HALT EVERYTHING CORRECT EFFORTS AND . 
          SO WE FINANCIAL BENEFITS DIANA SAID IS GOING TO START LOOKING INTO THAT DATA NOW THAT WE'RE CLEAR. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          GREAT. 
          AND THEN, UH, I'M JUST TRYING TO SQUARE THE, UH, THE TURN OFFS AND TURN ONS. 
          UH, IT JUST CONSISTENTLY ACROSS THE BOARD THERE'S MORE TURN OFFS THAN ONS. 
          UH, WE'RE CURRENTLY AT 75% OF ACTUAL CUSTOMERS RESTORING SERVICES. 
          SO WHAT WE FOUND OUT DURING THE PANDEMIC AND I, IT WAS AMAZING WHAT WE SAW 'CAUSE IT BROUGHT OUT THINGS THAT WE HAVEN'T EVER SEEN BEFORE. 
          AND A LOT OF THE TIMES THE PEOPLE JUST LEFT AND THEN BY THE TIME WE WERE READY TO START THE TERMINATION OF SERVICES, WE TURNED OFF AND WE NEVER HEARD FROM THAT CUSTOMER AGAIN. 
          SO THERE'S STILL QUITE A BIT OF GASPING THAT WAS LEFT ON PEOPLE NOT CALLING TO ACTUALLY DOING THE STOP SERVICES AND PEOPLE MOVING IN AND USING THAT SERVICE WITHOUT MAKING PROPER APPLICATION OF SERVICE. 
          SO YOU DON'T SEE THOSE FREE STORES AS PART OF OUR, OF OUR GRAPH BECAUSE, UM, THEY'RE NOT, WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T SEE THEM IN THAT THEY, WE HAVE OUR WAYS OF KEEPING TRACK OF WHAT'S BEING RESTORED FROM NONPAYMENT AND FALL INTO THIS ROOM. 
          SO A LOT OF, A LOT OF ABANDONMENT DURING THIS TIME. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT MAKES SENSE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THAT WAS PART OF, UM, OUR EFFORT WHEN WE WERE, UM, GOING THROUGH HOW MANY, UM, TURNOFFS THEY WERE GONNA TAKE AND, AND UM, AT WHAT DOLLAR AMOUNTS BECAUSE WE WERE FEARFUL OF THAT WORKLOAD THAT WOULD COME. 
          WE WERE EXPECTING MORE OF A ONE-TO-ONE RATIO, TURN SOME OF THESE COSTS OFF, TURN ONE BACK ON. 
          SO WE WERE, I'D SAY CAUTIOUS WITH NOT OVERBURDENING OURSELF, UH, WITH THAT. 
          BUT AS WE SAW THAT THE TURNOFFS, THAT THE TURNOFFS WEREN'T COMING IN AFTER THE TURNOFF, WE WERE ABLE TO LOWER THOSE, UM, THRESHOLDS A LOT SOONER THAN WE ORIGINALLY EXPECTED. 
          SO DO WE, UH, AT SOME POINT EXPECT TO GO BACK TO A ONE FOR ONE TURNOFF TURN ON? IS THAT, IS THAT THE HISTORICAL NORMAL? IT WASN'T QUITE ONE-TO-ONE, BUT IT WAS A LOT CLOSER. 
          OKAY. 
          AND, UM, WE'RE STILL PRETTY FRESH INTO OUR LOWEST, UM, THRESHOLD OF $150. 
          UM, I THINK WE'RE ONLY TWO MONTHS INTO THAT AND WE'RE STILL, UM, QUITE BUSY. 
          BUT WE ALSO HIT THAT $150 THRESHOLD AT THE HOLIDAYS WHERE WE DO A LOT OF, UM, WE SEE DOING TURNOFFS, YOU KNOW, FOR CUR CUSTOMER COURTESY. 
          UM, WE'RE GONNA BE SHUT OFF NOT DOING TURNOFFS FOR TWO WEEKS THIS MONTH AND WE WON'T START AGAIN UNTIL JANUARY. 
          SO, UM, I THINK IT'S GONNA TAKE A COUPLE MONTHS AFTER THAT TO REALLY SEE UM, HOW THINGS BALANCE OUT FOR THE FUTURE AND WHAT OUR WORK WORKLOAD LOOKS LIKE. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          SO THERE'S A LOT OF IMPORTANT DETAIL IN THE QUESTION YOU ASKED AND I JUST WANNA ASK OUTTA CURIOSITY. 
          IN THE WAY YOU WERE DELIVERING THE PRESENTATION YOU DESCRIBED, WHICH I UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETIMES THERE IS A NOTICE TO SHUT OFF, SOMETIMES THERE'S AN ORDER TO SHUT OFF AND IN THE NOTICE AN ORDER TO SHUT OFF KNOWING 
          [00:55:01]
THAT THAT'S IMMINENT THE CUSTOMER PAYS. 
          SO IS IS THE GRAPH ACTUAL PHYSICAL TURNOFFS OR IS IT THE REQUEST TO TURN OFF OR THE NOTICE TO DISPATCH ACCRUE? SO THESE ARE ACTUAL, UM, UH, TURNOFFS OF ETHICS AND AND THAT'S WHY WHEN WE, WE SENT OUT THE NOTICES, UM, PROBABLY AT THE HEIGHT, SO FEBRUARY AND EVEN FOR, WE DON'T DO TURN OFFS FOR ANOTHER TWO MONTHS BECAUSE WE DO THE, IS IT THE 30 DAY AND 15 DAY NOTICES? IF THEY QUALIFY? IF THEY QUALIFY, UM, IT'S A 30 15 DAY NOTICE. 
          THAT'S WHY WE ARE SEEING A DECREASE IN A REAR JUST EVEN BEFORE WE BEGIN. 
          RIGHT. 
          THE TURN OFF. 
          THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING 'CAUSE I, I UNDERSTOOD THE NATURE OF YOUR QUESTION IS THAT IF, IF THE METER IS THERE AND THE CUSTOMER IS THERE, THEN THE TURNOFF SHOULD ACTUALLY MATCH THE TURN TURNON IF THE GRAPH IS ACTUAL PHYSICAL TURNOFFS AND NOT ORDERS TO TURN OFF. 
          THESE ARE PHYSICAL? NO, THESE ARE PHYSICAL TURNOFFS. 
          NOT EVERY MORE PEOPLE DID NOT CALL BACK FOR TURNONS THAN WE EXPECTED. 
          GOT IT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I HAVE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS AND ANY, I GOT A QUESTION. 
          QUESTION. 
          IS THERE A CORRELATION OF INCREASES IN NON-PAYMENT? UM, WITH THE RATE INCREASES WE STARTED, WHICH WERE PHASED IN? I'M GONNA SAY NO. 
          OKAY. 
          THESE WERE OUR TURNOFFS THAT WE DID WERE TRUE PEOPLE WHO JUST DIDN'T PAY. 
          I MEAN THEY WENT WHEN WE STARTED, I INDICATED THERE WAS PEOPLE WHO HADN'T PAID FOR THREE YEARS, TWO AND A HALF YEARS, EIGHT MONTHS. 
          IT WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DIFFERENT PERIODS OF TIME WITH NO PAYMENT. 
          SO, UM, AND I KNOW WE HAD SOME RATE INCREASES IN THERE SO IT, I DIDN'T SEE THAT IN THE DATA. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT'S INTERESTING. 
          PERSONALLY SPEAKING. 
          AND I SENT JENNIFER A SCREENSHOT OF MY UTILITY BILL LAST NIGHT AND I PAY MORE FOR MY REFUSE THAN I DO FOR MY GAS MONEY. 
           UH, COMMISSIONER AUSTIN, SHE ASKED MY QUESTION. 
          OH. 
          OH DID I THANK YOU RATING FOR YOU. 
          THANK YOU DIANA. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          UM, I APPRECIATE THE, THE INTERACTION UM, THAT YOU BROUGHT LISA AND ERIC ON. 
          UM, I LOVE THE FACT THAT YOU FOCUSED ON THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERCONNECTIVITY, WHICH WAS VERY OBVIOUS. 
          UM, YOU TWO MAKE IT LOOK. 
          I'M SURE GOING FROM THAT POINT TO THAT POINT WASN'T, BUT WE DON'T SEE ALL THE THINGS YOU WENT THROUGH. 
          UM, YOUR ABILITY TO PIVOT WHEN YOU GOT THE STATE FUNDING, I'M SURE IT'S MADE YOU SCRAMBLE A LITTLE BIT AND UM, SO I APPRECIATE THAT YOU HAD TO LIKE KIND OF REVAMP AND GET YOUR WORD OUT. 
          UM, THE MESSAGING AND GOING INTO THE COMMUNITY INTO MARKETS AND THINGS LIKE THAT IN THEIR LANGUAGE EXTREMELY ADDRESSES THE TRUST ISSUE I THINK BECAUSE I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY DURING THESE TIMES, THEY DON'T KNOW WHO TO TRUST AND IF YOU'RE BEING SCAMMED AND THAT SORT OF THING. 
          UM, SO I APPRECIATE THE TEAM APPROACH THE OUTREACH EFFORTS. 
          TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LEVEL PAY PLAN. 
          IS THAT SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ARE TAKING UM, ADVANTAGE OF OR IS IT NOT? I WOULD SAY PEOPLE ARE TAKING MORE ADVANTAGE OF MAKING ARRANGEMENTS TO PAY MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS AND LEVEL PAY IS JUST LEVELIZING YOUR BUDGET. 
          NOW WE DO HAVE QUITE A FEW OUR ON TIME, BUT UM, MORE PEOPLE LOOK FOR THE, UH, TO AN, AN ARRANGEMENT THAT BEST FITS THEIR NEEDS ON A MONTHLY AND NOT ALL THE TIMES DOES LEVEL PAY DO THAT. 
          SO, BUT THE ARRANGEMENTS BEGAN BECAUSE THERE, AT THIS TIME WE WERE EXTENDING PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS OUT TO THREE YEARS IN ORDER TO TO MEET THAT NEED. 
          YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU OWE US SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS AND THAT'S A LOT FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE AND THEY COULDN'T PAY, YOU KNOW, $300 A MONTH IN ADDITION TO THE CURRENT BILL. 
          SO WE'VE LOWER IT TO BEST FITS THEIR NEEDS AT THAT POINT. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT . 
          SO DO YOU THINK IT'S LEVEL PAY PLAN MORE OF A CONVENIENCE FOR PEOPLE THAT JUST DON'T WANNA HAVE TO DEAL WITH, YOU KNOW, THE THE BUDGET, THEY'LL JUST PAY IT 'CAUSE THEY CAN AFFORD IT, THEY PUT IT ON LEVEL PAY AND IT'S EASY IN TERMS OF CONVENIENCE? IS THAT WHAT YOU FIND? THAT THAT IS? UM, THAT IS THE HOPE. 
          AND BEFORE THE MY UTILITY PORTAL, UM, YOU HAD TO CALL THE CALL CENTER TO EXPLORE THIS CONCEPT OF A LEVEL PAY. 
          BUT NOW WITH THE MY UTILITY PORTAL, YOU CAN GO IN IN THERE AND YOU CAN LOOK AT IT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO UM, CLICK I ACCEPT OR ENGAGE, BUT YOU CAN AT LEAST VIEW IT AND, AND THINK ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU LIKE THIS IDEA. 
          UM, AND WE'RE HOPING THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE THAT IF THEY PAY THIS CERTAIN AMOUNT. 
          AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU PUT IT ON AUTO PAY, THEN AS LONG AS IT'S IN YOUR PERSONAL BUDGET AND, AND IT IS, UM, YOUR, YOUR YOUR BANK ACCOUNT IS ACCURATE AND CURRENT, THEN IT WILL JUST BECOME PART OF YOUR DAILY OR MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD COSTS. 
          UM, AND YOU CAN TREAT IT MORE LIKE A FIXED COST RATHER THAN SOMETHING THAT'S FLUCTUATING. 
          THAT'S INTERESTING. 
          SO SOME PEOPLE ARE DO AUTO PAY AND THEY JUST, IT 
          [01:00:01]
IT GETS PAID AUTOMATICALLY. 
          WHICH IS INTERESTING BECAUSE THERE WAS A REAL INDICATION OF, IN OUR, IN OUR CITY PEOPLE THAT CAN'T PAY AND ARE TRYING TO SCRAPE IT TOGETHER, IT JUST DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT AND PAY IT ON A MONTHLY BASIS. 
          DO WE HAVE THOSE NUMBERS? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S EASILY IDENTIFIED? 'CAUSE IT'S REAL IN, IT'S A REAL SNAPSHOT IN THE FINGERPRINT OF OURS CITY, WE ARE ACTUALLY LOOKING INTO THAT DATA. 
          I DON'T KNOW IF YOU SAW THE, UM, OPINION PIECE IN THE LA TIMES TODAY ABOUT WHAT IS AFFORDABILITY, UM, WHAT IS POVERTY, WHAT IS LOW INCOME? AND AND DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES WILL HAVE DIFFERENT IDEAS OF WHAT THAT THRESHOLD, UH, IS. 
          AND SO AS WE ARE ADVOCATING FOR, UH, MAINTAINING LOW RATES IN OUR CITY, ESPECIALLY ON THE GAS SIDE, UM, WHICH IS THE MARKET BASED COMMODITY, THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AT A MORE GRANULAR, GRANULAR LEVEL SO THAT WE CAN SPEAK ACCURATELY TO THE INFORMATION. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          VERY GOOD. 
          AND JUST A QUICK, DIANE, WHEN WE GOT THE MONEY STATE, WAS THAT FOR JUST FOR GAS? I THINK YOU SAID THIS, BUT JUST FOR GAS OR JUST WATER? AND THEN HOW DID YOU DETERMINE HOW TO ALLOCATE OVER ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO OWED US MONEY? I'M GONNA HAND THIS OVER TO LISA MARTINEZ. 
          THIS WAS THE, THIS WAS THE FUN PART 'CAUSE IT WAS VERY CHALLENGING. 
          UM, WE RECEIVED, UH, APPROXIMATELY 5.3 MILLION IN, UH, FEDERAL FUNDING AND STATE FUNDING. 
          BUT THE BULK OF THE FUNDING WENT TOWARDS ENERGY, WHICH WAS GAS AND A PORTION OF IT WENT TOWARDS WATER. 
          AND THE AUTO, THE STATE AND FEDERAL SET UP THE RULES. 
          WE JUST NEEDED TO ALL OF 'EM, UH, APPLY FOR THE GRANT, RECEIVE THE GRANT, POST IT BY A CERTAIN TIME. 
          AND IT WAS ANYBODY WHO HAD THE ARREARAGES UP UNTIL A CERTAIN TIMEFRAME. 
          THE VERY FIRST TIME THAT WE DID IT, UH, IT, IT TOOK FOREVER TO GET THE FUNDING AND THAT'S WHAT REALLY PUSHED US BACK FROM, FROM WHY OUR DEBT PILED UP. 
          AND THEN THE SECOND TIME WE GOT IT WAS FASTER AND IT WAS TO FINISH OUT THE PANDEMIC PERIOD FOR UP TO END OF 2021. 
          SO THE FEDERAL FUNDING PAID ANYTHING UP FROM MARCH 4TH, 2020 THROUGH THE END OF 2021. 
          BUT THE LAST OF THAT MONEY DIDN'T COME IN UNTIL WE WERE GETTING READY TO START . 
          SO THAT'S HOW LONG IT TOOK. 
          BUT THAT'S HOW FOLLOWED THEIR NAMES. 
          AND I'D BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE ED FERRELL, WHO WOULD BE STANDING UP HERE A WEEK AGO. 
          HE RECENTLY RETIRED AS DIRECTOR OF GUEST SERVICES. 
          AND THEN I FAILED TO ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE DANIEL EZ, WHO'S OUR ACTING MANAGER OF GAS SERVICES, REPORTING TO ERIC. 
          I THINK LISA JUST ASKED ME IF WE COULD ALSO RECOGNIZE MARIBEL, WHO IS NOT STANDING HERE TODAY, BUT SHE'S KIND OF THE THIRD LEG TO THIS STOOL THAT COORDINATED AND CONNECTED ALL THIS. 
          OH, LISA WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE MERGER WHEN, SO I JUST WANNA SAY, YOU KNOW, I CAME FROM FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 
          THAT'S WHERE BILLING WAS HOUSED. 
          WE WERE ABSORBED BY A GAS AND OIL BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT WAS CALLED AT THE TIME. 
          AND THEN WE HAD THIS MERGER DOING THIS REALLY OPENED OUR EYES. 
          YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S OUT THERE UNTIL SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS. 
          THERE'S NO POLICY, THERE'S NO, NOTHING WILL FALL BACK ON. 
          IT'S TRIAL AND ERROR. 
          WHAT'S GONNA WORK WORKS BEST FOR OUR TEAM. 
          WE MERGED DURING THE HEIGHT OF THIS AND, AND THAT MERGER MADE OUR DECISIONS SO MUCH EASIER. 
          PRIOR TO THAT, WE HAD TO GO TO TWO SEPARATE ENTITIES IN ORDER TO GET THESE DECISIONS. 
          I'VE ALWAYS WORKED WITH ERICA. 
          WE REALLY ESTABLISHED A STRONGER RELATIONSHIP BECAUSE OF THE MERGER. 
          AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY THE MERGER REALLY, REALLY HELPED OUR DECISION MAKINGS EXPEDITE OUR DECISION MAKINGS AND JUST HELP STREAMLINE THE WHOLE PROCESS SO MUCH EASIER. 
          THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO SAY ABOUT CONVERSION. 
          THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THAT UP. 
          THAT IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE, THAT, THAT WE WANT TO CONTINUE FOCUSING ON FOR THE NEXT YEAR AND, AND OUT IS THE BENEFITS OF THE MERGER AND HOW WE CAN TRANSLATE THAT TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS IN THE CITY. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT. 
          I WANNA THANK DIANA TOO. 
          A LOT OF OUR DATA HERE DIDN'T HAVE ZIP CODES IN IT. 
          WE USED ALL KINDS OF STUFF THAT PERFECT. 
          WE DID THE ZIP CODES AND THE ZIP CODES IS WHAT REALLY HELPED IDENTIFY THE AREAS FOR OUTREACH, BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO SEE WHAT OUR TOP ZIP CODES WERE IN THIS SITUATION. 
          GREAT. 
          GOOD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          GOOD CHAT. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          NEXT UP IS STEPHANIE RIGHT NOW 
          [01:05:02]
TO ORGANIZERS AND COLLEAGUES. 
          UM, I HAVE THE GREAT PLEASURE PRESENTING TO YOU TODAY ARE FISCAL YEAR 2025 ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR FINANCE AND INFORMATION SERVICES. 
          BUT BEFORE I JUMP RIGHT IN, I'D LIKE TO GIVE CREDIT WORK CREDIT IS DUE AND THAT IS RECOGNIZING MY STAFF. 
          UM, WE ARE A FINANCE TEAM, A VERY SMALL ONE. 
          UM, AND SO I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE DANIEL GUTIERREZ, MANAGER OF BUDGET IN RATES. 
          HE'S BEEN WITH THE DEPARTMENT FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS, UM, AND SOME CHANGE. 
          UH, ALVIN LAMB IN THE BACK OVER THERE, DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SERVICES. 
          HE HAS BEEN WITH US FOR A LITTLE OVER SIX MONTHS. 
          AND LASTLY, WE HAVE MATTHEW FREYA, OUR ACCOUNTING MANAGER, WHO JUST STARTED WITH US ABOUT TWO MONTHS AGO. 
          HE'S STILL HERE. 
          UM, AND SO I WANT, I BELIEVE THAT JUST RECRUITING THEM ALONG, THE TWO OF THEM THIS YEAR ARE NOTEWORTHY ACCOMPLISHMENTS BECAUSE THEY JUMPED RIGHT IN AND WERE ABLE TO, UH, ABSORB EVERYTHING VERY QUICKLY. 
          THE UTILITIES IS A VERY COMPLEX ORGANIZATION AND THEY TOOK IT BY THE REINS. 
          WORKED ON A BUNCH OF RECRUITMENTS AS WELL AS VARIOUS PROJECTS. 
          UH, I'D ALSO LIKE TO RECOGNIZE, BECAUSE I KNOW I HAVE A FEW OF THEM IN THE ROOM, UH, SOME OF MY EMPLOYEES, SO I KNOW I HAVE MATTHEW P RIGHT HERE, OR MATTHEW TI HAVE ELI GEORGE IN THE BACK. 
          I THINK I SAW ABE EARLIER, DEANNA AND AARON. 
          SO THEY'RE ALL AROUND THE ROOM. 
          OUR TEAM, WERE, WE'RE USUALLY BEHIND THE SCENES, SO, UH, IT'S REALLY GREAT THAT THEY'RE HERE TODAY. 
          BUT WE ALSO HAVE A TEAM THAT IS NOT HERE YET, BUT THEY'LL BE JOINING US LATER TODAY. 
          AND THESE ARE ALL OF THE FOLKS WHO CONTRIBUTE TO OUR TEAM'S OVERALL PERFORMANCE. 
          ALRIGHT, LET'S JUMP RIGHT IN. 
          SO WE HAVE, UM, OUR FINANCE, I'VE BROKEN IT UP BY FINANCE AND THEN FOLLOWED BY INFORMATION SERVICES AND ORGANIZED, UH, ACCORDING TO THE FOUR OBJECTIVES OF THE BUSINESS PLAN. 
          SO THE FIRST ONE IS, UM, OUR CUSTOMER. 
          WE'VE DEVELOPED BENCHMARKING COMPARISONS AND PROVIDED VARIOUS GREAT SCENARIOS TO THE BOARD FOR THE FY 26 BUDGET RATE ADOPTION IN CONSIDERATION AND IMPACTS TO CUSTOMERS. 
          SO WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE WAS SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, UH, WE WORKED VERY, UH, TIRELESSLY TOGETHER AS THE BOARD, UH, AND FINANCE TEAM IN DEVELOPING THE BUDGET, LOOKING AT VARIOUS GREAT SCENARIOS, COMPARING OURSELVES TO OTHER WATER AND SEWER AGENCIES, AS WELL AS SOCAL GAS. 
          AND THAT WAS, THAT GAVE US THE ABILITY TO MAKE PRT DECISIONS, UH, AROUND HOW WE PROVIDE, UH, CLEAN, SAFE, RELIABLE RESOURCE, UH, UTILITY RESOURCES TO OUR CUSTOMERS. 
          AND IN DOING SO, UH, YOU CAN SEE, UH, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT WERE HERE IN THE BUDGET CYCLE, UH, OUR INFOGRAPHIC OF OUR BALANCED BUDGET. 
          SO WE SUCCESSFULLY PREPARED THE BALANCED BUDGET FOR FY 26 WHILE AIMING TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE, UM, RESERVES. 
          AND THAT STARTS WITH, BEFORE WE RAISE RATES, WE LOOK AT OUR COST CONTROLS, WHAT ARE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO, TO MINIMIZE AND BE A LITTLE MORE EFFICIENT WITH OUR COSTS AND AS WELL AS EFFICIENCY IN PROCEDURES AND INCREASING YOUR PRODUCTIVITY. 
          THEN WE HAVE DEBT MANAGEMENT. 
          AND DEBT MANAGEMENT IS REALLY A, A VERY GOOD TOOL FOR US TO BE ABLE TO SPREAD COSTS OVER TIME RATHER THAN BURNING TODAY'S RATE PAYERS. 
          SO THIS GIVES US THE FINANCIAL, FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY, UH, TO INCREASE OUR, OUR RESERVES AS WELL AS BUILD OUR FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY. 
          AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, UNDER FINANCIAL, WE PREPARED OUR, UH, FISCAL YEAR, UH, AUDIT AND ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR UNIFIED FINANCIAL REPORTING. 
          AND THIS MAY SEEM LIKE A BOOK, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU GUYS ALL GET A COPY OF, BUT THE REASON WHY IMPORTANT, UH, PRESIDENT SCOTT IS A BIG FAN OF IT. 
          HE CODED ME ON ONE PAGE, UH, AND I HAD TO FIND IN RESEARCH, BUT IT, THE REASON WHY IT'S IMPORTANT IS THAT TO HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, TO BE A UNIFIED, UM, DEPARTMENT, WE ARE ONE OF THE FEW. 
          SO THE CITY HAS ITS OWN SEPARATE INDIVIDUAL ACTER AND WE HAVE OURS. 
          SO IT SUPPLEMENTS WHAT THE CITY HAS AND IT PROVIDES MORE CLEAR INFORMATION. 
          IT ALLOWS US TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE TO OUR FINANCIALS BECAUSE WE ARE THE FISCAL STEWARD OF THE RATE PAYER MONEY. 
          UH, IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO LOOK PRETTY GOOD TO CREDIT RATE, UH, RAIDERS AND AGENCIES. 
          AND THAT ALLOWS US TO BORROW MONEY IN THE LONG TERM. 
          THAT'S, YEAH, FOR, THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. 
          ALRIGHT, MOVING ON TO INTERNAL OPERATIONS. 
          UH, WE LIKE TO CALL OURSELVES FINANCIAL STORYTELLERS, AND WE NEED THE DASHBOARDS TO MONITOR OUR KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS IN QUOTE TIME. 
          AND THIS, UH, LOOKING AT THE 10 YEARS AS WE, AS ANNA TOLD, CALLS IT THE 10 FINANCIAL MODEL, IT IS LIKE OUR CRYSTAL BALL INTO THE FUTURE. 
          AND WHEN WE COME TO YOU AND WE'RE ASKING FOR YOU TO MAKE DECISIONS, IT ALLOWS US TO, TO MODEL OUT VARIOUS SCENARIOS. 
          SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE, IT'S JUST FOR, 
          [01:10:01]
UM, ILLUSTRATED PURPOSES, UH, BUT THIS SHOWS THE CHANGES OF COST OVER TIME. 
          SO YOU CAN SEE PRETTY LARGE THINGS, UH, IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS. 
          UM, AND THIS COULD BE FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COSTS, UM, AND ANY OTHER OVERHEAD. 
          UH, ALSO, UH, WE LIKE, WE LIKE OUR DASHBOARDS. 
          SO FOR US TO VISUALLY SEE THE RAW DATA IN SOMETHING THAT HELPS US MAKE DECISIONS, WE INCORPORATED AN ORGANIZATIONAL CHART TO PARTNER WITH OUR HR TEAM AND MANAGE POSITION CONTROL AS WELL AS, UM, PERSONNEL, LABOR COSTS AND . 
          AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE HAVE WORKPLACE CULTURE. 
          SO WE ENGAGE IN CONTINUOUS, UH, ENGAGEMENT THROUGH TEAM MEETINGS, ONE-ON-ONES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, CROSS TRAINING, EQUITY DISCUSSIONS, AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF FEEDBACK. 
          SO A FEW THINGS THAT, UM, I ENCOURAGE IS, YOU KNOW, JUST 360 FEEDBACK, COMMUNICATION, ALL, ALL AROUND. 
          UH, IF YOU KNOW HOW I AM AND WHAT MY TEAM IS LIKE, I'M VERY BIG ON WORKPLACE CULTURE. 
          TO ME, WORKPLACE CULTURE, THESE ARE ALL TRANSACTIONAL THINGS. 
          BUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS GIVING PEOPLE A SENSE OF BELONGING IN THE WORKPLACE BECAUSE THAT ALLOWS THEM TO FOCUS ON THE WORK THAT THAT'S AT, YOU KNOW, AND TO NOT BE DISTRACTED BY ANYTHING ELSE. 
          AND THEY CAN BE MORE PRODUCTIVE AND HAPPY. 
          NO ONE WANTS TO WAKE UP AND NOT HAVE TO GO TO WORK, YOU KNOW, THAT DAY. 
          SO, UH, WE ENCOURAGE A LOT OF TEAM BUILDING, TEAMWORK, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. 
          I HAVE, UH, AN EMPLOYEE WHO'S CURRENTLY DANIEL, WHO'S IN LEADERSHIP LONG BEACH. 
          UM, WE OFFER OTHER AVENUES TOO. 
          WHENEVER I SEE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH, UM, C-S-M-F-O OR GFOA, UH, WE ENCOURAGE STAFF TO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE TWO BECAUSE, UM, THOSE TYPES OF ADVANCEMENTS KIND OF GET YOU OUT OF THE DAY-TO-DAY WORKFLOW, BUT KIND OF GETS YOU TO SEE OTHER, OTHER ASPECTS TOO, FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. 
          MOVING ON TO INFORMATION SERVICES FOR, FOR INFORMATION SERVICES. 
          WHEN WE LOOK AT THE CUSTOMER, IT'S THE CUSTOMER, IT OUR, OUR STAFF, OUR EMPLOYEES, THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE, UH, TECHNOLOGY NEEDS. 
          SO, UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS IMPROVE HELP DESK OPERATIONS, INTERDEPARTMENT COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATION, OFFERING FASTER RESOLUTIONS THROUGH APPROPRIATE STAFFING LEVELS AND TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS. 
          UH, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IS, UH, WHAT ALVIN HAD DONE IS IMPLEMENTED A, AN ABILITY TO REMOTE, SO REMOTE HEALTH DESK, ESSENTIALLY. 
          SO WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT CAMPUSES, AS YOU MAY ALREADY KNOW. 
          WE HAVE ONE AT THE TREATMENT PLANT. 
          WE HAVE THE SPRING CAMPUS WARDLOW, AND OUR TEAM IS PRIMARILY LOCATED AT OUR ADMIN BUILDING AT WARDLOW. 
          SO THEY USUALLY HAVE TO GRAB A CAR TO HELP SOMEONE, BUT NOW WHAT THEY'RE ABLE TO DO IS REMOTE IN AND HELP THEM VIRTUALLY. 
          UM, AND SO THAT PROVIDES FASTER RESOLUTIONS AND GETTING PEOPLE BACK TO WORK AND, UM, WORKING ON THEIR, THEIR DAY JOBS. 
          UM, WE'VE ALSO WORKED MORE HAND IN HAND WITH OUR, UH, FIELD WORKERS OR FIELD TEAMS. SO THAT IS BRIDGING THE GAP OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SIDE TO OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY. 
          UM, AND FROM WHAT I HEAR, IT'S BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL BUILDING OUR, OUR TEAM AND, UH, GETTING PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND HAVING MORE OF A IT FLUENCY AND WHY, WHY DATA IS IMPORTANT. 
          UM, FIN FOR FINANCIAL, WE'VE IDENTIFIED COST OF OPERATIONS, EFFICIENCIES AND POTENTIAL SAVINGS BY REASSESSING CONTRACT TERMS AND RATES WITH VENDORS. 
          AND THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WHAT TECHNOLOGY AND  DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS MAXIMIZING THE USEFUL LIFE OF HARDWARE. 
          AND WE WERE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO SO. 
          ALVIN, WHEN HE FIRST STARTED, WENT THROUGH ALL OF THE VENDORS THAT, UH, WE HAVE, WE WORK WITH. 
          AND HE WAS TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO MAXIMIZE, UH, OUR BUSINESS WITH THEM IN RENEGOTIATING RATES. 
          AND THEY DON'T WANNA LOSE OUR BUSINESS. 
          SO THEY WERE WILLING TO DO SOME, SOME INSTANCES. 
          UH, WE ALSO ARE WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH OUR, UH, PARTNERS AT TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION DEPARTMENT. 
          THEY STILL SUPPORT US, UH, FOR A VARIETY OF IT NEEDS. 
          WE'RE STILL CONNECTED TO THE REST OF THE CITY. 
          UM, SO WE ARE TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO SPREAD, STREAMLINE, AND IMPROVE OUR PARTNERSHIP WHERE WE CAN TAKE ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE USED TO RELY ON 'EM FOR, UH, AND THEN CONTINUE TO ASK THEM TO DO OTHER THINGS THAT WE JUST DON'T HAVE DOWN THE CAPACITY TO DO, OR SMALL BUT MIGHTY, UM, IS TEAM. 
          AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, UH, WITH THE EXISTING HARDWARE, UM, WE'VE HAD HARDWARE THAT'S JUST SURPLUS. 
          WE, UH, YOU KNOW, OR IT'S OLD AND WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIND USE FOR IT, BUT, UH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REPURPOSE 'EM, UH, CREATE BACKUP STORAGE, UM, USE THEM FOR TESTING FOR OUR NEWER, UM, INTERNS. 
          AND, AND SO WE'RE MAXIMIZING THE LIFE OF THOSE ITEMS, THOSE ASSETS FOR INTERNAL OPERATIONS. 
          [01:15:01]
THE BACKBONE OF, UH, THE IS TEAMS INTERNAL OPERATIONS IS, IS CYBERSECURITY, RIGHT? SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND DATA MAINTAINS A SENSE OF INTEGRITY AND PREVENT IT FROM ANY THREAT. 
          SO IT'S, THIS IS MORE ABOUT BEING PROACTIVE RATHER THAN REACTIVE. 
          UH, WE'VE IMPLEMENTED RISK MITIGATION TOOLS, INCLUDING ENDPOINT SECURITY, VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT TOOLS AND BACKUPS TO OUR SYSTEM WITH DISASTER RECOVERY TO ENHANCE CYBER SECURITY RESILIENCE. 
          ESSENTIALLY, YOU DON'T WANNA HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT THIS, RIGHT? IF THINGS ARE GOING WELL, THERE'S NO NOISE IN THIS SPACE. 
          AND LASTLY, WE HAVE WORKPLACE CULTURE, AGAIN, CULTIVATING AN ENVIRONMENT OF ONGOING LEARNING, TEACHING, CROSS TRAINING AND IDEA SHARING TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND SECURITY KNOWLEDGE. 
          UH, I THINK IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE BEFORE I STARTED OVERSEEING INFORMATION SERVICES, I CAN GO TO ANYONE IN THE TEAM ABOUT ANYTHING. 
          UH, BUT THERE IT'S VERY UNIQUE AND NICHE. 
          SO WE HAVE OUR, OUR MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SERVICES, AND WE ALSO HAVE OUR GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SERVICES TEAMS. AND EVEN WITHIN EACH ONE, THERE ARE RESPECTIVE RESPONSIVE AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY AND KNOWLEDGE. 
          SO WE HAVE FOLKS WHO ARE MORE, UH, KNOWLEDGEABLE AND EXPERTS IN THE NETWORK SERVER SIDE, AND THEN OTHERS WHO ARE HELP DESK. 
          SO FOR US, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT SINCE WE ARE A SMALLER TEAM, TO BE ABLE TO, TO EXPLORE CROSS TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AND GIVE PEOPLE A CHANCE TO, TO EXPAND IN THEIR PROFESSIONAL CAREERS. 
          AND WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 
          I'M HAPPY YOU TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. 
          EXCELLENT. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH, STEPHANIE. 
          UH, THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING CYBERSECURITY. 
          IT'S ALWAYS THE TOP OF MY LIST, UM, FOR SURE. 
          UH, AND, UH, I KNOW YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE YOUR WORK CUT OUT FOR YOU COMING UP IN THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS WITH THE BUDGET. 
          UH, IT SEEMS LIKE BUDGET SEASON GETS LONGER AND STARTS EARLIER EVERY SINGLE YEAR. 
          MAYBE IT'S JUST ME, BUT, UH, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A HUGE LIFT, UH, FOR YOUR TEAM, ESPECIALLY, UH, IN LIGHT OF CLOSING OUT, UH, OUR, OUR FAST FISCAL YEAR AND, AND, UH, THEN BUDGETING AND THEN JUST MAINTAIN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM. 
          SO GOOD LUCK ON THAT AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE FROM YOU. 
          I KNOW YOU'LL BE AROUND QUITE A BIT. 
          THIS IS THE FIRST YOU'LL SEE ME. 
          I WAS TELLING COMMISSIONER AUSTIN EARLIER, UM, YOU GUYS HAVE HAD A BREAK FROM ME, SO NOW YOU'RE GONNA SEE ME EVERY MONTH UNTIL JUNE . 
          INDEED. 
          UH, ANY COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS? UH, STEPHANIE, I, I, I HEARD SOMETHING ABOUT A CYBER CYBER BREAK WITH OUR ALERTS, OUR CITY'S ALERT SYSTEM. 
          MM-HMM . 
          WHAT IS THAT? DOES THAT, UH, I BELIEVE THAT IS THE SYSTEM IN WHICH WE RECEIVE, UM, TEXT MESSAGES IN CASE THERE ARE EMERGENCIES. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHAT THE THIRD PARTY, UM, CONTRACTOR. 
          AND, AND SO IT IS IMPACTING THE FORMER, I THINK THEY WERE ACQUIRED, THE, THE ONE THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY WAS ACQUIRED. 
          SO, UH, RECENTLY. 
          SO THIS IS THE COMPANY PRIOR TO THAT, RIGHT? YES. 
          SO HAS THAT ANYTHING HURTING US? ACCORDING TO THE UPDATE THAT I'VE SEEN FROM OUR CITY MANAGER, I DIDN'T SEE THAT THERE'S AN IMPACT DIRECTLY TO US, BUT THEY'RE STILL, THEY'RE HAVING, UH, COMMUNICATION WITH THE CITY AND THAT ORGANIZATION. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COMMISSIONER MCGUIRE. 
          IT, IT WAS, AS I UNDERSTOOD IT WAS AN IMPACT OUT OF THAT VENDOR. 
          UH, IT WAS THE THIRD, YEAH. 
          PRIOR VENDOR WHO'S THE THIRD PARTY VENDOR TO ALERT LONG BEACH. 
          YES. 
          SO IN THAT CONTEXT, THERE WAS A DISCUSSION OF WHAT ASPECTS OF DATA MIGHT HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED. 
          RIGHT. 
          BUT TO DATE, THERE'S BEEN NO SPECIFIC ACTION RESULTING FROM THAT OTHER THAN JUST NOTIFYING US OKAY. 
          TO BE WARNED. 
          UH, AND MORE SO WARNED THE, UH, SORRY, WARNED THE USERS OF ALERT LONG BEACH MM-HMM . 
          BUT US AS UTILITIES PER SE, NOT, NOT AFFECTED DIRECTLY. 
          OKAY. 
          I GOT THE ALERT. 
          YES, . 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH, JUST VERY BRIEFLY, STEPHANIE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          YOU, UM, STARTED OUT BY SAYING THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM ARE BEHIND THE SCENES, AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA BE COMING COUNCIL. 
          WE'LL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. 
          BUT, UM, I, INSTEAD OF REALLY BE, YOU'RE BEHIND THE SCENES, BUT FINANCE IS PROBABLY THE THING THAT I UNDERSTAND THE LEAST IN, IN ALL OF THIS. 
          I, I, I FIND IT INTRIGUING. 
          IT'S SO EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND I WANNA WANNA UNDERSTAND IT MORE, UM, BECAUSE IT'S ALMOST LIKE IT'S BACKBONE OF WHAT WE ALL DO. 
          IT'S, YOU MENTIONED FISCAL STEWARDSHIP FOR RATE PAYERS. 
          I MEAN, THAT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. 
          YOU TALKED ABOUT THE INTERNAL FINANCIAL STABILITY OF OUR DEPARTMENT WITHIN THIS CITY. 
          AND THEN AS, UH, COMMISSIONER SCOTT LIKES TO BRING UP THIS EVER EXISTING THREAT, AND THEN YOU ENDED WITH WORKPLACE CULTURE, WHICH I THINK IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, AS I'VE MENTIONED ALREADY. 
          SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THAT BECAUSE I THINK, UM, YOUR DEPARTMENT IS OFTEN BEHIND THE SCENES, BUT YOU'RE SO VERY MUCH A, A PART OF WHAT WE DO AND, AND THE BASE THAT WE ARE IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT FINANCE, I I BEEN HAPPY TO ASK FOR, UH, CHRIS SCOTT, MY ANSWER TO . 
          [01:20:03]
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          UH, SO THANK YOU. 
          APPRECIATE IT. 
          UH, THE BOARD IS GONNA STAND IN RECESS FOR ABOUT FIVE MINUTES. 
          UH, IF WE COULD HAVE EVERYBODY BACK IN YOUR SEATS AT 10 25, THAT'S GREATLY APPRECIATED. 
          BUT FOR NOW, WE'RE IN RECESS. 
          GOT HERE. 
          ALRIGHT, THERE WE GO. 
          SO I WAS INFORMED THAT THE COFFEE WAS TAKEN AWAY. 
          OUR BREAK WAS SHORTENED, SO EVERYBODY TO MAKE IT THROUGH, UH, THE REST OF THIS TREAT. 
          SO, GOOD MORNING COMMISSIONERS. 
          UH, I'M HERE TO PRESENT THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE UTILITY RESOURCES GROUP. 
          UH, AND FOR MY GROUP, THERE ARE TWO DIVISIONS. 
          THERE'S THE UTILITY RESOURCES PLANNING DIVISION, AND THEN THE COUNCIL LED UP BY, UH, JOSEPH RIZZO SITTING OVER THERE. 
          SO, UH, MY PRESENTATION IS ORGANIZED ACCORDING TO THE BUSINESS PLAN OBJECTIVES. 
          I WENT THROUGH THOSE, BUT AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, WE GOT THE OBJECTIVES. 
          UH, AND THEN YOU GO DOWN TO THE INITIATIVES. 
          AND FOR EACH INITIATIVE THERE ARE SEVERAL MEASURES AND ACTIONS. 
          AND SO THAT'S THE WAY MY SLIDES WOULD BE ORGANIZED. 
          UM, SO FOR, FOR THIS FIRST ACCOMPLISHMENT, UH, IT'S RELATED TO THE CUSTOMER OBJECTIVE, UH, AND THE INNOVATIVE POLICY AND PROGRAMS INITIATIVE. 
          AND SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS YEAR, UH, MY TEAM HAD ACCOMPLISHMENT IN, UH, THE MEASURE OF OFFERING CUSTOMER PROGRAMS REMOTE RESOURCE USE EFFICIENCY. 
          AND SO WHAT YOU'LL SEE IN THE PICTURE ON THE LEFT IS OUR DIRECT INSTALL APPLIANCE PROGRAM. 
          WE CALL IT THE DA PROGRAM. 
          AND THIS IS A NEW PROGRAM THAT WE LAUNCHED IN THIS FISCAL YEAR, NOVEMBER, 2024. 
          AND, UH, YOU, WHAT YOU'LL SEE IN THE PICTURE IS, UH, A CONTRACTOR THAT'S ACTUALLY GOING INTO, UH, OUR CUSTOMER'S HOMES, UH, HENCE THE DIRECT INSTALLATION OF APPLIANCES. 
          AND THIS IS, UH, BOTH WATER AND GAS DEVICES. 
          AND SO, PRESIDENT SCOTT, YOUR POINT OF BENEFITS OF THE MERGER, THIS PROGRAM HAS REALLY, UH, BEEN ONE OF THOSE BENEFITS BECAUSE NOW OUR CUSTOMERS HAVE ONE SINGLE PROGRAM THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY GET WATER OR GAS AND ACTUALLY ELECTRIC. 
          'CAUSE WE'RE PARTNERING WITH EDISON DEVICES THROUGH ONE CONTRACTOR. 
          UM, SO, UH, AS FAR AS THE ELIGIBILITY, UH, FOR CUSTOMERS, BOTH SINGLE AND FULL, MULTI-FAMILY, UH, RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS, AND THEY GET TOILETS, SHOWER HEADS, CLOTHES, WASHERS, CLOTHES DRYERS, WATER HEATERS, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'LL SEE IN, IN THIS PICTURE. 
          UH, AND, UH, TODAY, UH, THROUGH THIS YEAR, WE'VE INSTALLED OVER 2000 DEVICES AND WE'RE REALLY GETTING GOING WITH THIS PROGRAM, AND I HOPE TO KEEP IT GOING. 
          UH, CONTINUING DOWN INTO THE FUTURE ON THE RIGHT, WHAT YOU SEE IS A PICTURE OF THE FIX ELITE, UH, PROGRAM THAT THE EPA WATER SETS RUNS. 
          UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE PARTICIPATED IN FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, AND WE DO A, UH, SWEET STAKE AND WINNERS GET A CONSERVATIVE URBAN MA ON INFLATABLE MASCOT, SHOW UP THEIR HOME AND THEN GET A, YOU KNOW, CARTOON INITIALLY LARGE CHECK. 
          UM, BUT SO, SO I'LL HIGHLIGHT THAT AS FAR AS FAR AS LEE GO. 
          BUT REALLY WHAT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS THE FACT THAT FOR US HERE IN LONG BEACH, WE'RE NOW ABLE TO RUN A YEAR ROUND, UH, LEAP PROGRAM. 
          AND THAT'S THANKS TO OUR ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          UH, SO THROUGH THE SMART METERS THAT WE HAVE, UH, WE'RE ABLE TO DETECT LEAKS FOR CUSTOMERS AND HELP NOTIFY 'EM AUTOMATICALLY WHEN THEY HAVE THOSE LEAKS. 
          UH, AND SO, UH, THROUGH THOSE LEAKS, UH, A LOT OF OUR CUSTOMERS WILL, UH, THROUGH THOSE NOTIFICATIONS, OUR CUSTOMERS WILL FIX A LOT OF THEIR LEAKS. 
          UH, BUT WHAT WE'VE REALLY DONE THIS YEAR TO RAMP UP THAT PROGRAM IS TO, UH, INCREASE THE FOLLOW UP. 
          AND SO BEYOND THAT AUTOMATIC NOTIFICATION, WHAT WE'VE NOTICED IS THAT SOME CUSTOMERS WILL GET THAT NOTIFICATION, STILL HAVE THEIR LEAK CONTINUE FOR WEEKS AND WEEKS. 
          AND SO OVER, UH, THE COURSE OF DIFFERENT, UH, IT'S NOT TIME PERIODS. 
          WE WILL FOLLOW UP WITH THE CUSTOMERS IN DIFFERENT WAYS, BE IT A PHONE CALL FROM OUR TEAM OR A DOOR HANDLE LEFT AT THE DOOR, OR EVEN, UH, STAFF POINTS ON SITE TO HELP THEM, UH, RESOLVE THE ISSUE. 
          SO, UM, THROUGH THAT FOLLOW UP, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY TAKE A LOT OF EFFORTS TO ESSENTIALLY WALK THEIR CUSTOMERS THROUGH, UH, UH, THE PROCESS. 
          AND WHAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED IS THEN, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES THEY GO THROUGH ESSENTIALLY WHAT'S SIMILAR TO THE SEVEN STAGES OF BRIEF, WHERE THEY WILL AT FIRST BE IN DENIAL AND SHOCK THAT THEY HAVE A LEAK AND NOT BELIEVE THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE PROVIDING 'EM. 
          THEN THEY'LL GO INTO ANGER SOMETIMES. 
          AND THEN  EVEN SOMETIMES, UH, BARGAINING AS FAR AS, WELL, OKAY, MAYBE I HAVE A LEAK, BUT THERE'S NO WAY YOUR METERS RIGHT, IT CAN'T BE USING THAT MUCH WATER. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, EVENTUALLY WE, WE GET AROUND THE RESOLUTION AND, AND GETTING THEM TO ACCEPT AND OUR HELP AND FIXING AND RESOLVING THE LEAK. 
          AND SO WE'VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL. 
          UH, WE, WE HANDLE ABOUT 2000 WEEK NOTIFICATIONS A YEAR, UM, AND, AND, UH, FOLLOW UP WITH THOSE ADDITIONAL FOLLOW UPS. 
          NOW, ABOUT 10% OF THE CASES. 
          SO, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE'RE REALLY HOPING TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE, UH, THE SERVICE THAT WE OFFER REGARDING LEADS TO OUR CUSTOMERS. 
          SO THE NEXT OBJECTIVE I WANNA HIGHLIGHT IS OUR FINANCIAL OBJECTIVE. 
          UH, ON THIS WE HAVE THE INITIATIVE OF IMPLEMENTING EFFICIENT AND FAIR PRICING RELATED TO COST OF SERVICE. 
          AND SPECIFICALLY FOR MY GROUP, WE WERE MANAGING THE RESOURCES TO SECURE FAVORABLE PRICING, EFFICIENTLY 
          [01:25:01]
MANAGED COSTS, AND REDUCE COST OF SERVICE. 
          SO WHAT THIS PICTURE ON THE SCREEN IS, IS A PICTURE OF A GROUNDWATER AQUIFER. 
          AND ON THE LEFT YOU'LL SEE AN INJECTION WILL PUT, UH, WATER INTO THE AQUIFER AND ON THE RIGHT WATER COMING OUT WHEN WE PUMP IT. 
          UM, AND SO, UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT YOU CAN MANAGE STORAGE INTO GROUNDWATER AQUIFERS. 
          AS FAR AS HYDROLOGICALLY, THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO, TO TECHNICALLY PUT WATER IN THE GROUND. 
          AND THEN THERE ARE ALSO DIFFERENT FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE MECHANISMS THAT WE CAN ARRANGE WITH OUR DIFFERENT ENTITIES, METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT, WATER REPLENISHMENT DISTRICT, AS FAR AS HOW TO ACTUALLY MANAGE AND, AND PAY FOR, UH, THE WATER THAT GOES INTO THE GROUND. 
          SO, UM, THIS YEAR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT WAS SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO THE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT CONJUNCTIVE USE PROGRAM. 
          CONJUNCTIVE USE REFERS TO USING, UH, SURFACE WATER IN CONJUNCTION WITH GROUNDWATER BASIN TO MANAGE OUR WATER SUPPLIES, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED CONJUNCTIVE USE PROGRAM. 
          SO THIS AGREEMENT, UM, THROUGH THIS AGREEMENT WHEN METROPOLITAN AND WHITE YEARS HAS A LOT OF WATER, THEY WANT US AS NUMBER AGENCIES HELP 'EM STORE THAT WATER IN THE GROUND. 
          AND THEN IN DRY YEARS, RATHER THAN TAKING IMPORTER WATER, WE WOULD PUMP THAT WATER OUTTA THE GROUND, UM, AND, AND USE THAT, UH, TO THE REGION'S BENEFIT. 
          SO THE AGREEMENT THAT WE HAD WITH THEM, UH, WE STARTED IN 2002, UH, WAS NOT AROUND BACK THEN. 
          UM, WELL, BACK THEN, AMSEL FAMOUS INFAMOUSLY, UH, NEGOTIATED THIS AGREEMENT EXCEPT ON THE, THE BEHALF OF METROPOLITAN, AND HE DID TOO GOOD OF A JOB NEGOTIATING IN THAT AGREEMENT. 
          AND SO OVER THE YEARS, UH, THAT, THAT AGREEMENT ACTUALLY IS, IS NOT TO OUR FAVOR, OR IS IT, IT WAS IN OUR INTEREST TO TRY TO TERMINATE THAT AGREEMENT. 
          AND SO THIS YEAR, WE WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THE TERMINATION OF THE CONDUCTED USE AGREEMENT, AND THAT IS GOING TO SAVE THE DEPARTMENT APPROXIMATELY A MILLION DOLLARS. 
          AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, UH, RESTORE OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY TO OUR OPERATIONS TO WHERE WE ARE NO LONGER BEHOLDEN TO METROPOLITAN AND WHEN THEY WANT US TO STORE AND EXTRACT WATER. 
          BUT WE HAVE THAT, UH, FLEXIBILITY FOR OURSELVES TO ENTER INTO NEW, MORE FAVORABLE TERMS WITH METROPOLITAN OUR WATER REPLACEMENT DISTRICT. 
          SO ANOTHER FINANCIAL OBJECTIVE I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS, UH, REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFICIENT AND FAIR PRICING, UM, SPECIFICALLY ENSURING LONG-TERM RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY OF WATER GAS RESOURCES. 
          SO THIS YEAR, TWO ACCOMPLISHMENTS, UM, I'M TRYING TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, REPRESENT THROUGH THESE WONDERFULLY GENERIC CHEESY STOCK PHOTOS. 
          UH, SO I'LL EXPLAIN, I'LL DO MY BEST TO EXPLAIN WHY PICK THESE. 
          ON THE LEFT SIDE, YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE HOVERING AROUND LOOKING AT DATA, TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE A, A INSIGHTFUL DECISION. 
          AND WHAT THAT REPRESENTS IS THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT LONG BEACH IS A MEMBER OF, UH, FOR THE WATER REPLENISHMENT DISTRICT. 
          UH, AND SO THE WATER REPLENISHMENT DISTRICT MANAGES OUR CENTRAL AND WEST GROUNDWATER BASINS, UH, AND THEY, THEY MANAGE THE REPLENISHMENT OF THE WATER AS WELL AS PROTECTS THE, UM, THE GROUNDWATER FROM SEAWATER INTRUSION AND ALL THAT INCURS COSTS. 
          AND SO TO, TO RECOVER THOSE COSTS, UH, THEY, THEY SET THE RATES THAT ALL THE PUMPERS HAVE TO PAY, UH, WHEN WE PUMP GROUNDWATER. 
          AND SO THIS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, IS AN ANNUAL, UH, PROCESS. 
          WE GO THROUGH AN ANNUAL PROCESS WITH THIS ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO BASICALLY INFORM, UH, THE WPRD BOARD OF WHAT THE PUMPERS THINK OF THE COST AND, AND THE RATES OF THEIR SETTING. 
          SO THE ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR THIS YEAR WAS RELATED TO, UH, ESSENTIALLY HELPING TO, UH, RESOLVE AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS FOR THIS, UH, ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
          QUITE LITERALLY, UM, THIS COMMITTEE HAS HAD VARIOUS CHALLENGES AND THE WD BOARD WAS CONSIDERING, UH, DISSOLVING COMMITTEE AND, AND DOING AWAY WITH IT, IN WHICH CASE, LONG BEACH WOULD HAVE NO FORMAL METHOD TO VOICE OUR OPINIONS AND, AND, UH, CONCERNS TO THEIR BOARD OR BEYOND JUST PUBLIC COMMENT AT THEIR BOARD MEETINGS, WHICH I THINK WOULD BE A DISSERVICE TO US AS A, UM, A PUMPER. 
          SO, UH, WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO WAS, UH, LONG BEACH LED, UH, INDEPENDENTLY LED, UH, THE PUMPERS AS FAR AS GETTING TOGETHER AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A SOLUTION AND A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR THIS ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
          AND SO, UH, WHICH WE HAD SEVERAL, SEVERAL, UH, MEETINGS, UM, INDEPENDENTLY INDEPENDENT OF WATER PUNISHMENT, DISTRICT WATER PUNISHMENT DISTRICT RUNS, ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 
          BUT, UH, WE MET INDEPENDENTLY TO NEGOTIATE BOTH WORK FOR ALL OF US AS PUMPS. 
          THAT WAS PART OF THE CHALLENGES WE FACING. 
          UH, AND WE WERE ABLE TO, IN THE END, ARRIVE AT A SOLUTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE POWER SUPPORT, WHICH IS A FUNDAMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT GIVEN WHERE WE WERE STARTING ABOUT THE CONVERSATIONS FROM. 
          SO, SO THAT'S WHAT WAS TRYING TO HIGHLIGHT WITH THAT, THAT LEFT, UH, LEFT STOP PHOTO ON THE RIGHT SIDE. 
          UM, A SIMILAR, UH, COLLABORATION WAS, UH, UNDERTAKEN THIS YEAR ON THE IMPORTED WATER SIDE. 
          AND SO METROPOLITAN WATER IMPORTS WATER, WHICH IS WHAT MOST PEOPLE THINK OF, BUT WHAT DOESN'T OFTEN GET THOUGHT OF IS HOW THEY ACTUALLY TREAT THAT IMPORTED WATER. 
          AND SO RIGHT NOW, WE PAY ABOUT $1,500 ACRE FOOT FOR IMPORTED WATER, $500 THAT GOES TOWARDS TREATMENT, THAT THE TREATMENT COSTS. 
          AND SO MUCH LIKE US HERE AT LONG BEACH UTILITIES, MUCH OF OUR, OUR COSTS ARE FIXED AND WE RECOVER, UH, YOU KNOW, A PORTION OF OUR, OUR REVENUE THROUGH FIXED RATES. 
          [01:30:01]
BUT A LOT OF THAT'S RECOVERED THROUGH FIXED RATES. 
          AND SO METROPOLITAN WAS, UH, DEALING WITH STRUGGLE. 
          THIS, THIS, A SIMILAR STRUGGLE OF BASICALLY THEIR, THEIR TREATMENT COSTS BEING FIXED, BUT BEING RECOVERED ON A VOLUME METRIC BASIS. 
          THERE'S A CERTAIN PIECE OF THE PIE THAT HAS TO BE RECOVERED SOMEHOW. 
          AND THEN THE CHALLENGE WAS FIGURING OUT HOW TO DIVVY UP THAT PIE AMONG ALL THE DIFFERENT METROPOLITAN MEMBER AGENCIES. 
          AND SO, A SIMILAR SITUATION WHERE AT THE BEGINNING, UH, THE MEMBER AGENCIES ALL HAVE DIFFERENT SITUATIONS, ALL SAW THINGS DIFFERENT WAYS, AND ALL I WANTED THE, THE, THE COST BE RECOVERED IN A DIFFERENT WAY. 
          UM, AND, AND THIS WAS OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL YEARS, WE FINALLY ARRIVED AT A CONSENSUS, UM, RECOMMENDATION THAT, UH, WELL ALMOST CONSENSUS, I'LL SAY ALMOST CONSENSUS SINCE THIS IS ON PUBLIC RECORD, UH, THAT, THAT THE MEMBER AGENCIES WERE ABLE TO SUPPORT. 
          UH, AND SO THIS IS MONUMENTAL IN THE FACT THAT IT'S, IT'S HOW WE DEAL WITH A HUGE PORTION OF THE IMPORTED WATER COSTS THAT WE PAY. 
          AND STARTING IN 2027, UH, THIS NEW STRUCTURE, UH, TO RECOVER THESE FIXED TREATMENT COSTS WILL, UM, WILL, WILL BE IMPLEMENTED. 
          AND SO, UH, IT WILL, IT WILL FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE HOW WE PAY FOR IMPORTED WATER AS A, A UTILITY. 
          AND SO THAT WILL TAKE ADJUSTMENT, UH, FOR US AS A UTILITY. 
          SO THE NEXT OBJECTIVE BARGAINING WORKPLACE CULTURE, UH, ON THIS ONE I'LL HIGHLIGHT, UH, INCREASING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS THROUGH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND STAFF COMPETENCIES. 
          UH, FOR THIS, UM, MY TEAM WAS ABLE TO IMPLEMENT INTERNSHIP FELLOWSHIP AND VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS, FOSTER TALENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. 
          AND SO WHAT YOU'LL SEE HERE IN THIS PICTURE IS ACTUALLY A, UH, A VOLUNTEER WORKDAY EVENT THAT WAS HOSTED BY THE CALIFORNIA CLIMATE ACTION CORPS FELLOWS THAT WE HOST EACH YEAR. 
          AND SO, UH, CALIFORNIA CLIMATE ACTION CORPS IS A STATE FUNDER PROGRAM THAT OFFERS, UH, YOUNG PROFESSIONALS AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO START THEIR CAREERS ESSENTIALLY. 
          UM, AND SO WE HAVE HOSTS, UH, HOSTS A NUMBER OF FELLOWS. 
          WE'VE DONE THIS FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, BUT FOR THIS YEAR, WE REALLY WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE ACCOMPLISHMENT THAT WE HAVE THREE FELLOWS. 
          UH, AND, AND THAT WAS MORE THAN THE PREVIOUS YEARS WE HOSTED TWO. 
          UH, BUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT, WELL, ALSO I WANNA MENTION THAT THEY, THEY SIT UP BY THE, THE KITCHEN NEAR THE, THE BOARD AREA. 
          SO IF YOU EVER COME FOR BOARD DAYS AND, AND SEE FOLKS SITTING IN THAT CORNER, UH, THOSE ARE OUR FELLOWS. 
          THEY'RE, THEY'RE BRAND NEW IN THEIR CAREERS AND GETTING STARTED. 
          SO, UH, I'M SURE A HELLO WOULD MEAN A LOT TO THEM. 
          UH, SO, SO THOSE ARE THE FELLOWS. 
          AND, UH, IN, IN THIS PICTURE, THEY'RE AT THE AL ALAMEDA BAY, UH, A MARINA AREA REPLACING THE TURF WITH CLIMATE APPROPRIATE LANDSCAPING. 
          SO THIS WAS IN CONJUNCTION WITH SURF RIDER. 
          UH, THEY HOST VOLUNTEER EVENTS, DO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR US COMMUNITY EDUCATION. 
          UM, ACTUALLY THIS WEEKEND WE'LL BE OUT AT, UH, COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO'S WINTER WONDERLAND, ENGAGING OUR CUSTOMERS IN CONSERVATION RELATED GAMES AND EDUCATION. 
          UM, SO THEY REALLY HELP TO PUT BOOTS ON THE GROUND AS FAR AS CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT. 
          YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN THIS DIGITAL AGE, THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH YOU CAN DO, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT FACE TO FACE. 
          FACE-TO-FACE. 
          UH, EDUCATION REALLY WORKS WONDERS, YOU KNOW, UH, THE LEAST AND, AND JOY AND THEIR TEAM AS FAR AS COMMUNITY EDUCATION GOES, THEY HAVE A CET. 
          UH, AND THIS JUST HELPS US TO FURTHER AMPLIFY THE ME MESSAGE SPECIFICALLY FOR CONSERVATION. 
          UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I'M THANKFUL TO HAVE A CALIFORNIA CLIMATE ACTION CORPS FROM THE STANDPOINT OF IT'S AT NO COST TO THE DEPARTMENT. 
          IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP FOSTER THE NEXT GENERATION OF, OF PROFESSIONALS IN THE INDUSTRY. 
          UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT, I GUESS I'LL HOPE, UH, END MY PRESENTATION ON I WARM FUZZY NOTE, OPEN IT UP TO ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE COURT. 
          EXCELLENT. 
          THANK YOU, DEAN. 
          UH, ARE THERE ANY COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION, DEAN. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UM, AND ALSO FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT WITH METROPOLITAN, YOU REALLY HAVE BEEN VERY HELPFUL TO ME. 
          UM, IN TERMS OF CALIFORNIA CLIMATE ACTION CORPS, ARE, ARE MOST OF THEM CITY RESIDENTS? UH, THEY, THEY'RE FROM ACROSS THE STATE. 
          THEY ARE. 
          IT'S NOT NECESSARILY JUST LONG BEACH. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, DO WE, DO WE GIVE THEM ANY INSIGHT INTO, DO THEY JUST COME HERE AND THEN LEAVE? OR IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CITY STRUCTURE AND SUSTAINABILITY AND KIND OF JUST THE WHOLE, THE WHOLE CITY, I MEAN, WITH THE POTENTIAL OF POSSIBLY KEEPING SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE HERE? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. 
          SO A COUPLE ASPECTS TO THAT. 
          ONE IS, UM, AS FAR AS LEARNING ABOUT THE CITY, UM, THE OFFICE OF CLIMATE ACTION HAS SUSTAINABILITY AT THE CITY, ACTUALLY HOSTS A COUPLE FELLOWS AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, THEY HAVE DIFFERENT EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, BUT CLIMATE CORE IS A, IS ESSENTIALLY A PROGRAM. 
          THEY'RE NOT JUST LIKE OUR, OUR STAFF AND, AND, YOU KNOW, STAFF DEVELOPMENTS ENTIRELY YET LEFT UP TO US. 
          BUT CLIMATE CORE ACTUALLY HAS LIKE A, UM, A CURRICULUM OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY WALK THEIR FELLOWS THROUGH, UH, DEVELOPMENT WISE. 
          UM, BUT I THINK TO YOUR, YOUR QUESTION OF, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION, UH, WE'VE HAD SUCCESS, BUT WE, WE JUST, UM, CONVERTED A FELLOW THIS PAST YEAR TO, UH, AN INTERNSHIP POSITION. 
          AND IN THE PAST WE'VE HAD INTERNS COME TO, UH, FULL-TIME POSITIONS. 
          AND SO THAT IS KIND OF A PATHWAY FOR, UM, STAFFING REPORTS. 
          OKAY. 
          DO THEY, ARE THEY, DO 
          [01:35:01]
THEY COME EVERY DAY? UH, NOT EVERY DAY. 
          I THINK FOUR DAYS A WEEK. 
          OKAY. 
          I'M JOKING. 
          GREAT. 
          THEY'RE NOT 40 HOURS A WEEK. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          OH, EXCELLENT. 
          SECRETARY DEAN, THANK YOU FOR PRESENTATION. 
          MY QUESTION IS MORE ABOUT THE BASE PUMPING RIGHTS. 
          WE HAVE, WE'RE IN AN ADJUDICATED BASE, IF I'M ADJUDICATE, WE HAVE CERTAIN PUMPING ALLOCATION RIGHTS PER YEAR, SO MANY ACRE FEE. 
          CORRECT. 
          IS, IS THE AGREEMENT THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW WHERE WE PUT WATER IN DURING WET YEARS AND PUMP DURING DRY YEARS, DOES THAT ALLOW US TO EXCEED OUR ADJUDICATED PUMPING RIGHTS IF WE PUT WATER IN OUR SOLAR? THAT NOW YES. 
          THAT, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION AND, AND TECHNICALLY HARD TO ANSWER, BUT TECHNICALLY YES. 
          UM, IN THE GRAND SENSE, YES, IT'S ASKING US TO EXTRACT MORE THAN OUR NORMAL ADJUDICATED RIGHTS. 
          AND, AND EVERY, IF, IF YOU ARE PART OF THAT AGREEMENT, THEN ALL PUMPERS COULD DO THAT IN, THEORETICALLY IN DRY YEARS. 
          IT IS HARDER IN THAT SPECIFIC ONE, NO, BECAUSE THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY METROPOLITAN MEMBER AGENCIES, DIRECT MEMBER AGENCIES. 
          WE, WE HAVE TO BE A DIRECT METROPOLITAN MEMBER AGENCY. 
          UM, MOST OF THE OTHER PUMPERS IN CENTRAL BASIN, OR NOT COMMISSIONER PARKIN, THE COMMISSIONER PARKIN, THE, THE THING ABOUT THE CONJUNCTIVE USE PROGRAM, AS DEAN ALLUDED TO HOW I NEGOTIATED THE CONTRACT. 
          SO THE ASPECT IS THAT YOU COULD PUMP MORE, BUT THE PHYSICAL PUMPING OF THAT WATER WOULD CONSTITUTE A METROPOLITAN SALE. 
          AND SO THEREFORE WE WOULD PUMP, BUT NOT AT THE COST OF PRODUCING OUR ADJUDICATED RIGHTS. 
          IT WAS IN RETURN FOR THE WATER AT NO COST INITIALLY. 
          WHEN YOU PUMPED IT LATER OVER AND ABOVE YOUR RIGHTS, IT WOULD CONSTITUTE A METROPOLITAN SALE, AND YOU WOULD PAY METROPOLITAN FOR THE WATER THEN. 
          SO WHILE IT HAS, PARDON ME, THAT'S WHY WE WANT TO CANCEL. 
          SO WE HAD TO PAY GROUNDWATER COSTS. 
          YEAH, I DID A, YEAH, WAIT A MINUTE. 
          IT'S TERRIBLE. 
          IT, IT'S . 
          I DID A VERY GOOD JOB. 
          A LOT OF PEOPLE AT THE TIME THOUGHT I DID A FANTASTIC JOB. 
          UH, BUT YEAH, THAT, THAT IS HOW WE COULD PUMP MORE. 
          RIGHT. 
          AT THE SAME TIME THOUGH, IT DIDN'T GO AGAINST YOUR ALLOCATION. 
          IT DID NOT. 
          AND AT POLITAN WATER, YES. 
          AND IT WAS VERY SPECIFIC TO METROPOLITAN MEMBER AGENCY. 
          SO IT WAS USING THE BASIN THROUGH A METROPOLITAN AGENCY TO INCREASE IT. 
          MAYBE MY QUESTION IS A DUMB QUESTION, BUT IS IT LIKE A BANK ACCOUNT? IF YOU PUT IT IN THERE AND IT'S, SO YOU WITHDRAW IT, CORRECT? YES. 
          WELL, WHO'S IT AFTER? A, THERE'S, THERE'S A  ACCOUNTING, RIGHT? YEAH. 
          WITHDRAW. 
          YES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HEARD THE DISCUSSION AT METROPOLITAN YESTERDAY ABOUT THE, UM, I DID NOT. 
          FOOTHILL, I DID NOT. 
          OKAY. 
          FOOTHILL, WHERE FOOTHILL, THE, AN AGENCY, FOOTHILL AGENCY UP IN SAN GABRIEL AREA IS A SMALL, UH, AGENCY THAT IS THE ONLY AGENCY WITHIN METROPOLITAN THAT HAS THAT, THAT THE PUMP ONLY GOES TO THE, I GUESS OUR FACILITIES FOR MET ONLY GO TO THE BORDER AND IN ORDER THEY HAVE TO, AND THEY HAVE BEEN FOR MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS TAKING THE OWN COST OF PUMPING THE WATER UP, BECAUSE AS WE, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW HERE IT'S GRAVITY FED OVER THERE, THEY HAVE TO PUMP THE WATER UP. 
          SO THEY'VE HAD TO FOR A LONG, LONG TIME. 
          ANYWAY, IT'S VERY COMPLICATED. 
          BUT, UM, HAVE TO PAY FOR THE COST OF PUMPING THAT WATER UP. 
          AND NOW WE'RE BEING, WE'RE BEING ASKED BY THEM TO POSSIBLY LOOK AT IT AND TO INCUR THE COST THAT THEY HAVE INCURRED. 
          BECAUSE ALL THOSE YEARS, BECAUSE WE WENT THROUGH THIS WHOLE DISCUSSION ABOUT EQUITY AND EQUALITY, WHAT CAME OUT OF IT IS, YES, IT'S AN ISSUE OF EQUALITY AND EQUITY, WHICH ANNA TOLD AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT, BUT EVERY AGENCY IS DIFFERENT. 
          EVERY, EVERY AGENCY WITHIN METROPOLITAN IS DIFFERENT. 
          IT, IT LOOKS LIKE LEANING TOWARDS, UM, SOME SORT OF NEGOTIATION WITH THEM, UM, BECAUSE THEY ARE A, YOU KNOW, A MEMBER OF, OF, THEY'RE A MEMBER AGENCY. 
          AND SO I THINK WE NEED A TO BE TREATED. 
          SO, UM, BUT ANYWAY, THIS IS, IT'S VERY INTERESTING TO, TO TALK ABOUT THOSE PUMPING COSTS AND WHAT IT MEANS TO, UH, TO OUR, OUR RATES, BUT ALSO IT, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT IMPORTED WATER COSTS AND RECOVERING FIXED TREATMENT COSTS AT MET, WHAT DOES THAT REFLECT IN TERMS OF, YOU SAID IT'S HELPFUL TO US IN TERMS OF OUR RATES? SO, UM, FIXED TREATMENT COSTS, ESSENTIALLY, METROPOLITAN IS A LOT OF HUGE TREATMENT PLANT FACILITIES THAT  AND HOW MUCH WATER THEY DELIVER, THOSE, THOSE COSTS THAT CERTAIN COSTS TO, TO MAINTAIN, UM, AND, AND RUN. 
          UH, SO RIGHT NOW, THE, THE WAY THAT THEY RECOVER THOSE TREATMENT COSTS IS, UH, VOLUMETRIC. 
          SO BASICALLY ONLY THE WATERS THAT PURCHASED ONLY THE ONLY THE MEMBER AGENCIES THAT PURCHASE WATER THAT YEAR WILL PAY FOR TO THAT, YOU KNOW, $1,500 PER, PER FOOT AMOUNT. 
          BUT YOU, PART OF THE, THE CHALLENGE WAS, YOU KNOW, SOME AGENCIES AND SOME YEARS TAKE A LOT, BUT YEARS DON'T TAKE MUCH. 
          SO THEN IT WASN'T FAIR THAT IN, IN YEARS, UM, WHERE, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN AGENCIES DIDN'T TAKE THAT MUCH, BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY ANY SHARE OF THAT TREATMENT COST. 
          AND ACTUALLY, IT'S A FINANCIAL, UH, 
          [01:40:01]
STRUGGLE FOR, FOR METROPOLITAN AS FAR AS MANAGING THEIR, THEIR BUDGET AND REVENUE EXPECTATIONS. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, YOU WANT TO, LIKE, LIKE WE ARE, HAVE A CERTAIN PORTION OF FIXED COST BEING RECOVERED ON A FIXED BASIS. 
          AND THAT'S WHERE I, WHAT'S MOVING TOWARDS IN, IN THIS EXERCISE OR, UM, THE ULTIMATE, UH, RATING AGREED ON ALL AGENCIES FIGURING OUT THE RIGHT BALANCE OF FIXED VERSUS VOLUMETRIC, AND HOW TO, HOW TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH OF THE FIXED COST EACH AGENCY HAS TO, TO, UH, PAY WITHOUT GOING INTO IT. 
          YOU CAN SEE WHY THIS WOULD BE A HUGE DISCUSSION OF METROPOLITAN AMONG, YOU KNOW, 36 BOARDS, 30 38 BOARD MEMBERS WHO REPRESENT THEIR AGENCIES WITH ALL DIFFERENT NEEDS. 
          AND SOME ARE SAYING, WELL, WHY DO WE HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT IF YOU'RE THE ONES THAT REALLY, WE DON'T TAKE AS MUCH WATER. 
          I MEAN, WE, THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSION ON THAT. 
          IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY INTERESTING WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, DEAN, YOU'RE OFF THE HOOK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I GUESS I'LL INTRODUCE ROBERT, DIRECTOR OF MEETING. 
          GOOD MORNING, PRINCE AND MS. SCOTT, AND GOOD MORNING COMMISSIONERS. 
          UH, I'M , THE DIRECTOR OF WATER SEW ENGINEERING, AND I'M HERE TO PRESENT OF OUR FY 25 . 
          UH, BEFORE I DO THAT, I LIKE TO TAKE A BIG MOMENT TO THE MANY CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE MANAGER, WATER SEWER ENGINEER. 
          UH, WE NORMALLY HAVE FIVE MANAGERS, BUT CURRENTLY HAVE TWO VACANCIES. 
          SO THE THREE THAT ARE PRESENT HERE TODAY. 
          WE HAVE, UH, CHRIS , WHO IS OUR MANAGER OF ENGINEERING, OVERSEEING CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, HIDING BEHIND THE COLUMN THERE. 
          UH, WE HAVE DENNIS , MANAGER OF ENGINEERING OVERSEEING DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, AND WE ALSO HAVE DAN MONON, OUR MANAGER OF ENGINEERING THAT OVERSEES WATER, WASTE, WATER, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, UH, CIP. 
          SO JUST TO GIVE ME AN IDEA OF THE WORKING RELATIONSHIP I HAVE WITH MY MANAGERS, UH, CHRIS DENNIS AND I HAVE WORKED TOGETHER FOR OVER 17 YEARS NOW. 
          UH, AND DANA AND I HAVE, UH, A LITTLE OVER 10 YEARS TOGETHER. 
          UM, WORKING THAT LONG TOGETHER GIVES US A LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE TO ALLOW US TO DO WHAT WE DO. 
          OKAY. 
          AND WHAT IS IT THAT WE DO? UH, WE MANAGE AND IMPLEMENT THE DEPARTMENT'S WATER AND SEWER. 
          CIP NOW P IN THIS REGARD IS PLAN 'CAUSE IT, IT CAN ALSO MEAN PROGRAM OR PROJECT. 
          SO, AND MANY OF MY BUREAUS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE STANDARD AROUND CIP, SO UNDER THE CUSTOMER OBJECTIVE, UH, AND THE INITIATIVE OF MATERIAL SAFE WATER AND GAS, UM, MY BUREAU BROUGHT UP FORTH BEFORE THIS BOARD 24 WATER AND SEWER ENGINEERING RELATED ITEMS LAST YEAR. 
          AND I'M HAPPY TO REPORT HOW ALL ITEMS WERE APPROVED BY THIS COURT. 
          UH, SO WE WERE 24 FOR 24, AND YES, WE'RE BA A THOUSAND. 
          SO, UH, AMONG THE ITEMS APPROVED 33, 33 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IN CONSTRUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND INSPECTION SERVICES CONTRACTS. 
          IN ADDITION TO THAT, ANOTHER $3.9 MILLION IN DESIGN CONTRACTS. 
          SO ADDED ALL UP. 
          THAT'S ABOUT 37 $5 MILLION OF CONTRACTS THAT WERE LET OUT IN FI 25. 
          UH, I, NEEDLESS TO SAY, WE WERE A TAD BUSY AT PAST THIS WEEK, AND THIS IS JUST A SAMPLING OF, UH, PROJECTS THAT THE BOARD APPROVED LAST FISCAL YEAR. 
          UH, PICTURE ON THE LEFT IS A LARGE GATE VALVE. 
          IT'S A 36 INCH GATE VALVE. 
          UH, WE HAVE A CURRENT PROJECT THAT'S ONGOING, UH, DIFFICULT LOCATIONS. 
          UH, ONE LOCATION IS AT ORANGE AND SAN ANTONIO DRIVE. 
          WE HAVE ANOTHER LOCATION AT ORANGE AND PARON. 
          AND THE THIRD LOCATION, WHICH IS STILL BEING WORKED ON, IS AT LAKEWOOD SERVICE. 
          SO, UH, WE'RE ABOUT TO WRAP UP THE PROJECT, HOPEFULLY, UH, BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. 
          NEXT PICTURE. 
          THIS IS OUR 32ND STREET BOOSTER STATION, UH, BEFORE APPROVED A $8 MILLION CONTRACT CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT. 
          UH, AND THAT WILL COMMENCE EARLY NEXT YEAR. 
          UH, THIS IS ONE OF OUR CLUB STATIONS. 
          THIS IS ACTUALLY OUR S 18 PUMP STATION THAT WAS REHABBED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. 
          UH, BUT WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON DESIGN OF THE S SEVEN REHABILITATION. 
          AGAIN, THAT'S THE ISLAND 
          [01:45:01]
THE BOARD APPROVED, UH, DESIGN CONTRACT FOR UNDER $900,000. 
          AND LASTLY, THIS IS OUR CITIZEN SEVEN EIGHT. 
          WELL, UH,  IN THE ECOC PARKING LOT, UH, NEXT TO THE TREATMENT PLAN, UH, THAT WELL IS REHABBED IN 2024, BUT WE HAVE A SL OF, UH, OTHER METALS THAT'LL BE WORKING ON. 
          SO THE NEXT ACCOMPLISHMENT, AGAIN UNDER THE CUSTOMER OBJECTIVE, UM, AND TO THE INITIATIVE TO ENSURE SAFE WATER GET US, UH, WE DEVELOPED A WATER AND SEWER DEVELOPMENT HABITAT. 
          SO THIS PARTICULAR ITEM IS NEAR AND DEAR TO ME BECAUSE I HAD ACTUALLY INITIATED THIS EFFORT A FEW YEARS AGO, BUT , WE WEREN'T ABLE TO, UH, FINISH IT AND BASICALLY PUT IT UP THE BACK. 
          SO IT WASN'T UNTIL LAST FISCAL CREATED THAT DENNIS SANTOS AND HIS DEVELOPMENT STAFF, UH, ACTUALLY BROUGHT IT OVER TO THE FINISH LINE. 
          SO THIS IS PART OF OUR OUTWARD FACING CUSTOMER SERVICE EFFORT. 
          UM, SO IT'S MANAGED FOR USE BY OUR CUSTOMERS, AS WELL AS ANY DEVELOPERS WANTING TO DO BUSINESS OF OUR CITY. 
          SO WHAT THE HANDBOOK IS, IS A ONE STOP DOCUMENT, UH, THAT CONTAINS WATER AND SEWER DESIGN GUIDELINES. 
          UM, IT, IT ALSO INCLUDES WORKFLOW PROCESSES AND DIAGRAMS SUCH AS SERVICE LEAD TIMES AND PLAN CHECKING REQUIREMENTS, UH, HAS OUR STANDARD DRAWINGS. 
          AND IT ALSO HAS AGREEMENT TEMPLATES IN THE EVENT OF A DEVELOPER'S AGREEMENT, . 
          SO JUST WANNA GIVE KUDOS TO GUYS AND THE STAFF FOR, UH, FOR THIS ACCOMPLISHMENT. 
          ONCE AGAIN, UNDER THE CUSTOMER OBJECTIVE, UH, THE BUREAU HAS INCREASED IN-HOUSE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND INSPECTION EFFORTS FOR ALL ASPECTS OF DEPARTMENT CONSTRUCTION. 
          SO THAT INCLUDES IN-HOUSE WATER AND SEWER CONSTRUCTION, UH, WATER, AND CIP CONSTRUCTION BY CONTRACTORS AND ALL DEVELOPMENT RELATED CONSTRUCTION BY CONTRACTORS AS WELL. 
          UH, SO THE BUREAU TYPICALLY UTILIZES, UH, CONSULTANTS, UH, TO PROVIDE THESE SERVICES FOR OUR CIP PROJECTS BY BUILDING INTERNAL CAPABILITIES. 
          UH, WE ENSURE LONG TERM AVAILABILITY OF, OF THIS EXPERTISE. 
          AND WE ALSO REDUCE RELIANCE ON EXTERNAL RESOURCES FOR CONSULTANTS. 
          UH, UTILIZING IN-HOUSE EXPERTISE ALSO ELIMINATES THE NEED FOR EXTERNAL CONSULTING. 
          SO I'LL JUST GIVE YOU A HYPOTHETICAL PROJECT. 
          IT'S A $1 MILLION, UH, PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT. 
          WE WOULD EXPECT TO PAY ROUGHLY ABOUT 10 TO 15% OF THAT TOTAL CONSTRUCTION COSTS TO CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND . 
          SO THAT'S ROUGHLY A HUNDRED THOUSAND TO 150,000 BUCKS. 
          UH, ACCORDING TO A CONSULTANT, BY KEEPING, YOU KNOW, THE EXPERTISE IN HOUSE, UH, WE DON'T PAY THOSE FEES. 
          AND WE ALSO KEEP THE, YOU KNOW, THE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES WITH OUR INSURANCE. 
          NOW, FINANCIAL IMPACTS ARE, ARE IMPORTANT, BUT ONE IMPORTANT FOR ME, AGAIN, IS BEING ABLE TO KEEP THAT EXPERTISE AND HELPS SO, AND FURTHER DEVELOP OUR STAFF. 
          UH, WE DO HAVE FURTHER PLANS IN FY 26 MORE PROPERTY, UH, WITH IN-HOUSE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND INSPECTION. 
          AND KUDOS TO PRICE FOR LEAVING THE EFFORT ON THIS. 
          UH, SO ON THE FINANCIAL SIDE, UH, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT EFFICIENT AND FAIR PRICING, THE COST OF SERVICE, UH, AS THIS BOARD CONTINUES TO INVEST IN THE CITY'S WATER, GAS, AND SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, THE BUREAU CONTINUES TO MANAGE THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF NEW TRAVEL. 
          UH, THE WELL PROGRAM IS AN EFFORT FOR US TO MAXIMIZE LOCAL GROUNDWATER RESOURCES AND BECOME LESS RELIANT UPON IMPORTANT WATER. 
          UH, THE PICTURE YOU SEE ON THE LEFT IS ONE OF TWO OF OUR NEWEST WELLS IN JACKSON PARK IN NORTH LONG BEACH, UH, THAT CAME ONLINE IN FY 25. 
          UH, THIS PROJECT ACTUALLY STARTED IN 2021, UH, SO QUITE RELATED WHEN WE FINALLY, UH, ACCOMPLISHED, UH, CONSTRUCTION OF THESE WELLS. 
          UM, THE WELL ITSELF, THESE TWO NEW WELLS EACH PRODUCED ABOUT 2,500 GALLONS PER MINUTE OF WATER, SO, WHICH 
          [01:50:01]
TAKES STEAM, SO , UM, AND WE'RE EXCITED TO REPORT WE HAVE MORE NEW WELLS TO COME, AND WE'LL GLADLY UPDATE THE BOARD ON THE PROGRESS OF NEW  AS WE . 
          AND MANY THANKS TO DANA AND HER GROUP. 
          UH, HER GROUP IS RESPONSIBLE FOR A LOT OF THE CIPS RELATED TO WELLS OF STATIONS AND OUR TENANTS. 
          SO WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES MY PORTION OF THE, UH, PRESENTATION FROM . 
          I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE. 
          THANK YOU, ROB. 
          EXCELLENT. 
          UH, I HIGHLIGHT, UH, HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT HANDBOOK, UH, LIFTING THE VEIL ON PRO AND HELPING STREAMLINE FOLKS TO, TO DO WHAT THEY ARE JUST TRYING TO DO IN, IN THE CITY, TRYING TO, TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH DEVELOPMENTS AND, AND, AND WHATNOT. 
          UH, LIFTING THE VEIL ON THAT IS VERY HELPFUL FOR THEM, AND IT JUST, IT, IT JUST ALLOWS FOR, FOR MORE, UH, UH, DEVELOPMENT TO HAPPEN. 
          SO GOOD JOB ON THAT. 
          SO, I MEAN, IT'S REALLY MEANT FOR EVERY SINGLE ASPECT, THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FROM A CUSTOMER REQUIRING A NEW SERVICE, YOU KNOW, FOR THEIR RESIDENTS TO A DEVELOPER COMING. 
          SO WE TRIED TO CAPTURE EVERYTHING IN THAT DOCUMENT IT, DOCUMENT ASK. 
          YEAH, THAT'S GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, ARE THERE ANY COMMISSIONER COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER AUSTIN? YES. 
          UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          I WAS CURIOUS TO KNOW, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I THINK IT'S GREAT TO, TO BRING IN-HOUSE THE CAPABILITY TO DO THESE CIP PROJECTS. 
          UM, DO YOU, COULD, HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO QUANTIFY, UH, ANY SORT OF SAVINGS IN THAT PROCESS? SO WE JUST STARTED THE EFFORT, UH, LAST FISCAL YEAR. 
          UH, I KNOW WE DID INHOUSE CN A HANDFUL OF PROJECTS. 
          UH, AND IT, AND GOING BACK TO THE SLIDE, IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE CONSTRUCTION COSTS OF THE PROJECT AND THE COMPLEXITY. 
          UH, MAINLY OUR EFFORTS HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON PIPELINE JOBS, RIGHT? UH, SO ROUGHLY, AGAIN, IT'S ANYWHERE BETWEEN A HUNDRED TO 200,000, UH, IN SAVINGS IN TERMS OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND INSPECTION SERVICES. 
          AND THEN I HAD A SECOND QUESTION OR, OR COMMENT. 
          UM, I SEE YOU, UM, YOU ADDED THE, THE NEW, UH, , UH, JACKSON PARK. 
          YES. 
          AND THAT, THAT WAS A SOURCE OF, UH, A LOT OF ACRIMONY FOR, FOR RESIDENTS IN THAT AREA. 
          UH, WHAT, DID WE LEARN ANYTHING FROM THAT PROJECT? OR ARE WE GONNA BE DOING ANY MORE, SAY, PUMPS IN, IN PUBLIC PARKS? UM, AND WHAT EFFORTS ARE WE TAKING TO, TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT THAT SORT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE BENEFITS? YES. 
          UH, MOVING FORWARD, WE WILL HAVE SEVERAL MORE WILLS THAT WILL DRILL  PARKS, UH, DRILL AND EQUIPMENT PARTS, UH, FOR JACKSONVILLE PARK. 
          UH, FROM WHAT I RECALL, WE GIVE STAMP OF PUBLIC OUTREACH, UH, FOR THIS PROJECT. 
          UH, WE HELD SEVERAL COMMUNITY MEETINGS. 
          UH, WE HAD A VERY NICE, UH, RESIDENT, UH,  ACROSS WELL, WAS A GREAT ADVOCATE FOR US. 
          UH, SHE UNDERSTOOD WHY WE WERE DOING THE PROJECT. 
          UM, SHE ACTUALLY CAME TO SEVERAL COMMUNITY MEETINGS FOR OTHER, WELL PROJECTS IN PARKS, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THERE WERE SOME CONCERN FROM THOSE RESIDENTS IN TERMS OF IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT TO HER EVERYDAY LIFE, RIGHT. 
          UM, BUT SHE WAS A VERY GOOD ADVOCATE. 
          SO MOVING FORWARD, UH, YEAH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE EXTENSIVE PUBLIC OUTREACH INFORMING THE RESIDENTS OF WHY WE'RE DOING THE PROJECT AND WHAT BENEFITS, UH, WILL OCCUR, UH, IN DOING SO. 
          AND WE'LL WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH, UH, OUR PIO JOY , UH, IN THESE, UH, PUBLIC OUTREACH EFFORTS. 
          THANKS. 
          JUST FOLLOWING UP ON COMMISSIONER AUSTIN'S COMMENT, WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG TO DRILL THAT PARTICULAR WELL IN JACKSON PARK? OR IS THAT TYPICAL? YES, , UNFORTUNATELY, IT TAKES THAT LONG. 
          UH, FIRST WE HAVE TO DRILL THE WELL, BUT BEFORE WE CAN DRILL THE, WELL, WE HAVE TO GET APPROVAL FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER OR THE ATION OF THE, WELL MAKE SURE THAT THERE ISN'T ANYTHING THAT CAN IMPACT THE WATER QUALITY. 
          SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE OFFSETS OF 50 FEET FROM IT'S 16 THAT RECYCLED SEWER LINES THAT WE HAVE TO KEEP. 
          SO BOTH, UH, ONCE DDW, YOU KNOW, APPROVES THAT, THEN WE CAN DRILL THE WELL, UH, ONCE THE, AS 
          [01:55:01]
THE WELL IS BEING DRILLED, THERE'S AN ONGOING, UM, SEPARATE EFFORT TO COMPLETE THE DESIGN OF THE EQUIP. 
          SO EQUIPPING THE WELL MEANS PUMPS AND MOTORS, UH, PIPING ELECTRICAL. 
          SO WE NEED INFORMATION FROM THE DRILLING, UM, TO COMPLETE THE EQUIPMENT. 
          THAT ALSO REQUIRES SOME DDW, UH, COORDINATION, RIGHT? SO THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF COORDINATION EFFORT WITH, UH, THE REGULATORY AGENCY. 
          IN ADDITION TO THAT, FACING LONG LEAD ITEMS, UH, FOR ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, AT ONE POINT IN TIME IT WOULD TAKE A YEAR, UH, TO ORDER THESE, UH, TYPE OF, UH, EQUIPMENT. 
          SO WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, YOU'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT A THREE TO FOUR YEAR, UH, FROM WE GET INTO IT, ONCE THE WELL IS INSTRUCTED, WE STILL HAVE TO GO BACK TO DDDW AND GET, UH, APPROVAL, FINAL APPROVAL. 
          SO THAT TAKES YOUR TIME AS WELL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, ROBERT, THANK YOU. 
          I WANNA THANK, UH, YOU AND DENNIS AND HIS TEAM, UH, GOING ALONG WITH WHAT, UH, PRESIDENT SCOTT SAID ABOUT THE FINAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE HANDBOOK. 
          I THINK THAT'S INCREDIBLE. 
          GREAT. 
          MOVING FORWARD, UM, MY, MY QUESTION AND MY COMMENT REALLY IS ABOUT, UM, THE IN-HOUSE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT, UH, EFFORTS, WHICH I APPLAUD YOU FOR THAT. 
          UM, THINKING LOFTY, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE COULD INCREASE IF WE HAD A TRAINING CENTER, A TRAINING CENTER FOR, WELL, FOR WHATEVER, FOR APPRENTICES, FOR, UH, APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS, FOR, UH, CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT, FOR IN-HOUSE EMPLOYEES? CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT IS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ELEMENT TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BIT. 
          AND THE REASON BE BEING THAT IT REPRESENTS A CERTAIN SKILL LEVEL THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY AN APPRENTICESHIP. 
          AT THE SAME TIME, THOUGH, AT THE SAME TIME, THERE CAN BE AN INTERNAL COMPONENT AS PEOPLE PROGRESS THROUGH. 
          SO WE'VE HAD PEOPLE IN CAREER DEVELOPMENT, PROGRESS THROUGH OPERATIONS, WIND UP IN INSPECTION, IN SOME CASES WITH PROPER PERTAINING, WITH THE BACKGROUND OF INSPECTION, YOU CAN LOGICALLY MOVE INTO CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT. 
          IT IS NECESSARILY DIFFERENT THAN THE ASPECT OF A TRAINING CENTER AND BRINGING SOMEBODY IN AT A VERY BASE LEVEL OF SKILLS. 
          OKAY. 
          SO I, I, I'M ASSUMING I'M NAIVE ON THIS, BUT THAT THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO THAT WE CAN'T DO THAT WE'LL PROBABLY NEVER BE ABLE TO REALLY DO UNLESS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO ALWAYS HAVE OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT. 
          OKAY? THERE ARE CERTAIN PROJECTS THAT WE MANAGE, SUCH AS A PUMP STATION OR WELL, WHICH REQUIRES SPECIALTY INSPECTION, WHICH IS BEYOND OUR, OUR, YOU KNOW, EXPERTISE, SO TO SPEAK. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE STRUCTURAL AND, UH, MECHANICAL INSPECTIONS THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN. 
          UM, THAT AGAIN, WHICH IS OUTSIDE OF OUR, UH, EXPERTISE. 
          SO, YES, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, , WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE A ELEMENT OF RELYING ON THIRD PARTY CONSULTANTS FOR CM AND INSPECTION SERVICES. 
          BUT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO TACKLE, UH, THE PROJECTS THAT WE ARE ABLE, THAT'S A LOT OF OUR PIPE WATER. 
          I, I HOPE WE CAN FOLLOW THAT, UH, THE GOOD WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING ON THAT, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S AN AREA THAT, UM, I THINK OF REAL INTEREST, I WOULD BELIEVE TO US. 
          SURE. 
          FIND OUT WHERE WE GO. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          ANY OTHER COMMENTS? GREAT. 
          THANK YOU, SIR. 
          UH, BUT THAT, I'LL HAND IT OVER TO MORNING COMMISSIONERS HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING THE LAST WARM ACT FOR OUR GENERAL MANAGER. 
          COMES BACK UP HERE, . 
          I ALSO HAVE A PRIVILEGE OF TALKING ABOUT ALL THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT WE'VE DONE IN GAS ENGINEERING. 
          AND I WANT GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THE PEOPLE WHO DO THE REAL WORK. 
          UH, CAVO, WHO'S ONE OF OUR ENGINEERING MANAGERS, HE OVERSEES A LOT OF OUR CIP PROGRAM, OUR ENGINEERS, AND OUR, OUR ENGINEERING TECHS. 
          AND CHUCK , WHO IS, UH, ALSO ONE OF OUR ENGINEERING MANAGERS. 
          HE OVERSEES OUR INSPECTION AND OUR COMPLIANCE PROGRAM. 
          VERY, VERY IMPORTANT PROGRAM. 
          SO I'M GONNA DO MINE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY. 
          I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND I'M GONNA ATTEMPT TO TIE IT INTO THE BUSINESS PLAN AND MERGER BENEFIT. 
          SO STARTING OFF WITH, UH, PIPELINE REPLACEMENTS. 
          SO THIS YEAR, UH, WE INSTALLED 25,000 FEET OF MAINS AND SERVICES, AND WE SPENT ACROSS 
          [02:00:01]
$13.5 MILLION. 
          A LOT OF THAT MONEY THIS YEAR WAS SPENT ON BILLABLE PROJECTS, WHICH ARE REIMBURSABLE, UH, IN THE PORT LONG BEACH. 
          AND I HAVE RENT IS, HAVE A SLIGHT ON THAT AS WELL. 
          AND THEN THE TIE INTO THE BUSINESS PLAN IS THIS IS FOR THE CUSTOMER, ENSURING SAFE, UH, WATER AND GAS  BENEFIT IS, UH, WATER ENGINEERING IS, UH, DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB OF, AND THEY'RE DOING PA REPLACEMENTS, BUT STILL OF ACTION AND LET US USE THEIR CONSULTANT THAT THEY HAVE FOR SOIL COMPACTION TESTING IN THE AREAS WILL BE, SOMETIMES NEED THAT ASSISTANCE. 
          SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE BENEFITS. 
          SO ON THE PB RAIL EXPANSION, WHAT I'M SHOWING HERE, SO OVERALL, WE INSTALLED ABOUT 5,100 FEET OF 12 INCH STEEL PIPE. 
          UH, THIS IS SU SUPPORT, THE PORTS PB RAIL EXPANSION PROJECT. 
          UH, SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IN THIS PHOTO HERE IS WE HAVE MADE UP OF 800 FEET OF 12 INCH STEEL. 
          ALL 800 FEET WILL THEN GOING TO BE, UH, THIS IS OUR, UH, OUR DRILL. 
          SO YOU DRILL THROUGH FROM THIS POINT HERE, AND THEN YOU, YOU GRAB THE PIPE AT THE OTHER END, AND THEN YOU PULL IT THROUGH. 
          THAT'S CALLED HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING. 
          UH, WE SOMETIMES USE THIS, UH, TO AVOID, UH, COSTING, CAUSING SERVICE, UH, DISRUPTIONS. 
          IT'S, IT'S FASTER AND, AND HOW WE, UH, DO THE, UH, CONSTRUCTION. 
          AND IT ALSO HAS THE BENEFIT, UH, OF YOU CAN, WE DID THIS, IT WAS ACTUALLY RAINING, SO YOU CAN, UH, RAIN NORMALLY WHEN YOU OPEN, TRENCH IT, WHEN IT STARTS RAINING. 
          UH, IT'S KIND OF A JOKE THAT WE HAVE, BUT, BUT CONSTRUCTION DOESN'T GET TO WORK ANYMORE WHEN IT RAIN. 
          AND THEN, UM, I THINK I FORGOT TO MENTION EARLIER SLIDE, BUT WE, WE DO HAVE A RENEWED FOCUS ON THIS YEAR DOING MORE IN-HOUSE, UH, BOTH DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. 
          SO WITH OUR ENGINEERING TEAM, THAT'S, THAT'S FOCUSED ON THE DESIGN AND THE CONSTRUCTION TEAM WHO ARE KIND OF THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS OUT THERE ON PROJECTS, UH, RELY ON OUR IN-HOUSE GAS CONSTRUCTION FOR DOING THE INSTALLATION. 
          AND THEN EVEN OUR GAS SERVICES TEAM. 
          SO IF WE'RE DOING NAMES FOR SERVICES, THEY'RE THERE TO REATTACH THE SERVICE LINE TO THE GAS METER AND, AND ENSURE THAT OUR CUSTOMERS DON'T HAVE ANY DISRUPTION TO THE SERVICE BECAUSE OF OUR CONSTRUCTION. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, AS ROB HAD MENTIONED, THERE IS SOME COST SAVINGS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS. 
          BUT THE, THE BIGGER BENEFIT IS THAT WE ARE TRAINING OUR STAFF. 
          THEY'RE DEVELOPING GREAT SKILLS THAT THEY CAN BE THE FUTURE OF LEADERS OF OUR DEPARTMENT. 
          AND WE NEED THAT, THAT DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE, UH, TO CONTINUE. 
          SO THE NEXT, UH, HIGHLIGHT I'LL TALK ABOUT IS THE FEMSA GRANT. 
          SO FEMSA A FEW YEARS AGO, IF YOU DON'T FEA IT IS THE PIPELINE HEALTH MATERIAL SAFETY ADMINISTRATION. 
          MM-HMM . 
          BUT THEY, THEY'RE PART OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, AND THEY OVERSEE, THEY, THEY'RE THE ONES WHO, UH, REGULATE OUR OPERATIONS. 
          SO THEY CREATED A PROGRAM, $1 BILLION, UH, WAS GONNA BE DISTRIBUTED OVER FIVE YEARS. 
          AND SO LA THIS YEAR WE, AFTER A FEW TRIES, WE, WE WERE AWARDED $6.8 MILLION TO REPLACE A PIPELINE THAT IS ON THE ANAHEIM STREET BRIDGE WHERE IT CROSSES THE, UH, SEVEN 10 AND LA RIVER. 
          OUR PROJECT IS TO, UH, USE AN HDD HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILL. 
          AND INSTEAD OF HAVING THE PIPELINE ON THIS BRIDGE HERE, WE'LL DIRECTIONALLY DRILL IT ACROSS, UH, THE RIVER. 
          AND, AND, UH, AND THAT'LL BE BETTER. 
          THIS PIPELINE IS CURRENTLY, THE REASON WE, WE PUT IN IS CURRENTLY HAS A LEAK ON IT, SMALL, A SMALL LEAK, BUT ALSO WE HAVE TO DO ALL OF OUR PIPELINES THAT ARE ON BRIDGES. 
          WE HAVE TO INSPECT THEM TWICE A YEAR. 
          AND WHEN WE DO THIS, WE HAVE TO COORDINATE WITH THE CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL, AND THAT REQUIRES US TO SHUT DOWN ON THREEWAY. 
          SO LIKE SEVEN MINUTES. 
          SO WE GO DO A QUICK INSPECTION OF THE BYLAW. 
          UH, FOR THIS, FOR THIS, UH, GRANT, WE RECEIVED SUPPORT AND A LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM, UH, CONGRESSMAN GARCIA AND THE COURT OF LONG BEACH BECAUSE THEY RECOGNIZED, UH, THAT WE WERE GONNA CAUSE LESS DISRUPTION BY NOT HAVING TO DO THOSE INSPECTIONS. 
          SO I WANT TO THANK HIM FOR THAT, FOR THAT SUPPORT. 
          AND, UH, THE BUSINESS PLAN, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS HELPING US BE MORE PROACTIVE AND INNOVATIVE, AND IT'S ALSO GOING TO ENSURE SAFER GAS AND WATER DELIVERY, THE, UH, THE MERGER BENEFIT. 
          AND, UH, UNFORTUNATELY, UH, WE DON'T HAVE IT HERE ANYMORE ANYMORE, BUT OUR VETERINARY AFFAIRS MANAGER, HE WORKED WITH AMERICAN PUBLIC GAS ASSOCIATION, WHICH WE'RE A MEMBER OF, AND HELPED TO ENSURE THAT THIS PROGRAM THAT WAS ORIGINALLY FOR 1 BILLION, IT'S GOING TO EXTEND BEYOND THAT, UH, FIRST 
          [02:05:01]
INITIAL FUNDING PHASE. 
          AND SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO APPLY FOR THE, FOR THE, FOR THE GRANTS, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET SOME MORE IN THE FUTURE. 
          UH, THE NEXT ONE I'LL HIGHLIGHT IS OPERATOR QUALIFICATIONS. 
          SO ALL OF OUR STAFF WHO TOUCH A PIPELINE WORK ON A PIPELINE. 
          THEY HAVE TO BE AWKWARD OR QUALIFIED, AND THAT'S A REQUIREMENT OF  IN THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. 
          WE DO THIS OQ, UH, TRAINING, TESTING EVERY THREE YEARS. 
          AND IT IS A PROGRAM WE RUN IN HOUSE. 
          SO WE HAVE OUR OWN EVALUATORS WHO, WHO GO THROUGH MORE SPECIALIZED TRAINING TO THEN TRAIN OUR STAFF TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE COMPETENT IN THE TASK THAT THEY ARE, THEY DO EVERY DAY. 
          AND, UH, ENSURE THAT, UH, WE OPERATE SAFELY. 
          UM, WE DID THIS WHOLE TRAINING OVER OUR TESTING OVER A FOUR MONTH PERIOD, AND EVERYONE FROM GAS SERVICES, GAS CONSTRUCTION AND GAS INSPECTION, UH, WENT THROUGH AND QUALIFIED, QUALIFIED OVER 100, UH, GAS STAFF. 
          AND, UH, EVERY YEAR WE, EVERY TIME WE DO THIS, WE LIKE TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THE, THE PEOPLE WHO DID REALLY EXCEPTIONALLY WELL IN, IN THE, IN THE, IN THE TECH, UH, THE OQ TESTING. 
          AND THIS YEAR IT WAS, UH, DANDY , ALEX ORTIZ AND EVAN ZA, AND THEN THE BUS. 
          THIS SUPPORTS THE BUSINESS PLAN BY PROVIDING, DEVELOPING RELIABLE AND RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          AND, UM, THE MERGER BENEFIT HERE IS, I FEEL IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN PROVIDE IS SINCE WE DO ALL OF THIS TRAINING, TRAINING AND TESTING IN HOUSE, THAT GIVES US THE ABILITY, IF WE HAD ANYONE FROM SAY, WATER OR ER, SAY, FOR LIKE LANDMARK, THERE'S ONLY A CAPACITY NEED. 
          AGAIN, WE CAN DO THAT OURSELVES. 
          IF WE EVER NEED TO FILL, FILL SPACE TO HELP US OUT, VICE VERSA. 
          OKAY. 
          I WAS TOLD TO MENTION THIS ISN'T OUR INCIDENT. 
           THE ONE TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, INVESTIGATION IN LINE MARKET. 
          SO I'LL START WITH THE LINE MARKET SINCE THAT'S KIND OF WHAT IT'S FOCUSED ON HERE. 
          SO WE RESPOND TO OVER 15,000, UH, PEOPLE OR LINE MARKETING REQUESTS THIS YEAR. 
          AND, AND IN THIS PHOTO, THIS IS, UH, THIS IS ONE WHERE SOMEONE DID NOT CALL 8 1 1, AND THEY STARTED TO THE, YOU KNOW, GET BEFORE THEY KEPT, THEY CALLED AND THEY RAN INTO, THEY DUG RIGHT INTO IT. 
          SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY IT'S SO CRITICAL. 
          IT'S WHY WE TAKE IT SO SERIOUSLY WHEN WE GET THOSE BY MARKING REQUESTS. 
          ALSO, UM, UH, INVESTIGATIONS OF OUR INSPECTION TEAM, WHEN WE DID A REQUEST LIKE THERE GONNA BE AN A DU OR SOME TYPE OF WORK ON A HOME, WE STARTED AN INVESTIGATION. 
          WE STARTED APPROXIMATELY 1000 INVESTIGATIONS THIS YEAR ALONE. 
          AND THAT'S OUR INSPECTION TEAM. 
          HAVING TO AT LEAST START TO MAKE CONTACT WITH A CUSTOMER DOESN'T ALWAYS LEAD TO US BEING INVOLVED WITH WORK. 
          WE'RE AT LEAST STARTING THAT CONVERSATION WITH THE CUSTOMER TO SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE NEED TO PROVIDE. 
          SO, AGAIN, SUPPORTS, UH, ENSURING SAFE WATER AND GAS. 
          AND THEN ONE OF THE MERGER BENEFITS HERE IS I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE SECURITY AND EMERGENCY TEAM THAT'S LED BY SEAN. 
          UH, HIS TEAM, HIM AND HIS TEAM HAVE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB OF KIND OF CREATING THESE DRILLS, EMERGENCY DRILLS, DRILLS THAT, UH, WE CAN TEST ON. 
          AND WE'VE DONE A GOOD JOB OF GETTING ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS OR ALL OF OUR, THE GAS, THE WATER, AND THE SEWER WORKING TOGETHER TO PRACTICE HOW WE RESPOND TO AN EMERGENCY. 
          AND THAT IT'S, HONESTLY, IT'S BEEN A GREAT BENEFIT, I THINK, IN TERMS OF PREPARING US FOR HOPEFULLY SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN, BUT WE'LL BE READY IF IT DOES, UH, ACROSS FOUR INSPECTIONS. 
          SO, UM, THIS YEAR WE PERFORMED 2,300 INSPECTIONS AND JUST A LITTLE BIT ON CROSS BORDERS, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THEM. 
          MOST OF OUR GAS SERVICE INSTALLATIONS ARE TRENCHES, SO WE JUST DRILL 'EM IN. 
          WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE SEWER LINES ARE SOMETIMES. 
          SO IN THE PAST, WE WOULD NOT PRE LOCATE AND KNOW WHERE THAT SEWER LINE IS. 
          AND THERE'S BEEN TIMES WHERE WE DRILL RIGHT THROUGH A SEWER LINE, A CUSTOMER SEWER LINE. 
          SO A CUSTOMER HAS A PROBLEM. 
           HAVE, LIKE, LET'S SAY THEIR, THEIR SEWER STARTS BACKING UP. 
          THEY MAY CALL A PLUMBER IF THE PLUMBER COMES OUT AND THEY WILL JUST ROTOR ROUTER RIGHT THROUGH THERE. 
          AND POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A PLASTIC LINE, WE'RE DOING THIS, BUT THEY COULD PUNCTURE THAT PLASTIC LINE. 
          AND THEN POSSIBLY THE GAS HAS A PATHWAY INTO THE HOME. 
          SO WE HAVE AN INSPECTION PROGRAM TO GO OUT AND TRY AND FIND THOSE. 
          UH, WE HAVE QUITE THE BACKLOG. 
          UH, WE DISCOVERED, UH, NINE THIS YEAR AND, AND REPAIRED ALL OF 'EM. 
          AND, UH, I WANNA MENTION THAT OUR, WE'VE IMPROVED OUR PUBLIC AWARENESS OF ACROSS FOUR, UH, RISK AND UPDATED OUR WEBSITE WITH THE HELP OF OUR PUBLIC AFFAIRS 
          [02:10:01]
TEAM. 
          THIS FITS OUR BUSINESS PLAN, AGAIN, BY ENSURING SAFE GAS AND WATER. 
          AND THEN, UH, ANOTHER MERGER BENEFIT I DID FROM AN ADDITION FROM THE, THE HELP WE'VE GOT FROM THE PUBLIC AWARENESS TEAM IS ALSO THE SEWER TEAM. 
          AND FROM TIME TO TIME WE GET OUT THERE AND THEY MAY HAVE A SEWER BACKUP. 
          WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DO OUR INSPECTIONS. 
          THEY'VE BEEN GREAT TO COME OUT, CLEAR OUT THE MAINS FOR US SO THAT WE CAN, UH, GET THOSE, UH, INSPECTIONS DONE. 
          SO THAT WAS DEFINITELY A GOOD BENEFIT THERE. 
          AND FINALLY, I WANT TO CLOSE ON CUSTOMER COMPLIMENTS. 
          SO WE'VE HAD A FEW OF OUR EMPLOYEES THAT WERE HIGHLIGHTED IN THE, THE NEWSLETTER THAT WE SENT OUT FOR THE, THE GREAT WORK THEY DO OUT THERE. 
          AND IT'S ALWAYS THE MA'S NAME WHEN YOU HAVE A CUSTOMER WHO TAKES THE TIME TO SEND US AN EMAIL OR MAKE A PHONE CALL TO SAY HOW WELL ONE OF OUR EMPLOYEES DID. 
          SO RIGHT HERE WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF OUR GTS INSPECTORS WHO'VE BEEN, UH, RECOGNIZED. 
          AND THEN ALSO THE OTHER PHOTO THERE IS ONE OF OUR EMPLOYEES IS RECOGNIZED AS THE EMPLOYEE, THE CITY. 
          SO THAT WAS GREAT. 
          UH, BUSINESS PLAN FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE REPLACE CULTURE AND, UH, THESE RECOGNITIONS HELP WITH EMPLOYEE RETENTION BY MAKING, AND ONE OF THE, AGAIN, SHOUT OUT TO PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 
          I THINK THIS NEWSLETTER HAS DONE A GOOD JOB OF GETTING OUT THERE, HAVING EVERYBODY IS DOING, DON'T TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ASK. 
          THANK YOU, KEVIN. 
          UH, THANK YOU. 
          UH, HIGHLIGHTING, MERGER, TICKS MY BOX, ALL OF MY BOXES RIGHT THERE. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          UM, IS THERE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? CAN YOU AGAIN SAY THE, THE P-H-M-S-A IS A, IS A PIPELINE HEALTH PIPELINE HAZARD HAZARD MATERIAL SAFETY. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THAT, AND IT IS A FEDERAL THROUGH THE FEDERAL STATE? YES. 
          IT'S PART OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. 
          AND OUR GRANT WAS DONE THROUGH OUR IN SUPPORT OF WITH OUR, SO KEVIN APPLIED FOR IT THREE TIMES, AND THIRD TIME WAS THE CHARM, THIRD TIME WAS THE CHARM. 
          OH, GOOD. 
          BUT SO WHERE WE GOT THE HELP FROM GOVERNOR AFFAIRS IS, UH, NICK HELPED LOBBY WITH, UH, HE, HE HELPED ENCOURAGE WITH A PGA, WHICH WE'RE A MEMBER OF IN OUR LOCAL GAS ASSOCIATION TO, UH, EXTEND THIS PROGRAM BEYOND, ITS, ITS INITIAL FIVE YEARS. 
          I DON'T KNOW WHAT AT WHAT FUNDING LEVEL IT'S GONNA GO, BUT IT'S, IT SEEMS PRETTY, UH, DEFINITIVE THAT IT WILL GO BEYOND ADDITIONAL FIVE YEARS. 
          RIGHT. 
          GOOD, GOOD WORK. 
          UM, I THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING, AGAIN, AS I THINK EVERYBODY HAS ALREADY THAT HAS PRESENTED, UH, TRAINING IN-HOUSE. 
          I APPRECIATE THE EMPHASIS ON THAT. 
          AND THEN LASTLY, UM, LONG BEACH LEADS THE PRODUCTION OF ADUS IN THE STATE. 
          YEAH, DIANE ASKED ME THE SAME THING. 
          , LET'S JUST SAY IT IS LEADERS. 
          WELL, I READ THAT ON A LONG BEACH POST. 
          I DON'T KNOW. 
          SO MY SOURCE IN LONG BEACH FESTIVAL. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH, I, BUT WE DEFINITELY HAVE ADDED A LOT. 
          YEAH, I THINK AS A, FOR THE SIZE OF OUR CITY, WE'RE, WE'RE DEFINITELY ADDING A LOT TO CALIFORNIA. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THAT, AND THEN OVER THE, BECAUSE OF THE ADUS, DOES THAT INCREASE THE DIG ALERTS? YES, IT CAN AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          SO HOPEFULLY, YES, HOPEFULLY WE CALLING HAVE WE HAD TO ADD STAFF ON, BECAUSE WE HAVE, THAT'S A BIG DEAL NOW. 
          I MEAN, NO, WE'RE ABLE TO ENCUMBER THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO SUN COSTS, OKAY, GREAT. 
          WOW, THAT'S INTERESTING. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          GOOD. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND THEN NEXT STEP IS OUR GENERAL MANAGER POLICY. 
          THIS ONE, SEE THE, REMEMBER THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO I KNOW WE'RE MANAGING TIME, I THINK THAT, I WANNA SAY IN THE INTEREST OF MANAGING TIME, BUT THAT'S ACTUALLY THE SUCCESS OF WHAT HAPPENED HERE TODAY. 
          IT, IT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS IN MY OPINION IN TERMS OF THE INTERACTION THAT STAFF GOT TO HAVE WITH YOU IN TERMS OF YOU GAINING AN ADDITIONAL LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING BOTH IN THE SCOPE, THE BREADTH, AND THE WELL AND DETAIL, THE DEPTH OF THE ORGANIZATION AND ITS EFFORTS. 
          I DO HAVE, UH, A COUPLE OF COMMENTS ON LOOKING AHEAD IN JUST OF TIME. 
          I'LL BE BRIEF ON THAT STILL WITH THE OBJECTIVE TO GIVE YOU A SUMMARY AND IN TERMS OF AGENDA MANAGEMENT, UH, WITH YOUR PERMISSION. 
          BUT SCOTT, I'LL INTERACT WITH THE BOARD FOR THE REST OF THE MEETING FROM HERE. 
          SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA GO INTO, LOOK AHEAD. 
          I, WHAT I HAVE HERE IS REALLY AGAIN, JUST A SNAPSHOT, A SUMMARY FROM THE EXECUTIVE TEAM ITSELF IN TERMS OF WHAT THE LOOK AHEAD REPRESENTS. 
          I'M GONNA GO THROUGH THIS, BUT BEFORE I DO THAT, THERE'S AN ELEMENT HERE THAT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT IS THIS ASPECT 
          [02:15:01]
OF LOOKING AHEAD. 
          SO YOU HEARD TODAY FROM ENGINEERING AND KEVIN AND BROCK DID A FANTASTIC JOB WITH TELLING YOU ALL THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 
          ONE OF THE OTHER MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS HAS BEEN THE SELECTION OF A SENIOR DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING. 
          AND THOMAS IS HERE WITH US TODAY. 
          HE'S OUR NEW SENIOR DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING. 
          YOU DON'T ME TO STAND, OH, . 
          AND, UH, YOU THOMAS. 
          AND WITH THAT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOOK AHEAD, THAT'S ALSO THE ASPECT OF LOOKING AHEAD. 
          THERE'S STILL A LOT OF EFFORT IN ENGINEERING. 
          YOU GOT A SNAPSHOT TODAY. 
          GOING AHEAD, THOMAS IS GONNA BE WORKING WITH KEVIN AND ROB AND TEAM TO HELP US, LEAD US INTO SOME OF THESE MAJOR INITIATIVES. 
          SO LET'S TALK FOR A MOMENT ABOUT THIS. 
          LOOK AHEAD THERE. 
          THERE'S ELEMENTS THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION THAT ARE GONNA BE FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING OUR WORKFORCE AND OUR WORKPLACE CULTURE, WHETHER THAT'S IDENTIFYING AND EXECUTING CROSS DIVISIONAL CONSOLIDATION SYNERGIES. 
          YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THESE ELEMENTS THROUGHOUT. 
          WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE MERGER? THAT'S GONNA BE ONE CRITICAL ELEMENT. 
          LEADERSHIP CAPACITY AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACROSS DIVISIONS. 
          STRENGTHENING THAT BY INCREASED ACCESS TO TRAINING AND  PERSPECTIVES THAT ARE DRIVEN BY THE MANAGERS THEMSELVES. 
          YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THAT AS WELL IN UTILITY BUSINESS SERVICES. 
          LISA'S AREA, LISA MARTINEZ, THERE'S GONNA BE BOTH IN LISA MARTINEZ AND BEL YET IS, THERE'S GONNA BE SUCCESSION FINDING OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, THE MOST CRITICAL ELEMENTS AS WELL AS BILLING SERVICES. 
          AND STAFFING THAT AND MANAGING THAT IN A PARTICULAR WAY WILL BE ANOTHER CRITICAL ELEMENT THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE DOING. 
          UM, YOU'RE GONNA SEE OUR EFFORTS IN A DOCUMENTED, UNIFIED SET OF PERSONNEL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR ALL UTILITY EMPLOYEES AND ENGINEERING IS GONNA WORK AND COLLABORATE TO DEVELOP A SUMMER INTER PROGRAM. 
          A LITTLE BIT TO YOUR COMMENT, WHICH REPORT TO HAROLD, WITH THE FOCUS OF IMPROVEMENT FOR LONG BEACH SCHOOLS FOR THAT FIRM, SOME CRITICAL OPERATIONAL GOALS. 
          WE KNOW THAT FIRE HYDRANTS IS A CRITICAL ASPECT OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          THAT WORK PRESENTS A TOUCH POINT, DIFFERENT ELEMENTS, OFS OF SERVICE AND SECURITY AND SAFETY. 
          AND SO WE'RE GOING TO ESTABLISH A COLLECTION OF DATABASE FOR ALL FIRE HYDRANT INSPECTION DATA FOR 7,000 HYBRIDS CURRENTLY WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS IN THE LONG BEACH UTILITY SERVICE AREA. 
          WE'RE GONNA COMPLETE THE GAS DATA, PLC GROUNDABLE FOR GROUNDABLE LOGIC CONTROL OR REPLACEMENT PROJECT. 
          WE'RE GONNA SET UP WRITTEN STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR THE NEW SYSTEM AND THE EVENT THAT WE NEED TO GO MANUAL ON A SYSTEM IF WE NEED TO. 
          AND THEN VEHICLES ARE AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT ASSET FOR THE ORGANIZATION. 
          WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT THE 10 YEAR VEHICLE REPLACEMENT PLAN AND MAINTAIN, I FORGOT THE ACRONYM. 
          UH, HELP ME. 
          ADVANCED CLEAN FLEET. 
          ADVANCED CLEAN FLEET COMPLIANCE INITIATIVE COMPLIANCE, THANK YOU. 
          IN RESOURCE BINDING AND CONSERVATION, COMPLETING THE WATER RESOURCES PLAN, THE 25 YEAR LOOK AHEAD FOR HOW WE MANAGE OUR WATER RESOURCES AND HOW WE DEAL WITH THIS CRITICAL RESOURCE IN THE FACE OF INCREASING SCARCITY ACROSS THE STATE AND ACROSS THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. 
          THAT'S GONNA BE A CRITICAL ELEMENT, AND YOU AS A BOARD WILL BE ENGAGED IN THAT EFFORT. 
          AT THE SAME TIME, THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA HAS A REQUIREMENT FOR US THAT IN THE SAME CYCLE WE COMPLETE THE URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN. 
          THEY'RE BOTH CALLED PLANS, BUT THE URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN IS MORE LIKE A COOKBOOK THAT THE STATE SETS UP AND DEMANDS THAT EVERYBODY FOLLOW THE COOKBOOK RECIPE. 
          SO AS A STATE, IT CAN SAY, I TOOK EVERYBODY'S INPUT IN A STANDARD FORM AND LAID IT OUT DIFFERENT THAN THE WATER RESOURCES PLAN. 
          WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT MORE DETAIL WITH THAT. 
          AND AS WAS HIGHLIGHTED TO YOU, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO EXPAND GAS EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS TO OUR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS AS WELL. 
          IN ENGINEERING, YOU HEARD AND YOU ENGAGED. 
          I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR THE DISCUSSION YOU HAD OUR FURTHER EXPANSION OF IN-HOUSE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA INITIATE COLLABORATION EFFORTS FOR ENGINEERING PROGRAMS BETWEEN WATER AND GAS, WITH A FOCUS ON CATHARTIC PROTECTION AND BRIDGE CROSSINGS. 
          THIS IS GONNA BE ADDITIONAL EFFICIENCIES GAINED AS A RESULT OF THE MERGER. 
          WE'RE GONNA DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT THE CIP PROJECT REQUEST PROCESS FOR FISCAL YEAR BUDGET DEVELOPMENT AND CONTRIBUTE TO WHAT STEPHANIE HIGHLIGHTED FOR YOU IS THE 10 YEAR PLANNING CYCLE. 
          TO HAVE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AS TO HOW CIP PROJECTS GET MANAGED OVER THE LONG TERM FINANCE INFORMATION SERVICE. 
          WE'RE GONNA HAVE A CRITICAL EFFORT COMING IN THIS CALENDAR YEAR, WHICH IS TO SET OURSELVES UP WITH A COMPREHENSIVE COST OF SERVICE RATE STUDY FOR WATER AND SEWER THAT WILL ALLOW YOU AS THE BOARD TO ENGAGE IN ACTIVE MANAGEMENT OF OUR NEW RATE STRUCTURE THAT WILL COME AS A RESULT OF THIS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 28 BUDGET CYCLE, A NEW APPROACH TO BUDGET PREPARATION AND COMMUNICATION WITH ENHANCED INTERNAL MANAGEMENT, INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT, GM LEADERSHIP, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR TIMELY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. 
          SO AN ENTIRE APPROACH TO DEVELOPING THE BUDGET THAT ALLOWS US TO BE ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T CREATE THE PERCEPTION THAT THE ONLY REASON WE SHOW UP IS TO DISCUSS BUDGET 
          [02:20:01]
AND RATES AT THAT TIME. 
          A MORE COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO THAT OVER THE FORCE OF TIME WITH THE COMMUNITY AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE'RE GIVING YOU AN INCREASED, MORE IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE BUDGET AND RATES IS ONE OF OUR KEY COMMITMENTS FOR THE START OF THIS WEEK. 
          BROAD RANGE FINANCIAL PLANNING IS STEPHANIE HIGHLIGHTED THE FACT THAT YOU NOW HAVE A 10 YEAR TOOL. 
          IT'S TIME TO PUT THAT TOOL TO USE AS WE ENGAGE IN DIFFERENT TOPICS AND DIFFERENT DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO USE THAT TOOL TO COMMUNICATE TO YOU THE CONSEQUENCES OF PROGRAMS, THE CONSEQUENCES OF DIRECTIONS THAT WE MAY CHOOSE TO SELL. 
          THE AREA OF INFORMATION SERVICES, INFORMATION SERVICES, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SPANS SO MANY DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE UTILITY. 
          WHETHER IT IS SIMPLY WHAT YOU RECOGNIZE AS COMPUTERS AND SOFTWARE ITSELF, OR WHETHER IT IS THE INHERENT OPERATIONS OF THE UTILITY, IT AND OT GO TOGETHER BECAUSE THEY GO TOGETHER. 
          IT REQUIRES A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT. 
          SO CRITICAL FOR US GOING FORWARD, THIS ESTABLISHMENT OF AN IT GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE, THAT WE HAVE A COLLECTIVE LOOK AND A COLLECTIVE WORK WITH ALVIN TO MANAGE IT GOING INTO THE FUTURE. 
          IN THE CONTEXT OF THAT, IN THE CONTEXT OF EMPHASIS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND SO FORTH, I COMMENTED TO YOU MANY A TIME, AI IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE DATA. 
          AND FOR US AS A UTILITY, IT'S TIME TO MOVE INTO THE ERA OF ENTERPRISE ASSET MANAGEMENT. 
          THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE AN ACTIVE NETWORK THAT ASSEMBLES OUR DATA IN A WAY THAT THE PROMISE OF AI TO THE EXTENT THAT IT'S OFFERED, CAN ACTUALLY BE SEIZED UPON GOING FORWARD. 
          AND PRESIDENT SCOTT, AS YOU HIGHLIGHTED, I JUST DON'T NEED TO REPEAT IT IN DETAIL HERE. 
          THE STRATEGIC PLAN, A CRITICAL EFFORT THAT YOU POINTED OUT, A FRAMEWORK AND A DECISION IN THIS COMING YEAR ON CAMPUS REDEVELOPMENT, A MASTER PLAN AND A SCHEDULE FOR THE GROUNDWATER RESILIENCE PROGRAM. 
          WE'RE GOING TO REENGAGE AND REINITIATE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PORT OF LONG BEACH WATER TRANSFER WATER SYSTEM TRANSFER. 
          AND ACROSS ALL FRONTS, ACROSS ALL FRONTS, BEING ABLE TO WORK WITH OUR OTHER PARTNER DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR CITY IS READY AND PREPARED FOR DELIVERING EVERYTHING THAT IS INTENDED TO BE DELIVERED WITH LOS ANGELES 28. 
          THAT IS ANOTHER CRITICAL ELEMENT THAT WE HAVE. 
          SO, LIKE I SAID, IT'S JUST A FREE FLOW AND THAT WAS THE ENTIRE GOAL OF TODAY. 
          THERE IS MUCH, MUCH MORE, AND YOU'VE SEEN IT IN THE PRESENTATIONS THAT WE'VE MADE TO YOU THAT CAME FORWARD FOR BOTH THE FISCAL YEAR 25 BUSINESS PLAN AND THE FISCAL YEAR 26 FISCAL PLAN. 
          IN THE END. 
          IN THE END, IT IS THE MANAGEMENT TEAM THAT WAS PRESENTED TO YOU AND THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SO MANY OTHERS HERE THAT MAKE THIS POSSIBLE. 
          SO I'D LIKE TO TAKE WITH YOUR INDULGENCE FOR JUST A MOMENT, I'D LIKE YOU ALL TO STAND, PLEASE STAND. 
          WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AS WE GO INTO FISCAL YEAR 26 IN JEFF . 
          SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. 
          AND THEN WITH YOUR INDULGENCE, I'LL FINISH THE REST OF THE AGENDA FROM HERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          F THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP. 
          THANK YOU FOR THIS. 
          THIS I THINK, HAS BEEN EXTREMELY HELPFUL TO THE, TO THE BOARD AND, AND IT'S PROBABLY AN EXCELLENT EXERCISE FOR THE MANAGEMENT TEAM TO GO THROUGH AND, AND, UH, YOUR BRIEF LOOK AHEAD FOR 2026, THAT, THAT SEEMS LIKE ABOUT A DECADE'S WORTH OF STUFF CRAMMED IN THE NEXT YEAR. 
          . 
          UH, I'M, I'M EXCITED TO SEE ALL THAT. 
          THAT'S, UH, FANTASTIC. 
          AND I, I'M, I'M GRATEFUL PRESENT TO BE ABLE TO, TO, TO, TO GO THROUGH THIS EXPERIENCE AT THIS BIBLICAL WALLET FOR THE UTILITIES. 
          UH, I'M SUPER EXCITED ABOUT YOU AND YOUR TEAM. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I JUST WANNA, UM, ECHO AND, AND THANK YOU. 
          I, I'M ACTUALLY REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE BRIEF LOOK AHEAD. 
          I THINK THERE'S A LOT THERE FOR, UM, A LOT OF US TO GET ENGAGED IN. 
          I THINK IT'S REALLY EXCITING. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          UM, I THINK I'VE SAID THIS SAME BEFORE. 
          UM, AND THIS IS FOR THE MANAGEMENT TEAM AS WELL AS YOU. 
          UM, ONE OF MY FAVORITE QUOTES IS, I AM THEIR LEADER. 
          WHERE DID THEY GO? THIS WAS A CLEAR INDICATION THAT MANAGEMENT TEAM GOES, AND I THINK IT'S WITH YOUR SUPPORT AND YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT, AND YOU, YOU ALL DID SUCH AN INCREDIBLE JOB TODAY. 
          SO CONTINUE TO DO THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          VERY PROUD OF YOU MR. I'LL JUST SAY THAT. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THE CITY FOR MANY YEARS, UH, I'VE, UH, ADMIRED THE, THE WATER DEPARTMENT NOW, THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT, UM, FOR BEING A WELL RUN DEPARTMENT. 
          [02:25:01]
AND, UM, THE PRESENTATIONS THAT I HEARD HERE TODAY, THE DIRECTION THAT WE ARE GOING IN, UM, VALIDATES THAT THIS IS A WELL RUN DEPARTMENT, UM, WITH VERY QUALIFIED AND PROFESSIONALS, UH, AT THE HELM. 
          SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR EVERY, THE WORK THAT EVERYBODY IS DOING AND CONTINUES TO DO. 
          AND, UH, IT'S REFRESHING TO KNOW THAT WE, UH, ARE WORKING TOWARD CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL THE SPEAKERS. 
          IT WAS VERY GOOD TO HEAR EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY DID A GREAT JOB AND IT REALLY HELPED EDUCATE US OR MYSELF FOR SURE ON WHAT EVERYBODY'S DOING. 
          AND I KNOW EVERYONE'S BUSY, UH, SO THIS WAS EXTRA THING ON YOUR PLATE TO PUT TOGETHER AND PRESENT, BUT, UH, IT IS APPRECIATED AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYBODY COMING HERE AND SITTING IN THE BACK. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          YES, I'M JUST PROUD TO BE A PART OF THIS AND PROUD OF YOU, ANATOL. 
          CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR, YOUR YEAR, EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTS YOU. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UH, SO I THINK WE NEED TO ASK, UH, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? ARE WE DOING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS? UM, SO, UH, NO PUBLIC COMMENTS. 
          UH, UH, WE HAVE A, UH, MOTION TO RECEIVE AND FILE THE, UH, VISUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND FY 2026. 
          LOOK AHEAD. 
          UH, WE'VE GOT A, UH, FIRST AND A SECOND. 
          UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. 
          AYE. 
          AYE. 
          ANY OPPOSED? UNOPPOSED. 
          SO NOW PUBLIC COMMENT, PERIOD. 
          ALRIGHT, UH, SO NOW, UH, IS THERE ANY, ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON A NON AGENDA ITEM? SEEING NONE. 
          THE PUBLIC COMMENT 
          [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.]
PERIOD IS NOW CLOSED. 
          AND BACK TO YOU A**L. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. 
          SO I HAVE A SERIES OF ANNOUNCEMENTS TO MAKE. 
          FIRST AND FOREMOST, I HAVE, UH, TWO 
          [ANNOUNCEMENTS]
SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS TO MAKE. 
          UH, THE FIRST ONE IS ED FARRELL, ED IS HERE WITH US TODAY. 
          UM, AND SO I JUST, INSTEAD OF, UH, TRYING TO IMPROVISE THESE COMMENTS, I THINK IT'S WELL WORTH IT. 
          YOU HEAR, UH, THAT YOU HEAR THIS SUMMARY OF, OF THEIR EFFORTS. 
          SO ED, HE'S GAS SERVICES DIRECTOR AT LONG BEACH UTILITIES AND HE'S RETIRING AFTER  CALCULATED DECIMAL TWO YEARS OF SERVICE AFTER 33.2 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, ALL OF WHICH HAS BEEN DEDICATED TO THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF GAS SERVICES. 
          ED FARRELL WOULD BE RETIRING AS OF DECEMBER 4TH, WHICH IS WHY YOU'RE HERE AS A MEMBER OF PUBLIC  SERVICE. 
          ED BEGAN HIS CAREER AS A NON-CAREER METER READER WITH COMMERCIAL SERVICES IN 1989. 
          ED BECAME A FULL-TIME GAS FIELD SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE WITH THE GAS DEPARTMENT IN 1997. 
          OVER THE YEARS, HE HAS HELD AND MASTERED EVERY POSITION WITHIN THE GAS SERVICES BUREAU AND HOLD HAS HELD THE POSITIONS OF GAS FIELD SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE, GAS DISTRIBUTION SUPERVISOR, ONE GAS DISTRIBUTION SUPERVISOR, TWO MANAGER OF GAS SERVICES, AND NOW DIRECTING GAS SERVICES. 
          ED BEING THE CONSUMMATE PROFESSIONAL THAT HE IS ALSO HAD THE ROLE HELD THE ROLE OF ACTING DIRECTOR OF ENERGY RESOURCES PRIOR TO THE HIRING, HIRING CLOUD DOW FOR THE POSITION BACK IN 2016. 
          THAT IS A TESTAMENT TO DEDICATION AND SERVICE THAT ED REPRESENTS. 
          SO I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE ED FOR HIS 33.2 YEARS OF SERVICE ED. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          ALSO, TODAY WE HAVE WITH US LORI DIAZ. 
          LORI . 
          THANK YOU LORI . 
          SO FOR DECADES, LORI DIAZ HAS BEEN THE QUIET FORCE OF DEVOTION AND DISCIPLINE AND HEART WITH THE LONG BEACH UTILITIES DEPARTMENT. 
          SHE BEGAN HER JOURNEY IN JANUARY, 1985 AS A CLERK PIPES IN THE ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION BUREAU, NOT YET KNOWING THAT HER CALM STRENGTH INSTEAD OF FAST WORK ETHIC, WHICH SHAPED THE CULTURE OF EVERY TEAM, UNFORTUNATE TO HAVE. 
          FROM THAT VERY FIRST DAY, LORI DISPLAYED A RARE COMBINATION OF PRECISION, HUMILITY AND THE WARMTH, THE KIND OF PROFESSIONALISM THAT ELEVATED THE PEOPLE AROUND HER. 
          SHE SERVED UNDER 10 BUREAU MANAGERS, ADAPTED TO FOUR DIFFERENT BUREAUS, AND GRACEFULLY NAVIGATED TREMENDOUS ORGANIZATIONAL EVOLUTION, INCLUDING THE DISMANTLING OF HISTORIC GAS HOLDER, THE TURBULENCE OF THE GAS CRISIS, AND A PARADE OF DEPARTMENT NAME CHANGES THAT COULD FILL AN ENTIRE BUSINESS CARD, UH, ROLE. 
          SO TO 
          [02:30:01]
GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT, WE HAVE THE LONG BEACH GAS DEPARTMENT, LONG LONG BEACH GAS AND ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT, LONG BEACH ENERGY, LONG BEACH GAS AND OIL DEPARTMENT, RIGHT OUT OF BREATH ENERGY RESOURCES IN TODAY, THE LONG BEACH UTILITIES DEPARTMENT. 
          LORI HAS SEEN ALL OF THAT. 
          AND  LORI REMAINED A CONSTANT AND STEADY CENTER OF INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE. 
          AND THE LIVING EXAMPLE WAS COMMITTMENT. 
          SHE CONTRIBUTED ACCOUNTS ACROSS ENGINEERING, CONSTRUCTION, OIL OPERATIONS, BUSINESS OPERATIONS, AND UTILITY BUSINESS SERVICES BUREAUS TOUCHING NEARLY EVERY CORNER OF THE ORGANIZATION. 
          BUT NO MATTER WHERE SHE WORKED, HER IMPACT WAS THE SAME. 
          SHE BROUGHT A SENSE OF FAMILY LOYALTY AND RELIABILITY, MAKING COLLEAGUES FEEL SUPPORTED, VALUED, AND CAREFUL. 
          SO PLEASE JOIN ME IN AN APPLAUSE FOR LORI GLORIA. 
          AND FINALLY, YOU KNOW, FOR THE ENTIRE EFFORT THAT CAME HERE TODAY, I WANT TO FIRST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE VERY FACT OF THE ENVIRONMENT THAT YOU'RE SITTING IN VERY FACT IS THAT THAT ALL CAME TOGETHER. 
          AND THANK YOU TO DINA LONG AND TO SIT HERE, WORK WITH YOU. 
          THEY'VE MADE IT HAPPEN. 
          SO THIS BEING HERE IN THIS SPACE AS YOU SEE IT, THE FACT THAT WE SPENT THIS ENTIRE TIME TOGETHER IS DUE FOR THEM. 
          AND THE FACT THAT I'M HERE WITH THIS, THE FACT THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO PUSH ON AND OFF WITH THE BUTTONS, THE FACT THAT I HAVE SOMETHING THAT MAKES ME LOOK HALFWAY INTELLIGENT WHEN I'M SPEAKING TO YOU, ALL OF THAT IS AN ADDITIONAL EFFORT FROM ALVIN'S GROUP. 
          SO I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE GEORGE WONG, ELIJAH LANDON, MATTHEW CAL, AND A ORPES WHO WERE HERE HELPING MAKE ALL OF THIS HAPPEN AND HELPING MAKE ALL AS POSSIBLE. 
          SO PLEASE JOIN IN YOUR HONOR. 
          CALL. 
          SO TODAY WAS SOME THINGS DIFFERENT. 
          UM, AND IT IS A FIRST, SO I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS QUOTE. 
          UM, THIS QUOTE IS ONE THAT I OFTEN THINK ABOUT IN MOMENTS LIKE THIS. 
          SO IT WAS WORLD WAR II, EUROPE WAS IN CRISIS. 
          AND AT THE HEIGHT OF THAT CRISIS, THE FUTURE WAS STILL YET OF CERTAIN, AND YET I'M NOT. 
          BUT THERE HAD BEEN A CHANGE. 
          THE BATTLE OF AL  IN THE MIDDLE EAST HAD SECURED A VICTORY FOR THE ALLIED FORCES, BUT IT WAS JUST A VICTORY IN THE MIDDLE OF COMPLETE CHAOS. 
          SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL HAD A QUOTE, AND I'M NOT GONNA DO IT JUSTICE, I'M GONNA PARAPHRASE IT. 
          BUT IN THAT MOMENT OF TIME, TRYING TO GIVE THE SUB SEMBLANCE OR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT LIE AHEAD WINS CHURCHILL PARAPHRASING SAID, THIS IS NOT THE END. 
          THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE BEGINNING. 
          THIS IS NOT THE END. 
          THIS IS NOT THE BEGINNING OF THE END , BUT IT IS PERHAPS A BEGINNING. 
          SO WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES MY COMMENTS. 
          AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PRESIDENT SCOTT. 
          THANK YOU MEMBERS, MUCH APPRECIATE IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND WITH THAT, THIS 
          [ADJOURNMENT]
MEETING IS ADJOURNED.
* 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.