Sep 03, 2026 Utilities Commission - Retreat

PRESENT VICE PRESIDENT CORDERO.

PLEASE FACE THE FLAG, HAND OVER YOUR HEART.

READY? BEGIN THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC OF WHICH STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE OVERALL.

THANK YOU, DINA.

MAY WE PLEASE HAVE ROLL CALL PRESIDENT SCOTT.

HERE.

SECRETARY PARKIN HERE.

COMMISSIONER MCGUIRE IS ABSENT.

AND COMMISSIONER AUSTIN HERE.

WE HAVE A QUORUM.

UH, SO AGAIN, GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.

WELCOME.

UH, FIRST THANK YOU TO MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS, UH, OUR SENIOR MANAGEMENT FOLKS, OUR, OUR STAFF, OUR CONSULTANTS, BAKER TILL P, B AND A FOR COMMITTING TO A FULL DAY OF OF WORK TODAY.

IMPORTANT WORK TODAY.

UH, TODAY MARK'S AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE FOR LONG BEACH UTILITIES.

WE ARE BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING OUR FIRST STRATEGIC PLAN AS A MERGED UTILITY, AND I THINK THAT DESERVES SOME RECOGNITION.

THE MERGER BROUGHT TOGETHER ORGANIZATIONS WITH DIFFERENT HISTORIES, RESPONSIBILITIES, CULTURES, AND AREAS OF EXPERTISE.

WE'VE SPENT THE LAST FEW YEARS BRINGING THOSE PIECES TOGETHER OPERATIONALLY.

THIS STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK BEYOND THAT TRANSITION AND ASK A MORE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION.

WHAT KIND OF UTILITY DO WE WANT TO BE YEARS AHEAD IN THE FUTURE? THAT IS ULTIMATELY A GOVERNANCE QUESTION, AND THAT IS WHY THE BOARD HAS SUCH AN IMPORTANT ROLE TO PLAY IN THIS PROCESS.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO TODAY IS NOT TO MANAGE THE ORGANIZATION OR WORK THROUGH OPERATIONAL DETAILS.

MANAGEMENT BRINGS TREMENDOUS EXPERTISE TO THOSE ISSUES.

OUR JOB AS COMMISSIONERS IS TO HELP ESTABLISH THE LARGER DIRECTION TO CONSIDER OUR VISION, OUR MISSION AND VALUES, AND ULTIMATELY, THE STR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES THAT SHOULD GUIDE THIS ORGANIZATION.

AT THE SAME TIME, THIS NEEDS TO BE A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.

WE NEED THE KNOWLEDGE AND PERSPECTIVE OF OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM, STAFF, AND, AND ALL OF YOU FOLKS.

AND THAT'S WHY EVERYONE IS HERE TODAY.

I HOPE EVERYONE HERE FEELS COMFORTABLE SPEAKING CANDIDLY, CHALLENGING ASSUMPTIONS, ASKING DIFFICULT QUESTIONS, AND OCCASIONALLY DISAGREEING WITH ONE ANOTHER.

IF WE ALL ARRIVE AT EXACTLY THE SAME CONCLUSION IMMEDIATELY.

UH, WE PROBABLY HAVEN'T EXPLORED THE ISSUES DEEPLY ENOUGH.

I WANT TO ALSO EMPHASIZE ONE OTHER POINT.

WE ARE NOT EXPECTED TO FINISH THE PROCESS TODAY.

THIS IS JUST THE START.

THIS IS STEP ONE IN OUR, UH, ITERATIVE PROCESS.

TODAY IS ABOUT CREATING A STRONG FOUNDATION, UNDERSTANDING WHERE WE ARE, CONSIDERING WHERE WE WANT TO GO, AND IDENTIFYING AND BEGIN BEGINNING TO IDENTIFY THE PRINCIPLES AND PRIORITIES THAT WILL TAKE US THERE.

BY THE TIME WE COMPLETE THESE RETREATS IN THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS, I HOPE WE WILL HAVE DONE MORE THAN PRODUCED A STRATEGIC PLANNING DOCUMENT.

I HOPE WE HAVE DEVELOPED A SHARED SENSE OF DIRECTION, ONE THAT THE BOARD BELIEVES IN, THAT MANAGEMENT CAN TRANSLATE INTO ACTION, AND THAT OUR EMPLOYEES CAN RECOGNIZE AS MEANINGFUL TO THE WORK THAT THEY DO EVERY DAY.

FOR TODAY, I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO FULLY PARTICIPATE, SPEAK FREELY, LISTEN CAREFULLY, AND THINK BEYOND THE, IMMEDIATELY THE IMMEDIATE CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF US.

WE HAVE A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO HELP DEFINE THE NEXT CHAPTER IN LONG BEACH UTILITIES.

I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO WHAT WE BUILD TOGETHER.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO, SIR, DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR ARE WE GOING IN ORDER? GOTCHA.

SO STUDY SESSION, UH, NUMBER ONE, UH, IS THE ONLY AGENDA ITEM WE HAVE TODAY.

RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLANNING WORKSHOP, PART ONE.

MAY I PLEASE HAVE A MOTION? THANK YOU.

AND SECOND, THANK YOU.

UH, AND NOW I WILL CALL ON GENERAL MANAGER ANTO FEGAN.

THAT WE'VE COMMITTED TO EVERY SIDE OF THE BOX, EVERY CHALLENGE HAS OPPORTUNITIES THAT GO ALONG WITH IT.

SO THIS IS, AS PRESIDENT SCOTT SAID, A MOMENTOUS OCCASION FOR US.

AND THIS IS INDEED A COLLABORATIVE SPACE COLLABORATION WORKING TOGETHER.

IN SOME CASES, YOU'VE SEEN ME DISCUSS BEFORE A CONCEPT THAT THERE'S A LOT OF CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE.

AND I BROUGHT FORTH THE CONCEPT THAT THOSE CHALLENGES, WHEN THEY CONFRONT US, THEY CAN FEEL LIKE THE SIDES OF A BOX ADD UP, ALL THOSE CHALLENGES, THE RIGHT NUMBER OF SIDES IN THE LID, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU'RE BOXED IN.

YOU CAN'T MOVE, YOU CAN'T GET OUT, YOU CAN'T FIND A WAY OUTTA THE BOX.

I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THAT BECAUSE IN THE SPACE THAT WE HAVE TODAY IN THIS PROCESS

[00:05:01]

NOT JUST ONE, IN SOME CASES, MORE THAN ONE.

IF YOU'RE ABLE TO EXPLORE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES, IF YOU'RE ABLE TO FIND THOSE OPPORTUNITIES, THE NEXT IMAGE I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU IS THAT YOU WILL LITERALLY BREAK DOWN THAT BOX.

YOU WILL UNFOLD THAT BOX, AND INSTEAD OF BEING BOXED IN, YOU'LL HAVE A MAP.

YOU'LL HAVE A MAP FULL OF OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU CAN TAKE TO OVERCOME THOSE CHALLENGES THAT AT ONE TIME SEEMED SO INCREDIBLE THAT YOU WERE LITERALLY GOING TO GET BOXED IN.

NOW, LAYING OUT A MAP, LAYING OUT A MAP, AND BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT MAP CAN BE A VERY, VERY SCARY PROPOSITION.

THERE'S ANOTHER ELEMENT TO THINK ABOUT, AND IT'S IN A COMMON PHRASE THAT THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY.

THINK ABOUT THAT.

THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY.

IF I THINK BACK TO MY GENERATION, AND WE USED AAA TO DO TRIP TICKETS FOR US, AND THEY LAID OUT THE MAP, AND THEY TALKED ABOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT PLACES WE WERE GONNA TRAVEL TO PLACES IN CITIES WE WERE GONNA VISIT AND STUFF.

AND THEN INVARIABLY, WE STARTED DRIVING ALONG THE ROAD AND WE START FINDING THINGS DON'T NECESSARILY MATCH UP TO THE MAP.

THE TERRITORY IS DIFFERENT THAN THE MAP.

SO AS YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING TODAY, THERE'S ALSO THIS ELEMENT THAT AS YOU'RE TRYING TO THINK TODAY ABOUT WHAT TO DO, IT CAN BECOME VERY SCARY.

WHAT IF YOU'RE WRONG? AFTER ALL, THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY, BUT IN WHAT PRESIDENT SCOTT HAS SHARED TODAY REPRESENTS THE ADDITIONAL PIECE TO YOUR EFFORT, RIGHT? IN THIS SHARED FOUNDATION THAT WE HAVE THAT WE'RE BUILDING IS THIS ELEMENT THAT WE'RE ALWAYS GOING TO BE COMMITTED TO REVISITING THIS MAP THAT WE'LL HAVE THE CHANCE TO UPDATE IT.

SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE PROCESS BEFORE YOU TODAY, WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY TRYING TO COME UP WITH AUTOMATIC SOLUTIONS.

WE'RE NOT TRYING TO DEFINE SOMETHING THAT IS FOREVER, BUT RATHER REPRESENTS THE FIRST STEPS TOWARDS WHAT WE WANT TO DO.

AND THAT, IN DOING THAT, IN DOING THAT, IF WE FIND OURSELVES DOWN THE ROAD NEEDING TO UPDATE, WELL, THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF IT.

WE ALREADY COMMITTED TO UPDATING IT.

IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT THAT WAY, THIS ASPECT OF STRATEGIC PLANNING, THIS ASPECT OF SETTING DIRECTION FOR WHERE YOU WANT TO GO AND WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, YOU CANNOT FAIL.

YOU CANNOT FAIL WITH THAT PROCESS IF YOU COMMIT TO IT.

SO FOR TODAY, I URGE YOU IN THE COMMENTS THAT PRESIDENT SCOTT MADE IN, IN THE IDEAS THAT I'VE SHARED WITH YOU AT THIS MOMENT, I URGE YOU TO WORK TOGETHER, AND YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY THIS BEFORE.

I URGE YOU TO FIND A WAY FORWARD COLLECTIVELY, BOARD AND MANAGERS FIND A WAY FORWARD, FIND A WAY FORWARD IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, IS WHAT WE CALL AN IMPERATIVE SENTENCE.

IT'S A COMMAND SENTENCE.

IT LEAVES NO AMBIGUITY.

AND THAT REPRESENTS BOTH THE CHALLENGE AND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TODAY.

SO WITH THIS, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO TONY, RIGHT HERE, .

DANIEL KNOWS WHAT THAT FEELS LIKE.

UM, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO TONY.

TONY'S GONNA INTRODUCE THE TEAM, AND WE'RE GONNA GET STARTED TODAY.

SO THANK YOU.

LOOK FORWARD TO A GREAT DAY.

UH, IN THE MOMENTS JUST TO COME.

GOOD MORNING, PRESIDENT SCOTT, COMMISSIONERS, COLLEAGUES AND MEMBER OF THE BAKER TILLY, BBA TEAM.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND FOR THE PREPARATION YOU HAVE BROUGHT TO TODAY'S RETREAT.

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT FIRST STEP IN DEVELOPING A UNITED STRATEGIC PLAN FOR LONG BEACH UTILITIES, ONE THAT WILL GUIDE OUR POLICY DIRECTION, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, AND OPERATIONAL PRIORITIES ACROSS OUR WATER, GAS, AND SEWER UTILITIES.

SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO PARTICIPATE OPENLY, REMAIN CURIOUS, AND KEEP OUR CUSTOMERS, EMPLOYEES AND COMMUNITY AT THE CENTER OF OUR CONVERSATION.

YOU'RE ALL GONNA GET TO KNOW, UH, THE TEAM THAT WE HAVE BEFORE YOU HERE THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND OVER THE NEXT, UH, FEW MONTHS.

SO I'M JUST GONNA GO ON A FIRST NAME BASIS, AND THEY HAVE A MUCH MORE IN DEPTH PRESENTATION OF THE TEAM,

[00:10:01]

SO I HAVE DREW DOWN ON THE FAR MY FAR RIGHT, YOUR FAR LEFT.

I HAVE ALEX, I HAVE WOODY, I HAVE KAYLA, I HAVE DEHA, I HAVE CARLY, AND I HAVE AL.

SO THEY WILL INTRODUCE THEMSELVES IN MUCH GREATER DETAIL, BUT NOW I TURN THE FLOOR OVER TO THEM AND ENJOY YOURSELVES TODAY.

GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE.

IS IS THERE A HANDHELD MICROPHONE? I DON'T LIKE STANDING BEHIND.

GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE.

UM, AS UH, TONY SAID, MY NAME IS AL ZINKA.

UM, I'M A RECOVERING CITY MANAGER WHO RETIRED A FEW YEARS AGO, AND I'M NOW A CONSULTANT AND ENJOYING WORKING, UH, WITH, WITH, UH, ALL OF YOU AND, AND THE COMMISSIONERS AND, AND ANNA TOLL AND THE ENTIRE ENTIRE TEAM.

HOW'S IT GOING, MAN? GOOD TO SEE YOU.

UM, SO, UH, A FEW THINGS JUST, YEAH, I WANT TO AGAIN, UH, JUST SAY THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR BEING HERE.

THANK YOU, ANNA TOLL, THANK YOU TEAM, UM, ALL OF YOU FOR SHOWING UP AND PARTICIPATING.

UH, WE DO WANT, UM, MAYBE, I THINK PRESIDENT SCOTT AND ANTO ARE A LITTLE LONELY OVER HERE, SO IF A FEW OF YOU COULD MIGRATE UP OKAY.

TONY, OR, OR VICE VERSA.

OR VICE VERSA.

UM, UH, SO WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU'RE ALL, UH, CLUMP TOGETHER AS TEAMS. SO THAT'S A GOOD THING.

UH, QUICK ORIENTATION BEFORE WE JUMP INTO SOME OTHER THINGS.

ALL OF YOU ON YOUR TABLES HAVE THIS WONDERFUL, UM, DOCUMENT THAT, UH, THE, THE TEAM, UM, UH, UH, UH, I'M, I'M GONNA BE BAD ON NAMES HERE.

I KNOW DINA'S IN THE MIDDLE AND CYNTHIA, SORRY, CYNTHIA.

CYNTHIA AND MARSHA.

BUT DINA AND CYNTHIA WORKED HARD TO ASSEMBLE ALL OF THESE.

WE APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH.

SO I WON'T FORGET CYNTHIA AGAIN, SO, OKAY.

I APOLOGIZE.

UM, SO IN THESE REALLY QUICK, YOU HAVE ON THE LEFT SIDE, YOU HAVE AN, AN AGENDA, LIKE A BASIC AGENDA, WHICH IS THE FORMAL AGENDA THAT IS, UH, PUBLISHED FOR THE PUBLIC.

UM, AND ALL OF THESE ATTACHMENTS WERE ALSO PUBLISHED.

UM, THIS HERE IS A MORE ANNOTATED AGENDA ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE.

UM, THEN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, WE HAVE A DISCUSSION WORKBOOK THAT TRACKS CONSISTENTLY WITH THE, UM, WITH THE PRESENTATION THAT WE'RE GONNA BE GOING THROUGH.

SO SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE VIEWED THIS AHEAD OF TIME, THIS DISCUSSION WORKBOOK, BUT IT JUST PROVIDES MORE INFORMATION THAN WHAT THE SLIDES CONTAIN.

AND THEN WE HAVE THE PRINTOUT OF THE SLIDES.

SO IF NOTHING ELSE, I'D ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO KIND OF BE FLIPPING THROUGH THE SLIDES AND WRITING NOTES AS, UM, US TALKING BUBBLE HEADS ARE UP HERE KIND OF RUNNING THROUGH THINGS, JUST IF, IF IDEAS COME, UM, UP, RIGHT, RIGHT NOTES.

UM, THE OTHER THINGS FOR YOU TO KNOW IS ON YOUR TABLE, THERE ARE THESE WHITE CARDS, THESE LITTLE INDEX CARDS I SHOULD SAY.

UM, THERE'S GONNA BE SOME TIMES DURING TODAY'S RETREAT WHERE WE'RE GONNA ASK FOR VOLUNTEERS TO STEP UP AND, UH, UH, VERBALLY COMMUNICATE THOUGHTS.

WE ALSO KNOW THAT SOME OF YOU MAY NOT WANNA STEP UP AND VERBALLY COMMUNICATE THOUGHTS, BUT YOU HAVE THOUGHTS THAT YOU WANNA SHARE.

AND SO, UH, USE THESE CARDS TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND WHETHER YOU WANNA DO IT ANONYMOUSLY OR PUT YOUR NAME ON IT, UM, 'CAUSE WE WILL TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF COLLECTING 'EM ALL AND SHARING OUT ON YOUR BEHALF.

'CAUSE WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND, AS PRESIDENT SCOTT SAID, MATTERS.

IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AND YOUR CANDOR IS VERY IMPORTANT.

UH, WE ALSO HAVE POST-IT NOTES THAT ARE GONNA BE USED KIND OF IN A SIMILAR WAY THAT WE'LL EXPLAIN AS WE GO.

UM, OKAY.

I THINK I, OH, NOW OF COURSE YOU ALL KNOW BETTER THAN WE KNOW, BUT WE'VE FOUND OUT OUT THE DOOR AND TO THE IMMEDIATE RIGHT IS A WOMEN'S RESTROOM AND THE MEN'S RESTROOM.

SO IF YOU NEED TO GET UP AT ANY TIME, GO FOR IT.

UM, ALRIGHT.

ALSO, AS PRESIDENT SCOTT AND ANNA TOLL SAID, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION TODAY.

AND, UM, I, UH, THE COMMISSIONERS ARE HERE, UM, TO SUPPORT, UH, RECEIVING YOUR, UM, KNOWLEDGE AND YOUR EXPERIENCES AND YOUR THOUGHTS AND YOUR PERSPECTIVES.

SHARE THEM.

UH, DON'T BE SHY.

[00:15:01]

THEM.

UM, AND CONVERSELY, UH, THE COMMISSIONERS ARE HERE TO, TO, UH, UH, BE SPONGES OF WHAT YOU HAVE TO SHARE AND TO ASK QUESTIONS OF YOU.

UM, BECAUSE THEY ARE THE POLICY DIRECTION SETTERS FOR THIS DEPARTMENT.

AND SO THIS HAS GOT TO BE A, A BACK AND FORTH.

UM, 'CAUSE THE CANDOR THAT TONY TALKED ABOUT AND THE CURIOSITY AND CONSTRUCTIVE DISCUSSION MATTERS.

THIS STRATEGIC PLAN IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA SIT ON THE SHELF.

THIS IS GONNA FRAME, AS PRESIDENT SCOTT SAID, THE FUTURE, UM, ACTIONS OF THIS UTILITY.

SO IT'S IMPORTANT, IT'S IMPORTANT.

UM, WE'VE LEARNED A LOT IN THE SHORT TIME WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH YOU.

AND WE WANT TO HONOR ALL THE GOOD STUFF THAT YOU ALL SHARED WITH US THUS FAR.

THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD STUFF GOING ON.

OUR TEAM WILL SHARE THAT, UM, TODAY.

AND THEN LASTLY, AS PRESIDENT SCOTT SAID, ALL THAT WE GLEAN TODAY, ALL THAT YOU CONTRIBUTE TODAY IS GOING TO CON UH, WORK TOWARDS A VERY IMPORTANT FRAMEWORK.

'CAUSE IF YOU THINK ABOUT READY, SET, GO, WE'RE KIND OF IN THE READY, MOVING INTO THE SET REALM.

WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD THIS FRAMEWORK THAT IS BUILT UPON EVERYTHING THAT'S IN YOUR LIVED EXPERIENCE, YOUR IDEAS, AND YOUR, YOUR, YOUR THOUGHTS.

ALRIGHT? UM, SO PARTICIPATE FULLY TODAY.

SO, UH, THE AGENDA THAT YOU'VE SEEN, WE'RE GONNA, UM, HOLD PRETTY CLOSE TO THIS.

WE'RE GONNA TRACK IT.

WE'VE PRACTICED, WE WERE HERE YESTERDAY TILL ALMOST SIX O'CLOCK.

UH, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA DO OUR DARNEDEST TO MAKE THE MOST EFFECTIVE USE OF EVERYONE'S TIME.

UM, SO THAT AGENDA IS ALSO IN YOUR PACKETS.

SO, UH, UH, HOLD US ACCOUNT.

THE FIRST PART OF TODAY IS KIND OF GETTING ON THE SAME PAGE ALIGNMENT, JUST SHARING, UM, HIGH LEVEL OF WHAT WE'VE LEARNED.

AND THEN THE SECOND PART OF THE DAY IS ABOUT DEVELOPING THE FRAMEWORK AND DEVELOPING, UM, UH, KIND OF, UH, WORKING DOWN THAT FUNNEL TOWARDS WHAT WILL ULTIMATELY BE, UM, A STRATEGIC PLAN DOCUMENT THAT THE, THE, UM, THE, UH, BOARD, UM, UH, UH, APPROVES, UM, ULTIMATELY AND GUIDES THE ORGANIZATION.

SO AT, UH, LUNCH, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE AN HOUR FOR LUNCH, ABOUT AN HOUR, MAYBE HALF HOUR FOR LUNCH.

THEN WE'RE GONNA JUMP INTO INITIAL PRIORITIES, WHICH IS, UM, UH, WHAT YOU HEARD ANNA TO, UH, SPEAKING ABOUT.

AND THEN WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, WORKING ON SOME OTHER DIMENSIONS OF, OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN FRAMEWORK.

YOU MET US AS A, AS A TEAM, UM, TEAM.

DO WE NEED TO SAY ANYTHING MORE ABOUT US INDIVIDUALLY? OKAY, WOODY, YOU WANNA, WE'LL DO A BRIEF INTRODUCTIONS.

GO AHEAD.

YEP.

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME.

I'LL JUST START US OFF HERE.

WE'LL GO DOWN.

WE, WOODY BATTLE.

I'M A PROJECT MANAGER FOR OUR TEAM AND A CONSULTANT WITH BAKER TILLY.

UM, ALL BEEN INVOLVED SINCE THE START OF THIS PROJECT AND, UM, WILL BE FOR, FOR THE REST OF, UH, IT, THE ENGAGEMENT.

I, I'M FROM, UH, PHILADELPHIA, OUR PHILADELPHIA OFFICE.

SO CAME IN YESTERDAY AND I'VE BEEN WORKING PRETTY TIRELESSLY TO PUT THIS, UH, RETREAT ON FOR YOU ALL.

I'LL PASS IT HERE TO CARLY TO INTRODUCE HERSELF AND A ROLE ON THE PROJECT.

HI, MY NAME IS CARLY MYERS.

I'VE BEEN WITH BAKER TILLY FOR TWO YEARS.

PRIOR TO BEING, UM, A CONSULTANT WITH BAKER TILLY, I WAS THE ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER FOR RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES FOR THE PREVIOUS FOUR YEARS.

IN MY OLD JOB, OF WHICH I ALSO WORKED WITH AL IN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.

I WAS THERE ABOUT 25 YEARS.

SO NOW I'M DOING THIS AND I LOVE IT.

UM, THE COOL THING ABOUT IF YOU RETIRE AND YOU GET TO COME BACK AS A CONSULTANT, WORKING WITH JUST CITIES ON PROJECTS THAT EXCITE YOU IS REALLY THE COOLEST THING.

AND THIS IS ONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT HAS BEEN VERY MOVING.

THANK, PROBABLY MY FAVORITE OF ALL THAT.

TWO YEARS WE'VE DONE SO FAR.

SO THANK YOU FOR LETTING US COME HERE.

MY NAME IS DEHE WISE.

I'M A CONSULTING ANALYST WITH BAKER TILLY.

I'VE BEEN WITH THE FIRM ABOUT THREE YEARS NOW.

AND ON THIS PROJECT IN PARTICULAR, I'M DOING DATA ANALYSIS, HELPING DO RESEARCH, AND SUPPORTING THE REST OF THE PROJECT TEAM.

I AM ORIGINALLY FROM OREGON, BUT ABOUT A YEAR AGO I MOVED TO LOS ANGELES.

SO HAPPY TO BE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

I AM THE, UM, PROJECT DIRECTOR ON THIS PROJECT, ALONG WITH OUR CO-PROJECT, UM, MANAGING OR PROJECT DIRECTORS FOR THE PROJECT.

I AM KAYLA STANFIELD.

I JUST WANNA MENTION THAT WE BROUGHT THE BEST OF THE BEST TEAM FROM BAKER TILLY TO BE ON THIS PROJECT.

SO I'M REALLY PROUD TO HAVE THIS TEAM HERE.

[00:20:01]

BUT AT BAKER TILLY, I'M THE STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP DIRECTOR FOR THE ENTIRE FIRM.

SO EXCITED TO HAVE, THIS IS ONE OF OUR PROJECTS AND REALLY EXCITED TO BE WORKING WITH YOU ALL.

UM, I AM FROM PHOENIX, ARIZONA, AND I WORKED IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR 25 YEARS IN, UM, DIFFERENT MUNICIPALITIES ALL ACROSS ARIZONA BEFORE COMING OVER TO BAKER TOLE.

AND I'VE BEEN HERE FOR THREE YEARS.

GOOD MORNING.

MY NAME IS ALEX BURNETT AND I'M A FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL OF BB AND A.

WE'RE SUPPORTING BAKER TILLY IN THIS EFFORT.

UH, MY BACKGROUND IS, I'VE BEEN IN THE INDUSTRY FOR 35 YEARS.

I WAS A LONG TIME FINANCIAL ADVISOR SERVING THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTOR, PARTICULARLY IN THE PUBLIC UTILITY SECTOR.

WE'VE WORKED FOR MOST OF THE PUBLIC UTILITIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

UM, AND SO WE'RE THRILLED TO BE HERE AND BE HELPFUL.

I DREW OUT WATER, UM, ANOTHER PRINCIPLE AT BB AND A, UM, MY, MY BACKGROUND'S MOSTLY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR.

I WORKED AT METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT ON, UH, RATES AND FINANCIAL PLANNING, UM, AS THE DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER AT MOLTEN MIGUEL WATER DISTRICT.

UM, AND JOINED ALEX ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO.

SO REALLY FOCUSED ON, UH, FINANCE AND ORGANIZATION IN MY, UH, PAST ROLES AND EXCITED TO, TO, TO BE HERE TO, TO HELP YOU ALL WITH THIS.

THANKS.

PERFECT.

AS SOMEONE ON YOUR TABLE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT VALID.

AND, UM, AGAIN, I'M AL ZEL LINKA, UH, DIRECTOR WITH BAKER TILLY.

BEEN WITH BAKER TILLY ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS.

RETIRED CITY MANAGER FROM NEXTDOOR AT LONG BEACH.

AND THEN, UM, I'M LONG BEACH, I MEAN, HUNTINGTON BEACH AND THEN RIVERSIDE BEFORE THAT, UM, UH, IN RIVERSIDE, UH, WE, UH, HAD ELECTRIC WATER WASTEWATER, UM, AND REFUSE IN OUR UTILITIES.

BUT, UM, CONNECTED TO GAS.

MY, MY DAD WAS A HVAC GUY AND HE ALSO, UH, HE, I REMEMBER MANY, MANY WEEKENDS.

UH, HE INSTALLED GAS LINES AT, AT, AT, UH, THROUGHOUT THE PHOENIX, UM, WHERE, WHERE I GREW UP.

AND, UM, SO GAS HAS BEEN PART OF MY LIFE FOREVER.

AND MY, MY, UH, WE COOK GAS AND WE LOVE GAS.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S A PART OF MY LIFE.

SO, UM, BUT I APPRECIATE ALL THAT THIS UTILITY IS ABOUT.

AND, UM, AND AS CARLY SAID, UH, THIS WORK MATTERS TO US PERSONALLY AS THIS IS WHAT REALLY MOTIVATES US, UM, IN OUR CONTINUATION OF PUBLIC SERVICE, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE CONSULTANTS.

UM, AND TO THAT, UM, YOU CAN READ THIS IN YOUR, IN YOUR PACKET, BUT WE REALLY DO, UM, UH, DESIRE AS OUR TEAM, THIS TEAM THAT SITS HERE, UH, WE JUST WENT THROUGH A STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS OURSELVES.

AND THIS IS WHAT WE STAND FOR.

AND THIS IS OUR LINE IN THE GROUND, IS WE WANT TO HAVE MEANINGFUL IMPACTS ON THE CLIENTS WE SERVE.

WE'RE NOT JUST CHECKING THE BOX AND GOING THROUGH A SCOPE OF WORK.

WE REALLY WANNA LEAVE A, A PLACE BETTER THAN WHAT WE FOUND IT, AND WE WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

AND HOW WE DO THAT IS BY WORKING, UH, AUTHENTICALLY AND GENUINELY WITH PEOPLE.

AND, UM, AND SO WE, WE TRY TO DO THE BEST WE CAN, AND WE ALWAYS WANT TO KNOW WHERE WE'RE STUMBLING AND STUBBING OUR TOES BECAUSE, UM, WE'RE HUMAN.

AND, UM, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE CONSULTANTS, WE WANT TO DO THE BEST JOB WE CAN FOR OUR CLIENTS.

YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, UM, YOU ARE THE, ALL OF THESE FOLKS ON THE SCREEN, BUT THERE IS A CORE GROUP THAT HAS HELPED GUIDE US.

AND SO THERE'S A CHECKS AND BALANCES, A TOUCH BASE AT EVERY, AT EVERY POINT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE ARE, UH, MOVING, UH, IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

WE'RE DOING WHAT WE SAID WE WERE GOING TO DO.

UH, WE'RE CHANGING COURSE WHERE WE NEED TO.

AND THAT'S PRESIDENT SCOTT, THAT'S ANNA TOLD, THAT'S TONY THOMAS, JOY AND DEAN.

AND IT'S JUST BEEN A PLEASURE WORKING WITH THEM, UM, AT EVERY STEP.

AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, YOUR, UM, YOUR BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSIONERS, UM, AND IT'S JUST BEEN REALLY WONDERFUL TO HAVE INTERVIEWS WITH THE COMMISSIONERS AND, UM, AND LEARN AND JUST LIKE INTERVIEWS WITH ALL OF YOU, MANY OF YOU, IF NOT ALL OF YOU, AND TO LEARN, UM, ABOUT YOUR PERSPECTIVES AND, UH, AND GETTING TO KNOW YOU AS HUMAN BEINGS, WHICH HAS BEEN A REAL JOY FOR US.

SO, UH, ON SLIDE EIGHT, UM, ON YOUR PRESENTATION PACKETS IS JUST A, A SET OF RETREAT NORMS. AND THIS REINFORCES WHAT PRESIDENT SCOTT WAS SAYING, UM, FOR ALL OF US TO BE PRESENT AND ENGAGED, TO LISTEN, TO UNDERSTAND, UM, 'CAUSE EVERYTHING YOU ALL HAVE TO SAY IS VALID.

UM, IT MATTERS.

UH, YOU MAY NOT SEE THINGS THE SAME WAY

[00:25:01]

IT'S JUST YOU'RE SEEING THINGS FROM A DIFFERENT VIEWPOINT.

UM, UH, ALLOW ONE CONVERSATION AT A TIME.

ALLOW PEOPLE TO SHARE WHAT'S ON THEIR MINDS AND, AND REALLY TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE SAYING.

BE CURIOUS AND RESERVE JUDGMENT.

IT'S EASY FOR US TO WANT TO JUST SAY YES, BUT, OR, YOU KNOW, BUT TRY TO JUST BE CURIOUS IN THAT OPEN MIND THAT, THAT, UH, A**L WAS TALKING ABOUT WITH THE BOX IS, IS BREAK OUT OF THAT BOX AND JUST TRULY BE CURIOUS.

AND WHAT'S BEHIND THAT, THAT YOU JUST SAID? WHAT, TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE.

HOW, HOW DID THAT SHOW UP AND HOW DID, WHY DID THAT SHOW UP? YOU KNOW, LIKE, BE CURIOUS.

ASK THOSE QUESTIONS.

RESPECT PEOPLE AND PERSPECTIVES.

UM, YOU ALL ARE COMING FROM, YOU KNOW, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF, YOU'RE COMING FROM A DIFFERENT PART OF LIFE IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL JOBS.

YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN ONE ANOTHER.

UM, UH, SOME OF YOU FROM WATER, SOME OF YOU FROM SEWERS, SOME OF YOU FROM, FROM GAS, UH, BUT ALTOGETHER YOU'RE A UTILITY.

AND, UM, AND SO REALLY, UH, BUILD UPON THAT DIVERSITY OF, UM, EXPERIENCE.

MAKE SPACE FOR ALL THE VOICES AT YOUR TABLE.

UM, IF YOU, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE ALL TETHERED TO THESE DARN THINGS.

UM, IF YOU, IF YOU NEED TO TAKE A CALL, JUST EXCUSE YOURSELF FROM YOUR TABLE AND GO OUT, UM, IT'S BETTER THAT THAN, UM, SITTING THERE AND IGNORING YOUR FELLOW TABLE MATES BY TEXTING.

UM, AND THEN STATE STRATEGIC FOCUS ON THE, THE FUTURE, THE BIGGER PICTURE.

UM, TRY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT, AS PRESIDENT SCOTT SAID, WE'RE NOT, UH, WORKING TOWARDS A FINAL PLAN TODAY.

THAT'S, WE'RE FAR FROM THAT.

WE'RE JUST TRYING TO START SHAPING THE CLAY INTO WHAT WILL BECOME THIS VASE THAT IS GONNA HOLD YOUR FUTURE.

AND SO, UM, JUST KNOW THAT NOTHING, UH, TODAY HAS TO BE, UH, UH, COMPLETED.

IT'S, IT'S A WORK IN PROCESS.

ALRIGHT, I'M GONNA BRING US BACK IN HERE.

UM, RULES AND GOVERNANCE.

THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO THINK ABOUT.

THIS IS SLIDE NUMBER NINE.

UM, IS, IS CONSISTENT WITH GOV.

UH, WHAT, UH, PRESIDENT SCOTT WAS SAYING, UH, THE BOARD GOVERNOR GOVERNS IT, DIRECTS, IT GUIDES, UM, AND THE EXECUTIVE TEAM AND, AND ALL OF YOU, UM, YOU OPERATE AND YOU FIGURE OUT HOW TO ACHIEVE WHAT THE BOARD WANTS YOU TO ACHIEVE.

UM, AND SO YOU CAN SEE THE BACK AND FORTH AND THE SYNERGY THAT, AND THIS IS GENERALIZED OF COURSE, BUT THAT OCCURS BETWEEN THE YIN AND YANG OF THE ORGANIZATION AND THE BOARD THAT GOVERNS THAT ORGANIZATION.

OKAY? SO AT YOUR TABLE NOW, MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU WANNA, UH, IF YOU, WE NEED TO MOVE THINGS AROUND AND ADD, ADD PEOPLE, BUT WHAT, UM, WHAT WE WANT YOU TO DO, JUST REAL QUICK, MOST OF YOU ALREADY KNOW EACH OTHER, BUT AGAIN, JUST IF YOU DON'T SHARE YOUR NAME, WHAT YOUR ROLE IS AT THE UTILITY, AND ALSO SHARE, UM, SOMETHING ABOUT YOU THAT YOU'D LIKE OTHERS TO KNOW COULD BE, HEY, I JUST WENT ON VACATION TO WHERE I DID MAINE TO VISIT MY SISTERS.

OR IT COULD BE SOMETHING MORE INTERESTING.

LIKE, MY HERO IS SPIDER-MAN, RIGHT? AND IT COULD BE SOMETHING COOL.

SO, UM, SO ANYWAYS, LET'S TAKE ABOUT, UH, FIVE MINUTES, FIVE MINUTES TO DO THAT.

AND, UM, AND THEN WE WILL BRING US ALL BACK AROUND AND GET MOVING ON THE DAY.

ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR? OKAY.

ARE Y ALL, ARE Y'ALL OKAY? CAN I GET YOU ANYTHING? CAN I GO GET YOU, UH, SOME EGGS OR POTATOES OR SOMETHING? ALL RIGHT.

SO AL WHEN WE COME BACK, I'LL TAKE IT.

IF YOU THANK YOU.

I'M GONNA KEEP THIS ONE ON THE,

[00:33:13]

WE'RE, YEAH, I MEAN, WE COULD TOTALLY MAKE UP TIME RIGHT HERE.

LIKE HE'S ALREADY, I'M GONNA JUST SAY LIKE, THESE, THESE ARE IN YOUR PACKET.

LIKE I'LL GO THROUGH, EXCUSE ME FOR A SEC, I WANT GRAB THIS.

THERE'S ONE.

OH YEAH.

AND IS IT, IT'S RIGHT HERE.

AL YO, YOU KNOW, I LOVE THE CHATTING YOU ALL DID IN THE LAUGHTER AND YOU KNOW, LIKE, YEAH, I DO LIKE THAT.

AL I'M GONNA START US BACK UP.

WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.

IF YOU ALL COULD CHECK ONE, CHECK TWO, LIKE MAYBE A COUPLE REALLY INTERESTING.

WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.

I THINK WHAT HELPS IS IF WE CAN GET MAYBE ONE OR TWO, UM, THOUGHTS FROM ANYONE OUT HERE IN THE CROWD AND THE PART OF THE RETREAT PARTICIPANTS HERE.

CAN YOU SHARE SOMETHING THAT YOU HEARD THAT REALLY STUCK OUT AS YOU GOT TO KNOW OTHERS AT YOUR TABLE? JUST TO REALLY GET US STARTED? YES, SIR.

I SEE YOUR HAND RAISED YOUTUBE INFLUENCER.

APPARENTLY WE'VE GOT A YOUTUBE INFLUENCER.

I LIKE IT IN THE BACK.

YES, SIR.

UH, DEAN HAS A MEMBERSHIP TOP.

SO WE SHOW GETTING INVITES, A TOPGOLF MEMBERSHIP, ALL I LIKE IT RIGHT NOW.

FIRST, UNDERSTANDING THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS.

WELL, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED IN OUR NEXT SECTION HERE

[00:35:01]

TODAY.

UM, IF WE SAY WHAT OUR GOALS FOR TODAY ARE, YOU'VE OBVIOUSLY HEARD A LOT FROM OUR, UM, PROJECT LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERS TODAY ABOUT WHAT THE GOALS ARE IN YOUR PACKETS.

WE'VE LISTED THESE THREE ITEMS, WHICH WE PLAN TO ACHIEVE TODAY.

SO LEAVING TODAY OUR STRUCTURE OF OUR AGENDA, OUR STRUCTURE OF ALL OF OUR SECTIONS AND OUR ACTIVITIES WILL LEAD TO THESE THREE ITEMS. UM, HAVING BEEN ACHIEVED.

WE KNOW THAT DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS DO STRATEGY, DIFFERENT, UM, FRAMEWORKS VARY SLIGHTLY ACROSS ORGANIZATIONS.

WE ARE STARTING BUILDING THAT FRAMEWORK TODAY.

WE'RE STARTING ON THE PROCESS.

WE WANT YOU ALL TO HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF WHAT THAT PROCESS LOOKS LIKE.

UM, A CURRENT STATE AND INDUSTRY ASSESSMENT.

THIS IS WHAT WE'LL MOVE INTO HERE SHORTLY.

WE WANNA GIVE YOU ALL A SENSE OF WHAT WE UNDERSTAND OF YOUR ORGANIZATION, AND THERE'LL BE SOME FLUID CONVERSATION AS WELL.

IF YOU HAVE THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO RAISE YOUR HAND.

UM, WE ANTICIPATE THAT'S WHY WE'RE BRINGING THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE FOR YOU ALL.

LASTLY IS JUST DEVELOPING THE ELEMENTS OF THE ACTUAL PLAN.

SO LIKE AL MENTIONED, ALIGNMENT IS A LOT OF THIS MORNING'S ACTIVITIES WE WANNA START TO MOVE INTO DEVELOPING, TAKING WHAT YOU TELL US, ORGANIZING THAT IN A WAY THAT WE CAN PUT IT TO USE.

UM, WE'LL SHOW A LITTLE BIT AGAIN ABOUT WHAT THE STRATEGY, UH, HOW WE'VE PLANNED TO GET THERE.

THIS IS SOME DETAIL ON THE ACTUAL PURPOSE AND THE TIMELINE.

AND KAYLA'S GONNA WALK US THROUGH SOME OF THIS REAL QUICK.

SURE.

JUST REAL BRIEFLY, CAN I GET A SHOW OF HANDS OF ANYONE WHO HAS NOT DONE A STRATEGIC PLAN? OKAY.

SO SEVERAL IN THE ROOM.

SO SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING FUN THAT I HOPE YOU EXPERIENCE THROUGH THIS PROCESS.

BUT REALLY THE PURPOSE OF A STRATEGIC PLAN, AND SOME OF THESE THINGS HAVE ALREADY BEEN MENTIONED, UM, IN THE INTRODUCTION IS JUST REALLY COMING TOGETHER, UNIFYING AND MAKING SURE THAT YOUR ORGANIZATION HAS A CLEAR SENSE OF DIRECTION AND DEFINING ITS MISSION ON HOW WE WANNA ACHIEVE, UM, OUTCOMES.

UM, IT ALIGNS YOUR LEADERSHIP, EMPLOYEES, STAFF, ALSO YOUR JUST COMMUNITY, AND ALL THOSE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS THAT HAVE SKIN IN THE GAME AND THEY'RE, UM, GOING TO BE PART OF WHERE YOUR ORGANIZATION IS GOING.

UM, WE ALL ARE FACED WITH LIKE LIMITED TIME, LIMITED RESOURCES.

SO REALLY A STRATEGIC PLAN IS THERE TO, EXCUSE ME, HELP YOU TO MAKE THOSE DECISION POINTS WHEN THEY'RE NEEDED BECAUSE YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF GUIDANCE ON WHICH THINGS THAT YOU WANNA HAVE AS PRIORITIES AND FOCUS ON, OOPS, I GOT, OH, SORRY, .

SO AS WITTY MENTIONED, MANY ORGANIZATIONS DO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF FRAMEWORKS TRYING TO COME TO THE SAME CONCLUSION.

SO THIS IS THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

AS WE LOOKED AT THE INFORMATION, LOOKED AT THE RFP, UM, HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH YOUR PROJECT TEAM, THIS IS THE PLANNING APPROACH THAT WE PUT TOGETHER FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT.

AND YOU'LL SEE WE HAVE THIS CONTINUOUS PROCESS.

THIS IS, AGAIN, NOT GOING TO BE A ONE, ONE STOP DOCUMENT THAT WE'RE GONNA DO, AND THEN YOU'RE NEVER GONNA SEE IT, PUT IT ON THE SHELVES, BUT IT'S GONNA BE THIS CONTINUOUS DISCUSSION OF YOUR STRATEGY, UM, AS YOU CONTINUE TO WORK FORWARD.

SO IN THIS ONE, IT JUST REALLY SHOWS THAT PHASE APPROACH THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW.

WE'RE ON THAT THIRD HEXAGON THERE.

BUT THROUGHOUT THIS PROJECT, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH YOUR TEAM.

WE'VE BEEN DOING CONTINUOUS PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION.

UM, MANY OF YOU ALL WERE INVOLVED IN, UM, INTERVIEWS, SOME DISCUSSIONS JUST SO WE CAN GET TO THIS POINT WITH THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE GATHERED TODAY.

SO WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF DISCUSSION WITH NOT ONLY, UM, THE INTERVIEWS, BUT ALSO LOOKING, LOOKING AT INTERNAL DOCUMENTATION THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH YOU THROUGHOUT TODAY'S, UM, PRESENTATION.

AND THEN WE'RE HERE TODAY FOR OUR FIRST SPORT RETREAT.

WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE WORKING WITH, UM, YOUR GROUP TO PREPARE A, A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN, SO THAT WAY YOUR COMMUNITY, YOUR INTEREST GROUPS WILL BE PART OF THIS PROCESS AS WELL.

AND THEN WE'LL BE PUTTING TOGETHER ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS FOR DRAFT STRATEGIC, UM, FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT.

AND THEN WE'LL BE DOING SOME MORE RETREATS THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.

AND THEN WE'LL BE COMING UP WITH THAT FINAL DOCUMENT, WHICH WE'RE HOPING TO DO LATER IN THE SPRING WITH YOUR, UM, COMMISSIONERS.

ALRIGHT, SO AGAIN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT AGAIN, IS NOT JUST ONE TIME, BUT WE ALWAYS WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH YOU, WORKING WITH YOUR COMMUNITY ON WHAT THOSE INTERNAL PRIORITIES ARE GOING TO BE AND THE DIRECTION.

AND WE WANNA CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT INPUT FROM EVERYONE THAT'S INVOLVED.

AND WE WANT, AGAIN, AS PART OF OUR PROCESS TODAY, WE WANNA HEAR FROM YOU ALL ON HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE THIS BETTER AND CONTINUE TO GET TO WHERE WE WANNA BE ON YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN.

SO, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OVER THE INITIAL APPROACH THAT WE'LL BE TAKING FOR THIS PROCESS? IF NOT, I WILL BRING WOODY BACK UP TO KIND OF GO OVER A TIMELINE WITH YOU ALL.

UM, FOLLOWING THIS WE'LL CONTINUE GATHERING MORE INFORMATION AND MORE DATA, MORE SYNTHESIS ANALYSIS OF WHAT WE'VE UNDERSTOOD, WHAT WE HEARD.

THIS IS ALSO IN YOUR PACKETS AND IT MIRRORS THE HEXAGON, UH, PATHWAY THAT KAYLA JUST WALKED THROUGH.

RIGHT NOW WE ARE IN OUR SEPTEMBER RETREAT.

[00:40:01]

UM, WE'VE INTRODUCED NEW CONVERSATIONS OR MORE AS WE HEAR, UM, WHAT IS OF INTEREST TO YOU ALL.

SO, UM, SOME OF THIS IS, UH, ALMOST, UM, SUBJECT TO A LITTLE CHANGE, WHICH IS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ACHIEVING A STRATEGY THAT MATCHES WHAT YOU ALL ARE EXCITED TO, UH, PRODUCE AND EXECUTE ON AND, AND TO PUT INTO MOTION.

SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE LOOKING AT, UH, MOVING TOWARDS THE COMMUNITY INTEREST, GATHERING MORE INFORMATION, AND THEN REALLY LATER THIS YEAR AND EARLY NEXT YEAR, OUR FOCUS SHIFTS TO ACTUALLY UTILIZING THE FRAMEWORK AND APPROVING THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE RECOMMEND THEN INTO ADOPTION AND SOME OF THE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION ELEMENTS.

AND THIS IS A VERY BRIEF SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE THINK IS, UM, THE KEY NODES OR THE KEY CHECKPOINTS IN THE PROJECT.

SO IF YOU ALL ARE WONDERING WHERE ARE WE IN THE PROJECT, PLEASE REFER BACK TO THIS JUST SIMPLIFIED SCHEDULE AND TIMELINE TO GET A SENSE OF, WELL, IF WE'RE COMING UP ON DECEMBER, WE'RE PROBABLY MAKING PRETTY GOOD HEADWAY TO GET A BOARD, UM, ANOTHER BOARD DISCUSSION AROUND THE ACTUAL FRAMEWORK AND, UH, AND WHAT WE WANT TO PUTTING IN, BE PUTTING IN THE FINAL, UM, STRATEGY ITSELF.

UM, ANY QUESTIONS, THOUGHTS ON THE TIMELINE AS WELL? YES, SIR.

JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE EXTERNAL COMMUNITY.

CAN YOU JUST TOUCH ON THAT BRIEFLY? YES.

SO AS PART OF THE EXTERNAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, I, I'LL MENTION THAT OUR ENTIRE DATA GATHERING APPROACH HAS TWO PILLARS.

INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT, WE'VE BEEN EXECUTING ON THAT LEADING UP TO THIS RETREAT.

AND THEN THE EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT THERE, WE WANT TO BE TALKING WITH, UM, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, ANY OF YOUR KEY PARTNERS OR STAKEHOLDERS, UH, LIKE THE CITY YOU RELY ON, THE CITY THEY RELY ON YOU.

ALL THOSE ARE TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS.

WE WANT TO GET REPRESENTATIVES IN A ROOM AND HAVE A SIMILAR STYLE OF DATA GATHERING THAT WE DID FOR THE INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS THAT'S STILL BEING DEVELOPED.

WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF PUTTING A PLAN TOGETHER AND WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH OUR PROJECT TEAM HERE, JOY THOMAS, DEAN TONY.

THEY'VE BEEN INCREDIBLE.

UM, AND WHAT WE'LL DO IS PUT THAT IN FRONT OF YOU ALL TO HAVE A SENSE OF ARE WE MISSING ANYONE? DO WE WANT TO GET MORE FOLKS THAT ARE EXTERNAL TO THE ORG, UM, AS PART OF THAT EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT.

SO IN THE WORKS IS A, A GOOD WAY TO SUM IT UP.

YES, PLEASE.

UH, A QUICK QUESTION ABOUT THE INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT.

UM, I SEE THAT THERE'S A WHERE LIKE LATER ON, CORRECT.

UM, AS IMPORTANT IF NOT MORE IMPORTANT, SO THAT I'M, I'M ASSUMING THAT THE TOYS THAT ARE HERE ARE HERE BECAUSE THEY PLAY A VALUABLE ROLE CORRECT.

IN DISSEMINATING WHAT WE ARE ALL WORK FOR THIS PART.

SO THAT WHAT WE'RE GOING, THEY ALL PLAYING A IN MAKING SURE THAT THEIR EMPLOYEES COME ALONG WITH THAT.

ABSOLUTELY.

AND THE VAST MAJORITY, IF NOT EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM HAS ALREADY MET OR HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH US IN SOME CAPACITY.

AND IF WE HAVEN'T, WE ABSOLUTELY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THOSE HAPPEN.

WE'VE DONE, UM, MANAGER DISCUSSIONS, SENIOR MANAGER, DIRECTOR, UM, SENIOR DIRECTOR, AND THEN WE HAVE, AS PART OF THAT EXTENDING, UM, LIKE YOU MENTIONED THE SQUARE THAT STILL NEEDS TO BE FILLED IN.

WE WANT TO MEET WITH FOLKS THAT ARE WITHIN YOUR DEPARTMENTS AND PART OF, UM, ACTUALLY EXECUTING ON THE WORK, UM, THAT YOU ALL ARE, ARE, ARE EXPERTS IN.

AND SO THAT'S WHY WE STILL WANT TO MAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO GET MORE INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT.

UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF DATA WE'VE GATHERED AS WELL, VARIOUS DOCUMENTS, SURVEYS, ANALYSES, AND WE'RE ALWAYS OPEN TO GATHERING MORE OF THAT.

SO JUST KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN THERE.

ANY, UH, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, THOUGHTS FROM THE TEAM BEFORE WE MOVE ON? THERE'S A MIC JUST IN FRONT OF CARLY THERE.

AL, DID YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS? CARLY? NO.

LAST THING I'LL MENTION HERE AND THEN WE'LL MOVE ON IS JUST, UM, THIS IS AN ITERATIVE PROCESS.

WE'VE MADE SLIGHT CHANGES TO ACCOMMODATE AND TO ALIGN WITH WHAT WE ALL THINK WILL BE SUCCESSFUL FOR YOU ALL.

SO WE CONTINUE, WE PLAN TO CONTINUE THAT.

UM, COMMUNITY, STAKEHOLDERS, CUSTOMERS, MANAGEMENT, VISION, ALL OF THIS ARE COMMENTS AND OR, UM, UH, WORDS WITH A DEFINED DEFINITION AND, UM, A FOCUS THAT TODAY WILL BECOME VERY FAMILIAR WITH.

SO PLEASE LOOK OUT FOR THESE AND, AND ASK IF, IF IT'S STARTING TO GET, UM, ANY AT ALL JUMBLED OR YOU'RE, YOU'RE WANTING US TO JUST TAKE A QUICK, QUICK PAUSE AND REDEFINE SOMETHING OR SAY, HEY, HOW DOES THIS FIT INTO THE LARGER PROCESS? WE WANT TO PULL YOU ALL ALONG FOR THAT RIDE.

AND, UM, WANTED TO MAKE A QUICK PAUSE AND REMINDER HERE THAT I, IF WE ARE MOVING TOO FAST OR YOU WANT US TO TAKE A QUICK PAUSE AND, AND MAKE ANOTHER COMMENT OR THOUGHT ABOUT, UH, WHAT THIS MEANS OR WHY, HOW THIS FITS IN THE PROCESS, THERE'S PROBABLY OTHERS THAT HAVE THAT SAME QUESTION OR COMMENT TOO.

AND I'LL HAND IT OVER TO KAYLA AND TEAM TO LEAD US THROUGH THIS.

NOW WE'LL SWITCH INTO ANOTHER QUICK ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY FOR YOU ALL.

WE WANNA UNDERSTAND WHAT MAKES YOUR ORGANIZATION SUCCESSFUL.

UM,

[00:45:01]

ALRIGHT, SO I BELIEVE IT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, THERE'S BEEN SOME WONDERFUL THINGS AS WE'VE GLEANED FROM DOING OUR INTERNAL INSIGHTS AND DISCOVERY THAT WE WANNA HEAR FROM YOU ALL.

SO WE WANNA SPEND A FEW MINUTES, UM, ACTUALLY HAVING YOU SIT AT YOUR TABLES AND WE'VE GOT AN ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY.

UM, WE WANNA, UM, HAVE YOU ALL SPEND ABOUT FIVE MINUTES TO WORK ON YOUR TABLES AND WRITE DOWN WHAT ARE SOME OF THE RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT YOU HAVE ACHIEVED AS AN, AS AN ORGANIZATION OR AS AN INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENT OR A SECTION OR DIVISION.

AND THEN WE WANNA, UM, HAVE YOU SHARE SOME OF SOMETHING THAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR AREAS THAT WOULD BENEFIT SOMEONE ELSE AT YOUR TABLE FROM KNOWING.

SO GET THOSE POST-IT NOTES OUT, PLEASE WRITE DOWN A FEW THINGS, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA COLLECT THEM ALL.

AND WE WANNA REALLY SHARE AND SHOW HOW YOU ALL HAVE THESE UNIFIED ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESSES.

SO WE'VE GOT ABOUT FIVE MINUTES AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO THE SECOND SET OF SOME ENGAGEMENT AS WELL AROUND, AND YOU CAN DO THE TOP IF YOU WANT AS YOU'RE HEARING STUFF AND THEN LIKE JUST EXPLAIN THAT TO THEM.

AND THEN YOU CAN GATHER THE FEEDBACK TOO AS WE'RE OKAY.

SO GRAB THEM.

WHO WILL GRAB THE PUSH? I, BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA SHARE WITHIN

[00:50:40]

OH, 35.

THAT'S, YEAH.

SO I'LL KEEP THEM SEPARATE.

SO THEN JUST SHANE CAN DO THE NEXT SECTION.

SO FOR THE STRENGTHS, HOW DID YOU, ALL RIGHT.

ABOUT WATCH, DO YOU WANNA USE, OH, I'M GONNA, ALL RIGHT.

ABOUT ONE MORE MINUTE.

I'M GONNA COME TO THE BACK OF THE ROOM AND HAVE YOU ALL START.

DO YOU ALL WANNA SHARE OR SOME, A REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR TABLE SHARE AT LEAST ONE ACCOMPLISHMENT OR SOMETHING THAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA? I'LL SHARE.

SURE.

TELL US WHERE IT CAME.

NO, WE CAN HAVE MORE THAN ONE.

WE CAN HAVE A FEW.

SO IN MY DIVISION AND UNDER TONY'S, UM, DIRECTION WE ACCOMPLISHED IN IMPLEMENTING A NEW CUSTOMER SERVICE PORTAL, WHICH AS OF RIGHT NOW, IT HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL.

WE HAVE LOTS OF REGISTRATION, SERVICE ORDERS ARE COMING IN AND, UM, SO YEAH, IT'S, UM, WORKING WELL AS BEST AS I CAN BE, SO VERY, UM, EXCITED TO SHARE THAT.

THAT WE HAD STARTED SOMETHING.

SO A CUSTOMER SERVICE PORTAL.

ANYONE ELSE THINK, YOU SAID YOU HAD SOMETHING TO SHARE? WELL, I GUESS NOW, YEAH, LET'S SEE.

UM, AGAIN, UNDER TONY, UH, IT JUST CAME OUT TO END UP BEING OUR WHOLE BUREAU, BUT, UH, JUST BY CHANCE, I, WE WORKED, MY TEAM WORKED ON A REORG WITHIN OUR UTILITY SERVICES DIVISION, AND WE DECIDED TO DO, UH, A SUCCESSION PLANNING.

AND WITHIN THAT WE CREATED A NEW ONE OF OUR SUPERVISORS.

I TURNED INTO A TRAINER.

UM, WE CREATED A MATRIX OF SKILL SETS OF ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT TO DO, UH, WITH OUR BILLING CORRECTIONS AND SO FORTH.

UM, WE DEVELOP A TIMELINE AND WHEN TO GET THIS, IMPLEMENT WHEN IT'S GONNA BE COMPLETED AND HIT SOME MILESTONES IN THE MIDDLE.

UM, WE IDENTIFIED THE CORE ITEMS CLASSES THAT WE NEEDED TO DO, AND, UM, BASICALLY CREATED DASHBOARDS WHERE WE'RE AT WITH OUR WORK, UH, AUDITING QA, SO FORTH.

AND JUST BY CHANCE, I HAPPEN TO BE REPORTING THAT TO TONY.

AND THEN IT'S ACTUALLY A PLAN WITHIN OUR BUREAU TO DO SESSION PLANNING FOR EVERYTHING.

UM, AND SO I WAS KIND OF PLEASED

[00:55:01]

AND JUST TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW, WE HAD STARTED JUST AT THE END OF FY UH, 25 AND WE WILL BE DONE BY SEPTEMBER 30 OF FY 26 OF ALL OF THE CORE ITEMS WITHIN THE BILLING COMPONENT FOR EVERYONE TO KNOW HOW.

SO NOW WHEN SOMETHING COMES ACROSS, ANYBODY SHOULD BE KNOW HOW TO DO IT, AND WE'RE MAINTAINING THAT WE WE'RE MOVING WORK AROUND, WE'RE GIVING PEOPLE JUST SO THEY DON'T FORGET THAT TRAINING THAT THEY HAVE.

SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT WITH OUR DIVISION.

AWESOME.

ANYONE ELSE AT THIS TABLE WANNA SHARE ANYTHING? ALL RIGHT, YOU'RE ALL UP NEXT.

ANY RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IMPROVEMENTS? IT'S ACTUALLY PRETTY SIMILAR TO WHAT HAS LISA HAS SHARED.

THAT'S A TRU PLAN.

WE HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN, UH, LIKE TRAINING MODULE DEVELOPMENT EFFORT FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS.

SO BASICALLY TO CAPTURE ALL THE INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE THAT THIS GROUP MANAGES.

SO WE KIND HAVE, LIKE ALL STAFF ENGAGEMENT, WE ESTABLISH A COMMITTEE AND HAVE A GOAL.

LAST, LAST YEAR WE COMPLETE THE TREATMENT PLAN TRAINING MODULE, AND THIS YEAR WE ARE ABOUT TO COMPLETE THE SOURCE STATION TRAINING MODULE, AND THE NEXT YEAR IS GOING TO BE THE OFFSITE FACILITY.

SO THIS WHOLE PROCESS GET BASICALLY, NOT ONLY WE HAVE THE ENGINEERS HELPING DOCUMENT THE INFORMATION, BUT ALSO HAVE THE, ALL THE STAFF SUPERVISORS AND THE LEAD OPERATORS PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCESS.

SO THE INFORMATION CAN BE CAPTURED AND THEN EVERYONE LOOK AT THE, I GUESS, THE DOCUMENTATION MORE SYSTEMATICALLY AND ALSO HAVE THAT CULTURE TO LIKE TRAIN THE STAFF.

SO COMING FROM MANAGEMENT TO SUPERVISORS TO LEAD STAFF, AND THEY ALL HAVE A VERY GOOD UNDERSTANDING, THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THEIR JOB IS TO TRAIN THE PEOPLE THEY WORK WITH.

SO I GUESS THAT'S PRETTY SIMILAR.

ALL RIGHT, SO WE'RE HEARING PORTALS, SUCCESSION PLANNING, TRAINING, SO LOTS OF THINGS THAT YOU CAN GLEAN FROM YOUR, YOUR FELLOW COLLEAGUES FOR YOUR AREAS AS WELL.

ANYONE ELSE WANNA SHARE ANYTHING AT THIS TABLE? SIMILARLY FOR THE LAB, UM, PERSONNEL, WE HAVE CROSS-TRAINING, UM, FOR ALL OF THE LAB.

SO THE CRITICAL AREA, WE ALL CROSS-TRAIN.

SO IF ONE PERSON IS OFF, WE HAVE NO PROBLEM TAKING CARE OF THE NEED.

AWESOME, THANK YOU.

ALRIGHT, OFF TO THIS TABLE.

HEY, GOOD MORNING.

UM, I, I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THE PROP TWO 18 HEARING ON THE 27TH.

UM, THANK YOU TO STAFF.

WE HAVE A POWER OUTAGE RIGHT BEFORE NO AIR CONDITIONING, EVERYBODY RALLIES, SETS UP THE WHOLE ROOM, GETS IT READY TO HAPPEN.

UM, FORTUNATELY POWER CAME BACK ON.

THEN WE HAVE A SPECIAL MEETING WITH, I DON'T KNOW, A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS AND LETTER OF CREDIT STUFF THAT'S PRESENTED.

AND THEN, UM, DINA AND CYNTHIA, THANK YOU.

YOU GUYS DID A GREAT JOB FACILITATING THAT AND COMMUNICATION JOY.

I MEAN, WE HAD RATE INCREASES.

UM, I THINK MARSHA DID A GREAT PRESENTATION.

ANNA TOLL.

KEVIN, YOU SET THE TONE.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND, UM, I THINK WE HAD FOUR OR FIVE SPEAKERS WE HAD STAFF AROUND AND ANSWER ALL THEIR QUESTIONS.

UH, I DON'T THINK THEY LEFT HAPPY, BUT THEY LEFT AT LEAST NOT REAL MAD AT US.

AND SO, UM, JUST AS A COMMISSIONER, VERY PROUD OF ALL THE EFFORTS OF EVERYBODY, UH, TO PULL THAT TOGETHER AND PULL IT OFF.

SO THANK YOU.

GREAT EXAMPLE.

ANYONE ELSE HERE? SURE, NO PROBLEM.

WELL, GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY.

SO, UM, I GUESS ONE OF THE BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS THIS YEAR WITH THE DEPARTMENT AS A WHOLE IS THEY HIRED SOMEONE PRETTY MAGNIFICENT TO RUN THE SAFETY OFFICE.

SO, UH, THAT IS, THAT IS A, THAT IS A GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT.

YOU SHOULD, YOU SHOULD PAT YOURSELVES ON THE BACK RIGHT THERE.

I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.

I DON'T, I, I DON'T DESERVE IT.

I DON'T DESERVE IT.

BUT WITH, WITH THAT SAID, UH, I AM VERY EXCITED WITH THE WORK THAT MY OFFICE IS RIGHT NOW TAKING ON.

UH, THERE'S, I'M A BIG FAN OF STRATEGIC PLANS, SO ON A SMALLER SCALE, THE SAFETY OFFICE IS CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN REVAMPING, CREATING ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE WITHIN THE OFFICE SO THAT THERE'S ACCOUNTABILITY AND EVERYONE CAN FINALLY HAVE SOMEONE TO POINT THE FINGER AT.

AND THAT'S GONNA BE ME.

AND I'M VERY PROUD THAT IT, IF ANYTHING HAPPENS, IT'S ON ME.

SO I'M VERY, VERY HAPPY AND EXCITED FOR THAT.

BUT TRAININGS, EVERYTHING, BEING, UH, UNDER ONE ROOF STRUCTURED, EVERYONE KNOWING WHO TO GO TO WHEN ANYTHING, WHEN ANYTHING, WHEN ANYTHING IS HAPPENING,

[01:00:01]

I'M, I'M VERY EXCITED.

SO TRAINING AND TRACKING AND JUST TO BRINGING STRUCTURE TO SAFETY RIGHT NOW IS MY MAIN FOCUS.

SO I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT.

AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE, GIVE SOME TIME TO BRING LIGHT TO THAT BECAUSE I'M VERY EXCITED AND MY TEAM'S EXCITED FOR THAT.

BUT I HOPE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH EVERYONE HERE.

YOU'RE THE ONE THAT LET ME IN ON LIKE DAY TWO, RIGHT? YES.

AND YOU WEREN'T FOR SURE IF I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE BUILDING SAFETY GUY, RIGHT? RECOGNIZE.

THIS TABLE OVER HERE, ANYONE HAVE ANY EXAMPLES THEY WANNA SHARE OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS OR IMPROVEMENTS? I JUST WANTED TO NOTE THAT COMMISSIONER PARKIN TOOK OURS, UH, WHICH WAS PROP TWO 18, ALSO THE IMPRESSIVE RESPONSE TO THE POWER OUTAGE AS WELL.

UM, BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, DID WANNA HIGHLIGHT OUR FY 27 BUDGET, UM, WAS APPROVED BY THE BOARD OFF TO CITY COUNCIL, SO GREAT.

UM, YES, THANKS.

THANKS COMMISSIONER PARKIN FOR STEALING OUR THUNDER WITH THE PROP TWO 18.

UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WILL BE LAUNCHING ACTUALLY NEXT WEEK IS A, UH, POOL, CAR RESERVATION SYSTEM FOR THE DEPARTMENT, FOR THE WATER AND SOURCE SITE.

AND THIS HOPEFULLY WILL ALLOW, UM, THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE NOT, UM, THAT DON'T HAVE DEDICATED VEHICLES TO HAVE BETTER ACCESS TO VEHICLE SHARING.

AND SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO TRY TO, UM, BUDGET AND BUY A VEHICLE FOR EVERY PERSON IN THIS DEPARTMENT.

AND SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL, THAT WILL HELP STREAMLINE THAT, THAT ASPECT OF OPERATIONS.

WE'LL MOVE ON TO THIS TABLE.

ANYONE? YEAH.

SO, UM, THIS YEAR OR THE END OF LAST YEAR, WE, UH, WE HAD OUR UTILITIES ACADEMY THAT ACTUALLY INVOLVED FOUR DIVISIONS.

IT WAS TREATMENT PLANT, WATER CONSTRUCTION, WATER SERVICES, AND STORE OPERATIONS.

AND WE HAD A GREAT, UH, CLASS THIS YEAR AND THAT ARE STILL WORKING FOR US AND HOPEFULLY THEY'LL BE ABLE TO COME ON, UH, OR AT LEAST ATTEMPT TO COMPETE FOR THE PERMANENT POSITIONS THAT ARE OPEN.

UM, BUT IT'S, UH, IT'S ALL IN A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT OF OUR, UM, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE, UM, THE FUTURE WORKFORCE, UM, CONTINUE AS WE HAVE OUR PRESENT WORKFORCE.

SO, UH, FROM THE BOARD LEVEL, UH, I JUST WANNA SAY I'M SUPER PROUD OF THE, THE, UH, COMMITTEE STRUCTURE THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN PUT INTO PLACE, UH, THIS PAST YEAR.

UH, THE ENGAGEMENT WITH STAFF AND WITH THE EXECUTIVE TEAM AND WITH THE BOARD, UH, THE DEEPER DIVE THAT'S ABLE TO HAPPEN AT THOSE COMMITTEE MEETINGS.

UM, THE, THE AMOUNT OF EDUCATION AND BREADTH AND KNOWLEDGE IS, HAS BEEN EXACTLY WHAT I WAS ENVISIONING AND, AND VERY PLEASED AND PROUD THAT THAT HAS MOVED FORWARD AND APPARENTLY HAS BEEN FAIRLY WIDELY ADOPTED, ADOPTED BY EVERYONE.

SO I APPRECIATE THAT.

MOMENT IN TIME TO PASS ALONG THANKS TO EVERYBODY, BUT ALSO AS A TESTAMENT TO WHO WE ARE AS A GROUP OF EMPLOYEES AND INDIVIDUALS TOGETHER IN THIS GREAT AGENCY, HOW WE RESPOND IN THOSE MOMENTS.

UM, I JUST WANNA NOTE ONE ADDITIONAL ONE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS TO THE CROSS DIVISIONAL BUDGETING PROCESS.

SO I REALLY, UH, BIG HATS OFF AND THUMBS UP TO THE FINANCE TEAM FOR GETTING EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THE BUDGETING PROCESS ACROSS DIVISION.

SO NOT ONLY ARE WE MORE FAMILIAR WITH OUR OWN OPERATING BUDGETS, BUT ARE AWARE OF THE OTHER OPERATING BUDGETS AND HOW THEY ALL INTERACT.

I THINK EVERYBODY'S BEEN COMPLIMENTING CHARLIE ON HIS, UH, CONGRATULATING US ON THE PROP 18 HEARING.

BUT I, I DID WANNA SHARE, UM, PERHAPS A PERSPECTIVE THAT IS, IS UNIQUE BECAUSE IT'S HOW I VIEW IT FROM MY POSITION.

UM, AND I JUST WANNA REFLECT ON THE POWER OUTAGE AND THE COMPLIMENTS THAT WERE SPREAD AROUND TO EVERYBODY AND GIVE YOU A SENSE OF HOW IT FELT LIKE FOR ME.

SO, UM, I WAS FREAKING OUT 'CAUSE WE ARE HAVING A LEGALLY MANDATED, PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED MEETING AND NOW THE POWER OUTAGE CAME.

UM, SO I WAS COMMENTING TO A COLLEAGUE HOW YOU COULD TAKE THAT AS A SIGN OR NOT.

UM, BUT I THINK THAT FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, ALL THESE PEOPLE SHOWED UP FROM EVERYWHERE ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

I WAS TALKING TO ONE OF THE EMPLOYEES AND I LOOK AT THEM AND I, AND I SEE HOW THEY'RE DRESSED AND THEY'RE NOT DRESSED IN UNIFORM.

I GO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? AND THEY SAID, NO, I, I MEAN ACTUALLY I WAS DOING SOMETHING ELSE, BUT I HEARD THIS WAS ON.

SO I CAME HERE TO MAKE SURE THIS WAS, THERE WAS EQUIPMENT SHOWING UP FROM EVERYWHERE, LIGHT SHOWING UP FROM EVERYWHERE, PEOPLE COMING, WORKING TOGETHER, COLLABORATING AND SAYING, DON'T WORRY, THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN.

AND I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE THAT UNDER TOP THREE STRENGTHS, BUT I JUST WANNA REFLECT THAT THIS WAS MY

[01:05:01]

THAT, THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

AWESOME.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT.

CAN WE ADD A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES FROM THIS LAST TABLE HERE? I'M REALLY PROUD TO SAY THAT WE HAVE ARCHIVED, ARCHIVED OUR OBSOLETE HR POLICIES AND WE HAVE ALIGNED WITH OUR CITY HR POLICIES OVER 30 OF OUR POLICIES, WE HAVE UTILITY SPECIFIC ONES, TBD ARE TWO BECOMING, BUT I'M REALLY PROUD OF UH, THE FACT THAT WE DID IT NOT BY PAPER BUT UM, YOU KNOW, AN ELECTRONIC METHOD AND SO WE'RE ALL IN ALIGNMENT AND ALL EMPLOYEES.

WE HAD A 97% SUCCESS RATE FOR EVERYONE, UM, DOING THE POLICY REVIEW AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.

UM, AND THE 3% WERE ALL ON A VALIDATED, UH, LEAVE OF SOME SORT.

SO BASICALLY THAT WAS A HUNDRED PERCENT, I'M JUST GONNA SAY, OKAY, I THINK I HAVE THE WINNING ACCOMPLISHMENT SUCCESS STORY 'CAUSE IT HITS EVERYBODY'S POCKET.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF UPLAND WOO YAY .

SO WE HAVE OUR DIGITAL TIME SHEETS AS PUBLIC WORKS AND LONG BEACH UTILITIES BEING THE TWO DEPARTMENTS BEING USED FOR THIS PILOT PROGRAM.

WHEREAS JAIME, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A LOT OF TRIAL AND ERROR, BUT WE SUCCESSFULLY ROLLED IT OUT AND EVERYONE GETS PAID ON TIME, RIGHT? AND EVERYONE GETS UM, TO ELIMINATE THE EXCESS USE OF PRINTING OF STAFF HAVING TO DO PAPER TIME SHEETS.

SO YES, BAKER TILLY FOLKS, WE WERE DOING PAPER TIME SHEETS FOR A WHILE, BUT THAT FOR ME WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT COMING IN AS A NEW EMPLOYEE, I THOUGHT, WAIT, WE'RE DOING WHAT? UM, LET'S GET THIS AUTOMATED.

AND SO IT HAPPENED AND IT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL.

SO THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO WAS INVOLVED, BUT AS A GROUP I THINK WE ALL BENEFIT FROM THAT.

SO DANA HAS A GOOD ONE TOO.

, THANK YOU V .

UM, WE'RE VERY HAPPY THAT OUR FIRST OLYMPICS PROJECT IS ABOUT TO BE AWARDED.

YAY.

SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE A VERY BUSY 2027 OF CONSTRUCTION AND B WILL BE FULLY INVOLVED.

THANK YOU .

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

SO WE HAVE LOTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS THAT WE JUST OBSERVED.

WE COULD HAVE PROBABLY SPENT HOURS TALKING ABOUT THIS, BUT WE'VE GATHERED IT ALL OVER HERE.

AS YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE LOTS OF POST TO NOTES THAT CAME FROM A LOT OF THE TABLES THERE, BUT MANY OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEARD ARE JUST EXTREME COLLABORATION FROM EVERYBODY.

SO SUCCESS IS SEEN AND WILL ONLY BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH EVERYONE BEING INVOLVED.

I'LL MOVE IT ON TO YOU.

DID SHE, YOU SHOULD EXPLAIN.

OH SURE.

ALRIGHT, SO WE'RE JUST GONNA DO THE SECOND PART OF THIS, SPEND A QUICK FIVE MINUTES.

WE JUST WANT YOU ALL TO THINK ABOUT LIKE THE TOP THREE STRENGTHS THAT YOU THINK THE ORGANIZATION HAS AND THEN WE'RE GONNA DO THE SAME THING.

WE'RE JUST GONNA GATHER A FEW THINGS AND JUST SPEND A SHORT FEW MINUTES ON IT, BUT I ALWAYS LIKE TO HEAR WHAT THOSE STRENGTHS ARE IN THE ROOM.

[01:10:15]

MIGHT BE IN THE DOING WELL.

HOW ARE YOU? GOOD.

TODAY'S MY FRIDAY AND I WE'LL BE ON THE WATER DAM, BUT LOOKS ALRIGHT.

TAKE ANOTHER 60 SECONDS AND THEN WE'RE GONNA START READING A FEW OF THESE OUT.

GIVE THEM THEIR TIMELY, ACCURATE BILL WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT, BUT THEY GOING TO GET IT SO FORTH.

LET'S GO AHEAD AND READ OUT SOME OF THESE STRENGTHS.

WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED AND READ OUT SOME OF THESE STRENGTHS.

I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND PICK ON THIS TABLE FIRST FOR YOU ALL TO GIVE US ONE.

WE TALKED ABOUT WINS, THINGS THAT YOU ALL HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT SHOWCASE THE GREAT WORK THAT'S GOING ON.

STRENGTHS ARE HOW WE GET TO THOSE WINS.

SO GIVE US A SENSE OF ONE OR TWO OF THOSE.

THIS TABLE WILL START YOU ALL OFF.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY? OKAY, WE'LL GO RIGHT HERE.

SO TO SUM UP, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION.

UH, I THINK, UH, A STRONG ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND COMMITTED STAFF IS, UM, REALLY DEFINES WHO LONG BEACH UTILITY IS TODAY.

OBVIOUSLY THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.

UM, SO DON'T DON'T GET ME.

UM, SO, BUT THAT, THAT I THINK THOSE TWO ATTRIBUTES ARE, ARE, ARE, ARE STRENGTHS AND THEN, UM, THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE STAFF AS WELL, RIGHT? UM, YOU HAVE A LOT OF WELL, HIGHLY EDUCATED, UM, EXPERTS IN THIS ORGANIZATION WHO ARE COMMITTING THEIR TALENTS TO MAKE THE ORGANIZATION THRIVE, BUT ALSO WORKING TOGETHER TO DO IT.

FANTASTIC, THANK YOU.

WE'LL GO TO THIS TABLE NEXT.

GIVE US ONE TO TWO STRENGTHS.

UM, KICK US OFF.

UH, SO ONE OF THESE DISCUSSIONS WAS, UH, ONE IS CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT WE HAD MENTIONED.

UM, AND UH, JUST FOR EXAMPLE, IN CUSTOMER SERVICE, UH, OUR GAS EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIME FROM A, FROM THE TIME THAT THE CUSTOMER CALLS US TILL WE GET TO THE FRONT DOOR IS 37 MINUTES.

UM, AND WE HANDLE OVER 500 OF THESE CALLS PER MONTH.

UM, AND THEN ALSO IN REGARDS TO SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS IN GENERAL, WE'RE TALKING OUR SERVICE CALLS.

UH, WE CAN, WE HAVE NEXT DAY AVAILABILITY, WHEREAS OTHER UTILITIES ARE OUT LIKE A WEEK.

UM, AND THEN IN REGARDS TO LIKE EMERGENCY RESPONSE, OTHER UTILITIES ARE AT AROUND LIKE THREE HOURS RESPONSE TIME AND LIKE I SAID, WE'RE A LITTLE OVER HALF HOUR, SO CUSTOMER SERVICE IS AMAZING.

UM, AND, AND I'M SURE MANY OTHERS CAN SPEAK ON, ON MANY OTHER ASPECTS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE, UH, IN THAT, UH, ASPECT AS WELL.

BUT I THINK THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE IN REGARDS TO, YEAH, WELL, I GUESS I GOT TO SPEAK.

UM, IN ADDITION TO THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ASPECTS, WE HANDLE ALL REFERRALS, COMPLAINTS AND SO FORTH WITHIN THE TIMELY MANNER.

UM, I, I DO BELIEVE THAT'S A BIG FACTOR OF IT BEING ESCALATED EVEN FURTHER AT THIS POINT.

AND, UM, THEY WERE TEASING ME BECAUSE YES, WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH ALL OF THE STATE MANDATES AND SO FORTH AND IT MAKES OUR JOBS EASIER BECAUSE THEN WE HAVE THAT BACKUP AND SUPPORT TO KNOW THIS IS WHY WE DO OUR BUSINESS A CERTAIN WAY.

UM, AT THAT IN ADDITION, UM, UH, I COME FROM THE BILLING WORLD.

SO IN ADDITION TO AN INDIRECT CUSTOMER SERVICES, OUR TIMELY ACCURATE BILLING, UM, WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE ALL CUSTOMER SERVICE ASPECTS TEAMS WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT, I THINK OVERALL WE REALIZE THAT WE TRY TO MAKE THE CUSTOMER THE PRIORITY.

UM,

[01:15:01]

AND, UM, IT'S BEEN HELPFUL.

IT REDUCES OUR COMPLAINTS TO A MINIMAL UH, AMOUNT AND I THINK OUR RESPONSE TIME OVERALL FOR EVERYTHING FROM THE CALLS TO THE FIELD SERVICE IS, IT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I'M STILL HERE.

WE'RE IT'S A GOOD PLACE.

GREAT, THANK YOU.

KEEPING IT GOING FOR STRENGTHS AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JOT THESE DOWN ON A POST-IT NOTE SIMILAR TO THE WINS AND THE ACHIEVEMENTS.

WE'VE GOT ANOTHER HALF OF THE BOARD OVER THERE THAT WE WANNA POPULATE.

UM, SO AS YOU THINK OF A STRENGTH THAT COMES TO MIND, WHAT YOU'VE WITNESSED, UM, GO AHEAD AND PUT THAT DOWN ON A POST NOTE.

WE'LL WALK AROUND AND GATHER THOSE.

I'M GONNA COME TO THIS TABLE.

OH, PERFECT.

I'LL COME TO THIS TABLE OVER HERE.

ANY STRENGTHS THAT COME TO MIND AGAIN? OH, OH, RIGHT HERE.

UH, SO IN THIS TABLE WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT, UH, JUST A GROWING COLLABORATION AMONGST THE UTILITIES.

I, I THINK MORE SO THAN, MORE SO NOW THAN WHEN WE FIRST MERGED.

I REMEMBER WHEN WE FIRST MERGED, THERE WAS JUST THIS, THAT AWKWARDNESS AND YOU KNOW, HOW COME GAS GETS, ALWAYS GETS LEFT OUT SORT OF THING.

TO BE HONEST.

UH, BUT NOW, I MEAN WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD BEING MORE INTERESTED AND, AND GETTING INFORMED ABOUT, UH, THE GAS UTILITY AND JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, EVEN THE ISSUES.

ALSO, UM, ALSO, UH, DURING MEETINGS TOO AS WELL, THERE'S JUST MORE, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S JUST, UH, UH, MORE CARE TOWARDS, UH, ONE ANOTHER.

UH, WHEN WE, UH, MEET WITH, UH, WHEN WATER OR SEWER, UH, AND GAS FOLKS MEET, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S MORE, UH, CONSIDER CONSIDERATION TOWARDS THE OTHER, THE OTHER SIDE.

SO I THINK THAT'S A STRENGTH FOR OUR UTILITY.

ANY OTHERS HERE BEFORE I MOVE ON? OKAY, GREAT.

KEEP US GOING.

UM, STRENGTHS THAT COME TO MIND FOR YOUR DIVISION, FOR THE ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE? ANYONE AT THIS TABLE PLEASE? OKAY.

I'M ON A ROLL TODAY.

, UH, ACTUALLY, SO I, THIS STRENGTH STARTED OFF AS A QUESTION ON MY END.

UH, ON, AT THE TABLE ON MY FIRST TWO WEEKS, THEY HAD ME DOING RIDE-ALONGS, WALKTHROUGHS WITH THE FIELD CREWS.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I NOTICED IS, UM, AND I WROTE DOWN AND I ASKED THEM, FIRST, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT MY ASSESSMENT WAS CORRECT BEFORE I EVEN WROTE IT DOWN.

BUT A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT I NOTICED IS SOME OF THE FIELD CREWS WERE LIKE 20, 25, 30, 35 YEARS WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENT.

UM, I'VE EVEN HEARD SOME JOKES LIKE, OH, HERE, GO TALK TO THE NEWBIE.

AND, AND THE GUY HAD BEEN HERE FOR 15 YEARS.

SO, YOU KNOW, TO ME THAT SHOWS, YOU KNOW, LONG TERM EMPLOYEE LOYALTY.

AND I DO CONSIDER THAT A STRENGTH AND I'M NOTWITHSTANDING RETENTION ISSUES THAT OCCUR IN SOME AREAS.

UM, I, I PRESENT THAT AS A STRENGTH, BUT A VERY IMPORTANT CONVERSA SIDE CONVERSATION KIND OF CAME UP THAT, THAT CAN PRETEND, UH, BRING UP ITS OWN SET OF CHALLENGES, WHICH A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE NEARING RETI RETIREMENT.

AND THAT'S A WHOLE SET OF CHALLENGES.

BUT OVERALL, I JUST WANT TO, I COMING IN ONLY A MONTH IN, I SEE THIS AS OPPORTUNITY.

AND ALTHOUGH A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF CHANGE, I THINK CHANGE IN AND OF ITSELF IS A STRENGTH AND IT PRESENTS BIG OPPORTUNITIES.

SO I, I, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY FIRST, LIKE LONG TERM EMPLOYEE LOYALTY, BUT ALSO THIS, WHICH IS THE CHANGE ITSELF IS A STRENGTH.

I JUST WANNA TO ADD TO THE, UH, CUSTOMER SERVICE SIDE AND GAS SERVICE.

ALSO ON THE ENGINEERING SIDE, A LOT OF OUR, UH, DEVELOPERS GO TO OUR, UM, GAS ENGINEERING TEAM TO SAY THEY WANNA DEVELOP A NEW, UH, RESTAURANT OR BUILDINGS WHERE THEY NEED GAS SERVICES.

AND, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR STAFF HAVE BEEN VERY PROMPT IN TERMS OF RESPONDING TO THE INQUIRIES TO DESIGN TO CALCULATIONS WHERE OUR INSPECTOR OUT THERE, UH, MEET WITH THE DEVELOPER AND KIND OF LAY OUT WHERE THE HOUSE LINE WOULD BE.

AND A LOT OF THEM COMMENTED BACK TO US THAT WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY PROMPT IN THE RESPONSE.

A LOT, A LOT, YOU KNOW, EARLIER, A LOT FASTER THAN A LOT OF THE OTHER, UM, UTILITIES THAT THEY'VE WORKED WITH IN THE PAST.

SO I THINK THAT'S A, A STRENGTH THAT I SEE.

OKAY, TWO MORE TABLES TO GO.

I'M RIGHT OVER HERE ON THE FRONT.

STRENGTHS OF THE ORGANIZATION, YOUR DIVISION, YOUR DEPARTMENT, PLEASE.

I'M GONNA PICK ON SOMEBODY.

UH, YEAH, OUR BIGGEST, OR AT LEAST MY LITTLE DIVISION IS THE BIGGEST STRENGTH IS THE PEOPLE AND THE OPENNESS OF COMMUNICATION.

UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN BE PUT IN SITUATIONS WHERE YOU'RE PHRASING SOMETHING STUPID SO YOU DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL, WHICH DOESN'T HELP THE SITUATION, YOU KNOW? SO I DO LIKE THE, THE OPENNESS OF COMMUNICATION, UH, THE RESPECT.

EVEN IF SOMETHING COMES OUTTA MY MOUTH, IT

[01:20:01]

SHOULDN'T .

I SEE.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S STILL A LEVEL OF RESPECT THERE.

STRENGTHS OF THE ORGANIZATION, UM, YOUR POSTS, WHAT YOU'VE SEEN, PLEASE.

ALRIGHT, THIS IS GONNA SOUND LIKE I'M PLACATING MY EMPLOYERS, BUT I'M GONNA SAY AN ACTIVIST BOARD.

WE'RE IN A SAFE SPACE HERE, RIGHT? SO I'M OLD, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS A LONG TIME.

I PRESENTED TO MANY BOARDS ON MANY DIFFERENT ISSUES.

THIS WAS THE FIRST BOARD IN MY CAREER WHERE AN ITEM WAS REJECTED, AND I'M HAPPY FOR THAT BECAUSE IT SAYS, HEY, YOU GOTTA DO BETTER.

YOU GOTTA GO BACK, WORK ON IT AND DO IT BETTER BEFORE WE APPROVE IT.

ANYTHING ELSE? TABLE STRENGTHS.

OKAY, GREAT.

WELL, THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING IN THIS.

WE WILL TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK.

WE'LL COME BACK AND TALK ABOUT INDUSTRY INSIGHTS AND CURRENT STATE.

THANK YOU .

[01:27:23]

I WANTED TO, ALRIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED HERE IN THE NEXT MINUTE OR TWO.

PLEASE GO AHEAD AND FIND YOUR SEATS.

OH, OKAY.

THAT'S FINE.

WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED HERE.

IF YOU DON'T MIND FINDING YOUR SEATS.

UM, WITHIN THE NEXT MINUTE WE'LL GET STARTED IN THE CURRENT STATE AND INDUSTRY INSIGHTS.

DON'T GET TO, DON'T, YEAH, DON'T GET,

[01:30:15]

YEAH, THEY, YEAH.

LET ME JUST SAY ONE THING BEFORE AND THEN I'LL JUST HAND IT OVER TO YOU.

OKAY, YEAH, YEAH, SURE.

TO YOU HAVE 60 MINUTES, 45, AND EVENTUALLY WE INTO THE NEXT.

THE BEAUTY OF US BEING TOGETHER, OF COURSE, IS THAT WE DON'T GET CHANCES TO BE TOGETHER.

AND NOW THAT WE HAVE IT, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF CONVERSATIONS.

THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF BEING TOGETHER TODAY.

AND YET AT THE SAME TIME, WE HAVE REALLY IMPORTANT WORK TO DO.

REMEMBER TO FIND A WAY FORWARD.

SO, FANTASTIC.

BACK TO YOU.

WE'RE GONNA START NOW IN CURRENT STATE AND INDUSTRY INSIGHTS.

DREW ALEX DEHE, CARLY, THEY'RE GONNA WALK US THROUGH THIS.

WE'VE GOT ABOUT AT LEAST 60 MINUTES IN THIS SECTION.

UM, I'LL PASS IT OVER TO ALEX AND DREW.

OH, PLEASE.

AS YOU HAVE COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS THROUGHOUT, I'LL BE WALKING AROUND WITH THE MIC.

UM, WE WANNA CAPTURE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS IN THE MIC.

UM, SO PLEASE JUST WAIT TO HAVE THAT IN FRONT, BUT ENGAGE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.

ANY QUESTIONS, THOUGHTS? THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE WANT TO GET OUTTA THIS SECTION.

UM, LIKE CATASTROPHIC WATER, UM, LEAK EVENTS LIKE, UM, LIKE IN LA THAT WE KEEP HEARING ABOUT.

GOOD MORNING.

UH, MY NAME IS ALEX BURNETT AS WHAT HE SAID, AND I JUST WANTED TO START BY SAYING WHAT A GREAT START TO THE DAY.

UM, AND WHAT WE REALLY WANTED TO DO IS HAVE A COLLABORATIVE, WHICH WAS CITED AS ONE OF THE STRENGTHS, UH, IN AN OPEN DIALOGUE.

AND SO THAT REALLY CAME ACROSS.

AND I KNOW THAT'S IMPORTANT ALSO IN THE CONTEXT OF WALKING INTO A ROOM LIKE THIS, AN EXERCISE LIKE THIS, OF SAYING, WHAT DO THEY WANT? WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO DO? DO, HOW'S THIS GONNA WORK? AND SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS A GREAT START.

AND SO BUILDING OFF THIS FOR THE NEXT HOUR, WHAT WE WANTED TO DO IS SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME OF PROVIDING CONTEXT TO THE STRENGTHS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE TALK, BECAUSE THAT SETS THE FOUNDATION FOR US MOVING FORWARD.

SO DREW AND CARLY AND DEHA AND I ARE GONNA SPEND SOME TIME TALKING ABOUT THE CURRENT INDUSTRY HERE.

UM, BUT WE'D ALSO CAUTION THIS IS FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE AND OUR, OUR WORLDVIEW AND EXPERIENCE, UH, WORKING ACROSS DIFFERENT AGENCIES.

UH, CLEARLY EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM KNOWS MORE ABOUT LONG BEACH UTILITIES THAN WE DO, UH, FROM THAT STANDPOINT.

UH, BUT WE DO HAVE BROADER AND SHARED EXPERIENCE ACROSS THE UTILITY SECTOR, UH, CERTAINLY IN CALIFORNIA, CERTAINLY IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

SO WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THE UTILITIES, BECAUSE WE REALLY THINK THAT SETS THE GROUNDWORK FOR US AS WE KIND OF TAKE WHAT WE DID THIS MORNING AND START MIRRORING THAT TO KIND OF WHAT'S IN THE INDUSTRY.

AND THAT HELPS DEVELOP WHAT WE'RE GOING TOWARDS THIS AFTERNOON IN TERMS OF THINKING ABOUT WHAT OUR PRIORITIES ARE IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR STRENGTHS AND ULTIMATELY THE INDUSTRY THAT WE LIVE IN.

SO WITH THAT, DREW'S GONNA START.

THANKS.

THANKS ALEX.

AND AS, UH, IN MY PAST EXPERIENCE WORKING IN UTILITIES, ALWAYS HAD A LOT OF ADMIRATION FOR LONG BEACH AND HAVE LEARNED A LOT OVER THE YEARS FROM MANY, MANY OF THE STAFF HERE.

SO IT'S DEFINITELY A PRIVILEGE TO COME BACK AND, AND, UM, HELP SUPPORT ALL OF THIS.

AND, UM, AS, AS ALEX SAID, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE DEFINITELY HAVE A, A WIDE ANGLE LENS ACROSS THE INDUSTRY, WORK ACROSS THE WEST, BUT, UM, WE DON'T KNOW MORE ABOUT LONG BEACH THAN, THAN ALL OF YOU FOR SURE.

SO, UM, APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT KIND OF SOME OF OUR INITIAL OBSERVATIONS.

UM, AND JUST EVEN THIS MORNING, IT WAS REALLY GREAT TO HEAR ABOUT JUST ALL THE POSITIVITY AND COLLABORATION ACROSS ALL THE DIFFERENT, UM, DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS AND GROUPS IN THE ORGANIZATION.

UM, AND ALSO JUST A, A FUNNY OBSERVATION THAT THE ONE OF THE FEW UTILITIES THAT YOU DON'T MANAGE IS THE ONE THAT HAD A BIG ISSUE WITH A POWER OUTAGE, UH, RECENTLY.

SO, UM, WE DEFINITELY, UM, ARE BELIEVERS IN PUBLIC AGENCIES AND PUBLIC SERVICE, AND I THINK IT GOES TO SHOW JUST WITH KIND OF THE ONGOING, UM, STATE OF BEING A VERY SUCCESSFUL UTILITY.

THERE'S JUST, AS WE ASSESS AND LOOK, THERE'S JUST BIG CHALLENGES FACING ALL THREE UTILITIES.

AND SO WE'LL, WE'LL HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THAT AS CONTEXT AS, UH, THINKING THROUGH SOME OF THE OVERARCHING, UH, MISSION, VISION, VALUES AND PRIORITIES.

UM, SO KIND OF TEE UP THOSE FOR THE, FOR THE AFTERNOON.

UM, SO, UM, AND ADDITIONALLY I JUST HIGHLIGHT, UM, AS A UTILITY THAT, UM, IS ACTUALLY FOR, FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HAS A LONG HISTORY.

UM, SO OVER A CENTURY OF SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY.

UM, I CAME FROM A UTILITY THAT'S, THAT DIDN'T HAVE NEARLY AS LONG, AND THERE'S OTHER LONG SERVING UTILITIES THAT, UM, YOU HEAR ABOUT IN THE NEWS FROM TIME TO TIME AND THAT YOU DON'T HAVE THAT SAME,

[01:35:01]

AND I THINK THOSE KINDS OF THINGS GOES TO SHOW, UM, THE CARE AND JUST THE DAY-TO-DAY THAT TAKES PLACE, UH, HERE.

UM, AND WHEN WE LOOK AT OVER THE HISTORY, I'VE ALSO JUST LEARNED A, LEARNED A LOT LIKE, UM, THAT'S, UM, THE WATER UTILITY INNOVATED AND CAME UP WITH A NEW, UM, TECHNOLOGY AND THE, UM, OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS, LIKE FILED A PATENT ON THAT.

SO IT'S JUST, UM, THERE'S JUST BEEN A LOT OF REALLY INTERESTING INSIGHTS IN THE HISTORY.

UM, YOU HAVE A GREAT GROUNDWATER BASIN.

UM, YOU MANAGE, UH, PROACTIVELY THE COLLECTION SYSTEM.

UM, YOU HAVE, UM, NOW A NEW, UH, UTILITY IN THE LONG BEACH UTILITIES WITH THE GAS UTILITY, UM, AND OVERALL, UM, HAVE A GREAT, GREAT SAFETY RECORD.

AND THAT'S WITH GAS AND DEALING SOMETHING THAT'S EXPLOSIVE, IT'S SAFETY IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS.

UM, AND SO JUST LOOKING THROUGH THE HISTORY, I THINK THAT THE OVERARCHING, UH, TAKEAWAY I HAD AND LOOKING THROUGH IT IS JUST HOW MUCH THERE'S BEEN SO MUCH SUCCESS AS WE'VE HEARD ABOUT A LOT THIS MORNING.

UM, IT'S JUST AS WE LOOK TOWARDS THE FUTURE, THERE'S REGULATORY PRESSURES DIFFERENT, BUT, UM, CONSTRAINING AND CHALLENGING, UH, REGULATORY PRESSURES ACROSS ALL THREE SYSTEMS. UM, THEN THOSE PUT A LOT OF PRESSURES ON AFFORDABILITY.

THOSE PUT A LOT OF PRESSURES ON, UM, MAKING SURE THAT, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S TOUGH CHOICES TO MAKE.

AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE TO, TO HIGHLIGHT THAT, UM, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS.

UM, SO WE'RE LOOKING THROUGH, UM, EACH OF THE THREE, UH, UTILITIES AND THEN ALSO LOOKING AT KIND OF SOME OVER ORGANIZATION-WIDE, UM, OBSERVATIONS.

UM, AND THAT'S GONNA, THAT'S GONNA KIND OF TOUCH ON SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE HEARD THROUGH THE INTERVIEW PROCESS AS WELL.

UM, AND SO WE'LL TALK ABOUT EACH OF THE THREE UTILITIES AND, AND THEN GIVE SOME OF THOSE OVERARCHING, UH, THOUGHTS AS WELL, UM, WITH THE WATER ENTERPRISE.

UM, THIS IS MOST MO LIKE THIS IS THE, THE DEFINITELY THE AREA THAT I'VE SPENT MOST OF MY CAREER.

IT'S WHEN I HAVE MOST FAMILIARITY, UM, WORKED WITH YOUR STAFF, BOTH AT METROPOLITAN AND AT AT MOLTEN MIGUEL.

UM, AND, UM, THE, WHAT I WOULD HIGHLIGHT IS JUST THE, THE, THE AGENCY HAS A GREAT REPUTATION, UM, IN THE, IN THE INDUSTRY.

UM, IT'S BEEN ONE OF THE LEADERS IN CONSERVATION, UM, THAT'S BEEN LOOKED TO THROUGHOUT THE SECTOR.

UM, YOU HAVE A, UM, WELL MANAGED SYSTEM.

YOU HAVE A LOT, YOU HAVE A GREAT RESOURCE THAT I WAS DEFINITELY JEALOUS OF, UH, WITH YOUR GROUNDWATER BASIN.

I CAME FROM AN AGENCY THAT WAS A HUNDRED PERCENT DEPENDENT ON METROPOLITAN.

AND SO, UM, THAT MADE THE COST OF WATER AND THAT AGENCY AND A LOT OF OTHER AGENCIES MUCH HIGHER.

AND SO, UM, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE FACING ALL THESE AFFORDABILITY PRESSURES, IT'S BECAUSE OF NEW THINGS GOING FORWARD, UM, RELATIVELY BECAUSE OF THAT GREAT RESOURCE AND GROUNDWATER THAT'S MADE IT RELATIVELY AFFORDABLE, UM, WHEN YOU COMPARE HOW YOUR SYSTEM IS TO THE BROADER INDUSTRY.

AND SO IT'S SOMETHING I'D ALSO ADD AS CONTEXT IS THAT THERE'S A LOT OF AGENCIES IN A LOT OF PLACES IN CALIFORNIA THAT HAVE MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE WATER THAN YOU DO BECAUSE YOU HAVE THIS AMAZING RESOURCE AND THAT GROUNDWATER BASIN THAT YOU DEFINITELY, UH, TAKE SERIOUSLY AND PROTECTING AND LOOKING TO, TO MANAGE IT.

BUT, UM, I KNOW A LOT OF AGENCIES IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY THAT WOULD LOOK AT YOUR RATES AND BE VERY JEALOUS, UH, RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF, UM, JUST YOUR LIKE, LESS THAN HALF WHAT THEY PAY RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF, UM, LOOKING TOWARDS, UM, D SAL AND ALL THESE MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE SOURCES OF SUPPLY.

UM, AND, UM, YOU HAVE A LOT OF, UM, GREAT PLANNING DOCUMENTS THAT HELP TEE UP SOME OF THESE CONVERSATIONS TOO.

UM, YOU'VE DONE, UM, A WATER RESOURCES PLAN, UM, YOU'VE DONE A LOT OF ASSET MANAGEMENT.

UM, THERE'S INTERESTS IN THINKING THROUGH, BUT THERE'S ALSO JUST BIG DECISIONS TOO.

IT'S LIKE, HOW MUCH DO YOU WANNA RELY ON METROPOLITAN GOING FORWARD? WHO'S LOOKING AT POTABLE REUSE AND ALL THESE BIG PROJECTS VERSUS INVESTING IN EXPANDING THE REUSE OF YOUR WASTE WATER THAT YOU STILL HAVE, UM, AVAILABLE CAPACITY.

SO THOSE ARE BIG QUESTIONS THAT IMPACT AFFORDABILITY, BALANCING THAT WITH THE CHALLENGES OF JUST REGULAR ASSET MANAGEMENT.

SO THOSE ARE BIG, BIG QUESTIONS THAT, UM, KIND OF LEAD INTO KIND OF AS YOU'RE THINKING THROUGH, UM, THE OVERARCHING MISSION, VISION, VALUES, ALL OF THOSE TYPES OF THINGS AND PRIORITIES.

UM, THOSE ARE THE UNDERLYING KINDS OF, UM, TOPICS THAT WE WANT TO HAVE GUIDING LIGHTS FOR, UM, TO HELP SUPPORT, UM, THE UTILITY.

UM, AND

[01:40:01]

YEAH, OVERALL 60% LOCAL, UM, WATER, GREAT PLACE, UM, REGIONALLY THAT PROVIDES A LOT OF RESILIENCE FOR THE UTILITY.

UM, 40 PLUS YEARS OF RECYCLED WATER.

SO LEADER IN, IN AN INNOVATION AND PROVIDING THAT LOCAL RESOURCE, UM, AND HAVING A LOT OF, UM, SOPHISTICATED ASSETS TO MANAGE IN THAT SYSTEM.

UM, AND YEAH, I HIGHLIGHTED AT THE BEGINNING, BUT JUST, UH, LONG BEACH HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS LEADER IN CONSERVATION AND SO IT'S DEFINITELY HELPED, UM, PROVIDE EVEN MORE VALUE FROM THOSE LOCAL RESOURCES BY HAVING, UH, A COMMUNITY'S BOUGHT INTO THAT CONSERVATION ETHOS THAT'S SO PREVALENT IN YOUR COMMUNITY.

UM, UM, BUT THERE'S ALSO BEEN A LOT OF OTHER, OTHER AREAS JUST LOOKING AT USE OF A MI, UM, USE OF A LOT OF PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS.

WE HEARD THAT IN SOME OF THE INTERVIEWS OF JUST, THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, 'CAUSE YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE A A MIX OF STAFF ACROSS DIFFERENT GENERATIONS, BUT THERE'S DEFINITELY, UM, AN INTEREST IN USING, UM, LIKE AI AND, AND, AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF THINGS.

BUT THEN THERE'S KIND OF A BALANCE OF KIND HOW, HOW MUCH TO USE IT, WHERE TO USE IT, WHERE IT'S RISKY, WHERE IT'S NOT.

UM, SO SOME BIG QUESTIONS THERE.

UM, DON'T HAVE PFAS YET, THANKFULLY, WHICH I KNOW COMING FROM ORANGE COUNTY IS A, A GREAT PLACE FOR THE UTILITY, BUT IT'S BEEN DETECTED IN CENTRAL BASIN AS I'M SURE Y'ALL KNOW.

AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S ON THE PERIPHERY THAT DOWN THE ROAD, UM, PROBABLY BE SOMETHING TO DEAL WITH.

AND THAT PUTS ADDITIONAL AFFORDABILITY PRESSURE ON THE UTILITY, UM, BECAUSE LIKE, OR ORANGE COUNTY'S INVESTED HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN, IN WELLHEAD TREATMENT.

UM, AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING ON THE PERIPHERY IF THE, IF YOU EVER IF OR WHEN YOU GET A DETECT ON THAT.

UM, AND THEN THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST IN CLIMATE PLANNING.

UM, AND SO JUST KIND OF HIGHLIGHTING ON THE WATER SYSTEM, SOME OF THE BIG QUESTIONS ARE JUST LIKE, OKAY, WHAT, WHAT, UH, WHAT LONG-TERM VISION IS THERE FOR LOCAL VERSUS IMPORTED AND BALANCE THERE? UM, HOW, HOW TO MANAGE, UM, INVESTING IN LOCAL RESOURCES WHILE INVESTING IN, UH, R AND R.

AND THESE ARE BIG, BIG QUESTIONS FOR THE UTILITY AS YOU LOOK TOWARDS THE FUTURE.

UH, YEAH, GO FOR IT.

SO ONE THING THAT DREW AND I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT AS WE WERE PUTTING THIS TOGETHER, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF A STRATEGIC PLAN, IS THAT THESE ARE ALL OPPORTUNITIES, RIGHT? SO THESE HELP DEFINE IT.

NOT EVERYBODY HAS THOSE, THAT, THOSE SAME SET OF OPPORTUNITIES, RIGHT? AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF DISCRETIONARY DECISION MAKING THAT NEEDS TO GO FROM STAFF, FROM ANALYSIS UP TO THE BOARD AND COMMISSION MAKING DECISIONS HERE.

SO THIS IS A, A, A GREAT SET OF RESOURCES BY VIRTUE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT IT PRESENTS.

AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT REALLY FEEDS INTO THE LONG-TERM STRATEGIC PLAN, AND NOT EVERYBODY HAS THAT SAME LEVEL OF OPPORTUNITY.

UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S A, A VERY KEY FOUNDATIONAL VALUE FOR US WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE WATER ENTERPRISE ON THE, ON THE GAS ENTERPRISE.

SO WE, WE WORK IN THE ENERGY SPACE AND I THINK THERE'S, IT'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS ASSET TO THE CITY IN JUST THE, IT PROVIDES A FINANCIAL RESOURCE TO THE GENERAL FUND.

IT HAS BEEN, UM, HAD EXCELLENT TRACK RECORD ON SAFETY, UM, HAS A VERY SOPHISTICATED, UM, SET OF INFRASTRUCTURE.

UM, AND IN TALKING TO THE INTERVIEWS, IT'S LIKE YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE SUCH AMAZING, UM, PEOPLE AND STAFF, UM, IN THAT ORGANIZATION.

UM, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S BIG CHALLENGES BECAUSE IT DOES HAVE, UM, A RISK PORTFOLIO THAT JUST AS SOMEONE WHO'S OUTSIDE THE GAS INDUSTRY IS VERY, IS VERY SCARY.

'CAUSE IT'S LIKE THINGS, THINGS CAN'T GO WRONG IN THIS, IN THIS SECTOR BECAUSE OF THE CATASTROPHIC RISK IF SOMETHING DOES BREAK IN THE GAS SECTOR.

UM, AND SO THERE'S THIS UNDERLYING TENSION OF NEEDING TO INVEST IN AN AGING NETWORK OF PIPELINES, UM, THAT NEEDS, UM, CARE AND ONGOING, UM, REPLACEMENT AND REFURBISHMENT OF IT.

UM, AND THEN, UM, SOME BIG AFFORDABILITY CHALLENGES BECAUSE THE RATES ARE PEGGED TO SOCAL GAS, UM, UH, RATES AND THERE'S A TRANS, I MEAN, YOU'RE, YOU'RE TRANSFERRING A SIGNIFICANT, UM, JUST UNDER $20 MILLION TO THE GENERAL FUND EVERY YEAR.

UM, SO THAT PUTS ADDITIONAL PRESSURE ON JUST KIND OF COMPETING ISSUES OF FUNDING ASSETS, UM, THAT ARE CRITICAL, THAT CANNOT FAIL, UM, WHILE ALSO HAVING, UH, TO BE AFFORDABLE AND, UH, AND HAVE, UM, AN OVERALL OR JUST KIND OF BALANCING ALL OF THAT.

SO IT'S JUST, IN LOOKING AT THE GAS UTILITY EDGE, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S, IT DOES PRESENT SOME KIND OF CONSTRAINTS

[01:45:01]

THAT ARE, UM, ARE BIG, BIG PROBLEMS. SO I THINK THINKING THROUGH THAT, UM, I JUST, I THINK PART OF, PART OF THE OTHER OBSERVATION IN LOOKING AT THE GAS UTILITY, UM, IS THAT THERE ARE, THERE ARE SOME, LET'S SAY LIKE KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO THINK THROUGH HOW TO BALANCE SOME KIND OF, UM, STRATEGIC PRIORITIES LIKE, SO THE CITY I, AS YOU ALL KNOW, HAS A CLIMATE, UH, UH, CLIMATE MASTER PLAN, UM, THAT SETS A ZERO NET CARBON GOAL FOR THE WHOLE WHOLE CITY.

UM, SOCALGAS HAS THIS LONG TERM PLAN TO THE ASPIRE PLAN TO GO TO RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS AND HYDROGEN FUELS.

UM, AND THERE'S THIS, THERE'S THIS GAP IN THINKING THROUGH IF LIKE, WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE GAS UTILITY LOOK LIKE? IS IT, IS IT TRANSITION? IS, IS EDISON THE FUTURE? IS IT AN ELECTRICAL SERVICE? IS IT, UM, IS IT LOOKING AT, UM, SOME SORT OF NEW HYDROGEN OR RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS AS THE SOURCE FOR THE UTILITY? UM, AND THE GAP IS JUST THAT THERE'S, THERE'S NO STRATEGIC GOAL OR PRIORITY OR A LONG TERM PLAN THAT SAYS WHAT THAT FUTURE LOOKS LIKE TODAY, UM, IN A STATE THAT HAS BASICALLY SAID THAT, THAT, UH, NATURAL GAS DOESN'T, LIKE FROM A, UM, FROM A, UM, FROM NOT FROM NOT EXCLUDING RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS DOESN'T HAVE A FUTURE.

SO IT'S, IT'S A HUGE CHALLENGE, I THINK.

AND I THINK WE HEARD THAT THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, GREAT INNOVATIVE IDEAS, A LOT OF CREATIVITY IN THE ORGANIZATION.

UM, UH, ALEX AND I ALSO WORK IN, LIKE, IN THE DATA CENTER SPACE, AND THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF INTEREST, UM, COINCIDENTALLY IN LIKE LOCAL NEED FOR RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO THERE'S ALSO REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES.

UM, AND SO, UM, YOU HAVE THIS GREAT ASSET THAT HAS JUST LIKE, UH, A UNDERLYING QUESTION OF LIKE, WHAT DOES THAT FUTURE LOOK LIKE IN 20 OR 30 YEARS? UM, AND SO I THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S A KEY PIECE, I THINK AND, AND KIND OF UNDERPINNING KIND OF MISSION VISION VALUES IS WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE GAS UTILITY, UH, BECAUSE YOU HAVE THESE, THESE MASSIVE REGULATORY CHALLENGES.

UM, AND IT'S, I THINK BASED ON THE COMMITMENTS AND, UM, THE TALENT FROM THIS TEAM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S SOME GREAT IDEAS.

IT'S JUST, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT REALLY DESERVES A LOT OF ATTENTION, IS KIND OF LAYING OUT WHAT, WHAT'S THE PATH, UM, ON THAT BECAUSE OF, UH, BECAUSE OF THESE, THESE BIG ISSUES THAT CREATES CREATE, I THINK, SOME OPPORTUNITY 'CAUSE CONSTRAINT BREEDS INNOVATION, UM, AND THAT THERE'S A GREAT HISTORY OF INNOVATION IN LONG BEACH, UM, UTILITY SERVICE.

UM, BUT I JUST, THAT, THAT'S JUST SOME OBSERVATIONS WE HAD IN LOOK IN LOOKING AT THE UTILITY.

UM, AND JUST, I THINK I JUST, SURE, JUST TO BUILD ON THE INNOVATION COMMENT, I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE SEE AS ONE OF THE STRATEGIC PILLARS.

LIKE HOW DO WE CAPTURE AND ARTICULATE AND DELINEATE WHAT THE INNOVATION FOR THE GAS UTILITY IS? AND SO DREW TALKED ABOUT INDUSTRIAL USES ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, AND, AND CLEARLY WE'RE SENSITIVE AS ANYBODY IS TO THE CURRENT PUBLIC DISCOURSE AROUND DATA CENTERS.

BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT DATA CENTERS ARE DOING RIGHT NOW, AND WE UNDERSTAND THIS IS OUT OF OUR PURVIEW A LITTLE BIT, BUT FOR EXAMPLE, ONSITE GENERATION IS GONNA BE A KEY COMPONENT OF DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT.

AND THAT MEANS THINGS LIKE BLOOM ENERGY, FUEL CELL, GAS, ALTERNATIVE USES OF GAS, THOSE ARE ALL GONNA BE KEY COMPONENTS.

SO THE, THE GAS INDUSTRY IS ALSO CHANGING IN ALIGNMENT WITH OTHER KIND OF MACRO FACTORS THAT ARE GOING ON.

AND THINKING ABOUT HOW YOU CREATE THAT ALIGNMENT AROUND KIND OF THESE OTHER, AND A BROADER ECOSYSTEM, WE THINK IS SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AND A GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

SO, UM, SEWER, IT'S LIKE THE, THE, SO SEWER'S ALWAYS LIKE FROM FROM MY BACKGROUND AT, AT THE UTILITY'S, LIKE IF SOME, YOU HEAR SOMETHING ON THE SEWER SYSTEM, IT'S USUALLY NOT A, A GOOD ISSUE 'CAUSE IT'S A SPILL OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT, THAT HAPPENED.

UM, LOOKING AT LONG BEACH THOUGH, I MEAN, LIKE YOU'RE IN A COASTAL COMMUNITY, UM, AND A LOT OF THE NEIGHBORS THAT I WORKED WITH, UM, DOWN IN ORANGE COUNTY, UM, HAD COASTAL, UM, SEWER SYSTEMS. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, IT'S LIKE YOUR SYSTEM HAS, HAS, HAS A GREAT TRACK RECORD.

YOU HAVE THESE GREAT, UH, PLANS ON THE SEWER SYSTEM MANAGEMENT PLAN.

UM, YOU HAVE THIS, UM, UM, TRACK RECORD WITH CLEANING AND INSPECTIONS AND KEEPING UP WITH YOUR, YOUR SEWER SYSTEM.

UM, ONE

[01:50:01]

OF MY NEIGHBOR AGENCIES, I THINK WOULD BE VERY JEALOUS OF, UM, THAT TRACK RECORD.

UM, I PROBABLY HEAR IN THE LAGUNA BEACH HAS, HAS A VERY ALWAYS STRUGGLED WITH, UM, UH, SEWER SPILLS DOWN THERE.

UM, BUT IT, IT, IT DOES, I KNOW THAT WITH THE OLYMPICS COMING UP, IT IS A, UM, IT IS A, A BIG STRESS RIGHT NOW ON THE, ON THE SYSTEM, UM, IN TERMS OF, UM, POTENTIAL INCREASE IN FLOWS DEALING WITH, UM, THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY COMING TO TOWN TO WATCH, UH, THE OLYMPICS.

UM, BUT I, I, IT'S AMAZING TO HEAR.

I THINK, I THINK THAT'S ALSO A STRENGTH AND IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TOO BECAUSE, UM, IT PROVIDES INVESTMENT, IT PROVIDES, UM, A WAY TO EXPEDITE CAPITAL PROJECTS.

UM, SO I KNOW IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY A, A STRESS, BUT IT ALSO CREATES AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, FOR THE SYSTEM AS WELL.

UM, AND SO I, I'D SAY THAT YOUR OVERALL SEWER SYSTEM, IT HAS A GREAT TRACK RECORD.

GREAT, GREAT.

UM, UM, OVERALL, UH, MANAGEMENT OF THE SYSTEM, IT'S JUST, IT'S KIND OF LIKE THE, THE GENERAL TRENDS THAT WE SEE ACROSS THE WHOLE INDUSTRY OF ASSET MANAGEMENT, UM, HAVING MORE OF A, UM, UH, AND DEALING WITH THAT AND BALANCING THAT WITH AFFORDABILITY.

THOSE ARE SOME KEY, KEY KINDS OF, UM, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF LIKE, HOW, HOW TO BALANCE.

AND IT'S, I THINK AN OBSERVATION ACROSS ALL THE SYSTEMS. IT'S LIKE, IT'S, THERE'S ALWAYS A TRADE OFF BETWEEN HAVING A VERY, A BRAND NEW, UM, VERY HIGHLY INVESTED SYSTEM THAT'S OPERATING PERFECTLY AND AFFORDABILITY.

UM, AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE, THE SEWER SYSTEM, IT'S, THERE'S A LOT OF INNOVATION, A LOT OF USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND, AND DOING A LOT OF GREAT PRACTICES.

UM, AND IT'S A GENERAL THEME THAT WE'VE SEEN ACROSS ALL THREE SYSTEMS IS THERE'S, THERE'S THIS CULTURE OF INNOVATION AND TRYING NEW THINGS.

UM, THAT'S, UM, THAT'S REALLY EXCITING TO SEE BECAUSE THAT'S NOT UNIFORM IN THE UTILITY INDUSTRY IN ANY OF THE THREE SECTORS.

UH, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY A PIECE OF, UM, LONG BEACHES, UH, STATE TODAY.

UM, AND, BUT THERE'S ALSO, THERE'S ALWAYS LIKE, THERE'S, THERE'S THE, THE LIKE IMPROVING ASSET INVENTORY DATA.

THERE'S, UM, BUILDING UP ASSET MANAGEMENT PLANNING, YOU HAVE A MASTER PLAN, UH, BUT, UM, THERE'S ALWAYS, UM, OPPORTUNITIES TO FURTHER REFINE, UM, AND LOOK AT THAT.

AND THEN ALSO SEWER ALSO CONNECTS TO, TO WATER AND THAT KIND OF ONE WATER APPROACH.

IF THE WATER SYSTEM IS NOW DOING MORE, UH, LOCAL RECOVERY, UH, FOR, FOR RESOURCE RECOVERY OF, UH, WASTEWATER TO, TO WATER, IT THEN STARTS TO, TO ALIGN THE TWO, UH, MORE IN TERMS OF, UM, UH, PRETREATMENT AND, UM, IT CONNECTS THE TWO SYSTEMS, UM, MORE HOLISTICALLY TOO.

UM, SO THOSE ARE SOME BIG, BIG ISSUES THAT, THAT WE'VE SEEN ACROSS, UM, THE SYSTEMS. UM, UM, BUT I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER, UH, NEXT TO THE BAKER TILLY TEAM TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE ORGAN ORGANIZATION WIDE.

UM, OH, SORRY.

GO.

W WELL, WE'LL PAUSE HERE REAL QUICK IF THAT'S OKAY.

AND I'M CURIOUS OF ANYONE IN THE ROOM HERE FROM EACH OF THESE BUSINESS LINES WITHIN YOUR DEPARTMENT, WHAT STUCK OUT OF THE ELEMENTS OF THE CURRENT STATE OR THE INDUSTRY INSIGHTS THAT DREW AND ALEX RAISED? OR IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE DIDN'T MENTION THAT YOU WANT TO ELEVATE HERE FOR THE CONVERSATION OR HIGHLIGHT, UM, AS A PART OF THIS STRATEGY RETREAT AS IT RELATES TO EACH OF THESE INDIVIDUAL, UM, RESPECTIVE UTILITIES? AND I'LL PUT THAT AS AN OFFER TO ALL OF THE, UM, PERSONNEL AND THE LEADERSHIP IN THE ROOM HERE TODAY.

AND THEN I'M CURIOUS AS WELL FROM ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS IN THE ROOM AS WELL, YOUR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS.

SO WE'LL, WE'LL START WITH, UM, LEADERSHIP STAFF.

ANY THOUGHTS, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, I, ITEMS YOU WANNA RAISE UP? YES, PLEASE.

WELL, ON THE GAS SIDE, ONE OF OUR BIGGEST STRUGGLES IS I THINK, UH, MANY PEOPLE KNOW, MOST PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM KNOW ARE THE DECLINING CONSUMPTION AND HOW THAT'S AFFECTING OUR, OUR REVENUE STREAMS, UH, AND OUR ABILITY TO ADDRESS ALL THE OPERATIONAL COSTS THAT WE HAVE.

SO, UM, AS WE LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES, IT WAS REALLY GREAT THAT YOU HIGHLIGHTED AND CAPTURED.

THERE'S A TRANSITION IN LONG BEACH WHERE CNI CUSTOMERS ARE REALLY STARTING TO COME IN.

YOU SEE SPACE BEACH, WHICH IS A TERM, YOU KNOW, VAST AND RELATIVITY, THEY'RE ALL COMING HERE AND THEY'RE ALL STRUGGLING WITH WHAT ARE THEIR, IN THEIR HIGH ENERGY CONSUMPTION ORGANIZATIONS.

AND WITH THIS PRESSURE TO ELECTRIFY, NATURAL GAS CAN PLAY A ROLE IN THAT, RIGHT? NATURAL GAS CAN BE RUN THROUGH FUEL CELLS, IT CAN BE RUN THROUGH HY HYDROGEN GENERATION PROCESSES AND PLAY

[01:55:01]

INTO THAT.

SO I THINK THE FACT THAT YOU'VE CAPTURED THAT, AND THAT'S REALLY A STRESSOR, WHICH BECOMES AN OPPORTUNITY IF WE BECOME INNOVATIVE.

RIGHT HERE, THERE, SIR.

UH, SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE INDUSTRY INSIGHTS, AND ESPECIALLY AGAIN GOING BACK TO THE GAS, UH, UTILITY, WHEN WE LOOKED AT INDUSTRY PARTNERS OR COMPARABLE CITIES OR, OR AGENCIES, WHICH I KNOW LONG BEACH IS KIND OF UNIQUE IN THE SENSE THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, A MUNICIPAL, UH, GAS UTILITY, AND I CAN, YOU KNOW, I KNOW, I THINK MOST PEOPLE ON THE GAS SIDE KNOW OF LIKE TWO OR THREE OTHERS THAT ARE, THAT ARE CLOSELY SLIM.

DO ANY OTHER GAS UTILITIES ALSO HAVE A GAS FUND TRANSFERRED TO THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND THAT THEY SERVE? OR IS THAT, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT CONSIDERED OR REVIEWED WHEN WE LOOKED AT OUR COMPARABLES? OH, PALO ALTO.

PALO ALTO HAS SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR TO THE, TO WHAT WE DO, UM, MEASURE M IS THAT WHAT IT WAS CALLED? ANYWAY, UM, THEY, THEY GOT IT APPROVED BY MORE THAN, UM, A SIMPLE MAJORITY, BUT THEY TRANSFER ACTUALLY MORE OF THEIR, UH, REVENUE STREAM TO THE GENERAL FUND.

AND THEIR, UH, CONSTITUENTS APPROVED IT.

I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY SET THEIR RATES AND, YOU KNOW, SO THEY MAY NOT HAVE A SIMILAR THING IN THEIR CHARTER THAT SAYS THAT THEY HAVE TO BE COMPARABLE TO THE MARKET.

AND VERNON, I DON'T COUNT, THEY ONLY HAVE BUSINESS CUSTOMERS, , YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT? WE LOVE ALL OUR CHILDREN EQUALLY.

UM, IT IT, ONE THING ABOUT THAT THAT I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT IS THAT, AND, AND YOU THINK ABOUT THE LONG HISTORY OF HERE IN LONG BEACH, BUT ALL OF THE HISTORY OF PUBLIC UTILITIES, RIGHT? THEY WERE CREATED TO PROMOTE AFFORDABILITY, BUT ALSO TO SUPPORT GENERAL FUNDS OF THE COMMUNITIES THEY WERE IN, RIGHT? THAT WAS PART OF THEIR MISSION.

AND, AND PEOPLE CAN MAYBE ARGUE WITH THAT COMMENT A LITTLE BIT, BUT THE POINT OF DEVELOPING THESE PUBLIC UTILITIES AND THESE ELECTRIC UTILITIES WHICH PROVIDE, UH, MORE RELIABLE, LOWER COSTING SERVICE AND ULTIMATELY SUPPORT THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY WERE IN, IN A BROADER SENSE.

SO THE QUESTION REALLY BECOMES IN, IN ALL OF THE PUBLIC UTILITIES THAT WE SEE ACROSS, IS IT, IT'S BALANCING, RIGHT? AND THIS, THIS NOTION OF AFFORDABILITY, AND EVEN WHEN WE LOOK BACK 3, 4, 5 YEARS AGO, THE QUESTIONS IN THE BROADER DIALOGUE WERE REALLY AROUND RELIABILITY.

AND CERTAINLY THAT'S A KEY QUESTION.

WE UNDERSTAND THAT ACUTE IN THE ELECTRIC INDUSTRY IN PARTICULAR, BUT NOW THE DIALOGUE HAS SHIFTED TO AFFORDABILITY, RIGHT? BECAUSE THE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS IS HERE, RIGHT? ONE IN FIVE CUSTOMERS IN CALIFORNIA IS BEHIND ON THEIR ELECTRIC BILL RIGHT NOW.

PG E REPORTED THAT THEY WERE BEHIND BY 650 MILLION IN ACCOUNTS OWED.

AND THESE ARE ESSENTIAL SERVICES, RIGHT? HOW CAN YOU HAVE RATES IN ANY ESSENTIAL SERVICE WHERE PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY THEIR BILLS? SO I GET IT THAT THE CITY, RIGHT, WHICH HAS VERY LITTLE DISCRETIONARY SPENDING, WELL, LET'S BE SUPER CLEAR, MOST OF THE CITY'S 60, 70% OF THEIR BUDGET IS GOING TO PUBLIC SAFETY, POLICE AND FIRE, RIGHT? BUT THERE IS A BALANCING ACT, AND THAT IS A VERY, UH, CHALLENGING QUESTION TO OPEN UP.

BUT HOW TO TONY'S POINT, DO YOU FACE IN AN ENTERPRISE FUND WHERE YOU HAVE TO SURVIVE IN ORDER TO EVEN BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS PUBLIC SAFETY? AND SO CAN YOU DEFINE IT AND HOW DO STAKEHOLDERS ALIGN, ESPECIALLY AT THE DECISION MAKING LEVEL? AND SO THAT IS A VERY CHALLENGING EXERCISE, BUT IT IS FRONT AND CENTER RIGHT NOW.

AND SO I, I ECHO TONY'S COMMENTS ABOUT THINKING ABOUT WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT LONG BEACH AND WHAT CAN WE CITE HERE AND WHAT CAN WE BRING HERE.

AND YOU THINK ABOUT THE, THE MARRIAGE OF BEING ABLE TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY, AND ALSO THE RELATIONSHIP TO GAS AND THINKING ABOUT HOW THAT CAN ATTRACT NEW INDUSTRY, WHICH THEN IN TURN CAN SUPPORT THE CITY AND THE GENERAL FRONT, RIGHT? THROUGH PROPERTY TAX REVENUES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOBS.

SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN MOVING FORWARD.

AND THAT'S THE DIALOGUE THAT WE'RE SEEING.

AND IT IS A NEW STEP.

IT IS A NEW FRONTIER, RIGHT? AND MY ABILITY TO CITE A FUEL CELL PLANT, MY ABILITY TO BUILD A MODULAR PLANT SUPPLIED BY GAS OVER TIME IN A RATIONAL AND THOUGHTFUL WAY TO ATTRACT THESE INDUSTRIES IN, WHETHER IT'S ADVANCED MANUFACTURING OR WHATEVER IT IS, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE SUPER IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF THE STRATEGY NOW, AND THAT'S DIFFERENT.

THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN IT WAS EVEN FIVE YEARS AGO.

AND, AND AGAIN, I UNDERSTAND DATA CENTERS IS A BAD WORD, BUT THEY'RE NOT GOING AWAY, RIGHT? THEY'RE NOT, AND PEOPLE SAY, I DON'T USE CHAT GBT,

[02:00:01]

THAT'S FINE.

DO YOU HAVE A PHONE? DO YOU HAVE A COMPUTER? DO YOU USE GOOGLE? DO YOU DO SEARCHES? YOU KNOW, DO YOU PUT IN MAPS THEN, THEN YOU'RE USING AI, RIGHT? AND WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH INFRASTRUCTURE NOW TO SUPPORT WHAT EVERYBODY USES IN A DAY IN DAY OUT BASIS.

AND THE REASON I MENTION THAT IS IN THE CONTEXT OF GAS, GAS WILL INCREASINGLY PLAY A PART IN THAT.

BECAUSE YOU CAN'T JUST CALL UP EDISON OR PG AND E OR SDG AND E AND SAY, HEY, I WANT A GIGAWATT, RIGHT? YOU CAN'T CALL UP SAN FRANCISCO AND SAY, I WANT TO PUT A 300 MEGAWATT DATA CENTER IN.

AND SOMEBODY SAYS, HUH, THAT'S HALF OUR NATIVE LOAD.

HOW AM I GONNA DO THAT? AND SO WHEN YOU START THINKING ABOUT HOW THIS RELATIONSHIP IS AND WHAT THE FUTURE IS, WHICH ALSO GETS BACK TO DREW'S COMMENT, IT'S NOT THAT THERE'S NOT A PLAN.

IT'S ABOUT BUILDING THAT CONSENSUS, THAT BOLD, INNOVATIVE, STRONG CONSENSUS.

THOSE ARE THE EXCITING THINGS.

SO, UH, I'LL TACK ONTO WHAT, UH, TONY PRESENTED AS FAR AS THE, THE CHALLENGE OF DECLINING GAS USE AND KIND OF EXPAND ON THAT.

AND, YOU KNOW, SELFISHLY OVERSEEING THE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS, I SEE THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY MORE THAN A CHALLENGE.

UH, BUT IT, IT'S NOT JUST APPLICABLE TO APPLICABLE TO TO GAS, IT'S ALSO APPLICABLE TO TO WATER AS WELL.

RIGHT? AND, UH, I'D LIKE TO SAY IT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT UNIQUE TO LONG BEACH THAT WE HAVE TO REDUCE OUR USE.

BUT I THINK WHAT IS UNIQUE TO LONG BEACH IS THE FACT THAT WE, YOU KNOW, DO HAVE OUR OWN GAS DEPARTMENT, AND THAT COMES WITH IT, UH, THE AB 32 FUNDS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, AND WE TALK ABOUT THE RATE PRESSURES AND DECLINING USAGE, HAVING TO BE RECOVERED, UH, OR RECOVERING REVENUES.

UH, I'D LOVE TO TO TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE HOW WE DO THAT IN A WAY TO REDUCE THE USAGE AND COSTS OF, UM, THOSE WHO NEED THE, THE AFFORDABILITY HELP THE MOST BY LEVERAGING THOSE FUNDS AND, AND THE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE AS, UH, OUR OWN GAS UTILITY TO PROVIDE THOSE FUNDS TO, TO OUR CUSTOMERS.

UM, YOU KNOW, ON, ON, YOU KNOW, THE STATE REQUIREMENTS SIDE, IT'S NOT JUST GAS THAT THAT'S FACING DECLINING USAGE AND PRESSURE FOR ELECTRIFICATION, IT'S ALSO ON THE WATER SIDE.

WE HAVE TO REDUCE OUR WATER USAGE.

AND I'LL JUST, UH, MAKE THE PLEA TO THE BOARD AND, AND I KNOW WE'VE, UH, COMMISSIONER CORDERO HAVE HAD THIS CONVERSATION A LOT IS IT TAKES, UM, TIME, MONEY AND STAFF TO, TO REALLY DEVELOP THESE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS AND, AND, UH, UTILIZE 'EM IN SUCH A WAY THAT, UH, WE'VE HAD THAT SUPPORT FROM THE BOARD IN THE PAST TO TO BE INNOVATIVE, TO BE PROACTIVE RATHER THAN REACTIVE TO ALL THESE STATE MEASURES.

AND SO I JUST, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK IT'S NEW ON THE GAS SIDE TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO, TO TRY TO BE PROACTIVE WITH WHAT WE CAN DO, UM, REDUCING OUR USAGE IN A RESPONSIBLE AND, UH, RESPONSIBLE WAY THAT KEEPS IT AFFORDABLE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

THANKS FOR PROVIDING THE INDUSTRY INSIGHTS FOR WATER, GAS, AND SEWER.

AND MAYBE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER FOR OUR NEXT BOARD, UH, RETREAT IS TO PROVIDE SOME OF THE FEDERAL, NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL PARAMETERS THAT EXIST.

JUST SO THEN WHEN IT COMES TO INNOVATION AND COST SAVINGS, WE'LL AT LEAST HAVE THOSE GUARDRAILS ON WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T DO AND WHAT WE HAVE TO DO.

AND THEN BY WHAT TIME AND WITH HOW MUCH MONEY AND HOW MUCH STUFF.

SO I, YOU KNOW, HAVING THIS AS A, UM, YOU KNOW, INNOVATIVE PRACTICES AND TRENDS AND LIKE, WELL, I'M LOOKING AT A LIST HERE AND WHAT WOULD BE THE PRIORITY ONE? AND I, I KNOW THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE STRATEGIC, UH, PLAN RETREATS, JUST KIND OF THINKING THE BIG PICTURE, BUT, UM, THE BIG PICTURE OR A CANVAS, THERE'S EVENTUALLY LIKE AN END TO A CANVAS, RIGHT? , AND THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH PAINT TO PAINT ON THE CANVAS.

SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, THAT WOULD HELP US IN, IN CONTINUING THESE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WHAT'S ALLOWED AND WHAT WE COULD DO TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND SAY ANY STATE MANDATE TO CONSERVE OR TO REDUCE, UM, YOU KNOW, NATURAL GAS.

OH, HERE, ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, THOUGHTS FOR OH, PLEASE.

UM, AND SOMETIMES IT'S, IT'S COUNTERINTUITIVE WHAT THESE SUBSTITUTES ARE.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, IN THE DISCUSSION OF THE RESOURCES, RIGHT? AND SO YOU, YOU DO HAVE FUNDAMENTALLY THIS ASPECT, AND I'VE COMMENTED IT BEFORE IN DIFFERENT FORUMS. YOU, YOU HAVE THIS ASPECT THAT WE'RE A RESOURCE PROVIDER AND WE HAVE CRITICAL SERVICES THAT ARE A FUNCTION OF THOSE RESOURCES.

AND EVERY, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE RESOURCES IS FACING PRESSURES OF DECLINING DEMAND.

AND WHEN, WHEN YOU THINK OF THESE ELEMENTS OF WHAT'S DRIVING THE DECLINING DEMAND, AND YOU GET TO THE DISCUSSION OF SUBSTITUTES,

[02:05:01]

UM, IN BUSINESS DISCUSSIONS, YOU WANNA SELL APPLE JUICE, ORANGE JUICES, A SUBSTITUTE.

YOU MONITOR THE SALES OF ORANGE JUICE 'CAUSE THEY CAN CANNIBALIZE YOUR DESIRE TO SELL APPLE JUICE.

BUT WATER DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE A SUBSTITUTE, EXCEPT THAT IN DEAN'S WORLD DEMAND MANAGEMENT, YOU COULD CHOOSE TO CONSUME LESS OF IT.

I CAN BUY A TOILET THAT CONSUMES LESS.

I CAN HAVE FAUCET AERATORS THAT CONSUME LESS SHOWER HEADS.

I CAN DO ANY NUMBER OF DEVICES THAT BY VIRTUE OF CHOOSING THAT I WILL USE LESS.

I WILL HAVE FOUND A SUBSTITUTE TO JUST SIMPLY CONSUMING THE SAME AMOUNT OF WATER EVERY DAY.

IF YOU THINK ABOUT NATURAL GAS, I RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S DISCUSSIONS POSSIBLY IN VARIOUS SECTORS WHERE YOU COULD ADJUST THE BALANCE OF GAS CONSUMPTION.

BUT ELECTRIFICATION OF APPLIANCES TO MAKE ON DEMAND SERVICE OF A FUNCTION, COOKING, FOR EXAMPLE, READILY AVAILABLE TO YOU IN A MUCH MORE SIMPLIFIED ENVIRONMENT ON YOUR COUNTERTOP REPRESENTS PERHAPS A STRUCTURAL SHIFT IN GAS CONSUMPTION THAT WE'RE GOING TO WITNESS AND EXPERIENCE A SUBSTITUTE, IF YOU WILL, ELECTRICITY.

AND FOR US, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT IS SOME OF THE FUNCTIONS THAT I'VE BEEN BENEFITED OF FROM DOING THE BREAKDOWN OF REVENUE SOURCES.

AND WE HAVE IN GAS CONSUMPTION AND REVENUE GENERATION OF VERY, VERY LEVERAGED, IF I USE THAT TERM BALANCE.

UM, I LOOKED AT TONY TO CORRECT ME, BUT I THINK 75% OF OUR REVENUE IS FROM THE RESIDENTIAL CLASS.

THAT MEANS THAT 25% OF THE REVENUE IS COMING FROM THE OTHER SOURCES, EVEN THOUGH THEY CONSUME FAIRLY LARGE AMOUNTS OF GAS.

SO WE CAN ADJUST AND TRY TO INCENTIVIZE OTHER AREAS, BUT WE HAVE TO BE EXTREMELY SENSITIVE TO WHAT'S HAPPENING TO RESIDENTIAL DEMAND.

AND WHAT HAPPENS TO SOCAL GAS IN SETTING ITS RATES, BECAUSE IT REPRESENTS AS A SECTOR 75% OF THE REVENUE TO THE GAS FUND.

AND THE PIPELINES ARE AGNOSTIC.

THE PIPELINES HAVE NO IDEA THAT THEY'RE SERVING GAS TO A COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER.

THE PIPELINES HAVE TO BE MAINTAINED REGARDLESS.

AND OUR ABILITY TO COLLECT REVENUE IS GONNA BE FROM THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, AND IT REPRESENTS A CRITICAL, CRITICAL STRESS POINT FOR US GOING FORWARD.

ONE OTHER OBSERVATION CONSISTENT WITH ALL OF THAT IS I THINK IT SHOULD BE CLEAR THAT THESE AREN'T ALL OR NOTHING STRATEGIES.

IT'S NOT JUST THIS ONE OR THAT ONE.

WE NEED ALL THE STRATEGIES LIKE IN WATER.

WE, WE HAVE TO CONSERVE, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO THINK OF ALTERNATIVE GENERATION.

WE KNOW HOW COSTLY ALTERNATIVE SUPPLY IS, RIGHT? WE KNOW WE CAN'T JUST TAKE ALL OUR MODEL OUR WATER FROM MET.

WE KNOW WHAT THEIR COST PRESSURES ARE.

WE KNOW WHAT HYPERION IS GONNA COST.

WE KNOW WHAT SAN DIEGO WATER POSEIDON FACILITY COSTS.

WE SEE THIS, RIGHT? WE SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE COLORADO RIVER, RIGHT? WE SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ALL THESE PLACES.

SO THERE HAS TO BE A, A PORTFOLIO OF STRATEGIES FOR EACH OF THESE ENTERPRISES.

THAT'S WHAT'S KEY, RIGHT? SO I NEED TO CONSERVE , I NEED NEW SUPPLY, I NEED IT ALL RIGHT.

NOW THERE'S A BALANCING ACT AMONG THOSE, RIGHT? THAT'S THE THE CENTRAL THING.

BUT THESE AREN'T ALL OR NOTHING.

AND, AND THAT'S HOW WE ALSO MANAGE AFFORDABILITY.

'CAUSE WE'RE NOT JUST DOING ONE THING.

THAT'S WHY I WOULD ALSO SUGGEST, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, I DON'T WANT TO BUILD A $10 BILLION HYPERION FACILITY, RIGHT? 'CAUSE THAT, THAT'S GONNA INDUCE LIKE THE AFFORDABILITY QUESTION FROM A STEPPING BACK, FROM A FINANCE STANDPOINT, HOW DO I SWALLOW $10 BILLION ON MY RATE PAYERS? REALLY HARD, REALLY HARD.

SO I, IT'S ALSO A MEASURE OF HOW I STRUCTURE MY CAPITAL INVESTMENT, HOW I FUND MY CAPITAL INVESTMENT, HOW I MANAGE MY CAPITAL INVESTMENT, BECAUSE THAT'S HOW I WANT TO SPREAD IT OUT OVER TIME.

BEING COGNIZANT OF GENERATIONAL EQUITY ON AFFORDABILITY.

WHO'S PAYING BACK FOR THESE CAPITAL INVESTMENTS? ARE THEY BEING PAID BY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BENEFITED OVER THE LIFE OF THAT ASSET? AND THESE ARE LIKE FUNDAMENTAL STRATEGIC QUESTIONS THAT UTILITIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, CERTAINLY IN CALIFORNIA AND THE WEST ARE WRESTLING WITH RIGHT NOW.

AND, AND CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT BALANCING ACT FROM A CAPITAL INVESTMENT AS IT TIES BACK TO AFFORDABILITY.

ALL RIGHT, CARLY, FANTASTIC.

WE'RE GONNA SWITCH OVER TO TALK.

[02:10:01]

UM, WELL SAME SEGMENT HERE.

CURRENT STATE INDUSTRY INSIGHTS.

THIS IS, UM, WHAT WE'VE GATHERED FROM A LOT OF OUR INSIGHTS AND OUR INTERNAL STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT FOR THE ORG WIDE, UH, PORTION.

CARLY, TO SHARE, LEAD US THROUGH HERE.

HELLO EVERYONE.

UM, I KNOW WE'RE FIVE MINUTES FROM BREAK AND I TALK FAST.

SO I DO WANNA LET YOU KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL WIDE, UM, COMPONENTS.

WHAT'S GOING ON WITH YOU AS A WHOLE ORGANIZATION, WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING TO YOU ABOUT FOR ALL OF YOUR UTILITY PIECES.

BECAUSE YOU ARE A UTILITY WITH A LONG STANDING HISTORY IN THIS COMMUNITY.

YOU ARE A UTILITY THAT'S BEEN PROVIDING SERVICES FOR A LONG TIME AND YOU DESERVE A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF RESPECT THAN A CITY THAT MIGHT BE A FEW YEARS OLD, OR A UTILITY THAT MIGHT BE A FEW YEARS OLD BECAUSE YOU, YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING AND YOU'RE, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING IS TO MOVE YOU FORWARD.

SO THIS IS A RESPECT ALSO FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION-WIDE.

YOUR FUND BALANCE IS $439.1 MILLION JUST FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027.

THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY.

YOU HAVE OVER 500 EMPLOYEES, YOU HAVE 30 UNIQUE DIVISIONS, WHICH I FIND FASCINATING BECAUSE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT PIECES THAT YOU DO.

YOU COME TOGETHER AND IT LOOKS LIKE ONE UTILITY TO THE OUTSIDE.

IT'S JUST AMAZING.

AND YOU'VE GOT A REALLY COOL BUSINESS PLAN WITH 223 OBJECTIVES.

SO IF ALL THE LONG BEACH ENTERPRISE FUNDS, THIS IS NOT THE ENTIRE LONG BEACH, UM, BUDGET.

THIS IS JUST THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS, THE MAJORITY BEING THE HARBOR.

AS YOU ALL KNOW, YOUR COMPONENT FOR THE UTILITIES IS JUST A 29%.

AND OF THAT COMPONENT, HOW MUCH GOES TO SEWER, GAS, AND WATER FOR THE 2027? I'M ASSUMING THINGS DIDN'T CHANGE WHEN YOU JUST PASSED YOUR BUDGET.

SO HOPEFULLY IT DIDN'T MISSTATE ANY NUMBERS.

MR. SHAY.

ALRIGHT, THANKS CARLY.

WELL, NOW WE'RE GONNA TURN FROM A SNAPSHOT OF THE BUDGET AND SOME OF THOSE ENTERPRISE SPECIFIC DATA, UH, INTO FIELD WORK RESEARCH AND INTERVIEWS THAT OUR TEAM HAS CONDUCTED SO FAR.

SO THIS IS REALLY GONNA BE MORE OF A WIDE, UM, INFORMATION.

SO WE INTERVIEWED OR MET WITH ALL THE COMMISSIONERS, ALONG WITH EXECUTIVES AND MANAGERS.

BASED ON THESE CONVERSATIONS, WE WERE ABLE TO DETERMINE SPECIFIC THEMES THAT CAME UP FOR EACH OF THOSE GROUPS.

THIS IS ALSO IN YOUR PRESENTATION PACKET ON SLIDE 40, IF YOU'RE NEEDING TO READ A LITTLE BIT CLOSER FOR THE COMMISSIONERS.

UH, JUST TO SUM THESE UP QUICKLY, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR MORE TOOLS TO BENEFIT DECISION MAKING, GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

THAT WAS A BIG THEME THAT CAME OUT.

ANOTHER THEME IS BALANCING THE NEEDS OF THE CITY, THE UTILITY AND THE CUSTOMERS FOR THE EXECUTIVES.

SOME THINGS THAT CAME OUT, UH, HIGHLIGHTING OPTIMIZING DATA AND EXPANDING THE COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES, UH, WHETHER THAT'S WITH CITY REGULATORS, EXTERNAL GROUPS, AND FOR THE MANAGERS.

A COUPLE AREAS THAT CAME UP FREQUENTLY.

WERE CONNECTING DAY-TO-DAY WORK OF THE STAFF TO THE BROADER UTILITY AS A WHOLE, AS WELL AS STANDARDIZING PROCESSES AND POLICIES.

IN THAT LAST ROW.

WE KIND OF HAVE A RECURRING, UH, STRUCTURE OF WHERE ALIGNMENT IS REALLY SEARCHING FOR.

UM, THE CO COMMISSIONERS TENDED TO HIGHLIGHT STRUCTURE, CULTURE, AND HOW THAT FITS INTO OPERATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

THE EXECS HIGHLIGHTED STRUCTURE, PLANNING AND DETERMINING PRIORITIES, AND MANAGERS CALLED OUT TECHNOLOGY, STAFFING AND WORKFLOWS.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S SLIGHT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EACH GROUP, BUT THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF SYNERGY BETWEEN THESE DIFFERENT AREAS.

IF WE INCLUDE ALL OF THE STAFF AS ONE COHORT.

HERE ARE THE TOP THEMES THAT CAME OUT, REGARDLESS OF WHO TOLD US, UM, FOR POSITIVE SENTIMENTS.

SO THE DESIRE FOR CLEAR ORGANIZATIONAL DIRECTION, DIVISIONAL COLLABORATION, WILLINGNESS TO SHARE RESPONSIBILITIES, THESE WERE ALL THINGS THAT CAME UP AMONGST ALL OF THE GROUPS AND WE REALLY WANTED TO CALL OUT, UM, SOME OF THOSE ON THIS SLIDE.

AND AGAIN, IN YOUR PACKETS, IF YOU WANT TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THESE DETAILS, FEEL FREE TO READ THROUGH ALL OF THEM.

ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE HAVE THE FIRST SECTION OF OUR SWO ANALYSIS.

THIS IS SHOWING US THE PRELIMINARY STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES, WHICH ARE INTERNALLY FACING FOR THE DEPARTMENT.

THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE TYPICALLY UNDER YOUR CONTROL.

SO THE LAST FEW SLIDES WERE FOR FIELD WORK AND INTERVIEWS AND PARTICULAR, SO WHEN WE DID THE MANAGER MEETINGS AND WHEN WE HAD INTERVIEWS, EITHER ONE-ON-ONE OR IN THOSE GROUP SETTINGS.

THIS SLIDE IS FOR EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE LEARNED TO DATE.

SO THIS INCLUDES DOCUMENTS AND DATA THAT WE'VE ANALYZED.

IT ALSO INCLUDES THOSE INTERVIEWS, SURVEYS THAT YOU ALL HAVE CONDUCTED

[02:15:01]

IN THE PAST.

SO FOR THE STRENGTH SIDE, UM, SOME THINGS TO JUST CALL OUT.

WE HAVE THE TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, EMPLOYEE PRIDE, THE STRONG PUBLIC SERVICE ORIENTATION.

AND THESE ALL CAME UP ALSO AS WE ALL TALK TODAY.

SO I THINK THAT REALLY REINFORCES SOME OF THE STRENGTHS THAT WE'RE SEEING ON THE SLIDE.

NOW WE ALSO HAVE WEAKNESSES, SO THINGS LIKE CAPTURING THAT EXPERTISE, KNOWLEDGE, TRANSFERS.

AND WE ALSO HEARD SOME OF THAT TODAY.

WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TOWARD DEVELOPING SOME OF THOSE, UM, ELEMENTS AND KIND OF LOOKING AS A DEPARTMENT WIDE, WHAT CAN BE IMPROVED.

AND LIKE I SAID, THIS IS PRELIMINARY, SO THIS IS AN EVOLVING SWOT ANALYSIS.

IT'LL GET MORE DETAILED AS WE WORK THROUGH THE PROJECT AND DOING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ADDITIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH YOU ALL.

SO, UM, THIS IS IN DEVELOPMENT, BUT STILL WANTED TO SHOW YOU WHAT WE HAVE GOING ON.

I'D LIKE TO TAKE A QUICK PAUSE HERE IN CASE THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS, THOUGHTS, COMMENTS, UM, FROM ANYONE, UH, AS YOU READ THESE OR ANY OF THE PREVIOUS SLIDES WE MENTIONED.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO BRING 'EM UP AT ANY TIME.

UM, THIS IS, UH, WHAT DOES SECTION'S FOR? SO .

RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMER AGENCIES.

SO NOW ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE.

THIS IS A REALLY SIMILAR SETUP.

UH, THIS IS OBSERVATIONS AMONGST EVERYONE, THE COMMISSIONERS, EXECUTIVES, MANAGEMENT.

BUT THIS IS FOR CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES.

WE ORGANIZED IT THIS WAY BECAUSE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES ARE INTERRELATED.

THERE'S NOT JUST ONE SIDE WITH CHALLENGES AND JUST ONE WITH OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIS SLIDE, REALLY DEPENDING ON WHO IS ON WHICH, FROM WHAT PERSPECTIVE YOU WANNA LOOK AT IT, IT COULD BE A CHALLENGE OR IT COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY.

SO SOME EXAMPLES OF THAT.

THIS COULD BE RESOURCE SHARING OR IT COULD ALSO BE COMPETITION FOR TALENT.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS A FULLY INTEGRATED, ALIGNED AND ACCOUNTABLE UTILITY THAT COULD BE BOTH CONSIDERED A CHALLENGE AND AN OPPORTUNITY.

THIS FINAL SECTION IS THE, UH, SORRY, THIS IS THE FINAL SECTION OF THE SWOT ANALYSIS.

THE OPPORTUNITIES AND THE THREATS AND THREATS WE REALLY SHOULD HAVE PUT UNDER CHALLENGES.

UM, BUT IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE SOMETHING THAT'S INTIMIDATING OR THREATENING.

IT'S JUST AGAIN, UM, KIND OF THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE COIN FOR SOME OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

I'LL ALSO SAY THAT UNDER OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS, THESE ARE TYPICALLY NOT FULLY UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE DEPARTMENT.

SO, UM, THINGS LIKE INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES OR FUNDING SOURCES FOR THE OPPORTUNITY SIDE, THERE CAN BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE, BUT IT'S NOT NECESSARILY SOMETHING, UM, THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS COMING UP WITH THEMSELVES ON THE SAME SIDE, UM, WE HAVE THREATS.

THESE ARE THINGS NOT IN THE CONTROL OF THE UTILITY.

SO REGULATORY SHIFTS, NATURAL DISASTERS, AND LIKE I SAID, FOR THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SWAT, THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO DEVELOP AND GET MORE DETAILED AS WE CONTINUE ON WITH THE PROJECT.

WE'RE DOING THE ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY NOW.

SO NOW WE'RE MOVING INTO AN ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY WITH YOU ALL.

UM, WE'VE GONE THROUGH DATA FOR EACH ENTERPRISE.

WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE ORGANIZATION WIDE INFORMATION AND ALSO SOME OF THE FIELD WORK INTERVIEW INSIGHTS.

SO WE ARE WANTING TO TURN IT BACK TO YOU ALL.

WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU HEARD THAT SURPRISED YOU ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OR SPARKED A FRESH THOUGHT THAT YOU WANT TO SHARE? WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU ALL A FEW MINUTES TO EITHER WRITE DOWN ON THE WHITE PIECE OF PAPER IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR, OF YOUR TABLE.

YOU CAN USE THE STICKY NOTE OR THE NOTEPAD AND JUST RIP IT OFF FOR US.

BUT WE'LL GIVE YOU A FEW MINUTES TO THINK THROUGH THAT.

AND THERE YOU GO.

AS YOU GO AHEAD AND JOT DOWN AND HAVE THESE DISCUSSIONS, GO AHEAD AND CAPTURE THOUGHTS, COMMENTS ON THESE CARDS IN YOUR GROUPS.

[02:20:21]

AND THEN WE ARE GONNA RECONVENE AROUND, UM, 1130.

SO YOU FEEL FREE TO USE THAT TIME AS A BREAK AS WELL.

UH, WE KNOW IT'S BEEN AT SOME TIME SINCE OUR LAST BREAK, SO THANK YOU.

[02:32:53]

ALL

[02:32:53]

RIGHT.

IN ABOUT ANOTHER 60 SECONDS, WE'LL GET STARTED AGAIN HERE.

DO WE NEED TO GAUGE WHEN LUNCH GETS HERE TOO, IF,

[02:35:53]

ALRIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH OUR NEXT SECTION HERE.

IF YOU DON'T MIND TAKING YOUR SEATS.

SO WE JUST HAD A NUMBER OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE CURRENT STATE, THE INDUSTRY INSIGHTS, AND WE HAVE THIS REFLECTION QUESTION.

WE KNOW YOU ALL HAVE BEEN HAVING A, SOME REALLY INCREDIBLE CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INDUSTRY TRENDS, INSIGHTS, THEMES, AND WE'RE JUST GONNA ASK FOR ONE INDIVIDUAL, EACH TABLE, ELEVATE ONE OF THOSE THEMES.

WE'RE GONNA CAPTURE ANY OF THE CONVERSATIONS YOU HAD.

IF YOU DON'T MIND JOTTING THAT DOWN FOR US.

AND THEN WE'RE GONNA MOVE INTO TALKING ABOUT VISION, MISSION, AND VALUES, WHICH IS REALLY PICKING UP ON ALL THE CONVERSATION WE'VE HAD TODAY.

SO NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS.

SO I'LL START UP HERE AT THE FRONT THIS TIME BECAUSE, UH, I ROLLED A DICE IN MY HEAD AND THIS IS WHAT I LANDED ON.

SO, UH, ANYONE AT THIS TABLE, DO YOU MIND GIVING US, UM, QUESTION, THOUGHT, INSIGHT, COMMENT FROM THE CURRENT STATE OF ANY OF THE, UH, ORGANIZATION AS PART OF THE CONVERSATION Y'ALL JUST HAD? LET'S DO THIS, .

SO FOR ANYONE WHO KNOWS ME, I DON'T SHY AWAY FROM SHARING MY OPINION.

HA.

UM, SO FULL DISCLOSURE, JUST A DISCLAIMER HERE.

UM, I GUESS A SURPRISING INSIGHT FROM THE ORGANIZATIONAL, UH, INTERVIEWS IS JUST, UM, AND IF IT'S OKAY WITH THE GROUP, UH, IT HASN'T BEEN EVERYONE'S EXPERIENCE FOR CROSS DIVISION COLLABORATION AND WE'RE CURIOUS WHO HAS HAD THAT CROSS, UH, DIVISION COLLABORATION.

AND WE'RE GLAD THAT IT DOES EXIST, WHICH MEANS THAT IT'S POSSIBLE.

HOWEVER, WHAT WE DID SAY IS THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE GOOD RELATIONSHIPS THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION, THAT CROSS DIVISION COLLABORATION CAME NATURALLY AND THAT WE INDIVIDUALLY SOUGHT THAT AFTER, OR, UM, MADE SURE THAT WE WORKED WITH OTHERS OR FOUND INFORMATION THAT WE MAY HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN RIGHT AWAY, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THE JOB DONE.

SO THAT WAS A, A LITTLE BIT SURPRISING, BUT WE SEE THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT IF OTHERS FEEL THAT WAY, THAT MEANS IT IS POSSIBLE.

THAT'S OKAY.

HOPPING OVER TO THIS TABLE.

ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, THOUGHTS FOR INDUSTRY, INSIGHTS, TRENDS? WHAT STUCK OUT FOR YOU? UM, WHAT, UH, DID YOU, WHAT WERE YOU SURPRISED ABOUT? SORRY.

UM, IT SURPRISED ME THAT WE HAVE 30 UNIQUE DIVISIONS AND 223 BUSINESS PLAN INITIATIVES.

UM, BUT WITH DISCUSSION WITH THIS TABLE, I'M LEARNING A LOT ABOUT WHY WE HAVE THAT AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S POSSIBLE AND WHAT'S REALISTICALLY MAYBE NOT POSSIBLE, UM, AS WE TRY AND ALIGN THE UTILITIES.

SO, UM, REALLY GOOD CONVERSATION.

I I, I WASN'T SURPRISED BY ANYTHING 'CAUSE I HEAR THIS ALL FROM THE FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE OF THINGS, UM, AND WE'RE TOO BROKE TO DO A LOT OF THE THINGS WE WANNA DO, .

UM, BUT THE THINGS THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT, UM, THAT SPARKED THOUGHTS ARE WHAT GOT US HERE AFTER OVER A HUNDRED YEARS ISN'T GOING TO GET US TO THE NEXT PLACE.

SO I THINK INNOVATION'S GOING TO BE REALLY BIG.

UM, AS YOU GUYS HAD MENTIONED, HOWEVER, THIS IS A LOT OF BIG PICTURE LIKE IDEAS AND STRATEGIZING, BUT WE'RE ONLY LIKE 10, LESS THAN 10% OF THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT.

SO IN ORDER TO GET THAT BUY-IN FROM THE 90 PLUS PERCENT OF THE DEPARTMENT, I THINK IT'S GOING TO INVOLVE, UH, REALLY CLEAR VISION AND, UM, IMPROVEMENTS TO WORKPLACE CULTURE.

SAME THING.

WHAT STUCK OUT FROM WHAT WE'VE SHARED EARLIER OR ANY OF THE COMMENTS, CONVERSATION YOU ALL JUST

[02:40:01]

HAD TA THANK YOU.

UH, WHAT'S, WHAT STUCK OUT FOR ME WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, AFTER GOING OVER JUST THE CHALLENGES SPECIFICALLY WITH THE GAS I DO COME FROM THE, THE GAS UTILITY SIDE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE A, AND I SHARED WITH THIS GROUP, WE DO HAVE A HISTORY OF INNOVATION WHEN, UM, WHEN COME, UH, FACED WITH CRISES OVER THE YEARS, OVER HISTORY, UH, IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO BE INNOVATIVE.

SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS ENCOURAGING.

THINGS THAT SURPRISED YOU, UH, FROM YOUR CONVERSATION ELEMENTS THAT OKAY, YOU'RE BEING VOLUNTOLD.

YEAH, I THINK THE, IS MY, MY MY OPINION IS, BUT, UH, SO I WOULD SAY A SIMILARITY IN THE DISCUSSION AND THE THEMES I SEE HERE IS WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, AGING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BOTH WATER, SEWER AND, AND GAS.

AND, AND MY FOCUS IS MORE ON WATER AND GAS.

AND SO WE, WE NEED TO MAKE, WE HAVE A CIP PROGRAM TO MAKE THESE INVESTMENTS INTO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.

AND WE BOTH HAVE, UH, WELL, ONE SIDE HAS A GOAL, DEAN HAS A GOAL OF DECREASING WATER CONSUMPTION.

THE GAS SIDE, IT JUST SEEMS TO NATURALLY HAPPEN.

UH, IT'S FALLING OFF WITHOUT ANY EFFORT.

UM, THE MOST RECENT ONE HAS BEEN, I THINK MOSTLY IT'S NOT DRIVEN FROM ANYONE MAKING ANY CHANGES OF OUR CUSTOMER BASE.

IT'S MORE JUST DRIVEN BY THE WEATHER.

WE'VE HAD VERY WARM WINTER, SO THAT'S DECREASED, UH, THE VOLUMES OF GAS, BUT THAT DECREASES OUR, OUR REVENUE STREAMS. SO ON THE WATER SIDE, WE JUST DID IT AT PROP TWO 18, YOU, YOUR, YOUR CONSUMPTION DECREASES, YOUR COSTS ARE STAYING THE SAME OR GOING UP AND YOU TELL THE CUSTOMERS, WE NEED TO RAISE OUR RATES PER VOLUME.

OVERALL, IF YOU, IF YOU'RE CONSERVING, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE ABOUT THE SAME BILL, EVERYBODY'S HAPPY.

BUT ON THE GAS SIDE, WE'RE MARKET-BASED AND WE, WE CAN'T JUST SAY, UH, JUST BECAUSE OUR CONSUMPTION LEVELS WERE POSSIBLY THE LOWEST WE'VE SEEN IN HISTORY, UH, THAT WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO OUR RATE SIDE TO PAY FOR THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO.

AND SO I GUESS THE CONTRARIAN VIEW I HAD WAS, WOULD WE BE BOLD ENOUGH TO, TO HAVE A GOAL IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN TO TRY AND GROW OUR CUSTOMER BASE AND EVEN MAYBE BOLD ENOUGH TO SAY, TO TRY TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF GAS CONSUMPTION THAT RUNS THROUGH OUR SYSTEM.

IS THAT OKAY? THANK YOU.

I DON'T SPEAK FOR THE WHOLE THING.

ANY COMMENTS, THOUGHTS, THING, ITEMS THAT STUCK OUT? CONVERSATION YOU WANT TO SAY? OH, PLEASE.

I, I THINK, UH, OUR, OUR ASSESSMENT, THE ONE THING THAT DID JUMP OUT WAS WHAT WASN'T ON THE OPPORTUNITY, UM, PIECE.

AND THAT, UH, I THINK PIGGYBACKS ON, UH, KEVIN, UH, HIS, HIS COMMENTS ABOUT GROWING OUR CUSTOMER BASE, UM, LEVERAGING, UM, THE RESOURCES AND THE TALENT THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THIS, UH, THIS ORGANIZATION AND DEPARTMENT TO, TO, TO BE A REGIONAL RESOURCE FOR, FOR NEIGHBORING CITIES, UH, AND AGENCIES THAT COULD, COULD BENEFIT FROM, FROM, UM, THE SCALE IN WHICH WE ARE, WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO PROVIDE.

AND LASTLY HERE, JUST CLOSING US OUT ON THE CURRENT STATE INDUSTRY THAT TRENDS, COMMENTS, PLEASE.

UM, I JUST WANNA MENTION THAT ALTHOUGH THIS UTILITY DOES A LOT OF GREAT THINGS ALL THE TIME, AND THERE'S DEFINITELY REASONS FOR US TO PAT OURSELVES ON THE BACK, WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE OURSELVES.

AND I THINK ONE OF THOSE, THE WAYS TO CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE OURSELVES IS KIND OF SIMILAR TO WHAT JOY AND, AND STEPHANIE SAID, I DON'T KNOW IF ALL OF THE EMPLOYEES ARE COMING ALONG WITH US, AND WE HAVE TO MAKE AN EFFORT AS MANAGERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SHARING WHAT WE'RE THE THINGS WE'RE DOING HERE, YOU KNOW, AT YOUR STAFF MEETINGS.

AND, AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERY EMPLOYEE KNOWS THAT THEY ARE A PART OF THE FUTURE VISION.

THEY ARE A PART OF WHATEVER MISSION, UH, AND STRATEGIC PLAN WE COME UP WITH.

UM, SO THAT, BECAUSE THERE IS STILL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT AND LET'S CAPITALIZE ON OUR SUCCESSES, BUT ALSO MAKE SURE THAT WE BRING ALONG EVERYBODY ALONG, UH, FOR IN THE FUTURE.

THAT AND EXPLAIN WHAT WE MEAN BY THESE, UH, RIGHT HERE.

AND AS YOU CONTINUE TO HAVE THOUGHTS, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS OR, UH, INITIATIVE, UM, REMEMBERINGS WE'RE, WE'LL CAPTURE THEM HERE AS WE GO THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE DAY.

UM, WE HAVE ONE MORE SET OF, UM, DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OR BUILDING ACTIVITIES WE WANT TO DO BEFORE WE BREAK HERE FOR LUNCH.

AND THIS IS REALLY LEVERAGING WHAT WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT TODAY.

THIS IS ON BUILDING YOUR VISION, YOUR MISSION, AND YOUR VALUES.

UM, EVERY STRATEGIC PLAN, YOUR VISION AND MISSION AND VALUES ARE THE BASIS FOR THAT DOCUMENT.

AND, UM, WE HAVE AN ACTIVITY HERE TO MOVE US THROUGH

[02:45:01]

PAUL, KICK US OFF.

ABLE TO HEAR ME? OKAY.

OKAY, NOW IT'S WORKING.

WHEN WE THINK ABOUT VISION, MISSION, AND VALUES, THESE ARE PHRASES THAT YOU'VE HEARD BEFORE.

UM, THEY MEAN SOMETHING SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN, UH, FOR OTHER PEOPLE, FOR OTHERS AND HOW YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED THEM.

BUT WHAT WE MEAN IS, AND WHAT WE INTEND FOR IT TO MEAN IN YOUR PLAN, IS THAT YOUR VISION IS AN ASPIRATIONAL AND DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION'S LONG-TERM GOALS FOR THE FUSION OR FOR THE FUTURE, EXCUSE ME.

THE MISSION, HOWEVER, IS A FUNDAMENTAL PURPOSE FOR THAT LONG-TERM GOAL.

SO YOU CAN KIND OF CONSIDER THESE AS VISION IS WHERE ARE WE HEADED? MISSION IS, HOW CAN WE CAPTURE IN A STATEMENT OF HOW WE'LL GET THERE.

SO THIS IS, UM, OUR OPERATIONAL KIND OF STATEMENT OF THIS IS WHAT WE WILL NEED TO REACH OUR VISION.

OFTEN THOSE TWO ARE KIND OF INTERCHANGED, BUT THINK VISION IS MUCH MORE, UH, FUTURE FOCUSED.

AND MISSION IS WHAT WE DO HERE TODAY.

WHAT MAKES US US? AND THEN THE VALUES BUILDS ON THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE BY SAYING, UM, HERE'S, WE WON'T ACHIEVE OUR VISION AND WE WON'T BE OPERATING EVERY DAY, UM, THE SAME WAY WITHOUT THESE FEW TENANTS IN PLACE.

AND HERE'S WHAT THE TENANTS ARE THAT CAPTURE OUR ORGANIZATION, US AS A, AS A COLLECTIVE GROUP.

THESE ARE OUR VALUES THAT WE WILL KEEP ALONG THAT WAY TO ACHIEVING OUR VISION, AND THAT WILL HELP OUR MISSION COME OUT EVEN BETTER.

SO, VISION, MISSION, AND VALUES, THESE WILL BE KEY ELEMENTS OF YOUR PLAN.

AND SO WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS SPEND SOME TIME TO BUILD THESE OUT AND TO WORK AS A, A GROUP HERE, AND FOR ESPECIALLY COMMISSIONERS HERE IN THE ROOM, TO HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF WHAT IS NEEDED TO BE PUT INTO YOUR FINAL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUES THAT YOU'LL ULTIMATELY APPROVE.

THERE'S ALSO A TIE BETWEEN, UM, JUST MENTIONED SOME OF THIS, UH, SETTING THE FOCUS, UH, VERSUS SETTING THE PURPOSE.

AND YOU HAVE THIS IN YOUR PACKETS AS WELL.

SO IT'S HELPFUL TO KIND OF KEEP THAT DISTINCTION BETWEEN WHAT WE MEAN BY VISION AND MISSION.

AND IF WE JUMP INTO ONE OF THEM, PARTICULARLY THIS IS THE VISION STATEMENT, ASPIRATIONAL, UH, DESTINATION FOR THE PLAN.

WHERE ARE WE TRYING TO GO TO? WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO REACH? AND IT PROVIDES THE OVERARCHING DIRECTION FOR THE OTHER ELEMENTS OF YOUR STRATEGY.

UH, WE INCLUDED A AN EXAMPLE HERE FROM THE CITY, WHICH IS IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL RESIDENTS.

SO THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A VISION IN THAT, UM, YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO SAY, HERE WE, HERE, WE ACHIEVED OUR VISION.

THIS IS THE, UH, THE POINT THAT WE DID.

YOU'RE ALWAYS GOING TO BE TRYING TO ACHIEVE YOUR VISION.

UM, AND SO THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, 2030 STRATEGIC VISION AFFIRMS AND REFRAMES THE CITY'S COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING DIVERSE LONG BEACH COMMUNITIES AND RESOLVES TO ACHIEVE A FUTURE IN WHICH ALL RESIDENTS EXPERIENCE LONG BEACH AS A SAFE, CLEAN, HEALTHY PLACE TO LIVE, LEARN, WORK, PLAY, AND THRIVE.

WE WOULD CONSIDER THAT FAIRLY LARGE FOR A VISION STATEMENT.

WE'VE WORKED, WE'VE CREATED A NUMBER OF THESE FOR ORGANIZATIONS, AND YOU REALLY WANT A VERY CLEAR, VERY SUCCINCT PLACE YOU'RE TRYING TO REACH.

AND SO, UH, THE FIRST ONE LISTED HERE, IT'S MUCH CLOSER TO WHAT WE WOULD, UM, ASSIGN AS A VISION STATEMENT THAT YOU ALL SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT.

WHAT SHOULD WE BE PUTTING INTO THAT VISION? ANY QUESTIONS, UH, THOUGHTS BEFORE WE START WORKING ON, UM, ELEMENTS OF YOUR VISION STATEMENT? AND REALLY WHAT WE MEAN HERE ARE, WE WON'T DECIDE YOUR VISION TODAY, BUT WHAT WE TAKE TODAY WILL ALLOW US TO BUILD SOME OPTIONS FOR YOU ALL THAT COMMISSIONERS AND, UM, YOU ALL WILL BE ABLE TO REVIEW AND, AND WEIGH IN ON.

BUT WHAT ARE THOUGHTS THAT COME INTO MIND WHEN YOU SAY, THIS SHOULD DEFINITELY BE IN OUR VISION.

THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO CAPTURE HERE IN A MOMENT.

SO, UH, YES, PLEASE.

SO IT HAS THOSE ELEMENTS THERE THAT ARE INSTRUCTIVE FOR, FOR US AS WE CONTINUE FORWARD AND TRY TO SHAPE SOMETHING.

UM, BEFORE WE BEGIN THIS EXERCISE, I, I JUST WANTED TO ASK MAYBE FOLKS FROM AROUND THE ORGANIZATION, 'CAUSE I'M NOT FAMILIAR, DO WE HAVE A VISION STATEMENT IN PLACE NOW? OKAY.

AND BECAUSE PERHAPS WE COULD BUILD OFF OF THAT.

I MEAN, AS, AS A CONSOLIDATED UTILITY, I'D SAY WE DON'T HAVE A CONSOLIDATED VISION AS AN, AS AN ORGANIZATION WITH THE HISTORY AS AN ENTERPRISE FUND.

SO THE WATER AND SEWER DEPARTMENT HAD A, UH, MISSION STATEMENT, UM, DATING BACK TO ITS EXISTENCE AS AN ENTERPRISE FUND, NOT CITY MANAGER ALIGNED, RIGHT? SO IT, IT HAS THOSE ELEMENTS THERE, UM, THAT HAVE TO DO WITH PROVIDING A RESOURCE SERVICE.

AND

[02:50:01]

I HAVE IT RIGHT HERE, READ UP.

SO EXACTLY WHAT, UM, AMAL MENTIONED, THIS IS YOUR CURRENT OR MOST RECENT MISSION, UM, OR THIS IS THE MISSION STATEMENT, YOUR OVERARCHING VISION.

UM, WE'LL, WE'LL WORK ON HERE IN A MOMENT, BUT WHAT WE HAVE HERE AS THE CLOSEST THING TO THE MOST RECENT VERSION IS TO EFFECTIVELY DELIVER A RELIABLE SUPPLY OF QUALITY WATER AND RESPONSIBLY HANDLE SEWAGE DISPOSAL WHILE CONTINUALLY PROVIDING EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE.

SO YOU CAN SEE THERE'S ELEMENTS THAT YOU'LL PROBABLY INCLUDE IN YOUR UPDATED VISION OR EVEN YOUR MISSION STATEMENT, BUT, UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL CAPTURE THE KEY WORDS AND SENTIMENTS THAT YOU WANNA MAKE SURE IT EXPRESSES.

THAT'S WHAT TODAY IS GONNA FOCUS ON.

SO WE WON'T LEAVE TODAY WITH ANYTHING AS, UH, BUILT OUT AS THIS.

SO ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, PLEASE? I'M JUST CURIOUS BECAUSE, UM, I WAS INVOLVED WITH THE CITY'S, UH, 2030 STRATEGIC VISION AND THE PLANNING OF IT SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

SO FOR US, WHAT WOULD BE THE TIMEFRAME IN ASPIRATIONAL GOALS? LIKE IS IT ALSO 2030? IS IT 2035, OR, I DON'T KNOW, JUST CURIOUS.

IS THAT UP TO US ALSO TO DECIDE TODAY? IT'S A GREAT QUESTION, OR OUR TEAM WILL PROBABLY WANNA WEIGH IN HERE TOO.

UM, IT IS FOR YOU TO DECIDE.

SO YOU ALL WILL WANNA SAY, WELL, WE ARE LOOKING AT A FIVE YEAR PLAN ABOUT A 25 YEAR TIME HORIZON AND VISION.

THAT'S, UH, WAS OUR ORIGINAL KIND OF MANDATE TO HELP YOU ALL ACHIEVE A 25 YEAR VISION OF THIS IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE OVER THE NEXT QUARTER CENTURY.

UM, BUT IF YOU'RE SAYING THAT THIS WILL CAP THESE WORDS OR THESE COMMENTS, THESE THOUGHTS WILL LAST FURTHER.

UM, OR THESE WILL PROBABLY CHANGE A LITTLE BIT MORE BY THE TIME WE GET THERE.

THAT'S HELPFUL CONTEXT TO KEEP IN MIND AS YOU THINK OF, WELL, MAYBE THIS IS MORE RESILIENT FOR A LONGER DURATION, OR MAYBE THIS IS A MORE SHORT TERM DURATION.

SO DEFINITELY KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WE, AS WE START WORKING.

HOPEFULLY THAT ANSWERS, UH, YOUR FATHER.

ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY.

WE WILL, UM, DO THIS FIRST SECTION.

I THINK WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH VISION BEFORE LUNCH AND VISION.

UM, AGAIN, WE'LL FOCUS HERE IN OUR GROUPS AS TABLES.

FEEL FREE TO WALK AROUND AND GET UP AND DISCUSS AMONGST YOU ALL.

I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A LOT OF SITTING INVOLVED IN TODAY AND, UH, YOU ALL MAY BE LOOKING FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO MOVE AROUND, SO FEEL FREE TO MOVE AROUND, DISCUSS AMONGST EACH OTHER.

WHAT WE WANNA DO IS CAPTURE AS MANY INPUTS FOR YOUR VISION STATEMENT.

THESE ARE WORDS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO INCLUDE, UM, CONCEPTS YOU'D LIKE TO BE CONVEYED BY YOUR VISION.

SO IF YOU'RE SAYING, UM, A CUSTOMER SHOULD KNOW, UM, X ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION THROUGH OUR VISION, THAT'S PLENTY OKAY FOR US TO WRITE DOWN TOO.

OR EVEN JUST LIKE I SAID, A SET OF WORDS YOU WANT US TO MAKE SURE TO CAPTURE, PLEASE CORRECT.

SO AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA LEVERAGE THESE POST-ITS HERE AND WE'RE GONNA GET THESE CAPTURED ON THE SIDE.

WE'LL COME BACK IN ANOTHER ABOUT 10 MINUTES AND WE'LL START TO SEE WHERE THE COMMONALITIES LIE.

ALRIGHT? ALL RIGHT.

UH, FEEL FREE TO, UH, MOVE AROUND.

GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.

LIKE, HERE, I'LL DO THIS FIRST.

[02:56:23]

AND WHERE WE LIKE TRUTH, TRUTH BE TOLD,

[03:05:23]

I COULD GET A VOLUNTEER TO GIVE US A SENSE FOR WHAT DOES THE VISION NEED TO CAPTURE FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, 20 YEARS, 25 YEARS, 50 YEARS, WHAT SHOULD A VISION OF THE UTILITY DEPARTMENT CAPTURE? DOES ANYONE MIND GIVING US A FEW THOUGHTS OF WHAT YOU THINK WOULD BE GREAT TO SHOW UP IN THE VISION ONCE WE HAVE A BETTER CONCEPT? YES, SIR.

SEAN SAYS WARM WATER FOREVER.

HOT, HOT SHOWERS DAILY.

OH, HOT SHOWERS DAILY.

SO YOU NEED GAS, WATER, AND SEWAGE TO GET ALL THAT DONE.

INCREDIBLE.

A CONCEPT FOR THE VISION STATEMENT.

NATURAL, JUST SO YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHY T IS NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC.

SO, UM, OUR VISION IS TO PR TO, UH, OUR VISION IS TO BE A LEADING AND MODEL AGENCY THAT PROVIDES RESILIENT, SAFE, CUSTOMER AND CUSTOMER ORIENTED WATER, SEWER, AND GAS SERVICE THAT OFFERS THE BEST VALUE.

THIS DOES NOT HAVE ANY AI AT ALL.

THIS IS 100% HUMAN.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

I WILL TAKE THIS I APPRECIATE.

AND TWO, THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHAT THIS GROUP PUT TOGETHER FOR THEIR VISION.

OTHER GROUPS HAVE FOCUSED ON JUST PIECES, WHICH IS COMPLETELY OKAY.

RIGHT NOW WE'RE TRYING TO GET AS MUCH FROM YOU ALL AS WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE VISION.

I'LL HOP OVER HERE TOO AS WELL.

SO FOR A VISION WE WERE DISCUSSING, DISCUSSING AND, AND SETTLED IN ON AN EXCEPTIONAL AND INNOVATIVE CALIFORNIA UTILITY.

A LOT OF VARIATIONS, WHICH IS FANTASTIC.

IT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.

ANY OTHER THOUGHTS FOR WHAT, UH, YOU ALL HOPE SHOWS UP IN THE VISION? UM, EVEN JUST FROM YOUR CONVERSATION, HIS TURN TO SPEAK.

THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT AI DELIVER SAFE, RELIABLE, AND AFFORDABLE WATER, GAS, AND SEWER SERVICE THAT SUSTAINS THE LONG BEACH COMMUNITY.

ANY OTHERS? WANT TO SHARE A THOUGHT FOR WHAT THE VISION SHOULD CONTAIN OR WHAT YOU HOPE THE UTILITY DEPARTMENT ACHIEVES IN THE NEXT, UM, 5, 10, 15, 20 YEARS? JUST FOR THE, FOR THE GROUP BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT, UH, SEGMENT.

OH, PLEASE.

DO YOU WANNA READ A COUPLE THESE? YEAH, PLEASE.

I LIKE IT.

I HAVE IT.

ALRIGHT, LET ME OVER HERE.

I THINK THERE'S A FEW MORE FLOATING AROUND.

DO THEY WANT TO, DO THEY WANT KAYLA? DO THEY WANT TO? YEAH, LET'S DO THEM FIRST.

THERE'S ANOTHER MIC FLOATING AROUND TOO.

THERE WE GO.

THIS TABLE OVER HERE HAD TO BE A, I'M GONNA HAVE YOU READ THIS, SIR.

TB, A MODEL PUBLIC UTILITY PROVIDING RELIABLE, SUSTAINABLE, AND AFFORDABLE SERVICES FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

AS YOU CONTINUE TO JOT DOWN CONCEPTS FOR YOUR VISION STATEMENT, UM, WE WILL COLLECT THEM AND CAPTURE THEM.

THE VISION IDEAS THAT YOU ALL CREATED TODAY WILL, WILL FEED INTO WHAT WE BRING TO THE UPCOMING RETREATS AND WORK ON WITH YOU ALL TO REFINE.

SO, UM, WE DON'T NEED TO STOP RIGHT NOW AS WE SHIFT TO OUR NEXT SEGMENT, BUT WE, WE HAVE A FEW OPTIONS.

JUST BEFORE WE CLOSE OUT, I'LL READ THROUGH SOME OF WHAT WE HEARD, AND I KNOW YOU ALL SHARED SOME, WHICH ARE REALLY, REALLY GREAT.

UM, ANOTHER ONE HERE IS A UNIFIED AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY BASED OPEN AND TRANSPARENT.

WE HEARD, UM, A NEED FOR MENTIONING RADICAL TRANSPARENCY.

WE HEARD A, A NEED FOR THE VISION TO BE HIGHLY, UM, ASPIRATIONAL OR DREAM FOCUSED, UH, STRUCTURE, SAFE, RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE, UM, AND, UH, AGAIN, IMPROV.

OFFERING THE HIGHEST QUALITY OF RESOURCES AND SERVICES FOR CUSTOMER AFFORDABILITY WITH THE LOWEST RATES IN CALIFORNIA.

THAT IS ONE OF THE VISION STATEMENT, UH, STATEMENTS HERE.

ANOTHER ONE IS A UNITED FRONT DEPARTMENT WIDE WITH SHARED GOALS AND STREAMLINED COMMUNICATION.

[03:10:02]

SO TRANSPARENCY IS DEFINITELY A KEY THEME THAT IS COMING OUT.

I HAVE ONE COMING IN REAL TIME HERE, UH, DEPARTMENT WIDE UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VISION AND, OH, IS THIS JUST A COMMENT OR QUESTION? .

SO WHAT I'LL DO IS, UH, BEFORE THE NEXT SEGMENT, YOU'VE GOT A JOKESTER HERE, SO WATCH OUT.

HERE'S ONE MORE.

DELIVERING, SAFE, RELIABLE, AND AFFORDABLE WATER, GAS, AND SEWER SERVICES THAT SUSTAIN THE LONG BEACH COMMUNITY.

I'LL CLOSE THIS OUT REAL QUICK.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.

WE'RE GONNA COME BACK IN, UM, ABOUT, I BELIEVE ABOUT 40 MINUTES OR SO.

WE HAVE LUNCH NOW.

IT'S PREPARED IN THE BACK.

WE'LL START WORKING ON ELEMENTS OF YOUR MISSION STATEMENT AND YOUR VALUES, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE INTO PRIORITIES LATER THIS AFTERNOON.

MORE MINUTE AND THEN WE'RE GONNA RECONVENE OUR DISCUSSION.

THANK YOU ALL.

YOU'RE DOING THIS NEXT ONE.

[03:53:34]

[03:53:35]

[03:53:39]

[03:53:39]

[03:53:40]

[03:53:40]

[03:53:41]

[03:53:41]

OH, THAT'S HOW THEY BECAME ALL LITTLE.

I WAS LIKE, THESE ARE SO PRETTY .

[03:55:26]

ALRIGHT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND RECONVENE AND CONTINUE OUR DISCUSSION ON VISION, MISSION VALUES.

SO BEFORE WE WENT TO LUNCH, WE LOOKED AT SOME WONDERFUL CREATIONS OF THOUGHTS ON WHERE YOU WANNA BE AND SOME INSPIRATIONAL STATEMENTS FOR THE VISION.

SO NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE INTO LIKE THE MISSION.

AND I THINK JUST EVEN THINKING ABOUT THE VISION, PUT SOME IDEAS THAT YOU PROBABLY WILL BE READY TO WRITE DOWN.

BUT LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT, AGAIN, A MISSION STATEMENT IS A STATEMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION'S FUNDAMENTAL PURPOSE.

DESCRIBE WHY YOUR ORGANIZATION EXISTS, AND IT TAKES TIME FOR YOU TO DEFINE WHO THE ORGANIZATION TRULY IS SERVING, WHETHER THAT'S INTERNAL, WHETHER THAT'S EXTERNAL OR BOTH.

SO I WANT YOU TO KEEP IN MIND AS YOU'RE WRITING THE SAME, DOING THE SAME THING, LET'S WRITE DOWN, UM, THINGS THAT GO ALONG WITH THIS.

YOU CAN WRITE A FULL MISSION STATEMENT IF YOU WANT TO, OR YOU CAN JUST WRITE DOWN SOME IDEAS OF WHY YOU THINK YOUR AREA EXISTS, WHY YOU THINK THIS ORGANIZATION EXISTS, WHAT YOU THINK THE FUNDAMENTAL PURPOSE IS, AND WHO ARE THOSE CUSTOMERS THAT YOU SERVE.

SO WE'RE GONNA SPEND ABOUT 10 MINUTES ON THAT AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK THROUGH AND GET SOME FEEDBACK FROM YOU ALL.

ANY QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, LET'S BEGIN.

KAYLA.

HEY KAYLA.

DO THEY KNOW TO WRITE DOWN, DO THEY KNOW TO WRITE DOWN? I THINK THEY SHOULD AT THIS POINT WRITE DOWN WHAT TO WRITE DOWN, UM, THEIR MISSION CONCEPTS AS THEY GO.

YEAH, THAT'S FINE.

AND SOME OF 'EM ARE GONNA WRITE OUT THEIR MISSION STATEMENTS AGAIN.

YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I'M HOPING.

THE ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.

WALKING AROUND AGAIN? YEAH.

HEY, AL, PURPOSE IS OH YEAH.

SO WE

[04:01:17]

WE'RE GONNA START OVER AT THIS TABLE WITH SOME, SOME OF THEIR IDEAS FOR SUBMISS MISSION STATEMENT OR MISSION STATEMENT IDEAS WE'VE GOT OVER HERE.

PROVIDING FOR HEALTH OR, SORRY, PROVIDING FOR HUMAN HEALTH AND SAFETY.

PROVIDING OUR CUSTOMERS WITH SAFE, CLEAN, AND RELIABLE WATER, GAS, SEWER SERVICES FOR THE PUBLIC.

DID I SAY THAT WRONG? PUBLIC.

OH, RELIABLE PUBLIC WATER, GAS, AND SEWER SERVICES.

SO, GOOD THOUGHTS.

WE'LL HEAD OVER TO THIS TABLE HERE.

YOU GOT IT.

OURS WAS PRETTY SIMILAR TO PROVIDE CONSISTENTLY SAFE, RESILIENT, AFFORDABLE GAS, SEWER, AND WATER SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY OF LONG BEACH.

CAN WE HAVE YOUR, YOUR WHOLE SHEET, UH, OR PARTS OF IT? YES.

WHO HASN'T GONE OVER HERE? WHAT? I CAN SWING BACK AROUND THIS TABLE HERE.

OVER HERE.

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS?

[04:05:03]

ANYBODY GOT SOME IDEAS OR A COUPLE IDEAS TO SHARE WITH US? WE GOT HEALTH AND SAFETY.

RELIABLE, HIGH QUALITY, UH, FROM SECURE RESOURCES AND AFFORDABLE.

WE NEED TO WORDSMITH THAT A LITTLE MORE THOUGH.

THAT'S FINE.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

SAW SOME OTHER ONES OVER HERE.

ANYBODY? THIS TABLE HAD A LOT OF IDEAS GOING ON.

WHO WANTS IT NEXT? IT'S ALL, IT'S ALL.

OH, CAN I, YOU CAPTURE IT.

HERE YOU GO.

EMPLOYEE DRIVEN.

UH, INNOVATION FOR WATER.

RELIABLE AND GAS.

AND SWITCH.

SO YOU HAD EMPLOYEE DRIVEN INNOVATION.

GOOD.

HEAD OVER TO THIS TABLE HERE, JENNIFER, I SAW YOURS.

YOU WANNA SHARE? OH, I GUESS MY, HERE.

UM, I, I THINK MINE SOUNDS VERY SIMILAR TO A FEW OF THE FOLKS IN THE ROOM, BUT I DID LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF A NOD TO THE CITY'S, UH, STRATEGIC VISION, UM, AND IMPLEMENTED THE WORD DIVERSE.

SO SERVE THE DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF LONG BEACH, SAFE, RELIABLE, AND AFFORDABLE UTILITY RESOURCES BY A PUBLIC SERVICE ORIENTED WORKFORCE.

ANYBODY ELSE OVER HERE? MINUS MORE OF JUST LIKE A POINT AND NOT REALLY A FULL STATEMENT, BUT I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO REMAIN ADAPTIVE TO THE CONTINUOUS CHANGE IN TECHNOLOGY AND REG EV REGULATIONS, COMPLIANCE, ALL THAT STUFF SO THAT WE DON'T FALL BEHIND.

THIS FRONT TABLE HERE, OUR SPOKESPERSON, I SPEAK ALL THE TIME.

UH, SO WE WERE STILL BRAINSTORMING SO WE DIDN'T PUT IT INTO FULL SENTENCES, BUT SOME KEY WORDS WERE THAT LONG BEACH UTILITIES LIES IN THE INTERSECTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND SERVICE.

THAT WE ARE A PUBLIC GOOD PUBLIC POWER PUBLIC RESOURCE.

AND THEN SOMETHING THAT WE'D LIKE TO INCLUDE IN THE MISSION STATEMENT IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SUSTAINABLE, UH, PRACTICE, UM, ETHICS.

WE LIVE BY THE VALUES SUCH AS ETHICS AND THAT WE ARE AS FULL SERVICE, SELF-CONTAINED ENTITY.

GREAT COMMENTS.

ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER TABLE? ARE WE COMING BACK TO THIS TABLE? BACK HERE? THERE YOU GO.

BEEN NOMINATED.

TO PROVIDE SAFE, RELIABLE, AND AFFORDABLE GAS, WATER, AND SEWER SERVICES WHILE PROTECTING OUR COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT.

I'LL ADD A LITTLE BIT TO IT AS WELL.

IT'S JUST ABOUT THE SAME.

UM, BUT COMMITTED TO THE WORKFORCE AND THE COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE SAFE, RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE SERVICE WHILE DELIVERING CUS HIGH QUALITY CUSTOMER SERVICE.

JOT DOWN SOME VALUES THAT COME TO MIND.

CAN I HAVE YOUR SHEET? I NEED TO MAKE A REALLY, ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

WE HEARD SOME WONDERFUL, UM, MISSION IDEAS AND MISSION THOUGHTS.

A LOT OF 'EM ARE VERY CUSTOMER DRIVEN.

WE HEARD CLEAN, RELIABLE, SAFE WATER HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICE RELATED.

SO A LOT.

AND MOST OF YOU ALL HAD THINGS THAT WERE VERY SIMILAR IN NATURE.

SO NO MATTER WHAT SIDE OF THE GAS, SEWER, WATER, WE HAVE SIMILAR THEMES THAT WE SEE AS WE CULMINATED ALL OF THEM TOGETHER HERE.

DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY OTHER THING THEY WANNA ADD TO THE BOARD THAT WE DIDN'T HEAR, OR WORDS OR PHRASES THAT WE DIDN'T HEAR FROM SOME OF THE OTHER THOUGHTS AND IDEAS? YES.

AND IF YOU HAVE ANY EXTRA POST-IT NOTES OUT THERE, UM, PUT THEM UP SO WE CAN COME AND COLLECT THEM FROM YOU AND THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO SOME VALUES.

OKAY, GREAT.

JUST LIKE WE MENTIONED FOR, UH, EARLIER IN THE DAY, VALUES ARE FOCUSED ON, UM, HOW ARE WE GOING TO GO ABOUT ACHIEVING OUR WORK AND WHAT DO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE BRINGING TO THAT? UM, EVERY DAY YOU ARRIVE, EVERY DAY YOU SHOW UP, EVERY, UM, THING YOU DO FOR THE ORGANIZATION SHOULD HAVE THESE VALUES PRESENT OR A LARGE EX, TO A LARGE EXTENT MULTIPLE OF THOSE VALUES.

AND WHAT SHOULD THOSE VALUES BE? AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO TAKE SOME TIME TO THINK THROUGH.

[04:10:02]

WE'RE LOOKING FOR VALUES THAT ONE GUIDE DECISION MAKING THAT DEFINE YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE OR YOUR IDEAL CULTURE.

AND THEY SET BEHAVIORAL EXPECTATIONS.

THAT'S ESSENTIALLY, LIKE I MENTIONED, WHEN YOU'RE GOING INTO WORK, WHEN YOU'RE, UM, HOPPING OUT OF YOUR CAR IN THE MORNING, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE BRINGING THESE VALUES WITH US.

THESE ARE THE EXPECTATIONS.

AND HOW CAN WE CAPTURE THOSE? WHAT ARE SOME THAT COME TO MIND? TAKE THE NEXT FIVE, 10 MINUTES, WE'LL JOT THESE DOWN AND WE WILL REPORT OUT TO THE GROUP.

I THINK THAT, UM, THAT'S, YEAH.

[04:15:17]

I BEING, YEAH, BUT

[04:22:07]

OKAY, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.

YOU'VE ALL HAD SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY VALUES THAT YOU WANT TO, UH, PROPOSE FOR THE ORGANIZATION.

WE HAVE A VERY QUICK HAND RAISE OVER HERE.

UM, WHAT WE'LL DO HERE IS RATHER THAN US POPULATING THIS LAST ONE, WE'LL CHANGE IT UP A BIT.

WE'LL GO TABLE BY TABLE, READ SOME OUT, THEN WE'LL ASK IF YOU HAVE ANY TO GO UP AND PLACE SOME ON THE BOARD FOR US.

STRETCH YOUR LEGS A LITTLE BIT.

UM, WE'LL START OVER HERE.

GIVE US SOME VALUES FOR THE ORGANIZATION.

SO WE CAME UP WITH A FEW, UM, FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, ETHICAL, UH, REGULATORY COMPLIANCE, MUTUAL RESPECT, PUBLIC SERVICE ORIENTED, INDUSTRY LEADER, INNOVATIVE, ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, RESILIENCE, ADAPTABILITY, COLLABORATIVE, FAIR, BALANCED, AND APPLYING ALL THOSE VALUES TO THE PROCESSES, OUR PROCESSES, LOCAL PERSONAL GROWTH, AND A LEARNING ORGANIZATION.

DO YOU MIND PLACING THOSE ON THE BOARD BACKWARDS? THANK YOU.

ALRIGHT, MOVING ON.

WE'RE GONNA COME TO THIS TABLE.

GIVE US SOME VALUES THAT YOU ALL THOUGHT OF.

UM, I SEE SOME LISTED RIGHT HERE.

COULD I CALL ON YOU TO BREATHE THESE OUT FOR US? THANK YOU.

EQUITABLE INTEGRITY, TRANSPARENT, FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE, RESILIENT, INNOVATIVE, CUSTOMER SERVICE FOCUSED, BEST VALUE, SUSTAINABLE AND STEWARDSHIP.

SO WE CAME UP WITH 10, I'M JUST MAKING SURE I'M READING THE RIGHT NOTES.

THERE'S DEFINITELY A FEW REPEATS, WHICH IS GREAT.

AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO EMERGE IS WHERE ARE THE, THE REOCCURRING ITEMS THAT WE'RE SEEING.

DO YOU MIND PLACING THESE ON THE BOARD, UH, BACK THERE.

THANK YOU SIR.

ALRIGHT, THIS TABLE.

GIVE US SOME VALUES.

UM, WHO AM I GOING TO? ANYBODY.

OKAY, PLEASE.

I WAS JUST REWRITING.

NO WORRIES.

UM, OKAY.

WELL WE STUCK WITH THE NORMAL SAFETY, RELIABILITY, AND AFFORDABILITY, BUT WE ADDED A NEW ONE.

UH, SUSTAINABILITY PROTECTING, UM, NATURAL RESOURCES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

AND THEN, UM, IN ADDITION TO PROTECTING OUR CUSTOMERS, EMPLOYEES, AND ENVIRONMENT ABOVE ALL ELSE.

ALRIGHT, WE'RE GONNA CAPTURE ONE OF THOSE OR IF BOTH OF THOSE ARE VALUES.

, THANK, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

GONNA TRY NOT TO REPEAT, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, UH, BUT THE ONES THAT'S, YOU KNOW, UH, WE HAVE COMMUNITY INCLUSION AND, UH, BEING PROACTIVE, NOT REACTIVE, AND JUST OVERALL, OVERALL EXCELLENCE.

I'M GONNA COME OVER HERE TO THIS TABLE.

GIVE US SOME VALUES THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE ORGANIZATION ADOPT.

[04:25:01]

ADAPTIVE, UM, OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE, PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, AGILE.

DO YOU MIND PLACING THESE ON THE BOARD DECK HERE? ALRIGHTYY, GIVE US SOME VALUES.

UM, WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR THE, I THINK, I THINK, I THINK 90% HAVE ALREADY BEEN SAID, TO BE HONEST, INTEGRITY, ETHICS, DEPENDABLE, RESPONSIBLE STANDARDS, STEWARDSHIP, UNDERSTANDING.

UM, SEVERAL OTHERS, BUT I THINK MOST OF THEM HAVE ALREADY BEEN SAID OR I DON'T WANT TO RE REPEAT.

DO YOU MIND PLACING THESE, UH, THE BOARD FOR US? THANK YOU.

WE HAVE A LONG LIST HERE.

I'LL HOLD THE MIC FOR YOU.

ACCOUNTABLE SERVICE, ACCOUNTABLE INTEGRITY, EXCELLENCE.

ETHICAL, RELIABLE, RESPECTFUL, OPEN TO NO IDEAS.

RELIABLE, RESPONSIBLE, TRUSTWORTHY, INNOVATIVE.

ACCOUNTABLE INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABLE, GREATER GOOD.

COMPASSIONATE, STRATEGIC, PROACTIVE.

AND HASHTAG BLESSED .

THAT'S FANTASTIC.

DO YOU MIND PLEASE ENOUGH? ALRIGHT.

INTEGRITY.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.

I SEE YOU TOOK THAT LEADERSHIP.

SO THERE'S A FEW REPEATS THAT CAME UP THAT YOU ALL HEARD.

I'LL JUST REITERATE THAT WE, WE'LL OBVIOUSLY TAKE AND, AND CAPTURE AFTER WE LEAVE THIS RETREAT.

UM, INTEGRITY CAME UP.

WE ALSO SAW, UM, SAFETY, TRANSPARENCY, UH, RELIABILITY, RESPONSIVENESS, UM, YEAH, GREATER, GOOD, ETHICAL.

UH, THESE ARE ALL ELEMENTS THAT CAME UP INCLUSIVE.

THERE'S A NUMBER OF ITEMS SUSTAINABLE THAT WERE REPEATED A NUMBER OF TIMES, WHICH IS WHAT WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE IN THIS, UM, SEGMENT.

SO THANK YOU ALL FOR, FOR SHARING THESE THOUGHTS.

WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA GO AND GET SWITCHED INTO WHAT A LOT OF THE DAYS AIMING TOWARDS, WHICH IS OUR PRIORITY DISCUSSION AND STARTING TO PUT SOME SHAPE AROUND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE, UM, OVERARCHING, UM, KIND OF CROSS CUTTING ELEMENTS THAT THE ORGANIZATION SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON THAT ARE PRIORITIES THAT WE CAN BUILD, UM, INTO THE, TO THE, UM, FRAMEWORK OF YOUR PLAN.

SO GIVE US A MOMENT HERE, WE'LL GET, UH, SITUATED.

CAN YOU JUST PUT ONE OF THOSE UP BY EACH TABLE? ALL RIGHT.

UM, AS WOODY SAID, WE'RE GONNA GET JAM IN ON, UH, DOING SOME PRIORITIES.

PRIORITY SETTING.

THIS IS KIND OF A, UH, WHERE'S THE, WHERE, WHO HAS THE, UH, THE CLICKER? I DON'T KNOW.

ANYWAYS, UM, OH, YOU GOT IT.

AND, AND WHAT WE'RE, WHAT, UH, CARLY AND THE TEAM ARE, THEY'RE GONNA PASS OUT INDIVIDUAL, UM, EIGHT AND A HALF BY ELEVENS WITH POST-IT NOTES, SIX POST-IT NOTES ON.

SO WE'RE GONNA GET JAMMING ON DOING, UM, SOME, UH, PRIORITY SETTING.

UM, AND DREW, UH, HOP IN, LIKE IF, UM, IF I'M MISSING STUFF AS I AS WE RUN THROUGH THIS.

SO, UM, WHOOPS, HERE WE GO.

SO, UM, VALUES AS WE JUST KIND OF WENT THROUGH, UM, PRIMARILY GUIDE THE, THE, THE HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF, OF EVERYTHING YOU DO.

UM, SURE IT OVERLAPS IN OTHER AREAS, BUT A LOT OF THE, A LOT OF THE BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS, WORDS LIKE INTEGRITY OR TRANSPARENCY OR, OR WHAT HAVE YOU.

UM, AND I THINK SOME OF YOU MENTIONED, WELL, ALL OF YOU MENTIONED OTHER, OTHER WORDS.

SO NOW WE'RE GONNA JUMP INTO PRIORITIES.

UM, WHICH YOU CAN SEE UP HERE ARE KIND OF BROAD AREAS OF FOCUS FOR AN ORGANIZATION, IN THIS CASE, THE DEPARTMENT TO CONCENTRATE ITS ATTENTION, EFFORT, AND RESOURCES TO ADVANCE ITS MISSION AND, AND VISION.

UM, THIS IS GONNA BE, UM, UH, PROBABLY A A WHAT DO, WHAT DO WE HAVE ABOUT AN HOUR TO, TO FOCUS ON, UM, IN WORK GROUPS TO, UH, DEVELOP, UM, THESE PRIORITIES? 'CAUSE THEY'RE SUPER IMPORTANT, RIGHT? WHERE, WHERE DOES THIS, UM, WHERE DOES THIS UTILITY WANT TO FOCUS ITS TIME.

AND WHERE, WHERE DOES IT WANNA FOCUS, RIGHT? WHAT DOES IT WANNA FOCUS ON? UM, THERE'S KIND OF A, WE WERE JUST HAD A SIDEBAR, KIND OF LIKE SOME OF THE BIG WHY'S.

WHY, WHY ARE WE, UM, ARE IN THE HOWS OF, OF, OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.

SO WHAT MATTERS MOST, IF YOU WILL, UM, RIGHT NOW

[04:30:01]

AND WHAT WE WANT YOU TO DO IS RAPIDLY AS INDIVIDUALS JUST WRITE DOWN YOUR, WHAT YOU BELIEVE THE TOP FIVE OR SIX PRIORITIES ARE.

WHAT MATTERS MOST RIGHT NOW TO THIS DEPARTMENT, UM, OF THREE IMPORTANT ENTERPRISE FUNCTIONS THAT, UM, ARE, ARE GROUND ZERO WITH THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF, OF LONG BEACH AND SURROUNDING AREAS.

UM, INCREASINGLY SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THOSE? AND THEN ONCE YOU DO THAT, WE WANT YOU TO SHARE, UM, SHARE THOSE PRIORITIES.

AND, UM, YOU'RE GONNA SHARE THEM.

LET ME SKIP THROUGH THIS.

YOU'RE GOING TO, YOU'RE GOING TO, UM, YOU SHARE THEM, UH, AMONGST YOUR GROUP AND TRY IN A GROUP SETTING TO SELECT ABOUT FIVE OR SEVEN, YOU KNOW, FIVE OR SEVEN AS A GROUP THAT YOU AGREE WITH THAT YOU CAN HANG YOUR HATS ON.

AND, AND THEN TALK ABOUT, WELL, WHEN WOULD THOSE LIKE, JUST KIND OF BRAINSTORM WHEN, HOW IMP LIKE WHAT IS THE URGENCY TO THESE PRIORITIES? IS IT A YEAR FROM NOW THAT WE WANNA ADDRESS 'EM? IS IT A THREE YEAR WINDOW? IS IT A FIVE? LIKE, WHAT ARE THESE PRIORITIES? HOW URGENT IS IT? UM, 'CAUSE THAT, UM, THAT WILL BE IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR YOU TO SHARE OUT.

UH, WE'RE GONNA SPEND PROBABLY ABOUT, ABOUT ON THAT, THIS EXERCISE, ABOUT 30 MINUTES NOW BEFORE YOU BEGIN ANYTHING, EVERY GROUP, UM, IDENTIFY AND WE PUT THESE ALL OVER THE WALLS.

IDENTIFY A DISCUSSION LEADER.

THAT'S NOT SOMEBODY TO DOMINATE THE DISCUSSION.

IT'S JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT SOMEBODY IS KIND OF THE FACILITATOR.

HEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK, RACHEL? YOU KNOW, YOU HAVEN'T SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THIS.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? RIGHT? JUST SOMEBODY TO KEEP THE DIALOGUE GOING.

A TIMEKEEPER, WHEN I SAY GO, YOU GOT 30 MINUTES.

UM, SOMEBODY WHO REALLY LIKES TRACKING TIME AND CAN BE ON TOP OF THAT A NOTE TAKER.

UM, SOMEBODY WHO CAN KIND OF TRACK THE CONVERSATION, A NOTE TAKER, SOME BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA BE LISTENING WITH A DIFFERENT EAR WHEN YOU'RE A NOTE TAKER.

AND THEN ULTIMATELY A PRESENTER.

SOMEBODY WHO CAN ENCAPSULATE WHAT YOUR GROUP CAME UP WITH AND SHARE IT WITH THE WHOLE TEAM.

SO COME UP WITH THOSE RULES, IDENTIFY THOSE RULES, THEN JUMP IN, UM, INTO YOUR, UH, INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE.

I'VE, I'VE BEEN TAKING THE FLOOR THROUGH HOP IN THERE.

OH, THANKS SAL.

YEAH, NO, THE, THE ONE LAST THING I'D LEAVE EVERYONE WITH IS THAT, OH, SORRY, SORRY.

THE, THE ONE LAST THING I'D LE LEAVE EVERYONE WITH IS, SO WE ALL, WE KNOW YOU ALL HAVE A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE AND YOUR OWN LOCAL SPECIFIC PERSPECTIVE.

OH, SORRY, .

BASICALLY 60 OR SLIDE 60 STEP.

EVERYONE'S EXCITED TO GET STARTED.

THAT'S GOOD.

UM, BUT YEAH, SO, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN PERSPECTIVE, LIKE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT, DIFFERENT LEVELS.

SO YOU HAVE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.

BUT THE ONE CHALLENGE I WOULD HAVE IS TRY TO THINK ABSTRACTLY OF LONG BEACH UTILITIES AS ONE ORGANIZATION WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT PRIORITIES.

'CAUSE THESE NEED TO BE PRIORITIES FOR THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION AS ONE.

UM, AND SO IT'S JUST, JUST A, A THOUGHT.

I KNOW EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN PERSPECTIVE AND DOMAIN AND, AND THAT'S GONNA BE HELPFUL CONTEXT.

BUT ALSO TRY TO TRY TO ALSO, UM, BROADEN THAT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION'S PRIORITIES SHOULD BE.

THAT'LL BE, THAT'LL BE HELPFUL AND AS WE AGGREGATE AND THINK THROUGH ALL OF THIS.

SO THANK YOU AND YOU CAN GET STARTED.

THANKS.

THANKS DREW.

ALRIGHT, ANY QUESTIONS? 'CAUSE DREW WILL HAVE THE ANSWERS FOR YOU, NOT ME.

ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU GET GOING? PRIORITY AREAS.

THAT'S THE FIRST STEP.

JUST COME, COME UP WITH YOUR INDIVIDUALS, SHARE 'EM OUT.

AND THEN AS A GROUP, IDENTIFY FIVE TO SEVEN THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO YOU.

[04:35:32]

WE'RE JUST PROBABLY IN A MINUTE OR TWO.

YOU SHOULD BE DONE WITH YOUR INDIVIDUAL, UH, BRAINSTORMS. UM, HEY, I'VE GOT A QUESTION.

DID ANYONE GET A, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ASKING WHAT ARE, DO THE POST-IT, THE COLOR OF THE POST-IT NOTES MEAN

[04:40:01]

ANYTHING? UM, THEY DON'T, UM, EXCEPT FOR ONE.

DID ANYONE HAVE A GREEN POST-IT NOTE? A GREEN POST-IT NOTE.

DID ANYONE HAVE IT? NO.

ON YOUR SHEET.

ANYONE HAVE A GREEN ONE? I'M COLOR BLIND.

OH, WELL HERE YOU GO.

YOU GET A $10 STARBUCKS CARD.

ALL RIGHT, KEEP AT IT FOR 10.

SO IT'S PROBABLY WITHIN THE LIMITS OF GIFTS AS YOU BEGIN TO TALK ABOUT WHAT PRIORITIES YOUR GROUP WANTS TO FOCUS ON, UM, AND AGREE ON.

CARLY'S GONNA PASS AROUND, UH, PROBABLY MORE COPIES OF THIS THAN WHAT YOU NEED.

BUT YOUR NOTE TAKER CAN, UM, COMPILE ON THIS SHEET, UM, THE FIVE OR SEVEN PRIORITIES THAT YOUR GROUP HAS AGREED UPON.

AND IT'LL BE SOMETHING, A TOOL FOR YOU TO USE.

SO YOU SHOULD BE WRAPPING UP YOUR INDIVIDUAL AND THEN TALKING AMONG, AMONGST YOURSELVES ABOUT WHAT FIVE OR SEVEN PRIORITIES OF THE TEAM YOU WANT TO FOCUS ON.

SO LET'S, UH, LET'S, LET'S HEAR EVERYBODY'S SAY IT AGAIN.

UM, I'M NOT SURE.

I THINK THEY STEPPED OUT.

ALEX MAY LEAVE EARLY 'CAUSE HE'S GOT I NEED TO GO.

[04:46:40]

[04:58:47]

[04:58:48]

PROBABLY IN ABOUT FIVE OR 10 MINUTES YOU SHOULD BE, UH, GETTING TO CONSENSUS ON YOUR, UM, PRIORITIES AND THEN STARTING TO WORK THROUGH THAT WORKSHEET TOGETHER.

YOU KNOW WHY IT'S, SO LET'S SAY IT'S RIGHT.

[05:03:35]

10 MINUTES.

ALRIGHT, A QUICK INTERRUPTION AS YOU ALL WORK ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL INITIAL PRIORITIES, GO AHEAD AND START NOW.

CONSOLIDATING TO A SHARED SET OF GROUP FIVE TO SEVEN PRIORITIES THAT YOU ALL AGREE ON AT YOUR TABLE AT.

THESE ARE THE ONES WE'D LIKE TO ELEVATE.

UM, SO WE'VE, WE'VE WORKED ON OUR INDIVIDUAL ONES.

LET'S TRY TO CONSOLIDATE ON ONE PIECE OF PAPER AND WE ARE GONNA CAPTURE THAT, UM, ONE MATRIX.

SO 3, 2, 1, GO.

[05:06:51]

SO PRESENT.

AND IF WE, IF WE

[05:10:31]

BUSINESS NEXT STEPS.

WE HAVE JUST ABOUT FIVE MINUTES.

UM, WHO ALL, WHICH TABLES ARE FINISHED? YOU'RE FINISHED.

YOU'RE FINISHED.

WHAT OTHER TABLES ARE FINISHED RIGHT HERE? THREE.

THIS ONE'S STILL WORKING.

YOU'RE STILL WORKING A LITTLE BIT, RIGHT? OKAY.

AND YOU'RE STILL WORKING A LITTLE BIT.

A TEAM NAME, THAT'D BE COOL.

YEAH, ABOUT FIVE MINUTES.

AND IF YOUR TABLE'S DONE AND YOU WANT TO GET UP AND TAKE A BREAK, GO AHEAD AND DO IT.

HEY CARLA, JUST FOR FUN, IF YOUR TEAM WANTS TO COME UP WITH A TEAM NAME, UH, GO AHEAD AND DO IT.

'CAUSE ONE OF THE TEAMS CAME UP WITH A FUN TEAM NAME.

SO IF, IF YOU WANT TO COME UP WITH

[05:15:01]

TONY, YOU CAN COME UP WITH A TEAM NAME.

YOU CAN COME UP WITH A NAME FOR YOUR TEAM.

[05:20:10]

DREW'S GONNA RUN US THROUGH, UH, THE PRESENTATIONS.

TWO MINUTES IS EVERY, IS EVERYONE READY? ARE YOU, ARE IS THIS TABLE? YOU GOOD? OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE GONNA GET STARTED.

EVERYONE'S READY? WE GOOD? OKAY.

SWEET.

GOOD.

YOU ALL? READY? READY.

READY? COOL.

WE'RE GONNA GET STARTED.

YOU, YOU GUYS ARE ALL, YOU GUYS ARE DONE RIGHT? SWEET, SWEET.

OKAY, WE'RE GONNA GET STARTED.

UM, WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO GO AROUND, UM, WE'RE GONNA ASK TO HAVE, UH, ONE PERSON GO THROUGH.

THEY'LL, I MEAN, HAVE FUN WITH IT.

SO GO THROUGH YOUR TEAM NAME, UM, WALK THROUGH YOUR TEAM, INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM MEMBERS, UM, AND THEN, UM, GO THROUGH THE PRIORITIES THAT YOU, UH, LISTED OUT.

UM, BUT ALSO I THINK IT'D BE HELPFUL JUST CONTEXT, ANY DIALOGUE THAT YOU HAD, HOW YOU ARRIVED AT THE PRIORITIES THAT YOU CAME TO.

UM, SO I'LL START, UM, AT THIS TABLE WHO FELT VERY CONFIDENT IN THEIR APPROACH.

SO WHO, WHO WANTS TO, WHO WANTS TO START? OKAY, WE'RE GONNA SET THE BAR.

UH, ONE OTHER QUICK THING, UM, WHEN YOU HEAR JOY PRESENT HER PRIORITIES, IF YOUR TEAM ALSO DID ONE OF THE PRIORITIES, JUST RAISE YOUR HAND.

SO LIKE, I'M NOT GONNA, LIKE SHE SAID, UH, NUMBER, NUMBER SEVEN IS, UM, PRIORITY IS THAT WE GET FED LUNCH EVERY DAY FROM A RESTAURANT OF OUR CHOICE.

SO IF ALL OF YOU SAID THAT, RAISE YOUR HAND, GO AHEAD.

THAT WAS FAKE NEWS.

UH, WE HOPE THAT WE CAN FIX THAT AND, UM, WITHIN A YEAR.

ALRIGHT, JOY, LET'S DO THIS POST LUNCH, UH, LOW A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE'LL TRY TO LIVEN IT UP.

SO THIS IS TEAM SASSY.

SASSY STANDS FOR SW WHAT? SWIFT TO ACTING AND SUCCESSFUL SUPERHEROES.

YES, .

WE KEEP IT REAL IN THIS DEPARTMENT.

ALRIGHT, SO OUR TOP FIVE PRIORITIES IMPROVE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, A TECHNOLOGY EFFICIENCY, EMPLOYEE INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT, AND SYSTEMS RELIABILITY.

SO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL IN TERMS OF IMPROVING INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.

UH, THERE ARE SOME INCONSISTENT COMMUNICATION CHANNELS WHICH CREATES DELAYS, FRUSTRATIONS, EMPLOYEES NOT RECEIVING THE INFORMATION AT THE SAME TIME, UH, MANAGERS NOT KNOWING WHEN TO SHARE INFORMATION.

AND,

[05:25:01]

AND SO WE GET THIS, UH, INFORMATION AT THE SAME TIME FROM THE SAME SOURCE.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, CREATE A SENSIBLE AND STABLE EXECUTIVE AND MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE.

SO ACROSS OUR BUDGET, UH, CHARTER OR EVEN STRATEGIC PLANNING THAT WE ALL KNOW WHO REPORTS TO WHO.

AND THAT'S CONSISTENT BASED OFF OF FUNCTION AND OPERATIONAL NEED.

TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY EFFICIENCY, IMPROVE TECH FOR BUSINESS NEEDS SUCH AS PAYMENT SERVICES FOR OUR PERMIT COUNTER AND PROVIDE CONSISTENT, RELIABLE INFORMATION.

AND THEN, UH, OUR EMPLOYEE INVESTMENT DEVELOPMENT IMPROVE AND OVERHAUL, UM, SOME KEY FUNCTIONS IN THE DEPARTMENT, UM, ENSURING THAT PERSONNEL IS FULLY SUPPORTED.

SO THAT INCLUDES RECRUITMENT DEPARTMENT, RIGHT? TRAINING, SUCCESSION PLANNING, CAREER PATHS AND EVALUATIONS.

AND THEN OF COURSE OUR SYSTEM RELIABILITY, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR FACILITIES, RIGHT? ARMANDO, AND THEN SYSTEMS EXPANSION TO SUSTAIN SUPPLY AND DEMAND.

GREAT JOB.

AND GOLD STAR FOR AN ACRONYM FOR YOUR TEAM NAME TOO.

YEAH, SO WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE THE NEXT TABLE.

OKAY, WE ARE TEAM.

WHERE'S ROB? WHERE'S ROB? WHERE'S ROME? ROB? OH, ROB.

ROB.

WHERE IS ROB ? HE, HE WAS HERE EARLIER .

ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS IS EVERYTHING, ALMOST EVERYTHING.

SO, UM, OUR, OUR INITIAL PRIORITIES WERE PRIMARILY BASED ON, UH, MORE IMMEDIATE TERMS. SO THE FIRST ONE, UM, IS EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION.

GIVEN THE FINANCIAL CRISIS THE CITY'S CURRENTLY FACING, WE FEEL THAT IT'S MOST IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE, OUR, OUR EMPLOYEES HAVE A SENSE OF JOB SECURITY, STAFF DEVELOPMENT, SUCCESSION PLANNING AND RETENTION.

AND, UM, WE THINK THAT THE LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE MEANS WE HAVE TO DO THAT WITHIN ONE YEAR.

UH, PRIORITY NUMBER TWO IS FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP.

SO FOR THAT, UM, IT'S APPROACHING OUR, OUR ANNUAL BUDGET WITH BALANCING THE BUDGET, UM, ENSURING THAT WE HAVE A HEALTHY, UH, FUND BALANCE AND, UM, THAT WE IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO, UH, COLLABORATE WITH THE CITY ON THE TRANSFER.

THE, WHAT WAS THAT? OH, OH, OKAY.

UM, NUMBER THREE, ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS.

AND THAT'S ALMOST LIKE THE KITCHEN SINK OF EVERYTHING.

OH, LET ME, LET ME SAY FOR FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP, THAT WAS WITHIN THREE YEARS.

'CAUSE YOU CAN'T FIX THAT WITHIN ONE.

UM, BUT WE DO NEED IT MORE IMMEDIATELY THAN WITH FIVE YEARS.

UM, IT'S CAMPUS CONSOLIDATION, IT'S CREATING STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, EVALUATING OUR ORG STRUCTURE AND STAFFING RESOURCES.

PRIORITY NUMBER FOUR.

OH, AND THAT'S WITHIN ONE YEAR.

THAT'S A LOT.

I DON'T THINK WE'LL DO CAMPUS, CAMPUS CONSOLIDATION WITHIN ONE YEAR.

UM, ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS WORKPLACE CULTURE.

AND, UH, THAT IS PROVIDING TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNICATION SIMILAR TO WHAT, UM, THE SSE TEAM SAID EARLIER.

DEPARTMENT COHESION AND COMMUNICATION.

SO I GUESS YOU GUYS RAISE YOUR HANDS.

UM, FOR NUMBER FIVE, WE HAVE CUSTOMER SERVICE SLASH SATISFACTION.

AND THAT IS CONTINUING OUR EFFORTS THAT WE JUST STARTED THIS YEAR WITH THEIR COMMUNITY BUDGET OUTREACH.

UM, AND ALSO MORE OF THAT MESSAGING OF LIKE YOUR DOLLARS AT WORK, AND THAT'S WITHIN ONE YEAR.

AND LASTLY, WE HAVE COMPLIANCE, SO COM WITH COMPLIANCE FALLS SAFETY, UM, SAFETY FOR OUR EMPLOYEES, AND SAFETY IS FOR SAFETY FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, AS WELL AS CYBERSECURITY AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS.

AWESOME, AWESOME.

UM, SO INVITE SOMEONE FROM THIS TABLE WHO WANTS TO THANK YOU.

OKAY, SO WE DUG DEEP FOR THIS, UH, OUR TEAM NAME.

WE ARE TABLE SIX.

THANK YOU, CHRIS.

ALSO, ALSO KNOWN AS THE SIXERS.

A LITTLE BIT MORE CREATIVE THERE.

FIXING THE ORG CHART IS PROBABLY SOMETHING THAT WE, UH, CAN DO TO ADDRESS THIS.

SO AS FAR AS, UH, PRIORITY NUMBER ONE, UM, UH, UH, TITLED ORGANIZATION INTEGRATION.

AND WITHIN THAT, HAVING DIRECT LEADERSHIP, CLEAR, UH, UNDERSTANDING, UH, THE CLEAR ROLES AND ALSO ALIGNING POLICIES ACROSS DIVISIONS.

UM, ONE OF THE, UH, AS FAR AS I IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT, SOMEONE HAD, UH, COMMENTED, COMMENTED,

[05:30:01]

AND, UM, WE, UH, UH, UH, AGREED THAT THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD ADDRESS OVER A, A ONE YEAR PERIOD.

UH, PRIORITY, PRIORITY NUMBER TWO, ASSET MANAGEMENT.

AND, UM, INSIDE THAT YOU HAVE THE EAM OR THE ENTIRE EN ENTERPRISE ASSET MANAGEMENT, AS WELL AS MAINTAINING INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, KIND OF BROAD TOPICS, BUT WITHIN THREE YEARS.

AND HAVING A UNIFIED EAM SOFTWARE IN IMPLEMENTING THAT I THINK IS, UM, UH, SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE NEEDED, WOULD BE NEEDED.

UH, PRIORITY NUMBER THREE, ADAPTING TO EMERGING REGULATIONS AND CHANGES IN THE INDUSTRY.

FOR EXAMPLE, UH, UH, PFAS AND OTHER CONTAMINANTS.

UH, TALKING TO KEVIN, I MEAN, HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR SOMETHING CONTAMINANTS THAT YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT? UH, ALSO, UH, INCREASE OR, OR DECREASING DEMAND, UH, OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD IS WHAT WE, UM, HAD PLACED IN HERE.

UH, ALSO INCLUDED IN THIS IS, IS DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO HAVE A NEW TREATMENT PLANT PRIORITY.

NUMBER FOUR, CAMPUS CONSOLIDATION.

LIKE, UH, WHAT OTHERS HAVE ALSO NOTED, UM, CAMPUS LOCATION WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, AS PEOPLE HAD IN MIND, MIKE IS REQUESTING THAT WE HAVE A TWO CAMPUS, UH, UH, MODEL.

I WAS LOOKING AT THE WALL .

WE HAD, UH, THERE WERE THERE, THERE WERE CONCERNS ABOUT, UH, UH, TRAFFIC CONCERNS.

I KNOW KEVIN, YOU HAD CON UM, CONCERNS ABOUT THAT TOO AS WELL.

AND, UM, UH, WE HAD A MEMBER HERE, OUR COMMISSIONER THAT MENTIONED THAT THE CORE BUSINESSES SHOULD DRIVE KIND OF WHAT WE DECIDE.

UH, NOT NECESSARILY WHAT MIKE WANTS.

SO , JUST KIDDING.

UM, PRIOR PRIORITY NUMBER FIVE, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

THAT INCLUDES INTERNSHIPS, RETEN, UH, EMPLOYEE RETENTION, SUCCESSION PLANNING.

THAT'S A ONE YEAR, ONE YEAR PLAN.

AND, UH, INTERNSHIPS ALREADY UNDER UNDERWAY.

UM, HAVING SOMEONE HAD, UH, COMMENTED HAVING A UNIFIED APPROACH.

AS FAR AS RETENTION, INTERNSHIPS, UH, RIGHT NOW IT SEEMS LIKE EACH DIVISION IS DOING THEIR OWN THING, BUT HAVING SOMETHING MORE UNIFIED AND ALSO OBVIOUSLY HAVING A SUCCESSION PLAN IS IMPORTANT.

UH, NUMBER SIX, FINANCIAL HEALTH.

I MEAN, WE, COMING FROM THE, THE GAS SIDE, UH, THE GAS FUND, UH, THREE WITHIN THREE YEARS.

AND THEN I DON'T HAVE TOO MANY NOTES HERE, BUT JUST, YOU KNOW, GETTING MORE CUSTOMERS, GETTING MORE, GETTING MORE MONEY.

AND THEN NUMBER SEVEN, INNOVATION.

AND I ONLY HAVE ONE THING IN THIS BOX THAT SAYS AI OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD.

UM, AUTO MAKING THINGS AUTOMATED.

UM, UH, ACTUALLY MIKE HAD MENTIONED MAYBE HAVING A FIXED LEAK DETENTION DETECTION SYSTEM FOR WATER.

AND, UM, UH, ALSO, UH, GETTING RID OF PAPER, GETTING RID OF PAPER, DIGITIZING EVERYTHING AND HAVING A DATA DRIVEN ORGANIZATION.

THAT'S IT.

SO WE GOT, WE GOT THROUGH HALF THE TABLE.

SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD COMMON COMMONALITY ACROSS, BUT SOME, SOME, SOME REALLY GOOD OBSERVATIONS ON PRIORITIES FOR THE ORGANIZATION.

UM, WHO, WHO FROM THIS TABLE'S, THE DESIGNATED THE SHOT? AWESOME, THANK YOU.

WELL, IT SEEMS LIKE WE WERE ALL ON THE SAME PA ON THE SAME TABLE BECAUSE ALL OF US ARE PRETTY MUCH, UM, WE TARGETED THE SAME PRIORITIES JUST ABOUT IT SEEMS LIKE.

AND OUR TEAM NAME IS WORKING TOGE TOGETHER TO CONSERVE, TO SERVE CONSERVE.

WE'VE CHANGED IT.

CHANGED IT .

UM, BUT ONE OF OURS IS A WORK DEVELOP WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AS WELL.

I DID HEAR A FEW OF YOU THAT YOU DID MENTION REGARDING OF SECTION PLANNING AND THAT WOULD ALSO ASSIST WITH THE RETENTION OF EMPLOYEES AND, UM, HOW TO IMPLEMENT IT OR OUR THOUGHTS WOULD BE MANAGEMENT ENGAGEMENT.

UM, SOMEONE MENTIONED THE EXECUTIVE COMMITMENT AS WELL, UM, HAVING SOME TIME MANAGEMENT THAT TIME ALLOWANCE, UM, FOR US TO IMPLEMENT THOSE, UM, NEEDS, UH, IN, IN, UM, ESTABLISHING A PLAN TO GET THESE EITHER WHETHER IF IT'S INTERNAL TRAINING, CROSS TRAINING OR SO, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT IT EVEN AS A LONG TERM, UM, FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY BE ABLE TO STEP UP FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY BE NEEDING TO RETIRE OR WILLING TO RETIRE OR WANTING TO RETIRE, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST, UM, UM, THINGS THAT DO OCCUR.

UM, UNIFYING UTILITY DEPARTMENT, UM, OPERATION SYNERGY.

SO IT'S COLLABORATION EFFORTS, NO SILOS, SHARING THE INFORMATION, SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE, PASS ON ALL OF THE INFORMATION TO EVERYONE SO THAT WE COULD ALL BE, UM, IN, IN

[05:35:01]

ALIGNMENT.

AND, AND CAMPUS REALIGNMENT IS ONE OF 'EM AS WELL THAT, UM, WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO, TO HELP US WITH THAT.

UM, NUMBER THREE IS STREAMLINING PRIORITIES.

AND TEAM, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS.

UM, THREE LINING PRIORITIES IS PROCESS, POLICIES, UM, AUTOMATION OF THE WORK, YOU KNOW, UM, WE DO HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY ON HERE AS WELL, WHICH WILL, YOU KNOW, IT KIND OF ALIGNS BOTH.

UM, BECAUSE WE, I PERSONALLY FEEL THAT WE ARE A LITTLE BEHIND WHEN IT COMES TO THE TECHNOLOGY.

LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVE THOSE SOFTWARES, THOSE PLATFORMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE OUT THERE TO HELP US SUPPORT AND BE MORE EFFICIENT ON THE JOB AND MAKE THINGS EITHER, UM, NOT SIMPLER, BUT MORE SMARTER IN A SENSE IN GETTING THINGS DONE.

AND, UM, KNOWLEDGE IS REQUIRED, REQUIRED WITH STREAMLINING PRIORITIES.

SO AGAIN, UM, NUMBER ONE AND NUMBER THREE ALSO COLLABORATE WITH EACH OTHER IS HAVING THAT KNOWLEDGE.

WE HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE AND NOW IT'S A MATTER OF DOING THAT TRAINING AND, AND SPREADING IT OUT.

UM, I THINK I DID SKIP A FEW, BUT FINANCIAL HEALTH, EVERYBODY HAD IT ALL AS WELL AS WELL ON IT.

IT'S FOR STABILITY, IT'S FOR OUR RESOURCES.

UM, YES, THERE WAS A DIMENSION OF THE TRANSFERRING OF THE FUND.

UM, DEBT FINANCING, UM, FOR THE OPERATION, ASSET MANAGEMENT AND THEN SERVICE RESILIENCE, DISASTER RECOVERY, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.

SO IMPROVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR EMERGENCIES.

UM, LESS RELIANCE ON THE IMPORTED WATER.

DID I SAY THAT? YES.

UM, SO THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHAT WE CAME UP WITH.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR TEAM NAME? OH, I DID WORKING TOGETHER TO CONSERVE.

WHO, WHO'S, UH, WHO'S UP FROM THIS TIP? THANK YOU.

ALRIGHT, SO OUR GROUP NAME IS THE UTILITARIANS.

SO THE PRIORITIES THAT WE CAME UP WITH, WE HAVE ABOUT SIX FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE, UH, SUSTAINABILITY, UNIFIED UTILITY, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, RESILIENCY, AND COMMUNITY, UH, ENGAGEMENT.

SO FOR FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE, WE FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A HEALTHY FUND BALANCE, UH, AND HAVE RATE STABILITY.

UH, FOR SUSTAINABILITY, WE DETERMINED THAT RESOURCE MANAGEMENT WAS IMPORTANT, SUCH AS IMPROVING OUR ACCESS TO ADDITIONAL GROUNDWATER, UH, AS WELL AS INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT FOR UNIFIED UTILITY.

WE FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO FIND SYNERGIES WITHIN OUR, OUR WORK GROUPS, UH, COLLABORATE, UH, COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS ON BUSINESS PLAN OBJECTIVES AND HAVE MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IN WHAT WE DO.

UH, FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, WE THOUGHT INTERNSHIPS, UH, INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES WERE IMPORTANT AS WELL AS MAINTAINING COMPETITIVE SALARIES, WHICH I THINK WE WOULD ALL APPRECIATE.

AND INVESTING IN TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR RESILIENCY.

I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY CAME UP WITH SOME OF THESE THINGS, BUT SECURITY IS IMPORTANT.

AS WELL AS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND JOB SECURITY FOR WHOEVER THAT GUY, WHOEVER DOES THAT.

AND THANKS FOR BRINGING IT UP AS WELL.

THE OTHER TWO GROUPS, HOPEFULLY YOU DID AS WELL.

, UH, AS WELL AS INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE.

AND FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WE WANTED TO ENSURE THAT WE HAD CUSTOMER FOCUSED, UH, EFFORTS AS WELL AS TRANSPARENCY IN DECISION MAKING.

UH, SO WE HAD, UM, A PRIORITY IS THE BUSINESS PLAN SPECIFICALLY TO CONTINUE TO EVOLVE THE BUSINESS PLAN.

WELL, SO I'LL, I'LL START WITH OUR TEAM NAME.

SO IF, IF YOU DON'T THINK AI HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR, UH, I'M HERE TO TELL YOU IT DOES.

SO I THOUGHT IT'D BE, WE COULDN'T COME UP WITH A TEAM NAME.

SO I TYPED INTO AI, WHAT IS A TEAM NAME IDEA FOR TONY, KEVIN, JENNIFER, A**L, AND IT SAID TWO MEN, A LADY, AND AN A**L, UH, .

I WAS OUTVOTED AT MY TABLE.

THAT BECAME THE DECISION FOR THE TEAM NAME .

SO TWO, TWO MEN, A LADY AND AN A**L.

I HAD TO LAUGH TOO.

SO WE CAME UP WITH A PRIORITIES.

CURIOUSLY ENOUGH, NONE OF THEM HAD SECURITY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.

[05:40:03]

ANOTHER PRIORITY FOR US WAS CUSTOMER SERVICE.

TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON WAYS TO DEVELOP EXCELLENCE IN CUSTOMER SERVICE.

LONG-TERM FINANCIAL PLAN BECAME AN ENCOMPASSING, UH, ALL ENCOMPASSING FOR US IN TERMS OF LONG-TERM FINANCIAL PLAN, BUT TALKING ABOUT BUDGETS, TALKING ABOUT RATES AND RATE DEVELOPMENT, MAKING SURE THAT IT'S FAIR AND EQUITABLE, TALKING ABOUT CAPITAL PROGRAMS AND CAPITAL PLANNING.

NEXT CAME DATA MANAGEMENT, DATA MANAGEMENT FROM AN EMPHASIS ON OPTIMIZING THE DATA AND ITS UTILIZATION.

AND THAT BEING KIND OF AN OPENING INTO ALL KINDS OF PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS THAT COULD COME FROM THAT.

I THINK ELSEWHERE HERE, UH, WAS ANOTHER VARIATION OF THIS.

WE TALKED ABOUT LEVERAGING UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE, TRYING TO IDENTIFY PARTNERSHIPS, TRYING TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES TO SCALE, TRYING TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE COSTS.

GROUNDWATER AS AN EMPHASIS, A PRIORITY CRITICAL, BOTH THE OPTIMIZATION OF GROUNDWATER AND BOTH FROM A RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE, A COMMUNICATIONS PLAN, A COMMUNICATIONS PLAN, IDENTIFYING AUDIENCES, IDENTIFYING ME, UM, MESSAGES.

AND THEN ALSO BEING ABLE TO MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN.

AND THEN A KEY ASPECT FOR US WAS A WELCOMING WORKPLACE CULTURE, TARGETING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, TARGETING TRAINING AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, SUCCESSION PLANNING, AND AN ADAPTABLE ORGANIZATION THAT EVOLVES AS THE NEEDS EVOLVE.

THAT WAS IT.

THANK YOU EVERYONE.

THAT WAS, THAT WAS REALLY INSIGHTFUL.

I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF GOOD BROAD THEMES THAT WE'RE CONNECTING, BUT THERE'S ALSO SOME DIFFERENCES AND I THINK THAT THAT'LL BE IMPORTANT AS WE TAKE ALL OF THAT IN TO HELP TRY TO RAISE THAT UP AS WE TALK IN THE NEXT SESSION.

UM, HEARD A LOT OF, A LOT OF THEMES ON, UM, THE ORGANIZATION AND, UM, INTEREST IN PRIORITIZING, UM, A ONE ORGANIZATION MENTALITY.

UM, A LOT OF, IN A LOT OF THEMES ON FINANCE, AND I KNOW THAT THAT'S OBVIOUSLY A, UM, A KEY RISK FOR THE OVERALL ORGANIZATION IN TERMS OF, UM, FISCAL HEALTH.

UM, AND, UM, IT'S GREAT THAT YOU HAD THE SUCCESSFUL PROP TWO 18 HEARING, BUT I KNOW IT'S A CONTINUOUS, UM, BIT OF TENSION OF BALANCING AFFORDABILITY AND LONG-TERM FISCAL HEALTH, UM, WITH INVESTMENT NEEDED ACROSS ALL THREE ENTERPRISES.

UM, SO IT'S NICE TO SEE A LOT OF, LOT OF, UM, CONTINUITY AND ACROSS THE DIFFERENT TABLES AND GROUPS.

UM, BUT OVERALL, I THINK THAT JUST IN TERMS OF OVERALL PRIORITIES FOR THE ORGANIZATION, I HEARD A LOT MORE SIMILAR FROM, FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT TABLES THAN, THAN DIFFERENT.

SO GREAT TO HEAR THAT.

UM, YEAH, GO FOR IT.

THANK YOU DREW.

WE'RE GONNA TAKE A 10 MINUTE BREAK.

WE'RE ACTUALLY AHEAD OF SCHEDULE A BIT, SO WHEN WE COME BACK, THANK YOU.

WHEN WE COME BACK, WE'LL READ OUT SOME OF THE, UM, SIMILARITIES THAT DREW JUST MENTIONED ACROSS.

UH, WE'RE, WE'RE LABELING 'EM AS YOU SPEAK, AND THEN WE'LL CLOSE OUT WITH A FEW, UM, JUST REMAINING SEGMENTS FOR THE DAY.

AND, UM, SHOULD GET YOU ALL, UH, ON YOUR WAY A TAD BIT EARLY, BUT TAKE A QUICK 10 MINUTE BREAK.

WE'LL COME BACK AND WE'LL FINISH UP.

RIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GET GOING HERE.

[05:45:03]

YEAH, THEY WERE PRETTY.

[05:55:14]

ALL

[05:55:14]

BRING IT BACK TOGETHER.

ALRIGHT, UM, LET'S ALL GET BACK TO OUR GROUPS.

AND WE'RE ON THE HOME STRETCH, HOME STRETCH.

UM, I WAS SUPER IMPRESSED WALKING AROUND AND, UM, SEEING YOU WORKING AS TEAMS. UM, NOT THAT I, I HAD ANY REASON TO, UM, THINK OTHERWISE, BUT IT WAS COOL TO SEE HOW YOU FIGURED OUT HOW TO WORK AS TEAMS AND EVERYONE WORKED DIFFERENTLY IN THEIR STYLES AS A TEAM.

UM, SOME PEOPLE DISASSEMBLED THEIR POST-IT NOTES AND REORGANIZED THEM IN COMMONALITIES.

OTHER PEOPLE WHO WAS MORE VERBAL AND JUST TALKING THROUGH IT ALL.

OTHERS, YOU'D BE POINTING AT YOUR POST-IT NOTES AND, UM, TAKING NOTES.

UH, IT WAS JUST COOL TO SEE YOU ALL WORK.

UM, IT WAS ALSO WONDERFUL THAT EVERYONE WHO TOOK A ROLE AS DISCUSSION LEADER, TIMEKEEPER NOTE KEEPER AND PRESENTED PRESENTER, TOOK THOSE ROLES SERIOUSLY.

UM, I HAD ONE GROUP CALL OUT THE DISCUSSION LEADER BECAUSE THE, THE DISCUSSION LEADER WAS HAVING A SIDE CONVERSATION AND THEY'RE LIKE, HEY, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO LEAD THE CONVERSATION AS A TEAM.

COME ON.

SO THAT WAS KIND OF FUNNY.

BUT ANYWAYS, WHAT'S REALLY COOL, SO, UH, WE JUST DID THIS QUICKLY, BUT THERE'S INCREDIBLE ALIGNMENT AND, AND YOU KNOW, THIS IS OUR BEST GUESS AND YOU CAN CORRECT US IF WE'RE WRONG, BUT, UM, SO TEAM SASSY AND WHERE'S ROB AND, UH, UH, TWO MEN, A LADY AND AN NTO .

UM, YOU ALL ARE ALIGNED IN LIKE, UH, IMPROVING INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS WORKPLACE CULTURE, WHICH INCLUDED COMMUNICATIONS, UM, UH, COMMUNICATIONS PLANS, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND WORKPLACE CULTURE THAT WAS PART OF IT.

SO THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THAT ALIGNMENT.

THERE WAS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE THAT TIED IN WITH ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS, TALKING ABOUT THE CONSOLIDATION, CAMPUS CONSOLIDATION, ORGANIZATIONAL INTEGRATION, UM, UNIFYING THE UTILITY OPERATIONAL SYNERGY UNIFIED UTILITY.

SO THERE'S A, THERE'S A, A STREAM OF, OF ALIGNMENT THERE.

UH, TECHNOLOGY EFFICIENCY, UM, INNOVATION, AI TECH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE KIND OF TIED THOSE TOGETHER, CORRECT, IF, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT NOT BE PERFECTLY CORRECT, BUT, UM, BUT WE, WE, UM, WE TIED THEM TOGETHER, UH, WHERE I JUST LOST TRACK OF WHERE I WAS.

OH YEAH, INNOVATION OVER HERE, TECHNOLOGY AND DATA MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION.

SO THERE'S, YOU KNOW, ALIGNMENT THERE AND, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE WE'RE IMPERFECT HERE.

UM, CUSTOMER SERVICE, WHICH TIED ALSO WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND CUSTOMER FOCUS, WHICH TIED WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE SATISFACTION.

THEN THERE WAS, UM, EMPLOYEE INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT, EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION, WHICH INCLUDED STAFF DEVELOPMENT, SUCCESSION PLANNING, ET CETERA.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UH, WELCOMING WORKPLACE CULTURE, WHICH INCLUDED IN THIS CASE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, SKILLS DEVELOPMENT.

UM, WE ONLY FOUND, AND, AND THE LIST GOES ON OF RESILIENCY, SERVICE, RESILIENCE, UM, ADAPTING TO EMERGING REGULATIONS AND CHANGING INDUSTRY, WHICH IS PART OF RESILIENCE.

UM, SYSTEMS RELIABILITY, WHICH IS PART OF RESILIENCE.

BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S STREAMS THAT ARE THREADING YOU ALL TOGETHER, WHICH IS FANTASTIC THERE.

THE, THE ANOMALIES, AND PROBABLY IN ABOUT TWO SECONDS YOU COULD CORRECT US, UM, WHERE ONE WAS, UM, A BUSINESS PLAN TO CONTINUE TO EVOLVE THAT, UH, ONE WAS STREAMLINING PRIORITIES LIKE PROCESSES, POLICIES, AUTOMATION OF WORK, WHICH YOU COULD TIE IN WITH TECHNOLOGY PERHAPS, BUT I THINK IT'S AN ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND CULTURE AND ALL OF THAT.

AND, AND UNIFYING.

SO THAT WE JUST WANTED TO CALL OUT COMPLIANCE, CLEAN,

[06:00:01]

UH, SAFE UTILITY, SAFETY, UM, UH, UH, EMPLOYEE, UH, COM, UH, COMMODITY CYBER DISASTER.

SO THAT COULD BE TIED IN WITH RESILIENCE AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND A WHOLE HOST OF THINGS.

SO IT WASN'T LIKE THEY WERE COMPLETELY OUT ON THEIR OWN, BUT YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, BUT ALL OF THESE THINGS INDEPENDENTLY OF ONE ANOTHER.

YOU CAME UP WITH THINGS THAT HAVE SYNERGY BETWEEN ONE AND BETWEEN THEM ALL.

SO YOU'RE ACTUALLY, UM, HIGHLY ALIGNED, WHICH IS WONDERFUL.

AND NOW IT'S, YOU KNOW, EVOLVING THAT TO ITS NEXT LEVEL OF CLARITY AND UNDERSTANDING.

AND SO THAT, THAT FRAMEWORK THAT IS GONNA BE BUILT, UM, WILL BE SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN ALL LOOK AT WITH A STRAIGHT FACE AND GO, WE BELIEVE IN THIS AND THIS IS OURS, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT'S, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT'S THE GIFT THAT YOU WANT TO GIVE YOURSELF AND THE ORGANIZATION AND YOUR DECISION MAKERS, UM, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR BOARD IS THIS ALIGNED, UM, SUPPORT FOR THE STRATEGY THAT IS GONNA GUIDE YOUR, YOUR ORGANIZATION FOR YEARS TO COME.

SO ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? ANY REFLECTIONS? UH, WHAT YOU HEAR, GOOD, BAD, INDIFFERENT? ANYTHING ANYONE WANNA SHARE? YOU ALL JUST TIRED? HERE WE GO, TONY.

YEAH, I'LL BE BRIEF.

UM, FROM A PLANNING PERSPECTIVE, I THINK THIS IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF EXERCISE THAT WE WERE HOPING TO SOLICIT FROM ALL THE PARTICIPANTS HERE.

SO IT'S REALLY WONDERFUL.

I WAS KIND OF WORRIED THAT WE WOULD BE ALL OVER THE MAP AND WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SYNTHESIZE THE VARIOUS AND DISPARATE IDEAS, BUT IT'S REALLY ENCOURAGING TO SEE, AND IT'S, IT'S A TESTAMENT TO HOW ENGAGED WE ARE AS MANAGERS IN THIS ORGANIZATION THAT WE COULD ALL ON FIRST TRY COME UP WITH IDEAS AND THOUGHTS AND PRIORITIES THAT ARE LARGELY ALIGNED.

SO I THINK THAT THIS IS A REALLY GREAT START AND I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU ALL AND ENCOURAGE YOU TO KEEP GOING IN THIS PROCESS.

THERE WILL BE MORE TO COME.

SO THOSE ARE MY 2 CENTS.

THANKS TONY.

YEAH, NO, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPRESSIVE TO HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE REALLY CARE.

TAKE IT, TAKE IT SO SERIOUSLY TO PUT DOWN YOUR PRIORITIES.

AND THEN ALSO, UM, TO ALSO TAKE A STEP BACK.

'CAUSE THESE AREN'T JUST, UM, THE PRIORITIES THAT WE HEARD ACROSS IT.

IT'S NOT LIKE FOCUSED ON ANY ONE, UH, DEPARTMENT OR UTILITY THAT WERE PROVIDED TOO.

IT'S, I THINK, I THINK IT'S REALLY A TESTAMENT TO THE ORGANIZATION THAT YOU REALLY, EVERYONE REALLY THOUGHT, UM, ON A VERY MACRO BIG SCALE FOR THE WHOLE, UM, WHOLE CONSOLIDATED UTILITY OF WHAT THE PRIORITY SHOULD BE.

AND TO HAVE THAT UNIFIED KIND OF PERSPECTIVE THAT'S RELATIVELY CONSISTENT, HEARING THE SAME KINDS OF THINGS OR SEEING THE SAME KINDS OF THINGS.

SO IT'S NICE TO SEE EVERYONE KIND OF PAINTING THE SAME PICTURE OF WHAT, WHAT, WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO MOVE FORWARD.

SO, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S A, THAT'S A REALLY GREAT SUCCESS I THINK FOR, FOR ALL OF YOU TO, TO, TO HAVE THAT AS TONY, AS TONY SAID.

SO JUST ECHO THAT.

IS THERE ANY, ANYTHING AS WE CLOSE OUT THE DISCUSSION ON, UH, PRIORITIES, IS THERE ANY ANY OTHER PERSPECTIVE THAT SOMEONE WANTS TO RAISE UP OR, UM, ANYTHING ELSE THAT ANYONE WANTS TO ADD BEFORE WE SHIFT GEARS TO THE NEXT, UH, AGENDA ITEM? OKAY, COOL.

I'LL TURN OVER TO CARLY.

FUNDING THINGS, IN MY OPINION, THAT DON'T FALL IN LINE WITH YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND YOUR VALUES.

ARE WE TAKING A BREAK OR IS THAT FROM BEFORE? THAT'S FROM BEFORE.

AH, HI EVERYONE.

I'LL BE SPEAKING ABOUT TYING TOGETHER BUSINESS AND STRATEGY.

SO EVERYTHING WE'VE DONE TODAY, HOW IT'S GOING TO IMPACT YOU IN THE FUTURE, HOW ALL THIS COMES TOGETHER.

THIS IS HOW I PERSONALLY USE THE STRATEGIC PLAN IN MY DAY-TO-DAY WORK.

SO I'M INTIMATELY INVOLVED WITH THIS COMPONENT, AND THE REASON I'M HELPING YOU ALL WITH IT IS BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN IT AND I FIND IT VERY HELPFUL.

SO, WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN, IT'S DIFFERENT FROM THE BUSINESS PLAN, WHICH IS OF COURSE DIFFERENT FROM THE BUDGET, AND THEN THE RESULTS, WHICH MIGHT BE KPIS, THE LITTLE GRAPH AT THE BOTTOM WHERE IT SHOWS STRATEGIC PLAN, BUSINESS PLAN, BUDGET, AND KPIS.

IF YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THOSE, THEY ALL WORK TOGETHER.

THIS IS HOW YOU KEEP THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND NOT SIT ON THE SHELF.

THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS HOW YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE DECISIONS, WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES ARE, YOUR MISSION, YOUR VISION, VALUES.

THE BUSINESS PLAN IS HOW YOU WANT TO GET TO THOSE.

IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBLE AS THINGS START TO GO FORWARD.

YOU, YOU CAN CHANGE IT A LITTLE BIT EASIER.

THE BUDGET IS HOW YOU'RE GOING TO, OF COURSE, FUND ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO DO.

BUT THE BUDGET SHOULD ALSO LINE UP WITH YOUR BUSINESS PLAN.

THAT LINES BACK UP WITH YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN, BECAUSE YOU SHOULDN'T BE

[06:05:01]

SO IF YOU CAN TIE IT ALL BACK TO SOMETHING THAT YOU HAD ON YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH IS ALSO YOUR BUSINESS PLAN, THE BUDGET WOULD NATURALLY GO WITH IT.

THEN YOUR KPIS ARE THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES.

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DECIDE WHETHER YOU'RE BEING SUCCESSFUL AT MOVING THE NEEDLE IN THIS OBJECTIVE? SO, WHAT DID YOU WANT? WHAT DO YOU WANNA MEASURE? I KNOW YOU'VE HEARD IT, BUT YOU REALLY WON'T DO IT UNLESS YOU MEASURE IT.

EVERYTHING YOU MEASURE WILL GET DONE.

I RECOMMEND MEASURING AS MUCH AS YOU CAN FOR THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU.

SO THE THINGS THAT YOU PUT INTO YOUR KPIS AT THE END OF THIS PLAN ARE HOW YOU MAKE SURE TO KEEP ALL THE OTHERS ACCOUNTABLE.

ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON WHERE I'M AT WITH THAT? I, I LOVE THE WAY IT ALL FOLDS TOGETHER.

PLEASE DON'T PUT THINGS ON SHELVES.

SO YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN BEING DIFFERENT FROM YOUR BUSINESS PLAN, YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN WOULD BE MORE OF A, THE LOFTIER GOALS, THE LONG-TERM GOALS, YOUR BUSINESS PLAN COULD CHANGE.

IF YOU'VE GOT A CHANGE IN LEGISLATION THAT COMES DOWN THAT YOU'RE NOT EXPECTING, YOU WON'T HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR ENTIRE STRATEGIC PLAN BECAUSE IT'S NOT GONNA BE SO STATIC.

IT'S GONNA BE FLEXIBLE, BUT YOUR BUSINESS PLAN'S PROBABLY GONNA NEED TO FLIP QUICKLY.

IF SOMETHING COMES DOWN, YOU CAN'T HELP IT, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO ADDRESS IT.

WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT YOU WOULD NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO CHANGE A STRATEGIC PLAN IF YOU'VE BUILT IT.

SO YOU SAY, WELL, WE CARE ABOUT OUR VALUES AND AT THAT, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE IN COMPLIANCE WITH STATE AND LOCAL REGULATIONS FITS RIGHT INTO THAT.

SO YOU WOULDN'T NEED TO, BECAUSE YOU'LL STILL BE FOLLOWING YOUR SAME MODEL.

BUT THIS HELPS YOU STAY IN THE PATH THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, EVEN WHEN THINGS SHOW UP ON YOUR JOURNEY, ON YOUR MAP, THAT YOU'RE NOT EXPECTING YOUR BUSINESS PLANS A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES, WHICH THEN AGAIN, TIES BACK TO YOUR BUDGET AND THEN TO YOUR KPIS TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE DOING THEM.

OH, REFLECTION QUESTION.

ARE WE DOING POST-IT NOTES AGAIN? I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE POST-IT NOTES LEFT.

I THOUGHT WE USED EVERYONE WE HAD IN THE ROOM.

GO.

HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR DEPARTMENT OR TEAM CONTRIBUTING TO THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN? LIKE, HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR, YOUR TEAM COULD BENEFIT FROM THIS? HOW THEY COULD CONTRIBUTE TO IT? WHAT MIGHT BE VALUABLE TO THEM SO THAT THEY FEEL THAT THEY'RE PART OF IT AND THIS IS HELPING THEM MOVE FORWARD WITH YOUR UTILITIES? COUPLE MINUTES, WOODY.

THERE'S UM, A FOUR BY SIX CARDS.

THEY'RE BLANK.

I THINK IF YOU WANNA CHAT ABOUT 'EM AND THEN MAYBE WE'LL PASS AROUND A MIC TO SEE WHO WANTS TO SHARE.

HE'S READING THE SLIDE.

TAKE, UH, 60 SECONDS.

GATHER THOUGHTS ON EITHER YOUR DEPARTMENT, THE TEAM, THE ORGANIZATION, UH, WHAT OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, OR PRIORITIES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED TRANSLATING, UM, INTO THE BUSINESS PLAN AS WELL.

SO REALLY I THINK WHAT WE'RE CURIOUS ABOUT ARE, UM, THOUGHTS YOU HAVE ON TYING THESE TOGETHER, THE STRATEGY AND THE BUSINESS PLAN, UM, AND JUST WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE FOR Y'ALL? WHAT DO YOU THINK? ONE PERSON PER QUESTION AND WE'LL MOVE ON.

ALSO, I'VE USED THIS WHEN, UM, I, I WOULD GET A REQUEST FROM THE MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC FOR SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE COMPLETELY OUTSIDE OF WHAT A UTILITY DOES.

SO IT WAS KIND OF NICE AND EASY FOR ME TO SAY, HUH, DOESN'T LINE UP WITH THESE THINGS.

, WE'LL, WE'LL GET YOU ON EVENTUALLY ON THE LIST IF IT BECOMES ONE OF OUR PRIORITIES.

SO THAT HELPED US MAINTAIN OUR BUDGET GOING IN THE DIRECTION THAT WE ALREADY DECIDED.

SO THAT IS A VERY NICE THING BECAUSE IN GOVERNMENT SOMETIMES YOU GET STUCK ON STRAY PROJECTS.

THIS ONE WILL HELP REDUCE IT.

HEY, VOLUNTEER TO GIVE US, UH, SOME QUICK THOUGHTS ON EITHER OF THESE QUESTIONS AS WE THINK ABOUT THE BUSINESS PLAN AND STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION.

SO FOR MY TEAM IN THE SAFETY OFFICE, UH, THIS IS ACTUALLY A VERY THIS FAMILIAR AND SOME OF THE MEETINGS THAT I'VE HAD WITH MANAGERS AND, AND SOME OTHER PEOPLE IN THE, IN THE DEPARTMENT, I'VE IDENTIFIED SOME OF THESE ISSUES WITHIN MY OWN TEAM AND OFFICE.

SO IN A MICRO LEVEL, I THINK THAT THE BEST WAY FORWARD IS TO, UH, ADOPT AND IMPLEMENT THESE, UH, VALUES, UH, VISION AND MISSION, UH, LIKE I SAID, AT A MICRO LEVEL WITHIN THE, THE, OUR OFFICE.

AND THAT SHOULD REFLECT THE, UM, THE FUTURE STRATEGIC PLAN AS A WHOLE.

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS? ONE MORE COMMENT, WE'LL MOVE ON.

ANYONE ELSE? ANY THOUGHTS? ALSO WE, WHAT OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES OR PRIORITIES, UM, SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN TRANSLATING, UH, THE STRATEGIC PLAN INTO BUSINESS PLAN? SO SPECIFICALLY WHEN MOVING FROM STRATEGY TO BUSINESS, ANYTHING EVEN TIPS OR TRICKS, THINGS THAT COME TO MIND FOR FOLKS, WHAT YOU'VE SEEN BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ORGANIZATION,

[06:10:01]

YES, PLEASE.

UM, I WOULD, I WOULD HAVE TO GO WITH THE NUMBER ONE AND AS A ROLE OF A COMMISSIONER, I HAD SOMEONE ASK ME A QUESTION.

WILL YOU TAKE BACK WHAT YOU'VE HEARD TODAY FROM THE EMPLOYEES HERE, UH, AROUND THE TABLE, UM, WHO HAVE NOW BECOME FRIENDS? UM, WILL YOU USE THAT AS YOU MOVE FORWARD AND ABSOLUTELY.

UM, I THINK THIS HAS BEEN INCREDIBLE TO BE ABLE TO SIT AROUND THE TABLE WITH, WITH SO MANY PEOPLE WHO DO THE HEAVY LIFTING IN THIS DEPARTMENT AND TO HEAR FIRSTHAND WHAT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES ARE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO UNDERSTAND THEIR ROLE AND HOW COMMITTED THEY ARE TOO.

SO ABSOLUTELY, THIS IS REALLY HELPFUL.

SO I GOT, UM, I GOT ONE MORE FOR EACH OF THEM.

SO FOR THE FIRST QUESTION, WHAT I SEE OR WHAT YOU SEE AS YOUR ROLE IN, UM, I THINK ONE OF US, ESPECIALLY AS AS LEADERS, UM, OUR, ONE OF OUR MAIN ROLES IS TO COMMUNICATE TO EVERYBODY ELSE IN ON OUR TEAM ABOUT THE PURPOSE.

HOW, HOW, HOW IT WAS CREATED AND WHAT THE ONGOING, HOW TO, HOW WE'RE GONNA ON USE THE STRATEGIC PLAN ON AN ONGOING BASIS.

UM, THE OPPORTUNITIES, UH, OKAY.

SHOULD BE CONSIDERED, UH, WITH THE OTHER STUFF WITH THE BUSINESS PLANS.

SINCE BUSINESS PLANS, WORK PLANS AND BUDGETS ARE ALREADY HERE.

WHEN WE DO HAVE OUR STRATEGIC PLAN KIND OF CRAFTED, I THINK WE DO A CROSSCHECK AND JUST SAY LIKE, OKAY, IS, ARE THESE ARE THE, THE DETAILS OF THE OTHER, UM, THE OTHER PLANS, ARE THEY IN ALIGNMENT OR IS THERE MAYBE, HOPEFULLY THERE'S NOT ANY, UM, CONTRADICTION TO IT.

UM, OR, OR, OR SHOULD, COULD IT BE REFINED AND, UH, REVISED TO MAKE IT MORE IN LINE WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN? THANK YOU.

I'M GOOD.

BUT ANYBODY ELSE? YOU'RE CLOSE.

UM, TWO THINGS COME TO MIND WHEN I THINK ABOUT WHAT WE JUST DID.

UM, AND THE FIRST ONE, AND I'VE SAID THIS TO A FEW PEOPLE, IS THAT CULTURE EATS STRATEGY.

SO IF YOU HAVE A PLAN, YOU CAN HAVE THE BEST PLAN, BUT IF PEOPLE AREN'T GETTING ALONG, THEN YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO MAKE THE NEEDLE MOVE AS MUCH.

SO I THINK CULTURE IS THE PRIORITY IN ORDER TO EXECUTE.

AND THEN THE SECOND ONE IS WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS IMPROVED.

SO WE CAN SAY, LIKE, I COULD SAY I WANNA LOSE WEIGHT, BUT IF I DON'T WEIGH MYSELF, THEN IT DOESN'T COUNT, RIGHT? SO I THINK THAT, UM, METRICS AND DATA ARE REALLY IMPORTANT INDICATORS OF HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO IMPROVE.

APPRECIATE IT.

I SHOULDA ADDED THIS ON THE FIRST ONE.

I'M SORRY.

BUT, UH, I GUESS FOR CHALLENGES, UH, I ALWAYS THINK THAT CHANGE IS SCARY.

I KNOW EARLIER TODAY I SAID THAT CHANGE IS LIKE SOMETHING TO BE HOPEFUL ABOUT, BUT IT CAN BE SCARY FOR THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING A SET OF PROCEDURES FOR THE PAST 20, 15, 30 YEARS, WHATEVER.

UH, SO ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS TO GET BUY-IN FROM STAFF FOR THESE CHANGES.

'CAUSE THESE PLANS ARE PROBABLY GONNA CREATE SOME CHANGES AND, UH, US AS MANAGERS AND AND LEADERSHIP ARE INVOLVED IN THIS.

AND SO WE, WE MIGHT FEEL LIKE A SENSE OF CONTROL, BUT EVERYONE ELSE THAT IS NOT DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THIS MIGHT FEEL LIKE IT'S JUST A NEW, SOME NEW CHANGES THAT ARE JUST BEING PRESENTED TO THEM AND THAT CAN PRESENT SOME CHALLENGES.

AND THEN, UH, ALSO ON THAT FIRST, FIRST ONE AS WELL, I WAS GONNA SAY THE EXACT SAME THING WAS THE BUY-IN, UM, GETTING THEM TO, TO, UH, BE A PART OF IT.

UM, GETTING OUR TEAM TO TAKE ON, UH, THE, THE GOALS AND UM, AND UH, BE IN ONE MIND.

UH, THEN THE SECOND ONE, UH, I HAD PUT, MAKE THE GOALS ACHIEVABLE, UM, SO THAT YOU CAN SEE SUCCESS BECAUSE WHEN YOU SET GOALS THAT MAYBE SOMETIMES AREN'T REALLY REALISTIC, UH, IT GETS DISCOURAGING WHEN YOU DON'T HIT THOSE GOALS.

SO MAKING SOMETHING THAT THAT'S ACHIEVABLE AND AFFORDABLE AND AFFORDABLE.

, I'M GOOD.

HOW CAN YOU ENSURE BUSINESS PLANS, BUDGETS, PROJECTS, DAY-TO-DAY DECISIONS AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES REMAIN ALIGNED WITH YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND WHAT WILL HELP EMPLOYEES STAY ENGAGED, ACCOUNTABLE AND CONNECTED AS THE STRATEGIC PLAN MOVES FROM DEVELOPMENT TO IMPLEMENTATION? A LOT OF WHAT WE JUST MENTIONED REALLY, IT'S UM, WHAT IS THE KIND OF TIE THAT BINDS FOR THE STRATEGY AND THE BUSINESS PLAN, UM, IMPLEMENTATION, PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.

ANY OTHER THOUGHTS, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? FEEL FREE TO TAKE MAYBE 30 SECONDS AND THINK

[06:15:01]

ON THIS.

I SEE ONE COMMENT IN THE BACK HERE.

I THINK FOR THE BUY-IN.

GIMME TWO SECONDS.

OH, SORRY ABOUT THAT.

SHE DOESN'T NEED FOR, UM, OUR WORK GROUP'S BUY-IN.

I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WHEN WE PRESENT THIS INFORMATION TO, FOR THEM TO, FOR IT TO BE COMPREHENSIBLE TO THEM, UM, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE AT OUR, YOU KNOW, AS LEADERS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE FOLLOWING, WE, WE GET ENGAGED WITH THESE MEETINGS OR SO, BUT DELIVERING THE SAME MESSAGE TO OUR TEAM IS NOT THE SAME.

SO IT HAS TO BE COMPREHENSIBLE FOR THEM.

AND, UM, THEY NEED TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING AS TO HOW THEIR ENGAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT AS WELL IF THEY DO PARTICIPATE.

AND, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK TO THE, UM, BEGINNING OF THE, UM, PRESENTATION OF WHAT THE PURPOSE WAS HERE WAS THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING TO ME AS CUSTOMER SERVICE.

WE ARE THE FRONT END, FRONT FACING FOR THE CUSTOMER, SO THEM AS WELL.

HAVING A ONCE THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, JOY AND WHOMEVER'S GONNA BE INVOLVED WITH THAT CUSTOMER OUTREACH AGAIN, BEING COMPREHENSIBLE, WHAT'S GONNA BE THE BENEFIT FOR INDIVIDUALS TO ACTUALLY HAVE THAT BUY-IN? SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.

LAST THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS BEFORE WE MOVE ON? ELSE OR WHAT WILL HELP EMPLOYEES STAY ENGAGED IS, I THINK, UH, LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

UH, I KNOW THAT A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, MANAGEMENT MIGHT SEE AS AN ISSUE COULD POTENTIALLY BEGIN WITH US.

AND SO IN ORDER TO FIX THE STRUCTURE, WE NEED TO SHOW OUR STAFF THAT WE'RE TOTALLY BOUGHT INTO THIS AND COLLABORATE WITH EACH OTHER AND NOT JUST SPEAK ABOUT IT, BUT ACT ON IT AND SHOW THROUGH ACTION THAT THIS CAN BE, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENTED THAT WHERE OUR STAFF FOLLOWS AND, AND IS ALSO BOUGHT IN.

WHEN DECISIONS ARE MADE, WHETHER IT'S AT THE BOARD LEVEL OR WHETHER IT'S IN A DIVISION LEVEL OR AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL, EVERYONE IS KIND OF THAT THROUGH LINE OF UNDERSTANDING IS THERE, UM, SO THAT YOU'RE ALL TALKING THE SAME THING.

OKAY, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD THEN.

LAST ELEMENT BEFORE WE PASS IT BACK OVER TO, UM, OUR CLOSING COMMENTS AND OUR CLOSING PROGRAM.

THIS IS JUST SOME NEXT STEPS TO KEEP IN MIND FOR THE PROCESS.

AGAIN, WE'VE MENTIONED HOW WE ARE REALLY JUST GETTING STARTED.

IF WE THINK ABOUT THE, THE FULL LONGEVITY OF THE PLAN, UH, THIS IS RETREAT NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS GIVING US SOME OF YOUR INITIAL VISION, MISSION VALUES, PRIORITY INPUTS, BUT WE STILL HAVE MORE DATA TO GATHER.

WE STILL HAVE MORE PEOPLE TO TALK TO, MORE INFORMATION TO ASSESS.

THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO DO IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS HERE, ESSENTIALLY IN OUR WORKING SESSIONS WITH VARIOUS DIVISIONS IN THE DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WHICH WE MENTIONED WE JUST, UH, TALKED ABOUT BRIEFLY HERE AS WELL.

SO EXPECT THESE TO BE WHAT IS NEXT ON OUR TO-DO LIST.

AND WE'LL INVOLVE SOME OF YOU IN THIS ROOM AND IN THE BACKGROUND AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO BE DOING SOME MORE OF THAT INDUSTRY RESEARCH, SOME MORE OF THAT LEGISLATIVE ASSESSMENT, UM, AND REALLY ADD SOME MORE COLOR.

A LOT OF THIS WAS WAITING FOR, WE HAD SOME THINGS TO REALLY HONE IN MORE DETAILED ON, AND WE HAVE THOSE LEAVING TODAY FROM A LOT OF OUR CONVERSATION.

SO WE'RE, WE'VE ALREADY GOTTEN STARTED.

WE REALLY JUMPSTART THAT A LOT MORE NOW.

WHAT WE'RE AIMING FOR THOUGH IS THIS NOVEMBER 19TH STRATEGY RETREAT, WHICH IS OUR SECOND RETREAT.

UM, THE DETAILS WE'RE STILL WORKING OUT EXACTLY HOW WE WANT TO USE THAT TIME, THE AGENDA.

UM, BUT MUCH LIKE THIS RETREAT, WHAT WE HOPE TO DO IS ADD A LOT MORE DETAIL DETAILS TO THE OVERALL PLAN, AGREE ON A FRAMEWORK FOR THE STRATEGY, AND LEAVE THE DAY WITH, UM, SOME, A LOT MORE DECISIONS BEING MADE.

SO THIS WILL BE MORE OF A VOTING BASED RETREAT THAT WHEREAS TODAY WAS A LOT MORE DEVELOPMENT AND GETTING ALIGNED.

AND THEN LASTLY, WE MOVE INTO REALLY DEVELOPING THE PRELIMINARY STRATEGY AND THE IMPLEMENTATION IN THE NEW YEAR IN 2027.

SO WE'RE AT THE START OF THE PROJECT HERE.

WE'VE GOT ANOTHER MAYBE EIGHT TO 10 MONTHS OF REALLY ENGAGING WITH YOU ALL AND GATHERING MORE INFORMATION.

BUT, UM, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR, FOR YOUR HELP THUS FAR.

I'LL PASS IT OVER TO AL WHO IS GONNA GIVE US, UH, SOME COMMENTS TO MAKE.

ONE COMMENT ACTUALLY IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, WE HEARD IN THE INTERVIEWS, UM, THAT WE ARE ALL GONNA WORK ON AND OTHERS IS, UM, REALLY UNDERSTANDING SOME OF THOSE, UH, PARAMETERS THAT ARE, ARE FREQUENTLY USED, THE TERMS, UH, AFFORDABILITY, RELIABILITY, SAFETY, SUSTAINABILITY, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT.

THERE'S SOME TERMS THAT PEOPLE USE REGULARLY.

AND UH, IT WILL BE VERY HELPFUL TO EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY MEAN SO THAT

[06:20:01]

'CAUSE WHAT IS AFFORDABILITY MEANS MAYBE TO ONE MAY NOT BE WHAT IT MEANS TO ANOTHER.

SO WE'RE GONNA WORK W WITH YOU ALL ON, ON TERMINOLOGY AND PRO AND GIVING MEANING TO THOSE WORDS.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, I JUST WANT TO THROW OUT THERE.

I'M GONNA PASS IT TO, UM, COMMISSIONER OR PRESIDENT SCOTT TO CLOSE THIS OUT HERE.

THANK YOU, SIR.

UH, BACK TO BUSINESS, UH, UH, WELL, THE, THE FORMAL BUSINESS.

SO ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS, ANY COMMISSIONER COMMENTS I HAVE TO ASK? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

UH, SO LET'S SEE.

OH, AND THEN WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THE MOTION.

SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

AYE.

ANY OPPOSED? NONE.

OKAY, GOOD.

ALRIGHT, SO THEN CLOSING REMARKS.

I HAD SOME PREPARED CLOSING REMARKS.

UH, I'M NOT GONNA BORE YOU WITH THOSE.

UH, I THINK THIS WENT REALLY WELL.

I ENJOYED THIS FORMAT, UH, REALLY ENJOYED, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO HAVE THE COMMISSIONER SPRINKLED AMONGST THE, THE REAL PEOPLE, UM, AND, AND GET SOME GOOD, HONEST ANSWERS AND GOOD, HONEST, UH, FEEDBACK.

UH, I THINK IT WAS VERY HELPFUL.

UH, I LEARNED QUITE A BIT TODAY.

UM, UH, PERSPECTIVE IS AN AMAZING THING AND, AND I WAS ABLE TO, TO SEE, UH, THE UTILITY THROUGH, UH, SEVERAL DIFFERENT LENSES AND, AND SEVERAL DIFFERENT LEVELS TODAY.

AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.

UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHERE ALL OF OF THESE STICKY NOTES TAKE US NEXT.

SO THAT'LL BE FUN.

AND, UM, UH, WANT TO, UH, GIVE A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO TONY FOR HELPING THE UTILITY ROUND UP THIS, THIS WONDERFUL GROUP.

UH, AND THEN SHOUT OUT TO, UH, ALL OF OUR CONSULTANTS UP THERE IS A, A BIG TEAM.

I WASN'T SURE HOW YOU WERE GONNA USE ALL OF YOU TODAY AND YOU DID A GREAT JOB, UH, ENGAGING.

IT WAS FUN.

WE LAUGHED, WE CRIED, .

UM, SO I APPRECIATE ALL YOU BEING HERE TOO.

UH, WITH THAT I'M GONNA LET A**L HAVE THE FINAL WORD.

ALL END ALL, BUT IT PUTS US IN A GREAT POSITION.

UM, SO I THINK I DO WANT TO FIRST AND FOREMOST HAVE TONY AND YOUR TEAM, YOUR TEAM.

PLEASE STAND UP FOR A MOMENT JUST TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT OF HOW THIS TEAM CAME TOGETHER.

DEAN, STRATEGIC TEAM.

THE STRATEGIC PLAN TEAM IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO, IN ALL THE YEARS I'VE WORKED WITH TONY, I HAVE TO ASK MYSELF THE QUESTION, HOW MANY TEAMS DO YOU HAVE, TONY ? UM, I GOTTA TELL YOU THAT FOR ME, STRATEGIC PLAN WAS A VERY IMPORTANT THING TO DO AND THIS IS JUST THE FIRST STEP AND IT WAS INCUMBENT UPON ME TO REALIZE THAT I COULD NOT DO THIS.

THAT IT WAS PART OF MY OBLIGATION TO ENTRUST THE TEAM AND THEN HAVE THE FAITH AND TRUST THAT THAT TEAM WOULD DELIVER.

AND I HOPE THAT IN YOUR EXPERIENCE TODAY AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE SHARED AND ENJOYED, IF YOU TAKE A MOMENT AND REFLECT THAT THESE PEOPLE AS KEY INDIVIDUALS, THEY DEFINITELY HAD THE ENTIRE PROCESS, THE ENTIRE LEADERSHIP TO PUT THIS TOGETHER.

SO I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE EFFORT THAT YOU DID AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

SO A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR TEAM.

I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR LEGAL COUNSEL, MARSHA, WHO SAT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING, .

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH MARSHA FOR BEING HERE.

AND I HOPE IT WAS HELPFUL FOR YOU AS WELL TO JUST SEE THE DIRECTION WE'RE HEADED IN.

NOTHING THAT YOU COULD DO TODAY SITTING AT THESE TABLES, SITTING WITH ALL THIS COULD HAVE BEEN DONE WITHOUT DEAN AND CYNTHIA PUTTING IT TOGETHER.

SO I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR EFFORT, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT HOW THIS LOOKS HAS A LOT TO DO WITH DINA TALKING TO ME.

AND SHE SAID, DO YOU LIKE HOW IT LOOKS? I SAID, UH, COULD USE LOOK LIKE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.

AND THEN DINA TOOK CARE OF EVERYTHING.

SO I GREATLY APPRECIATE IT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

DINA, PRESIDENT SCOTT THANKED, UH, THE CONSULTANTS, BAKER TILLY, BBA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE EFFORT TODAY.

IT'S A FANTASTIC, FANTASTIC EFFORT.

IT IS YET AGAIN A STEP.

IT'S NOT THE BE

[06:25:01]

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH AS WELL.

I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS.

SO THERE ARE MANY, MANY ASPECTS OF LEADERSHIP, LEADERSHIP MODELS AND THEY ALL FOCUS ON THIS ASPECT THAT IF WE THINK OF THE WORD LEADER, WE TALK ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL.

BUT I WANNA LEAVE YOU WITH THIS LEADERSHIP MODEL TO REFLECT ON THE EXPERIENCE THAT YOU'VE HAD TODAY.

SO THERE'S A LEADERSHIP MODEL THAT SAYS THAT LEADERSHIP IS BRIDGING THE GAP.

YOU HAVE A GROUP, A SOCIETY, A COMMUNITY, AND THEY HAVE VALUES THAT THEY HOLD AND THAT'S ALL WELL AND GOOD, BUT AT A CERTAIN POINT IN TIME, THAT COMMUNITY, THAT SOCIETY, THOSE GROUPS OF PEOPLE, THEIR VALUES, THERE MAY BE A GAP WITH THE REALITY THAT THEY FACE.

AND SO TRYING TO BRING THOSE TOGETHER IS LEADERSHIP.

SO I THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU EXPERIENCED TODAY AND WHAT YOU EXPERIENCED TODAY.

THERE IS THESE VALUES, RIGHT? WE'VE BEEN THROUGH AN INCREDIBLE EFFORT TO TRY TO SHAPE A PLACE TO GO.

AND YET THERE'S REALITIES.

YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU ARE TODAY.

SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE STEPS THAT YOU'RE TAKING TODAY AND WHERE TO GO, IT'S INCUMBENT UPON YOU ALL AS A GROUP.

AND WHEN IT COMES TO LEADERSHIP AS A GROUP, YOU WILL BRIDGE THAT GAP.

IT'LL BE INCUMBENT UPON YOU TO BRIDGE THAT GAP, THE VALUES THAT YOU'VE SET AND THE REALITIES THAT YOU KNOW HAVE THAT YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TODAY.

HOW YOU GET THERE IS A FUNCTION OF YOU, WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.

SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THIS, I'M REALLY, REALLY EXCITED AND HOPEFUL THAT THIS CHARTS A COURSE FOR US TO GO AND KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THE NEXT STEPS.

IF YOU'LL INDULGE ME FOR FIVE SECONDS, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD IS NOW OPEN.

UH, IS THERE ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON A NON AGENDA ITEM? ALRIGHT, PERFECT.

SEEING NONE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD IS NOW CLOSED.

UH, I'M AWARE THAT THERE ARE NO ANNOUNCEMENTS AND WE ARE NOW ADJOURNED.