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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Citizens Utility Advisory Commission - Meeting Date: 11/4/2020Glenda e A R 1 7 0 N MINUTES CITIZENS UTILITY ADVISORY COMMISSION OASIS WATER CAMPUS 7070 NORTHERN AVE. GLENDALE, ARIZONA 85303 NOVEMBER 4, 2020 6:00 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER Vice -Chair Short called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Ronald Short, Vice Chair Robin Berryhill, Commissioner Larry Flatau, Commissioner Amber Ford, Commissioner David McGrew, Commissioner Jon Froke, Commissioner Absent: VACANT, Chair Attendees: Craig Johnson, P.E.,, Director, Water Services Michelle Woytenko, Director, Field Operations Ron Serio, Deputy Director, Water Services Katrina Alberty, Deputy Director, Water Services Monica Gorman, Deputy Director, Field Operations Dan Hatch, Financial Administrator, Water Services Megan Sheldon, Deputy Director, Environmental Resources - Water Services Candace Schulte, Management Assistant, Water Services John Henny, Deputy Director, Water Services Julia Cary, Financial Analyst, Water Services 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS None. 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Flatau, second by Commissioner Ford, to approve the October 7, 2020 Citizens Utility Advisory Commission meeting minutes as written. Motion carried 6 — 0. a. 5. DIRECTOR'S REPORT a. Ms. Michele Woytenko, Director of Field Operations, reported the following: • Ms. Monica Gorman was hired as a new Deputy Director and will oversee Solid Waste. • The preliminary results from the City's Bond Election last night appear as if all four questions will fail. There is currently $15.5 million of bond authority for the Landfill, which can get the Landfill through the next five years or so, at which time there could be another Bond Election. • There is now an online City recycling survey, which has a 10% response rate so far. Final results will be presented to the Commission at a future meeting. Mr Craig Johnson, Director of Water Services, reported the following: • Proposition 437, has unofficially passed based on last night's election results and is in regards to the City's Franchise Agreement with EPCOR. This agreement allows EPCOR to work on the City's right-of-way west of 1 t Avenue and EPCOR will pay the City a 3% fee on its gross receipts to do so. • The department is refinancing approximately $20 million of bond debt. In order to do so, a credit check was required and Standards & Poor and Fitch announced an AA rating. This refinancing will put possibly $1.5 million to $3.5 million back into the fund balance. • The lake at Heroes Park, at 83rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road, was approved. The lake will be filled with raw water from SRP. It will take approximately 16 million gallons to fill the lake and 13 million gallons a year is expected for evaporation. This will be a very nice lake and construction should start at the beginning of 2021 Mr. Johnson introduced Mr. Serio, who gave a briefing on the Primus Liner discussed at last month's Commission meeting. Mr. Serio gave an update, which included the following information: • Reclaimed water from the Arrowhead Water Reclamation Plan is pumped down to Bell Road and 66th Avenue. •Sludge in the pipe builds up. •The pipe was assessed and areas needing replacement were noted. A design consultant was utilized to discuss resolutions. • It was decided that the most cost-effective way to remedy the issue was to rehabilitate the pipe with a Primus Liner. • An actual sample section of the Primus Liner was shown and the process of installing the liner was explained. •The use of the Primus Liner is less expensive than digging up the entire pipe and causes less disruption to traffic. Commissioner Ford inquired about the cost difference for the project. Mr. Serio estimated a 50% to two-thirds cost savings by using the Primus Liner instead of replacing the pipe. Commissioner Ford asked about the life span of the Primus Liner. Mr. Serio estimated the life span at 50 years. Vice -Chair Short asked if other valley cities have used the Primus Liner. Mr. Serio stated that most recently, the City of Peoria has used the Primus Liner and also the same contractor that Glendale is using. Mr. Johnson announced that Glendale City offices would be closed on November 11th for Veteran's Day and November 26h and 27th for Thanksgiving. 6. FINANCIAL UPDATE a. Ms. Woytenko gave a Field Operations financial update for FY2019 and for the first quarter of FY2021. The presentation included financials and charts regarding the following: • Solid Waste Revenue: FY2019 Actual and FY2020 Budget and Actual • Solid Waste Expenses: FY2019 Actual and FY2020 Budget and Actual • Solid Waste Revenue and Expenses: FY2021 Budget and Actual • Landfill Revenue: FY2019 Actual and FY2020 Budget and Actual • Landfill Expenses: FY2019 Actual and FY2020 Budget and Actual • Landfill Revenue and Expenses: FY2021 Budget and Actual Vice -Chair Short asked if staff sells the stored recycling materials on their own. Ms. Woytenko replied in the positive and noted that staff advertises and accepts bids on the materials; however, staff is researching to see if there is a better way to do this. Mr. Hatch gave a Water Services financial update for FY2019 and for the first quarter of FY2021. The presentation included financials and charts regarding the following: • Water Services Revenue: FY2019 Actual and FY2020 Budget and Actual • Water Services Expenses: FY2019 Actual and FY2020 Budget and Actual • Water Services Operating Budget: FY2020 Budget and Actual; FY2021 Adopted Budget • Water Services FY2021 First Quarter Actual and Budget • Capital Improvement Plan: FY2021 through FY2025 Commissioner McGrew inquired as to the number of vacant positions in the department. Mr. Johnson replied that there are 25 vacancies currently, which is approximately 12% of the total 214 FTEs in the department. Mr. Johnson noted that 24 of the 25 positions are in recruitment. He explained that 18 to 15 vacancies are a typical rate due to the types of positions, such as water plant staff, field service technicians, and mechanics, who tend to rotate between municipalities depending on pay rates. Mr. Johnson relayed that staff from valley cities share information on how to train and retain these water professionals. Commissioner McGrew asked how the vacancies compared to last year. Mr. Johnson estimated that the department has not been below 15 vacancies each year for the past three to four years. Mr. Johnson commented that it is like a rotating door with some supervisors that are always interviewing. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS Commissioner Froke asked if the Bethany Home Road extension would open soon. Mr. Johnson announced that a ribbon -cutting ceremony at Cardinals Way will be held at the end of November. Commissioner Flatau inquired about recent tribal water negotiations. Mr. Johnson explained that the White Mountain Apache Tribe will be constructing a dam and once completed, the City will have to pay more for its water allocation from the tribe. Commissioner Ford thanked the staff for the great presentations. Commissioner Berryhill and McGrew concurred. Vice -Chair Short complimented the staff for all that they do to maintain the City. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS December 2020: Mr. Hatch announced that one or two virtual sessions during the day on financial training for the Water/Sewer Rate Study will be conducted instead of a regular December Commission meeting. Mr. Hatch will coordinate dates and times via email. Mr. Flatau inquired about how to access the virtual meeting. Ms. Alberty stated that the Commissioners will be provided instructions for accessing the meeting via Zoom. Ms. Woytenko announced that recycling will be on the January agenda. Commissioner Flatau requested an update on the recycling survey. 9. NEXT MEETING The next meeting regular meeting of the Citizens Utility Advisory Commission will be held on a date to be determined. 10. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner McGrew, second by Commissioner Flatau, to adjourn the meeting at 6:50 p.m. Motion carried 6 — 0. The Citizens Utility Advisory Commission meeting minutes of November 4, 2020 were submitted and approved this 6th day of January 2021, Denise Kazmierczak Recording Secretary