[00:00:01]
[CALL TO ORDER]
A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE WATER AND WASTEWATER.THERE'S NO POVERTY COMMUNICATION.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
NUMBER ONE APPROVAL FROM THE JUNEYOU GOT A CHANCE TO LOOK AT MINUTES.
WE WILL ENTERTAIN MOTION, MOTION MADE BY
[DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL]
DISCUSSION FROM TWO TO 14SO THAT WAS WHAT STARTED WITH COMMISSIONER MICHELLE.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. THANK YOU.
RECUSALS ON ITEM SEVEN AND ADD ON ITEM SEVEN.
MY COMPANY IS ONE OF THE PRIME FIRMS INCLUDED ON THIS ITEM ITEM ON ITEM 80.
MY COMPANY IS A SUB CONSULTANT ON THE TEAM INCLUDED IN THIS ITEM.
NOPE, COMMISSIONER I HAVE NO REFUSALS, BUT I HAVE 6, 8, 10 COMMISSIONAL FISHER.
SORT OF CONSENTING ITEMS ARE, OH, I'M SORRY.
UM, ITEM THREE, SINCE WE ARE DESIGNING FOR ANOTHER CITY PROJECT, NOT THAT THE CONTRACTOR IS WALKING UP.
AND THEN I HAVE QUESTION, UM, ITEM NUMBERS, SIX SORTA CONSENTED ITEMS ARE 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14.
AND 14 YEARS WE WOULDN'T PULL IT OUT FOR DISCUSSION BECAUSE THAT HAS RELATED TO
[00:05:01]
BUDGET EITHER.THE CONSENT ITEMS, 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, AND 13 MOTION TO APPROVE MOTION MADE BY MY CHAIR.
SECOND, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER.
PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND SHOW IN PRISON AND THE COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS AND TRAVERSE MICHELLE.
[3. Recommend approval to award and execute a construction contract with Santa Clara Construction, Ltd., for Wastewater Line Renewal and Spot Rehab Service Contract (2023 to 2025) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract in the amount of $3,200,000 for an initial 1-year term, with two 12-month extension options of $3,200,000, for a total contract amount not to exceed $9,600,000. (Districts 1-10)]
GO BACK TO THREE AND VICE CHAIR TO CONDUCT THE MEETING HALL, READ ITEM THREE IN AS RECOMMEND APPROVAL TO AWARD AND EXECUTE HAD CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS WITH SANTA CLARA CONSTRUCTION LTD FOR WASTEWATER LINE FOR RENEWAL AND SPOT REHAB SERVICE CONTRACT, UH, 2023 TO 2025 INDEFINITE DELIVERY INDEFINITE QUANTITY CONTRACT IN THE AMOUNT OF 3 MILLION, 200,000 FOR AN INITIAL ONE YEAR TERM WITH TWO 12 MONTH EXTENSION OPTIONS OF 3 MILLION, $200,000 FOR A TOTAL CONTRACT ARE NOW NOT TO EXCEED 9 MILLION, $600,000.THIS IS IN DISTRICTS, ONE THROUGH 10, UM, COMMISSIONER LEE IS RECUSING.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? OKAY, I'LL TAKE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL.
COMMISSIONER FISH ENTER MOVES TO APPROVE.
DO I HAVE A SECOND, SECOND COMMISSIONER PENN'S SECONDS.
IF I COULD HAVE A SHOW OF HANDS FOR ALL THAT APPROVE.
ALL PRESENT EXCEPT FOR COMMISSIONER LEE, UM, WHO IS RECUSING, INCLUDING OUR VIRTUAL, UH, COMMISSIONERS, MICHELLE AND WILLIAMS APPROVE.
AND I'LL TURN BACK OVER TO CHAIR.
[6. Recommend approval to award and execute a construction contract with PGC General Contractors, LLC., for the 2021 Facilities – Large Facilities Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract in the amount of $5,000,000 for an initial 1-year term, with two 1-year extension options of $5,000,000, for a total contract amount not to exceed $15,000,000.]
NUMBER SIX.A CON STRUCTURE CONTRACT WITH PG SHI GENERAL CONTRACTORS, L L S C 2021 FACILITIES, LARGE FACILITIES, INDEFINITE INDEFINITELY QUANTITY CONTRACT IN THE AMOUNT OF $5 MILLION FOR AN INITIAL ONE YEAR TERM WITH TWO, ONE YEAR EXTENSION OPTIONS OF FIVE MINUTES
[00:17:57]
SHOWING[00:17:58]
ALL IN FAVOR AND THE COMMISSIONER PEN WE KISSING.[8. Recommend approval to negotiate and execute an amendment to the professional services agreement with AECOM Technical Services, Inc., for engineering services for the Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion to 100 million gallons per day project in the amount of $45,000,000 for a total contract amount not to exceed $60,000,000. (District 1)]
EIGHT.RECOMMEND A POOL WALL TO NEGOTIATE AN EXCUSE, AN AMENDMENT TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH A CALM TECHNOLOGICAL SERVICES, INC.
FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT EXPANSION TO 1 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY PROJECT IN A MONK OF FORTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS FOR A TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED $60 MILLION.
NUMBER ONE, AND THE COMMISSIONER PEN NEEDED TO RECUSE ON IT.
IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THIS ITEM? OKAY.
UM,
ISN'T THERE A SECOND SECOND MADE MY COMMISSION OF ISSUE ALL IN FAVOR.
PLEASE RAISE YOUR HANDS SHOWING.
OH, IN FAVOR AND COMMISSIONER PENN IS RECUSING.
[00:20:04]
OKAY.[10. Recommend approval to negotiate and execute a Construction Manager at Risk Agreement with MGC Contractor’s Inc. for preconstruction and construction phase services for the Walnut Creek Primary Clarifier and Flow Equalization Basin Rehab project in an amount not to exceed $32,700,000. (District 1)]
WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM.NUMBER 10, RECOMMEND APPROVAL TO NEGOTIATE.
A CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK AMENDMENT WITH MG.
SHE CONTRACTORS INC FOR PRE CONSTRUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION PHASE SERVICES FOR THE ONE-OFF QUICK PRIMARY CRAY FILE AND THE FLOW EQUALIZATION PATIENT.
WE HAVE PROJECT IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $32,700,000.
AND JUST IN DISTRICT NUMBER ONE AND COMMISSIONER MOSCOW.
UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING WHAT THAT 10%, THAT SEEMS HIGH TO ME BECAUSE I'M FAMILIAR WITH SOME OF THESE CONTRACTS AND OTHER SITUATIONS, AND THEY'RE USUALLY THREE TO 4% OR STAND WHY IT'S 10%.
AND THEN WHEN I ASKED WHAT OTHER PROJECTS THE CITY HAS DONE AND WHAT THE CMR AR FEES HAVE BEEN ON THOSE, IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF THEM ARE 5% OR LESS, BUT THEN OUR HOOD HANCOCK'S PLANT WAS 13%.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING WHY THE UTILITY GETS THIS HIGH CMAR FEES WHERE THE OTHER PROJECTS DON'T CHARLES SOLAR, AUSTIN WATER.
UH, I DO KNOW THAT, UH, THE ONES THAT LISTED THERE ARE MORE ARCHITECTURAL THAN CIVIL ENGINEERING.
UM, 10% PROFIT IS USUALLY WHAT WE INCLUDE IN OUR ENGINEERS OR, UH, OPINION OF CONSTRUCTION COSTS.
SO I GUESS IT DIDN'T POP OUT AS A RED FLAG FOR ME WHEN I SAW THAT 10%.
UM, THE OTHER, UM, ISSUE PROBABLY MAYBE LEADING TO A SLIGHTLY HIGHER WOULD BE, THIS IS A THREE-YEAR PROJECT.
AND IN THIS TIMEFRAME RIGHT NOW, THAT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT, UH, RISKIER FOR A CONTRACTOR.
SO MAYBE THEY WOULD HAVE LIKE, WOULD LIKE A LITTLE BUFFER IN THE OVERHEAD AND PROFIT.
SO, UH, THOSE ARE THE THINGS I COULD OFFER.
IS THERE ANY WAY THAT YOU CAN NEGOTIATE THAT 10% TO NOT APPLY TO LIKE PRE PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT OR THINGS LIKE THAT THAT ARE NOT WORTHY OF A 10% FEE? I WOULD I'VE KNOW OF THE CONTRACT.
I DON'T THINK WE COULD DO THAT.
UM, IT'S KIND OF SET IN THERE THAT EXCLUDING THIS, THEN YOU GET THE 10%.
SO, UM, CAUSE THERE'S THE GENERAL CONDITIONS ALSO IN THERE THAT THEY PROVIDED.
SO, UH, UM, WE WILL JUST START THE CONTRACT.
I KNOW THAT THE CONTRACT VALUES FOR 32 MILLION, BUT THE ONLY THING THAT WE WILL DO RIGHT NOW WITH THIS AUTHORIZATION WOULD BE THE PRE-CONSTRUCTION, WHICH WILL BE THE $600,000.
SO WE WILL STILL HAVE TO GO BACK IN AND PROVIDE A NOTICE, PROCEED FOR THEM TO MOVE FORWARD AFTER THIS.
WHAT DO YOU DO IF THEY DON'T GET THREE BIDS FOR THEIR SUB WORK OR DO THEY ALWAYS GET BEDS? THE BY CONTRACT, THE, THE PACKAGES THAT CAN GO OUT, WHICH COULD BE, UM, DURING THE PRE-CONSTRUCTION PHASE, IF WE WANT TO, WE WANT TO GO OUT OR EARLY DELIVERY, OR LIKE YOU'VE MENTIONED ABOUT EQUIPMENT, UM, IT IS COMPETITIVELY BID AND THEY HAVE TO TURN THAT INFORMATION OVER TO US.
SO WHETHER THEY ONLY GET ONE BID OR THREE BIDS THAT'S I DON'T KNOW FOR THAT, BUT THEY DO HAVE TO COMPETITIVELY BID THEIR PACKAGES THAT THEY'RE PROPOSING FOR THE PROJECT.
I'M JUST, I JUST DON'T LIKE THIS ONE BID BID THING, YOU KNOW, AND THEY ONLY, THEY ONLY ONE YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE FROM IS, IS THIS ONE COMPANY I KNOW TH TH THIS PARTICULAR COMPANIES, UH, IS AN, HAS AN ACTIVE PROJECT WITH AUSTIN WATER, THE NORTH AUSTIN PUMP STATION, RESERVOIR NORMS THAT WE COMMONLY CALL IT.
THEY'VE DONE A VERY GOOD JOB SO FAR IN MY SPECULATION.
UM, WE ALSO DO KNOW THAT THEY HAVE DONE SOME CMR WORK THAT MGC, NOT WITH AUSTIN WATER, BUT WITH ANOTHER UTILITY.
AND THAT FORMED VERY WELL TO COMMISSIONER MUSGRAVE, ROBERT GOOD INTERIM DIRECTOR.
IF I MAY WEIGH IN YOUR CONCERNS ARE VALID.
THE BIDDING ENVIRONMENT WE'RE IN WE'RE, WE'RE LUCKY TO GET A BID SOMETIMES.
AND THAT'S FRUSTRATING FOR US.
PLEASE KNOW, IF WE DON'T THINK THE BID IS COMPETITIVE, THEN WE WOULD REJECT AND START OVER.
SO WE'D LIKE TO GET AT LEAST THREE SO WE CAN COMPARE AND SEE WHERE WE'RE AT, BUT IN THIS, IN THIS CASE, AND IN MANY CASES, WE'RE GETTING A SINGLE BETTER AND YOUR CONCERN IS SPOT ON WE'RE, WE'RE THERE WITH YOU.
BUT I THINK AT THIS POINT IN THIS, IN BIDDING ENVIRONMENT, WE'RE AT THE SPOT THAT AS LONG AS IT LOOKS REASONABLE, WE'RE GOING TO BRING IT TO THE COMMISSION
[00:25:01]
FOR RECORD FOR YOUR RECOMMENDATION CONSIDERATION.ANY MORE QUESTION FOR THE STUFF? IF NOT, WELL, IN THE 10 MOTION.
I'LL MOVE TO IMPROVE MOTION MADE BY VICE CHAIR, KISSEL BERRY.
AND SECOND, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER PAIN.
ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
[15. Discussion of ratification of a contract with John Zamora Jr. d/b/a King Daddy Distribution LLC, for bottled and canned drinking water in the amount of $247,824.]
LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM.I JUST START WITH, JUST REMIND ME
WE JUST NEED TO REPORT IT, BUT WE DON'T NEED TO BOLT ON IT.
[22. Staff briefing regarding the proposed Fiscal Year 2022-2023 budget]
WILL JUMP TO ITEM 22 FOR STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE PROPOSED PHYSICAL YEAR, 2020 TO 2023 BUDGET CHAIR.I JUST WANTED TO ADD A FEW COMMENTS BEFORE JOSEPH RUNS THROUGH THE NUMBERS WITH YOU.
I PUT IN YOUR PACKET, SOME BUDGET BRIEFS FROM THE CITY MANAGER.
AND THE REASON I DID THAT IS TO GIVE YOU A PERSPECTIVE OF THE OVERALL BUDGET THAT WASSERMAN WATER'S BUDGET IS A PIECE OF THE PUZZLE.
SO THE CITY MANAGER PROPOSED A $5 BILLION BUDGET WITH A 2.7% INCREASE FOR SERVICES AND RATES ACROSS THE BOARD.
THE ONE THING I WANTED TO BRING OUT AS WELL AS HE DEFINED AS AN EMERGING CRISIS IN STAFF RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.
SO HE FOCUSED A LOT OF HIS BUDGET THIS YEAR PRIORITIES ON OUR EMPLOYEES RIGHTFULLY SO MOST IMPORTANT ASSET.
WE HAVE, YOU'LL SEE THAT REFLECTED IN AUSTIN WATER'S BUDGET AS WELL.
SO SOME OF OUR MAJOR INCREASES ARE AROUND EMPLOYEE RETENTION, SALARY INCREASES, UH, AS WELL AS SOME NEW FDS THAT WE FEEL WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN BASIC SERVICES.
SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU THAT CONTEXT.
YOU ALSO SEE IN THAT DOCUMENT, THERE WAS A TAX IMPACT STATEMENT, AND YOU CAN SEE ALL THE RATES THAT ARE BEING INCREASED ACROSS THE BOARD WITH WATER AND WATERSHED IS THE ONLY TWO ENTERPRISES THAT HAVE NOT PROPOSED RATE INCREASES THIS YEAR AS WELL.
SO THE REST OF OUR SISTER EY ENTERPRISE FUNDS ARE PROPOSING RATE INCREASES.
AGAIN, THIS YEAR WE'LL BE BACK NEXT YEAR WITH A PROPOSED RATE INCREASE AS WE GO THROUGH COST OF SERVICE, BUT WE'RE GOING TO MAINTAIN THAT ZERO, NO RATE INCREASE FOR ONE MORE YEAR.
AND, UH, AND I'M, WE'RE PROUD OF THAT THIS YEAR AS AFFORDABILITY IS CONTINUING TO BE A STRUGGLE FOR MANY OF OUR RATE PAYERS.
SO WITHOUT I WENT, TURN IT OVER TO JOSEPH AND HE'LL WALK YOU THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND OUR PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR.
UH, STARTING WITH ALL OF MY HIGHLIGHTS, A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN WITH AN OVERALL IMPACT.
I WAS WONDERING WHY I WOULDN'T GET AN ECHO.
UM, SO AGAIN, CONCLUDING WITH AN UPDATE, UH, ABOUT, UH, RATES AND AFFORDABILITY, AS ROBERT MENTIONED, WE, WE ARE NOT, UH, PROPOSING,
[00:30:01]
SO THAT SHOULD BE A BRIEF, UH, UH, BRIEF UPDATE.SO THE GOAL OF OUR ANNUAL BUDGET IS TO ENSURE THAT THE ALLOCATION OF, OF, UH, OUR FINANCIAL RESOURCES SUPPORTS, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET SUPPORTS OUR MISSION, OUR GOALS, AND, AND OUR PRIORITIES.
AND, AND SO THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, THE BUDGET PROCESS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY FOCUSED ON THREE AREAS, UM, FOR, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE, THE INVESTMENTS THAT A, UH, DIRECTOR GOOD MENTIONED IN TERMS OF, OF, OF OUR EMPLOYEES.
UM, BUT, BUT THAT'S DONE MORE AT A CORPORATE LEVEL AND NOT AS MUCH AT, AT THE, AT THE AUSTIN WATER LEVEL.
UM, SO THIS BUDGET, WE BELIEVE SUPPORTS, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR EFFORTS TO, TO FOCUS AND INCREASE, UH, ENTERPRISE RESILIENCY.
UH, I'LL REMIND YOU THAT ENTERPRISE RESILIENCY HAS BEEN A FOCUS, UH, FOR AUSTIN WATER FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
UH, WE BELIEVE THIS BUDGET, UH, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTS, UH, OUR CONTINUED, UM, FINANCIAL STRENGTH AND STABILITY.
UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN WE GET TO THE END, WE'LL, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF OUR KEY FINANCIAL METRICS, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS BUDGET, UH, UH, MEETS ALL OF OUR FINANCIAL POLICY GOALS IN TERMS OF THOSE KEY FINANCIAL METRICS.
UM, AND, AND FINALLY, YOU KNOW, ANY, ANY TIME, YOU KNOW, AS WE WORKED THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE'VE HAD A FOCUS ON, ON AFFORDABILITY, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR, FOR MANY YEARS NOW, AND THIS WILL MARK THE FIFTH YEAR OF, OF, OF NO RATE INCREASE FOLLOWING OUR, OUR 2018 4.8% RATE REDUCTION.
SO, UH, AS, AS A DIRECTOR, GOOD MENTIONED, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE PROUD OF THAT.
UM, BUT WE'RE DEALING WITH THE SAME, UM, INFLATIONARY ENVIRONMENT THAT, UH, OUR CUSTOMERS ARE DEALING WITH, THAT OTHER DEPARTMENTS ARE DEALING WITH.
AND SO WE DO ANTICIPATE A NEED FOR, FOR FUTURE RATE INCREASE AND, AND, UH, AS DIRECTOR GOOD MENTIONED, WE'LL, WE'LL START TO WORK THROUGH THAT PROCESS, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE VERY PROUD OF, OF, UM, BEING ABLE TO GO A FIFTH YEAR IN, IN THE INFLATIONARY ENVIRONMENT THAT WE'RE IN, UH, WITH, WITHOUT A RATE INCREASE.
UM, IN TERMS OF, OF, SORRY, UH, BACK ONE, KEEP, KEEP COMING BACK.
UM, SO AS I MENTIONED, ENTERPRISE RESILIENCY HAS BEEN A FOCUS AREA FOR AUSTIN WATER FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
AND THE PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES A 13.6 MILLION IN, UM, RESILIENCY FUNDING IN, IN OUR OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE BUDGET, UH, AS WELL AS 441.3 MILLION IN OUR FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL SPENDING BUDGET.
UM, ALTHOUGH WE, WE, WE KIND OF ARGUE, ARGUE WITH, UH, UM, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, UH, RAULSON ABOUT THIS, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT OUR CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN, UH, YOU CAN ARGUE THAT THE ENTIRE CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN IS REALLY FOCUSED ON, ON RESILIENCY AS WE FOCUS ON, UM, KNOW MAINTAINING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, BOTH TO, UM, TO, UH, ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH AGING INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT THE GROWTH ENVIRONMENT THAT WE'RE IN.
UM, BUT, UH, FOR, FOR THE PURPOSES OF, OF OUR BUDGET AND THIS DISCUSSION, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, UH, TALK ABOUT RESILIENCY IN TERMS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, MAKING SURE THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS AVAILABLE IN GROWTH.
GROWTH HAS KIND OF DEALT WITH IT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THOSE FIGURES.
UH, THIS BUDGET INCLUDES 47 PROPOSED NEW, UH, NEW POSITIONS.
UH, THOSE, THOSE POSITIONS WILL SUPPORT, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR, UH, EFFECTIVE UTILITY MANAGEMENT EFFORTS, INCLUDING ENTERPRISE RESILIENCY, UM, OPERAS, OPERATIONAL OPTIMIZATION, UM, ENHANCING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, UH, AFFORDABILITY AND, AND INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT.
THIS BUDGET ALSO, UH, CONTINUES TO FOCUS ON OUR DEBT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, UH, IN, IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET, WE'RE PROPOSING A $47 MILLION DEBT DEFEASANCE, UH, FOR, FOR FISCAL YEAR 23, WE WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN THE FALL.
AND JUST AS A REMINDER, UH, YOU KNOW, DEBT DEFEASANCE IS A TRANSACTION WHEREBY WE, UH, MAKE EXTRA PAYMENTS AGAINST OUR OUTSTANDING DEBT SERVICE TO, TO BUY DOWN OUR OVERALL DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.
[00:35:02]
UM, IN ADDITION, WE'RE ANTICIPATING, UM, A WE'RE EXPLORING OPTIONS FOR, FOR A DEBT REFUNDING, UM, ALSO IN THE FALL AND, UM, YOU KNOW, CLOSELY MONITORING THE, THE MARKET, UH, AS WE ARE SEEING INTEREST RATES RISE, UM, YOU KNOW, A, A REFUNDING TO REFINANCE EXISTING DEBT AT LOWER INTEREST RATES, UH, CURRENTLY IS, IS ON THE TABLE, BUT SHOULD, SHOULD RATES CONTINUE TO CLIMB, UH, YOU KNOW, W WE'LL CONTINUE TO, TO EVALUATE, UM, SHOULD THEY HOLD, WE ANTICIPATE AGAIN, A IN, IN THE FALL.AND, UM, FINALLY, YOU KNOW, FROM A, FROM A DEBT MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE CONTINUING TO UTILIZE A TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, UM, LOW INTEREST LOANS TO, UM, TO LOWER OUR COST OF FINANCING FOR, FOR AS MANY PROJECTS AS WE CAN.
AND SO WE'LL HAVE THREE, UH, LOAN CLOSINGS IN THE FALL, UH, TOTALING $51 MILLION THROUGH OUR TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD LOAN PROGRAM.
SO THIS CHART SHOWS OUR SOURCES OF FUNDS, PRIMARILY OUR, OUR, OUR REVENUES, UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, ALMOST ALL OF THE 600, ALMOST $609 MILLION IN, UH, PROPOSED REVENUES FOR NEXT YEAR COMES FROM OUR WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICES FOR
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, IN TERMS OF USES OF FUNDS, UM, WE'RE PROPOSING 683.8 MILLION IN, UH, FOR OUR PROPOSED EXPENDITURE BUDGET.
UM, THAT'S, UH, UH, AROUND A $28 MILLION INCREASE OVER THE CURRENT YEAR, FYI 22 BUDGET, AND APPROXIMATELY 20 MILLION OF THAT INCREASE HAS RELATED TO OPERATING REQUIREMENTS.
THIS SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS SOME OF THE SIGNIFICANT INCREASES YEAR OVER YEAR IN TERMS OF OUR BUDGET.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED EARLIER IN TERMS OF, UH, SOME OF THE CONTRACTS THAT, UH, WE BROUGHT FORWARD AND, UH, SOME OF THE COST INCREASES WE'RE SEEING ON THE, UH, CAPITAL SPENDING SIDE, BUT WE'RE SEEING THE SAME THING, UH, ON THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE SIDE.
SO, UH, THE BIGGEST AREA OF INCREASE FOR US FOR 23 IS INCREASES IN THE GOODS AND SERVICES THAT WE PROCURE TO, TO RUN THE UTILITY.
AND THAT'S, UH, AROUND 6.8 MILLION FOR, FOR NEXT YEAR.
AND THAT'S PRIMARILY RESULTING FROM, UH, COST INCREASES FOR THINGS LIKE CHEMICALS, PIPES, VALVES, FITTINGS.
UM, AND SO, YEAH, UH, AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE DEALING WITH THE, YOU KNOW, A CHALLENGING INFLATIONARY ENVIRONMENT.
UM, I, I MENTIONED THE 47 NEW, UH, FTES FULL-TIME EQUIVALENTS, $5 MILLION OF THE INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, AND THEN AS ROBERT MENTIONED AT THE ONSET OF THIS PRESENTATION, WAGES AND BENEFITS WILL BE INCREASING BY, UH, AROUND 4.8 MILLION WITH THE BULK OF THAT BEING FOR A PROPOSED WAGE INCREASE OF 4% FOR EMPLOYEES, UH, WENT WITH THE REMAINDER MIG FOR, UH, BENEFIT COST INCREASES.
UM, I DON'T, I'LL GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS, UM, BUT AGAIN, THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THE OVERALL CITY BUDGET IS INVESTING IN THE WORKFORCE, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT REFLECTED IN, UM, IN SOME OF OUR INCREASES AS WELL.
NOW THIS CHART SHOWS, UM, A SUMMARY OF THE 47 NEW POSITIONS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING IN THE BUDGET, AND MANY OF THE PROPOSED POSITIONS AGAINST SUPPORT OUR EFFECTIVE UTILITY MANAGEMENT EFFORTS, INCLUDING OPERATIONAL OPTIMIZATION, CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, EMPLOYEE LEADERSHIP, AND DEVELOPMENT, AND INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY, AND PERFORMANCE.
UH, SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE, UM, SIX NEW POSITIONS TO, TO CREATE A STREET CUT, UH, TEAM THAT WILL HELP ADDRESS OUR STEEP STREET CUT BACKLOG, AS WELL AS AN ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEE TO SUPPORT OUR MOBILE WORKFORCE INITIATIVE, UH, SO THAT OUR
[00:40:01]
CREWS CAN MORE EFFICIENTLY RESPOND TO SERVICE REQUESTS.SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE POSITIONS THAT ARE IN THE UPPER RACIAL OPTIMIZATION BUCKET.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET ALSO INCLUDES TWO POSITIONS TO ENHANCE OUR DISPATCH SERVICES, AS WELL AS POSITION TO OVERSEE CUSTOMER OUTREACH AND CUSTOMER RELATION EFFORTS IN OUR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AREA.
UM, IN ADDITION, WE'RE PROPOSING SIX NEW POSITIONS TO SUPPORT ENTERPRISE RESILIENCY, INCLUDING TO SCALE POSITIONS AND TO NEW PIPELINE TECHNICIANS.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST A FEW OF, OF OUR, UH, ENTERPRISE RESILIENCY RELATED, UH, POSITIONS.
AND THEN, UM, I WON'T, I WON'T LIST THEM ALL, BUT I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT WE'RE ALSO PROPOSING FIVE NEW, UH, SECURITY POSITIONS TO REDUCE CONTRACTED SERVICES AND SUPPORT A COUNCIL INITIATIVE TO, TO BRING, UH, CERTAIN POSITIONS THAT WE CURRENTLY CONTRACT FOR IN-HOUSE.
SO, UH, FIVE NEW SECURITY POSITIONS, UM, TO REDUCE EXTERNAL CONTRACTED SERVICES.
SO, UM, ALTHOUGH WE, WE ARE ABLE TO NOT HAVE A RATE INCREASE IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
WE ARE, UH, FACING SOME BUDGET CHALLENGES, UM, THE SUPPLY CHAIN, UM, AND INFLATIONARY CHALLENGES THAT I TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, JUST THIS YEAR ALONE.
UM, THROUGH LAST MONTH WE HAD 17, UH, CONTRACT PRICE ADJUSTMENTS ON EXISTING CONTRACTS, UH, TOTALLING AROUND 3.1 MILLION.
UH, ABOUT HALF OF THAT IS, HAS BEEN FOR, FOR CHEMICAL COSTS.
UH, WE'RE ALSO CLOSELY MONITORING, UH, OUR INTER-DEPARTMENT TRANSFERS.
UM, OUR INTER-DEPARTMENT TRANSFERS FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS HAVE INCREASED AT A FASTER RATE THAN THE RATE OF INFLATION.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING A LOT TO TRY AND MITIGATE SOME OF THAT.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF OUR, OUR FLEET COST, WE'RE, UH, WORKING TO REDUCE OUR FLEET AGE TO REDUCE FLEET MAINTENANCE COSTS, UM, ON, UH, FOR OUR, UM, INFORMATION SYSTEM SUPPORT OUR, YOU KNOW, UH, COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT TRANSFER, UH, WE'RE WORKING TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF DEVICES WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN, IN, IN THE PAST, WE MIGHT'VE HAD MULTIPLE DEVICES.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REDUCING THAT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO, UM, TO REDUCE THAT ALLOCATION SINCE MOST OF THAT ALLOCATION IS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF DEVICES THAT ARE SUPPORTED BY, UH, CITY, UH, COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, UH, WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, WITH OUR TRANSFER, UH, FOR CUSTOMER CARE AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT AND THE BILLING SYSTEM, UH, WE'VE WORKED WITH AUSTIN ENERGY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS TO, UM, TO REVIEW THAT ALLOCATION.
AND, AND WE'RE ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT AREAS WHERE, UM, WE WERE, YOU KNOW, THE ALLOCATION, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WASN'T ENTIRELY, UM, BEING ALLOCATED TO ALL DEPARTMENTS, YOU KNOW, THAT WERE SUPPORTED.
AND SO WE ACTUALLY SAW A DECREASE THIS YEAR IN OUR AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMER CARE ALLOCATION.
SO, UM, ALTHOUGH IT'S A, IT'S, IT'S AN AREA, UH, THAT WE MONITOR, UH, WE WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN AGAIN, TO, TO CONTROL THOSE COSTS.
UM, AND I'LL TALK SHORTLY ABOUT OUR, UH, GO MORE DEPTH ON ABOUT THE CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE A GROWING CAPITAL PLAN WITH SEVERAL LARGE STRATEGIC PROJECTS ON THE HORIZON.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S, UH, IT'S A CHALLENGE FROM A DEBT MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE TO, TO, TO TRY AND ENSURE THAT WE'RE MANAGING OUR, OUR, OUR DEBT, UM, TO, TO CONTINUE TO KEEP OUR RATES AS AFFORDABLE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, AS WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION COSTS CONTINUE TO RISE.
IT'S, IT'S A TOUGH CHALLENGE FROM A BIDDING ENVIRONMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF, OF, UH, CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AND, UM, W YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TO, UH, TO KEEP THOSE COSTS AS AFFORDABLE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY TRY AND KEEP OUR DEBT COSTS AS AFFORDABLE AS POSSIBLE.
AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT DEBT MANAGEMENT HERE SHORTLY.
UM, AND THEN MORE OF A HORIZON ISSUE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE OBVIOUSLY, UH, I THINK IN THE START OF, UH, YOU KNOW, DROUGHT CONDITIONS, WE, WE RECENTLY MOVED FROM CONSERVATION STAGE TO DROUGHT STAGE ONE, UH, JUST, JUST LAST MONTH, UM, FOR, FOR THE CURRENT YEAR WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING INCREASED REVENUES, UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO MAINTAIN THEIR LAWNS.
I DON'T SEE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT FOR, FOR FISCAL YEAR 23.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND JUST KIND OF THINKING BACK TO THE LAST DROUGHT,
[00:45:01]
UM, WE SAW AVERAGE CONSUMPTION FOR ACCOUNT, UM, DROP FROM 8,800 GALLONS A MONTH FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.WHEN WE, YOU KNOW, IN 2011, YOU KNOW, EARLY ON IN THE DROUGHT DOWN TO ABOUT 5,700, UH, IN, IN 2016.
UM, AND, AND WE'VE KIND OF MAINTAINED THAT LEVEL OF DEMAND.
SO WE'RE ALREADY AT A LEVEL THAT'S CONSISTENT WITH KIND OF THE PEAK, UH, YOU KNOW, OF, OF THE DROUGHT CONDITIONS, UH, THE PREVIOUS DROUGHT.
SO I DON'T ANTICIPATE WE WOULD SEE MUCH REVENUE EROSION, UH, BUT AGAIN, IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO MONITOR AND, UM, AND, UH, UH, BUT WE'RE IN A MUCH STRONGER FINANCIAL CONDITION CURRENTLY THAN WE WERE DURING THE LAST DROUGHT.
UM, DURING THE LAST DROUGHT, WE WERE STRUGGLING TO, UM, TO FIND A MATCH OF, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR, OUR RATE STRUCTURE WITH THE DEMAND THAT WE WERE SEEING.
AND AS A RESULT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN 2014 WE HAD A $50 MILLION REVENUE SHORTFALL.
UM, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR IS A GOOD EXAMPLE WITH THE WET WEATHER WE SAW, UM, YOU KNOW, WE SAW DEMAND DECLINE, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, OUR REVENUE SHORTFALL WAS $10 MILLION LAST YEAR.
UM, SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF THE DROUGHT CONDITIONS CONTINUE, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE MUCH MORE MANAGEABLE THAN, THAN THE PREVIOUS DROUGHT.
UM, NOW PROVIDE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF OUR, UH, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT SPENDING PLAN.
UM, THE, THE PROPOSED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT SPENDING PLAN IS 1.37 BILLION, UH, WHICH IS A $280 MILLION INCREASE, UH, OVER, OVER THE CURRENT FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN.
UM, AND YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE, ON, ON THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES THAT, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF SOME OF OUR STRATEGIC PROJECTS, PARTICULARLY OUR WALNUT CREEK EXPANSION PROJECT IS, IS STARTING TO DRIVE THAT WE'VE GOT SEVERAL, YOU KNOW, STRATEGIC PROJECTS ON THE HORIZON.
AND AS WE PROGRAM THOSE IN, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASE IN OUR OVERALL CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, THE IMPACTS OF, UM, THE, THE CURRENT, UM, YEAH.
UH, I WOULD NOTE THAT, UH, JUST IN TERMS OF, OF THE SPENDING PLAN SPLIT, IT'S, IT'S FAIRLY CONSISTENT WITH LAST YEAR WITH, UM, THE SPLIT BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, WATER IS COUNTING FOR ABOUT 34% OF, OF THE OVERALL SPENDING PLAN WHILE, YOU KNOW, WASTEWATER PROJECTS ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT 64%.
SO, SO PERCENTAGE WISE, WE'RE, WE'RE IN THE SAME BALLPARK.
UM, BUT, UM, WE ARE SEEING AN INCREASE AGAIN BECAUSE OF, UH, SOME OF THE STRATEGIC PROJECTS ON THE HORIZON.
UM, AND THIS SLIDE JUST PROVIDES A, UM, KIND OF A HISTORICAL LOOK AT, UH, HOW THE CURRENT PROPOSED CIP SPENDING PLAN COMPARES TO THE LAST THREE, FIVE YEARS SPENDING PLANS.
AND YOU CAN SEE, OBVIOUSLY THEY, THEY THEY'VE GROWN OVER TIME, BUT, UH, THE MAJORITY OF THE INCREASE HAS HAPPENED IN, IN, IN THAT YELLOW SLICE, WHICH IS OUR STRATEGIC PROJECTS IN THE NEXT SLIDE.
WE'LL, UH, WE'LL WE'LL LIST THOSE STRATEGIC PROJECTS, BUT, UH, UM, THAT, THAT'S THE AREA WHERE WE'VE SEEN THE BIGGEST INCREASE WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, MODEST INCREASE IN OUR GROWTH ENHANCEMENT AND PRIORITY PROJECTS AND, AND, AND OUR RENEWAL PROJECTS.
UM, AND, AND SO THESE ARE THE STRATEGIC PROJECTS THAT I MENTIONED, UH, THE, THE BIGGEST ONE BEING THE, YOU KNOW, THE WALNUT CREEK, UH, WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT A HUNDRED MGD EXPANSION, UH, WITHIN THE FIVE-YEAR SPENDING PLAN, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE PROJECTING $284 MILLION, UH, OVER, OVER THE FIVE-YEAR PERIOD.
UM, THE, THE NEXT BIGGEST PROJECT IS, IS OUR ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.
UM, YOU MAY RECALL WE RECENTLY HIT, UH, UH, 50,000 METER INSTALLS, AND WE'RE LOOKING, UH, YOU KNOW, WE ANTICIPATE COMPLETION IN 2024 TIMEFRAME.
UH, SO YOU KNOW, ABOUT 66 MILLION LEFT TO GO ON THAT PROJECT, UM, AND ALSO POINT OUT, UM, THE SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT, UH, UM, EXPANSION ALSO TO A HUNDRED MGD.
UH, WE DIDN'T, WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPENDING IN, IN THE, YOU KNOW, THE CURRENT FIVE-YEAR SPENDING PLAN FOR, FOR THE EXPANSION, BUT IT IS A HORIZON STRATEGIC PROJECT.
AND WE ANTICIPATE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, WE'LL, UH, WE'LL START TO SEE THAT PROGRAM IN, UM,
[00:50:01]
YOU KNOW, PROBABLY LAYERED A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, TO NOT, NOT OVERLAP TOO MUCH WITH, WITH WALNUT CREEK, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S JUST A SIGN THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF CAPITAL NEEDS.UM, IN, IN FACT, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF OUR, OUR PROJECT SUBMITTAL, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH $1.37 BILLION PLAN, THERE WAS ANOTHER 400, $500 MILLION OF PROPOSED PROJECTS THAT, THAT WEREN'T INCLUDED IN THIS PLAN.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE W WE, UH, AREN'T, HAVEN'T BEEN IN A POSITION AND IT PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE IN A POSITION TO, TO DO EVERYTHING WE'D LIKE TO DO.
UH, BUT WE'VE GOT A ROBUST, UH, CAPITAL PLANNING PROJECT THAT LOOKS AT THE HIGHEST PRIORITIES.
AND, AND, AND THAT'S WHAT THIS PLAN REFLECTS.
AND THEN IN TERMS OF THE OTHER PRIORITY PROJECTS, THE BIDS, THE BIGGEST PROJECTS OUTSIDE, OUTSIDE OF OUR STRATEGIC PROJECTS, THIS IS A LIST OF, OF THOSE PROJECTS.
AND, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT JUST LIKE OUR OVERALL SPENDING PLAN, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, UH, HEAVILY WEIGHTED TOWARDS THE WASTEWATER SIDE OF THE HOUSE WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, SOUTH AUSTIN, REGIONAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANS AND BE IMPROVEMENTS AT 61 MILLION WILLIAMSON CREEK WASTEWATER INTERCEPTOR AT 45 MILLION, UH, WALNUT CREEK, UH, HAD WORKS IMPROVEMENTS AT 32 MILLION.
I WON'T LIST THEM ALL, BUT, UH, UM, UH, SEVEN, UH, SIX OF THE TOP SEVEN PROJECTS IN TERMS OF SPEND OR ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
SO I'LL, I'LL, UM, CONCLUDE WITH, YOU KNOW, UM, DISCUSSION ABOUT AFFORDABILITY AND ANY DISCUSSION FOR, FOR AUSTIN WATER ABOUT AFFORDABILITY REALLY STARTS WITH, WITH OUR DEBT MANAGEMENT EFFORTS, UH, YOU KNOW, BACK IN 2016, UH, YOU KNOW, WE UNDER TOOK, UH, SEVERAL INITIATIVES TO, UM, TO KEEP OUR, OUR DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS UNDER, UNDER CONTROL.
UM, YOU CAN SEE, UM, AND THIS STARTS WITH 2018, BUT, YOU KNOW, BACK IN 2016, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WERE IN THE 200 2200 $30 MILLION RANGE, UM, IN TERMS OF, UH, ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.
AND, AND WE'VE WORKED TO, TO, UM, TO SHAVE THAT OFF AND, AND REALLY LEVELIZE OUR DEBT SERVICE.
SO WHAT THIS CHART SHOWS IS, UM, THE, THE BLUE BARS THAT YOU GO UP, UH, REPRESENT OUR ACTUAL LEVEL OF DEBT SERVICE.
UM, AND, AND THE, THE BLUE LINE AT THE TOP REPRESENTS OUR PROJECTED LEVEL OF DEBT SERVICE, YOU KNOW, AS COMPARED TO OUR, OUR 2016, UM, FIVE-YEAR FORECAST, WHICH, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR FIVE-YEAR FORECAST GOES REALLY OUT OUT 20 YEARS, BUT, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE SUBMIT FOR THE CITY, IT'S A FIVE-YEAR FORECAST.
UM, SO AT THE TIME WE WERE LOOKING AT, UH, ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS, WELL, OVER 200 MILLION, YOU KNOW, AVERAGING IN THE 220 MILLION RANGE AND, AND THROUGH THE USE OF CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES TO DEFEASE DEBT.
UH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, TO PAY OFF DEBT EARLY, YOU KNOW, UH, AKIN TO MAKING EXTRA, YOU KNOW, EXTRA MORTGAGE OR CAR PAYMENTS, UM, REFINANCING EXISTING DEBT, REFUNDING EXISTING DEBT AT LOWER INTEREST RATES, UM, UTILIZING TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, LOW INTEREST, UH, LOANS, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SHAVE, UH, $600 MILLION OVER $600 MILLION OFF OF OUR ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.
UM, IN, IN THE LAST SIX YEARS, UM, THAT'S HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF AFFORDABILITY.
UH, ONE OF OUR KEY FINANCIAL METRICS IS DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE, AND DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE IS, UM, A RATIO.
YOU, YOU, YOU TAKE OUR, OUR, OUR REVENUES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY OFF DEBT, UM, SUBTRACT OUT YOUR OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COSTS.
AND THEN YOU, YOU MEASURE THE LEFTOVER AMOUNT AS A MULTIPLE OF YOUR ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.
UM, AND OUR FINANCIAL POLICY LEVEL OF, OF DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE IS 1.75 TIMES COVERAGE.
SO FOR EVERY DOLLAR OF DEBT SERVICE SAVINGS THAT WE'VE ACHIEVED, WE'RE SAVING A DOLLAR 75 FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO TO TRY AND CONTROL OUR COSTS ON THE OPERATION SIDE, BUT SAVING AGAIN, SAVING A DOLLAR, UH, ON THE DEBT SERVICE SIDE HAS A MULTIPLE EFFECT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF, OF OUR REVENUE REQUIREMENTS.
SO, SO WE, WE, WE HEAVILY FOCUS ON BOTH, BUT WE RECOGNIZE THAT IF WE CAN KEEP DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS IN THE ONE 70 TO $180 MILLION
[00:55:01]
RANGE, THEN WE CAN STAY IN THE CURRENT LEVEL OF, UH, OF RATES AND OUR RATES ARE, ARE, UH, DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE THAT LEVEL OF DEBT SERVICE ALSO HIGHLIGHT, UM, THAT IN 2021, WE RECEIVED A GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICER ASSOCIATION, UH, AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE FOR OUR DEBT MANAGEMENT PLAN.UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE PROUD OF THAT.
UM, AND, AND AGAIN, WE'RE, UH, YOU KNOW, THESE EFFORTS ARE ONGOING.
THE, YOU KNOW, UH, WE'RE NOWHERE NEAR DONE.
YOU KNOW, WE, UH, WE'LL WORK TO CONTINUE TO, TO KEEP DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS AS LOW AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT THAT IT HAS ON OUR RATES.
AND THIS CHART SHOWS, UM, UH, A SUMMARY OF OUR TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD AND LOAN ACTIVITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE THE, THE, THE LOANS TO DATE, UH, THE ROYAL BLUE, UM, SHOWS, UH, THE LOAN AMOUNTS THAT WE'VE TAKEN DOWN, UH, OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS WITH A HUNDRED, ALMOST 198 MILLION IN LOANS TO DATE.
UM, AND, AND THE DARKER BLUE AT THE TOP, UH, REPRESENTS THE ESTIMATED SAVINGS AS COMPARED TO OUR TRADITIONAL, UH, REVENUE BOND ISSUANCES.
AND WE'VE SAVED ABOUT 34 MILLION YEAR TO DATE.
UM, I MENTIONED THAT WE'LL HAVE THREE LOAN CLOSINGS IN THE FALL, AGAIN, TOTALING 51 MILLION.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WITH, UH, EVEN WITH A RISING INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT, WE ANTICIPATE, UH, TO SEE SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS, UH, BECAUSE THE WAY THE WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD LOANS ARE STRUCTURED IS THERE, YOU KNOW, UM, WE GET DISCOUNTS OFF OF, OFF OF MARKET RATES.
SO, UM, IT'LL CONTINUE TO BE, UH, YOU KNOW, A KEY INITIATIVE FOR US.
SO, AS ROBERT MENTIONED, THE, AT THE OUTSET, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'RE NOT PROPOSING A, A RATE INCREASE FOR FISCAL YEAR 23, SO THIS CHART SHOWS, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, THE AVERAGE BILL FOR OUR CUSTOMERS AT, AT CURRENT RATES AT 80 79, AND WITH NO RATE INCREASE, OBVIOUSLY THAT NUMBER IS THE SAME FOR, FOR 2023 AND AT 80 79.
AND THAT'S BASED ON, AGAIN, THE AVERAGE LEVEL OF CONSUMPTION OF 5,800 GALLONS OF WATER, AND, UH, THE AVERAGE, UH, 4,000 GALLONS OF WASTEWATER PER MONTH.
AND THEN SAME STORY, UH, FOR OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, NO RATE INCREASE.
AND WE DON'T SHOW THAT AS A COMPARISON.
WHAT WE HIGHLIGHT HERE IS, IS THE DISCOUNT.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE GOT, UM, REALLY, REALLY ROBUST CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
WE THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BEST, UH, IN, IN THE NATION, UH, WE'VE GOT OVER 14,000 RESIDENTIAL CAP CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND, AND JUST THIS YEAR AND 2022, WE ADDED 18,000 MULTIFAMILY FAMILY CAP CUSTOMERS WHO, UH, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO REACH PREVIOUSLY.
SO OUR MULTIFAMILY, UM, ACCOUNTS ARE A MASTER METERED.
UH, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A CONDO ASSOCIATION OR AN APARTMENT COMPLEX, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, THEIR MASTER METERS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, CUSTOMERS WHO MIGHT OTHERWISE QUALIFY FOR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM DISCOUNTS, DON'T GET A BILL FROM AUSTIN WATER, UM, BECAUSE IT WOULD GO TO THE CONDO ASSOCIATION OR THE APARTMENT COMPLEX.
UM, AND SO WE HADN'T EVER BEEN ABLE TO TARGET THOSE CUSTOMERS AND PROVIDE THEM ANY CAP BENEFITS.
UH, BUT WE WORKED WITH AUSTIN ENERGY THIS YEAR TO, UH, PROVIDE A CREDIT OF $17 FOR MULTI-FAMILY CAP CUSTOMERS ON THE AUSTIN ENERGY PORTION OF THEIR, THEIR BILL, UM, SO THAT THEY GET, UH, YOU KNOW, A WATER AND WASTEWATER DISCOUNT, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, ON, ON THE BILL, THAT'S GOING TO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, UH, FOR, FOR THE COMPLEX.
UM, SO WE'RE PRETTY PROUD OF THAT WE'RE WORKING, UM, TO, UH, IMPLEMENT A PHASE TWO OF THAT MULTIFAMILY CAP PROGRAM, NOT ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS, UM, OUR SERVICE TERRITORY, OUR SERVICE AREA, UM, DOESN'T EXACTLY MATCH AUSTIN ENERGY'S SERVICE TERRITORY.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CUSTOMERS THAT WE SERVE WITH WATER THAT AREN'T SERVED BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND SO THOSE CUSTOMERS, UM, YOU CURRENTLY, AREN'T GETTING THE DISCOUNT, BUT WE'RE WORKING WITH A THIRD PARTY PROVIDER TO IDENTIFY THOSE CUSTOMERS AND, UM, AND REACH OUT TO THEM TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE, UH, DISCOUNTS IN THE FORM OF DIRECT PAYMENTS BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
[01:00:01]
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.SO IN THE, AND THIS IS A, ONE OF OUR KEY AFFORDABILITY METRICS, UM, OUR, OUR, OUR TARGET IN TERMS OF, UM, THE, UH, AVERAGE BILL AS A PERCENTAGE OF MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME FOR, FOR THE CITY, UH, IS, IS 1.5%.
UH, BUT, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'VE BEEN BELOW, UH, THAT LEVEL, YOU KNOW, SINCE, YOU KNOW, SINCE EVEN 2016.
UM, BUT AS WE'VE CONTINUED, AS WAGES HAVE GROWN IN THE AREA AND MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME HAS GROWN, AND WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY INCREASES, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR THE LAST, UH, FIVE YEARS COUNTING THE PROPOSED BUDGET YEAR, UH, THAT PERCENTAGE HAS CONTINUED TO MOVE DOWN AND, AND DESPITE SOME ANTICIPATED, UM, RATE INCREASES OVER OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, UH, WE EXPECT, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, WE EXPECT HOUSEHOLD INCOME TO REALLY CONTINUE TO GROW AT A FASTER RATE THAN, THAN OUR RATE INCREASES.
AND SO WE EXPECT A CONTINUED DOWNWARD TREND IN TERMS OF THIS AFFORDABILITY METRIC.
SO THIS SLIDE SUMMARIZES IT, THIS IS OUR BUDGET SUMMARY.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE SEEN IT IN, IN, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, FINANCIAL UPDATES, BUT IT'S A SUMMARY OF OUR REVENUES, OUR EXPENDITURES AND TRANSFERS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, OUR OVERALL, UH, FI FINANCIAL CONDITION, UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE STARTED, UH, THE FISCAL YEAR WITH A BEGINNING BALANCE, UH, IN, IN THAT MIDDLE COLUMN OF ALMOST 214 MILLION.
WE ANTICIPATE WITH A STRONG REVENUE YEAR THAT WE'LL END THE YEAR WITH, WITH AN ENDING BALANCE OF ABOUT 231 MILLION.
UM, AND THEN FOR NEXT YEAR, WHEN WE'RE ACTUALLY, UH, WE'LL BE SPENDING SOME OF SOME OF THAT DOWN, UM, AS WE WORK TO AGAIN, PLAN FOR YOUR GROWING CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN, WE'RE WORKING AS OUR, UH, CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN GROWS.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S HARDER TO, TO MEET OUR, UM, OUR FINANCING, OUR CASH FINANCING PERCENTAGE.
WE, WE TARGET BETWEEN 35 AND 50% CASH FINANCING WITH THE REMAINDER BEING DEBT FINANCED OF OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM.
AND SO AS OUR CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN GROWS, IF, UH, BECOMES MORE OF A CHALLENGE TO DO THAT.
AND SO WE'LL BE SPENDING DOWN A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, THE, THE FUND BALANCE INCREASE THAT WE'LL SEE THIS YEAR FOR NEXT YEAR TO, TO BE ABLE TO TRY AND REDUCE THE AMOUNT THAT WE'RE FINANCING AGAIN.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, UM, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, UM, YOU KNOW, TO CONTROL OUR, OUR, OUR DEBT SERVICE COSTS.
UH, YOU CAN SEE IN TERMS OF, OF, OF DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE, EVEN BEFORE YOU ANY FUTURE RATE INCREASES, UM, WE ANTICIPATE DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE OF 1.76, WHICH IS JUST ABOVE OUR FINANCIAL POLICY LEVEL OF 1.75, UM, IN TERMS OF OUR CASH FINANCING OF CIP, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT SUPPLEMENT, WE EXPECT TO BE, YOU KNOW, CLOSER TO 38% WHERE WE THINK WE'RE GOING TO END THE YEAR, UM, AROUND 33%.
UM, AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE'VE HAD, UM, SOME, UH, UNANTICIPATED PROJECTS IN THE CURRENT YEAR THAT PUT US BELOW YOUR 35% TARGET.
UM, AND THEN WE THINK WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN STRONG LEVEL OF CASH ON HAND.
UM, SO, AND, AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION AND BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER, WHO'S GOT ANY QUESTION FOR STUFF, UH, COMMISSION MUST WORK.
UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING ABOUT THE FTES, THE, WHAT WOULD THE NINE OPERATIONAL OPTIMIZATION FTES BE DOING AND THE EIGHT CUSTOMER SATISFACTION? OKAY.
I TALKED ABOUT, UH, SOME OF THEM, FIVE OF THEM ARE THE, UH, STREET AND BRIDGE, UM, CREW TO SUPPORT OUR STREET CUT PROGRAM TO REDUCE OUR STREET CUT BACK LOG.
UM, LET'S SEE, UH, THERE'S, UM, AN IT SYSTEMS CONSULTANT, UH, TO ENHANCE OUR, OUR MOBILE WORKFORCE, UH, UH, PROGRAM, UM, MAKING TECH, NEW TECHNOLOGY MORE AVAILABLE FOR, FOR OUR CREWS OUT IN THE FIELD.
UM, AND, AND, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN WORK MORE EFFICIENTLY.
UH, I'VE GOT ANOTHER, UM, IT SUPPORT ANALYST, UH, TO, TO IMPROVE OUR HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SUPPORT.
UM, AND THEN, UH, A PROJECT COORDINATOR, UM, FOR WATERFORD, I DON'T HAVE THE NOTES ON THAT ONE IN TERMS OF, UM, HOW IT, HOW IT IMPROVES, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR OPERATIONAL, UM, ENHANCEMENTS.
UH, BUT, BUT THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE THE NINE POSITIONS, UM, FOR OP OPERATIONAL OPTIMIZATION.
[01:05:02]
CUSTOMER SERVICE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.SECOND ONE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.
UM, I MENTIONED, UH, TWO POSITIONS, UM, TO ENHANCE OUR, OUR, OUR DISPATCH OPERATION, UH, A MANAGER OF CONSUMER SERVICES AND AN OPERATIONS MANAGER OF OVER DISPATCH.
UM, LET'S SEE, UM, ALSO IN, IN CUSTOMER, IN CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE PROGRAM AREA, A PUBLIC INFORMATION AND MARKETING PROGRAM MANAGER TO, UH, OVERSEE, UM, YOU KNOW, CUSTOMER OUTREACH AND CUSTOMER RELATIONS, UH, WATER QUALITY SCIENTISTS, SR, UH, TO SUPPORT, UH, SAMPLING REQUIREMENTS FOR, FOR LEAD AND COPPER, UH, SERVICES.
LET'S SEE A BUSINESS PROCESS CONSULTANT TO, UM, TO OVERSEE, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, UM, SEVERAL PROCESSES, INCLUDING, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST PROCESS, UM, AND, AND, AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND AVAILABILITY, UH, CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST PICK THAT'S THAT'S THE EIGHT.
I WAS JUST SHOCKED BY THE 47 FTES AND A LOT.
SO, UM, IT IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S AN INVESTMENT IN, UM, YOU KNOW, IN, IN, UM, MANY OF OUR EFFECTIVE UTILITY MANAGEMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, FOCUS AREAS.
UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY SMALLER THAN LAST YEAR.
AND IT ALSO INCLUDES THREE FTES, UH, THAT ARE FUNDED BY A DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT THAT I DIDN'T MENTION, UM, TO IMPROVE, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THE CITY'S OVERALL, UH, EFFORTS FOR X EXPEDITED DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS.
SO, UM, 43 OF THE THREE OF THE POSITIONS ARE FUNDED BY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND THE REMAINING 44 ARE FUNDED BY AUSTIN WATER OPERATIONS.
I ECHO YOUR CONCERN BECAUSE ONE YEAR WE WOULDN'T NEED TO SPEND ALL THE MONEY ON SOFTWARE SO WE CAN MAKE THAT USE OUR MANPOWER.
SO THE FTD WILL BE REDUCED THE NEXT YEAR IT'S COMING BACK AND IT'S CUSTOMER SERVICE, OR WE JUST FEEL IT IN THE VACANCIES.
THAT'S THE MANAGEMENT'S RESPONSE, UH, WHICH I AM NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT AGREE ON IT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE PRESENTATION? IF NOT, WE'LL GO BACK.
YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO ASK QUESTIONS WHEN YOU GO BACK TO ITEM 14, LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM
[16. Approve the minutes of the May 26, 2022 Budget Committee meeting. (Budget Committee only)]
16, APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 26TH, 2022 BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING.AND WE WILL ASK VICE CHAIR OF THE BUDGET COMMITTEE, CHAIRMAN, MICHELLE, TO GIVE US AN UPDATE.
THANK YOU, JEREMY, UH, COMMISSIONERS, YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED A COPY OF A BUDGET COMMITTEE REPORT FROM STAFF.
UH, THAT REPORT WAS DEVELOPED, UH, BY OUR CHAIRS.
WHO'S INTERIOR YETTA WITH INPUT FROM MYSELF, AS WELL AS, UH, COMMISSIONERS FISHER AND PEN.
UM, OUR COMMITTEE REPORT IS SIMILAR IN FASHION TO REPORTS.
WE'VE GENERATED THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
UM, IF YOU'LL RECALL, WE MET WITH STAFF BACK IN APRIL AND MAY, UM, VISITING, UH, ABOUT THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
I WOULD SAY WHAT THE INFORMATION PRESENTED THIS EVENING.
UH, NO SURPRISES, NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FROM WHAT STAFF HAD PRESENTED TO US BACK IN APRIL AND MAY, AND MANY OF THE, UH, THEMES IN OUR REPORT OR HIGHLIGHTED TONIGHT BY THE PRESENTATION.
A COUPLE OF BULLETS THAT ARE SUMMARIZED IN OUR REPORT.
FIRST IS RESILIENCY, UH, CONTINUES TO BE A BIG THEME OF, UH, O AND M RELATED, UH, FOCUS.
UM, WE HEARD TONIGHT ABOUT THE CONTINUED, UM, AT DEPTH DEFEASANCE STRATEGIES AND OUR, UH, FISCAL APPROACH TO MANAGING OUR DEBT.
UM, AS, UH, INTERIM DIRECTOR DID MENTIONED THAT WE TOUCH ON THAT THE, UM, DEPARTMENT DOES NOT HAVE ANY PROPOSED RATE INCREASES FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.
[01:10:01]
AND SOME OF THE CHALLENGES, UM, THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE MARKETPLACE, UM, AND HOW WE CONTINUE TO MANAGE, UH, AND PREPARE FOR THOSE CONTINUED CHALLENGES, WHETHER IT'S, UM, CHALLENGES WITH MATERIALS OR MATERIAL COSTS, UH, AND CERTAINLY CHALLENGES WITH STAFFING, UM, AND THE 47 FTES, UM, AND THE CONTINUED NEED TO FOCUS ON, UM, THE HUMAN CAPITAL.UM, OVERALL, LIKE I SAID, NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO WHAT WE HEARD EARLIER THIS YEAR FROM STAFF AND WHAT WE WERE EXPECTING BASED ON WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE MARKET, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE ECONOMY AND THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.
UM, THE BUDGET OVERALL, UM, MEETS THE EXPECTATIONS OF CITY MANAGER AND THAT THE OVERALL FISCAL POLICIES DEVELOPED FOR, UH, CITY DEPARTMENTS.
AND, UM, THOSE WERE ALL WERE RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF THIS BUDGET WITH THAT ALL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, ITEM 16 IS, UH, THE BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETINGS, AND THAT IS, UH, FOR BUDGET COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO VOTE, UM, WITH, UM, CHAIR TREE, GET ABSENT.
WE ONLY NEED THREE MEMBERS TO VOTE.
THERE ARE THREE BUDGET COMMITTEE MEMBERS AVAILABLE.
SO IF, UM, YOU CAN TAKE UP THE BUDGET COMMITTEE, UM, MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING ON MAY 26, JUST SO WE DON'T HAVE IT HANGING UNTIL NEXT YEAR.
IF, IF, UH, YOU CAN ASK FOR A MOTION FOR THE MEETING MINUTES, AND THEN, UH, THE BUDGET COMMITTEE REPORT WILL, UH, WILL, UH, BE TAKEN UP SEPARATELY.
I AM SO SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION.
SO I'M, UH, BUDGET VICE CHAIR, MICHELLE, IF YOU CAN OPEN FOR, TO, TO REQUEST A MOTION ON THE BUDGET COMMITTEES MINUTES, PLEASE DID, DID Y'ALL HEAR ME? NO.
HELLO? IS MY SOUND COMING IN AT ALL? OKAY.
UH, I'M SO SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION.
SO I WAS SAYING THAT THE BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES ARE PENDING AND AS, UH, THE VICE CHAIR OF BUDGET COMMITTEE, UM, MR. MICHELLE, IF YOU CAN OPEN, REQUESTING A MOTION FOR THE PASSAGE OF THE MEETING MINUTES.
MY APOLOGIES ITEM 16 APPROVED THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 26TH, 2022 BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UM, LIKE TO TAKE ANY MOTIONS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE MAY 26 MEETING, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
SECOND, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND, IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION, IF NOT BY SHOW OF HANDS, UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, ANY MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.
[17. Approve the proposed Budget Committee Report (full Water and Wastewater Commission)]
17.APPROVE THE PROPOSED BUDGET COMMITTEE REPORT, AND I BELIEVE VICE CHAIR CASTLEVANIA GOT A QUESTION.
I DID HAVE A QUESTION FOR COMMISSIONER MICHELLE ON THE, ON THE BUDGET SUMMARY UNDER THE OPERATIONS, IT HAS, UM, THE 1.6 MILLION INCREASE IN FINANCIAL CONSULTANT SERVICES TO SUPPORT THE UPCOMING RATE FILING.
WHAT IS THE UPCOMING RATE FILING? I CAN, I CAN ANSWER THAT.
[01:15:01]
AS, AS A DIRECTOR, GOOD MENTIONED, UH, YOU KNOW, WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS GETTING AN UPDATED COST OF SERVICE, UH, STUDY, UM, TO, TO EVALUATE THE NEED FOR A FUTURE RATE INCREASE.UM, SO, SO THAT 1.6 COVERS UH, COST OF SERVICE RATE CONSULTANT.
UM, IT WOULD COVER A RESIDENTIAL RATE ADVOCATES, ALL OF THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH, WITH, UH, REVIEWING AND UPDATING OUR RATES IN ADVANCE OF NEXT YEAR THEN.
I WAS WANTING TO JUST CLARIFY THAT IT, AND THEN CAN I ASK ONE MORE QUESTION? THE, UH, 621,000 INCREASE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRANSFER, WHICH IS 23% INCREASE.
WHAT IS THAT? SO THE VERSION YOU HAVE, UH, HAD HAD A TYPO IN IT THAT THAT'S, UM, UH, PREVIOUS, UH, THE INITIAL DRAFT THAT WE SENT OUT, UM, THAT 623,000, UH, WAS LAST YEAR'S NUMBER.
IT REPRESENTED THE $600,000 INCREASE, UM, IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRANSFER, UH, TO SUPPORT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY, AUSTIN WATER, AND OTHER ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS, UH, SUPPORT THAT ACTIVITY.
UM, AS WE BENEFIT FROM, YOU KNOW, UH, BRINGING IN, UH, NEW COMPANIES IN, INTO THE AUSTIN AREA AND ULTIMATELY SERVING, SERVING THEM AS, AS CUSTOMERS.
UH, BUT WITH THAT NUMBER, UM, WE, WE TOOK THAT NUMBER OUT IN THE FINAL DRAFT, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S LAST YEAR'S NUMBER FOUR FOR FISCAL YEAR 23.
UH, WE ACTUALLY SAW ABOUT A $34,000 REDUCTION IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRANSFER COMMISSIONER GOT ANY MORE QUESTIONS FOR STAFF OR BUDGET COMMITTEE? IF NOT, WE WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR THE COMMITTEE BUDGET COMMITTEE REPORT.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION MOTION MADE BY VICE CHAIR, PERRY AND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MICHELLE, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND IN THE SHOW IN APPROVE AND EMISSARIES.
[18. Approve Austin Water’s Capital Improvement Projects located in the Drinking Water Protection Zone for inclusion in Austin Water’s five-year Capital Spending Plan (for Fiscal Year 2023 through Fiscal Year 2027) as required by Financial Policy Number 8.]
TO ITEM 18 APPROVED AUSTIN WATERS, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS LOCATED IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE FOR INCLUSION IN AUSTIN WATERS.FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL SPEND IMPRINT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023 THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2027 AS REQUIRED BY FINANCIAL POVERTY SHEET.
WE GOT ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE STAFF, IF NOT WE'LL ENTERTAIN MOTION, CHIPPER MOTION, MOTION, MOTION MADE BY VICE CHAIR CASTLEBERRY AND THE SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MOSQUES GLOBE.
OH, IN WAIVER, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND SHOWING A POOL AND ETHNICITIES.
[14. Recommend approval of Austin Water’s Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Proposed Operating Budget, Capital Budget, new appropriations, and 5-Year Capital Improvement (CIP) spending plan.]
BACK TO ITEM 14, RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF AUSTIN WATERS, FISCAL YEAR 2022 THROUGH 2023 PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET, CAPITAL BUDGET, NEW APPROPRIATIONS, AND FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, XI IIP SPENDING PLAN, COMMISSIONER SCOTT, ANY FINAL QUESTIONS? ANY MORE QUESTIONS? IF NOT, WE'RE IN 10 MOTION, I'LL MOVE APPROVAL MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER PENN, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MOSQUES, GLOBE ALL IN WEBER.PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, SHOWING A POOL, ARAMIS, THESE THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
[19. Approve the 2021-2022 Annual Internal Report of the Water and Wastewater Commission.]
19 APPROVED THE 20 21 20 22, ANY INTERNAL REPORT OF THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION.AND I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER YOU'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THAT DRAFT STUFF THERE WITH THE HIGHLIGHTED BY THE STUFF.
IS THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR ANY AMENDMENT? IF NOT, WE'LL IN PUTIN IN MOTION, I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE IT.
ONLY NEED, IS THERE A SECOND, SECOND, SECOND BY VICE CHAIR, CASTLEBERRY ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND SHOWING APPROVE AND MSD.
[01:20:05]
OH, LET'S GO TO ITEM[20. Update from Joint Sustainability Committee – Commissioner Christy Williams]
20.UPDATE FROM THE JONES SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. UNFORTUNATELY I WAS OUT OF THE COUNTRY DURING THIS LAST MONTH'S MEETING, SO I WAS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND, BUT THE AGENDA AND WORK BACK UP OUR ONLINE.
WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM 21, BUT COMMISSIONER OUT IS NOT HERE, SO WE WILL SKIP IT.
[23. Staff briefing regarding water supply]
ITEM 23 STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING WATER SUPPLY.CHEERLY AND COMMISSION MEMBERS, KEVIN CRITTENDON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, AUSTIN MATER, UM, WHILE HUNT AND DRY IS NOT UNCOMMON FOR THIS PART OF THE WORLD.
UM, WE ARE, UH, IF WE FIND OURSELVES UNUSUALLY HOT AND DRY, EVEN FOR TEXAS AND EVEN FOR THE SUMMER.
SO THIS EVENING WE'LL BE PRESENTING A SHORT WATER SUPPLY OUTLOOK.
THAT'LL INCLUDE A, UH, AN OVERVIEW OF OUR CURRENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS AS WELL.
UM, WHILE WE'RE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING DROUGHT CONDITIONS, I WILL POINT OUT THAT, UH, A LOT HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE LAST TIME THAT WE FOUND OURSELVES IN DROUGHT.
UM, WE HAVE A VERY WELL-DEVELOPED DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN THAT INCLUDES DROUGHT STAGE TRIGGERS AND LATER WATER CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE, UH, APPROVED OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN BACK IN 2018 AND CONTINUED TO WORK ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ASPECTS OF THAT.
UM, AND THEN ALSO THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY HAS UPDATED ITS WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN SINCE THAT TIME, WHICH WE EXPECT A LOT OF THOSE CHANGES TO HAVE VERY BENEFICIAL OUTCOMES, SORT OF WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW.
SO IN THE COMING MONTHS, WE'LL CONTINUE TO, UH, OBVIOUSLY MONITOR THE WEATHER AND THE WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO WORK TO CONTINUE THAT WATER CONSERVATION REMAINS ON TOP OF EVERYONE'S MIND AND OUR COMMUNITY, AND ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, WILL CONTINUE TO PROMOTE WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM OFFERINGS AND OUR ENFORCEMENT WORK.
AND THEN WE'LL CONTINUE OUR PROGRESS ON IMPLEMENTING WATER FORWARDS STRATEGIES.
SO WITH ME TONIGHT AS TERESA LEWIS, SHE'S THE MANAGING ENGINEERING DIVISION MANAGER OVER OUR SYSTEMS PLANNING DIVISION.
THAT INCLUDES BOTH OUR WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE MODELING AND PLANNING SIDE, BUT THAT ALSO INCLUDES OUR WATERFORD AND OUR WATER SUPPLY PLANNING.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO TRICIA.
SHE'LL GO THROUGH AND THEN WE'LL BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
UH, AGAIN, THERESA LUTES OF SYSTEMS PLANNING, DIVISION MANAGER, APPRECIATE THE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TODAY.
UM, WANT TO SHOW YOU JUST SOME, UM, OF THE METRICS AND, UH, PIECES OF INFORMATION THAT WE'RE CONTINUALLY TRACKING, LOOKING AND MONITORING AS WE MONITOR OUR WATER SUPPLY, UM, CONDITIONS AND, AND, UH, ESPECIALLY IN, IN DROUGHT, LIKE WE'RE IN NOW, THIS IS A GRAPH OF THE COMBINED STORAGE OF LIKES TRAVIS AND MCCANNON.
THOSE WERE THE KEY WATER STORAGE RESERVOIRS FOR OUR BASIN, UH, LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY, UH, MANAGES AND OPERATES THESE RESERVOIRS.
SO THIS, AGAIN, THIS IS THE COMBINED STORAGE OF BOTH OF THOSE RESERVOIRS WHEN THE FULL, THOSE ARE BOTH, UM, UH, TOTAL ABOUT 2 MILLION ACRE FEET OF WATER.
UH, AND SO CURRENTLY WE'RE AT ABOUT 1.2 MILLION ACRE FEET, WHICH IS ABOUT A 60% FULL CONDITION.
THIS IS A GRAPH OF THE INFLOWS TO THOSE HIGHLAND LAKES.
THE, THIS IS ANOTHER KEY METRIC WHERE WE LOOK AT THE BASIN CONDITIONS, HOW MUCH WATER IS FLOWING INTO THOSE LAKES.
UM, OF COURSE, LCRA TRACKS THIS VERY CLOSELY.
THEY HAVE GAUGES ON THE INPUT POINTS AND WE MONITOR THAT AS WELL.
WE USE THE INFORMATION THAT LCRA COLLECTS AND WE MONITOR THAT CLOSELY AS WELL.
YOU CAN SEE THE, THE, UH, THE BARS, THE GREEN BARS ARE FOR, UH, 20, 22 THAT'S THIS YEAR.
THEY'VE BEEN TRACKING VERY LOW, EVEN LOWER THAN THE BEGINNING OF, UH, 2021, WHICH WAS ANOTHER RELATIVELY LOW YEAR.
YOU CAN SEE, UH, THE IN GOLD BARS THAT WAS 2021 FOR REFERENCE ALSO FOR REFERENCE IS THE AVERAGE OF 2008 THROUGH 2015.
THAT PERIOD IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT'S THE NEW DROUGHT OF RECORD FOR OUR
[01:25:01]
BASIN, WHICH IS THE PLANNING METRIC THAT WE DO A WATER PLANNING BY, IN THE BASIN TO COMPARE, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR FLOWS TO, TO SEE HOW WE'RE TRACKING RELATIVE TO THE DROUGHT OF RECORD.AND SO YOU CAN SEE THAT'S THOSE BARS THERE, THEY'RE KIND OF A DARK BLUE THERE, THE AVERAGE, UH, THAT WE RECEIVED DURING THAT DROUGHT OF RECORD PERIOD, AND THEN THE OTHER BARS, THE FAR LEFT, THE, THE LIGHTER BLUE ARE THE AVERAGE NUMBERS FROM 1942 WHEN THE LAKES WERE COMPLETE AND, UM, STARTED FILLING OR RIGHT AROUND THAT TIME TO PRESENT.
SO THAT'S THE PERIOD OF RECORD.
SO AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE WE'RE TRACKING VERY LOW, WE'RE CONTINUING TO MONITOR THIS AND, UM, AND, UH, IT, IT, THESE INFLOWS REALLY REFLECT THE VERY DRY CONDITIONS WE'VE HAD IN THE BASIN, VERY, UH, HIGH AMOUNT OF, UM, UH, DRY AND, AND HEAVY HIGH TEMPERATURES FOR THE, THE PERIOD.
THIS IS THE, UH, TEXAS DROUGHT MONITOR MAP THAT YOU MAY HAVE SEEN BEFORE.
THIS IS, UH, THIS IS A PARTICULAR VERSION OF IT THAT THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD UPDATES WEEKLY.
AND, UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THERE, WE HAVE HIGHLIGHTED, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY.
THEY'RE KIND OF IN THE CENTER WITH THE BLUE, UH, BLUE CIRCLE AROUND THERE, KIND OF HIGHLIGHTING WHERE WE ARE.
YOU CAN SEE THE, UM, HIGH DEGREE OF EXCEPTIONAL AND EXTREME DROUGHT CONDITIONS, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREAS UPSTREAM OF AUSTIN AND, AND OUR, UM, WATERSHEDS THAT FEED INTO THE LAKES.
UH, THERE'S ALSO A LARGE AMOUNT OF, UM, COVERAGE OF DROUGHT ACROSS THE WHOLE STATE.
SO WE'RE IN THIS WITH A LOT OF OTHERS, UH, EXPERIENCING VERY DRY CONDITIONS, ESPECIALLY TO THE WEST, BUT ALSO TO THE SOUTH IN THE SOUTHEAST.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE IN A REALLY, UH, HOT, DRY PERIOD.
I'M SURE YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN THE, YOU KNOW, THE WEATHER REPORTS WHERE WE'VE BROKEN RECORDS FOR JUNE, JULY, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRACKING SOME OF THE CONDITIONS THAT ARE EVEN WORSE THAN, UH, THE YEAR 2011, WHICH HAD EXTREME, DRY, DRY, AND HOT CONDITIONS AS WELL.
THIS IS THE KEY, UH, GRAPHIC THAT WE WATCH FOR EACH MONTH.
THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY UPDATES THIS ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
THIS WAS THE ONE THAT WAS PUBLISHED BY LCRA ON JUNE 1ST.
IT GIVES A, UM, PICTURE OF THE NEXT SIX MONTHS OF PROJECTED POTENTIAL, UH, COMBINED STORAGE FORECAST FOR THE PERIOD OF UPCOMING.
SO THIS ONE WAS PUBLISHED ON JULY 1ST THERE IN THAT, WHERE YOU SEE THE GOLD BAR UP AND DOWN SHOWING THE PAST IN THE FUTURE.
WE'RE IN A PERIOD WHERE WE'RE NOW THAT WE ARE AT ABOUT 1.2 MILLION ACRE FEET OF WATER.
WE ARE IN OUR CURRENT STAGE OF DROUGHT OR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY, WHICH IS STAGE ONE THAT WAS TRIGGERED AT 1.4 MILLION ACRE FEET AT THE BEGINNING OF JUNE.
SO, UM, WE'VE BEEN IN THAT STAGE.
THE NEXT DROUGHT STAGE, YOU CAN SEE THERE ON THE RIGHT WOULD BE TRIGGERED AT 900,000 ACRE FEET.
AND THE PROJECTIONS FROM LCRA GIVEN THE FULL RANGE ALL THE WAY FROM EXTREME, DRY TO WET CONDITIONS HAS A STAYING ABOVE 900,000 ACRE FEET FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.
SO WE DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT STAGE TWO ARRIVING COURSE, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS AND LCRA UPDATES THIS ON A MONTHLY BASIS, AND WE'LL SEE HOW WE TRACK.
BUT ONE OF, ONE OF THE ASPECTS OF THIS, THAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT WAS THAT BECAUSE OF THE DRY CONDITIONS AND THE IMPROVED WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT LCRA OPERATES, THE LAKES UNDER THERE ARE GOING TO BE LESS RELEASES FOR DOWNSTREAM AGRICULTURAL NEEDS.
UH, FOR THE SECOND PART OF THE YEAR FOR THE SECOND, WHAT'S REFERRED TO A SECOND CROP WITHIN THE RICE OPERATIONS IN MATAGORDA, COLORADO, AND, UH, AND BLANKING, UH, ON THE OTHER ONE RIGHT NOW, UH, FAYETTE COUNTY.
SO DOWN IN THOSE LOWER BASINS, THERE'S A LARGE AMOUNT OF, UH, RICE AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS THAT USE WATER FROM THE, THE HIGHLAND LAKES, UH, THROUGH RELEASES.
HOWEVER, THE SECOND CROP HAS BEEN CURTAILED AND WILL NOT HAPPEN THIS YEAR.
SO THAT'LL CONTRIBUTE TO THIS LINE, NOT DROPPING AS QUICKLY AS IT WOULD HAVE IF THAT HADN'T OCCURRED.
AND THAT'S PART OF THE UPDATED WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT TOOK PLACE BETWEEN 2011 AND NOW,
[01:30:01]
UH, AND, AND THAT PERIOD OF THE, DURING THE DROUGHT OF OUR NEW DROUGHT OF RECORD.AND THEN ALSO, UM, UNLESS UNTIL, AND UNLESS THE RESERVOIR, UH, STORAGE GETS BACK UP TO 1.3 MILLION ACRE FEET BY MARCH ONE, WHICH IS THE NEXT DECISION DATE FOR, FOR FIRST CROP NEXT YEAR, THEN THERE WILL BE ALSO NOT BE RELEASED FOR, UM, UH, FOR THE FIRST CROP FOR NEXT YEAR, UNLESS THE COMBINED STORAGE GETS ABOVE 1.3 MILLION ACRE FEET BEFORE MARCH 1ST.
SO WE'LL BE WATCHING THAT AND SEEING HOW THE NEW WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE IN 2020, UH, OPERATES.
AND IT'S A NEW PLAN AND IT'S, UM, IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING WELL BECAUSE UNDER THESE VERY DRY CONDITIONS, THESE CURTAILMENTS ARE KICKING IN AS PART OF THE PLAN.
SO EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT'S COMING WHILE IT, I'M SURE IT'S DIFFICULT FOR, YOU KNOW, THE FOLKS WHO ARE, UM, EXPERIENCING THAT.
AND THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS THAT SOME OF THE FARMERS HAVE FOR USE OF GROUNDWATER AND OTHER OTHER SOURCES.
UM, THIS IS THE LAST SLIDE WANTED TO SHOW THE NOAA THREE MONTH OUTLOOK FOR SEASONAL TEMPERATURES AND SEASONAL PRECIPITATION.
THE OUTLOOK SHOWS THAT THE SEASONAL TEMPERATURES WILL BE HIGHER THAN NORMAL, AND WE CAN CERTAINLY, UH, CONCUR WITH THAT, BUT IT'S PROJECTED TO BE THAT WAY, AT LEAST THROUGH, UH, SEPTEMBER, ALTHOUGH THE, UH, PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK ON THE RIGHT THEY'RE EQUAL CHANCES OF THE PRECIPITATION BEING, UH, NORMAL.
SO THERE'S A 50 50 CHANCE THAT THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE NORMAL OVER THE, UM, JULY, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER TIMEFRAME.
SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET SOME RAIN AND SOME RELIEF.
UH, IF SOME OF THE WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING NOW CAN BREAK, SHAKE LOOSE.
SO WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO MONITOR, UM, THE CONDITIONS AND WHAT'S FORECAST AND KEEP YOU UPDATED AS NEEDED.
THAT'S THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I CAN TRY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE COMMISSIONER ALSO GOT A QUESTION FOR MS. LEWIS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
OKAY, WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM 24
[24. Staff briefing regarding wildfire mitigation strategies]
STUFF BRIEFING REGARDING WILD FIRE MITIGATION STRATEGIES.MY, THE SECOND HERE AND AGAIN, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS, KEVIN CHRITTON, DOESN'T STILL AUSTIN MATER ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.
UM, THIS NEXT PRESENTATION WILL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF OUR FARM MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.
UM, UH, AS YOU WELL KNOW, AUSTIN WATER MANAGERS OVER 47,000 ACRES OF WILDLANDS, WHICH DOES DESIGNATED EXCUSE ME, TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY AND PROTECT VARIOUS ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES HABITAT.
UM, BUT WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ENTITY IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD THAT MANAGES, UH, WILD LANDS AND OPEN SPACE.
UM, WE WORK WITH, UH, AND WE'RE ALSO NOT THE ONLY ENTITY THAT'S RESPONSIBLE TO TAKE CARE OF, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH WILDFIRE.
SO WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS JUST TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, WE COULDN'T DO WHAT WE DO WITHOUT OUR PARTNERS, UM, A VARIETY OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY AND OTHERS.
UM, AND SO WE'RE PLEASED TO KIND OF SHARE THAT AND KIND OF TALK WITH YOU WITH THAT.
AND NOT ONLY WILL WE TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING AT THE WILD LANDS, BUT ALSO IN SOME OF OUR OTHER AUSTIN WATER FACILITIES, AS WELL AS, AS IT RELATES TO WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS.
SO, UH, WITH ME HERE THIS EVENING IS, UH, MATT HOLLAND AND MATT LOR.
UM, MATT HOLLAND IS THE DIVISION MANAGER FOR OUR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION DIVISION.
UM, HE OVERSEES THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS AS WELL AS ABOUT CONEYS CANDYLAND HOLDING.
AND THEN MATT, LAURA IS A PHO, UH, FORESTRY SPECIALIST WITH OUR FIRE MANAGEMENT TEAM.
SO WITH THAT, WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO MATT H AND HE'LL TALK US THROUGH HIS PRESENTATION.
UH, AND THEN WON'T BE AROUND TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
WELL, I APPRECIATE THE CHANCE TO TALK ABOUT OUR WORK.
UM, LET'S GO TO THE FIRST SLIDE.
SO THIS IS A REALLY CRUCIAL SLIDE.
I, YOU GUYS HAVE PROBABLY HEARD THE TERM WILLIE, UM, BAND BANDIED ABOUT, UM, BUT IT'S THE WILD LAND, URBAN INTERFACE.
IT'S A MAJOR TOPIC, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD SOME NEW, UM, CONSTRUCTED AROUND THIS, UM, THIS CONCEPT,
[01:35:01]
BUT BASICALLY, UM, THE LANDS THAT YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE A MAP AND, AND KEVIN MENTIONED THAT WE HAVE ABOUT 47,000 ACRES A WEEK MANAGED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY.AND, UM, A LOT OF WHEN A LOT OF THOSE LANDS WERE FIRST ACQUIRED 20, 25 YEARS AGO, THEY WERE KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE AS IT WERE, THAT'S CHANGING RAPIDLY, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE.
SO THERE'S LOTS OF COMMUNITIES BEING BUILT, RIGHT, RIGHT.
IN, RIGHT ALONG THE EDGES OF OUR LANDS, UM, IN WHAT IS CALLED THE WILD LAND, URBAN INTERFACE IS LITERALLY THE SAME THING.
AND SO THE KEY THING ABOUT THAT IS WE, UM, WE KNOW THAT MOST WILDFIRES ARE STARTED BY PEOPLE.
UM, AND A LOT OF IT IS RIGHT IN THAT, ON, ON THAT EDGE.
UM, AND SO THE MORE THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF THAT, UH, THAT, THAT SITUATION THAT LIVED ALONG THERE THE BETTER.
UM, AND SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL, I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE IN A, IN A, IN A BIT ABOUT THE EDUCATIONAL WORK WE DO IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UM, BUT THIS IS A BIG, THIS IS A BIG ISSUE FOR US.
UM, AND SO, UM, ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, THERESA JUST TALKED ABOUT OUR HOT DRY SUMMER, UH, WHEN WE FIRST PUT THIS SLIDE TOGETHER SINCE FORECAST FOR HER HOT DRY SUMMER, WE WERE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT NOW.
UM, AND SO IT'S REALLY CRITICAL THAT WE'RE PREPARED FOR THESE, UM, FOR ANY EVENTUALITY THAT COMES UP WITH THIS.
SO, UM, UM, SO THE, THAT, THAT INTERFACE IS SOMETHING WHERE WE DEAL WITH ON A DAILY BASIS.
UM, ALL RIGHT, NEXT SLIDE BRIEFLY, UH, I'LL, I'LL RUMBLE THROUGH, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR ROLE IS WITH, UH, USING IN, IN PREPARING FOR FIRE WITHIN OUR WILDLAND DIVISION.
UM, I'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT W UH, THE PLANNING PROCESSES WE GO THROUGH, WHICH ARE EXTENSIVE.
I'LL TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT CORE COOPERATIVE PROJECTS.
WE CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT, WITHOUT OUR PARTNERS.
UM, I'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE, THE MAIN KEY TOOLS THAT WE USE, UM, FOR WILDFIRE PREP PREPAREDNESS, AND THEN I'LL, UM, UM, AND SOMETHING I THINK YOU GUYS WILL BE ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN IS THIS, UH, THIS WORK THAT WE'VE DONE UP TO STUDY THE AUSTIN WATER FACILITIES AROUND TOWN, AND TO LOOK AT IT, STEPS THAT MIGHT BE NEEDED TO TAKE, WE NEED TO TAKE TO UP, MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE AS RESILIENT AS POSSIBLE WITH PERSPECTIVE WILDFIRE.
AND THEN I'LL BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT SOME NEXT STEPS.
UM, SO WE, UH, WE, OUR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION DIVISION PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN, IN THE FIRE ADAPTED COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, WE WE'VE BENEFICIALLY USE FIRE IN PREPARATION FOR WILDFIRES, UM, AND, UH, AND DIRECTLY FOR ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PURPOSES.
THAT'S KIND OF THE MAIN, ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS WE DO.
AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PRESCRIBED BURNING IN A BIT.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, REALLY EVERYTHING WE DO IS, IS WITH, UH, WITH AN EYE TOWARD ENHANCING THE, THE HABITAT, THE WATER WATER SHOULD HELP THE LANDS THAT WE MANAGE.
UM, BUT WE ABSOLUTELY, UH, FIRST FRONT AND CENTER IS PROTECTION OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
SO IT'S GONNA BE A MAP OF THE, OF THE WILD LANDS, KIND OF IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARDER TO SEE, AND MAYBE A DISTANCE, BUT IF THE GRAY KIND OF AREA THERE IS THE URBANIZED AREA OF AUSTIN.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE WE'RE KIND OF IN THE NORTHWEST WHERE WE HAVE, UM, THE, THE GREEN POLYGONS, THERE ARE THE, UH, UH, BALCONIES CANYON LANDS, PRESERVE LANDS, AND THEN THE, UH, THE BLUE POLYGONS BELOW, UM, ARE THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS.
AND SO THOSE, UM, IT'S, UH, WE'D LOVE TO TALK TO YOU GUYS SOME TIME MORE IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN OUR WORK, THIS IS PROBABLY THE RIGHT TIME TO GO INTO DEPTH ABOUT WHAT WE DO, BUT TH TH TH UH, KEVIN MENTIONED THE ENDANGERED SPECIES WORK THAT THE BCP COVERS, AND ALSO THE, UH, THE CRITICAL ROLE THAT WE HAVE IN, IN ENHANCING AND SUPPLEMENTING WATER INTO THE, UM, INTO THE PART'S SPRING ZONE, WHICH COMES OUT OF BARTON SPRINGS, HAYS COUNTY.
NUMBER, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PLANNING.
GO AHEAD AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SO ON THE, ON THE PLANNING OVERVIEW SIDE, EACH OF OUR PROPERTIES, UM, IS COVERED BY A LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN OR LMP.
UM, AND WE USE LOTS OF RESEARCH AND BEST MANAGEMENT, UH, FOR THESE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.
THERE ARE PEER REVIEWED SCIENCE THAT GOES INTO THESE THINGS.
UM, AND BASICALLY WE WANT TO, UH, PART OF IT IS LAYING, LAYING OUT A FOUNDATION OF HOW WE APPROACH OUR FIRE MANAGEMENT WORK.
UM, AND SO THERE'S LOTS OF DATES ON THIS SLIDE, AND THOSE ARE THE KIND OF BEGINNING DATES AND UPDATE DATES.
UM, WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING ON TWO OF THESE RIGHT NOW.
UH, THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS, UM, LMP IS BEING UPDATED BY TEXAS A AND M RIGHT NOW.
AND WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR, TO BRING THAT BACK TO COUNCIL.
UM, AND THEN THE BCCP, UH, UH, PERMIT ABOUT KENYANS CANYONLANDS CONSERVATION PLAN PERMIT.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON THE FIRE CHAPTER OF THAT ONE AS WELL.
RIGHT NOW, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT, SO THAT KIND OF HELPS GUIDE OUR WORK.
UM, LET'S SEE, THIS IS A REALLY FASCINATING TOPIC.
THE WILDFIRE RISK MODELING, UM, AUSTIN IS, IS,
[01:40:01]
IS, WAS, IT WAS A KEY PART OF THE, UM, WHAT'S CALLED THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN.IT'S A BIG MOUTHFUL, BUT IT BASICALLY THE COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN.
UM, AND SO WE, WE, WE TEAMED WITH THESE, UM, WITH SOME KEY PARTNERS, AUSTIN WATER, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENT, TRAVIS COUNTY, AND OTHERS.
UM, AND YOU CAN GO ONLINE AND CHECK OUT THE PLAN, BUT BASICALLY, UM, IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT PLAN THAT THE AUSTIN AREA AND TRAVIS COUNTY USED TO PREPARE OURSELVES FOR WILDFIRE.
AND, UM, AS PART OF THE PLAN, WE ACTUALLY WERE ABLE TO WORK WITH THIS FELLOW NAMED JOSEPH WHITE, WHO WAS A BAYLOR UNIVERSITY EXPERT WHO CAME IN, UM, AND RAN A TERRIFIC STUDY THAT WAS ABLE TO ACTUALLY SHOW, UM, WHAT WAS GOING ON IN OUR AREA, USING OUR DATA, OUR, OUR, OUR GEOGRAPHY, UM, UP UNTIL THAT POINT, WE'D BEEN REALLY RELYING ON KIND OF WESTERN MODELS AND SO FORTH, CAUSE THERE'S LOT, A LOT OF GREAT WORK DONE IN COLORADO, CALIFORNIA, AND SO FORTH.
UH, BUT THAT DIDN'T REALLY REFLECT NECESSARILY THE, THE, THE TOPOGRAPHY, THE, UH, THE VEGETATIVE COMMUNITIES, SOILS, EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE IN OUR AREA THAT DID AFFECT THIS.
AND SO, UM, OUR CLIMATE, AND SO, UM, THESE MODELS REALLY UPDATED THE RISK LEVELS THAT WE HAD, AND IT IMPORTANTLY, AND INTERESTINGLY FOUND THAT, THAT, UM, EVERYBODY KNOWS WE HAVE A LOT OF KIND OF OAK AND CEDAR IN OUR WESTERN AREAS OR JUNIPER ASH JUNIPER.
UM, AND I THINK THERE'S A POPULAR PERCEPTION THAT THERE, YOU KNOW, THAT ESPECIALLY THE JUNIPER PRETTY FLAMMABLE, UM, THIS STUDY HAD FOUND WHAT WE ACTUALLY ALREADY KNEW SORT OF MORE SCIENTIFICALLY THAT UNDER CERTAINLY UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS WERE NORMAL WEATHER CONDITIONS.
UM, AND THAT'S NOT JUST NOT, NOT, NOT THE CASE.
WE DON'T, IT'S NOT GOING TO LOOK, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE THESE DRY LIGHTNING STRIKES LIKE YOU HAVE OUT IN THE WEST AND EXPLODING EVERYTHING AT A FLAMES.
UM, SO IT'S, UH, UM, BUT WE W W WE'RE WE LEARNED A LOT WITH THE STUDY AND WHERE, AND WE'RE USING THAT INFORMATION TO HELP WITH OUR, OUR PLANNING, BUT WE DO TAKE, WE STILL, WE STILL KNOW THAT IT CAN GET EXTREMELY DRY HERE, AND WE TAKE EVERYTHING VERY SERIOUSLY.
UM, EVEN WITH THAT INFORMATION.
SO LET ME GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, THOSE WILDFIRE CONTINGENCY PLANS.
UM, SO WE WORK WITH A LOT OF W WHERE THERE'S LOTS OF FOLKS THAT NEED TO ACCESS OUR PROPERTY, LIKE INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDERS, POWER LINES COMPANIES, AND SO FORTH, UM, UH, DIFFERENT UTILITIES.
AND SO THEY NEED TO GET ONTO OUR LANDS AND DO WORK.
AND SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE REALLY AWARE AT FIRE AWARE.
AND THEN WE, WE KNOW THAT WHEN THOSE CONTRACTORS COME ON ON ONTO OUR LANDS, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE READY FOR SOMETHING IN THE EVENTUALITY OF, UH, SOME SORT OF FIRE DANGER.
SO WE MAKE SURE THEY HAVE SPOTTERS.
IF THEY'RE DOING HOT WORK LIKE WELDING, UM, WE MAKE SURE THAT THEY'VE GOT FIRE EXTINGUISHERS AND THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, READY AND, UH, AT THE, AT THE READY.
UM, AND SO, AND WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, IMPORTANTLY, WE JUST MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH US AND US WITH THEM.
SO THAT'S A REALLY, SO, UM, SO MOUNT LAURIE HERE IS, IS, UM, UH, RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE HAS DONE A TERRIFIC JOB, MAKING SURE THOSE ARE UP TO DATE AND WE, AND WE WORK WELL WITH OUR, UM, ALL THE FOLKS THAT USE OUR LAND.
UH, LET'S SEE, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I ACTUALLY EMBARRASSINGLY SWAP THESE.
THIS IS THAT'S THE, UH, THAT'S, THIS IS THE WILDFIRE PREVENTION PLAN.
UM, AND THIS IS WHERE THE, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, WE WORK WITH, WITH THE FOLKS COMING ONTO OUR LANDS.
LET'S GO BACK ONE SLIDE REALLY QUICK.
WE, WE MAINTAIN THESE, THESE KIND OF BIG, UM, SORRY.
THIS SLIDE IS ACTUALLY REFERRING TO, UM, THIS, THIS, UH, INTERESTING WORK THAT WE'VE DONE WITH THESE MAP BOOKS, WHERE WE CREATE THESE WILDFIRE CONTINGENCY PLANS THAT ACTUALLY INFORM, UH, EMERGENCY RESPONDERS, FIRST RESPONDERS IN THE, IN THE, IN THE, IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT, BUT POSSIBLE EVENT OF A FIRE.
AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON THESE SITES, W WHAT'S THE TOPOGRAPHY, AND ESPECIALLY WHAT ARE THE ROUTES IN AND OUT, OR THE GATES WHERE THE, WHERE THE ROADWAYS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO WE MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE REALLY AWARE, AND WE, WE PRESENT ALL THIS INFORMATION AND SHARE THIS WITH THEM.
AND SO WHEN THEY COME IN, IF, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUALITY OF SOME SORT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, SITUATION, THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO MANEUVER, AND WE WOULD ALSO SUPPORT THEM IN THAT, IN THAT WORK IN, UM, WITH OUR STAFF.
SO THAT'S, UM, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD TOOL.
SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO BLAST THROUGH THE SLIDE I SKIPPED THROUGH LAST TIME.
UM, SO AS KEVIN MENTIONED, WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT PARTNERS.
UM, AND WE HONESTLY REALLY COULDN'T DO OUR WORK WITHOUT THEM.
AND WE ACTUALLY DO A LOT OF ASSISTANCE WITH OTHER GROUPS TO
IT'S A VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP.
UM, SO WE HAVE THIS, UH, THIS COALITION CALLED THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY WILDFIRE COALITION.
THAT IS, UM, UH, THERE'S A GROUP OF VERY VETERAN, VERY, VERY EXPERIENCED FOLKS THAT ARE PART OF THIS, UM, GROUP.
AND WE COORDINATE OUR EFFORTS AND WORK TOWARDS THEIR GOALS WITH, WITH THESE FOLKS.
[01:45:01]
UM, A LOT OF OUR WORK IS THAT IT'S BEEN A REAL SOURCE OF A LOT OF, UM, GREAT INFORMATION AND COORDINATION.UM, AND, UH, MY, MY, MY BOSS, SHERRY COOL, SORT OF SERVES ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THAT GROUP, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND SO WE, WE HAVE A LOT OF INVOLVEMENT, INCLUDING WITH OUR REST OF OUR STAFF ON THE COMMITTEES.
UM, THERE'S A, UM, ANOTHER KIND OF ASTOUNDING EFFORT THAT THESE STURDY VOLUNTEERS FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT HAVE BEEN MONITORING THIS WHAT'S CALLED LIVE FUEL MOISTURE MONITORING.
UM, AND BASICALLY THEY, IS IT BIWEEKLY IT'S EVERY TWO WEEKS? I THINK SO THEY'RE YEAH.
SO EVERY TWO WEEKS THEY'RE OUT, THEY CLIP OFF, THEY GO TO CERTAIN SITES, THEY CLIP OFF THE LITTLE SAMPLES OF JUNIPER NEEDLES OR LEAVES AND THEY GO IN AND THEY SCIENTIFICALLY ANALYZE IT.
YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH WHAT'S THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF THOSE OF THOSE LEAVES AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
AND SO THEY'RE TRACKING THIS AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE WHAT'S GOING ON.
OF COURSE KIND OF GOES WITH THE WEATHER AND THE MOISTURE PRECIPITATION.
UM, BUT THAT INFORMATION IS INVALUABLE TO OUR, OUR FIRE RESPONDERS.
UM, AND OTHERS ARE WHEN WE'RE DOING PRESCRIBED BURNS.
WE JUST WANT TO REALLY KNOW WHAT, WHAT THAT IS.
IT'S TERRIFIC INDICATOR OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
UM, AS MATT SAYS, IT'S THE WAY WE CHECK THE PULSE.
UM, SO KIND OF LIKE THAT IMAGE.
AND WE ALSO WORK ON, I'M NOT, I KNOW IT'S LATE, WON'T GO THROUGH EVERY SINGLE BULLET ON THESE, BUT WE, WE DO A LOT OF GOOD WORK, UM, WITH OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
UM, I'D, WON'T SKIP THIS BULLET ON THE, ON THE AFD WILD PART WILDFIRE DIVISION.
UM, THOSE GUYS ARE JUST, UM, CRITICAL TO THE WORK WE DO.
UH, THEY'RE THE FRONTLINE TROOPS ON A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS, BUT INCLUDING EDUCATION.
UM, AND WE'VE REALLY FOUND THAT OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, REALLY, YOU KNOW, THEY ABSOLUTELY TRUST THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND, AND REALLY RECEIVE WELL THOSE MESSAGES FROM THEM.
SO THAT'S BEEN A GREAT RELATIONSHIP AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE THEIR, THE REAL CLOSE COLLABORATION WE HAVE THEM.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, GO BACK TO THAT WOOEY SLIDE AND THAT'S, THAT'S, IT'S REALLY, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE CONCERNED THAT THOSE FIRES COULD START ALONG THE EDGES OF OUR PROPERTIES, UM, IN THE, IN THE KIND OF URBANIZING AREAS.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT WILDFIRE TOOLS.
UM, THIS IS ANOTHER, ANOTHER FASCINATING TOPIC.
THIS IS A TECHNIQUE THAT DID START OUT IN THE WESTERN STATES.
AND THEN WE'VE KIND OF BROUGHT IN HERE WITH OUR OWN, UM, OUR OWN KIND OF, UM, ADAPTATION TO IT TO MODIFY IT FOR THE GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER HABITAT WE HAVE.
UM, AND THERE REALLY IS NO SILVER BULLET TO STOP A WILDFIRE, BUT THERE'S, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO KIND OF REDUCE THE RISK, REDUCE THE FUEL RESISTANCE, THE ABILITY OF THE, OF THE, UM, OF THE WILDFIRE TO SPREAD EASILY.
UM, AND SO WE USE, UH, THESE THINGS THAT ARE CALLED SHADED FUEL BREAKS, UM, TO DO THAT, AND BASICALLY, UM, WE GO IN AND YOU CAN SEE AT THE TOP THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT, UM, PICTURE AT THE TOP WE GO IN AND WHERE THERE MIGHT BE A LOT OF, UM, A LOT OF DEADLINES EVEN, BUT A LOT OF LIMBS ON THESE TREES.
SO THERE'S A JUNIPER AND OTHER TREES WE CAN GO IN AND REALLY THIN THAT OUT, SUCH THAT, UM, IN A, IN A WOOLY INTERFACE WHAT'S OFTEN WILL HAPPEN.
SOMEONE'S GOT A BARBECUE GOING ON, OR A CIGARETTE OR AUTOMOBILES DRAGGING A CHAIN, OR WHATEVER'S GOING ON.
YOU GET, YOU GOTTA GET A WILDFIRE, STARTED ON SOME GRASS AND IT'LL START MOVING INTO TO OUR, OUR FORESTED AREAS.
WELL, IF WE CAN KEEP THAT FIRE FROM MOVING UP THE TREES INTO THE CANOPY, THAT'S HUGE.
AND THIS, THIS IS THE SHADED FUEL BREAK TECHNIQUE IS THOUGHT TO REALLY, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE, ONE GOOD WAY TO HELP TO HELP PREVENT THAT CAUSE THAT, THAT SITUATION.
SO MATT, MATT HERE ACTUALLY, UM, UH, OVERSEES SOME CONTRACTORS THAT WE HAVE ON A, ON A CONTRACT THAT, UH, WE WORK WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND OTHER, UH, AS A SOURCE OF FUNDING, UM, THAT THE COUNCIL GRANTED US.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT ALL OF THE AREAS THAT ARE 150 FEET OR LESS FROM, FROM RESIDENCES ALONG OUR BOUNDARIES.
WE START LOOKING AT THOSE AREAS AND I'LL SHOW YOU IN A SECOND TO ACTUALLY, UM, IF YOU GUYS COULD MOVE THAT, THAT, UM, THAT IMAGE ON THE SLIDE OVER JUST, JUST SLIGHTLY, THERE WE GO.
SO WE CAN SEE THAT BOTTOM, A PICTURE THERE.
SO THAT SHOWS THE, UM, THAT SHOWS A SLOPE STILL.
A LITTLE BIT HARD TO SEE, BUT THERE ARE SOME BLUE, UH, KIND OF RECTANGULAR POLYGONS IN THE EDGES OF THAT.
AND SO BASICALLY THOSE ARE THE AREAS WE'RE GOING TO GO IN AND TRIM.
WE DON'T HAVE TO GO AROUND THE ENTIRE BOUNDARY.
WE JUST NEED TO GO INTO AREAS THAT ARE NEAR THE NEAR THE POPULATED AREAS, WHERE, WHERE YOU GOT THE RESIDENCES.
UM, AND SO THEN IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT WORK.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO WORK IN PRETTY RUGGED TERRAIN AND SO FORTH.
UM, BUT WE'VE GOT THESE TWO CONTRACTS THAT ARE, UM, WORKING WELL TO, TO GET THAT WORK DONE.
WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER MORE DETAILED QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM.
UM, ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
IT JUST SHOWS THE DASHBOARD WHERE WE TRACK THIS WORK.
MATT AND HIS COLLEAGUES ARE, UM, CONSTANTLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE, WELL, WHAT'S THE NEXT, WHERE'S THE NEXT PLACE WE GO? UM, WE DO MANAGE FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES.
AND ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE LIMITATIONS ON THAT IS WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WINDOWS, UM, ENDANGERED BIRDS, THE GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLERS ARE IN
[01:50:01]
TOWN.THEY'RE, THEY'RE HERE FOR THE NESTING SEASON.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REALLY SENSITIVE TO THAT, AND WE DON'T DISTURB THEM OR COMPROMISE THEIR ABILITY TO REPRODUCE.
AND SO WE, UM, WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO HOLD OFF ON THINGS LIKE SHADED FUEL BREAKS DURING THOSE THAT SIX MONTH PERIOD OF TIME.
SO IT COMPLICATES THINGS A LITTLE BIT IN TERMS OF LIKE WHEN WE GET IN THERE, BUT WE, WE, WE, UM, WE DO A GOOD JOB OF FIGURING OUT THAT SCHEDULE.
SO, UM, ANYWAY, SO THAT'S, THAT JUST SHOWS, UM, AND THEN LET'S, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO WE DO QUITE A BIT OF TRAINING.
UM, UH, WE, UM, ANNUALLY, WE BRING IN THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENTS WITH OUR GROUP, UM, AND WE, WE HAVE A, UH, AN ANNUAL WILDFIRE AWARENESS TRAINING, UM, WITH OUR STAFF, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST REALLY GOOD TO HAVE THAT REFRESHER.
UH, WE DO INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM, A SYSTEM, I SEE S TRAINING.
UM, THERE'S A WILD LAND, URBAN INTERFACE, FIRE RESPONSE, UH, KIND OF WORK WE DO, UM, AND SO FORTH AND SO ON.
AND WE HAVE A, THERE'S MANY, MANY COURSES THAT IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO BE PARTICIPATING IN A PRESCRIBED BURN, THEY HAVE TO BE VERY QUALIFIED.
YOU DON'T JUST KIND OF THROW SOMEBODY IN THE LINE AND SAY, HERE'S A TORCH.
UM, IF WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH A BUNCH OF TRAINING, MATT HERE IS A REAL EXPERT ON THAT.
UM, AND SO WE, WE TAKE THAT VERY SERIOUSLY.
SO EVERYBODY'S GOT TO BE TRAINED UP TO BE PARTICIPATING IN THIS WORK.
UM, JUST SPEAKING OF PRESCRIBED BURNING.
UM, SO I THINK A LOT OF FOLKS THINK, OKAY, YOU'RE GONNA USE PRESCRIBED BURNING TO LOWER THE FUEL LOAD AND MAKE IT SO THERE'S WILDFIRES AREN'T AS BIG A PROBLEM.
THAT CERTAINLY IS A, A SIDE BENEFIT OF OUR PRESCRIBED BURNING, BUT HONESTLY, THE, THE MAIN, IT'S AN EXCELLENT ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION TOOL.
AND SO FOR OUR, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR WATER QUALITY OF PROTECTION LANDS, THOSE, UM, THOSE REALLY RESPOND TO THESE PRESCRIBED BURNS.
WE DO, UM, ALMOST LITERALLY IT WAS BROUGHT TO TEARS SOME YEARS BACK AT A MEETING WHERE ONE OF OUR, UH, OUR WPL MANAGER WAS DESCRIBING THESE, UH, THAT THE TRANSFORMATION OF THESE PROPERTIES WHERE YOU WOULD, YOU WOULD GO FROM, UM, VERY FEW VEGETATIVE SPECIES AND PRETTY SPARSE VEGETATION, AND YOU WOULD BURN THAT AND IT WOULD BASICALLY RELEASE A LOT OF THINGS AND, AND, AND PRODUCE SOME, SOME CONDITIONS SUCH THAT YOU ENDED UP WITH THIS CRAZY NUMBER OF, OF, OF DIFFERENT PLANT SPECIES THAT WOULD COME BACK LIKE LITERALLY A GOODLY CHUNK OF ALL THE PLANTS KNOWN IN THE HAYES COUNTY WOULD START SHOWING UP IN THE, UH, IN THE, THOSE LANDS.
I DON'T HAVE, UM, ANYWAY, HERE'S THE SEQUENCE BASICALLY SHOWING YOU GOT KR BLUESTEM KIND OF DOMINATING IN THAT ONE, UM, SLIDE, WHICH IS A GRASS SPECIES.
UM, IT RELEASES A LOT OF STUFF, UH, CREATES THE NEW CONDITIONS.
AND THEN YOU ENDED UP WITH A MUCH, MUCH HEALTHIER, UH, GRASSLAND OR GRASS LINE SAVANNAH, UM, CONDITION THERE.
UM, AND THE WHOLE POINT OF THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABSORBING WATER SOAKING INTO THE GROUND AND GETTING IT BACK INTO THE AQUIFER.
AND SO WE DON'T WANT IT JUST RUNNING OFF.
WE NEED TO HAVE A WELL VEGETATED, UM, UH, PLANT COMMUNITIES THAT BUILD SOIL.
LET'S SEE IF I, UM, AND WE'VE TREATED 11,000 ACRES OF OUR WILD LAND SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE WAPL PRO UH, PROGRAM.
OH, I DON'T WANT TO FORGET THE ONE TALKING POINT OF EVERY SINGLE BURN HAS THE BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT OUT THERE.
THERE'S THEIR TRUCKS, THEIR MEN, THEIR, I MEAN, THEIR, THEIR FOLKS, EVERYBODY'S THERE ON, YOU KNOW, BOOTS ON THE GROUND.
WE, THOSE ARE INCREDIBLY CAREFULLY PLANNED.
IT'S NOT JUST LIKE, HEY, LET'S GO OUT AND DO A BURN.
WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF NOTIFICATIONS.
WE BRING IN FIRE MARSHALS, ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE ARE NOTIFIED ON WHEN WE TAKE THOSE VERY SERIOUSLY EVERY NOW AND THEN WE GO OUT AND WE REALIZE IT'S NOT THE RIGHT DAY.
BUT WITH THAT SAFETY IS THE FIRST PRIORITY, UM, ON THAT.
AND, UH, SO THAT'S, UH, THAT'S A BIG DEAL.
MATT'S A BIG PART OF OUR MATT LAURIE HERE IS A BIG PART OF THAT RUN THAT OPERATION.
UM, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO BE GUYS ARE GOING TO DEFINITELY BE SUPER INTERESTED IN THIS PARTICULAR TOPIC.
UM, SO I FORGET HOW FAR BACK IT WAS, KEVIN THAT WE KICKED THIS OFF MAYBE A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, SOMETHING IN THAT RANGE.
UM, AND SO, UM, BASICALLY AS A PART OF OUR, UM, EFFECTIVE UTILITY MANAGEMENT, UM, APPROACH IN OUR WANTING TO BE RESILIENT, UM, WE, WE WANTED TO TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY, UM, UH, UNDERSTANDING FIRE RISK ON ALL THE DIFFERENT ASSETS WE HAVE AS A UTILITY.
UM, SO LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO WE LOOKED AT ACTUALLY MATT LAURIE, AGAIN, BIG PART OF THIS ALONG WITH A COUPLE OF OTHER, UM, HARDWORKING FOLKS.
UM, AND SO YOU CAN JUST SEE, THESE ARE PICTURES OF THE 255 EXAMPLES OF THE 255 DIFFERENT SITES WE WENT TO.
WE WENT TO EVERY WATER, WATER TREATMENT PLANT, OBVIOUSLY WATER TREATMENT, PLANTS, WASTEWATER TREATMENT, PLANTS, FRONT AND CENTER.
THAT WAS THE FIRST THING TO LOOK AT ALSO THE SATELLITE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS TOO.
UM, BUT BASICALLY WE WENT TO, UM, PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING.
LIFT STATIONS, BOOSTER, STATIONS, PUMP STATIONS.
WE WENT TO, WE WENT TO EVERY, EVERY SPOT.
UM, WE HAD A TEAM CROSSFIT DEPARTMENTAL TEAM WITH FIRE DEPARTMENT, UM,
[01:55:01]
AUSTIN WATERS, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STAFF, AND THEN JOINED US OUR WILDLANDS, UH, EXPERTS ON.SO WE HAD THOSE THREE GROUPS REPRESENTED EVERY TIME WE WENT TO A SITE.
UM, AND, UM, LET'S SEE, LET'S GO TO THE, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
IT'LL SHOW A MAP OF THE ZILLION BILLION PLACES WE WENT.
UM, SO WE WENT TO ALL THESE DIFFERENT SITES, UM, AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND IT'LL SHOW THE, UH, WE CREATED A LITTLE APP USEFUL APP THAT, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL KINDS OF THINGS.
SO IT'S A LIST OF THINGS WE NEED TO LOOK AT AND CATALOG DID KEY US INTO THINGS THAT TO LOOK FOR THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, PARTICIPANT POTENTIALLY PROBLEMATIC THAT WE NEED TO HAVE ADDRESSED LOOKING AT THE INFRASTRUCTURE AS A FIRE RESISTANT MATERIAL.
SO DILAPIDATED, IS THERE A FIRE POTENTIAL THERE? DO WE HAVE BACKUP POWER SUPPLIES THAT IS THAT AT RISK OR THEIR OVERHEAD POWER LINES WITH POWER POLES THAT ARE MAYBE WOOD OR INSTEAD OF METAL THAT WE NEED TO PUT IN, OR THE POLES, YOU KNOW, LIKE JUST IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS, ARE THEY, YOU KNOW, IN A PLACE WHERE THEY WOULDN'T BE AT RISK OF FIRE? UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S LOTS OF VENTILATION IN THESE AND THESE SYSTEMS. UM, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY NEED THE VENTILATION, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NOT INVERSE SUCKED INTO THEM DURING OUR BLOWN INTO THEM DURING, UH, A FIRE EVENT.
SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY PUT SCREENS ON THEM, UM, THAT ARE APPROPRIATE, THAT, UM, THAT WORK, UM, AND SO FORTH.
IS THERE A FLAMMABLE FENCING, YOU KNOW, SOME FENCING IS OF COURSE MADE OUT OF WOOD AND THAT COULD BE A PROBLEM, UM, ACCESS OBVIOUSLY THE KEY, UM, TO DO SO ONCE WE HIT ALL THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, SO EACH SITE HAS A LOT MORE GOOD SHAPE AND HOW MANY THINGS TO PUT DOWN, BUT THEN SOME OTHER ONES WE JUST WOULD JOT DOWN.
HERE'S WHAT, YOU KNOW, GOING FORWARD.
WE NEED TO DO TO BE MUCH MORE FIRE AWARE AND MAKE SURE THESE ARE, THESE ARE RESILIENT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE PASSING ON, ACTUALLY, IT'S REALLY CLOSE TO THE TIME WE WILL BE MEETING WITH OUR COLLEAGUES WITH THE OPERATIONS GROUP.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA TALK TO THEM AND BASICALLY, UM, UH, BRIEF THEM ON WHAT WE FOUND.
AND, AND, AND I, YOU KNOW, OUR EXPECTATION IS THEY'LL BE ABLE TO BAKE THAT INTO THEIR DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS.
AND, YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE KIND OF VEGETATION MANAGEMENT OR, OR THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO TO MAKE THIS THING WORK.
SO, UM, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO BE A PART OF THAT.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO THE MAIN, THE, THE MOST CRITICAL FACILITY THAT WE LOOKED AT BY FAR WAS THE OLD RICK, UH, WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
UM, UM, THE OTHER TREATMENT PLANTS, THE WASTEWATER AND WATER, UH, WE'RE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE.
ARE THEY REALLY JUST, YOU KNOW, I THINK THESE GUYS DESCRIBED THE VOICE WATER TRANSPLANTS AS ALMOST LIKE BUNKERS, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, UH, IT'S NOT, NOT, NOT MUCH RISK.
MAYBE YOU HAVE A LITTLE FLASH GRASS FIRE AND IT'S OVER NOTHING, NOTHING HAPPENS.
UM, WITH OLRICK, IT WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO THIS WOOLLEY WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE THAT WE, WE REALLY FELT LIKE THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT THING, UH, TO LOOK AT.
AND SO WE NOT ONLY WERE GOING TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE OPERATIONS FOLKS, BUT WE WENT AHEAD AND, AND, AND, UM, REACHED OUT AND DID THAT AND WORKED WITH A CONTRACTOR TO DO THE, THE SHADED FUEL BREAK ALONG IN THAT AREA THAT YOU SEE IN BLUE THERE.
AND SO THEY WERE A LITTLE NUMB UP THE LIMBS AND DO OTHER, YOU KNOW, AND CHIP UP THE MATERIALS AND SO FORTH AND CREATE A CONDITIONS WHERE WILDFIRES UNLIKELY TO SPREAD IN.
SO, SORRY, I'M GETTING EXCITED AND TALKING TOO MUCH HERE.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT ONE.
UM, SO THIS ONE, UM, SO THE FIRST BULLET IS JUST WORKING WITH OPERATIONS AND MAKING SURE WE PASS ALONG THAT GOOD INFORMATION AND, AND BE AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO ASK US QUESTIONS AND SO FORTH ABOUT OUR WORK.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT THING WE'VE BEEN DOING.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE PARKS AND RECREATION.
UH, WE DO WORK WITH THE AUSTIN CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS.
UM, MATT, AGAIN, YOU'RE DOING A LOT OF HARD WORK.
UM, WE WORK WITH THOSE YOUNG FOLKS TO DO A LOT OF, SOME OF THE SHADED FUEL BREAK WORK, UM, ALONG WITH SOME OTHER, OTHER, OTHER THINGS.
AND SO WE, WE VALUE THAT RELATIONSHIP AND WANT TO CONTINUE THAT.
UM, AND THEN FRANKLY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE GAME CHANGER IN ALMOST EVERYTHING EVERYBODY DOING THESE DAYS IS CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND SO WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT AS WE DO OUR, UM, OUR WORK WITH ABOUT CONNIE'S CANYONLANDS PRESERVE AND THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS, THAT WE, WE INCLUDE CLIMATE CHANGE AS, UH, AS, UH, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF HOW WE PLAN, HOW WE, UM, YOU KNOW, SO THINGS LIKE THE VEGETATIVE LIVE FUEL MOISTURE MONITORING AND SO FORTH, THOSE ARE GONNA BE REALLY INTERESTING TO MONITOR OVER TIME.
BUT, UM, ANYWAY, THAT IS IT FOR NOW.
AND MATT HERE IS A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE.
IF YOU HAVE DETAILED QUESTIONS AND I CAN ASK SOME MORE GENERAL QUESTIONS AS WELL.
COMMISSIONER HAS GOT ANY QUESTION FOR THE STUFF, A COMMISSION, A PEN.
I WAS LOOKING AT YOUR MAP OF THE AREAS THAT YOU WORK IN, AND I SAW THE BLUE AND GREEN POLYGONS, BUT THEN YOU'RE ALSO AT THE FACILITIES.
ZACK DOES THAT ENCOMPASS ALL THE AREAS, YOUR THAT'S RIGHT? YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.
SO THE BLUE AND GREEN POLYGONS WERE JUST THE WILD LANDS CONSERVATION AREAS.
[02:00:01]
AND SO THOSE ARE THE, YOU KNOW, THE PROPERTIES WE'VE RESERVED NATURALLY THEY'RE JUST LEFT IN NATURAL CONDITION AND HELP WITH ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION, SO FORTH THE ASSETS I'D BE INTERESTED TO SUPERIMPOSE ON THE TOP THAT OTHER MAP SHOWED UP SCATTERED IS GOING TO BE EAST WEST, NORTH, SOUTH.SO YOU'RE YES, WE LOOKED AT EVERY SINGLE POINT QUITE EXTENSIVE THAT WAY.
WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T JUST FOCUS ON THE WILD LAND AREA.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING I WAS GOING TO ASK WAS JUST ABOUT, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY.
DO THEY HAVE FACILITIES IN THESE AREAS? AND I KNOW THAT I'VE BEEN TO AUSTIN ENERGY WORKSHOPS WHERE THEY TALK ABOUT THREATENING AND DANGEROUS PCS AND THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THAT, BUT I'M ASSUMING THEY PROBABLY WORK WITH YOU.
WE DEFINITELY HAVE A LOT OF CONTACT WITH US AND ENERGY CAUSE THEY, THEY NEED TO USE, THEY NEED ACCESS TO OUR PROPERTIES.
A LOT OF THE TIMES WE JUST, SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE SHARE EVERYTHING WE HAVE, THEY HAVE ACCESS TO OUR PROPERTIES, THAT KEYS, THEY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE GATES, THEY CAN GET IN, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S AN, THEY INFORM US, THERE'S A, THERE'S A PROTOCOL.
UM, HEY, WE'RE COMING IN TO DO LINE WORK OR WHAT HAVE YOU, SAME WITH LCRA POWER LINES AND SO FORTH.
UM, SO THERE ARE, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU HAVE.
UM, AND SO WE WENT PROACTIVELY SAY, HEY, IT LOOKS LIKE VEGETATION IS GETTING A LITTLE CLOSE ON THESE LINES OVER HERE.
UM, CAN YOU COME OUT? AND THERE, WE WE'VE GOT A REALLY POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S WORKED REALLY WELL.
BUT ON THE, ON THE ASSET SIDE, WE, I MENTIONED, WE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE POWER POLES THAT COULD CATCH ON FIRE OR HAVE ISSUES AND SO FORTH.
SO THAT'S PART OF THE THING WE FLAG ON THE, ON THE ASSET SIDE, I WILL JUST ADD THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD CONTINUED TO INCREASE OUR COMMUNICATION WITH ELECTRIC POWER PROVIDERS, AUSTIN ENERGY BEING A LARGE ONE, BUT, UM, PRONOUNCED ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE AND OTHER UTILITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT AWAY MANAGEMENT FOR OVERHEAD POWER LINES IS A HUGE DEAL.
IT'S CERTAINLY A BIG DEAL FROM A FIRE MITIGATION PERSPECTIVE.
YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO KEEP MARKING DOWN AND CERTAINLY WANT TO AVOID, UM, IGNITION SOURCES WHERE WE CAN, BUT IT'S ALSO DURING A COLD WEATHER EVENT, RIGHT.
UM, THE POSSIBILITY OF LIMBS COMING IN PROXIMITY TO THOSE LAURENS ARKING THOSE LINES AND THEN CAUSING A POWER OUTAGE.
SO THERE'S SORT OF A DOUBLE WHAMMY THERE.
AND I DO THINK THAT ALL THE ELECTRIC UTILITY PROVIDERS IN THEIR PLANNING ARE TRYING TO TAKE THAT MORE SERIOUSLY.
SO WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO TAKING THAT, UH, UH, UM, COLLABORATION AND TRYING TO CONTINUE WITH THAT.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE WORK YOU DO, IMPORTANT STUFF.
UM, YEAH, THERE WAS A BUNCH OF PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING A LOT OF HEAVY LIFTING, SO APPRECIATE THAT REALLY DATED COMMISSIONER MICHELLE.
OH, IF NOT, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I BELIEVE WE FINISHED UP ALL THE ITEMS, THEN WE'LL MOVE ALONG TO ITEM
[25. Discussion of future agenda items]
25 DISCUSSION OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND, UM, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. ARE YOU STILL THERE? OH, OKAY.TODAY'S HER TODAY'S WITH HER LAST, UH, MEETING.
SHE'D RESIGNED FROM THE COMMISSION.
AND ON BEHALF OF THE COMMISSION, WE WANT TO SAY THANKS FOR HER SERVICE AND OUR NEXT, THE MEETING WHERE BE AUGUST THE TENS WEDNESDAY, AND IT'S GOING TO BE AT AUSTIN ENERGY CENTER.
AND IF VIDEOS, NAZI NAILS, THEN THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 8 0 6.