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[CALL MEETING TO ORDER]
6:04 PM CAN CALL THE ME THE, UH, MEETING OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION TO ORDER, UH, TUESDAY, APRIL 18TH, 2023.SO, UM, FIRST, UH, ON THE AGENDA IS PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS.
SO THAT'S, UH, YOUR LAST CHANCE IF ANYONE CHANGES THEIR MIND.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Resource Management Commission Regular Meeting on January 17, 2023.]
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE LAST REGULAR MEETING ON JANUARY 17TH, 2023.UH, AND THAT'S JUST, WE, UM, JUST ASK FOR IF THERE'S ANY, WE APPROVE IT UNLESS THERE'S ANY OPPOSITION.
FOR, UM, SOMEONE ALRIGHT, SOMEONE SO MOVED.
LOU STONE MOVES TO APPROVE AGENDA.
UH, SO THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.
OH, WE'RE, WE'RE VOTING NOW? YEAH.
OH, I JUST REMEMBER THE LAST FEW MEETINGS.
THAT'S HOW, THAT'S HOW THE PREVIOUS CHAIR CHOSE.
YEAH, WE CAN, I WOULD PREFER TO VOTE.
SO, UM, SO WE HAVE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES, SECONDED BY, UM, COMMISSIONER DAVIS.
SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR RAISE YOUR HAND, UH, AND I'LL, UH, REMINDER INFORM THE COMMISSIONERS ON, UH, CALLING IN VIRTUALLY THAT YOU NEED TO BE ON CAMERA FOR VOTES.
SO, UH, RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE IN FAVOR, EVAN, A LITTLE BIT A, UH, OF AN ISSUE CONNECTING TO THE, UH, POWERPOINT OR TO THE, UH, SCREEN.
DO WE WE HAVE A QUO WITHOUT HER OR NO? YEAH, WE CAN.
SO WE CAN'T OFFICIALLY VOTE ON THE, SO IF YOU WANNA GO AHEAD AND GO, SHOULD WE GO TO, UM, OR CAN WE DO ANYTHING? CAN WE DO BRIEFINGS? YOU CAN DO THE BRIEFINGS.
UH, WELL, IN THAT CASE, LET'S GO AHEAD AND, UM, HOLD ON ONE SECOND.
AND PERMISSION ON CAMERA? YEAH.
IF, UH, UH, PLEASE COME ON CAMERA TO VOTE.
SO, UM, DO THE PREVIOUS MOTION STILL STAND? OKAY.
PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, UH, IN FAVOR, UH, AND FEEL FREE TO SAY AYE, ON IF YOU'RE ON VIDEO, IF THAT'S EASIER.
BUT ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, IS THAT FIVE? ARE YOU TWO, UH, ABSTAINING OR I'M ABSTAIN.
I, I JUST JOINED THE COMMISSION, SO I'M ABSTAINING.
THAT'S THE, SO THEN THE, IF UH, THEN THE MINUTES DON'T PASS.
WE HAVE TO HAVE SIX PEOPLE VOTE IN FAVOR.
AS AN FYI, JUST AS A NOTE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ABSTAIN TO, EVEN THOUGH YOU JUST JOINED THE COMMISSION COMMISSIONERS, WE ONLY HAVE, HOLD ON OR GO AHEAD.
WE ONLY HAVE SIX PEOPLE, AND THE WAY THE RULES WORK IS THAT SIX PEOPLE IS A QUORUM AND IT MUST VOTE FOR A RESOLUTION OR IT DOESN'T PASS.
NOW, I, THESE ARE THE MINUTES.
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THING.AND I JUST ALSO WANTED TO MAKE IT TOTALLY CLEAR, UH, IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO ABSTAIN EVEN THOUGH YOU WEREN'T ON THE COMMISSION YET.
SO YOU, UM, I KNOW I'VE, I'VE DONE THAT WHEN I'VE MISSED MEETINGS WHEN ONLY HAD 9, 10, 11 COMMISSIONERS.
BUT, UM, YOU BOTH CAN FEEL FREE TO, TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF JUST APPROVING THE PREVIOUS MINUTES, WHICH IS PRETTY, UM, JUST ADMINISTRATIVE.
OTHERWISE, YOU'D HAVE TO WAIT TILL THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING TO, TO VOTE ON APPROVING, UH, THE JANUARY MINUTES, IF I MAY, COMMISSIONER.
UM, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE BEEN PRESENT AT A MEETING IN ORDER TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES.
THAT WAS, I JUST WAS REMINDED OF THAT AT THE REAPPOINTMENT TRAINING YESTERDAY.
UM, OBVIOUSLY NEW COMMISSIONERS WHO WERE NOT AT THE JANUARY MEETING, IF ARE ABSTAINING TODAY, STILL WILL NOT HAVE, HAVE BEEN AT THAT MEETING.
NEXT MEETING TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THOSE MINUTES.
I JUST SECOND THAT THIRD THAT I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW MANY VOTES WERE ALREADY STARTED.
UH, AND COMMISSIONER GARY, DO YOU ALSO VOTE IN FAVOR? I DO.
AND, UM, NEXT UP WE HAVE, UM, DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO, UM, THE FIRST IS, UH, RECOMMEND
[2. Recommend authorizing issuance of a capacity-based incentive to Texas County & District Retirement System for the installation of solar electric systems on their facility located at 901 S Mopac Expressway Service Road NB, Austin, TX 78746, in an amount not to exceed $163,620.]
AUTHORIZING ISSUANCE OF A CAPACITY BASED INCENTIVE TO TEXAS COUNTY AND DISTRICT RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR THE INSTALLATION OF SOLAR, UH, AT THEIR FACILITY, UM, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $163,620.UM, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS ON THIS? ARE YOU GOING TO THE PUBLIC FIRST OR ARE YOU ASKING THE COMMISSIONERS? I'M SORRY, CAN YOU REPEAT YOUR QUESTION? ARE YOU ASKING FOR QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC OR ARE YOU ASKING THE COMMISSIONERS IF WE HAVE QUESTIONS? THE COMMISSIONERS.
I, I DO, I GUESS I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW DID WE COME WITH UP WITH THE HUNDRED 63,000? UH, IF WE COULD HAVE A BREAKDOWN.
CAUSE I DIDN'T SEE IT UNLESS I OVERLOOKED IT.
UM, SO EACH, UM, INCENTIVE IS ESSENTIALLY THE, THE ORGANIZATION OR COMPANY CAN APPLY TO AUSTIN ENERGY FOR THIS, UM, INCENTIVE OR REBATE.
UM, AND THEN THE THIRD OR FOURTH PAGE OF THE AGENDA WHERE IT LISTS ITEM TWO, IT, IT HAS A, UM, A BREAKDOWN OF DETAILS AND COSTS.
UM, I DON'T HAVE THE, THE FORMULA MEMORIZED AS TO WHY.
YEAH, IF STAFF WANTS TO, TO ANSWER THAT, GO FOR IT.
I, I'M TIM HARVEY, I'M THE CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS MANAGER.
AND UH, THIS WAS CALCULATED AT A DOLLAR A WAT DC THAT'S THE OFFER THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE FOR NONPROFITS.
THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING THAT QUESTION.
SO, JUST FOR MY CLARIFICATION, I UNDERSTAND, CUZ I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO ASK THE QUESTION.
I'M GLAD ONE OF MY NEW COMMISSIONER FRIENDS DID.
BASICALLY WE'RE LOOKING AT TOTAL SYSTEM SIZE AND THAT'S WHERE I SEE ON THE, UH, REPORT HERE, 164 KILOWATTS.
AND SO THAT BASICALLY IS THE DOLLAR PER THAT YOU'RE SEEING THERE.
AND SO THAT COMES UP AT THE $163,600.
AT LEAST FINALLY, I UNDERSTAND THIS AFTER ALL THAT TIME.
SO IS THERE A TYPE OF CRITERIA THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO MEET IN ORDER FOR US TO APPROVE IT AND HAS IT BEEN MET? THEY HAVE MET ALL OF THE APPLICATION CRITERIA THAT WE HAVE BEFORE THAT WE REQUIRE, BEFORE WE, UM, SUBMIT THE R C A.
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ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS, UH, ITEM? I DO.SO THE, THE REQUEST IS UP TO 163,000.
LIKE CAN YOU JUST GIVE ME THE ROUND NUMBER, LIKE WHAT WOULD BE GIVEN, I KNOW IT'S UP TO, BUT WHAT WOULD BE THE AMOUNT OUT OF THAT? YEAH, SO, UM, SOMETIMES THEY HAVE, UM, LIKE SUPPLY CONSTRAINTS AND THEY'LL SWITCH WHAT TYPE OF PV MODULE THEY'LL USE OR INVERTER.
AND SO IF THE CAPACITY SIZE OF THE SYSTEM CHANGES DURING INSTALLATION, THEN THAT, UM, THAT AMOUNT WILL CHANGE.
BUT ASSUMING THAT THE, UM, DESIGN SYSTEM GETS INSTALLED, THEN THAT WOULD BE A CHECK DIRECTLY TO THEM.
SO BASED ON WHAT YOU'RE SAYING THAT IT COULD CHANGE, CAN WE REQUEST THAT THE FINAL AMOUNT BE PRESENTED TO US PRIOR TO, BECAUSE WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY THAT IS BEEN SPENT IS SPENT ACCORDINGLY, AND WE CAN BUDGET FOR THAT, WHATEVER THAT BUDGET IS.
SO IS THERE ANY WAY THAT ONCE WE ARE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHATEVER THAT NUMBER IS, THAT IT COULD BE BROUGHT BACK AND WE APPROVE IT? IF, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.
SO WE CERTAINLY HAVE THE BUDGET FOR THIS.
UM, THIS, WHAT YOU'RE APPROVING IS A NOT TO EXCEED NUMBER.
SO IF THE SYSTEM SIZE INCREASES, THEY'LL STILL ONLY GET, GET THIS AMOUNT, BUT IF IT DECREASES, THEN THEY'LL GET LESS.
SO I, I UNDERSTAND THAT AND THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION, BUT MY QUESTION IS, WILL YOU REPORT BACK TO WHAT AMOUNT WAS GIVEN TO THEM? UH, WE TYPICALLY DON'T, BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S, WE'RE CAPABLE OF DOING THAT.
I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE, THE, I SHOULD BE ONE OF THE STIPULATIONS THAT WHEN WE ARE APPROVING THIS AMOUNT AND WHEN IT SAYS IT'S UP TO, I THINK WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE A REPORT SAYING THAT THIS DOLLAR AMOUNT WAS GIVEN.
THAT WAY IT'LL HELP WITH RECORD KEEPING MOVING FORWARD IF WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO DO THIS ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE WE VOTE? NO.
UH, DOES ANYONE WANT TO MOTION MOVE APPROVAL? THANKS, PAUL.
SO IF WE CAN AMEND THAT AND BASICALLY ASKING THAT WE GET A REPORT SAVING THE AMOUNT THAT WAS GIVEN TO THE ORGANIZATION, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
I WOULD LIKE JUST TO ADD THAT IN.
THAT IS REPORTED BACK TO US, WHAT WAS PAID OUT THE FINAL AMOUNT.
SO THIS IS A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT THAT IT IS.
UM, I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT.
UM, CHARLOTTE, I DON'T HAVE A COMMENT ON THAT.
I DON'T NEED TO SEE IT, BUT OKAY.
UH, I MOVE APPROVAL WITH THE FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.
OKAY, THEN, UH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND VOTE SECOND.
NOW WE CAN GO AHEAD AND VOTE ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.
AYE, YOU NEED ALL SEX, RIGHT? YEAH.
[3. Recommend authorizing issuance of rebates for multifamily and commercial customer energy efficiency measures by Austin Energy during Fiscal Year 2022-2023 in the aggregate amounts of $2,650,000 for multifamily programs and $3,350,000 for commercial programs, for a total combined amount not to exceed $6,000,000, including ratification of $2,850,844 in rebates already issued in the current fiscal year.]
THREE IS, UM, RECOMMEND AUTHORIZING ISSUANCE OF REBATES FROM MULTIFAMILY AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES, UM, BY AUSTIN ENERGY DURING FISCAL YEAR 20 22, 20 23, UH, IN THE AGGREGATE AMOUNTS OF 2.65 MILLION FOR MULTI-FAMILY PROGRAMS AND 3.35 MILLION FOR COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS FOR A TOTAL COMBINED NOT TO EXCEED $6 MILLION, UM, INCLUDING RATIFICATION OF 2 MILLION HUNDRED $50,844 IN REBATES ISSUED IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.UM, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ITEM? I HAVE A QUESTION.
ARE THESE STILL UNDER THE REQUIREMENTS OF, UH, BEING INSTALLED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN CERTIFIED? UM, I THINK, I BELIEVE IT WAS AUSTIN ENERGY HAD CERTIFIED INSTALLERS FOR THIS PROGRAM.
IS THAT STILL A REQUIREMENT? UH, YEAH.
STAFF IS WALKING UP TO THE MIC TO ANSWER THE QUESTION.
[00:15:02]
HELLO, MY NAME IS JOE TANG.I'M THE INTERIM ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES MANAGER OVERSEEING OUR COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY PROGRAMS. UM, SO THAT QUESTION, IT IT VARIES ON THE MULTI-FAMILY SIDE.
EVERY ONE OF OUR PARTICIPATING CONTRACTORS OR EVERY CONTRACTOR WHO DOES THE WORK, THEY MUST BE APPROVED BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
THEY MUST MEET OUR MINIMUM LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS, OUR MINIMUM INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS, AND OTHER QUALITY STANDARDS THAT WE SUBMIT.
ALL OF THE WORK THAT WAS DONE AT THE MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES WAS DONE BY A REGISTERED PARTICIPATING CONTRACTOR.
I DON'T BELIEVE ANY OF THESE PROJECTS COUNT, BUT, UM, THERE ARE OCCASIONS WHERE IF A MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTY HAS IN-HOUSE STAFF WHERE THEY WANT THEM TO PERFORM THE WORK, THEN WE WOULD ALSO PAY A REBATE TO THE PROPERTY ITSELF IF THEY WANTED TO DO THAT.
I DON'T THINK THAT APPLIES FOR THESE PROJECTS.
UM, BUT THAT DOES HAPPEN ON OCCASION.
ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, THE CONTRACTORS WHO PERFORM THE WORK VARY A LOT MORE.
WE DO HAVE REGISTERED CONTRACTORS IN THE LIGHTING AND HVAC TRADES FOR OUR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
FOR THESE, UM, LARGER COMMERCIAL PROJECTS, THEY TYPICALLY PICK LARGER DEVELOPERS, LARGER CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES.
WE DON'T HAVE A LIST OF REQUIRED CONTRACTORS ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE SINCE THAT WOULD BE, UM, TWO LIMITING IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO PROCESS OUR REBATES TO CUSTOMERS.
UM, DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES, THANKS.
I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF THERE WAS SOME SORT OF, UM, UNDER, UNDER THE REQUIREMENTS SUCH AS LIKE COMMERCIAL, ARE THERE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS? AND I THINK THERE IS LIMITATIONS ON THE COST OF WHAT, HOW MUCH THEY CAN DO.
SO THE, UH, YOU ANSWERED MY QUESTION.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE WE VOTE? ALL RIGHT.
IS THERE A MOTION TO, UH, MOVE THIS? I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO TABLE ACTUALLY.
UH, LOU WANTS THE MOTION TO TABLE.
IS THERE A SECOND VOTE? KNOW WHAT? OTHERWISE, I MEAN, BEING TRANSPARENT, IT'S IT, YEAH.
UH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO LET US KNOW ANY CONCERNS YOU HAVE? UH, MY CONCERN IS, OH YEAH, YOUR, MY CONCERN IS THE SAME ONE THAT WE ALWAYS HAVE THAT THE STATE IS A RECIPIENT OF FUNDS IN THIS PROGRAM AND I DO NOT BELIEVE IN GIVING DAD YOUR MONEY AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
AND YOU'VE GOT, OH, I DON'T KNOW, WHAT DO WE GOT HERE? UH, ABOUT 700 SOME THOUSAND DOLLARS GIVE OR TAKE THAT ARE TIED INTO NO, MAYBE $600,000 THAT'S TIED INTO STATE PROJECTS.
UH, YEAH, THANKS FOR LETTING US KNOW AND REITERATING YOUR STANCE.
UH, YEAH, STAFF CAN GO AHEAD AND RESPOND.
JUST PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT ON THE STATE PROJECT.
SO, UM, FIRST OFF, THE STATE OF TEXAS DOES PAY INTO THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE THE SAME RATE AS ALL COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
SO THEREFORE THEY'RE PAYING THE SAME ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND LIGHTING AND OTHER FUNDING THAT SUPPORT, UM, ALL THE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT, UM, ORIGINATE FROM THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE.
THIS, UM, PAST YEAR WAS A KIND OF BANNER YEAR FOR AUSTIN ENERGY SUPPORTING THE STATE OF TEXAS.
THEY HAD A NUMBER OF LARGE CAPITAL PROJECTS COMPLETE THE CAPITAL MALL.
THEY HAD A SERIES OF LIGHTING SERVICE CONTRACTS COMPLETED AT SEVERAL OF THEIR BUILDINGS, UM, WHICH IS WHAT YOU'RE SEEING ON THIS LIST.
THEY ALSO COMPLETED THE THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE PROJECT AS WELL.
SO, UM, THE, THAT'S THE RESULT OF THESE IN INCENTIVES THAT WE PAID OUT.
IT'S NOT TYPICAL THAT WE PAY, UM, THAT AMOUNT OF INCENTIVES TO THE STATE.
IT'S A, IT WAS A BANNER YEAR, AS I MENTIONED.
WE TYPICALLY DON'T PAY, UM, THAT AMOUNT, BUT IT JUST COINCIDED WITH WHEN THEY HAD A LOT OF CAPITAL PROJECTS COMPLETED.
IS THERE A TIMELINE ON THIS APPROVAL? SO, UM, THE, THIS PARTICULAR APPROVAL IS TO YES, UM, PROVIDE US WITH TWO THINGS.
ONE IS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS, OUR PROGRAMS HAVE REQUESTED WHAT WE CALL AN AGGREGATE AND REBATE APPROVAL AUTHORITY.
IT ALLOWS US TO ISSUE INCENTIVES THAT ARE, THAT EXCEED OUR ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDING AUTHORITY, WHICH THIS YEAR IS $72,000.
IT ALLOWS US TO PROCESS THESE PROJECTS MUCH MORE QUICKLY, AND IN PARTICULAR HAS THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON OUR MULTI-FAMILY PROJECTS WHERE IN THE PAST THESE PROJECTS WOULD COMPLETE THE CONTRACTORS WHO ARE COMPLETING THE WORK HAVE PAID FOR THE MATERIALS, THE TIME AND LABOR.
AND THEN WE ESSENTIALLY HAVE TO WAIT SEVERAL MONTHS FOR THE CITIZEN COMMISSIONS AND
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COUNCIL TO APPROVE THE PROJECT.AND IN A LOT OF INSTANCES, THE CONTRACTORS WOULD HAVE TO PULL OUT A LINE OF CREDIT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE WAITING SEVERAL WEEKS, SEVERAL MONTHS TO PAY THEIR STAFF.
THEY'RE REALLY LIMITED THE NUMBER OF CONTRACTORS THAT COULD PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM.
AND SO WHEN WE REQUESTED THIS, UM, AGGREGATE APPROVAL, IT'S REALLY HELPED US TO STREAMLINE A NUMBER OF ASPECTS OF OUR PROGRAM.
IT'S REALLY ALLOWED US TO FOCUS ON RUNNING THE PROGRAM BETTER.
SO WE'VE ACTUALLY TRIPLED THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING CONTRACTORS IN OUR PROGRAM.
I THINK WE CURRENTLY HAVE 14 REGISTERED CONTRACTORS.
11 OF THEM HAVE ACTUALLY DONE WORK IN THE PAST YEAR.
UM, IN THE ERA BEFORE THIS AGGREGATE AUTHORITY WAS PASSED, WE'VE ALSO DOUBLED THE NUMBER OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES THAT WE INSTALL AT EACH PROPERTY.
IN THE PAST WE WERE AVERAGING ONE OR TWO, TWO MEASURES.
NOW WE'RE AT 3.7, SO THAT'S WATER SAVING DEVICES, ENERGY EFFICIENCY LIGHTING, UM, HVAC UPGRADES, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, ALSO THE NUMBER OF TENANT PROPERTIES THAT WE WERE ABLE TO TOUCH IN 2019.
WE HAD ABOUT, I'M SORRY, 2020.
WE COMPLETED ABOUT 4,000 UNITS.
AND EVERY YEAR SINCE THEN, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF TENANT UNITS THAT WE'VE RETROFITTED BY ABOUT A THOUSAND.
SO IN FY 22, WE SUCCESSFULLY RETROFITTED ABOUT 6,000 TENANT UNITS.
SO THIS AGGREGATE AUTHORITY HAS REALLY HELPED US TO STREAMLINE OUR PROCESS, GET ADDITIONAL CONTRACTORS, GET ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES IN THE QUEUE.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HOPING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO LEVERAGE THAT MOVING FORWARD SO THAT WE CAN SEE THE CONTINUED SUCCESS OF OUR PROGRAMS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EXPLAINING ABOUT THE GOOD WORK THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING.
BUT AGAIN, MY QUESTION IS, IS THERE A TIMELINE FOR US TO APPROVE THIS? WHAT IS, WHAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, DOES IT NEED TO BE APPROVED TONIGHT? CAN SOME ADDITIONAL RESEARCH BE REQUESTED, UH, JUST ON MY BEHALF TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING IS A FLOW, YOU KNOW, IF YOU COULD JUST PROVIDE THAT, THAT WILL HELP ME DECIDE ON WHERE I RESULT IN THIS PARTICULAR MATTER.
I'LL, I'LL TRY TO PROVIDE CONTEXT.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW, I BELIEVE, UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY AT HOLD ON HOLD.
SO WE ARE NOT ISSUING PAYMENT FOR ANY LARGE PROJECTS THAT, UM, HAVE, I'VE COMPLETED SINCE WE DISCOVERED THAT WE DID NOT CORRECTLY SUBMIT FOR THE AGGREGATE APPROVAL AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.
SO UNTIL WE RECEIVE THE APPROVAL, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO PAY, UM, THOSE CUSTOMERS, THOSE CONTRACTORS FOR THE WORK THAT'S ALREADY BEEN COMPLETED.
UM, SO I'M NOT SURE, I'LL, I'D HAVE TO, UM, ASK MY AUSTIN ENERGY COLLEAGUES.
I KNOW THAT THIS IS, UM, ON THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL MEETING FOR THURSDAY.
SO I'M NOT SURE IF, UM, IF IT GETS TABLED OR NOT APPROVED AT THIS MEETING, WHETHER OR NOT IT WOULD STILL BE PRESENT AT THAT COUNCIL MEETING.
UM, BUT IF WE DO RECEIVE THE APPROVAL, THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO PAY THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN COMPLETED, UM, AND RELEASE THE HOLD, UM, THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY HAVE ON OUR PROGRAMS. SO THERE ISN'T, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T HAVE A SET DATE FOR, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE ABSOLUTELY NEED, UM, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE A, AN APPROVAL BY, I'M JUST WANTING TO PROVIDE CONTEXT WITH WHERE WE ARE.
SO I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.
UH, SH UH, CHARLOTTE, COMMISSIONER DAVIS, IT WAS YOUR MIC ON.
ONE IS, UH, WAS THIS REVIEWED AND APPROVED AT THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION LAST WEEK? AND TWO, IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY OF SEPARATING THE MULTI-FAMILY FROM THE COMMERCIAL AND SMALL BUSINESS PORTIONS AND VOTE ON THOSE SEPARATELY? SO TO ANSWER YOUR FIRST QUESTION, YES, IT WAS REVIEWED AND UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED AT THE EUC LAST WEEK.
UM, IF, IF WE WANTED TO SEPARATE IT, I'M NOT SURE LOGISTICALLY OR IF THAT'S ALLOWED.
I THINK FROM THE PROGRAM PERSPECTIVE, IF Y'ALL WERE MORE COMFORTABLE APPROVING FOR ONE THE MULTI-FAMILY PROGRAM OR THE COMMERCIAL PROGRAM OVER THE OTHER, UM, I'M, I GUESS I'M NOT SURE HOW DOES THAT WORK? IF THE EUC HAS ALREADY APPROVED IT, CAN WE MAKE ADJUSTMENTS NOW? WELL, THE ITEM IS ALREADY ON TRACK TO GO TO COUNCIL ON THURSDAY.
UM, WHETHER THE COMMISSION APPROVES IT OR NOT, IT'S STILL GONNA GO BEFORE COUNCIL, BUT IT WILL BE NOTATED HOW THE COM, UH, COMMISSION VOTED.
WHY WASN'T THIS SUBMITTED TIMELY? SO THE REASON IS WE HAD STAFFING CHANGES.
UM, WE HAD A DIRECTOR DEPART AND OUR AREA MANAGER DEPART AND THE STAFF WHO REMAINED, UM, WE DIDN'T REALIZE THE EXACT SEQUENCE OF WHAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN TO GET THIS AUTHORITY
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PASSED.UM, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED IN AN RCA DIRECTLY IMMEDIATELY AFTER, UM, THE BUDGET WAS SUBMITTED.
WE FOUND THE MISTAKE ARE WORKING THE CORRECTOR RIGHT NOW AND MOVING FORWARD, UM, BOTH OUR TEAM AND OUR FINANCE TEAM THAT, UM, COORDINATES THE BUDGET.
WE BOTH HAVE ADDED THIS ITEM TO OUR ANNUAL CHECKLIST SO THAT WE WON'T, THE SAME ERROR WON'T OCCUR AGAIN NO MATTER WHO DEPARTS.
SO IT WAS DUE TO STAFF DEPARTURES UNFORTUNATELY.
UM, PARDON ME FOR BEING A LITTLE DENSE, UH, YOUR IDEA OF CHARLOTTE, OF SPLITTING THIS INTO TWO RESOLUTIONS.
CAN WE, I'M INTERESTED IF THIS CAN BE DONE.
UH, COULD YOU VOTE FOR THE MULTI-FAMILY GLUE? YEAH, I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM.
I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MULTI-FAMILY.
SO, UM, I WOULD MOVE THAT WE ASK COUNSEL TO APPROVE THE MULTI-FAMILY PORTION OF THIS.
I LIKE THE IDEA, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF WE'RE ALLOWED TO DO THAT.
UM, UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
RICHARD GENEE, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.
UH, JUST WANTED TO INTERJECT THAT, UM, OUR RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE NOT TO SPLIT, UH, THE TWO, AT LEAST NOT FOR, UM, GOING BEFORE COUNCIL ON THURSDAY.
UH, OPERATIONALLY WE MIGHT CONSIDER THAT AFTERWARDS IF, UH, IF THAT'S A, A DESIRE OR, OR NEED.
UH, BUT IN THE INTEREST OF THE CONTRACTORS THAT ARE BEING AFFECTED RIGHT NOW THAT ARE NOT BEING, UM, PAID AND ARE BEING DELAYED, UH, WE, WE WOULD RE RECOMMEND THAT THEY NOT BE SEPARATED FOR THURSDAY, BUT THAT WE COULD HAVE DISCUSSIONS AFTERWARDS.
RICHARD, I AM SYMPATHETIC TO YOUR ARGUMENTS, BUT WE HAVE SIX PEOPLE HERE AND WE LOSE ONE VOTE.
WE CAN'T OFFICIALLY APPROVE IT.
WE CAN BE SEEN AS VOTING FIVE TO ONE, BUT WE CAN'T OFFICIALLY AS A BODY APPROVE IT.
SO, I AGAIN, WOULD ASK, SUGGEST THAT WE SPLIT THIS, UH, IN THE INTEREST OF EXPEDITION.
I GUESS MY, OR DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? UH, MORE OF A QUESTION FOR STAFF.
UM, ARE WE ALLOWED TO VOTE ON THEM SEPARATELY SINCE THEY'RE POSTED UNDER ONE ITEM? OR DO WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THAT ONE ITEM AS A WHOLE? YOU WOULD HAVE TO VOTE ON IT AS A WHOLE BECAUSE THAT'S HOW IT'S POSTED.
YOU CAN'T VOTE ON IT SEPARATELY.
THAT'S KIND OF HOW I FIGURED, UH, COMMISSIONER DAVIS COMMENT, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATIONS THERE.
I ALWAYS WANNA BE ABLE TO EXPLORE THINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN GET TO A SOLUTION.
BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE FOR THIS ONE, FOR THIS ITEM, IT NEEDS TO EITHER, UM, BE TABLED OR BE VOTED.
UH, AND IT'S GOING TO COUNSEL ON THURSDAY REGARDLESS.
SO, UM, I'M GOING TO MOVE TO VOTE.
I'LL SECOND, BUT FOR THE RECORD, NATASHA, I RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH YOU.
UH, MS. GOODWIN, I, UH, RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE.
I WATCH ELECTED BODIES TAKE POSTED ITEMS AND AMEND THEM EVERY DAY PRACTICALLY, UH, CERTAINLY EVERY WEEK.
SO I, I, I JUST DO NOT AGREE WITH YOUR TAKE ON THIS.
UM, SO WAS THERE, UH, A MOTION TO VOTE
MOVED, UH, TO APPROVE ITEM THREE BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS.
UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND VOTE THEN.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND OR STATE? AYE.
ALL RIGHT, THAT LOOKS LIKE THREE IN FAVOR.
UM, ALL THOSE OPPOSED, THAT'S ONE.
AND THEN ARE TWO TWO OPPOSED, OR ARE Y'ALL ABSTAINING? I'M SORRY.
CAN YOU, I OPPOSED, YOU? OPPOSED, OPPOSED.
AND THE ITEM FAILS OF COURSE, WITHOUT A SIX PERSON.
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ALL RIGHT.THAT IS OUR FIRST THREE ITEMS. UM, NEXT UP
[4. Staff briefing regarding Austin Water’s Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Project by Helen Gerlach, Engineer, Systems Planning of Austin Water. ]
ARE STAFF BRIEFINGS.UH, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND, UH, BEGIN WITH THE STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING AUSTIN WATER'S AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT.
UM, CAN EVERYBODY HEAR ME OKAY? GOOD VOLUME.
CAN YOU MAYBE RAISE THE MIC A LITTLE BIT? YEAH.
IS THAT BETTER? YEAH, THAT HELPS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT THE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT.
I'M AN ENGINEER WITH THE AUSTIN WATER UTILITY.
UM, I'M IN THE SYSTEMS PLANNING DIVISION, AND I AM THE AUSTIN WATER PROJECT MANAGER, UM, FOR THIS FIRST PHASE OF OUR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT.
SO TODAY I WANNA TALK ABOUT WHAT AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IS.
TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LOCATION EVALUATION WE'RE DOING AT THIS STAGE IN THE PROJ PROJECT.
DISCUSS HOW WE'RE INCORPORATING EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY INTO THE PROCESS.
GO OVER SOME OF OUR NEXT STEPS, AND THEN HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THE PROJECT.
SO BEFORE I TALK MORE, UM, ABOUT AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY, AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL FROM ITS NAME, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY, ALSO CALLED ASR.
IT'S A STRATEGY THAT ALLOWS YOU TO STORE WATER IN A NATURAL AQUIFER AT TIMES WHEN, UM, IT'S A WET AND THERE'S LOTS OF WATER AVAILABLE, KEEP THAT WATER STORED AND THEN RECOVER IT LATER WHEN THAT WATER IS NEEDED, SUCH AS DURING A SEVERE DROUGHT, AQUIFER, STORAGE AND RECOVERY IS A WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY THAT'S BEING USED ALREADY ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES, AND EVEN HERE IN TEXAS.
UM, SAN ANTONIO, EL PASO AND KEVILLE ALL CURRENTLY HAVE OPERATING ASR SYSTEMS THAT THEY USE TO MEET THEIR CUSTOMER NEEDS.
UM, SO A LITTLE BIT MORE JUST ABOUT AQUIFERS BEFORE WE DIVE INTO MORE OF THE PROJECT SPECIFICS.
SO, AQUIFERS THEMSELVES, AS YOU MAY KNOW, ARE THE LAYERS OF ROCK AND SEDIMENT BELOW THE GROUND THAT HOLD LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER.
AND THE WATER THERE IS STORED IN THE PORES AND THE HOLES IN BETWEEN ALL THE DIFFERENT AQUIFER PIECES.
UM, YOU CAN THINK OF IT SORT OF LIKE A SPONGE, AND THAT WATER IS WHAT WE KNOW AS GROUNDWATER.
AND DIFFERENT AQUIFERS CAN HAVE DIFFERENT PROPERTIES DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF ROCKER SEDIMENT THAT IT'S MADE OUT OF, HOW BIG THOSE PORES ARE, THAT HOLD WATER AND MANY OTHER FACTORS.
AND SO TRADITIONAL GROUNDWATER WELLS WORK BY PUMPING OUT THE GROUNDWATER THAT'S STORED IN THOSE SPACES IN THE AQUIFER.
BUT ASSR IS UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT THAN A TYPICAL GROUNDWATER PROJECT BECAUSE WE WOULD NEVER PUMP MORE WATER OUT OF THE AQUIFER THAN WAS PREVIOUSLY STORED.
SO ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE RECOVERED BY THE PROJECT WOULD HAVE BEEN PUT INTO THE GROUNDWATER INTO THAT AQUIFER PREVIOUSLY BY AUSTIN WATER.
OH, SO ASR IS A KEY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY THAT'S IN WATERFORD, WHICH IS AUSTIN'S COUNCIL APPROVED INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES PLAN THAT LAYS OUT OUR ROADMAP, UM, FOR OUR WATER FUTURE OVER THE NEXT 100 YEARS.
SO THAT WATERFORD PLAN IDENTIFIES STRATEGIES TO HELP MEET OUR NEEDS IN THE FUTURE DUE TO OUR GROWING POPULATION, SEVERE DROUGHTS AND THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND ASR WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT PIECE OF THAT WATER FOR PLAN BECAUSE IT PROVIDES A SECOND SOURCE OF WATER SUPPLY DURING SEVERE CONDITIONS IN THE FUTURE, LIKE SEVERE DROUGHT.
AND IN ADDITION TO ASR WATER, FORD INCLUDES LOTS OF OTHER STRATEGIES TO HELP MEET OUR FUTURE NEEDS, SUCH AS CONSERVATION STRATEGIES TO HELP LOWER OUR DEMANDS IN THE FUTURE, AND REUSE STRATEGIES TO HELP US REUSE OUR OWN WATER IN THE CITY.
UM, WORK ON THE FIRST PHASE OF OUR ASR PROJECT BEGIN IN 2021, AND WE'RE WORKING TO IDENTIFY A POSSIBLE LOCATION FOR THE PROJECT AT THIS POINT.
SO I'LL TALK MORE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW AUSTIN'S AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT WOULD WORK.
SO THE PLAN IS TO HAVE WATER AVAILABLE UNDER OUR EXISTING SURFACE WATER RIGHTS BE STORED IN THAT AQUIFER DURING WET TIMES WHEN THERE IS MORE WATER AVAILABLE UNDER OUR EXISTING RIGHTS.
UM, AGAIN, THAT WATER WOULD BE STORED IN THE NATURAL AQUIFER, NO NEED FOR A TANK.
IT WOULD BE STORED IN THE, THE SPACE IN THE AQUIFER MATRIX ITSELF.
WE'D BE TREATING OUR WATER BEFORE WE WOULD STORE IT TO ENSURE THAT IT WOULD BE COMPATIBLE WITH THE AQUIFER MATRIX ITSELF, AS WELL AS THE NATIVE GROUNDWATER.
UM, WE'D LEAVE THAT WATER STORED UNDERGROUND UNTIL WE ENTER INTO A DROUGHT OR ANOTHER TIME OF NEED, AND THEN WE'D BE ABLE TO RECOVER OUR
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STORED WATER.WE'D TREAT IT TO MAKE SURE IT WAS FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH OUR, UM, DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND THE WATER INSIDE OF THAT, AND THEN SEND IT TO CUSTOMERS TO MEET NEEDS.
AND AGAIN, THE A S R PROJECT IS DIFFERENT THAN HOW A TRADITIONAL GROUNDWATER PROJECT WOULD WORK, BECAUSE WHEN WE DO RECOVER THAT WATER, IT WOULD ONLY BE WHAT WE HAD PREVIOUSLY STORED AND NO MORE.
SO, SOME OF THE PROJECT ADVANTAGES, UM, FOR ASR ARE LISTED HERE.
UM, AGAIN, OUR ASR PROJECT IS PLANNED TO MAKE AUSTIN'S WATER SUPPLY MORE RESILIENT, ESPECIALLY AS WE'RE, UM, EXPERIENCING THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEEING THESE MORE SEVERE DROUGHTS.
ADDITIONALLY, AN ASR SYSTEM CAN STORE VERY LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER WITH MINIMAL DISTURBANCE TO THE LAND ABOVE THE AQUIFER.
SINCE YOU ARE USING THAT NATURAL AQUIFER, YOU'RE OFTEN UNABLE TO CONTINUE USING THE LAND ABOVE IT FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES OR GREEN SPACE, WATER STORED IN OUR ASR SYSTEM WOULD BE AVAILABLE UNDER OUR EXISTING WATER RIGHTS.
SO WE'RE MAXIMIZING THE WATER SUPPLIES WE ALREADY HAVE ACCESS TO.
AND SINCE YOU'RE STORING THE WATER UNDERGROUND IN AN AQUIFER, YOU DON'T HAVE THE HIGH EVAPORATIVE LOSSES FROM THAT STORED WATER THAT YOU WOULD SEE IN A SIMILARLY SIZED ABOVE GROUND RESERVOIR.
UM, IT'S ALSO MORE EFFECTIVE STORING THE WATER UNDERGROUND THAN SIMILAR WATER STORAGE OPTIONS LIKE AN ABOVE GROUND RESERVOIR.
AND THAT ASR SYSTEM WOULD HOPEFULLY PROVIDE A SECOND SOURCE OF WATER SUPPLY, UM, NOT ONLY DURING DROUGHT, BUT IN SUPPLY EMERGENCIES AND UPSETS AS WELL.
SO THIS TIMELINE SHOWS, UM, KIND OF WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROJECT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING IN 2021, ALL THE WAY THROUGH FULL SCALE CONSTRUCTION, UM, WHICH WE ESTIMATE WOULD BE WRAPPED UP IN ABOUT 2035.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE KIND OF WAY FAR ON THE LEFT OF THIS TIMELINE AND WHAT WE'RE CALLING PHASE ONE A, WHERE WE'RE WORKING TO DETERMINE WHAT THE BEST LOCATION FOR AN AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT FOR AUSTIN WOULD BE.
SO ONCE WE HAVE A LOCATION IDENTIFIED, OUR NEXT STEP WOULD BE TO BUILD AND TEST A SMALL SCALE PILOT FACILITY, UM, WHICH WOULD GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROOF OUT ALL OF OUR ASSUMPTIONS AND GET A LOT OF DETAILED DATA, UM, ABOUT WATER QUALITY AND THE HYDROGEOLOGY OF THE AQUIFER BEFORE WE WOULD BEGIN ANY WORK ON A FULL SCALE PROJECT.
UM, ONCE THAT PILOT PROJECT IS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED, WE'D BE, UH, MOVING ON TO DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A FULL SCALE ASR, AGAIN, WITH THE HOPE OF WRAPPING THAT UP BY ABOUT 2035, WHICH WOULD GIVE US UNTIL 2040, UM, TO START STORING WATER IN THAT PROJECT.
SO IT WOULD BE ACCESSIBLE IN TIMES OF DROUGHT, AND THAT'S IN ALIGNMENT, UM, WITH THE TIMELINE THAT WAS SET OUT FOR THIS PROJECT IN THE WATER FORD PLAN.
UM, SO AGAIN, JUST EMPHASIZING KIND OF THE HIGH LEVEL LOOK OF THE TIMING OF THIS PROJECT AND HOW EARLY WE ARE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
UM, JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE, WHERE IT WOULD WORK, UM, TO LOCATE THIS PROJECT.
UM, WE'VE ALREADY BEGUN WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UM, WE DID SOME COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS AND WE'VE GOT LOTS OF TIME, YOU KNOW, FROM NOW UNTIL 2035 TO MAKE SURE WE CONTINUE ENGAGE AND INCORPORATE, UM, THEIR INPUT INTO THE PROCESS AS WELL.
SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, THE LOCATION EVALUATION PROCESS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON NOW.
WE ARE, UM, ESSENTIALLY THE PROCESS, UM, IS WE'RE FUNNELING DOWN FROM A VERY BROAD AREA, UM, AROUND AUSTIN OF POSSIBLE LOCATIONS TO HOPEFULLY END UP AT A PRETTY NARROW, UM, RECOMMENDATION OF WHERE A FAVORABLE SPOT FOR THIS, UM, PROJECT COULD BE.
UM, AND SO WE'VE GOT, UH, TECHNICAL ASPECTS GUIDING THAT, UH, WORK AS WELL AS OUR EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY WORK AS WELL.
AND WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO INCORPORATE THAT EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY WORK, UM, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS UP THERE IN STEP ONE, UM, AND DOWN AS WE CONTINUE TO NARROW DOWN, UM, ON THOSE LOCATIONS.
SO, ALL OF THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE FOR THE PROJECT AT THIS POINT IS JUST DESKTOP ANALYSIS.
UM, THERE'S BEEN NO FIELD WORK, UM, PERFORMED.
SO WHAT WE DID TO START OUT WAS LOOK AT THIS REALLY BROAD RANGE OF POSSIBLE OPTIONS TO LOCATE THIS PROJECT.
WE CONSIDERED ALL THE MAJOR AND MINOR AQUIFERS IN TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, AS WELL AS ALL OF THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES, UM, AND LOOKED AT THEIR HYDROGEOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS, UM, THE PERMITTING CONSIDERATIONS OF THAT, THOSE PARTICULAR LOCATIONS, AS WELL AS MANY OTHER FACTORS.
ULTIMATELY, WE IDENTIFIED THE CARA WILCOX AQUIFER AS WELL AS THE TRINITY AQUIFER IN NORTHERN TRAVIS COUNTY, BASTROP AND LEE COUNTIES, UM, AS BEING, UH, FAVORABLE LOCATIONS FOR ASR.
UM, AND, UH, WORTHY OF BEING INVESTIGATED FURTHER
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TO IDENTIFY, UM, POTENTIAL SITES FOR THAT ASR PILOT PROJECT.SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF PERFORMING, UM, DETAILED DESKTOP ANALYSES OF THE AQUIFERS IN THE THAT AREA, UM, TO DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY WOULD PERFORM FOR THE, THE GOALS OF AUSTIN'S ASR PROJECT.
UM, AND WE'VE BEEN DOING COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS, UM, IN THOSE AREAS AS WELL, UM, TO GATHER INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY AND CONSIDER THAT AS WELL IN OUR ANALYSIS.
UM, SHOWN UP HERE ARE SOME NOTES ABOUT THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ROADMAP AND TOOL THAT WE'RE USING IN THE PROCESS.
THIS WAS SOMETHING WE SHARED AT THOSE COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS, UM, THAT WE PERFORMED, PERFORMED IN FALL OF LAST YEAR.
AND THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ROADMAP AND TOOL, UM, ARE, UH, KIND OF THE, THE SECOND FACET OF THE ANALYSIS AND GO ALONG WITH THE TECHNICAL WORK WE'RE DOING, UM, TO HELP IDENTIFY, UH, WHAT THE BENEFITS AND BURDENS OF THE PROJECT WOULD BE, DEPENDING ON WHERE WE LOCATE IT.
UM, AND SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT BOTH FOR OUR AUSTIN WATER CUSTOMERS AS WELL AS FOR THE COMMUNITIES THAT MAY POTENTIALLY BE LOCATED BY THE ASR INFRASTRUCTURE, IF THAT IS OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN WATER SERVICE AREA.
SO THE RESULTS OF THIS, UM, ANALYSIS, THIS EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY TOOL WILL BE CONSIDERED ALONG WITH THE TECHNICAL RESULTS AND WILL ULTIMATELY, UM, HELP US MAKE THAT DECISION ABOUT WHERE THE BEST SPOT TO LOCATE THE ASR PROJECT WILL BE.
UM, SO TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS, UM, I THINK MY ARROW DIDN'T GET MOVED OVER WHEN THE MEETING GOT, UH, POSTPONED.
SO IT SHOULD BE POINTING TO SPRING OF 2023.
UM, BUT WE'RE STILL IN THAT SAME SPOT, UM, KIND OF RIGHT AFTER THE DEVELOP, UH, AND EVALUATE PROJECT CONFIGURATIONS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON NOW, TAKING ALL THOSE DESKTOP ANALYSES TO FIGURE OUT WHAT DIFFERENT OPTIONS COULD BE FOR, UM, AN ASR CONFIGURATION, LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WELL FIELDS AND DIFFERENT POINTS THAT IT COULD TIE INTO THE AUSTIN WATER SYSTEM.
WE'VE BEEN INCORPORATING INPUT FROM THOSE COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS INTO THE CRITERIA WE'LL BE USING TO DO THE TECHNICAL EVALUATION, AS WELL AS THE QUESTIONS WE'LL BE USING TO PERFORM THAT EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ANALYSIS BASED ON THOSE RESULTS.
WE WANT TO, UM, DETERMINE A LOCATION FOR OUR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PILOT PROJECT, AND WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE THAT LOCATION IDENTIFIED BY THE END OF THIS YEAR.
WE THEN DEVELOP A FIELD TE FIELD TESTING PLAN, UM, FOR OUR NEXT PHASE OF WORK, PERFORM THE SMALL SCALE PILOTING, UM, AND THEN, UH, MOVE ON FROM THERE INTO FULL SCALE CONSTRUCTION ONCE WE HAVE THOSE RESULTS.
SO THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS, WE JUST WANNA EMPHASIZE AS WELL OUR ONGOING, UM, COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND CONSIDERING EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY, UM, IN THE ASR PROJECT.
WE WILL BE, UM, HAVING, UH, ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS, UM, AS WE WRAP UP THIS PHASE OF THE PROJECT AND THEN MOVING FORWARD, UM, WHEN WE DO PILOTING AND FULL SCALE CONSTRUCTION AS WELL.
AND THEN JUST, UH, NEXT SLIDE.
UH, LAST BIT OF INFORMATION TO SHARE ABOUT THE PROJECT.
I JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS WE'VE DEVELOPED.
UM, WE'VE BEEN ADVERTISING ABOUT OUR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT ON AUSTIN WATER, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND WE HAVE A SPEAK UP AUSTIN SITE WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD RESOURCES ABOUT THE PROJECT.
UM, IT'S LINKED THERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE, UM, BUT WE HAVE AN ASR FACT SHEET AVAILABLE, UM, FAQS, AND ALSO A PLACE WHERE FOLKS CAN SUBMIT QUESTIONS TO THE PROJECT TEAM OR REQUEST A PRESENTATION FROM US.
AND WITH THAT, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THE PROJECT.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
SO, UM, AS FAR AS THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ANALYSIS GOES, JUST SO THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND AT A HIGH LEVEL, UM, BASICALLY YOU'RE LOOKING AT AN AREA TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE ESSENTIALLY GOING TO BE PROHIBITING DEVELOPMENT ON THE SURFACE.
IS THAT THE IDEA, KIND OF LIKE THE EDWARDS RECHARGE ZONE, SIMILAR KIND OF A THING WHERE YOU BASICALLY SAY YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE WHATEVER SITTING THERE? IS THAT MORE OR LESS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THERE? THAT'S CERTAINLY ONE ASPECT OF IT.
UM, I THINK WE'RE LOOKING AT A LOT OF OTHER THINGS AS WELL.
UM, SO, UH, AS YOU KNOW, THERE WOULD BE CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS OVER WHAT COULD BE ON TOP OF THAT STORED WATER TO MAKE SURE IT'S KEEPING IT SAFE.
YOU WOULD HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO CONTINUE USING IT FOR THINGS MAYBE LIKE AGRICULTURE OR GREEN SPACE.
UM, BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE WANNA LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, HOW THE COST OF THE ASR PROJECT COULD AFFECT OUR AUSTIN WATER CUSTOMERS.
HOW, UM, WHEN WE, UH, RECHARGE OR RECOVER WATER FROM THE AQUIFER, HOW THAT MIGHT AFFECT DRAWDOWN IN NEARBY, UM, DOMESTIC WELLS, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT AS WELL.
SO THE DEVELOPMENT, UM, RESTRICTIONS WOULD BE
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A COMPONENT OF IT, BUT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, HOPING TO ENCOMPASS A LOT OF, UM, THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS IN THAT ANALYSIS.UM, SO YOU SAID, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, YOU SAID YOU WERE TAKING ALREADY EXISTING SURFACE WATER RIGHTS AND, UM, GOING TO PUMP IT INTO THE AQUIFER, CORRECT? CORRECT.
UM, HAVE Y'ALL, AND I'M SURE YOU HAVE, BUT I JUST DIDN'T SEE IT IN, IN HERE, OR I OVERLOOKED IT.
UM, HAVE Y'ALL CONSIDERED THE EFFECTS, THE IMPACTS ON DE PLE THE SURFACE WATER AND HOW THAT WOULD AFFECT THE LAKES AND DOWNSTREAM, UM, WATER RIGHT HOLDERS AS WELL AS THEOLOGY OF THE COLORADO? UM, YES.
THAT'S SOMETHING WE LOOKED AT AS PART OF THE WATER FORD PLAN.
UM, SO THERE IS EXTENSIVE MODELING DONE TO KIND OF EVALUATE YEAH, WHAT THE AVAILABILITY UNDER OUR EXISTING WATER RIGHTS WOULD BE FOR ASR.
UM, AND SINCE IT IS BY ITS NATURE A STORAGE PROJECT, UM, YOU WOULD BE STORING THE WATER DURING WET TIMES WHEN, YOU KNOW, THE WATER MAY OTHERWISE JUST EVAPORATE OFF OF THE LAKE.
UM, SO WE DIDN'T SEE, UM, REALLY ANY IMPACTS, UM, LIKE TO DOWNSTREAM WATER RIGHTS HOLDERS OR TO THE ECOLOGY, UM, BECAUSE WE WERE TAKING STORING WATER AT A TIME, UM, WHERE THERE WAS LOTS OF EXCESS IN THE SYSTEM.
DID, DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YEAH, I MEAN, I HAVE PLENTY OF OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT, UM, I MEAN THAT'S THAT'S GOOD FOR NOW.
I THINK THAT, UM, YEAH, I JUST
I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA FOR ONE, BECAUSE YOU ARE INHIBITING, YOU KNOW, ANY, UH, SURFACE WATER EVAPORATION.
MY ONLY CONCERN IS LIKE THE ECOLOGY AND STUFF.
SO, BUT IF YOU GUYS HAVE A PLAN AND MODELING DONE TO WHERE YOU'RE DOING IT, ONLY WHEN THERE'S AN EXCESS OF WATER THAT, UH, EXCEEDS, YOU KNOW, THE WATER RIGHTS THAT ARE ALREADY IN LIKE LAKES AND THE RESERVOIRS, THEN THAT WOULD MAKE MORE SENSE TO ME.
SO, YEAH, MAYBE I CAN JUST LIKE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT TOO.
CAUSE I DON'T THINK I MENTIONED IT IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT OUR GOAL IS TO STORE 60,000 ACRE-FEET OF WATER BY 2040 FOR REFERENCE.
UH, AUSTIN USED ABOUT 175,000 ACRE FEET LAST YEAR, SO A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF WATER.
UM, BUT THE HIGHLAND LAKES EVAPORATED MORE THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRE FEET OF WATER LAST YEAR BECAUSE IT WAS HOT AND DRY.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE DO WANNA STORE A LOT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE SYSTEM IS REGULARLY LOSING JUST TO EVAPORATION, UM, WHEN THE LAKES ARE FULL ANYWAY.
SO, SORRY, DID YOU SAY 60,000 ACRE FEET? WAS THAT YEAH, BY 2040.
UM, POTENTIALLY WITH, UH, PLANS TO EXPAND IN THE, THE FUTURE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I FOUND IT VERY INTERESTING AND, AND LEARNED A LOT.
UM, ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE ASR PROJECT WILL NOT RECOVER MORE WATER THAN WAS PREVIOUSLY STORED IN THE AQUIFER.
AND HOW IS THAT, UM, ACCOMPLISHED? IS THAT A, YOU KNOW, A PROMISE AND AGREEMENT, OR IS THERE A TECHNICAL, UH, BARRIER THAT PREVENTS THAT FROM HAPPENING? UM, SO IT WOULD BE PART OF OUR TCU Q GRANTS.
THE, THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY GRANTS, THE PERMIT FOR ASR.
AND THEY ACTUALLY SET A LIMIT, UM, BASED ON HOW MUCH WATER LOSS YOU MIGHT EXPECT DUE TO THE WATER MOVING AROUND ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU CAN RECOVER.
AND IT'LL BE SOME PERCENTAGE OF WHAT WE PUT IN.
UM, AND SO THEN WE WOULD BE TRACKING, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH REGULAR METERING AND MONITORING WELLS, HOW MUCH WATER IS GOING INTO THE AQUIFER VERSUS HOW MUCH IS COMING OUT.
AND AS SOON AS WE HIT THAT TCQ PERMIT LIMIT, WE WOULD HAVE TO STOP TAKING IT OUT SO THERE'S NO MECHANICAL THING IN THE GROUND STOPPING IT, BUT WE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, METERING IT AND TRACKING IT THROUGH TECHNICAL MEANS.
SO THE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THAT WOULD BE T C Q? UH, I BELIEVE SO.
UM, I'M SENSITIVE TO TIME BECAUSE WE HAVE OTHER AGENDA ITEMS TONIGHT, UM, ABOUT HOW I COULD, I COULD TALK FOR AN HOUR, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THAT TIME.
SO HOW MUCH TIME DO I HAVE, UH, CHAIR? UM, GOOD QUESTION.
UH, MAYBE LET'S START WITH FIVE OR 10 MINUTES MORE FOR THIS ITEM.
HOW DOES THAT SOUND? UM, I'LL TRY TO KEEP MY COMMENTS AND, AND HOPEFULLY THE ANSWERS BACK TO FIVE MINUTES.
UH, DO YOU HAVE AN ESTIMATED COST FOR
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THIS? UM, YES.SO, UH, THE COST THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE 2018 WATER FORD PLAN WAS ABOUT, UH, 367 MILLION.
UM, AND SO WE'RE EXPECTING THAT TO INCREASE, UM, DUE TO INFLATION.
AND THEN JUST LIKE REFINING OUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT HOW MUCH WATER, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH WATER WE'RE GONNA SEND OUT TO THE PROJECT, HOW MUCH STORAGE WE'LL GET, UM, I BELIEVE THE BUDGET HAS YET TO BE APPROVED, BUT WE ANTICIPATE THAT INCREASING SIGNIFICANTLY, UM, PROBABLY MORE TO AROUND THE, UH, SAY LIKE $900 MILLION RANGE.
I ASKED, UH, I, I ASSUME THAT THIS INCLUDES, UH, THE LINES THEMSELVES MM-HMM.
UM, THE, UM, YOU MENTIONED, UH, UH, OUTREACH COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS.
UM, WHICH COMMUNITIES HAVE YOU DONE OUTREACH TO SO FAR? YEAH, SO, UM, WE HAD A SERIES OF VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS IN EARLY 2022, UM, WHERE WE ADVERTISED THEM, UH, IN AUSTIN, UM, AS WELL AS IN LEE AND BASTROP COUNTIES.
UM, AND THEN IN THE FALL OF LAST YEAR, WE HAD IN-PERSON MEETINGS, ONE IN AUSTIN, UH, ONE IN BASTROP, AND ONE IN LEE.
UH, AND THEN WE HAD TWO VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS THAT WERE OPEN TO EVERYBODY AND ADVERTISED IN ALL THREE COUNTIES.
AND THEN AN ON-DEMAND, UH, WEBSITE WHERE YOU COULD GO IN AND VIEW THE SAME INFORMATION AT YOUR OWN PACE AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK THAT WAY.
AND I'M PRESUMING THAT, UM, STAKEHOLDERS IN LEANN, UH, BASTROP, UH, DID ATTEND.
UM, I, I KNOW THAT SOUNDS SIMPLISTIC, BUT I MEAN, YOU COULD HOLD A WORKSHOP AND ONE PERSON CAME MM-HMM.
UM, I HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION, UH, OR IT'S REALLY A CONCERN.
UH, BACK IN, UH, I GUESS IT WAS 2013, I WAS PART OF A TASK FORCE THAT THE COUNCIL APPOINTED ON DETERMINING EMERGENCY ACTIONS IN THE FACE OF WHAT WAS THEN THE HISTORIC DROUGHT OF RECORD.
IN FACT, I, I DON'T THINK IT'S BEEN EXCEEDED SINCE THEN.
UH, AND WE WERE COMING UP WITH REALLY GHASTLY, UH, SCENARIOS, UH, ALMOST DOOMSDAY SCENARIOS ABOUT, WELL, WHAT HAPPENS IF THE LAKE REACHES THE LAKES REACH THIS LEVEL AND THEN FURTHER DOWN THIS LEVEL AND, AND UNTIL THE POINT WHERE, UH, IT, IT CAME VERY CLOSE TO NOTHING.
UH, AND IF, I GUESS THIS IS, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU COULD EVEN ANSWER THIS, BUT COULD SUCH A PROJECT CONCEIVABLY BE EXPEDITED? UM, WELL, I THINK WE REALLY WANNA KEEP THE TIMELINE.
YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE THE TIME FOR THAT PILOTING PROCESS TO MAKE SURE WE'VE FULLY IDENTIFIED, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE TREATMENT CONSIDERATIONS ARE AND KIND OF THE BEST WAY TO DESIGN IT.
BUT WE ARE UPDATING OUR WATER FOR PLAN.
UM, SO THE, IT WAS PASSED IN 2018, AND THAT WATER FORD PLAN INCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF OTHER, LIKE, EMERGENCY, MORE SHORT TERM IMPLEMENTABLE STRATEGIES AS WELL.
UM, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THE TIMELINE, UH, FOR ALL THE PROJECTS AS WE UPDATE THAT PLAN, IF WE'RE ABLE TO IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, ANYWAYS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO COMPRESS THE TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND STILL MAINTAIN ALL THE, THE TECHNICAL WORK WE NEED TO DO IN THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH WE NEED TO DO.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, JUST ONE QUESTION REGARDING THE EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT.
AND I KNOW YOU ASKED THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER ROBBINS QUESTIONS, BUT HOW ARE YOU GETTING THE WORD OUT TO THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE MATERIAL, YOUR MARKETING MATERIAL, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHAT IS THE BACKUP PLAN AND, AND HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO REACH THEM? YEAH, UM, I'M SURE OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALISTS ON THE PROJECT COULD GIVE YOU A BETTER ANSWER, BUT, UM, FROM JUST MY KNOWLEDGE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DID, WE ADVERTISE ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
UM, WE, UH, HAVE STAKEHOLDER LISTS OF COMMUNITY GROUPS WE'VE
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GONE OUT TO AND MET WITH TO TALK ABOUT ASR.SO WE TRY TO DISTRIBUTE THE INFORMATION TO THEM TO GET TO THEIR NETWORKS.
UM, WE ALSO ADVERTISED IN, UH, LOCAL NEWSPAPERS, UM, IN THE COMMUNITIES IN BASH SHOP AND LEE COUNTY, UM, TO TRY TO REACH FOLKS WHO MAYBE DIDN'T HAVE INTERNET ACCESS.
UM, AND THEN, YEAH, WE'RE IN CONTACT WITH LIKE SOME OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS OUT THERE AS WELL.
AND AGAIN, JUST SENT THEM THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE DIFFERENT, UM, PUBLIC, UH, WORKSHOPS AND HOPE THAT THEY WOULD HELP KIND OF SPREAD THE WORD.
I DO HAVE A QUICK COMMENT AS WELL.
UM, AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU, UH, Y'ALL HAVE DONE SOME OF THE OUTREACH PARTICULARLY, UM, TO FOLKS OR COMMUNITIES THAT MAY NOT HAVE INTERNET ACCESS OR DIGITAL ACCESS.
THAT WAS SOMETHING I WAS THINKING ABOUT, UM, IN THE EQUITY FRAMEWORK.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S, IT'S HARD, PROBABLY HARD TO SAY RIGHT NOW CUZ YOU DON'T MAYBE KNOW THE FULL SCALE OF WHAT THE PROJECTS WOULD BE AT, UH, IN TERMS OF AREA.
BUT, UM, IS THERE, IN TERMS OF IMPACTS, PARTICULARLY ON RESTRICTING DEVELOPMENT, ARE Y'ALL LOOKING INTO OR TRYING TO ANALYZE THAT COULD CONTRIBUTE TO THINGS LIKE GENTRIFICATION? UM, I KNOW THAT'S, UH, IT, IT DEFINITELY MAKES ME THINK BACK TO, UM, SOME OF THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE SAVE OUR SPRINGS MOVEMENT IN THE NINETIES THAT RESULTED IN ES AUSTIN BECOMING THE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE OF THE CITY.
AND NOW WE SEE THE RAMPANT GENTRIFICATION THERE.
SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I WANNA MAKE SURE IS AT LEAST BEING THOUGHT ABOUT OR TRYING TO BE ACTIVELY EXPLORED.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT POINT, AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE DO WANNA CAPTURE IN OUR CONSIDERATION WITH THAT EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY TOOL.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TAKING A KIND OF FIRST LOOK AT IT INTERNALLY, BUT THEN THAT'LL COME BACK OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDERS AS WELL TO GET INPUT LIKE THAT.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING THAT WE HAVEN'T CAPTURED, HOPEFULLY WE CAN, WE CAN GET THROUGH THAT INPUT PROCESS.
UM, AND IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL GET A REGULAR REPORT BACK TO THE RMC ON? I THINK WE'D BE HAPPY TO.
YEAH, THAT I THINK AT LEAST, UH, ESPECIALLY EARLY ON, AT LEAST IN LIKE AN ANNUAL REPORTING WOULD BE GOOD.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S IT UNLESS THERE ARE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
I HAVE ONE MORE CLARIFYING QUESTION, SORRY.
UM, AND IT HAS TO DO WITH THE STORAGE OF THE LAKES.
UM, AND I KNOW YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT 60,000 ACRE FEET, SO WHATEVER THE WATER RIGHTS, SO SAY, I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN HAS IN THE HIGHLAND LAKES FOR THEIR WATER RIGHTS PERMIT FOR THAT DRINKING WATER.
SO ARE YOU SAYING YOU'RE GOING TO PUT WHATEVER THAT WATER RIGHT IS SAY FOR DRINKING WATER, UM, AND TAKE THAT OUT OF THE LAKE AND PUT IT IN UNDERGROUND STORAGE? UM, ESSENTIALLY YES.
WE HAVE THE RIGHTS TO 325,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER.
UM, FROM THE COLORADO RIVER AND HIGHLAND LAKES THROUGH, UM, STATE, OUR OWN STATE GRANTED RUN OF RIVER WATER RIGHTS AS WELL AS A CONTRACT WITH THE L C A.
UM, SO WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, STORING THAT WATER INCREMENTALLY TO BUILD UP TO THAT 60,000 ACRE FEET, UM, FROM UNDER THOSE EXISTING WATER RIGHTS WHEN THERE'S PLENTY OF WATER IN THE SYSTEM.
SO, SORRY, I'M JUST ASKING AGAIN.
UM, CUZ I USED TO DO WATER RIGHTS, SO WHENEVER THE LAKE IS AT A CERTAIN LEVEL, SO SAY THE LAKE IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE SO MUCH IN IT AND THEN IT'S SUPPOSED TO RELEASE DOWNSTREAM, IS THAT THE TRIGGER? WHAT'S THE GONNA BE THE TRIGGER FOR, UM, BEING ABLE TO TAKE THE WATER OUTTA THE LAKES AND STORING IT? THAT'S MY QUESTION.
WELL, SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY, YOU KNOW, WE STILL ARE WORKING TO IDENTIFY A LOCATION FOR THE PROJECT, UM, AND AT THAT POINT WE'LL HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF KIND OF WHAT THE HYDROGEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS ARE, SO HOW MUCH IT CAN STORE AT ANY ONE TIME.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'LL INFORM IT, BUT I DO IMAGINE IT'LL BE BASED OFF OF SOME SET OF OPERATIONAL TRIGGERS INFORMED BY LAKE LEVELS AND, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN WATERS FACILITY CAPACITIES TO HANDLE, UM, YOU KNOW, WATER COMING IN FROM THE LAKES AND GETTING SENT OUT TO THE ASR.
UH, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL NEED TO FIGURE OUT IN THE FUTURE AS WE KIND OF MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THE PROCESS.
YEAH, I'M SURE YOU HAVE TO DO SOME HYDROLOGICAL MODELS TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, SO THE LAKES ARE STILL SUSTAINABLE AND STILL BEING ABLE TO STORE THAT WATER.
I'M JUST REALLY CURIOUS ON THE TIMEFRAME OF THAT TOO.
SO, ALL RIGHT, I, SO I KNOW THERE'S RESEARCH THAT STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE, SO I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE.
[01:00:08]
SO NEXT UP[5. Staff briefing regarding select portions of the CES Portfolio by Richard Génecé, Vice President, Customer Energy Solutions, Austin Energy.]
WE HAVE THE STAFF BRIEFING, UM, FROM RICHARD GENEE VICE PRESIDENT, UH, ON THE C E S PORTFOLIO.UH, GOOD EVENING AGAIN, COMMISSIONERS.
RICHARD GENESEE, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.
UH, JUST FOR A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT, AGAIN, THIS, UH, PRESENTATION, UM, ON SELECT PORTIONS OF THE CS PORTFOLIO IS BY THE RMC COMMISSION'S REQUEST, UH, FOR AREAS THAT WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN RELATED TO THE FY 24 BUDGET.
AND, UM, WE WERE, YOU KNOW, GOING TO DELIVER THIS, UH, PRESENTATION, THIS BRIEFING LAST MONTH, BUT OF COURSE WE DID NOT HAVE A MEETING AND THERE WAS NO QUORUM.
SO, JUST IN TERMS OF THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF, UH, OUR ACTIVITIES FOR FY 24, THERE'S REALLY FOUR MAIN, UH, UH, OBJECTIVES OR DRIVERS THAT, UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE, UH, THAT ARE GONNA BE THEMES ALONG THE FY 24 BUDGET.
FIRST IS CARBON REDUCTION, UH, AFFORDABILITY AND, UH, SYSTEM RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCE.
UH, WE HAVE A NEW PROGRAM, RESILIENCY AS A, AS A SERVICE, UH, WHICH, UH, IS GONNA BE A KEY FOCUS LEADING WITH EQUITY AS, AS, UH, YOU HEARD IN AUSTIN WATER PRESENTATION AND YOU'LL HEAR IN OUR PRESENTATION AS WELL.
UH, THAT IS A KEY AREA OF FOCUS FOR US, UH, UH, AND WE'VE DONE SIGNIFICANT WORK IN THAT AREA AS WELL AS HAVE ADDITIONAL, UH, SIGNIFICANT WORK PLANNED PURSUIT OF GRANT FUNDING.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, UH, NOT JUST THE IRA, BUT OTHER, UH, GRANT OPPORTUNITIES AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, AND THEN CONTINUED PUSH FOR TRANSPORTATION, ELECTRIFICATION AND LOW CARBON CUSTOMER CHOICES.
SO, UM, UH, TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION IS AS WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT MORE THAN JUST EVS, BUT IT'S REALLY THE ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM.
EVERYTHING FROM E-BIKES TO MASS TRANSIT, UM, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.
SO STARTING WITH WEATHERIZATION, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, THESE ARE THE KIND OF AREAS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE FOCUSED ON, UH, RAISING THE HOME VALUE CAP IN WEATHERIZATION FROM 300,000 TO 437 DUE TO THE, UH, GROWTH AND THE UPWARD TREND IN HOME VALUES IN AUSTIN.
UH, WE JUST KNOW THAT, UH, THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
UM, OUR MVR CUSTOMERS ARE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE ON OUR CAP PROGRAM, AUSTIN ENERGY WILL REPAIR OR REPLACE THEIR AC SYSTEM.
UH, WE ARE ALSO LOOKING TO ADD VALUE TO THE CURRENT PROGRAM BY ADDING HEAT PUMP WATER HEATERS AND ENERGY EFFICIENT H V A C WITH SOME OF THAT GRANT FUNDING.
UM, EXPANDING THE PROGRAM CAP PER HOME TO ABOVE THE CURRENT $10,000 PER HOUSEHOLD THRESHOLD TO ACCOMMODATE THE ADDITION OF MORE APPLIANCES AT A SINGLE HOME.
UM, SO, AND LAST, UH, MULTI-FAMILY PROGRAMS, UH, WHICH HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL YEAR OVER YEAR.
UH, WE LOOK TO CONTINUE TO GROW THAT BUDGET AND THE CORRESPONDING PROGRAM REACH.
IN THE AREA OF CONTRACTOR AND CUSTOMER EDUCATION, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT THREE MAJOR ACTIVITIES, UH, THAT BEING EXPANDED, TRAINING, MARKETING AND EDUCATION, AND SMALL BUSINESS IN THE AREA OF SMALL BUSINESS.
UM, UH, DUE TO THE ADVERSE IMPACTS OF COVID AND THE RECESSION, THERE HAS BEEN A DECLINE IN PARTICIPATION, UM, IN LIGHTING EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS. UM, SO WE ARE ENGAGING, UH, STAKEHOLDERS, WHICH INCLUDES CUSTOMERS AND CONTRACTORS TO UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES WITH PROGRAM UPTAKE.
I RECENTLY, MYSELF, UH, MET WITH A KEY CONTRACTOR REALLY TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND, UH, SOME OF THE ISSUES THERE.
AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO, UM, INVEST IN, UH, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING WHAT, UH, EXPERIENCE WHAT ISSUES CONTRACTORS PARTICIPATING IN OUR PROGRAM ARE EXPERIENCING RELATED TO, UH, SMALL BUSINESS AND, AND, UM, AND, UM, MULTI-FAMILY.
UH, WE ARE BUILDING A D WE ARE LAUNCHING A DIRECT INSTALL PROGRAM IN 24 THAT WILL INCLUDE A TURNKEY SERVICE, INCLUDING THE ASSESSMENT AS WELL AS THE COST OF APPLIANCES, LOOKING TO TARGET BUNDLES OF APPLIANCES TO INCREASE SCALE AND ADOPTION.
AND IN THE AREA OF RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS, UH, WE HAVE DEVELOPED A THREE YEAR TRAINING AND EDUCATION PLAN, UH, FOR AREA CONTRACTORS PARTICIPATING IN OUR, OUR PROGRAMS TRAINING INCLUDES H V A SYSTEM SIZING, DUCT DESIGN AND REDESIGN, SERVICE TECH TRAINING, UH, AIR BALANCING AND CO TRAINING.
UH, WE ARE CONTINUING TO INCREASE OUR OUTREACH ACROSS ALL PROGRAMS AND, UM,
[01:05:01]
AS I MENTIONED, I'M MEETING WITH, UH, CONTRACTORS.WE'RE ALSO CONDUCTING CUSTOMER FOCUS GROUPS AND PARTICIPATING CONTRACTOR INTERVIEWS TO OBTAIN, UH, FEEDBACK TO IMPROVE DELIVERY OF SERVICES AND ALIGNMENT OF STAKEHOLDER EXPECTATIONS.
IN THE AREA OF DEMAND RESPONSE.
UM, ON, ON THE SUBJECT OF WATER HEATER CONTROLLERS, WE ARE CUR SUN SUNSETTING OUR CURRENT PROGRAM.
AND IN 2024, WE WILL RAMP UP A NEW RFP FOR CONTROLLERS AND THERMOSTATS IN MULTI-FAMILY UNITS.
WE WILL LOOK TO START WITH 3000 UNITS IN THE LAUNCH YEAR, AND UNDER OUR PARTNER, OUR POWER PARTNER PROGRAM, WE WILL UPGRADE THE PROGRAM TO AN ANNUAL INCENTIVE.
UM, THE CURRENT, THE CURRENT INCENTIVE, IT'S AN UPFRONT INCENTIVE, WHICH, UH, DOESN'T DO MUCH TO HELP RETENTION OF PARTICIPANTS, SO THEY TEND TO JOIN AND THEN DROP OFF BECAUSE THERE'S NOT AN ONGOING INCENTIVE PORTION.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING TO RAISE OUR CURRENT PARTICIPATION FROM 5% ONTO, UH, UP TO 15%, UH, PARTICIPATION.
UH, BOTH COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY GREEN BUILDING COMPLETED A RECORD NUMBER OF PROJECTS IN FISCAL, UH, LAST FISCAL AND ARE PROJECTING HIGH OR RECORD NUMBERS OF PROJECTS AND ASSOCIATED SAVINGS FOR THIS YEAR.
BASED ON THE LARGE NUMBER OF PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE, UH, SINGLE FAMILY SAW A RECORD NUMBER, BUT WE ANTICIPATE THAT SLOWING AS, UH, UH, SINGLE FAMILY, AS HOME PRICES COME DOWN AND INTEREST RATES RISE AND, UH, ACTIVITY IN THE RESIDENTIAL MARKET SLOWS, UH, DEMAND ELECTRICITY AND CO2 SAVINGS INCLUDE THE ENERGY CODE.
UH, ENERGY CODE SAVINGS METHODOLOGY WAS CHANGED LAST YEAR TO BASELINE AGAINST THE STATE ADOPTED ENERGY CODE.
IN THE AREA OF, UM, UH, GREEN BUILDING EDUCATION AND OUTREACH CONTINUED TO BE VERY IMPORTANT FOCUSES FOR US, UH, DUE, UM, TO, UH, A I S D.
UH, WE HAD A I S D BOND PROJECTS, UH, FEATURED 11 AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN, UH, BUILDING RATED SCHOOLS.
UM, I PROVIDED REMARKS AT A CEREMONY, UH, AND THE TEAM SHOWCASED ALL THE PLAQUES RECEIVED BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
UM, LAST FISCAL, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY SPONSORED A US GREEN BUILDING, UH, UH, CON CONFERENCE AND CON CONVENE AND CONNECT EVENT TO HELP CELEBRATE THE AUSTIN ENERGY HQ FIVE STAR RATING AND LEAD PLA PLATINUM CERTIFICATION.
WITH A PLAQUE CEREMONY AND A TOUR OF THIS FACILITY.
UM, AUSTIN GREEN AWARDS FEATURE FEATURED OUR OWN, UH, HEIDI CASPER PRESENTING INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
AND FIVE AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING RATING PROJECTS, UM, INCLUDING AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, RIO GRANDE CAMPUS, LAUREL CREEK, WATERLOO PARK, UH, TERESA PASSIVE HOUSE, UH, UM, UH, THERE, PASSIVE HOUSE AND AUSTIN ENERGY HEADQUARTERS.
UM, TWO OF OUR FIVE STA FIVE STAR RATED HOMES WERE FEATURED ON THE AIA HOMES TOUR.
AND, UM, WE MET WITH TOUR GOERS TO SHARE ABOUT THE GREEN, THE HOMES GREEN FEATURES.
RESIDENTIAL RATING UPDATES ARE IN PROGRESS NOW, AND A FIRST DRAFT HAS BEEN RELEASED, AND A SECOND DRAFT SHOULD BE READY IN MAY WITH A GOAL OF HAVING THE NEW RATINGS IN PLACE.
THIS FISCAL, UH, THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN INCLUDES A GOAL TO REDUCE, UH, EMBODIED CARBON IN NEW BUILDINGS BY 40%.
UH, THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO IS HELPING US DEVELOP THE INFORMATION AND METHODOLOGY TO ESTABLISH A BASELINE TO MEASURE AGAINST IN TERMS OF, UH, EMBODIED CARBON.
UH, OUR TOTAL GOAL IS 39.2 MEGAWATTS.
IN THE AREA OF COMMUNITY, SOLAR AND RETAIL ENERGY STORAGE PROGRAMS, UM, AS THE COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAM IS FULLY SUBSCRIBED, UH, UM, OUR PRIMARY OBJECTIVE AS IT RELATES TO COMMUNITY SOLAR IS TO INCREASE THE PORTFOLIO.
WE ARE PLANNING TWO TO THREE RFPS, ONE FOR MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS, ONE FOR GROUND MOUNTED, UH, IN UTILITY RIGHT OF WAYS AND POTENTIALLY FOR RESILIENCE HUBS.
WE ARE ALSO WORKING WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP A STANDARD OFFER, UM, AS ANOTHER APPROACH TO INCREASING OUR COMMUNITY SOLAR PORTFOLIO.
UM, AND ON DECEMBER 1ST OF LAST YEAR, AUSTIN ENERGY WAS DEVELOP, WAS DIRECTED TO DEVELOP A STORAGE PROGRAM THAT COULD, THAT COULD DO THREE THINGS, UH, INCLUDE A REBATE FOR CUSTOMERS WHO INSTALL BATTERY STORAGE SYSTEMS, INCLUDING LOW INCOME, A RATE STRUCTURE THAT REWARDS CUSTOMERS FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THE GRID DURING TIMES WHEN AUSTIN ENERGY COULD BENEFIT FROM INCREASED POWER ON THE GRID DUE TO THE CURRENT WHOLESALE
[01:10:01]
PRICES AND EXPLORING OPTIONS FOR END OF LIFE RECYCLING.SO WE WILL BE REPORTING OUT ON THAT, UM, DIRECTION THAT WAS GIVEN TO US, UH, IN THE JUNE UH, TIMEFRAME.
NEXT SLIDE, IN THE AREA OF EVS AND OUR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, CURRENTLY THERE ARE 28,000, OVER 28,000 REGISTERED EVS IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
UH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE'RE EXPERIENCING REALLY EXPLOSIVE GROWTH IN THE AREA OF EVS, AND I'M, I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT AUSTIN IS, UM, LEADING NOT JUST TEXAS, BUT THE COUNTRY IN TERMS OF THE PERCENTAGE OF NEW EV REGISTRATIONS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL, UM, CAR REGISTRATIONS.
WE'RE AT 11%, UH, IN AUSTIN, AND, UH, THE STATE OF TEXAS IS AT 5% AND NATIONWIDE WE'RE AT 9%.
SO AUSTIN IS TRULY LEADING IN THIS AREA.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, AUSTIN ENERGY IS WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN FLEET DEPARTMENT TO ELECTRIFY OUR MUNICIPAL FLEET VEHICLES AND PROVIDE, UH, DEDICATED CHARGING IN INFRASTRUCTURE AT CITY OF AUSTIN FACILITIES.
WE HAVE A, UM, E EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ARE KEY FOCUS AREAS IN OUR ELECTRIFICATION, UM, UH, PORTFOLIO.
UM, WE CONTINUE TO GROW, UH, UH, TO 40% ELECTRIC VEHICLES MILES TRAVELED, WHICH HAS OUTLINED IN THE GOAL, WHICH IS OUTLINED AS OUR GOAL IN THIS, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN'S CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
AUSTIN ENERGY HAS AN ACTIVE EVS ARE FOR EVERYONE, PROGRAM THAT HAS A GOAL OF CREATING A FUTURE OF MOBILITY THAT IS EQUITABLE, AFFORDABLE, AND ACCESSIBLE WHILE HELPING THE ENVIRONMENT.
UM, SOME SPECIFIC EFFORTS, UH, WITHIN THAT PROGRAM ARE THE EXPANSION OF EV CHARGING AT MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES, UH, WORKING WITH OUR LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO EXPAND EV CHARGING AND A CURRICULUM THAT WAS SPECIFICALLY DEVELOPED TO CREATE AN EDUCATIONAL LIVING LAB FOR STUDENTS.
UM, I MENTIONED E-BIKES EARLIER.
E-BIKES ARE ALSO A BIG PART OF OUR ELECTRIC MOBILITY FUTURE.
UH, ON JANUARY 1ST OF THIS, UH, YEAR, AUSTIN ENERGY DOUBLED OUR E-BIKE REBATE, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ATP, UH, WITH AN ADDITIONAL INCENTIVE UP TO $1,300 FOR CUSTOMERS IN OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
AUSTIN ENERGY PROVIDES COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND EDUCATION FOR EVS TO INCLUDE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH LOCAL AUTO DEALERSHIPS TO HAVE REAL-TIME INVENTORY OF BOTH NEW AND USED EVS IN AUSTIN, UH, THROUGH OUR EV BUYER'S GUIDE.
UM, AND THAT HAS BEEN, UH, A REAL SOURCE OF NEW, UH, YOU KNOW, DIRECTING NEW SALES TO DEALERS THAT PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM.
THAT'S, UH, TRADITIONALLY A REAL PAIN POINT FOR EV ADOPTION IS THAT, UH, CUSTOMERS DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GO FOR INFORMATION AND SALESPEOPLE DON'T KNOW HOW TO, UH, NECESSARILY, THEY, THEY COULD USE ASSISTANCE WITH HOW TO SELL EV SO THAT WE TRY TO BRIDGE THAT GAP WITH THIS, UH, EV BUYER'S GUIDE PROGRAM, UM, ON ELECTRIFY EXPO, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY, WE PARTICIPATE IN THIS ELECTRIFY EXPO EVENT FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW, UH, ONE OF THE MARQUEE EVENTS HELD AT THE CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE REALLY FEATURE IS THE KEY TO A, UH, GOOD EXPERIENCE, UM, WITH, UH, ELECTRIC VEHICLES OR E-BIKES IS TRY AND RIDE.
SO WE, WE SPONSOR, UH, UH, TRY AND RIDE EVENTS FOR BOTH E-BIKES AND FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES AT THE ELECTRIFY EXPO.
IT'S BECOME THE PREMIER, UH, ELECTRIC VEHICLE OR ELECTRIFICATION, UH, TRANSPORTATION EVENT, UM, ACROSS, UH, ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO, UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WEAVING EQUITY INTO THE FABRIC OF ALL THAT WE DO AT, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY AND ALL THAT WE DO IN OUR CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS PROGRAMS. THE RESOURCE AND GENERATION CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN, UH, SPECIFIES ON PAGE FOUR THAT WE ARE TO HAVE THE GOAL OF EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION IN OUR PROGRAMS, AND WE'VE DONE WORK TO THAT EFFECT.
UM, WE, IT CALLS FOR AUSTIN ENERGY TO PROVIDE EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION ACROSS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES AND REQUESTED AN E EQUITY AUDIT, UH, BE DONE, WHICH WE HAVE CONCLUDED.
SO, UM, OUR EQUITY AUDIT, UM, CONTAINED, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS ON THINGS THAT, UH, WE SHOULD CONSIDER FOR OUR PROGRAM.
UM, AND WE ARE, WE HAVE, UH, RECEIVED THAT FEEDBACK.
UM, SO NOW WE HAVE, WE ARE MOVING ON TO, UH, ADDITIONAL TRAINING THAT WE WILL GO TO OUR EQUITY FRAMEWORK TRAINING.
THIS WILL INCLUDE EQUITY 1 0 1, UH,
[01:15:01]
BUILDING EQUITY INTO YOUR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES AND LOGIC MODEL TRAINING.NOW, YOU MIGHT ASK, WHAT IS A LOGIC MODEL? SO, A LOGIC MODEL IS A TOOL, UH, TO HELP DESIGN AND EVALUATE, SPECIFICALLY TO HELP DESIGN AND EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAMS. UM, IT ATTEMPTS TO DEVELOP AND, UH, EVALUATE LOGICAL LINKAGES BETWEEN GOALS AND OUTCOMES.
AND, UM, SO OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE ALL OF OUR STAFF THAT ARE INVOLVED IN PROGRAM DESIGN GO THROUGH THIS LOGIC MODEL TRAINING.
UM, AND, UH, AND, UH, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF, OF GETTING THAT DONE.
SO THIS IS A, JUST A MAPPING OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE TIMING ASSOCIATED WITH THE THREE, UH, TRAININGS THAT WE HAVE LEFT IN OUR, IN OUR EQUITY TRAINING SCHEDULE.
SO WE HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE BUILDING EQUITY INTO YOUR PROGRAM DESIGN, WHICH IS GONNA BE A TWO DAY COURSE.
UH, WILL, IT WILL CONSIST OF, UH, OR COVERED OVER THE COURSE OF TWO DAYS.
UM, IT WILL INCLUDE TWO AND A HALF HOURS OF LEARNING TIME.
AND THEN, UM, AT THE, AFTER WE HAVE PUT OUR STAFF THROUGH THIS TRAINING, UH, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO, UH, DESCRIBE, UH, EQUITABLE PROGRAMS, IDENTIFY BASELINES WITH DATA, UH, IDENTIFY DATA COLLECTION AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES, UH, INTEGRATE AND LEVERAGE DATA IN EQUITABLE PROGRAM DESIGN AND MEASURE OUR SUCCESS.
AND WE, WE SAY THAT MEASUREMENT IS ONE OF THE KEY, UH, AREAS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE BELIEVE WE HAVE TO, UM, UH, AFFECT BEFORE WE CAN MAKE PROGRESS IN, IN BUILDING EQUITY INTO OUR PROGRAMS. YOU CAN'T, UM, IMPROVE WHAT YOU HAVEN'T MEASURED, UH, INITIALLY.
SO WE'LL BE PUTTING A LOT OF EFFORT INTO MEASUREMENT.
SO AT THIS POINT, WE WILL ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONERS.
UH, THIS IS ACTUALLY FOR, UH, COMMISSIONER STONE'S BENEFIT, BUT COULD YOU GUESSTIMATE THE AVERAGE ANNUAL BUDGET OF CES, OF, OF YOUR DIVISION? YEAH.
UM, SO THE O AND M BUDGET, AND THEN THERE'S THE, UM, I WOULD CALL IT THE INCENTIVE BUDGET.
UH, THE INCENTIVE BUDGET IS APPROXIMATELY 24 MILLION, OR AT LEAST HAS BEEN IN THE RECENT PAST AND THE O AND THE O AND M, UH, 42, IF I'M NOT CORRECT, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, OR IN THAT, IN THAT VICINITY 40 40 PLUS.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I JUST HAVE A COMMENT.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, VERY INFORMATIVE, AND, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE OUTCOME AS THINGS MOVE FORWARD.
[6. Approve a recommendation from the Healthy Building Material Working Group regarding adoption of the working group’s goals . (Sponsors: Robbins, Brenneman, Stone)]
STUFF WE HAVE, UM, OUR DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. UH, FIRST UP IS APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE HEALTHY BUILDING, UH, MATERIAL WORKING GROUP REGARDING ADOPTION OF THE WORKING GROUP'S GOALS.UH, THE SPONSORS ARE ROBINS, UH, I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER BRENNAN'S OFF THE COMMISSION.
SO SPONSORS ARE, UH, COMMISSIONER ROBINS AND STONE, UH, CHAIR.
UM, I HAVE A SHORT PRESENTATION, UH, WHICH IS MOSTLY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE TWO NEW COMMISSIONERS WHO MAY BE WONDERING WHAT THIS RESOLUTION IS ABOUT.
UH, I'VE TRIED TO KEEP IT AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE, BUT TO GIVE A RELATIVE CONTEXT FOR THEM.
I'M SURE YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE TRAINED DERAILMENT IN EAST P PALESTINE, OHIO.
AMONG THE 100 CARS THAT CAME OFF THE TRACK WERE FIVE FILLED WITH THE TOXIC CHEMICAL VINYL CHLORIDE.
A CONTROLLED BURN WAS SET UP TO AVOID AN EVEN MORE TOXIC RELEASE FROM A POSSIBLE EXPLOSION.
EVACUATIONS WERE URGED FOR A RADIUS OF AT LEAST A SQUARE MILE.
CONCERNS ABOUT THE TOXICITY OF WATER AND SOIL AFTER THE ACCIDENT ARE ONGOING.
WHAT IS NOT WIDELY DISCUSSED IN THE AFTERMATH OF THIS ACCIDENT
[01:20:01]
IS THAT THIS CHEMICAL IS WIDELY USED TO MANUFACTURE BUILDING PRODUCTS.SLIDE VINYL CHLORIDE IS IN POLY VINYL CHLORIDE, WHICH IS USED AS A BASE FOR BUILDING MATERIALS DEV, AND IT CAN CAUSE DEVELOPMENTAL TOX.
IT IS A DEVELOPMENTAL TOXIN, A RESPIRATORY TOXIN, AN INTERNAL ORGAN TOXIN.
IT IS HIGHLY CARCINOGENIC, WIND BURNED BECAUSE IT CREATES DIOXIN, AND IT IS A POTENT ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICAL WIND BURNED, ALSO RESULTING FROM DIOXIN SLIDE.
AND IT IS USED TO MAKE ALL MANNER OF BUILDING MATERIALS, BLINDS AND CURTAINS, SHOWER CURTAINS, CARPET BACKING FENCE, MATERIAL, SHEET FLOORING, PLUMBING PIPE, SIDING, WALLPAPER, ELECTRIC WINDOWS, AND EVEN THE WRAPPING FOR ELECTRIC WIRES.
SLIDE ANOTHER WIDELY USED IN FEARED CHEMICAL CLASS USED IN BUILDING PRODUCTS IS PER FLUOROCARBONS, UH, MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS TEFLON.
UH, THEY ARE CARCINOGENIC, THEY'RE DEVELOPMENTAL TOXINS, REPRODUCTIVE TOXINS, INTERNAL ORGAN TOXINS, AND THEY ARE PERSISTENT BIOACCUMULATIVE BIOACCUMULATIVE TOXINS.
THAT IS, THEY ARE WHAT YOU'VE COME TO KNOW AS FOREVER.
THEY DO NOT BIODEGRADE EASILY FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
SOMETIMES THEY CAN BE FOUND IN CARPET COATINGS, COUNTERTOP COATINGS, ROOF COATINGS, WINDOW GLIDERS, AND PLUMBING.
TAPE SLIDE ANTIMICROBIALS ARE YET ANOTHER CLASS OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS CONTAINED IN BUILDING MATERIALS.
THE MALAD DS CREATED BY THEM ARE NUMEROUS, IN ADDITION TO SOME BEING CARCINOGENIC AND NEUROTOXIC THAT CAN ALSO WASH OFF, UH, THE MATERIALS AND END UP IN WASTEWATER WHEN SEWAGE TREATMENT DOES NOT REMOVE THEM.
THEY END UP CONTAMINATING, UH, WATER BODIES LIKE RIVERS AND LAKES SLIDE, AND THEY CAN BE FOUND IN COUNTERTOPS, DOOR HANDLES, LIGHT SWITCHES, AND EVEN TOILETS.
THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION SET UP A WORKING GROUP BACK IN MAY, AND WE MET ABOUT HALF A DOZEN TIMES.
WE HAMMERED OUT THE MAJOR ISSUES THAT CAME, AND WE CAME UP WITH A CONSENSUS DOCUMENT, WHICH I AM ASKING YOU TO CONSIDER PASSING THIS EVENING.
MEMBERS OF THIS GROUP INCLUDE THREE MEMBERS OR FORMER MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, BRENNAMAN STONE, AND MYSELF.
UH, CITY STAFF, HEIDI CASPER, AND KURT STOCKDALE, UH, ARCHITECTS, GAIL BOORS AND TREY FARMER, HOME BUILDER, RAY TS AND GAL VITOR OF THE CENTER FOR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL BILLING SYSTEMS. UH, SLIDE, UH, THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM HAS NOT WAITED FOR OUR PASSAGE TO MOVE ON THIS.
THEY HAVE ALREADY INCORPORATED MANY OF THESE IDEAS IN A DRAFT VERSION OF THEIR REVISED SINGLE AND MULTIFAMILY RATINGS FOR WHICH I AM EXCEEDINGLY GRATEFUL.
HEIDI, UH, SLIDE, UH, OUR GOALS, WHICH YOU MAY HAVE GLANCED IN THE RESOLUTION, ARE BASICALLY TO INCORPORATE MORE HEALTHY BUILDING MATERIALS INTO THE RATING SYSTEM, UH, AND NEW CITY BUILDINGS, AND INCREASE EDUCATION ON THIS SET OF SUBJECTS SLIDE.
AND AT THIS POINT, PASSING THIS RESOLUTION IS MORE OF A REINFORCEMENT TO WHAT IS ALREADY IN PROGRESS, BUT THIS RESOLUTION AND THE DIRECTION IT TAKES, IT TAKES, COULD BE AN EXAMPLE FOR THE REST OF THIS STATE IF PASSED.
AND WITH THAT, I MOVE APPROVAL OF THIS RESOLUTION.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, ON THIS RESOLUTION OR THE DISCUSSION? I, I THINK WE HAVE TO HAVE A SECOND FIRST, AND THEN WE'LL OKAY.
DISCUSS, IS THAT, SO I WILL SECOND FOR PURPOSES OF DISCUSSION.
[01:25:01]
ANY QUESTIONS? NOW I HAVE A QUESTION.UM, SORRY, MY INTERNET'S ACTING FUNKY RIGHT NOW.
SO WHAT ARE WE, WHAT IS THE PROPOSAL? ARE YOU TRYING TO REMOVE ALL OF THESE ITEMS, MATERIALS, OR WHAT? I DON'T, I'M NOT CLEAR ON WHAT WE'RE DOING OR WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO, UM, UH, DO WITH THIS.
SO CAN I ADD SOMETHING WORTH? I THINK, UM, WHAT MIGHT BE, UM, NOT SUPER CLEAR ON, IN, IN THE RMC PACKET OF MATERIALS IS THAT, UH, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, UH, PAUL OR LOU, UM, WE WANT TO ADOPT THESE GOALS INTO THE LISTED IN THIS RESOLUTION, ESSENTIALLY INTO THE, UM, GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM.
UH, YOU'LL NOTE IN YOUR PACKET IT'S TITLED, RESOLUTION ADOPTING GOALS OF THE HEALTHY BUILDING MATERIALS WORKING GROUP.
GIVEN THE TIME, I DID NOT READ THE RESOLUTION, UH, INTO, UH, I, I DID NOT READ IT OUT LOUD, BUT, UM, I CAN READ ALL OUR PARTS OF IT IF IT WOULD HELP THAT SOMEONE ALREADY MOTION TO MOVE THIS FORWARD.
YEAH, WE HAVE A MOTION IN A SECOND.
UM, UM, UM, UH, IF, IF, UH, THE, THE NEW COMMISSIONERS HAVE NO MORE QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, ANY TROUBLE, UH, DO YOU HAVE, GO AHEAD.
YEAH, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND VOTE.
UH, RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE, I BELIEVE THAT'S SIX, UH, ZERO, UH, THE RESOLUTION PASSES.
AND THANK YOU AGAIN, HEIDI, CASPER.
UM, SO NEXT UP IS, AND, AND RICHARD, I, I FORGOT TO MENTION YOU IN THE CREDITS.
YOU ARE ALSO IN ATTENDANCE AT MANY OF THESE MEETINGS.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HARD WORK IN MAKING THIS POSSIBLE AND PAUL'S PASSION.
[7. Conduct officer elections for the Chair and Vice Chair of the Resource Management Commission.]
ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, UM, CONDUCT OFFICER ELECTIONS FOR THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.SO, UM, I BELIEVE, UH, PEOPLE CAN SELF NOMINATE OR NOMINATE OTHERS, IS THAT CORRECT? UM, DO WE JUST GO AHEAD AND START? WE DON'T NEED ANY MOTIONS OR ANYTHING.
NOMINATE, ALL RIGHT, GO AHEAD.
UH, NOMINATIONS, I WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO OFFER MYSELF AS CHAIR.
UH, I, UM, I WOULD LIKE, I'VE BEEN DOING RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OF SOME KIND OR ANOTHER SINCE ABOUT 1977 OR 78.
UH, AND I THINK I BRING A LOT OF BACKGROUND TO THIS.
HOWEVER, I AM AN ADVOCATE, AND THAT MIGHT SOMETIMES GET IN THE WAY OF BEING, UM, A CHAIR.
UH, IT, SO I AM GOING TO ASK YOU ALL TO CONSIDER, UH, MY, UH, I'M GONNA START THIS OFF BY NOMINATING, UH, LOUIS STONE AS CHAIR, UH, UNDER THE PROVISO, THE PROVISO THAT IF HE, UM, FALLS ON THE LOSING END OF VOTES AND HA WE ARE SUPPOSED TO APPEAR BEFORE COUNCIL.
HE LETS SOMEONE IN THE MAJORITY SPEAK TO COUNCIL ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR RESOLUTION.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I, I THINK, UH,
[01:30:01]
IT WOULD, HE WOULD BE A GOOD, UH, EVEN-HANDED CHOICE.I WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED AS VICE-CHAIR, BUT, UM, I, I CAN, I, I CAN BE TALKED OUT OF IT.
UM, OR, UM, I, I, I COULD ALSO, UH, CHARLOTTE, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE VICE CHAIR, I'LL REMOVE MY NAME FROM CONSIDERATION.
CHARLOTTE, YOU DON'T WANT ME
WELL, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE, UH, LOUIS STONE AS CHAIR, AND I'D LIKE TO BE AT LEAST ENTERTAINED AS, EXCUSE ME, LOUIS AS CHAIR, AND I'D LIKE TO ENTERTAIN VICE CHAIR FOR MYSELF IF THIS IS ACCEPTABLE TO THE QUORUM.
I WOULD LIKE TO, NO, I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE MYSELF AS VICE CHAIR.
UM, AND MAY I RESPOND? UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S TERRITORY.
UH, COMMISSIONER GARY, UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF PLAYERS IN, IN THIS AREA AND A LOT OF ISSUES.
AND A YEAR FROM NOW, UH, I COULD SEE YOU AS CHAIR OR VICE CHAIR.
UM, I'M, THAT IS MY CONSIDERATION WHEN NOMINATED MYSELF AS VICE CHAIR, IS JUST THAT I KNOW MANY OF THESE PEOPLE AND I'VE DEALT WITH THESE ISSUES.
IF YOU'RE THAT PASSIONATE ABOUT IT, I'LL REMOVE MY NAME.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS OR OTHER COMMENTS OR CONCERNS ARE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? ALRIGHT, HEARING NONE, I THINK WE CAN GO AHEAD AND VOTE.
UM, UH, YES, WE GO AHEAD AND VOTE ON THE, UH, CHAIR FIRST.
SO, UH, COMMISSIONERS, RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE, IF, UH, OH, WE, OKAY.
I AM NOMINATING LOUIS STONE FOR CHAIR OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.
IS THERE A SECOND FOR THE MOTION? SECOND.
UH, ALL COMMISSIONERS, RAISE YOUR HAND OR, OR SAY, AYE, TO VOTE? AYE.
UH, SOMETIMES, UH, IT'S SUCH MODEST.
IT'S PROBABLY NOT THE WEIRDEST VOTE WE'LL HAVE TO TAKE, UNFORTUNATELY.
BUT, UM, THANKS FOR, FOR THAT.
SO, THAT'S, UH, SIX, UH, COMMISSIONER LU STONE IS NOW, THE, THE, OR GOING FORWARD WILL BE THE, THE CHAIR OF THE R M C.
DOES ANYONE HAVE A MOTION? UM, UH, MOVE TO ELECT COMMISSIONER ROBINS AS VICE CHAIR.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE.
UH, IS IT COMMISSIONER CARTI? ARE YOU VOTING IN FAVOR? I SECOND IT.
AND NOW WE'RE VOTING AS A SE AS A SECONDARY STEP PRESENT.
UH, IT'S PROBABLY THE INTERNET ISSUES.
UH, NOW WE HAVE OUR, OUR NEW, UH, VICE CHAIR AND CHAIR.
UM, SO THAT IS ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.
[8. Approve a recommendation for a representative and an alternate to serve on the Joint Sustainability Committee. (Sponsors: Brenneman and Johnson)]
UP, UM, IS APPROVE OF RECOMMENDATION FOR A REPRESENTATIVE AND AN ALTERNATE TO SERVE ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.UM, JUST FOR THE RECORD IN, IN CASE THE NEW COMMISSIONERS DON'T KNOW, UM, THE JSC JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE IS BASICALLY, UM, IT'S MADE UP OF REPRESENTATIVES LARGELY
[01:35:01]
OF OTHER, UM, CITY COMMISSIONS OR BOARDS THAT COME TOGETHER TO FORM THAT BODY.AND SO WE, UH, SEND A REPRESENTATIVE THERE AND WE APPROVE AN ALTERNATE JUST IN CASE, OF COURSE, THAT, UM, MAIN REPRESENTATIVE IS NOT AVAILABLE TO, TO JOIN R 10.
ARE THERE ANY, UM, UH, MOTIONS TO, TO RECOMMEND SOMEONE? I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A SUGGESTION.
I GUESS THIS WILL HAVE TO BE FORMALLY DONE, UH, UH, TWO TIMES, BUT I'D LIKE TO CONSIDER CHARLOTTE FOR THE FORMAL AND, UH, PERHAPS COMMISSIONER, UH, GARY WOULD CONSIDER BEING THE ALTERNATE.
UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER ROBBINS FOR YOUR, YOUR NOMINATION.
I, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO SERVE ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE IN EITHER CAPACITY.
UM, UM, COMMISSIONER GARY, COMMISSIONER GARY, DO YOU HAVE A RESPONSE OR ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I DON'T HAVE ANY COMMENTS.
UM, ARE YOU OKAY WITH IT,
UM, UM, AND I'M SURE IF THERE'S ANY ISSUES OR SCHEDULING CHANGES HAPPEN, WE CAN ALWAYS REVISIT THIS ISSUE.
UH, IS THERE A MOTION THEN I FORMALLY MOVE THAT WE ACCEPT CHARLOTTE DAVIS AS THE REPRESENTATIVE TO THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE? ALL RIGHT.
DO, CAN WE MOTION BOTH OF THEM? YOU CAN DO IT AT THE SAME TIME.
AND I FORMALLY, UH, MOVE THAT WE, UH, NOM, I FORMALLY NOMINATE COMMISSIONER GARY AS THE ALTERNATE FOR THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE, IF YOU ARE IN FAVOR.
THAT'S, UH, SIX ZERO, THE, THE APPOINTMENTS PASS.
[9. Approve a recommendation regarding the oversight of natural gas utility rates and operations. (Sponsors: Robbins and Davis) ]
LAST ITEM IS, UH, TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION REGARDING THE OVERSIGHT OF NATURAL GAS UTILITY RATES AND OPERATIONS SPONSORED BY, UM, COMMISSIONERS ROBBINS AND DAVIS.IF YOU CAN EMAIL, THAT'S FINE.
UM, DO YOU HAVE A, A SIMILAR PRESENTATION TO KICK US OFF? NO, NO.
UM, UH, AND, BUT, AND I'LL HAVE TO READ THIS, UH, BUT IT, IT'S FAIRLY SHORT.
UM, THE RESOLUTION ITSELF IS PRETTY BARE BONES.
IT BASICALLY, UH, ASKS THE CITY COUNCIL TO EXPAND OUR PURVIEW TO LOOK AT ALL MATTERS RELATED TO NATURAL GAS COMPANIES THAT SERVE AUSTIN.
UH, WE ARE NOT A SOVEREIGN BOARD.
THIS IS ADVICE TO CITY COUNCIL.
UH, STILL, UH, THERE IS NO CITY COMMISSION THAT DEALS WITH THESE ISSUES AT THIS TIME, AND I THINK IT IS THIS KIND OF ADVISORY OVERSIGHT IS LONG OVERDUE.
UM, I HAVE BEEN, UM, UM, I HAVE, UH, A LIST OF SEVEN, UH, REASONS.
SEVEN THINGS THAT, UH, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION SHOULD REVIEW.
NOW, CURRENTLY, WE HAVE VERY LIMITED PURVIEW.
WE CAN COMMENT ON HOW RATES ARE STRUCTURED.
FOR INSTANCE, UM, A PROGRESSIVE RATE WHERE THE LESS YOU USE, THE LESS YOU PAY AND PER UNIT, AND THE MORE YOU USE, THE MORE YOU PAY PER UNIT.
SINCE THAT DEALS WITH CONSERVATION, WE CAN COMMENT ON THAT, BUT WE CANNOT COMMENT ON IF THE RATES THEMSELVES, IF THE RATE INCREASES THEMSELVES ARE JUST IN FAIR.
[01:40:01]
UH, THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION COMMENTS ON WATER RATES.THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION COMMENTS ON ELECTRIC RATES, THERE IS NO BOARD THAT COMMENTS ON GAS RATES THAT REVIEWS THEM.
UH, RATES HAVE GONE UP 80% ABOVE INFLATION SINCE 2009.
UH, ANOTHER THING THAT HAS RAISED OUR RATES IN THE LAST RATE CASE, TEXAS GAS SERVICE HAS COMBINED THE CENTRAL TEXAS REGION WITH THE COASTAL REGION.
AND SINCE COASTAL REGION IS WARMER THAN AUSTIN, THIS RAISES OUR RATES FURTHER.
UH, THE RATE STRUCTURE IS HEAVILY REGRESSIVE.
THIS HURTS LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS AND DISINCENTIVIZES CONSERVATION CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE TO THE POOR IS ALL BUT IGNORED.
UH, AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN WATER COLLECTIVELY SPEND AT LEAST 20 MILLION, AND AT ONE POINT SPENT ABOUT $30 MILLION A YEAR.
TEXAS GAS SERVICE SPENDS A LITTLE OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR.
UM, GIVEN HOW MUCH NATURAL GAS HAS INCREASED, THE FUEL COST HAS INCREASED, UH, IN THE LAST YEAR.
UH, I, I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT THIS HASN'T CAUSED A LOT OF RATE SHOCK.
UH, CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES IS YET ANOTHER ISSUE, UH, IN AUSTIN ENERGY AND AT AUSTIN WATER, THEY COLLECT 100% OF NEW HOOKUPS.
UH, IF, IF A NEW HOME IS BUILT AND IT HAS, UH, A APPROACH MAINS, OR IT HAS, UM, POWER LINES OR TRANSMIT, UH, DISTRIBUTION LINES THAT COME TOWARDS THE HOUSE, THAT'S ALL PAID FOR BY THE HOMEOWNER OF THE DEVELOPER.
BUT IN THE LAST RAY CASE, WHEN I LOOKED AT THE EVIDENCE, IT APPEARED THAT TEXAS GAS SERVICE WAS ONLY COLLECTING ABOUT 10% OF THEIR NEW COSTS.
UH, OBVIOUSLY FULL COLLECTION WOULD LOWER RATES FOR THE REST OF US.
UH, ANOTHER, UH, THING THAT I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR OVER A DECADE IS THAT SOME OF THEIR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS DO NOT WORK WELL.
THEY DO NOT SAVE ENERGY AT LESS COST THAN THE ENERGY.
UH, MY FAVORITE EXAMPLE IS THEIR REBATE FOR CLOSED DRYERS.
YOU CAN, UH, IF, IF YOU GET A NEW CLOSED DRYER, TEXAS GAS SERVICE WILL GIVE YOU AS MUCH AS $325.
YOU CAN BUY A MOISTURE SENSOR REPLACEMENT AT LEAST A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
YOU COULD BUY ONE ON AMAZON FOR $5.
UH, THESE SAVE ABOUT A DOLLAR, ABOUT A DOLLAR $52 A YEAR.
SO OBVIOUSLY, YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO GET A PAYBACK ON THAT APPLIANCE IN THE OWNER'S LIFETIME.
UH, AND YET WE STILL GIVE MONEY RATE PAYER MONEY, UH, FOR SOMETHING THAT'S BASICALLY GLORIFIED MARKETING.
AND THI THIS IS NOT WHAT WE NEED TO SPEND RATE PAYER MONEY ON.
IT'S EMBARRASSING TO CONSERVATIONISTS.
UH, AND FINALLY, THEY HAVE NOTHING IN THE WAY OF RENEWABLE ENERGY.
UH, NOW WE DO HAVE SOME PURVIEW OVER THIS NOW, BUT STILL, UM, THERE, AUSTIN ENERGY'S HAD RENEWABLE ENERGY SINCE ABOUT 2001.
AND RICHARD, WHAT ARE, WHERE ARE WE AT CURRENTLY? DON'T WE GET ABOUT 50% OF OUR ENERGY FROM, UH, WIND AND SOLAR? DO YOU KNOW THAT OFFHAND? UH, YEAH.
IT, IT'S, IT'S GOING TO RISE WELL ABOVE 50% IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
AND THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO RENEWABLE ENERGY ON TEXAS GAS SERVICES SYSTEM.
UH, NOW I CAN SPEAK TO THIS WITH SOME RESEARCH BEHIND ME.
TO BE FAIR, ONE OF THE REASONS IS THAT THEY, THAT THERE IS ALMOST
[01:45:01]
NO SUCH THING AVAILABLE.UH, RENEWABLE ENERGY BIOGAS IS ENORMOUSLY EXPENSIVE, AND IT IS, UM, RARE.
IT DOESN'T EXIST IN ANY LARGE QUANTITIES ANYWAY.
UH, AND OTHER THINGS, UH, THAT MIGHT WORK IN THE FUTURE ARE JUST NOT DEVELOPED ENOUGH NOW TO BE ECONOMIC.
BUT WHAT THE GAS COMPANY COULD AND SHOULD DO IS INVEST IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.
SO THAT 10, 15, 20 YEARS IN THE FUTURE, THERE REALLY ARE RENEWABLE HYDROCARBONS THAT ARE HOPEFULLY COST EFFECTIVE.
AND I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT'S HAPPENING IN ANY SUBSTANTIAL MANNER.
UH, WHEN I RESEARCH THIS, UH, YEAR OR YEAR AND A HALF AGO, THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONSORTIUMS FOR NATURAL GAS, WHERE LARGE U UTILITY COMPANIES, GAS UTILITY COMPANIES COMBINED THEIR RESOURCES AND TEXAS GAS SERVICE AND ITS PARENT COMPANIES, WERE NOT PART OF THESE CONSORTIUM.
SO, WITH ALL THIS SAID, UH, I AM ASKING THE COMMISSION TO CONSIDER ASKING CITY COUNCIL TO BROADEN OUR PURVIEW, UH, TO LOOK INTO ALL THESE ISSUES AND TO ADVISE THEM ON IT.
NOW, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THESE, UH, THAT TWO COMMISSIONERS HAVE HEARD THIS.
YOU MIGHT WANNA, I, I MEAN, IF YOU WANTED TO MOVE ON THIS TONIGHT, I'D BE THRILLED, BUT I COULD UNDERSTAND IF YOU WANTED TO WAIT AND THINK ABOUT IT STILL.
I, I, I WANTED TO PRESENT THIS TO YOU TONIGHT FOR CONSIDERATION.
SO, FOR ME, I, I THINK THIS DRAFT, IT NEEDS TO HAVE MORE MEAT.
YOU KNOW, THE, THE INFORMATION THAT YOU PROVIDED, I THINK SOME TYPE OF FORMAL REPORT, PROVIDING THOSE ST STATISTICS AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAS BEEN DONE AS FAR AS ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ELECTRIC COMPANY.
I THINK THAT SHOULD BE IN THERE BECAUSE I BELIEVE THE COUNCIL MAY WANNA SEE LIKE, WHAT, WHAT TYPE OF A PARTNERSHIP HAS, HAVE WE, OR WHAT DISCUSSIONS HAD GONE ON IN ORDER TO MOVE THIS.
SO I THINK IF THERE'S MORE MEAT IN, IN THIS TO SEND TO THE COUNCIL WITH STATISTICS AND, AND OPTIONS AND, AND WHAT WE WOULD DO AS A COMMISSION, I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY HAVE A SUCCESS WITH COUNSEL APPROVING THIS PARTICULAR RESOLUTION.
UH, I'M GAME, IF YOU WILL SEND ME YOUR SUGGESTIONS, UH, AS TO HOW TO, UH, WHAT QUESTIONS YOU THINK NEED TO BE ANSWERED, WHAT CONCERNS YOU HAVE.
I WILL DO MY DEAD LEVEL BEST TO ADDRESS THEM, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT MEETING OR TWO.
CAN YOU, CAN YOU, UH, ENGAGE IN THAT? I CAN.
SO IT'S YOU AND DAVIS, RIGHT? UH, WE CAN HAVE AS MANY AS FIVE PEOPLE TALK TO EACH OTHER WITHOUT BUSTING QUORUM, UH, THE QUORUM RULE.
SO YEAH, YOU CAN BE THE THIRD ONE.
UH, WELL, I'M NOT ACTUALLY THE CHAIR LARRY, UH, LARRY GRAHAM IS, UH, WAVING HIS HAND AT ME AND I THINK HE WANTS, I KNOW TO, UH, COMMISSIONER STU, DO YOU HAVE A DIRECT RESPONSE OR, I JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE A LITTLE CLARITY IN CONTEXT.
I, I ACTUALLY PREFER THE SHORTER VERSION OF THE BILL, UH, OR THE RESOLUTION.
AND THAT IS BECAUSE WE KNOW WHEN THIS GETS TO COUNSEL, IT'S GONNA GET PULLED OFF OF THE CONSENT AGENDA ANYWAY.
AND YOU'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, TEXAS GAS, UH, BEING, UH, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO PRESENT TO CITY COUNCIL DIRECTLY.
SO I GUESS I KIND OF LOOK AT IT AND SAY THAT TO PUT ALL THE EXTRA IN THERE, WHEN REALLY THEY'RE GOING TO BE ESSENTIALLY PRESENTING TO CITY COUNCIL ON WHY THEY BELIEVE IT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA IS THAT'S WHY I WOULD ALMOST KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET RATHER THAN LISTING ALL OF OUR QUOTE DIRTY LAUNDRY ON THIS ONE.
[01:50:01]
CAN GO EITHER WAY.I UNDERSTAND PAUL'S POINTS AS WELL ABOUT WANTING TO GIVE A LISTING ON WHY IT IS THAT WE FEEL THAT THESE THINGS NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.
BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT THIS WOULD NEVER ACTUALLY MAKE IT THROUGH A CONSENT AGENDA.
SO I JUST WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT THERE FOR CLARIFICATION.
SO, SO LET ME BE CLEAR, AND, AND WHAT I'M ASKING IS THAT YOU, YOU SEND THIS DOCUMENT SHORT, BASICALLY, WHAT DO YOU, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO? AND THAT, AND IF I WAS ON THE COUNCIL, THAT WOULD BE MY QUESTION.
WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO IF WE GIVE YOU THIS POWER TO DO? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE GOALS, LIKE OUTLINING SOME OF THAT, NOT STATING THE FACTS, CUZ I'M SURE THEY KNOW THE FACTS.
THE ELECTRIC COMPANY, YOU'RE RIGHT, THEY'RE GONNA JUMP IN AND, AND STATE WHY THIS IS, IT MAY OR MAY NOT BE A, AN IDEA, BUT HAVE WE HAD COMMUNICATION WITH THE ELECTRIC COMPANY? LET'S SEE HOW WE CAN LEVERAGE THAT APPROACH TO WHERE WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE OVERSIGHT.
I THINK IF WE COME IN THAT APPROACH TO WHERE IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE CROSSED THE LINES TO WORK AND BRING SOMETHING TO THE TABLE, I THINK IT WOULD BE A POSITIVE OUTCOME.
YOU KNOW, BASICALLY GIVE THEM MORE OF WHAT WE WOULD DO, HOW THE PARTNERSHIP COULD WORK, AND HOW WE COULD BUILD, YOU KNOW, TOGETHER ON THAT, THAT MAY OR MAY NOT WORK.
BUT THAT WAS JUST MY SUGGESTION.
AND, AND I GUESS MY POINT TO IT WAS, UM, BASICALLY WE HAVE LOTS OF WHERE ASS THAT WE WOULD BE INSERTING, BUT NOT MUCH IN THE WAY OF THE FORCE.
AND SO WHEN I WANT TO SEND SOMETHING TO COUNCIL, I WANT TO SAY, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT ARE ISSUES AND THIS IS HOW WE WANT TO RESOLVE IT.
AND THERE'S ONLY ONE, THEREFORE, THAT'S WHY I WANT TO HAVE A MEANINGFUL LIST, IS MY WHEREAS SECTION AND HOW YOU GUYS CONSTRUCT THAT, UH, AS PART OF A A SMALLER GROUP, I'M FINE WITH PER, PERHAPS WE COULD DO BOTH.
PERHAPS WE COULD, UH, KEEP THE BOILER PLATE RESOLUTION THAT'S POSTED AND AS A, A BACKUP, UH, INCLUDE THE MORE SUBSTANTIVE, UH, QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS THAT COMMISSIONER GARY IS, UH, WANTING.
UH, DOES THAT SOUND DOABLE? UH, UH, COMMISSIONER STONE AND GARY, SO YOU'LL BRING THIS BACK FOR A FINAL REVIEW, CORRECT? UH, UH, THIS, THIS IS, THIS IS, UH, I, I DIDN'T THINK THAT THIS WAS GONNA PASS TONIGHT.
I'D BE THRILLED IF IT DID, BUT I WASN'T EXPECTING IT.
BUT WE NEED TO HAMMER OUT EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT TO ASK FOR.
AND LOU IS SAYING, KEEP IT SIMPLE AND YOU ARE SAYING MAKE IT MORE SUBSTANTIVE.
AND SO I'M TRYING TO FIND A COMPROMISE WHERE WE DO BOTH, WHERE WE HAVE THE BOILER PLATE ON THE, I WON'T MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET HEARD, LARRY, I'M, I'M NOT THE CHAIR, BUT I I'M NOT GONNA SHORT YOU, UH, GETTING BACK TO YOU, UH, COMMISSIONER GARY.
UH, I, I, WE'LL KEEP THE, THE SIMPLE BOILER PLATE, BUT WE'LL ADD MAYBE YOUR, UH, MORE SUBSTANTIVE QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS.
AND IF YOU'LL TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED ANSWERED, UH, I WILL TRY AND FIND, DO THE RESEARCH IN WRITING TO, UH, PRESENT IT HOPEFULLY TO YOUR SATISFACTION.
I I AM NOT THE CURRENT CHAIR OR THE NEW CHAIR, BUT, SO LARRY GRAHAM, THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE, HAS BEEN ANIMATEDLY WAVING HIS HAND.
HEARD, AND I, I WOULD NOT HAVE, IT SAID THAT WE DID NOT GIVE HIM A CHANCE TO SPEAK.
UM, YEAH, WHAT I'LL, I'LL I'LL SAY REAL FAST JUST TO ANNOY LARRY SOME MORE.
UM, JUST FOR CONTEXT, I THINK A LOT OF THE POINTS THAT COMMISSIONER GARY WAS RAISING IN TERMS OF COLLABORATION AND, AND WHAT'S THE DISCUSSION BEEN JUST HAVE, HAVE BEEN HAD OVER THE LAST, WHAT, SIX MONTHS OR SO, AND Y'ALL ARE NEW COMMISSIONERS, JUST HAVEN'T HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THAT YET.
UM, BUT I THINK TO SYNOPSIZE THE, THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION, IT SOUNDS LIKE Y'ALL, IT, IT'LL BE GOOD TO WORKSHOP THIS IN, IN, UM, COMMITTEE OF THE RMC.
AND SO I WANNA RECOGNIZE LARRY, UH, TO, TO GO AHEAD AND SAY YOUR POINTS OR QUESTIONS, ET CETERA.
LARRY GRAHAM, UH, UH, IS IT, I THINK WE HAVE TO ASK HIM A QUESTION AND THEN HE'S ABLE TO EXPAND UPON IT.
WHAT QUESTIONS WOULD YOU LIKE US TO ASK YOU? GARY
[01:55:01]
LARRY GRAHAM, I'M WITH TEXAS GAS SERVICE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT THIS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY, AND MR. STONE, TO YOUR POINT, IT'S NOT THAT WE'RE AGAINST THIS, BUT LET ME JUST OFFER SOMETHING FOR YOU GUYS TO THINK ABOUT.
AND, UM, I'VE KNOWN MR. ROBBINS NUMBER OF YEARS, AND WE DON'T ALWAYS AGREE, BUT I, I DO WANNA POINT THIS OUT.
SO THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS OUR, UM, SHARE'S REGULATORY AUTHORITY ON RATES WITH THE RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO NOTE THAT THERE'S THIS REGULATORY FRAMEWORK THAT, THAT HAS THE CITY AND THE STATE.
AND I THINK, PAUL, YOU'LL REMEMBER THIS BECAUSE IN THE FIRST WEEK OF MARCH, 2020 DAYS BEFORE THE COVID, WE WERE TOGETHER, UM, AT THE RAILROAD COMMISSION WHEN WE HAD OUR LAST, UH, AT A SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE WHEN WE HAD THE LAST RAPE CASE.
AND SO BEFORE, BEFORE YOUR ATTORNEYS HAD ME REMOVED, BUT WE, NO, WE WON'T GO THERE.
THE, THEY WERE THE CITY'S ATTORNEYS.
SO THAT'S MY POINT IS THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS A PARTY, UH, TO THE CASE AT THE RAILROAD COMMISSION, RIGHT? AND WHAT WE THINK, SO DURING THE RATE CASE, CITY HIRED ATTORNEYS TO REPRESENT THEM, WE RESPONDED TO OVER 200 DIFFERENT REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION.
AND WHAT WE THINK IS, IT'S A DISCUSSION THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE WITH THE CITY AND THE CITY COUNCIL ABOUT WHAT'S THE BEST WAY FOR YOU GUYS TO GIVE INPUT TO THE LEGAL COUNCIL THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN HIRES.
AND THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION IS NOT A, YOU KNOW, NOT A PARTY TO THE RAPE CASE THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS.
AND SO THERE, THERE, DURING A RAPE CASE, THERE IS A VEHICLE FOR YOU TO PROVIDE INPUT, AND YOU GUYS ARE WELCOME TO DO THAT.
BUT WHAT YOU ALL NEED TO DO IS TALK TO THE CITY COUNCIL ABOUT WHAT IS THE BEST WAY FOR YOU TO GET YOUR IDEAS, YOUR CONCERNS, TO THE, THE ATTORNEYS THAT THE CITY HAS HIRED TO REPRESENT THEM AND THEIR CUSTOMERS.
AND WHAT WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE IS TO BE PROVIDING INFORMATION TO YOU ALL AND THE, THE LEGAL COUNSEL THAT THE CITY HAS HIRED AT THE SAME TIME.
SO THAT, THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO YOU TO THINK ABOUT, RIGHT? AND YOU CAN EXPAND THE PURVIEW.
AND I GUESS WE STILL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT EXACTLY THAT MEANS AND WHAT YOU WOULD WANT FROM US.
UM, AND SO THESE ARE VALID QUESTIONS THAT YOU'VE RAISED, BUT THERE IS A VENUE FOR YOU TO RAISE THAT, BECAUSE AGAIN, IT'S THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT THAT HIRES REPRESENTATION DURING THE RAPE CASE.
SO I, I THINK ONE, ONE LAST THING, PAUL, THANK YOU FOR, FOR THIS.
I, I THINK THE IDEA THAT THE, THAT WE ARE SIMILAR TO AUSTIN ENERGY AND THE WATER UTILITY IS NOT QUITE TRUE BECAUSE THE CITY IS NOT THE FINAL REGULATORY AUTHORITY.
IT'S THE, IT'S A RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS.
AND THE WAY WE FILED THE RIGHT CASES, THE WAY THE REGULATORY STRUCTURE IS SET UP, IT, IT'S NOT THE SAME.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE THINK IS THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THE CITY COUNCIL ABOUT HOW TO TAKE YOUR IDEAS, YOUR CONCERNS, AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY IS DEALING WITH IT.
YOU HAVING BEEN A PARTY TO THE LAST RAPE CASE TO THE EXTENT THAT I WAS ALLOWED TO BE, UH, I, I DO WANT TO CORRECT YOU.
IT WAS YOUR ATTORNEYS WHO MADE THE MOTION TO HAVE ME EXCLUDED FROM SETTLEMENT TALKS BECAUSE OF CERTAIN RAILROAD COMMISSION, UH, WELL, BECAUSE OF THE GAS UTILITY REGULATORY ACT STATUTE.
UH, BUT MORE TO THE POINT, UM, I WAS ALSO A PARTY TO AUSTIN ENERGY'S RATE CASE.
AND THE WAY IT WORKS IS THAT IN, WE CAN, AS A BODY OR AS INDIVIDUALS, IF WE ARE INTERVENORS, WE CAN ASK THE CITY COUNCIL FOR CERTAIN THINGS, AND THE CITY COUNCIL CAN SAY YES OR NO TO THEM.
AND THEN IF TEXAS GAS SERVICE WISHES TO APPEAL THE DECISION, THEN YES, YOU CAN TAKE IT TO THE RAILROAD COMMISSION.
BUT AS YOU KNOW, UH, COUNSEL HAS PRIMARY JURISDICTION, UH, OVER YOUR RATES BEFORE
[02:00:01]
IT GOES TO THE RAILROAD COMMISSION, AND THAT'S WHERE WE CAN BE OF SERVICE.I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS NOT COMPLETELY SOVEREIGN IN ELECTRIC RATE MATTERS.
CERTAIN CUSTOMERS IN AUSTIN ENERGY CAN APPEAL TO THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION, UH, UNDER CERTAIN RULES.
SO, UM, PAUL, PAUL FI FINAL COMMENT, THEY, THE, THE RULES AND THE STATUTES ARE DIFFERENT, AND WE FILE SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE CITY AND THE RAILROAD COMMISSION.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE SERVE SO MANY CITIES, EVEN HERE, YOU KNOW, ROLLINGWOOD, WESTLAKE HILLS, AND IT, WE CAN'T DO SEPARATE CASES.
SO WE ROLL 'EM UP IN ONE CASE AND DO IT AT THE COMMISSION.
UH, AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE WAY WE DO IT.
SO IT, IT IS DIFFERENT AND THE RAILROAD COMMISSION IS THE ONE THAT DECIDES.
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S ALL I'M GONNA SAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, IT IS NOT THAT WE OPPOSE THIS, BUT WE THINK THERE IS, YOU KNOW, A WAY FOR YOU TO GET YOUR CONCERNS AND YOU NEED TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION WITH THE CITY COUNCIL.
SO I'M JUST GONNA OFFER THAT, AND YOU ALL CAN DO AS YOU WISH.
THANK YOU FOR THE INTERESTING DISCUSSION.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S OUR LAST ITEM.
UM, I'M LOOK AT THE WRONG PAGE.
UM, SO IS THIS, UH, BEING TABLED, I PRESUME? UM, IF IT'S UP TO ME, YES.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION, PAUL? I MOVE THAT WE TABLE THIS AND INFORMALLY, UH, I WAIT TO HEAR FROM, UH, MY, UM, FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.
I'LL SECOND THE MOTION TO TABLE, UH, DENNIS, THEN IT'S TABLED
ALL IN FAVOR TO TABLE THIS MOTION.
THAT'S, UH, SIX ZERO, AND, UM, BELIEVE THAT'S THE LAST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA.
WE DON'T HAVE A POSTING FOR POSSIBLE DISCUSSION OF FUTURE ITEMS. CAN WE STILL DISCUSS THAT OR IS THAT, OH, SORRY.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, NEXT MONTH WE HAVE TEXAS GAS SERVICE QUARTERLY UPDATE ON CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. WE HAVE AUSTIN WATERS QUARTERLY UPDATE, AND WE ALSO HAVE DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE AUSTIN WATER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS LOCATED IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE FOR APPROVAL TO INCLUDE IN THE FIVE YEAR CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN AS REQUIRED BY THE FISCAL POLICY NUMBER EIGHT.SO THOSE ARE THE ITEMS THAT WE HAVE SCHEDULED FOR MAY.
I WOULD LIKE TO ADD, UH, THAT WE PLACE THIS TABLE ITEM ON TEXAS GAS SERVICE.
UH, WELL, NO, THERE HAVE BEEN MISUNDERSTANDINGS, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT GETS POSTED.
UH, AGAIN, AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE AT, AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIR, UH, I WOULD LIKE AT SOME POINT IN THE NEXT MEETING OR TWO TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ON REPURPOSING AUSTIN'S GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM, UH, TO BE, UM, SPENT ON MORE RELEVANT, UH, RENEWABLE ENERGY, UH, PROJECTS.
UM, UH, I I, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME HERE, SO I'M JUST GONNA GIVE A SUMMARY SO PEOPLE AREN'T GUESSING WHAT I'M THINKING.
UM, GREEN CHOICE HAS BEEN A MONUMENTALLY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM, UH, BUT IT'S DATED AND IT NEEDS TO BE REVISED SO THAT IT'S MORE RELEVANT THAN IT IS NOW.
WHEN IT WAS STARTED IN 2001, THERE WAS ALMOST NO RENEWABLE ENERGY, UH, ON AUSTIN'S GRID OR IN TEXAS.
AND NOW THAT'S CHANGED BY, UH, UH, UH, THAT, THAT'S BEEN TURNED AROUND.
WHAT I THINK WE SHOULD CONSIDER REPURPOSING IT FROM SOMETHING THAT IS, UH, FOR WIND AND SOLAR TO SOMETHING THAT IS, UH, PERHAPS FOR ENERGY STORAGE, WHICH WOULD ALLOW WIND AND SOLAR
[02:05:01]
TO WORK.WHEN THE WIND ISN'T BLOWING AND THE SUN ISN'T SHINING, UH, IT MIGHT ALLOW US TO, UH, INVEST IN RENEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.
UH, SO I WOULD LIKE TO PUT THIS ITEM ON FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES IN THE RELATIVELY NEAR FUTURE.
SO, MS. MS. GOODWIN, I HAD A QUESTION FOR YOU.
SO THE, THE UNDER DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, LINE ITEM NUMBER THREE, I NOTE THERE WAS AN OPTION PRESENTED, AND I KNOW WE DIDN'T AGREE WITH THAT, AND YOU WERE CORRECT IN STATING THAT WE COULD NOT APPROVE THAT BECAUSE IT'S NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA.
I KNOW THAT COUNSEL PLANS TO LISTEN TO THIS ON THURSDAY, BUT IS THERE ANY WAY WE CAN BRING THIS AND MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO BRING THIS BACK AS A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM WITH THE PROPOSAL, UH, PROPOSAL OF THE TWO SEPARATE ITEMS BEING VOTED ON OR WITH MORE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SO WE CAN MAKE A INFORMATIVE DECISION TO PASS THIS PARTICULAR ITEM? MY UNDERSTANDING OF THAT IS, IS THAT CITY COUNCIL WILL STILL TAKE IT UP BECAUSE IT CAME FROM E U C ALREADY.
SO THE FACT THAT WE VOTED IT DOWN WILL HAVE NO BEARING ON IT.
IT WILL STILL APPEAR ON THEIR AGENDA.
SO, UM, THE ITEM IS STILL GONNA APPEAR ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA.
COUNCIL IS STILL GOING TO, UM, EITHER VOTE, HOWEVER THEY'RE GONNA VOTE, BUT YOUR, UH, RECOMMENDATION WILL BE READ INTO THE RECORD ON THURSDAY THAT YOU ARE NOT IN FAVOR OF IT.
UM, IF YOU'RE ASKING FOR STAFF TO COME BACK AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, STAFF CAN DO THAT.
I THINK IT'S, I THINK IT'S FAIR, UM, IDEA
SO THANK YOU MS. GOODWIN FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTION.
UM, IF YOU COULD DO THAT, I MEAN, WE JUST WANT TO, I GUESS MY CONCERN IS IT WAS STATED THAT THE CONTRACTORS, YOU KNOW, HAVE NOT BEEN PAID.
SO I'M SURE THEY HAVE SOME EXPENSES, BUT UNFORTUNATELY WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION SHOWING LIKE, THIS IS THE PAST DUE OF THE OUTSTANDING AMOUNT, AND THIS IS WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET THIS PUSHED THROUGH.
SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT, IT IS CLEARLY UP.
I JUST ASKED THE QUESTION IF WE COULD HAVE IT COME BACK AS A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM, BUT IT'S THE, THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIR.
I MEAN, IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE JUST A, A BRIEF, SO A BRIEF UPDATE YES.
SO I, THAT SOUNDS WE CAN HAVE STAFF COME BACK AND PROVIDE AN UPDATE.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER, UM, ITEMS FOR FUTURE, FUTURE AGENDA, ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION? LOOKS LIKE THAT'S IT.
AND I'LL THEN, UM, OH, I'M SORRY.
UM, I WOULD LIKE IF WE COULD, UH, DISCUSS OUR BYLAWS.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE IN COMPLIANCE AND YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE DOING THINGS ACCORDING TO THE BYLAWS.
IT'D BE GREAT IF WE COULD HAVE A BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THAT AT SOME POINT.
AND I WILL ALSO, UM, PROVIDE YOU A COPY AS WELL.
I THINK THAT'S ALL WE HAVE TODAY, SO I'LL MOVE TO, UM, OH, GOTTA BE THE TIME.
YOU JUST HAVE TO SAY THE TIME.
DO WE NEED A SECOND OR IS THAT NO.