[00:00:01]
[CALL TO ORDER]
IT IS 7 0 2 AND, UH, I'M GONNA CALL TO ORDER THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION MEETING.UM, IS THERE ANYBODY SIGNED UP? NO, WE HAVE NOBODY SIGNED UP FOR, UM, PUBLIC SPEAKING, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS MOMENT TO INTRODUCE A FEW NEW COMMISSION MEMBERS.
WE HAVE, UM, FIRST OF ALL, SHE WAS HERE, UH, LAST MONTH, BUT, UM, WE DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO INTRODUCE HER.
UH, MARCELLA ION, WELCOME ABOARD.
UM, DO YOU WANNA JUST TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE, WHAT, WHERE YOU'RE FROM, AND YEAH, OF COURSE.
I AM FROM, I GUESS I'VE BEEN IN AUSTIN FOR ABOUT FIVE YEARS NOW.
UM, I GREW UP IN PANAMA, THE COUNTRY, AND MY FATHER WORKED FOR THE CANAL, SO WATER HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY NEAR AND DEAR TO, TO ME, UM, GROWING UP AND JUST A PART OF MY LIFE.
SO, UH, CIVIL ENGINEERING DEGREE FROM GEORGIA TECH.
I'VE MOVED AROUND QUITE A BIT, BUT AUSTIN IS A PLACE THAT I'D LIKE TO CALL HOME FOR A LONG TIME, SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING ON THE COMMISSION AND WORKING WITH ALL Y'ALL.
UM, NEXT I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE, UH, COMMISSIONER MIKE REYES.
THANKS FOR, THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
UH, GIMME A LITTLE BIT OF MY BACKGROUND.
I'M ALSO A CIVIL ENGINEER, UH, DIRECTOR OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AT A FIRM HERE LOCALLY.
I'VE BEEN IN TOWN FOR ABOUT OVER 20 YEARS NOW.
UH, MOVED TO AUSTIN FROM SAN ANTONIO.
ORIGINALLY I MOVED HERE TO GO TO UT AND JUST NEVER LEFT AND JUST EXCITED TO BE HERE.
I'LL BE HERE FOR A WHILE, AUSTIN.
AND ONE MORE, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, SABRINA REIHART.
UM, I'M A STUDENT AT THE JACKSON SCHOOL OF GEOSCIENCES, UM, STUDYING SEISMOLOGY.
I'M THE SOLID EARTH SYSTEM, UM, BUT FROM A MARINE PERSPECTIVE.
UM, SO MOST OF MY WORK HINGES ON STUDIES DONE AT SEA.
UM, SO WATER IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO ME, UM, AS IS THE RELATION TO THE WHOLE GEO SYSTEM.
AND AS FOR MY TENURE IN AUSTIN, I MOVED HERE ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO FROM NEW YORK CITY.
ALRIGHT, UM, MOVING DOWN THE AGENDA, UH, APPROVAL OF
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
THE MINUTES COMMISSIONERS, HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE MINUTES? DO WE HAVE ANY CORRECTIONS OR A MOTION? APPROVAL? APPROVAL? WE GOT APPROVAL FROM COMMISSIONER MORTY.SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER MAXWELL GAINES.
UH, ANY MORE DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SHOW BY RAISING YOUR HAND.
ALL COMMISSIONERS VOTING TO PROVE THE MINUTES.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO DOWN THE AGENDA TO SEE WHO HAS QUESTIONS
[DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION]
AND RECUSALS.UM, I WILL JUST START OUT, UH, WITH COMMISSIONER ION.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR RECUSALS ON ANY OF THE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA? NO QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER ARDI, NO QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER PENN, NO QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER REYES? NO QUESTIONS.
WHAT ELSE DO WE HAVE HERE? IS HE ON THERE? OH, THERE HE IS.
NO RECUSALS, UH, COMMISSIONER REIHART? NO QUESTIONS.
DID, DID I GET EVERYBODY?
UM, WITH NO QUESTIONS OR RECUSALS, UH, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO PASS? DO I READ ALL THE ITEM NUMBERS? NO.
TO PASS, UH, ALL THE ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, MOVE APPROVAL.
UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR VOTE BY RAISING YOUR HAND, AND IT IS UNANIMOUS.
ITEM NUMBERS 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, AND 12 AND 13.
[00:05:03]
THAT LOOKS ODD THERE.SO, UH, ITEMS TWO TO 12 ARE THE CONSENT AGENDA.
ITEM 13 IS THE DISCUSSION ITEM.
YOU WILL BE, UH, APPOINTING THE COMMISSIONERS TO THE COST OF STUDY, UH, COMMITTEE.
AND I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT BEFORE YOU NEED YOUR MOTION, BUT SO ITEMS TWO THROUGH 12 ON THE AGENDA.
MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA.
APPOINTMENT OF PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT COMMITTEE FOR AUSTIN WATER COST OF SERVICE STUDY.
UH, JOSEPH GONZALEZ, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL SERVICES.
AND, UH, FOR THIS ITEM, WE ARE LOOKING FOR, UH, VOLUNTEER TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR COST OF SERVICE STUDY.
WE, UH, GENERALLY DO A COST OF SERVICE STUDY EVERY FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS.
AND IT'S BEEN, UH, ABOUT SEVEN YEARS SINCE, SINCE THE LAST ONE.
AND, UH, UM, SO WE, YOU KNOW, WOULD LOOK TO YOU TO, TO, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY HAVE A VOLUNTEER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS.
WE EXPECT IT TO BE, UM, THE, THE, WE WILL HAVE A PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT COMMITTEE THAT WILL INCLUDE, UH, NOT ONLY A, A REPRESENTATIVE OR REPRESENTATIVES FROM FROM THE COMMISSION, BUT ALSO, UH, CUSTOMER CLASS REPRESENTATIVES INCLUDING, YOU KNOW, UH, RESIDENTIAL RATE ADVOCATE.
UH, IN THE PAST WE'VE HAD REPRESENTATIVES FROM, UM, OUR MULTI-FAMILY, CUSTOMER CLASS, OUR LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER CLASS, UM, AS WELL AS COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER CLASS.
AND, UH, THE, THE, THE PROCESS WILL ENTAIL, YOU KNOW, REVIEWING OUR, OUR RATE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, LOOKING AT COST OF SERVICE ALLOCATION, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS AND METHODOLOGY, AND ULTIMATELY PROVIDING A RECOMMENDATION, UH, FOR FUTURE RATE INCREASES.
I THINK WE HAD THIS DISCUSSION LAST MEETING AND COMMISSIONER PENN, YOU WERE INTERESTED.
IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH, I VOLUNTEERED TO BE ON THE, ON THE C COMMITTEE.
AND YOU JUST NEED ONE MEMBER OR? WELL, WE, WE, UP UNTIL THIS WEEK, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THE, THE COMMISSION WAS SPREAD THIN.
AND SO WE WERE, WE WERE THINKING ONE, ONE MEMBER.
UH, WE WOULD CERTAINLY TAKE A SECOND IF, IF THERE'S INTEREST.
UH, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN DO ONE WOULD BE FINE.
IS ANYBODY ELSE, UM, INTERESTED IN SERVING ON THIS, UM, COMMITTEE? I CAN DO IT AS WELL.
WELL, UM, DO WE NEED TO VOTE ON THAT OR NO? NO.
SO, UM, IF YOU'RE APPOINTING COMMISSIONER PENN AND COMMISSIONER REIHART AND NO ONE ELSE IS INTERESTED, UH, THEN I WILL JUST RECORD THAT FOR THE RECORD.
SO MOVED
UH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
REPORTS BY COMMISSION SUBCOMMITTEES, UH, ITEM 14 ON THE AGENDA
[14. Update from the Joint Sustainability Committee – Commissioner Chris Maxwell-Gaines]
UPDATE FROM STABILITY COMMITTEE COMMISSIONER CHRIS MAXWELL GAINES.ALL RIGHT, SO ON THE OCTOBER 14TH JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING, UM, THERE WERE TWO PRESENTATIONS THAT WE RECEIVED, AND ONE WAS FROM THE, UH, AU AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY ABOUT THEIR ZERO WASTE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE.
UM, SO THIS, IN 2011, THERE WAS A PLAN THAT WAS PASSED A ZERO WASTE MASTER PLAN.
AND SO THAT PLAN NOW HAS BEEN RENAMED THE 20 23 0 WASTE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
UH, THE 2011 PLAN HAD A GOAL TO REACH 90% DIVERSION OF WASTE BY THE YEAR 2040.
UM, AND, UH, SINCE 2011, THE AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, THEY'VE IMPLEMENTED CURBSIDE COMPOSTING AT SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, WHICH WAS A GOAL OF THAT 2011 PLAN.
UH, THE UNIVERSAL RECYCLING, AGAIN, ANOTHER GOAL OF THAT 2011 PLAN AND THE, UH, CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS RECYCLING.
SO THOSE ARE THREE MAJOR ITEMS THAT THEY HAVE IMPLEMENTED SINCE THE 2011, UH, PLAN WAS SET OUT.
UM, AND THEN, UM, THE CURRENT KIND OF UPDATE WAS KIND OF A 10 YEAR HORIZON, UM, IF I UNDERSTOOD THAT CORRECTLY.
SO OF COURSE, THINGS ARE GONNA MOVE OVER THE YEARS IN TERMS OF DATA AND DIFFERENT THINGS THAT COME IN FROM A, FROM A CITY STANDPOINT.
AND THEN, SO GOING FORWARD, THINGS THAT THEY WANT
[00:10:01]
TO IMPLEMENT.IT INCLUDES THE ON-CALL SERVICES FOR BULK, UH, COLLECTIONS.
SO CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW THEY'RE TESTING IN CERTAIN ZIP CODES, I BELIEVE.
SO, UM, THEY WANT TO IMPLEMENT FULL CITYWIDE ON CALL FOR BULK, UH, PICKUP, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE EXPANSION OF SOME SERVICE CENTERS AND TRANSFER, UH, STATIONS.
UM, IN ADDITION, THEY WANT TO, UH, ELECTRIFY THE FLEET.
UM, SO THAT'S WOULD BE A MAJOR, UM, ACCOMPLISHMENT EVEN, YOU KNOW, UH, ALSO WITH OUR CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UH, MOVING THAT FORWARD WOULD BE MAJOR.
AND THEN OF COURSE, UH, DATA ME AND MEASUREMENT EXPANSION.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE BIG HIGHLIGHTS THAT THEY'RE WANTING TO, UH, ACCOMPLISH MOVING FORWARD.
UM, AND THEN THE NEXT PRESENTATION WE WERE GIVEN WAS, UM, BY, UH, I BELIEVE THAT SHE WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING LEADERSHIP COUNCIL, WHICH THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS A MEMBER OF.
AND, UM, SO SHE GAVE US A HIGHLIGHT OF JUST WHAT SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING FROM A CITY STANDPOINT IN TERMS OF PROCUREMENT, UM, IN TERMS OF HOW THAT CAN HELP, UM, STRENGTHEN THE ENVIRONMENT, THE SOCIETY, AND THE, UH, ECONOMY VERSUS JUST BUYING STUFF FOR, YOU KNOW, CITY DEPARTMENTS AND SUCH.
SO, UM, SO AGAIN, CITY OF BOSTON IS A MEMBER, AND, UH, IT IS KIND OF LIKE A, UH, UM, A GROUP THAT BRINGS TOGETHER DIFFERENT CITIES, DIFFERENT COUNTIES, AND THEY CAN SHARE KNOWLEDGE, THEY CAN SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO FURTHER, UH, THE, THE PRACTICE OF SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING, UH, FROM A CITYWIDE STANDPOINT.
SO, UM, AND, UH, WE'VE RECEIVED OTHER UPDATES FROM THE OTHER COMMISSIONS, AND THAT WAS IT FOR THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
UPDATE COMMISSIONERS, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? SEE NONE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT UPDATE, COMMISSIONER.
UM, IT SOUNDS VERY INTERESTING.
I REALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF ELECTRIC FLEET BECAUSE IT'S SO MUCH QUIETER THAN THE TRADITIONAL TRASH TRACK
UM, ALL RIGHT, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE
[15. Staff briefing on Austin Water External Review: Fourth Quarter Update on Implementation of Recommendations]
AGENDA.STAFF BRIEFINGS, STAFF BRIEFING ON AUSTIN WATER EXTERNAL REVIEW, FOURTH QUARTER UPDATE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS, DIRECTOR, SHEA ROLLS.
I THINK WE'LL HAVE SOME SLIDES HERE.
UM, SO FOR OUR NEW COMMISSIONERS, UM, WE HAD AN EXTERNAL REVIEW, UH, THAT WAS COMPLETED BY THE CI OFFICE OF THE CITY AUDITOR, UM, JUST ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
UM, IT CAME OUT, UM, DECEMBER, JANUARY OF 20 JANUARY OF 2023.
HAD 54 RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR WAYS IN WHICH AUSTIN WATER COULD IMPROVE OUR OPERATIONS AND, AND, UH, MANAGEMENT OF OUR UTILITY.
AND SO, UM, WE HAVE BEEN METHODICALLY WORKING THROUGH THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, THERE WERE FOUR THAT WE DIDN'T AGREE WITH, AND I, I WON'T RECAP THOSE TODAY, BUT FOR THE NEW COMMISSIONERS, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO VISIT WITH YOU ABOUT THOSE, UM, UH, LATER AS WELL.
BUT, UM, WHAT I'LL DO TODAY IS JUST GO OVER THE PROGRESS THAT WE HAVE MADE SINCE THE LAST REPORT OUT.
WE'VE BEEN REPORTING OUT ABOUT QUARTERLY.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE SHOWED THE COMMISSION IN AUGUST.
UM, WE HAD, UM, 22 THAT WERE IMPLEMENTED, 24 UNDERWAY, THREE THAT, UM, WERE PLANNED BUT HADN'T QUITE KICKED OFF YET.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE FOUR I MENTIONED THAT WE WON'T BE, UM, MOVING FORWARD ON.
UM, THOSE ARE MOSTLY RELATED TO HOW AUSTIN WATER IS SITUATED WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND HOW THAT'S STRUCTURED.
AND SO THAT'S, UM, THAT'S WHY THOSE ARE NOT ACTIONABLE.
SO YOU CAN SEE IN THREE MONTHS WE'VE MADE QUITE A BIT OF PROGRESS.
UM, WE HAVE MOVED A NUMBER OF, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS INTO THE IMPLEMENTED CATEGORY.
UM, AND, UM, AND WE'VE MOVED, UH, AT LEAST ONE THAT WAS PLANNED INTO THE UN INTO THE UNDERWAY CATEGORY.
SO, SOME KEY HIGHLIGHTS ON THE NEWLY IMPLEMENTED ITEMS, UM, ON THE, UH, UNDER THE CATEGORY OF OPERATIONS AND ENGINEERING, UM, WE HAVE, UH, COMPLETED THE ONE RELATED TO VERIFYING THE OPERATIONAL RANGE, UM, FOR MEDIUM AND HIGH SERVICE PUMP STATIONS AT ULRICH.
WE RAN ULRICH UP TO A, UH, FLOW RATE OF 140 MGD, AND ACTUALLY A LITTLE HIGHER THAN THAT.
THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE MOST WE'VE EVER PUT THROUGH ULRICH WATER TREATMENT PLANTS.
SO WE'RE QUITE PLEASED WITH HOW THAT WENT.
UM, AND WE'VE UPDATED OUR SOPS, UM, UH, AND UPLOADED THAT TO OUR, UH, THE PLANT'S O AND M GUIDE SO THAT WE HAVE THAT WORK, UH,
[00:15:01]
RECORDED IN WHAT IT TAKES TO BE ABLE TO, UM, PUT A WHOLE LOT MORE WATER THROUGH ULRICH SHOULD WE NEED IT.UM, WE HAVE REVIEWED AND UPDATED OUR STAFFING ASSIGNMENTS FOR SYSTEM FLOW CHANGES.
AND SO THIS IS REALLY ABOUT HOW WE COMMUNICATE BETWEEN WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND WHAT WE'RE PUTTING OUT OF THE PLANTS.
AND SO WE HAVE TIGHTENED UP, UM, THAT COMMUNICATION AND MEMORIALIZED IT AND UPDATED SOPS.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, EVALUATED THE UPFLOW CLARIFIER NUMBER FIVE.
THAT WAS ONE THAT THE, UH, KIND OF A SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION THAT CAME OUT OF THE REVIEW THAT, UM, WAS A, YOU KNOW, THAT WE NEEDED TO LOOK AT.
UM, SO, UH, WE'RE SATISFIED WITH WHERE THAT IS.
WE ARE GONNA, UM, INCLUDE SOME RELATED REPAIRS IN A FUTURE CIP PROJECT.
AND THEN, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE EXTERNAL REVIEW RECOMMENDED WAS THAT WE, WE IMPLEMENTED POLYMER FEED AFTER THE FLOODS OF 2018 BECAUSE THE TURBIDITY WAS COMING IN DURING THAT FLOOD EVENT WAS VERY, VERY HIGH, AND THE ALKALINITY AND HARDNESS WAS VERY, VERY LOW.
AND THAT COMPLETELY UPSET OUR PROCESS.
AND SO NOW WE HAVE POLYMER FEEDS, AND IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO, UM, KNOW THAT THEY WILL WORK WHEN WE NEED THEM, WE RUN THEM AT A LOW LEVEL ALL THE TIME.
AND THE EXTERNAL REVIEW SAID, WELL, THAT MIGHT NOT BE REALLY COST EFFICIENT.
DO YOU REALLY NEED TO RUN 'EM ALL THE TIME? YOU SHOULD GO LOOK AT THAT.
SO WE WENT AND LOOKED AT THAT, AND IT IS DOES COST MORE TO RUN 'EM ALL THE TIME, BUT WE, UM, OUR EVALUATION FOUND THAT THE NON-COST FACTORS OUTWEIGH THE COST FACTORS.
SO WE ARE GONNA CONTINUE, UM, TO RUN THEM ALL THE TIME FOR THE REASONS I SAID, WE WANNA KNOW THAT THEY WILL WORK WHEN WE NEED THEM.
AND THAT, AND THAT WORK IS MEMORIALIZED IN A, IN A MEMO.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A, WE CAN POINT TO OUR REASONS FOR DOING THAT ON THE REPORTING STRUCTURE.
UM, ONE OF THE, UM, THE EXTERNAL REVIEW FELT THAT, UH, A PART OF OUR, UM, THEIR CONCERN ABOUT OUR OPERATION WAS THAT WE DIDN'T, WE HAD A SUPERINTENDENT FOR OPERATIONS AND A SUPERINTENDENT FOR MAINTENANCE AT ULRICH.
THEY REALLY FELT LIKE WE NEEDED A SINGLE PERSON IN CHARGE.
SO WE HAVE ASSIGNED OUR DIVISION MANAGER FOR WATER TREATMENT TO BE LOCATED AT ULRICH, AND THAT'S BEEN WORKING FOR US.
SO, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE CALLING THAT IMPLEMENTED.
UM, AND THEN ON THE ONE ABOUT DEVELOPING APPROPRIATE POSITION TITLES, PAY AND JOB SCOPE FOR A CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE INSTITUTION, THIS IS, THIS IS NOT A THING THAT'S EVER DONE.
THIS IS A THING THAT WE DO CONTINUOUSLY.
BUT WHAT THE EXTERNAL REVIEW IDENTIFIED, UM, WAS THAT WE, WE HAD A, WE HAD A BIG BACKLOG IN, UM, REQUESTS THAT WE WERE PROCESSING RELATED TO POSITIONS, TITLES, PAY, JOB SCOPES, THAT HAD TO DO WITH, UM, BEING ABLE TO GET THOSE REQUESTS THROUGH THE CITY'S HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS COMPLETING A MARKET STUDY WE HAD STARTED AND GETTING THOSE CHANGES, UH, RELATED TO THAT MARKET STUDY IMPLEMENTED.
AND SO WE HAVE WORKED OUR BACKLOG, UM, AND SO WE'RE DOWN TO A MANAGEABLE, UM, BACKLOG.
AND, UM, AND WE'VE FULLY IMPLEMENTED THE MARKET STUDY.
UH, WE WILL DO ANOTHER MARKET STUDY.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO REVIEW POSITION TITLES.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO RECLASS.
UM, BUT THIS DOES NOT, THIS IS NOW OPERATIONALIZED, IF YOU WILL.
SO WE, UM, IT'S BEEN IMPLEMENTED ON SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.
WE HAVE DONE A, A WHOLE LOT OF WORK THIS YEAR AROUND, UH, OUR, UM, OUR ONLINE SYSTEM THAT WE USE CALLED VOC AND UM, THAT, AND WE HAVE, UM, DONE ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT ARE LISTED HERE.
UH, WE'VE GOT TRAINING, I THINK WE ARE UP OVER 90% TRAINED OF ALL OF OUR STAFF.
ALL, UH, 1300 AUSTIN WATER STAFF, UM, ARE DOING BOTH THEIR, UM, FEMA INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM TRAINING.
THAT'S A REQUIREMENT FOR YOUR ANNUAL REVIEW EVERY YEAR.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE DONE YOUR TRAINING, UM, FEMA TRAINING, AND THEN ALSO OUR VOC TRAINING.
WE'RE ALSO CONTINUALLY USING VOC.
OUR STAFF USE IT EVERY SINGLE DAY.
UM, AND WE'RE USING IT ON LOW STAKES OR NO CONSEQUENCE EVENTS SO THAT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S FAMILIAR TO OUR STAFF WHEN WE ACTUALLY HAVE AN EMERGENCY.
UM, AND OUR, WE'VE CONDUCTED EMERGENCY PLANNING AND TRAINING AT EVERY PLANT.
UM, WE'VE ESTABLISHED NOTIFICATION THRESHOLDS, YOU KNOW, EVEN JUST OVER THE SUMMER WHEN THE, WHEN WE HAD, YOU KNOW, THE VERY HIGH HEAT AND THE HIGH, THE FIRE RISK, UM, WE HAD OUR, OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM, YOU KNOW, PUT US IN OPCON TWO, WHICH IS AN ELEVATED AWARENESS.
THEY HAD MEMBERS OF OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM CHECKING IN WITH THEIR AVAILABILITY.
AND SO WE WERE EXERCISING THAT READINESS TO ACTIVATE SHOULD WE NEED, SHOULD WE NEED TO.
[00:20:01]
VERY PROUD.UM, I'VE BEEN IN SEVERAL MEETINGS RECENTLY WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS RELATED TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS, AND, AND, UM, AND AUSTIN WATER IS, HAS BEEN VERY DILIGENT AND INTENTIONAL ABOUT STRENGTHENING OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND, AND, UM, AND SO THESE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS, WE'VE DONE ALL THE RECOMMENDATION, MOST OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE EXTERNAL REVIEW AND THEN SOME.
SO, UM, LET ME CATCH UP ON MY NOTES HERE.
UH, ITEMS THAT ARE NEWLY UNDERWAY, UM, ON THE, UH, REEVALUATING PLANT CAPITAL PROJECTS BASED ON COMPREHENSIVE CONDITION ASSESSMENTS, COMMUNICATING WITH PLANT, PLANT STAFF, WE DO DEVELOP OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS ON THE BASIS OF, UH, CONDITION ASSESSMENT.
AND WE HAVE CONTINUED TO, UH, STRENGTHEN THE SYSTEMS WHERE, UM, OPERATIONS STAFF ARE ABLE TO UPDATE THE CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF PLANT EQUIPMENT.
UM, AND THEN WE USE THAT TO FEED INTO OUR CIP PLANNING.
ONE PIECE THAT WAS REALLY, UM, NEEDED A LITTLE BIT MORE WORK WAS HOW WE, THE COMMUNICATION LOOP BACK TO PLANT STAFF SO THAT THEY REALLY UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT WE, WHAT GOT INTO ACIP PROJECT AND WHY, AND HOW THE WORK THAT THEY DO RELATES TO CIP PLANNING.
AND SO, UM, WE ARE DEVELOPING A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS.
THOSE ARE SCHEDULED, THEY'RE HAPPENING THIS MONTH.
UM, WE'RE GONNA RECORD THOSE, UH, AND MAKE THEM AVAILABLE TO PLANT STAFF WHO, YOU KNOW, MISS IT OR WANNA SEE IT AGAIN LATER.
SO, UM, WE'LL HAVE THAT KIND OF TRAINING OPPORTUNITY, UM, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO, TO DO THAT, UM, ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
UM, AND THEN UNDER EMPLOYEE AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, UM, WE HAVE CONTINUED, UM, OUR REGULAR TEAM BUILDING EXPERIENCE, UH, UH, EXERCISES, AND I CAN FIND MY NOTE HERE.
UM, AND SO WE'VE DONE A NUMBER OF LEADERSHIP SESSIONS FOR OUR WATER TREATMENT OPERATORS, UM, WHERE WE REALLY FOCUS ON, UM, THE, THE LEADERSHIP SKILLS, YOU KNOW, THE CONFLICT RESOLUTION, LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, BUILDING TRUST.
UH, AND SO WE'VE, UM, WE'VE DONE THOSE LEADERSHIP SESSIONS THAT WE COMPLETED THOSE IN SEPTEMBER.
WE'VE ALSO DONE A NUMBER OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCANS AND CULTURE LISTENING SESSIONS, UM, THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS.
AND WE JUST HAD A LEADERSHIP SUMMIT THAT IS ALL OF OUR, UM, SUPERVISORS, SUPERINTENDENTS, DIVISION MANAGERS AND ABOVE.
UM, SO THAT'S 175 PLUS PEOPLE.
AND WE SHARED THE RESULTS OF, OF ALL OF THIS WORK WITH THEM TO CONTINUE THAT, TO, TO DEVELOP OUR, UM, OUR LEADERSHIP AND, AND, UH, AND TEAM BUILDING WORK.
UM, I, I, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A HIGHLY TECHNICAL ORGANIZATION, WHETHER YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO WORKS IN, IN THE, IN THE FIELD ON THE PIPELINES, ALL THE WAY UP TO, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR, OUR PLANNING AND, AND YOU KNOW, OFFICE WORK, OFFICE STAFF.
UM, WE'RE HIGHLY TECHNICAL AND WE LIKE TO THINK THAT IF WE JUST TAKE CARE OF THE TECHNICAL WORK, THE REST OF IT WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF.
AND SO THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT EXERCISE THIS YEAR.
WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY AROUND, UM, THE ORGANIZATIONAL, THE CULTURAL WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO TO BE A GREAT PLACE TO WORK.
UM, AND THEN, UM, PROVIDING, UH, TRAINING AND CONSEQUENCES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE AROUND SAFETY.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN DOING TRAINING FOR SUPERVISORS AROUND SAFETY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, UM, AROUND TOPICS ABOUT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT, DISCIPLINE, INVESTIGATIONS.
UM, SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO TRAIN OUR SUPERVISORS.
WE ALSO HAVE A REGULAR, UM, WE HAVE SOME SAFETY SCORECARDS THAT WE KEEP UP WITH, UM, FOR SOME SPECIFIC, UM, HIGH RISK WORK THAT WE DO.
AND I ATTEND THOSE REGULAR MEETINGS AND, AND SO WE HAVE A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS AROUND SAFETY.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST ONE, INVESTIGATING WAYS TO IMPROVE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SKILLS, TEAM BUILDING EFFORTS AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AT THE PLANTS.
THAT'S REALLY VERY SIMILAR TO THE ONE THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
SO THERE WERE A LOT OF RECOMMENDATIONS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THIS REPORT THAT HAD A LOT OF OVERLAP.
SO, UM, I THINK I'VE TALKED ENOUGH ABOUT THAT ONE.
AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COMMISSIONERS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS UPDATE? COMMISSIONER MORTY? UM,
[00:25:03]
CAN YOU TURN YOUR MIC ON, SIR? IS IT ON? OKAY.UM, I WOULD SAY THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN PRETTY BENEFICIAL, WOULDN'T YOU AGREE? YES, I AGREE.
AND I GUESS WHEN WE WERE GETTING THIS GOING, WHENEVER IT WAS A COUPLE YEARS AGO, UH, THE ORIGINAL IDEA WAS TO CHECK ALL THREE PLANTS AND JUST BECAUSE OF, UH, TIME OR WHATEVER, THE EFFORT COLLAPSED DOWN TO A SINGLE WATER PLANT.
AM I RIGHT ON THAT IN TERMS OF THE FOCUS WAS ON THE ULRICH WATER TREATMENT PLANT? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND I THINK THE QUESTION I ALWAYS ASKED WAS WHY WE DIDN'T DO THE OTHER TWO PLANTS.
AND EVERYBODY SAID, WELL, IT'S REALLY THE SAME THING.
AND I BELIEVE THERE WERE SOME UNIQUE THINGS THAT WERE UNEARTHED AS PART OF THIS.
AND I, FOR SOME REASON, I'M REMEMBERING A CENTRIFUGE ISSUE, THAT THERE WAS A PARTICULAR DEVICE OR FACILITY CALLED THE CENTRIFUGE THAT THE MAINTENANCE PEOPLE HAD BEEN POINTING OUT FOR A LONG TIME, HEY, WE NEED TO FIX THAT, FIX THAT, FIX THAT, AND WE NEVER GET FIXED.
AND AS PART OF THIS, IT FINALLY GOT FIXED.
THIS DID BRING ATTENTION TO THAT ISSUE, BUT IT, IT WAS ALREADY PLANNED FOR ACIP PROJECT.
SO IT WAS A KNOWN ISSUE THAT WAS BEING WORKED ON.
I, I DO APPRECIATE THOUGH YOUR, YOUR POINT THAT THERE WERE SPECIFIC ULRICH ISSUES THAT WERE HIGHLIGHTED AS PART OF THIS.
I, I WILL SAY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE AND REPORTED OUT, WE ARE DOING, WE ARE APPLYING ALL OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE ENTIRE UTILITY.
SO, UM, THERE ARE, UH, SPECIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES THAT WERE HIGHLIGHTED AT ULRICH, BUT FOR EXAMPLE, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE DEVELOPING OUR CIP TO MEET THE HIGHEST RISK NEEDS AT EACH PLANT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE DOING AT ALL THE PLANTS AND TALKING ABOUT THE COMMUNICATION WITH THE OPERATION STAFF TO MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR WORK FEEDS INTO THE CIP THAT'S HAPPENING IN ALL THE PLANTS.
SO WE ARE EXTRAPOLATING, UM, THIS EXTERNAL REVIEW WORK INTO WAY MORE EVEN THAN THE WATER PLANTS, YOU KNOW, REALLY ACROSS THE UTILITY.
AND I GUESS WHERE I'M HEADED WITH THIS, UH, SERIES OF QUESTIONS IS, IS THERE SOME BENEFIT TO GOING AFTER THE OTHER TWO PLANTS AND, UH, LOOKING AT THEM, AND OBVIOUSLY YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHO THE DIRECTOR OF THE WATER DEPARTMENT POINTS REPORTS TO AND ALL THOSE KIND OF THINGS.
YOU COULD KIND OF SKINNY THINGS DOWN TO SOME, UH, MORE OF A AUDIT OF THE OTHER PLANTS TO SEE IF THERE AREN'T ANY CENTRIFUGES LURKING AROUND THERE THAT ARE NOT GETTING ADDRESSED, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SO I GUESS I JUST ASK YOU THAT QUESTION AND I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU'D HAVE TO HIRE THE AUDITOR.
YOU MIGHT EVEN BE ABLE TO DO IT YOURSELF, YOU KNOW, THAT SORT OF THING.
AND, AND I, I'LL SAY THAT, THAT THAT IS MY EXPECTATION OF OUR CIP PLANNING PROCESS AND OUR USE OF, YOU KNOW, THE VARIOUS OTHER TOOLS AT OUR DISPOSAL TO TAKE CARE OF ISSUES AT THE PLANTS IS THAT WE ARE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, WE ARE IDENTIFYING THOSE ISSUES AND THAT THE, UM, THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE HERE IN ORDER TO BRING THE TEAMS TOGETHER, UH, TO, TO BE ABLE TO SURFACE THOSE ISSUES.
I THINK WE ARE, I THINK WE ARE MEETING THE INTENT OF, OF YOUR QUESTION, UM, BUT CERTAINLY HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT IT MORE.
AND I GUESS TO WIND DOWN HERE, UM, ONE THING THAT I'M INTERESTED IN IS, I DON'T THINK IT'S EVER BEEN ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED, IS THAT 2018 TURBIDITY EPISODE THAT WE BASICALLY WHITEWASHED THAT AND SAID, WELL, IT'LL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.
AND I BELIEVE THAT THOSE PLANTS OUGHT TO BE ANALYZED AGAINST THAT EVENTUALITY, UH, THE ANO RIVER DUMPING ALL THAT SILT ON US AND THIS UTILITY DEVELOPING A STRATEGY SO THAT WE DO NOT LOSE ALL THREE PLANTS AT THE SAME TIME.
AND SINCE IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU MAY BE DOING WORK AT ONE OF THE WATER PLANTS, IT WOULDN'T BE
[00:30:01]
A BAD IDEA TO LOOK AT THAT AND SEE IF SOME PRE SEDIMENTATION FACILITIES NEED TO BE INSTALLED AT ONE OF THE PLANTS SO THAT IF YOU GET THE BIG SILT DUMP, YOU STILL GOT ONE PLANT TO KEEP THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM CHARGED.I WOULD, UM, PUT IN A PLUG FOR OUR PROCESS ENGINEERING TEAM WHO RECENTLY, UM, DID AN EXERCISE WHERE THEY SIMULATED A VERY HIGH TURBIDITY EVENT SIMILAR TO THE 2018 FLOOD AND, AND TESTED THEIR ABILITY TO TWEAK THE POLYMER DOSAGE, UM, TO ACHIEVE, UH, ADEQUATE TREATMENT AND DID THAT SUCCESSFULLY.
UM, GOOD COMMENTS, COMMISSIONERS.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE UPDATE? NO, UM, IT WAS VERY INTERESTING.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT UPDATE.
UM, MOVING ON, ON THE AGENDA, UM,
[16. Discussion of future agenda items]
UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, ITEM 16, DISCUSSION OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, WE HAD A REQUEST FROM COMMISSIONER MAXWELL GAINES FOR A LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ORDINANCE UPDATE.UM, SO I DON'T KNOW, AND WHEN WE CAN HAVE THAT, BUT THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE'D LIKE TO HAVE AT ONE OF OUR FUTURE AGENDAS.
AND THEN COMMISSIONER ALREADY HAD A REQUEST FOR THE AQUA AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT UPDATE.
UM, IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT PROJECT'S, UH, OUT TO BID CURRENTLY OR, UH, UNDER REVIEW, NOT THE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY, BUT THE HANCOCKS WATER HUMAN PLANT IS.
UM, SO COMMISSIONER MORTY, YOU HAD A REQUEST FOR THE AQUIFERS STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT UPDATE? YEAH, I, I THINK, UH, UH, SEVERAL COMMISSIONERS WERE INTERESTED IN THAT, AND I, I DIDN'T THINK THAT WOULD BE A HARD PRESENTATION TO DO BECAUSE WE AT THE WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE GET THAT EVERY TWO MONTHS.
SO THERE'S PROBABLY SOMETHING, THERE'S A SLIDE DECK SITTING ON A SHELF THAT COULD BE QUICKLY DEPLOYED.
AND, UM, BUT I DID REQUEST A BRIEFING ON THE WATER PLANT, AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS ONCE THE CITY'S CONTRACTUAL PROCESS SETTLES DOWN, WE WILL HAVE SAID PRESENTATION.
SO THREE ITEMS AS, AS THEY WORK OUT IN THE SCHEDULE.
UM, COMMISSIONER, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE FOR FUTURE ITEMS OF DISCUSSION IN, UM, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL GAINES IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT MEDIA? UM, I GUESS APPEARANCES AND, AND QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AUTOMATIC, UH, MEDIA READING.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU BROUGHT UP SOME GOOD POINTS ON YOUR, ON KXAN AND I GUESS I WAS WANTING TO KNOW IF WE COULD BE PRESENTED WITH INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT IS THE STATE OF, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY METER, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINTS, JUST THE GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE NUMBER SO THAT WE CAN COMPARE THAT AND CONTRAST THAT TO THE AUTOMATIC METER READING SYSTEM.
AND, YOU KNOW, IS IS IT STATISTICALLY CRAZY OR IF IT FALLS IN LINE? AND, AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF, IF THAT'S A A, A, A LOT OF, UH, METERS, YOU KNOW, HAPPENING TO, BUT I JUST THOUGHT THAT IT'D BE TIMELY TO HAVE A UPDATE ABOUT THAT SIDE OF THE, THE BUSINESS THERE, SO WE CAN PROVIDE YOU SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND, UH, I I THINK THAT, UM, YEAH, WE CAN PROVIDE YOU SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.
I MEAN, ONE THING I'LL SAY ABOUT THE COMPLAINTS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WAY WE CATEGORIZE WHEN A COMPLAINT COMES IN, WE HANDLE IT.
WE DON'T NECESSARILY CHARACTERIZE IT AS THIS WAS A COMPLAINT ABOUT METER ACCURACY.
WE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE GET AN INQUIRY FROM A CUSTOMER AND WE GO OUT AND TAKE CARE OF IT, AND THOSE INQUIRIES CAN COME IN, IN A, IN A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
SO, BUT WE DO HAVE A LOT OF DATA ABOUT HOW MANY CALLS WE FIELD, HOW MANY, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY BILL ADJUSTMENTS WE DO, UM, THAT KIND OF THING.
AND, AND SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE NOT SEEN A BIG INCREASE IN THAT, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY, UM, PROVIDE YOU SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.
UM, AS A REMINDER, COUNCIL MEMBERS, OUR NEXT MEETING IS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6TH.
UH, IS IT GONNA BE HERE OR IS IT GONNA BE IN AUSTIN WATER? UH, OUR MEETINGS FOR
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THE CURRENT TIME ARE STILL GOING TO BE HELD AT AUSTIN ENERGY.AND AS SOON AS WE HAVE AN UPDATE, I'LL, I'LL LET EVERYONE KNOW.
IT'S SO FUN TO TRY TO DRIVE ACROSS AUSTIN
UM, UH, BUT, UH, OKAY, SO JANUARY, DECEMBER 6TH IS OUR NEXT MEETING.
UM, IT'S GONNA BE TOUGH TO GET A QUORUM SO CLOSE TO THE HOLIDAYS, SO PLEASE TRY TO MAKE IT, EVEN IF IT'S VIRTUAL, IF YOU CAN.
I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS TO BE HERE IN PERSON, OR IF I DON'T COME, JESSE HAS TO
UM, AND THEN THE FIRST MEETING OF 2024 IS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17TH.
SO NOT IN OUR NORMAL, UH, DAY OF WHAT, NORMAL WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH.
SO MAKE A A NOTE OF THAT IF YOU COULD.
HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE AT AUSTIN WATER.
UM, BUT WE WILL HAVE TO STAY TUNED FOR THAT.
AND AT, UM, 6 38, I WILL ADJOURN THE MEETING.