[CALL MEETING TO ORDER]
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ORDER AT 6:04 PM WE'LL START WITH A ROLL CALL.
UH, PLEASE TURN ON YOUR CAMERAS WHEN YOU SAY THAT YOU'RE HERE.
UH, COMMISSIONER FARMER? HERE.
WE HAVING SEVEN MEMBERS PRESENT.
WE HAVE A QUORUM SO WE CAN CONTINUE.
UH, FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS PUBLIC COM PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TONIGHT? NO.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Resource Management Commission Regular Meeting on November 14, 2023.]
MOVING ON THEN.UH, IN YOUR BOARD PACK, IN YOUR COMMISSION PACKAGE YOU RECEIVED, UH, TODAY, YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN COPIES OF THE MINUTES THAT ARE AWAITING YOUR APPROVAL FROM OUR NOVEMBER 14 MEETING.
UH, UM, TAKE A MOMENT TO LOOK AT THEM AND, UH, I'LL BE LOOKING FOR A MOTION.
MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN.
SECONDED BY, I BELIEVE IT WAS COMMISSIONER DAVIS THAT GOT IN THERE.
UH, ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE MINUTES? SO MOVED.
ON THE ITEM NUMBER FOUR DISCUSSION AND, OH, SORRY.
[2. Recommend approving issuance of a capacity-based incentive to KMFA Station, for the installation of solar electric systems on their facilities located at 41 Navasota St, Austin, TX, 78702, in an amount not to exceed $80,676.]
TWO, RATHER ON OUR AGENDA RECOMMENDATION, RECOMMENDED APPROVING ISSUANCE OF CAPACITY BASED INCENTIVE FOR KMFA STATION.UH, IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON THIS RESOLUTION QUESTION? ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? UH, A COMMENT IS MY FAVORITE RADIO STATION.
I LISTEN TO IT PRETTY MUCH ALL DAY LONG WHILE I'M WORKING.
UH, SO FOR NO OTHER REASON, WE SHOULD APPROVE IT.
UH, I HOPE, I HOPE THAT WHEN THEY BROADCAST, THEY WILL LET THEIR, UH, LISTENING AUDIENCE KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOW SOLAR POWERED.
SO I AM LOOKING FOR A MOTION ON ITEM NUMBER TWO.
CAN I CORRECT PLEASE? I'M SORRY.
I COULDN'T HEAR YOU, COMMISSIONER.
UM, HOW MUCH THIS SAYS THAT, THAT WE HAVE, THERE ARE A COUPLE PV ITEMS ON HERE AND WE'VE HANDLED SEVERAL MORE RECENTLY.
SO MY FIRST QUESTION IS, IF THERE IS A GOAL, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS A GOAL OF 200 MEGAWATTS OF LOCAL DISTRIBUTED PV CAPACITY.
HOW MUCH DO WE HAVE TODAY? HEY, TIM.
TIM HARVEY, CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS MANAGER.
UM, WE CURRENTLY HAVE 128 MEGAWATTS OF, UM, SOLAR INTERCONNECTED TODAY, AND THEN PROBABLY ANOTHER, UH, SEVEN IN THE PIPELINE.
AND WHILE YOU'RE STANDING THERE, WHAT'S THE SMALLEST SIZE OF THE PROJECT THAT IS BROUGHT TO THIS COMMISSION FOR APPROVAL? IF THE SPENDING EXCEEDS $74,000, IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH.
UM, AND, AND A YEAR, THEN WE BRING IT, SO A LOT OF THESE COMMERCIAL PROJECTS ARE FIVE YEAR, UM, PBI PAYMENTS BASED ON THE PRODUCTION OF THE SYSTEM.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TOTAL MIGHT BE OVER THAT SPENDING LIMIT OVER THE FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
WE ONLY BRING THEM TO THIS COMMISSION IF THE ANNUAL SPEND IS OVER THE THRESHOLD OF 74,000.
AND LAST QUESTION IS THE, WHAT IS THE DOLLAR VALUE OF THE INCENTIVE TO COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS ON A PER KW BASIS? THE SAME AS THAT FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
FOR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS, UM, RECEIVING THE, UH, PERFORMANCE BASED INCENTIVE, IT'S A PER A CENTS PER KILOWATT HOUR VALUE.
AND THAT VARIES BASED ON THE SIZE OF THE SYSTEM.
I MEAN, YOU COULD BACK INTO AN ESTIMATE FOR WHAT THAT WOULD BE ON A, UM,
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KW BASIS.UM, FOR CAPACITY BASED INCENTIVES FOR NONPROFITS, IT'S 90 CENTS A WATT.
AND FOR FOR PROFITS FOR SYSTEMS UNDER 75 KW THEY CAN ALSO GET THE CAPACITY BASED INCENTIVE.
UM, AND I'M NOT POSITIVE WHAT THAT IS RIGHT NOW.
IT'S BEEN A, IT'S BEEN ADJUSTED SINCE THE LAST TIME WE BROUGHT ONE, BUT I THINK IT, IT IS 55 CENTS A LOT.
AND DOES AUSTIN ENERGY HAVE AN ANNUAL CAP ON THE POT OF PV INCENTIVE PAYMENTS? WHEN, WHEN WE COMMIT TO A PERFORMANCE BASED INCENTIVE, UM, IT'S FOR A PERIOD OF YEARS.
IT USED TO BE 10 YEARS, NOW IT'S FIVE YEARS.
AND SO WE, UM, COMMIT TO PAYING FOR EACH KILOWATT HOUR AT THE INCENTIVIZED RATE FOR THE FIRST FIVE YEARS OF PRODUCTION.
DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? KIND OF.
I'M JUST WONDERING IF AT SOME POINT, GIVEN ALL THE INCENTIVE APPLICATIONS, Y'ALL ARE GONNA RUN OUTTA BUDGET.
WELL, WE MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE, UM, BUDGET FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE EXPECT TO SPEND IN THE PBI AND THE NATURE OF THE PBI IS THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, SOME PBIS THAT WE ISSUED ALMOST 10 YEARS AGO THAT ARE ST THAT WE'RE STILL PAYING.
UM, AND WE HAVE PBIS THAT WE ISSUED BEFORE THAT THAT HAVE ROLLED OFF AND, YOU KNOW, NEW ONES.
SO IT'S ALWAYS KIND OF EVOLVING, BUT WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S ON THE BOOKS, AND SO WE CAN DO OUR BUDGET PROJE PROJECTIONS BY, YOU KNOW, THROUGH ESTIMATING WHAT THAT SPEND WILL BE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, TIM, AND THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN.
UH, I DID SEE COMMISSIONER DAVIS, I THINK WAIVE A HANDS.
I WANTED TO CHECK WITH HER AND MAKE SURE THAT SHE HAD A QUESTION OR IF I JUST MISSED SAW
UH, SO THERE HAS BEEN A MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER ROBBINS.
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? I DID NOT SEE WHO SECOND.
I THINK IT WAS COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN THAT GOT IN THERE.
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN.
UH, ALL IN FAVOR, WE DO NEED TO HAVE YOUR CAMERAS ON FOR ROLL CALL.
VOTE, UH, COMM, UH, STONE VOTES? YES.
[3. Recommend approving issuance of a capacity-based incentive to Kensington Apartments, LLC, for the installation of solar electric systems on their facility located at 3300 Manor Rd Austin, TX, 78723, in an amount not to exceed $184,802.]
WE'RE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE IN THE AGENDA.RECOMMENDING APPROVED ISSUANCE OF A CAP, CAPA A CAPACITY BASED INITIATIVE TO KENSINGTON APARTMENTS.
UM, YOU HAVE THIS IN YOUR PACKAGES IN FRONT OF YOU.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS RELATED TO THIS ONE OR IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITS BEHALF HAVE? IF NOT I AM.
UM, IF NOT, THEN I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION.
THERE'S BEEN A MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS BY COMMISSIONER ROBBINS.
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND SILVERSTEIN COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN.
WE SAW HER FACE, BUT WE DID NOT HEAR A VOTE.
THAT ONE CARRIES ON A VOTE OF FIVE TO THREE.
MOVING ON TO ITEM FOUR IN THE AGENDA.
UH, WE HAVE REC, SORRY, FIVE TO THREE? YES.
WHO WERE THE NOS? UH, GARY, YOURSELF AND I DON'T REMEMBER.
I JUST DID A LITTLE HASH MARK.
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JUST TWO.AND IF SO, THEN IT DOESN'T PASS.
THAT'S THE SECOND THING THAT HIT ME IS THAT IF IT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE NUMBER OF QUORUM, RIGHT.
SO IF WE HAVE SEVEN OR EIGHT, SO WE HAVE A TOTAL OF SEVEN.
SO THAT WOULD MAKE IT, I'VE GOT EIGHT THAT HAVE CHECKED IN EIGHT.
I'VE GOT STONE ROBINS, CAROTTI, DAVIS FARMER, GARY JOHNSON, AND SILVERSTEIN.
SO IT DOES PASS FIVE TO THREE.
I STILL THINK I HEARD A THIRD, BUT OKAY.
YOU WANT IT TO FAIL SO BADLY?
[4. Recommend approving issuance of an incentive to the Texas Solar Energy Society for their Pathways Pilot Program to demonstrate how Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding can be applied to solar installations in Austin Energy service territory, in an amount not to exceed $90,000.]
SO MOVING ON NOW TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, RECOMMENDING APPROVED RECOMMENDED APPROVING ISSUANCE OF AN INCENTIVE TO TEXAS SOLAR ENERGY SOCIETY.UH, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS ONE? ARE THERE ANY DISCUSSION ITEMS FOR THIS ONE? OTHERWISE I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION.
UH, MOTION WAS BY COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER ROBBINS.
UM, I REALIZED THAT WE ARE, WE ONLY HAVE A COUPLE HOURS, BUT, UM, WE HAPPEN TO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM TEXAS SOLAR ENERGY SOCIETY HERE, AND SINCE THEIR WORK, UH, COINCIDES WITH A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE DO, UM, WOULD WE HAVE A COUPLE MINUTES THAT SHE COULD JUST TELL US ABOUT THEIR, THEIR WORK IN AUSTIN AND TEXAS? I DID OFFER BEFORE WE TOOK THE VOTE FOR ANYBODY WHO WANTED TO SPEAK ON IT, BUT IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT, SHE'S GOOD.
IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO ME.
[5. Recommend approving issuance of a performance-based incentive to Starwood Capital Group LLC, for the installation of solar electric systems on their facilities shown in the table below, in an amount not to exceed $2,142,861.70.]
MOVING ON TO NUMBER FIVE IN OUR AGENDA.RECOMMENDED APPROVING ISSUANCE AND PERFORMANCE BASED INCENTIVE FOR STARWOOD CAPITAL GROUP.
UH, IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON THIS OR IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION? THIS IS SILVERSTEIN WITH A QUESTION.
THE INCENTIVE RATES FOR THE SEVEN PROJECTS DIFFER, AND I'M WONDERING WHY THAT IS.
IT'S BECAUSE, UM, WE HAVE VARYING RATES FOR DIFFERENT SYSTEM SIZES IN GENERAL.
UM, THE BIGGER SYSTEMS HAVE A REDUCED RATE BECAUSE CUSTOMERS ARE GETTING ECONOMIES OF SCALE.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? MS. DAVIS WAS THE QUESTION? YES.
UM, THIS ONE IS IN QUITE A LARGE AMOUNT, 2.1 MILLION.
UM, IN THE FISCAL NOTE INDICATES THAT THERE'S FUNDING IN THIS FISCAL FOUR 28,572.
I'M ASSUMING THAT'S ONE FIFTH OF THE TOTAL.
UM, IS IS THE ASSUMPTION THAT EQUIVALENT FUNDING WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE IN THE SUBSEQUENT BUDGETS? THAT'S CORRECT.
WHEN WE'RE FORMING THE COMMERCIAL BUDGET, WE LOOK AT, UM, THE POTENTIAL FOR THE SYSTEMS THAT WE'VE COMMITTED TO PERFORMANCE BASED INCENTIVES ON, AND THEN CALCULATE WHAT THE ESTIMATED SPEND WOULD BE IF THOSE SYSTEMS PERFORM TO FULL EXPECTATION.
UM, SO, SO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH BUDGETED EVERY YEAR TO COVER THOSE COSTS.
AND THEN, UM, FOR ANYTHING ADDITIONAL THAT MAY COME ON DURING
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THAT YEAR.I WILL RAISE A QUESTION THAT I'VE HAD WHEN I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THIS ONE.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME WHY A COMPANY WITH $115 BILLION UNDER MANAGEMENT FEELS THAT THEY NEED TO COME TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND ITS RATE PAYERS FOR THIS MONEY? MY BEST GUESS IS TO MAKE THE ECONOMICS WORK.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? I SEE A RAISED HAND OR SOMETHING THERE.
I CAN'T SEE WHAT THAT TEXT IS.
OH, IT JUST SAYS JOIN THE CALL.
SHE MUST HAVE LOST HER CONNECTION.
UM, I WOULD ARGUE THAT OF IN STUDIES THAT I HAVE SEEN, UM, VERY LARGE CORPORATIONS WILL OFTENTIMES NOT MAKE AN INVESTMENT WITH PAYBACK OF MORE THAN A YEAR OR TWO.
UH, IT'S EXTREMELY SHORTSIGHTED, BUT THAT IS THE WAY THEY WORK.
UH, THAT WOULD, IF, IF I REALIZE THAT THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION THAT WOULD, WOULD, UH, UH, ANSWER YOUR CONCERNS, BUT THAT IS, UH, WHAT I HAVE OBSERVED, UH, IN, IN MY OWN RESEARCH.
I MEAN, MY CONCERN BASICALLY IS, IS AUSTIN HAS HOW MANY CURRENT HOUSEHOLDS TIED INTO THE SYSTEM? IS IT 200, 200,000? WELL, FOUR 80,000.
SO LET'S CALL IT 400 TO KEEP OUR MATH EASY.
BUT YOU'RE ASKING EVERY RATE PAYER TO GIVE ABOUT FIVE BUCKS A YEAR TO GO INTO THIS PROJECT FOR PEOPLE THAT OWN A BUNCH OF HOTEL PROPERTIES.
SO I UNDERSTAND I'M A LONE WOLF.
IT IS MY PERSONAL GRIPE AND CROSS TO BEAR, BUT THIS IS WHY I ALWAYS VOTE NO ON THINGS FOR, FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS BECAUSE IT IS TAKING MONEY FROM RATE PAYERS AIMING IT TO PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING OUT OF THEIR OWN SENSE OF CIVIC AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY.
THE, UH, THAT HAVEN'T BEEN SET
AND, AND THE THEORY BEHIND, UH, REBATES IS THAT THEY, UH, BUY CAPACITY AT LESS THAN THE COST OF, UH, GETTING IT ELSEWHERE.
UM, WATER TREATMENT PLANTS ARE EXPENSIVE, BUT I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERN.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER? FURTHERMORE, MR. CHAIRMAN, IF WE ARE GOING TO STAND BEHIND AUSTIN'S AUSTIN ENERGY'S COMMITMENT TO BRING ON AS MUCH SOLAR AS FAST AS POSSIBLE, EVEN RICH GUY'S, PV IS GONNA HELP.
AND, AND THE MORE WE GET, THE SOONER THE BETTER IN TERMS OF MEETING AUSTIN'S GOALS.
SO WHILE I PHILOSOPHICALLY APPRECIATE YOUR RESISTANCE TO GIVING RICH GUYS INCENTIVES TO BUILD PV THAT THEY OUGHT TO BE DOING ANYWAY, IT'S A PRACTICAL MATTER, THEY'LL COME ONLINE QUICKLY.
AND I'M FULLY AWARE OF THAT, WHICH IS WHY I ALWAYS JUST KIND OF PLAY THE LONE WOLF.
UH, IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER COMMENTS, OTHERWISE I'LL BE LOOKING TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION.
THERE'S BEEN A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER ROBBINS.
SILVERSTEIN SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN.
HOLDING MY NOSE ON A FIVE TO TWO.
WHERE, WHERE DID, UH, MCC GOTTI'S OFF THE DESK AS DO WE HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES? MM-HMM.
[Items 6 & 7 (Part 1 of 2)]
ON TO ITEM NUMBER SIX, RECOMMENDED APPROVAL TO CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING.CONSIDER AMENDING CITY CODE CHAPTER 25 DASH NINE.
UM, I AM GOING TO ASSUME THAT SOMEBODY'S
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ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT TO US ORIT WAS A LOT OF READING, SO I'M REALLY HOPING SOMEBODY CAN GIVE ME A CLIFFSNOTES VERSION TO BE ENTIRELY FRANK.
KEVIN CRITTENDEN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH AUSTIN WATER.
UM, I GUESS THE SHORT VERSION WOULD BE, UM, THROUGH OUR WATER FORWARD, UM, LONG-TERM, UH, WATER RESOURCES PLAN.
WE HAD ENVISIONED, UH, BRINGING FORWARD A VARIETY OF CODES AND ORDINANCES ASSOCIATED WITH ENHANCING OUR REUSE ONSITE REUSE PROGRAM.
UH, COUNCIL APPROVED THAT INITIAL SET OF CHANGES TO LDC, UM, 25 DASH NINE BACK IN 2001, WHICH SET UP A VOLUNTARY PERIOD FOR PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT.
THIS PARTICULAR ACTION WILL, UM, FURTHER CLARIFY AND CODIFY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR LARGE DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN 500 FEET OF OUR RECLAIMED SYSTEM TO CONNECT TO THE RECLAIMED SYSTEM OR OTHERWISE BUILD ONSITE REUSE SYSTEMS. IT WILL ALSO CODIFY THE REQUIREMENT TO, FOR SMALLER DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN 250 FEET OF OUR RECLAIMED SYSTEM TO CONNECT TO THAT SYSTEM AND USE IT.
AT A HIGH LEVEL, I'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY INFORMATION.
UH, I ALSO HAVE, UH, SEVERAL FOLKS IN THE AUDIENCE TO HELP ME IF I NEED TO PHONE A FRIEND.
MR. ROBINSON, I, UH, SENT YOU A A FEW QUESTIONS PRIOR TO THIS MEETING, CORRECT.
IN THE HOPE THAT, UH, YOU'D BE PREPARED AND WE COULD EXPEDITE IT.
BUT, UM, I AM, UH, CONFUSED BECAUSE I DON'T UNDERSTAND, UH, IF, IF THERE IS AN ORDINANCE IN EFFECT, UH, WHY WOULD WE BE GIVING REBATES? I MEAN, IS THIS JUST LIKE A PILOT AND THEN ONCE PEOPLE GET USED TO IT, IT'S MANDATED? UH, I, I MEAN PLEASE UN CONFUSE ME.
AND SO THEREFORE, WE'RE TAKING A BIT OF A DIFFERENT APPROACH WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY, UM, OFFERING COST PARTICIPATION FOR CERTAIN OF THOSE DEVELOPMENTS TO CONNECT TO OUR SYSTEM.
SO IT BECOMES A BIT OF A PHILOSOPHICAL CONVERSATION, UM, ABOUT TRYING TO GAIN ADOPTION AND TRYING TO USE, YOU KNOW, UM, CERTAIN FINANCIAL, UM, PARTICIPATION TO GAIN THAT ADOPTION AND TRY TO, UM, INCENTIVIZE FOLKS TO CONNECT.
BUT THERE'S, UH, AN ORDINANCE THAT SAYS IF YOU'RE WITHIN 500 FEET, AND WE'LL BE VOTING ON THAT.
UH, BUT THERE'S AN ORDINANCE THAT SAYS IF YOU'RE NEXT TO RECLAIM WATER, UH, UH, YOU HAVE TO HOOK UP AGAIN IN THE POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
UM, WE'VE HAD TO WEIGH THAT OUT AGAINST AFFORDABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH FOLKS CONNECTING TO THE SYSTEM AND THE COST IMPACTS OF THAT FOR, UM, HOUSING AND OTHER DEVELOPMENT AFFORDABILITY.
AND SO OUR RECOMMENDATION HAS BEEN TO, UM, DEVELOP ADDITIONAL INCENTIVES TO HAVE PEOPLE CONNECT.
THIS IS AN AFFORDABLE COMPLEX.
SO THE SPECIFIC ACTION RELATIVE TO ITEM NUMBER, I LOST COUNT NUMBER SIX, I BELIEVE.
UM, IS REALLY JUST TO ADOPT THE CHANGES TO 25 DASH NINE.
SO IT'S NOT ABOUT A SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT PER SE, IT'S ABOUT CHANGES TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE THAT ENABLES THESE REQUIREMENTS.
THERE IS IN THAT LANGUAGE SPECIFIC EXEMPTIONS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PRO PROJECTS.
SO PROJECTS THAT DO MEET, UM, UH, AFFORDABILITY UNLOCKED AND PROGRAMMATICALLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THOSE WILL BE EXEMPTED UNDER THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE.
UM, I UNDERSTAND GETTING SOMETHING STARTED AND THERE'S KINKS AND PEOPLE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO DO THINGS CORRECTLY,
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AND I'M NOT DISPUTING THAT, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT AT SOME POINT, IF THIS IS REQUIRED, UH, WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR IT.I WILL TAKE THAT UNDER ADVISEMENT.
WELL, I MEAN, IS IT, WILL THIS GO ON INDEFINITELY? I MEAN, IF IT'S IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, I WILL, WILL AUSTIN WATER BE COMING BACK YEAR AFTER YEAR, UH, ASKING THAT THE, THESE, UH, AMOUNTS BE, UH, EXTENDED FOR ANOTHER YEAR? I WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT WE WOULD CONTINUE TO EVALUATE THE, UM, ADOPTION AND CONNECTIONS OVER TIME.
AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO EVALUATE KIND OF THE SUCCESS IN THAT EXERCISE AND CONSIDER THAT AS PART OF OUR OVERALL STRATEGY.
UM, LOU COMMISSIONER STONE, I, I'M HAVING A HARD TIME NOT SIDING WITH YOU ON THIS ONE,
UM, I'M GOING TO VOTE FOR IT THIS YEAR, BUT IF I'M HERE A YEAR FROM NOW, OR IF I'M ACTIVE A YEAR FROM NOW, UH, I CAN'T SAY I'LL DO IT AGAIN.
AND IF I MIGHT, JUST A POINT OF CLARIFICATION, THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT, JUST TO PUT SOME CONTEXT WITH IT, THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT ITEMS ON YOUR AGENDA TONIGHT.
ONE IS TO BASICALLY APPROVE THE SETTING OF THE PUBLIC HEARING ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHANGES TO LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
THAT'S THE FIRST ITEM THAT I WAS TRYING TO SPEAK TO.
UM, THE SECOND ITEM I THINK SPECIFICALLY GOES TO, UM, COMMISSIONER ROBBINS POINT RELATIVE TO REAUTHORIZING OUR GRANT INCENTIVE PROJECT.
SO THAT'S THE SECOND ACTION ITEM.
AND YOUR THIRD RCA IS RELATED TO, DID I GET THAT RIGHT? UH, I, I, I, LET ME RESTATE THAT.
THE SECOND ITEM IS CHANGES TO, UM, CITY CODE 1513, WHICH IS OUR REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR ONSITE SYSTEMS. SO THAT'S THE SECOND ITEM.
THE THIRD ITEM IS TO REAUTHORIZE THE FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION PIECE.
SO SORRY FOR THAT LACK OF CLARITY.
I THINK THAT'S PART OF WHERE I WAS GETTING A LITTLE BIT CONFUSED BECAUSE IT SEEMED LIKE PAUL WAS KIND OF TALKING ABOUT TWO OF THE THREE AT THE SAME TIME.
AND THAT'S WHY I KEPT FLIPPING BACK AND FORTH TRYING TO SEE WHAT IT WAS I WAS LOOKING AT.
AND I'M, AS MUCH AS I'M UNCONFUSED NOW, UM, I STAND BY WHAT I SAID, I WILL VOTE FOR IT THIS YEAR, BUT IF THIS IS REQUIRED, I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BE REAUTHORIZING THIS EVERY YEAR, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION? YES, SILVERSTEIN, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
SO I'M STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH, UM, NUMBER SEVEN.
IS IT SIX? WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT A, A LARGE DEVELOPMENT CONNECTING, ARE YOU SAYING THAT THEY ARE CONNECTING TO THE WATER SYSTEM OR IS THIS ALSO REQUIRING, IS THERE SOME CITY RECLAIMED WATER CONNECTION SYSTEM THAT THEY HAVE TO CONNECT TO? OR IS THIS SOLELY APPLYING TO REUSE OF WATER ON THE SITE? SO COMMISSIONER WOULD, IT'S, IT'S BASICALLY BOTH.
ONE OF THE ASPECTS WOULD BE FOR LARGE DEVELOPMENTS, WHICH IS DEFINED AS, UH, DEVELOPMENT OVER 250,000, UM, SQUARE FEET, THOSE DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE WITHIN 500 FEET OF OUR RECLAIM SYSTEM.
SO YES MA'AM, WE DO HAVE A CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM THAT, UM, PROVIDES WATER, UM, NON-POTABLE WATER THROUGH CERTAIN PARTS OF OUR CITY.
SO IF YOU'RE WITHIN 500 FEET OF THAT, YOU WOULD HAVE TO CONNECT.
IT ALSO REQUIRES, INSTEAD, IF YOU'RE BEYOND 500 FEET, YOU WOULD HAVE TO, UM, DEVELOP AN ONSITE REUSE SYSTEM INSTEAD.
IS THE GOAL, IF YOU ARE INSIDE THE 500 FEET, IS THE GOAL TO GET THEM TO CONTRIBUTE THEIR RECLAIMED WATER INTO THE CITY SYSTEM? OR IS IT TO MAXIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF RECLAIMED WATER, THEIR OWN WATER THAT
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THEY'RE RECLAIMING AND USING ON SITE? SEEMS TO ME THAT THE LATTER WOULD BE MORE DESIRABLE.I'M GONNA HAVE TO ASK YOU TO REPEAT YOUR QUESTION.
IF I AM A SAMSUNG AND I HAVE A BUNCH OF RECLAIMED WATER, DO YOU WANT ME THROUGH THIS TO, OR A NEW MEGA HOUSING DEVELOPMENT? ARE YOU ASKING ME TO TAKE MY, TO RE DO YOU HAVE REQUIREMENTS FOR HOW MUCH WATER AND WHAT KINDS I HAVE TO RECLAIM AND DOES ALL OF THAT SUPPOSED TO GO INTO THE AUSTIN RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM? OR DO YOU WANT ME TO MAXIMIZE MY USE OF THE RECLAIMED WATER ON MY SITE AND ONLY GIVE YOU THE LEFTOVER OR ONLY CONSUME WHAT I DON'T NEED FOR ON SITE? I WOULD SAY THE HIGHEST LEVEL FIGURE OUT WHETHER THIS IS ABOUT WHAT DO YOU DOING TO, TO MAXIM TO REQUIRE THE DEVELOPER TO MAXIMIZE ITS USE OF THEIR OWN RECLAIMED WATER FOR THEIR OWN PURPOSES, RATHER THAN IMPLYING THAT WE NEED TO KEEP GROWING THE SYSTEM CITY'S RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM BECAUSE FOLKS HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE, BUT THEY AREN'T DOING ENOUGH ON THEIR OWN SITE.
I, I WOULD ANSWER THAT BY SAYING OUR GOAL IS ULTIMATELY TO TRY TO ADOPT A MORE FIT FOR PURPOSE, FIT FOR USE APPROACH WHEREIN PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO ADOPT THE USE OF NON-POTABLE SOURCES FOR NON-POTABLE DEMANDS.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S OUR GOAL LONG TERM, THAT'S CONSISTENT WITH OUR A HUNDRED YEAR, UH, WATER FORWARD PLAN.
UM, AND SO, UM, I, I THINK GENERALLY SPEAKING, IN EITHER CASE, IF YOU'RE WITHIN A REASONABLE DISTANCE OF THE RECLAIM SYSTEM, IT MAKES SENSE TO USE THAT AS A RESOURCE AS IT IS AVAILABLE.
UM, IF YOU'RE BEYOND THAT AND YOU ARE A LARGE DEVELOPMENT, WE'RE LOOKING FOR THOSE DEVELOPMENTS TO START TO DEVELOP ONSITE NON-POTABLE SOURCES OF WATER TO OFFSET POTABLE NEEDS.
HAVE YOU ALREADY DEVELOPED THE ENTIRETY OF THE, HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO FOR YOUR ONSITE WATER REUSE PROGRAM? SO THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, WHICH IS OUR, UM, UM, ONSITE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK.
SO THE SHORT ANSWER TO THAT IS YES, WE ARE CONTINUING TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO IT AS IT'S A FAIRLY NEW PROGRAM, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE WANTING TO MAKE SOME CHANGES TO CHAPTER 1513 TO CODE.
AND THE, IF YOU LOOK ON THE SCREEN AT THE MOMENT, NOVEMBER 9TH, 2023, CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED AN ORDINANCE TO DEFER THE EFFECTIVE DATE FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE REQUIREMENTS.
DOES THAT, DOES ITEM SEVEN ADDRESS THE NOVEMBER NINE DEFERRAL, OR WHAT ELSE IS REQUIRED TO GET THIS SUCKER BACK IN GEAR? SO THE DEFERRAL IS, I THINK MOST EXPLICITLY RELATED TO ITEM SIX, BUT THERE ARE SOME RELATED CHANGES THAT ARE REFLECTED IN ITEM SEVEN.
AND IF THIS COMMISSION WERE TO VOTE TO APPROVE THESE BOTH SIX AND SEVEN, WOULD THAT FULFILL THE ENTIRETY OF THIS DEFERRAL? I BELIEVE SO.
I WILL OFFER, THIS IS A BIT AWKWARD IN THAT THERE'S A LOT OF THE, THE PRESENTATION THAT'S ON THE LATER PART OF THE AGENDA THAT MAY HELP ANSWER SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS, BUT AGAIN, I'M DOING THE BEST I CAN.
WE, WE, WE THANK YOU FOR INDULGING THE COMMISSION.
WILL THESE REBATES, COMMISSIONER ROBBINS, I'M SORRY, WILL THESE REBATES, UH, BE GIVEN TO PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE 500 FOOT RADIUS AND NOT INSIDE? IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU'RE TRYING TO GET MORE PEOPLE ON THE SYSTEM AND THEY'RE REQUIRED AT 500 BUT NOT REQUIRED PAST 500, THEN MAYBE IT WOULD MAKE MORE ECONOMIC SENSE TO INCENTIVIZE THOSE PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THAT RADIUS.
UH, ARE THESE REBATES INTENDED FOR THAT? SO AT THIS POINT, THE INCENTIVES ARE ENVISIONED TO APPLY TO BOTH HELP EX TO EITHER HELP EXTEND CONNECTION TO THE RA RECLAIMED SYSTEM OR TO BE USED TO HELP INCENTIVIZE ONSITE REUSE DEVELOPMENT,
[00:35:02]
BUT THERE'S NO RADIUS REQUIREMENT, NOT IN THAT CASE.REGARDING THE, UM, RECLAIMED, UH, THE ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE, UH, TO HAVE ONSITE REUSE, UM, HOW DO WE KNOW THAT IT'S GONNA WORK IN FIVE YEARS IF THEY'RE CONNECTED TO A, UH, RECLAIMED WATERLINE? UH, AUSTIN WATER'S GONNA KNOW IF IT WORKS OR NOT.
IF THE, UH, PEOPLE THAT TAKE ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE, UH, LET THEIR SYSTEMS LAPSE, UH, HOW ARE WE GONNA KNOW? SO THE PROTOCOL FOR ONSITE SYSTEMS WILL MANDATE IN ESSENCE THAT ONSITE SYSTEM OWNERS AND OPERATORS CONTINUE TO USE THEM AND KEEP THEIR PERMITS ACTIVE.
UM, THAT'S SORT OF THE HIGHEST LEVEL VERSION OF THAT.
IS THERE SOME ONE OR SOME PEOPLE, ARE THERE PEOPLE AT AUSTIN WATER THAT WILL, UH, MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THESE SYSTEMS ARE OPERATING? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
ACTUALLY, CATHERINE JASINSKI, WHO WAS WHISPERING THE RIGHT ANSWERS IN MY EAR EARLIER, UM, IS THE SUPERVISOR OVER THAT TEAM.
UM, AND SO YES, THE ANSWER TO THAT, THEY WILL BE, THEY ARE THE ONES THAT REVIEW PERMITS.
THEY ARE THE, THE FOLKS THAT LOOK AT WATER USE, UM, BENCHMARKING CALCULATIONS.
THEY ARE THE ONES THAT WILL BE, UH, PERMITTING THE SYSTEMS AND MAKE MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS, UM, MAINTAIN THEIR PERMITS IN GOOD STEAD.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I SEE COMMISSIONER KARA GOTTI'S WAVING A HAND.
UH, I JUST HAVE A KIND OF A GENERAL STATEMENT.
SO THIS WHOLE THING, 'CAUSE I'M GOING IN AND OUT TECHNOLOGY HERE, THIS WHOLE PROGRAM TO JUST GET MORE PEOPLE TO, UH, ON THIS PROGRAM FOR USE OF WATER AND WASTEWATER.
ARE WE JUST TRYING TO INCENTIVIZE MORE PEOPLE TO, UH, DO THIS RECLAIMED WATER? YES, MA'AM.
I JUST NEEDED A CLARIFICATION.
IS IT, UM, SO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS ARE EXEMPTED FROM THIS PROGRAM.
IF YOU'RE, IF THE INTENTION IS TO GET MORE PEOPLE ON IT AND YOU'RE ALREADY OFFERING INCENTIVES, DID YOU LOOK AT OFFERING BETTER INCENTIVES OR LIKE COVERING THE FULL COST OF IT TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROVIDERS RATHER THAN DROPPING THEM OR ALLOWING THEM TO DROP THE PROGRAM? SO AT THIS POINT, AND THIS IS THROUGH OUR CONSULTATION WITH, UM, HOUSING, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ELECTED AT THIS POINT TO EXEMPT THOSE LARGE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS, HOWEVER THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN, YOU KNOW, IN OUR GRANT OR, UM, INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE HOPE, THE WAY THAT WE WOULD GET TO INCLUDE THEM IN THE PROCESS.
SO IS THE, IS THE INCENTIVE, I'M ASSUMING THE INCENTIVE WOULDN'T COVER THE FULL COST OF THE SYSTEM? THAT'S CORRECT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? YES, SIR.
IS THERE, GOING BACK TO QUESTIONS THAT, THAT COMMISSIONER ROBBINS WAS ASKING, IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, DOES ITEM SIX OR ANY OF THE SUBSEQUENT ITEMS ON THIS TOPIC, UM, COVER, IS THERE A SEPARATE INCENT, IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INCENTIVES FOR AN ONSITE SYSTEM AND THE INCENTIVES FOR CONNECTING TO THE CITY SYSTEM? IF YOU ARE WITHIN RANGE, WHICH AS COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER ROBBINS NOTED CONNECTION, IF YOU ARE WITHIN RANGE, APPEARS TO BE MANDATORY, RIGHT? SO WHY DO WE NEED TO INCENT THAT? IS THAT INCENTIVE IS, IS THERE SUCH AN INCENTIVE FOR CONNECTION? AND IS THAT COVERED UNDER THE SAME TERMS WITHIN THIS OR ANY OF THE OTHER VOTING ITEMS ON THIS TOPIC? SO AT THIS POINT, THE FINANCIAL INCENTIVES WOULD BE AUTHORIZED UNDER ITEM NUMBER, HOLD ON, UNDER ITEM NUMBER EIGHT.
AND SO THAT DOES ALLOW FOR PAYING FINANCIAL INCENTIVES FOR EITHER CONNECTION OR, UM, ONSITE REUSE.
SO THEN IS THIS ITEM ABOUT THE REQUIREMENT AND THIS, AND ONE OF THOSE LATER ITEMS IS ABOUT THE MONEY?
[00:40:01]
I HAVE.I'VE, I'VE BEEN THROUGH THESE A COUPLE TIMES AND I STILL CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS BETWEEN THESE VARIOUS ITEMS. I'M SORRY TO BE STUPID ON THIS, BUT NO, THAT, THAT'S QUITE ALL RIGHT.
BUT IF I COULD GET YOU TO ASK YOUR QUESTION AGAIN THOUGH, FOR ME, UM, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS BETWEEN THESE FOUR VOTING ITEMS ON THE WATER CODE AND, AND I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER ITEM SIX IS ABOUT CREATING THE REQUIREMENT.
ITEM SEVEN IS ABOUT PAYING INCENTIVES TO FULFILL THE REQUIREMENT.
FEEL FREE TO JUMP IN AND EXPLAIN OR CORRECT ME AT ANY POINT HERE.
SO I'LL, I'LL TRY TO NARRATE IT AND I THINK THE DIRECTION YOU WERE HEADED, BUT, UH, JUST ASK AGAIN IF I'M NOT HITTING IT.
ITEM SIX IS SPECIFICALLY TO ADOPT LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE CHANGES NECESSARY TO, UM, CLARIFY THE REQUIREMENTS TO CONNECT TO THE SYSTEM, TO THE RECLAIM SYSTEM AND OR DEVELOP AN ONSITE REUSE SYSTEM FOR LARGE DEVELOPMENTS.
THAT'S WHAT ITEM SIX IS ABOUT.
ITEM SEVEN IS TO MAKE SOME MODIFICATIONS TO, UH, CITY CODE CHAPTER 1513, WHICH HAS TO DO WITH THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK BY WHICH ONSITE SYSTEMS ARE PERMITTED.
[8. Recommend approval of a resolution authorizing Austin Water (AW) to continue a pilot program and issue incentives on a pilot basis during Fiscal Year 2023-2024 for alternative Onsite Water Reuse Systems or Reclaimed Water Connections for new commercial and multi-family developments under AW’s new regulatory framework in the total aggregate amount of $5,600,000 and not to exceed $500,000 for each project subject to funding availability. (Part 1 of 2)]
IS TO REAUTHORIZE OUR EXISTING PILOT GRANT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE INCENTIVES FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE.AND IT IS A PILOT AND ONLY A PILOT? YES, MA'AM.
WELL, YES, BUT THIS HAS GONE ON FOR A COUPLE YEARS, HASN'T IT? SO THE PILOT PROGRAM WAS INITIALLY ADOPTED IN 2001 21, EXCUSE ME.
UM, IT HAS ROLLED FOR 20 21, 20 22.
UM, AND THIS WOULD'VE BEEN THE REAUTHORIZATION FOR THE 2023, BUT WE'RE KIND OF SPANNING TWO YEARS NOW, UM, BECAUSE OF A, A DELAY.
COMMISSIONER DAVIS, YOU'VE BEEN WAITING PATIENTLY.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE TIME FOR IT, BUT I'M CONSIDERING A, A MOTION TO TABLE THESE VOTING ITEMS AND ACCELERATE, UH, ITEM NUMBER 13, WHICH MAY PROVIDE BETTER CLARITY ON SOME OF THE REUSE, UM, BACKGROUND TO BETTER INFORM THE, UM, THE VOTING OF THESE THREE ITEMS. SO TO TRANSLATE THAT INTO SOME SORT OF ROBERT'S RULES KIND OF A THING.
YOU WOULD LIKE TO MOVE UP ITEM 13 ON THE AGENDA TO RIGHT NOW, AND THEN WE WILL JUST LAY THESE ASIDE FOR THE TIME BEING AND COME BACK TO THEM.
YES, THAT SOUNDS AWESOME TO ME.
IF IT NEEDS ONE, IT, IT MIGHT, BUT
DO WE WANNA TRY TO RIP THROUGH THE OTHER NON-WATER STUFF AND GET THOSE SPEAKERS AND ISSUES OUT OF THE WAY BEFORE WE GO BACK TO 13? AND THESE THREE ITEMS WE'RE, SO WHAT ELSE DO WE HAVE AHEAD OF IT? UH, WE HAVE, UH, SEVERAL WEIGHTY ITEMS HERE.
UH, EACH OF THESE COULD TAKE 10 TO 20 MINUTES.
YEAH, I WOULD SAY LET'S STICK WITH PULLING 13 FORWARD AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL GO BACK TO THE OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS. ALL RIGHT.
[13. Staff briefing regarding the Water Forward Updates by Kevin Critendon, Assistant Director, Environmental, Planning, and Development Services, Austin Water.]
GONNA TRY IT THIS WAY.AND AGAIN, MY NAME'S KEVIN CRIT AND I'M GONNA TRY TO RUN THROUGH THIS WITH SOME SPEEDS SINCE WE'VE ALREADY AT LEAST BROACHED SOME OF THE TOPICS.
I'M HERE REALLY TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN, WHICH IS OUR A HUNDRED YEAR INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLAN FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
SPECIFICALLY, WE'LL BE FOCUSED IN THIS PRESENTATION ON REUSE STRATEGIES.
UM, AGENDA WISE, WE'LL BE DISCUSSING WATER
[00:45:01]
FOR, GIVE YOU A BRIEF OVERVIEW.UH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT REUSE STRATEGIES, WHICH I THINK WILL HELP AT LEAST ILLUMINATE SOME OF THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'VE ALREADY HAD.
UH, WE'LL BE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ADDRESSING AFFORDABILITY IN THESE VARIOUS ITEMS, PLUS OTHER PROGRAMMATIC ITEMS THAT AUSTIN WATER'S WORKING ON, SORT OF OUTSIDE OF THESE PARTICULAR CODE CHANGES.
AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR KEY 2024 ACTIVITIES TO ADVANCE OUR REUSE SYSTEM.
UM, HOPEFULLY YOU'RE GENERALLY AWARE.
WATER FORWARD IS OUR A HUNDRED YEAR INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLAN FOR OUR COMMUNITY WITH A GOAL OF MAKING, UM, A HUNDRED YEAR WATER SUPPLY, UH, SUSTAINABLE WATER SUPPLY AVAILABLE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, IT INCLUDES A FOCUS ON ADAPTATION TO GROWTH, DROUGHT RESISTANCE, CLIMATE CHANGE, UM, EQUITY AFFORDABILITY.
UM, THE PLAN WAS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL IN 2018 AND IS SCHEDULED TO BE REVISITED EVERY FIVE YEARS.
AND SO WE'RE ACTUALLY, WHILE THE 18 PLAN WAS ADOPTED, WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF UPDATING WHAT WE CALL WATER FOUR 2.0.
JUST TO, UH, ACQUAINT YOU WITH OUR WATER SUPPLY.
AUSTIN WATER GETS ITS, UH, WATER SUPPLY EXCLUSIVELY FROM THE TEXAS, COLORADO RIVER AND THE HINDIN LAKES.
UH, WE HAVE A COMBINATION OF BOTH, UH, RUN OF RIVER WATER RIGHTS, UH, ISSUED TO US FROM THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY.
AND WE HAVE A, UH, CONTRACT WITH THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY TO BACK UP THAT WATER SUPPLY.
UM, OUR WATER RIGHTS TOTAL ABOUT 325,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR.
WE ALSO, AS PART OF AN ARRANGEMENT WITH LCRA, UH, PAID A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS BACK IN THE 1990 FRAME TIMEFRAME TO ADVANCE PAYMENT FOR ADDITIONAL WATER SUPPLIES AND TO SECURE THOSE WATER SUPPLIES.
UM, THERE'S A TRIGGER BUILT INTO THAT CONTRACT WHERE ONCE WE REACH, UH, 201,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR IN TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS, WE WILL THEN HAVE TO BEGIN PAYING FOR WATER SUPPLY ON TOP OF THAT.
WE, OKAY, I'M GONNA KEEP MOVING.
UM, THESE ARE JUST SOME OF OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN DEVELOPING WATER FORWARD.
IT INCLUDES, UH, TOPICS LIKE RESILIENCY, UH, INCLUSION APPROACH, AND COMMUNITY VALUES DIVERSITY, UH, DIVERSITY STRATEGIES, EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY, PROTECTING OUR COLORADO RIVER SUPPLY, REDUCE OPERATIONAL RISK AND FOCUS ON LOCAL SUPPLIES.
OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN, UM, WAS DEVELOPED AND IS CONTINUED TO BE EVALUATED IN THE CONTEXT OF A VARIETY OF OTHER PLANNING INITIATIVES THROUGHOUT THE CITY, THAT IN THAT FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, CLIMATE EQUITY, AFFORDABILITY, RESILIENCE AND RELIABILITY, THOSE PLANS INCLUDE OUR AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, RAIN TO RIVER, UM, UH, OUR AUSTIN CLIMATE PLAN, ET CETERA.
CERTAIN OF THE DRIVERS THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT IN WATER FORWARD, UH, IN THE WATER FORWARD 2018 PLAN INCLUDE PLANNING FOR UNCERTAINTY BOTH AROUND GROWTH AND AROUND CLIMATE CHANGE.
THAT PARTICULAR SLIDE SHOWS A PICTURE OF, UM, THE PARDON RIVER, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR MAIN TRIBUTARIES FEEDING THE COLORADO RIVER, WHICH WAS DRY DURING THE LAST DROUGHT.
THIS IS THE SLIDE JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHANGE IN STORAGE IN LAKE BUCHANAN AND TRAVIS LAKES.
BUCHANAN AND TRAVIS ARE THE, THE PRIMARY STORAGE RESERVOIRS THAT BACK UP OUR WATER SUPPLY.
YOU CAN SEE IF YOU LOOK AT THE SLIDE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, THERE WERE TWO SIGNIFICANT DIPS IN COMBINED STORAGE IN THE, UH, LAKE TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN, UM, RESERVOIRS.
ONE IN THE FIFTIES, ONE FOLLOWED IN THE SIXTIES.
UM, HISTORICALLY THE PERIOD OF THE FIFTIES WAS CONSIDERED THE DROUGHT OF RECORD FOR THIS REGION.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE THROUGHOUT TIME, THE STORAGE IN LAKES, TRAVIS AND MCCANNON FLUCTUATES QUITE A BIT, YOU KNOW, FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
UM, MOST NOTABLY, UM, IN THE 20 TO 2008 TO 2016 TIMEFRAME, OUR BASIN, UH, EXPERIENCED AGAIN ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT DROUGHT.
UM, AND IN FACT, THAT DROUGHT HAS NOW SURPASSED THE PRIOR DROUGHT OF THE FIFTIES TO BE OUR NEW DROUGHT OF RECORD, WHICH THAT'S THE PLANNING BENCHMARK THAT HAS HISTORICALLY ESTABLISHED, UM, THE, UM, THE PLANNING PERIOD FOR THE, THE KIND OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DROUGHT THAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED.
UM, IN DEVELOPING WATER FORWARD, WE'VE IDENTIFIED A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES, WHICH THERE'S ABOUT 18 TO
[00:50:01]
20 STRATEGIES GENERALLY.UM, THOSE STRATEGIES ARE IDENTIFIED IN FOUR DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.
ONE OF THEM IS REUSE, WHICH AGAIN, WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT JUST GETTING UP TO THIS POINT.
BUT IT INVOLVES EVERYTHING FROM ONSITE REUSE TO, UM, THE USE AND EXTENSION OF OUR CURRENT PURPLE PIPE SYSTEM, WHICH IS OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIM SYSTEM.
UM, ALSO CONSIDERS THINGS LIKE DISTRICT SCALE REUSE AND OTHER TYPES OF REUSE OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, WE TALK A LOT IN WATER FORWARD ABOUT CONTINUING, UM, OUR WATER CONSERVATION EFFORTS.
UM, SO I KNOW, UM, MR. KLUGE IS HERE WITH US TONIGHT, AND HE COMES AND GIVES YOU UPDATES ON OUR WATER CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES, UH, ON A REGULAR BASIS.
UM, ALSO WE CONTINUE TO BE FOCUSED IN, UM, WATER FORWARD ON WATER SUPPLY AND WATER SUPPLY DEVELOPMENT.
AND THAT INCLUDES, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, COGNIZANT OF AND PROTECTIVE OF OUR RIGHTS ON THE COLORADO RIVER.
UM, ALSO ENVISIONS THE IDEA THAT WE WOULD BE DEVELOPING OTHER SUPPLY ALTERNATIVES, INCLUDING, FOR INSTANCE, UM, OUR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT, WHICH IS AN OPTION TO TAKE, UM, HIGHLY TREATED DRINKING WATER AND STORE THAT UNDERGROUND SO THAT IT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR USE DURING A DROUGHT OR SYSTEM UPSET.
UM, AND THEN ALSO PARTNERSHIPS.
WE ARE IN CLOSE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY, WHO WE HAVE A CONTRACT TO BACK UP OUR WATER SUPPLY WITH, UM, AS WELL AS REGIONAL PARTNERS LIKE REGION K IN THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD REGIONAL PLANNING PROCESS.
SO WE TALK ABOUT WHY NOW AND WHY REUSE.
SO OBVIOUSLY IF YOU, THESE TWO SLIDES INDICATE JUST THE SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN LANDSCAPE THAT'S HAPPENED, PARTICULARLY IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA OF AUSTIN IN 1999.
THE SLIDE ON YOUR LEFT INDICATES, YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT WAS DOWNTOWN.
UM, THERE WAS, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S NOTABLY ONE, UM, CONSTRUCTION CRANE IN THAT PICTURE.
IF YOU GO DOWNTOWN NOW, THERE'S LOTS OF CONSTRUCTION CRANES IN THAT AREA.
OBVIOUSLY, 2024 ILLUSTRATES THE NUMBER OF COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS OF VARIOUS TYPES THAT HAVE BEEN BUILT IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
EACH ONE OF THOSE BUILDINGS AT CERTAIN SCALE DOES REPRESENT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DEVELOP ONSITE REUSE, OR AT A MINIMUM LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO OFFSET NON-POTABLE NEEDS WITH NON-POTABLE WATER SUPPLIES.
THIS SLIDE AGAIN, IS JUST A REFERENCE TO OUR COLORADO RIVER SYSTEM, BUT IT REALLY TALKS ABOUT THE VALUE AND BENEFIT OF PUSHING OFF OUR TRIGGER WITH THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY.
UM, BY BEING ABLE TO USE, UM, RECLAIMED AND RECYCLE SOURCES OF WATER THAT CONTINUES TO DEFER OUR OBLIGATION TO PAY LCRA FOR ADDITIONAL WATER SUPPLY.
UM, QUITE FRANKLY, WHEN WE STRUCK THE DEAL WITH LCRA IN THE 99 PERIOD, WE BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, BY THE EARLY 2015 TIMEFRAME, 2020 TIMEFRAME, WE WOULD'VE ALREADY SURPASSED THAT 201,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER SUPPLY.
UM, THROUGH THE GOOD WORK OF THE COMMUNITY, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PUSH THAT OFF THROUGH A VARIETY OF WATER CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES.
WATER REUSE IS JUST ANOTHER OPTION TO CONTINUE TO PUSH THAT TRIGGER OFF TO A LATER DATE.
WE ESTIMATE THAT EVERY DAY, EVERY YEAR THAT WE DELAY THAT TRIGGER, WE'RE ABLE TO SAVE AT A MINIMUM $10 MILLION A YEAR.
UM, AND THAT, OF COURSE, WILL CHANGE OVER TIME.
THIS SLIDE REALLY JUST INDICATES, UM, AREAS IN WHICH, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S ACTUALLY LEADING THE WAY ON, UM, REUSE AND RECYCLED WATER, UM, DEVELOPMENT.
THIS VERY BUILDING THAT YOU'RE IN HERE, UM, IT'S PART OF OUR, IT'S ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS ON OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED SYSTEM.
SO ALL THE TOILETS AND URINALS IN THIS BUILDING ARE FLUSHED WITH RECLAIMED WATER, WHICH IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF USING, YOU KNOW, A FIT FOR PURPOSE, UH, APPROACH.
OTHER EXAMPLES INCLUDE THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, OUR PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER.
WE'VE ACTUALLY DEVELOPED A GROUNDBREAKING BLACKWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY HEADQUARTERS.
I MENTIONED THERE ARE OTHER DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDING THE AUSTIN PEACE ACADEMY, WATERLOO PARK, RESTROOMS, UH, MUELLER VISITOR CENTER, AND THE TRAVIS COUNTY COMMUNITY CENTER.
NEXT SLIDE, AGAIN, I'M GONNA SPEND THE NEXT SEVERAL SLIDES TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT REUSE STRATEGIES, REALLY, WHICH DO REFLECT AND RELATE DIRECTLY TO THE THREE ITEMS THAT ARE ON YOUR AGENDA TONIGHT.
SO APOLOGIES FOR THIS BEING A LITTLE OUT OF ORDER.
UM, REALLY WE WANNA TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, REUSE IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO EITHER TAKE CENTRALIZED, RECLAIM, TREAT IT TO A VERY HIGH LEVEL, AND USE IT FOR THINGS LIKE TOILET AND URINAL FLUSHING.
USE IT FOR, UM, COOLING WATER, USE IT FOR PROCESS WATER THAT CAN EITHER BE GAINED
[00:55:01]
FROM OUR CENTRAL SYSTEM OR CAN BE DEVELOPED ON AN ONSITE BASIS.AND CERTAINLY LARGER DEVELOPMENTS ARE PARTICULARLY OPPORTUNISTIC BECAUSE THEY DO DEVELOP QUITE A BIT OF, UH, RECLAIMED, UM, UH, WATER THAT WE CAN USE IN THOSE REGARDS.
PLUS THEY HAVE A FAIR AMOUNT OF, OF NON-POTABLE WATER NEED THAT CAN BE OFFSET BY THAT USE.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CONSERVATION.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, THAT WAS NOTABLE THAT COUNCIL DID IN THEIR PASSAGE OF THE 2021, UH, LDC AMENDMENTS WAS TO REQUIRE ONSITE, UH, EXCUSE ME, WATER USE BENCHMARKING, WHICH IS REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO LOOK SITE BY SITE AT HOW WATER IS SUPPLIED AND HOW IT CAN BE DISAGGREGATED AND TO ITS DIFFERENT NEEDS SO THAT WE CAN AGAIN, MATCH PURPOSE AND USE.
REALLY, THIS IS A SLIDE THAT SHOWS THE EVOLUTION OF OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED SYSTEM.
AGAIN, THAT RECLAIMED SYSTEM, UM, IS INSTALLED THROUGHOUT THE RIGHTS OF WAY OF THE CITY STREETS IN AUSTIN.
IT PRIMARILY FOCUSES ON, UM, BEING ABLE TO SUPPLY, UM, TREATED RECLAIMED WATER PRIMARILY TO OUR CENTRAL AUSTIN AREA.
UM, BASICALLY THAT SYSTEM TAKES WASTEWATER, HIGHLY TREATED WASTEWATER EFFLUENT FROM BOTH OF OUR REGIONAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS, POLISHES IT FURTHER, AND THEN PUMPS IT THROUGH A SYSTEM OF PIPES, UM, AND ENABLES THAT TO BE USED IN A VARIETY OF LOCATIONS.
THIS SLIDE REALLY JUST REPRESENTS THE AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT THAT AUSTIN WATER HAS PLACED INTO THE SYSTEM SINCE 1995, STARTING WITH THE FIRST A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS BETWEEN 95 AND 2005.
UM, AGAIN, IN THE 2015 TIMEFRAME, WE'VE INVESTED ANOTHER 94 MILLION.
AND THEN MOVING FORWARD, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT NEEDS OF, YOU KNOW, THE $200 MILLION OR MORE TO TRY TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THAT SYSTEM SO THAT IT CAN BE AVAILABLE AND READY TO USE FOR SOME OF THESE ONSITE DEMANDS.
THIS IS THE GRAPHIC THAT JUST SHOWS THE EXTENT OF THE RECLAIMED SYSTEM, AND I'M GONNA APOLOGIZE.
IT'S A LITTLE BIT WASHED OUT, SO YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SEE IT VERY WELL.
BUT, UM, THERE ARE PURPLE PIPE LINES SHOWN ON THAT GRAPHIC.
GENERALLY, YOU CAN SEE THERE'S A LOOP STARTING AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE, WHICH IS OUR WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT HEADED NORTH AND WEST.
THAT LOOPS BACK AROUND, DROPS SOUTH.
AND THEN ULTIMATELY, WE'LL, YOU KNOW, CONNECT INTO A SYSTEM THAT STARTS FROM THE SOUTH AT OUR SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL PLANT AND PUSHES RECLAIMED WATER THE OTHER WAY.
THE IDEA IS TO DEVELOP A, A FULLY INTERCONNECTED NETWORK OF RECLAIMED WATER LINES SO THAT IT CAN HAVE RESILIENCE AND RELIABILITY, MUCH MORE SIMILAR TO OUR WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE REALLY GOES INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON SOME OF THE ITEMS WE'VE ALREADY BEEN TALKING ABOUT, WHICH ARE REALLY OUR REUSE STRATEGIES.
UM, PRIMARILY WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT ADVANCING SOME NEW AFFORDABILITY INITIATIVES, WHICH REALLY IS THE BASIS OF A LOT OF THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT CONTINUING TO INCENTIVIZE CONNECTION TO THE CENTRAL RECLAIMED SYSTEM, EVEN THOUGH IT IS MANDATED OR PROPOSED TO BE MANDATED BY CODE.
UM, WE ALSO WANT TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THAT RECLAIM SYSTEM.
UM, AGAIN, IT'S AN INVESTMENT THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE COMMUNITY FOR QUITE SOME TIME AND IS FROM A MASS SCALE, PROBABLY OUR LARGEST OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE LARGE VOLUMES OF RECLAIMED WATER AROUND THE CITY IN A RELIABLE WAY.
UM, WE ALSO ARE LOOKING AT COMMUNITY SCALE RECLAIMED SYSTEMS, WHICH INCLUDES THE IDEA OF CERTAIN OUTLYING DEVELOPMENTS, BEING ABLE TO RELY ON WHAT WOULD TYPICALLY BE LOOKED AT AS PACKAGE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS THAT CAN TREAT THAT EFFLUENT TO A HIGH QUALITY AND ALSO MORE LOCALLY BE ABLE TO USE THAT, UM, IN THOSE, UM, CENTRALIZED OR DECENTRALIZED CIRCUMSTANCES.
UM, AND THEN ONSITE, UM, WATER CAPTURE AND REUSE, WHICH AGAIN, ITEM SIX AND SEVEN PARTICULARLY THAT WE TALKED ABOUT ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON ONSITE WATER REUSE AND CAPTURE.
UM, THROUGH THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING OUR POLICIES AROUND THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BE, CONTINUE TO BE MINDFUL ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF ADDITIONAL COSTS TO, UM, AFFORDABILITY, AFFORDABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT, BUT ALSO HOUSING AFFORDABILITY.
UM, AND SO THIS IS WHERE THROUGH THAT PROCESS, WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS, AND THE IDEA OF NEEDING
[01:00:01]
TO INCREASE OUR INCENTIVES AND GRANTS, UM, HAS, YOU KNOW, BEEN RESONATED.THAT'S WHY WE'RE BACK HERE WITH ITEM NUMBER 7, 8, 8.
UM, EIGHT TO TALK ABOUT REAUTHORIZING, OUR PILOT INCENTIVE PROGRAM.
UM, THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT YOU ARE NOT, THAT AREN'T ON YOUR AGENDA TONIGHT, WHICH ARE MORE PROGRAMMATIC FROM AUSTIN WATER'S PERSPECTIVE, WHICH INCLUDES REDUCED MONTHLY FIXED CHARGES FOR FOLKS THAT USE RECLAIMED WATER, UM, EXPEDITED BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW PROCESSES FOR THE LARGE DEVELOPMENTS THAT'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH A MORE EXTENSIVE, UH, PLUMBING REVIEW.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITY OF LOW INTEREST LOAN PROGRAMS TO HELP OFFSET CERTAIN COSTS ASSOCIATED FOR INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENTS THAT, THAT WANT TO, OR REQUIRED TO USE THIS, UM, COST SHARING, WHICH IS REALLY WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A LOT THIS EVENING.
UM, THERE ARE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, THE TRAVIS COUNTY PACE, UH, LOAN PROGRAM, WHICH IS AN, A COMBINED ENERGY, UH, WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM THAT WOULD ALLOW BUILDING OWNERS TO INVEST IN, UM, DIFFERENT SUSTAINABILITY OR WATER, WATER ENERGY CONSERVATION INITIATIVES.
UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF THE, THE WHOLE WATERFRONT OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR IMPROVING AFFORDABILITY.
ANOTHER ELEMENT, AND AGAIN, NOT ON YOUR AGENDA TONIGHT, ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT FUNDING MECHANISMS THAT AUSTIN WATER IS CONSIDERING.
UM, THE FIRST ONE IS A COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE.
SO BASICALLY WE WOULD LOOK AT INCREASING OUR CURRENT COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE, SPECIFICALLY EARMARKED TO TRY TO GO AND HELP PAY FOR THE EXTENSION OF OUR RECLAIM SYSTEM IN GENERAL.
UM, AND SO THAT WOULD LOOK AT INCREASING OUR CBC BY ABOUT 15 CENTS A THOUSAND GALLONS SO THAT WE COULD PROVIDE A FUNDING STREAM, AN ADDITIONAL FUNDING STREAM TO HELP PAY FOR SOME OF THESE EXPANSIONS.
AND, UM, UH, IMPROVEMENTS, UH, WE, WE HAVE DISCUSSED THE, UM, SETTING UP A PURPLE CHOICE AND PURPLE CHOICE PLUS PROGRAM, WHICH IS MODEL VERY MUCH AFTER AUSTIN ENERGY'S GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM.
OBVIOUSLY MODIFIED FOR OUR PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, WATER CIRCUMSTANCE, AND THEN THE IDEA OF OF, UH, IMPLEMENTING EXCESS USE CHARGES FOR FOLKS WHEN THEY HAVE A NON-POTABLE ALTERNATIVE.
THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE GOES INTO SOME OF THE DETAILS THAT I, I THINK PROBABLY I MAY NOT HAVE DONE JUSTICE IN OUR PREVIOUS CONVERSATION, BUT THIS IS A BIT OF A GRAPHIC THAT SHOWS SORT OF WHERE AND HOW THE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS IN, UM, CHAPTER 25 DASH NINE WOULD, WOULD PLAY OUT AS FAR AS HOW THEY WOULD IMPACT THE REQUIREMENT TO CONNECT TO THE SYSTEM.
UM, AGAIN, SMALL DEVELOPMENTS, UM, ARE REQUIRED TO DO, AND AGAIN, SMALL DEVELOPMENTS ARE DEFINED AS DEVELOPMENTS UNDER 250,000 SQUARE FOOT SMALL DEVELOPMENTS WOULD BE REQUIRED TO DO WATER BENCHMARKING, UM, AND THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO CONNECT TO THE, UH, RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM IF THEY ARE WITHIN, UH, 20, UH, 250 FEET.
UM, MOVING UP TO THE LARGE DEVELOPMENTS, SO THOSE ARE DEVELOPMENTS OVER 250,000 SQUARE FEET.
UM, AND I GOTTA CHECK THE, THERE ARE DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THIS, SORRY.
SO THE TOP ONE ARE LARGE DEVELOPMENTS WITHOUT A MULTIFAMILY COMPONENT.
UM, AGAIN, THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO DO WATER BENCHMARKING.
THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO CONNECT TO THE CENTRALIZED SYSTEM IF THEY ARE WITHIN, UM, 500 FEET.
THE PROPOSAL IN ITEM SIX ON YOUR AGENDA TONIGHT WOULD BE TO EXTEND THAT TO, UM, ALSO INCLUDE A REQUIREMENT TO CONNECT TO THE SYSTEM OR A REQUIREMENT TO DO ONSITE REUSE.
SO HOPEFULLY THAT CLARIFIES ONE OF THE PREVIOUS QUESTIONS.
AND THEN THE NEXT, UM, CATEGORY WOULD BE LARGE DEVELOPMENTS THAT INCLUDE A MULTI-FAMILY COMPONENT.
AND AGAIN, THEY WOULD REQUIRE BE REQUIRED TO DO, UM, WATER BENCHMARKING.
THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO CONNECT TO THE CENTRALIZED RECLAIM SYSTEM IF THEY'RE WITHIN 250 FEET.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, THE REQUIREMENT AGAIN BY THE CODE REQUIRE THAT, THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT TO CONNECT TO CENTRALIZED RECLAIM IF YOU'RE WITHIN 500 FEET OR INSTALL ONSITE REUSE SYSTEM IF YOU'RE, IF YOU ARE, UM, BEYOND 500 FEET.
AND THEN WITH THE SPECIFIC EXCLUSION FOR PROJECTS ACCREDITED FOR AFFORDABILITY UNLOCKED OR THE, THE STATE LOW HEALTH, LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT PROGRAM.
SO I'M GONNA STOP THERE AND LET Y'ALL LOOK AT THAT AND NOT MUMBLE THROUGH THAT.
MAYBE THAT'S, IT'LL BE EASIER TO SEE IN WRITING.
[01:05:08]
I SEE.COMMISSIONER DAVIS HAS A QUESTION.
IF WE'RE DOING QUESTIONS NOW, UM, PERHAPS I MISSED IT.
COULD YOU, WOULD YOU MIND EXPLAINING AGAIN WHAT WATER BENCHMARKING IS AND WHETHER IN THE PROPOSED REQUIREMENTS THESE DEVELOPMENTS WOULD BE CON REQUIRED TO CONTINUE IT? SO, YES, WATER BENCHMARKING IS, IS BASICALLY, UM, AN, AN ONSITE WATER BALANCE FOR ANY PARTICULAR SITE THAT'S GOING TO BE DEVELOPED.
AND SO BASICALLY WHAT HAPPENS IS THE DEVELOPER'S ENGINEER WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT SITE, LOOK AT THEIR PLAN DEVELOPMENT FOR THAT SITE, AND RUN THAT PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT THROUGH A, UH, WATER BENCHMARK CALCULATOR, WHICH OUR STAFF HAS DEVELOPED.
AND BASICALLY THE GOAL OF THAT EXERCISE IS TO TRY TO IDENTIFY WHERE THERE ARE, UM, ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF WATER AND WHERE THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALTERNATIVE USES OF WATER.
SO AGAIN, TRYING TO MATCH FIT FOR PURPOSE, SOURCE TO USE.
AND SO SPECIFICALLY, UM, THAT ACTUALLY THAT REQUIREMENT EXISTS COM CONTINUES TO EXIST.
IT WAS ACTUALLY PASSED IN THE 2021 CODE CHANGES.
SO, UM, WE'VE BEEN, UM, I'LL SAY ENJOYING THAT.
IT'S CERTAINLY CREATED WORKLOAD, BUT IT, IT DOES PROVIDE US WITH A LOT OF GOOD DATA SO THAT AS WE EVOLVE OUR PROGRAM, WE HAVE BETTER, UM, INFORMATION ABOUT HOW SITES ARE DEVELOPED AND OPPORTUNITIES THERE ARE ON BOTH THE, THE ONSITE OR OTHERWISE NON-POTABLE DEMANDS FOR PARTICULAR DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO THAT, THAT REQUIREMENT WOULD CONTINUE, UH, UNDER THE PROPOSED CHANGES AS WELL? YES, THAT'S, THAT'S CORRECT.
AND, AND JUST TO CONFIRM, THIS IS SAYING THAT THE LARGE DEVELOPMENTS WITH MULTIFAMILY, UM, THE, THE CONNECTION TO THE PURPLE PIPE WOULD BE RELAXED FROM 250 FEET TO 500 FEET.
SO IT'S ACTUALLY MORE, MORE STRENUOUS BECAUSE BASICALLY WHAT IT SAYS, IF, IF YOU'RE WITHIN 200, IF YOU'RE BEYOND 250 FEET FOR A SMALL DEVELOPMENT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO CONNECT FOR LARGE DEVELOPMENTS.
IF YOU'RE BEYOND 250 FEET ALL THE WAY TO 500 FEET, YOU ALSO STILL HAVE TO CONNECT.
I'VE GOT ONE MORE SLIDE ON THIS AND I'LL GET OUT, I'LL AT LEAST OPEN IT BACK UP.
AND I ASK ONE MORE QUESTION ON THE COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN.
ON THE LAST SLIDE, IF YOU ARE NOT, IF YOU'RE A LARGE OR IF YOU'RE A FACILITY AND NOT WITHIN THE 500 FOOT AREA, DO YOU STILL HAVE TO INSTALL AN ONSITE WATER RESISTANCE? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO THE LAST PAGE OF THIS PRESENTATION, AND AGAIN, I'M, I'M HERE ALL NIGHT.
JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT A COUPLE OF INITIATIVES OR A COUPLE OF ACTIVITIES THAT'LL BE GOING ON.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, MARCH 7TH IS, UH, WE'RE DUBBING IT PURPLE PIPE DAY.
UM, THE, BASICALLY THAT WILL BE THE DAY IN WHICH COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER, UM, THESE THREE ITEMS THAT YOU ARE BEFORE YOU TONIGHT.
UM, I THINK EVEN ONE OR TWO OTHERS THAT DON'T, AREN'T RELATED SPECIFICALLY TO, UM, WATER RE, EXCUSE ME, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.
UM, AND SO, UM, COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER CODE CHANGES RELATED TO ONSITE REUSE REQUIREMENTS.
SO WE'VE DISCUSSED TONIGHT, UM, THEY'LL BE ASKED TO, UM, REAUTHORIZE EXISTING INCENTIVE PROGRAM, WHICH YOU'RE SEEING TONIGHT.
UM, THEY'LL ALSO BE CONSIDERING THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE PIECE, UH, WHICH IS NOT PART OF TONIGHT'S, UH, REQUIREMENTS HERE.
UM, AND THEN IN AUGUST WE WILL REIFY A LOT OF THIS SAME ACTIVITY THROUGH OUR ANNUAL BUDGET MAKING PROCESS.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL CALL THAT THE END OF MY PRESENTATION, AND ONCE AGAIN, TRY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER ROBBINS, I GUESS WE DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER THIS TONIGHT, BUT I WOULD LIKE YOU OR SOMEONE ON STAFF TO CLARIFY, UH, WHAT THE COST IS TO THE CITY AFTER WE REACH THE 201,000 ACRE FOOT THRESHOLD.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT NOW.
I I COULD GENERALLY NARRATE IT FOR YOU AND WE CAN PROVIDE, I, WE DO HAVE YOUR QUESTIONS THAT YOU ASKED AND WE CAN GET YOU SPECIFIC ANSWERS, BUT I MEAN, BASICALLY ONCE WE EXCEED 201,000 ACRE FEET AND TWO YEARS IN A ROW, THEN WE START HAVING TO PAY FOR VOLUMES OF WATER OVER
[01:10:01]
150,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR AT L CCRA THEN CURRENT COST.UM, AND, AND THAT COST RIGHT NOW IS ABOUT $155 AN ACRE FOOT.
BUT IT IS EXPECTED TO RISE OVER TIME, SO, OKAY.
UH, JUST TO GIVE THE COMMISSION OF CONTEXT DECK CITES 10 MILLION AS AN ANNUAL COST.
THE SLIDE DECK INCLUDES, I THINK THAT THE OVERALL COST IMPACT OF DEFERRING THE TRIGGER, WE ESTIMATE TO BE $10 MILLION A YEAR.
SO JUST A REFERENCE TO THAT, I THINK YEAH, YOU, YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT.
UM, I WANT TO GIVE THE COMMISSION A CONTEXT AND PLEASE CORRECT ME.
MR. CRITTENDON, IF I AM INACCURATE, BUT I BELIEVE THAT, UH, THE CITY LAST YEAR USED ABOUT 174,000 ACRE FEET.
AND I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS ENOUGH POTENTIAL IN THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM TO ADD ABOUT 94, UH, THOUSAND ACRE FEET.
IS THAT, UH, CLOSE TO ACCURATE? I, I'M, I'M HESITATING.
I MEAN, CERTAINLY WE PRODUCE WASTEWATER EFFLUENT, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY IN THE 120 MILLION GALLONS A DAY RANGE.
BUT IT WOULD REQUIRE FURTHER INVESTMENT AND IN INFRASTRUCTURE, SO OF COURSE, OF COURSE.
I WOULD, I'D LIKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CLARIFY THAT THOUGH AND GIVE YOU A BETTER, A BETTER CLEANER ANSWER IF I COULD.
I'M JUST TRYING TO GIVE THE COMMISSION SOME ORDER OF MAGNITUDE FOR HOW MUCH POTENTIAL IS THERE.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO.
I'M, I'M IN COMPLETE SUPPORT OF THE APPROACH.
UM, I, UM, AM GOING TO VOTE FOR ALL THREE OF THESE MOTIONS.
UH, I AM GONNA OFFER, UH, WHAT I HOPE WILL BE A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT, OR EXCUSE ME, AN AMENDMENT TO THE THIRD ONE, UH, ON THE, THE PILOT REBATES.
UH, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO INTRODUCE IT.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YEAH, I HAVE A QUESTION.
OH,
UH, AND APOLOGIES IF, UH, IF YOU ALREADY ANSWERED THIS, AND I MISSED IT EARLIER, BUT I THINK I WAS HEARING SOME CONFUSION ABOUT WHERE THE REBATE WOULD BE, WOULD BE APPLIED.
UH, AND SO, UH, IS IT, UH, WERE YOU STATING THAT THE, OR THE INCENTIVE WOULD BE APPLIED TO ANY OF THESE DEVELOP OR WOULD BE ANY DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, UNDER THESE RULES? WOULD IT BE ELIGIBLE IF THEY WERE, IF THEY ARE BEYOND 500 FEET AND THEY WANT TO EITHER, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY BUILD A PIPE CONNECTING TO THE CENTRAL SYSTEM OR THEY BUILD THEIR OWN ONSITE REUSE SYSTEM, IS THAT THE, THE USE OF THE INCENTIVE OR DOES THE, WOULD THE INCENTIVE GO AT ALL TO ANY OF THESE PROPERTIES WITHIN 500 FEET? I WOULD ANSWER GENERALLY, YES.
SO, AND THEN YES OR NO, WOULD THIS, DOES IT APPLY ONLY OUTSIDE OF 500 FEET OR DOES IT ALSO APPLY WITHIN 500 FEET? AGAIN, WE'RE WORKING ON SOME OF THE DETAILS ON SORT OF THE VERY SPECIFIC PROGRAMMATIC REQUIREMENT.
SO TODAY, FOR INSTANCE, WE PAY FOR, THROUGH OUR INCENTIVE PROGRAM, WE, WE PAY FOR A COMPONENT OF ONSITE REUSE DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO THAT'S A FEATURE IN OUR CURRENT, UM, REBATE PROGRAM.
WE DO ENVISION EXTENDING THAT TO ALSO PAY FOR UP TO HALF THE COST TO EXTEND TO THE RECLAIMED SYSTEM IF YOU'RE WITHIN EITHER THE 250 OR THE 500 FOOT, UM, DISTANCE.
AND SO THERE BECOMES SOME DETAIL IN ALL OF THAT THAT WE'RE STILL KIND OF WORKING THROUGH.
BUT AGAIN, I THINK GENERALLY YES IS THE BASIC ANSWER TO
[01:15:01]
YOUR QUESTION.YEAH, THANKS FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
AND THEN, UH, THE LAST QUESTION IS, AND, AND MAYBE IT'S JUST THE WORDING ON THE SLIDE IS, IS ISN'T CLEAR, BUT, UM, WHERE THERE'S THE OPTION TO EITHER CONNECT IF YOU'RE WITHIN 500 FEET OR INSTALL AN ONSITE SYSTEM, IF THEY'RE WITHIN UH, 500 FEET, THEY CAN'T OPT OUT BY BUILDING THEIR OWN ONSITE SYSTEM.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.
I HAD TO PHONE A FRIEND FOR THAT ONE.
I'LL THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? YES, SIR.
HEY, I'M NOT GONNA PUT MY VIDEO ON, SORRY, I'M HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO KNOW, AND MAYBE IT WAS SAID, BUT I DON'T REMEMBER HEARING THIS.
CAN WE, OR DO WE ALREADY HAVE A DEVELOPMENT OR RESIDENTIAL AREA, UM, THAT KIND OF POSES AS A MODEL OR EXAMPLE OF THIS? THAT'S THE FIRST PART OF THE QUESTION.
SO I DO THINK WE'VE RECEIVED OUR FIRST APPLICATION FOR AN ONSITE REUSE DEVELOPMENT THAT INCLUDES MULTIFAMILY.
IS THERE A WAY, AND THIS IS ME JUST TRYING TO TALK US OUT OF HAVING TO CONSTANTLY, UH, GIVE OUT MONEY AND GIVE OUT INCENTIVES, UM, AS A CASH VALUE, UM, AND POSSIBLY SHOW PEOPLE THE MODELS OR EXAMPLES OF WHAT WE CAN PRODUCE AND GIVE THEM THE DATA AS WELL.
UM, SO THEY WOULD HAVE LIKE A LIVE PRESENTATION TO SEE WHAT, WHAT THE SYSTEM IS, AS WELL AS HAVE LIKE, UH, DATA THAT SHOWS HOW MUCH MONEY THEY'VE SAVED, HOW MUCH WATER THEY'VE SAVED, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
AND HOPEFULLY THAT'S THE INCENTIVE, UH, APPROACH INSTEAD OF CONSTANTLY THROWING CASH AT PEOPLE.
SO IT IS JUST A THOUGHT I WAS THINKING ABOUT AS WE WERE DOING THIS WITH ALL THESE INCENTIVES BECAUSE I HEARD SOMEONE MENTION, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE RUN OUT OF THE INCENTIVE MONEY.
SO LET ME FIRST ASK, UM, CATHERINE JASINSKI TO CLARIFY OUR MORE RECENT EXPERIENCE WITH, UM, COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT AS IT RELATES TO ONSITE REUSE REQUIREMENTS.
SO I BELIEVE THE QUESTION WAS ABOUT HAVING A MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT THAT IS IMPLEMENTING THESE TYPES OF REUSE STRATEGIES.
SO WE, WE DON'T HAVE ANY EXAMPLES OF AN ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN JUST, UH, SORT OF NOMINAL IRRIGATION.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE OUR FIRST PERMITTED, UH, PROJECT THAT'S UNDER DEVELOPMENT THAT HAS CONNECTED, UM, A MULTIFAMILY PROJECT THAT HAS CONNECTED TO THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM TO USE THAT WATER INDOORS FOR TOILET FLUSHING.
AND, UM, OUR, WE, WE TALKED ABOUT THE WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATION AND HOW WE'VE BEEN IMPLEMENTING THAT SINCE 2021.
SO ALL NEW, UH, SITE PLAN DEVELOPMENT PERMITS THAT COME IN AT THE CITY.
WE HAVE MADE THEM FILL OUT THAT TOOL WHERE THEY GET ALL OF THIS INFORMATION ABOUT WATER SOURCES ON THEIR PROJECT, HOW THEY CAN NOT JUST DO REUSE, BUT ALSO WATER EFFICIENCY.
AND THEN WE, IF THEY'RE A LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, WE HAVE BEEN MEETING WITH THEM IN PERSON TO TALK ABOUT ALL OF THE EFFICIENCY STRATEGIES AVAILABLE TO THEM AND HAVE PRESENTED THIS PILOT INCENTIVE PROGRAM THAT WE'VE HAD FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS TO SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS HOW MUCH YOUR PROJECT COULD SAVE, THIS IS HOW MUCH WATER, THIS IS HOW MUCH MONEY.
AND WE, WE ONLY HAD TWO TAKERS ON THAT PROGRAM AND THEY WERE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS.
UM, AND, AND NONE OF THEM WERE, WERE MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENTS, UNFORTUNATELY.
SO IF THAT HELPS WITH CONTEXT, THANK SO ARE THERE ANY LIKE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOP, I DON'T EVEN CARE WHAT IT IS, LIKE ANY OTHER TYPE OF, UH, WATER RECLAIM REUSE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE AS AN EXAMPLE, IF WE'RE GOING TO GIVE INCENTIVES OUT, I GUESS, UM, YOU KNOW, MY, MY PERSPECTIVE IS COMING FROM INSTEAD OF GIVING PEOPLE A CASH INCENTIVE, LIKE, WE'LL GIVE YOU $500, WE'LL GIVE YOU $2 MILLION.
YOU KNOW, THE INCENTIVE WOULD BE MORE PSYCHOLOGICAL TO SAY, HEY, I'M GONNA SAVE A LOT OF MONEY DOING THIS ANYWAY, WHY DON'T I DO THIS? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SO I'LL, I'LL START AND THEN I MAY ASK CATHERINE TO FURTHER EXPLAIN.
[01:20:01]
I, I, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY THROUGHOUT THE CITY WE DO HAVE EXAMPLE PROJECTS WHERE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGIES ARE BEING USED TO REUSE WATER, WHETHER IT'S EITHER ON SITE BY DEVELOPING ALTERNATIVE WATER SITE, UH, WATER USE, SUCH AS RAINWATER HARVESTING, HVAC, CONDENSATE CAPTURE.UM, SO, SO YES, WE DO HAVE THOSE EXAMPLES.
UM, WE DO HAVE OTHER EXAMPLES THROUGHOUT THE CITY LIKE THIS BUILDING PARTICULARLY WHERE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE USING A CONNECTION TO THE CENTRALIZED RECLAIM FOR TOILET FLUSHING INSIDE.
SO THAT'S SORT OF A NEXT LEVEL OF OPPORTUNITY TO OFFSET NON-POTABLE DEMAND.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE EXAMPLES OF ON ONSITE SYSTEMS. AND THE MOST NOTABLE ONE THAT I WOULD SAY IS, IS OF COURSE, UM, THE MOST SIMPLE NOTABLE ONE WOULD BE THE DOWNTOWN LIBRARY WHERE THEY'RE USING RAINWATER STORM WATER WITH A BACKUP TO THE RECLAIM SYSTEM TO ALSO, YOU KNOW, UM, FLUSH URINALS AND TOILETS.
SO THAT'S AN EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, SORT OF AT A COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT SCALE.
WE ALSO HAVE OUR OSCAR AND CLARA SYSTEM, WHICH IS SORT OF VERY EXTREME.
THAT'S, THAT'S A SYSTEM THAT TAKES SANITARY WASTEWATER OUT OF THAT SITE AND PROCESSES THAT.
NOW WE DON'T ENVISION THAT TO BE WIDELY ADOPTED, CERTAINLY NOT IN THE NEAR TERM, BUT, SO WE DO HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS OUT THERE TO SHOW PEOPLE AND DEMONSTRATE THE BENEFITS OF THOSE SYSTEMS. UM, I WOULD JUST SAY IN GENERAL, AS CATHERINE MENTIONED, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE PEOPLE CURRENTLY BEATING DOWN OUR DOOR TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR INCENTIVES.
AND SO THAT'S WHY THROUGH THIS POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO THREAD SORT OF THAT GAP TO TRY TO GET MORE PEOPLE REQUIRED TO, BUT SOFTENING THAT BLOW BY PROVIDING SOME COST PARTICIPATION OR MORE OPTIONS TO USE, UM, INCENTIVES.
SO, AND NOW SHE'LL CORRECT ME.
IN ADDITION THAT, UM, WITH THESE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS, WE WERE REQUIRED TO DO AN AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT.
UM, IT'S A REQUIREMENT IN CITY CODE AND OUR ANALYSIS FOUND THAT IT, IT IS MORE EXPENSIVE FOR THESE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO IMPLEMENT THESE WATER REUSE FACILITIES.
UM, AND SO IT DOESN'T SAVE THEM MONEY OVERALL IN THE LONG RUN AT THIS POINT BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE ECONOMICS WORK OUT.
UH, WITH THE EXCEPTION, IF IS THE EXCEPTION IS THAT IF YOU ARE A HIGH-RISE DEVELOPMENT WITH PLUMBING STACKED OVARY, UH, LIKE JUST DIRECTLY STACKED VERTICALLY, INSTEAD OF MORE OF LIKE A MID-RISE DEVELOPMENT WITH MORE PLUMBING THAT'S DISPERSED, THOSE PROJECTS OVER 30 YEARS OF THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT SAVE MONEY.
BUT THE OTHER ONES, UM, IT'S A NET COST TO THE DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT THESE AFFORDABILITY STRATEGIES ARE MEANT TO ADDRESS THAT, THE ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT THESE PROJECTS INCUR FROM IMPLEMENTING THE REUSE PROJECTS.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT EXPLANATION.
THAT ANSWERS A LOT OF QUESTIONS FOR ME, SO THANK YOU.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR COMM OR FROM COMMISSIONERS? THERE BEING
[Items 6 & 7 (Part 2 of 2)]
NONE.THEN WE'LL RETURN BACK TO ITEM SIX ON OUR AGENDA, WHICH WAS RECOMMENDED APPROVAL TO CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING.
CONSIDER AMENDING CITY CODE CHAPTER 25 9.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? IF NOT, THEN I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION MOVE APPROVAL.
MOTION TO APPROVE BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS.
COMMISSIONER CAROTTI HAS OFFERED THE SECOND.
THIS WILL BE A ROLL CALL VOTE PLEASE.
MOVING ON ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO CITY CODE CHAPTER 1513.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? OTHERWISE, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION.
COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN MAKE WITH THE MOTION.
[01:25:02]
I SECOND.COMMISSIONER CAROTTI GETS IN THERE WITH THE SECOND ROLL CALL VOTE.
LEAVE YOUR CAMERAS ON STONE VOTES.
[8. Recommend approval of a resolution authorizing Austin Water (AW) to continue a pilot program and issue incentives on a pilot basis during Fiscal Year 2023-2024 for alternative Onsite Water Reuse Systems or Reclaimed Water Connections for new commercial and multi-family developments under AW’s new regulatory framework in the total aggregate amount of $5,600,000 and not to exceed $500,000 for each project subject to funding availability. (Part 2 of 2)]
ONTO ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION IZING AUSTIN WATER TO CONTINUE A PILOT PROGRAM.I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER AN AMENDMENT ON THIS.
UH, IF I COULD ASK MY QUESTION FIRST AND THEN CALL, CALL A POINT OF PRIVILEGE
UM, I SEE IN THIS THING THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR AUTHORIZATION OF $5.6 MILLION ON A PROGRAM THAT ONLY HAS FUNDING RIGHT NOW OF 1.5 IN THE CITY'S BUDGET, UM, IT LOOKS LIKE $4.1 MILLION IS CONTINGENT ON SOME FURTHER ACTION FROM COUNCIL.
CAN YOU TALK TO THAT ONE? SO AGAIN, GOOD EVENING, KEVIN CRI TO AUSTIN WATER.
UM, BASICALLY THIS PARTICULAR FUNDING APPROVAL WOULD ALLOW US TO GET, UM, WE ESTIMATE WOULD LET US GET THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.
I THINK OUR REFERENCED IN THE SLIDE THAT OUR PLAN WOULD BE TO UPDATE OUR BUDGET REQUEST IN THE CONTEXT OF NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, BUT WE FEEL LIKE THIS IS THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT, UM, KIND OF GIVEN WHERE WE ARE, UM, IN THE PROCESS.
SO I'M STILL HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF TROUBLE HERE WITH WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO TELL ME.
MAYBE IF I COULD GET YOU TO ASK THE QUESTION AGAIN AND I'LL OKAY.
SO UNDER THE FISCAL NOTE, FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF 1.5 MILLION IS AVAILABLE IN FISCAL YEAR 2324, WHICH WILL END ON SEPTEMBER 30TH FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UP HERE IN WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IN THE TOP WITH THE POSTING LANGUAGE, YOU ARE ASKING FOR APPROVAL OF AN AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF $5.6 MILLION.
SO TO ME THERE'S A A DIFFERENCE THERE THAT SEEMS LIKE IT'S GOT TO COME FROM SOMEWHERE UNLESS I'M JUST NOT READING THIS PROPERLY, WHICH IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE.
I'M ANA BRIAN BORJA, AUSTIN WATERS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS SERVICES.
THE DIFFERENCE, UH, WOULD COME FROM A PENDING ACTION BEFORE COUNCIL ON MARCH 7TH, WHERE WE HAVE PROPOSED AN INCREASE TO THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE, WHICH WILL BE DEDICATED TO ADVANCING OUR REUSE PROGRAMS. OKAY.
AND THAT IS THE ONE THAT WAS ON LIKE THE NEXT TO LAST SLIDE.
IT WAS 15 CENTS PER THOUSAND GALLONS OF WATER IF MEMORY SERVES.
HOW MANY GALLONS OF WATER DOES THE TYPICAL AUSTIN HOUSEHOLD USE? ABOUT 5,800.
AND UM, IF I COULD ATTEMPT TO READ YOUR MIND, YOU MAY BE WONDERING WHAT IS THE AVERAGE, UH, CUSTOMER BILL IMPACT OF THAT CBC INCREASE? YOU KNOW WHERE I'M GOING, THE AVERAGE CUSTOMER BILL RESIDENTIAL BILL IMPACT WILL BE $1 AND 47 CENTS PER MONTH.
THAT CHARGE DOES NOT APPLY TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, WHICH IS OUR PROGRAM FOR VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS.
SO TO RECAP, EARLIER TONIGHT, WE WENT ON AHEAD AND SAID THAT WE'D SPEND ANOTHER FOUR OR $5 FOR CORPORATE PROJECTS THROUGH AUSTIN ENERGY'S PROGRAM.
AND NOW YOU'RE COMING TO ME LOOKING FOR ANOTHER $18 FOR SOMETHING WHERE ON THE PREVIOUS TWO THINGS THAT WE JUST AUTHORIZED, WE'RE BASICALLY TELLING CITY COUNCIL, YES, YOU CAN MANDATE THIS THING.
NOW, IF IT'S SOMETHING SOMEBODY'S LEGALLY REQUIRED TO DO AT THAT POINT, WHY WOULD I COUGH UP A NICKEL? WHEN, WHEN WE, UH, LOOK AT REUSE, THAT IS PART OF OUR OVERALL WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY.
SO EVERY PROJECT THAT WE ADOPT OR INCENTIVIZE, UH, THROUGH, UH, REUSE IS A BENEFIT TO OUR WHOLE COMMUNITY.
AND SO WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IS MULTIPLE WAYS TO FUND AND INCENTIVIZE, UH, REUSE CONNECTIONS.
AS, UH, OUR STAFF, CATHERINE JASINSKI, UH, STATED THROUGH VERY DETAILED ANALYSIS, WE HAVE FOUND THAT THE CAPITAL COST TO IMPLEMENT THESE, UH, PROJECTS IS HIGH AND IT HAS A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE AFFORDABILITY OF THE HOUSING THAT'S DEVELOPED THROUGH THEM.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT REALLY A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH THAT INCLUDES THE INCREASE TO THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE.
UM, ON THE SLIDE YOU SAW EARLIER, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT,
[01:30:01]
UM, UM, INCREASES OR, OR A VOLUNTARY PURPLE CHOICE PROGRAM.SO THAT WOULD BE A WAY THAT, UH, CUSTOMERS WHO ARE, UH, REALLY COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING THAT PROGRAM CAN ALSO, UH, CONTRIBUTE.
AND SO IT, IT'S A BIG PICTURE VIEW OF HOW REUSE HELPS US AS A COMMUNITY TO HAVE THE WATER SUPPLY THAT WE NEED OVER THE LONG TERM.
BUT YOUR POINT IS WELL TAKEN, SIR.
I DO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
COMMISSIONER, I HAVE A QUESTION.
UM, HAVE, HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED AT, UH, GRANT FUNDING FOR ANY OF THIS? I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE LOOKED AT STATE OR FEDERAL GRANTS FOR THESE.
NOW, I WILL SAY THAT AUSTIN WATER IS VERY ACTIVE IN THE SPACE OF SEEKING OUT STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING, UM, FOR A NUMBER OF PROJECTS.
SO WE'VE, WE HAVE OBTAINED, UH, SWIFT FUNDING FOR OUR ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH IS ONE WAY THAT WE'VE MADE CONSERVATION ACCESSIBLE TO ALL HOUSEHOLDS.
YEAH, I WOULD, I WOULD JUST REINFORCE THAT THERE, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY GRANT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE DIRECTLY AVAILABLE FOR THIS.
AGAIN, AS, AS ANA INDICATED, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DO UTILIZE SWIFT AND OTHER SUBSIDIZED INTEREST, UM, PROGRAMS, FUNDING PROGRAMS TO THE STATE.
I DID MENTION THE PACE PROGRAM, SO THERE'S ANOTHER OPTION.
AGAIN, AS ANA MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING FOR MULTIPLE APPROACHES TO TRY TO KIND OF PUT TOGETHER THE BEST PORTFOLIO FOR THESE PROJECTS TO MOVE FORWARD AND BOTH ACCOMPLISH THE GOAL OF US, YOU KNOW, OFFSETTING, YOU KNOW, POTABLE WATER NEED WHERE POTABLE WATER IS NOT NEEDED, UM, AND TRYING TO DO THAT AND, UH, A, A A BROADLY AFFORDABLE WAY.
MAY I ADD ONE OTHER PIECE OF CONTEXT? WHEN IT COMES TO THE INCENTIVES AND THE FACT THAT THIS IS IN FACT TRULY A PILOT PROGRAM, AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, THE PILOT INCENTIVE PROGRAM INITIATED IN 2021 TO DATE, WE HAVE APPROVED STAFF HAS APPROVED TWO PROJECTS.
SO THE, THE TIMELINE TO STAND UP THESE PROJECTS AND IMPLEMENT THEM AND PAY THEM OUT IS, IS A SOMEWHAT LONG TIMELINE.
SO WE, WE DO CERTAINLY INTEND YEAR AFTER YEAR, UM, YOU KNOW, A YEAR FROM NOW WE WOULD BE REEVALUATING, UH, WHETHER TO RE-PROPOSE THAT PROGRAM.
SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT HA UM, WE ARE SEEKING VERY BROAD ADOPTION OF THESE, THESE, UM, REUSE APPLICATIONS.
AND WE ARE STILL IN EARLY DAYS COUNSEL ADOPTED IN 2021, THE CURRENT REQUIREMENTS WITH THE ACTIONS THAT WE ARE PROPOSING FOR YOU TO CONSIDER AND FOR COUNSEL TO ADOPT, UH, ON MARCH 7TH.
UM, THAT WOULD BE THE FINAL STEPS IN THAT PROCESS THAT BEGAN IN 2021.
SO WE'RE STILL VERY EARLY DAYS IN IMPLEMENTING THESE CODES, AND WE FEEL THAT AT THIS POINT IT'S STILL APPROPRIATE TO, UH, OFFER INCENTIVES TO ENCOURAGE THE UPTAKE OF THESE PROGRAMS. OKAY.
YOU, YOU, YOU DID, UH, A GOOD JOB OF PREEMPTING MY QUESTION, WHICH IS HOW LONG IS IT A PILOT BEFORE IT'S AN ACTUAL PROGRAM.
WELL, SIR, MAY I SUGGEST, LET'S, LET'S AT LEAST PAY OUT A COUPLE OF PROJECTS BEFORE WE END THE PILOT AND YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT QUITE THERE YET, BUT AGAIN, THAT IS A, A VERY FAIR POINT.
COMMISSIONER DAVIS, YOU'VE BEEN WAITING PATIENTLY.
UM, TO, TO CHAIR STONE'S POINT, UM, I'M JUST CURIOUS IF, IF THESE POLICIES BECOME REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPERS, UM, WHAT IS THE ANTICIPATED ACTION THAT A DEVELOPER WOULD TAKE WITHOUT AN INCENTIVE FUNDED BY THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE? UM, WOULD THEY, ARE WE THINKING THEY WOULD NOT BUILD THESE DEVELOPMENTS, THEY WOULD BUILD THEM FURTHER AWAY FROM THE PURPLE PIPE? LIKE WHAT, WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF NOT PAYING THESE INCENTIVES? UM, THE QUESTION'S A LITTLE SPECULATIVE, BUT I WOULD IMAGINE, I MEAN, EVERY, EVERY COST FOR EVERY DEVELOPMENT ULTIMATELY AFFECTS EITHER THE SUBSEQUENT PURCHASER OF THAT DEVELOPMENT OR THE RENTERS OF WITHIN THAT DEVELOPMENT.
SO, I MEAN, I THINK THEY WOULD, WITHOUT THESE INCENTIVES, UM, THEY WOULD BE FORCED TO CONNECT AT, AS CATHERINE INDICATED EARLIER, AT A, AT A COST DISADVANTAGE
[01:35:01]
TO DO THAT.SO, SO WE THINK THE NET EFFECT WOULD BE LESS AFFORDABILITY OF THOSE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS? THAT'S CORRECT.
ARE WE TALKING MORE THAN $18 A YEAR OF AFFORDABILITY, HYPOTHETICALLY? YEAH.
IN SOME CASES, AND THAT WAS PART OF THE AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT, WE KIND OF SPREAD THE COST OUT OVER 30 YEARS AND WE ASSUMED THAT ALWAYS THAT THE, THE COST WOULD BE PASSED ON TO THE BUYER OR THE RENTER OF THE UNITS.
UM, AND SO I THINK AT THE MAX IT WAS 23, 20 $5 PER MONTH, UM, ADDITIONAL THAT WOULD BE PAID.
AGAIN, THE RE THE HIGH, HIGH-RISE RECLAIMED PROJECTS, THEY WOULD HAVE A NET BENEFIT OVER THE, THE 30 YEAR LIFESPAN, BUT IT, IT RANGED YEP.
COMMISSIONER ROBINSON, I'M SORRY, Y'ALL, I'M SORRY, I COULDN'T TALK, I COULDN'T TALK ON MY END.
I'M, CAN I GO BACK TO THE FEDERAL OR STATE GRANT MONEY? UH, THAT'S COMMISSIONER KARA GOTTI.
UM, SO ON THAT, UM, ARE, ARE Y'ALL THINKING ABOUT GOING AND RESEARCHING, UH, FOR FEDERAL FUNDING LIKE THE EPA COMMISSIONER, AGAIN, THIS IS ANA BRIAN BOHA WITH AUSTIN WATER.
UM, WE HAVE A STAFF THAT TRACKS ALL THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AS THEY COME OUT.
SO WE WORK CLOSELY WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICE, WHICH TRACKS THE FEDERAL FUNDING.
WE'RE IN VERY FREQUENT COMMUNICATION WITH THEM.
AND THEN OUR FINANCIAL STAFF, UM, SCRUTINIZE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AS THEY COME UP.
AND WE PUT IN APPLICATIONS, UM, FOR PROJECTS AS THEY COME UP.
SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE SEVERAL PROJECTS, UH, AUSTIN WATER PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE FOR CONSIDERATION FOR FUNDING.
UM, HOWEVER, WE'RE NOT AWARE OF SPECIFIC FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE A GOOD MATCH FOR THE REUSE OPPORTUNITIES HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE CONSISTENTLY PURSUING FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO REVIEW THOSE AS THOSE, UH, BECOME AVAILABLE.
UH, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT AWARE OF ANY SPECIFIC OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE A MATCH.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YEAH, I'M JUST NOT SOLD ON IT.
I WOULD JUST RATHER EXHAUST THAT BEFORE WE START CHARGING THE CITIZENS MORE MONEY.
MR. ROBBINS, I'M NOT SURE HOW TO GO THAT IN THAT DIRECTION OR HOW TO LIKE EXHAUST THAT, UM, AS A COMMISSIONER HERE, UM, TO SEE THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE YOUR DUE DILIGENCE.
NOT THAT I DON'T TRUST THAT Y'ALL ARE NOT DOING IT, BUT I JUST, I WORK WITH GRANTS ALL THE TIME, SO.
I'M JUST GONNA PUT MY COMMENT OFF.
UH, I'D LIKE TO CALL THE QUESTION AND I'D LIKE TO OFFER AN AMENDMENT.
UH, UH, WE, WE HAVE SEVERAL OTHER ITEMS TO GET TO TONIGHT, SO, UH, I'D LIKE TO CALL THE QUESTION AND OKAY.
SO YOU'D LIKE TO OFFER AN AMENDMENT TO THE RESOLUTION, AND I WOULD LIKE TO READ IT INTO THE RECORD FOR MY FELLOW BRETHREN COMMISSIONERS TO CONSIDER, UH, AFTER THE WORDING, IT WOULD SAY THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DISCONTINUE INCENTIVES AFTER FISCAL YEAR 2024 FOR ANY AUSTIN WATER CUSTOMER ALREADY REQUIRED BY CITY ORDINANCES TO INSTALL WATER REUSE SYSTEMS OR CONNECT TO RECLAIMED WATER.
I'LL READ IT AGAIN IF THIS WENT BY TOO QUICKLY.
UH, DOES ANY COMMISSIONER WANT ME TO DO THAT? YEAH, CAN WE ACTUALLY GET ON THE SCREEN THE, UM, UH, WHAT YOU'RE REFERENCING THAT YOU'D LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DOCUMENT WE WANT AMENDED? YEAH.
I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WITHIN THIS POSTED LANGUAGE YOU INTEND TO INSERT THAT.
IT WOULD, IT WOULD BE AFTER THE PARAGRAPH APPROVE A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AUSTIN WATER, ET CETERA.
AND AFTER THAT PARAGRAPH ENDS,
[01:40:02]
WE WOULD INSERT THIS RE THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION RECOMMENDS, UH, THAT WE DISCONTINUE INCENTIVES AFTER FISCAL YEAR 2024 FOR ANY WATER CUSTOMER ALREADY REQUIRED BY CITY ORDINANCES TO INSTALL WATER REUSE SYSTEMS OR CONNECT TO RECLAIM WATER.UM, AND YOU HAVE THAT WRITTEN DOWN SO THAT WE CAN GIVE IT TO NATASHA WHEN THE TIME COMES, IF THAT IS VOTED AND APPROVED ON BY THE JUDICIAL, SHE MAY BE CHALLENGED TO DECIPHER THIS, BUT YES.
YEAH, I HAD A LITTLE BIT OF TROUBLE TRYING TO READ THAT, THAT, UH, CHICKEN SCRATCH AS WELL, BUT WE CAN MUDDLE THROUGH.
SO WOULD YOU CARE TO EXPLAIN YOUR, YOUR AMENDMENT TO THE, UH, COMMISSION? UH, WELL, IT'S, UH, MOSTLY SELF-EXPLANATORY, BUT DO I NEED A SECOND FIRST? I NEED A SECOND FIRST.
IS THERE A SECOND TO THAT? AMENDMENT? SECOND.
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER FARMER.
THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
UH, SIMPLY PUT, I, I'VE SAID SEVERAL TIMES AND, AND I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER CARRIE GOTTI SAID IT IN DIFFERENT WAYS, AND I THINK YOU SAID IT IN DIFFERENT WAYS, COMMISSIONER STONE, THAT THIS IS A, UH, THIS IS A COST PROBLEM THAT, UH, SHOULD BE DEALT WITH.
AND THIS IS MY SUGGESTED WAY OF DEALING WITH IT.
UM, I'M ALL FOR THESE PROGRAMS. I HOPE STAFF DOES NOT THINK THAT I'M IN ANY WAY AGAINST THEM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S IN CODE, WE SHOULDN'T BE PAYING FOR IT.
THERE WERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR DISCUSSION? COMMISSIONER DAVIS, YOU'RE OFF MUTE.
DOES THAT MEAN YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO SAY? I'M CONSIDERING OH, OKAY.
UM, YEAH, I, I'M, I'M KIND OF AMBIVALENT ABOUT THIS ONE.
UH, OBVIOUSLY, UM, YOU KNOW, PAYING TO INCENTIVIZE SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY REQUIRED SEEMS, UM, UNNECESSARY AND MAYBE, UH, FISCALLY QUESTIONABLE.
HOWEVER, UM, IF I AM TO TAKE THE AFFORDABILITY, UH, ESTIMATES OR GUESSTIMATES AT FACE VALUE, IT SOUNDS LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT WITHDRAWING THESE INCENTIVES MAY CAUSE AN ALREADY, UM, CHALLENGE AFFORDABILITY LANDSCAPE IN AUSTIN TO BE A LITTLE BIT WORSE.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, MORE SO THAN, THAN THE, UH, THE COST OF THE ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE.
IN ADDITION, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK IT HAS BEEN SLOW UPTAKE ON THE PILOT, ONLY A COUPLE OF PROJECTS.
I LIKE TO SEE DATA, I'D LIKE TO SEE MORE THAN A COUPLE, UM, DATA POINTS BEFORE MAKING A JUDGMENT.
AND, UM, I ALSO, I HESITATE TO MAKE, YOU KNOW, VOTE ON A DECISION THAT IS SAYING NOTHING WILL HAPPEN AFTER THIS, UH, YEAR OF PUTTING OFF SOMETHING INTO THE FUTURE.
WHAT I'M SAYING IS I AM NOT GOING TO VOTE FOR COMMISSIONER ROBBINS AMENDMENT, ALTHOUGH IT'S, I KNOW IT'S WELL INTENTIONED.
I THINK THAT WHEN THE TIME COMES THERE, THE FACTS MAY BE DIFFERENT, THE DATA MAY BE DIFFERENT.
WE MAY HAVE DIFFERENT, UM, INFORMATION AT THAT TIME.
SO I DON'T THINK IT'S PRUDENT TO, UM, YOU KNOW, REQUIRE OR RECOMMEND TO DISCONTINUE INCENTIVES AT A CERTAIN DATE IN THE FUTURE WHEN WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE, THE FACTS WILL BE AT THAT POINT.
UM, THAT'S ALL IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING, UNLESS SOMETHING HAS CHANGED THAT RECLAIMED WATER RATES ARE LOWER THAN CONVENTIONAL WATER RATES.
SO THERE IS AN INTRINSIC SAVINGS ALREADY THERE.
AND THAT'S WHAT HAS, HAS MOTIVATED, UH, MANY OF THE CURRENT CUSTOMERS TO JOIN.
UH, I AM ALSO TROUBLED BY AFFORDABILITY, BUT, UH, COMMISSIONER DAVIS, UM, THE, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPLEXES ARE EXEMPT FROM THIS.
I WOULD NOT HAVE A PROBLEM IF THEY WERE GIVEN INCENTIVES.
UH, IT'S, UH, THE LARGE OFFICE HOTEL RETAIL COMPLEXES THAT,
[01:45:01]
THAT, UH, BOTHER ME.AT ANY RATE, UM, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S ANYTHING THAT I CAN SAY QUICKLY THAT'S GOING TO, UM, UM, MITIGATE YOUR CONCERNS.
UH, I, I JUST, I'M, I, I'M JUST BOTHERED BY, UM, A, A CONTINUAL REBATE FOR SOMETHING THAT'S CODE FAIR.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? I, I DID SEND OVER A COPY.
I TOOK A PICTURE OF THE AMENDMENT THAT PAUL CHICKEN SCRATCHED OUT.
UM, SO THE GUY WHO'S RUNNING THE MEETING WILL BE ABLE TO PUT THAT UP ON THE SCREEN FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT IT.
UM, AND, UH, BUT OTHERWISE, CAN I JUST ADD A QUICK NOTE TO THIS DISCUSSION? THIS IS AMY EVERHART, UH, STAFF MEMBER FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, ONE OF THE LIAISONS HERE.
SO YOU CANNOT TECHNICALLY AMEND AN RCA, THE, THIS IS A, YOU KNOW, IT'S AN UP OR DOWN VOTE PER THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
THIS, THIS ITEM HAS ALREADY BEEN THROUGH THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION.
THEY PASSED IT, UM, 8 0 1 WITH ONE ABSTENTION.
UM, BUT YOU CAN, WE CAN, WE CAN INCLUDE IF YOU DO VOTE TO APPROVE MR. ROBBINS'S, UM, MOTION, WE CAN, WE CAN ADD IT INTO THE MINUTES AND SEND IT AS A NOTE WITH THE MOTIONS THAT WE SUBMIT TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE, BUT IT'S STILL AN UP OR DOWN VOTE ON THIS ITEM.
WELL, THEN I'LL ASK A, A FOLLOW UP QUESTION ON THAT ONE.
WHILE WE'RE STILL WAITING TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE CHICKEN SCRATCH, UM, AM I ABLE TO AMEND TO SAY $1.5 MILLION INSTEAD OF $5.6 MILLION? SINCE FUNDING HAS NOT YET BEEN CREATED FOR THIS EVIDENCE, YOU'RE JUST, UM, APPRO, YOU'RE TECHNICALLY ONLY APPROVING THE FUNDING FOR THIS YEAR, SO THAT THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE BEING ASKED TO DO.
THE FUNDING IN THE FUTURE WOULD BE, WOULD BE VOTED ON IN THE FUTURE.
SO NEXT YEAR YOU COULD VOTE AGAINST FURTHER FUNDING, BUT NO, IT'S, IT'S THE 5.6 MILLION VERSUS THE 1.5 MILLION NUMBERS IN THIS DOCUMENT PARTICULAR THAT HAVE MADE IT HARD FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS, IS AM I ABLE TO CHANGE THAT FIVE SIX JOE ONE FIVE, AND THEN IT MATCHES THE FUNDING FROM CITY OF AUSTIN? I THINK THE SHORT ANSWER IS YOU CAN'T AMEND THE RCA ITSELF.
SO WE'LL VOTE ON 'EM SEPARATELY.
DOES EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND ALL THAT? WONDERFUL.
I'M SEEING A COUPLE OF PEOPLE NODDING HEADS, SO I WILL, OH,
SO THEN WE ARE GOING TO BE TAKING TWO VOTES ON THIS.
IS THAT WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING HERE, AMY? ONE ON THE BILL, ONE ON THE RCA ITSELF, AND THEN ONE ON, YEAH, IT MAY MAKE MORE SENSE TO NOTE COUNCIL.
IT MAY MAKE MORE SENSE TO VOTE ON THAT FIRST MM-HMM.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SO WE'RE VOTING ON CHICKEN SCRATCH FIRST.
ANYWAY, SO WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS AN ADVISORY MEMO TO COUNCIL FROM RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION STATING, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DISCONTINUE INCENTIVIZING AFTER FISCAL YEAR 2024 FOR ANY AUSTIN WATER CUSTOMER ALREADY REQUIRED BY CITY TO ORDINANCE TO INSTALL WATER REUSE SYSTEMS, OR CONNECT, CONNECT TO RECLAIMED WATER.
UM, I THOUGHT IT, I AM, I SO MOVE.
YEAH, I, I THINK I NEED TO HAVE A MOTION BECAUSE IT CREATED THE SECOND THING, AND THAT WAS SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN SILVERSTEIN SILVERSTEIN.
SO ON THE MEMO TO CITY COUNCIL, UH, YOU GO BY ROLL CALL.
PASSES 6 1 1 ON TO OR BACK TO ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, APPROVING A RESOLUTION FOR AUTHORIZING AUSTIN WATER TO CONTINUE A PILOT PROGRAM.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION
[01:50:01]
OR A MOTION? I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.COMMISSIONER JOHNSON, GO AHEAD, PLEASE.
CAN Y'ALL RE UH, REITERATE THE TIMELINE? SO SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, IF THIS WERE TO NOT PASS THE, OR THIS RECOMMENDATION, WERE NOT TO PASS THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.
IT, I ASSUME THERE'S ALREADY A TIMELINE OF THIS, YOU KNOW, GOING FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL, SINCE THE WATER BOARD HAS ALREADY, WATER COMMISSION HAS ALREADY VOTED ON IT.
IT'S SCHEDULED TO GO TO COUNCIL ON MARCH 7TH.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THEIR PRIMARY ON THIS.
IN SOME RESPECTS, IT WOULD STILL GO.
I'M HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION OR ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS IN ORDER TO GET US OUT OF HERE BY MIDNIGHT.
IS THERE A SECOND? SILVERSTEIN? SECOND.
SECOND FROM THE SAME MOTIVATION.
ACTUALLY, CAN, CAN YOU JUST STATE EXPLICITLY WHICH ITEM WE'RE VOTING ON RIGHT NOW? YOU ARE VOTING ON ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, APPROVING THE RESOLUTION, AUTHORIZING OFFICER MOORE TO CONTINUE THE PILOT PROGRAM.
OH, THAT WAS KARA GOTTI WITH THE NO.
[9. Presentation by Texas Gas Service regarding a quarterly update of the Central Texas Energy Efficiency Program by Jasmine King-Bush, Energy Efficiency Program Manager.]
WE'RE NOW ON TO DISCUSSION ITEM NUMBER NINE, PRESENTATION BY TEXAS GAS SERVICE REGARDING QUARTERLY UPDATE.THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND IN, UH, DEALING WITH US, UH, BADGE THE AUSTIN WATER PEOPLE THIS EVENING.
JASMINE KING BUSH MANAGER, ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, TEXAS GAS SERVICE, AND I HAVE WITH ME, UH, CHRISTIE BELL, SUPERVISOR, ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, TEXAS GAS SERVICE.
UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS AND STAFF AND ATTENDANCE.
UH, WE'RE JUST COMING FOR YOU TO GIVE OUR QUARTERLY REPORT FOR PROGRAM PERFORMANCE.
UH, WE GAVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM PREVIOUSLY, AND SO, UH, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS.
I THINK I SEE A NEW COMMISSIONER.
I'M NOT SURE IF COMMISSIONER TO THE LEFT OF STONE WAS HERE LAST TIME WHEN WE DID THE OVERVIEW.
SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING I COVER THAT YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ON, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK THEM.
UM, THE PROGRAM COVERS, UH, PREVIOUSLY WE COVERED ABOUT, UH, 17 CITIES.
WE'VE GROWN BY ABOUT TWO CITIES, UH, SINCE WE WERE LAST BEFORE YOU, UH, WITH GROWTH SERVICE AREA GROWTH AND PROGRAM GROWTH INTO PFLUGERVILLE, MARBLE FALLS AND MUSTANG RIDGE.
UH, WE DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE CUSTOMERS IN ALL OF THOSE AREAS, BUT WE HAVE GROWN THE PROGRAM INTO THOSE AREAS.
SO WHEN CUSTOMERS COME ONLINE, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM.
WE HAVE PROGRAMS THAT COVER RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, UM, LOW INCOME AND RESIDENTIAL NEW CONSTRUCTION, UH, INCENTIVIZING THE EFFICIENT AND COST EFFECTIVE USE OF HIGHER EFFICIENCY TECHNOLOGIES AND MEASURES.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO OFFER CUSTOMER EDUCATION AND CUSTOMER OUTREACH THROUGH EVENTS, CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT IN, IN THE PUBLIC.
THE SLIDE THREE, UH, GIVES PROGRAM PERFORMANCE FOR 2023 BUDGET AGAINST ACTUALS.
UH, THE FORMAT OF THIS IS CHANGED JUST A BIT.
UH, COMMISSIONER ROBBINS ASKED FOR US TO GIVE PERFORMANCE AGAINST BUDGET RATHER THAN PREVIOUS YEARS.
AND SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE RESPONDED TO THAT REQUEST.
UH, SO YOU'LL SEE THAT OUR, UM, THE, UH, DARKER, UH, THANK YOU BAR.
SURE THING, MR. COMMISSIONER ROBBINS, UH, THE DARKER BAR, UH, SHOWS WHAT THE 2023 ACTUALS WERE.
THE LIGHTER BAR IS A 2023 BUDGET.
UH, WE DID HAVE, UM, SOME STAFF CHANGES LAST YEAR.
UH, UM, CHRISTIE JOINED US IN NOVEMBER AND, UH, I WOULDN'T THROW HER, UH, IN THE DEEP END TODAY.
SO, UH, SO WE'VE BEEN MAKING A FEW PROGRAM TWEAKS, UM, AND RE REALIGNING WHAT OUR PROGRAM INTENTION AND, UH, GOALS ARE AND HOW WE WILL REACH
[01:55:01]
THOSE.SO YOU'LL SEE SOME DIFFERENT NUMBERS, UH, THAN PREVIOUS YEARS AS WE LOOK AND MAKE SOME SHIFTS THERE.
UM, AND, UH, IF YOU HAVE, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE, THE PERFORMANCE AS FAR AS BUDGET VERSUS ACTUALS, I'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
ACTUALLY, I DID HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE BUDGETED ABOUT $3.5 MILLION, AND I'M TRYING TO DO MATH VERY QUICKLY IN MY HEAD AND IT'S FAILING ME, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE YOU SPENT A LITTLE LESS THAN HALF, GIVE OR TAKE.
UM, WHAT, WHAT WAS KIND OF THE MAIN DRIVER ON THAT? I MEAN, 'CAUSE I SEE OBVIOUSLY IN THE RESIDENTIAL SPACE, YES, IT WAS ABOUT HALF OF YOUR, YOUR, YOUR PLAN NUMBER.
UM, BUT DOES IT SUBSEGMENT FURTHER DOWN IN TERMS OF WHAT IT WAS YOU THOUGHT CONSUMERS WERE GOING TO DO? LIKE, WERE YOU EXPECTING A LOT MORE TANKLESS WATER HEATERS THAT ARE UP HERE AND YOU ENDED UP WITH MORE DRIER STUBS THAT ARE DOWN HERE? WE EXPECTED THE ABILITY TO, UH, OFFER THE REBATES IN AREAS OF GROWTH OUTSIDE OF, SAY, THE CI CITY OF AUSTIN CITY LIMITS.
AND THAT ABILITY WAS KIND OF HAMPERED A LITTLE BIT.
UM, SO AS, UH, WE ARE ABLE TO, UH, GO CITY BY CITY TO GET THE APPROVAL.
SO PFLUGERVILLE BEING, UH, SAMPLE, WE HAD CUSTOMERS IN FLU PFLUGERVILLE.
WE DIDN'T HAVE A PROGRAM, SO WE COULDN'T OFFER THAT, BUT WE HAD INCLUDED THAT GROWTH IN THE, IN THE, UM, PROJECTIONS.
SO THIS YEAR, 2024, YOU'LL SEE VERY DIFFERENT OUTCOMES.
WE'RE ALREADY OUTPACING, UH, WHAT WE DID PREVIOUS YEAR.
AND OUR COMMERCIAL, UH, DIRECT INSTALL PROGRAM IS ADMINISTERED BY CLEAR RESULT.
UH, THIS PAST YEAR, WE ALSO MADE A SMALL CHANGE TO THAT PROGRAM.
UH, WE WANTED TO ENGAGE, UM, OUR COMMERCIAL TRANSPORT CUSTOMERS INTO A STRATEGIC ENERGY MANAGEMENT, UH, PROGRAM THAT THE OKLAHOMA PROGRAM CURRENTLY HAS GOING AND HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL.
AND SO WE CHALLENGED, UH, THE, UH, CLEAR RESULT, THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR TO COME UP WITH A PLAN ON HOW WE COULD USE FUNDS ABOUT 28,000.
UM, WE HELD BACK FROM THE, THE FULL BUDGET FOR COMMERCIAL DIRECT INSTALL TO SEE HOW WE CAN ENGAGE AND PROVIDE CONSULTANCY TO AGENCIES SUCH AS, UH, A SCHOOL, UM, A LARGE BUSINESS TO DO, UH, A WALKTHROUGH OF THEIR SYSTEMS AND GIVE THEM, UM, TIPS ON HOW THEY CAN, UM, MAXIMIZE THEIR NATURAL GAS SERVICE USAGE AND ALSO SEE REDUCTION IN THEIR BILL.
AND SO WE'RE STILL BUILDING THAT OUT.
UH, WE HAVE A TEAM ASSEMBLED AND THEY'RE WORKING ON THAT.
BUT WE DID HOLD ABOUT ABOUT $28,000 FOR THAT AT, UH, THROUGH THE DIRECT INSTALL PROGRAM.
WE'VE SEEN GREAT SUCCESS IN, UM, SMALLER COMMERCIAL DRY CLEANERS, UM, UH, SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, MOTELS, SMALLER HOTELS USING THE WEATHER STRIPPING, SHOWER HEAD, LOW FLOW SHOWER HEADS, AERATORS, ET CETERA.
AND THEN JUST A COUPLE OF HIGHLIGHTS, UH, ON HIGH ON, UH, SLIDE FIVE, I WON'T READ THROUGH THEM, BUT THESE ARE PROJECTS THAT, UH, CLEAR RESULT COMPLETED ON BEHALF OF THE PROGRAM.
AND SOME OF THESE DO INCLUDE, UM, INCOME CONTINGENT HOMES OR HOUSING, I SHOULD SAY SLIDE SIX.
THIS IS, UH, UH, A REVISIT OF WHAT WE PRESENTED BEFORE.
OUR LOW INCOME PROGRAM, FOR UNDERSTANDABLE REASONS, HAS GREAT PARTICIPATION YEAR OVER YEAR.
UH, BY JULY, THE FUNDS ALLOCATED TO THE PROGRAM WE'RE EXHAUSTED.
UH, AND SO, UH, WE DO HOLD A SMALL AMOUNT BACK FOR COLD WEATHER, UH, REQUESTS THAT COME IN FROM THE AGENCIES THAT WE PART PARTNER WITH.
BUT OVERALL, ACROSS 2023, WE REPLACED ABOUT 123 APPLIANCES, AND WE UTILIZE OVER 336,000 IN PROGRAM FUNDS.
AND OUR BUDGET IS USUALLY ABOUT 300, UH, 300,000 FOR THIS PROGRAM.
AND THEN WE REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY IN A VARIETY OF WAYS.
UH, IN Q2, UH, Q3 AND Q4, WE HELD OUR HOLIDAY DRYER PROMO WHERE WE INCENTIVIZE CUSTOMERS TO PURCHASE, UH, HIGH, HIGH EFFICIENT DRYERS.
SO DRYERS THAT HAVE A MOISTURE SENSOR THAT THE MACHINE CAN SENSE WHEN THE CLOTHES ARE DRY, SO IT'S NOT CONTINUOUSLY RUNNING AND THEY'RE DRAINING ON THE, UM, ENERGY SOURCE.
AND SO, UH, THIS IS JUST A SAMPLE OF, OF ONE OF THE MANY, UM, UH, PIECES OF COLLATERAL AND COPY THAT WENT OUT DURING THAT TIME.
UM, IF YOU WANNA SEE MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM, UM, AND LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT, WHAT WE OFFER, THERE'S A LINK THERE TO DO SO.
AND THAT WOULD CONCLUDE MY PRESENTATION FOR THIS EVENING.
THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? SEEMS LIKE PEOPLE
OH, SOMEBODY, UH, THERE IT IS.
HEY, UM, I KNOW THAT WE WERE WORKING ON A WEBSITE FOR INCENTIVES.
I KNOW, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY WAS WORKING ON ONE.
UM, AND I HAD PUT THIS REQUEST IN A FEW MONTHS AGO, I THINK BACK IN OCTOBER, UM, FOR ALL THE UTILITIES
[02:00:01]
TO HAVE LIKE A WEBSITE THAT WAS A CENTRAL LOCATION FOR ALL INCENTIVES.AND I SAW, UM, THAT AUSTIN ENERGY PROVIDED A LINK.
UM, I WAS JUST QUESTIONING LIKE, IF I HAD QUESTIONS ON THAT, UM, WHERE WOULD I ADDRESS THEM? AND WHEN YOU'RE, YOU'RE ASKING, UM, COMMISSIONER CAROTTI, YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT ACROSS UTILITIES WHO YOU WOULD YES.
ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? I'M, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE LENGTH THAT AUSTIN ENERGY PROVIDED.
IT WAS BACK IN DECEMBER, I THINK IT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF MONTHS.
SO, UM, BUT I JUST HAD SOME, I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT, MAYBE I ADD THAT AT THE END, MAYBE WE HAVE TO REVISIT ALL THAT.
UM, SO I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THIS, BUT YOU WERE, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT INCENTIVES, SO I JUST THOUGHT I'D BRING IT UP SO I DON'T MEAN TO HIJACK YOUR PORTION HERE.
COMMISSIONER KARA GOTTI? YES, MA'AM.
SO WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING ABOUT THE WEBSITE.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE A MEETING SET UP THIS THURSDAY, UM, TO DISCUSS, BUT THAT'S ONLY ON THE CITY SIDE, SO THAT'S WHAT OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.
SO WE ARE STILL IN THE DISCOVERY PHASE TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO IN REFERENCE TO THAT.
SO I CAN CIRCLE BACK WITH YOU OFFLINE, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE ARE IN REFERENCE TO THAT.
SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO HIJACK THIS ON THAT, SO, PARDON MY INTERRUPTION ON THAT ONE.
COMMISSIONER ROBBINS, YOU SEEM TO HAVE A QUESTION, ACTUALLY, JUST A VERY BRIEF STATEMENT.
UM, WE HAVE THREE WEIGHTY ITEMS TO TAKE UP, AND I DO NOT WANT TO, UH, TAKE ANY MORE TIME CRITICIZING THE GAS COMPANY'S PROGRAMS THAN I HAVE IN THE PAST YEAR.
UH, SO CONSIDER HOW LUCKY YOU ARE EVERY DAY.
COMMISSIONER ROBS, HAVE GREAT NIGHT.
UH, I'M NOT SEEING ANY OTHER HANDS RAISED ONLINE, SO WE'RE GONNA GO ON
[10. Discussion regarding the creation of a pilot program of multifamily supportive housing projects and assist with the Passive House certification. (Sponsors: Farmer, Robbins, Stone)]
AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER 10, DISCUSSION REGARDING THE CREATION OF A PILOT PROGRAM OF MULTIFAMILY SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.UM, THIS IS SPONSORED BY COMMISSIONER FARMER AND ROBINS, AND I LENT MY NAME TO IT AS WELL.
SO ARE, ARE YOU SPEAKING TO IT, MR. FARMER? YEAH.
ALL RIGHT, THEN I WILL HAND YOU THE FLOOR FROM HERE.
HAVE TO LET THEM KNOW THAT THIS TIME TO CHANGE.
UM, LEMME TRY TO GET THROUGH THIS RELATIVELY QUICKLY.
UM, THIS IS BACKGROUND FOR A RESOLUTION THAT, UH, MAY COME FORTH NEXT MONTH.
UM, IT'S STILL, THERE'S SOME RECENT DISCUSSIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING LATER THIS WEEK ON IT, UH, SLIDE.
SO HEATING AND COOLING OF BUILDINGS ACCOUNTS FOR A QUARTER OF GLOBAL CARBON EMISSIONS SLIDE.
SO, UH, PASSIVE HOUSE IS, UH, BASICALLY LIKE THE MOST RIGOROUS ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARD.
IT'S, UH, CODE MANDATED, UH, IN VARIOUS, UH, JURISDICTIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, UM, INCENTIVIZED ELSEWHERE.
UH, ESSENTIALLY, UM, INSULATE OVER INSULATE ABOUT DOUBLE CODE INSULATION HERE, UH, ABOUT 10 TIMES TIGHTER THAN AIR, UH, CODE, UH, 10 TIMES MORE AIRTIGHT THAN CODE FOR BUILDINGS.
UH, OPTIMIZING SOLAR HEAT GAIN.
AND THEN YOU'RE CONSTANTLY BRINGING IN VENTILATION WITH HEAT RECOVERY SO THAT WAY YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, GET MUCH BETTER, UH, INDOOR AIR QUALITY, FRESH AIR.
BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GET A VERY AIRTIGHT BUILDING, YOU NEED TO BRING IN FRESH AIR.
AND THEN THE HEAT RECOVERY, UH, KIND OF NEGATES THE PENALTY OF LIKE OPENING A WINDOW INSTEAD OF, UH, VENTILATING.
SO THESE ARE KIND OF THE, THE BASIC TENANTS OF PASSIVE HOUSE CONSTRUCTION.
UM, THERE ARE 50 STORY, UH, HIGH RISE APARTMENTS AND OFFICE BUILDINGS IN NEW YORK AND CANADA AND EUROPE, UH, USING THIS.
IT'S NOT JUST FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
UH, MULTIFAMILY MIDRISE IS KIND OF THE SWEET SPOT FROM A AFFORDABLE, UH, FROM LIKE A KIND OF FIRST COST ROI PERSPECTIVE.
UH, BUT YEAH, CONTINUOUS INSULATION, NO THERMAL BRIDGES, WHICH IS IF YOU HAVE LIKE
[02:05:01]
GLASS OR STEEL RUNNING FROM THE INSIDE TO OUTSIDE, THEN YOU'RE KINDA SHORT CIRCUITING YOUR INSULATION.UM, CONTROLLING YOUR SOLAR HEAT GAIN IS REALLY IMPORTANT HERE.
SO NOT A LOT OF SOUTH FACING WINDOWS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFITS TO THIS, UH, ONE OF THEM BEING A BIG GRID BENEFIT.
SO IT DRAMATICALLY REDUCES YOUR PEAK LOAD.
SO, UH, AS A LOT OF YOU KNOW, THERE ARE EXPENSIVE AND DIRTY POWER PLANTS THAT NEED TO GET TURNED ON IN THE, UH, AFTERNOON, EVENING.
TYPICALLY HERE IN THE SUMMER, UH, THESE BUILDINGS BUILT TO THESE STANDARDS HAVE MUCH LOWER PEAKS AND ALSO, UH, LATER PEAKS, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY ARE HELPING THE UTILITIES, UH, TO KEEP COSTS EFFECTIVE AND LOWER THEIR CARBON UH, EMISSIONS.
THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFITS TO THE OCCUPANTS AND THE OWNERS OF THE BUILDINGS.
THEY, BECAUSE THEY'RE AIRTIGHT, THEY DON'T HAVE DUST, THEY'RE MUCH MORE AIR, UH, MUCH QUIETER, UH, MUCH MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT.
SO COSTS ARE LOWER, BUT ALSO MORE, UH, REGULAR AND MORE CONTROLLED.
THEY'RE MUCH HEALTHIER FROM INDOOR AIR QUALITY STANDPOINT.
UM, NO UNWANTED MOISTURE OR ODORS, UH, PARTICULARLY BETWEEN UNITS AND MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS.
UM, AND THEN THEY'RE MUCH MORE RESILIENT, SO THEY HOLD ONTO THE ENERGY.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT LIKE A YETI COOLER VERSUS, UH, YOUR GRANDPARENTS, I GLUE COOLER, MUCH BETTER INSULATION, MUCH MORE AIRTIGHT, UH, IT'S GONNA HOLD THAT ENERGY FOR MUCH LONGER.
AND A LONG-TERM POWER OUTAGE, UH, OR EVEN A SHORT-TERM POWER OUTAGE.
AND THEN THEY ALSO JUST, UH, ARE ABLE TO STAY COOL OR HOT IN EXTREME WEATHER, LIKE WE'RE SEEING MORE AND MORE OF HERE.
SO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, UH, HAS A STEP CODE PLAN.
UH, BASICALLY THEY CALL IT THE HIGH PERFORMANCE STAIRCASE.
SO LOOKING AT IACC 2009 AS SORT OF LIKE A BASELINE MOVING TO 2012.
AND THEN ENERGY STAR, MORE RECENT ENERGY STARS, UH, ZERO ENERGY READY HOME.
OUR CURRENT CODE HERE IS IACC 2021.
SO WE'RE MUCH CLOSER TO ENERGY STAR THAN WE ARE AT ICC 2012, UM, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OUR AIR TIGHTNESS REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDINGS.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE AT THE END IS SORT OF FIES.
UH, AND THEN THE FINAL ONE IS VIA ZERO, WHERE YOU HAVE ONSITE, UH, PRODUCTION.
UM, SO THIS IS PARTLY JUST TO SAY THAT THIS IS SORT OF ON A PATH, YOU KNOW, UH, THAT IS BEING TRACKED AND INCENTIVIZED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND IS, UH, YOU KNOW, WELL VETTED AND HAS A LOT OF, UH, BRAIN POWER BEHIND IT AND IS NOW BEING MANDATED MORE AND MORE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO 20 STATES HAVE, UH, POINTS IN THEIR QAPS, WHICH IS THE LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT SCORING.
SO, UH, IF YOU'RE IN PENNSYLVANIA AND YOU DO A MULTIFAMILY AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT WITH PASSIVE HOUSE, YOU GET 13 BONUS POINTS, WHICH IS WHY ABOUT 80% OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN PENNSYLVANIA IS PASSIVE HOUSE CERTIFIED.
UM, SIMILAR POINTS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
SO IN MASSACHUSETTS IN 27 AND 2018, THEY CREATED A PROGRAM, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING, UH, CRIBBING, WHERE, UH, THEY BASICALLY FUND THE STATE CLEAN ENERGY CENTER ALONG WITH THE LOCAL UTILITIES, CREATED A POT OF MONEY AND PUT FORTH THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS THAT WERE CERTIFYING WITH THIS STANDARD WOULD GET $4,000 A UNIT, UM, AS A WAY TO BASICALLY CREATE LIKE A SUITE OF PROJECTS THAT THEY COULD STUDY.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST COST? WHAT'S THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT? IS IT REALLY DOING ALL THE THINGS THAT I JUST SAID IT WAS DOING? UM, NEXT SLIDE.
SO THEY FUNDED, SORRY, THIS IS REALLY SMALL FOR US BACK HERE.
UH, SO THEY, THEY FUNDED EIGHT PROJECTS, BUT 550 UNITS.
WHAT THEY FOUND WAS THAT THE INCREMENTAL COST, SO THAT'S THE COST FROM BUILDING TO CODE VERSUS BUILDING TO PASSIVE HOUSE, WAS ABOUT TWO, 2% MORE FROM A HARD COST STANDPOINT.
UM, FOR ANYBODY WHO IS WATCHING THIS ON, UH, BROADCAST, UH, YOU CAN SEE THESE SLIDES ON THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION WEBSITE.
OH, NO, THANK, THANK YOU, PAUL.
UM, SO OVER EIGHT PROJECTS, THE INCREMENTAL COST INCREASE WAS ABOUT 2%.
THE ENERGY USE IN THOSE BUILDINGS WAS ABOUT 50 TO 70% BELOW THEIR PEERS.
MASSACHUSETTS HAS A, UH, BUILDING ENERGY, UM, EXCLOSURE, EXCLOSURE, UH, THEY BUILDINGS HAVE TO
[02:10:01]
TELL THE STATE HOW MUCH ENERGY THEY'RE USING, MUDDLING MY WORDS.UM, SO THEY HAVE REALLY GOOD DATA ON HOW MUCH, UH, ALL THE BUILDINGS AND NEW CONSTRUCTION IN THE STATE ARE USING AND ARE ABLE TO COMPARE THESE EIGHT BUILDINGS WITH CLOSE PEERS, UH, YOU KNOW, DOWN THE STREET, UH, OF A SIMILAR SIZE AND OCCUPANCY TYPE.
SO FROM THAT PILOT PROJECT, THEY THEN, IT WAS VERY, IT WAS CONSIDERED A, A, YOU KNOW, WIDE SUCCESS.
THEY THEN OPENED UP THE SAME FUNDING AS A GENERAL INCENTIVE PROGRAM TO ANY MULTIFAMILY BUILDING IN THE STATE FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, AND NOW HAVE IT AS A STRETCH CODE, WHICH HAS BEEN ADOPTED BY ALL THE CITIES UP THERE.
UH, AND SO NOW THIS INCENTIVE, OR THIS, UH, CERTIFICATION IS MANDATED IN MASSACHUSETTS IN ABOUT 70% OF THE POPULATION OF THE STATE.
SO ALL PROJECTS ABOVE 12,000 SQUARE FEET THAT ARE MULTIFAMILY ARE REQUIRED FOR ENERGY CODE COMPLIANCE TO MEET PASSIVE HOUSE STANDARD, WHICH HAS ACTUALLY BEEN A HUGE BENEFIT BECAUSE NOW THE INSPECTORS JUST LOOK FOR A PASSIVE HOUSE CERTIFICATION AND ARE ABLE TO KIND OF OFFLOAD THAT, UH, BURDEN TO THE THIRD PARTY VERIFICATION.
SO IN PENNSYLVANIA, I MENTIONED THEY HAD POINTS FOR THEIR QIP.
SO THE PENNSYLVANIA HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY, UH, KEPT REALLY GOOD DATA ON THIS AND FOUND THAT THE CONSTRUCTION COST PREMIUM FOR THE PASSIVE HOUSE MULTIFAMILY PROJECTS VERSUS CONVENTIONAL PROJECTS WAS A 5.8%, UH, DELTA IN THE FIRST YEAR, THIS WAS, THIS PREDATED MASSACHUSETTS.
SO SOME OF THAT, UH, LEARNING TRICKLED UP, BUT THEN IT WENT DOWN TO 1.6% IN THE SECOND YEAR.
AND IN THE THIRD YEAR OF THEIR QAP WITH PASSIVE HOUSE INCENTIVES, THE PASSIVE HOUSE PROJECTS WERE ACTUALLY CHEAPER ON A PER SQUARE FOOT BASIS.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, THEY HAD THAT 50 TO 70% LOWER ENERGY USE FOR THE DURATION OF THE BUILDING.
UM, SO THERE'S A, A HUGE LEARNING CURVE, UH, AND INNOVATION CURVE BY PROJECT TEAMS. SO THE ARCHITECTS, DEVELOPERS, BUILDERS, AS WELL AS THE, UH, PRODUCT SUPPLIERS AND THE INSTALLERS.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THE MORE THAT YOU GET THESE PROJECTS ON THE GROUND, THE LOWER THE COSTS COME DOWN AND YOU REALLY GET THIS MARKET SHIFT, WHICH IS A BIG PART OF WHAT THAT MASSACHUSETTS PILOT PROJECT WAS TRYING TO DO.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND THE CITY OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY AND, UH, TRYING TO LOOK AT LIKE, HOW DO WE BRING THIS PROGRAM HERE, UM, HOW DO WE FUND IT? WHO'S RUNNING IT? IT KIND OF FALLS WEIRDLY IN BETWEEN THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM, WHICH DEALS WITH, UH, EXISTING BUILDINGS AND THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, WHICH GREEN DEALS WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION, BUT HAS ITS OWN RATING SYSTEM.
UM, AND THEN THE OFFICE SUSTAINABILITY OR OFFICE OF RESILIENCY OR, UH, RHDA AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAMS. SO IT'S KIND OF LIKE DOESN'T FIT NEATLY INTO, UH, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT ALL HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT IT.
BUT, UH, AT THE REQUEST OF AUSTIN ENERGY, WE RAN A FEW, UH, STUDIES OF PROJECTS THAT, UH, WE HAVE IN-HOUSE THAT HAD ALREADY DONE FEASIBILITIES.
UM, SO THESE ARE ALL PROJECTS THAT ARE EITHER UNDER, UNDER CONSTRUCTION OR COMPLETE, UM, TWO IN AUSTIN, ONE IN HOUSTON.
UM, BUT OF THE SCALE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS, THAT WOULD BE, UH, SORT OF THE TARGET FOR THIS PILOT PROGRAM.
SO WE SAW BETWEEN A 20 AND 30% ENERGY USE REDUCTION ANNUALLY.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT EUI, SO THAT'S A TYPICAL ENERGIES BENCHMARK BASED ON A KI BTU PER SQUARE FOOT.
JUST A WAY TO KIND OF, UM, COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES ACROSS PROJECTS.
UH, DEPENDING ON THE PROJECT YOU'RE SEEING, YOU KNOW, YOU SEE 30% REDUCTION, 25% REDUCTION, 20% REDUCTION.
UM, THIS IS NOW THE MASSACHUSETTS PROGRAM WAS 10 YEARS AGO, SO YOU KNOW, OUR CODES ARE BETTER, LIKE OUR CODE MINIMUM IS BETTER, RIGHT? SO THE DELTA IS NOT QUITE AS STRONG, BUT STILL SIGNIFICANT ENERGY USE REDUCTION FOR WHAT WE THINK TO BE ABOUT THE SAME, LIKE ONE TO 2%, UH, FIRST COST DELTA.
SO ANOTHER PIECE OF THAT IS THAT, UM, ALL THREE OF THESE PROJECTS HAVE OPEN AIR CORRIDORS, WHICH IS, UM, FINE, IT'S NOT A PROBLEM FROM A CODE STANDPOINT, BUT IT BECOMES REALLY DIFFICULT FOR AIR CEILING AND WITH A PASSIVE OP PROJECT.
AND SO IF YOU ENCLOSE THOSE CORRIDORS, YOU GET AN ADDITIONAL 25% EUI REDUCTION ON ALL THESE PROJECTS.
SO THAT'S NOT QUITE LIKE A FAIR CODE TO PASSIVE HOUSE COMPARISON EDITION, BUT IT IS WORTHY OF NOTE.
[02:15:02]
SO THIS IS THE PITCH, OR, OR WAS THE PITCH, UH, $4 MILLION, WHICH WOULD BE NETTED OUT OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS? SO AFFORDABLE HOUSING TAKES QUITE A WHILE TO SORT OF RUN DOWN.YOU HAVE, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM NEEDS TO GET THE LAND, THEN THEY GO IN FOR THE QAP, THEN YOU HAVE TO DESIGN THE PROJECT, THEN YOU HAVE TO BUILD THE PROJECT.
SO $4,000 A UNIT PAID OUT TO THE DEVELOPER.
IF YOU PAY A THOUSAND DOLLARS AT COMMITMENT, 1500 AT DESIGN CERTIFICATION, WHICH IS MORE OR LESS PERMITTING, AND THEN A FINAL 1500 APP PROJECT CERTIFICATION, WHICH WOULD BE THE END OF THE PROJECT, THAT'S AT LEAST FOUR YEARS.
UH, YOU KNOW, THAT $4,000 IS GONNA GET METERED OUT OVER FOUR YEARS.
SO WE'RE ASKING FOR $4 MILLION, WHICH WOULD BE ROUGHLY OVER THE NEXT, UH, FOUR YEARS OF BUDGET PROJECTS WOULD HAVE TO COMMIT TO OPENING THEIR BOOKS FOR, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH COST DID THIS ADD TO THE PROJECT? WAS THERE ACTUAL BENEFIT TO THE OWNER, UH, IN TERMS OF INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RESILIENCY? WERE THERE ARE BENEFITS TO THE GRID? IS THIS SOMETHING WE WANT TO KEEP DOING LIKE MASSACHUSETTS DID? DO WE WANNA OPEN IT UP TO, UH, A LARGER POOL? THE OTHER THING THAT'S REALLY NICE ABOUT THIS IS SINCE THE MASSACHUSETTS PROGRAM HAPPENED, WE HAD THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT.
SO NOW ALL OF THESE PROJECTS, IF WE WERE TO DO THIS PROGRAM, WOULD RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL $5,000 PER UNIT IN TAX CREDIT FUNDING, UM, UNDER THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, BECAUSE THE ZERO ENERGY READY HOME PROGRAM, YOU AUTOMATICALLY GET THAT CERTIFICATION IF YOU CERTIFY WITH PASSIVE HOUSE.
SO THE PROGRAM WE'RE PITCHING IS KIND OF PIGGYBACKING ON FEDERAL FUNDING.
SO CITY WOULD GIVE $4,000 A UNIT, FEDERAL FUNDING WOULD GIVE AN ADDITIONAL FIVE, SO $9,000 PER UNIT TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS.
WOULD THERE BE ANY, UH, REDUCTION IN CODE ENFORCEMENT? UM, THERE, SO IT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION.
LIKE IN MASSACHUSETTS, THEY SAW, UH, THEY, THE CODE INSPECTORS WERE EXCITED ABOUT IT BECAUSE THEY NO LONGER HAD TO DEAL WITH ENERGY EFFICIENCY AS SOMETHING THAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT.
THEY JUST GOT TO TAKE THAT OFF THEIR PLATE.
SO THIS IS THIRD PARTY CERTIFIED? IT'S THIRD PARTY CERTIFIED.
UM, THIS WOULD, BECAUSE THIS WOULD ONLY BE, YOU KNOW, FIVE OR EIGHT PROJECTS THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, MINIMAL BENEFIT I GUESS TO THE CITY.
BUT IF IT WAS ROLLED OUT MORE WIDELY, THEN I THINK THAT THAT'S THE THING THAT HAS, I'VE HEARD, HAS BEEN A BIG BENEFIT IN OTHER PLACES WHERE IT'S BECOME MANDATED.
BUT THAT, I THINK, AGAIN, THIS PROJECT WOULD TAKE FIVE OR SIX YEARS TO BEAR FRUIT.
AND YOU KNOW, BY THEN, SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE LOOKING PRETTY FAR DOWN THE LINE IN TERMS OF LIKE, UM, NEXT SLIDE.
SO THE KIND OF BACKGROUND IS LIKE WE NEED PROOF OF CONCEPT OF THESE PROJECTS AND THIS WILL BE HELPING FOOT THE BILL.
UH, IT'S ALSO HELPING, UH, OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPERS BASICALLY PAY DOWN THEIR ENERGY BILLS INDEFINITELY ON THESE PROJECTS.
SO THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN LIKE AN EIGHT AND 10 YEAR RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
AND THEN THEIR BILLS ARE, ARE MUCH LOWER AND THEIR RESIDENT AND OCCUPANT HEALTH IS MUCH BETTER FOR THE LIFE OF THEIR BUILDINGS.
UM, THERE'S A BIG MATCH BY FEDERAL TAX CREDITS, AND THEN IT'S ALSO CREATING MARKET SHIFT.
SO EVEN IF WE ONLY DO THESE EIGHT PROJECTS NOW, YOU HAVE EIGHT OF THESE VERY ENERGY EFFICIENT, UH, CERTIFIED BUILDINGS ON THE GROUND, WHICH MEANS YOU HAVE EIGHT DEVELOPERS, ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS, UH, INSTALLERS WHO ALL KNOW HOW TO DO THIS STUFF NOW WORKING IN OUR MARKET, AND IT'S GONNA MAKE ALL OF THE PROJECTS THAT THEY DO FROM THERE ON OUT, EVEN IF THEY AREN'T CERTIFYING MUCH BETTER AND MUCH MORE EFFICIENT.
UM, AND THEN YEAH, PROOF OF CONCEPT, LIKE IS THIS ACTUALLY DELIVERING WHAT WE WANT TO DO? UM, NEXT SLIDE.
SO, SO NOW, SO THERE, THE NEXT TWO PIECES IN HERE ARE, UH, THE RESOLUTIONS.
THERE WAS THE DRAFT RESOLUTION THAT, UH, WE WORKED UP WITH.
THERE'S A, UM, SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS WORKING GROUP FOR THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COALITION THAT WORKED THIS UP WITH ME AND COUNCIL POOL'S OFFICE.
AND THEN THERE'S KIND OF A COUNTER PROPOSAL, UM, FROM AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO THE INITIAL PROPOSAL WAS WHAT WE JUST LAID OUT.
AND THEN THE COUNTER PROPOSAL FROM AUSTIN ENERGY IS, UM, WANTING TO DO A STUDY TO LOOK AT, UH, THIS STUFF AS OPPOSED TO LIKE, LIKE SORT OF TAKE A STEP BACK, NOT FUND IT YET, AND DO A STUDY LOOKING AT IT.
UM, SO THAT IS THE PRESENTATION.
I'M SURE THERE'S SOME QUESTIONS.
WE'VE GOT PEOPLE FROM AUSTIN ENERGY HERE CAN TALK ABOUT BACKGROUND AND THEIR TAKE ON ALL OF THIS.
UM, AND THEN I KNOW IT'S LATE, SO IF I COULD LEAD OFF OF THE QUESTION FIRST, WHILE RICHARD WORKS HIS WAY UP TO THE, TO THE PODIUM, UM,
[02:20:02]
I'LL, I'LL BE FRANK, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT'S OVER MY HEAD THAT YOU GUYS TALK ABOUT AND I LOVE YOU FOLKS FOR IT.UM, BUT IF, IF WE COULD PUT THIS INTO LAYMAN'S TERMS, PASSIVE HOUSE, THE IDEA IS YOU ARE CONSIDERING THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND YOU AND ALL YOU, EVERYTHING YOU'RE PUTTING INTO THE HOME AND IT'S DESIGN AND EVERYTHING ELSE TO TRY TO MAXIMIZE ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
IS THAT KIND OF THE GOAL? SO YEAH, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, LIVING DOWN HERE IN AUSTIN, I WOULD NATURALLY NOT PUT A GIANT BANK OF WINDOWS ON THE WEST SIDE OF MY HOUSE.
SO THAT'S MORE OR LESS WHAT PASSIVE HOUSE IS.
AND THEN YOU'VE OBVIOUSLY GOT A LOT OF DETAIL, BUT I GOTTA READ THROUGH A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT THAT'S JUST SURE.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I KIND OF UNDERSTOOD THAT AND RICHARD HAS NOW MADE IT UP TO THE PODIUM.
YEAH, I THINK, I THINK LIKE YOU SAID, IT'S BASICALLY JUST LIKE A VERY, IT'S THE MOST AGGRESSIVE ENERGY CODE THAT, THAT, THAT WE HAVE.
UM, BEFORE RICHARD STARTS, UH, I WOULD JUST LIKE, SO JUST SO I DON'T FORGET AND JUST SO WE STAY ON TRACK, COULD WE POSSIBLY POST THIS FOR A VOTE AT THE NEXT MEETING? MS. GOODWIN, I MEAN, SORRY,
YEAH, I MEAN, WE CAN CARRY THIS OVER INTO THE AGENDA NEXT TIME AND THEN WE WOULD JUST STRIP OUT THE PRESENTATION.
YOU WOULD HAVE YOUR RESOLUTION SITTING HERE, RIGHT.
BE ABLE TO BE DISCUSSED, BUT IT HAS TO TO BE WORDED SO THAT IT'S POSTED AS A VOTE, THAT'S ALL.
SO, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY, FORGIVE ME RICHARD.
SO BASICALLY YOU WOULD JUST GO ON AHEAD AND YOU WOULD SUBMIT THIS THING AGAIN FOR NEXT MONTH AND YOU WOULD SAY A RESOLUTION TO AND, AND COME UP WITH YOUR POSTING LANGUAGE AND SUBMIT THE RESOLUTION FORM.
UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
RICHARD GENESEE, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS, AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, IF YOU'RE GONNA POSTPONE THIS, AND MAYBE I ACTUALLY WON'T COMMENT ON IT.
I DO THINK THAT, UM, IT IS A LITTLE PREMATURE TO, UH, TO ACTUALLY SUGGEST SPECIFIC AMOUNTS, UH, FOR THIS.
I THINK THAT THERE'S STILL WORK TO BE DONE TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY, UM, HOW THIS WOULD GO ABOUT.
AND, UH, I PERSONALLY THINK THAT $4 MILLION IS NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S A LOT FOR A PILOT, UH, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE DO.
SO I THINK WE WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER OUR PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT'S BEEN DRAFTED TO DATE.
UM, AND, UH, IF YOU'RE GOING TO MOVE IT TO THE NEXT MEETING, I THINK THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.
IS THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? THIS IS SILVERSTEIN.
I THINK THIS IS A, I APPRECIATE WHOEVER BROUGHT THIS UP, BRING IT UP.
I UNDERSTAND AUSTIN ENERGY WANTING TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT HOW MUCH WE SPEND ON IT, BUT LET'S NOT OVERSTUDY IT AND DELAY GOOD THINGS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED THEM.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS TO, UH, YEAH, THIS IS TARA GOTTI.
UM, I TOO, UH, WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE EFFICIENT HOUSING IN THE AREA, UM, EVERYWHERE ACTUALLY.
UM, MY ONE QUESTION IS, UH, WHERE IS THE FUNDING COMING FROM? SO WE HAVE, IN THE RESOLUTION, WE, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT BEING PART OF THE, UH, WEATHERIZATION AND EFFICIENCY PROGRAM.
THAT SEEMS LIKE THE PLACE THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE FOR IT.
UM, BUT I THINK THERE'S, THAT'S LIKE AN OPEN DISCUSSION AS TO WHERE THAT COMES FROM, THAT WE WANT MORE INPUT FROM AUSTIN ENERGY ON, I SEE A NEW FACE AT THE PODIUM.
I AM THE DIRECTOR OF GREEN BUILDING AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY.
UM, AND I JUST THOUGHT WE MIGHT OFFER, UH, A COUPLE COMMENTS ON WHY WE ARE SUGGESTING THAT WE DO NEED TO STUDY THIS A LITTLE BIT BEFORE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE PROGRAM.
SO FOR CONTEXT, THERE ARE NO MULTI-FAMILY, PASSIVE HOUSE THAT I'M AWARE OF IN A HOT, HUMID CLIMATE ZONE.
SO WE DO HAVE SOME CONCERN OF THIS NOT, NOT BEING AS WELL UNDERSTOOD IN OUR CLIMATE ZONE, UM, AS WE WOULD HOPE.
SO, YES, IT'S A PILOT AND WE WOULD FIND THAT OUT, UM, BUT WE WOULD WANT TO PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
AND THE OTHER PIECE OF IT IS FIGURING OUT
[02:25:01]
WHERE IT FITS INTO THE OVERALL PORTFOLIO OF PROGRAMS. UM, WHETHER THAT LANDS IN MY SHOP OR SOMEWHERE ELSE, THE $4 MILLION WOULD NEED TO BE FUNDED FROM SOMEWHERE.SO WHETHER IT'S CUTTING OTHER PROGRAMS TO FUND THIS OR IF IT'S, UH, ADDING TO THE CBC, WE WOULD NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THAT $4 MILLION COMES FROM AND WHAT THE COST WE WOULD LIKE TO DO A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS ON THAT.
WOULD Y'ALL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT FOR OUR NEXT MEETING? NO,
UM, I, I NEED STAFF TIME TO DO THAT ANALYSIS.
UH, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I HAVE ALL OF THE RIGHT SKILLSET WITHIN MY CURRENT STAFF TO DO IT.
I HAVE SOME OF THE SKILLSET WITHIN STAFF, CURRENT STAFF, BUT WE ARE ALSO GEARING UP RIGHT NOW TO DO THE ENERGY CODE ADOPTION ANALYSIS.
SO UNLESS I'M TOLD THAT THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT TO DO ANALYSIS ON THAN THE ENERGY CODE ADOPTION AND WE HAVE TO SWITCH GEARS, THEN NO, I CAN'T GET IT TO YOU BY NEXT MONTH.
I WOULD ALSO ASSUME, UM, THAT WE'RE ALREADY AT THE POINT WHERE CITY OF AUSTIN IS, IS PULLING ALL OF ITS BUDGETS TOGETHER.
IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH, SO I MEAN, AT THIS POINT, I DON'T KNOW THAT THIS THING WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE IT IN BUDGETARILY FOR FY 24 5 ANYWAY.
UM, BUT I, I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN SEEING WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, UH, MY TIMING'S OBVIOUSLY PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT MORE, A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM MY COLLEAGUES, BUT, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LIKE IT AT LEAST ADDED TO THE LIST, WHEREVER THAT MIGHT BE.
UM, AND I SEE COMMISSIONER DAVIS HAS RAISED HER HAND.
UM, COMMISSIONER STONE, I BELIEVE THAT THE DEADLINE FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TO MAKE BUDGETARY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEXT FISCAL IS MARCH 31ST.
SO IN THEORY, WE WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A BUDGET RECOMMENDATION FOR NEXT FISCAL IF WE VOTED ON IT FOR NEXT, UH, AT NEXT MEETING.
AND THEN JUST A QUESTION, WHAT IS THE TOTAL ANNUAL, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY BUDGET FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS? 4 MILLION FOR OO AND M.
IT'S, UH, $51 MILLION FOR INCENTIVES.
IT'S $24 MILLION APPROXIMATELY.
COMMISSIONER ROBBINS, UM, FIRST, UM, CIRCLING BACK, UH, TO, UH, ITEMS POSTED FOR A VOTE, WHAT WOULD BE THE DEADLINE THAT WE WOULD NEED TO SUBMIT THIS BY? I'LL HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU.
UM, REGARDING, UM, UM, NEED FOR, UH, A BUDGET AMENDMENT OR A, A BUDGET RESOLUTION, MAYBE SOMETHING WE SHOULD ASK FOR WOULD BE MORE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM STAFF.
I'VE BROUGHT THIS UP AT LEAST ONCE BEFORE, UM, REGARDING, UM, THIS, THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT FUND, I MEAN, MONEY IS A LOT OF MONEY IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT, BUT IN RELATIVE TERMS, TWEAKING THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT FUND FOR $1 MILLION IF IT IS, UH, PRUDENTLY SPENT, UM, IS NOT A BIG DEAL.
AND THIS IS, UH, THE CBC IS REVISED ON A YEARLY BASIS.
IT'S NOT LIKE A RATE THAT IS LOCKED IN.
UH, SO, UM, I GUESS I UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT MS. CASPER IS SAYING ABOUT, UH, HER, UM, SCHEDULE BEING CROWDED AND HER STAFF'S SCHEDULE BEING CROWDED.
I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, WE CAN'T WAIT YEARS FOR THIS TO HAPPEN.
SO I WOULD, I MEAN, I'M THINKING OUT LOUD, BUT MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE THAT, UH, STUDY, UH, THE, UM, THE RESEARCH, THE CONVERSATIONS
[02:30:01]
SHOULD HAPPEN, UH, PRIOR TO, UH, THE NEXT, UH, BUDGET, UH, FOR THE CBC BEING APPROVED, WHICH, UH, MS. EVERHART, PLEASE REMIND ME, UH, UM, THE BUDGETS ARE APPROVED IN AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER, BUT AUSTIN ENERGY SOMETIMES BRINGS THEIR BUDGET IN NOVEMBER.SO IS THE C DOES THE CBC GET APPROVED IN, UH, THE SUMMER OR THE FALL? UH, THE, WE ACTUALLY GO THROUGH THIS EVERY YEAR WHERE WE ARE NOT, UH, ABLE TO, I, IF I UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF YOUR QUESTION, ARE YOU ASKING WHEN ARE WE ABLE TO HAVE, UM, A BUDGET DISCUSSION OR, I WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF WHAT YOU'RE ASKING.
WELL, THERE, THERE WERE TWO SEPARATE THINGS.
I SUGGESTED THAT THERE BE BUDGET DISCUSSIONS, UH, MAYBE NOT NEXT MONTH, BUT CERTAINLY BEFORE, UH, THE CBC IS THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE IS APPROVED BY COUNSEL.
UM, AND I'M NOT QUITE CERTAIN WHEN THE CBC IS APPROVED BY COUNCIL.
IT MIGHT BE LATE SUMMER, IT MIGHT BE LATE FALL.
YEAH, I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO, I'M NOT SURE IF IT GETS APPROVED AS PART OF THE BUDGET, BUT I THINK ONE THING IS CLEAR, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THE TIME AND RESOURCES TO DO THE ANALYSIS THAT YOU WERE REQUESTING BEFORE.
WE NEED TO MAKE OUR BUDGET, UH, SUBMISSIONS OR BEFORE THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS NEEDS TO MAKE THEIR BUDGET, UH, SUBMISSIONS BECAUSE OF THE CODE WORK THAT, UH, HEIDI CASPER AND HER TEAM ARE WORKING ON, WHICH IS CLEARLY A PRIORITY OVER EVEN THIS PROPOSAL.
WELL, IS THERE A MIDDLE GROUND? I DON'T SEE ONE.
I GUESS THE QUESTION THEN IS LIKE, WHEN, I MEAN IF, IF IT'S A COUNCIL PRIORITY, BUT THE COUNCIL WOULD NEED TO DIRECT US AS SUCH, I'M JUST SAYING THAT WHAT I SEE IS, UH, YOU KNOW, 24 IECC WOULD BE THE ULTIMATE PRIORITY THAT WE WOULD WANT, UH, THE GREEN BUILDING TEAM FOCUSED ON.
UH, IF I COULD THROW IN WINTER OBJECTION HERE, JUST LOOKING AT THE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS ON HERE, I SEE TWO RESOLUTIONS, ONE OF WHICH IS I, I SEE COMMISSIONER JOHNSON, I'LL GET TO YOU NEXT.
UM, ONE OF WHICH IS WHAT I'LL CALL THE BUDGETARY FOUNDATION OF IT, WHERE YOU, WHERE, WHERE IT'S THE RESOLUTION WRITTEN BY COUNSEL ESSENTIALLY SAYING, HERE'S THE $4,000 NUMBER THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND THEN THE SECONDARY RESOLUTION THAT'S PART OF THIS PACKAGE HERE IS WHAT I'LL CALL CREATING THE EXPLORATORY GROUP.
THAT ONE DOESN'T REALLY BIND ANYONE'S HANDS, BUT NOW IT IS STARTING MM-HMM.
SO WHILE, YOU KNOW, I CAN, I CAN APPRECIATE WHERE AUSTIN ENERGY IS COMING FROM.
YOU KNOW, THE IDEA OF, YOU KNOW, THEY MIGHT DO THEIR RESEARCH WHEN, YOU KNOW, BANDWIDTH OPENS UP AND DETERMINE IN THIS MARKET IT WAS PROBABLY GOING TO BE A $5,000 NUMBER THAT WOULD BE NEEDED IN ORDER FOR IT TO MAKE SENSE.
OR THEY MAY, YOU KNOW, TO HER POINT EARLIER, IT COULD BE THAT IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE HERE BECAUSE EVERYTHING FACES WEST OR WHATEVER THING YOU COULD COME UP WITH.
SO DOES IT MAKE SENSE MAYBE FOR NEXT MEETING WE CAN, WE CAN STILL HAVE BOTH OF THEM ON THERE, BUT YOU MIGHT ONLY ACTUALLY PASS ONE THROUGH, WHICH IS THE ONE THAT SAYS TO THE CITY COUNCIL, OR HAS THE CITY COUNCIL TELL THE CITY MANAGER, THIS IS SOMETHING WE CONSIDER A PRIORITY, START WORKING, START ASSEMBLING YOUR TEAM AND START WORKING ON THIS ISSUE.
AND THEN THEY CAN THEN COORDINATE AND PUSH THROUGH FURTHER, UM, WITH THE AUSTIN GREEN GROUP.
AND SO THE, THE BACKGROUND ON THAT IS THE, THE FIRST RESOLUTION WAS THE PROPOSAL DEVELOPED BY THE JSC WORKING GROUP AND POOL'S OFFICE.
AND THE SECOND ONE WAS AUSTIN ENERGY'S KIND OF COUNTER PROPOSAL.
AND SO I THINK THAT, AND THAT CAME IN FRIDAY, AND SO WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT IT.
SO I WANTED TO INCLUDE BOTH, JUST SO WE COULD TALK ABOUT THEM, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA BE MEETING BETWEEN NOW AND NEXT MONTH OR OKAY.
OR WHENEVER TO, TO KIND OF TALK THROUGH AND SEE WHAT MAKES SENSE AND IF THERE IS A MIDDLE GROUND OR IF IT NEEDS TO BE THE EXPLORATORY, UH, AND OR LIKE FLUSHING OUT WHAT THAT EXPLORATORY PIECE LOOKS LIKE.
AND THEN MY FOLLOW UP QUESTION WILL PROBABLY BE FOR AMY, WHAT OTHER COMMISSIONS WOULD BE
[02:35:01]
ATTACHED TO THIS, AND WOULD ANY OF THEM HAVE WHAT I'LL CALL SUPREMACY OVER OURS IN THIS ISSUE? UM, JUST SUSTAINABILITY.UH, COMMISSIONER JOHNSON, YOU'VE BEEN PATIENT FLOOR IS YOURS.
SO IN TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET AND, UM, TIMELINE IS, UM, JUST TO CLARIFY, THE, THE TAX CREDIT IS, IS THAT MORE OF LIKE A MATCHING OR, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE WOULD HAVE TO PROVIDE THE INITIAL FUNDING THAT COULD COME THROUGH.
UH, ON THE OTHER HAND, LIKE SEEING THAT IT'S A, A TAX CREDIT, WOULD THAT ONLY COME THROUGH LIKE ONCE A PROJECT IS FINISHED? I THINK THE, THE THINGS LIKE THAT I, I'M JUST NOT PERSONALLY CLEAR ON.
YEAH, SO THE, UM, SO THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT IS, THERE'S A, IT'S CALLED A 45 L TAX CREDIT THAT WAS IN THAT YOU GET $2,500 PER UNIT IF YOU DO ENERGY STAR CERTIFICATION ON A PROJECT AND 5,000, IF YOU DO ZERO ENERGY READY HOME, THE PASSIVE HOUSE CERTIFICATION NESTS THOSE BECAUSE IT WAS DEVELOPED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.
SO IF YOU DO PASSIVE HOUSE, YOU AUTOMATICALLY GET ENERGY STAR AND ZERO ENERGY READY.
UM, SO THAT WOULD THEN BE UP TO THE DEVELOPER TO THEN, UM, SELL THAT TAX CREDIT ON THE MARKET AND GET THE CASH BACK FOR IT.
AND THAT WOULD BE AT THE END OF THE PROJECT WHEN IT GETS ITS FINAL CERTIFICATION.
SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CITY WOULD NOT BE INVOLVED IN THAT PART OF IT, BUT IT WOULD BE ANY PROJECT THAT GOES THROUGH THIS PROGRAM WOULD AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFY FOR THAT FUNDING.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE A SECONDARY SOURCE OF FUNDING, IT'S A INCENTIVE OR REBATE AT THE END.
AND THE PROGRAM FUNDING WOULD ALL COME THROUGH THE, THROUGH CITY OF BOSTON? YES.
UM, IS, IS THERE ANY, UM, I, I GUESS ARE THERE ANY IMMEDIATE TIMELINE CONSTRAINTS FOR THIS IN INCENTIVE THROUGH THE IRA THERE? YES.
WHICH IS, I MEAN, IT'S, IT SEEMS KIND OF CRAZY, BUT IT'S 20 THAT, THAT PROGRAM SUNSETS IN 2032, WHICH SEEMS REALLY FAR AWAY.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAMS, UH, IT TAKES, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS FOR A PROJECT'S INCEPTION TO WHEN IT FINALS OUT AND THEY CAN GET THE TAX CREDITS.
SO THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT LIKE, IF THIS PROGRAM DOESN'T HAPPEN IN THIS BUDGET CYCLE, IT WOULD MISS OUT ON ALL THAT FUNDING.
BUT IF WE WAITED TWO YEARS AND THE PROJECT FUNDS PROJECTS FOR TWO YEARS, THEN THOSE LAST PROJECTS WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GET THAT IRA FUNDING.
SO WE'VE AGREED THAT THIS WILL ROLL OVER ONTO THE MEETING AGENDA FOR NEXT MONTH, WHICH MEANS WE CAN NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER 11.
DISCUSSION ON REPURPOSING THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM SPONSORS ROBIN STONE AND SILVERSTEIN.
WHAT DID IT, WOULD IT BE PRUDENT TO HAVE THE STAFF PRESENTATION FIRST?
[12. Staff briefing regarding the GreenChoice Program by Tim Harvey, Manager, Customer Renewable Solutions, Austin Energy.]
12? REPURPOSE.OH, IT'S, IT'S TOO SOON TO, TO BRING ITEM 12 FORWARD IN PLACE OF 11.
AND IF I MAY, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, VICE CHAIR ROBBINS, THE AGENDA ITEM SUBMITTAL DUE DATE IS MARCH 11TH.
THAT'S FOR THE MARCH 19TH COMMISSION MEETING.
AND THAT, THAT'S BY FIVE O'CLOCK MARCH 11TH.
HELLO AGAIN, MY NAME'S TIM HARVEY.
I'M THE CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS MANAGER FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
I'M GONNA GO OVER THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM.
SO, UH, FIRST I'M GONNA COVER THE MILESTONES AND DATA, THEN, UH, CURRENT PROGRAM DESIGN, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE INTO DISCUSSION.
SO FIRST OFF, JUST TO LEVEL SET, UM, GREEN CHOICE IS A PRODUCT THAT OFF AUSTIN ENERGY OFFERS OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, IT BASICALLY, UM, GREENS UP 100% OF THE CUSTOMER'S,
[02:40:01]
UM, CONSUMPTION WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY THAT WE'VE PRODUCED.UM, WITH OUR WIND POWER PLANTS, UM, IT IS AVAILABLE TO RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
UM, CERTAIN COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS CAN, UM, PARTICIPATE BY BLOCKS OF ENERGY, SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO 100% CONSUMPTION.
THEY COULD POTENTIALLY DO A HUNDRED THOUSAND KILOWATT HOURS.
UM, THIS, LIKE, ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS ARE, UH, LOCATED WITHIN TEXAS.
IT IS GREENY CERTIFIED, AND THERE ARE NO UPFRONT COSTS TO CUSTOMERS.
UM, THE SYSTEMS ARE OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE WIND DEVELOPERS.
AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, ISSUES, RFPS, UM, AND, AND AWARDS THOSE CONTRACTS.
AND THEN, UM, THE CRS, UM, DIVISION OF AUSTIN ENERGY MANAGES THE PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE.
SO YOU CAN, HERE WE, OR YOU CAN SEE HERE, WE STARTED IN 2001.
UM, AND FOR THE FIRST SEVERAL PROJECTS, UM, FIRST SIX PROJECTS, IN FACT, WE BATCHED THE GREEN CHOICE OFFERING TO THOSE PROJECTS.
UM, SO THE, THE PRICING WAS BASED ON THE, THE SYSTEM PRICES AND, UM, THE PARTICIPATION WOULD BE ALLOCATED TO A PROJECT.
UM, WHEN WE HIT BATCH SIX, WE NOTICED THAT THE UPTAKE WAS NOT AS AS GOOD.
IT, IT REALLY WAS, UM, NOT SIGNIFICANT AT ALL.
UM, AND THAT'S BECAUSE THE, THE PRICING HAD CHANGED.
SO OUR PRICING REFLECTED THAT, AND IT WAS NO LONGER, UM, CREATING INTEREST IN THE MARKET.
AT THAT POINT, WE SHIFTED TO GO FROM, UM, PROJECT PRICING TO, UM, MARKET PRICING.
SO WE LOOKED AT OTHER COMPARABLE PRODUCTS IN THE MARKET TO PRICE THE SYSTEM SO THAT IT WOULD GET UPTAKE.
UM, AND THEN WE STARTED TO SEE GREATER PARTICIPATION AT THAT POINT.
SO THAT'S WHEN WE STARTED GOING TO A FLOATING PREMIUM FOR GREEN CHOICE.
YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT THE, UM, PROGRAM IS MADE UP MOSTLY OF RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
UM, BUT THE, UM, CONSUMPTION OF THE PROGRAM IS, UM, MOSTLY COMMERCIAL.
SO, YOU KNOW, WITH COMMERCIAL ONLY REPRESENTS A 2%, OR SORRY, 1% OF ALL CUSTOMERS.
UM, HOWEVER, THEY REPRESENT ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF THE THE USAGE.
OH, WAIT, CAN YOU GO BACK A SLIDE PLEASE? I MEAN, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT, UM, FOR THE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS PATRON, UM, IN SPECIFIC, WHICH REPRESENTS ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF ALL COMMERCIAL, UM, IT'S A, THE, THE PREVIOUS PROGRAM DESIGNED LOCKED CUSTOMERS IN AT A RATE.
SO WHILE, UM, AN FY 22, THE REVENUES FROM THE PROGRAM EQUALED ROUGHLY $7.3 MILLION.
IN FY 23, UM, THEY WERE ROUGHLY NEGATIVE $4.5 MILLION.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE, UM, THE, THE COSTS IN THE MARKET CHANGED A LOT.
UM, IF YOU'LL RECALL, WE HAD, UM, SOME, SOME RATE CHANGES DUE TO THAT.
AND SO, UM, BASICALLY WE HA UM, ARE NOW NOT RECOVERING A PREMIUM THROUGH THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM BECAUSE OF THAT.
SO ONE ASPECT OF THE PROGRAM IS THAT, UM, IT ALLOWS OUR RE OUR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS TO MEET LEAD, UM, POINTS.
AND AS, UM, OUR, BECAUSE OF THAT WE HAVE TO PULL FROM MORE RECENT PROJECTS TO MEET THOSE LEAD REQUIREMENTS.
SO THE PROJECTS THAT, UM, FEED INTO THE PROGRAM HAVE TO BE LESS THAN FIVE YEARS OLD.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CURRENT BATCH OF PROJECTS THAT WE USE FOR THIS PROGRAM ARE, UM, ARE BOX STANDING GREEN THERE, AND, UM, IN THE FUTURE WE'LL NEED TO ADD MORE WIND PROJECTS OR, UM, MORE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS AT MINIMUM TO, UM, MEET THAT REQUIREMENT.
SO, UH, ALL, ALL OF THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM IS, UM, GREEN E CERTIFIED.
[02:45:01]
AND THAT MEANS THEY'RE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE THE FACILITY INFORMATION SUPPLY, SALES AND MARKETING, AND ALL OF THE CLAIMS THAT GO ALONG WITH THAT TO ENSURE THAT, UM, WE ARE GIVING CUSTOMERS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TELLING THEM THAT WE'RE GIVING THEM, UM, AND MEETING ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS WITHIN GREENIE TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE NOT DOUBLE COUNTING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.UM, YOU CAN SEE HERE THE THREE DIFFERENT OFFERINGS THAT WE HAVE FOR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
OUR BUSINESS SENSE, ENERGIZER AND PATRON.
UM, BUSINESS SENSE CUS UH, COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS CAN GO IN AND OUT OF, UM, THERE IS NO CONTRACT FOR THAT.
UM, AND THAT'S ONE OF, THAT'S THE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE FOR BUSINESS SENSE.
FOR ENERGIZER, IT'S A YEAR CONTRACT, AND FOR PATRON IT'S FIVE YEARS.
AND, UM, SO THAT KIND OF CORRELATES WITH THE LEAD POINTS THAT YOU GET.
UM, THE PATRON OFFERING OBVIOUSLY HAS THE MOST LEAD POINTS.
WE RECENTLY DID A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY OF THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM, AND THEY WERE OVERWHELMINGLY SATISFIED WITH THE PROGRAM.
UM, ONLY A A SMALL AMOUNT WERE DISSATISFIED AND WE DUG INTO THE REASONS ON THAT.
THAT'S MOSTLY BECAUSE ON THE, UH, ENERGY BILL AT THE TIME, UM, THE GREEN CHOICE CHARGE WAS WRAPPED IN, UM, SO THAT A, THE GREEN CHOICE, UM, FEE REPLACED THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT FEE.
SO CUSTOMERS THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE PAYING FOUR AND A HALF CENTS FOR GREEN CHOICE, WHEN REALLY THEY WERE ONLY PAYING, UM, A SMALL PREMIUM.
AND NOW A LOT OF THOSE, UM, PATRON CUSTOMERS ARE EVEN PAYING LESS THAN WHAT OTHER CUSTOMERS ARE PAYING.
SO WE'VE, UM, SINCE SORTED THAT OUT ON THE BILL.
SO, UH, WHEN, WHEN THE PRICES WENT UP, UM, CONSIDERABLY AND THE GREEN CHOICE, UM, PATRON PROGRAM FLIPPED, IN OTHER WORDS, A NEW CUSTOMER WOULD BE PAYING LESS THAN WHAT, UM, NON PARTICIPANTS WOULD PAY, UM, WE TOOK DOWN THE PATRON PROGRAM, UM, AND THEN WE REFORMED IT TO, UM, TO BE WHERE, WHERE PATRON CUSTOMERS WILL NOW PAY A HALF PENNY PREMIUM.
UM, THAT FLOATS ON TOP OF THE PSA, LIKE ALL OF THE OTHER, UM, GREEN CHOICE CHARGES.
UM, EVERYONE ELSE PAYS THREE QUARTERS OF A PENNY.
WE WENT TO HALF A PENNY BECAUSE THEY HAVE A, THE PATRON CUSTOMERS HAVE A FIVE YEAR COMMITMENT.
UM, AND SO YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT THERE ARE ROUGHLY 20, UM, PATRON CUSTOMERS, OF WHICH THE TOP THREE MAKE UP, UM, OVER 70% OF THAT.
UM, AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS ACTUALLY THE BIGGEST CUSTOMER.
UM, AND, AND WE MAKE UP ABOUT 63% OF, OF THAT, UM, PARTICIPATION.
SORRY, I ALREADY COVERED THIS.
UM, YEAH, AND SO THIS IS JUST, UM, WHAT THE, THE NEW OFFERING IS NOW THAT PATREON IS HALF A PENNY OVER THE PSA, UM, WE STILL ALLOW FOR, UM, BLOCKS OF POWER OR 100%.
UM, AND THIS DOES MEET ALL OF THE LEAD POINT, UM, REQUIREMENTS.
AND THIS IS JUST A GRAPH THAT SHOWS, UM, THE DIFFERENT PRICING.
SO YOU'LL SEE THE BLUE LINES REPRESENT THE BATCHED PRICING, UM, THAT WENT ALONG WITH THOSE PPAS, AND YOU'LL NOTICE THAT FIVE AND SIX ARE QUITE A BIT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE OTHER ONES.
AND THAT'S WHEN THE PARTICIPATION KINDA STALLED OUT.
UM, AFTER THAT WE WENT TO A MARKET, UM, APPROACH TO LOOK AT OTHER COMPETITIVE PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET AND, UM, AND THEN SIZE THE COST OF THE SYSTEM BASED ON THAT.
UM, SO YOU'LL SEE THE RED LINE IN ALL OF THOSE, UM, WAS THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT FEE FOR THOSE YEARS.
AND THEN, UM, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE, UM, THREE GREEN LINES BESIDE THAT ARE, UM, THE RESIDENTIAL BUSINESS SENSE AND ENERGIZER, UM, WITH THREE QUARTERS OF A PENNY PREMIUM THAT FLOATS ON TOP OF THE PSA.
AND THEN THAT FINAL GREEN LINE AT THE END IS THE PATRON PRICE,
[02:50:02]
UM, WHICH YOU CAN SEE HAS, UH, IF, IF YOU LOOK AT YEAR 2023, THE PATRON PRICE IS, UM, CONSIDERABLY LOWER THAN THE PSA.UM, AND SO THAT'S WHEN WE TOOK IT DOWN AND WE WE'RE BRINGING IT BACK WITH A HALF A PENNY PREMIUM YOU'LL SEE THERE IN 2024.
SO ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, BEFORE WE GET THERE, BEFORE WE, UH, GET TO QUESTIONS, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE ONE STATEMENT TO, UM, SHARE THAT, UM, WE MET WITH, UH, VICE CHAIR ROBBINS AND COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, UH, RECENTLY AND ON, ON GREEN CHOICE.
AND, UM, JUST WANTED TO THANK THEM FOR THE MEETING.
WE ACTUALLY TOOK SEVERAL OF THE SUGGESTIONS THAT, UH, THEY MADE AND WERE ACTUALLY, UM, UH, THE ONES THAT WERE RELATED TO HOW THE, UH, OFFERING WAS REPRESENTED ON THE WEBSITE, WE'VE ACTUALLY STARTED TO IMPLEMENT THOSE CHANGES ALREADY.
SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF LEVEL SET AND, UH, THANK THEM PUBLICLY FOR THAT MEETING AS WELL AS THAT INPUT.
IF YOU COULD ROLL BACK TO SLIDE NUMBER 10 IN THIS PRESENTATION, THE PATRON 20 PARTICIPATION.
SO HELP ME UNDERSTAND, YOU HAVE HOW MANY PEOPLE OR HOW MANY ENTITIES, I GUESS WE WOULD CALL IT, THAT ARE IN THE PATRON PROGRAM? 1,020? IS THAT HOW I READ THIS? THERE'S, THERE ARE 20 UNIQUE ENTITIES.
UM, AND MANY OF THEM HAVE SEVERAL ACCOUNTS, LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS 895 ACCOUNTS.
SO IF I LOOK AT THIS AND I SEE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS 895 OUT OF 1,020, CAN I ASCRIBE A CERTAIN WEIGHT, I GUESS OVERALL TO, LIKE YOU SEE HERE, 63.5% AND THEN I SEE A ISD WAY BEHIND AT 3.3.
SO AM I ABLE TO SAY THAT THE TWO OF THOSE COMBINED ARE TWO THIRDS OF THE TOTAL PARTICIPATION SLASH CONTRIBUTION OF COST? HOWEVER YOU WANNA LOOK AT THAT INTO THIS PROGRAM ON A, ON A KILOWATT HOUR BASIS? YEAH, I, YES, WE'LL GO WITH THAT FOR YEAH, THE YEAH, THEY'RE COVERING.
SO IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, CITY OF AUSTIN, AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT AND CAP METRO ALL ARE TAXING ENTITIES.
AND SO THEY ARE CHOOSING TO USE TAX DOLLARS, WHETHER THEY BE PROPERTY TAXES, USER FEES, WHATEVER THE, OR, OR WHATEVER THE SITUATION MIGHT BE TO ELECT UP AND PAY MORE OF MY TAX DOLLARS TO SAY THAT THEY ARE GREEN FOR SOME HIGHER PURPOSE, WHATEVER THAT MIGHT BE.
IS THAT A FAIR STATEMENT THERE? THERE ARE MANY COMPANIES THAT ARE MEETING USG UH, GOALS, BUT YES, I THINK THAT'S FAIR CITY POLICY, THE CITY COUNCIL POLICY, THAT'S CORRECT.
AND I'M VERY, VERY HAPPY FOR OUR FRIENDS AT CITY COUNCIL.
BUT ALL IT IS REALLY DOING, AND WE'VE HAD THIS DISCUSSION BEFORE TO ME, IS IT IS ESSENTIALLY JUST REDISTRIBUTING THINGS FROM ONE GOVERNMENT ENTITY TO ANOTHER.
IT'S THAT SAME CONCEPT I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE WHERE DAD DOESN'T BORROW MONEY FROM THE KIDS, MONEY ONLY FLOWS ONE WAY.
AND SO THE IDEA THAT WE ARE ESSENTIALLY PROPPING UP THIS PROGRAM WITH TWO THIRDS OF ITS PATRON PARTICIPATION COMING FROM OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, THAT'S NOT REALLY SHOWING ME, I GUESS WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THE OVERALL PARTICIPATION OF THE REST OF POTENTIAL CORPORATE PARTICIPANTS.
SO IF I STRIP OUT GOVERNMENT, WHICH IS JUST DOING IT TO VIRTUE SIGNAL ON MY DIME, WHAT IS ACTUALLY BEING SPENT BY RATE PAYERS THAT ARE ELECTING TO DO THIS AS OPPOSED TO GOVERNMENT? AND PAUL IS RAISING A HAND, SO I'M GUESSING HE'S GOT THE ANSWER, UH, PARTIAL ONE.
AND OF COURSE, IT WON'T SATISFY YOU.
THE SLIDE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT WITH BREAKDOWN, THIS IS FOR THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR, UH, AND THAT, UH, THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR REPRESENTS 78% OF TOTAL MEGAWATT HOURS, AND THEN THE REST OF IT IS FROM THE, UH, RESIDENTIAL, UH, 22% OR SO.
UH, SO, UH, YEAH, YOU'VE GOT 22% OF THE RESIDENTIAL AND THEN YOU'VE GOT 31%
[02:55:01]
OF 78%.AUSTIN, CITY OF AUSTIN USES 45% OF ALL GREEN CHOICE ENERGY.
SO I'M, I'M DOING MATH ON THE FLY HERE, BUT ROUGHLY, UH, ABOUT A LITTLE LESS THAN HALF IS COMING FROM THE PEOPLE THAT YOU WOULD THINK SHOULD BE INTERESTED FROM PRIVATE, FROM PERSONAL, UH, UH, HOMEOWNERS OR FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
AND YES, THE REST OF IT IS COMING FROM GOVERNMENTS AND HOW MUCH MONEY ON AN ANNUAL BASIS IN THE BUDGET FOR AUSTIN ENERGY IS SENT UP TO CITY OF AUSTIN AS PART OF AUSTIN'S OVERALL BUDGET.
THAT, THAT'S ABOUT THE NUMBER.
SO AGAIN, NOW WHEN WE TAKE THIS ONE STEP FURTHER, I'M TAKING MONEY OUT OF ONE POCKET CITY OF AUSTIN, PUTTING IT INTO AUSTIN ENERGY, WHICH IS ALSO CITY OF AUSTIN, AND THEN ROLLING IT BACK AGAIN, COMMISSIONER
UM, IF WE WERE SERVED BY A PRIVATE ENTITY, MANY PRIVATE UTILITIES, INVESTOR OWNED, OR UH, UM, LINE COMPANIES LIKE ENCORE, UH, THEY, WE WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUY A GREEN PRODUCT, UH, FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, IN, I THINK IT WAS 2008.
THE MAYOR AT THE TIME, UH, WITH THE APPROVAL OF, I THINK THE UNANIMOUS APPROVAL OF COUNCIL, UH, SAID THAT THEY WANTED, UH, IT WAS, IT WAS THE MAYOR'S CLIMATE PLAN, AND THERE WERE MANY THINGS THAT HE WANTED TO DO THAT THEY WANTED TO DO TO STOP, UH, TO MITIGATE GLOBAL WARMING.
UH, THAT'S WHERE THIS CAME FROM.
THAT'S WHERE, UH, UH, MOST OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S, UH, PARTICIPATION CAME FROM.
UH, NOW IT, AGAIN, A LOT OF THIS WOULD, I MEAN, YOU CAN GO TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND THEY, UH, BUY MUCH OF THEIR, UH, UH, FUEL AS, UH, GREEN ELECTRICITY, AND THEY ARE SERVED BY, UH, THE PRIVATE BY CENTER POINT.
UH, SO I, I, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT THERE ARE NUANCES HERE.
HOW MUCH POWER DOES THE CI, HOW MUCH POWER DOES AUSTIN ENERGY IN ITS GENERAL MIX? AND I SEE COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, YOU'LL BE UP NEXT.
UM, HOW MUCH IN ITS GENERAL MIX IS ALREADY WIND, SOLAR, AND OTHER RENEWABLES? PROBABLY ABOUT 50%, MAYBE A SLIGHT 53%.
SO MY QUESTION IS, IS IS THIS A MATERIAL NUMBER THAT AUSTIN IS NOW ABLE TO USE AND SAY, BECAUSE OF US, THIS IS NOW THIS MIX HAS BEEN ACHIEVED? NO, IT ISN'T.
AND THAT'S WHY I WANT TO REPURPOSE IT
THAT'S WHY I'M MAKING THIS PROPOSAL.
THERE WAS A TIME, UH, BACK IN THE DAY WHEN THIS DID MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
THIS, WE NEED TO MOVE WITH THE TIMES.
COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, MS. STEIN, I'LL GET IT EVENTUALLY.
I, I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT SINCE BOTH COMMISSIONER ROBBINS AND I PUT THIS ON THE AGENDA FOR DIFFERENT REPURPOSING PURPOSES, I'D LIKE TO ASK IF WE CAN HAVE COMMISSIONER ROBBINS LAY OUT HIS PROPOSAL AND THEN I CAN TALK ABOUT MINE.
WELL, I'M ONLY PARTIALLY PREPARED, UM, BUT, AND, AND I PUNCHLINES YOU DON'T HAVE TO VOTE ON IT TODAY.
UM, I, I DID MAKE A PROPOSAL THAT I THINK YOU WERE, YOU ATTENDED A FEW MONTHS AGO ABOUT THIS.
UH, BUT BASICALLY, UM, THE, THE CHALLENGE TODAY IS NOT TO GET RENEWABLE POWER.
THE CHALLENGE TODAY IS TO GET DISPATCHABLE RENEWABLE POWER, EITHER WITH STORAGE BACK OR HOPEFULLY EVENTUALLY WITH DISPATCHABLE TECHNOLOGIES LIKE ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL ENERGY OR CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER.
[03:00:02]
UM, AND, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS SEVEN OR SO MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR AND LEVERAGE IT WITH VARIOUS GRANTS AND PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, AND OTHER PUBLIC SECTOR PARTNERS AND TURN IT INTO SOMETHING THAT, UH, WOULD, UH, MOVE US TOWARDS DISPATCHABILITY.UM, THAT IS THE MOST CONCISE, UH, WAY I CAN EXPLAIN THIS.
UM, I, I DO WANNA RESPOND TO ONE OF THESE SLIDES, UH, WHERE, UM, MR. HARVEY WAS SAYING THAT THEY, UM, HAD VERY GOOD FEEDBACK ON THEIR SURVEY.
WELL, ONE, THEY DIDN'T SURVEY THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH REPRESENTS ABOUT 45% OF THE MEGAWATT HOURS.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, SURVEYS ARE ALL ABOUT THE QUESTIONS YOU ASK.
AND IF YOU ASK SOMEBODY, WELL, DO YOU LIKE THE GREEN POWER PROGRAM TO BUY WIND POWER? THEY'LL PROBABLY SAY YES.
BUT IF YOU OFFER THEM THE ALTERNATIVE, WELL, HOW ABOUT IF WE HAD MADE WIND POWER DISPATCHABLE SO THAT WE COULD USE IT ANY TIME OF DAY? WOULD YOU LIKE THAT MORE? THAT QUESTION WAS NOT ANSWERED, OR EXCUSE ME, WASN'T ANSWERED.
SO, UM, UM, SURVEYS, UH, ARE AS GOOD AS THE, THE QUESTIONS AND THE DIRECTION.
UM, UH, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, UM, UM, THAT'S A VERY CONCISE, UH, EXPLANATION OF WHAT I'D LIKE TO, UH, THE DIRECTION I'D LIKE TO GO IN.
UH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPLAIN YOUR DIRECTION? YOU'RE MUTED.
COMMISSIONER ROBBINS IS LOOKING TO REPURPOSE THE GREEN CHOICE REVENUES.
I WOULD LIKE TO REFRAME THE PROGRAM ENTIRELY.
I AM CONCERNED THAT IT IS WIND BASED, THAT AUSTIN ENERGY'S TOTAL ENERGY MIX IS 53% RENEWABLE, BUT THEY'RE ONLY MARKETING 13% OF GREEN CHOICE THROUGH OF, OF THOSE RENEWABLES THROUGH THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM.
AND THAT, SO THERE'S A LOT OF CUSTOMERS WHO, IF THEY KNEW THAT MIGHT NOT BE BUYING GREEN ENERGY AT ALL FROM GREEN CHOICE, IF THEY KNEW THAT IT WASN'T MAKING ANY DIFFERENCE TO AUSTIN ENERGY'S PRO RENEWABLE PROCUREMENT PURPOSES, THE NEXT FACTOR IS THAT SINCE THEY'RE ONLY DOING WIND AND THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT IT IN A LEAD CONTEXT, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF CUSTOMERS, PARTICULARLY IN THE COMMERCIAL SPACE WHO WANT TO BUY REC VERIFIED, CERTIFIED CLEAN ENERGY.
AND, AND I THINK THAT AUSTIN ENERGY SHOULD BE REFRAMING THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM VERY EXPLICITLY AS, AS VERIFIED RENEWABLE ENERGY, WHICH CAN BE USED FOR LEAD PURPOSES, BUT IS NOT EXCLUSIVELY LEAD FOCUSED.
AND, AND I AGREE WITH PAUL'S CONCERN THAT, UM, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THE SURVEY PROPERLY REFLECTS WHAT WELL-INFORMED CUSTOMERS MIGHT THINK ABOUT THIS PROGRAM IF THEY HAD ALL OF THESE DETAILS.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS PROGRAM REFRAME SO THAT PEOPLE HAVE A DIFFERENT SENSE OF A LOT OF THE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHO SIGNED UP FOR THIS, SIGNED UP FOR IT MANY YEARS AGO WHEN IT WAS MARKETED AS ACTUALLY CHANGING THE, MAKING A DIFFERENCE TO AUSTIN'S PROCUREMENT CHOICES, WHICH IT MANIFESTLY DOES NOT DO.
SO I THINK THEY'RE JUST IN IT FOR HABIT RATHER THAN BY AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE MODERN CONTEXT.
SO I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT WE WORK WITH AUSTIN ENERGY TO COMPLETELY RETHINK AND REFRAME THIS PROGRAM TO BE MORE NUTS AND BOLT GREENY CERTIFICATED THAT HAS MORE VALUE AND SUBSTANCE FOR COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS, AND COMES CLOSER TO REFLECTING THE TRUE CONTENT OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S RENEWABLE MIX.
IT LOOKS LIKE RICHARD IS MAKING HIS WAY TO THE PODIUM.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE DO WITH EVERY PROGRAM, WE'RE ALWAYS IN, UH, SEARCH OF WAYS TO IMPROVE OUR PROGRAM SO WE'RE NOT OPPOSED TO, UH, RELOOKING AT THE PROGRAMS AND, UM, FOR MAKING IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PROGRAMS, AS I ALREADY HAVE COMMENTED
[03:05:01]
ON TONIGHT.UH, BUT I DO THINK THAT THIS IS A PROCESS THAT WE NEED TO TAKE, UH, VERY SLOWLY BECAUSE OF THE 33,000 CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE ALREADY, UH, THAT ALREADY ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM THAT WE WOULD NOT WANT TO UNINTENTIONALLY DISENFRANCHISE, UH, BECAUSE THEY DID ELECT TO ENROLL IN THIS PROGRAM.
AND I THINK BEFORE WE MAKE ANY CHANGES TO IT, WE OUGHT TO VERY WELL UNDERSTAND AND CONSIDER WHAT THE IMPACT OF THOSE CHANGES MIGHT BE.
SO, UM, I I, UH, I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT IN TERMS OF WE WOULD, WE ARE CONSIDERING, WE ALWAYS DO CONSIDER IMPROVEMENTS TO ANY PROGRAM, BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO REALLY KEEP IN MIND THE CUSTOMERS THAT ALREADY ENROLLED AND ARE VERY SATISFIED, OVERWHELMINGLY SATISFIED.
UH, YOU BELIEVE IT MAY BE OUR, OUR, UH, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, YOU KNOW, BELIEVES IT MAY BE UNDER FALSE PRETENSES.
I DON'T THINK WE KNOW THAT, AND I THINK WE NEED TO DETERMINE THAT COMMISSIONER FARMER.
SO HOW, HOW MANY OF THE CUSTOMERS, UM, ARE ENROLLED WITH THE RACKS FOR LEAD PURPOSES? SPECIFICALLY FOR LEAD PURPOSES? YEAH, LIKE, LIKE, SO, SO SOME SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THOSE 33,000 PEOPLE ARE BUSINESSES THAT BUILT A BUILDING THAT MEETS LEAD SO THAT THEY CAN MEET THEIR ESG REQUIREMENTS OR WHATEVER THEIR REQUIREMENT WAS.
BUT THAT'S GONNA BE LIKE 50 OR A HUNDRED OR I DON'T HAVE THAT FIGURE OFF THE TOP OF MY, I GUESS LIKE, MY THOUGHT IS LIKE THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ENROLLED IN THIS ARE PEOPLE RIGHT ON APPEAR LIKE NUMBERS SENSE.
AND THEY'RE DOING IT OUT OF GOODWILL.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, I'M WILLING TO PAY AN EXTRA $10 OR WHATEVER TO KNOW THAT I'M GETTING CLEAN ENERGY.
AND SO I DO, I, I LIKE, I REALLY LIKE WHERE ALL OF THIS IS GOING.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING, BUT I THINK THE IDEA THAT, UH, THE PROGRAM, IF THE PROGRAM IS NOT ACTUALLY FUNDING MORE GREEN ENERGY PROCUREMENT THAN HOW COULD IT BE REPURPOSED IN A WAY, LIKE THEY, CONNECTICUT HAS A GREAT PROGRAM THAT THEY'RE DEVELOPING RIGHT NOW THAT'S KIND OF A SKUNK WORKS, WHERE IT'S LIKE THEY HAVE A BOARD THAT EVERY YEAR LOOKS AT HERE'S $7 MILLION THAT WE HAVE.
LIKE, HOW CAN WE PILOT PROGRAMS AND DO PROJECTS THAT, UH, CAN MOVE THINGS FORWARD OR, YOU KNOW, LIKE LONG-TERM BATTERY STORAGE OR REFRAMING IT, RIGHT? LIKE I, I THINK IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE'S SUCH, THERE'S A SMALL PIECE OF IT THAT IS REALLY NECESSARY TO THOSE COMMERCIAL PEOPLE OR COMMERCIAL PROJECTS WHO NEED THE GREENY WRECKS AND THEN A HUGE SWATH OF IT THAT'S LIKE PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING IT BECAUSE THEY WANT TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT.
AND SO THOSE ARE LIKE REALLY DIFFERENT CUSTOMERS WITH REALLY DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS POTENTIALLY.
SO THAT'S, I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M GOING, BUT I HEAR MANY, I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT.
IN GENERAL, UH, YOU'RE MAKING SENSE TO ME.
UH, I WANNA FOLLOW UP, BUT THERE MAY BE OTHER QUESTIONS FROM, UH, COMMISSIONERS.
KARA GOTTI JOHNSON, UM, UM, DAVIS.
I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING, BUT THANK YOU.
I APPRECIATE Y'ALL TAKING THE LEAD ON THIS AND I, AND I AGREE THERE'S A NEED TO, TO REPURPOSE THIS PROGRAM.
UM, AND I'M EXCITED WITH THESE POSSIBILITIES, ESPECIALLY, I THINK THERE'S A HUGE NEED FOR BATTER BATTERIES.
UH, AND IF WE COULD, YOU KNOW, LEVERAGE, LEVERAGE, UH, THIS PROGRAM OR REPURPOSE IT TO, TO DO WHAT IT, IT INITIALLY DID WITH WIND ENERGY NOW FOR BATTERIES, I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY POWERFUL.
PARTICULARLY GIVEN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S STILL RELATIVELY HIGH COST AND UH, THAT IS A KEY NEED FOR I THINK OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, RESOURCE PLAN AND, UH, YOU KNOW, DISTRIBUTION AND DISTRIBUTION AND TRANSMISSION NEEDS, UH, PRICE SEPARATION, ALL OF THOSE FACTORS.
UM, BUT I, IT IS ALSO VERY, UH, ILLUMINATING TO HEAR, YOU KNOW, THAT THERE ARE SOME FOLKS IN THE PROGRAM WHO DO EXPLICITLY NEED OR WOULD'VE SIGNED UP FOR, FOR THE REC ASPECT OF IT.
SO YEAH, I, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING THIS WORK.
SO IS MY UNDERSTANDING FROM COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN AND ROBINS THAT THERE WILL BE
[03:10:02]
RESOLUTIONS OR ADDITIONAL POSTING LANGUAGE FORTHCOMING NEXT MONTH AND THAT WE'RE GONNA BASICALLY SIT ON THIS FOR NOW AND, UM, BRINGING IN MARCH, UH, THAT'S CORRECT.BY MARCH 11TH AT 5:00 PM I AM WOULD BE PERFECTLY HAPPY TO TALK FURTHER WITH THE AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF ABOUT ALTERNATIVES.
I DON'T KNOW IF A RESOLUTION IS NEEDED TO ACHIEVE MY GOAL, WHICH IS TO MAKE THIS PROGRAM MORE BROAD AND AT THE SAME TIME MORE SPECIFIC WITH RESPECT TO GREENY.
I DO BELIEVE THAT, THAT IN ORDER TO REFOCUS THE REVENUES, WE WOULD NEED A RESOLUTION, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF, UM, SUCCESS AT COMING TO CLOSURE ON THAT.
THE LAST ONE WE DISCUSSED IT, I'M WONDERING, THESE ARE CLEARLY TWO RELATED BUT SEPARATE ISSUES AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE HANDLED ON THE SAME TIMELINE.
UM, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, UH, I WILL WORK WITH YOU TO TRY AND ARRANGE A SCHEDULE FOR THIS.
UH, UH, I MEAN, IT'S MY PREFERENCE THAT THESE ARE BOTH SUCCESSFUL AND IF WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THEM IN SEPARATE MEETINGS, UH, THAT'S FINE WITH ME.
AND I'M HAPPY TO CO-SPONSOR WHAT ARE, WHEREVER YOU GO, PAUL.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
SEEMS LIKE THIS CONVERSATION HAS RUN ITS COURSE, SO WE'LL LET THIS RIDE AGAIN UNTIL NEXT MONTH.UM, FOR FUTURE AGENDA, ARE WE ON FUTURE AGENDA? IT FEELS LIKE I'M ON FUTURE AGENDA, BUT LEMME JUST CHECK.
UM, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. I HAVE ONE ITEM THAT'S ALREADY BEEN, UH, LISTED AND THAT IS AN EQUITY UPDATE THAT WAS REQUESTED.
BUT I THINK WE NEED TO, UM, SINCE THAT WAS ORIGINALLY REQUESTED BY COMMISSIONER BRYN, WHO IS NO LONGER WITH US, IF THAT IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO CONTINUE WITH OR NOT.
WELL, I, I, THERE ARE TWO, ONE OF WHICH WAS HERS, RIGHT? YES.
AND THAT WAS THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
AND THEN THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE CALLED EQUITY UPDATE AND I DON'T YES.
THAT'S QUITE, GET THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THAT.
THAT'S, THAT'S BEING GIVEN BY THE AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF.
THAT WOULD BE ON THE REGULAR STAFF UPDATE PART THEN.
THAT WOULD BE A BRIEFING, THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UM, THAT WOULD, WOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN BY THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
SO THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED LIKE A BRIEFING AS WELL.
WE ALSO HAVE THE PENDING TOPIC OF THE RESOURCE PLAN UPDATE THAT WE DID NOT APPARENTLY GET ONTO THIS AGENDA, BUT IT HAS BEEN SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION PARTICIPATED ON THE GENERATION PLAN UPDATE OR WHATEVER IT'S CALLED THAT HAS GONE BEFORE THE EUC.
AND IT WOULD BE PERHAPS OF VALUE FOR US TO BRIEF THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE RMC ABOUT THAT ISSUE.
NOT ONLY BRIEF BUT POSSIBLY VOTE.
UM, IT'S A VAGUE IS WHAT TO THE, WHAT THE SCHEDULE IS NOW.
UH, BUT UM, THIS WAS IN ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO GET A VOTE OF THE COMMISSION.
I DON'T THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS GONNA BE MOVING FORWARD AT THIS TIME.
SO UNTIL WE THEN PERHAPS OUR MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT WON'T BE MOVING FORWARD AND WHY I DON'T THINK THE FACT THAT AUSTIN ENERGY DOESN'T WANT TO ADVANCE IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE UP TO DATE ON IT.
IT, IT DOES NEED TO BE POSTED FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE VOTE.
SO THIS IS THE ONE THAT WE WERE JUST, I'M, I'M SORRY, JUST A CLARIFICATION.
IT IS NOT AUSTIN ENERGY THAT DOESN'T WANNA MOVE FORWARD.
THAT WAS NOT AN AUSTIN ENERGY DIRECTIVE.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT DOESN'T GO ON, UM, ADDRESSED.
UH, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, IT IS NOT AUSTIN ENERGY IN, IN WHICH CASE LET'S GET A BRIEFING ON IT ANYWAY.
AND I WOULD SAY, UM, FROM THAT STANDPOINT, YES, I RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION THAT SAT ON THE WORKING GROUP, THE EUC WORKING GROUP.
UH, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE ALL OF THE RESOURCE AND GENERATION PLAN WOULD BE RELEVANT TO THE RMCS, UH, MANDATE OR AGENDA.
I THINK THE PARTS OF IT WOULD BE,
[03:15:01]
AND I THINK THAT THOSE WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR DISCUSSION, BUT FOR EXAMPLE, THE GENERATION PORTION OF IT I DON'T THINK IS RELEVANT TO THIS COMMISSION.SO, UM, I RECALL THAT THERE WAS A JOINT MEETING OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION AND THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, UH, WHEN THE LAST GENERATION, UH, PLAN WORKING GROUP MET, UH, I GUESS IT WAS THREE YEARS AGO.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON, WERE YOU THERE?
AM I, UM, IS MY MEMORY CORRECT THAT THERE WAS A JOINT MEETING AND, UH, BOTH COMMISSION, BOTH COMMISSIONS VOTED ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS? YES.
UH, IT, THE STANDARD PROCESS WOULD BE THAT IT WOULD GO THROUGH A VOTE OF BOTH COMMISSIONS, AT LEAST FOR THE LAST, I THINK THREE UPDATES I THINK FOR FURTHER BACK AS WELL.
AND SO I WOULD HAVE TO RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH, UH, WITH YOU, WITH YOU, RICHARD, ON THAT FRONT.
UH, BUT I, I ALSO DO WANT TO ADD THAT I THINK YOU PROBABLY CAME ON BOARD AUSTIN AFTER THE LAST UPDATE AND SO THERE MAY BE SOME, YOU KNOW, LACK OF CLARITY THERE, BUT, UM, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, DON'T WANT TO INTERRUPT FOLKS, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE HIGHLY, IT, IT, WE, WE ABSOLUTELY SHOULD BE VOTING ON IT AS WELL.
UH, AND THAT WOULD BE I THINK, VERY IMPORTANT TO, TO GET BACK TO THE STANDARD PROCESS THAT PREVIOUS UPDATES HAVE GONE THROUGH.
YEAH, I, I DON'T HAVE ANY ISSUE WITH, I MEAN, I GUESS WHAT I'M SAYING IS RIGHT NOW WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING MOVING FORWARD THAT WE'RE AWARE OF.
IF THE RMC WISHES TO, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE MEMBERS OF THE WORKING GROUP THAT SERVED WANT TO BRIEF THE OTHER, UH, MEMBERS, I THINK THEY'RE ENTITLED TO DO THAT.
BUT I'M SAYING THAT I DON'T BELIEVE A PRESENTATION FROM AUSTIN ENERGY ON SOMETHING THAT IS NOT MOVING FORWARD AT THIS POINT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.
I, WE, I THINK MR. SILVERSTEIN, WE WILL BE HAPPY.
THOSE OF US WHO SERVED ON THE WORKING GROUP, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO BRIEF AND IF YOU WANT TO DO A QUICK SUMMARY AFTER THAT OF WHAT IT IS YOUR CURRENT PLAN IS, THAT IS APPEARS TO BE THE WORKING ALTERNATIVE THAT WOULD BE USEFUL I THINK TO THE RMC.
YEAH, WE, WE, I'D BE, WE'D BE HAPPY TO BRIEF, UM, THIS COMMISSION ON THE PORTIONS OF THE PLAN THAT I CAN BRIEF ON AND THE OTHER PORTIONS WOULD HAVE TO BE TAKEN BACK.
UM, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING I CAN COMMENT ON.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON, I NOTICED YOU RAISED YOUR HAND BEFORE WE GOT ON THIS LITTLE TANGENT.
I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU HAD SOMETHING ELSE YOU WANTED TO BRING UP.
NO, I, I, UH, PAUL WAS PRETTY SMOOTH IN HOW HE, UH, WELL SORT OF READ MY MIND AND UM, IT WAS REALLY THAT, UH, THE STANDARD PROCESS FOR THE RESOURCE PLAN UPDATE WOULD GO THROUGH, UH, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT VOTE ON, ON ALL SECTIONS.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT CLEAR.
AND COMMISSIONER KARA GOTTI, YOU ALSO RAISED A HAND.
I JUST WANT TO, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE NEED TO PUT THIS ON THE AGENDA.
WHAT, BUT I FEEL LIKE IT'S GOTTEN LOST.
I KNOW, UH, NATASHA HAS BEEN TALKING, UH, OR RESPONDING TO ME ABOUT THE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO BE ON BOARD 'CAUSE I, I FEEL LIKE IT'S GOTTEN LOST, UM, HOLIDAYS AND EVERYTHING.
UM, I'D LIKE TO BRING BACK UP AND GET ALL THE UTILITIES TOGETHER AND ONBOARD TO PUT AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PUT ALL CITY UTILITY INCENTIVES ON ONE WEBSITE.
SO I'M NOT SURE HOW THE CITY WANTS TO GO ABOUT THAT, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT AT LEAST AND BRING THAT UP SO THAT EVERYONE'S PRESENT.
IF IT WOULD BE OF ANY HELP, I'LL BE GLAD TO CO-SPONSOR SO YOU CAN POST THIS.
DO I JUST NEED TO WRITE SOMETHING UP? YES.
UH, IF YOU LOOK HERE, YOU'LL SEE THE, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, DISCUSSION ON.
SO IF YOU'RE ABLE TO GIVE LANGUAGE AND WHO YOUR CO-SPONSORS ARE, THEN THAT WILL BE GOOD.
AND THEN IF DOWN THE LINE YOU FIGURE OUT A WAY THAT YOU, IF YOU NEEDED TO DO A RESOLUTION, ALTHOUGH I'M WILLING TO BET THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU FIND A COUPLE OF FOLKS AT AE WHEN THEY ARE ABLE TO, TO SIT WITH YOU AND, AND HAMMER THROUGH WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE, THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FIND SOMETHING WITHOUT PROBABLY THE NEED OF A FORMAL RESOLUTION.
I MEAN I, YOU KNOW, TO ME IT'S, IT, IT'S ALMOST DUMBFOUNDING THAT SOMETHING
[03:20:01]
LIKE THIS ISN'T VERY EASY TO DO WHERE YOU COULD LITERALLY JUST HAVE A LINK ON LIKE WHEN YOU FIRST SIGN UP FOR UTILITIES, RIGHT.YOU KNOW, YOU GO ON THERE AND WHETHER IT'S THE AUSTIN ENERGY SITE OR CENTER POINT OR TEXAS GAS OR WHOEVER, HEY YOU WANT, YOU'RE INTERESTED IN REBATES, IT APPEARS YOU QUALIFIED FOR THIS, YOU KNOW, HERE'S A LINK FOR ALL THESE OTHER SITES OR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.
IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S NOT THAT HARD.
THERE'S PROBABLY A NON-PROFIT OUT THERE THAT HAS THIS AND TRIPLICATE AND IT'S JUST A MATTER OF FINDING IT.
BUT WE COULD CERTAINLY TALK THROUGH IT.
AND I'M SURE, LIKE I SAID, THAT IT'S NOT THAT HARD.
IT'S JUST A MATTER OF WHERE ON THE CITY SITES IT'S DOING IT, IT WOULD GO AND WHO HOSTS IT AND WHO MAINTAINS IT.
AND THAT'S THE KIND OF STUFF THAT HAS TO BE WORKED THROUGH.
'CAUSE YOUR LIGHT WAS ON SO I FIGURED MAYBE YOU HAD SOMETHING TELLING YOU 25 CENTS EVERY TIME THAT LIGHT IS LEFT ON PAUL.
UH, BEING THAT GOOD LUCK COLLECTING
SECOND, THERE'S BEEN A MOTION MADE BY, I BELIEVE IT WAS COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS IF I HEARD THAT CORRECTLY.
ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? WE STAND ADJOURNED AT 9:25 PM THANK YOU FOLKS.