* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [CALL MEETING TO ORDER] [00:00:03] UM, WELL, WE, IT IS 6 0 2 AND WE HAVE A QUORUM. SO I'M CALLING TO ORDER THIS MEETING OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, UM, SEPTEMBER 16TH. WE DO HAVE A NEW COMMISSIONER WITH US TODAY JOINING FOR THE FIRST TIME. SO I WOULD LIKE TO ASK OUR, OUR NEW COMMISSIONER TO PLEASE INTRODUCE HIMSELF. UH, HI EVERYONE. MY NAME IS, UH, HARRY KENARD. I, UH, WORK AT UT I TEACH, UH, AND I DO ENERGY RESEARCH, AND I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE, UH, TO HELP OUT IN WHATEVER WAY I CAN. THANK YOU. UM, AND I'LL JUST SAY, I'M CHARLOTTE DAVIS. I AM, UH, REPRESENTING DISTRICT ONE. UM, DO YOU WANNA SAY YEP. INTRODUCE, WE'LL JUST GO AROUND SINCE WE'VE ONLY GOT A FEW PEOPLE. GO AHEAD. UH, SURE. YEAH. I'M RAFAEL SCHWARTZ, UH, REPRESENTING DETAIL DISTRICT TWO, MARTIN LUKI. I REPRESENT DISTRICT FOUR AND VICE CHAIR ROBBINS. UH, I'M PAUL ROBBINS. UH, I WAS APPOINTED BY RYAN ALTER IN DISTRICT FIVE AND COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, ALLISON SILVERSTEIN FROM DISTRICT EIGHT. NICE TO MEET YOU SOON, I HOPE. NICE TO MEET YOU. GREAT. UH, THANK YOU. UM, SO DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? I'M GETTING A HEAD SHAKE. NO PUBLIC SPEAKERS, NO PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY. SO [1. Approve the minutes of the Resource Management Commission Meeting on August 19, 2025.] WE WILL GO TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE AUGUST 19TH MEETING. I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION. UH, SO MOVED. I HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER SCHWARTZ MOVES TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. OKAY. THAT WAS, UH, LUKEY GOT THERE FIRST. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MINUTES? I, UM, HEARING NONE, I'LL CALL FOR A VOTE, UH, REMINDING FOLKS THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE ATTENDED THE MEETING IN ORDER TO VOTE FOR APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. UM, SO ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE AUGUST 19TH MEETING. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. I AM SEEING 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. OKAY. SO THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. UM, WE'RE GONNA FLIP THE ORDER A BIT. WE HAVE AN ACTION ITEM FOR NUMBER TWO, BUT BEFORE WE TAKE ACTION ON THAT, UH, WE WILL GET A BRIEFING SO THAT WE'LL KNOW WHAT WE, WE WILL BE ACTING ON. SO I'M GOING TO [5. Staff Briefing regarding Austin Water’s proposed Fiscal Year 2025-2026 GoPurple Pilot Incentive for alternative onsite water reuse systems and reclaimed water connections by Katherine Jashinski, Supervising Engineer, Austin Water.] ASK, UM, FOR THE STAFF BREEDING FOR NUMBER FIVE, THE STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING AUSTIN WATERS PROPOSED 25 26 GO PURPLE PILOT INCENTIVE, UM, BY CATHERINE JASINSKI. OH, THERE'S A, A PRESENTATION THERE. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. PLEASE GO AHEAD. HELLO? YEAH, I THINK THAT'S THE, OH, THERE IT IS. OKAY. THANK YOU. HELLO, I'M CATHERINE DKA. I'M A SUPERVISING ENGINEER WITH AUSTIN WATER IN THE RECLAIMED AND ONSITE WATER REUSE PROGRAM, GIVING THIS BRIEFING ON OUR GO PURPLE PROGRAM, WHICH INCLUDES INCENTIVES AND COST SHARING FOR WATER RES PROJECTS. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, OUR GOAL, OUR GOAL PURPLE PROGRAM INCLUDES, UM, THESE, UH, STRATEGIES LISTED HERE. THE, THE PROGRAM WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL IN MARCH OF 2024. UM, THIS WHOLE PROGRAM IS RELATED TO ADVANCING WATER REUSE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE, UH, THE CITY SERVICE AREA, UH, IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR WATER FORWARD, UM, LONG RANGE WATER SUPPLY PLAN. AND SO, UM, THE WHOLE GO PURPLE PROGRAM, AND WE CALL IT GO PURPLE BECAUSE PURPLE IS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR PIPES THAT CARRY RECYCLED WATER. UM, BUT THE BOAT GO PURPLE PROGRAM THAT WAS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL IN 2024 INCLUDES, UM, CODE CHANGES FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE AND RECLAIMED WATER CONNECTIONS FOR NEW COMMERCIAL AND, AND MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. IT ALSO INCLUDES AFFORDABILITY STRATEGIES FOR REUSE PROJECTS, WHICH INCLUDE INCENTIVES AND COST PARTICIPATION FROM THE UTILITY TO HELP OFFSET THE COST OF IMPLEMENTING WATER REUSE IN THESE NEW DEVELOPMENTS. UM, AND IT ALSO INCLUDES A NEW COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE THAT EACH, UM, AUSTIN WATER RATE PAYER PAYS, UH, ON THEIR UTILITY BILLS EVERY MONTH. IT'S 15 CENTS PER THOUSAND GALLONS, UH, TO FUND OUR RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM EXPANSION, UM, AND OUR ONSITE REUSE PROGRAMS AND GOES TO TOWARDS SOME OF THESE, UM, COST PARTICIP COST PARTICIPATION PROJECTS. EXCUSE ME. NEXT SLIDE. SO, UH, JUST A KIND OF A, A REMINDER AND A BACKGROUND [00:05:01] ON THE WATER FORWARD WATER SUPPLY PLAN. UH, IT WAS RECENTLY, UM, UPDATED AND ADOPTED BY COUNCIL IN 2024 AT THE END OF LAST YEAR. IT INCLUDES CONSERVATION STRATEGIES, THOSE STRATEGIES LISTED IN YELLOW LIKE WATER LOSS CONTROL AND NATIVE AND EFFICIENT LANDSCAPES. UH, IN PURPLE WE HAVE THESE NON-POTABLE REUSE STRATEGIES, WHICH ARE THE SUBJECT OF THE, OF THE GO PURPLE PROGRAM. AND WE ALSO HAVE, UM, MORE TRADITIONAL WATER SUPPLY, UM, STRATEGIES, THOSE ONES LISTED IN, UM, BLUE THERE. UH, BUT TODAY WE'LL BE FOCUSING ON THE, THE NON-POTABLE REUSE STRATEGIES. NEXT SLIDE. SO THE CODE REQUIREMENTS, UM, THAT ARE A PART OF GO PURPLE ARE SUMMARIZED HERE BELOW. AND AGAIN, THESE THAT WERE ADOPTED IN, IN 2024, THEY ONLY, UM, APPLY TO LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. AND THAT'S DEFINED AS, UH, A COMMERCIAL OR MULTI-FAMILY NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT HAS 250,000 SQUARE FEET OR MORE OF GROSS FLOOR AREA. SO THAT WOULD BE TYPICALLY LIKE AN OFFICE BUILDING THAT HAS A THOUSAND EMPLOYEES OR AN APARTMENT BUILDING THAT HAS, YOU KNOW, 220 OR SO OR MORE APARTMENTS WITHIN IT. UM, AND THEN THERE ARE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS FOR THOSE PROJECTS BASED ON HOW CLOSE YOU ARE TO OUR MUNICIPAL RECLAIMED WATER NETWORK. OUR PURPLE PIPE NETWORK THAT BRINGS TREATED, UM, WASTEWATER EFFLUENT FROM OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND PIPES IT TO CERTAIN AREAS OF THE CITY, WHICH CAN BE USED FOR IRRIGATION AND TOILET FLUSHING, UM, AND COOLING, NOT, NOT FOR DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES, BUT FOR THESE NON POTABLE SOURCES WITHIN DEVELOPMENTS. SO IF YOU ARE A LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AND YOU'RE WITHIN 500 FEET OF THAT RECLAIMED WATER, UM, NETWORK, YOU'RE REQUIRED TO EXTEND THE MAIN TO YOUR PROPERTY. THE, THE RECLAIMED MAINE CONNECT TO, UH, THAT MAIN DUAL PLUM BUILDING SO THAT YOU CAN USE THAT WATER FOR THOSE, THOSE WATER USES THAT I MENTIONED, TOILETS, URINALS, IRRIGATION, AND COOLING. UM, AND IF YOU'RE GREATER THAN 500 FEET FROM THAT RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, YOU INSTEAD HAVE TO CAPTURE RAINWATER AND CONDENSATE, UM, AND THEN TREAT IT FOR REUSE FOR THOSE SAME TYPES OF WATER DEMANDS, THE TOILETS AND THE IRRIGATION AND, AND COOLING. UM, AND ANY, YOU ALL MAY OR MAY NOT BE AWARE, BUT ANYTIME YOU ADOPT A NEW CODE AMENDMENT IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, IT'S A A ANOTHER CODE REQUIREMENT THAT YOU HAVE TO DO AN A AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT TO, UM, ESTIMATE THE COST TO HOUSING PROJECTS FROM THE NEW CODE REQUIREMENTS. AND SO, IN THE THIRD COLUMN ON THIS CHART, YOU'LL SEE WHEN WE INITIALLY, UM, BROUGHT THE CODE, UM, REQUIREMENTS FORWARD, UH, FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION, WE ESTIMATED THE IMPACT WOULD BE BETWEEN EIGHT TO $900 PER HOUSING UNIT, UM, ON THE LOW END, UP TO FOUR 4,000 TO 7,000, UM, PER HOUSING UNIT ON, ON THE HIGHER END. AND SO, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE 300 APARTMENTS IN YOUR, IN YOUR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT, YOU WOULD MULTIPLY THAT ADDITIONAL COST BY THE NUMBER OF UNITS AND THAT WOULD BE YOUR TOTAL COST, UM, TO IMPLEMENT THE CODE REQUIREMENTS. UM, I, UM, SO WHEN WE DID THE COST ANALYSIS AND THE AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT, THE, UM, CODE REQUIREMENTS RECEIVED A NEGATIVE, UM, RATING FROM THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT BECAUSE OF THE COST THAT HOUSING PROJECTS WOULD HAVE TO INCUR TO IMPLEMENT THESE REUSE STRATEGIES. AND SO, UM, AT THE TIME WE WERE DIRECTED BY CITY MANAGEMENT TO COME UP WITH THESE COST SHARING OR INCENTIVE PROGRAMS TO HELP OFFSET THE COSTS OF IMPLEMENTING THESE CODE REQUIREMENTS. AND SO THE BILL PURPLE INCENTIVE AFFORDABILITY STRATEGIES AND PROGRAMS THAT YOU'LL BE, YOU KNOW, VOTING ON TODAY, THE COLUMN ON THE FOURTH COLUMN IS SHOWING THE IMPACT TO THESE DEVELOPMENTS AFTER YOU INCORPORATE THE INCENTIVES AND THE, AND THE COST PARTICIPATION THAT THE UTILITY NOW PROVIDES FOR THESE PROJECTS. SO YOU CAN SEE IT DOES BRING DOWN THE COST OF IMPLEMENTING THE, UH, REUSE REQUIREMENTS BY A BIT. UM, BUT THERE STILL IS A COST INCURRED BY THESE PROJECTS TO, UM, MEET THESE CODE REQUIREMENTS. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. A SECOND PLEASE. OH, SURE. UM, SO HOW MUCH, IF YOU HAVE LIKE A HUNDRED UNIT AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPLEX, THIS IS A LOT OF MONEY ADDED ONTO IT. HOW MUCH FINANCIAL [00:10:01] BURDEN CAN THESE, UM, DEVELOPMENTS STAND BEFORE THEY ARE NOT AFFORDABLE ANYMORE? YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. AND I HAVE A, THERE IS A, UM, SOME SLIDES ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS AND THERE'S, THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS AND WHAT WE CONSIDER DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS ARE EXEMPT FROM THESE CODE REQUIREMENTS. UM, SO I THINK WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT. AND I THINK THAT YOU DID MENTION THAT IT, IT THIS APPLIES TO DEVELOPMENTS OF 250,000 SQUARE FEET AND UP, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT. SO HOW MANY HOUSING UNITS IS THAT? THAT'S A, YOU WOULD START TO HAVE LIKE 225 OR MORE. SO, YOU KNOW, IN YOUR EXAMPLE, AN A HUNDRED UNIT APARTMENT WOULD PROBABLY NOT BE REQUIRED TO DO THIS. ARE THERE OTHER ELEMENTS OF CODE REQUIREMENTS IN AUSTIN THAT PROVIDE OFFSETTING SAVINGS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS, LIKE ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES THAT, THAT COST ABOUT THE SAME WHEN YOU'RE BUILDING THEM, BUT THEY'RE SAVING THE RESIDENTS MONEY ONCE THEY'RE INSTALLED? I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE I FULLY UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION, BUT, UH, MAYBE TO JUST SORT OF JUMP AHEAD A LITTLE BIT, WE NOW, THIS INCENTIVE PROGRAM THAT WE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, COMING TO YOU FOR REAUTHORIZATION, WE JUST THIS YEAR IMPLEMENTED A NEW INCENTIVE TO TRY TO FULLY OFFSET THE COST OF INSTALLING THESE WATER REUSE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEEPLY AFFORDABLE. AND SO THANK YOU. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. AND COMMISSIONERS, IF I CAN ASK YOU TO HOLD QUESTIONS TILL THE END, WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UM, GET THROUGH THE PRESENTATION AND DO ALL QUESTIONS THEN. THANK YOU. OKAY. AND SO HERE IS THE SUMMARY THAT WE JUST WENT OVER THE CODE REQUIREMENTS AND NOW THESE ARE, UM, IF YOU ARE, UM, REQUIRED AND OR VOLUNTARILY INSTALLING, UM, THESE REUSE SYSTEMS. THESE, UH, THIS TABLE SUMMARIZES WHAT YOU'RE ELIGIBLE FOR FROM THE GO PURPLE PROGRAM. AND SO WE'LL, WE'LL START WITH THE TOP ROW. THAT'S THE RECLAIMED WATER. IF YOU'RE CONNECTING TO THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM. UM, WE, WE HAVE A RECLAIMED MAIN, UM, EXTENSION REBATE. AND SO THAT KICKS IN IF YOU'RE BUILDING MORE THAN 250 FEET OF RECLAIMED WATER MAIN. SO IF YOU'RE BUILDING BETWEEN 251 TO LIKE 500 FEET, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE CODE REQUIRES, WE THE REBATE COVERS 50% OF, UM, THAT LAST 250 FEET. SO REALLY IT WOULD BE UP TO A QUARTER IF YOU WERE FULLY EXTENDING 500 FEET, THE REBATE WOULD COVER THE COST TO CONSTRUCT 125 OF THOSE FEET. UM, AND, UM, IT'S CAPPED AT $500,000, UM, FOR THOSE PRO PRO UH, FOR THOSE, UM, EACH PROJECT. UM, THE NEXT ONE DOESN'T APPLY BECAUSE THAT'S FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS, UM, EXPEDITED BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW REBATE. SO IF YOU, UM, ARE INSTALLING ADDITIONAL MAIN, UM, TO CONNECT TO YOUR PROJECT AND DUAL PLUMBING YOUR BUILDING, WE, AUSTIN WATER WILL GIVE YOU A REBATE FOR THE COST OF GOING THROUGH, UH, THE EXPEDITED BUILDING PLAN REVIEW PROCESS. UM, THAT'S TYPICALLY HOW MUCH IT COSTS TO GET, LIKE ON A FASTER TIMEFRAME TO APPROVE YOUR PROJECT FOR, FOR THE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PHASE. UM, AND THEN IMPACT FEES FOR THESE NON-POTABLE METERS. SO FOR OUR RECLAIMED WATER METERS, UM, THERE ARE NO, UM, IMPACT FEES ASSESSED. THOSE ARE THE FEES THAT YOU PAY WHEN YOU CONNECT TO THE SYSTEM TO PAY FOR A FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS PLANNED, UM, TO BE ABLE TO SERVE YOUR DEVELOPMENT. AND THEN THE FINAL ONE IS, UM, ASSISTANCE WITH THE PACE PROGRAM. THAT'S THE PROPERTY ASSESSED CLEAN ENERGY PROGRAM THAT'S, UM, ADMINISTERED BY TRAVIS COUNTY PACE AUTHORITY. WE DON'T REALLY GIVE YOU ANY MONEY, BUT WE, UM, UH, WE'LL HELP, YOU KNOW, WE'LL DONATE STAFF TIME TO HELP YOU FILLING OUT THAT APPLICATION, UM, TO APPLY FOR FINANCING THROUGH THAT PROGRAM. FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS IN THE BOTTOM ROW, YOU'RE NOT DOING A RECLAIMED MAIN REBATE OR A RECLAIMED MAIN EXTENSION, SO THAT DOESN'T APPLY. BUT IF YOU ARE VOLUNTARILY INSTALLING AN ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM, SO NOT IF YOU'RE REQUIRED TO BY CODE, IF YOU VOLUNTARILY INSTALL ONSITE REUSE, WE OFFER [00:15:01] A REBATE UP TO $500,000 TOWARDS THE COST OF THAT SYSTEM. UM, YOU ALSO QUALIFY FOR THE EXPEDITED BUILDING PLAN REVIEW PROCESS, UM, A SIMILAR, UM, IMPACT FEE REDUCTION. YOU'RE NOT PAYING FOR IMPACT FEES FOR THE WATER, THE METER THAT YOU NEED TO BACK UP YOUR SYSTEM. AND THEN WE ASSIST YOU WITH THE PACE PROGRAM. NEXT SLIDE. UM, AND THIS, THIS GOES TO SPEAK ABOUT THE, UM, INCENTIVES, UH, IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR. IF YOU WERE HERE, WE PRESENTED, UM, SO IN, IN MAY, I GUESS IT WOULD'VE BEEN FOR Y'ALL, UM, OUR EXPANSION OF THIS GO PURPLE PROGRAM TO, UM, CURRENTLY THE, THE PROGRAM IS CAPPED AT $500,000 PER PROJECT FOR NORMAL PROJECTS. UH, BUT WE GOT, UM, MA UH, DIRECTION FROM CITY COUNCIL WHEN THE GO PURPLE PROGRAM WAS ADOPTED TO WORK ON A PROGRAM TO BE ABLE TO HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS, UM, PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM SO THAT THEY CAN GET THE BENEFIT OF REDUCED UTILITY FEES. UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE USING RECYCLED WATER, YOU DON'T PAY AS MUCH FOR YOUR, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE USING LESS POTABLE WATER. AND SO THAT SAVES YOU MONEY. UM, AND SO NOW FOR THESE EXEMPT AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS AND JUST TO, UH, REMIND PEOPLE, THOSE ARE PROJECTS THAT HAVE 50% OF THE UNITS, UM, ON SITE ARE AT 60 TO 80% OF THE, THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME. AND SO IF YOU'RE PARTICIPATING IN THE CITY'S AFFORDABILITY UNLOCKED PROGRAM DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, OR IF YOU'RE, IF YOU QUALIFY FOR THE STATE, UM, LITECH FUNDING, UM, THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT ARE EXEMPT. AND THEN QUALIFY FOR, UM, THIS INCREASED, UM, ENHANCED INCENTIVE. AND I'LL, I I SHOULD MENTION THAT, THAT, UM, IT WAS ONE OF THE CITY MANAGER'S TOP 25 GOALS TO IMPLEMENT THIS PROGRAM THIS YEAR. UM, NEXT SLIDE. SO, UH, JUST TO GIVE A SUMMARY OF, UM, THE PROGRAM, HOW IT WENT THIS PAST YEAR AS YOU'RE LOOKING TO, WE'RE LOOKING TO REAUTHORIZE IT FOR THE COMING FISCAL YEAR. WE HAD BUDGETED 4 MILLION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR. UH, AND THEN WE INCREASED THE PROGRAM CAP TO THE 1.5 MILLION FOR THE THOSE EXEMPT AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS. WE DIDN'T RECEIVE ANY INCENTIVE APPLICATIONS DURING THE PAST FISCAL YEAR. UM, BUT WE ARE REPORTING A PROGRAM ACTIVITY QUARTERLY WITHIN THE NEW WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES REPORT. THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S YOUR OTHER PRESENTATION YOU'RE GETTING TONIGHT. UM, AND THEN THIS INCENTIVE PROGRAM, IT REQUIRES ANNUAL COUNCIL REAUTHORIZATION, UM, TO BE ABLE TO ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM. UM, I, I CAN SAY THAT I THINK SOMEONE ASKED LAST TIME, LIKE, HOW MUCH WERE WE PAYING OUT FOR, YOU KNOW, LIKE, WHAT WERE WE GETTING FOR THIS PROGRAM? AND SO, UM, WE HAVE APPROVED TWO APPLICATIONS, UM, SINCE THE PROGRAM HAS BEGUN. AND, UH, WE'RE SAVING 61 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR, OR WE WILL, WHEN THEY'RE FULLY OPERATIONAL, UM, 61 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR. AND WE PAID OUT $750,000. SO THAT'S JUST OVER A DOLLAR PER THOUSAND GALLONS. UH, I THINK IT'S A DOLLAR 20 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT PER A THOUSAND GALLONS OF, UM, WATER SAVED, WHICH IS, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, SORT OF, UM, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'RE PAYING TO LIKE, UM, PROVIDE POTABLE WATER TO CUSTOMERS NOW. SO, UM, NEXT SLIDE. FOR THIS COMING YEAR FOR THE REAUTHORIZATION, WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO CONTINUE THE PILOT INCENTIVE FOR THE COMING FISCAL YEAR, CONTINUE AT THE TOTAL AGGREGATE AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF 4 MILLION. UM, AND THE SAME FUNDING AMOUNTS, NO MORE THAN 500,000 FOR REGULAR PROJECTS, BUT 1.5 MILLION FOR THE EXEMPT AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS. AND WE ARE EXPECTING MORE PROGRAM PARTICIPATION THIS YEAR. UM, JUST DUE TO THE KIND OF THE, THE TIMING OF WHEN, YOU KNOW, THESE, THIS PROGRAM WENT INTO EFFECT IN MARCH OF, UH, 2024 AND THOSE PROJECTS THAT SUBMITTED LIKE A SITE DEVELOPMENT PERMIT AT THAT STAGE ARE NOW JUST ENTERING THE BUILDING PERMIT PHASE, UM, WHERE THEY'RE SUBMITTING THEIR ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION PLANS. AND SO THEY'RE NOW AT THE POINT WHERE THEY'RE, THEY'RE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THOSE REBATES 'CAUSE YOU HAVE TO SPEND, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY ON THE BUILDING PERMIT FEES BEFORE WE CAN REBATE IT, UM, TO YOU AND YOU HAVE TO KIND OF PAY FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE BEFORE WE [00:20:01] CAN REBATE IT TO YOU. UM, AND SO I THINK WE'RE NOW REACHING THAT POINT WHERE WE'RE GONNA SEE MORE, UM, PROGRAM PARTICIPATION. I THINK THAT'S THE LAST SLIDE. THANKS. GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, OPEN, I'LL OPEN THE FLOOR TO COMMISSIONERS FOR QUESTIONS. UH, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, GO AHEAD. THANK YOU. UM, JUST TO CHECK WHETHER I HEARD AND READ PROPERLY, DID YOU SAY THAT GO PURPLE HAS RECEIVED NO APPLICATIONS THIS FISCAL YEAR OR ONLY NO APPLICATIONS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, LARGE AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS? NONE AT ALL. ANY FEEDBACK ON WHY NOT? UH, WE HAVE RECEIVED A LITTLE BIT OF FEEDBACK. UM, ESP ESP WE RE EVERY LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT THAT COMES THROUGH THE REVIEW PROCESS, WE, THEY'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE A MEETING WITH US. AND SO WE'RE ALWAYS LETTING THESE PROJECTS KNOW ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE IS AN INCENTIVE. UM, AND FROM ONE PARTICULAR APPLICANT DEVELOPER TEAM, THEY, UM, THEIR FEEDBACK WAS THAT THESE SYSTEMS ARE SO NEW THAT UNTIL THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF BEING REQUIRED TO DESIGN ONE, THEY'RE NOT GONNA RECOMMEND TO THEIR CLIENT THAT THEY DESIGN AND INSTALL ONE EVEN THOUGH IT'S, YOU KNOW, PAID FOR. UM, THAT WAS, THAT WAS ONE, UH, POINT OF FEEDBACK. WE ARE WORKING WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT ON, YOU KNOW, ADVERTISING MORE IN THE, OF THE PROGRAM AND, UM, WE'LL BE LOOKING TO GET MORE FEEDBACK ON OTHER, YOU KNOW, FROM JUST ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK IS THE, IS THE PAYOUT SCHEDULE NOT WORK FOR, I KNOW A LOT OF THESE PROJECTS HAVE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, HARD DEADLINES ON WHEN THEY HAVE TO, THAT THEY HAVE TO MEET FOR FINANCING. AND SO WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE TO SEE IF ANY SORT OF LIKE RESTRUCTURING ABOUT WHEN WE PAY THINGS OUT, UM, IF THAT COULD HELP MOVE THE NEEDLE AT ALL FOR ANY OF THESE PROJECTS. THANK YOU. ONE LAST QUESTION THEN. IF YOU GO SEVERAL, TWO, TWO MORE YEARS, AND YOU'RE NOT GETTING VERY MANY TAKERS FOR THIS, WHAT ELSE COULD WE BE SPENDING THIS $4 MILLION ON THAT WOULD SAVE MORE MONEY IN A MORE COST EFFECTIVE WAY AND SAVE MORE WATER IN A MORE COST EFFECTIVE WAY? EXCUSE ME. YEAH, THAT, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. AND I DO KNOW THAT EVERY YEAR WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE BALANCE AND FIGURE OUT WHAT, UM, WHAT TO DO TO MAKE REUSE MORE, UM, LIKE TO ADVANCE REUSE MORE. AND SO LIKE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN SPEND THIS MONEY ON IS BUILDING MORE RECLAIMED PIPE PURPLE PIPE OURSELVES SO THAT THERE ARE MORE DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO CONNECT TO IT. AND SO, AND WOULD THAT SAVE MORE WATER THAN, FOR INSTANCE, PUTTING THIS ON THE LEAK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS FOR THE CITY WATER PIPES? OH, WELL, UM, THAT IS, THAT'S PROBABLY NOT YOUR AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY. I APOLOGIZE. SO YEAH, I, I FORGIVE THE AWKWARD NATURE OF THIS. MY NAME'S KEVIN CUR AND I'M ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH AUSTIN WATER. UM, AND SO, UM, CATHERINE'S COMING TO US FROM HOUSTON, TEXAS, SO SHE'S AT THE WATER REUSE CONFERENCE. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CATHERINE. UM, I WOULD JUST INTERJECT TO SAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A PILOT PROJECT AND IT IS A CONTINUING, UM, EXERCISE. OUR STAFF DOES TREMENDOUS WORK EVERY YEAR TRYING TO GET PEOPLE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES AND KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT SORT OF CHANGING THE, THEIR BEHAVIORS. UM, SO WE DO EXPECT TO SEE SOME FLUCTUATION FROM YEAR TO YEAR. UM, WE JUST ENDED A FISCAL YEAR, DIDN'T HAVE A RUSH ON, UM, APPLICATIONS, BUT, UH, AGAIN, STAFF IS IN CONVERSATION ON A REGULAR BASIS ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES TO USE THIS MONEY FOR MONEY THAT'S NOT SPENT CATHERINE'S INDICATED. UM, IT BASICALLY IS PART OF OUR OVERALL, UM, GO PURPLE FUNDING. AND SO WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO SHIFT SOME OF THOSE FUNDS AND SO THAT IT DOESN'T GO TO WASTE AND THAT IT DOES GET INVESTED INTO OUR RECLAIM SYSTEM JUST IN A DIFFERENT WAY. SO THERE'S THAT, UM, TO THE, THE COMMENT ABOUT, UM, UM, WATER LOSS AND WATER SAVINGS. UM, AGAIN, THAT IS A SORT OF A SEPARATE ACTIVITY THAT WE'RE SPENDING SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO REPLACE, UM, VARIOUS INFRASTRUCTURE TYPES. UM, RIGHT NOW, A BIGGER FOCUS IN ADDITION TO REPLACING LEAKING LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE, WE'RE STARTING TO FOCUS MORE ON REPLACEMENT OF CONNECTIONS AND WE REALLY FEEL LIKE OUR DATA INDICATES THAT, UM, THE ACTUAL SERVICE CONNECTION MAY BE WHERE WE'RE LOSING A LOT OF WATER. SO, [00:25:01] UM, A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES AND WE ARE, I GUESS REST ASSURED THAT WE ARE WORKING ON WATER LOSS, WATER CONSERVATION, UH, RECLAIMED WATER AT ALL LEVELS. UM, MR. KLUGE WILL BE UP HERE THIS AF IN, IN A MOMENT TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON OUR OVERALL, UH, WATER STRATEGIES AND THAT WILL ADDRESS A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT PROGRESS IN SOME OF THOSE OTHER AREAS. SO HOPEFULLY THAT ANSWERED SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS. , VERY HELPFUL. THANKS TO YOU BOTH. THANK YOU. OTHER COMMISSIONERS WITH QUESTIONS? I HAVE A COUPLE. UM, I JUST FOR CLARITY, UM, THE, THE PROGRAM WAS ADOPTED IN MARCH, 2024. IS THAT WHEN THE, THE CODE CHANGES WENT INTO EFFECT? OR WHAT DATE DID THEY GO INTO EFFECT? YEAH, THEY, THEY WERE ADOPTED MARCH 7TH, AND THEN THERE'S A, YOU KNOW, A USUALLY A TWO WEEK PERIOD BEFORE THEY, THE CODE BECOMES EFFECTIVE. OKAY. OKAY. SO CATHERINE, SO IT'S BEEN ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF. YES. YEAH, I, AND CORRECT ME CATHERINE, BUT I'M, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR INCENTIVE PROGRAM HAS RUN FOR SEVERAL YEARS. I MEAN, I THINK THE MARCH, UM, DATE WAS SORT OF A RELATED CHANGES THAT HAPPENED SORT OF IN OTHER AREAS OF CODE. SO THAT WAS A REALLY INARTICULATE WAY TO BASICALLY SAY THAT WE'VE BEEN USING, YOU KNOW, THIS SORT OF FUNDING INCENTIVE FOR, IS THIS NOW THE THIRD YEAR? CATHERINE? UM, I BELIEVE IT. 2021 IS WHEN WE FIRST, SO SINCE 2021 MM-HMM . UM, AND WE HAVE HAD TAKERS ALONG THE WAY, SO I JUST WANNA REINFORCE THAT WE HAVE FOUND PEOPLE THAT ARE USING THE PROGRAM. SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT WAS CLEAR. UM, BUT AS WE WORK THROUGH THIS PROCESS AND AS WE TRY TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY KIND OF MOVE TO A PLACE THAT, UM, USES MORE RECLAIMED WATER, UM, WE CONTINUE TO MAKE ENHANCEMENTS. AND SO THE MARCH DATE WAS SORT OF THE LAST KIND OF DETAILED CHANGES THAT, UM, WE GOT SOME DIRECTION ON, PARTICULARLY RELATED TO DIRECTION ON, UM, INCENTIVES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. SO. OKAY. THANKS THAT, THAT'S HELPFUL. DID I GET THAT RIGHT, CATHERINE? THANK YOU. SO, UM, OKAY. THIS, THIS IS PROBABLY A DUMB QUESTION, BUT, UH, SINCE THE CODE CHANGE BECAME EFFECTIVE, IT'S REQUIRED FOR LARGE DEVELOPMENTS OVER 250,000 SQUARE FEET THAT ARE WITHIN 500 FEET OF THE PURPLE PIPE RECLAIMED CONNECTION THAT THEY CONNECT TO IT, YET YOU HAVE NOT HAD ANY, UM, APPLICATIONS FOR REBATES FOR THAT. SO IS THAT TO SAY THAT, UH, THERE HAVE BEEN LARGE DEVELOPMENTS THAT FALL INTO THAT CATEGORY THAT JUST HAVE NOT TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE REBATE? OR, OR THAT THERE JUST HASN'T BEEN ANY THAT CLOSE BECAUSE OF THE, THE NATURE OF WHERE THOSE PIPES ARE? YEAH, THERE'S A SIMILAR KIND OF STORY HERE WITH THIS IS AN EVOLVING, UH, UM, SORT OF LANDSCAPE WHERE WE, WE HAVE HAD RECLAIMED WATER CONNECTION REQUIREMENTS SINCE, UH, 2015. AND SO PREVIOUSLY, IF YOU WERE ANY SIZE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT WITHIN 250 FEET, YOU HAVE TO CONNECT AND, AND USE RECLAIMED WATER. SO NOW KIND OF WHAT'S CHANGED IS IF, UH, YOU'RE LARGE AND YOU'RE WITHIN 500 FEET, UM, YOU, YOU, THAT'S YOUR NEW CONNECTION DISTANCE. SO YOU, SO WE ARE HAVING PEOPLE CONNECT THAT ARE, THEY MIGHT BE LARGE, BUT THEY MIGHT ONLY BE 250 FEET FROM THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM. THEY'RE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THESE INCENTIVES. 'CAUSE THAT WAS THE OLD CODE REQUIREMENT. IT'S JUST IF YOU'RE LARGE AND BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, 250 TO 500 FEET. SO THAT'S KIND OF A SELECT SUBSET OF, OF PROJECTS. AND WE ARE, WE DO HAVE A FEW THAT HAVE COME IN SINCE THEN AND THEY JUST ARE NOT YET TO THE POINT WHERE THEY'RE LIKE READY TO APPLY, UM, FOR THE INCENTIVE. BUT WE DO THINK, UM, LIKE THE, YEAH, THERE ARE A FEW PROJECTS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE AND I THINK THEY WILL WITHIN THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR APPLY. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, YES, I, I SEE YOU VICE CHAIR ROBBINS JUST, UH, GET YOU JUST ONE SECOND. UM, SO, AND JUST TO, UH, TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WORKS, OBVIOUSLY THIS DOES INCREASE THE COST OF A DEVELOPMENT. YOU'VE GOT SOME, SOME FIGURES THERE, SOME ESTIMATES. UM, IT'S FAIR TO ASSUME THAT THIS INCREASED COST OF DEVELOPMENT IS PASSED ALONG TO THE, THE TENANTS OR THE, THE BUYERS OF THOSE UNITS, RIGHT? UM, CORRECT. AND SO THE INCENTIVES ARE TO KIND OF LESSEN THAT, TO KEEP, UH, AFFORDABILITY IN MIND, [00:30:01] EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A NEGATIVE IMPACT TO, TO HOUSING COST. THE PURPOSE OF THE INCENTIVE IS TO TRY TO MITIGATE THAT TO SOME EXTENT. IS THAT FAIR? YES, I WOULD SAY THAT'S FAIR. OKAY. OKAY. I JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND KIND OF HOW THAT, THAT WORKS. VICE CHAIR ROBBINS, PLEASE GO AHEAD. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. UH, JUST TO UNDERSTAND, UH, THERE IS NO INCENTIVE FOR, UH, CUSTOM CUSTOMERS 150 FEET AND LESS SO. YEAH. OKAY. SO IF YOU ARE WITHIN 250 FEET OF THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, UM, THERE, THERE IS THE IMPACT FEE THERE. THIS HAS BEEN ALREADY INTO OUR, OUR, OUR BUSINESS MODEL FOR A WHILE THAT YOU DON'T PAY IMPACT FEES FOR A RECLAIMED WATER METER. SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT HAS EXISTED AND IS CONTINUING ON AS PART OF THIS PROGRAM. AND THAT IS SO THAT THE SAVINGS THAT YOU GET IS REFLECTED IN THIS, THIS TABLE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE. AND SO WE'VE, WE'VE INCLUDED IT AS SOMETHING THAT IS HELPING TO, UM, MITIGATE THE COSTS OF IMPLEMENTING THESE SYSTEMS. BUT THE OTHER, UM, THE OTHER MONETARY INCENTIVES THAT ARE LISTED ON THAT TABLE DO NOT APPLY FOR PROJECTS THAT ARE WITHIN 250 FEET THAT ARE REQUIRED TO CONNECT. I THINK IT'S SLIDE FIVE THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. YEAH. WITH THE, AND WHAT, PARDON ME, BUT PARDON ME. WHAT IS THE LOGIC OF GIVING THE INCENTIVE, UH, FOR BETWEEN 251 AND 500 FEET? BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT REQUIRED AS PART OF THE CODE. IT'S BECAUSE THAT WAS WHAT EFFECTIVELY CHANGED IN THE CODE WITH THESE MARCH 7TH, THESE NEW REGULATIONS. UM, THIS WAS AN ADDITIONAL CODE REQUIREMENT, SO ADDITIONAL COSTS INCURRED FOR THESE LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE WERE SPECIFICALLY ASKED TO LOOK AT, LIKE WHAT WOULD, WHAT COULD WE DO TO REDUCE THE COSTS FOR, FROM THESE NEW CODE REQUIREMENTS. SO JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THE, UH, INCENTIVES OR BETWEEN 251 AND 500 FEET, UH, THEY APPLY TO, UH, CUSTOMERS, NEW CUSTOMERS THAT, UH, ARE COMPLYING WITH THE NEW CODE. YES. COMPLYING OR VOLUNTARILY WE DO HAVE, UM, PROJECTS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A THOUSAND FEET AWAY FROM THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, BUT WANT TO CONNECT VERSUS DOING THE ONSITE REUSE SYSTEM. AND SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALLOWING THEM TO APPLY FOR THIS COST PARTICIPATION IN THOSE INSTANCES AS WELL. WELL, YES, I, I GET THAT. BUT, UH, AND THIS, I'M SURE YOU AND MR. CRITTENDON ARE FAMILIAR WITH MY CONCERNS THAT I'VE EXPRESSED PREVIOUSLY THAT, UM, WE ARE GIVING INCENTIVES FOR SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY REQUIRED. AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I GOT THIS RIGHT. THE NEW CODE FOR BETWEEN, UH, FOR HOOKUPS BETWEEN 251 AND 500 FEET, UH, THAT IS A REQUIREMENT AND THEY'RE STILL GETTING INCENTIVES. AM I UNDERSTANDING THIS CORRECTLY? THAT'S RIGHT. WE'RE WE'RE, UH, PAYING A PORTION OF THEIR CODE REQUIREMENT. OKAY. SO YEAH, I MEAN, I, I JUST WOULD, I JUST WOULD REINFORCE THAT THAT PIECE, WHICH IS THERE, IS, THERE IS AN INCENTIVE RELATED TO THIS CODE REQUIREMENT, BUT IT DOES NOT FULLY COMPENSATE FOR THE ADDITIONAL COST REQUIRED TO COMPLY. UH, I UNDERSTAND THAT. OKAY. UH, BUT THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I'VE GOT YEAH, THIS RIGHT. IT IS COMPLICATED. , UH, COMMISSIONER LUKI, THANK YOU. YES. UM, IT'S VERY INTERESTING PRESENTATION. I'M CURIOUS HOW YOU ARRIVED AT THE 61 MILLION GALLON AMOUNT. IS THAT BASED UPON, UH, UH, PROJECTS THAT ARE ALREADY IN MOTION? YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT. SO EVERY, UM, PROJECT THAT WE GIVE [00:35:01] INCENTIVES TO, THEY HAVE TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND, UM, WE REVIEW THEIR WATER BALANCE CALCULATION TO VERIFY LIKE THEY CAN SAVE THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT THEY ARE, UM, CLAIMING CREDIT FOR. AND SO THOSE ARE PRETTY, UH, WHILE THE SYSTEMS ARE NOT YET OPERATIONAL, THEY'RE STILL IN THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE. THEY, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO SAVE THAT AMOUNT OF WATER WHEN THEY BECOME OPERATIONAL, AND BOTH OF THEM SHOULD BE OPERATIONAL BEGINNING SOMETIME NEXT YEAR ON, ON A DIFFERENT NOTE. UM, ARE YOU GONNA BE BUILDING ANY MORE RECLAIMED WATER TOWERS WITH THESE NEW SYSTEMS E EVENTUALLY, YES. WE, UH, AND WE'RE GOING THROUGH A LONG RANGE PLANNING PROCESS FOR OUR RECLAIMED WATER NETWORK RIGHT NOW. UM, AND WE WILL, I AM, I WOULD BE SURPRISED IF THERE WEREN'T NEW RECLAIMED WATER TOWERS WITHIN THAT, UH, LONG RANGE PLAN. YEAH, I'LL, I'LL JUST ADD HERE IN OUR BACKYARD RIGHT NOW. SAY THAT AGAIN? I SAID WE HAVE ONE RIGHT HERE IN OUR BACKYARD. OH, YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. AND WE'RE VERY PROUD OF IT. YEAH, JUST, I MEAN, TO ECHO CATHERINE'S POINT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM IS A SEPARATE CREATURE SEPARATE FROM OUR WATER SYSTEM. UM, WE ARE GOING THROUGH A PROCESS RIGHT NOW TO, TO UH, INITIATE, UH, WHAT WE WOULD CALL A LONG RANGE INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN. SO BASICALLY TO KIND OF GIVE A, A MORE LONG RANGE PERSPECTIVE OF ALL THE UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE NEED, THAT WOULD INCLUDE PRESSURE MAINTENANCE. SO THAT WOULD INCLUDE, UM, TOWERS OR OTHER HYDROMATIC TANKS, OTHER TYPES OF, OF DEVICES IN THE SYSTEM. SO YEAH, I THINK WE WOULD CERTAINLY EXPECT TO SEE THAT AS DEMAND GROWS AND AS THE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO GROW OUT IN ITS PHYSICAL EXTENT. UM, JUST A COUPLE OF DATA POINTS. OUR RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM IS ABOUT, CORRECT ME, CATHERINE, IT'S ABOUT 70 MILES CLOSER TO 80. OKAY. IT'S GOTTEN TO 80, SO IT'S ABOUT 80 MILES IN LENGTH. OUR WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IS ABOUT 4,000 MILES IN LENGTH. SO YOU CAN SEE THEY'RE VERY VASTLY DIFFERENT SCALE OPERATIONS TODAY. UM, THE, YOU KNOW, THE GEOGRAPHIC FOOTPRINT THAT, THAT 70 MILES OF PIPELINE SERVES, UM, I'M NOT GONNA KNOW THAT NUMBER, BUT IT'S KIND OF MORE CONCENTRATED PRIMARILY IN THE DOWNTOWN KIND OF REGION. EXCUSE ME. UM, OUR WATER SYSTEM SERVICE AREA IS APPROACHING 250 SQUARE MILES. SO, UH, AGAIN, IT, IT'S SORT OF A SCALE AND A MAGNITUDE BASED ON WHERE WE ARE TODAY VERSUS WHERE WE SEE IT GROWING. BUT YES, DEFINITELY WOULD EXPECT TO SEE MORE PIPELINES, MORE PUMP STATIONS, MORE ELEVATED STORAGE RESERVOIRS OVER TIME. THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTION? YES, KENARD, COMMISSIONER KENARD, KENARD, THANKS SO MUCH. THAT WAS A REALLY INTERESTING PRESENTATION. GIMME A SENSE JUST FROM HOW SORT OF UNIQUE THE PURPLE PIPE SYSTEM IS COMPARED TO OTHER MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS IN, IN, IN TEXAS AND THE REST OF THE COUNTRY. ARE WE SORT OF, YOU KNOW, AHEAD OF THE CURVE HERE OR? I'M GONNA, I'LL LET, I'M GONNA LET CATHERINE GO ON THAT ONE FIRST AND THEN I'LL PROVIDE SOME MORE INPUT. YOU GOT A THOUGHT, CATHERINE. YEAH, I DO. I THINK THAT WE ARE COMPARABLE IN SORT OF SCALE TO THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM IN TERMS OF LIKE WHEN WE FIRST STARTED OUR SYSTEM AND HOW MUCH TRANSMISSION AND, AND PIPES WE HAVE. LIKE THE 80 MILES THAT WE'VE, UM, ARE, DID I SAY MILES ARE LINEAR FEET ANYWAY, THE, THE LENGTH OF PIPE THAT WE HAVE MILES? UM, YEAH, THANK YOU. UH, SO COMP COMPARABLE THERE, BUT I THINK WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT OUR SYSTEM ARE THESE CODE REQUIREMENTS TO BRING THE WATER INDOORS, TO BE FLUSHING TOILETS AND TO HAVE A, A SYSTEM THAT IS LIKE REDUNDANT AND RELIABLE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE AND TO BE MOVING TOWARDS A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF, OF OFFSETTING OUR POTABLE DEMANDS, UM, BY SWITCHING FROM USING DRINKING WATER, FLUSHING YOUR TOILETS AND IRRIGATION TO USING THESE RECLAIMED WATER SOURCES. AND I THINK WE ARE PROBABLY LEADING THE COUNTRY IN THAT REGARD IN TERMS OF THIS COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM FOR THE CODE REQUIREMENTS, THE FINANCING MECHANISMS, AND THE INCENTIVES THAT WE OFFER. UM, WAS JUST TALKING TO SOMEONE AT THIS WATER REUSE CONFERENCE TODAY ABOUT HOW THEY NOT, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE, WE'RE THE FIRST OF THIS WHOLE PROGRAM IS KIND OF THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN THE COUNTRY. YEAH, AND I, I I WOULD ECHO THAT EXACTLY. I MEAN, I THINK GENERALLY SPEAKING, UM, CATHERINE'S EXACTLY RIGHT THAT WE ARE, I WOULD SAY, LEADING, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE US ON [00:40:01] JUST CODE REQUIREMENTS TO ACTUALLY USE RECLAIMED WATER INSIDE. PARTICULARLY FOR THINGS LIKE TOILET FLUSHING, URINAL FLUSHING, HVAC, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LUCKY THAT WE HAVE A, I MEAN, OUR, OUR RECLAIMED SYSTEM HAS BEEN IN OPERATION FOR AT LEAST 30 OR 40 YEARS. SO I MEAN, WE DO HAVE A LONG TRACK RECORD. UM, THERE PROBABLY ARE YOU, YOU GET INTO THE DETAILS OF WHAT IS RECLAIMED WATER AND HOW YOU FIGURE THAT OUT AND HOW YOU, HOW YOU DEFINE THAT. I'VE HEARD SOME PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, REFER TO SORT OF VOLUMES OF RECLAIMED WATER IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAT IF THEY USE WATER, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THEY CAN USE IT FOR LIKE A DOWNSTREAM AGRICULTURAL NEED, FOR INSTANCE, THAT THEY WOULD CALL THAT RECLAIM. WELL, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE THAT LEVEL OF SORT OF AGRICULTURAL WATER DEMAND DOWNSTREAM OF US, RIGHT? SO IT'S, SOME OF IT BECOMES A LITTLE BIT HARD TO, TO DISSECT, BUT I, I'M VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT CATHERINE AND ALL OF OUR TEAM DOES TO TRY TO CONVI TO, TO ADVANCE THIS AND FIND MORE PLACES TO AGAIN, OFFSET WHAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE, YOU KNOW, GOOD POTABLE DRINKING WATER WE CAN USE IN THIS CASE, UM, RECLAIMED WATER. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, SO WE ARE GONNA CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION AMONG THE COMMISSIONERS WHEN WE GET TO ITEM NUMBER TWO. UH, UM, YES, VICE CHAIR ROBBINS, DO YOU HAVE ONE LAST THING BEFORE WE MOVE ON? UH, JUST CONSULTED MY NOTES. AND, UH, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, AUSTIN IS RECLAIMING ABOUT 7% OF ITS WASTEWATER, A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT THAT IS 7% IN 2023. UH, THAT IS, UM, A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF THAT 7% IS ACTUALLY REUSE IN THE WASTE WATER FACILITIES THEMSELVES IN A PROCESS THEY CALL WASH DOWN. UM, , MY OWN CALCULATIONS SHOW THAT WHILE THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS, UH, OR RECLAIMED WATER HAS GONE UP MARKEDLY BETWEEN SAY, 2011 AND 2023, THE ACTUAL VOLUME USED BY UH, CUSTOMERS IS WELL ROUGHLY THE SAME. UH, SO I DON'T WANT TO DISMISS THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS, BUT I'M NOT SURE THAT WE ARE YET, UH, WHAT YOU'D CALL A, UH, WATER, WATER SUSTAINABLE CITY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE, [4. Staff Briefing on Austin Water’s quarterly report on Water Management Strategy Implementation for Q2, Kevin Kluge, Water Conservation Division Manager, Austin Water.] UH, TALKING ABOUT WATER BY MOVING TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR ON OUR AGENDA, WHICH IS AUSTIN WATER'S QUARTERLY REPORT ON WATER MANAGEMENT. UM, WE HAVE KEVIN KLUGE, PLEASE COME UP TO THE PODIUM. HI, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. GREAT TO BE BACK WITH YOU HERE TODAY. UM, MY NAME IS KEVIN CLUEY, WATER CONSERVATION DIVISION MANAGER, AND I AM BRIEFING YOU TONIGHT ON OUR SECOND QUARTERLY IMPLEMENTATION REPORT FOR STRATEGIES IN THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN AND THE WATER FORWARD PLAN. THESE WERE TWO PLANS THAT WERE APPROVED BY COUNCIL LAST NOVEMBER AND AUSTIN WATER HAS COMMITTED TO BRINGING TO THIS COMMISSION AND THE TASK FORCE AND WATER AND WASTEWATER AND THE COUNCIL, UH, QUARTERLY REPORTS ON HOW WE ARE IMPLEMENTING THOSE PLANS, PROVIDING BOTH TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AS WE DO IT. UH, TONIGHT. I, I WON'T BE STOPPING AT EACH SLIDE AS WE GO THROUGH. AS YOU MAY RECALL FROM LAST TIME, UM, THERE'S A GOOD NUMBER OF SLIDES AND IT, IT, YOU SPENT TIME ON EACH SLIDE, IT WOULD TAKE A WHILE. SO I'M GONNA TRY TO FLIP THROUGH THERE AND HIT THE HIGHLIGHTS. HOWEVER, I AM HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS AND WE CAN CERTAINLY GO BACK IN SLIDES AT THE END. UH, IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS ON PARTICULAR SLIDES FOR THE SECOND QUARTER, IT LOOKS VERY, IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO THE, THE FIRST QUARTER REPORT. THERE ARE NOT A LOT OF BIG CHANGES. WE MADE SOME TWEAKS, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS JUST TWEAK GRADUALLY AS WE GO THROUGH THE YEAR. WHEN I WAS HERE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, THERE WAS A NUMBER OF SUGGESTIONS, UH, FROM COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN AND COMMISSIONER DAVIS ABOUT, I THINK IT WAS GRAPH TITLES AND, UM, [00:45:01] INCLUDING, UH, FISCAL INFORMATION. WE'RE STILL TRYING TO CONSIDER THOSE. SOME OF THEM MAY BE ENTERTAINED MORE IN THE ANNUAL REPORT, THE END OF 2025, BUT WE ARE, UH, JUST TWEAKING THINGS A LITTLE BIT AS WE GO THROUGH THESE QUARTERLY REPORTS. NEXT SLIDE. THE AGENDA IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME, UM, AS IT WAS LAST TIME, HITTING THE MAJOR AREAS OF CONSERVATION, REUSE, WATER LOSS, AND OUTREACH, AS WELL AS SOME STR SOME SUPPLY PROJECTS. NEXT SLIDE. JUST A VERY HIGH LEVEL INTRODUCTION OF THE REPORT TO THE SECOND QUARTER. THE SECOND QUARTER IS THE TIME PERIOD, APRIL, MAY, AND JUNE. SO THIS IS A REALLY VERY TRANSITIONAL PERIOD BOTH IN CLIMATE BUT ALSO IN THE ACTIVITIES OF WATER. CONS OF AUSTIN WATER. UM, SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS. THERE'S EXPANDED LANDSCAPE, WATER CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES AND OUTREACH, CONTINUED INCREASED LEAK DETECTION WORK, UH, ADDITIONAL RECLAIMED, UH, CUSTOMERS AND USAGE AS WE'VE, UH, HAD SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT ALREADY. AND THEN MORE WORK ON THE SUPPLY STRATEGIES OF AQUA STORAGE AND RECOVERY, AS WELL AS, UH, INDIRECT AUDIBLE REUSE. NEXT SLIDE. SO NOW I'M MOVING THROUGH THE DIFFERENT SECTIONS, UH, TALKING ABOUT SOME UPDATES AND SOME METRICS AND MILESTONES OF EACH ONE OF THESE AREAS OF DEMAND MANAGEMENT. FIRST OF ALL, WATER CONSERVATION IN THAT SECOND QUARTER. PROBABLY THE BIGGEST THING TO NOTE OFFHAND WAS THE APPROVAL OF THE UNIFORM, OR, I'M SORRY, UM, UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE BACK IN APRIL BY THE CITY COUNCIL. WITHIN THAT NEW UNIFORM PLUMBING, PLUMBING CODE, THERE WERE THREE LOCAL AMENDMENTS THAT DEALT WITH WATER CONSERVATION. ONE OF 'EM, ADDITIONAL PRESSURE REDUCING DEVICES FOR IRRIGATION. UH, SECOND LIMITING THE AREA OF IRRIGATION IN NEW HOMES. AND THEN THE THIRD, SOME REQUIREMENTS TO INSTALL LAUNDRY TO LANDSCAPE PLUMBING IN NEW HOMES. NEXT SLIDE. METRICS OF, UH, THE TRADITIONAL WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. AS YOU SEE FOR A NUMBER OF THE MAJOR PROGRAMS, THERE WAS AN INCREASE BETWEEN THE FIRST QUARTER AND THE SECOND QUARTER, WHICH IS NOT UNUSUAL 'CAUSE YOU'RE LOOKING AT WINTER VERSUS SPRING. THERE'S ALWAYS MORE INTEREST FOR LANDSCAPE AS YOU MOVE INTO THE SPRING. SO FOR DROUGHT SURVIVAL TOOLS, IRRIGATION UPGRADES, AND WATERWISE LANDSCAPE, THERE WERE WAS AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS. UH, HOWEVER, THERE WAS DECREASED IN NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FOR SEVERAL OTHER PROGRAMS, UH, RAINWATER HARVESTING AND WATERWISE LANDSCAPE. NEXT SLIDE. MOVING OVER TO COMMERCIAL. UH, MUCH FEWER NUMBER OF, OF APPLICATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL, BUT EACH SINGLE APPLICATION, FOR INSTANCE, IN THIS CASE, WE HAD ONE, UH, A REBATE APPLICATION FOR COMMERCIAL THAT CAME THROUGH THAT WAS FOR A MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT AND WILL RESULT IN 3 MILLION GALLONS OF SAVINGS PER YEAR. SO FEWER NUMBERS, BUT MUCH MORE SAVINGS COMPARED TO RESIDENTIAL. NEXT SLIDE. AS YOU YOU MAY RECALL FROM LAST TIME, AUSTIN HAS REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL FACILITIES THAT HAVE LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION, COOLING TOWERS, AND VEHICLE WASHES TO HAVE PARTICULAR CONSERVATION COMPONENTS IN THEIR MECHANICS. AND THEY ANNUALLY, OR BUY BI-ANNUALLY FOR IRRIGATION, HAVE TO SEND IN REPORTS THAT CONFIRM THAT THEY HAVE THESE WATER SAVING DEVICES. SO THIS SLIDE ILLUSTRATES THE NUMBER OF COMPLIANT COMMERCIAL FACILITIES. THE ONE ON THE LEFT ACTUALLY HAS A TRUNCATED, UH, AXIS VERTICAL ACCESS. UM, SO IT, IT STARTS AT 3000 ILLUSTRATING JUST HOW MANY COMMERCIAL FACILITIES HAVE LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION THAT HAS TO BE INSPECTED EVERY TWO YEARS. SO THAT THIS, THESE SLIDES PROVIDE THE NUMBERS, BUT IN TERMS OF PERCENTAGES, LIKE JUST HOW MANY OF THESE COMMERCIAL FACILITIES ARE COMPLIANT FOR LANDSCAPE TRANS LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION, 90% ISH OF, UH, COMMERCIAL FACILITIES ARE COMPLIANT FOR COOLING TOWERS, ABOUT 75% AND VEHICLE WASHES ABOUT 83%. NOW, THE SAVINGS THAT RESULT FROM THESE COMPLI, THE COMPLIANCE IS ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT 60% OF THE TOTAL [00:50:01] CONSERVATION SAVINGS. SO THERE'S SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WATER THAT AUSTIN, UM, SEES IN SAVINGS FROM THESE COMMERCIAL FACILITIES. NEXT SLIDE. SO THE LAST SLIDES I HAD JUST SOME BASIC UPDATES AND THEN WE SHOW THE METRICS AND THEN WE SHOW MILESTONES. THESE ARE MILESTONES THAT WERE IN THE CONSERVATION PLAN AND THE WATER FORWARD PLAN, ESSENTIALLY SAYING WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IN 2025. UH, THE CHANGES REALLY IN THIS SLIDE FROM THE LAST SLIDE REALLY ARE THOSE BOTTOM TWO, UM, WHERE IT DISCUSSES THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE AS WELL AS AUSTIN WATER INSPECTIONS OF NEW IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. THOSE HAVEN'T CHANGED THIS SLIDE ACTUALLY, BUT THEY WILL BE CHANGING IN Q3. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK HAPPENING IN THOSE AREAS ON LANDSCAPE, UH, LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION. NEXT SLIDE, WATER LOSS REDUCTION UPDATES. UH, AUSTIN WATER CONTINUES TO LEAN INTO WORKING ON WATER LOSS AND IMPLEMENTING A LOT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE 2024 BLACK AND VI REPORT THAT YOU, YOU MAY RECALL LAST YEAR. UM, KEVIN CRITON MENTIONED THAT WE ARE ALSO LEANING INTO PROVIDING MORE PIPE REPLACEMENT FOR THE SERVICE LINES, UM, THAT WAS IDENTIFIED IN THAT REPORT. SO IN THE NEXT CIP FI FISCAL BUDGET FROM FISCAL YEAR 26 TO 30 AND INCLUDES INCREASING IT FROM 8 MILLION FOR THE SERVICE LINE REPLACEMENTS TO $18 MILLION. NEXT SLIDE. A NUMBER OF METRICS THAT DEAL WITH WATER LOSS AND WATER LOSS REDUCTION. UH, FIRST OF ALL IS THE NUMBER OF WATER MAIN LEAKS YOU SEE IN THE GOLD BAR. AND I APOLOGIZE I DIDN'T MENTION BEFORE WHEN I WAS ON THE WATER CONSERVATION METRICS, BUT WE HAVE THE GOLD BAR, THAT'S THE CURRENT QUARTER. AND THE TWO, THE FOUR BARS TO THE LEFT OF IT ARE THE FOUR QUARTERS PREVIOUS. TRYING TO GIVE AN INDICATION OF THE RECENT HISTORICAL NUMBERS. IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, WE HAD 75 WATER MAIN LEAKS IN Q2, UH, VERY SIMILAR TO Q2 IN 2024. AND THAT IS OFTEN EXPECTED GOING INTO THE SEA. THE SPRING YOU HAVE FEWER WATER MAIN LEAKS 'CAUSE IN THE WINTER, WHICH WAS Q1, UH, THE TEMPERATURES AND THE FREEZING SOIL OFTEN CONTRIBUTES TO MORE WATER MAIN LEAKS. NEXT SLIDE, A FEW OTHER WATER LOSS REDUCTION METRICS. UM, LINEAR FEED OF LEAK DETECTION PERFORMED ON LARGE DIAMETER WATER MAIN TRANSMISSION LINES. UH, THESE ARE VERY, THIS IS A VERY CHUNKY METRIC, UM, PARTICULARLY TO SHOW IN A QUARTERLY REPORT, YOU DON'T GET ANY RESULTS UNTIL THAT WHOLE CONTRACT IS DONE. UH, AND THE CONTRACT MAY TAKE A YEAR OR MORE THAN A YEAR, WHAT HAVE YOU, BUT YOU DON'T SEE THE RESULTS. THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T SEE ANY, UH, LEAK DETECTION ON WATER MAINS, UH, FOR THE LAST SEVERAL QUARTERS. UM, BUT WE ARE WORKING ON THAT IN THE FALL. THERE SHOULD BE A NEW SURVEY CONTRACTED FOR IN THE THIRD QUARTER FOR THE SMALL DIAMETER LEAK DETECTION. YOU SEE THAT ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, THERE WERE MORE LINEAR FEET OF LEAK DETECTION PERFORMED IN Q2 THAN IN Q1 AND ALSO MORE THAN IN Q2 OF 2024. NEXT SLIDE. WATER LOSS REDUCTION MILESTONES. THERE'S BEEN NO CHANGE IN THESE. THERE ARE MANY OF THEM ARE UNDER, UM, ARE IN PROGRESS, PARTICULARLY IN THE MIDDLE. THERE. YOU HAVE A LOT OF OPERATIONAL MILESTONES WORKING WITH STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, SO WORKING WITH STAFF AND CONTRACTORS TO KNOW HOW TO DO THESE PROCESSES BETTER. NEXT SLIDE. MOVING ON TO RECLAIMED WATER AND ONSITE WATER REUSE UPDATES IS, YOU'LL HAVE A LOT OF FLASHBACK FROM JUST A FEW MOMENTS AGO AS YOU TALKED TO CATHERINE AND, AND THE GO PURPLE. UH, PLAN AS NOTED, THERE'S AN AMENDED GO PURPLE RESOLUTION WITH INCENTIVES FOR THE DEEPLY, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING. UM, THE SECOND BULLET RECLAIMED LONG RANGE PLAN. I BELIEVE KEVIN CRITTENTON MENTIONED THAT, UH, THAT PLAN HAS BEEN STARTED WITH A CONSULTANT. UM, THEY'RE FINALIZING THE SCOPE AND THEY EXPECT THE PLAN TO TAKE ABOUT A YEAR TO COMPLETE. NEXT SLIDE. RECLAIMED WATER METRICS. [00:55:01] UH, THE METRICS ON THIS SLIDE ARE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF RECLAIMED METERS. YOU SEE THAT WENT UP, UM, THREE NEW METERS IN THE LAST QUARTER. SO THERE ARE NEW CUSTOMERS GOING ON. AND ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU SEE THE NUMBER, THE VOLUME OF RECON WATER BEING DELIVERED CERTAINLY WENT UP, UM, IN QUARTER TWO FROM QUARTER ONE. MOST LIKELY THAT'S DUE TO LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION, UH, COMING ONLINE MORE IN Q IN Q2, THE SPRING THAN THE WINTER. NEXT SLIDE. THIS IS ACTUALLY A NEW SLIDE THAT WE ARE INTRODUCING IN THIS QUARTER. UM, IN QUARTER ONE WE HAD A CHART SHOWING THE NUMBER OF NEW LINEAR FEET FOR RECLAIMED PROJECTS. AS I ALLUDED TO BEFORE, UM, IN WATER MAIN, UH, THE, THAT'S A REALLY CHUNKY METRIC. SO WE WERE SHOWING NO, UM, EXPANSION IN OUR WATER MAIN SYSTEM BECAUSE YOU DON'T ADD THAT UNTIL IT'S ALL DONE. WHAT WE DID IS WE INCLUDED THIS SLIDE TO GIVE YOU AN INDICATION OF WHAT WAS ACTUALLY BEING DONE IN OUR RECLAIMED SYSTEM. AND KEVIN CRITTENTON MENTIONED A BIT OF THAT WHEN HE WAS UP HERE. AND THERE'S A QUESTION ABOUT, UH, ARE WE ADDING A NEW STORAGE TANK? THE SECOND FROM THE BOTTOM IS THE MONTOPOLIS STORAGE TANK. THAT'S UNDER PRELIMINARY DESIGN AT THIS POINT, BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF RECLAIMED PROJECTS AT THE TOP THAT WATER MAIN RECLAIMED WATER MAIN LEAK OR PIPES, UM, UH, THAT ARE IN THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE OR THE, UH, ADVERTISEMENT FOR A CONSTRUCTION FIRM. SO THINGS ARE GOING ON WITH THE THIS, UH, PURPLE PIPE SYSTEM. NEXT SLIDE ON ONSITE WATER REUSE. AS WE DISCUSSED BEFORE, THERE WERE NO TAKERS ON THE INCENTIVES IN THIS LAST QUARTER. UM, ALTHOUGH MORE WORK WAS BEING DONE, TALKING TO DEVELOPERS. AS CATHERINE ALLUDED TO, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU SEE THAT THERE WERE THREE ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS, UM, PERMITTED IN THE LAST QUARTER. SO THAT'S HAPPENING, UM, AS WE GO ALONG. NEXT SLIDE. RECLAIMED AND ONSITE WATER REUSE MILESTONES. UH, NO CHANGE FROM THE LAST QUARTER. STILL A LOT OF, UH, THESE MILESTONES ARE IN PROGRESS. NEXT SLIDE. THIS SLIDE DEALS WITH THE ONSITE WATER REUSE. UM, SOME OF THE MILESTONES, THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE, THE MILESTONE TALKS ABOUT THE AMENDED GO PURPLE RESOLUTION, UH, WHICH WAS APPROVED. UH, SO YOU'LL SEE IN Q3 THAT IS GONNA BE MARKED AS COMPLETED. UM, THE BOTTOM ONE PROGRAM, NEW SOFTWARE TO TRACK ONSITE REUSE SYSTEM SOFTWARE. SOFTWARE IS OFTEN ONE OF THOSE BACK OFFICE THINGS THAT YOU DON'T NECESSARILY SEE, YOU DON'T SEE BEING PUT IN THE GROUND, BUT IT'S ALSO VERY IMPORTANT IN ADMINISTERING THESE PROGRAMS AND THAT'S GOING TO, UM, BEING START TO BE DEVELOPED IN Q3. UH, YOU'LL SEE THAT IN Q3 REPORT. ALRIGHT, NEXT SLIDE. A FEW MORE SLIDES HERE. CONSERVATION OUTREACH, UH, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT IN, UH, WORKING WITH AUSTINITES, WHETHER IT'S BUSINESSES OR RESIDENTS AND PARTICIPATING IN CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. SO WE LIKE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THAT. CERTAINLY MOVING FROM Q1, WHICH IS IN THE WINTER TO Q2, THIS SPRING SAW THE REALLY BIG INCREASE IN PUSH FROM OUR CONSERVATION OUTREACH THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA AND TRADITIONAL MEDIA RADIO, UM, AND NEWS PRINT REGARDING THAT. SO WE SAW A 50% INCREASE IN THE AUDIENCE REACH FROM Q1 TO Q2. NEXT SLIDE. AS, AS I MENTIONED, THERE'S A BIG INCREASE. THE TOTAL AUDIENCE REACHED WITH CONSERVATION MEASURING WAS ABOUT 23 MILLION IMPRESSIONS. UM, BACK IN Q1, THAT WAS ABOUT 15 MILLION IMPRESSIONS. SO THERE'S A BIG JUMP, UH, GOING INTO SLIDING INTO Q3, WHICH IS THE, THE SUMMER MONTHS. UM, WE STARTED DOING TV AD BUYS, SO IT'LL BE MORE PROMINENT GOING OUT. UH, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THAT MORE IN THE NEXT QUARTERLY REPORT. ALRIGHT, NEXT SLIDE. JUST A FEW METRICS FOR THE CONSERVATION OUTREACH. THE METRICS WE'VE CHOSEN TO ILLUSTRATE ACTIVITIES ARE THE LEAK DETECTIONS THAT ARE BEING SENT OUT FROM THE MY TX WATER SYSTEM. IF YOU'RE NOT [01:00:01] FAMILIAR WITH IT, AUSTIN WATER RECENTLY IN 2024, THEY COMPLETED THE OUTFITTING OF ALL OF THE WATER METERS WITH NEW SMART WATER METERS THAT TRANSMIT WATER USED HOURLY UP TO THE CLOUD AND THEN TO AUSTIN WATER. AND THEN IT'S AVAILABLE TO CUSTOMERS, UH, TO VIEW THEIR OWN WATER USE. BUT ONE OF THE BEAUTIES OF THE MITX WATER SYSTEM IS THAT IT WILL ALERT CUSTOMERS IF THEY HAVE A WATER LEAK IN THEIR HOUSE. UH, THIS IS A VERY POPULAR OPTION AS YOU, UH, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, VERY POPULAR WITH CUSTOMERS. IN Q2 OF 2025, UH, WE HAD FEWER LEAK ALERTS GO OUT AGAIN, UH, MOVING FROM THE COLD WINTER TO THE SPRING, YOU HAD LESS, UH, FREEZING OF THE GROUND AND BREAKING OF THE PIPES. BUT OVER ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU SEE THAT THERE IS A GREATER ESTIMATED, ESTIMATED SAVINGS OF WATER FROM THOSE, UH, LEAK ALERTS. SO WE ARE GLAD THAT CUSTOMERS ARE BEING ABLE TO SAVE MORE WATER BY ADDRESSING THOSE LEAKS QUICKER. NEXT SLIDE. CONSERVATION OUTREACH MILESTONES. UM, IN TERMS THERE, THERE ARE SOME CHANGES, UM, DEVELOPING THAT TOP ONE, DEVELOPING DATA REGARDING, UH, CII CUSTOMER CATEGORIZATION TO ASSIST IN BENCHMARKING. ESSENTIALLY WHAT THIS IS DOING THAT WE'RE TAKING ALL OF OUR COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS, AND WE HAVE OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS HAVE BEEN PUTTING THEM IN SPECIFIC INDUSTRIAL, UH, CLASSIFICATION CODES. THE IDEA BEING THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DATA, WE CAN SEE HOW MUCH DO SPORTING GOODS USE SPORTING GOODS STORES USE, AND THEY MIGHT RANGE FROM A LOW NUMBER TO A REALLY HIGH NUMBER. AND SO WE CAN PICK OUT THE OUTLIERS OF THOSE TYPES OF CUSTOMERS AND THE REALLY HIGH USERS, WE CAN GO AND TALK TO THEM, UM, AND SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING. SO THAT'S BEEN GOING ON. WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT. IT SHOWED AS BEING COMPLETED IN Q3 AND IN THE BOTTOM THERE IT'S A LOT OF TEXT, BUT ESSENTIALLY THAT MILESTONE IS TO START, UM, REACHING OUT TO CUSTOMERS WHO APPEAR TO BE WATERING OFF THE IRRIGATION SCHEDULE. UM, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE IDENTIFIED WITH THE NEW MAY TAKES WATER SYSTEM. AND WE STARTED, UH, IN THE LATE SPRING AND, AND THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER IN PILOTING NOTIFICATIONS OUT TO CUSTOMERS THAT THEIR IRRIGATION SYSTEM MAY BE RUNNING WHEN THEY'RE NOT INTENDING IT TO. NEXT SLIDE. SO WITHIN THE WATER CON THE WATER FORWARD PLAN, THERE ARE NOT ONLY THESE DEMAND MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES SUCH AS WATER LOSS, UM, RECLAIMED WATER AND WATER CONSERVATION, BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF LOCAL SUPPLY WATER PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING INVESTIGATED. UM, CERTAINLY A, UM, THE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IS A PROJECT THAT WE ARE WORKING ON. AND IN THIS PARTICULAR QUARTER WE'VE STARTED WORKING OR REACHING OUT TO BASTROP COUNTY AND TRYING TO WORK WITH THEM AND HELP THEM UNDERSTAND WHAT WE ARE HOPING TO DO WITH AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY. AND THERE'S BEEN PRELIMINARY PLANNING FOR THE USE OF, UH, WALTER LONG LAKE, UM, AS A OFF CHANNEL SUPPLY RESERVOIR. SO CERTAINLY THINGS MOVING IN TERMS OF THESE LOCAL WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS. UH, NEXT SLIDE. AND IN TERMS OF MILESTONE, THERE'S BEEN NO CHANGE IN TERMS OF THE PROGRESS OF THE CHEVRONS OVER ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE THERE THINGS ARE STILL PROGRESSING OR THEY'RE STILL IN THE PLANNING PHASE. AND LAST SECTION, NEXT SLIDE. THIS WAS A DIRECTIVE GIVEN TO US AS YOU MAY, MAY CALL, MAY RECALL, UH, BY THE COUNCIL BACK IN NOVEMBER WHEN THE CONSERVATION PLAN WAS BEING APPROVED THAT WE REPORT QUARTERLY, UH, BACK TO EVERYONE, UH, REGARDING OUR GALLONS PER CAPITA DAILY, QUARTERLY GALLONS PER CAPITA, DAILY OR PER PERSON WATER USE, UH, AND CATEGOR CATEGORICAL WATER USE. SO IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE A LITTLE BETTER WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT HERE ON THIS SLIDE. WE HAVE TIME MOVING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT FROM 2018 TO 2025. EACH ONE OF THE VERTICAL BARS IS A, A QUARTER, THREE MONTHS [01:05:01] AND SHOWING THE TOTAL PER PERSON WATER USE FOR THAT QUARTER. UM, THE GOLD LINE SHOWS THE TOTAL ANNUAL AVERAGE GPCD OR OR PER PERSON WATER USE FOR THAT AVERAGE FOR THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2025. THE FAR RIGHT VERTICAL BAR, THE PER PERSON WATER USE IS 1 29, WHICH IS AN INCREASE FROM QUARTER ONE OF ONE 13, WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE MOVING FROM WINTER TO SPRING. AND THE SECOND QUARTER PER PERSON WATER USE IS ACTUALLY PRETTY SIMILAR TO WHAT IT WAS FOR SECOND QUARTER BACK IN 2024. IT WAS 1 29 VERSE 1 27. NEXT SLIDE. AND THIS IS A, A SECOND GPCD SLIDE. UH, PEOPLE OFTEN LIKE TO LOOK AT GALLONS PER CAPITA DAILY OR PER PERSON WATER USE. AND THIS IS JUST A SAME DATA SHOWING IT IN A DIFFERENT WAY, NOT WITH VERTICAL BARS, BUT FOR VERTICAL LINES, UH, GOING ACROSS TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE THE, THE PEAKING WAS AND HOW TRENDS MAY BE HAPPENING. NEXT SLIDE. AND THIS IS ESSENTIALLY THE, THE LAST, UH, SLIDE OF, OF REPORTING. JUST GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE WE'RE GOING TO IN THE THIRD QUARTER. AS CATHERINE MENTIONED. UM, WE ARE GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTING THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING DUAL USE PLUMBING INCENTIVE, UM, THAT THAT SHE MENTIONED, WHICH WAS THE NUMBER ONE GOAL OF THE CITY MANAGER. AND WE'RE GONNA BE ENGAGING THE BA, BASTROP COUNTY, UM, ELECTED OFFICIALS AND CITIZENS. AND THEN WE HAD A NUMBER OF LOANS THAT WERE APPROVED IN, UM, JULY, WHICH IS ACTUALLY Q3 TO ADDRESS WATER LOSS. AND NEXT SLIDE IS ACTUALLY A SLIDE OF FINE PRINT. UH, BUT WE KEPT THAT IN THERE. JUST, UH, VINEYARD WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE TYPES OF DATA THAT WE'RE PRESENTING AND THE YIELDS OF STRATEGY STRATEGIES. AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE IS JUST QUESTIONS. SO THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH ME AS WE WENT THROUGH ALL THAT AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR GO BACK IN SLIDES. THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. KLUGE. THAT WAS A VERY CHOCKFULL OF DATA AND INFORMATION PRESENTATION . UM, WE'LL START WITH QUESTIONS. I I DO SEE VICE CHAIR ROBBINS HAS QUESTIONS. GO AHEAD. UH, A FEW MONTHS AGO I HAD GIVEN MY OWN PRESENTATION ON VARIOUS IDEAS THAT COULD BOOST AUSTIN'S WATER CONSERVATION POTENTIAL, UH, , UM, BOOST ITS WATER CONSERVATION SAVINGS. AND A BRIEF DISCUSSION ENSUED IN WHICH, UH, THE CHAIR CHAIR DAVIS SAID, WELL, MR. UH, UH, MR. ROBBINS, DO YOU WANT TO TURN YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS INTO A MOTION? AND I SAID, UH, THE CONVERSATION, UH, WENT ON TO WHERE, UH, THIS WOULD NEED INPUT FROM THE WATER UTILITY. AND I HAD THE VAGUE IMPRESSION THAT SOME PERSON OR PEOPLE FROM THE WATER UTILITY, UH, WAS GOING TO CONTACT ME. UH, AND NO ONE EVER HAS. NOW, TO BE FAIR, UM, SOME OF THE ONUS IS ON ME, AND I GUESS IF I, UM, HADN'T BEEN UP TO MY GILLS AND SEVERAL THINGS AND INCLUDING, UH, DEALING WITH THE GAS UTILITY, UH, I COULD HAVE MADE, UH, MY OWN, UH, EFFORT TO CONTACT THEM. BUT STILL, THIS IS A HANGING MATTER. AND, UM, I DO HOPE THAT WE, UH, GET TO COMMUNICATE SOONER THAN LATER BECAUSE I THINK SEVERAL OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS COULD HELP THE CAUSE. YEAH. UM, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THOSE SUGGESTIONS. WE CERTAINLY LOOKED THEM OVER AND I, I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT. YOU, YOU PUT IN, WE LOOKED THEM OVER AND THEN WE NEED TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP. I'LL ASK KEVIN , AUSTIN WATER? UM, YES. I MEAN, I, I SAY AT, AT, AT SOME LEVEL WE'VE ALL BEEN UP TO OUR GILLS. UM, BUT WE HAVE REVIEWED THEM AND SO WE ARE AWARE OF THEM. I WOULD SAY GENERALLY SPEAKING, UM, [01:10:01] A LOT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDED IN THAT REPORT ARE IN FACT REFLECTED IN THIS REPORT TONIGHT. UM, SO THERE'S AND CONTINUED UPDATES. UM, SO THERE PROBABLY IS AN OPPORTUNITY, YOU KNOW, AT, AT, UM, YOU KNOW, YOUR CONVENIENCE. IF YOU WANNA GIVE ME A CALL, WE CAN CERTAINLY DISCUSS WHAT, UM, WHAT SOME NEXT STEPS MAY BE. SO, VERY GOOD. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION. I THINK I MISSED SOMETHING ALONG THE PATH TO TODAY. WHAT, TELL US MORE ABOUT THE, THE PARTNERSHIP WITH BASTROP COUNTY ON AQUIFER AND STORAGE AND, UM, RE RE GETTING RECOVERY AS, I GUESS THE WORD. I'M NOT SURE I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON THERE AGAIN, KEVIN CRIT AND AUSTIN WATER. UM, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IS ONE OF THE STRATEGIES IDENTIFIED IN OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN, UM, FOR, UM, LONG-TERM WATER SUPPLY ENHANCEMENT. UM, BASICALLY, AND STOP ME IF I'M GOING INTO TOO MUCH DETAIL, BUT BASICALLY THE STRATEGY WOULD INVOLVE TAKING TREATED POTABLE WATER FROM AUSTIN, PUMPING IT TO AN APPROPRIATE, UM, UNDERGROUND AQUIFER, INJECTING IT INTO AN AQUIFER, AND THEN DURING TIMES OF DROUGHT WE WOULD RECOVER THAT, FORGIVE ME, RECOVER THAT AND BRING IT BACK INTO THE CITY FOR, UM, USE BASICALLY TO AUGMENT OUR WATER SUPPLY. UM, IT, IN ESSENCE ACTS AS A VERY LARGE STORAGE RESERVOIR. SO, UM, AND AGAIN, A A STORAGE RESERVOIR OF, OF SUCH A SIZE THAT IT REALLY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO BE BUILT. SO WE WOULD, THAT, THAT'S THE, THE LUXURY OF BEING ABLE TO USE AN EXISTING AQUIFER. SO, UM, SO, SO GO INTO THE GEOGRAPHY PART HERE. 'CAUSE I HAD ASSUMED THE REST OF IT. I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW BASTROP FITS IN. OH, OKAY. SURE. ARE WE BOTH SITTING THE TOP, THE SAME AQUIFER? SO, UM, WE HAVE CONDUCTED AS PART OF THAT PARTICULAR STRATEGY, UM, A NUMBER OF WHAT WE WOULD DESCRIBE AS, UM, DESKTOP ANALYSIS. BASICALLY, WE'VE CONDUCTED HYDROGEOLOGIC, UM, STUDIES LOOKING AT EXISTING AVAILABLE INFORMATION, EITHER ACADEMIC INFORMATION OR FROM EXISTING WELL LOGS OR OTHER, UM, SOURCES OF INFORMATION TO LOOK AT POTENTIAL LOCATIONS WHERE A SR AFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY WOULD BE, UM, FEASIBLE. UM, IN THE AREAS AROUND AUSTIN, OF COURSE, UM, MOST OF THE LOCAL AQUIFERS, PREDOMINANTLY THE EDWARDS AQUIFER, WHICH IS A CAR AQUIFER, WHICH IS NOT, UH, GENERALLY SUITABLE FOR A SR. UM, SO YOU HAVE TO START MOVING OUT FROM AUSTIN TO GET TO, UM, GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS THAT TYPICALLY ARE MORE SAND BASED. SO WHAT WOULD JUST BE DESCRIBED AS A SAND AQUIFER, UM, THAT GENERALLY PUTS YOU, STARTS TO PUT YOU, YOU KNOW, FURTHER EAST BASED ON GEO, UH, GEOLOGY. UM, AND THAT'S HENCE WHERE THE, THE BASTROP COUNTY REFERENCE COMES FROM. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. VERY HELPFUL. SURE. VICE CHAIR ROBBINS, UH, JUST TO ADD, UH, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, UH, THE ADVANTAGE OF AQUIFER STORAGE IS THAT THERE'S VIRTUALLY NO EVAPORATION, UNLIKE THE HIGHLAND LAKES, WHICH IS TREMENDOUSLY VULNERABLE TO IT. UH, THE DISADVANTAGES ARE, ONE, THE NEIGHBORS REALLY DON'T LIKE YOU. AND TWO, THE COSTS ARE HUGE. I'VE HEARD, UH, IN AUSTIN WATER STAFF PERSON GIVE ME AN UNOFFICIAL ESTIMATE THAT BY THE TIME IT'S BILL IT COULD BE A BILLION DOLLARS. NOW ONE COULD ARGUE THAT, WELL, MAYBE IT'S LESS, BUT IT IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARILY EXPENSIVE, AND, AND I WOULD IMAGINE ANY NEIGHBOR SITTING ON TOP OF AN AQUIFER THAT WE MIGHT WANNA USE, WE'LL WANNA TAKE SOME WATER AS A CUT FOR THAT, THAT ACCESS. BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PAUL. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS ON THIS? UH, YES. COMMISSIONER SCHWARTZ. YEAH, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION. UM, ALL THE WAY IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS A SLIDE ON LIKE THE IRRIGATION AUDITS THAT THE CITY DOES ON ITS OWN PROPERTIES, OR I GUESS THAT AUSTIN WATER DOES ON CITY PROPERTIES WITH LIKE THAT, THAT 88% FIGURE, I GUESS THERE WAS ONE PROPERTY WHERE Y'ALL IDENTIFIED 88%. I WAS JUST WONDERING WHAT THOSE AUDITS ARE AND, AND WHAT THE, THE SCHEDULE IS OF THEM. IT'S PROBABLY LIKE THE THIRD SLIDE OR FOURTH. IS THAT THE COM THE COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENTS? YEAH, COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENTS ON CITY PROPERTIES. IS THAT THE ONE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? OR, UM, NO, BUT [01:15:01] IF YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, I GUESS I DON'T NEED TO LOOK AT IT. IT'S BY 4 0 4. YES. YES. THE BOTTOM. YEAH, THERE YOU GO. RIGHT. OH, YES. UH, SO THIS IS AN EXCI. WHAT I, I FEEL WAS A VERY EXCITING, UH, DEVELOPMENT. WE, IN THE SPRING SENT SEVERAL, UH, STAFF MEMBERS OUT TO BE TRAINED ON DOING COMMERCIAL, UH, AUDITS. UM, SO THEY CAN DO THESE WATER EFFICIENCY AUDITS. WE ARE CONTACTED BY, UH, OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY WHO OVERSEE THE, UM, A NUMBER OF SHELTERS, SIX SHELTERS, LIKE WOMEN HOMELESS SHELTERS AND, AND WOMEN SHELTERS. I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT THEY, BUT THERE'S SIX SHELTERS THAT WERE AUSTIN FACILITIES. UM, SO OUR STAFF MEMBERS WERE ABLE TO GO OUT TO THOSE FACILITIES AND HELP THEM IDENTIFY, UH, AREAS THAT NEEDED FIXING, UM, OR DIFFERENT PROCESSES FOR USING THE WATER. UM, SO WE WERE IMMEDIATELY ABLE TO HELP ONE OF 'EM WITH THEIR IRRIGATION SYSTEM, UM, AND REALLY DECREASE THAT IRRIGATION WATER USE. AND WE ARE WORKING WITH THE OTHER ONES ON HOW WE MIGHT, UH, PROVIDE FUNDING SOME OF THE FUNDING THAT THEY NEED TO MAKE THOSE FIXES. SO I, IT WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO USE WHAT WE HAD TO HELP OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND ARE THERE OTHER, ARE THERE LIKE A HUNDRED OTHER PROPERTIES THAT THIS IS GONNA BE ROLLED OUT TO? OR WAS, IS THIS KIND OF LIMITED TO THOSE FACILITIES? UH, FOR THE TIME BEING THIS, AT THE TIME BEING, IT WAS JUST THOSE ONES. 'CAUSE THERE THEY APPROACHED US, UM, THEY KINDA HAD KNOWN WATER PROBLEMS OKAY. THAT THEY WANTED STAFF TO GO OUT THERE. UM, IT, I GUESS WE'D HAVE TO SEE JUST HOW MANY OF THESE WE COULD DO WITH THE, WE ONLY HAVE TWO STAFF MEMBERS AND THEY HAVE OKAY. A LOT OF OTHER TASKS. SO IT, WE'D HAVE TO SEE JUST HOW MANY ADDITIONAL ONES WE COULD WORK ON. GOTCHA. OKAY. YEAH, IT WAS JUST KIND OF, MY EARS PERKED UP 88 PERCENT'S A REALLY GOOD NUMBER IF THEY REDUCE THE IRRIGATION BY THAT. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE JUST KEEPING THE GRASS TOO GREEN OR WHAT, BUT I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS KIND OF SCALABLE FOR THAT SORT OF THING. I KNOW THE CITY HAS LOTS OF PROPERTIES OF VARIOUS TYPES. YEAH. I DON'T THINK THAT THAT 88% IS SCALABLE. YEAH. YEAH. , UH, THAT WAS JUST ONE PARTICULAR CASE WHEN THEY'RE RUNNING THEIR SYSTEM A LOT. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND THEN I HAD ONE OTHER QUESTION RELATED TO THE COMPLIANCE NOTIFICATIONS ON THE, WHEN FOLKS WERE NOT FOLLOWING THEIR WATER DAY WATER SCHEDULE MM-HMM . I WAS JUST WONDERING, DO YOU GUYS KNOW IF THAT'S BEEN EFFECTIVE? YOU KNOW, I GUESS THOSE ARE EMAILS TO AUSTIN WATER CUSTOMERS. YOU, YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO WATER ON TUESDAY. DO PE HAS THAT, IS THERE ANY DATA ON IF THAT'S EFFECTIVE, I GUESS YOU COULD TELL BY LOOKING AT THE METER IN THE NEXT WEEKS'? UH, NOT YET. MM-HMM . UM, THAT IS SOMETHING MY STAFF IS WORKING ON. WE HAD A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PILOTS, SO THEY'RE TRYING TO TEASE OUT THROUGH THE DATA WHAT THE EFFECT WAS. MM-HMM . UH, 'CAUSE THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW IS HOW EFFECTIVE IT WAS, AND BE ABLE TO SEE HOW MUCH SAVINGS AND GALLONS, UH, THAT PRODUCES. WE DO KNOW THAT THERE'S A, A GOOD, A RATHER HIGH OPEN RATE FOR THE EMAILS, FOR EMAILS THAT ARE SENT OUT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIFIC RESULTS YET FROM THAT. BUT IT, IT'S AN EMAIL, NOT A DOOR KNOCK OR SOMETHING. RIGHT. IT'S NOT A FINE EITHER. THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALL ARE. YES. THEY'RE EMAILS. YEAH. UM, WE, AND WE DID TRY ONE, UM, MAILING NOTIFICATION. UM, SO I HAVE TO SEE HOW THAT WORKS ALSO. INTERESTING. OKAY. THANK YOU. YEAH. OKAY. UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UM, OKAY. THIS HAS BEEN GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. KLUGE. MR. CRITTENDON. UM, MS. JINKY ON THIS, UM, WE ARE GONNA TALK ABOUT, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ONTO [2. Recommend approval authorizing a resolution authorizing Austin Water to continue the GoPurple pilot incentive program and issue incentives on a pilot basis during Fiscal Year 2025-2026 for alternative onsite water reuse systems and reclaimed water connections for new commercial, mixed use and multi-family developments in the total aggregate amount of $4,000,000, not to exceed $1,500,000 per project for affordable housing projects exempt from the GoPurple reuse requirements and not to exceed $500,000 per project for all other projects.] OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM, WHICH IS ITEM NUMBER TWO, UM, WHERE WE'LL BE DISCUSSING, RECOMMENDING APPROVAL AUTHORIZING A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AUSTIN WATER TO CONTINUE GO PURPLE PILOT. SO, UM, CAN WE BRING THAT RCA UP? YES. OKAY. CAN WE MAKE THAT ANY BIGGER? ANY BIGGER? THERE WE GO. OKAY. UM, DO, DO WE HAVE SOMEONE JUST TO RESET US ON THIS? I MEAN, I CAN RE I CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, GUYS READ IT FOR PEOPLE'S, UM, UH, THE POSTING LANGUAGE. UM, THIS, THIS, UH, RCA WOULD AUTHORIZE AUSTIN WATER TO CONTINUE GO PURPLE PILOT INCENTIVE PROGRAM AND ISSUE THE INCENTIVES FOR FISCAL 25 26 FOR ALTERNATIVE ONSITE WATER REUSE AND RECLAIMED WATER CONNECTIONS FOR NEW COMMERCIAL MIXED USE OF MULTIFAMILY FOR $4 MILLION, NOT TO EXCEED $1.5 MILLION PER PROJECT [01:20:01] FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS EXEMPT FROM THE GO PURPLE REUSE REQUIREMENTS AND NOT TO EXCEED 500,000 PER PROJECT FOR ALL OTHER PROJECTS. UM, THERE IS FUNDING AVAILABLE OF 4 MILLION IN THE 25 26 OPERATING BUDGET OF AUSTIN WATER. IS THERE A MOTION, PAUL? UH, YES. WELL, WE CAN OPEN DISCUSSION ONCE WE HAVE A MOTION, SO MOVE. OKAY. SECOND. SECOND. OKAY. STILL DISCUSSION? YES. DISCUSSION. UH, PLEASE GO AHEAD. VICE CHAIR ROBBINS, UH, AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD MY, UH, RETICENCE ABOUT CONTINUING TO GIVE REBATES FOR WHAT IS ALREADY REQUIRED AS CODE. I DO REALIZE THAT THIS IS A VERY WORTHWHILE PROGRAM, UH, AND THAT WE, UH, THAT THIS IS, SO ONE COULD CATEGORIZE THESE INCENTIVES NOW AS, UH, A MARKET TRANSITION, AND I CAN ACCEPT THAT WHAT I CANNOT ACCEPT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LOW INCOME, UH, REBATES IS CONTINUING TO DO THIS YEAR AFTER YEAR. AND SO TO BE CONSTRUCTIVE, I WOULD LIKE TO ADD SOMETHING TO THIS RESOLUTION THAT SAYS THAT THE RMC RECOMMENDS PHASE OUT OF EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE LOW INCOME REBATES. UH, YEAH, AFTER TWO MORE YEARS, THAT WOULD BE FISCAL YEARS 20 27, 20 28. UH, JUST SOME POINT OF CLARIFICATION FOR, FOR STAFF. UM, ARE WE, ARE WE ABLE TO AMEND THE LANGUAGE OF THIS RESOLUTION OR RECOMMENDATION? NO. YOU, YOU CANNOT. YOU'RE JUST RECOMMENDING THE RESOLUTION AS IT IS. MM-HMM . THE ITEM AS IT IS. IS THERE A, IS IT A THING TO ATTACH A RIDER OF SOME SORT? YOU CAN. UM, YES. OKAY. YEAH. OKAY. SO, UM, VICE CHAIR ROBBINS IS YOUR, UH, SUGGESTION THAT, UH, AS, AS YOU MENTIONED, TO RECOMMEND THAT THE RMC PLACE TIME LIMIT TO ON THIS INCENTIVE PROGRAM EXCEPT FOR THE LOW INCOME PORTION? YES. OKAY. AND DO WE NEED SPECIFIC LANGUAGE FOR THAT? OKAY. UM, CAN, UH, CAN I DRAFT SOMETHING? CAN YOU HELP ME WITH SOME ? SHOULD I PUT IT, DO YOU, SHOULD I PUT IT IN THE CHAT BOX OR? YES, GO AHEAD. YEAH, PLACE IT IN THE CHAT. OKAY. I'LL, I'LL TRY TO DO THAT IN TWO MINUTES. OKAY. WHILE, WHILE HE'S DOING THAT, UM, WE CAN CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION. UM, I, UH, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN HAS AS YOUR HAND RAISED, GO AHEAD. THANK YOU. I CAN WE ASK THE WATER DEPARTMENT FOLKS TO VERIFY THAT, WHICH PORTIONS WITH RESPECT TO, TO VICE CHAIR ROBBINS PROPOSED WRITER AMENDMENT THING, UM, I'D LIKE TO GET CONFIRMATION THAT THE ONLY PORTION OF THE INCENTIVES THAT, THAT THE INCENTIVES ARE GOING TO, THAT IS NOT IN CODE TODAY APPLIES. IS THE, THE LOW INCOME FAMILY HOUSING, OR ARE THERE OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE, THE GO PURPLE PROGRAM THAT YOU DISCUSSED THAT ARE NOT ALSO NOT PART OF CODE? MR. KY, PLEASE. UH, MAYBE LET ME REPHRASE THIS TO MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING YOUR QUESTION PLEASE. UM, SO IF WE, IF WE WERE TO, UM, AT SOME POINT ONLY, UM, APPROVE GO PURPLE INCENTIVES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WOULD THAT IMPACT ANY, ANY OTHER PART OF THE PROGRAM OR IT, IT'S, WELL, IF VICE CHAIR ROBBINS HAS SAID HE DOESN'T WANT TO PROVIDE INCENTIVES FOR ACTIONS THAT [01:25:01] CUSTOMERS ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE ANYWAY UNDER CITY CODE. SO, UH, WHAT I AM ASKING IS, OTHER THAN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, IS THERE, ARE THERE ANY OTHER THINGS FOR WHICH YOU ARE, HAVE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS TODAY AND GO PURPLE THAT ARE NOT COVERED IN CITY CODE? OR ARE ALL OF THE INCENTIVES OF, ARE ALL OF THE INCENTIVES IN THERE TODAY ABOUT ALL COVERED IN CODE, INCLUDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WHICH I SUPPORT ACCEPTING FROM CONTINUING INCENTIVES FOR? YEAH. UM, I, I, I UNDERSTAND YOU NOW. SO THEY'RE, THEY ALSO CAN BE USED FOR COMPLETELY VOLUNTARY PROJECTS. UM, SO IF THEY'RE GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND CODE, UM, THESE GO PURPLE INCENTIVES COULD BE APPLIED TO THOSE PROJECTS AS WELL. GREAT. UM, PERHAPS VICE CHAIR ROBBINS, IN YOUR, IN YOUR DRAFTING, CAN YOU INCLUDE A LINE ABOUT VOL RETAIN INCENTIVES FOR VOLUNTARY ABOVE THE CODE PROVISIONS EFFORTS AS WELL AS THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING? THANK YOU. YES. THANK YOU, MS. CH SHAKI. VERY HELPFUL. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU. UM, IS THERE OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS? UM, I, I, HAVING HEARD THAT THERE WERE NOT APPLICATIONS FOR THIS, THESE INCENTIVES THIS PAST YEAR, UM, AND THAT WE'RE IN THIS TRANSITION, THIS MONEY WAS NOT SPENT. UM, I'M NOT SURE THAT I AM, I'M NOT CONVINCED THAT SETTING A A TIME LIMIT IS THE BEST WAY TO ACHIEVE, UM, WHAT VICE CHAIR ROBBINS IS, IS TRYING TO ACHIEVE, WHICH IS, UM, HAVING DEVELOPERS DO WHAT THEY'RE REQUIRED TO DO, UM, WITHOUT BEING, YOU KNOW, PAID TO DO IT. UM, I, I, I DON'T FEEL EQUIPPED TO KNOW HOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT TIME LIMIT SHOULD BE. AND THEN THE OTHER THING I WANNA SAY ABOUT AFFORDABILITY IS THERE'S, THERE'S A THING THAT I THINK PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GO IN CIRCLES AROUND ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING. I MEAN, THERE'S, THERE'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND THEN THERE'S JUST THE MARKET. WHEN THERE'S ENOUGH HOUSING, WHEN MORE HOUSING IS BUILT, UH, THE PRICE OF HOUSING COMES DOWN. THAT'S JUST THE SORT OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND. SO THE MORE EXPENSIVE IT IS TO BUILD HOUSING IN GENERAL, THE MORE EXPENSIVE HOUSING IT IS, THE MORE EXPENSIVE HOUSING IS. SO, UM, UH, I DON'T KNOW. I, I'M NOT, I WOULD LIKE TO READ WHAT, WHAT THE PROPOSAL IS FOR THAT RECOMMENDATION. UM, BUT GIVEN THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY HAD THIS PROGRAM OFF THE GROUND FOR, FOR VERY LONG, I'M NOT AT THE POINT OF SAYING THAT WE SHOULD RESTRICT IT AND WE SHOULD CUT IT OFF AT A, YOU KNOW, AT AN ARBITRARY TIMELINE. BUT I'M OPEN TO BEING CONVINCED. YES, GO AHEAD. VICE CHAIR. I HAVE JUST SENT A SHORT SUCCINCT, UH, UM, WRITER. UM, AND YOU ARE CORRECT THAT, UH, WE DON'T KNOW THE FUTURE, UM, WHAT IS MISSING HERE IS THE EFFECT ON CONSUMERS. UH, AND THAT IS THAT AUSTIN HAS VERY HIGH WATER COSTS COMPARED TO . IT'S CERTAINLY NOT THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES THE COST OF LIVING HIGHER HERE, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY ONE OF THEM. AND SO, AS A CONSUMER ADVOCATE, UH, JUST HAVING AN OPEN-ENDED, UH, INCENTIVE YEAR AFTER YEAR, UH, JUST SENDS SHIVERS UP MY BACK. UH, I, I ESPECIALLY FOR, I MEAN, FOR SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY BEING REQUIRED AND IS, IS THAT NOW THAT'S, EXCUSE ME, THAT, THAT'S MY MOTIVATION HERE MORE THAN ANYTHING. I'M SORRY. GO AHEAD. SURE. NO, NO, NO. THAT'S GREAT. I, I'M, I'M SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND. SO IS, IS THAT BECAUSE THE RATE PAYERS WHO PAY FOR WATER PAY FOR THE INCENTIVES AND YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THE COST OF YES. OKAY. [01:30:02] UM, YEAH, I MEAN, YEAH. THAT, THAT'S FAIR. I MEAN, I, NONE OF THIS IS FREE. RIGHT. UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CODE REQUIREMENTS AREN'T FREE, YOU KNOW, UM, THE WATER'S NOT FREE. UM, CAN WE, UH, HEAR, I DON'T KNOW, MS. GOODWIN, ARE, ARE, ARE YOU ABLE TO, TO READ THE, UH, THE LANGUAGE OR IS IT POSSIBLE TO BRING IT ON SCREEN? 'CAUSE I, I DON'T SEE IT. UM, I'D LIKE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO, TO SEE IT, OR, UM, I CAN'T, OR VICE CHAIR ROBERT, ON THE SCREEN, BUT I CAN READ WHAT HE, UM, PUT IN THE CHAT. AND IT STATES, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION FURTHER RECOMMENDS THAT THESE REBATES, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF INCENTIVES FOR LOW INCOME HOUSING AND VOLUNTARILY MEASURES GOING BEYOND CODE BE TERMINATED IN TWO YEARS, FY 2027 SLASH 28. UH, OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, MS. GOODWIN, WE HAVE, MR. CRITTENDEN HAS A COMMENT? YES. MY ONLY COMMENT IS JUST A CLARIFICATION ON THE, UM, RCA THAT IS BEFORE THE BODY. MM-HMM . THIS IS JUST A, A PILOT APPROVAL FOR ONE YEAR. SO I THINK TAKING ACTION THAT EXTENDS BEYOND THIS, UM, WOULD BE A CHALLENGE. THAT'S FAIR. OKAY. THANK YOU. THAT COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, AND YOU'RE NOT, NOT TO DETRACT FROM ANY OF THE POLICY CONVERSATION. SURE. I APPRECIATE IT. COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN. THANK YOU. I WAS GOING TO SAY MUCH THE SAME THING AS MR. CRIT, AND THIS IS A, WE, WHEN WE APPROVED THIS LAST YEAR WAS A PILOT PROGRAM. THERE WAS SOME, UM, ANGST AMONG SOME MEMBERS OF THE, THE RMC ABOUT APPROVING IT THEN BECAUSE OF IT, THE HIGH COST OF THE, THE, THE GO PURPLE MEASURES. AND WE SAID, AUSTIN WATER'S GONNA BE REPORTING ON IT EVERY YEAR. EVERY QUARTER WE WILL LEARN WHETHER IT WORKS. AND SO FAR, THERE HASN'T BEEN A LOT OF EVIDENCE, AND THERE'S PLENTY OF TIME MORE TO LEARN WHETHER IT WORKS AND HOW IT WORKS AND TO RECONSIDER APPROVAL IN THE FUTURE. SO I DON'T HAVE ANY, I'M WILLING TO APPROVE THIS MEASURE AS PROPOSED KNOWING THAT THE RMC WILL HAVE PLENTY OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE FUTURE, AND THAT THE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE APPROVING IT ONCE A YEAR AND REVIEWING IT AS A PILOT. ON THE OTHER HAND, I THINK VICE CHAIR ROBIN'S CONCERN ABOUT THE INCENTIVES IS QUITE VALID, AND I THINK IT'S WORTHWHILE FOR US TO THROW THAT FLAG ABOUT AFFORDABILITY AND, AND SETTING A, A FIRM LIMIT OF TWO YEARS FROM NOW AS THE POINT AT WHICH THIS NEEDS TO BE ALL FORMALLY RECONSIDERED WITH RESPECT TO COST. SO, I'M, I'M VERY, I APPRECIATE VICE CHAIR ROBBINS BRINGING THIS UP. I THINK WE COULD APPROVE IT COMFORTABLY WITHOUT THIS CAUTION, BUT I THINK IT'S AN APPROPRIATE CAUTION AND I'M WILLING TO SUPPORT VICE CHAIR ROBBINS CONCERN AND AMENDMENT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, DO, UH, IS THERE A MOTION WE CAN TAKE A MOTION ON THE, UM, AMENDMENT THAT VICE CHAIR ROBBINS HAS PUT FORWARD? UH, I STILL MOVE AND I OKAY. SECOND. MOVED AND SECONDED. UM, IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON COMMISSIONER SCHWARTZ? I GUESS I JUST HAVE LIKE, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE REALLY KNOWS, BUT IT WOULD JUST BE RESOLUTION THAT WE PASS ALONG WITH THIS, THAT KIND OF, UM, WOULD, WE, WE'RE KIND OF, I MEAN, WHAT ARE, WE, WE'RE KIND OF ENTERING INTO THE RECORD THAT WE BELIEVED THIS IN 2025, THAT MAYBE THIS SHOULD BE BOOKENDED IN TWO YEARS, BUT IT'S NOT MM-HMM . THIS, THIS JUST BEING A ONE YEAR PROGRAM, IT SORT OF ISN'T DIRECTLY RELATED TO IT, BUT OBVIOUSLY THE PLAN IS TO CONTINUE IT. UM, SO AT LEAST IF WE PASS THIS, THEN WE'RE DOING THAT, THAT, UH, THAT WE SAW THAT THIS WAY UPON LOOKING AT IT IN 2025, AND THEN I GUESS WE WOULD, THE CITY WILL REEVALUATE IT, OR COUNCIL WOULD IN TWO YEARS. IS THAT CONSISTENT WITH ANYONE ELSE'S UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE'RE DOING? YES. AND, AND I THINK THEY WILL LOOK AT IT ANNUALLY, RIGHT? MM-HMM . AND IT'LL COME BACK TO THIS BODY AS WELL FOR, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS ANNUALLY. SO, ANNUALLY, OKAY. MM-HMM . UH, IF I SHARE ROBIN'S QUESTION, IT IS TRUE THAT THEY WILL LOOK AT IT ANNUALLY. THEY'RE REQUIRED TO THE, THE, UH, MESSAGE HERE IS THAT THEY NEED TO PLAN AHEAD. UH, UH, AS MOST OF YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL HAS [01:35:01] AT LEAST A HUNDRED ITEMS ON EVERY MEETING AND SOMETIMES MORE. THEY ARE INUNDATED WITH THINGS TO CONSIDER. AND I'M AFRAID THAT IF THEY, IF WE DON'T START THROWING UP THIS CAUTION NOW, THIS WILL JUST GET LOST IN THE NOISE. OKAY. WHY DON'T WE, UM, WHY DON'T WE TAKE A VOTE ON THIS AMENDMENT? IT HAS BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED THAT, UH, THE AMENDMENT THAT VICE CHAIR ROBBINS HAS PUT FORTH, UM, WHICH IS TO, UM, UH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THE VOLUNTARY PROGRAMS THAT EXCEED THE CODE REQUIREMENTS, UM, BE, UH, LIKE CEASED AFTER TWO YEARS, 27, 28. IS THAT RIGHT? OKAY. SO, ALL IN FAVOR? MAY I SEE A SHOW OF HANDS? ALRIGHT. UH, THAT'S, THAT'S PASS SIX ZERO. THANK YOU FOR THAT. OKAY. THAT NOW, NOW WE CAN TAKE ACTION ON THE ACTUAL RCA. DO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR THAT? I SO MOVE. OKAY. UH, VICE CHAIR ROBBINS AND COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN MOVED AND SECONDED. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE RCA. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. OKAY. THAT PASSES AS WELL AS SIX ZERO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GOOD DISCUSSION COMMISSIONERS. OKAY. UM, MOVING ALONG, WE HAVE TWO MORE ITEMS. UH, WE'RE GO, WE HAVE AN ACTION ITEM THAT WE WILL TAKE UP AFTER NUMBER SIX. WE'LL JUMP DOWN TO NUMBER SIX, [6. Discussion on natural gas utilities: fuel costs, low-income customer issues, environmental effects, clean-energy programs, and policy related issues related to them. ] WHICH IS DISCUSSION ON NATURAL GAS UTILITIES. UM, I WILL, THIS IS VICE CHAIR ROBBINS ITEM. UH, WE DID HAVE THIS, UH, PRESENTATION IN OUR AUGUST MEETING. UNFORTUNATELY, VICE CHAIR WAS NOT ABLE TO JOIN US. UM, SO HE IS GOING TO, UM, VERY BRIEFLY TAKE US THROUGH A FEW OF THE SLIDES FROM THIS PRESENTATION, UM, TO, UH, TAKE NOTE OF TONIGHT, AND THEN WE CAN CONSIDER, UH, OUR LAST ACTION ITEM OF THE EVENING. UM, SO WITH THAT BY CHAIR ROBBINS, PLEASE GO AHEAD. UM, THANK YOU. UM, I'M TRYING TO OKAY. THIS, UH, AND , ARE YOU ABLE TO SEE IT? ARE YOU, I THAT GIVE, GIVE ME 30 SECONDS. OKAY. AND I WILL TRY TO, TO GET MY HEAD IN THIS GAME. I'M JUST TRYING TO COORDINATE SOMETHING ON MY COMPUTER. SURE. UH, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER ATTENDED REMOTELY, AND THIS IS UNFORTUNATELY CONFUSING TO ME. UM, I THINK WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE. WELL, UM, OKAY. OKAY. THIS IS PROBABLY IT. OKAY. UM, FIRST, UM, COMMISSIONERS, UM, SEVERAL OF YOU KNOW THAT I WAS, UH, UH, IN THE HOSPITAL LAST, UH, MONTH. AND, UM, IT WOULD'VE BEEN VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO MAKE A PRESENTATION. UM, I'M MUCH BETTER OFF RIGHT NOW. UM, IT WAS JUST AN UNTIMELY ACCIDENT AND WHERE THINGS ARE LOOKING UP. BUT, UM, UM, UH, IT WA COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, UH, WAS KIND ENOUGH TO MAKE THIS PRESENTATION ON MY BEHALF. AND, UH, I'M GRATEFUL TO HER. UH, THERE ARE ONLY A FEW THINGS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO REVISIT. ONE OF THEM, UH, IF, UH, UH, MS. GOODWIN COULD PUT UP THE SLIDE LABELED COST OF FUEL, UH, IT MIGHT BE THE SIXTH OR SEVENTH ONE. [01:40:07] YEAH. OKAY. THERE YOU GO. UH, NOW AS YOU CAN SEE, THE COST OF FUEL, UH, THAT IS WITHOUT ADDITIONAL, UM, COSTS HAS ACTUALLY NORMALIZED AND GONE BACK DOWN. BUT NEXT SLIDE. THE REAL COST, UH, THAT WE'RE PAYING FOR FUEL HAVE GONE WAY UP. UH, AND THESE ARE OVERLAID WITH IN INCREASED COST FOR STORAGE OR RESERVATION DEMAND FEES. AND FOR SECURITIZATION, WHICH IS THE PIRACY, UH, WE HAVE TO PAY ABOUT $38 A YEAR FOR THE NEXT 14 YEARS FOR THE INCREASED COST OF WINTER STORM URI THAT TOOK PLACE OVER THREE DAYS. UH, NOW THAT I'M AFRAID WE CANNOT GET RID OF UNLESS THE STATE OF TEXAS PAYS THAT DEBT OUTRIGHT, OR UNLESS SOMEBODY SUES AND WINS THE LAWSUIT AGAINST THIS PIRACY. HOWEVER, THE RESERVATION DEMAND FEES AND THE STORAGE FEES, I ASKED TEXAS GAS SERVICE SPECIFICALLY TO EXPLAIN WHY THE COSTS HAVE GONE UP SO MUCH. AND ALL THEY COULD SAY IS WINTER STORM URI. THAT TO PARAPHRASE, WE DON'T WANNA GET CAUGHT FLATFOOTED AGAIN. AND THAT'S FAIR TO A POINT. BUT IT'S LIKE, OKAY, WITH STORAGE, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE WOULD THINK THAT IF THERE'S MORE DEMAND FOR STORAGE TO DEAL WITH WINTER STORM URI, THERE WOULD BE MORE STORAGE FACILITIES BEING BUILT AND MORE COMPETITION WITHIN THOSE STORAGE FACILITIES THAT EXIST. SO THERE, THERE THEIR ANSWER WAS HELPFUL, BUT NOT TERRIBLY USEFUL IN HOW WE'RE GONNA BRING THE COST OF FUEL DOWN. UH, NOW TO MOVE ON TO, UH, THE CONSERVATION PORTION OF THIS, UH, AND THAT WOULD BE, UM, WAY DOWN THERE, UH, I CAN'T GIVE YOU A SLIDE NUMBER, BUT IT'S GAS UTILITY REBATE SURVEY 19 20, 25. THANK YOU, MS. UH, YEAH. UH, ONE BACK, ONE BACK, ONE BACK. THERE YOU GO. OKAY. AS THE COMMISSION CAN SEE, UH, I, I DID A SURVEY OF, UH, ALL THE LARGEST CASH UTILITIES IN THE COUNTRY TO FIND OUT WHO'S GIVING REBATES AND WHAT, AND, AND WHAT AMOUNTS. AND WHAT I FOUND IS THIS SUMMARY THAT THERE'S NO OTHER GAS UTILITIES BESIDES, UH, ONE GAS UTILITIES LIKE TEXAS GAS THAT ARE GIVING REBATES FOR CLOSED DRYER CONNECTIONS. THAT REBATES FOR CLOSED DRYERS, EVEN WHEN THEY'RE GIVEN, UH, UH, ARE WAY HIGHER THAN WHAT TEXAS GAS SERVICE IS AWARDING THAT, UH, FURNACES, UH, WHEN ADJUSTED FOR TEMPERATURE ARE, UM, ABOUT TWICE WHAT THEY, UH, SHOULD BE. AND THAT REBATES FOR TANKLESS WATER HEATERS ARE HIGHER THAN THEY SHOULD BE WHEN ADJUSTED FOR TEMPERATURE. REMEMBER, TEXAS IS ONE OF THE WARMEST STATES IN THE COUNTRY. UM, SO, UM, NEXT SLIDE. NEXT SLIDE. THE, UH, GAS DRYER, UH, REBATE THAT THEY'RE GIVING HAS A PAYBACK OF 666 YEARS. UH, THAT REALLY CAN'T BE JUSTIFIED [01:45:02] FOR AN APPLIANCE THAT MIGHT LAST MAYBE 13 YEARS. TANKLESS WATER HEATERS, WELL, NEXT SLIDE. TANKLESS WATER HEATERS WILL NEVER PAY FOR THEMSELVES. THEY DO SAVE SOME ENERGY, BUT THEIR INITIAL COSTS ARE SO MUCH HIGHER AND THEY HAVE TO BE ROUTINELY, UH, CLEAN FOR SCALE. UH, SO THEY ARE ALSO NOT A COST EFFECTIVE INVESTMENT. UH, YOU HAVE, UH, NEXT SLIDE. EFFICIENT FURNACES THAT IN OUR CLIMATE HAVE A 36 YEAR PAYBACK FOR A FURNACE THAT'S GONNA LAST 21 YEARS. UH, THIS WERE DONE IN MINNESOTA OR SASKATCHEWAN. THERE MIGHT BE, UH, AN ECONOMIC REASON FOR DOING IT, BUT DOWN HERE IN THE SOUTH, THERE REALLY ISN'T THE PROPOSAL FOR GAS. NEXT SLIDE. THE PROPOSAL FOR GAS RANGES, UH, AGAIN, SURVEYING ALL LARGE UTILITIES IN THE COUNTRY. UH, THERE MIGHT BE AT BEST, UH, 1% OF GAS UTILITIES THAT GIVE REBATES FOR RANGES IN RANGE STUBS. UH, AND EVEN THAT IS UNDETERMINED, UH, BECAUSE THE SOVEREIGN STATE OF ALABAMA WOULD NOT ANSWER MY QUESTIONS. UH, SO THERE'S REALLY, UH, NO MONETARY, EVEN THE MONETARY SAVINGS FOR DOING THIS BY, BY SWITCHING FROM ELECTRIC TO GAS, ARE NEBULOUS. I COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING. UM, NEXT SLIDE. AND IS THERE ANYTHING MORE SHAMELESS THAN GIVING A CONSERVATION REBATE FOR A BACKUP GENERATOR? UH, LARRY, UH, GRAHAM, UH, UM, KINDLY, UH, COMMENTED THAT THE, UH, HE'S WITH TEXAS GAS SERVICE. HE COMMENTED TO ME BY EMAIL THAT, WELL, UH, I LIKED, UH, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN'S PRESENTATION, BUT SHE LACKED YOUR, UH, RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION . UH, AND HE, HE IS CORRECT , UH, UH, BACKUP GENERATORS CANNOT SAVE INNER ANY ENERGY. THEY A, UH, TAKE ENERGY TO RUN. AND THEN, UH, ALSO REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE A COUPLE COST EFFECTIVE MEASURES, UH, THAT TEXAS GAS SERVICE IS, UM, NOT DOING. THEY SAID IN A PREVIOUS PRESENTATION THAT THEY PLANNED TO COOPERATE WITH AUSTIN ENERGY ON, UH, REBATES FOR CEILING INSULATION FOR DUCT CEILING, BUT THIS WAS NOT IN THEIR PROPOSAL TO THE RAILROAD COMMISSION. NEXT SLIDE. SO, WHEN IT FINALLY SHAKES OUT, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ALMOST $5 MILLION FOR QUESTIONABLE REBATES OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD. UH, SO THO THOSE, THOSE ARE, UM, THAT'S MY BRIEF, UH, REHEARSING OF THE, UH, SLIDE PRESENTATION. AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO GO BACK TO THE RESOLUTION, UH, THAT I'M PROPOSING. UM, THANK YOU MR. ROBBINS. TRYING TO, UM, BUT JUST BEFORE WE, UH, SWITCH OVER TO THAT RESO RECOMMENDATION, UM, ARE THERE QUESTIONS FOR VICE CHAIR ROBBINS ON THE, ON HIS POINTS AROUND CONSERVATION TONIGHT? 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE RESOLUTION OR THE RECOMMENDATION DEALS WITH IS THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE PROPOSED CONSERVATION PROGRAM. OKAY. UM, YEAH. YES, GO AHEAD. COMMISSIONER SCHWARTZ. UM, THE ONLY QUESTION I HAD IS, UH, COMMISSIONER ROBBINS, NONE OF THIS WAS WITH THE RAILROAD COMMISSION KILLING THE CONSERVATION PROGRAM THAT THEY SET UP THAT'S UNRELATED TO THE APPLIANCE REBATE STUFF. IS THAT TRUE? UM, IT IS. I'M JUST TRYING TO MAKE TO CONFIRM IT. IS THE, UH, THERE, THERE MAY OR MAY NOT BE CONFUSION AMONG SOME OF THE COMMISSIONERS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, BUT, UH, THE RAILROAD COMMISSION DID NOT APPROVE THE GAS COMPANY'S, UM, [01:50:01] PROPOSAL BECAUSE THERE WAS A PRECEDENT SET IN AN ATMOS CON, UH, ATMOS CASH UTILITY CONSERVATION CASE, MAYBE 10 OR 12 YEARS AGO. AND THAT PRECEDENT WAS THAT THE UTILITY MUST BRING MATCHING FUNDS TO THE TABLE. YES, YOU CAN CHARGE THE CUSTOMER FOR THESE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS, BUT YOU, THE UTILITY MUST PUT IN A 50% MATCH. AND, UM, AS OF THIS AFTERNOON, THE GAS UTILITY, TEXAS GAS SERVICE HAD NOT RESUBMITTED AN APPLICATION TO THE RAILROAD COMMISSION, UH, FOR, UM, TO CORRECT THE DEFICIENCY. NOW, SOME OF THE COMMISSIONERS KNOW THAT I PERSONALLY SUBMITTED, UH, A, A HUGE PRESENTATION TO THEM ABOUT WHY THEY SHOULD REJECT THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE PROPOSAL. UH, I'M NOT SURE MANY OF THE PEOPLE AT THE RAILROAD COMMISSION DEALT WITH IT VERY THOROUGHLY BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAD THEIR JUSTIFICATION FOR REJECTING, UH, UH, THE, UH, PROPOSAL ON ANOTHER, UH, TENANT. UM, AND SO, UM, UM, IF THE GAS COMPANY PROPOSES SOMETHING SIMILAR AGAIN, THEN I WILL SUBMIT A SIMILAR SET OF, UM, OBJECTIONS, AND WE WILL SEE HOW THE RAILROAD COMMISSION TAKES THAT INTO EFFECT. BUT, UH, EVERYTHING IS KIND OF UP IN THE AIR NOW. NOW, I DID, UH, SEND, UH, WHEN I SENT THE RAILROAD COMMISSION, I SENT TO THE COMMISSION, IT'S KIND OF, UH, LENGTHY AND YOU COULD BE FORGIVEN FOR NOT READING IT ALL WORD FOR WORD, BUT IT'S THERE IF YOU WANT IT. OKAY, THANK YOU. SO THIS, THE, THE, UM, CONSERVATION PROGRAM THAT THEY DECLINED TO APPROVE THAT IS RELATED TO THIS APPLIANCE STUFF AND, AND THEIR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, IT, IT RELATED TO BOTH OF THEM. YES. AS FAR AS YOU, I CAN REST, I'M NOT SURE. YEAH. THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TO HELP LOW INCOME PEOPLE IS KIND OF SEPARATE FROM THE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT I DISCUSSED IN THIS PRESENTATION. COMMISSIONER SCHWARTZ? YEAH, IF I MAY, THE, THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE WILL BE CONSIDERING, UM, IS, IS DIRECTLY KIND OF AN ANSWER TO THE CONSERVATION PROGRAM THAT TEXAS GAS SENT IN, AND THAT WAS REJECTED BY THE RAILROAD COMMISSION. OKAY, THANK YOU. YEAH. SO WITH THAT, I'M, I'M LOOKING AT THE TIME, UH, DID I GET SOMETHING WRONG BY CHAIR? GO AHEAD. OH, NO, YOU'RE GO, GO. OKAY. I'M JUST LOOKING AT THE TIME AND I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, YOU KNOW, DON'T LOSE QUORUM AND THAT WE KEEP PEOPLE'S ENERGY LEVELS UP BECAUSE THIS IS THE, THE LAST THING, AND IT'S THE MOST, ONE OF THE MOST MEATY THINGS ON THE AGENDA. SO, UM, ARE WE ABLE TO PULL UP THE RECOMMENDATIONS SO WE CAN REVIEW THAT? THAT WOULD BE THE BACKUP. THAT IS THE RECOMMENDATION. BACKUP ITEM THREE. [3. Discussion and recommendation on policy regarding Texas Gas Service Energy Efficiency Programs.] YEAH. THANK YOU. THERE YOU GO. YEP. UH, WITH YOUR INDULGENCE CHAIR, I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT FOUR THINGS IN THIS. THERE'S A LOT OF WHEREASES, BUT YOU'VE KIND OF HEARD MOST OF MY OBJECTIONS TO THE CONSERVATION PROGRAM, UH, A FEW, A FEW MINUTES AGO. SO, FIRST I JUST WANNA POINT OUT TO COMMISSIONERS THAT BETWEEN 1987 AND 1997, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAD AN AGREEMENT WITH THE, UH, PREDECESSOR FOR TEXAS GAS SERVICE, SOUTHERN UNION GAS TO DESIGN AND ADMINISTER CONSERVATION PROGRAMS FUNDED BY THEM. UH, IN FACT, THAT'S A OVERSIGHT ON MY PART. WE MIGHT WANT TO AMEND THAT, UH, CLAUSE, UH, TO, UH, [01:55:01] AN AGREEMENT TO SAY AN AGREEMENT WITH THE PREDECESSOR FOR TEXAS GAS SERVICE RATHER THAN AND FUNDED BY THE PREDECESSOR FOR TEXAS GAS SERVICE. MY APOLOGIES. OKAY. SECOND, NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE RESOURCE MANAGE COMMISSION ADVISE CITY COUNCIL TO ASK ITS APPROPRIATE CITY STAFF TO GO ON RECORD WITH THE RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS TO OPPOSE THE CURRENT PROGRAM PROPOSAL FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE COMMISSION IS ON RECORD, ASKING THAT ANY FUTURE FRANCHISE NEGOTIATIONS INCLUDE A REQUIREMENT THAT THE COMPANY'S ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAM PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION BE CON SUBCONTRACTED TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS IT WAS BETWEEN 1987 AND 1997, AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT A COPY OF THIS RECOMMENDATION BE PROVIDED TO THE MARKET OVERSIGHT SECTION OF THE RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS IN THE MOST TIMELY MANNER POSSIBLE. CAN, CAN WE SCROLL UP PLEASE OR SCROLL DOWN SO THAT WE CAN SEE THE THANK YOU. THE, UM, YEAH, SO THE LAST, THE NEXT PAGE? YEAH. AND CAN WE GET THAT LAST, NEXT PAGE? CAN WE GET THAT LAST ONE ON WITH THE, THE TWO, THE BOTTOM TWO ON THIS? I GUESS WE CAN'T, OKAY. I GUESS I COULD TEXT IT TO EVERYONE. YEAH, IT'S IN, IT'S IN BACKUP. I THINK IT'S YOU. AND YOU DID READ BOTH OF THOSE INTO THE, IN ALL THREE OF THOSE, THE RECORD, THE SECOND PAGE, EXCUSE ME, THE, THE LAST WHERE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED IS IN THE MATERIAL THAT'S IN THE PACKET. YES. BE IT RESOLVED. IT'S ON PAGE SEVEN OF THE PACKET. OKAY. PAGE DATE. AND IT SAYS, BE IT RESOLVED THAT A COPY OF THIS RECOMMENDATION BE PROVIDED TO THE MARKET OVERSIGHT SECTION OF THE RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS IN THE MOST TIMELY MANNER POSSIBLE. UM, OKAY. UH, I, I WILL TAKE A MOTION SO THAT WE CAN DISCUSS. SO MOVE, SO MOVE SECOND . OKAY. AND AGAIN, VICE CHAIR ROBBINS AND COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN. OKAY. UM, DISCUSSION ON X, WE'VE ALREADY KIND OF STARTED DISCUSSING. UM, I WILL JUST, I GUESS, REMIND, UH, COMMISSIONERS THAT THIS WAS ON, ON THE AGENDA FOR LAST MONTH AND SINCE, UH, VICE CHAIR ROBERTS WAS NOT ABLE TO JOIN US, AND THAT WAS THE DAY THAT THE TEXAS GAS GOT THE, THE RULING FROM THE RAILROAD COMMISSION THAT THEIR PROGRAM WAS NOT APPROVED. WE TABLED IT FOR, FOR TONIGHT. WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT I, I, I FEEL, UM, UM, PRETTY STRONGLY ABOUT A LOT OF THESE, THESE THINGS WITH THE CONSERVATION PROGRAM. I THINK THAT, UM, YOU, YOU KNOW, VICE CHAIR ROBINSON HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF OUTLINING WHY A LOT OF THE REBATES ARE NOT COST EFFECTIVE. UM, THEY'RE SOME OF THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION WERE TAKEN OUT. THAT'S THE DUCK CEILING, UM, PROGRAMS THAT, THAT THEY HAD IN CONJUNCTION WITH AUSTIN ENERGY. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I SUPPORT THIS RECOMMENDATION. UM, I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE A CONSERVATION PROGRAM. RIGHT NOW. THEY DON'T HAVE A CONSERVATION PROGRAM BECAUSE OF THIS. BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I DO THINK IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE PRUDENT WITH THE RATE PAYER DOLLARS, UM, AND THAT THEY, THE PROGRAMS ACTUALLY DO CONSERVE ENERGY. SO IT MAKES SENSE TO ME, AND I'M, I'M SUPPORTIVE. THANK YOU. YES. COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, AS YOU COULD TELL FROM MY REGRETTABLY INSUFFICIENTLY INDIGNANT PRESENTATION OF VICE CHAIR ROBINS MATERIAL LAST MONTH, I SHARE HIS CONCERNS ABOUT ALL OF THESE MEASURES, AND I APPRECIATE THE DEEP LEVEL OF RESEARCH AS WELL AS PASSION THAT HE HAS BROUGHT TO THIS MATERIAL. AND I, UM, AM GRATEFUL THAT HE HAS SPENT THE TIME TO DEVELOP THIS COMPREHENSIVE RESOLUTION. I SUPPORT IT 100%. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, ONE LITTLE HOUSEKEEPING THING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO IS, UM, THERE WAS A, AN AMENDMENT, A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT THAT VICE CHAIR ACTUALLY PROPOSED ABOUT CHANGING THE LANGUAGE IN THAT, WHEREAS, UM, CLAUSE THE [02:00:01] SEC SECOND TO THE LAST, WHEREAS FROM ABOUT 1987 TO ABOUT 1997, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAD AN AGREEMENT WITH THE PREDECESSOR TO TGS TO DESIGN AN ADMINISTER GAS CONSERVATION PROGRAMS FUNDED BY TG S'S PREDECESSOR. UM, YEAH. YEAH. OKAY. SO VICE CHAIR ROBBINS MOVE TO, UH, ADOPT THAT AMENDMENT AND COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN SECOND IT. YES. OKAY. I'LL TAKE A VOTE. UM, ALL IN FAVOR OF THE AMENDMENT? UH, COULD, COULD, SORRY. OH, OKAY. WOULD YOU, WE GOT VOTE ON THE AMENDMENT BEFORE THE, THE RESOLUTION. ALL IN FAVOR OF THAT AMENDMENT RAISE HAND? YES. OKAY. SIX AMENDMENT PASSES. IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THE RECOMMENDATION? YES. OKAY. UM, WE MIGHT WANT TO AMEND THE FIRST NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BECAUSE, UH, IT SAYS WE GO ON RECORD WITH THE RAILROAD COMMISSION TO OPPOSE THE CURRENT PROGRAM. THEY'VE ALL, THEY'VE ALREADY REJECTED IT. UH, AND SO MAYBE WE OUGHT TO WORD IT, UH, TO ENCOURAGE CITY STAFF TO GO ON RECORD WITH THE RAILROAD COMMISSION TO OPPOSE, UH, FUTURE CONSERVATION PROPOSALS THAT ARE NOT COST EFFECTIVE. I WOULD PROPOSE THAT IN INCLUDING OF THE TYPE OUTLINED IN THEIR CURRENT PROPOSAL. GOOD, GOOD POINT. OKAY. UM, WE'LL HAVE TO READ THAT INTO THE RECORD. UM, YES. UH, VICE CHAIR ROBBINS, WILL YOU BE ABLE TO SEND THAT TO ME TO MAKE SURE I HAVE IT CORRECT? WELL, YEAH, IT'LL TAKE ME A MINUTE. UM, OKAY, NO PROBLEM. UM, SO, UH, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION ADVISED CITY COUNCIL TO ASK ITS APPROPRIATE CITY STAFF TO GO ON RECORD WITH THE RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS TO OPPOSE FUTURE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT ARE NOT CONS COST EFFECTIVE, INCLUDING MY MIND. BLANK COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, THE CURRENT PROGRAM PROPOSALS OH. IN THE INITIAL PROGRAM PROPOSALS, INCLUDING THE INITIAL PROGRAM PROPOSALS, INCLUDING THE INITIAL PROGRAM PROPOSALS. OKAY. UM, UH, MS. GOODWIN, DO YOU, IS THAT SUFFICIENT? YEAH. MS. GOODWIN, IS THAT SUFFICIENT, PLEASE? I'M SORRY, I CAN'T HEAR YOU. CAN YOU SEND IT TO ME, PLEASE? UH, I, I, I GOT IT. OKAY. I'LL SEND IT TO YOU. ALL RIGHT. DO, DO WE NEED TO VOTE ON THAT AMENDMENT, MS. EVERHART? OH, UH, YES. OKAY. UM, UH, I SHALL MOVE. OKAY. MOVED IN SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR OF, UH, THAT AMENDMENT THAT WAS JUST PREVIOUSLY READ. OKAY. UH, IT PASSES EVERYONE UNANIMOUS. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, ALL RIGHT. ARE WE READY FOR THIS RECOMMENDATION? HOW ABOUT SOMEONE DIFFERENT MOVE . JUST CHANGE IT UP. HOW ABOUT THE, THE NEW MOVED. OKAY. MARK SECOND. COMMISSIONER LUKI AND COMMISSIONER KENARD SECONDS. FANTASTIC. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION ON THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE CONSERVATION PROPOSAL. UH, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. IT IS UNANIMOUS, IT PASSES. THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. COMMISSION. ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. OKAY, THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF OUR AGENDA. WHAT DO [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] WE HAVE FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? MS. GOODWIN OR COMMISSIONERS? FIRST MS. GOODWIN, IF YOU HAVE ANY. WE HAVE A FEW ON THE LIST AND SO WE'LL JUST NEED TO SEE WHERE THEY FIT IN. OKAY. OCTOBER, NOVEMBER. OKAY. OKAY. UM, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, MY RECOLLECTION IS THAT AUSTIN [02:05:01] ENERGY WAS GOING TO HAVE ITS CONSULTANTS REPORT ON THE DISTRICT COOLING SYSTEM AND RECOMMENDATIONS COMPLETE IN OCTOBER. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY GIVE US A PRESENTATION AND SHARE THAT REPORT AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM IT, AND IF THEY HAVE A PLAN DEVELOPED, I'D LIKE TO HEAR THAT AS WELL. THANK YOU. GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. VICE CHAIR ROBBINS? I, YES. UM, I'M GOING TO, THIS IS A FLUID IDEA, BUT I'M, YOU'LL ALL RECALL THAT THE CITY COMPTROLLER MARIA NORTON SAID SHE WANTED TO HEAR OUR COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE FRANCHISE SOONER THAN LATER. YES. UH, THERE HAS BEEN A, A LOOSE PROPOSAL AROUND FOR SOME TIME TO HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING, UH, ON THIS, ON THE ISSUE OF THE GAS FRANCHISE. SO I'M GONNA MAKE A SUGGESTION, ASSUMING THAT WE HAVE THE BANDWIDTH TO DO THIS IN TIME THAT A RESOLUTION BE PRESENTED FROM OUR COMMISSION, A DRAFT RESOLUTION ON VARIOUS THINGS THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN THE FRANCHISE, UH, AND THAT THIS BE THE OUTLINE FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING, WHICH MIGHT BE HELD THIS NOVEMBER, TWO MONTHS FROM NOW. AND IT WOULD BE SORT OF LIKE, WELL, HERE'S OUR PROPOSAL. PUBLIC TELL US IF YOU THINK THIS IS GOOD OR IF THERE'S SOMETHING BETTER, OR THERE'S WAYS THAT THIS CAN BE IMPROVED AND THAT WE WOULD CONSIDER AMENDING IT THAT WAY. UM, IT'S A LOT TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS, UH, IN A COUPLE MONTHS. IT MAY SEEM LIKE A LONG TIME. IT REALLY ISN'T. SO THAT'S WHY I SAY THIS IS FLUID. MM-HMM . BUT THAT'S MY PROPOSAL AS OF THIS MOMENT THAT WE CONSIDER TIMING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR NOVEMBER. IF WE CANNOT ORGANIZE IT BY THEN, THEN IT WOULD BE IN JANUARY. THANK YOU. UH, I AGREE. YEAH. YEAH. JUST TO ECHO THAT, I, I REMEMBER THE, WHEN MARIA NORTON WAS HERE THREE OR FOUR MONTHS AGO, SHE WAS PRETTY CLEAR THAT THE SOONER THE BETTER AND THAT IT WAS KIND OF THIS FALL WAS REALLY WHEN THEY WANTED TO HEAR. SO I SUPPORT DOING IT. IF, UH, IF IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A, A LIFT TO DO IN NOVEMBER, IT'S PROBABLY WORTH IT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LISTENING TO THEM ABOUT THEIR, THEIR PROCESS. MM-HMM . AND WE DON'T MEET IN DECEMBER, SO GOOD TO KNOW. OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE? ANY OTHER ITEMS? OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONERS. UM, WE WILL, UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE WILL ADJOURN AT 10 8:10 PM THANK YOU. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY. THANK YOU ALL. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.