* 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.
          [00:00:02]
          EVERYONE, WELCOME 
          [CALL TO ORDER]
TO THE CLIMATE, WATER ENVIRONMENT AND PARKS COMMITTEE. 
          I AM VICE CHAIR PAIGE ELLI, AND I'M CALLING THIS MEETING TO ORDER AT 9:31 AM I AM JOINED BY OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS, COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE SIEGEL, AND COUNCIL MEMBER MARK UCHIN. 
          OUR CHAIR, RYAN ALTAR WILL BE HERE IN JUST A COUPLE OF MINUTES, BUT HE SAID WE COULD GO AHEAD AND KICK THIS OFF AND GET STARTED. 
          I HEAR WE HAVE TWO SPEAKERS. 
          YES. 
          AND OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS GONNA BE SCOTT JOHNSON AND HE ALSO IS GONNA HAVE SOMEONE WHO IS GOING TO BE DONATING TIME. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          I'M NOT SURE IF WE NORMALLY DO TIME DONATION FOR COMMITTEES, BUT LET'S GO FOR IT. 
          SOUNDS GOOD. 
          SCOTT JOHNSON. 
          UM, AND OUR SECOND PERSON, I JUST SENT THEM THE INFORMATION TO CALL IN, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE GONNA BE READY RIGHT THIS SECOND. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          WELL, WE WILL, UH, TAKE THOSE SPEAKERS AS SOON AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE. 
          FOR 
          [1. Approve the minutes of the Climate, Water, Environment, and Parks Committee meeting of January  28, 2026.]
NOW, LET'S DO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. 
          AND THESE ARE FROM THE JANUARY 28TH, 2026 MEETING. 
          DO I HAVE A MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL? SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN. 
          ALL IN FAVOR SAY, AYE. 
          THAT IS UNANIMOUS FOR THE THREE OF US ON THE DAAS, AND I SEE OUR SPEAKER IS NOW 
          [Public Communication: General]
IN THE ROOM. 
          SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND GO BACK TO SPEAKERS. 
          THANK YOU, SCOTT. 
          WHENEVER YOU'RE READY. 
          YOU'RE UP NEXT. 
          GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. 
          MY NAME IS SCOTT JOHNSON AND I'M HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT AIR QUALITY AND CLIMATE. 
          AND ONE OF THE THINGS I'D LIKE TO DO IS TO, UH, TALK ABOUT HOW I BELIEVE THAT THE CITY'S, UH, WATER FORWARD PROGRAM AND THE GROUP THAT HAS SUPPORTED IT FROM THE COMMUNITY AND THE STAFF, UH, HOW IMPORTANT IT'S THAT THEIR WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE AND HOW THEY'RE REPORTING OUT VERY REGULARLY TO THE COUNCIL AND TO THE C COMMUNITY. 
          AND TALK ABOUT THE AIR QUALITY PIECE OF WHAT WE DO, WHICH IS A COLLABORATIVE PIECE FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW, MEANING THAT THE CITY IS INVOLVED IN TWO DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. ONE IS CALLED THE CLEAN AIR FORCE OF CENTRAL TEXAS, A NONPROFIT THAT I BELIEVE COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS WAS ON AS A CITY REPRESENTATIVE. 
          NOW, APPARENTLY IT'S, IT'S RYAN ALTER. 
          AND SO MY INVOLVEMENT IN THE GROUP STARTED IN 94. 
          THE GROUP FORMED IN 93. 
          I WAS THE BOARD ALTERNATE FOR THE SIERRA CLUB FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. 
          AND THEN THEY SAID THAT THEY COULDN'T BE INVOLVED IN THESE TYPE OF, UH, COLLABORATIVES WHERE DECISIONS WERE MADE WITHOUT INFORMING ALL OF THE, UH, FOLKS THAT WERE PART OF IT, THAT BEING GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS AND ADVOCACY GROUPS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS. 
          SO I JUST WANTED TO SHOW THIS TO YOU. 
          I'M NOT GONNA READ IT AND GO THROUGH ALL OF IT, BUT IN 2003, 2004, THERE WAS AN INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AFTER SOME EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS LEFT OR WERE LET GO. 
          AND I KNEW ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO WRITE THE HISTORY FOR THE CLEAN AIR FORCE FOR THE FIRST NINE OR 10 YEARS THAT THEY WERE IN EENT. 
          I WAS EXTREMELY WORKING, EXTREMELY CLOSE WITH 'EM, PUTTING A LOT OF HOURS, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, INTO THAT EFFORT. 
          AND THAT TYPE OF COLLABORATION IS CERTAINLY A MODEL THAT CAN BE SAID. 
          YES, THAT MODEL WORKED OUT WELL, UH, FOR THE TIME THAT IT WAS IN PLACE. 
          AFTER JUDITH ZINI, THE SENATOR, WHO'S STILL A SENATOR, PUT FORWARD A REQUEST TO GET FUNDING FOR CITIES THAT ARE CALLED NEAR NON-ATTAINMENT, MEANING THEY'RE NOT IN VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL STANDARD FOR GROUND LEVEL OZONE FUNDING CAME. 
          AND THAT STREAM WENT TO CAP COG, THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS. 
          AND IN 20 2002, 2003, THEY FORMED A GROUP CALLED THE CLEAN AIR COALITION THAT, OR COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS MAY STILL BE A PART OF. 
          I'M NOT SURE. 
          AND THEREFORE, THAT IS WHERE THE MOST OF THE ACTIVITY AND MOST OF THE POLICY MAKING AND MOST OF THE DISCUSSIONS HAPPENED THERE STARTING IN 2003, 2004. 
          AND WE CAME UP WITH OUR FIRST SUBSTANTIVE AIR QUALITY PLAN. 
          AND IT WAS ORIGINALLY CALLED THE EARLY ACTION COMPACT, WHICH GAVE US A MISSION ASSESSING FOR VEHICLES AND, UH, HEAVY DUTY DIESEL IDLING RULE THAT IS STILL IN PLACE, BUT IT'S NOT ENFORCED 'CAUSE THERE ARE LOOPHOLES IN IT, ET CETERA. 
          SECOND SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DID WHEN I 
          [00:05:01]
WAS WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CLEAN AIR FORCE IS I KNEW THAT BUSES WERE OLD. 
          A ID USED TO HAVE A LOT. 
          SOME OF THEM WERE AVERAGING O OVER 15 YEARS OF SERVICE AT THAT TIME IN THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS. 
          SO I TALKED TO HER, UH, HER NAME IS FAITH GEORGE, AND SAID, I'D LIKE TO WRITE A PROPOSAL TO ALCOA. 
          AND I DID. 
          AND THE FUNDING WAS RECEIVED, AND THAT FUNDING WAS USED TO START THE CLEAN BUS PROGRAM WITHIN THE CLEAN AIR FORCE. 
          AND THERE'S STILL A CLEAN BUS PROGRAM WITHIN THE STATE OF TEXAS. 
          UH, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I'M NOT WORKING ON DIRECTLY AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME. 
          THIRD, THIRD SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          I ALSO MADE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE IN 2002. 
          YOU CAN SEE THE DATE ON THERE FOR DIFFERENT WAYS TO TRY TO IMPROVE THE ORGANIZATION. 
          SOMETIMES WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE IN POSITIONS WITH BUSINESSES OR IN GOVERNMENT ELECTED OFFICIALS, THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS SO WILLING TO TAKE RECOMMENDATIONS UNLESS IT'S BEEN SHAPED THROUGH A, A SERIES OF MEETINGS, UH, THAT INCLUDE MORE PEOPLE. 
          AND I DO TRY, I ALWAYS DO TRY TO GET INPUT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, BUT IN THIS CASE, I KNEW IT WAS NEEDED. 
          SO THIS PARTICULAR EFFORT WAS NOT ONE THAT FOUND SUCCESS IN THAT ERA TO MAKE SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES WITHIN THE STRUCTURE OF THE CLEAN, THE CLEAN AIR FORCE. 
          THIRD SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          AND SOME OF YOU'LL BE HAPPY THAT WHEN THIS WAS THE ANNEX FOR THE CITY CITY'S OPERATIONS FOR COUNCIL MEETINGS, I DID HOLD, UH, WITH THE APPROVAL OF MARY ARNOLD, SOME OF YOU KNOW, HER WELL-KNOWN ADVOCATE FOR MANY YEARS SINCE THE SIXTIES. 
          UH, WE, WE HAD A LEAF BLOWER PUBLIC HEARING, AND WE HAD, WE HAD INDUSTRY DOWN AND, UH, IT'S THE BANE OF OUR EXISTENCE, RIGHT? IF WE LIVE IN URBAN AREAS. 
          AND, UH, THAT ONE DIDN'T WORK OUT IN QUITE AS WELL AS I THOUGHT, BUT AT LEAST WE RAISED THE ISSUE THAT LEAF BLOWERS ARE HAZARDOUS AND AND LOUD. 
          GETTING TO THE CRUX OF THIS SITUATION, UH, SOMETHING THAT I FOUND, AND I WANTED TO KNOW IF THESE COULD BE, OH GOSH, I'M RUNNING OUTTA TIME. 
          THE WATER CONSERVATION STRATEGY MILESTONES, WHICH IS ON, I JUST HAVE A, A PIECE OF PAPER HERE. 
          I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE THOSE, UH, THESE MILESTONES THAT ARE PUT UP ON, ON THE QUARTERLY REPORTS THAT I'M ACTUALLY HOLDING ON COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN. 
          I, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE A SLIDE OF IT. 
          THESE ARE VALUABLE. 
          IT SHOWS INTENT, IT SHOWS PROGRESS ON THESE PARTICULAR EFFORTS, AND THAT'S HELPFUL. 
          WHAT YOU'RE SEEING THERE ONLINE ARE THE STATE MANDATED MEASURES. 
          MOST OF THOSE HAVE TO BE OPTED INTO FOR THE PLAN THAT WE HAVE, WHICH IS, UH, THE OZONE PLAN. 
          SO PLEASE CONSIDER IF YOU'RE ON THE CLEAN AIR FORCE, IF YOU'RE ON THE CLEAN AIR COALITION, THAT YOU CAN REQUEST UPDATES ON WHERE WE ARE, WHERE WE'RE GOING, BECAUSE WE WANNA KNOW, YOU BROUGHT THIS UP AT THE LAST MEETING WHEN THE, WHEN THE COLAB FOLKS WERE HERE FROM UT. 
          HOW ARE THEY HELPING US REDUCE EMISSIONS TODAY AND TOMORROW? NOT, NOT A PLANNING CYCLE THAT IS GONNA LAST US INTO THE DECADES TO COME. 
          WE WANT THAT AND NEED THAT, BUT WE NEED MORE. 
          WHAT ARE WE DOING TODAY AND WHAT ARE WE DOING TOMORROW TO HELP PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TESTIMONY FOR COMING DOWN AND YOUR CONTINUED ADVOCACY IN THIS SPACE. 
          THANK YOU VICE CHAIR ELLIS FOR GETTING US GOING. 
          AND MY APOLOGIES, COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR BEING A FEW MINUTES LATE. 
          UM, BUT THAT, IS THAT OUR FINAL SPEAKER? NO, WE HAVE WHAT? WE HAVE ONE MORE WHO IS GONNA, UM, SPEAK VIA PHONE. 
          PERFECT. 
          UP NEXT. 
          OH, GO AHEAD. 
          OH, SORRY TO INTERRUPT. 
          I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW WE HAD APPROVED THE MINUTES PRIOR TO TAKING THE SPEAKERS. 
          EVEN BETTER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          IF WE CAN HAVE PAULA KAUFMAN. 
          HELLO, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. 
          HELLO, THIS IS PAUL . 
          I'M FROM DISTRICT NINE. 
          I'M, WE'RE, I'M TESTIFYING TODAY ABOUT A SURPRISE BILL FROM TEXAS GAS SERVICE FOR LOWER INCOME NEIGHBORS, THEY CAN BE DEVASTATING. 
          TEXAS GAS SERVICES UNFAIR BILLING PRACTICES, DRASTICALLY DIMINISHED HOUSING AFFORDABILITY ABILITY. 
          THE TARGET GOAL OF NO MORE THAN 30% OF INCOME PAID FOR HOUSING INCLUDES UTILITIES. 
          PLEASE NEGOTIATE A SOPHISTICATED NEW AGREEMENT THAT CAPS BASIC MONTHLY RATE INCREASES REGARDLESS OF REGULATORY DECISIONS. 
          CONTRACT TRUMP REGULATIONS, I WRITE IN SUPPORT OF AUSTIN'S RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION'S 
          [00:10:01]
WELL DOCUMENTED RECOMMENDATION, YOUR AGENDA ITEM FOUR. 
          I IMPLORE YOU TO PROTECT YOUR CONSTITUENTS FROM SURPRISE BILLING. 
          AS A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF THE FOUNDATION FOR THE HOMELESS, I KNOW THAT A 94% GAS BILL COULD SOURCE A LOWER INCOME OFFITE TO FORGO OTHER NECESSITIES. 
          TEXAS GAS SERVICE CUSTOMERS CANNOT PLAN FOR THE UNREASONABLE, EXPONENTIAL INCREASES DEMANDED IN THESE SURPRISE BILLS. 
          TEXAS GAS SERVICE HAS REALLY MANY UNNECESSARY AND UNFAIR FEES AND CHARGES. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, THE FRANCHISE FEE, TEXAS GAS SERVICE SITE, THE, THE CITY OF BOSTON, UM, REQUIRES THEM TO, TO COLLECT THAT FROM THE CITIZENS. 
          WHY THIS IS CLEARLY A DELIVERY EXPENSE. 
          TEXAS GAS SERVICE SHOULD PAY IT. 
          SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS DON'T PAY MORE THAN $10 AND 36 CENTS A MONTH. 
          AUSTINITES ARE PAYING $25 A MONTH. 
          IT'S NOT EQUITABLE AND IT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE. 
          UM, IF YOU GO TO TEXAS GAS SERVICES, UM, WEBSITE, THEY HAVE AN UNDERSTAND YOUR BILL, SAMPLE BILL IN WHICH THE WEATHER NORMALIZATION FEE IS SET AT 25 CENTS FOR JANUARY, 2025. 
          AND THEN IN DECEMBER, 2025, MINE WAS $2 AND 96 CENTS MORE THAN 10 TIMES THE SAMPLE BILL. 
          AND THEN IN JANUARY, 2026, IT JUMPS TO $22 AND 73 CENTS, 90 TIMES THE SAMPLE BILL. 
          AND THEN I REALIZED I HAD USED LESS GAS IN JANUARY THAN I HAD IN DECEMBER, BUT MY BILL ROSE 22%. 
          WHY WE'RE BUSY, WE THINK, WELL, WE'RE LIKE, OH, JANUARY'S COLD. 
          BUT THEN WHEN I REALLY LOOKED AT MY BILL, I SAID, I NEED THE CITY OF COUNCIL TO NEGOTIATE A BETTER CONTRACT WITH THE NEXT GAS PROVIDER. 
          TEXAS GAS SERVICE ONLY SUPPORTS TWO CITIES IN TEXAS, EL PASO AND AUSTIN. 
          AUSTIN IS ABOUT 33% OF THE BUSINESS. 
          AUSTIN, YOU HAVE LEVERAGE. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE THAT FULL DISCUSSION LATER TODAY. 
          SO APPRECIATE YOU, UH, PHONING IN AND, AND MAKING YOUR VOICE HEARD. 
          WITH THAT, WE WILL CLOSE PUBLIC TESTIMONY AND MOVE TO ITEM 
          [2. Briefing on Austin Water's Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion and related  funding. [Shay Ralls Roalson, Director - Austin Water]. Sponsors: Council Member Ryan Alter, and Council Member Paige Ellis]
NUMBER TWO. 
          AND I SEE A CADRE OF AUSTIN WATER FOLKS TODAY. 
          THIS IS A BRIEFING ON AUSTIN WATERS, WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT, PLANT EXPANSION AND RELATED FUNDING. 
          AND WITH THAT DIRECTOR ROLSON, TAKE IT AWAY. 
          GOOD MORNING CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU, UH, FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT THE WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT EXPANSION OF MODERNIZATION. 
          MY NAME IS SHAY ROLLS ROLSON AND I'M THE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER. 
          UM, WE LAST GAVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THIS PROJECT IN OCTOBER AS PART OF OUR OVERALL CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATE. 
          AND, UH, YOU MAY RECALL THAT THIS PROJECT IS BEING DELIVERED AS A CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK. 
          UH, SO IN MAY OF 2024, WE BROUGHT THE CONTRACTOR ON BOARD WITH CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL JUST AFTER PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING. 
          SO WE KNEW WHAT WE NEEDED TO BUILD, UM, BUT THERE WAS A WHOLE LOT OF GROUND TO COVER TO GET TO THE POINT OF BEING READY TO CONSTRUCT IT. 
          AND IT HAS BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE HAVING THE CONTRACTOR ON THE TEAM DURING THAT FINAL DESIGN AND PRE-CONSTRUCTION SERVICES IN ORDER TO SHAPE THE DESIGN, IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S GONNA TAKE TO DELIVER, UH, THIS PROJECT WHILE KEEPING THE PLANT IN OPERATION, UH, AND DELIVER IT ON TIME BY 2032. 
          UH, AND SO, UM, CHARLES SRO, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING IS GOING TO GIVE YOU MORE DETAILED UPDATES, UM, INCLUDING AN UPDATE ON THE COST, UH, WILL BE COMING FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL IN MARCH, UH, FOR AN OVERALL COST FOR THIS PROJECT OF $1.5 BILLION, AS WELL AS AN INCREASE IN OUR LOAN FROM THE EPA AS PART OF THEIR WIA PROGRAM. 
          SO WE'LL GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION RIGHT NOW. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU DIRECTOR. 
          FOR THE RECORD, I'M CHARLES SRO AND MY RESPONSIBLE AREA IS THE DELIVERY AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AUSTIN WATERS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. 
          AND WALNUT CREEK IS ONE OF THOSE PROJECTS. 
          OKAY. 
          AUSTIN HAS TWO CENTRALIZED, UH, WATER TREATMENT PLANTS, UH, WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT IN THE SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT. 
          BOTH ARE RATED TODAY AT 75 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY CAPACITY. 
          THE WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT IS IN DISTRICT ONE. 
          IT'S LOCATED ALONG 9 6 9, UH, BOULEVARD, UH, MK 
          [00:15:01]
BOULEVARD. 
          IT'S EAST OF US 180 3. 
          IT SERVES NORTH AUSTIN. 
          PREDOMINANTLY IF YOU'RE ABOUT FROM 29TH STREET TO THE NORTH IS THE SERVICE AREA THAT WALNUT CREEK, UH, SERVES. 
          WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT SERVES. 
          IT'S ABOUT 50 YEARS OLD. 
          IT, UH, BEGAN IN 1977. 
          WE HAD A POPULATION OF ABOUT 320,000 PEOPLE. 
          TODAY WE HAVE OVER 1 MILLION PEOPLE AND IT'S TIME TO EXPAND THE PLANT, THE PLANT'S, MORE THAN JUST THE EXPANSION. 
          IT'S A MODERNIZATION OF THE PLANT. 
          IT'S TRULY A GENERATIONAL INVESTMENT IN AWESOME WATER'S FUTURE. 
          WE ARE EXPANDING THE PLANT, BUT WE'RE ALSO UPGRADING THE TREATMENT PROCESS OF THE EXISTING PLANT, AS WELL AS THE EXPANSION TO BIOLOGICAL NUTRIENT REMOVAL, WHICH IS A NEW PROCESS TREATMENT FOREST, WHICH WILL REDUCE THE NUTRIENT LEVELS, LEAVING THE PLANT, BENEFITING THE HEALTH OF THE COLORADO RIVER, WHICH IS VITAL TO MANY OF US IN AUSTIN. 
          AGING INFRASTRUCTURE WILL BE REBUILT AND REPLACED ACROSS THE WHOLE PLANT. 
          THE PLANT WILL TRANSITION TO SAFER DIS DISINFECTION TECHNOLOGY, EXCUSE ME, WITH THE USE OF ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT, WHICH WOULD, UH, REDUCE THE NEED FOR CHEMICAL, UM, UH, UH, DISINFECTION, IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF THE SAFETY OF THE WORKERS, AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY MITIGATE ODORS. 
          BY INCORPORATING ADVANCED ODOR CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES, THE, UH, A FLOOD WALL WILL BE BUILT AROUND THE SITE. 
          WE ARE NOW IN THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOODPLAIN AND TO PROVIDE CONTINUOUS SERVICE 'CAUSE THERE'S AN ACTIVE PLANT, UM, THE CONSTRUCTION WILL BE PHASED AND SEQUENCE ACROSS THE PLANT TO SURE. 
          THERE'S NO INTERRUPTION IN THE SERVICE. 
          WHILE WE'RE, WHILE WE'RE DOING ALL THIS CONSTRUCTION, IT'S AN IMPORTANT GOAL FOR US. 
          WALNUT CREEK IS ONE OF FEW PLANTS IN TEXAS THAT HAVE RECEIVED THE NWA NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CLEAN WATER AGENCIES PLATINUM AWARD. 
          AND THIS MEANS FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS, WALNUT CREEK HAS HAD NO DISCHARGE PERMIT VIOLATIONS FOR FIVE YEARS. 
          SO WE WE'RE PROUD OF THAT AWARD. 
          THE MAP ON THE RIGHT IS FURTHER TO KIND OF SHOW HOW THE MODERNIZATION EFFORTS ARE BEING, UH, TAKEN AT THE PLANT. 
          THE GREEN BOXES ARE EXISTING BASINS AT THE PLANT THAT I NEED TO MODIFY TO UPGRADE THE TREATMENT PROCESS TO BIOLOGICAL NUTRIENT REMOVAL. 
          THE ORANGE BOXES ARE NEW FACILITIES TO SUPPORT THE, THE, THAT NEW TREATMENT PROCESS AND THE BLUE BOXES ARE ACTUALLY FOR THE 25 MILLION GALLON PER DAY EXPANSION. 
          SO AS YOU COULD SEE, THAT PORTION OF THE EXPANSION IS LESS THAN HALF OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AT THE PLAN ITSELF. 
          SO HOW ARE WE GONNA DO THIS? WE DID COME TO THE CITY COUNCIL IN 22 DECEMBER OF 22 TO REQUEST AN ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY METHOD. 
          THE DELIVERY METHOD WAS CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK, AND THAT METHOD HELPED, WAS TO HELP MITIGATE THE RISK OF DELIVERY OF THIS PROJECT. 
          THEN IN MAY OF 2024, AS NOTED, WE DID COME TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO ACTUALLY SELECT THE SMAR CONTRACTOR, WHICH WAS MWH CONSTRUCTORS. 
          AT THAT TIME, THE AUTHORIZATION AMOUNT WAS BASED ON PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING LEVEL OF EFFORT, AND THAT WAS FOR $900 MILLION. 
          SO WHAT HAVE WE BEEN DOING SINCE THEN? WE'VE BEEN IN A PHASE CALLED PRE-CONSTRUCTION SERVICES WITH THE CONTRACTOR. 
          UH, THE MAIN EFFORT HAS BEEN THE ACTUAL COLLABORATION WITH A DESIGN ENGINEER AS WELL AS A CONTRACTOR AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO ADVANCE THE LEVEL OF THE CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS FROM PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING TO FINAL DESIGN. 
          DURING THIS PHASE, MWH HAS ALSO BEEN PERFORMING CONSTRUCTABILITY REVIEWS, HOW BEST TO CONSTRUCT THE PROJECT AND HAVE IN ASSISTING THE PLAN OPERATION STAFF WITH THE MAINTENANCE OF PLAN OPERATIONS. 
          BASICALLY, HOW DO WE KEEP THE 75 BILLION GALLONS PER DAY TREATMENT CAPACITY FUNCTIONING DURING CONSTRUCTION? THIS PROCESS IDENTIFIED THE CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCES AND PHASING TO REDUCE THE MITIGATION, THE REDUCE THE RISKS IN DELIVERING THE PROJECT. 
          ADDITIONALLY, THE, THE, THE, UH, CONTRACTOR, THE SEYMOUR CONTRACTOR, HAS IDENTIFIED COST SAVING OPPORTUNITIES WELL OVER $100 MILLION TO DATE, AND AS WELL AS ADVANCING THE PROBABLE OPINION OF CONSTRUCTION COST AND THEN ACTUAL PREPARING WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE BIDDING DOCUMENTS. 
          THESE ARE THE PACKAGES THAT WILL ACTUALLY, UH, GO IN AND, AND BUILD WHAT WE NEED AT THE PLANT, THE INFRASTRUCTURE, HOW THESE PACKAGES LOOK LIKE. 
          WE'VE SELECTED EIGHT DIFFERENT PACKAGES. 
          AGAIN, WE'LL CALL GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE. 
          UM, THIS SLIDE SHOWS THAT THREE ARE CONSTRUCTION. 
          ACTUALLY GMP FOUR IS OFFICIALLY THIS WEEK IN CONSTRUCTION. 
          SO WE NOW HAVE 4G MP, UH, PACKAGES THAT ARE OFFICIALLY IN CONSTRUCTION. 
          WE HAVE TWO IN THE BID PHASE AND TWO IS STILL CURRENTLY IN DESIGN. 
          SO THIS ALSO SHOWS ANOTHER, UH, UH, ADVANTAGE OF THE CA, UH, PROJECT. 
          [00:20:01]
AS THE PROJECT IS PROGRESSING, HOW WE CAN BE IN CONSTRUCTION BIDDING AS WELL AS DESIGNED TO SHORTEN OUR CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE LENGTH, HOW THAT LOOKS IN THE CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE. 
          IS THAT, UH, SHOWN HERE IN THE BAR CHART? THE GRAY BOXES ARE DESIGNED. 
          THE GREEN BOXES IS THE PRE-CONSTRUCTION PHASE SERVICES THAT WE WERE, WE JUST DISCUSSED. 
          AND THE BLUE IS ACTUALLY THE CONSTRUCTION. 
          AND WE ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY STARTED PHYSICAL CONSTRUCTION IN OCTOBER OF 25 WITH GMP PACKAGE NUMBER ONE. 
          AND WE EXPECT TO BE COMPLETED IN 20 20 32. 
          EXCUSE ME. 
          IT'S ABOUT A SIX YEAR CONSTRUCTION PROJECT. 
          UM, AUSTIN WATER HAS FORECASTED, UM, UH, OR FORECASTING SHOWS THAT TIME WE GET TO ABOUT 2032 WILL BE NEAR OR AT 75 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY, WHICH IS AT THE, THE EXISTING CAPACITY OF THE PLANT. 
          SO IT'S BEING DELIVERED JUST ON TIME. 
          CAN YOU SAY WHAT WAS THE DATE ON THAT? 2032? IT WILL BE WHEN WE ARE PROJECTED TO BE AT 75. 
          OUR FORECAST SHOWS 2032 OR THERE SHORTLY THEREAFTER. 
          SO, SO WHERE WE'RE COMING TO NOW THAT THE PROJECT HAS NOW PROGRESSED THROUGH THE CMR PROCESS AND WE GOT MUCH MORE GREATER DETAIL, WE ARE NOW COMING TO CITY COUNCIL TO REQUEST AN AUTHORIZATION INCREASE AMOUNT TO THE CONSTRUCTION SMAR CONTRACTORS, UH, CONTRACT BY $600 MILLION FOR A TOTAL VALUE OF $1.5 BILLION. 
          AND WHY ARE WE KIND OF COMING BACK THE CITY COUNCIL AT THIS TIME? UH, PART OF THIS IS JUST TO THE NATURE OF THE, OF THE CMAR DELIVERY METHOD IN THE PROJECT IS THE, AS WE PROGRESS THE PROJECT THROUGH THIS PROCESS, THE TOP LINE SHOWS A TRADITIONAL DESIGN BUILD PROCESS, WHICH IS 99% OF WHAT WE DO. 
          AND WHAT YOU SEE AT THE CITY COUNCIL, THE OWNER SELECTS THE ENGINEER, WE GO THROUGH THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING, WE GO THROUGH ALL THE FINAL DESIGNS, WE GET A DETAILED CONSTRUCTION COST. 
          WE ACTUALLY BID THE PROJECT AND WE COME TO CITY COUNCIL WITH A KNOWN CONTRACTUAL CONSTRUCTION COST. 
          THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER RISK IS DIFFERENT. 
          IT STARTS THE SAME IN TERMS OF ME HIRING AN ENGINEER FOR PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING, BUT AT THAT TIME WE DETERMINED THAT A SEAMAR DELIVERY METHOD WAS THE BEST METHOD TO DELIVER THIS COMPLEX PROJECT AND REDUCE OUR RISK. 
          SO WE, AFTER THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING, WE CAME TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO, TO SELECT THE SEAMAR CONTRACTOR. 
          AND THEN AFTER THE CMAR CONTRACT IS SELECTED, WE THEN FURTHER THE DESIGN PLANS DEVELOPED CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS AND THE PACKAGES. 
          SO AT THE TIME OF MAY 24, WE REALLY DID NOT KNOW A KNOWN CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION COST. 
          BUT AS WE HAVE PROGRESSED AND THE PROJECT THROUGH A GREATER DETAIL, WE DID NOW HAVE A BETTER CONSTRUCTION COST ESTIMATE THAT IS NOW $1.5 BILLION AND THAT IS WHAT WE'RE COMING TO CITY COUNCIL FOR IN MARCH 12TH. 
          SO WHAT HAVE WE BEEN DOING TO, UH, UH, TO HELP WITH THE, WITH THE CONSTRUCTION COST? THERE'S BEEN SEVERAL FINANCIAL ASSUMPTIONS THAT HAVE CHANGED SINCE 2122 WHEN THE ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION COST WAS, UH, WAS, UH, WAS, UH, UH, DONE MARKET DYNAMIC MARKET CONDITIONS. 
          UH, WE HAVE SEEN THE ESCALATION OF COST FOR GOODS AND SERVICES AS MENTIONED. 
          WE NOW HAVE GREATER DETAILED DRAWINGS, WHICH ALLOW US TO HAVE GREATER DETAILED CONSTRUCTION COSTS, CONSTRAINTS ON THE PLANT. 
          THE THE PLANT IS, IS VERY TIGHT AND WE HAVE, UH, CONSTRAINTS ON THAT AS WELL AS CONSTRUCTABILITY. 
          HOW WE CONTAIN AND MAINTAIN OUR, OUR, UM, SEQUENCE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
          SO WE MAINTAIN 75 BEAM GALLONS PER DAY. 
          WE DID HAVE TO DEVELOP SOME TEMPORARY TREATMENT, UH, BYPASSING AND PUMPING. 
          UH, THE SITE IS MENTIONED IS VERY TIGHT. 
          WE ACTUALLY HAVE A TOWER CRANE AS WATER LINE IS REDUCED, GOT THEIR LAST TOWER CRANE UP. 
          I'VE GOT ONE UP AND I PROBABLY HAVE THREE MORE ON THE SITE TO SHARE THE, THE USE OF THE TOWER CRANE BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT GMP PACKAGES, JUST 'CAUSE THE TIGHT IS. 
          SO, THE TIGHT IS THE SITE IS SO TIGHT. 
          UM, SPECIALIZED CONSTRUCTION. 
          UH, UH, FOR, FOR THE SUBCONTRACTORS WE WANT, WE WANT SUBCONTRACTORS THAT HAVE PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE WORKING IN AN ACTIVE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT PERMITTING, REGULATORY. 
          WE DID, UH, HAVE, UH, THE OUTFALL PIPE THAT TAKES THE WATER FROM THE PLANT. 
          I DO NEED TO HAVE A LARGER PIPE. 
          WE ARE GOING TO TUNNEL THAT TO SAVE THOUSANDS OF TREES. 
          SO THAT WAS ACTUALLY AN INCREASING COST. 
          BUT ONE OF THE THREE, AS WE WENT THROUGH THIS OPPORTUNITY, THE ONE THING THAT WE DID FIND AS WE WERE SEEING THESE CROSS UH, INCREASING WAS OUR, OUR OPPORTUNITY TO GO BACK TO THE FEDERAL AND STATE LOAN OPPORTUNITIES. 
          [00:25:02]
SO WITH THAT, ALSO ON THE MARCH 12TH, UH, CITY COUNCIL, WE WILL BE COMING TO ASK TO INCREASE OUR LOAN AUTHORIZATION AMOUNT FOR EPA WIA FUNDING PROGRAM TO $1 BILLION. 
          WE PREVIOUSLY HAD GONE TO CITY COUNCIL IN JULY OF 24, IF YOU RECALL. 
          THAT WAS JUST SHORTLY AFTER WE HAD SELECTED THE SMAR CONTRACTOR FOR 446 MILLION. 
          WE'RE NOW REQUESTING AN ADDITIONAL $553 MILLION FOR A TOTAL $1 BILLION LOAN AMOUNT. 
          WE ALSO HAVE A TEXAS WATER AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD FUND LOAN FOR $59 MILLION. 
          UH, I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT JUST ON THE 19TH OF THIS MONTH, THAT BOARD APPROVED THAT LOAN, WHICH WOULD RELIEVE, UH, WHICH WOULD LEAVE, UH, ADDITIONAL 4 40, 4440 $1 MILLION, WHICH WOULD BE FUNDED THROUGH AUSTIN WATER. 
          OUR AUSTIN WATER REVENUE BONDS, UM, BOTH THE WE LOAN AND THE TEXAS WATER AVAILABLE BOARD LOANS OFFER SOME LOW INTEREST LOANS. 
          ADDITIONALLY, THE WFE LOAN PROVIDES DEFERRED PRINCIPAL PAYMENT AND THE AVAILABILITY TO, UH, FOR AUSTIN WATER TO BALANCE OUR OTHER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. 
          THE, WE SEE THAT THE RATE PLAN IN THE 25 FORECAST IS NOT ANTICIPATED TO BE MODIFIED AT THIS. 
          AND THEN THAT BRINGS ME TO THE END OF I PRESENTATION AND WE'LL ACCEPT ANY QUESTIONS. 
          Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE? UH, COUNCILOR UCHIN, THEN COUNCILOR C THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE AND THE PRESENTATION. 
          I THINK I'VE GOT THREE QUESTIONS. 
          I'M TRYING TO GET SOME CLARITY ON ONE. 
          IS THIS, THE WAY I'M READING THE PRESENTATION, IT SPENDS UP TO ONE AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS, SO IT MAY NOT BE THAT WAY. 
          WHEN I HEARD YOU CHARACTERIZE IT OR A FEW MINUTES AGO, IT SOUNDED LIKE THERE WAS MORE CERTAINTY AROUND THAT NUMBER. 
          CAN YOU EXPAND ON WHETHER THIS IS PROTECTING US UP TO ONE AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS OR WHETHER YOU ANTICIPATE THIS BEING BETWEEN 900,000,001 AND A HALF BILLION? BECAUSE THAT'S A, THAT'S WHAT A 66% INCREASE IN THE SCOPE SINCE THE PRE-ENGINEERING? YEAH. 
          YES. 
          UM, UH, THE, THE REQUEST WOULD BE UP TO $1.5 BILLION. 
          WE ARE GOING TO BE OVER $900 MILLION. 
          UM, WE ARE, OF THE FOUR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE JUST, UH, ISSUED MENTIONED, WE ARE ABOUT $400 MILLION ACTUAL CONTRACTED. 
          UH, WE HAVE A GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE NUMBER FIVE, WHICH, UH, I JUST MET YESTERDAY TO FINALIZE THAT GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE THAT WILL BRING US UP TO CLOSE TO $900 MILLION. 
          SO WE WILL BE OVER THE $900 MILLION. 
          AS MENTIONED, WE, WE ARE STILL HAVE TWO PROJECTS IN DESIGN PHASE, BUT WE FEEL WE HAVE CONSTRUCTION COST ESTIMATES THAT ARE MORE DETAILED. 
          SO WE FEEL, UH, THAT $1.5 BILLION WOULD BE ABLE, WOULD BE THE CONSTRUCTION COST OF THIS PROJECT. 
          DO YOU HAVE WELL, YEAH, AGAIN, THAT, THAT, UH, THAT ESCALATION YES. 
          CONCERNS ME ONLY IN THE SENSE THAT, UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF OTHER CAPITAL IMPROVE PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE RIGHT NOW SCHEDULED FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS THAT ARE EITHER IN, IN A SIMILAR PLACE. 
          YES. 
          UH, AND I'M WORRIED ABOUT SIMILAR ESCALATIONS IN THOSE SPACES. 
          CAN YOU SORT OF SPEAK TO WHETHER THESE ARE UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT ARE RELATED TO THIS PROJECT OR WHETHER THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO BE WARY OF REGARDING A LOT OF OUR OTHER, UM, SIMILARLY NATURED CAPITAL BREWER PROJECTS? I THINK THE COST ESCALATION IS COMMON THROUGHOUT THE PROJECTS. 
          UH, DEPENDING ON WHAT GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY YOU LOOK AT, SINCE THE 22 TIMEFRAME, I'M LOOKING AT EITHER UP TO 35 TO 40% INCREASE IN CONSTRUCTION COSTS JUST FOR THE INFLATIONARY AND COST AND GOODS. 
          HOWEVER, THERE IS SOME UNIQUENESS OF THIS CONSTRUCTION PROJECT IN TERMS OF THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS PROJECT. 
          THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WE'VE GOT A CONTRACTOR ON BOARD TO HELP US THROUGH THOSE COMPLEXITIES OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS COST. 
          SO THAT IS UNIQUE TO THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT FOR SOME OF THE OTHER 99% OF THE PROJECTS WE DO COME THROUGH, DON'T SHARE THOSE COMPLEXITIES, SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE THOSE COST ESCALATIONS NECESSARILY INVOLVED WITH THE, WITH THOSE TYPE OF PROJECTS. 
          I, I AGREE WITH THAT. 
          AND I'LL ALSO SAY THAT WE ARE SEEING A COMPETITIVE BIDDING CLIMATE AND SO ON, ON OUR OTHER PROJECTS. 
          UH, WE ARE COMPETITIVELY BIDDING THE, THE PACKAGES OF THE WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER PLANT. 
          UH, ALSO AND ON THE OTHER CIP PROJECTS THAT YOU MENTIONED, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN, UH, WE'RE SEEING, UM, SEVERAL BIDDERS ON THOSE PROJECTS. 
          AND SO WE FEEL THAT WHILE WE'RE EXPERIENCING THE SAME COST ESCALATION THAT YOU'RE SEEING ACROSS THE INDUSTRY, UH, WE ARE ALSO HAVING A COMPETITIVE BID CLIMATE AND THAT'S HELPING TO, UM, TO MANAGE THAT. 
          [00:30:01]
OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          JUST TO DRILL DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER HERE, IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED SINCE PRE-ENGINEERING AND THIS PROCESS, IS THERE A SENSE THAT, UM, WE'VE LEARNED OR, OR THINGS, STEPS THAT WE CAN TAKE GOING FORWARD THAT WHEN WE ENGAGE IN PRE-ENGINEERING THAT WE ARE ABLE TO SCOPE THINGS A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCURATELY? ARE THESE, AS YOU SAID A MOMENT AGO, SORT OF UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT ARE ATTACHED TO THIS PROJECT? I WOULD SAY THAT WALNUT IS, IS DEFINITELY A UNIQUE PROJECT. 
          SO WHEN WE LOOK AT A TYPICAL PIPELINE PROJECT OR PUMP STATION PROJECT, THOSE ARE, UM, UH, THOSE COSTS ARE LESS UNCERTAIN AT THE BEGINNING THAN THIS PROJECT WAS. 
          THAT'S CORRECT. 
          'CAUSE WE, WE ONLY HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ONLY HAVE TWO 75 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY PLANTS. 
          SO WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF OTHER PROJECTS TO REFERENCE PAST CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ON, UM, EVEN IN THE, UH, COMMUNITY AROUND US AT, DURING THE TIME WE WERE DOING THE COST ESTIMATING IN 2022, WE WERE NOT SEEING COST RISE THAT OCCURRED LIKE THIS. 
          WE, WE HAD THE, THE FULL, WE WE'RE COMPLETING A AND STAR, UH, SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL TRAIN A AND B PROJECTS WE'RE REHABILITATING BOTH THOSE TRAINS, THOSE COSTS. 
          WE WERE NOT SEEING ESCALATION COSTS AT THAT TIME. 
          AND EAST SPREADSHEET CREEK, UH, WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT IN ROUND ROCK, WHICH WE ARE PART OWNERS, THEY'RE DOING ALMOST EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE. 
          THEY'RE GOING FROM 20 MILLION GALLON DAYS FOR 30 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY. 
          AND THOSE COST ESTIMATES WERE COMING IN LINE WITH, WITH WHAT OUR $900 MILLION WAS. 
          SO ONCE WE GOT THOSE, WE WERE SEEING THE COST RISE AFTER THAT. 
          SO NOT ONLY DO WE OUR, OUR, OUR DUE DILIGENCE WITH THE ENGINEER, WE DO TRY TO LOOK AT OTHER PROJECTS WITHIN THE AREA TO SEE IF HOW THAT, HOW WE MATCH. 
          GOT IT. 
          AND WE DID NOT SEE ANY RED FLAGS AT THAT TIME. 
          OKAY. 
          THANKS FOR CLARIFYING THAT. 
          IS THERE ANY RISK ATTACHED TO THE EPA WITH THE LOAN AND EPA COMING BACK AND SAYING, WE ARE NOT GONNA APPROVE THE LOAN AT THE ADDITIONAL AMOUNT? OR IS THAT KIND OF A RUBBER STAMP OR, OR A SIMPLE PROCESS? WE'RE GONNA ASK, UM, UH, INTERIM ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES, TINA ROMERO TO TALK ABOUT THAT, BUT I'LL, I'LL TEE IT UP BY SAYING THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH EPA FOR SEVERAL YEARS ON THIS, ON THIS LOAN AND IT IS PROGRESSING. 
          YES. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          UH, TINA ROMERO AS, UH, DIRECTOR SHEA MENTIONED, AND, UM, SO WE ARE CURRENTLY, UM, LOOKING INTO THE TERM SHEET NOW WITH WIA. 
          WE ARE, WE'VE PROGRESSED THROUGH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW. 
          THEY ARE EXCITED TO HAVE US ON BOARD WITH THEIR LOAN AND, UM, AND CLOSE ON OUR LOAN IN JUNE. 
          SO, UH, THEY HAVE ALREADY SET ASIDE THE FUNDING NEEDED FOR AUSTIN WATER, AND WE'VE HAD TALKS WITH THEM ALREADY ABOUT THE INCREASE OF THE FUNDING AND THEY ARE GOOD WITH THAT. 
          SO THEY'RE JUST WAITING, UM, FOR US TO GO TO COUNSEL TO GET THAT AUTHORIZATION IN ORDER TO PROCEED AND START WORKING ON THE, UM, ACTUAL LOAN AGREEMENT DOCUMENT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT. 
          LAST QUESTION IS, IF I WAS BEING PARTICULARLY SKEPTICAL, UM, AND PUTTING MY SKEPTIC HAT ON, WHICH IS PROBABLY GLUED TO MY HEAD, I WOULD ASK, I I WOULD BE SPECULATING THAT 50-YEAR-OLD FACILITY FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY DO A LOT OF MODIFICATIONS AS WELL AS THE EXPANSION. 
          AND SO THERE'S EIGHT PROJECTS THAT ARE LISTED IN HERE THAT YOU'VE OUTLINED THAT I WOULD ASSUME ARE, UM, ALL ESSENTIAL. 
          LIKE, ARE THERE ANY PROJECTS THAT ARE APPROACHING NICE TO HAVE AND NOT MUST HAVE THAT AS YOU WENT THROUGH THIS, YOU SAID, WELL, WE'RE GONNA PUT THIS IN THERE, BUT THEY ALL DON'T RATE, THEY ALL DON'T, UH, RISE THE LEVEL OF THE EXPANSION OR SAY THE FLOOD WALL OR WHATEVER OTHER THINGS THAT WE ABSOLUTELY CAN'T DO WITHOUT THAT? THAT, THAT IS AN EXCELLENT QUESTION AND IT'S, UM, IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING THROUGH FROM THE BEGINNING ONCE WE BROUGHT ON THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK IS WHAT, WHAT DO WE HAVE TO BUILD FOR THIS PROJECT AND WHAT CAN WE POSTPONE? WHAT CAN WE, UM, UH, WHAT IS A NICE TO HAVE? I WILL TELL YOU THERE, THERE AREN'T ANY NICE TO HAVES IN THIS PROJECT. 
          THIS IS, UH, ABSOLUTELY WHAT HAS TO BE BUILT IN ORDER TO, UH, ACHIEVE THE, THE TREATMENT LEVELS AND THE CAPACITY NEEDED, UH, FOR THE SCOPE OF THIS PROJECT. 
          UM, BUT THAT WAS, UM, AND I, I'LL LET CHARLES, UM, WEIGH IN, BUT THAT, THAT WAS A BIG PART OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS WITH THIS CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK IS REALLY, UH, DIALING IN THE SCOPE TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, IT'S A BEST VALUE PROJECT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          DOES THAT MEAN THERE ARE THINGS THAT WERE SORT OF LEFT ON THE CUTTING? OKAY. 
          YES. 
          AND, AND ADDITIONALLY WITH THE, THE AVAILABILITY TO HAVE THE CMAR CONTRACTOR ON BOARD, WE ACTUALLY GET TRUE CONSTRUCTION COSTS. 
          HOW, IF WE DO IT THIS WAY, WHAT WOULD IT COST? HOW DID DO IT THIS WAY? UH, IF WE BUILD IT THIS 
          [00:35:01]
WAY, THIS CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE, WE ARE ACTUALLY UTILIZING, UM, UM, DIFFERENT OR PRE-ROUND, UH, CONSTRUCTION OF OUR CLARIFIERS. 
          YOU, YOU DON'T, YOU USUALLY SEE THAT IN WATER BORING STRUCTURES, LIKE FOR WATER TANKS, WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA DO IT FOR CLARIFIERS. 
          IT'LL BE UNIQUE FOR US, BUT IT'S A COST SAVINGS FOR US. 
          SO WE HAVE GONE THROUGH ALL THOSE TYPE OF CONSTRUCT ABILITIES AS WELL AS, UH, THERE'S EVERY OTHER WEEK WE MEET TO SEE WHAT ADDITIONAL VALUE ENGINEERING OR COST SAVINGS CAN BE DONE AS THE REMAINING PART OF THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT, UH, DESIGN IS STILL PROGRESSING, WHAT CAN WE CUT OUT? SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY DOING THAT TILL THE VERY END, TILL THE VERY LAST GNP IS SUBMITTED, WE WILL CONSTANTLY BE DOING VALUE ENGINEERING. 
          OKAY. 
          I APPRECIATE THE DILIGENCE ON THAT AND THE ANSWER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          COUNCILMAN SIEGEL. 
          THANKS CHAIR. 
          AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR AND TEAM FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, WHEN WE MET, UH, BEFOREHAND, WE, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE INTEREST RATES ON THE TWO DIFFERENT LOANS. 
          I GUESS THERE'S AN EPA WFI LOAN AND A CLEAN WATER STATE REVOLVING LOAN. 
          AND I JUST WANTED TO SEE IF YOU COULD SHARE KIND OF THE INTEREST RATES O OF THOSE, UH, DEBTS. 
          THANKS. 
          SURE. 
          TINA ROMERO, UM, INTERIM, UH, INTERIM , ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL SERVICES. 
          SORRY. 
          UM, YEAH, SO THE, UH, TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD LOAN FOR 59 MILLION. 
          UM, THAT'S TO THE, UM, CLEAN WATER STATE REVOLVING FUND. 
          SO THAT PROVIDES AN INTEREST RATE SUBSIDY, UM, OFF, UM, THE CREDIT RATING. 
          AND SO RIGHT NOW THE INTEREST RATES, UM, AREN'T SET JUST YET UNTIL WE GET CLOSER TO LOAN CLOSING, WHICH WILL POTENTIALLY BE THIS MAY. 
          UM, AND SO ONCE WE DO THAT, THEY'LL LOOK AND SEE WHAT THE MARKET IS AND PUT THAT SUBSIDY IN THERE, UM, TO DETERMINE THAT INTEREST RATE. 
          AND THEN WE'LL KNOW HOW MUCH OF A SAVINGS. 
          BUT THE BOARD DID ANTICIPATE THAT, UM, WE WOULD BE SAVING SOMEWHERE OVER THE LIFE OF A 30 YEAR LOAN BETWEEN 10 TO $20 MILLION, WHICH IS SUBSTANTIAL. 
          UH, ADDITIONALLY THE WIA IS BASED ON US TREASURY RATES, AND SO THAT IS STILL UNDETERMINED AT THIS TIME UNTIL WE GET TO LOAN CLOSING AS WELL, BECAUSE THERE COULD BE SOME FED INTEREST RATE CUTS THAT WOULD IMPACT WHAT THE INTEREST RATE WOULD BE AND HOW MUCH WE WOULD SAVE. 
          OKAY. 
          THANKS FOR, THANK YOU FOR THAT INFORMATION. 
          CHEERS. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UM, I WANTED TO JUST CLARIFY, UH, YOU TOUCHED YOU, YOU NOTED IT ON YOUR LAST SLIDE, SLIDE 13. 
          BUT EVEN WITH THIS INCREASE IN SCOPE AND DOLL, OR I SHOULDN'T SAY SCOPE, BUT JUST INCREASE IN COST, THAT IS NOT GONNA HAVE AN ANTICIPATED INCREASE ON WATER RATES. 
          THAT'S RIGHT. 
          WE HAVE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UM, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED BUDGET LAST YEAR, YOU'LL SEE OUR FIVE YEAR RATE PLAN AND THAT RATE PLAN, UH, IS NOT, WE'RE NOT PROPOSING ANY CHANGES TO THAT RATE PLAN. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS HOW, IF AT ALL, THIS IMPACTS THE RECLAIM SYSTEM. 
          SO ONCE WE DO THIS, WILL THAT LEAD TO MORE RECLAIMED WATER GOING THROUGH THE SYSTEM? SO THE, THE RECLAIMED SYSTEM, UH, IS, UM, UH, IS WATER THAT IS TREATED EFFLUENT FROM THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS. 
          AND SO THE SYSTEM WILL BENEFIT FROM THE ADDITIONAL CAPACITY. 
          IT WILL ALSO BENEFIT FROM THE HIGHER QUALITY OF THE EFFLUENT, UM, AFTER WE IMPLEMENT BIOLOGICAL NUTRIENT REMOVAL. 
          GREAT. 
          ALRIGHT, WELL, WE'LL SEE YOU WHEN, MARCH 12TH. 
          MARCH 12TH. 
          WE'LL SEE YOU MARCH 12TH. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          I THINK YOU'RE UP NEXT ANYWAY, SO YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GOING VERY FAR. 
          THAT'S RIGHT, . 
          UM, SO WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, 
          [3. Briefing on performance measures updates from Austin Water. [Shay Ralls Roalson, Director -  Austin Water]. Sponsors: Council Member Ryan Alter, and Council Member Paige Ellis]
WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON PERFORMANCE MEASURES FROM AUSTIN WATER. 
          AND WE WILL TURN IT BACK OVER TO DIRECTOR ROLL. 
          GOOD MORNING CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          MY NAME IS SHAY RAWLS ROSIN AND I'M THE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER. 
          AND WE ARE HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON OUR, UH, SECOND QUARTER, UH, PERFORMANCE UPDATE. 
          UH, AND I WILL TURN IT OVER TO OUR ENTERPRISE STRATEGIC STRATEGIC SERVICES MANAGER, ALLISON ORTON SPRIG. 
          THANK YOU, DIRECTOR. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          I'M ALLISON ORTON SPRIG, ENTERPRISE STRATEGIC PLANNING MANAGER FOR AUSTIN WATER. 
          AS PART OF MY GROUP'S ACTIVITIES FOR AUSTIN WATER, WE OVERSEE OUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR AUSTIN WATER AND THE INVENTORY OF EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE. 
          UH, SO I'M HERE TODAY TO PRESENT OUR Q2 PERFORMANCE UPDATE ON THOSE KPIS AND OUR MILESTONES TOWARDS OUR FY 26 WORK PLAN ITEMS. UH, SO I'LL GO OVER OUR KPIS, UM, AS WELL AS OUR WORK PLAN ITEMS FOR FY 26. 
          THOSE ARE OUR MILESTONES THAT WE'VE CHOSEN TO ALIGN TO OUR CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLANNING GOAL, UM, AS WELL AS OUR DEPARTMENT WORK PLAN ITEMS. AND THEN OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR 
          [00:40:01]
OF ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, KEVIN CRITTENDEN, WILL COME UP AND TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ALL OF OUR, UH, CONTRIBUTIONS TO CLIMATE, WATER ENVIRONMENT PARKS FROM THE LAST YEAR AS WELL. 
          ALRIGHT, SO, UH, BEFORE I DIVE INTO EACH OF OUR KPIS AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TODAY, I WANTED TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT ON ESSENTIALLY OUR ALIGNMENT AND OUR SELECTION PROCESS, OUR METHODOLOGY OF THE KPIS THAT WE DID CHOOSE, UH, FOR OUR CURRENT PORTFOLIO. 
          UH, WE HAVE LOOKED AT ALL OF THE WATER AND WASTEWATER UTILITY INDUSTRY REGULATIONS, UH, PARAMETERS AND BEST PRACTICES FOR SERVICE DELIVERY AND JUST BEST PRACTICES OVERALL FOR INDICATORS FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER UTILITIES. 
          UH, SO WE'VE TAKEN A LOOK AT THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, AS WELL AS EFFECTIVE UTILITY MANAGEMENT, UH, WHICH IS OUR FRAMEWORK FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. 
          UH, THAT WAS DEVELOPED BY THE EPA AND OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 
          KIND OF A, A BEST PRACTICE FRAMEWORK AND ALL OF THOSE INDICATORS THAT WATER, WASTEWATER UTILITIES SHOULD, UH, BE LOOKING AT. 
          UH, SO WE TOOK INTO ACCOUNT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          WE ALSO LOOKED AT OUR ALIGNMENT TO THE CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN AND OUR GOAL UNDER MOBILITY AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          UH, AND THEN WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE STRATEGIC GOALS AND OUR OWN AUSTIN WATER STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          IF YOU RECALL, I WAS HERE, UH, IN OCTOBER OF 2025, BRIEFING Y'ALL ON THAT. 
          AND SO WE'VE TAKEN A LOOK AT OUR FIVE HIGH LEVEL ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS AND ALIGNED OUR MEASURES, UH, TO THOSE AS WELL. 
          SO, WITH ALL OF THAT SAID, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, HUNDREDS OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES, OPERATIONAL MEASURES, REPORTINGS, UH, DASHBOARDS THAT REALLY LOOK AT OUR DAILY MANAGEMENT AND OUR CORE OPERATIONS AS WELL. 
          SO THESE ARE REALLY JUST OUR HIGHEST LEVEL, UH, INDICATORS. 
          AND ALSO A NOTE THAT WE'RE PLANNING A COMPREHENSIVE KPI REVIEW THIS YEAR AS WELL. 
          UM, WE REALLY WANNA DIVE INTO ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT STRATEGIC PRIORITY AREAS, TAKING A LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE INDICATED MEASURES, MEASURES THAT WE HAVE, MEASURES THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT, UM, AND REALLY BUILDING OUT A KIND OF PORTFOLIO FOR EACH OF THESE PRIORITIES. 
          UH, NOT ONE MEASURE EVER TELLS THE FULL STORY, SO WE REALLY WANNA TAKE A LOOK AT, UM, EVERYTHING THAT COULD, UH, FULFILL KIND OF OUR INSIGHT INTO HOW WE'RE PERFORMING. 
          UH, SO WITH THAT, I WANNA JUST, UH, ALSO SHARE AND UPDATE EVERYONE ON, UM, OUR CITYWIDE STRATEGIC GOAL. 
          UH, WE'VE, UH, ARE UNDER A MOBILITY AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, PARTICULARLY MC FIVE, WHICH IS TO PROVIDE SECURE, RELIABLE AND RESILIENT UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT COST EFFECTIVELY SERVES CUSTOMERS. 
          UH, THIS IS A SHARED GOAL WITH AUSTIN ENERGY. 
          UH, BOTH OF US SUBMITTED TWO MEASURES TOWARDS THIS ALIGNMENT. 
          WE'VE SELECTED, UH, OUR TWO MEASURES DOWN BELOW, WHICH IS 1% OF MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME SPENT ON THE AVERAGE ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL WATER BILL. 
          WE FEEL LIKE THAT REALLY SPEAKS TO THE COST EFFECTIVELY SERVING CUSTOMER SIDE OF THE GOAL. 
          AND THEN WE'VE ALSO CHOSEN, UM, OUR PERCENT OF WATER AND WASTEWATER ASSETS IN FAIR OR BETTER CONDITIONS, SPEAKING TO THE RESILIENT UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE OF THAT GOAL. 
          SO JUST SOME CONTEXT THERE OF OUR CITYWIDE ALIGNMENT. 
          AND THEN WE'VE ALSO TAKEN A LOOK AT OUR FIVE STRATEGIC GOALS WITHIN OUR, UH, DEPARTMENTAL STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          UH, SO WE HAVE FIVE HIGH LEVEL GOALS, UH, THRIVING TEAM, UH, TO CREATE A PEOPLE, PEOPLE FIRST CULTURE. 
          UH, WE'VE SELECTED OUR VACANCY RATE GOAL OR A PERCENT OF VACANT POSITIONS WITHIN AUSTIN WATER TO SPEAK TO THAT GOAL. 
          UH, FOR SERVICE EXCELLENCE, DELIVERING HIGH QUALITY AND SUSTAINABLE WATER, WASTEWATER, WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. 
          WE'VE CHOSEN OUR WATER QUALITY MEASURE, UH, WHICH IS OUR DRINKING WATER TESTS, MEETING A QUALITY STANDARD, N TU U LESS THAN 0.1. 
          UH, PROACTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE, ALSO ONE OF OUR HIGH LEVEL GOALS, INVESTING IN AND MAINTAINING DEPENDABLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND SYSTEMS. OUR PERCENT OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT FUNDS INVESTED COMPARED TO PLAN SPENDING IS THE MEASURE OF THAT. 
          REALLY GIVES SOME INSIGHT INTO THAT GOAL AS WELL. 
          UH, FOR COMMUNITY TRUST, FOSTERING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE PREPAREDNESS AND PARTNERSHIP, WE'VE SELECTED OUR PERCENT OF PRIORITY ONE LEAKS RESPONDED TO WITHIN THREE HOURS. 
          AND THEN WE'VE ALSO ALIGNED OUR CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN MEASURE THERE AS WELL. 
          SO THAT'S WHERE OUR MEETING HOUSEHOLD INCOME, UM, SPENT ON AVERAGE, UH, RESIDENTIAL WATER BILL ALSO FITS. 
          AND THEN LASTLY, OUR NEXT LEVEL GOAL DRIVING INNOVATION TO IMPROVE EFFECTIVENESS AND RESPONSIBLY MANAGE, MANAGE RISKS. 
          WE HAVE OUR ALIGNED RCSP MEASURE 4% OF WATER WASTEWATER ASSETS IN FAIR, BETTER CONDITION. 
          SO AGAIN, CONTEXT THERE. 
          UH, SO WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE OVERALL IN TERMS OF OUR ENTIRE PORTFOLIO OF MEASURES, UH, THE GOOD NEWS IS EVERYTHING IS GREEN. 
          WE ARE ON TRACK. 
          WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT OUR TARGETS AND OUR PERFORMANCE THIS YEAR THUS FAR. 
          UH, SO, UH, THIS IS KIND OF THE HIGHEST LEVEL VIEW. 
          AND, AND IN THE FOLLOWING SLIDES, WE'LL KIND OF GO INTO EACH OF THESE MEASURES A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH. 
          UH, SO WE'LL START WITH OUR, UH, PERCENT OF VACANT POSITIONS WITHIN AUSTIN WATER. 
          [00:45:01]
UH, AGAIN, JUST SOME BACKGROUND ON WHY IT WAS SELECTED. 
          YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY AN INDUSTRY STANDARD MEASURE FOR WORKFORCE STABILITY AND OPERATIONAL CAPACITY. 
          UH, AMERICAN WATERWORKS HAS THIS AS A UTILITY BENCHMARK THAT ALL UTILITIES SHOULD BE LOOKING AT. 
          UM, IT'S ALSO AN EFFECTIVE UTILITY MANAGEMENT INDICATOR. 
          SO WE'VE SET OUR FY 26 TARGET AT 8.5%. 
          UM, AND RIGHT NOW, YEAR TO DATE, WE'RE SITTING AT 7.6. 
          SO WE FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT THAT. 
          OUR RECRUITMENT TEAM'S DOING AN AWESOME JOB OF MOVING US THROUGH, UH, THOSE PROCESSES TO HIRE. 
          UH, OUR NEXT MEASURE IS OUR, UH, WATER QUALITY, UH, MEASURES. 
          SO, UH, DRINKING WATER TESTS, MEETING OUR QUALITY STANDARD. 
          UM, THIS IS AN INDICATOR OF OUR TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS. 
          UM, AND, YOU KNOW, OUR EFFORTS TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH, RIGHT? SO WE ACTUALLY, UH, HAVE SELECTED A TARGET THAT EXCEEDS THE TCEQ REQUIREMENT. 
          SO THEY REQUIRE AN NTU OF LESS THAN 0.3. 
          UM, OUR TARGET IS EVEN LESS THAN THAT, SO, UH, LESS THAN 0.1. 
          SO WE EXCEED THAT IN OUR TARGET. 
          AND THEN ALSO OUR PERFORMANCE SPEAKS TO THAT TOO. 
          SO, UH, UTILITY BENCHMARKS, REGULATORY BENCHMARK, OBVIOUSLY. 
          UM, AN EUM INDICATOR, UH, OUR PERFORMANCE THIS YEAR TO DATE IS 0.06. 
          SO WE ARE WELL UNDER THAT QUALITY, UH, REGULATORY STANDARD CHAIR. 
          JUST A QUICK QUESTION. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, WOULD YOU JUST EXPLAIN THE NELO METRIC TURBIDITY UNIT A LITTLE BIT? ? YES. 
          I WILL LET OUR ENGINEERS DO THAT . 
          SO, UM, I'M NOT GONNA TRY TO SAY THE NELO METRIC, UM, I, UH, TURBIDITY, BUT IT IS THE, IT IS A MEASURE OF TURBIDITY, WHICH IS A MEASURE OF THE CLOUDINESS OF THE WATER. 
          AND SO THAT REALLY SPEAKS TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR TREATMENT PROCESS TO REDO, TO REMOVE, UM, ALL THE MATERIAL THAT COMES INTO THE PLANT BECAUSE WE TREAT SURFACE WATER. 
          UM, AND WHAT THE REASON THAT'S SUCH AN IMPORTANT QUALITY METRIC IS THAT, UH, BACTERIA AND VIRUSES ARE MORE EFFECTIVELY DISINFECTED WHEN THE WATER IS CLEARER. 
          UH, AND SO THAT'S, THAT IS AN INDUSTRY, IS AN INDUSTRY STANDARD. 
          IT'S ALSO A REGULATORY REQUIREMENT IF WE EXCEED NTU, UH, THAN THAT IS A, THAT IS A REGULATORY INFRACTION. 
          AND SO OF COURSE WE STRIVE TO ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN THE REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS. 
          GREAT, THANK YOU. 
          AND THE TURBIDITY, THAT'S WHAT TRIGGERED THE, I DUNNO, SHUTDOWN DOWN'S THE RIGHT WORD, BUT WHEN WE HAD THE BOIL WATER A FEW YEARS BACK, IT WAS BASED ON THE TURBIDITY LEVEL. 
          THAT IS CORRECT. 
          YEAH. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          UH, SO OUR NEXT MEASURE HERE SPEAKS TO OUR PROACTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, BUT IT'S OUR, UM, UH, ESSENTIALLY SPEAKS TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY, UH, INFLUENCES OUR DEBT TIMING, REVENUE TRANSFERS, AND RATE STABILITY. 
          UM, IT IS ON OUR FY 26 AUSTIN WATER WORK PLAN, UM, A WWA AND EUM INDICATORS. 
          SO, UM, YOU'LL SEE OUR TARGET HERE IS A RANGE. 
          SO IF WE'RE HITTING IN THAT RANGE, THAT MEANS WE'RE DOING GREAT . 
          UH, OUR YEAR TODAY ACTUAL IS 87.2. 
          SO WE'RE, WE'RE SO CLOSE TO BEING IN THAT RANGE, WE FEEL LIKE BY THE END OF THE YEAR. 
          AND ONCE THE, UM, UH, PENDING RESULTS COME IN, WE'LL, WE'LL BE RIGHT ON TRACK AND, AND RIGHT IN THAT RANGE FOR OUR COP SPENDING. 
          UH, THE NEXT ONE IS OUR COMMUNITY TRUST RELATED MEASURE. 
          THIS IS OUR PERCENT OF PRIORITY ONE LEAKS RESPONDED TO WITHIN THREE HOURS. 
          UH, WHAT THIS MEASURE SAYS IS ESSENTIALLY THE TIME BETWEEN, UH, AN INITIAL LEAK OR CUSTOMER CALL COMES IN, WE'LL HAVE GONE OUT, EVALUATED THAT AND, AND WORK AND REPAIRS WILL BE UNDERWAY WITHIN THAT THREE HOUR WINDOW. 
          UH, SO THIS REALLY SPEAKS TO OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSIVENESS AND OUR OPERATIONAL READINESS, UH, UH, EFFORTS. 
          AND AGAIN, A WWA UTILITY BENCHMARK MEASURE AS WELL AS EUM. 
          UM, OUR TARGET THIS YEAR IS 90%, UM, AND WE'RE AT 87.31. 
          SO WE, AGAIN, WE'LL, WE FEEL LIKE BY THE END OF THE YEAR, WE'LL WE'LL HAVE, UH, MET OUR TARGET. 
          UH, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A LOT OF, UH, EXTERNAL FACTORS THAT MAY INFLUENCE, UH, READINESS AND AVAILABLE AVAILABILITY TO MEET THIS. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD SOME, UH, EXTREME WEATHER RECENTLY. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THAT IMPACTS THE TIME IN WHICH WE CAN GET OUT TO SITES AND, AND GET OUT TO, TO START THOSE REPAIRS. 
          SO THAT INFLUENCES THIS MEASURE A LITTLE BIT. 
          UH, AND THEN WE HAVE OUR PERCENT OF WATER WASTEWATER ASSETS IN FAIR OR BETTER CONDITION. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, ASSET MANAGEMENT OVERALL, UM, IS IMPORTANT FOR WATER WASTEWATER, UTILITIES. 
          BUT, UM, THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR IS A LEADING IN INDICATOR OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, HEALTH AND, AND FAILURE RISKS. 
          UM, IT HELPS INFORM OUR CAPITAL PLANNING AND LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT. 
          WE HAVE A VERY ROBUST CIP PLANNING PROCESS, AND THIS MEASURE REALLY FACTORS INTO THAT. 
          UM, LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE HAVE THIS MEASURE ALSO ALIGNED TO OUR CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL OF UNDER MOBILITY AND 
          [00:50:01]
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS, UM, IN TERMS OF OUR CITYWIDE PRIORITIES AS WELL, A WWA BENCHMARK EUM INDICATOR. 
          UH, OUR TARGET HERE IS 80%, UH, OUR YEAR TO DATE, WE ARE, WE'RE ON TRACK FOR THIS ONE AS WELL, . 
          AND THEN WE HAVE OUR, OUR MHI OR OUR PERCENT OF MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME. 
          UM, THIS MEASURE IS, UH, COMBINED WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICE AFFORDABILITY. 
          IT SPEAKS TO, TO THAT AFFORDABILITY SIDE OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AS WELL. 
          THIS IS ANOTHER MEASURE WHERE WE'VE SET A VERY, UM, UH, A TARGET THAT'S WELL UNDER THE RECOMMENDED INDUSTRY MEASURE. 
          SO THE EPA THRESHOLDS, UH, RECOMMENDS A 4.5% OF MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME. 
          WE'VE SET OUR TARGET BASED ON OUR HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE AT 1.19 THIS YEAR. 
          SO WE'RE WELL UNDER, UM, WHAT THE SUGGESTED, UH, UH, TARGET IS. 
          UM, AND SO AGAIN, THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE MONITORING IN TERMS OF OUR ALIGNMENT TO THE CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          UM, THE EPAS THE RECOMMENDED MEASURE VIA THE EPA FOR A STANDARD FOR AFFORDABILITY, AND THEN A WWA AS WELL AS EUM RECOMMENDS WE ARE, WE LOOK AT THIS AS WELL. 
          SO WE'RE ON TRACK, UH, IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE THERE AS WELL. 
          DOES THAT ONE FACTOR IN CAP CUSTOMERS OR DO YOU CONSIDER THEM SEPARATELY? UM, I THINK MAYBE TINA , TINA ROMERO, ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL SERVICES. 
          THIS DOES NOT FACTOR IN. 
          UM, CAP CUSTOMERS. 
          CAP CUSTOMERS, UM, HAVE A DISCOUNT THAT'S WELL ABOVE 50% THAN OUR AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS. 
          THANKS TINA. 
          ALRIGHT, SO THAT ESSENTIALLY WAS OUR PORTFOLIO OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND OUR KPIS. 
          UM, WE ALSO WANTED TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON OUR ALIGNMENT TO THE FY 26 WORK PLAN ITEMS THAT, UH, ALL DEPARTMENTS HAVE SUBMITTED TOWARDS. 
          SO TWO OF OUR MILESTONE ITEMS WE'RE WORKING ON IN FY 26 IN TERMS OF OUR ALIGNMENT TO THE CITYWIDE GOAL. 
          UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT UPDATING OUR RATE SETTING COST OF SERVICE MODELS FOR CUSTOMERS. 
          UH, WE'RE ON PROGRESS, THAT'S VERY MUCH IN PROGRESS. 
          THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND WORKING ON THIS YEAR. 
          WE INTEND TO HAVE THAT COMPLETED BY THE, UH, QUARTER FOUR OF FY 26. 
          AND THEN, UH, WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON IMPROVING OUR OVERALL QUALITY, UH, OF ASSET CONDITION DATA. 
          SO IF YOU RECALL THE ASSET CONDITION, UM, WE WANT 80% OF OUR ASSETS TO BE IN FAIR OR BETTER CONDITION. 
          SO, UM, IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE NEED GOOD QUALITY DATA COMING IN. 
          SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT, UH, FRAMEWORK. 
          UM, WE ANTICIPATE HAVING THAT DONE BY THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR AS WELL. 
          UM, AND THEN IN TERMS OF OUR DEPARTMENT WORK PLAN ITEMS, THESE WERE ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT WE SUBMITTED TO BUDGET AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, UM, FOR OTHER ITEMS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON THIS YEAR. 
          UM, PROACTIVE STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          UM, YOU HEARD ABOUT THAT ALREADY TODAY WITH OUR WALNUT CREEK EXPANSION. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A STRATEGIC INVESTMENT. 
          UM, WE ARE ALSO WORKING ON, UM, CONTINUING TO IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR EXTERNAL REVIEW OF WATER LOSS. 
          SO WE ANTICIPATE ALL OF THESE WILL BE WRAPPED UP BY THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, UH, QUARTER FOUR. 
          SO THAT'S, UH, A LITTLE BIT INTO THE MORE GRANULAR VIEW OF ACTUAL MILESTONE WORK THAT'S HAPPENING AND ACTIVITIES THAT ARE HAPPENING THIS YEAR. 
          SO. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          WELL, THAT'S EVERYTHING I HAVE. 
          I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, KEVIN CRITTENDEN, AND HE'S GONNA GO OVER SOME OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS TO CLIMATE, WATER, ENVIRONMENT AND PARKS IN THE LAST YEAR. 
          GOOD MORNING CHAIR AND, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS. 
          MY NAME IS KEVIN CRITTENDEN, I'M ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT AUSTIN WATER OVER ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES PROGRAM AREA , UM, IN ADDITION TO, GOTTA GET YOU AN ACRONYM. 
          EXACTLY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, IN ADDITION TO THE STRONG PERFORMANCE THAT WE'VE HAD OVERALL AS AN ORGANIZATION, AND CERTAINLY AS IN RECOGNITION TO THE HARD WORK THAT GOES ON DAY IN AND DAY OUT BY THOSE EMPLOYEES, WE DID WANT TO TAKE A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME TO SORT OF IDENTIFY OR, UH, A A COUPLE OF HIGHLIGHT, UH, AREAS THAT CONTRIBUTE, UH, FROM AUSTIN WATER TO CLIMATE, WATER, UH, THE ENVIRONMENT AND PARK. 
          SO I'M GONNA KIND OF GO THROUGH THOSE. 
          UH, PLEASE STOP ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. 
          UH, WE'D START JUST THESE FIVE HIGHLIGHTS HERE. 
          NUMBER ONE IS JUST, UM, A COLLABORATION THAT WE'RE INVOLVED WITH, WITH AUSTIN ENERGY RELATED TO LOAD SHEDDING. 
          IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TAKE OUR VERY LARGE LOADS, ELECTRIC LOADS AT OUR, UH, TREATMENT PLANTS AND PUMPING FACILITIES AND SHIFT THOSE TO OFF PEAK PERIODS TO GET THE, THE BENEFIT TO THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM. 
          SO IT'S A GREAT COLLABORATION. 
          WE WERE ABLE TO, TO, UH, SHIFT ABOUT, UM, NEARLY 3000 KILOWATTS OFF OF PEAK THROUGH THAT ACTIVITY. 
          UM, ADDITIONALLY WE HAVE A ZERO DISCHARGE FACILITY, UM, AT HORNSBY BEND WHERE WE USE, UH, IRRIGATED WATER TO, UM, UH, IRRIGATE SURROUNDING HAY FIELDS. 
          SO AGAIN, UH, PREVENTS US OR KEEPS US FROM HAVING TO DISCHARGE THAT INTO THE, UM, COLORADO RIVER. 
          [00:55:01]
UM, BEYOND THAT, WE WERE ABLE TO RECYCLE, UH, OVER 34,000 TONS OF YARD TRIMMINGS THROUGH OUR COMPOST ACTIVITY, WHICH YOU ALL KNOW AS DILLOW DIRT. 
          UM, WE GENERATED 5,000 MEGAWATT HOURS OF BIOGAS BY CAPTURING METHANE FROM THE DIGESTION PROCESS OF HOBY VIN AND THEN USE THAT TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY THAT WE CAN USE BACK INTO THE GRID. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, IN THIS CATEGORY, UH, WE JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT, UM, OUR ONGOING ACTIVITIES WITH, UH, THE WATER UTILITY CLIMATE ALLIANCE. 
          UM, AUSTIN WATER IS A MEMBER UTILITY WITH OVER WITH WHAT 14 INVITED UTILITIES ACROSS THE NATION. 
          THAT FOCUS IS, AGAIN, THERE'S SPECIFIC WATER UTILITIES THAT FOCUS ON CLIMATE AND CLIMATE MATTERS. 
          SO WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK GOING ON IN THAT AREA. 
          THE ONE WE HIGHLIGHT HERE IS JUST TRYING TO DEVELOP DESIGN GUIDANCE FOR UTILITIES TO HELP BETTER ADAPT TO, UH, CLIMATE THREATS LIKE FLOODING, EXTREME HEAT, EXTREME COLD, AND SO FORTH. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          OH, I GET TO DO THAT. 
          SORRY. 
          UM, AND OF COURSE, WATER. 
          UM, WE WOULDN'T BE HERE WITHOUT WATER, UH, AND WATER IS WHAT WE DO. 
          AND SO AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A SPECIFIC FOCUS, UM, ON A COUPLE OF PROJECTS. 
          UM, OUR WILDLANDS, WE, UM, ARE STEWARD FOR 49,000 ACRES OF WILDLANDS, UM, IN OUR, UH, WATERSHED AND OTHER AREAS. 
          UH, WE FOCUS ON PROTECTING WATER QUALITY, ENDANGERED SPECIES HA HABITAT THAT GENERALLY PROTECTS, UH, WATER THAT FEED INTO BARTON SPRING SEGMENT OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER. 
          UM, ON THE RECLAIMED WATERFRONT IN 2025, WE WERE ABLE TO SUPPLY 1.8 BILLION GALLONS OF RECLAIMED WATER TO 226 CUSTOMERS, AGAIN ALLEVIATING, UM, OUR WATER SUPPLY, UM, FROM HAVING TO USE POTABLE WATER FOR THAT PURPOSE. 
          UM, WE INITIATED DESIGNER CONSTRUCTION ON OVER 46,000 LINEAR FEET OF RECLAIMING WATER PIPELINES. 
          SO YOU'LL RECALL OUR CONVERSATIONS AROUND GO, UM, PURPLE. 
          UH, THIS IS THE CONTINUED EVOLUTION OF THAT EXERCISE. 
          UM, THROUGH OUR WATER CONSERVATION, UH, DIVISION AND OTHER EFFORTS, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, SAVE ABOUT 400 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER THROUGH VARIOUS CONSERVATION REBATES AND OUR REGULATORY PROGRAMS. AND THEN FINALLY, UH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEND OUT ABOUT 114 MILLION POTENTIAL LEAK ALERTS USING OUR MY A TX AUTOMATED WATER SYSTEM, UM, AGAIN, ESTIMATING TO START SAVE ABOUT 1.8 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER LEAKS ON THE CUSTOMER SIDE OF THE METER, UM, IN THE CATEGORY OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ENVIRONMENT. 
          UM, AGAIN, ALONG THIS HERE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO FACILITATE THE REPLACEMENT OF OVER 70,000 SQUARE FEET OF TURF GRASS THROUGH VARIOUS INCENTIVE PROGRAMS, UH, TO HELP, UM, MOVE OUR COMMUNITY TO MORE ADAPTIVE PLANTING AND RAIN GARDEN DEVELOPMENT. 
          UH, WE'VE COMPLETED FUEL MITIGATION ON OUR WILDLANDS OF OVER SIX ACRES, UH, AGAIN, ALONG THE BOUNDARIES TO PREDICT, PREVENT, OR REDUCE WILDFIRE RISK, WE PERMANENTLY PROTECTED ADDITIONAL 291 ACRES WITH CONSERVATION EASEMENTS, KEEPING THAT PROP THOSE PROPERTIES FROM DEVELOPMENT AND KEEPING THEM IN HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES. 
          UH, WE'VE CONDUCTED 66 CAVE SURVEYS AND 41 CRICKET EXIT SURVEYS AND RESTORED HABITAT IN FIVE CAVES ALONG OR IN OUR WILDLANDS. 
          WE WERE ABLE TO PLANT, UH, ABOUT 1800 NATIVE PLANTS AND INSTALLED EROSION CONTROL AND FEATURES, UH, TO RESTORE WOODLAND HABITAT FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES. 
          UM, AND THEN FINALLY IN THIS CATEGORY WE'VE RESTORED ABOUT 1200 ACRES OF NATIVE GRASSLAND AND SAVANNAH, UM, WITH, UH, BY USING PRESCRIBED BURN, UH, BRUSH MANAGEMENT AND, UH, SEEDING. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, UH, CONTRIBUTIONS TO PARK. 
          UH, WE SUPPLIED AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION WITH 344 MILLION GALLONS OF LOW COST RECLAIMED WATER TO IRRIGATE CITY GOLF COURSES. 
          SO WE'RE PROUD TO SAY THAT OUR CITY GOLF COURSES ARE, ARE EITHER SERVED WITH PURPLE WATER, UH, RECLAIMED WATER OR RAW WATER, SO KEEPING THEM OFF OF OUR POTABLE SYSTEM. 
          UH, WE SUPPLIED AUSTIN PARKS ADDITIONALLY WITH ABOUT 8.25 MILLION GALLONS OF RECLAIMED WATER FOR OTHER PARKLAND IRRIGATION. 
          WE'VE PLEDGED TO SPEND, UM, ABOUT $50,000 TO PAR TO INSTALL A NEW RAINWATER COLLECTION CISTERN AT THE JOHN TREVINO METRO PARK. 
          AND THEN WE PARTNER WITH THE AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION ON MANAGEMENT OF ENDANGERED SPECIES HABITAT IN CO-MANAGED PARKS, UM, THAT ALSO HAVE, ARE PART OF THE BALCON EAST CANYONS AND LANDS PRESERVE. 
          SO AGAIN, ANOTHER PARTNERSHIP, UH, WITH ONE OF OUR OTHER PARTNERS HERE AT THE CITY. 
          SO WITH THAT, UM, THAT KIND OF CONCLUDES, UH, THOSE HIGHLIGHTS AND, UH, I THINK WE'RE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. 
          THAT'S GREAT. 
          UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? COUNCIL MEMBER, UCHIN? I KNOW WE'VE GOT A LONG AGENDA. 
          [01:00:01]
THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UH, SO I'LL TRY AND GET THROUGH TWO QUICK QUESTIONS. 
          ONE IS JUST REGARDING THE ASSETS THAT ARE IN FAIR ABOUT OUR CONDITION. 
          IT LOOKED LIKE WE WERE BUMPING UP RIGHT AGAINST THE, UH, THE TARGET, WHICH WAS I ASSUME 80%. 
          I'M JUST CURIOUS, GIVEN THE CONSISTENCY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WHAT FACILITIES, IF YOU CAN SPEAK TO THAT KIND OF WENT BELOW THAT THRESHOLD. 
          AND IF THE WALNUT CREEK WORK THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS SUPPOSED TO ELEVATE US SAFELY ABOVE THAT THRESHOLD, SO THE, YOU KNOW, OUR ASSETS THAT WE HAVE IN THE AUSTIN WATER SYSTEM ARE IN VARIOUS STAGES ALL OVER THE CITY OF, OF AGE AND CONDITION AND AGE IS NOT ALWAYS A DETERMINER OF CONDITION, BUT, UM, BUT SOMETIMES, UM, WE, WE DO WANNA LOOK AT ALL THE FACTORS THAT LEAD TO, UH, RISK OF FAILURE AND THEN WHAT THAT WE TRY TO QUANTIFY WHAT THE CRITICALITY IS. 
          SO IF IT FAILS, HOW BAD IS IT? AND THEN WE USE THOSE DATA POINTS TO DRIVE OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM IN RENEWAL. 
          SO TO SPEAK SPECIFICALLY TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT, IS THERE ANY ONE AREA THAT'S SORT OF A HOTSPOT OF, OF CONDITION ISSUES? THE ANSWER TO THAT WOULD BE NO. 
          UM, BUT THE 80% TARGET IS REALLY A RECOGNITION THAT WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE ASSETS THAT, UH, NEED TO BE RENEWED. 
          AND SO OUR JOB IS REALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, SPENDING THE CAPITAL RENEWAL DOLLARS TO REDUCE OUR RISK AS EFFECTIVELY AS WE CAN. 
          UH, AND SO WE'RE MAKING CHOICES ABOUT WHICH OF THOSE ASSETS GO INTO CAPITAL RENEWAL PROJECTS. 
          AND THAT IS, UM, IN OCTOBER WE PRESENTED ON HOW WE BUILD OUR CAPITAL INVESTMENT PROGRAM. 
          AND THAT'S THE KIND OF DATA THAT GOES INTO THAT, UH, INTO THAT PROGRAMMATIC EFFORT TO DEVELOP OUR CIP. 
          OKAY. 
          I'LL BE CURIOUS TO UNDERSTAND, UH, AGAIN, IF THERE WERE SPECIFIC PROJECTS THAT DIP BELOW THERE BETWEEN WHEN IT WAS AT 83, 80 4% AND NOW, UM, AND THEN IF WE CAN EXPECT THAT TO BUMP BACK UP AS WE GET THROUGH SAY THE, THE TREATMENT PLANT OR SOMETHING ELSE. 
          WELL, I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT ALLISON TALKED ABOUT WAS, UM, OUR MILESTONE TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF OUR DATA. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SO MANY ASSETS THAT WE'RE TRACKING, MAKING SURE THAT, UH, WHEN TREATMENT PLANT MAINTENANCE WORKERS ARE COMPLETING THEIR WORK ORDERS, THAT THAT DATA GETS ADEQUATELY CAPTURED IN OUR SYSTEM OF RECORD, MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GO OUT AND DO, UM, VIDEO INSPECTION OF OUR SEWER LINES, THAT DATA IS GETTING ACCURATELY CAPTURED IN OUR SYSTEM OF RECORD. 
          AND SO THERE'S ALWAYS WORK TO BE DONE TO IMPROVE THOSE SYSTEMS. UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS OUR GOAL TO OVERALL IMPROVE THE ASSET, UH, THE ACTUAL CONDITION AS WELL AS THE QUALITY OF THE DATA. 
          GOT IT. 
          SO IT SOUNDS LIKE WE CAN EXPECT THAT CONTINUOUS PROCESS TO PROVIDE US WITH MORE DETAILED INFORMATION GOING FORWARD. 
          YES. 
          OKAY. 
          SECOND QUESTION WAS JUST CLARITY FOR ME WHERE I THINK THE REPORT IS CALLED A Q2 UPDATE, BUT THERE'S DATA IN HERE THAT SUGGESTS THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING UPDATES FROM ALL OF 2025 IN TERMS OF THE, THE, PARTICULARLY THE, THE, THE CONTRIBUTIONS. 
          UH, CAN YOU SPEAK TO HOW TO, HOW TO INTERPRET THAT? IS THIS Q2 DATA OR IS THIS 2025 DATA? SO THE DATA THAT WAS IN THE, THE KPI REPORT, ESSENTIALLY THE, THE GREEN ON TRACK, THAT'S OUR Q2 DATA CONTRIBUTIONS WERE JUST ESSENTIALLY EVERYTHING WE PULLED FROM FY, UH, 25. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, JUST TOO SOON TO, TO TELL ALL WE DON'T, WE, A LOT MORE WAS COMPLETED IN 25 THAN THUS FAR IN 26. 
          SO, UH, WE WANTED TO JUST GIVE THE TOTALITY OF THE WORK THAT WAS DONE, UM, THAT FEEDS INTO ALL OF THESE CONTRIBUTIONS. 
          OKAY. 
          THANKS FOR CLARIFYING THAT. 
          THAT'S ALL I GOT. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          GREAT. 
          UM, AS WITH THE, THE PARKS STRATEGIC, UH, MEASURES, PERFORMANCE MEASURES THAT WE WEIGHED, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO ADD, SUBTRACT, MODIFY, THINK ABOUT HOW WE PLAN STRATEGICALLY AS A CITY, AND THEN GIVE THAT, UH, THOSE INFORMATION TO THE DEPARTMENT AND THEY, Y'ALL CAN THEN, UH, MAKE YOUR DECISIONS BASED ON HOW YOU PERCEIVE THE INPUT FROM US. 
          SO A COUPLE OF, WITHIN OUR KPIS, I WAS WONDERING, AND I, I KNOW YOU DIDN'T GIVE US EVERYTHING, YOU GAVE US A, A SAMPLE. 
          SO, UM, WHERE DO OUR GOALS FROM WATER FORWARD LIVE, OR DO WE HAVE SPECIFIC KPIS FOR THOSE? UH, SO KIND OF BROAD TERMS, WE'VE ALIGNED OUR WATER FORWARD PLANNING AND THOSE LONG-TERM PLANS UP UNDER OUR, LIKE PROACTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICE DELIVERY GOALS. 
          UM, SO PART OF THAT COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW THIS YEAR WILL BE PULLING 
          [01:05:01]
OUT ADDITIONAL MEASURES, UM, AND PULLING IT INTO LIKE A PORTFOLIO TO SPEAK TO SERVICE, SERVICE DELIVERY OR SERVICE EXCELLENCE. 
          AND, AND SO THAT'LL BE PART OF THAT REVIEW, BUT, UM, AT THIS TIME THEY DID NOT RISE TO THE LEVEL OF, OF KPI, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL BE PULLING THOSE INTO THE KIND OF, UH, A FOLD OF THE BROADER VIEW OF HOW IT'S ALIGNED. 
          TALK ABOUT KEVIN'S REPORT. 
          YEAH, I, I WOULD JUST ADD THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK A LOT OF THE FOCUS AROUND WATER FORWARD AND WATER FORWARD IMPLEMENTATION RIGHT NOW, WE'RE REPORTING OUT IN OUR QUARTERLY, UH, WATER STRATEGIES UPDATES. 
          AND SO WHILE IT'S NOT SPECIFICALLY IN THE FORM OF KPIS AND TRACKED IN THAT MANNER, CERTAINLY THE GOALS AND THE PROGRESS TOWARD THOSE ARE FAIRLY CLEARLY ARTICULATED. 
          SO WE ALWAYS WELCOME INPUT ON HOW TO MAKE THAT A REPORT, A BETTER AND MORE MEANINGFUL REPORT. 
          UM, I'M THANKFUL I GOT TO HEAR, I THINK I HEARD SOME GOOD WORDS THIS MORNING FROM OTHER PRESENTERS ABOUT THAT EFFORT BEING WELL RECEIVED. 
          SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO GROW THAT. 
          YEAH. 
          WELL, WITHIN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, I DO BELIEVE WE SHOULD HAVE A HIGH LEVEL GOAL THAT IS RELATED TO OUR WATER CONSERVATION EFFORTS. 
          YOU KNOW, DO WE WANT TO USE 2% LESS WATER THAN WE USED LAST YEAR ON A PER CAPITA BASIS? UH, AND THEN THE STRATEGIES WITHIN THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M THINKING VERY MUCH ABOUT THE, UM, GALLONS PER CUSTOMER PER DAY NUMBER AND HOW WE'VE, YOU KNOW, PLATEAUED A LITTLE BIT, BUT WHERE, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO THERE AND HOW WE'RE MEASURING THAT, UM, FOR THE PUBLIC. 
          ALSO, ON THE WATER LOSS SIDE OF THINGS, I KNOW THERE'S, THERE'S KIND OF WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL ON THE UTILITY SIDE, AND THEN THERE'S WHAT YOU CAN'T CONTROL. 
          UH, AND MAYBE HAVING WITHIN THAT, OUR CONSERVATION EFFORTS OF OUR WATER LOSS GOALS AS A UTILITY FOR WHAT WE CAN CONTROL, UM, I WILL SAY ON THE, THE A TX METER, I, WE GOT A NOTIFICATION THE OTHER DAY. 
          APPARENTLY ONE OF MY KIDS TURNED ON THE FAUCET OUTSIDE AND IT RAN ALL NIGHT. 
          BUT, UM, WE, WE LEARNED ABOUT IT THE NEXT DAY AND, AND WE'RE ABLE TO TURN IT OFF, BUT IT DOES WORK. 
          SO , UH, APPRECIATE THAT TOOL THAT Y'ALL ARE USING. 
          UH, THE LAST QUESTION I DO HAVE IS AROUND THE, UM, BILL THE RATES AND, AND YOU TOUCHED ON, YOU KNOW, THE 1.5% IS THE GOAL WE'VE SET. 
          I'M CURIOUS, AND IT IS REALLY CAN BE SIX ONE HALF DOZEN, THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, THE AUSTIN ENERGY, THE WAY THEY LOOK AT IT IS THEIR RATES ARE COMPARED STATEWIDE, AND, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BE IN THE LOWER HALF, UH, AND NOT GROW AT A CERTAIN AMOUNT. 
          Y'ALL HAVE CHOSEN LOOKING AT SPECIFIC CUSTOMERS, WHICH ALSO MAKES SENSE. 
          I'M JUST CURIOUS IF YOU'VE EVER THOUGHT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER ONE BENEFIT OR THE OTHER, JUST HOW YOU WRITE THERE. 
          I I, I DO THINK THE, THERE'S NO, ALLISON KIND OF TOUCHED ON THIS. 
          FOR ALL OF OUR KPIS, THERE'S NO ONE KPI THAT GIVES YOU THE FULL PICTURE OF ANY PARTICULAR PART OF OUR BUSINESS. 
          YOU REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT MULTIPLE, UM, UH, INDICATORS TO GET A FULL PICTURE. 
          SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY, THE KPI THAT WE PRESENTED TO YOU IS PERCENT OF MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME, BUT WE DO LOOK AT, UM, EIGHT OR NINE DIFFERENT AFFORDABILITY MEASURES. 
          UM, AND I SEE THAT DEPUTY DIRECTOR JOSEPH GONZALEZ IS HERE TO TELL US MORE. 
          YES. 
          GOOD, GOOD MORNING. 
          UH, JOSEPH GONZALEZ, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OVER BUSINESS SERVICES WITH AUSTIN WATER. 
          AND, AND YES, WE DO, UH, WE DO AN ANNUAL AFFORDABILITY REPORT THAT THAT DOES COMPARE OUR RATES AND OUR AVERAGE BILL, PRIMARILY OUR AVERAGE BILL TO, UM, TO PEER CITIES AND, YOU KNOW, BOTH WITHIN TEXAS, BUT ALSO THROUGH THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. 
          UH, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THOUGH IN THAT, UM, COMPARISON IS, YOU KNOW, YOUR WATER SOURCE, YOUR TREATMENT PROCESSES. 
          SO, SO NO TWO UTILITIES ARE EXACTLY THE SAME. 
          UH, SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU COMPARE US TO, UH, SAN ANTONIO WHO USES PRIMARILY AQUIFER WATER AS AS THEIR SOURCE, SO THEY'VE GOT A LOWER OVERALL COST OF, OF TREATMENT. 
          UM, AND, AND SO THAT MAKES THOSE COMPARISONS DIFFICULT, UH, WHICH IS WHY, YOU KNOW, FROM A PERFORMANCE MEASURE PERSPECTIVE, WE, WE FOCUSED ON AFFORDABILITY RELATIVE TO MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME. 
          UM, BUT WE DO DO A COMPREHENSIVE, UH, YOU KNOW, ANNUAL AFFORDABILITY REPORT. 
          THAT MAKES SENSE. 
          UH, I DID SAY THAT WAS MY LAST ONE, BUT I DO ACTUALLY HAVE ONE MORE. 
          DO WE STILL HAVE LEAD PIPES IN OUR SYSTEM? WE DO. 
          WE DO NOT HAVE LEAD PIPES IN OUR SYSTEM. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WE, UM, AND I WILL, I WOULD LIKE TO CREDIT OUR PREDECESSORS, UH, FOR CL CLEARLY HAVING DONE A LOT OF WORK OVER THE DECADES BEFORE, UM, EPA CAME IN AND SAID WE NEEDED TO GET ALL THE LEAD PIPES OUT OF OUR SYSTEM WHEN WE DID OUR COMPREHENSIVE, UM, SERVICE LINE MATERIAL ASSESSMENT, UM, THAT WE FOUND VERY LOW, UH, TO 
          [01:10:01]
ALMOST NONE LEVELS OF LEAD PIPES. 
          AND SO THOSE HAVE BEEN REMEDIATED. 
          WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF GALVANIZED PIPES WHICH DON'T PRESENT A HEALTH RISK IN THEMSELVES, BUT DO REQUIRE REPLACEMENT. 
          AND SO WE'RE WORKING THROUGH GETTING ALL OF THOSE REPLACED. 
          VERY GOOD. 
          WELL, THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR ALL THE INFORMATION TODAY. 
          AND OH, YEAH, NOT YET. 
          CHAIR, WE GOT, WE GOT A COUPLE QUESTIONS ON, I MISSED YOUR HAND OVER HERE IN THIS ZIP, ZIP CODE CHAIR, ALICE. 
          SORRY. 
          SO, SO FAR AWAY OVER THERE. 
          I KNOW WE'RE IN DIFFERENT WORLDS. 
          I'VE GOT TWO QUICK ONES. 
          I DID YOU HAVE SOME TOO? OKAY. 
          UM, I WANTED TO ASK, UH, LET ME START BY SAYING I THINK THAT THE, MY A TX WATER PORTAL HAS BEEN HUGELY SUCCESSFUL, SO IT'S GREAT TO SEE THAT THE ALTARS ARE GETTING NOTIFICATIONS WHEN THEIR KIDS LEAVE. 
          UM, ONE OF THE, THE TAPS RUNNING TOO LONG. 
          UM, WHAT SYSTEMS ARE IN PLACE FOR THE CITY SIDE OF SERVICE? HOW ARE WE BEING ABLE TO DE DETECT MORE OF THE LEAKS THAT ARE HAPPENING ON THE CITY SIDE? IS THERE ANY INCREASE IN MONITORS OR OTHER SORTS OF TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'RE BEING ABLE TO USE TO HELP FIX STUFF BEFORE IT ACTUALLY GETS TO THE CUSTOMER? ABSOLUTELY. 
          SO WE DO, UH, WE DO LEAK DETECTION, WHICH IS WHERE WE ACTUALLY INSERT A DEVICE INTO THE WATER PIPE. 
          UM, AND WE HAVE, THERE'S DIFFERENT DEVICES DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF THE WATER PIPE AND THE MATERIAL OF IT. 
          AND SO WE DO, UM, HAVE KPIS FOR HOW MUCH OF THAT WE DO EVERY YEAR. 
          AND IT, IT IS EFFECTIVE IN FINDING LEAKS SO THAT WE CAN FIX THEM BEFORE THEY SURFACE. 
          UM, WE ALSO, UM, ENCOURAGE OUR CUSTOMERS TO CALL 9 7 2 1000, UH, WHEN THEY, IF THEY SEE WATER ON THE GROUND SO WE CAN GO CHECK IT OUT. 
          AND THAT'S THE THREE HOUR KPI THAT, THAT ALLISON TALKED ABOUT. 
          WE WANNA HAVE A CREW, UH, FIXING THAT PIPE WITHIN THREE HOURS. 
          UM, AND THEN WE ARE, THERE ARE A LOT OF THERE, REDUCING WATER LOSS IS A HUGE EFFORT IN THE INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW. 
          AND SO THERE IS A LOT OF DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES, TECHNOLOGIES TO PILOT TO TRY WITH OUR AUTOMATED METERS THAT GIVES US MORE GRANULAR DATA TO KNOW WHERE WATER IS BEING USED. 
          AND SO WE'RE WORKING ON DEPLOYING METER, UH, SENSORS AND METERS WITHIN OUR SYSTEM WHERE WE CAN SAY, OKAY, WE HAVE X NUMBER OF GALLONS GOING INTO THIS AREA. 
          WE HAVE X NUMBER OF GALLONS BEING USED BY THOSE CUSTOMERS. 
          IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT SOME WATER LOSS IN THAT AREA THAT WE NEED TO GO LOOK FOR. 
          UH, AND SO WE ARE PILOTING SOME OF THOSE TECHNOLOGIES RIGHT NOW AS WELL. 
          AND THEN THE, THE FINAL THING I'LL SAY ABOUT WATER LOSS IS, UM, YOU ALL HAVE HEARD US TALK BEFORE ABOUT POLYBUTYLENE, UH, SERVICE LINES. 
          I'M SORRY THAT YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT WORD. 
          BUT, UH, IN THE 1980S, UM, THAT WAS A NEW, UH, MATERIAL. 
          WE, I INSTALLED, AUSTIN WAS BOOMING IN THE EIGHTIES. 
          WE INSTALLED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF POLYBUTYLENE SERVICE LINES, AND THEY JUST HAVE NOT STOOD UP OVER THE COURSE OF TIME. 
          AND SO NOW WE ARE SYSTEMATICALLY, AGAIN, WE'RE USING AN ASSET MANAGEMENT BASED APPROACH. 
          WE CAN SEE WHICH OF THOSE SERVICE LINES ARE MORE PRONE TO BRAKING. 
          AND SO WE'RE TARGETING THOSE AREAS, AREAS OF HIGH PRESSURE, FOR EXAMPLE, TO GO REPLACE ALL THOSE SERVICE LINES. 
          AND WE, WE FEEL LIKE THAT'S OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALREADY BEEN REALLY EFFECTIVE WITH OUR RENEWING AUSTIN PROGRAM AND REDUCING BREAK RATES IN NEIGHBORHOODS. 
          THIS IS OUR NEXT LEVEL TO RELU, REDUCE SERVICE LINE BREAKS AND IMPROVE, REDUCE WATER LOSS AND IMPROVE SERVICE LEVELS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND THAT LEADS INTO MY OTHER QUESTION BECAUSE I WAS GONNA ASK ABOUT POLYBUTYLENE PIPES. 
          UM, HOW, HOW MUCH PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE ON SWITCHING OVER THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WERE BUILT WITH THAT MATERIAL INTO THE MODERN STANDARD? I KNOW I'M, EVERY TIME I TALK WITH AUSTIN WATER, IT'S LIKE, HEY, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH IT, BUT THE, THE SCOPE IS VERY LARGE. 
          UM, IS THAT TRUE WITH PO POLYBUTYLENE AS WELL? ARE WE MAKING OUR WAY THROUGH THE SYSTEM UPDATES? WE ARE MAKING OUR WAY, AND WE'RE USING A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT, UM, STRATEGIES. 
          SO WE HAVE, FOR ONE THING, IF OUR, IF OUR CREWS GO OUT THERE TO REPAIR A BROKEN SERVICE LINE AND IT'S POLYBUTYLENE, THEN WE REPLACE IT. 
          UM, IF, UH, WE ALSO HAVE OUR IN-HOUSE CONSTRUCTION CREWS THAT THEY ARE, THEY HAVE A PERFORMANCE MEASURE TO REPLACE SO MANY, UH, SERVICES A YEAR. 
          AND THEN WE HAVE OUR ON-CALL CONTRACTOR, UM, WHAT WE CALL OUR IDIQ CONTRACTOR. 
          WE TEST THEM WITH REPLACING SERVICE LINES. 
          AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT WHERE WE ACTUALLY, THAT WOULD BE A LARGER SCOPED PROJECT WHERE WE WOULD ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER, UH, YOU KNOW, DESIGN PLANS AND PUT THEM OUT FOR BID AND GET A, A, A CONTRACTOR ON BOARD TO DO THAT SCOPE OF WORK. 
          SO, UM, THE, UH, THE, I DON'T HAVE THE DETAILS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT PERCENT OF POLYBUTYLENE SERVICE LINES WE'VE REPLACED SO FAR, BUT WE ARE USING ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT TOOLS TO MAKE OUR WAY THROUGH THE SYSTEM, AND I CAN GET YOU SOME MORE DATA. 
          THAT'S GREAT TO HEAR. 
          UM, SPECIFICALLY WOULD LOVE DISTRICT EIGHT DATA. 
          SURE. 
          IF YOU'VE GOT IT AVAILABLE. 
          I KNOW WE'VE HAD, UM, WEST CREEK GOT THEIRS UPDATED A COUPLE OF 
          [01:15:01]
YEARS BACK, AND I THINK WE HAVE ANOTHER NEIGHBORHOOD THAT IS, UM, SOON GOING TO BE GETTING THEIR IMPROVEMENTS. 
          BUT I WILL SAY THE COMMUNICATION WITH THE CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN VERY GOOD. 
          GREAT. 
          UM, IT'S, IT CREATES UPHEAVAL WHEN YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THAT MUCH PIPE, BUT, UM, BUT THE FOLKS THAT KNOW THAT THAT UPDATE'S NEEDED ARE WELCOMING IT, THERE'S LOTS OF PROACTIVE COMMUNICATION. 
          AND SO I WANNA THANK YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR KEEPING PEOPLE IN THE LOOP AS THESE UPDATES COME THEIR WAY. 
          WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          QUICK ONE CHAIR. 
          THANKS. 
          AND, UH, YEAH, THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION. 
          I REALLY APPRECIATE THE KPIS. 
          UM, DEFINITELY FEEL LIKE THEY'RE IN LINE WITH OUR VALUES OF THE COMMUNITY. 
          UH, THANKS FOR TEACHING US SOME NEW VOCABULARY WORDS, UH, NE FLOW METRIC. 
          YOU KNOW, IT'S, THAT'S MY WORD OF THE DAY NOW. 
          UM, UH, YEAH. 
          UM, AND I GUESS I, I KIND OF WANNA PICK UP ON THE THEME OF WATER LOSS. 
          I THINK A LOT OF US GET CALLS ABOUT THAT. 
          THAT SEEMS TO BE A HUGE COMMUNITY CONCERN. 
          AND SO IN TERMS OF THE KPIS FOR THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, UM, IF YOU COULD JUST SHARE TO THE EXTENT YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY SHARED IT, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM ADDRESSES OUR WATER LOSS GOALS, AND ALSO IF THERE ARE ANY, UM, COUNCIL ACTIONS THAT COULD SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, THE WORK Y'ALL ARE DOING. 
          THANKS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO, WE'LL, UM, UH, WE'LL PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON, ON WHERE THOSE VARIOUS EFFORTS ARE IN, IN TERMS OF OUR PROGRESS AND REPLACING, UH, POLYBUTYLENE SERVICE LINES. 
          AND IN TERMS OF COUNCIL SUPPORT, WE HAVE, JUST AS WE COME FORWARD WITH, UM, WITH OUR CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE APPRECIATE THE, THE COUNCIL SUPPORT OF BEING ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THOSE. 
          UM, AND JUST TO SAY THAT, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT OF THE OVERALL EFFORTS IN REDUCING WATER LOSS. 
          AND, UH, IT REALLY IS A, A, A CRITICAL ISSUE. 
          UH, IT'S FOUNDATIONAL TO THE WATER FORWARD PLAN. 
          WE'RE DEPENDING ON REDUCING WATER LOSS, UH, AS A WAY TO STRETCH OUR, OUR POTABLE WATER SUPPLIES. 
          AND IT IS AN INTRACTABLE PROBLEM. 
          I MEAN, IF YOU LOOK ACROSS THE STATE AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE DOING ALL OF THE THINGS THAT ARE CONSIDERED BEST PRACTICES. 
          UH, AND, AND YET WE KNOW THAT THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT SUFFICIENT. 
          SO WE, WE CONTINUE TO, UH, UP OUR GAME, IF YOU WILL, ON REDUCING WATER LOSS. 
          GREAT. 
          THANKS SO MUCH. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UM, I WAS CURIOUS THAT THE AFFORDABILITY REPORT, IF Y'ALL WOULDN'T MIND JUST SHARING THAT WITH OUR OFFICE, I'D BE INTERESTED TO SEE IT. 
          UM, WILL DO. 
          AND WITH THAT, WE'LL FOLLOW UP, UH, POTENTIALLY INDIVIDUAL WITH SOME, UH, ON THE, THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS AS WE FORM THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND, AND KPIS FOR THE BUDGET COME AUG OR JULY. 
          THERE WE GO. 
          WONDERFUL. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITH YOU TODAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, NOW WE WILL MOVE ON 
          [4. Briefing on Resource Management Commission recommendation on gas franchise agreements.  [Charlotte Davis, Chair - Resource Management Commission]. Sponsors: Council Member Ryan Alter, and Council Member Paige Ellis]
TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION ON GAS FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS. 
          UH, WE WILL HAVE CHAIR DAVIS AS WELL AS MR. ROBBINS HERE, JUST, UM, JUST AS A KIND OF TIME CHECK IF Y'ALL ARE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THIS IN NO MORE THAN 20 MINUTES. 
          THAT WAY WE CAN HAVE, UH, ANY QUESTIONS FOR TEXAS GAS SERVICE, AS WELL AS JUST GENERIC GENERAL QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE. 
          SO WITH THAT, I TURN IT OVER TO YOU, WHOEVER IS LEADING THE SHOW. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          UH, GOOD MORNING COUNT, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS. 
          THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE TODAY. 
          I'M CHARLOTTE DAVIS, CHAIR OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION. 
          THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE FRANCHISE IS A 10 YEAR AGREEMENT THAT RENEWS AUTOMATICALLY FOR 10 YEARS UNLESS THE COMPANY IS IN DEFAULT OR GIVES NOTICE TO TERMINATE OR THE CITY CHOOSES TO RENEGOTIATE. 
          UH, THE EXISTING FRANCHISE WAS SIGNED IN 2006. 
          SO EFFECTIVELY IT'S A ONCE IN A GENERATION OPPORTUNITY TO ESTABLISH THE GUARDRAILS, UH, ALONG WHICH THE GAS UTILITY, UH, FRANCHISE WILL OCCUR. 
          OVER THE PAST YEAR, THE RMC HAS EXAMINED NUMEROUS ISSUES RELATED TO TEXAS GAS SERVICE, UH, IN AUSTIN, INCLUDING SKYROCKETING RESIDENTIAL BILLS, UH, WHICH ARE IN PART DUE TO INTERIM RATE ADJUSTMENTS THAT THE COMPANIES PERMITTED TO MAKE IN ORDER TO RECOUP CAPITAL EXPENDITURES. 
          UH, THE LACK OF MEANINGFUL ASSISTANCE FOR LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS, ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT, UH, DON'T PAY OUT AND AS OF RECENTLY, DON'T ACTUALLY EVEN EXIST. 
          AND WE'VE ALSO IDENTIFIED SOME AREAS THAT SHOULD BE RECONSIDERED IN THE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT, INCLUDING, UH, FEE EXEMPTIONS FOR CERTAIN ENTITIES, WHICH RESULTS IN LESS MONEY FOR THE GENERAL FUND AND METHANE LEAK DETECTION STANDARDS THAT RELY ON THE CONTINUING ADEQUACY OF STATE AND FEDERAL REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT. 
          YOU HAVE IN YOUR PACKET THE FULL LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE RMC UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED 
          [01:20:01]
AT OUR JANUARY MEETING. 
          UH, BUT THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THAT RECOMMENDATION. 
          I WON'T GO THROUGH ALL OF THOSE, UH, RIGHT NOW, BUT YOU WILL BE HEARING MORE FROM MY COLLEAGUES TODAY ON WAYS TO IMPROVE RESIDENTIAL BILL AFFORDABILITY, LOW INCOME ASSISTANCE, ENERGY CONSERVATION. 
          UM, AND THEN WE'LL BE HERE FOR QUESTIONS AFTER THE PRESENTATION ON ANY OF THE ITEMS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO DISCUSS FURTHER. 
          AND WITH THAT, I WILL HAND IT OFF TO, UH, PAUL ROBBINS, VICE CHAIR OF THE RMC. 
          YES. 
          TEST, UH, COUNSEL. 
          I AM PAUL ROBBINS. 
          I'M VICE CHAIR OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION. 
          I'VE BEEN WORKING ON UTILITY AND NATURAL RESOURCE ISSUES SINCE 1977. 
          I'M HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT THE HIGH RATES AND BILLS CHARGED BY TEXAS GAS SERVICE AND WAYS TO LOWER THEM IN THE FUTURE. 
          UH, TEXAS GAS SERVICE RESIDENTIAL RATES, UH, SLIDE, UH, TEXAS. 
          OKAY. 
          TEXAS, UH, GAS SERVICES RESIDENTIAL RATES HAVE GONE UP 111% IN ONLY THE LAST SIX YEARS, UH, WHEREAS INFLATION WAS ONLY ABOUT 26%, ADDING ABOUT $321 FOR EACH AUSTIN HOUSEHOLD THAT RECEIVES THE SERVICE SLIDE. 
          UH, EVEN STARKER IS THE AGGREGATE INCREASE ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY. 
          THESE HIGH RATES HAVE COLLECTIVELY COST AUSTIN HOMES, BUSINESSES, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, 121 MILLION MORE THAN IN 2019, SUCKING WEALTH OUT OF THE CITY SLIDE, AND IS, IF RATES WERE NOT BAD ENOUGH, THE COST OF GAS FUEL AND ADDITIONAL CHARGE ON TOP OF RATES HAS ALSO SOARED. 
          GAS COSTS THEMSELVES SPIKED IN 2022 DUE TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION SET OFF BY THE WAR IN UKRAINE AND ALL THE LIQUIFIED NATURAL GAS FLOWING FROM THE UNITED STATES OVERSEAS. 
          UH, BUT THEY'VE COME BACK DOWN. 
          UH, HOWEVER, SLIDE THE COST OF GAS STORAGE AND PIPELINE RESERVATION FEES HAVE ALMOST QUADRUPLED BETWEEN 2020 AND 2025, CAUSING AN ADDITIONAL STRAIN ON CONSUMERS. 
          TOTAL FUEL COSTS HAVE ALMOST TRIPLED SLIDE, AND THE RATE STRUCTURE ITSELF IS DESIGNED TO BE REGRESSIVE WITH HIGH MONTHLY CUSTOMER, UH, HIGH MONTHLY CUSTOMER CHARGE, AND A FLAT VOLUME CHARGE. 
          IT REWARDS HIGHER CONSUMPTION. 
          UH, THE MORE YOU USE, THE LESS YOU PAY PER UNIT. 
          THIS DISCOURAGES ENERGY CONSERVATION AND IT HURTS THE POOR SLIDE. 
          UH, THIS IS A GRAPH OF A STUDY DONE BY THE US ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION SHOWING THAT ENERGY USE RISES WITH INCOME LEVELS. 
          ESSENTIALLY, THE MORE YOU EARN, THE MORE YOU BURN. 
          AND SO CONSEQUENTLY, REGRESSIVE RATES, UH, AGAIN, HURT THE POOR SLIDE. 
          SO WHAT CAN BE DONE TO LOWER THE HIGH COST OF TEXAS GAS SERVICE? UH, THERE ARE FOUR THINGS THAT, UH, WE'VE SUGGESTED. 
          FIRST, WE RECOMMEND COMPLETE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES SO THAT THE EXISTING CUSTOMERS DO NOT SUBSIDIZE NEW DEVELOPMENTS. 
          SECOND, WE RECOMMEND AN ANNUAL AUDIT OF PROPOSED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AND ONGOING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT CONSTRUCTION. 
          THIRD, WE ASK FOR A RESTRUCTURE OF RESIDENTIAL RATES TO MAKE THEM MORE PROGRESSIVE. 
          AND FOURTH, WE URGE A STUDY OF WAYS TO LOWER FUEL COSTS. 
          SLIDE. 
          UH, REGARDING CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES, I WILL USE THE 2023 RATE CASE AS AN EXAMPLE. 
          UH, ACCORDING TO THE COMPANY, UH, $185 MILLION WAS SPENT ON NEW INFRASTRUCTURE IN ONLY A FOUR YEAR PERIOD BETWEEN 2019 AND 2023. 
          UH, BUT ONLY ABOUT 4000002% WAS COLLECTED FROM DEVELOPERS. 
          SLIDE, UH, WE URGE FULL COLLECTION OF CAPITAL BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S DEFINITION, PARTICULARLY AUSTIN WATER, TEXAS GAS SERVICE WILL CURRENTLY REIMBURSE DEVELOPERS WITH PROJECTS THAT, ACCORDING 
          [01:25:01]
TO THE GAS COMPANY'S FIGURES, HAVE A 10 YEAR PAYBACK. 
          THIS IS NOT WHAT AUSTIN WATER AND AUSTIN ENERGY DO. 
          THE RATE PAYERS ARE STILL SUBSIDIZING THE COMPANY'S GROWTH SLIDE. 
          SECOND, WE RECOMMEND AN ANNUAL AUDIT OF THE COMPANY'S PROPOSED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AND ONGOING CONSTRUCTION OF COMMISSIONED PROJECTS TO DETERMINE IF THE MONEY IS PRUDENTLY SPENT. 
          AGAIN, FROM THE 2023 RATE CASE, THERE WAS AN INCREDULOUS 63% INCREASE IN PLANT COSTS IN ONLY FOUR YEARS, BUT ONLY ABOUT A 5% INCREASE IN CUSTOMER GROWTH. 
          THIS STAGGERING INCREASE LEFT ME PERSONALLY WONDERING IF SOME OF THIS WAS GOLD PLATING SLIDE. 
          UH, UNLIKE AUSTIN ENERGY IN AUSTIN WATER, THE COUNCIL HAS NO DISCRETION TO STOP QUESTIONABLE EXPENDITURES IN ADVANCE SLIDE. 
          SO OUR COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT ANNUALLY THE CITY SHOULD HIRE A CONSULTANT TO REVIEW THE PROPOSED PLANT COST AND ACTUAL CAPITAL EXPENDITURES FOR PRUDENCE IDENTIFIED EXCESSIVE EXPENDITURES WOULD BE ON THE RECORD FAR IN ADVANCE OF THE NEXT RATE CASE. 
          THESE CAN SERVE AS PRECEDENT IN ANY RATE OR LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. 
          UH, THE CHALLENGES OF THE CURRENT SITUATION THAT WE ARE IN IS THAT THE RAILROAD COMMISSION, UH, EVALUATES CAPITAL PROJECTS LONG AFTER THE MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT. 
          AND WE'RE SAYING LET'S DO IT IN ADVANCE. 
          THE CONSULTANT SHOULD BE FUNDED THROUGH THE GAS BILL SPREAD OVER THE RATE BASE. 
          I WOULD EXPECT THE COST WILL BE MINIMAL. 
          UH, OTHER LARGE CITIES IN OUR SERVICE AREA SHOULD BE URGED TO PARTICIPATE AND CO-FUND THIS SINCE IT IS IN THEIR SELF-INTEREST AS WELL. 
          SLIDE REGARDING REGRESSIVE RATES. 
          UH, THIS CAN BE DEALT WITH BY LOWERING MONTHLY CHARGES, IMPLEMENTING TIERED RATES LIKE AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN WATER HAVE, AND IMPLEMENTING A CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
          NOW, THESE NEXT THREE SLIDES ARE KIND OF BUSY AND I'M LE NO, NO, NO, GO, GO BACK PLEASE. 
          UH, AND I'M LEAVING, UH, THEM WITH YOU SO YOU CAN LOOK AT THEM MORE CLOSELY LATER. 
          UH, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT SERVES, UH, US WELL FOR ME TO READ OFF ALL THE NAMES OF THESE UTILITIES RIGHT NOW. 
          BUT, UH, THESE ARE UTILITIES THAT HAVE LOW MONTHLY FEES, LOW, MUCH LOWER THAN TEXAS GAS SERVICE AND SLIDE. 
          AND THESE ARE, UH, EXAMPLES OF UTILITIES THAT HAVE PROGRESSIVE RATE TIERS SLIDE. 
          AND THESE ARE EXAMPLES OF GAS UTILITIES THAT HAVE LOW INCOME DISCOUNTS. 
          SLIDE. 
          FINALLY, A COMMENT ON LOWERING HIGH FUEL COSTS. 
          OUR COMMISSION MADE NO SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS ON HOW THIS MIGHT BE ACCOMPLISHED. 
          ONE REASON IS THAT THE GAS COMPANY WOULD NOT EXPLAIN TO US WHY STORAGE AND RESERVATION COSTS HAVE QUADRUPLE IN PRICE OR WHAT THEY PLAN TO DO ABOUT IT. 
          UH, I HOPE WE CAN LEARN MORE. 
          UH, I WANTED TO KEEP, I WANTED TO ELEVATE THIS CONCERN AS PART OF THE ONGOING CONSIDERATION OF FRANCHISE OF THE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT. 
          UH, THESE ARE ALL MY PREPARED REMARKS. 
          I I DO WANT TO INTERJECT ONE OTHER ITEM THAT, UH, OUR COMMISSION RECOMMENDED. 
          UM, ACTUALLY TWO, UH, VERY BRIEFLY. 
          ONE IS THAT WE RECOMMEND THAT A FRANCHISE FEE, UH, BE, UH, ENACTED, UH, BE, UM, LEVIED ON TRANSPORT GAS TO LARGE, UH, PUBLIC ENTITIES. 
          UH, THIS IS DONE IN OTHER CITIES. 
          IT IS NOT DONE HERE. 
          THIS WOULD GARNER THE GENERAL FUND MORE REVENUE. 
          UH, AND ALSO, UM, I, WE 
          [01:30:01]
DID NOT, OUR COMMISSION DID NOT COME UP WITH ANY SOLID RECOMMENDATION ON THE, UM, POSSIBILITY OF, UH, PURCHASING THE GAS COMPANY, BUT WE DID RECOMMEND STUDY OF IT FOR THE FUTURE. 
          WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO, UH, MY GOOD COLLEAGUE HERE. 
          UM, GOOD ENABLED COLLEAGUE HERE, RAFAEL SCHWARTZ. 
          THANKS PAUL. 
          AND CHARLOTTE. 
          UH, MY NAME'S RAFAEL SCHWARTZ. 
          I'M GONNA TRANSITION TO TALK ABOUT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ON FIRST LOW INCOME ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND THEN THE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. SO CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE FIRST. 
          UH, TEXAS GAS SERVICE HAS NO PROGRAMS FOR LOW INCOME CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE OF THE TYPE THAT ARE SIMILAR TO AUSTIN ENERGY'S CAP CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
          SO THIS SLIDE IS A SIDE BY SIDE. 
          THE IDEA IS TO COMPARE USING AUSTIN ENERGY AS A BENCHMARK HERE, 14% OF CUSTOMERS RECEIVE ASSISTANCE EVERY MONTH DUE TO INCOME QUALIFICATION. 
          SO THAT'S A MEANINGFUL AMOUNT OF COST SAVINGS. 
          REALLY, IT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST WAYS THAT THE CITY ACTUALLY LOWERS COST FOR THE VERY LOW INCOME BRACKET. 
          UH, CONTRAST, UH, TEXAS GAS SERVICE AT, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE HAS NO PROGRAM LIKE THIS. 
          SO THIS ONE'S PRETTY SIMPLE. 
          A RECOMMENDATION IS THE CITY PUTS IN THE FRANCHISE THAT 7% OF CUSTOMERS BE ENROLLED IN SUCH A PROGRAM. 
          SO THAT'S HALF OF WHAT THE CITY DOES, HALF OF THE THE 14%. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, EMERGENCY BILL ASSISTANCE, THIS IS ACTUALLY A DIFFERENT TYPE OF LOW INCOME PROGRAM. 
          TEXAS GAS CALLS IT SHARE THE WARMTH. 
          THESE ARE FUNDS FOR LATE BILLS, BILLS THAT ARE IN ARREARS TO PREVENT GAS SHUTOFF, UH, TO PREVENT THE, THE CUSTOMER GAS DISCONNECTS WHEN BILLS AREN'T PAID. 
          UH, CURRENTLY TEXAS GAS SPENDS ROUGHLY 150,000 A YEAR. 
          THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE CAME UP WITH IS TO INCREASE IT TO 500,000. 
          AND WE'RE ASKING THE COMPANY TO FUND ONLY HALF OF THAT. 
          SO FOR CONTEXT, AUSTIN ENERGY LAST YEAR DEDICATED $20 MILLION TO LOW INCOME PROGRAMS. NOW IT'S NOT AN APPLE APPLES COMPARISON. 
          UM, AUSTIN ENERGY IS A LARGER UTILITY, BUT IT'S AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE DIFFERENT IN LOW INCOME SPENDING, MAYBE EVEN TWO ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE. 
          IT'S A MUCH, MUCH HIGHER NUMBER THAT AUSTIN HAS DECIDED TO, UM, ENACT WITH, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY RATHER THAN, UH, WHAT'S, WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE WITH TEXAS GAS IN TERMS OF THE LOW INCOME. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE. 
          OKAY, SO MOVING ON FROM LOW INCOME TO CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. SO A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND IS NECESSARY HERE. 
          TEXAS GAS RUNS WHAT ARE CALLED CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE REBATES FOR GAS APPLIANCES, GAS DRYERS, WATER HEATERS, AND FURNACES. 
          SO ROUGHLY, UH, TWO TO $3 MILLION PER YEAR HAS BEEN SPENT ON THESE PROGRAMS RECENTLY. 
          THE GOAL BEHIND UTILITY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS LIKE THIS IS TO PROVIDE REBATES RIGHT TOWARDS HIGHER EFFICIENCY APPLIANCES OR INVESTMENTS THAT SAVE ENERGY COSTS OVER TIME. 
          THE ENERGY COST SAVINGS, UH, SHOULD MAKE UP FOR THE REBATE COST, YOU KNOW, OVER YEARS. 
          THAT'S THE IDEA. 
          UH, IN THIS CASE, TEXAS GAS, THESE REBATES HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY HIGH AND ESSENTIALLY AMOUNT TO A MARKETING OR SALES INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR THE GAS APPLIANCES. 
          THE REBATES ARE SO HIGH THAT THERE'S NO RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN THE ENERGY COST SAVINGS. 
          UH, THIS IS BEING PAID FOR BY THE COMMUNITY, REALLY UNDER THE LANGUAGE THAT IT'S A CONSERVATION EFFORT. 
          SO MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR IS USED ON GAS APPLIANCE REBATES THAT NEVER PAY OFF. 
          WHAT IT DOES DO EFFECTIVELY IS STRONGLY INCENTIVIZE CUSTOMERS TO BUY NEW GAS APPLIANCES VERSUS ELECTRIC ONES. 
          UM, ONE OTHER THING THAT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE HERE IS THAT TEXAS GAS SERVICE USED TO RUN BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS LIKE DUCT CEILING AND ATTIC INSTALLATION PROGRAMS. THESE DID SAVE ENERGY COSTS. 
          THESE WERE DISCONTINUED A FEW YEARS AGO IN FAVOR OF THE GAS APPLIANCE ONES. 
          AND ALSO, NOT TO COMPLICATE THINGS TOO MUCH, BUT ACTUALLY, UH, CHARLOTTE MENTIONED EARLIER THAT ALL OF THESE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS ARE ACTUALLY CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW COMPLETELY DISCONTINUED AS OF LAST YEAR DUE TO THE TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION, UH, DECIDING THAT TEXAS GAS IS ASKING TOO MUCH OF CUSTOMERS. 
          SO THEY'VE BEEN DISCONTINUED RIGHT NOW. 
          ANYWAY. 
          SO THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT, UM, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE HERE, UM, I'M TALKING ABOUT THAT AUSTIN ENERGY RUNS GENUINE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS. 
          THESE PROGRAMS PAY FOR DUCT CEILING WEATHER STRIPPING INSULATION. 
          THEY'RE MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL AT ACHIEVING ENERGY SAVINGS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THE RECOMMENDATION IS FAIRLY SIMPLE. 
          AUSTIN SHOULD TAKE OVER MANAGEMENT OF THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. CITY OF AUSTIN MANAGED THIS PROGRAM IN THE PAST IN THE NINETIES. 
          AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT ALSO EVEN JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, PART OF THIS MONEY WAS SENT TO AUSTIN ENERGY TO RUN THEIR WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS. SO THIS IDEA IS NOT AT ALL WITHOUT PRECEDENT. 
          UM, IT WOULD BE A SIMPLE FUNDING MECHANISM INCREASING THE FRANCHISE FEE, OR ADDING A BILL RIDER, AND I THINK I MENTIONED THIS ALREADY, BUT AUSTIN ENERGY, IT'S 
          [01:35:01]
WELL POSITIONED TO RECEIVE THIS MONEY AND RUN WITH IT. 
          YOU KNOW, THESE PROGRAMS EXIST THIS WAY WE CAN FUND MORE ENERGY EFFICIENCY BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS AND WASTE LESS MONEY ON GAS APPLIANCE PROGRAMS THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST. 
          SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UH, AND I WILL NOTE WE HAVE A, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM TEXAS GAS SERVICE HERE IF HE WANTS TO, UM, PROVIDE ANY RESPONSE OR IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, THAT IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE. 
          SO WITH THAT, I OPEN IT UP TO ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE, VICE CHAIR, ALEX, I'VE GOT ONE, PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD ONE. 
          I SEE THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMISSION AND APPRECIATE ITS THOROUGHNESS. 
          HAS THERE BEEN ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT, UM, PUBLIC HEARINGS AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS GET FEEDBACK AS THEY'RE LOOKING AT THESE RATES? IT'S ONE OF THE TOPICS THAT I GOT A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT IN THE PAST YEAR IN MY DISTRICT, BECAUSE PEOPLE MAY DEFAULT AND ASSUME THAT WE RUN THE GAS SERVICE THE WAY THAT WE RUN ELECTRICITY AND WATER. 
          UM, AND I THINK THE PUBLIC HEARING FORMAT WHEN PEOPLE ARE SETTING RATES IS HIGHLY EFFECTIVE AND VERY HELPFUL FOR FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO COME AND SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE AND SPEAK THEIR MIND. 
          IS THAT A TOPIC THAT THE COMMISSION HAS TAKEN UP AS THEY LOOK AT FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS OR OTHER SORTS OF REQUESTS THAT WE COULD MAKE IN THE NEAR FUTURE? I THINK MR. GRAHAM MIGHT, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. 
          YES, UH, COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU THAT THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN THIS. 
          IN FACT, UM, WE DID MAKE EFFORTS TO INVITE THE PUBLIC AS THE RMC WAS CONSIDERING THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE GAS FRANCHISE. 
          UM, VICE CHAIR ROBBINS REACHED OUT TO MEDIA. 
          WE, UH, INVITED PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. 
          WE GOT A FEW, UH, PUBLIC SPEAKERS TO COME, WHICH WE DON'T NORMALLY GET. 
          BUT I DO THINK THAT OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS, AS COUNCIL IS CONSIDERING THE READINGS OF THE FRANCHISE, THAT, UM, INVITING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION INTO IT IS, IS KEY. 
          UM, CERTAINLY THE, THE TRANSPARENCY AND THE VISIBILITY OF, UH, THE OPERATIONS WITH RESPECT TO GAS HAS, HAS, IS NOT ON THE SAME LEVEL, I THINK, IN THE CITY AS IT HAS BEEN WITH OUR MUNICIPAL UTILITIES. 
          SO, UM, I I, I TAKE THAT SUGGESTION AND, AND APPRECIATE THE, THE RECOMMENDATION FOR RMC TO DO THAT. 
          AND I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA INVITE MR. GRAHAM TO COME SIT. 
          WHERE SHOULD I, RIGHT HERE. 
          YOU GUYS SHARE A MIC, BUT I SAW YOUR HAND RAISED, SO I THINK HE'D LIKE TO COMMENT ON THIS TOO. 
          UM, THAT'S GREAT. 
          MAYBE I'LL, I'LL REPHRASE 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT THE RMC AND THE CITY COUNCIL, EVERYTHING THAT WE DELIBERATE AND VOTE ON IS ON PUBLIC RECORD AND HAS OPPORTUNITY FOR SPEAKING. 
          UM, DOES TEXAS GAS SERVICE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO COME AND SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE FOLKS SENDING THE BILLS? SO, YEAH, SO GOOD. 
          GOOD QUESTION. 
          UM, I BELIEVE THAT YOU BROUGHT THAT UP AT THIS MEETING IN DECEMBER, RIGHT? YOU DISCUSSED IT PROBABLY . 
          YEAH, NO, YOU DID. 
          SO JUST SO EVERYBODY KNOWS, I THINK IT WAS A LITTLE OVER A MONTH AGO THAT WE HAD STARTED NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE, THE STAFF AND YOUR ATTORNEYS AND YOUR OUTSIDE ATTORNEYS ON THE FRANCHISE. 
          AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT MOST OF THESE THINGS ARE IN THE FIRST VERSION OF THE FRANCHISE THAT WE'VE BEEN GIVEN. 
          UH, I THINK WE GOT THAT ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 23RD. 
          WE'VE HAD TWO IN-PERSON MEETINGS. 
          SO WE ARE IN THE, THE PROCESS OF NEGOTIATING, WHICH IS WHY I DIDN'T REALLY WANT TO DO A PRESENTATION TODAY. 
          AND AGAIN, I MEAN, THESE THINGS THAT THEY'VE TALKED ABOUT WERE IN MOST OF THEM IN SOME FORM. 
          WERE IN THE FIRST DRAFT THAT WE RECEIVED IN JANUARY. 
          AND SINCE WE'RE IN NEGOTIATIONS, I PROBABLY DON'T WANNA TALK MUCH ABOUT THOSE. 
          BUT TO YOUR QUESTION, YOUR PROPOSAL, YOUR REQUEST ON THE TWO PUBLIC MEETINGS WAS, IS IN THE, UH, THE VERSION OF THE FRANCHISE THAT WAS GIVEN TO US. 
          AND WE ARE, YOU KNOW, NEGOTIATING SOME OF THE LANGUAGE. 
          AND LIKE I SAID, I DON'T WANNA SAY TOO MUCH, BUT IT'S QUITE LIKELY THAT WE WILL AGREE TO HAVING THOSE TWO, TWO HEARINGS THAT YOU SPOKE OF. 
          SO THAT I THINK THAT ONE CAME FROM YOU. 
          I DON'T RE REMEMBER THAT SPECIFICALLY COMING FROM THE RMCI, I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND I KNOW WE, WE TEND TO HAVE OUR PUBLIC HEARINGS AND, UM, I THINK AS FOLKS THAT DON'T GET TO SET THE RATES, IT PUTS US IN A, A STICKY POSITION WHERE WE GO TO NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS AND PEOPLE SAY, WHY IS MY BILL SO HIGH? AND SURE. 
          AND WE ARE THE ONES TRYING TO EXPLAIN SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T HAVE EVERY MECHANISM, UM, AND LEVER TO BE ABLE TO PULL TO MAKE SURE THEIR VOICES ARE HEARD. 
          SO I REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THEY HAVE DIRECT ACCESS TO TEXAS GAS SERVICES. 
          SO THAT'S DE SOMETHING THAT'S TRANSPIRING ACTIVELY DISCUSSED AND NEGOTIATED RIGHT NOW. 
          OKAY. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW WE MIGHT PROCEED, UM, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN THEM. 
          OKAY. 
          I APPRECIATE IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          [01:40:01]
COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, THANK CHAIR, THANK YOU TO THE COMMISSION. 
          REALLY APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION. 
          VERY THOUGHTFUL AND AND CLEAR. 
          AND I GUESS I JUST WANNA, UH, DIRECT A QUESTION TO STAFF, AND I DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD DIRECT IT AT A CM CARBO HALL AS REPRESENTING STAFF IN THIS ONE, BUT, UM, I WANNA REQUEST IF STAFF COULD PROVIDE AN OFFLINE, UH, FOLLOW UP TO, TO THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS REGARDING THE FEASIBILITY OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, INCLUDING LEGAL FE FEASIBILITY. 
          UM, YEAH, WE'D LOVE TO GO OVER TO THE WHOLE LIST, BUT IN PARTICULAR WANNA LOOK AT THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, REPORTING AND REGULATION, THE LEAK DETECTION REQUIREMENTS, AND THE LOW INCOME ASSISTANCE. 
          GOOD MORNING, SUSANNA CARLA, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER STAFF IS, UH, POTENTIALLY PLANNING ON, UH, COMING TO THE COMMITTEE MEETING IN MARCH AND CAN CERTAINLY PROVIDE SOME FOLLOW UP INFORMATION ON THOSE QUESTIONS. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          THANKS SO MUCH. 
          VERY GOOD. 
          COUNCILMAN UCHIN, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND A LOT OF, I THINK, UH, VERY HELPFUL COMPARISONS TO OTHER, OTHER PROGRAMS AND MUNICIPALITIES AND UTILITIES THAT MAY BE BEHAVING AS ENHANCED CORPORATE CITIZENS COMPARED TO WHAT WE MAY, UH, BE LOOKING AT HERE. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO FIGURE OUT, AND MAYBE YOU COULD HELP ME FIGURE OUT BETWEEN EITHER STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE OR TEXAS GAS SERVICES PERSPECTIVE, IN TERMS OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS LAID OUT IN THE FOUR BUCKETS, WHICH ONES DO YOU SENSE MAY BE MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD TO IMPLEMENT? I DUNNO IF STAFF WANTS TO TAKE THAT OR YOU WANNA VOLUNTEER AN ANSWER FROM DETECTIVE GAS SERVICES PERSPECTIVE? UM, WELL, LIKE, LIKE I SAID, WE ARE IN THE NEGOTIATIONS. 
          I, I THINK A COUPLE THINGS ARE TO BEAR IN MIND. 
          I THINK, LIKE PAUL, FOR EXAMPLE, AND I'VE TALKED TO PAUL ABOUT SOME OF THESE ISSUES FOR 20 SOME YEARS. 
          I, I THINK THERE'S THIS FEELING LIKE WE'RE ANALOGOUS TO AUSTIN ENERGY AND I THINK THE, THE, UM, THE TRUTH IS WE'RE, WE'RE VERY DIFFERENT IN SOME IMPORTANT WAYS. 
          YOU KNOW WHAT, ONE WAY I I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT IS THE CONSUMPTION FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS. 
          IT'S COMPLETELY WEATHER RELATED AND IT HAPPENS IN A MUCH SHORTER TIMEFRAME, YOU KNOW, SO, YOU KNOW, 60% OF THE GAS PEOPLE CONS CONSUME IN A YEAR CAN HAPPEN IN TWO MONTHS, RIGHT? SO THE PROFILE IS DIFFERENT. 
          SO DESIGNING THE RATES IS MORE CHALLENGING BECAUSE OF THAT. 
          LOOK AT TODAY, IT'S END OF FEBRUARY, IT'S GONNA BE 85 DEGREES, RIGHT? SO NO ONE'S USING GAS TODAY. 
          AND YOU KNOW, SO IT, SOME OF THESE THINGS, SO ONE OF THE THINGS, THE UM, THE UH, PROGRESSIVE RATE DESIGN FOR GAS UTILITY IS VERY DIFFICULT, RIGHT? OUR COSTS ARE THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE YEAR. 
          AND WHAT THAT DOES, IT, IT REQUIRES US TO DESIGN A WAY TO RECOVER COSTS IN JUST A COUPLE MONTHS. 
          AND IF THE USAGE DOESN'T HAPPEN THE WAY IT'S PREDICTED, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS, RIGHT? AND AGAIN, OUR COSTS ARE THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND THAT'S ASKING US TO RECOVER A VERY HIGH PERCENTAGE OF 'EM OVER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. 
          SO THEIR, THEIR REQUEST FOR US TO DO THAT, ESPECIALLY OUTSIDE OF A RATE CASE, IS, IS CHALLENGING. 
          WE'RE LOOKING AT IT, I HAVE A MEETING THIS AFTERNOON WITH OUR RATES GROUP, 'CAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT. 
          I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW TOO, ON THE LOW INCOME RATE, THE RATE CASE THAT WE PROPOSED AND FILED IN IN JUNE HAD A PROVISION FOR A LOW INCOME RATE, A SEPARATE RATE FOR LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS. 
          AND UNFORTUNATELY WITH ALL THE PARTIES, IT DIDN'T MAKE IT THROUGH. 
          OKAY? AND SO WE, WE TRIED TO DO THAT. 
          YOU KNOW, ANOTHER DIFFERENCE FOR US IS THAT WE'RE IN 105 CITIES IN TEXAS RIGHT NOW. 
          MAYBE 30% OF THE CUSTOMERS ARE IN AUSTIN, BUT WE'RE IN 105 DIFFERENT CITIES AND I THINK AUSTIN WATER AND AUSTIN, UH, ENERGY ARE NOT, RIGHT? THEY MAY HAVE A HANDFUL OF CUSTOMERS AND SOME OTHER, SO THERE'S SOME OTHER ISSUES. 
          WE WENT THROUGH A RATE CASE IN ORDER TO GET THE SAME THE CUS RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS IN EL PASO, AUSTIN, GALVESTON, TO PAY THE SAME RATE, RIGHT? AND SO THERE IS A RELUCTANCE TO ALL OF A SUDDEN GO BACK AND CARVE OUT 30% AND HAVE DIFFERENT RATE STRUCTURES, RIGHT? IT'S KIND OF GOING AGAINST. 
          SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, THAT ONE'S GOTTA BE DIFFICULT. 
          I THINK IT'S LIKELY WE ARE GONNA MAKE SOME SORT OF PROPOSAL THOUGH. 
          UM, IT MAY NOT BE EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO, THERE'S A LOT OF LOT OF CHALLENGES TO DOING THIS. 
          WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU GET DOWN IN THE WEEDS, 
          [01:45:01]
YOU KNOW, WE'RE OPEN TO HAVING AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM. 
          THE ONE THING NO ONE'S TOLD ME IS WHETHER AUSTIN ENERGY IS WILLING TO DO THIS AND WHAT THEY WOULD CHARGE FOR, RIGHT? I NO ONE'S, I'VE ASKED THAT SEVERAL TIMES THAT NO ONE'S ANSWERED. 
          SO I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF THIS TOO. 
          AND AGAIN, I THINK YOU GUYS HEARD AT YOUR DECEMBER MEETING THE FRANCHISE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A LEASE OF THE CITY'S RIGHT OF WAY. 
          AND SO SOME OF THESE, IT'S NOT A RATE PROCEEDING. 
          SO SOME OF THESE THINGS ARE CHALLENGING TO DO OUTSIDE OF A, WHAT'S CALLED A STATEMENT OF INTENT, A RATE, A RATE CASE. 
          SO, SO ANYWAY, I WANT YOU TO KNOW WE ARE LOOKING EARNESTLY AT ALL OF THESE THINGS AND TRYING TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, LIKE YOURS. 
          I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE, I MEAN, WE, I THINK WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO SAY YES, WE'LL DO THE PUBLIC MEETINGS, RIGHT? BUT, BUT CHANGING THE RATES AND SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS ARE TRICKIER. 
          THEY'RE JUST NOT THAT EASY. 
          AND I THINK WE'RE UNDER A, A BIT OF A TIME CRUNCH, TO BE HONEST, BECAUSE THE GOAL IS TO BRING THIS TO YOU IN MAY. 
          THAT'S THE STAFF'S, THAT'S YOUR STAFF'S GOAL IS TO BRING THIS TO YOU IN MAY. 
          SO ANYWAY, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE. 
          THANK YOU MR. GRANT, FOR HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THOSE DIFFERENCES. 
          UM, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'LL, YOU'RE, YOU'RE THINKING TO YOUR POINT, EARNESTLY ABOUT HOW TO APPROACH, WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR, I SUPPOSE, A PROPOSAL OR, OR AN UPDATE FROM STAFF ABOUT A PROPOSAL THAT YOU ALL ARE MAKING TO TRY AND ADDRESS SOME OR ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT BUCKETS. 
          MR. ROBINSON, DO YOU WANNA JUMP IN? UH, REGARDING THE TIME CRUNCH IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IF BOTH PARTIES WISH TO POSTPONE THINGS, THEN THAT'S, THEN, THEN THE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT CAN BE EXTENDED. 
          I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT IT BE EXTENDED INDEFINITELY. 
          I AM SUGGESTING THAT IF IF IT'S NOT DONE EXACTLY IN MAY, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT STILL CANNOT HAPPEN. 
          UH, REGARDING, UH, IT IS TRUE THAT, UM, THERE IS, UH, A LOT A GREAT DEAL OF TEXAS GAS SERVICES CONSUMPTION IS IN THE WINTER, AND THAT'S WHY THEY HAVE A WEATHER NORMALIZATION CHARGE. 
          UH, ANY OF YOU WHO HAVE GAS SERVICE LOOK ON YOUR BILL AND YOU WILL SEE IT PROMINENTLY. 
          UM, AND, UM, THEY, UH, IF THEY HAVE A WARM WINTER, THEY ADJUST FOR IT. 
          THEY GET THEIR DUE. 
          UH, AS STATED IN THE LAST RATE CASE, I DO NOT VIEW THAT PARTICULAR CONCERN, UH, AS, AS A, A CHALLENGE OR A PROBLEM. 
          UM, AND REGARDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, RAN IT. 
          IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE I WAS ACTIVE, UH, IN THAT, UH, IN THE 1980S. 
          AND WHEN TEXAS GAS, THE PREDECESSOR OF TEXAS GAS SERVICE, SOUTHERN UNION GAS, UH, FIRST WAS, UH, MANDATED TO CARRY OUT CONSERVATION PROGRAMS, THEY DID THINGS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT'S BEING DONE. 
          THEY USED IT AS A MARKETING PROGRAM AND THE CITY CALLED THEM ON IT. 
          AND THE CITY BASICALLY, UH, TOOK THE PROGRAMS OVER FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS. 
          UH, AND THEY RAN THEM COST EFFICIENTLY. 
          UH, I THINK THE WAY THE LAW WORKS IS THAT THE RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS REGULATES NATURAL GAS CONSERVATION PROGRAMS RUN BY NATURAL GAS COMPANIES. 
          IF THE CITY WERE TO COLLECT THE REVENUE FROM A FRANCHISE FEE OR A BILL WRITER AND RUN ITS OWN PROGRAM, THAT WOULD NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE, BE SUBJECT TO RAILROAD COMMISSION RULES. 
          THANK YOU, PAUL. 
          AND IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'VE GOT, AT LEAST CERTAINLY I'VE GOT SOME HOMEWORK TO DO TO FIGURE OUT WHAT SORT OF, UH, ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS THE CITY RAN, YOU KNOW, 2, 3, 4 DECADES AGO. 
          AND, AND WHILE WE GOT OUT OF THAT SPACE, I JUST WANNA ASK MR. GRAHAM REALLY QUICKLY, IF HE'S ON THE SAME PAGE AS FAR AS POSTPONEMENT OR DELAYING THIS OR HAVING A, WHAT I WAS, IT WOULD BE A TEMPORARY. 
          UM, SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, THE REBATE PROGRAMS? NO, I'M TALKING ABOUT WHAT, UM, MR. ROBS JUST MENTIONED AGO, WHICH IS THAT IT MAY BE 
          [01:50:01]
POSSIBLE GIVEN THAT THE TIMEFRAMES THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED, WHETHER IF BOTH PARTIES AGREE TO POSTPONE THIS SO THAT WE'RE NOT UNDER THE SAME DURESS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS. 
          OH, OKAY. 
          SO CITY STAFF. 
          SO THE, THE CHARTER HAS CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR, FOR THE CITY AND FRANCHISES. 
          OKAY? SO ONE OF THEM, HE TALKED ABOUT THE CITY HAS THE RIGHT TO PURCHASE A SYSTEM LIKE THAT'S A CHARTER REQUIREMENT. 
          AND I'M NOT AN ATTORNEY. 
          MAYBE SUSANNA CAN HELP, BUT I THINK THE CHARTER SAYS THE FRANCHISE HAS TO BE APPROVED, SOMETHING LIKE THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS, NO SOONER THAN 30 DAYS. 
          SO STAFF TRIED TO FIND WHEN THERE WERE THREE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS WITHIN 30 DAYS, AND BECAUSE OF THE SUMMER SCHEDULE AND THE BUDGET AND STUFF, THEY'VE IDENTIFIED, UM, TWO, I THINK TWO IN MAY AND ONE IN JUNE. 
          AND SO THAT'S THE GOAL TO GET IT DONE. 
          NOW, YOU'RE RIGHT, THEORETICALLY, IF WE DON'T GET IT DONE, I MEAN, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IF IT EXPIRES OR WE, YOU KNOW, IT LAPSED FOR A MONTH AND WE DOESN'T GET APPROVED TILL NOVEMBER. 
          LIKE, BUT, BUT PART OF THIS IS KIND OF DICTATED BY YOUR COUNCIL SCHEDULE LIKE THAT, THAT'S WHY THEY WANT TO, WHY THEY WANT TO GET ONE DONE AND BRING IT TO YOU IN MAY. 
          THAT'S THE REASON TO COMPLY WITH THE CHARTERS REQUIREMENT. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          IT SOUNDS LIKE I'VE GOT A BIT OF HOMEWORK TO DO ON THAT AS WELL. 
          THANKS, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UM, ONE QUESTION AND THEN KIND OF JUST A COMMENT. 
          I, I'M SURE YOU GET THE QUESTION ALL THE TIME. 
          WE GET THE QUESTION ALL THE TIME WHEN SOMEONE SAYS, WHY HAS MY GAS BILL GONE UP SO MUCH OVER THE PAST 2, 3, 5 YEARS? WHAT, FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, WHAT'S THE ANSWER? WELL, YEAH, THAT'S A TOUGH QUESTION. 
          SO TWO THINGS, YOU KNOW, ONE IS THERE WAS INFLATION, RIGHT? THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO, SEVEN 8%. 
          SO PART OF THAT'S JUST RECOVERING THE O AND M COSTS. 
          THAT'S WHAT THE RATE CASES WERE FOR, TO RECOVER THE, UH, THE O AND M COSTS. 
          YOU KNOW, YOU HEARD SHAY FROM THE WATER UTILITY TALK ABOUT WHAT INFLATION'S DONE TO CONSTRUCTION COSTS, RIGHT? SO, SO THERE IS A PIECE OF THAT. 
          I THINK THE OTHER PIECE IS WE HAVE A DISPROPORTIONATE, KIND OF LIKE THE WATER UTILITY, A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF OUR OLD VINTAGE PIPE IN AUSTIN, LIKE IN THIS STATE, A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF IT IS HERE IN CENTRAL AUSTIN. 
          AND WE, YOU KNOW, FOR SAFETY REASONS AND A BUNCH OF OTHER REASONS, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, AGGRESSIVELY REMOVING A LOT OF THAT PIPE. 
          OKAY? AND SO THAT'S EXPENSIVE AND IT'S EXPENSIVE TO DO IN AUSTIN. 
          AND SO TILL WE GET OVER THE HUMP AND GET MOST OF THAT REMOVED, IT'S GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT OF A PROBLEM. 
          BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, THE OTHER THING IS WE DID HAVE A RATE CASE, WHICH WAS FILED LAST JUNE, OKAY? THAT WAS JUST SETTLED A FEW WEEKS AGO, RIGHT? THAT WAS TO CONSOLIDATE TO HAVE ONE SERVICE AREA. 
          THE RATES FOR AUSTIN CUSTOMERS ACTUALLY WENT DOWN A HAIR, NOT MUCH, BUT THEY DID GO DOWN BECAUSE WE HAD TO SOME OTHER, SOME PARTS OF THE STATE, THE RATES WENT UP SO THAT EVERYONE PAYS THE SAME AMOUNT. 
          AND SO, JUST JUST SO EVERYBODY KNOWS, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS SOMEBODY THAT WAS SPEAKING, YOU KNOW, AT THE VERY BEGINNING, AND IT KIND OF GOES TO MY POINT, I MEAN, NOBODY WANTS TO PAY A LOT. 
          I HAVE A HIGH GAS BILL, BUT PEOPLE ALSO FORGET THAT IF THERE'S A COLD PERIOD, THEY'RE GONNA USE MORE, THE BILL'S GONNA BE HIGHER, RIGHT? SO, UM, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT PARTICULAR ANYTHING ABOUT THAT ISSUE, BUT I'VE EXPERIENCED THAT FOR 25 YEARS WHERE PEOPLE TELL ME HOW LOW THE BILLS ARE, THEN ONE MONTH THEY'RE LIKE, OH MY GOD, WHAT HAPPENED? IT'S LIKE, WELL, IT WAS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS IN THE TWENTIES AND THIRTIES FOR A WEEK, RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED. 
          SO I WOULD SAY JUST O AND M COSTS AND THE COST OF REPLACING OLD PIPE IS THE, THE MAJOR COMPONENTS. 
          WELL, AS YOU GUYS DO, DO YOUR NEGOTIATION, AND I KNOW THAT'S FOR YOU AND THE ATTORNEYS, SO I'M NOT EXPECTING YOU TO NEGOTIATE WITH US HERE TODAY. 
          UM, BUT JUST AS YOU OR CAN SPEAK WITH YOUR TEAM ABOUT, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU'VE HEARD A LOT OF THINGS ABOUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO, UM, THIS COMMITTEE, THIS COUNCIL, UH, I'LL CERTAINLY REITERATE THE EFFICIENCIES, UM, THOSE PROGRAMS AND THE, THE CAPITAL RECOVERY ELEMENT. 
          AND I KNOW THAT'S A REALLY DIFFICULT ONE, UM, WITHIN YOUR ORGANIZATION AND, AND, AND I, I GET BOTH SIDES, BUT, UM, I THINK ABOUT THAT PIECE AND ITS EFFECT ON CUSTOMERS AND, UH, WOULD REALLY LIKE FOR US TO, TO DRILL DOWN ON THAT AND SEE WHAT WE CAN ACCOMPLISH. 
          SO I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE, APPRECIATE THE RMC FOR BEING HERE. 
          UH, IT IS SOMETHING WE DO SO INFREQUENTLY, UH, BUT WE WILL SEE HOW THIS PLAYS OUT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS. 
          ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND WITH THAT 
          [01:55:01]
A FEW MINUTES EARLY 1126, IF THERE'S, OH WAIT, WAIT. 
          OH, I ALMOST FORGOT. 
          I ALMOST FORGOT OUR FRIENDS OVER IT. 
          A RR. 
          SO THERE WAS 
          [5. On-Demand Collection Program Calendar Year Update memo dated February 19, 2026. Sponsors: Council Member Ryan Alter, and Council Member Paige Ellis]
A, A MEMO, THIS IS ITEM NUMBER FIVE ABOUT THE ON-DEMAND COLLECTION PROGRAM. 
          IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN DOES HAVE A QUESTION OR TWO. 
          UM, THEY ARE HERE FOR YOU TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS. 
          THEY DON'T HAVE A FORMAL PRESENTATION. 
          JUST A, A FOLLOW UP ON THE MEMO. 
          SO COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN, THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          I WANNA JUST PREFACE MY QUESTIONS BY SAYING THIS HAS BEEN A CHALLENGING ISSUE FOR US, PARTICULARLY IN THE SPACE OF WILDFIRE MITIGATION. 
          UH, AND APPRECIATE THE MEMO AND APPRECIATE THE UPDATES. 
          I KNOW THAT WE VISITED SIX MONTHS AGO, WE HAD ASKED FOR SOME ADDITIONAL DATA THAT I'M HOPING YOU CAN STILL HELP FURNISH, WHICH IS THINGS LIKE, UH, THE MONTHLY DATA GOING BACK FIVE YEARS. 
          I KNOW YOU COMPARE 24 AND 25, IT LOOKS LIKE IN THE TABLE, ONE OF THE MEMO. 
          UH, BUT IT'D BE HELPFUL TO US TO UNDERSTAND SORT OF WHAT THE TRAJECTORY WAS UNTIL WE MADE THIS CHANGE TO SWITCH TO, UH, ON DEMAND PICKUP. 
          AND THEN RELATED TO THAT, THERE'S A CONCERN THAT THE FEEDBACK THAT WE TEND TO GET, AT LEAST FROM CONSTITUENTS, IS A LOT MORE BALANCED. 
          THAT WAS IN THE REPORT, RIGHT? WE'VE GOT, I THINK, SOME FOLKS THAT ARE JUST WARY OF CHANGE AND ARE UNACCUSTOMED TO IT AND CHANGE IS HARD. 
          I THINK WE'VE GOT SOME FOLKS THAT HAVE SOME REAL GRIEVANCES OR CHALLENGES. 
          I TALKED TO ONE GUY TWO DAYS AGO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, HE LEFT STUFF OUT, PICK UP CAME, THEY DIDN'T SEE IT. 
          THEY DID KNOCK ON THE DOOR, THEY WERE ABOUT TO TAKE OFF. 
          HE LITERALLY HAD TO JUMP IN FRONT OF THE TRUCK TO MAKE SURE IT GOT PICKED UP. 
          SO I, I'M SENSING THAT THERE ARE, THERE'S SOME FEEDBACK THAT PERHAPS YOUR SURVEYS MAY NOT BE PICKING UP THAT I NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CONVEY TO YOU ALL OR HOW TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET CONSTITUENTS TO CONVEY TO YOU ALL THAT MAY NOT BE CAPTURED IN WHAT IS BEING SHARED RIGHT NOW ARE, ARE MEASURED. 
          TWO OTHER THINGS I WANNA TOUCH ON VERY QUICKLY. 
          ONE IS, YOU KNOW, MY DEEP CONCERN RIGHT NOW IS THAT BETWEEN THE 24 AND 25 NUMBERS, IT LOOKS LIKE BRUSH PICKUP IS DOWN 62%. 
          UH, THAT'S TROUBLING TO ME FROM A, AGAIN, FROM A WILDFIRE MITIGATION PERSPECTIVE, I REALIZE THEY ARE CHANGES AND WE'RE HOPING PEOPLE BECOME EDUCATED IN THIS NEW SYS THIS, YOU KNOW, THE NEW APPROACH. 
          UH, BUT THAT'S A DRAMATIC AMOUNT OF TONNAGE BETWEEN THOSE TWO YEARS. 
          AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE IS A STRATEGY TO BUILD ON THE EXISTING EDUCATION EFFORTS OR WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP ADDRESS THAT. 
          I DO REALIZE THAT THERE ARE COST SAVINGS ATTACHED TO THE PICKUPS, UM, THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD TO PAY FOR AS A RESULT OF REDUCED TONNAGE. 
          BUT IF I'M BALANCING OUT FIRE MITIGATION AGAINST, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OF COST SAVINGS, I'LL PROBABLY PICK FIRE MITIGATION EVERY TIME. 
          SO I'M HOPING YOU CAN JUST SPEAK TO HOW DO WE, UH, IF YOU ALL FEEL LIKE WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK HERE, IF BASED ON THE NUMBERS, BECAUSE THE REST OF THE REPORT OR MEMO, UH, SEEMS VERY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE DIRECTION WE'RE HEADED. 
          BUT IF I DIG INTO THE YEAR TO YEAR DATA CHANGES, IT MAKES ME WORRY ABOUT THE SWITCH. 
          SO I'D LOVE TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW WE CAN, UM, GET BACK TO THE 24 4 NUMBERS OR WHAT THE PLAN IS GOING FORWARD FOR HOW TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE CONCERNS I JUST LAID OUT. 
          YEAH, THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, AMY SLAGEL, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY. 
          SO, UH, WE DID SEE THOSE, UH, BRUSH NUMBERS DROP, UH, IN 2025. 
          UM, I, I THINK THERE'S A LOT TO BE SAID ABOUT FOLKS, UH, RECEIVING, UH, THE POSTCARD IS A REMINDER TO, TO CUT THEIR BRUSH, UH, OR SET OUT THEIR BULK ITEMS. THERE'S ALSO THE KIND OF THE VISUAL PROMPT YOU MIGHT GET FROM YOUR, FROM YOUR NEIGHBORS SEEING, UH, THAT WORK ON AS WELL. 
          UH, I THINK WHAT WE CAN DO IS WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS AT AUSTIN FIRE TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO FOCUS, UH, SOME ADDITIONAL EDUCATION EFFORTS AROUND ON DEMAND AVAILABILITY IN THESE MORE WILDFIRE PRONE AREAS. 
          YOU KNOW, UH, D 10, UH, SIX AND EIGHT ARE, ARE IMPACTED WITH THAT. 
          SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CERTAINLY WORK WITH THEM ON. 
          UH, OVER THE YEARS YOU SAW KIND OF, UH, FIVE TO 6,000 TONS PER YEAR, UH, WAS OUR, OUR GENERAL, UH, BRUSH CONSUMPTION. 
          OBVIOUSLY YOU HAD THE SPIKE IN 2023 AROUND WINTER STORM MARA. 
          UH, AND THEN WE ALSO THINK SOME OF THAT BRUSH MAY HAVE STILL BEEN, UH, BEING COLLECTED IN 2024. 
          SO, UH, I THINK WE'VE JUST HAD, UM, YOU ALSO HAVE DROUGHT IMPACTS THAT, UH, LEADS TO SOME OF THIS BRUSH REJECTION AS WELL. 
          SO I THINK IT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO LOOK, UH, INTERNALLY WITH OUR, OUR PARTNERS AT FIRE AND THE WILDFIRE COALITION AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DONE TO PUSH THIS MESSAGE OUT TO GET FOLKS MORE ACTIVE IN UTILIZING THAT BRUSH, UH, SERVICE. 
          ANYTHING YOU WOULD ADD DIRECTOR OR YEAH, UM, UH, RICHARD ML, DIRECTOR FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY. 
          JUST TO ADD ON TO WHAT, UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, UH, SLAGEL SAID, UM, A LOT OF THIS HAS TO DO WITH AWARENESS, SO WE'RE 
          [02:00:01]
STILL WORKING ON THAT AWARENESS. 
          UM, I THINK IF NOTIFICATION IF THAT WAS THE BIG DRIVER FOR FOLKS TO GET THEIR MATERIAL OUT, I THINK THE MORE FOLKS THAT WE CAN GET SIGNED UP ON OUR APP WHERE WE CAN PUSH OUT MESSAGING TO PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOODS, I THINK THAT'LL GO A LONG WAY INTO GETTING, GETTING THOSE NUMBERS BACK UP. 
          I DON'T THINK JUST, UH, THE FACT THAT SET OUTS ARE DOWN IS NECESSARILY AN ISSUE THAT THE GOAL OF THIS PROGRAM WAS NEC NOT NECESSARILY TO REDUCE OR TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SET OUTS, BUT REALLY TO INCREASE DIVERSION OVERALL. 
          SO, UM, I THINK WE FIND THIS, ESPECIALLY WITH THE BULKY MATERIALS WE SEE, OBVIOUSLY SET OUTS ARE DOWN THERE AS WELL. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE DID DO THE OLD SYSTEM WHERE WE SENT OUT A, A FLYER THAT WENT TO EVERYONE, EVERY TIME WE SEND ONE OF THOSE OUTS, ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO SEND THAT OUT TO, TO FOLKS. 
          SO, AND I THINK WHEN PEOPLE GOT THOSE, THEY KIND OF GO THROUGH THIS FEAR OF MISSING OUT, RIGHT? THEY GET THIS FLYER AND IT'S LIKE, OH MY GOSH, THEY'RE COMING, I GOTTA GET SOMETHING OUT. 
          SO A LOT OF TIMES WHAT WE WOULD DO, WE'D HAVE ADDITIONAL MORE SET OUTS, BUT WE'D FIND SET OUTS WITH LIKE SINGLE ITEMS, LIKE A BROOMSTICK OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. 
          SO JUST BECAUSE WE'RE HAVING LESS NUMBERS, I DON'T THINK THAT'S NECESSARILY A, UH, A PROBLEM OF INEFFICIENCIES OR, UH, I THINK IT'S MORE JUST A GREATER AWARENESS AS WE GO THROUGH THIS TRANSITION TO GET MORE PEOPLE INVOLVED. 
          AND I THINK, UH, THE WORK THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO NOW IS TO KIND OF WORK MORE WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS TO HAVE KIND OF MORE, UH, UH, PROGRAMS TO, TO DEDICATE IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF DIFFERENT AREAS OF CONCERN WHERE THERE MAY BE A LARGE AMOUNT OF BRUSH IN A, IN A, IN AN AREA THAT, UH, IS MORE FIRE PRONE. 
          SO I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE WANNA WORK WITH FIRE TO GO AND ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES. 
          WELL SPEAK. 
          I MEAN, THAT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE. 
          SO TWO DAYS AGO I WENT, I MET WITH NEIGHBORS OUT AND WE LOOKED AT BARROW NATURE PRESERVE, UH, IN MY DISTRICT. 
          AND I, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT LAURA HAS SINCE REACHED OUT TO Y'ALL FOR SOME HELP AROUND THAT BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE, WHILE WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, THE PRESERVE AND THE PRESERVE IS TREACHEROUS AND NOT EASY TO GET INTO, BUT SPECIFICALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE AT LEAST CREATE A HUNDRED FEET OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE FOR WILDFIRE PREVENTION, PREPAREDNESS REASONS, MITIGATION REASONS, AND THE SENSE WAS GOOD APART OR GO TO A PR. 
          UM, AND SO I'D LOVE TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S A BETTER STRATEGY THERE, BECAUSE THOSE NEIGHBORS ARE STRUGGLING. 
          THEY'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT CAN WE, I MEAN THEY'RE, THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT RESORTING TO USING THE INDIVIDUAL NEIGHBOR BRUSH PICKUP, THE ON DEMAND PICKUP, JUST TO HAUL THE STUFF FROM NEAR THE PRESERVE OR FROM THE A HUNDRED FEET OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE OUT TO THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL CURVES. 
          'CAUSE WE CAN'T FIGURE OUT A MORE SYSTEMATIZED WAY TO DO THIS. 
          AND THIS IS WITH THE NORTHWEST AUSTIN CIVIC ASSOCIATION HELPING US, LIKE THESE ARE THE COMMUNITY GROUPS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO COORDINATE WITH AND IT FEELS LIKE IT'S A STRUGGLE TO FIGURE OUT THE RIGHT WAY TO HELP THEM GET, AT THE VERY LEAST, THE A HUNDRED FEET OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE THAT IS ADJACENT OR, OR DIGS INTO THE, THE BIT OF THE, THE PRESERVE. 
          SO THOSE ARE THE PLACES THAT I FEEL LIKE I WOULD LOVE YOUR HELP WITH GOING FORWARD. 
          AND IF LAUREN AND I CAN FOLLOW UP AFTERWARDS AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAYBE BRAINSTORM A, A, A, A BETTER STRATEGY SO THAT WE'RE NOT JUST HAVING TO RELY ON THEM TAKING IT OUT AND THEN HAULING IT VIA TARPS OR WHATEVER ELSE, OR PAID LABOR OR VOLUNTEER LABOR OUT TO THEIR CURBS AND THEN INDIVIDUALLY CALLING DIFFERENT PLACES ALONG THE PRESERVE TO GET THE, TO GET INDIVIDUAL PICKUP SCHEDULED. 
          THAT JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE'S GOTTA BE A BETTER WAY THAN THAT. 
          YEAH, WELL WE WE'RE DEFINITELY OPEN TO HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS. 
          UM, I DON'T KNOW, I, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS GOING INTO THE PRESERVE, IF WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT, UM, SINCE WE ARE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE PICK UP THINGS OFF THE RIGHT OF WAY BASICALLY. 
          SO I THINK THERE'LL STILL BE THAT CHALLENGE, BUT I THINK WE CAN WORK ON EACH INDIVIDUAL HOMEOWNER HAVING TO MAKE A CALL AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO FOR THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          WELL IF THAT'S THE PREFERRED METHOD THEN WE'LL WORK WITH A PR AND WITH THE CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS AND TRY AND FIGURE THAT OUT. 
          I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S SORT OF YOUR VISION OF HOW WE CAN APPROACH THOSE KIND OF CIRCUMSTANCES. 
          IT IS AND, AND I THINK WE, ESPECIALLY WITH THIS PROGRAM, IT WE'RE LOOKING AT CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. 
          I MEAN, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD WE RECENTLY, THE DEPARTMENT RECENTLY, UH, WAS CERTIFIED THROUGH THE INTERNATIONAL ORATION OF STANDARDS FOR TELEQUAL MANAGEMENT. 
          SO I THINK THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A PROCESS THAT WE CAN PUT THROUGH THAT SYSTEM TO SEE WHERE WE CAN MAKE IMPROVEMENTS, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTS, TO GET IT TO WHERE, WHERE WE NEED TO BE AND NOT RELY ON THE OLD OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES THAT WE HAD IN THE PAST. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL THEN WE'LL FOLLOW UP. 
          I APPRECIATE YOUR ANSWERS. 
          THANK YOU MR. CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UM, OUR OFFICE IS ALSO GONNA FOLLOW UP WITH YOU, NOT ON THIS SPECIFICALLY, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PROGRAM, THERE'S A PROGRAM RIGHT NOW THAT IF LIKE SOMEONE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD CAN VOLUNTEER TO COLLECT WHATEVER MATERIALS AND THEY GET A SPECIAL TAG, IT DON'T HAVE TO, UM, HAVE A, A SCHEDULED DROP OFF AT THE DROP OFF CENTER. 
          THEY JUST GET TO GO. 
          WE HAVE SOMEONE IN OUR OFFICE WHO IS ONE OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS, SO KUDOS TO KRISTA, BUT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF TO REDUCE THE, THE BURDEN AND THE BARRIER FOR SOMEONE, UM, IF THAT, IF AN INDIVIDUAL WITHIN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, 
          [02:05:01]
LET'S SAY THEY'RE COLLECTING BATTERIES OR PAINT OR WHATEVER, BUT THAT THEY WOULD GET KIND OF UNLIMITED OR MORE THAN THREE PICKUPS, RIGHT? THEIR BATTERY BUCKET'S FULL. 
          INSTEAD OF HAVING TO GO TO THE REUSE CENTER, A RR WOULD COME DO THAT AND MAYBE IT'S JUST WHENEVER THEY'RE ALREADY GOING TO BE DOING SOMETHING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT BEING ABLE TO NOT REQUIRE THAT TRIP EVERY TIME IF SOMEONE IS TAKING ON THAT RESPONSIBILITY. 
          SO JUST WANNA CHAT WITH Y'ALL ABOUT THAT, UM, OFFLINE. 
          SURE, ABSOLUTELY. 
          WE'RE OPEN TO LOOKING AT THAT. 
          YOU GOT IT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          WITH THAT, WE WERE SO CLOSE. 
           I'LL CALL US ADJOURNED AT 1137. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH.
* 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.