* 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.
          . 
          OH, 
          [00:00:01]
OKAY. 
          WE'RE ALL SET. 
          THANK YOU EVERYBODY. 
          WELCOME. 
          I'M COUNCILMAN JOHN, COURAGE, CHAIR OF THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE. 
          WELCOME TO OUR MEETING TODAY FOR TUESDAY, MAY 24TH. 
          WE HAVE, UH, SEVERAL ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA TODAY, BUT LET'S GO AHEAD AND BEGIN WITH ROLL CALL, PLEASE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER BRAVO HERE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. 
          HERE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER CAVEO VARDA. 
          HERE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL. 
          HERE, CHAIR. 
          COURAGE HERE, SIR. 
          WE HAVE A QUORUM. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS WE HAVE ARE 
          [Approval of Minutes
 ]
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF OUR APRIL 26TH MEETING. 
          DID ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THOSE MINUTES? AND IF I DON'T HEAR ANY, WOULD SOMEONE LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THOSE? SECOND. 
          SECOND. 
          OKAY. 
          A MOTION'S BEEN MADE AND SECONDED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM APRIL 26TH. 
          NO QUESTIONS, NO CONCERNS. 
          ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. 
          AYE. 
          AYE. 
          ANY OPPOSED? HEARING NONE. 
          THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED. 
          UH, WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT 
          [Public Comment
 ]
AT THIS TIME, AND I ALSO WANNA BRING UP THAT, UH, FOR WHATEVER REASON, THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE WHO MISSED EARLY SIGNING UP. 
          AND I KNOW WE HAD SET KIND OF A, A GOAL FOR OURSELVES OF NOT, OF HAVING PEOPLE SIGN UP AT LEAST AN HOUR AHEAD OF TIME. 
          THERE WERE A COUPLE OF INDIVIDUALS WHO DIDN'T MEET THAT, WHO DID WANNA SPEAK. 
          I'D LIKE TO ASK THE COMMITTEE IF THERE'S ANY OBJECTIONS TO ALLOWING THOSE PEOPLE TO GO AHEAD AND SPEAK. 
          NO, SIR. 
          OKAY. 
          I DON'T HEAR ANY OBJECTIONS THEN. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WE WILL GO AHEAD AND BEGIN WITH PUBLIC COMMENT AND WE'LL CALL UP THE PEOPLE WHO'VE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS. 
          JAMES SMILE. 
          GOOD MORNING, AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS YOU TODAY. 
          MY NAME IS JIM SMILE. 
          I'M A MEMBER OF THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AN APPOINTEE OF, UH, COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL, AND I'M PARTICULARLY, UM, FOLLOWING UP ON AFFORDABILITY ISSUES. 
          I WANTED TO BRIEFLY ADDRESS, UH, TWO THINGS TODAY, UM, RELEVANT TO AGENDA ITEMS NUMBER TWO AND THREE RELATIVE TO AGENDA ITEM TWO ON THE 2022 BUDGET. 
          I'D SPECIFICALLY LIKE TO MENTION THE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEE ESTIMATES. 
          THOSE ARE THE IMPACT FEES THAT ARE PAID BY DEVELOPERS. 
          THE, UH, LAST FEW YEARS, THE, UM, BUDGET TENDS TO SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERESTIMATE THE AMOUNT OF FEES THAT ARE GOING TO BE COLLECTED. 
          IT'S BEEN FLAT SINCE 2019 WITH, UH, UH, THESE LAST THREE YEARS, INCLUDING THE 2022 BUDGET, AN ESTIMATE OF $100 MILLION TO BE COLLECTED IN 2021. 
          $137 MILLION WAS COLLECTED IN 2019. 
          IT WAS 120 MILLION. 
          NOW, I UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES. 
          YOU DON'T WANT TO, UH, OVERESTIMATE AND NOT COLLECT, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, THE OVERESTIMATES, THE, THOSE FUNDS ARE ADDED ON TO WHAT RATE PAYERS ARE CURRENTLY COVERING. 
          SO, WHILE I THINK IT'S GOOD TO HAVE A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE NOW THAT WE'RE GETTING UP TO CLOSE TO 40% LAST YEAR, AND IN 2022, WE'RE STILL USING THAT SAME A HUNDRED MILLION, AND WE KNOW THAT GROWTH RATES ARE, UH, CONTINUE TO BE HIGH, I THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, UH, GOOD FOR THE RATE PAYERS IN GENERAL, IF TRIED TO MAINTAIN CLOSER TO THAT 15% AVERAGE, UM, CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE THAT YOU'VE BEEN USING FOR THE, WELL, IT'S WHAT'S COME OUT OVER THE LAST DECADE IS A CONTINGENCY OF ABOUT 15% AND IT'S CREEPING UP. 
          AND AGAIN, UH, THOSE ADDITIONAL FUNDS COME OUT OF THE POCKETS OF THE RATE PAYERS. 
          THE SECOND THING I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION IS ON THE, UH, RECYCLED WATER. 
          THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE RACK IS GOING TO BE CONTINUING TO DISCUSS, BUT, UH, WHAT I'D LIKE TO MENTION IS IN THE 2019 RACK, THERE WAS A CONSENSUS REACHED ON RAISING THE RATES OF THE RECYCLED WATER. 
          UM, 15% THE FIRST YEAR, 10% EACH YEAR, AFTER THE GENTLEMAN WHO'S THE VICE CHAIR OF THE RACK RIGHT NOW ACTUALLY CONSULTED WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS, UM, IN THAT. 
          AND THERE WAS AGREEMENT AMONGST MAJOR CUSTOMERS SUCH AS TOYOTA, THAT THAT WOULD BE AN ACCEPTABLE RATE INCREASE. 
          UH, THE CURRENT RACK HAS NOT YET, UH, UH, COME TO ANY DECISION ON THAT, BUT I WOULD, UH, UM, PROPOSE TO, OR I WILL BE PROPOSING TO THE RACK THAT WE STAY WITH THE 2019 PROPOSED INCREASES, UM, AND START GETTING DOWN THAT $6 MILLION SUBSIDY THAT, UH, OTHER RATE PAYERS ARE PICKING UP RIGHT NOW FOR THE RECYCLED WATER. 
          AND I WOULD ALSO PROPOSE RIGHT NOW ONLY THE IRRIGATION CLASS 
          [00:05:01]
AND THE RESIDENTIAL CLASS ARE PAYING THAT SUBSIDY. 
          UH, WHEREAS IT WOULD SEEM TO MAKE SENSE THAT ALL THREE CLASSES, INCLUDING THE GENERAL CLASS, UH, HELP PAY FOR THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, MR. SMILE. 
          OKAY, NEXT, TERRY BURNS. 
          UH, HI. 
          THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. 
          MY NAME IS, UH, TERRY BURNS. 
          I'M THE FORMER CHAIR OF THE SHARE CLUB. 
          AND, UM, UH, THE SHARE CLUB HAS FOLLOWED THE RAC PROCESS FOR YEARS AND, UH, MYSELF INCLUDED, AND WE, UH, ARE STRONGLY SUPPORTIVE OF A PROCESS THAT MAXIMIZES WATER CONSERVATION WHILE PROVIDING AFFORDABLE WATER AS A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT TO THE MOST NEEDY AMONG US. 
          WE'RE PLEASED THAT THE RACK IS LOOKING TO CORRECT SOME OF THE EGREGIOUS EFFECTS OF THE 2015 RATES. 
          MOST PEC, ESPECIALLY THE LARGE INCREASES IN FIXED FEES, UH, THESE, UH, AMOUNT, THESE SHOULD BE LOWERED SIGNIFICANTLY. 
          AND SOME CITIES IN TEXAS HAVE TWO FIXED TIERS. 
          ONE THAT'S, UH, MUCH LOWER FOR MOST NEEDY RESIDENTS. 
          THE EIGHT TIERS OF VOLUMETRIC USE NEED TO BE CHANGED. 
          AND SOUS HAS NEVER DEMONSTRATED THEIR SUCCESS AS A DETERRENT TO HIGH CONSUMPTION. 
          THE LOWER TIERS NEED REDUCED CHARGES AND THE HIGHER TIERS INCREASED, UH, WHICH SHOULD ALSO BE TIED TO PENALTY SURCHARGES DURING TIMES OF DROUGHT, SUCH AS WE'RE IN NOW. 
          MY NEIGHBORHOOD USED 10,000 GALLONS LAST MONTH, WHEREAS WE USED 2000 AND WE STILL HAVE A PRETTY NICE LOOKING YARD. 
          SO THERE'S A LOT OF PROGRESS THAT COULD BE MADE IF WE REALLY TRIED. 
          UM, SAS IS AFRAID OF LOSS OF REVENUE IF THEY IMPLEMENT S REAL, UH, DROUGHT SURCHARGES AND VOLUMETRIC TIERS THAT ACTUALLY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO CON CONSERVE. 
          UH, INSTEAD, SAS SHOULD BUDGET FOR THESE EFFECTS AND MANAGE THEM. 
          WE'RE IN A CLIMATE CRISIS. 
          DENIAL IS REALLY NO LONGER AN OPTION. 
          WE NEED TO CONSERVE AND WE NEED TO STOP CALLING SAN ANTONIO WATERFALL. 
          I URGE THIS COMMITTEE TO ASK FOR EVIDENCE OF CONSERVATION IMPACTS OF CURRENT WATER RATES. 
          ASK FOR CALCULATED FULL WATER BILL COSTS PER A HUNDRED GALLONS, NOT THE SUBDIVIDED COSTS YOU'RE PROVIDED. 
          YOU WILL SEE MUCH HIGHER RELATIVE COSTS FOR LOW VOLUME USERS AS, UH, AN ANALYSIS BY MR. SMILES A COUPLE YEARS AGO SHOWED, UH, FINALLY, I URGE YOU TO ASK FOR MORE AGGRESSIVE TIERED GENERAL CLASS RATES, ESPECIALLY FOR THE EXTREMELY HIGH VOLUME USERS DRAWN TO OUR CITY BY OUR ADVERTISED CHEAP WATER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UH, AT THIS TIME, WE'RE GOING TO ENTER INTO OUR, UH, BRIEFING 
          [Briefing and Possible Action on the following items
 ]
POSSIBLE ACTION ON ITEMS, BUT THE, UH, CITY ATTORNEY WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND CLARIFY SOMETHING. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          UH, YES. 
          THE FIRST ITEM IS AN INFORMATIONAL BRIEFING BY SAWS ON THEIR BUDGET. 
          AND I JUST WANTED TO SET BECAUSE OF, OF, WE DO HAVE A LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND STRUCTURE WE NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF. 
          UH, WE ALL KNOW THAT SAWS IS OWNED BY THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, BUT IT'S MANAGED BY SEVEN MEMBER BOARD OF TRUSTEES. 
          AND WHILE THE CITY COUNCIL RETAINS OVERSIGHT FOR SAWS RATES AND BOND ISSUANCES, AS WELL AS BOARD APPOINTMENTS, UH, THE BOND COVENANTS OF SAWS CALL THAT CALL FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF THE SYSTEM, UH, UH, LIES WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES. 
          SAS ROUTINELY PROVIDES BRIEFINGS TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON THIS COMMITTEE ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF ITS BUSINESS OPERATIONS. 
          AND THIS BUDGET PRESENTATION IS PART OF THOSE INFORMATIONAL BRIEFINGS. 
          UH, WE DO KNOW THAT AS MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL, MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE, UH, WILL EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS. 
          THEY WILL ASK QUESTIONS, TALK ABOUT, UH, UH, WHAT, WHAT THEY SEE AS THE, UH, PRIORITIES. 
          BUT, UH, THE COMMITTEE WILL NOT DIRECT INSTRUCT, REQUIRE OR MANDATE ANY PARTICULAR ACTION FROM THE SAS BOARD OR THE LEADERSHIP OR STAFF, BECAUSE WE ALL RECOGNIZE THAT THE SASS BOARD OF TRUSTEES WILL ULTIMATELY REVIEW AND CONSIDER AND APPROVE THE SASS BUDGET. 
          UH, SO THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          I JUST WANTED TO SET, SET, SET OUT THAT FRAMEWORK. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          AND I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THE, UH, ATTENDANCE OF THE SAS BOARD CHAIR AND THEIR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT THE MEETING TODAY. 
          THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE, SIR. 
          OUR C E O I SHOULD SAY THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UH, YES. 
          OH, JUST ONE THING. 
          WE DID HAVE ONE OTHER SPEAKER. 
          I DON'T THINK THEY'RE HERE, BUT I JUST WANNA CONFIRM THAT THEY ARE HERE. 
          THEY SIGNED UP AS TB. 
          THAT WOULD'VE BEEN MR. BURNS, I THINK. 
          YES. 
          OKAY. 
          SO JUST TO, JUST TO CONFIRM. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          OKAY, LET'S GO ON TO, UH, 
          [00:10:01]
OUR ITEMS. ITEM NUMBER TWO IS A BRIEFING BY THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM ON THE SAWS FISCAL YEAR 2022 OPERATING BUDGET AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 
          WE'LL BE HEARING FROM DOUG. 
          GOOD MORNING CHAIRMAN, COURAGE FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          MY NAME IS DOUG EVANSON. 
          I'M HERE THIS MORNING TO PROVIDE YOU A BRIEFING ON SAS 2022 ANNUAL BUDGET, ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 
          JUST AS A REMINDER, SAWS HAS A CALENDAR FISCAL YEAR. 
          SO WE RUN FROM JANUARY ONE THROUGH DECEMBER 31. 
          A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN THE CITIES, WHICH IS, UH, I BELIEVE IN OCTOBER ONE, UH, TO SEPTEMBER 30 FISCAL YEAR, AS WELL AS DIFFERENT THAN CPSS. 
          SO WE'RE ALL A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. 
          SO I WANNA BEGIN BY JUST CITING A SECTION PULLED DIRECTLY FROM SAWS FOUNDING ORDINANCE, WHICH WAS PASSED BACK IN 1992. 
          OBVIOUSLY GETS A LITTLE AWARE STILL, UM, BUT IT SAYS THAT THE BOARD SHALL PREPARE AN ANNUAL BUDGET TO SERVE AS A TOOL IN CONTROL AND ADMINISTERING THE MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF THE SYSTEM. 
          THEY DON'T WANNA FOCUS ON THESE NEXT COUPLE, UH, SENTENCES. 
          THEY, THEY GO, THEY TALK ABOUT HOW THE BUDGET SHALL REFLECT AN ESTIMATE OF GROSS REVENUES. 
          GROSS REVENUES ARE AGAIN DEFINED WITHIN THIS DOCUMENT TO MEAN BASICALLY ALL REVENUES OF SAWS WITH THE PRIMARY EXCLUSIONS BEING PAYMENTS RECEIVED FROM C P S UNDER A CONTRACT FOR RECYCLED WATER BETWEEN SAWS AND C P S ENERGY AND ANY IMPACT FEE. 
          I QUOTE ANY IMPACT FEES CHARGED BY THE SYSTEM PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 3 95 AS AMENDED LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE. 
          WE CAN GET IN, I KNOW, UH, JIM SMILE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS ABOUT IMPACT FEES AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT, BUT THEY ARE RESTRICTED AS INTO WHAT THEY CAN BE USED FOR. 
          SO THEY'RE JUST NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR OUR OTHER OPERATING REVENUES. 
          UM, SECOND, UM, THE SECOND PORTION OF THIS SENTENCE REQUIRES SAW TO DEVELOP AN ESTIMATE OF THE DISPOSITION OF THESE REVENUES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FUNDS FLOW REQUIREMENTS OF THIS ORDINANCE. 
          SO WHAT ARE THE FUNDS FLOW REQUIREMENTS OF THIS ORDINANCE? THIS SLIDE SHOULD BE, UH, FAMILIAR TO MANY OF YOU 'CAUSE WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT IN THE PAST. 
          IT REPRESENTS THE FUND'S FLOW REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE ORDINANCE ARE WHAT WE LIKE TO REFER TO AS THE RATES AND CHARGES WATERFALL. 
          SO ALL GROSS REVENUES GENERATED ARE TO GO FIRST TO PAY ALL OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE EXPENSES OF SAWS WITH ANY AMOUNTS LEFT OVER TO BE UTILIZED TO PAY SAWS, DEBT SERVICE, AND RESERVE FUND REQUIREMENTS. 
          AFTER SATISFYING ALL DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS, WE THEN TRANSFER A PORTION OF OUR GROSS REVENUES CURRENTLY ESTABLISHED AT 4% TO THE CITY WITH ANY AMOUNTS REMAINING BEING TRANSFERRED TO THE RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT FUND. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE PARENTHETICAL ON THE FOURTH BULLET OF THIS SLIDE, ANY AMOUNT SO TRANSFERRED TO THE R AND R FUND PROVIDES CASH FOR FUNDING, FUTURE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, ANY REQUIRED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS IN EXCESS OF THE AMOUNTS ACCUMULATED WITHIN THE R AND R FUND NEED TO BE FUNDED WITH ADDITIONAL DEBT OBLIGATIONS. 
          SO BEFORE DIVING INTO SOME OF THE NUMBERS, I JUST WANNA POINT OUT SOME OF THE KEY OBJECTIVES OF THE 2022 BUDGET PROCESS AS WE'RE LAID OUT IN OUR 2022 ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM REPORT, WHICH I BELIEVE YOU WERE ALL SENT A LINK TO THAT DOCUMENT. 
          GOT A, I SEE A COPY OVER HERE. 
          I'VE GOT ONE AS WELL. 
          UM, AGAIN, A DRAFT WAS PUBLISHED IN ADVANCE OF THE SAWS BOARD ACTUALLY APPROVING THE DOCUMENT AND A FINAL COPY OF WHICH DOES RESIDE ON OUR WEBSITE TODAY. 
          SOME OF THE KEY OBJECTIVES THAT WE IDENTIFIED WERE RESILIENCY IMPROVEMENTS. 
          OBVIOUSLY WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS WITH YOU ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF WINTER STORM URI AND, AND HOW WE CAN BECOME MORE RESILIENT AS A WATER AND PROVIDER. 
          OUR CONNECT H TWO O ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO ROLL THAT OUT. 
          AND YOU'LL SEE THAT THE SINGLE LARGEST CAPITAL PROJECT THAT WE HAVE IN OUR 20 20 20 20 22 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM IS RELATED TO THE CONNECT H TWO O PROGRAM. 
          CONTINUED CONSENT DECREE COMPLIANCE. 
          MANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. 
          BACK IN 2013, WE ENTERED INTO A CONSENT DECREE WITH THE, UH, US E P A T C E Q, UH, TO REDUCE OUR NUMBER OF SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS. 
          AND WE NEED TO CONTINUE WITH THAT INITIATIVE. 
          WE'RE GETTING CLOSE, BUT WE'RE NOT FINALIZED WITH THAT AT THIS POINT IN TIME. 
          ANOTHER THING THAT CAME ABOUT MITCHELL LAKE CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS AND DAM SPILLWAY MODIFICATIONS. 
          I KNOW A NUMBER OF YOU ON THE SOUTH SIDE, UH, KNOW MITCHELL LAKE AND MANY OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE GONE ON DOWN THERE AND ALL THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE YET TO COME. 
          AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. 
          OBVIOUSLY WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO REPAIR AND REPLACE OUR 
          [00:15:01]
AGING INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          UH, AND THEN WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND THE SYSTEM TO ACCOMMODATE GROWTH THAT IS CONTINUING TO OCCUR WITHIN OUR CITY. 
          SO IN ASSEMBLING SAWS BUDGET, THE VERY FIRST THING THAT WE TRY TO DO IS DEVELOP AN ESTIMATE OF OUR VARIOUS SOURCES OF FUNDING. 
          SO SUMMARIZE ON THIS SLIDE ARE SOME OF THE KEY ASSUMPTIONS UTILIZED TO DEVELOP THE ESTIMATE OF THE SAWS 2022 SOURCES OF FUNDING. 
          FIRST, CUSTOMER GROWTH. 
          UM, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A BIG ONE. 
          PROJECTED GROWTH WAS LARGELY IN LINE WITH THE GROWTH PATTERNS OBSERVED FROM 2015 TO 2019, BUT WAS IS LESS THAN WHAT WAS EXPERIENCED IN BOTH 2020 AND 2021. 
          WE DON'T KNOW, UH, EXACTLY WHEN THAT GROWTH IS GOING TO STOP, BUT WE BUDGET SOMEWHERE BETWEEN RIGHT AROUND ONE AND A HALF TO ONE TO 2% GROWTH. 
          AND WE'VE BEEN EXCEEDING THAT THE LAST COUPLE YEARS. 
          BUT, UH, BUT WE NEVER KNOW WHEN THAT'S NECESSARILY GONNA RAMP DOWN. 
          THIS NEXT ONE, IMPACT FEE COLLECTIONS. 
          AND WE HAVE BUDGETED, MR. SMILE IS CORRECT IN SAYING THAT WE BUDGETED SLIGHTLY MORE THAN A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, BUT I WANNA SAY THAT EVERY FIVE YEARS WE WERE REQUIRED BY LAW TO UPDATE THE WATER AND WASTEWATER FACILITIES, LAND USE ASSUMPTION PLAN, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN, AND MAXIMUM IMPACT FEE STUDIES. 
          AND THERE'S A COPY OUT ON OUR WEBSITE, UH, IT'S OUT THERE. 
          BASICALLY WHAT THAT HAS YOU DO THIS STUDY WAS LAST COMPLETED IN EARLY 2019 AND THE BOARD APPROVED IT IN APRIL, AND CITY COUNCIL APPROVED IT IN MAY. 
          AND THAT BASICALLY LAID OUT THE EXPECTATIONS FOR GROWTH. 
          YOU HAVE TO FORECAST OUT YOUR NEXT 10 YEARS HOW MANY EQUIVALENT DWELLING UNITS YOU'RE GONNA ADD TO YOUR SERVICE TERRITORY OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS. 
          SO WHAT WE DO IS WE TAKE THAT FIGURE THAT WAS, THAT WAS COMPLETED AND APPROVED, AND WE SIMPLY DIVIDE BY 10 AND SAY, OKAY, THIS ARE THE ANNUAL EDUS. 
          WE MULTIPLY IT BY THE CURRENT IMPACT FEE RATE THAT'S IN PLACE, AND THAT'S HOW WE COME UP WITH OUR BUDGET. 
          WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN, SINCE THESE FUNDS ARE RESTRICTED FOR USE. 
          IT DOESN'T HAVE A BIG IMPACT AT ALL ON OUR OPERATING BUDGET, BUT I CAN GO INTO THAT IN MORE DETAIL IF YOU'D LIKE. 
          BUT AGAIN, SO THEY DO FORECAST THE GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF EDS DURING THE NEXT 10 YEARS. 
          THESE GROWTH PROJECTIONS ARE UTILIZED TO OBTAIN THE BUDGET LEVEL FOR IMPACT FEE COLLECTIONS. 
          AND WHAT WE WOULD DO IS UPDATE IT AGAIN IN FIVE YEARS WHEN WE UPDATE THIS IMPACT FEE STUDY. 
          AND IT COMES BACK IN FRONT OF YOU. 
          SO THE NEXT ONE WILL BE IN 2024. 
          SINCE WE ARE STATUTORILY REQUIRED TO UPDATE IT ON EVERY FIVE YEAR BASIS, THE LARGEST SINGLE VARIABLE IN OUR REVENUE PROJECTIONS IS PROJECTING HOW MUCH WATER WE WILL SELL AND HOW MUCH WASTEWATER WE WILL TREAT. 
          AS ONE OF OUR BOARD MEMBER TALKS ABOUT, WE HAVE A UNIQUE BUSINESS MODEL WHEN WATER IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN OUR INVENTORY IS FULL, NOBODY WANTS OUR WATER 'CAUSE THAT MEANS EVERY IT'S RAINING. 
          UM, BUT WHEN, AND THE EXACT OPPOSITE OCCURS OBVIOUSLY WHEN IT'S VERY DRY, LIKE WE'RE RIGHT, THE PERIOD IN WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE INCREASED EXPECTATIONS OR INCREASED DEMAND FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICES. 
          SO DURING 2022, WE PROJECTED TO SELL 67.2 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER, WHICH AS MUCH AS WATER AS WE'VE EVER SOLD IN A GIVEN YEAR. 
          UM, AND THEN WE ACTUALLY BUDGETED TO SELL 51.5 BILLION GALLONS OF WASTEWATER, WHICH IS ALSO ONE OF THE HIGHEST FIGURES WE'VE EVER, UH, BUDGETED AS WELL. 
          AT THE TIME THAT WE PUT THIS BUDGET TOGETHER, INTEREST RATES WERE STILL EXTREMELY LOW. 
          SO AT THAT TIME WE PROJECTED AN OVERALL INVESTMENT YIELD OF 0.4%. 
          OBVIOUSLY, YIELDS HAVE INCREASED, WE'LL PROBABLY DO BETTER THAN THAT BUDGET, UH, THIS YEAR. 
          BUT WE ALSO SEE THAT ON THE COST SIDE, WE HAVE SOME SHORT TERM BORROWINGS AS WELL THAT ACTUALLY MOVE, UH, THAT ARE VARIABLE RATE AS WELL. 
          SO AS INTEREST RATES GO UP, THEY REPRICE AS WELL. 
          FINALLY, THE BUDGET FOR 2022 DID REFLECT AN ASSUMPTION THAT WE WOULD REIN REINSTITUTE LATE FEES AND HAVE A RETURN TO MORE NORMAL LEVELS IN OUR PROVISION FOR DOUBTFUL ACCOUNTS. 
          I KNOW THAT MARY'S TALKED TO YOU, THIS GROUP A NUMBER OF TIMES ABOUT THE INCREASED LEVEL OF DOUBTFUL ACCOUNTS THAT WE HAD, UH, AS A RESULT OF THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC. 
          SO TAKING ALL THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, UH, AND REFLECTING THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF ALL THOSE ASSUMPTIONS. 
          SAWS 2022 BUDGETED SOURCES OF FUNDS IS $941 MILLION WITH ABOUT 80 834 MILLION OF THAT REFLECTING THE MONTHLY CHARGES FOR OUR SERVICES WITH ANOTHER 100 MILLION BUDGETED FOR IMPACT FEE COLLECTIONS. 
          YOU CAN SEE, AND AGAIN, UH, I'VE WENT THROUGH AND I'VE DONE THE MATH, IF YOU CALCULATE OUR OVERAGE THAT WE'VE INCURRED BASICALLY OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, OUR IMPACT FEE COLLECTIONS HAVE BEEN ABOUT $56 MILLION MORE THAN WHAT WE HAD BUDGETED. 
          THOSE FUNDS, AGAIN, ARE RESTRICTED FOR ONLY CAPITAL USE. 
          SO IF I PUT THAT TOWARDS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM BASICALLY, AND 
          [00:20:01]
I CALCULATE THE INCREMENTAL DEBT SERVICE SAVINGS ON THAT AMOUNT, BASICALLY I'M SAVING ROUGHLY $3 MILLION IN MY OPERATING BUDGET. 
          SO IT'S NOT A HUGE IMPACT ON OUR BUDGET. 
          SO, SO TURNING NEXT, TURNING OUR ATTENTION TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LEDGER AND THAT'S WANNA SPEND JUST A FEW MINUTES DISCUSSING THE DRIVERS IN USES OF FUNDS. 
          AS YOU MAY RECALL, IN MID 2020, WITH THE UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDING THE PEM PANDEMIC SAWS DID NOT BUDGET FOR ANY 2021 PERFORMANCE PAY ADJUSTMENTS. 
          SO OUR EMPLOYEES DID NOT RECEIVE PERFORMANCE PAY ADJUSTMENT IN 2021. 
          THEREFORE, ONE OF OUR FIRST PRIORITIES IN THE 2022 BUDGET WAS TO RECOGNIZE THE PERFORMANCE OF SAS DEDICATED EMPLOYEES WITH A RESUMPTION OF PERFORMANCE PAY ADJUSTMENTS DURING 2022. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE, WE INCREASED SAWS LIVING WAGE FROM 1525 TO $16 PER HOUR AND BUDGETED FOR AN OVERALL 4% PERFORMANCE PAY ADJUSTMENT. 
          THE BUDGET ALSO INCLUDES SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT MAINTENANCE EXPENDITURES, PARTICULARLY AT THE KLAUS WATER RECYCLING CENTER, WHICH DO REQUIRE FUNDING IN 2022. 
          PICTURED. 
          HERE ARE SOME OF THE, UM, PRIMARY CLARIFIERS WHICH REQUIRE REHABILITATION. 
          ALSO PROJECTED FOR REHAB ARE THE BELT FILTER PRESS AND THE AERATION BASIN DIFFUSERS. 
          STEVE CAN TALK A LOT BETTER THAN I CAN ABOUT WHAT EXACTLY THOSE THINGS DO, BUT THEY ARE EXPENSIVE AND THEY DID NEED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR. 
          UM, OUR O AND M PROJECTIONS DID ACCOUNT FOR A C P S RATE INCREASE AS WELL AS SOME OTHER, UH, INFLATIONARY PRESSURES. 
          WE DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE LEVEL OF THAT RATE INCREASE WAS WHEN WE WERE PUTTING TOGETHER THIS BUDGET. 
          SO I WILL SAY THAT WE AIRED A LITTLE BIT, UH, CONSERVATIVE ON THAT ESTIMATE. 
          WE DID PLAN ON EXTRA SPENDING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILLED WATER BUSINESS PLAN, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS TO SUPPORT OUR ONGOING CYBERSECURITY EFFORTS. 
          AND AS MENTIONED, THE 2022 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, WHICH AGAIN WE'LL DISCUSS IN JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL IN A MINUTE, IS AT A NEAR RECORD OF $583 MILLION. 
          IT'S EXCEEDED ONLY BY THE 2020 TOTAL WHEN WE WERE BRINGING ON LINE VISTA RIDGE, AND THAT WAS $609 MILLION. 
          SO THIS IS THE SECOND LARGEST CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM THAT SAS HAS EVER UNDERTAKEN. 
          LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, WE HAD A COUPLE INITIATIVES THAT WE PLANNED TO CARRY OUT FROM A FINANCING PLAN PERSPECTIVE, WHICH WOULD HELP US IN MEETING OUR TARGETED DEBT COVERAGE, DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE LEVELS. 
          WE WERE FORTUNATE TO HAVE GOTTEN TO CARRY OUT THE BULK OF THESE INITIATIVES EARLIER THIS YEAR, UH, PRIOR TO THE RUNUP IN INTEREST RATES. 
          SO WE WERE ABLE, WE WERE SUCCESSFUL, ABLE TO REFUND SOME BONDS FOR SAVINGS BACK IN EARLY IN JANUARY. 
          SO ALL TOLD, YOU CAN SEE THE O AND M COSTS, UH, REPRESENT THE LARGEST PORTION OF SAWS USES OF FUNDS WITH APPROXIMATELY 50% OF ALL USES BEING ON O AND M COSTS. 
          WHILE I'LL GO INTO THOSE EXPENDITURES IN JUST A BIT MORE DETAIL ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THE O AND M COSTS ON THIS SLIDE ARE SHOWN NET OF CAPITALIZED COSTS. 
          WE CAPITALIZE A PORTION OF OUR SALARIES AND FRINGE BENEFITS TO OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM. 
          WHILE ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THERE IS SHOWN BEFORE CAPITALIZATION, SO YOU'LL NOTICE SOME SLIGHT DIFFERENCES. 
          THERE'S ABOUT $31 MILLION THAT WE CAPITALIZE IN TERMS OF OUR SALARIES AND BENEFITS. 
          THE NEXT LARGEST USE OF FUNDS IS THE APPROXIMATELY 24% USED TO MEET S DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS. 
          NEXT COMES THE TRANSFER TO COSA, WHICH HAS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY HAS BEEN SET AT 4% OF GROSS REVENUES FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. 
          AND, AND ANY REMAINING BALANCES ARE AVAILABLE FOR TRANSFER TO THE RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT FUND WITH THE RESTRICTED PORTION PERTAINING ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO IMPACT FEE COLLECTIONS AND THE UNRESTRICTED REMAINDER SERVING TO PROVIDE SAWS DEBT COVERAGE IN THE CURRENT YEAR, AS WELL AS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CASH FUNDING FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS IN FUTURE YEARS. 
          SO THIS PIE CHART, THESE COUPLE PIE CHARTS PROVIDE A BREAKDOWN OF OUR O AND M COSTS BEFORE CAPITALIZATION INTO ITS MAJOR COMPONENTS ON THE LEFT. 
          THE TWO LARGEST SLICES OF THE PIE ARE PERSONNEL RELATED COSTS, INCLUDING ALL SALARIES, INFRINGEMENT, AND PURCHASE WATER COSTS. 
          AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PIE ON THE RIGHT AND THAT OTHER SECTION, BROKEN DOWN MAINTENANCE EXPENSE AND MATERIALS ACCOUNT FOR APPROXIMATELY 9% OF O AND M, WHICH INCLUDES AN ADDITIONAL FIVE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS FOR CLARIFIER REHABILITATION AND BELT FILTER PRESS IMPROVEMENTS AT THE STEPHEN M KLAUS WATER RECYCLING CENTER THAT I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY. 
          AND THEN POWER AND UTILITY COSTS ACCOUNT FOR SLIGHTLY MORE THAN 8%. 
          SO WE ARE THE LARGEST POWER USER IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. 
          IT COSTS A LOT OF MONEY TO A LOT OF USE, A LOT OF POWER TO MOVE WATER. 
          UM, AND SO YOU CAN SEE THERE, THAT'S A BIG COMPONENT OF OUR BUDGET. 
          VARIOUS CONTRACTUAL SERVICES ACCOUNT FOR 9%, 
          [00:25:01]
UH, WHICH INCLUDES OVER $800,000 IN ADDITIONAL COSTS FOR CYBERSECURITY SYSTEM HARDENING SERVICES, WHILE THE COMBINED AMOUNTS THAT SAS PAYS THE EDWARDS AQUIFER AUTHORITY AND T C E Q ACCOUNT FOR 5% OF THE TOTAL. 
          THE ONLY OTHER ITEM THAT INDIVIDUALLY IS GREATER THAN 1% IS OUR CHEMICAL COSTS, WHICH ACCOUNT FOR APPROXIMATELY 2% OF OUR O AND M COSTS. 
          THIS INCLUDES REPORTED VENDOR PRICE INCREASES DUE TO SOME OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES THAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING. 
          UM, OTHER O AND M COSTS CUMULATIVELY ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT 5% WITH SOME OF THE LARGEST INDIVIDUAL ITEMS BEING CONSERVATION PROGRAM REBATES, POSTAGE, STREET REPAIR PERMIT FEES THAT WE PAY TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, ET CETERA. 
          ALL TOLD CAPITALIZED. 
          COSTS ARE 32.1 MILLION. 
          AND THE TOTAL O AND M AFTER CAPITALIZATION IS THE 407, ROUGHLY 470 MILLION. 
          SO AS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, THE ALMOST $583 MILLION IN PLANNED CONSTRUCTION EXPENDITURES REPRESENTS THE SECOND HIGHEST ANNUAL TOTAL LEVEL IN SAWS HISTORY. 
          SOME OF THE SIGNIFICANT COMPONENTS OF THE 2022 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM INCLUDE THE $184 MILLION THAT WE'RE GONNA BE SPENDING ON THE CONNECT H TWO O AUTOMATED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVE, SOME OF THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT, UH, IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDING THE MITCHELL LAKE DAM AND SPILLWAY, AS WELL AS THE, UH, STEPHEN M KLAUS WATER RECYCLING BIOSOLIDS TERTIARY FILTER PROJECT. 
          UH, YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE OTHERS, I WON'T REPEAT 'EM ALL. 
          UH, SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS, UM, AGAIN, YOU SEE GOVERNMENTAL PROGRAM, THAT'S WHERE WE WORK WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. 
          WHEN ANTONIO, WHEN YOU'RE OUT TEARING UP A STREET AND WE HAVE AGING INFRASTRUCTURE, WE LIKE TO GET IN AT THE SAME TIME AND REPAIR THAT INFRASTRUCTURE SO WE DON'T HAVE TO GO IN IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER AND, AND TEAR UP THE STREET RIGHT AFTER YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR WORK. 
          UM, SO YOU SEE SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THERE. 
          SO THE FINAL SLIDE, UM, I JUST WANNA PROVIDE YOU WITH A QUICK STATUS UPDATE ON OUR CONSENT DECREE, WHICH AS I MENTIONED IS NEARING COMPLETION. 
          UH, THESE PIE CHARTS REFLECT SAWS PROGRESS IN MAKING IMPROVEMENTS RELATIVE TO BOTH THE CAPACITY AS WELL AS THE CONDITION OF OUR WASTEWATER COLLECTION SYSTEM. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE, ROUGHLY TWO THIRDS OF THE CAPACITY WORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED WITH ANOTHER 28% OF THE WORK CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION, LEAVING ONLY 8%, WHICH IS STILL IN DESIGN. 
          ON THE CONDITION SIDE, 90% HAS BEEN COMPLETED WITH ANOTHER 7% UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND ONLY 3% STILL IN DESIGN. 
          SO AS I'VE TOLD THE EXPRESS TO THE BOND RATING AGENCIES, WHILE WE ARE NOT QUITE COMPLETE WITH THIS INITIATIVE, WE CAN SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. 
          SO, UH, WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT DAY WHEN WE GET THIS WRAPPED UP. 
          UH, OBVIOUSLY THIS HAS TRULY BEEN A PHENOMENAL ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR SAWS AND ONE THAT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT THE SPORT OF BOTH OUR BOARD AND CITY COUNCIL. 
          SO FOR THAT, ALL OF US HERE AT SAS, WE DO WANT YOU TO EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE, AND WITH THAT, I'LL BE HAPPY TO OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL MIGHT HAVE. 
          THANK YOU, DOUG. 
          I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND OPEN THIS UP TO OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS THAT THEY MAY HAVE. 
          WE'LL BEGIN THAT WAY. 
          I'LL HOLD MINE TILL THE END. 
          AND, UH, WHO WOULD LIKE TO GO FIRST? OKAY, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL. 
          THANK YOU, DOUG, FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, A QUICK QUESTION ON, UM, THE O AND M EXPENSES AND THEN THE LIST OF YOUR CAPITAL EXPENSES THAT YOU PROVIDED. 
          UM, COULD YOU, UH, I GUESS CLARIFY FOR ME AT WHAT POINT MAINTENANCE BECOMES A CAPITAL EXPENSE? UM, WHEN WE ARE ADDING TO THE LIFE OF THAT ASSET. 
          SO IF WE ARE EXTENDING THE LIFE OF THAT ASSET, THEN WE CAPITALIZE THOSE COSTS TO THE EXTENT THAT WE'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE MAINTAINING THAT ASSET. 
          THAT'S AN O AND M COST. 
          UM, SO EVERYTHING LISTED ON SLIDE 11, THOSE ARE ALL, UM, CONSIDERED EXTENSIONS. 
          SO A WATER MAIN REPLACEMENT. 
          SO, I'M SORRY, WHICH ONE ON SLIDE 10? 11, 11? YEAH, THAT ONE, SORRY. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          YEAH, THESE WERE ALL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM EXPENDITURES. 
          SO THEY WILL EITHER REPLACE AN ASSET OR EXTEND THE LIFE OF AN EXISTING ASSET. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THIS IS ENTIRELY SEPARATE FROM WHAT YOU USE YOUR, UH, IMPACT FEES FOR? NO, THIS, SO GROWTH RELATED IMPACT FEES OR, OR IMPACT FEES ARE SPECIFICALLY FOR GROWTH RELATED PROJECTS. 
          BASICALLY, UH, IT'S RIGHT OUT OF, SORRY, I HAVE A COPY OF IT HERE SOMEWHERE. 
          SO, OUT OF CHAPTER 3 95, LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 3 95, IMPACT FEES IS DEFINED MEANS A CHARGE OR ASSESSMENT IMPOSED BY A POLITICAL 
          [00:30:01]
SUBDIVISION AGAINST NEW DEVELOPMENT IN ORDER TO GENERATE REVENUE FOR FUNDING OR RECOUPING THE COSTS OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS OR FACILITY EXPANSIONS NECESSITATED BY AND ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE NEW DEVELOPMENT. 
          SO THAT'S WHAT WE ARE, THAT'S WHAT WE CAN USE IMPACT FEES FOR. 
          SO ARE YOU USING THEM FOR ANY OF THESE THINGS? YEAH, UH, CERTAINLY SOME OF THE WATER PRODUCTION IMPROVEMENTS, THE WASTE, WE HAVE SEPARATE BUCKETS FOR EACH OF THE, WE HAVE A SEPARATE IMPACT FEE FOR WATER TO SUPPLY IMPACT FEE, A WATER DELIVERY FLOW AND SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FEE, A WASTEWATER TREATMENT. 
          SO EVERY TIME SOMEBODY COMES ON, THEY EITHER ARE USING EXISTING CAPACITY, UM, WHICH IF THEY USE EXISTING CAPACITY, THEN WE CAN USE THAT AND RECOUP SOME OF THOSE FUNDS. 
          WE JUST USE SOME FUNDS TO PAY DOWN, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, $65 MILLION WORTH OF DEBT A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. 
          UM, SO YES, WE DO USE IMPACT FEES TO HELP OFFSET SOME OF THIS. 
          SO OF THIS 582 MILLION, I'M SORRY, ROUGHLY, I I I'M GONNA HAVE TO LOOK, BUT SOMEWHERE IN THE TWO, $250 MILLION RANGES FUNDED WITH, UH, WITH CASH ON HAND AND THE REMAINDER WOULD BE DEBT FUNDED, A PORTION OF THAT CASH ON HAND HAS BEEN GENERATED FROM THE COLLECTION OF IMPACT FEES. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU FOR, FOR CLARIFYING THAT. 
          UM, I DID WANNA GO BACK TO MR. SMILES COMMENT REGARDING, UM, THE FEES. 
          UH, YOU, YOU SEEM TO HAVE ADDRESSED IT AS CAP AS, UH, IMPACT FEES. 
          I JUST WANTED TO CONFIRM THAT. 
          IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE REFERRING TO, MR. SMILE WAS THE IMPACT FEES? OKAY. 
          UM, SO YOU CAN SEE HE'S EXACTLY RIGHT. 
          YOU CAN SEE THIS IMPACT FEES, CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES, WE'VE BEEN BUDGETING CONSISTENTLY THAT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS. 
          MM-HMM. 
          , YOU CAN SEE LAST YEAR WE ACTUALLY CAME IN 2021, WE COLLECTED 137 MILLION. 
          AND THE YEAR BEFORE THAT, I THINK IT WAS AROUND 120 MILLION. 
          THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF OTHER STUFF IN THAT 122 MILLION. 
          BUT, BUT, UH, BUT SO HE'S EXACTLY RIGHT. 
          WE HAVE COLLECTED MORE IN IMPACT FEES THAN WHAT WE BUDGETED, BUT AGAIN, THE IMPACT OF THAT IS WE'VE GENERATED ABOUT $56 MILLION MORE IN IMPACT FEES. 
          AND I, I HAVE A, YOU KNOW, A HANDOUT I CAN LEAVE WITH YOU, BUT BASICALLY WE'VE COLLECTED ABOUT $56 MILLION ADDITIONAL IN IMPACT FEES WHEN YOU CALCULATE THAT INTO DEBT SERVICE. 
          SO I CAN USE AN ADDITIONAL $56 MILLION MORE OF CASH THAN WHAT I HAD BUDGETED, AND THAT ALLOWS ME TO NOT ISSUE AS MUCH DEBT. 
          SO THE DEBT SERVICE SAVINGS ON THAT CASH THAT I'M ABLE TO UTILIZE EQUATES TO ABOUT $3 MILLION A YEAR. 
          SO IT DOES BENEFIT US, NO DOUBT WHEN WE COLLECT MORE IMPACT FEES, BUT IT'S NOT DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR. 
          OKAY. 
          I, ALL OF A SUDDEN I GOT A HUGE $56 MILLION INFUSION THAT I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT TO WITH IT. 
          NO, AND UNDERSTOOD. 
          UM, AND, UH, I CAN SEE HOW IT BENEFITS THE UTILITY, BUT I CAN ALSO SEE THE, THE POINT THAT MR. SMILE MAKES IF I, IF I OVER POSSIBLY OVERPAID. 
          UM, SO IS THERE ANY RECONCILIATION LATER WITH THE CUSTOMERS? HAVE YOU OR HAVE YOU HEARD ANY CONCERNS FROM, UH, ENTITIES THAT HAVE PAID IMPACT FEES REGARDING NO. 
          WHAT THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE MM-HMM. 
          , THE DEVELOPERS ARE THE, WELL, THE DEVELOPERS PAY THE IMPACT FEES, OBVIOUSLY, THEY PROBABLY PASS IT ALONG TO THEIR CUSTOMERS, BUT, UM, BUT THE DEVELOPERS PAY THE IMPACT FEES. 
          THEY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE PROJECTS, THE GROWTH RELATED PROJECTS THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SERVICE TO THE GROWING AREA OF SAN ANTONIO GET BUILT WITH THE IMPACT FEE DOLLARS. 
          SO WE DO GO THROUGH A PROCESS WITH OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS A COMMITTEE THAT'S OPERATES ON A FULL STANDING BASIS, FORESAW THEY MEET AT LEAST QUARTERLY. 
          AND WE DO GO THROUGH, HERE'S HOW WE'RE DOING ON FUNDING THE PROJECTS THAT WERE, UH, IDENTIFIED IN THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ADVISORY PLAN. 
          AGAIN, THAT'S OUT ON OUR WEBSITE, THE WATER AND WASTEWATER FACILITIES, LAND USE ASSUMPTION PLAN, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN, AND MAXIMUM IMPACT FEE STUDY. 
          IF YOU EVER HAVE INSOMNIA, IT'S A GREAT CURE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, THANK YOU, DOUG. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU COUNCILMAN, UH, COUNCILMAN ROGER GARCIA. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          AND THANK YOU MR. EVANSON FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, A SLIDE 10, YOU HAVE A BUDGET OF $62.2 MILLION FOR MAIN OR WATER MAIN REPLACEMENT. 
          HOW MANY PROJECTS DOES THAT CONSIST OF? UH, I WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH, UM, AND TRY TO, I I WOULD HAVE TO, UH, THERE'S A LIST HERE. 
          I'D HAVE TO GO THROUGH AND TRY TO COUNT 'EM, BUT OKAY, NO PROBLEM. 
          UM, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL CHECK ON THAT LATER. 
          UM, WHAT IS THE COORDINATION BETWEEN THE CITIES? AND YOU MENTIONED THIS WHILE YOU WERE ON SLIDE 
          [00:35:01]
10. 
          UM, THE COORDINATION BETWEEN THE CITY'S PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND SAS, AND I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. 
          ONE OF MY NEIGHBORHOODS HAS RAISED SOME CONCERNS, EVEN NOW, WE'VE BEEN WORKING THROUGH THIS A FEW MONTHS NOW. 
          UM, BUT THERE WAS A WATER MAIN REPLACEMENTS PROJECT THAT STARTED, AND IT WAS AFTER THE CITY HAD REPAVED THE STREET. 
          I'M TALKING ABOUT MATA, YOU MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH IT. 
          UM, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THESE THINGS DON'T, DON'T HAPPEN AGAIN. 
          AND YOU MENTIONED THERE'S COORDINATION. 
          CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH THE COORDINATION STEPS THAT HAPPENED OR WHO, WHO DOES THAT? STEVE? OKAY. 
          THAT COORDINATION, AND I KNOW IT'S IMPROVED, UM, SO I, I, I APPRECIATE THAT, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I, I UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          I'M STEVE KLAUS, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, AND YES, WE HAVE MONTHLY UTILITY COORDINATIONS BETWEEN THE CITY AND SAWS. 
          WE ALSO HAVE, I THINK IT'S QUARTERLY NOW THAT WE'RE MEETING WITH TXDOT AND COORDINATING WORK WITH THEM AS WELL. 
          THAT'S WHAT WE TRY TO DO, IS GET EVERYTHING ON THE LIST SO THAT WE CAN ANTICIPATE, UM, WELL IN ADVANCE. 
          IT, IT REQUIRES A REALLY, A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT LEAD TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET EVERYTHING, UH, FROM A UNDERGROUND UTILITY PERSPECTIVE IN PLACE AND COMPLETED BEFORE A STREET IS ULTIMATELY GETTING REGRADED OR PAVED. 
          UH, COUNCILMAN, THE SPECIFIC STREET YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS THE ONE PUBLIC WORKS DIDN'T, CAN YOU SPEAK THE MIC? AND YOU MIGHT HAVE SOME MORE DETAILS ON THIS, BUT THAT PARTICULAR STREET IS THE ONE THAT PUBLIC WORKS DIDN'T HAVE ON THE LIST THAT THEY SHARED WITH US, AND WE MET WITH YOUR STAFF AND SOME OF YOUR RESIDENTS TO TRY TO EXPLAIN THAT. 
          YEAH. 
          SO HOW DO WE SOLVE THAT FOR OTHERS? LIKE HOW DO WE MAKE SURE, UM, WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU, MR. FUENTES? UH, WELL, UH, STEVE SAID MONTH TO MONTH COORDINATION AND SOMETIMES THINGS DO SLIP UP, BUT THIS PARTICULAR ONE, UH, JUST DIDN'T MAKE IT ON THE LIST THAT WAS GIVEN TO US. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THAT'S WHY WE HAD TO GO BACK AND DO WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO. 
          OKAY. 
          I STILL THINK WE, WE SHOULD PROBABLY WORK ON SOMETHING. 
          I, I'M SURE THAT IT'S NOT THE ONLY CASE, UH, IN, IN, IN, IN DISTRICT FOUR. 
          I'M SURE IT HAPPENS WITH SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S, UH, MAYBE SOME BRAINSTORMING THAT WE COULD DO. 
          BUT ON THAT NOTE ALSO, DO WE TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION? DO WE TAKE ALSO, UM, ONSITE PERFORMANCE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN GENERAL WHEN YOU CHOOSE A CONTRACTOR ? SO TO UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION, DO WE, UM, RATE THE CONTRACTORS FOR ONSITE ONSITE PERFORMANCE AND HOW THE COMMUNITY VIEWED THEM? CORRECT. 
          WE TRACK ALL THE COMPLAINTS, ET CETERA THAT WE'VE HAD. 
          THE CONTRACTORS, OF COURSE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THEM AS FAR AS PERFORMANCE OF THE ACTUAL UNDERGROUND WORK, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE WE'VE EVER GONE IN AND DONE A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY THAT REALLY IS HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON THE TYPE OF WORK THAT WE'RE DOING. 
          UM, THERE'S WORK THAT CAN BE VERY INTRUSIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 
          COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL HAD, UM, THE DISTINCT PLEASURE OF A MAJOR SEWER LINE GOING RIGHT THROUGH HER NEIGHBORHOOD, EXTREMELY DISRUPTIVE. 
          OTHER WORK WE CAN USE, DIFFERENT METHODS THAT ARE, UM, ARE SITE SPECIFIC. 
          CAN'T USE 'EM IN ALL CASES, BUT WE TRY TO USE THE METHOD THAT'S THE LEAST INVASIVE FROM THE COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE. 
          SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, UM, NO, WE DON'T DO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEYS AFTER WE COMPLETE A JOB, TYPICALLY. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU, MR. KLAUS. 
          UM, AND THEN ANOTHER QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS, WHAT IS THE ESTIMATED COST TO SAUCE FROM YOUR INCREASED ENERGY RATE? I, THERE WAS A BULLET POINT THAT SAID, YEAH, JUST IT WAS AN INCREASE, BUT, WELL, WE BUDGETED AGAIN, DURING THE DELIBERATIONS, THERE WAS TALK OF UP TO 10%. 
          AND SO THAT IS WHAT WE BUDGETED FOR THE RATE INCREASE. 
          UM, SO WE BUDGETED 10% OF OUR UTILITY BILLS, PROBABLY AN ADDITIONAL $4 MILLION. 
          IT CAME IN AT, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE LESS THAN 4%. 
          SO WE DO HAVE A COUPLE MILLION DOLLARS EXTRA IN THAT BUDGET THIS YEAR. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND THEN THANK YOU FOR THE INCREASE TO THE LIVING WA UM, WAGE. 
          I THINK THAT A LOT OF FOLKS WERE DISPATCHED DURING WINTER STORM, YURI TO ADDRESS SOME SAUCE ISSUES, AND I APPRECIATE IT. 
          HOW DO WE COMPARE TO THE OTHER PUBLIC UTILITY IN TOWN, TO THE OTHER PUBLIC UTILITY IN TOWN? I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN SPEAK TO THAT . 
          OKAY. 
          I WAS JUST WONDERING HOW, HOW WE'RE COMPARING. 
          I KNOW THAT EVERYBODY'S KIND OF, I KNOW THAT, AND SHARON ISN'T HERE TODAY, BUT, UH, WE DO COMPARE, WE COMPARE NOTES WITH, UH, CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AS WELL AS C P S ENERGY AND TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL STAY RELATIVELY CLOSE. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCILWOMAN, COUNCILWOMAN CAB HDA. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UM, ON THAT SAME NOTE, WILL ALL EMPLOYEES RECEIVE THE LIVING WAGE INCREASE? UH, NO. 
          BASICALLY WE HAVE A PERFORMANCE PAY. 
          SO ALL OF OUR NON-EXEMPT PEOPLE DID GET THE, UM, THE, THE COST OF LIVING INCREASE, IF YOU WILL. 
          AND 
          [00:40:01]
THEN WE EVALUATE ALL OF OUR OTHER EMPLOYEES. 
          AND SOME PEOPLE, DEPENDING ON YOUR LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE, YOU MAY HAVE GOTTEN SLIGHTLY MORE, YOU MAY HAVE GOTTEN SLIGHTLY LESS, BUT IT AVERAGES OUT TO THAT 4%. 
          BUT EVERYBODY DID GET A, SOME PERCENTAGE OF AN INCREASE OR NO. 
          YEAH, I THINK EVERYBODY, UNLESS YOU WERE, AGAIN, I THINK ON OUR, LIKE WE DEFINE IT AS REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT, OR IF YOU WERE RATED BELOW A CERTAIN LEVEL, YOU HAD THE POSSIBILITY THAT YOU DID NOT RECEIVE AN INCREASE, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF YOUR, UM, VERY SMALL WOULD BE, YOU HAVE TO EARN YOUR WAY ONTO THAT LIST. 
          . 
          OKAY. 
          I'D LIKE TO GET A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT OFF OFFLINE IF POSSIBLE. 
          UM, AND WHEN WILL THAT INCREASE OCCUR FOR THE, FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES? WELL, FOR THE SALARIED EMPLOYEES, MOST OF THEM GOT IT BE, OR I'M SORRY, THE, THE HOURLY EMPLOYEES, THEY GOT IT EARLY IN THE YEAR, IN THE JANUARY, THE REST OF THEM GOT IT IN MAY. 
          OH, THEY ALREADY RECEIVED IT. 
          OKAY. 
          WONDERFUL. 
          YES. 
          GOING OVER TO THE WATER MAINS, UM, HOW ARE THEY SELECTED TO BE, I THINK, DID YOU ASK COUNCILWOMAN ACHE GARCIA? HOW, HOW MANY ARE THERE? UM, HOW ARE THEY SELECTED TO BE REPLACED? WHAT'S KIND OF THE CRITERIA? STEVE , YOU'RE, UH, I, I GET INVOLVED WITH, UH, OKAY. 
          TRYING TO EVALUATE THE RESULTS OF WHAT THEY COME UP WITH, BUT I'M NOT THE ONE WHO EVALUATES WHICH ONES TO REPLACE. 
          WELL, I, I'D LOVE TO GIVE YOU A VERY SIMPLE ANSWER, BUT IT'S MORE INVOLVED WITH THAT. 
          I BELIEVE PEOPLE THINK OF, UH, WATER MAIN REPLACEMENT BASED ON AGE. 
          UM, THE OLDER A PIPE GETS, THE, THE MORE LIKELY IT SHOULD BE REPLACED. 
          REPLACED. 
          BUT WE USE A MUCH MORE ROBUST PROCESS IN THAT. 
          WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS THAT, UH, PRIME MATERIALS PRE 1950, A LOT OF TIMES THOSE PIPES ARE BUILT, THEY'RE OVER-ENGINEERED, AND WE LOOK AT THEM AS FAR AS WHAT IS THEIR REALLY FUNCTIONAL, USEFUL LIFE. 
          WE HAD A LOT OF MATERIALS THAT WENT IN IN THE 1970S THAT WERE NOT LONG LASTING MATERIALS. 
          THEY JUST DON'T HOLD UP AS WELL. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          SO WE HAVE A FAIRLY COMPLEX FORMULA WHERE WE FEED ALL OF OUR HISTORICAL INFORMATION IN ON MATERIALS, AGE, SOIL TYPES, ET CETERA. 
          AND THAT RUNS A, AN ALGORITHM THAT TELLS US WHICH PIPES ARE, UM, BASED ON THOSE CRITERIA, MOST LIKELY TO BE THE NEXT ONES TO BREAK. 
          SO WE, WE DON'T DO IT ON ONE PARAMETER OR TWO, IT'S A GROUP OF PARAMETERS, AND WE'VE GOT A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT'S REALLY ALL THEY DO IS, IS LOOK AT THE PERFORMANCE OF DIFFERENT MATERIALS AND THE SOILS THAT THEY'RE IN OVER TIME TO TELL US WHICH ONES ARE THE PIPES THAT REALLY SHOULD BE DONE BEFORE THEY BREAK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND, UH, I, I THINK IT'S INTERESTING, THE SLIDE BEHIND YOU, IT'S WATER MAIN REPLACEMENTS IS KIND OF RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. 
          I, IT SEEMS TO ME IT'S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU GUYS COULD KEEP UP WITH. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE IT IMPACTS ALL OF US, BUT AS I LOOK AT THIS SLIDE, IT'S, UM, YOU CAN SEE THE PRIORITIES, RIGHT, BY THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. 
          AND I, I HAVE TO SAY THAT THAT'S, UM, IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE THAT THE, THE INVESTMENT IN EACH, UH, EACH CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, UH, AREA. 
          BUT, UM, SO I, I THINK I, I'D LIKE TO SEE IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, UM, WHERE THEY ARE, I DUNNO IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO DO A DISTRICT BREAKDOWN. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          I'M SURE OUR COUNCIL COLLEAGUES WOULD LIKE TO SEE, WE ALWAYS LIKE TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR DISTRICTS. 
          UM, BUT I, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT, IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO, TO GIVE THAT TO US LATER. 
          OKAY. 
          WE CAN GENERATE THAT FOR YOU FOR SURE. 
          THANK YOU, SIR. 
          AND, UM, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT IMPROVEMENTS OR INVESTMENTS WILL, ARE YOU'RE MAKING INTO A CYBERSECURITY PROGRAM? IS THAT ANYWHERE IN THIS? WE, WE OBVIOUSLY ARE PRETTY SENSITIVE WITH WHAT WE'VE DISCLOSED RELATIVE TO OUR CYBERSECURITY IMPROVEMENTS, SO, UH, BE HAPPY TO MAYBE VISIT WITH YOU OFFLINE, BUT, OKAY. 
          YOU ARE DOING THAT THOUGH. 
          YES. 
          I GUESS I DO WANNA KNOW THAT. 
          YES, I'M SURE YOU ARE, BUT OKAY. 
          OF COURSE WE CAN DO THAT OFFLINE. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, UM, IS, IS THERE ANY ONE SPECIFIC CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT ITEM THAT'S, UH, SPECIFIC TO RESPONDING TO THE NEED FOR RESILIENCE AFTER THE WINTER STORM? WELL, WE HAVE ROUGHLY $25 MILLION BAKED INTO THIS BUDGET. 
          AND RIGHT NOW, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVEN'T ADOPTED OUR 2023 BUDGET, BUT WE HAVE EARMARKED RIGHT NOW MORE THAN A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS TO GO, GO TOWARDS, UH, AGAIN, THESE ADDITIONAL, UH, GENERATORS THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO BE PUTTING ON. 
          I THINK STEVE'S BRIEFED THIS GROUP SEVERAL TIMES ON THE NUMBER OF GENERATORS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE IMPLEMENTING THROUGHOUT OUR SYSTEM. 
          STEVE, THE NUMBERS 50, SOME GENERATORS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE PUTTING ON BASICALLY OUR, OUR VARIOUS PUMP STATIONS ACROSS, UH, THE UTILITY. 
          UM, AND SO WE HAVE, AGAIN, 25 EARMARK RIGHT NOW AND A HUNDRED MILLION KIND OF EARMARKED FOR NEXT YEAR. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          I THINK I'D LIKE A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ON THAT AS WELL, BUT OFFLINE, AND I JUST WANNA TAKE A SECOND TO THANK THIS YEAR CLUB MEMBERS THAT ARE HERE TODAY, UM, THAT YOU, UH, DO A LOT OF WORK ON THIS AND ARE VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE, SO WE APPRECIATE YOUR, UM, YOUR INPUT IN BEING HERE TODAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          [00:45:01]
THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. 
          COUNCILMAN BRAVO. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          SO, UH, I BELIEVE WE'RE IN STAGE TWO WATER RESTRICTIONS RIGHT NOW, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. 
          SO MY QUESTION IS, HOW DOES, HOW DO WATER RESTRICTIONS AFFECT YOUR, YOUR ANNUAL BUDGET? AND TO WHAT, I MEAN IS IT, IS IT MEANINGFUL IN, IN TERMS OF HOW IT IMPACTS THE BUDGET? AND IF, IF YOU WERE TO STRENGTHEN YOUR WATERING RESTRICTIONS OR PROMOTE MORE CONSERVATION, WHAT KIND OF BUDGET IMPACT WOULD THAT HAVE? UM, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. 
          WE DO SEE, AGAIN, WHEN IT'S VERY DRY, THE ONLY TIME YOU GET INTO DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS IS WHEN WE'RE IN PERIODS OF DROUGHT. 
          WE SEE THAT ACTUALLY, UH, DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS, AT LEAST IN STAGE ONE AND TWO, WHICH WE HAVEN'T GONE TO STAGE THREE BEFORE AS A COMMUNITY. 
          UM, BUT STAGE ONE AND TWO, WE ACTUALLY SEE, PROBABLY WE'RE CLOSE TO BUDGET OR MAYBE EVEN A LITTLE IN EXCEEDANCE OF BUDGET. 
          'CAUSE PEOPLE STILL USE WATER, UM, EVEN DURING DROUGHT PERIODS BECAUSE IT IS SO DRY. 
          I MEAN, I, I THINK YOU SEE PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT OF INCREASED USAGE JUST FROM PEOPLE, UH, TAKING A SHOWER MORE OFTEN OR, YOU KNOW, UH, DRINKING MORE WATER TO STAY HYDRATED, ET CETERA, UH, IN THE HOT THAN WHEN IT'S COLD AND RAINY OUT. 
          UH, SO WE ARE MORE NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY RAINY WEATHER. 
          SO I CAN'T GIVE YOU AN EXACT PERCENTAGE, BUT, BUT WHAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE PAST IS THAT OUR DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS HAVE NOT NECESSARILY PROHIBITED US FROM, HASN'T IMPACTED OUR BUDGET IN A SIGNIFICANT MANNER. 
          CAN I, CAN I ADD SOMETHING TO YEAH. 
          UM, ONE, ONE OF THE KEYS, COUNCILMAN BRAVO, IS THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN, UH, DROUGHT, UM, UH, RESTRICTIONS, WHICH IS DROUGHT MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION. 
          UM, ANY UTILITY THAT DOESN'T SEPARATE THOSE TWO IS IN TROUBLE BECAUSE IF THERE'S A DROUGHT AND YOU IMMEDIATELY TELL YOUR PUBLIC START CONSERVING REVENUE DROPS, YOU'RE IN BIG TROUBLE, UH, FOR THE FUTURE. 
          SO WHAT WE'VE DONE AT SAS IS OVER THE YEARS, HAVE MADE WATER CONSERVATION, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT, NOT, UH, NECESSARILY WATER SAVING TOOLS, BUT A FINANCIAL TOOL. 
          SO IF YOU LOOK AT OUR SITUATION OVER THE LAST, UH, 30 YEARS OR SO, UH, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REDUCE THE, UM, THE AMOUNT OF WATER PER CAPITA, UH, WE HAVE SAVED OURSELVES HAVING TO BUILD ANOTHER DESAL PLANT EVERY 10 YEARS AGO, ANOTHER MAJOR PROJECT LIKE THE CHIR SINE PROJECT, ANOTHER MAJOR PROJECT LIKE THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT, ALL OF THESE WERE NECESSARY OVER A 40 YEAR TIME SPAN, BUT YOU WOULD'VE HAD TO HAVE ONE OR, UH, ONE OR TWO OF THOSE EVERY FOUR OR FIVE, 10 YEARS. 
          THE SAME THING IS EVERY DROP OF WATER THAT YOU DON'T USE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO TREAT. 
          SO FOR EXAMPLE, THIS 77 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OF TREATMENT, WE ACTUALLY CLOSED ONE OF OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS. 
          WE HAD FOUR, NOW WE ONLY HAVE THREE BECAUSE WE USED SO MUCH LESS WATER. 
          SO, ALTHOUGH ON A YEARLY BASIS, IT'S VERY HARD TO PREDICT WHEN YOU DO IT OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, IT IS A TREMENDOUS TOOL. 
          SO I WOULD LOVE THE OPPORTUNITY COUNCILMAN COURAGE FOR THIS MUCK TO HEAR HOW WE USE WATER CONSERVATION AS A FINANCIAL TOOL, NOT JUST A WATER, UH, LAWN, UH, UH, RESTRICTIONS OR THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, BUT ACTUALLY IT'S A FINANCIAL TOOL FOR US. 
          LOVE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AS WELL. 
          I THINK IT'S TIMELY AS WELL. 
          YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO THE CONVERSATION THAT C P S ENERGY IS HAVING RIGHT NOW ABOUT IF YOU INVEST IN IN CONSERVATION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY, CAN YOU SAVE MONEY ON HAVING TO BUILD OUT MORE CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE? YEAH. 
          RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          AND I, I APPRECIATE THE DISTINCT, UH, GIVING THE DISTINCTION OF THOSE TWO, THE CONSERVATION VERSUS, UH, DROUGHT, UM, DROUGHT MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT. 
          SO IN DROUGHT, DROUGHT MANAGEMENT, I GUESS, WOULD YOU SAY THAT MAYBE THAT CHANGES PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR, SO MAYBE THAT PEOPLE MIGHT WATER MORE, BUT WHEN THEY WATER COULD CHANGE, BUT MAYBE THEY'RE WATERING MORE BECAUSE IT'S SO DRY, OR MAYBE YOU'RE THEY'RE LOSING MONEY. 
          I MEAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE HAVING TO PUT MORE WATER IN THEIR POOL ON IT BECAUSE IT'S EVAPORATING FASTER AND WELL, UM, YEAH. 
          UH, WE'RE, WE'RE DEALING WITH HUMAN NATURE. 
          SO, UM, YOU CAN LOOK AT OUR, OUR PUMPING, UH, JUST ASK FOR THE RECORDS OF PUMPING AND YOU'LL SEE WHEN, WHEN THEY'RE STARTING TO HAVE TALK ABOUT A DROUGHT AND MAYBE DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS HAVING TO BE KICK IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, YOU'LL SEE A BUMP UP IN OUR PRODUCTION BECAUSE PEOPLE KNOW, HEY, UH, I'M OUT OF CYCLE AS FAR AS MY, THE NUMBER OF MY HOUSE AND WHEN I CAN WATER. 
          MAYBE IT'S GONNA BE FOUR DAYS FROM NOW, SO LET ME WATER NOW AND THEN I'LL START WATERING ON MY PARTICULAR DAY. 
          YOU CAN SEE THE CONVERSE. 
          EVERYBODY KNOWS IT'S GONNA START RAINING IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, UH, BUT WIND EXACTLY. 
          IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE MAYBE TONIGHT AND, AND TOMORROW. 
          SO THOSE PEOPLE THAT WATER ON, UH, TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY PROBABLY SHOULD HOPEFULLY WILL NOT 
          [00:50:01]
TURN ON THEIR SPRINKLER SYSTEMS, INCLUDING THE ONES ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. 
          'CAUSE THEY GOT A GOOD RAIN RAINFALL. 
          SO YOU'LL SEE OUR PRODUCTION DROP, UH, IN THE NEXT, UH, UH, 10 DAYS OR SO. 
          AND THEN IF IT, AND IF THIS, UH, WEATHER, UH, STOPS THE RAIN WEATHER, UH, THE RAIN EVENT STOPS AND YOU'LL SEE IT GO BACK UP, UH, ON, ON THE WATER RESTRICTIONS BECAUSE OF THE WATER RESTRICTIONS. 
          SO IT'S, IT'S VERY, THERE'S HUMAN NATURE. 
          I WISH KAREN GUZZ WAS HERE AND SHE CAN BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAVE. 
          SHE'LL SHE'LL, SHE HAS VERY GOOD RECORDS ABOUT WHAT, WHAT IS HAPPENING, UM, WHAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT AND HOW PEOPLE RESPOND WITH THEIR WATER SPRINKLER SYSTEM. 
          AND IT'S ALL ABOUT SPRINKLING, UH, IRRIGATING YOUR LAWN. 
          GREAT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. 
          I'VE GOT A FEW QUESTIONS NOW IF I MAY. 
          UM, FIRST OF ALL, UH, BECAUSE OF THE WATER SITUATION THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW, IT'S PRETTY DRY EVERYWHERE, ALL OVER TEXAS. 
          UH, WHAT'S THE STATUS OF OUR VISTA RIDGE PROJECT? ARE WE RECEIVING THE WATER, UH, ON, UH, BASIS OF, WHAT WAS IT, 57 MILLION GALLONS, UH, OR SOMETHING ON A REGULAR BASIS? 50,000 ACRE FEET A YEAR IS KIND OF WHAT WE HAD PLANNED TO GET LAST YEAR IN 2021, WE GOT 49,500 ACRE FEET. 
          SO WE GOT, WHAT IS THAT, 95? OKAY. 
          PLUS PERCENT OF THE WATER. 
          HOW ABOUT CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW? UM, I THINK WE'RE ON SCHEDULE FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS TO GET, WE SHOULD GET 50,000. 
          THEY ACTUALLY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE SLIGHTLY MORE THAN 50,000. 
          WE CAN TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE IN THE SUMMERTIME, AND SO THEY COULD PRODUCE AS MUCH AS LIKE 52,000 ACRE FEET IN A GIVEN YEAR. 
          SO THAT'S HELPING TO OFFSET, UH, THE NOT WITHDRAWING SO MUCH FROM THE EDWARDS. 
          RIGHT? WE ARE, YEAH. 
          WE'RE AT, LIKE, THE PERCENTAGE OF WATER THAT WE DREW OUT OF THE EDWARDS IN 2021 IS ROUGHLY 50% OF OUR TOTAL. 
          SO, WHICH IS MUCH LOWER THAN, YOU KNOW, PREVIOUS YEARS WE WERE DRIVING 70, 80, 90% OF OUR WATER WAS COMING FROM THE EDWARDS. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, WHAT IS OUR CURRENT CASH ON HAND IN DOLLAR AMOUNTS? CURRENT CASH ON HAND? UM, WE CURRENTLY HAVE ROUGHLY $1.2 BILLION OF CASH, OF WHICH ABOUT A LITTLE MORE THAN 600 MILLION OF THAT IS RESTRICTED IMPACT FEES, UNSPENT BOND PROCEEDS, ET CETERA. 
          AND THEN ABOUT 500 MILLION OF THAT IS CASH ON HAND. 
          AGAIN, WE ARE LOOKING TO DO THINGS, UM, WE JUST DID SOMETHING. 
          WE TOOK 66 MILLION AND RETIRED, REDEEMED SOME DEBT. 
          WE HAVE SOME OTHER THINGS THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT TRYING TO, UH, POTENTIALLY REDEEM OTHER SERIES OF DEBT, WHICH WILL HELP ALLEVIATE FUTURE RATE INCREASES. 
          THAT, THAT SURE SEEMS EXTREME TO ME. 
          I REMEMBER THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO WHEN THERE WAS ABOUT 500 PLUS MILLION DOLLARS CASH ON HAND, AND A LOT OF THAT WAS DEDICATED TO PAY OUR INITIAL FEES FOR VISTA RIDGE AND PAY WATER AND CASH. 
          BUT $1.2 BILLION IS HUGE. 
          WELL, IT IS HUGE, BUT FIRST OF ALL, HE SAID 600 IS RESTRICTED. 
          UH, IT HAS TO GO TO A SPECIFIC PURPOSE SO WE DON'T HAVE TO BORROW MONEY THEN IN THAT CASE. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO THE BORROWING COSTS SHOULD BE PRETTY LOW THIS YEAR. 
          WELL, BORROWING COSTS WERE, WERE VERY LOW PERIOD. 
          UM, THEY'VE GONE UP A BIT, BUT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT HAVING CASH ON HAND, IT HELPS IN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WASTE. 
          ONE OF 'EM IS IT ALLOWS US TO GET BETTER RATES, UH, WHEN WE DO BORROW MONEY. 
          MM-HMM. 
           ANOTHER THING, IT ALLOWS US TO PAY CASH SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO BORROW MM-HMM. 
          . 
          SO PEOPLE, UM, AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS, UH, I'M SURE SINCE DOUG HAS BEEN HERE SINCE 2005. 
          AND SO FOR THE LAST, UH, 20 YEARS, UH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS. 
          AND WHAT IT DOES IS SUPPRESSES RATES. 
          IT HELPS SUPPRESS RATES BECAUSE WE'RE ABLE TO BORROW AT THE RIGHT TIME AND BORROW LESS MONEY. 
          WHAT IT AL WHAT IT ALSO DOES, IT ALLOWS US TO DO THINGS LIKE WE DID LAST YEAR WHEN, UM, WHEN COVID, UH, EXCUSE ME, WHEN, UH, YURI HIT AND WHEN COVID HIT, WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY HELP OUR CUSTOMERS BY CEASING THE DISCONNECTIONS. 
          AND WE, WE HAVEN'T ASKED FOR A RATE INCREASE TO BE ABLE TO PAY FOR THAT. 
          WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE, WE HAVEN'T HAD TO ASK FOR A RATE INCREASE TO RESPOND TO HU UH, TO, UH, WINDSTORM URI BECAUSE WE'VE HAD CASH ON HAND. 
          UM, UH, AND SO THIS, UH, UH, $22 MILLION THAT'S IN THE CURRENT BUDGET TO RESPOND TO THE RESILIENCY MEASURES FROM THE STATE LEGISLATURE, UH, THAT ONLY TOUCHED, UH, PRI UH, PUBLIC ENTITIES. 
          THEY LET THE PRIVATE INDUSTRY GO, GO FREE. 
          UM, WE WERE ABLE TO DO IT WITHOUT A, WITHOUT A RATE INCREASE. 
          DOUG IS PUTTING ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN THERE, AGAIN, FOR RESILIENCY WITHOUT A RATE INCREASE. 
          SO CASH ON HAND HAS ITS PURPOSE, AND THAT'S THE WAY WE CHOOSE TO DO IT. 
          THAT'S GOOD. 
          AND I HOPE WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE DON'T NEED TO SEE A RATE INCREASE ANYTIME SOON WITH THAT KIND OF NO, IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE TOTALLY DIFFERENT. 
          UH, BE BECAUSE A RATE INCREASE WILL COME WHEN IT COMES BECAUSE OF THE NEEDS THAT WE WILL HAVE AND NOT BECAUSE OF CASH ON HAND. 
          [00:55:01]
WELL, WHAT IS THE, UH, RECOMMENDED AMOUNT OF CASH ON HAND TO REMAIN, UH, THE RATINGS THAT YOU HAVE TODAY? SO WHAT'S THE SUGGESTION FROM THE RATING COMPANIES? SO THEY WON'T GIVE YOU A ABSOLUTE NUMBER. 
          WE HAVE TARGETED ROUGHLY 300 DAYS CASH ON HAND. 
          UH, WE'RE SLIGHTLY MORE THAN THAT BEEN WORKED WITH BEN TROY AND HIS GROUP, UH, A NUMBER OF TIMES ABOUT, OKAY, WE HAVE PLANS FOR SPENDING THAT DOWN TO GET CLOSER TO THAT TARGET TARGETED LEVEL, BUT WE HAVE ROUGHLY 300 DAYS OF OPERATING CASH ON HAND IS KIND OF OUR TARGET THAT WE HAVE COMMUNICATED TO THE RATING AGENCIES. 
          WELL, THAT'S JUST BE SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO EXPLORE WITH Y'ALL FURTHER BEYOND TODAY'S MEETING. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, ONE OF THE THINGS YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, WAS PERFORMANCE PAY ABOUT 4%. 
          UH, WHAT WAS THE HIGHEST, UH, INCREASE THAT ANY EMPLOYEE MIGHT'VE RECEIVED? WERE THERE SOME, 'CAUSE I YOU DID A MARKET ANALYSIS, RIGHT? YEAH. 
          WELL, WHAT WE DID WAS WE COMPARE PEOPLE, OKAY. 
          WE GRADE THEIR PERFORMANCE. 
          WE ALSO LOOK AT HOW THEY ARE, OKAY, IF THIS IS A VERY HIGH PERFORMER, YET THIS INDIVIDUAL IS GETTING PAID MUCH LESS THAN SOMEBODY ELSE THAT'S NOT QUITE AS HIGH A PERFORMER AS WE TRY TO RESOLVE SOME OF THOSE EQUITY ISSUES. 
          BUT I CAN'T SPEAK TO THE ABSOLUTE HIGHEST NUMBER OF, UH, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT'S OUT. 
          I DON'T EVEN SEE THAT DATA THAT'S DONE IN HR. 
          SO, WELL, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT DATA SENT TO US SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT LEVELS OF, OF PAY INCREASES WE WERE SEEING. 
          UH, 'CAUSE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PERFORMANCE PAY, LET ME, LET ME FINISH, LET ME FINISH IF I MAY, I'M STILL TRYING TO MAKE A POINT. 
          AND THAT IS WE ALL GET A SALARY AND THAT SALARY MEANS WE SHOULD DO OUR JOB. 
          WELL, ANYTIME THERE'S AN INCREASE OR ADDITIONAL MONEY THAT SOMEBODY GETS OVER AND ABOVE, UH, WHAT THEIR NORMAL PAY SHOULD BE TO MY WAY OF THINKING IS BECAUSE THEY DID SOMETHING EXCEPTIONAL, SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF THEIR NORMAL, UH, JOB. 
          AND I JUST LIKE TO ENSURE THAT, THAT THE BOARD UNDERSTANDS THAT WHEN THEY START MAKING ADJUSTMENTS AND PAY, OBVIOUSLY MARKET HAS A LOT TO DO WITH IT. 
          SO I WOULD PRESUME THAT YOU DID A GOOD MARKET ANALYSIS AND THAT HELPS YOU DECIDE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME JOBS THAT NEED TO PAY MORE. 
          SO WE CAN KEEP THOSE PEOPLE ON BOARD, BUT AS FAR AS ANYTHING IN THE WAY OF, OF A PERFORMANCE PAY THAT THAT'S THERE BECAUSE SOMEBODY SEEMS TO BE DOING A BETTER JOB THAN SOMEBODY ELSE, WELL, EVERYBODY SHOULD BE DOING THEIR JOB TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY. 
          AND I, I JUST DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF BONUSES BECAUSE SOMEBODY SEEMS TO BE DOING SOMETHING BETTER. 
          YOU'VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THAT AND SHOW THAT INCREASED VALUE TO THE COMPANY. 
          UH, SO ANYWAY, THAT WAS MY COMMENT. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          FIRST OF ALL, WE DON'T DO BONUSES. 
          I, I I, I SERVE AT THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD. 
          UM, SO WE DON'T DO BONUSES. 
          THAT'S NOT WHAT PERFORMANCE PAY IS. 
          AND, UH, UH, CITY ATTORNEY SEGOVIA, I WOULD APPRECIATE GUIDANCE FROM YOU ON THESE PARTICULAR ISSUES, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF THIS COMMITTEE HAS THE AUTHORITY TO GET INTO HOW MUCH WE PAY OUR EMPLOYEES. 
          THE BOARD DOESN'T EVEN GET INTO MY OWN BOARD, DOESN'T EVEN GET INTO THAT. 
          I DO IT. 
          SO, SO WE TALKED ABOUT IT. 
          IT'S AN INFORMATIONAL, UH, PRESENTATION. 
          AGAIN, IT SOUNDS A LOT, A LOT MORE, A LOT MORE THAN INFORMATION. 
          YEAH, BUT I'M NOT ASKING FOR NAMES. 
          I'M JUST SAYING, YOU KNOW, PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE AND THE EXECUTIVE AND LOWER AREAS. 
          SO, OKAY. 
          UH, COME ON, NANCY. 
          UH, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO AVOID, UH, CITY ATTORNEY SEGOVIA. 
          IS, IS, IS THIS KIND OF DIRECTION FROM, FROM THE MUCK? AGAIN, THIS IS NOT DIRECTION. 
          UH OH, IT SURE SOUNDS LIKE IT. 
          WELL, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT. 
          I CAN CLARIFY. 
          IT'S NOT DIRECTION. 
          ULTIMATELY, AS WHAT I SAID, YOUR BOARD APPROVES YOUR BUDGET. 
          UM, I THINK THE COUNCILMAN, UH, UM, EEE, AS YOU POINTED OUT, YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF YOUR EMPLOYEES, JUST LIKE ERIC IS IN CHARGE OF HIS EMPLOYEES. 
          YET WE HEAR FROM THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHAT THEIR VIEWPOINTS ARE IN TERMS OF THE APPROACH WE SHOULD USE. 
          ULTIMATELY, IT'S UP TO ERIC. 
          ULTIMATELY, IT'S UP TO YOU. 
          AGAIN, I MADE IT VERY CLEAR THIS COMMITTEE IS NOT GIVING YOU ANY DIRECTION, ANY MANDATES. 
          UM, AND SO AGAIN, WE'RE HONORING THE FACT THAT THE, THE SAWS BOARD HAS THEIR SWIM LANE. 
          YOU HAVE THEIR SWIM LANE. 
          AND AGAIN, THE, THE COUNCILMAN JUST EXPRESSING HIS VIEWPOINT, IF I MAY, UH, CHAIR, IF YOU ALLOW ME, I JUST, YOU KNOW, I, ROBERT, I, IT'S, IT'S A CONVERSATION. 
          WE JUST, YOU KNOW, I'LL, I'LL ASK YOU TO, UM, CONTINUE WITH US HERE TODAY. 
          UH, WE, THERE'S JUST SOME THINGS WE DON'T KNOW, WE DON'T UNDERSTAND. 
          UM, I UNDER, I MEAN, I, I, I SEE THAT YOU'RE GETTING A LITTLE ESCALATED, AND I JUST WANNA ASK YOU, WELL, I, I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION, I UNDERSTAND YOUR POINT OF VIEW, BUT JUST TO HAVE THE, THE, THE TWO WEEK CONVERSATION AND FOR EXAMPLE, THE REQUEST THAT YOU MADE, YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT, UH, WHAT CONSTRUCTION IS GOING ON IN YOUR DISTRICT. 
          PERFECTLY UNDERSTANDABLE. 
          WHY YOU WOULD WANT THAT INFORMATION. 
          [01:00:01]
OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THAT WAS ALL. 
          SURE. 
          DO YOU WANNA SAY SOMETHING? THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE ONLY THING I WAS SAYING ON IT, SO, OKAY. 
          UH, YES. 
          COUNCILMAN BRAVO. 
          I WANT, UH, INTRODUCE A NEW TOPIC HERE. 
          UM, SO, YOU KNOW, SAN ANTONIO IS A SPREAD OUT CITY, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE THING THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE, THE, THE PIPES THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE REPLACING, SOME OF 'EM ARE OLDER, SOME OF 'EM ARE NEWER, SOME OF 'EM AREN'T BUILT TO LAST AS LONG. 
          AND I'VE DONE A LOT OF THINKING AROUND THAT FROM MY PREVIOUS WORK ON NATURAL GAS PIPELINES, AND LOOKING AT WHICH ONES DO YOU TARGET TO REPLACE FIRST? WHICH ONES DO YOU THINK ARE GONNA FAIL? UM, AND THERE'S A LOT OF COST IN THAT. 
          AND WHEN I TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT IT, SOMETIMES THEY SAY, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU SPREAD OUT, THAT INCREASES YOUR COST PER CUSTOMER BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO BUILD OUT SO MUCH MORE INFRASTRUCTURE AS OPPOSED TO BUILDING DENSITY. 
          AND SO I'M WONDERING IF OUR CITY WERE TO MAKE, UH, SOME KIND OF A, UH, TO, TO ESTABLISH SOME KIND OF A POLICY WHERE WE ARE MORE FOCUSED ON DENSITY AND WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SPREAD OUT AS MUCH AND BUILD OUT AS MUCH INFRASTRUCTURE, HOW CAN THAT AFFECT YOUR BUDGET? AND HOW CAN THAT, HOW CAN THAT REDUCE COSTS FOR RATE PAYERS OVER THE LONG TERM? TOUCH ON THAT, BY CONCENTRATING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          ONE, ONE GREAT THING ABOUT WHAT WE DO AT SAWS IS, UH, AS DOUG MENTIONED, ON IMPACT FEES, GROWTH PAYS FOR ITSELF, BUT YOU MAY NOT WANT THAT TYPE OF GROWTH THAT THAT EXPANDS, UH, JUST FURTHER AND FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY BECAUSE IT'S COSTING SOMEBODY SOMETHING, EVEN THOUGH THE DEVELOPER PAYS FOR IT, ACTUALLY, IT'S THE CONSUMERS THAT PAY FOR IT, THAT BUY THE HOMES, UH, THAT, UH, AND THEN YOU HAVE TO BUILD ROADS OUT THERE AND EVERYTHING. 
          SO THERE'S THAT ISSUE. 
          SO IF YOU DO CONCENTRATE IN AND HAVE A MORE OF A POLICY OF BUILDING UP THAN OUT, UM, AS LONG AS IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT IS VERY GRADUAL, AND THESE ARE GRADUAL THINGS THAT HAPPEN OVER MULTIPLE YEARS, WE CAN ADJUST. 
          WE, WE, UH, WHAT, WHAT AFFECTS SAWS IS IF YOU MAKE THESE DRASTIC CHANGES FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT. 
          SO THESE KINDS OF THINGS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, WHICH ARE VERY, UH, IMPORTANT AND VERY GOOD, GOOD. 
          AUSTIN, FOR EXAMPLE, IS DOING THAT. 
          THEY'RE GROWING, UH, VERY MUCH UPWARD, AS FAR AS, UH, AS OPPOSED TO OUTWARD, UH, THEN IT CAN BE DONE. 
          AND SO WE WOULD, UH, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, SAYS ABOUT THEIR GROWTH POLICY, OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD FOLLOW THAT. 
          SO, AND YOU SAY THAT GROWTH PAYS FOR ITSELF WAS A GROWTH PACE FOR ITS INITIAL BUILD OUT, BUT WHAT ABOUT 20, 30 YEARS FROM NOW, WHEN, WHEN THOSE PIPES HAVE TO BE REPLACED, WHEN LEAKS HAVE TO BE FIXED AT THAT POINT, IS IT, AREN'T THOSE COSTS SHARED ON THE OUTSKIRTS WHERE NEW DEVELOPMENT HAS OCCURRED, HAD OCCURRED 20 OR 30 YEARS AGO? AREN'T THOSE COSTS SHARED BY PEOPLE IN THE URBAN CORE? NOW THEY'RE PART OF THE SYSTEM? YES. 
          YEAH. 
          YES. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THAT'S WHAT I WAS WONDERING ABOUT IS LIKE, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT YOUR BUDGET LONG TERM, IF, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE CONCENTRATING OUR GROWTH AND, AND, UH, AS OPPOSED TO SPREADING OUT IT, IT, IT DOESN'T AFFECT IT, BUT NOT NECESSARILY IN AN ADVERSE WAY, WE, WE CAN ADJUST TO IT BECAUSE IT'S SUCH, IT'S, IT'S IN SUCH MULTIPLE YEARS. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU, ROBERT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I THINK THAT CONCLUDES OUR DISCUSSION ON ITEM NUMBER THREE. 
          UH, EXCUSE ME, NUMBER TWO. 
          NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS A BRIEFING BY SAWS ON THE RECYCLED WATER SYSTEM. 
          GOOD MORNING, MR. CHAIRMAN. 
          COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, FOR RECORD. 
          MY NAME IS DONOVAN BURTON, VICE PRESIDENT OF WATER RESOURCES AND GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS. 
          I GET TO MANAGE THE PURPLE PIPE RECYCLED WATER SYSTEM. 
          SO I'LL GET TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, ABOUT THAT. 
          YOU KNOW, IF YOU GO TO ANY, UH, WATER CONFERENCE, THE, THE LEADING THING TO DO IS TO DO RECYCLE WATER. 
          UM, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT RECENTLY. 
          WE ACTUALLY, IN SAN ANTONIO HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF, WE WERE THINKING ABOUT IT BACK IN THE 17 HUNDREDS. 
          SO SAN ANTONIO HAS A LONG HISTORY OF RECYCLING OUR, OUR WATER. 
          YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE, UH, BACK IN THE DAY, THEY HAD A SIAS THAT WOULD, SOME OF 'EM WOULD PORT, TAKE, UH, POTABLE WATER. 
          SOME OF 'EM WOULD TAKE THE SEWER, UH, EFFLUENT WATER. 
          AND, UH, SO WE WERE DOING THAT, AND THEY WERE IRRIGATING FIELDS BACK IN THE 17 HUNDREDS. 
          THEN YOU MOVED TO 1894, ACTUALLY JUST A FEW YEARS EARLIER THAN THAT. 
          WHEN, UH, GEORGE BRACKENRIDGE, UH, DRILLED AS WELL, WE HAD A LOT OF WATER. 
          AND SO WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO, WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THAT ADDITIONAL WATER WE WERE USING. 
          AND SO WE CONTINUED THAT PROCESS OF BUILDING A COLLECTION SYSTEM AND IRRIGATING FIELDS USING THAT WATER, THAT RECLAIMED WATER FOR, UH, UH, FOR PURPOSES FOR IRRIGATION PURPOSES. 
          IN THE 1919 0 1, WE BUILT THE, THE, THE MITCHELL LAKE SYSTEM, WHICH AGAIN, WAS USED AS, AS A, UH, A SEWER TREATMENT PLANT, BUT ALSO TO IRRIGATE FIELDS. 
          SO WE HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF RECYCLING WATER. 
          UH, IT IS A CORE 
          [01:05:01]
THING OF WHAT WE DO. 
          VERY IMPORTANT. 
          AND WE HAVE BUILT IT OUT NOW SO THAT WE HAVE THE NATION'S LARGEST DIRECT PURPLE PIPE, UH, RECYCLE SYSTEM. 
          SO, SOMETHING WE'RE VERY PROUD OF, WE GET TO TALK ABOUT IT A LOT, A LOT OF PEOPLE COME TO US FOR, FOR INFORMATION ABOUT IT. 
          UH, WHAT DO WE USE A RECYCLED WATER SYSTEM FOR? THERE ARE BASICALLY THREE PATHS. 
          UM, SOME IS FOR THE PURPLE PIPE SYSTEM, THE REUSE SYSTEM, UM, WHERE WE BRING IT BACK INTO THE CITY AND USE IT FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES. 
          UH, SOME OF IT IS FOR DOWNSTREAM USERS. 
          UH, THE, THE C P S ENERGY IS OUR, OUR BIGGEST CUSTOMER IN TERMS OF, OF INDIRECT POTABLE OR, OR, UH, EFFLUENT RECYCLED WATER. 
          AND THEN ULTIMATELY FOR INSTREAM BENEFITS. 
          FOR DOWNSTREAM BENEFITS. 
          AND I'LL TALK ABOUT EACH ONE OF THESE THREE PURPOSES JUST GRAPHICALLY. 
          IF YOU LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF WATER WE'VE GOT ABOUT AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT 125,000 ACRE FEET THAT GOES TO THROUGH OUR SYSTEM, ABOUT 25,000 OF THAT. 
          IT GOES INTO THE PURPLE PIPE SYSTEM FOR, FOR REUSE, ABOUT 50,000 IS DEDICATED FOR C P S ENERGY, AND THEN THE REST OF IT, 50,000, UM, PLUS GOES FOR RECITE OR FOR INSTREAM FLOWS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE COAST. 
          IF YOU LOOK GRAPHICALLY OVER THE PAST, UM, WHILE WHEN WE WERE SETTING UP THE SYSTEM, WE WERE THINKING ABOUT IT WAY BACK, UH, IN THE, REALLY, IN THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES, WE WERE STARTING TO, TO, TO THINK ABOUT THE SYSTEM. 
          WE HAD AN INCREASE IN OUR EFFLUENT FLOWS, AND SO WE THOUGHT WE WOULD HAVE A WHOLE LOT MORE WATER THAN WHAT WE, UM, UH, BUILT FOR. 
          WE WERE EXPECTING TO HAVE A LOT MORE RECLAIMED WATER. 
          UM, THEN YOU MOVE FORWARD, AND THIS GO BACK TO THE CONSERVATION DISCUSSION FOR A SECOND. 
          WHAT HAPPENED IN THE 1990S IS WE, WE, WE FOUND, UH, CONSERVATION THAT WAS A, A BIG THING. 
          WE WERE VERY DEDICATED TO CONSERVATION, AND THAT HAS CONTINUED TO BE A MAJOR FOCUS OF OUR EFFORTS. 
          WHAT THAT HAS DONE IS LOWERED THE EFFLUENT FLOWS. 
          AND YOU'LL SEE FROM EARLY 1990S TO NOW, IT IS, IT HAS BASICALLY REMAINED FLAT. 
          THAT GOES INTO THE DISCUSSION THAT, UH, I THINK COUNCILMAN BRAVO AND, AND, UH, MR. PUENTE WERE HAVING ABOUT NOT NEEDING SOME OF THOSE ADDITIONAL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. 
          THIS SLIDE KIND OF PROVES THAT OUT. 
          SO YOU LOOK INTO THE PURPLE PIPE SYSTEM. 
          UH, WE HAVE CONSUMPTIVE USE AND NON CONSUMPTIVE USE. 
          UM, YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE IT FOR LANDSCAPING, GOLF COURSES, COOLING TOWERS, INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES, UM, THE RIVER FLOWS, THAT SORT OF THING. 
          THESE ARE THE SORT OF THE BROAD CATEGORIES. 
          UM, OUR, OUR, OUR ONE HUGE BENEFIT, OBVIOUSLY FOR THE CI CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, FOR OUR WHOLE COMMUNITY IS THE RIVERWALK. 
          THE RIVERWALK IS WHAT IT IS TODAY BECAUSE OF OUR RECYCLE SYSTEM. 
          UM, OTHERWISE IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, UH, CHANGING IN FLOWS AND THAT SORT OF THING. 
          AND THE, THE RIVERWALK JUST WOULD NOT BE WHAT IT IS TODAY. 
          SO OUR RECYCLE SYSTEM MAINTAINS THAT RIVER WALK, AND IT'S HUGELY IMPORTANT TO OUR COMMUNITY. 
          UH, THEN YOU LOOK AT THE CONSUMPTIVE USERS, WE'VE GOT KIND OF A WHO'S WHO LIST OF LOTS OF DIFFERENT COMPANY THAT ARE VARIOUS CUSTOMERS OF OURS. 
          UM, WE USE IT AS A, AS AN ECONOMIC BENEFIT, AS AN ECONOMIC TOOL THAT ACTUALLY DRAWS BUSINESSES IN TO THIS. 
          PARTLY THE RATES, PARTLY THE, UM, UH, THE ACCC ACCESSIBILITY AND THE, THE, THE USE OF THAT WATER. 
          SO YOU LOOK AT TOYOTA, MICROSOFT NAVISTAR IS, IS GOING TO BE A USER AS WELL, BROOKS. 
          AND SO LOTS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
          THERE'S A WHOLE LOT MORE IN THERE, BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT IT, IT IS A, THE SYSTEM IS USED BY A NUMBER OF, OF BUSINESSES ALL AROUND THE, THE CITY. 
          OUR LARGEST PURPLE PIPE CUSTOMER IS THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. 
          AND SO, UM, THIS IS ESSENTIALLY A 2001 AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE BETWEEN THE TWO ENTITIES. 
          UH, 18 OWNED, CITY OWNED SITES, BOTH, UH, VARIOUS PARKS, THIRD PARTY OPERATORS, AND SOME RIVER FLOWS ARE WHAT'S CONTAINED IN THAT, UH, AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY. 
          UH, THE, THE, THE VERY ESSENTIAL PART OF THAT IS THE CITY CONVEYED SOME EDWARDS WATER RIGHTS TO US. 
          UH, WE PAID TO PLUG SOME OF THE FREE FLOWING WELLS THAT WERE FLOWING INTO THE RIVERS. 
          AND, UM, THAT WAS USED AS PART OF THIS AGREEMENT. 
          THAT AGREEMENT DID EXPIRE AT THE END OF 2021. 
          AND SO WE ARE, UH, RENEGOTIATING THAT NOW. 
          WE, WE ASSUME THAT IT'S GETTING, UH, VERY CLOSE TO, UM, TO, TO FINALIZING IT. 
          AND I, I EXPECT, I THINK YOU'RE, YOU MAY SEE THAT IN THE COMING MONTH. 
          UH, AGAIN, JUST A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON THE, THE TRANSFER. 
          THIS WA CAME FROM A 1999 CITY ORDINANCE AND A 2001 AGREEMENT THAT THAT FOLLOWED. 
          IT. 
          THE CITY CONVEYED ABOUT 5,000 ACRE FEET TO SAWS, OR WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS GONNA BE 5,000 ACRE FEET. 
          THIS WAS PRIOR TO ALL THE EDWARDS AQUIFER PERMITTING PROCESSES. 
          UH, THEY EXCHANGED IT, AGAIN, RIVER FLOWS FOR THE EDWARDS RIGHTS, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THE, THE BASIS OF IT WAS. 
          THE FINAL PERMIT DID COME IN ABOUT 2100 AS OPPOSED TO THE, THE 5 5200. 
          UM, AND THEN THAT'S CUT BACK DURING DROUGHT. 
          SO ULTIMATELY IT'S A LITTLE OVER A THOUSAND ACRE FEET THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY ABLE TO BENEFICIALLY USE IN, IN DROUGHT. 
          AND THEN JUST A, A LIST OF THE SITES AGAIN, UM, BRACKENRIDGE PARK CONVENTION CENTER, JAMES PARK, ITS LOTTO CREEK. 
          AND SO 
          [01:10:01]
LOTS OF THE, UH, THE 18 DIFFERENT SITES. 
          WE, WE THINK THAT THE NEXT AGREEMENT WILL BE LARGELY MORE ABOUT THE RIVER FLOWS AS OPPOSED TO SOME OF THE INDIVIDUAL SITES STILL WORKING THROUGH SOME OF THOSE DETAILS. 
          UH, YOU HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR RECYCLED WATER RATES. 
          UM, UH, THE SYSTEM IS NOT COLLECTING, UH, ITS COST OF SERVICE. 
          THE, THE, THE RECYCLE SYSTEM COLLECTS ABOUT A THIRD OF THE TOTAL COST OF ITS, ITS, UH, RECYCLED SYSTEM. 
          UM, AND IT'S ABOUT 20% THAT OF, OF, UH, POTABLE RATES. 
          UH, YOU HEARD A LITTLE BIT THAT THE, THE, THE 2019 RACK RECOMMENDATION, THE RATES ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED AN INCREASE IN RECYCLE RATES, 15% THE FIRST YEAR, 10%, 10%, UH, TO ULTIMATELY 55% ABOVE WHAT IT IS TODAY. 
          THAT SYSTEM DOES NEED TO, UM, UH, PAY MORE FOR ITSELF. 
          WE, IT WILL NEVER GET TO THE, THE FULL POTABLE RATE, AND WE DON'T NECESSARILY WANT IT TO BE THERE BECAUSE WE WANT TO INCENTIVIZE PEOPLE USING THE RECYCLED SYSTEM, BUT WE NEED TO GET CLOSER TO COST OF SERVICE. 
          AND SO I THINK YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE BIT MORE FROM OUR RACK PROCESS. 
          UM, WE'LL EXPECT SOME, SOME, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THEM AND OUR BOARD ULTIMATELY. 
          SO WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT AFTER THE, THE WATER LEAVES THE SYSTEM? IT'S NO LONGER IN THE PURPLE PIPE. 
          THIS IS THE, UM, THE OUTFALL. 
          SOME OF YOU HAVE SEEN THIS, UM, AT THE STEPHEN M KLAUS RECYCLED WATER SYSTEM, OUR RECYCLED WATER PLANT. 
          THAT WATER GOES INTO THE MEDINA RIVER, UH, AND IMMEDIATELY INTO THE CONFLUENCE WITH THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER. 
          OUR FIRST CUSTOMER IS C P S ENERGY. 
          I TALKED ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER. 
          50,000 ACRE FEET. 
          THIS IS A, A HUGE PART OF WHAT KEEPS THE LIGHTS ON, UM, AND THE ELECTRICITY FLOWING HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. 
          SO THAT, THAT'S A, A, A MAJOR BENEFIT. 
          WE LIKE TO SAY WE ARE THE, THE CP S'S BIGGEST CUSTOMER. 
          THEY ARE OUR BIGGEST CUSTOMER. 
          UM, IT IS ALSO AN INCREDIBLE BENEFIT FOR THE INSTREAM FLOWS, FOR DOWNSTREAM USES, UH, ALL THROUGH THE RIVER, AND THEN ULTIMATELY DOWN TO THE COAST. 
          YOU CAN SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER BASIN. 
          THAT WATER GOES DOWN THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER BASIN AND ULTIMATELY CONVERGES WITH THE GUADALUPE RIVER AND, UH, DISCHARGES ULTIMATELY IN THE BAYS IN ESTUARY SYSTEM. 
          THAT IS A, A, A, A HUGE BENEFIT FOR THE STATE, NOT JUST FOR SAN ANTONIO, FOR THE REGION, AND FOR THE ENTIRE STATE. 
          THE LEGISLATURE BACK IN 2007, SAW THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR RECYCLED SYSTEM, USED US AS KIND OF A MODEL. 
          UH, THE CHAIRMAN AT THE TIME, UM, HELPED PASS OR PASSED SENATE BILL THREE, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHO THE CHAIRMAN WAS. 
          I THINK HIS LAST NAME WAS PUENTE, UM, AT THE TIME. 
          SO CHAIRMAN PUENTE WAS, WAS THE, UH, AUTHOR OF THE SENATE BILL THREE. 
          AND THEY RECOGNIZED THAT DEDICATION OF WASTEWATER EFFLUENT WAS A HUGE PART FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR INSTREAM FLOWS IN THE BENEFIT OF OUR, UM, UH, BAYS AND ESTUARIES. 
          AND IN FACT, EVEN MR. PUENTE BACK IN 1997 WAS ALREADY FOCUSED ON THIS. 
          SO WE'RE, WE'RE EVEN BEHIND THE CURVE IN TERMS OF WORKING THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, MR. PUENTE BACK IN 1997 HAD AN AMENDMENT INTO THE SENATE BILL, UH, ONE LANGUAGE, WHICH IS KIND OF THE MAJOR WATER BILL THAT YOU HEAR ABOUT AT ALL WATER CONFERENCES, UH, THAT ALLOWS, UH, WATER UTILITIES TO RETAIN OWNERSHIP OF WATER, OF GROUNDWATER BASED EFFLUENT. 
          UM, AND THEN THE CHAIRMAN AT THE TIME ON THE SENATE COMMITTEE RECOGNIZED IT, AND HE SAID, WHAT WE HAVE IN HERE IS SOME LANGUAGE FOR SAN ANTONIO TO ALLOW FOR OUR GROUNDWATER REUSE. 
          SO WHAT THAT DID WAS IT SET UP SOMETHING FOR NOW, WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON, UNPRECEDENTED, HISTORIC THING THAT YOU'LL SEE, AGAIN, AT ALL WATER CONFERENCES GOING FORWARD, UH, WHAT WE CALL A BED AND BANKS PERMIT. 
          THIS IS A, A HUGE EFFORT THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH. 
          WE ACTUALLY FILED A, A PERMIT, UM, BACK IN 2013. 
          UM, THE C C Q HAS BEEN SITTING ON IT FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS. 
          UM, AND SO WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THAT. 
          UM, WHAT THE, THE BED AND BANKS PERMIT DOES IS IT ALLOWS TO USE THE STATE'S, UH, BED AND BANKS TO CONVEY WATER FROM ONE PLACE TO THE OTHER FOR GROUNDWATER BASED EFFLUENT. 
          OTHERWISE, ONCE THAT WATER HITS THE, THE WATER COURSE, IT BECOMES STATE PROPERTY. 
          SO WE ARE TRYING TO RETAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE RETAIN AS OUR ASSET AND BE ABLE TO PUT THAT TO BENEFICIAL USE. 
          EVEN DOWNSTREAM INSTREAM FLOWS ALL THE WAY INTO THE BAYS ESTUARY HUGE, LIKE I SAID, UNPRECEDENTED THING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. 
          WE THINK WE'RE GONNA GET ABOUT 50,000 ACRE FEET. 
          UH, WE ARE WORKING THROUGH A CONTESTED CASE PROCESS ON THAT. 
          UM, JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A, A, OF A MAP. 
          YOU SEE WHERE THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER AND GUADALUPE RIVER COME TOGETHER. 
          THAT IS WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE DISCHARGING IT, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S, IT'S A HUGE BENEFIT FOR THAT COASTAL ECONOMY. 
          UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT THE ARANSAS PAST WILD LIFE REFUGE FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO'VE BEEN DOWN THERE TO SEE WHOOPING CRANES AND THAT SORT OF THING. 
          IT'S A, A BIG ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT. 
          BUT I WILL SAY ALSO IT'S A, IT'S A BENEFIT FOR SAWS. 
          UM, AGAIN, ENVIRONMENTAL BUSINESS IN, UH, BENEFITS. 
          IT'S, IT'S CRITICAL TO THE COASTAL COMMUNITIES. 
          THEY RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, OH, I'M SORRY. 
          WE'VE GOT SOMETHING GOING ON. 
          UH, ANYWAY, THE, UM, SOME SLIDES THERE ALSO ABOUT, UH, SORRY, HE'S GOING THROUGH IT. 
          UH, 
          [01:15:01]
LOTS OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES, ABOUT 24 DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES, COUNCILS, UH, COUNCIL, UH, UH, COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, DIFFERENT OR ASSOCIATIONS HAVE SUPPORTED IT. 
          WE'VE GOT ABOUT 24 OF THOSE ENTITIES THAT HAVE, UH, DONE IT. 
          I'LL STOP PLAYING WITH THAT. 
          . 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK, THAT'S MY PRESENTATION. 
          I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT PRESENTATION. 
          GOT A LITTLE AHEAD OF YOU OR BEHIND YOU. 
          SORRY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UM, I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS WHERE I WANNA FOCUS ON THE PURPLE PIPE. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THAT'S, UH, WHAT WE KIND OF COMMONLY REFER TO AS RECYCLING, ALTHOUGH I THINK YOU POINTED OUT THE CITY'S, UH, ASPECT OF THAT. 
          AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, C P S'S ASPECT OF THAT ARE VERY IMPORTANT. 
          BUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE, THE PURPLE PIPE, UH, YOU SAY ABOUT 25,000 GALLONS, UH, IS IT A DAY OR, OR ACRE FEET, I'M SORRY? ACRE FEET, YEAH. 
          IS THAT PER YEAR? PER YEAR YOU GO THROUGH THERE. 
          OKAY. 
          PER, UH, PER YEAR. 
          THAT'S THE ALLOCATION THAT WE'VE GOT. 
          WE DON'T ACTUALLY SEND 25,000 BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH CUSTOMERS FOR, FOR 25,000, BUT THAT'S THE ABILITY TO, UH, OKAY. 
          UM, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF OF THAT IS PRIVATE, NON-PUBLIC USAGE? PRIVATE, NON-PUBLIC USAGE? UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, LIKE I SAID, THE CITY IS THE, THE LARGEST CUSTOMER WITH ABOUT 9,000 ACRE FEET. 
          THAT'S A HUGE, WELL, BUT THAT'S NOT PRIVATE NON-PUBLIC. 
          YEAH. 
          SO, SO I'M TALKING ABOUT BUSINESSES. 
          YEAH. 
          WHAT, WHAT PERCENT I I DON'T KNOW THE PERCENTAGE OF, OF, UH, CUSTOMERS WE HAVE. 
          A HUGE PERCENTAGE OF 'EM ARE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE BIG CUSTOMERS, YOUR TOYOTA'S, MICROSOFTS, YEAH. 
          AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. 
          OKAY. 
          BUT YOU CAN'T TELL US WHAT PERCENT OF THOSE, I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT PERCENTAGE. 
          I DUNNO IF ANYBODY ELSE HAS THE EXACT PERCENTAGE, BUT IT'S THE, THE LARGEST ARE OBVIOUSLY THE PUBLIC ENTITIES. 
          OKAY. 
          HOW ABOUT INDIVIDUAL PRIVATE HOMEOWNERS? ANY, ANY INCLUDED IN THAT? WE DON'T HAVE THEM IN THE, IN PRIVATE HOMEOWNERS. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A DIFFERENTIAL OF ABOUT $6 MILLION BETWEEN THE ESTIMATED COST AND THE ESTIMATED REVENUE. 
          UM, AND SO IF, IF THE REVENUE DOESN'T TAKE CARE OF THE COSTS, HOW ARE THOSE $6 MILLION IN COSTS ALLOCATED? YEAH, THOSE, THOSE COSTS GO END UP, UM, INTO, UH, THE REST OF THE, THE SYSTEM INTO OTHER RATES. 
          UH, WE CAN ASK THE, THE FINANCIAL PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT EXACTLY HOW IT GETS INTO IT, BUT ULTIMATELY IT'S PAID FOR BY THE ENTIRE SYSTEM. 
          UH, WELL, IS IT PAID FOR OUT OF THE GENERAL CLASS RATE? I'LL LET, UH, MARY BAILEY TALK ABOUT WHERE IT COMES FROM, OR IS IT OUT OF THE RESIDENTIAL CLASS RATE, OR SOME OF BOTH. 
          SO, WE TALKED ABOUT THE 2019 RACK, LOOKING AT RECYCLED RATES AND MAKING THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          THEY MADE A RECOMMENDATION THAT THE UNFUNDED RECYCLED COST WOULD BE FUNDED IN THE COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS BY RESIDENTIAL AND IRRIGATION FOR DISCRETIONARY USE. 
          THAT WAS THEIR RECOMMENDATION. 
          SO WHEN WE DID THE COST OF SERVICE, UM, ANALYSIS FOR THE 2022 RACK, WE USE THOSE, THAT SAME RECOMMENDATION. 
          UM, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE RACK, THE, THE 2022 RACK MAY WANNA MAKE SOME OTHER KIND OF RECOMMENDATION TO OUR BOARD. 
          BUT RIGHT NOW IN THE COST OF SERVICE STUDY, THAT'S HOW IT'S BEEN ALLOCATED. 
          DISCRETIONARY USE BY RESIDENTIAL AND IRRIGATION CLASS. 
          OKAY. 
          SO OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, THEN IT'S BEEN RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS AND LOCAL IRRIGATION CUSTOMERS, WHICH ARE RESIDENTIAL HOMES PRIMARILY, ALTHOUGH SOME BUSINESSES NO, NO. 
          IRRIGATION CLASS IS COMMERCIAL. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THEY'VE BEEN PICKING UP THE COST. 
          THAT'S CORRECT. 
          THE ADDITIONAL $6 MILLION A YEAR OR FIVE OR WHATEVER IT'S AVERAGE, IT'S ABOUT 6 MILLION. 
          UHHUH. 
          . 
          OKAY. 
          UH, THAT WAS MY ONLY QUESTION ON THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS? YES, COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          UM, MR. BURTON, THIS IS A GREAT PROGRAM. 
          ANYTIME WE CAN REDUCE OUR CONCEPTION OF, UM, PORTABLE WATER, UH, IT, IT'S OF GREAT BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          ON SLIDE, UM, 13, YOU HAVE THE 2001 COSA RECYCLED WATER AGREEMENT, AND I SEE SEVERAL SITES THAT UTILIZE RECYCLED WATER. 
          UM, AND FORGIVE MY IGNORANCE, BUT, AND I'M SURE THIS IS PROBABLY HIGHLY TECHNICAL, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE CHALLENGES IN EXTENDING RECYCLED WATER USAGE NORTH OF FOUR 10? ALL OF THE SITES, I THINK THE MOST NORTHERN SITE THAT I SEE ON THERE IS ALMOST GOLF PARK. 
          UM, BUT CAN YOU JUST HELP ME UNDERSTAND, I KNOW MISSION DE LAGO, UM, IS USING IT, I KNOW PURE SAW PARK, UM, HOW COULD WE GET MCALLISTER NORTHERN HILLS, UM, TO TAP INTO THIS TYPE OF RECYCLED WATER SUPPLY? YEAH, AND, AND A, A LOT OF TIMES IT'S JUST THIS, UH, A QUESTION OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND BUILDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          SOMEBODY'S JUST GOT TO BE WILLING TO, UH, TO PAY FOR THE, THE, THE EXTENSION OF THE MAINS OUT TO WHERE, WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE. 
          UH, THAT, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE LARGEST, I DON'T, IT'S NOT AN IMPEDIMENT, 
          [01:20:01]
BUT SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE, BE DONE. 
          IT'LL COST, COST SOME MONEY TO DO IT. 
          THERE IS ALSO, UM, AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE RECHARGE ZONE, WE TRY TO STAY OFF OF THE RECHARGE ZONE. 
          AND SO WHEN, DEPENDING ON HOW FAR NORTH YOU WANT TO GO, UM, WE DON'T GO INTO THE RECHARGE ZONE WITH OUR RECYCLE PROGRAM. 
          DO YOU HAVE A PLAN, UM, IN PLACE, OR DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT KIND OF SHOWS, UM, FUTURE GROWTH OF THE PURPLE PIPELINE THAT I CAN MAYBE SEE? YEAH, WE'RE GOING THROUGH A, UH, A MASTER PLANNING PROCESS WITH OUR ENGINEERING GROUP RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF, UH, PROGRESSION THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN TERMS OF OUR RECYCLE SYSTEM. 
          WE HAVE, IT'S NOT AN, UH, AUTOMATIC METERING SYSTEM, BUT IT'S A, A SYSTEM SIM SIMILAR TO THAT, WHERE WE'RE GETTING A LOT MORE, UH, DATA FROM INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMERS. 
          YOU KNOW, WE, WE GIVE THEM AN ALLOTMENT. 
          THEY USE WHAT THEY USE, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO GET A LITTLE MORE SOPHISTICATED ABOUT EXACTLY HOW MUCH THEY USE AND THAT SORT OF THING. 
          SO THAT IS IN, IN THE WORKS, UH, THROUGH OUR, OUR ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT. 
          WONDERFUL. 
          AND CAN YOU HELP ME SEE WHERE ALONG THIS ALDO CREEK THE PURPLE PIPELINE IS? IT'S AT JAMES PARK. 
          UM, JAMES PARK. 
          OKAY. 
          GOT IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THOSE ARE MY OWN COMMISS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCILWOMAN . 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UM, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS, PARKS. 
          SO I WANNA ASK A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THAT. 
          UM, I AM REALLY INTERESTED IN HOW PARKS ARE USED TO RECYCLE WATER. 
          I'M CURIOUS, UH, HOW IS A PARK SELECTED? DOES IT HAVE TO ALREADY HAVE A, A WATER FEATURE OR, UM, HOW, THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO DO, IS JUST, FOR SOME REASON, I'M SURE IT'S OPERATOR ERROR, BUT, AND MY REALLY, MY INTENTION IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN EXPAND THAT, THAT PROGRAM. 
          CAN WE PUT IT ON SLIDE THREE? I DUNNO IF THAT'S, UH, SO, UH, HOW, HOW THESE SITES ARE, ARE SELECTED, THEY'RE GENERALLY, UH, SELECTED BY THE CUSTOMER. 
          AND SO THE, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, IF THEY WOULD LIKE, UM, UH, RECYCLED WATER IN A PARTICULAR PARK OR A PARTICULAR AREA, UM, THAT'S WHAT WOULD WOULD HAPPEN. 
          THEY WOULD COME TO US, UM, PAY FOR THE EXTENSION OF IT TO, TO WHEREVER IT NEEDS TO GO. 
          UH, WE WOULD WORK ON TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE FLOWS IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA. 
          FLOWS ARE A VERY SITE SPECIFIC THING, DEPENDING ON WHERE IT'S AT. 
          UM, BUT GENERALLY PARTIC, PARTICULARLY ON THE WEST SIDE, WE, WE HAVE A LOT MORE CAPACITY THAN EVEN ON THE EAST SIDE, WHICH IS HIGHLY USED UP FOR THE RIVER FLOWS AND THAT SORT OF THING. 
          OH, OKAY. 
          WELL, LUCKY FOR ME, I'M ON THE WEST SIDE. 
          UM, BUT IN, UM, IN SLIDE, I THINK IT WAS SLIDE 13, YOU HAD THE DIFFERENT, THE DIFFERENT PARKS. 
          AND TOM SLICK IS IN DISTRICT SIX. 
          I'M CURIOUS, UH, OR MAYBE IT WASN'T, YEAH. 
          I'M CURIOUS, UM, WE HAVE A LITTLE POND THERE WITH ACTUALLY SOME PUBLIC ART RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. 
          IS THAT, IS THAT, HOW ARE YOU USING RECYCLED WATER IN TOMS LAKE PARK? IN WHICH PARK? I'M SORRY, IN TOMS LAKE. 
          TOMS LAKE PARK. 
          I, YEAH, I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          MAYBE WE FOLLOW UP. 
          I, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT, ABOUT HOW THAT'S BEING USED THERE IN THAT, IN THAT PARTICULAR PARK. 
          UM, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, UM, IN OUR LAST BOND DISCUSSION IN, UH, OUR BOND PROGRAM, IT INCLUDES A DESTINATION PARK IN MY DISTRICT WITH A LOT OF AMENITIES, A FOOD FOREST, ALL KINDS OF THINGS. 
          AND I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN, IN HOW WE CAN BRING THIS PROGRAM RECYCLED WATER, UM, INTO A PARK TO THAT PARTICULAR, UM, DESTINATION PARK. 
          HOMER, I'M LOOKING AT YOU NOW. 
          UM, SO I, I MEAN, LET'S PUT IT ON THE MENU LIST OF THINGS THAT I WANT TO HAVE IN THAT PARK, BUT I THINK THIS IS A REALLY INCREDIBLE PROGRAM. 
          UM, SO SHIFTING REALLY QUICKLY, DO WE HAVE ANY INCENT INCENTIVES FOR BUSINESSES TO PARTICIPATE IN A RECYCLED WATER PROGRAM? YEAH, SO COST IS A HUGE, UH, BENEFIT. 
          OBVIOUSLY, THERE'S A, A, A, A BIG DISCOUNT ON, ON, UH, THE RATES. 
          UM, BUT ALSO, UH, DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS. 
          THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE TO PARTICIPATE IN SOME OF THE DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS BECAUSE IT'S A RECYCLED WATER SYSTEM. 
          AND SO THAT'S A BENEFIT THAT THEY GET TO USE AS WELL. 
          UM, BUSINESSES GET TO USE IT FOR A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT PURPOSES. 
          BUT, UM, THOSE ARE KIND OF TWO PRIMARY BENEFITS. 
          I WONDER IF Y'ALL CAN LOOK AT A SPECIFIC PROGRAM TO, TO BRING IN A BUSINESS, EDUCATE THEM AND UNDERSTAND HOW IT DOES, UH, HELP THEM, AND ANY INCENTIVES, OTHER INCENTIVES THAT, THAT YOU CAN PROVIDE, UM, TO HAVE A, WE DO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, FOLKS WITHIN THE CITY, AND THERE'S SEVERAL ENTITIES OF THAT. 
          AND A LOT OF TIMES WE, WE DO WORK THROUGH TRYING TO GET A RECYCLE, UM, EX EXTENDED TO THEM. 
          MOST RECENTLY, NAVISTAR OBVIOUSLY WAS A BIG TO EXTEND THE RECYCLED WATER TO THEM, IT WAS A BENEFIT TO THEM. 
          SO WE HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS BACK AND FORTH. 
          OKAY. 
          AND MAYBE WITH THE CHAMBERS TOO, DO YOU CHAMBERS IN THE, UM, CITIES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? OKAY. 
          I'M VERY INTERESTED. 
          THE FIRST SLIDE YOU HAD. 
          I LOVE SEEING OLD PHOTOS OF , JUST KIND OF HISTORIC SAN ANTONIO. 
          UM, BUT I, I DIDN'T, I WASN'T AWARE THAT WE HAD THE NATION'S LONG, LONGEST HISTORY OF RE REUSE. 
          UM, SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER FEATHER IN OUR CAP, I THINK. 
          BUT HOW DO WE COMPARE TO OTHER CITIES NOW AS FAR AS, UH, WATER RECYCLING? WELL, WE'RE THE, WE'RE THE LARGEST. 
          THERE ARE VARIOUS CITIES THAT DO A LOT OF OTHER THINGS. 
          AND AGAIN, THERE'S PURPLE PIPE, THAT DIRECT RECYCLE, AND THEN THERE'S, UM, INDIRECT RECYCLE, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY THE BED AND BANKS, UH, CONVEYANCE. 
          AND SO, UH, WE WE'RE VERY 
          [01:25:01]
PROGRESSIVE ON WHAT IT IS. 
          AND SO A LOT OF THOSE CITIES COME TO US TO TALK TO US ABOUT IT. 
          LIKE I SAID, PARTICULARLY THE RIVER WALK. 
          IN FACT, WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH SOME OF THE, UM, UH, SOME OVERSEAS AREAS AND NAMIBIA AND OTHER PLACES THAT COME TO US AND WANT TO DO OUR RIVER WALK SIMILAR TO OURS AND, AND USE THE RECLAIMED SYSTEM. 
          I WONDER, IS IT POSSIBLE TO DO, TO DO A COMPARISON OF OTHER MAJOR CITIES, SPECIFICALLY IN TEXAS, I GUESS, OR, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HOW WE, HOW WE COMPARE. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          AND ACTUALLY, I WANNA INVITE, UH OH, GO AHEAD, PLEASE. 
          UM, I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY, UM, THAT I, I DO GET INVITED TO SPEAK AT A LOT OF CONFERENCES, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS, AND THERE TRULY IS NO COMPARISON. 
          UH, THERE IS A LOT OF DESIGN GOING ON, A LOT OF INITIAL STAGES OF WE, OF GETTING INTO A DIRECT RECYCLED AND INDIRECT RECYCLED, UH, MOSTLY DIRECT. 
          UM, BUT AS FAR AS BUILT OUT LIKE WE DID MM-HMM. 
           LIKE WE HAVE ALREADY, NO, THERE'S REALLY NOTHING. 
          IT'S US. 
          AND THEN, UH, A VERY, VERY BIG GAP BETWEEN SECOND. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL, THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR. 
          THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR. 
          UM, I ACTUALLY WANNA INVITE JILL, JILLIAN UP TO SPEAK AND JUST, UM, ADD SOME, MAYBE SOME CLARIFICATION TO SOME OTHER OTHER POINTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE HERE TODAY. 
          YES, MA'AM. 
          WELL, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO CLARIFY ANY OF THE, SO, THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN, MA'AM. 
          UM, I WANTED TO JUST SHARE WITH THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE. 
          SO, AS CHAIR OF THE SAS BOARD, I ALSO CHAIR OUR COMP COMMITTEE. 
          AND IN PREPARING ANNUALLY FOR THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR OUR C E O, WE DO LOOK AT EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, AND WE ALSO OBVIOUSLY LOOK AT, UH, FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP SO THAT WE CAN, WE ARE IN A POSITION TO APPROVE THE BUDGET ANNUALLY. 
          AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS BEEN SHARED WITH US BY OUR VP OF HR WHO ISN'T HERE TODAY, IS PERIODICALLY SHE DOES LOOK AT THE OVERALL MARKET USING OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS TO DETERMINE THE MARKET POSITION FOR OUR EMPLOYEE, OUR COMPENSATION SYSTEM AS SAUCE. 
          AND HAPPY TO REPORT, AS DOUG REPORTED EARLIER, WE DID APPROVE A BUDGET THAT, UH, ADJUSTED THE LIVING WAGE FOR OUR EMPLOYEES. 
          SO THAT ENTRY LEVEL LIVING WAGE IS IN COMPARISON TO PEER ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND C P SS ENERGY. 
          AND SO WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO KEEP UP WITH THAT MARKET ANALYSIS THAT IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM PERFORMANCE PAY. 
          SO THAT IS A SEPARATE SYSTEM THAT'S EMPLOYED BY SAS. 
          UH, THEY DO SUPPORT EACH OTHER, BUT THEY ARE VERY TWO SEPARATE FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES BY THE HR DEPARTMENT. 
          SO AFTER THAT MARKET ANALYSIS IS DONE, OUR VP OF HR DOES MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR ALL OF THE SAS EMPLOYEES. 
          AND IT IS ROOTED ON SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES THAT EMPLOYEES MUST MEET OR EXCEED, AND THEN THEY ARE THEN ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE PERFORMANCE PAY THAT IS, UM, THAT IS RATED AND RANKED BASED ON THEIR ACTUAL PERFORMANCE. 
          AND SO ONE OF THAT PERFORMANCE PAY WAS JUST PAID OUT IN MAY. 
          UH, ONE OF THE FUTURE ACTIVITIES THAT WE WILL CERTAINLY TAKE OUR ADVISEMENT FROM THE COMMENTS WE HEARD TODAY. 
          BUT ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE WILL BE ASKING THE COMP COMMITTEE IS WHAT WAS THE OVERALL ADMINISTRATION AND PERFORMANCE OF THAT PERFORMANCE PAY? BECAUSE AS THE FALL ROLLS AROUND, WE WILL NEED TO CONSIDER THE BUDGET FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR. 
          WE WILL NEED TO ESTABLISH NEW OBJECTIVES FOR OUR C E O, AND WE'LL ALSO WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE WITHIN THE MARKET FOR OUR EMPLOYEES FOR PAY. 
          WE RECENTLY MADE SCHEDULE CHANGES SO THAT ALL OF THOSE SYSTEMS AND ALL OF THOSE PROCESSES WOULD BE ALIGNED. 
          SO WHEN THE BOARD SETS THE OBJECTIVES FOR MR. PUENTE, THEY ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE OBJECTIVE SETTING PROCESS FOR ALL OF THE REST OF THE EMPLOYEES AT SASS SO THAT EVERYONE IS ON THE SAME RATING PERIOD, AND THE EMPLOYEES ARE NOW PARTICIPATING IN THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE FOR THEIR C E O. 
          SO I JUST THOUGHT THAT THAT ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATION WAS IMPORTANT TODAY. 
          UM, BUT I WILL CERTAINLY TAKE THE CONCERNS FROM COUNCILMAN COURAGE AND IN THE FUTURE WORK OF THE COMP COMMITTEE, WE WILL BE SURE WE ARE, WE GET AN UPDATE AS WE DO AN UPDATE ON THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF OUR PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND THE MARKET POSITION FOR SAUCE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THAT DOES CLARIFY. 
          UH, SOME THINGS FOR ME, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING THOUGH. 
          SO THE PERFORMANCE PAY IS OVER AND ABOVE THE WAGE. 
          THE LIVING WAGE INCREASE. 
          WE, WE LOOK AT, UM, THE VP OF HR AT SAS LOOKS AT THE OVERALL MARKET PERIODICALLY. 
          IT IS NOT AN ANNUAL, THE MARKET DOESN'T MOVE EVERY YEAR. 
          PERFORMANCE PAY IS CONSIDERED EVERY YEAR. 
          AND ACCORDING TO THE BUDGET AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS IT'S AWARDED ANNUALLY OR NOT. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH, LY THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          MM-HMM. 
           COUNCILWOMAN, IF I MAY, I MEAN, AGAIN, JUST TO CLARIFY, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT BONUSES. 
          IT'S PERFORMANCE PAY, AS I UNDERSTAND IT AT SAWS, IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE CITY FOR BONUS PAY. 
          IN TERMS, IT'S BASED ON EACH INDIVIDUALLY INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE'S PERFORMANCE OVER THE YEAR. 
          SO AGAIN, IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE HAVE HERE AT HR IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE PAY. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. 
          I, I UNDERSTAND THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR 
          [01:30:01]
COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I, I DID WANNA REITERATE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS AND IDEAS EXPRESSED BY MY COLLEAGUES. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, NUMBER ONE IS WHAT IS MY INCENTIVE TO USE RECYCLED WATER? AND, AND YOU MENTIONED WHAT THOSE WERE, BUT I'M IN COMPLETE AGREEMENT THAT, UH, A DEDICATED PROGRAM WOULD BE, WOULD BE GREAT. 
          UM, IT LOOKS LIKE RIGHT NOW WE DON'T HAVE, UM, AN ESTABLISHED METHOD TO PAY FOR EXPANSION OF THE SYSTEM. 
          AM I UNDERSTANDING THAT CORRECTLY? I'M SORRY, SAY THAT AGAIN? AN ESTABLISHED METHOD TO PAY FOR THE EXTENSIONS. 
          CORRECT. 
          SORT OF THE WAY YOU HAVE THE CAC, RIGHT. 
          FOR THIS, I DON'T, I, IF, IF THE CITY WANTS ADDITIONAL RECYCLED WATER TO A PARK, THE CITY WOULD PAY FOR THE EXTENSION. 
          VERY DIFFERENT FROM EXPANDING OTHER TYPES OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT SS PROVIDES. 
          NO, UH, THE CUSTOMER ALWAYS PAYS FOR THE EXTENSION. 
          AND HOW DO YOU DETERMINE THE COSTS? IT'S WHATEVER THE CONSTRUCTION DOLLARS ARE TO PAY FOR THAT EXTENSION. 
          OKAY. 
          SO IT JUST SEEMS VERY DIFFERENT FROM, UM, YOU HAVE A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
          THEY HAVE A LAND USE PLAN, THERE'S A VERY STRUCTURED WAY IN WHICH THEY MAP OUT WHAT THE GROWTH IS GOING TO BE. 
          THERE IS NOTHING ANALOGOUS TO THAT WHEN IT COMES TO THE PURPLE PIPE. 
          CORRECT. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, AND YOU WOULD ONLY DO THAT IF WE GAVE, IF THE CITY GAVE DIRECTION TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT? IF WE WANTED TO GROW THE PURPLE PIPE SYSTEM MORE SIGNIFICANTLY? WELL, THE, THE PURPLE FI PIPE SYSTEM IS ESSENTIALLY BUILT OUT AS FAR AS IT BEING CIRCULAR AROUND THE, UH, THE COUNTY, AROUND THE CITY. 
          FROM THERE, THE SPOKES WOULD GO TO THE PARTICULAR ENTITY THAT WOULD WANT IT. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, UM, THERE IT IS. 
          IT'S LIKE A COMPLETE CIRCLE. 
          SO, UH, ANYTHING WITHIN THIS AREA RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE, THERE WOULD BE VERY EXPENSIVE. 
          UH, 'CAUSE YOU'D HAVE TO BUILD A, A, A LINE ALL THE WAY FROM THERE INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY CO CORRECT. 
          I THINK ANDY HAD A, HAD A COMMENT HE WANTED TO ADD, AND I WOULD SUGGEST IT'S A LITTLE BIT, WELL, I'M SORRY, DID YOU WANNA STEP IN? NO, I, I WAS, I WAS ASKING IF EXPANSION, IF IT'S NOT, IT SHOULD BE PART OF THE, UH, AGREEMENT THAT WE WILL HAVE NEGOTIATED IN TERMS OF WHAT, WHAT THE COST, HOW THEY WOULD BE CALCULATED. 
          WE WANTED TO EXPAND THE SYSTEM, BUT IT'S CORRECT IF THERE'S AN EXPANSION THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ASKING FOR, WE SHOULD, WE NEED TO COVER THE COST. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, AND IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. 
          I'LL JUST SAY IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN THE POTABLE SYSTEM. 
          I THINK, I THINK I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE IMPACT FEES AND CIAC PROCESS AND, AND HOW WE, WE GROW THE, THE POTABLE SYSTEM. 
          WE, WE CAN PREDICT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN A RECYCLED SYSTEM GROWTH, FOR EXAMPLE. 
          WE DON'T KNOW WHO THOSE CUSTOMERS ARE GOING TO BE. 
          A LOT OF TIMES THEY'RE KIND OF ONE-OFFS AND, AND, UH, WE DO HAVE SOME GENERAL AREAS WHERE WE CAN TARGET, AND WE, WE THINK THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE THIS, THIS, UH, CIRCLE AROUND THE CITY ESSENTIALLY. 
          UM, BUT, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT BUILT THE SAME WAY AS OUR POTABLE SYSTEM IS, UM, BECAUSE WE CAN, BECAUSE OF THE GROWTH. 
          UM, IT JUST, I GUESS I'D, I'D HAVE TO SEE SOME NUMBERS. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED THAT RIGHT NOW THE INCENTIVES ARE, IT IS A LOWER RATE AND, UH, DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS. 
          BUT IF I, UM, HAVE A BUSINESS ON 35, RIGHT, WHERE THERE'S A BIG GAP AND I HAVE TO PAY FOR THE PIPE FROM, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE CLOSEST LOCATION, HOW LONG WILL IT BE BEFORE I RECOVER MY COST? AND BEFORE IT'S ACTUALLY AN INCENTIVE TO ME. 
          LIKE MY, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT MIGHT BE LONGER THAN THE LIFETIME OF MY BUSINESS, BUT I, I'D REALLY JUST LIKE TO GET A SENSE OF THAT. 
          YEAH. 
          IT, IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU ARE AND WHAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S PUMPING ASSOCIATED WITH IT AS WELL. 
          IS THERE STORAGE IN THAT AREA? THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS THAT GO INTO THE, THE ENGINEERING OF A PROJECT LIKE THAT. 
          SOMETIMES IT MAKES SENSE AND SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T. 
          UM, THERE ARE, THERE ARE TIMES WHERE IT JUST WON'T, WON'T MAKE SENSE TO AN INDIVIDUAL PARK OR, OR, UM, OR BUSINESS. 
          THOSE ARE THE DISCUSSIONS YOU HAVE. 
          WELL, I'M NOT GONNA GIVE DIRECTION, BUT I'M GONNA GIVE, UH, AN OPINION , UH, WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT  IF IT MADE SENSE MOST OF THE TIME, AND WE HAD A WAY TO INCENTIVIZE IT TO MORE PLACES. 
          AND A PLAN FOR, FOR GROWTH OF THAT SYSTEM IS, UH, COUNCILWOMAN. 
          I THINK Y'ALL ALREADY DO. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, UH, TOYOTA, WHEN THEY CAME IN, PART OF THEIR AGREEMENT TO COME IN WAS FOR SA TO PICK UP A LOT OF THAT INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          UH, AND SO THAT WAS AN ECONOMIC ECONOMIC PACKAGE THAT WAS CREATED FOR THEM. 
          UH, NAVISTAR, SAME THING. 
          SO THESE, SO ARE RATE PAYERS PAID FOR THAT? UH, ALL TAXPAYERS AND RATE PAYERS, UH, HELP PAY FOR THAT? YES. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, COULD YOU, UH, THANK YOU FOR, FOR SHARING THAT. 
          UM, I, AGAIN, THAT SOUNDS LIKE 
          [01:35:02]
NOT A STANDARD SYSTEM, BUT A SORT OF CASE BY CASE BASIS. 
          UM, IT SOME, UM, I THINK IT WAS, UM, MS. BAILEY WHO MENTIONED THAT THE 2019 RAC HAD RECOMMENDED INCREASES IN THE RATES, UM, FOR A COUPLE OF CATEGORIES, BUT, UM, FOR DISCRETIONARY USE. 
          SO IT WASN'T QUITE CLEAR WHAT WAS MEANT BY THAT. 
          SO AGAIN, THE RATE RECOMMENDATION WAS FOR RECYCLED WATER RATES. 
          UM, AND, UM, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE NOT PUT INTO EFFECT BECAUSE THE RACK WAS SUSPENDED BECAUSE OF COVID. 
          AND NOW WE'VE RESTARTED THE RACK IN TERMS OF THE DISCRETIONARY, WHEN WE'RE ALLOCATING THE UNRECOVERED COST TO RESIDENTIAL AND IRRIGATION BASED ON THEIR DISCRETIONARY USE, DISCRETIONARY BEING OUTDOOR USE. 
          SO ALL OF IRRIGATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE DISCRETIONARY. 
          UM, FOR RESIDENTIAL, WE LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KIND OF THE AVERAGE USE DURING WINTER MONTHS VERSUS THE AVERAGE USE DURING THE REST OF THE, THE YEAR AND SAID THAT DIFFERENCE IS CONSIDERED TO BE OUTDOOR USAGE AND THEREFORE DISCRETIONARY. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, THANK YOU. 
          AND THEN ONE LAST, UH, QUESTION. 
          YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT NOT EXPANDING THE PURPLE PIPE INTO THE RECHARGE ZONE. 
          MM-HMM. 
          , COULD YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? YEAH, I THINK IN, IN THE PAST, AND WE'VE, WE'VE ALWAYS, UM, HELD IT, WE DON'T WANT TO TAKE ESSENTIALLY EFFLUENT UNTREATED, UM, OR IT'S TREATED, BUT, UM, NOT POTABLE WATER OVER THE RECHARGE ZONE, WHICH WOULD THEN, UM, RECHARGE INTO THE AQUIFER. 
          UM, THAT'S BEEN THE POLICY. 
          WE'VE, WE'VE TAKEN IF, IF WE DO SOME OF THOSE EXTENSIONS. 
          AND I DO SEE, YOU KNOW, YOU TALK ABOUT GROWTH, THERE ARE SOME OPPORTUNITIES OUT IN THAT AREA. 
          UM, THERE'S PROBABLY GONNA BE A REQUIREMENT FOR MORE TREATMENT, OBVIOUSLY A WHOLE LOT OF PUBLIC DISCUSSION ABOUT WHY WE'RE, WE'RE, UH, PUTTING, RECYCLE INTO THE RECHARGE ZONE, IS THAT GETTING INTO OUR DRINKING WATER AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. 
          SO THERE'S, THERE'S A BIG, BIG PUBLIC CONVERSATION AS WELL. 
          THERE'S CERTAINLY SOME, UM, UH, SOME BENEFITS FROM, FROM A WATER PERSPECTIVE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OH, WHEN WE WERE DESIGNING THE RECYCLED SYSTEM BACK IN 1998 AND ASKING FOR THAT FIRST AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS TO BUILD SUCH AN INCREDIBLE LOOP, ONE OF THE BOARD MEMBERS SPECIFICALLY ASKED, AND THEY GAVE US DIRECTION. 
          THERE ARE ENOUGH CUSTOMERS INTERNAL TO FOUR 10 IN SAN ANTONIO. 
          THERE WAS NO REASON TO DO A LONG EXTENSION TO GO ALL THE WAY UP TO, AT THE TIME, THEY WERE LOOKING AT QUARRIES FOR WASHING ROCK AND DOING THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          SO THEY SAID, LET'S BE, LET'S BE PROTECTIVE OF THE AQUIFER AND LET'S MAXIMIZE OUR DEVELOPMENT OF THE RECYCLED SYSTEM WITHIN THE, THE BOUNDARIES THAT YOU CAN SEE TODAY. 
          SO, UH, FROM AN EXTENSION COST PERSPECTIVE, THEY SAID, WHY PUMP EVEN FURTHER NORTH? LET'S USE THAT WATER AS MUCH AS WE CAN AS AN ECONOMIC GENER GENERATOR HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. 
          THANK YOU, MR. CLOSE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, COUNCILWOMAN KABE. 
          I HAD ONE MORE QUESTION, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO COUNCILMAN BRAVO. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          I, I, UM, THIS MAY BE ALSO FOR ANDY, BUT, UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE, THE CITY'S RECYCLED WATER AGREEMENT EXPIRED IN DECEMBER OF 21, IS THAT CORRECT? SO ARE YOU CURRENTLY, I THINK YOU MENTIONED THAT. 
          ARE YOU CURRENTLY IN NEGOTIATIONS, UM, TO EXTEND, OR, I THINK TROY CAN PROVIDE A BETTER UPDATE, BUT, UH, YEAH, WE ARE, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, COUNCILMAN, WE'RE VERY CLOSE TO AN AGREEMENT. 
          UH, WE JUST, UH, HAVE TO SEE HOW, WHAT, UH, WAS IT SACHA'S ROLE OR SARAH? SARAH'S ROLE WILL BE IN TERMS OF THE OVERALL AGREEMENT, BUT OKAY. 
          WE'RE VERY CLOSE, BUT TROY CAN GIVE A MORE DETAILED UPDATE. 
          YEAH. 
          AS DONOVAN AND ANDY MENTIONED, IT ENDED IN DECEMBER. 
          UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM ACTIVELY PRIOR TO DECEMBER AND OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, AND WE ARE VERY CLOSE. 
          UH, THE TWO BIGGEST TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT ARE, OF COURSE, THE VOLUMES WE TAKE AND THE COST. 
          AND AS ANDY MENTIONED, THERE WAS A SMALL PIECE WITH SARAH THAT WE HAD BEEN WORKING WITH, AND WE'RE WRAPPING THAT UP. 
          SO WE SHOULD BE BRINGING SOMETHING TO Y'ALL VERY QUICKLY HERE. 
          WHAT, WHAT DID YOU SAY WERE THE TWO THINGS? I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T HEAR YOU. 
          UH, VOLUME AND THE COST. 
          SO WHAT DO YOU KNOW? CAN YOU JUST SORT OF HIGHLIGHT WHAT THE BIG CHANGES ARE OR NOT YET? UM, WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS SINCE THE, IF DONVAN MENTIONED, THE RIVER WALK IS A VERY IMPORTANT AMENITY TO THE CITY. 
          SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE APPROPRIATE, APPROPRIATE VOLUME IN TERMS OF ACREAGE OF WATER TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WHEN WE ENTER THIS AGREEMENT, THAT WE HAVE ADEQUATE SUPPLY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN THE WATER LEVELS. 
          UM, SO THAT WAS ONE OF THEM. 
          AND THEN OF COURSE, THE OTHER IS PRICE. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THAT WAS ALL. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCILMAN, COUNCILMAN BRAVO. 
          OKAY. 
          HE HAS NO QUESTIONS. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          WELL, THAT CONCLUDES OUR DISCUSSION. 
          I ON, UH, RECYCLED WATER. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS, UH, A 
          [01:40:01]
BRIEFING BY CHAIR, UH, ON, UH, SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEMS RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
          WE HAD INVITED, UH, FRANCIS GONZALEZ CHAIRPERSON. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE TODAY. 
          HOW ARE YOU? COUNCILMAN? COURAGE. 
          UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INVITATION TO BE HERE. 
          I, UM, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE BEEN AT CITY HALL. 
          UH, I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY COUNCILWOMAN ANASAN DOVAL. 
          IT'S GOOD TO SEE HER, BUT I'D ALSO LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, IF I COULD, UH, WHEN I LEFT CITY HALL, I WAS FOUR MONTHS SHY OF 30 YEARS. 
          UM, AND SO SOME OF THE COLLEAGUES I SEE HERE TODAY, I WORKED WITH SIDE BY SIDE FOR SO MANY YEARS, AND SOME OF YOU ARE NOW APPOINTED, UH, AND ELECTED, AND SO IT'S A JOY TO JUST TO BE BACK. 
          SO I APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH, MUCH. 
          UM, I WANTED TO SAY, I ACKNOWLEDGE ALSO THAT, UM, THE SASS CHAIR, GOOD FRIEND, AND, UH, THE C E O AND OF COURSE, THE STAFF OF, UM, THE STAFF TEAM AND OUR CONSULTANTS FOR THE RECORD, UH, RATE ADVISORY PROCESS HAVE BEEN STELLAR AND VERY HELPFUL TO THE COMMITTEE. 
          I ALSO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THE VICE CHAIR. 
          UH, HIS NAME IS PATRICK GARCIA. 
          I'D LIKE FOR HIM TO STAND UP. 
          UH, PATRICK HAS BEEN, UH, ADVISING ON RATE ADVISE ON THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEES FOR TWO DECADES. 
          AND SO I WANT TO GIVE, ACKNOWLEDGE HIM FOR HIS SERVICE. 
          HE HAS, UM, MUCH INFORMATION ON AND HAS BEEN, HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN SO MANY DIFFERENT COMMITTEES RELATED TO WATER. 
          AND I JUST THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE WHEN, UH, THERE ARE FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT ARE VERY WILLING TO GIVE UP THEIR TIME, UH, TO SUPPORT THINGS THAT THEY'RE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT. 
          JIM, UH, SPOKE A LITTLE WHILE EARLIER. 
          HE IS PART OF THE 2019 RACK AND, UH, ALSO LIKE MYSELF CAME BACK, AND SO I'M VERY GLAD TO HAVE HIM HERE AS WELL. 
          I HAVE A SHORT UPDATE FOR YOU, UM, ON JUST WHERE THE PROCESS IS AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING, AND SORT OF A, A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW HERE. 
          FORGIVE ME, I I'M NEW TO THIS LITTLE, UM, THING HERE. 
          THERE WE GO. 
          UM, JUST A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE, OF THE PHASES OF THE RATE STUDY, UH, THE PURPOSE AND PROCESS AND, AND WHO IS ACTUALLY IN THIS PROCESS AND WORKING TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE GOING TO MEET THE REVENUE NEEDS OF THE UTILITY. 
          UH, THE PURPOSE OF THE RATE STUDY IS TO ALLOCATE REVENUE REQUIREMENTS, UH, TO THE VARIOUS CUSTOMER CLASSES AND TO DETERMINE HOW TO STRUCTURE RATES. 
          UM, WE TAKE OUR RESPONSIBILITY VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY BECAUSE THIS IS A FIVE YEAR IMPACT THAT WE, WE WILL BE MAKING IN TERMS OF THE UTILITY AND ITS REVENUE NEEDS. 
          UM, PHASE ONE REQUIRES DETERMINING HOW MUCH THE REVENUE, HOW MUCH REVENUE THE UTILITY NEEDS TO GENERATE. 
          UH, THE SAS BUDGET IS USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. 
          AND, AND THE MODELING THAT IS DONE FOR THE RATE STUDY, UH, BY THE, OUR CONSULTANTS. 
          WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH COROLLA AND ASSOCIATES TO SUPPORT US NOT ONLY IN PRESENTING INFORMATION, BUT OF COURSE ANSWERING AN ARRAY OF QUESTIONS FROM OUR NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS. 
          PHASE TWO IS THE COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS, WHICH ASKS THE QUESTION, HOW SHOULD REVENUE REQUIREMENTS BE CAPTURED BY THE VARIOUS CLASSES? UM, THIS IS A, UH, AN EFFORT AND A PROJECT THAT'S DONE BY THE, THE CONSULTANT, AND THEN THAT INFORMATION IS PROVIDED TO THE BOARD, AND IT IS ALSO PROVIDED AS FUNDAMENTAL AND FOUNDATIONAL TO THE WORK OF THE REC. 
          UH, THE WORK OF THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE BEGINS AT PHASE THREE. 
          OUR CONSULTANT AND STAFF WALKED US THROUGH HOW MUCH REVENUE DO WE NEED TO RAISE AND REVIEWING HOW TO DISTRIBUTE THAT REVENUE REQUIREMENT EQUITABLY. 
          UM, THE CHARGE, UM, UH, LET ME KEEP GOING HERE. 
          SO, UH, WHEN WE FIRST CAME TOGETHER IN 2019, AND I, AND WE SORT OF HAVE BEEN GOING BACK AND FORTH ON 2019 AND THE CURRENT RACK. 
          SO LET ME JUST SAY THAT WE WERE, WE WERE BROUGHT TOGETHER IN 2019 TO BEGIN THIS STUDY. 
          AND OF COURSE, AS YOU KNOW, UH, COVID, UH, SORT OF STOPPED US IN OUR TRACKS IN 2020. 
          AND WE HAVE, WE WERE IN HIATUS, IF YOU WILL, FOR A COUPLE YEARS. 
          UM, AND, UH, WE WERE THEN RECONSTITUTED BY THE BOARD, UH, AND, UH, I WAS ASKED TO COME BACK AS CHAIR. 
          UM, AND, UH, AND I WAS, UH, SO PART OF WHAT WE DID TO BEGIN OUR, OUR WORK AGAIN IN 2022, WAS WHAT'S OUR MISSION AS A RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE? AND I, UH, GO OVER THIS EVERY MEETING BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO CAPTURE, UM, IT, YOU KNOW, THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR ROLE, WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT IS NOT, AND, AND WHY WE ARE THERE TO DISCUSS THE INFORMATION WE'RE DISCUSSING AT ANY GIVEN MEETING. 
          I WON'T READ IT FOR YOU, BUT YOU CAN SEE, UM, THE 2022 
          [01:45:01]
RAC, UH, IS A ROBUST GROUP OF FOLKS, UH, IN TERMS OF QUESTIONS THEY ASK AND THEIR PASSIONS, UH, FOR THIS COMMUNITY AND PARTICULAR IN, UH, LANES OF INTEREST, UH, WE HAVE 19, UH, UH, 12 MEMBERS THAT RETURNED, WHICH IS GREAT FOR THE DISCUSSION, AND, UH, PROVIDES FOR, AGAIN, UH, SOME MENTORING OF THE NEW MEMBERS AND, AND SOME OF THE NEW QUE THE QUESTIONS. 
          WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'VE HEARD THEM BEFORE, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE, UH, THAT, THAT WEALTH OF INFORMATION FROM FOLKS THAT HAVE RETURNED. 
          UM, YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS LIST THAT THEY ARE, UH, THEY REPRESENT, UH, DIVERSE INTEREST, DIVERSE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS. 
          UM, WE'RE VERY PLEASED TO HAVE THE CHAMBERS INVOLVED, UH, IN A MORE, UH, SORT OF INTEGRATED WAY THIS YEAR. 
          UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE AS MANY MEMBERS, BUT NOW WE DO. 
          AND SO THAT'S BEEN REALLY HELPFUL, UH, FOR ALL OF THE REC TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM. 
          AS, AS, AS, UH, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, AN IMPORTANT STAKEHOLDER GROUP, AND OF COURSE, YOUR MEMBERS AND YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. 
          UM, THEY HAVE BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN AGAIN, UH, TALKING ABOUT IN REPRESENTING, UH, THE VARIOUS DIFFERENT CONSTITUENCIES THAT YOU HAVE. 
          SO, UH, HERE'S A, A SNAPSHOT OF OUR SCHEDULE. 
          UH, WE ARE, UH, LOOKING AT JUNE, JUNE SEVEN AS OUR NEXT MEETING. 
          UH, WE HAVE HAD, UM, ANY NUMBER OF, UH, AREAS TO, UH, FOCUS ON, UH, SINCE THE BEGINNING. 
          UH, WE, WE ALSO JUST, JUST AS A REMINDER, YOU KNOW, THESE MEETINGS, UM, HAVE HAD THEIR, UH, CHALLENGES BECAUSE OF COVID. 
          UH, OUR INITIAL MEETINGS WERE, INITIAL MEETING WAS A HUNDRED PERCENT VIRTUAL. 
          AND AS YOU WELL KNOW, HAVING DONE THIS YOURSELVES, IT'S NOT ALWAYS, UH, AN EASY PROCESS FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO ARTICULATE AND, AND, AND TALK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO THEM. 
          BUT WE QUICKLY SWITCHED OVER TO HYBRID, WHICH WAS HELPFUL. 
          SOME FOLKS WERE ABLE AND FELT COMFORTABLE TO COME IN, IN PERSON. 
          UH, AND WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN DOING OUR, UH, WE'VE BEEN CONDUCTING OUR MEETINGS IN THAT WAY. 
          SO WE HAD, UM, OF COURSE, ASSUMING ALWAYS THAT EVERYONE'S ON THE SAME LEVEL PLAYING FIELD IN TERMS OF KNOWLEDGE. 
          UH, WE HAD A, UH, AN OVERVIEW OF, UH, THE RATE STUDY. 
          AND JUST AS I MENTIONED TO YOU, WHAT ARE THE PHASES, WHO'S INVOLVED AND WHO PROVIDES WHAT TYPES OF INFORMATION. 
          UH, WE HAD A REFRESHER ON PRICING OBJECTIVES, AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT IN JUST A SECOND. 
          BUT I THINK, LET ME, LET ME SWITCH TO THAT SLIDE. 
          UM, ESSENTIALLY THIS IS AND REPRESENTS, UM, THOSE ISSUES THAT ARE IMPORTANT, UH, TO THE MEMBERS, TO OUR COMMUNITY. 
          OBVIOUSLY THE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS THAT THEY REPRESENT YOURSELVES AND CONSTITUENCIES. 
          UM, BUT I CONSIDER THEM THE VALUES AROUND WATER. 
          OKAY? SO, UH, THE MEMBERS WERE ASKED TO RANK THESE AND HOW THE, HOW THEY FELT, WHICH ONES WOULD BE MORE IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER AS WE, AS WE DID ALL OF OUR WORK, AS WE WENT THROUGH ALL OF THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF OUR WORK. 
          AND SO THEY ARE IN PRIORITY ORDER. 
          AND SO THE MEMBERS, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT THEM, UH, VERY EXTENSIVELY. 
          UH, DIFFERENT FOLKS WANTED TO MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTOOD WHAT THE DEFINITIONS WERE. 
          UM, BUT, BUT I BROUGHT THEM HERE SO THAT YOU COULD SEE WE HAVE STRUCTURE AROUND, UM, AROUND OUR DISCUSSION AND AROUND OUR, OUR, OUR ASSESSMENT, OUR REVIEW OF THE WORK AND THE INFORMATION THAT'S BEING GIVEN TO US THROUGH THE LENS OF THESE PRICING OBJECTIVES, WHICH I CALL VALUES, BUT VALUES AS THEY RELATE TO WATER. 
          OH MY GOODNESS. 
          LET'S SEE HERE. 
          UH, I WANT TO GO BACK. 
          FORGIVE ME. 
          THERE WE GO. 
          SO, UM, IN, IN MARCH, WE, UM, BEGAN TO TALK ABOUT REVENUE REQUIREMENTS, UH, CHAIR AND THE COST OF SERVICE OVERVIEW. 
          UH, WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT WHAT IS RATE DESIGN, WHAT IT DOES ENTAIL. 
          UH, AND OF COURSE, WE BEGAN TO TALK ABOUT RESIDENTIAL. 
          AND AS YOU KNOW, UH, THE MEMBERS OF THIS RACK, NOT UNLIKE ANYBODY ELSE IN THE COMMUNITY, HAD VERY PRESENT IN THEIR MINDS, UH, VARIOUS DIFFERENT, UH, UH, PIECES OF INFORMATION RELATED TO HOW, HOW CHALLENGING IT IS TO LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO FROM A FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY PERSPECTIVE. 
          SO CLEARLY FOLKS HAVE GOT A LOT OF THAT INFORMATION. 
          WE HAVE SOME VERY PASSIONATE PEOPLE ON THE RACK WHO THIS IS, THIS IS, UH, HARD AND FAST PART OF SOMETHING THAT'S INTEGRAL TO WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY DO, UH, AS PART OF THEIR, UH, LIFE'S WORK. 
          AND SO THEY BRING THAT INFORMATION TO THE REC, AND THAT HAS ALL BEEN VERY, VERY HELPFUL TO US. 
          IN APRIL, WE LOOKED AT, WE TALKED ABOUT RESIDENTIAL AGAIN, AND WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT WHAT ARE OPTIONS FOR SUPPORTING OUR MOST VULNERABLE 
          [01:50:01]
IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          UH, AND THAT IS DEFINED ACTUALLY IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS BEYOND THE DEFINITIONS THAT YOU SAW THERE, WHICH IS ABILITY TO PAY, CAUSE BURDENED, UM, FOLKS THAT USE JUST WATER FOR ESSENTIAL USE. 
          UH, SENIORS ARE PROBABLY IN THERE TOO. 
          UH, TARGETED ZIP CODES. 
          I MEAN, WE, WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THEM IN, IN THEIR INDIVIDUAL LANES, BUT WE KNOW OUR COMMUNITIES. 
          WE KNOW WHERE PEOPLE LIVE, WE KNOW WHAT PEOPLE, UH, UH, WHAT WHAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH IN TERMS OF FINANCIAL BURDEN. 
          SO, SO THIS WAS A VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THE RACK. 
          UM, FOR ALL OF THE FOLKS ON THE RACK, I WOULD SAY, WHAT ARE OUR OPTIONS WITH RESPECT TO WATER FOR LOW INCOME? UM, WE BEGAN TO TALK ABOUT THE GENERAL CLASS, UH, AND IRRIGATION AND RECYCLED, AND YES, THERE'S BEEN SOME DISCUSSION, AS YOU'VE HEARD ALREADY ABOUT WHERE WE WERE IN 2019 ON RECYCLED. 
          UM, UH, WE ARE IN THAT VERY DISCUSSION RIGHT NOW. 
          SO WHEN WE COME BACK IN JUNE, WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT RECYCLED, WE'LL BE FINISHING UP OUR CONVERSATION AROUND RESIDENTIAL, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF ON, ON RECYCLED. 
          UM, BUT KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, UH, I WOULD, I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE, ARE TAKING VERY SERIOUSLY WHAT IT TAKES TO RUN THIS ORGANIZATION, TO RUN THIS UTILITY, UH, COUPLED WITH AND BALANCED WITH, UH, WHAT'S THE IMPACT TO OUR CLASSES, OUR, OUR, OUR DIFFERENT CLASSES OF, OF, UH, RATE PAYERS, UM, AND RECYCLED. 
          WE KNOW THE BURDEN OF, OF, UM, THE RECYCLED PROGRAM IS, IS BORNE BY OTHERS BEYOND JUST THE RECYCLED CLASS. 
          AND SO WE ARE HAVING THAT DISCUSSION RIGHT NOW. 
          THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW DECISIONS MADE, BUT QUITE FRANKLY, IT IS STILL EVOLVING. 
          SO EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN SEE WE'VE GOT TWO MEETING, TWO MEETINGS LEFT, WE WILL BE MAKING DECISIONS AT THIS NEXT MEETING, I BELIEVE, AND AT THE LAST ONE, WITH RESPECT TO SORT OF CLOSING ALL OF THE DIFFERENT CLASS DISCUSSIONS OUT THE DIFFERENT CLASSES AND THE DISCUSSIONS OUT. 
          UM, BUT I THINK THAT, UH, CERTAINLY WE'LL SEE SOMETHING ON RECYCLED. 
          WE HAD A GOOD CONVERSATION ABOUT IT AT THIS LAST MEETING. 
          WE'LL, WE'RE GONNA PICK THAT UP AGAIN, UH, IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. 
          UM, AND SO, UH, WE EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO COME IN ON JUNE 28TH WITH THE FINAL SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          WE HAVE EXTENDED OUR MEETINGS FROM, UH, WHAT WE THOUGHT WOULD BE TWO HOURS AT THE BEGINNING TO NOW TWO HOURS AND A HALF. 
          AND THE MEMBERS HAVE BEEN VERY, UH, WILLING TO GIVE MORE OF THEIR TIME SO THAT WE CAN, UH, AS A COLLECTIVE, UH, LOOK AT ALL OF THE ISSUES, TALK ABOUT ALL OF THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS THAT ARE RELATED TO ALL OF THIS WORK, UM, AND BE ABLE TO, TO WALK AWAY OUT OF THE MEETINGS FEELING LIKE THEY, THEY GOT ENOUGH AND, UH, THEY GOT WHAT THEY NEEDED AND WE'RE NOT RUSHED. 
          UM, SO I DO WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT, UM, AS WELL. 
          LET ME SEE IF THIS IS THE LAST ONE. 
          UM, JUST AS A, AS A, AS AN ASIDE, AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, THAT WE ARE ALSO TALKING ABOUT EQUITY, UM, AND WE'VE USED THE CITY'S DEFINITION, UH, IN OUR DISCUSSION IN OUR WORK. 
          UH, SO WE ARE VERY COGNIZANT ABOUT WHAT OUR PARTNERS, UH, IN, IN, IN THIS RATE ADVISORY, UH, RATE, UH, STUDY, UH, ARE DOING AND HAVE DONE AND HAVE PUT IN PLACE. 
          SO THAT IS VERY MUCH ALSO BEEN PART OF OUR, OUR CONVERSATION. 
          UM, I, UH, I THINK THAT'S IT. 
          YEAH. 
          SO THAT'S JUST A HIGH LEVEL, UH, ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING. 
          LIKE I SAID, WE ARE STILL, SOME OF OUR WORK IS VERY MUCH EVOLVING AND, UM, BUT WE ARE, WE ARE ON THE, IN THE LAST QUARTER, UH, SO TO SPEAK. 
          UM, AND, UH, AND I BELIEVE WE'LL, WE'LL GET, WE'LL GET YOU THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CERTAINLY THE SASS BOARD NEEDS, UM, BUT THAT THE COUNCIL IS VERY INTERESTED IN KNOWING THAT, THAT WE, WE, WE COMPLETED THAT, THAT EFFORT. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHAIRMAN GONZALEZ. 
          I THINK IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR THIS COMMITTEE TO KIND OF GET A, A, A VIEW FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON, ON HOW THINGS ARE MOVING. 
          UH, THIS COMMITTEE HAS NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT WHAT RATES MIGHT COME OUT OF THE WORK THAT YOU DO, BUT I THINK IT IS INCUMBENT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE PROCESS HAS BEEN WORKING SO THAT WE CAN BE CONFIDENT THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU MAKE THAT GO TO THE BOARD AND THAT THEY MAKE TO CITY MAKE A LOT OF SENSE. 
          AND, AND WE UNDERSTAND HOW IT ALL GOT DEVELOPED. 
          SO THANK YOU TODAY FOR COMING OUT AND EXPRESSING THAT. 
          I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND I THINK, UM, MARY CAN PROBABLY, UH, ANSWER THOSE. 
          AND SO IF, IF I MAY START WITH YOU. 
          UM, THIS PROCESS I SEE IS ABOUT A FIVE MONTH PROCESS FROM BEGINNING TO PROJECTED END, UH, BACK IN 2019 WHEN WE HAD THE INITIAL, UH, GROUP SET UP FOR RAC. 
          WHEN DID THEY START MEETING AND WHEN DID THEY END? YEAH. 
          SO THE 2019 WRECK, UM, STARTED IN, IN 2019. 
          [01:55:01]
I BELIEVE THE FIRST MEETING WAS IN SEPTEMBER. 
          AND, UM, WE MET ALL THE WAY THROUGH, UM, UH, FEBRUARY, MID-FEBRUARY. 
          AND THEN OF COURSE, C O D HIT. 
          UM, WE HAD ANTICIPATED FINISHING UP, UM, AROUND THE END OF MAY, I BELIEVE RIGHT. 
          UM, OF 2020. 
          AND, AND THAT WAS ALMOST A, A NINE OR 10 MONTH PROJECTION SURE. 
          TO GET THAT DONE. 
          UH, AND, AND THIS TIME IT'S, IT'S KIND OF FIVE MONTHS, AND I'M JUST WONDERING SURE, WHAT IS THE TIME CONSTRAINT THAT, UH, CAUSES THIS TO NEED TO CONCLUDE BY THE MIDDLE OF JUNE? SO, UM, THE LE THE 2019 RACK, UM, ACTUALLY, UH, WEIGHED IN, IF YOU WILL, ON COST OF SERVICE. 
          SO FIRST A COUPLE OF MEETINGS WERE SPENT, UH, ACTUALLY TRYING TO, UH, DEFINE A LOT OF THOSE, THOSE PRICING OBJECTIVES. 
          UM, THEN WE SPENT, UH, A FEW MEETINGS TALKING ABOUT COST OF SERVICE, THE RACK THAT 2019 RACK MADE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO COST OF SERVICE. 
          UM, AND SO WHEN, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT, UH, UH, STARTING RACK AGAIN, UM, THE BOARD FELT LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE GOT A LOT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ALREADY FROM THE 2019 RACK WITH RELATED TO COST OF SERVICE. 
          SO THEY TOOK THAT RESPONSIBILITY ON TO, UM, EVALUATE THE COST OF SERVICE STUDY DONE BY THE CONSULTANT, APPROVE THAT COST OF SERVICE STUDY, AND HAVE THE, THE 2020 RACK, 2022 RACK FOCUS ON, UH, SIMPLY RATE DESIGN, WHICH IS ACTUALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF ALL OF THIS. 
          RIGHT? SO THAT'S HOW PEOPLE ARE CHARGED. 
          UM, COST OF SERVICE IS IMPORTANT, BUT THE RATE DESIGN IS WHERE THE BOARD FELT THE, THE COMMITTEE COULD MAKE THE MOST IMPACT. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHERE THE FOCUS HAS BEEN. 
          UH, FIVE MONTHS ON RATE DESIGN IS, IS CERTAINLY PROBABLY MORE THAN WE WOULD'VE SPENT, UM, ON THE, WITH THE 2019 RACK. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND, AND WAS THAT RATE DESIGN FINALLY APPROVED BY THE WHOLE COMMITTEE, OR DID THEY SUSPEND MEETINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE VOTED? WE NEVER GOT TO RATE DESIGN. 
          OKAY. 
          SO SOME OF THE RATE DESIGN THAT WAS DISCUSSED WAS WHAT WAS APPROVED BY THE BOARD, BUT IT WAS NEVER REALLY APPROVED BY THAT FORMER COMMITTEE, IS THAT RIGHT? I'M SORRY, THE, THE NO RATE DESIGN CHANGES HAPPENED. 
          COST OF SERVICE, THE, THE 2019, I'M SORRY. 
          YES. 
          THE 2019, UH, UH, UH, RAC DID LOOK AT COST OF SERVICE, MADE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AND THEN WE DID NOT GET TO RATE DESIGN. 
          THEY, AND THEN WE JUST, THE WHOLE, THE WHOLE THING JUST GOT SHUT DOWN BECAUSE OF COVID. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT'S THE ONLY QUESTION I HAD RIGHT NOW. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM. 
          , ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER? HAVE A QUESTION, PLEASE? COUNCILWOMAN CAB VARDA. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          AND THANKS TO DISTRICT SIX APPOINTEE, RAM RETA AND ALL THE RAC APPOINTEES, INCLUDING MY FRIEND PAT GARCIA HERE, WHO IS A, A VERY, HAS A VERY SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS IN DISTRICT SIX. 
          UM, THANKS TO YOUR, FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY, AND WELCOME BACK TO CITY HALL FRANCIS  . 
          UM, I'M GLAD TO SEE SPECIFICALLY THAT THE HOTEL LODGING ASSOCIATION AND THE APARTMENT ASSOCIATION ARE INVOLVED BECAUSE THEY HAVE UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES ON, ON WATER CONSUMPTION AND, UH, OF COURSE OUR RATE STRUCTURES. 
          UM, AND ON THAT SAME NOTE OF DIVERSITY OF PERSPECTIVE, HAS SAWS CONDUCTED ANY, UM, COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORTS TO OUR RESIDENTS AND SMALL BUSINESSES TO UNDERSTAND THEIR PERSPECTIVE ON, ON RATE STRUCTURES? WELL, I MEAN, SO AGAIN, THE, THE MEMBERS OF THE ACKERMAN MM-HMM. 
           TO BRING A LOT OF THAT PERSPECTIVE MM-HMM. 
          , RIGHT? MM-HMM. 
          . 
          AND THEN OF COURSE, WE HAVE A LOT OF INTERACTION WITH, UH, GINO'S GROUP, UM, WITH ALL OF OUR AFFORDABILITY OUTREACH. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, UM, WE, WE CERTAINLY, WE HEAR MORE IN TERMS OF OVERALL WHAT THE BILL IS LIKE AS OPPOSED TO MAYBE, YOU KNOW, YOUR BLOCKS AND ALL OF THAT, UM MM-HMM. 
          , BUT CERTAINLY, UH, WE GET INPUT FROM THOSE TWO, TWO SOURCES. 
          SO, UH, TELL ME MORE ABOUT GINO'S GROUP WITH OR WITH HOW THEY'RE INFORMING YOUR, UM, I GUESS THE, THE RIGHT STRUCTURES GINO'S GROUP. 
          YEAH. 
          WELL, WELL, I MEAN, SO GINO CERTAINLY BRINGS THAT, UM, IMPACT TO, OR THE, THAT PERSPECTIVE TO, UH, THE EXECUTIVE TEAM AT SAS. 
          AND THEN AS WE, UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE COMMUNICATE THE POSSIBLE DESIGN CHANGES, IT'S DEFINITELY, UM, I WOULD SAY FOCUSED ON THAT, THAT THAT, UH, DEMOGRAPHIC THAT THOSE FOLKS IN THE AFFORDABILITY PROGRAM, WE, WE'VE ACTUALLY PROPOSED, UM, AN AN OPTION FOR AFFORDABILITY THAT WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGE HOW WE CHARGE THEM AND, AND, AND SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE WHAT THEY PAY. 
          AND I'M SORRY, ROBERT, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? UH, YOU MENTION THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RACK'S GONNA END IN MID-JUNE, AND WE'RE GONNA SPEND THE REST OF THAT SUMMER DOING THE OUTREACH NECESSARY. 
          OKAY. 
          OUR BOARD WILL BE BRIEFED ON IT AND THEN ULTIMATELY VOTE ON IT IN THE FALL, AND THEN HOPEFULLY COUNCIL WILL LOOK AT IT AND THEN VOTE FOR IT, HOPEFULLY. 
          AND, UH, JANUARY 1ST, WE, WE WOULD WANT THESE RATES TO GO INTO EFFECT. 
          AND, AND IT'S, AGAIN, IT'S NOT A RATE INCREASE. 
          IT'S JUST, UH, YEAH. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE DOING THE, THE, UM, WHEN YOU'RE CONDUCTING 
          [02:00:01]
THE OUTREACH, IF YOU'LL REACH OUT SPECIFICALLY TO SMALL BUSINESS, I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, YOU KNOW? MM-HMM. 
          , YOU HAVE SOME CHAMBERS THAT ARE PART OF OH, YEAH. 
          OF THE RACK AND, YOU KNOW, ARE IN THESE GROUPS. 
          BUT, UM, I'M THINKING LIKE MICRO BUSINESSES THAT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD BEING PART OF A CHAMBER. 
          UM, SO I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UM, MORE OUTREACH TO SMALL BUSINESSES THAT, UH, WOULD BE AFFECTED. 
          AND OF COURSE, OUR RESIDENTS ALWAYS. 
          BUT I APPRECIATE THAT YOU HAVE A PLAN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UH, DOES, DOES ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER OR COMMITTEE MEMBER HAVE A QUESTION? COUNCILMAN BRAVO. 
          THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, FRANCIS. 
          AND I'M CURIOUS, THIS IS, I GUESS IT MAY A QUESTION FOR ALL OF SASS TO START OFF WITH, AND THAT IS, UM, WHAT, WHAT KIND OF FINANCIAL, UM, PRESSURE DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE SOMEBODY'S BEHAVIOR WHEN IT COMES TO THE RATE? AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN I THINK ABOUT GAS PRICES RIGHT NOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WHEN GAS PRICES GO ABOVE $4 A GALLON, NOW A LOT OF PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT IT, BUT I DON'T SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE CHANGING THEIR BEHAVIOR, RIGHT? AND WHEN I'VE TALKED TO C P S ENERGY ABOUT USING TIME OF USE RATES, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE TOLD ME, WELL, YOU KNOW, IF YOU JUST REDUCE THE RATE A LITTLE BIT AT NIGHTTIME WHEN ELECTRICITY IS CHEAPER, THAT DOESN'T ACTUALLY DRIVE A LOT OF BEHAVIOR. 
          YOU HAVE TO HAVE A HUGE CHANGE IN THAT COST. 
          SO, IF WE HAVE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO HAVE HUGE LAWNS AND THEY'RE GREEN AND THEIR LUSH, AND THEY'RE WATERING THEM EXCESSIVELY, AND THEY'RE WATERING THEIR ROSE BUSHES EXCESSIVELY AND EVERYTHING ELSE, AND THEY JUST LIKE TO HAVE A, YOU KNOW, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DECORATIVE LAWN DURING THE MIDDLE OF A DROUGHT, WHAT KIND OF A RATE STRUCTURE DOES IT TAKE TO TRY TO CHANGE THAT BEHAVIOR? WE HAVE ONE RIGHT NOW THAT IS EIGHT TIERS. 
          UH, THE HIGHER YOU GO UP IN THE TIER, THE MORE WATER YOU'RE USING, PLUS THE MORE EXPENSIVE THAT INDIVIDUAL GALLON IS. 
          SO THAT'S AN INCENTIVE RIGHT THERE. 
          AND IN THE, THE MIDDLE OF THOSE EIGHT BLOCKS IS WHEN, UH, IT GOES UP EXPONENTIALLY. 
          UH, SO WE, WE WANT TO SEND THAT, THAT MESSAGE RIGHT AT THAT MIDDLE BLOCK, THE VERY, VERY HIGH BLOCK. 
          UM, THEY, THEY MAY NOT CARE. 
          UH, THEY'RE GOING TO WANT TO, UH, SPEND WHATEVER IT TAKES TO HAVE A LUSH GREEN LAWN, AND THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES TO PAY FOR IT, AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO, UH, BE INFLUENCED BY A MONETARY, UH, A HIGH WATER BILL. 
          BUT THERE, THERE IS A WAY, AND, UH, DOUG AND MARY PROBABLY HAVE MORE DETAILS ABOUT HOW THAT IS, HOW CUSTOMERS ARE AFFECTED BY THAT WATER BILL, UH, THE CHANGES THAT THEY'VE MADE. 
          AND ALSO KAREN GU, OUR DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO THEN, UH, THE OTHER ISSUE THAT I WANNA BRING UP IS THAT, UM, AND I READ THIS COMING FROM, UH, UH, C P S ENERGY TRUSTEE JOHN STEEN. 
          HE WAS QUOTED IN THE PAPER AS CALLING, REFERRING TO A PORTION OF THE BILL AS A TAX. 
          AND, AND I AGREE WITH HIM. 
          I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN I LOOK AT, AT THIS, UM, AT YOUR ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET, I SEE THAT YOU GAVE ALMOST $31 MILLION TO IN REVENUE TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO LAST YEAR. 
          YOU'RE PROJECTED TO GIVE $32 MILLION THIS YEAR. 
          IF WE DIDN'T RECEIVE THAT 31 OR $32 MILLION, WE COLLECTIVELY WOULD EITHER INCREASE PROPERTY TAXES OR WE WOULD REDUCE SERVICES HERE BY 31 TO $32 MILLION. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND WE ARE VERY LIMITED IN THE TOOLS THAT WE HAVE IN HOW WE CAN, UM, APPLY PROPERTY TAXES. 
          AND I THINK THE STATE HAS STRUCTURED IT SUCH, AND WE'RE ABOUT TO, TO GO INTO MAKING SOME, SOME BIG PROPERTY TAX, UH, DECISIONS. 
          I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT TAXING OUR MOST VULNERABLE OUTTA THEIR HOMES. 
          AND THIS, THIS TOOLS THAT THE STATE GIVES US, BASICALLY GIVES US MORE LEEWAY, I FEEL LIKE, TO ASSIST AFFLUENT PEOPLE. 
          AND SO, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE OUT OF THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE OUT OF, UM, THE BOARD MEMBERS FROM SAS, I WOULD, MY, UM, MY REQUEST TO YOU WOULD BE TO CONSIDER REALLY WORKING HARD AT REDUCING RATES FOR THE LOW INCOME, UM, POPULATION. 
          JUST GO, GO THE EXTRA MILE THERE, BECAUSE THAT IS GOING TO, TO, UM, AFFECT OVERALL AFFORDABILITY. 
          BECAUSE WE'RE NOT JUST LOOKING AT CAN YOU AFFORD PROPERTY TAXES? WE'RE NOT JUST, UH, LOOKING AT, UM, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU AFFORD YOUR WATER BILL, BUT WHAT IS YOUR SUM TOTAL OF ALL YOUR BILLS? AND IS THAT AFFORDABLE? AND I HAVE NO WAY OF REALLY REDUCING WHAT, I HAVE VERY, VERY LIMITED TOOLS WHEN IT COMES TO ACTUALLY TRYING TO TARGET AND LIMIT, UM, THE, 
          [02:05:01]
YOU KNOW, THE COST OF RENT OR PROPERTY TAXES FOR A RENTER. 
          AND YOU HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE A MORE REFINED APPROACH IN ORDER TO, TO, UM, MAKE SOMEONE'S LIFE MORE, THEIR MONTHLY BILLS, THE SUM TOTAL OF THEIR BILLS, MORE AFFORDABLE FOR THAT LOW INCOME BRACKET. 
          AND I WOULD REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO TRY AND GO THE EXTRA MILE THERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO IF I MAY, UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, YOU, YOU'RE BRINGING UP SOME VERY IMPORTANT POINTS AND, UH, VERY MUCH A PART OF THE WORK THAT I DO BEYOND SAWS IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC MOBILITY. 
          BUT ONE OF THE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW IS THAT WE ARE IN THIS NEXT MEETING, GOING TO TALK ABOUT AN AFFORDABILITY RATE STRUCTURE, UH, FOR LOW INCOME. 
          AND SO IT WOULD BE SEP SEPARATE AND APART FROM THE, THE REST OF THE, THE RESIDENTIAL CLASSES, UM, AND WE'VE HAD SOME GREAT CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR CONSULTANT AND CERTAINLY WITH ASSAU STAFF. 
          AGAIN, NO DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE, BUT IT IS AN EVOLVING CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT IS ESSENTIAL USE, UM, AND HOW CAN WE SUPPORT THOSE FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS THAT, THAT CAN'T AFFORD IT, THAT ARE ALREADY IN OUR AFFORDABILITY PROGRAM. 
          UM, AND HOW CAN WE DEVELOP SOMETHING FOR THAT GROUP OF CUSTOMERS? UH, DO WE KNOW WHAT THAT UNIVERSE OF CUSTOMERS IS? NO, BUT WE HAVE AN IDEA. 
          WE, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW, WE CERTAINLY KNOW WHAT THE, THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES ARE OF OUR COMMUNITY. 
          UM, AND SO WE ARE ACTIVELY LOOKING AT THAT RIGHT NOW. 
          AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE DISCUSSING IT ON THE SEVENTH. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, I WOULD SAY THAT WITH RESPECT TO THE HIGHER, UH, UH, TIERS OF, UM, RATE PAYER, I, I, YOU KNOW, THERE IS A, UH, THERE IS PROBABLY A TRIGGERING FACTOR AT SOME POINT WHERE IF YOU, IF YOUR RATE GOES UP TOO HIGH FOR WATER, THAT THERE MIGHT BE A LOSS OF REVENUE. 
          UH, AND SO WE ARE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH STAFF AS WELL, ASKING THEM TO MODEL, UH, SOME VARIOUS DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR US. 
          AND WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THOSE AS WELL, UM, UH, ON JUNE SEVEN. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCILMAN. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL. 
          I JUST WANTED TO ADD, COUNCILMAN, I'M THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UM, YOUR COMMENT. 
          AND AS YOU CAN SEE, AS A PRIORITY FROM THE RACK, AFFORDABILITY IS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY. 
          UM, STATUTORILY, THIS IS SOMETHING WE CAN CONSIDER AS A UTILITY TO LOOK AT LOW INCOME TO LOOK AT AFFORDABILITY RATES, BUT IT IS BASED ON THE DEFINITION THAT IS A ESTABLISHED LOCALLY FOR LOW INCOME. 
          AND SO FOR THAT, WE WILL BE LOOKING, UM, AT HOW YOU DEFINE LOW INCOME FOR US. 
          SO JUST AS A CONSIDERATION, SO IF THERE'S DISCUSSION THAT THE COUNCIL WANTS TO HAVE IN, IN, IN THE DEFINITION OF LOW INCOME, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TOWARD THIS GOAL, THAT'S EXTREMELY HELPFUL FEEDBACK. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL, THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UH, THANK YOU CHAIR BURLEY FOR BEING HERE AND, UH, FRANCIS FOR YOUR SERVICE. 
          UM, A COUPLE OF, UH, QUESTIONS. 
          UM, SO WE ARE, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT WE HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO HAVE AN ENTIRELY SEPARATE RATE STRUCTURE FOR AFFORDABILITY. 
          I THINK THAT WILL BE REALLY ILLUMINATING. 
          UM, I DON'T KNOW IF TROY OR SOMEBODY FROM THE, UM, FROM BEN'S TEAM CAN ANSWER, THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE WITH OUR OTHER UTILITY. 
          OKAY. 
          YOU CAN GET BACK TO US ON THAT. 
          . 
          IT IS A SEPARATE RATE STRUCTURE FOR AFFORDABILITY. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I THINK THAT IS THE INITIAL FEEDBACK WE GOT, BUT A LOT OF THE, AS ON A LOT OF THINGS, COUNCILMAN THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS IN TERMS OF WHAT THE PROGRAM IS, WHO IT HAD APPLIED TO, AND, AND AS THE CHAIRWOMAN SAID, WHAT, WHAT DEFINITION WE USE FOR AFFORDABILITY. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND, UM, THERE IS, UM, I WAS LOOKING AT THE PRESENTATION THAT WE GOT LAST TIME AND WE DIDN'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT IT 'CAUSE WE RAN OUT OF TIME MUCH THE WAY WE WILL TODAY, I THINK. 
          UM, BUT THERE WAS A SUGGESTION ABOUT MULTIFAMILY BEING IN, UH, PULLED OUT FROM THE GENERAL CLASS. 
          I GUESS IT IS. 
          UM, CAN YOU REMIND ME WHO ELSE IS IN THAT CLASS? SO IN THE GENERAL CLASS? WELL, WHEREVER MULTIFAMILY IS, SO MULTIFAMILY IS IN THE GENERAL CLASS. 
          AND JUST, JUST TO SORT OF CUT TO THE CHASE ON WHERE WE LANDED THERE, UM, THE CONVERSATION WITH THE RAC, UH, IS, IS ABOUT, OR HAS BEEN ABOUT, UM, FIGURING OUT A WAY TO, TO, TO DETERMINE, TO LEARN TO ASSURE THAT IF WE MADE ANY CHANGES TO A MULTI-FAMILY, UH, CLASS, THAT THOSE, UH, BENEFITS WOULD BE, UH, THEN, UH, UM, UH, SENT TO, OR CONTRIBUTED TO OR FELT BY, UH, THAT THE BENEFICIARIES WOULD ULTIMATELY BE THE, THE, THE RENTERS. 
          AND THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO, TO FIGURE OUT RIGHT NOW. 
          UH, WE DON'T HAVE THAT DATA. 
          UM, AND KEEP IN MIND THAT, UH, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOUR COMMUNITIES, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS, UM, MANY OF OUR DUPLEXES AND ABOVE ARE NOT ON, ON MULTIPLE METERS, SINGLE METERS. 
          THEY'RE ON ONE METER. 
          [02:10:01]
THE LANDOWNER IS USUALLY THE ONE WHO, UH, UH, MANAGES THAT. 
          AND SO HE RECEIVES, UH, THE, HE WOULD RECEIVE OR SHE WOULD RECEIVE THE, THE, THE BENEFIT OF ANY REDUCTION IN MULTIFAMILY IN A RATE, BUT THE INDIVIDUAL RENTERS WOULDN'T NECESSARILY RIGHT. 
          THEY'RE NOT ON AN INDIVIDUAL METER. 
          SO, UH, AT THIS TIME, UH, WHAT THE, THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAS DETERMINED IS WE ARE NOT GONNA PULL THEM OUT OF THE GENERAL CLASS. 
          UM, AND THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, KNOW, ASK THE, THE SA BOARD TO DO MORE, UH, TO MAYBE BRING BACK A STUDY FOR THE NEXT RACK AROUND MULTIFAMILY. 
          UM, I THINK THAT AS A, AS A COMMUNITY OF, OF, UM, MULTIFAMILY BEGINS TO MOVE INTO INDIVIDUAL AND SMART METERS IN THEIR UNITS, YES, WE WILL HAVE DATA, BUT AT THE CURRENT TIME WE DON'T. 
          AND MANY OF OUR UNITS, OF COURSE, ARE IN THE INNER CITY. 
          THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS, UH, COULD HAVE LEAKS, COULD HAVE ANY NUMBER OF THINGS. 
          SO THOSE BURDENS WOULD THEN OBVIOUSLY BE FELT BY INDIVIDUAL RENTERS. 
          RIGHT NOW, THE OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BILL, RIGHT? SO THERE'S MUCH, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT IS JUST UNKNOWN ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR CLASS OF, OF RATE PAYER. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THE BENEFITS OF THE SEPARATION OF THAT CLASS. 
          RIGHT. 
          WOULD IT BE, UM, FRUITFUL AT THIS POINT? YEAH. 
          AND JUST IF I COULD, YOU SAID WHO'S IN GENERAL CLASS? YES, IT'S COMMERCIAL, WHAT WE CALL INDUSTRIAL, INDUSTRIAL, UM, ARE CUSTOMERS THAT, UM, IT'S MORE ABOUT THEIR WASTEWATER DISCHARGE THAN IT IS ABOUT THEIR WATER USE. 
          SO WE CONSIDER A CUSTOMER, AN INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMER BECAUSE THEY, UM, WHAT THEY CONTRIBUTE TO THE WASTEWATER SYSTEM IS OF GREATER STRENGTH THAN THE AVERAGE. 
          THEY'RE, WHATEVER THEY'RE PRODUCING RELEASES MORE STUFF INTO OUR WASTEWATER SYSTEM. 
          SO THAT'S WHY WE, THAT'S WHY WE CALL 'EM INDUSTRIAL. 
          AND THEN THERE'S MULTIFAMILY. 
          BUT WHAT I WANNA DO, AND WE TALKED ABOUT IRRIGATION, IT DOES NOT INCLUDE IRRIGATION USE BY ANY OF THOSE CUSTOMERS. 
          SO THAT, SO THE IRRIGATION CLASS IS A SEPARATE, UH, CHARGE FOR IRRIGATION USE FOR GENERAL CLASS CUSTOMERS. 
          SO GENERAL CLASS IS PROBABLY A GOOD, MAYBE A BETTER NAME IS NON-RESIDENTIAL, ALTHOUGH MULTI'S IN THAT. 
          AND SO PEOPLE WOULD THINK OF THAT AS BEING RESIDENTIAL. 
          SO IT, IT'S KIND OF A, A, A STRUGGLE TO FIGURE OUT THE RIGHT NAME, BUT THAT'S RIGHT NOW WHO'S IN IT. 
          AND I WILL SAY TOO, BY MULTIFAMILY BEING IN THE GENERAL CLASS, THEY'RE ACTUALLY BENEFITING, UM, THEY ACTUALLY PAY RATES, UM, THAT ARE LOWER THAN THEIR TRUE COST OF SERVICE BECAUSE OF THE RATE STRUCTURE THAT EXISTS FOR THE GENERAL CLASS. 
          SO IT ACTUALLY BENEFITS MULTIFAMILY TO STAY IN, IN THE GENERAL CLASS. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          AND THE SAME FOR ALL THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL CLASS THAT ARE USING POTABLE WATER FOR COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT, YES. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, AND, UH, THE EIGHT BLOCKS, UM, THE PROGRESSIVE, UH, RATE THAT WE HAVE IS ONLY FOR RESIDENTIAL CLASS. 
          RIGHT NOW, IT IS NOT AVAILABLE IN OTHER CLASSES. 
          WELL, WE DON'T HAVE EIGHT BLOCKS. 
          IN OTHER, IN OTHER CLASSES WE HAVE FEWER MM-HMM. 
          . 
          BUT ONE OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW IN RESIDENTIAL IS REDUCING THE NUMBER OF BLOCKS. 
          SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE, WE, WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT AT OUR NEXT MEETING. 
          OKAY. 
          IS THERE ANY WAY YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE WHAT EFFECT THE, THE PROGRESSIVELY MORE EXPENSIVE BLOCKS HAVE ON USAGE, UH, IN EITHER OF, IN ANY OF THE CLASSES? WELL, YOU HAVE, UM, AT THE BOTTOM LEVELS YOU HAVE, UH, THREE OR THREE OR FOUR BLOCKS. 
          AND SO, UH, THERE ARE, THERE ARE MAJORITY OF OUR, OUR CUSTOMERS ARE IN THOSE, UM, THOSE BLOCKS. 
          THERE'S ONLY 15% OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE IN THE, THE HIGHER TWO TIERS. 
          UM, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S A, THEY'RE PAYING FOR, FOR WATER AT DIFFERENT RATES. 
          UH, SO EVERYBODY ELSE IS IN THE TIERS THAT ARE BELOW. 
          AND SO IN THE, IN THE OPTIONS THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT TODAY OR IN JUNE, UM, WE HAVE OPTIONS ON THE TABLE TO REDUCE THOSE DOWN TO FOUR. 
          AND WE ALSO HAVE AN OPTION TO REDUCE THE BLOCKS DOWN TO FIVE FROM WHERE IT IS TODAY. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU, FRANCIS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, LET ME ASK RELATED TO THAT, ARE THERE OPTIONS FOR BREAKING DOWN THE GENERAL CLASS INTO SUBGROUPS, YOU KNOW, SMALL BUSINESS, BIG BUSINESS, APARTMENTS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE? WELL, WE DID, WE DID HAVE THE CONVERSATION AROUND MULTIFAMILY AND THE DECISION ULTIMATELY, UH, AT THE LAST RA, UH, THE LAST MEETING WAS TO LEAVE THEM IN THE GENERAL CLASS. 
          NOW, AS I SAID, UM, I DON'T LIKE TO SIT TO THINK THAT WE'RE DONE IN WITH THAT CONVERSATION UNTIL OUR LAST MEETING. 
          SO THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE STILL EVOLVING. 
          BUT, UM, GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR, UH, INDUSTRY, THAT PARTICULAR CLASS OF, OF, OF, UH, 
          [02:15:01]
BUSINESS OWNER, WE DECIDED THAT MAYBE WE NEEDED MORE INFORMATION AND IT WOULD BE, UM, NOT WISE TO PULL THEM OUT, UH, BY THEMSELVES. 
          OKAY. 
          I CAN UNDERSTAND ABOUT APARTMENTS. 
          I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THERE WAS ANY, 'CAUSE WE BROKE DOWN RESIDENTIAL MM-HMM. 
           BY THE AMOUNT OF WATER THEY USE, BUT WE DON'T BREAK DOWN GENERAL BY THE AMOUNT OF WATER. 
          THEY JUST PAY MORE IF THEY USE MORE. 
          RIGHT. 
          BUT THERE'S NO HIGHER COST DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH MORE THEY USE. 
          RIGHT, RIGHT. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BY ANY OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS ON THIS? OKAY, HEARING NONE, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND TRY AND MOVE US QUICKLY THROUGH THE LAST COUPLE OF ITEMS. AND THE REASON IS, I KNOW THAT YOU'VE SENT US INFORMATION ON THESE. 
          ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS ABOUT THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN. 
          AND I GUESS I'LL JUST MAKE A COMMENT AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, THAT SAWS AND THE BOARD HAVE LOOKED AT AN OPTION OF CHANGING THE QUALIFICATION METHOD THAT'S BEEN USED, UH, BASING IT ON, UM, AFFORDABILITY, UH, BASED ON CENSUS ZONES, CENSUS TRACKS AROUND THE CITY. 
          I'D LIKE TO JUST HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU PLAN TO IMPLEMENT THAT, WHAT DIFFERENCE YOU THINK THAT'LL MAKE. 
          SURE, OKAY. 
          SO THERE'S QUITE A FEW SLIDES, UH, ABOUT KIND OF THE PROGRAM IN GENERAL. 
          AND, AND WE CAN CERTAINLY SKIP THROUGH THAT IF YOU'D LIKE TO BECAUSE WE'VE ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME. 
          SURE. 
          SO LET ME, UM, LET ME TRY TO GET TO, LET ME, LET ME START HERE. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, WITH THE, WITH THE RULES THAT WERE IN PLACE WITH THE, OR THE INITIAL AGREEMENT, UM, WE, THERE WAS NOBODY AUTO QUALIFYING. 
          THE, THE CUSTOMER HAD TO ACTUALLY APPLY. 
          WE THEN HAD TO EVALUATE THAT APPLICATION TO SEE WHETHER THEY WOULD QUALIFY FOR WHAT LEVEL OF ASSISTANCE, RIGHT? WERE THEY AT 125% OF POVERTY OR BELOW, OR WERE THEY ABOVE THAT? AND THE, THE ASSISTANCE CHANGED DEPENDING ON THAT. 
          WHEN WE, UM, WHEN WE, UH, INITIALLY WE, WE PUT OUT THE APPLICATION PROCESS IN DECEMBER. 
          WE WERE GOING THROUGH ALL THOSE APPLICATIONS AS THE, ONCE THE APPROVAL, UH, TO THE AGREEMENT WAS, WAS GIVEN. 
          AND BY THE END OF APRIL, WE HAD RECEIVED OVER 7,000 APPLICATIONS. 
          WE'D ONLY BEEN ABLE TO GIVE ABOUT ASSISTANCE TO ABOUT 4,400. 
          THE REST OF THEM EITHER DIDN'T QUALIFY, THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS, THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE HAD A BALANCE THAT WAS ELIGIBLE. 
          UM, SO FOR WHATEVER REASON, 4,400 AND ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS, WE QUICKLY SAW THAT WE WERE NOT, YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, THE CITY ALLOCATED $10 MILLION FOR THIS EFFORT, IT SAWS. 
          AND WE WERE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO GO DO THAT WITHOUT SOME WAY OF STREAMLINING THE PROCESS. 
          SO WE STARTED TALKING WITH STAFF AND ONE OF THE OPTIONS THAT WE CONSIDERED WAS ACTUALLY QUALIFYING AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFYING CUSTOMERS BASED ON THEIR, IF THEY LIVED IN A QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACK. 
          AND SO, UM, A QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACK IS DEFINED BY THE I R SS AS, UH, AT LEAST 50% OF THE HOUSEHOLDS HAVE INCOME. 
          LESS THAN 60% OF THE AREA MEDIAN GROSS INCOME OR THE POVERTY RATE IN THAT CENSUS TRACK IS AT LEAST 25%. 
          SO THESE ARE DEFINITELY LOW INCOME AREAS. 
          I, YOU CAN SEE THE MAP HERE THAT SHOWS THE, UM, QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACKS, UH, IN, IN 2021, VERY MUCH CONCENTRATED INSIDE LOOP FOUR 10. 
          SO, UH, AND THE AR RPA, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RULES ON ARPA, AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT ACTUALLY INDICATED THAT YOU CAN ASSUME, WE PRESUME THAT FOLKS THAT LIVE IN THESE, THESE QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACTS HAD A FINANCIAL, UM, IMPACT BECAUSE OF COVID, RIGHT? SO, SO WE BEGAN TALKING TO THE CITY ABOUT, UH, UH, CERTAINLY PERHAPS AUTO QUALIFYING FOLKS THAT LIVE IN, IN THE QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACKS. 
          AND THEN ALSO WHAT WE WERE FINDING IS THAT, UM, BY THE TIME THE FOLKS, THE CUSTOMERS HAD APPLIED AND WE WERE ABLE TO LOOK THROUGH IT, A LOT OF THEIR BALANCE WAS INELIGIBLE BECAUSE IT HAD TO BE FOR CHARGES THROUGH SEPTEMBER, COULDN'T BE PASSED SEPTEMBER OF 2021. 
          SO WE ASKED IF THE CITY WOULD EXTEND THAT. 
          THEY, UM, UH, WORKING WITH STAFF, THEY AGREED TO EXTEND IT BY SIX MONTHS TO MARCH OF, OF 2022. 
          THEY ALSO AGREED TO ALLOW US TO AUTO QUALIFY CUSTOMERS IN INSIDE THE QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACK. 
          UM, DIFFERENT, UH, ASSISTANCE IS PROVIDED, WHETHER IF THEY'RE IN OUR A D P PROGRAM VERSUS NOT. 
          ALSO, WE CAN ASSUME THAT ANYBODY THAT'S GETTING SAHA ASSISTANCE IS AUTOMATICALLY ELIGIBLE FOR ARPA. 
          SO THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. 
          AND SO INITIALLY AS WE LOOKED AT THIS, WE THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA BE, BE ABLE TO HELP ABOUT 7,100 CUSTOMERS. 
          UH, WE WERE ABLE TO EXECUTE THAT AGREEMENT LAST WEEK. 
          AND, AND, UH, STAFF AT SAS HAVE BEEN VERY BUSY TRYING TO, UH, GO AHEAD AND, AND, AND TAKE THAT AUTO QUALIFICATION AND, AND IMPLEMENT IT. 
          UM, IT, IT IS A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE A D P CUSTOMERS. 
          SO THE FOLKS IN OUR AFFORDABILITY PROGRAM, WE WERE ABLE TO PROCESS ABOUT 3,500 AUTOMATIC APPLICATIONS, IF YOU WILL, UM, YESTERDAY, UH, FOR ABOUT $1.6 MILLION. 
          AND THEN WE EXPECT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS THAT WE WILL DO IT, UM, FOR THE FOLKS THAT ARE NOT IN OUR 
          [02:20:01]
A D P PROGRAM, BUT STILL IN THOSE QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACKS. 
          AND THERE WE THINK WE COULD HELP PERHAPS AS MANY AS MAYBE 6,000 ADDITIONAL CUSTOMERS, UM, FOR ANOTHER ALMOST $3 MILLION. 
          SO IT'S BEEN EXTREMELY, UM, BENEFICIAL IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO BE STREAMLINED, VERY EFFICIENT IN GETTING THIS ASSISTANCE OUT TO THESE CUSTOMERS, UM, UH, QUICKLY. 
          AND, AND REALLY THE GOAL IS TO PREVENT DISCONNECTION AND TO HELP THESE FOLKS, UM, REDUCE THE BURDEN, RIGHT? IT MAY NOT COMPLETELY WIPE AWAY THEIR BILL, BUT IT CAN CERTAINLY BRING IT DOWN, HOPEFULLY INTO A MANAGEABLE, UM, UM, LEVEL. 
          AND, AND WE WILL WORK WITH THEM THEN WITH, WITH, UH, PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS. 
          UM, THAT'LL LEAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY STILL YET TO USE FOR FOLKS THAT APPLY OVER THE NEXT, UH, WE STILL HAVE FOUR OR FIVE MONTHS LEFT IN THIS, UM, UH, UNDER THIS AGREEMENT. 
          SO I THINK I, I DO WANNA SAY THAT IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN GREAT. 
          I REALLY APPRECIATE THE CITY STAFF BEING SO, UH, WILLING TO, TO WORK WITH US. 
          UM, UH, LORI HOUSTON, UH, DEPARTMENT OF, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD AND HOUSING SERVICES, D H S, UM, UH, ERIC CERTAINLY SET THE, THE TONE. 
          SO I CERTAINLY DO APPRECIATE THE, UM, THE THE COOPERATION WITH THE CITY. 
          OKAY, THAT'S GREAT. 
          YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GREAT REPORT. 
          I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE WERE SEEING AND WHAT WE WERE HEARING TAKING PLACE. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, IT MEETS THE GOAL, I THINK THAT THE COUNCIL LAID OUT FOR, UH, OFFERING THAT MONEY, UH, TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THEIR WATER SO THEY DON'T GET IT TURNED OFF. 
          I GUESS WHAT I WOULD ASK IS THAT AT THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY WHEN WE CALL YOU TO MEET AGAIN, WE GET AN UPDATE ON HOW WELL THAT'S PROGRESSED AND JUST KEEP US INFORMED. 
          SURE. 
          DOES ANY COUNCIL MEMBER HAVE A QUESTION? UH, COMMENT? YES. 
          COUNCILWOMAN, THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS. 
          I THINK COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL AND I HAD BEEN ASKING, WHY CAN'T WE JUST AUTOMATICALLY ENROLL THEM? UM, A LOT OF THE RESIDENTS THAT I REPRESENT DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO INTERNET, SO THEY DON'T APPLY. 
          AND SO, UM, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PROACTIVE ABOUT IT. 
          AND SO I JUST REALLY WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU. 
          I'M EXCITED ABOUT, UM, THE RESULTS. 
          I SEE THAT THERE'S 7,100 CUSTOMERS WHO WOULD AUTO QUALIFY, BUT COUNT, COUNT, UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, COURAGE MENTIONED THIS. 
          I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HOW MANY ACTUALLY, UM, DO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT OR HOW MANY WE END UP IN. 
          OKAY. 
          SURE. 
          AND I THINK WE'RE DO BETTER THAN THAT, AND IT'S, YAY, THEY'RE NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE. 
          WE'RE GIVING IT TO THEM. 
          RIGHT. 
          THAT'S, THAT'S PERFECT. 
          SO THEY'RE GONNA GET A LETTER IN THE MAIL AND SAY, HEY, GUESS WHAT? YOU GOT SOME ASSISTANCE. 
          HOW LONG IS IT GONNA TAKE? UM, I THINK WE SHOULD BE DONE BY, UM, MY GOAL IS BY THE END OF THIS WEEK. 
          AWESOME. 
          WELL, GOOD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THAT'S MY ONLY COMMENT. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          OKAY. 
          I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          IT'S A GREAT REPORT. 
          THE LAST THING ON OUR AGENDA WAS A DISCUSSION OF THE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS THAT WERE BEING MADE BY SAWS BASED ON OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN. 
          AND I SEE THAT THEY SENT US A VERY GOOD LIST OF THOSE. 
          UH, REALLY ALL OF THEM ARE COMPLETE EXCEPT ONE ITEM NUMBER 12, WHICH IS IN PROGRESS. 
          STEVE, IF YOU WANNA JUST MENTION THAT, BUT THE OTHERS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. 
          I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO GO THROUGH 'EM ALL. 
          SO COMPLETED OR IN PROGRESS, LIKE TRAINING, WORKING WITH THE CITY'S EMERGENCY GROUP AND C P S, THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION THERE THAT WE GO THROUGH A WHOLE SERIES OF TRAINING WE'RE DOING THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT. 
          SO WE CONSIDER THOSE TO BE IN PROGRESS MOVING FORWARD. 
          UM, SO THE ONLY ITEM THAT'S REMAINING IS A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE, UH, DEVELOP A THIRD PARTY, UH, SERVICE TO ANSWER THE PHONE. 
          SOME SORT OF A LIVE CHAT SYSTEM, UH, WHERE WE IN A PEAK PERIOD COULD BRING IN ADDITIONAL AGENTS TO HANDLE ALL THE DIFFERENT CALLS THAT WE'RE GETTING. 
          WELL, WE THINK WE'VE GOT AN ANSWER THAT'S THAT, BUT BETTER IN THAT WE ARE, UM, BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, WE SHOULD HAVE A BOT AVAILABLE WHERE IT GIVES YOU INTELLIGENT ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT A SERVICE DISRUPTION ABOUT A BILL, WHAT HAVE YOU. 
          VERY SIMILAR TO US SOPHISTICATED BANK, WHERE YOU HAVE THAT ONLINE ASSISTANT CAN ANSWER ALMOST ANY QUESTION YOU'VE GOT IN A, IN A FRACTION OF A SECOND, AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TYPE IT IN, USUALLY THE ANSWERS COME BACK. 
          WE ARE WORKING ON THAT SYSTEM NOW. 
          WE DO HAVE EXPECT TO HAVE IT AVAILABLE TOWARD THE END OF THE YEAR. 
          IT MINIMIZES THE CONFUSION THAT WE KNEW WE WOULD HAVE, UH, TRYING TO BRING, AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH THE WATER SYSTEM, AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH HOW OUR SYSTEMS WORK, AND THEN TRYING TO TRAIN THEM FOR A PEAK THAT COMES ALONG ON SUCH AN INFREQUENT BASIS. 
          SO THIS TOOL IS, UH, MUCH MORE EFFICIENT. 
          WE BELIEVE WE'LL DO A MUCH MORE, UH, PROFESSIONAL JOB IN ANSWERING THOSE PEAK PERIOD QUESTIONS. 
          WELL, THANK YOU. 
          AND, AND I'LL OFFER MY PERSONAL OPINION ON THIS, AND THAT IS, I HATE IT WHEN I GET A MACHINE ANSWERING AND I'VE GOT A QUESTION AND I'VE GOT A CONCERN, AND THEY LEAD YOU DOWN A RABBIT HOLE ON IF YOU WANT THIS OR IF YOU WANT THAT. 
          UH, AND I THINK PEOPLE WANNA TALK TO REAL PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY IN AN EMERGENCY. 
          SO I HEAR WHERE YOU'RE GOING. 
          I'M JUST 
          [02:25:01]
EXPRESSING MY OWN OPINION ON THIS. 
          UH, AND I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE WANTS TO MAKE A COMMENT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, MR. KLAUS, I, I WOULD AGREE WITH COUNCIL COURAGE ON THIS ONE. 
          UM, AND JUST FROM USER EXPERIENCE, I, UH, HAVE AN 82 YEAR OLD MOM, AND SHE DOESN'T, DOESN'T UNDERSTAND EVEN HOW TO USE THIS, UM, THE, THE AUTOMATIC. 
          AND SO SHE, UM, YOU KNOW, TALKS OVER, SHE'S HARD OF HEARING. 
          UM, I KNOW A LOT OF RESIDENTS ARE LIKE THAT, SO I'D LOVE TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, BECAUSE IF WE'RE RE REDUCING THE HUMAN CAPACITY IN A SITUATION THAT'S ALREADY ALARMING TO PEOPLE, UM, IT, IT, IT, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT SERVES WHAT WE WERE INTENDING IT TO DO. 
          UM, I BELIEVE IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. 
          I THINK THERE'S A PLACE FOR IT, BUT IN AN EMERGENCY, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO STILL SEE THAT CONSIDERATION FOR A THIRD PARTY SERVICE, UM, BEING ACTIVATED IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. 
          BUT THOSE ARE MY ONLY COMMENTS AND I, UM, I APPRECIATE THE WORK DONE SO FAR. 
          CONGRATULATIONS ALSO ON HAVING 15 OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ALREADY COMPLETED. 
          SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCILMAN BRAVO. 
          ANY COMMENTS? NO. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT GETS US THROUGH TO OUR AGENDA. 
          THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. 
          AND WE NOW ARE ADJOURNED.
* 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.