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INTO OUR SPECIAL SESSION.THE TIME IS NOW 1:00 PM 1:10 PM AND TO START, UH, I'D LIKE US TO GO AHEAD AND ROLL THE TRANSLATION ANNOUNCEMENT.
AND JUST FOR THE RECORD CLERK, WE DO NOT NEED TO ANNOUNCE ROLE ONLY IF YOU WISH.
UH, YOU CAN TAKE IT FROM, OKAY.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE PRESENT.
UM, TIME IS 1:12 PM WE'LL START OUR SPECIAL SESSION, UH, ON THE SAN ANTONIO WATER
[1. Briefing from the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) on the 2020 Budget, pre-approved rate adjustments, and various projects to include the Consent Decree, Vista Ridge, Rate Study and Rate Advisory Committee, Affordability, recent high water usage, and Automated Metering Infrastructure. [Ben Gorzell, Chief Financial Officer; Troy Elliott, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Finance]]
SYSTEM AND GET US STARTED.UH, ERIC, DO YOU WANNA INTRODUCE OUR CITY STAFF? YES, SIR.
UM, BEN IS GOING TO GIVE US A BRIEF INTRODUCTION ON TODAY'S, UH, BUDGET AND UTILITY BRIEFING FROM SAS.
AND THEN MR. PUENTE AND HIS TEAM WHO ARE HERE TODAY WILL, UH, TAKE OVER FROM THERE.
GOOD AFTERNOON,
UH, THEY'RE GONNA COVER, COVER A NUMBER OF TOPICS WITH YOU TODAY TO INCLUDE, UH, AN UPDATE ON THE PRE-APPROVED RATE PLAN, THE PROPOSED RATE INCREASE THAT WOULD BE GOING INTO EFFECT IN, UH, JANUARY OF 2020, SOME INFORMATION AND UPDATE ON THE E P A CONSENT DECREE, THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT, UH, THE RATE STUDY THAT'S ONGOING AT SAWS WITH THE RATES ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE STUDY THAT THEY'RE DOING.
UH, AND THEN, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ON THE AUTOMATED, UH, METERING INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, PROJECT THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT.
I'M GONNA SPEND JUST A LITTLE BIT OF TIME WITH YOU ON THE PRE-APPROVED RATE PLAN.
THAT WAS, UH, THAT WAS TIED TO THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT AND THE PROPOSED RATE INCREASE THAT'S THE SAWS BOARD WILL BE TAKING UP, UH, LATER THIS MONTH, UH, ON THE RATE INCREASE THAT WOULD GO INTO EFFECT ON JANUARY OF 2020 THAT COMES OUT OF THAT PRE-APPROVED RATE PLAN.
UH, AGAIN, THAT, UH, RATE PLAN WOULDN'T REQUIRE ANY COUNCIL ACTION.
THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL BACK IN 2015.
SO, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY ON THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT ITSELF.
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME, UH, PROJECT IN THE MAKING.
UH, GO BACK TO JULY OF 2014 WHEN THE SAWS BOARD AFTER AN R F P PROCESS RECEIVED A NUMBER OF PROPOSALS.
AT THAT TIME, THE SAWS BOARD DID SELECT A VISTA RIDGE PROJECT PROPOSAL AND BEGAN NEGOTIATIONS WITH ABENGOA AT THE TIME, UH, TO ENTER INTO A WATER TRANSPORTATION AND PURCHASE AGREEMENT.
IN, UH, SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER.
UH, THE BOARD DID APPROVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DOCUMENTS.
THERE WAS A LOT OF CONVERSATION OBVIOUSLY HAPPENING ON OUR SIDE.
NUMBER OF B SESSIONS THAT WE HAD WITH THE MARION COUNCIL AT THAT TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE PROJECT AND WHAT THE POTENTIAL IMPACT, UH, NOT ONLY FROM A WATER SECURITY STANDPOINT, VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT FOR US GOING FORWARD, BUT ALSO WHAT THE IMPACT COULD BE ON RATE PAYERS.
UH, GIVEN, GIVEN THE SIZE OF THE PROJECT IN OCTOBER OF 2014, THE CITY COUNCIL DID APPROVE EXECUTION OF THAT WATER TRANS TRANSMISSION AND PURCHASE AGREEMENT, UH, AND AUTHORIZED, UH, SAWS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PROJECT.
ABOUT A YEAR LATER, UH, AND WE WORKED, WE HAD WORKED WITH SAWS ON THIS TO DEVELOP A RATE PLAN THAT THEY NEEDED TO PUT IN PLACE IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE FINANCIAL SECURITY AROUND THE PROJECT SO THAT THEY COULD GET THE PROJECT DONE.
UH, THAT WAS ACTUALLY APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL IN NOVEMBER OF 15.
UH, IN MARCH OF 2016, ABBA GOA DID FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION.
UH, SO I WENT THROUGH A PROCESS TO ADDRESS THAT, AND ULTIMATELY, THE BOARD DID TRANSFER THE PROJECT FROM ABBA GOA TO GARNEY.
AND THEN IN NOVEMBER OF 2016, THE PROJECT MOVED INTO FINANCIAL CLOSURE, AND THEN MAY OF 2016 SAWS DID SET THE VISTA RIDGE WATER PRICE FOR THE ENTIRE 30 YEAR TERM AT 1606 PER ACRE FOOT, WHICH WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN WHAT WE'D BEEN LOOKING AT IN 2014.
SO THAT WAS A GOOD NEWS, UH, STORY AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT, IT IS SCHEDULED TO START DELIVERING 50,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER TO SAWS NEXT SPRING.
THAT WOULD REPRESENT 20% OF SAWS CURRENT ANNUAL USAGE.
SO A SIGNIFICANT PROJECT, A SIGNIFICANT DIVERSIFICATION OF SOLDER SAWS, WATER RESOURCES, AND CERTAINLY AN IMPORTANT PROJECT, AND ONE THAT SECURES, UH, SAN ANTONIO'S WATER FUTURE.
UH, THIS IS THE PRE-APPROVED RATE PLAN THAT WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL IN 2015.
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WATER SUPPLY FEE, THE WATER DELIVERY AND WASTEWATER RATES LISTED THERE.THE PART THAT SHADED IN THE, IN THE LIGHT BLUE IS THE ACTUAL RATE PLAN.
SO IN THE FIRST YEAR IN 2017, THERE WERE PRE-APPROVED RATES FOR THE WATER SUPPLY FEE AS WELL AS FOR THE WATER DELIVERY AND WASTEWATER, UH, SYSTEM.
THERE WAS A TWO YEAR PLAN DONE AT THAT TIME, AND THEN FROM 18 TO 20, IT WAS JUST THE WATER SUPPLY FEE AND EVERYTHING NOTED THERE ON THE WATER SUPPLY FEE IS SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE FINANCIAL, UH, CERTAINTY THAT SAW IS NEEDED IN ORDER TO GET THAT PROJECT DONE.
ON THE BOTTOM PART OF THAT CHART, YOU HAVE THE ACTUAL RESULTS.
WHAT DID SAWS ACTUALLY PUT IN PLACE, UH, FOR THOSE CALENDAR YEARS? AND, UH, ON THE BOTTOM, IT'S SHOWING THE DIFFERENCE AND THE DIFFERENCE IS SOLELY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE WATER SUPPLY FEE.
SO WE'RE FOCUSING ON JUST THAT PIECE RELATED TO THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT.
YOU CAN SEE IN 20 17, 1 0.1% LESS, UM, IN A RATE INCREASE, 18.4% LESS 2019, 4% LESS, AND THEN 2020, UH, WOULD BE COMING IN AT THE 9.9%.
UM, AND I ACTUALLY APOLOGIZE, THE, THE BOTTOM WAS THE, UM, TOTAL CHANGE IN THE RATE INCREASE.
THE WATER SUPPLY FEE DIFFERENCES ARE A LITTLE, ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, BUT IN EACH YEAR OF THE PLAN SAWS DID IMPLEMENT LESS THAN WHAT WAS, UH, IN THE PLAN.
ADDITIONALLY, IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT IT AND JUST SAY, IF SAWS WERE TO TAKE IN 2020, UM, WHAT THEY DIDN'T TAKE IN THE PRIOR YEARS FOR VISTA RIDGE, WHAT WOULD THAT CUMULATIVE IMPACT? ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT IT, THE RATE THAT THEY COULD'VE TAKEN IN 2020 WOULD'VE BEEN UP TO 15.9%.
SO JUST ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT THE FACT THAT THE COSTS ON THE PROJECT HAVE COME IN BETTER, SAS HAS BEEN ABLE TO PUT IN, UH, LOWER RATE INCREASES IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THIS VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT.
IN TERMS OF WHAT THE BOARD WILL DO ON, ON NOVEMBER 5TH, THEY'RE SCHEDULED TO LOOK AT APPROVING THE 9.9% INCREASE TO THE TOTAL BILL FOR THE AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER.
THEY'RE ALSO LOOKING AT A 19.2% INCREASE IN RECYCLED WATER RATES.
THAT'S TIED TO, UM, THE POTABLE ROT RATES.
SO AS POTABLE WATER RATES GO UP, THEN THERE ARE ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO THE RECYCLED WATER RATES.
WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR A FEW YEARS, SO THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH THAT.
AND THEN THERE'S A NUMBER OF ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO MISCELLANEOUS SERVICE FEES THAT SAWS HAS HAS IN PLACE BASED ON THE CHANGE IN C P I.
SO IN NOVEMBER OF 2015, COUNSEL DID APPROVE AN ORDINANCE THAT ALLOWS SAWS TO ADJUST THOSE ANNUAL MISCELLANEOUS SERVICE, NOT THOSE MISCELLANEOUS SERVICE FEES BY THE ANNUAL CHANGE IN C P I.
AND THAT'S WHAT THEY'VE DONE IN THIS CASE.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, THERE'S NO COUNCIL ACTION, UH, REQUIRED ON THE RATE INCREASE, THE 9.9% IT IS IN THE PRE-APPROVED RATE PLAN, SOMETHING THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED.
BUT YOU'RE GETTING BRIEFED ON THAT TODAY IN MORE DETAIL BY SAS.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, LOOKED AT THE, UH, THE PROPOSED CHANGE, AND WE DO SUPPORT IT.
WE'VE LOOKED AT THE BUDGET, WE'VE LOOKED AT THE CALCULATIONS AROUND THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT.
WE'VE LOOKED AT THEIR FLOW OF FUNDS, AND WE ARE SUPPORTIVE OF THIS CHANGE IN RATES.
WE DID ALSO PROVIDE YOU A MORE DETAILED MEMORANDUM AS AN ATTACHMENT TO THE AGENDA ITEM FROM THE PUBLIC UTILITIES OFFICE WITH OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND SOME ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS THAT GOES INTO A LOT MORE DETAIL JUST TO HIGHLIGHT.
AND AGAIN, UH, THE RATE INCREASE IS TIED TO VISTA RIDGE, BUT WE'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE.
I WON'T SPEND MUCH TIME ON IT, BUT 2020 O AND M YOU CAN SEE, UM, FOR 2020, UH, A $436 MILLION INCREASE, UH, OR, OR A TOTAL O AND M COSTS.
THAT O AND M IS PRIMARILY BEING DRIVEN BY VISTA RIDGE.
$80.7 MILLION OF THAT INCREASE IS TIED TO VISTA RIDGE.
IF YOU TAKE VISTA RIDGE OUT OF THE O AND M BUDGET, THE REST OF THE O AND M BUDGET COMPARED TO THE PRIOR YEARS ONLY GROWING BY ABOUT 1.4%.
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS NOTED IN THE O AND M BUDGET.
UM, THEY'RE ADDING A NET OF 11 POSITIONS, SO NOT A LOT OF CHANGE IN PERSONNEL.
UH, THEY'VE ADDED 17 POSITIONS, BUT THEY'RE DELETING SIX.
AND THEN THE COMPENSATION, PRETTY MUCH THE ASSUMPTION THERE IS THAT THEY'VE GOT A 3% POOL SET ASIDE FOR PERFORMANCE PAY, UH, WHICH HAS BEEN WHAT THEY'VE BEEN TYPICALLY DOING FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
AND OF COURSE, THEIR EMPLOYEES WILL GO THROUGH AN EVALUATION PROCESS AND THEN BE AWARDED SOME TYPE OF PERFORMANCE BASED ON THAT EVALUATION.
BIG DRIVER ON THE SAUCE SIDE IS GONNA BE THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
OBVIOUSLY, THEY HAVE TO INVEST IN A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND A LOT OF PLANTS, UH, THAT THEY'VE GOTTA MAINTAIN.
UH, YOU CAN SEE HERE WHAT WE DID WAS WE GIVE A A FIVE YEAR COMPARISON, THE PREVIOUS FIVE YEARS TOTAL CAPITAL BUDGET, UH, VERSUS THE UPCOMING FIVE YEARS.
YOU CAN SEE FROM 2015 TO 2019, THAT CAPITAL TOTAL IS ABOUT $1.5 BILLION, ABOUT $300 MILLION A YEAR.
FROM 2020 TO 2024, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $2.5 BILLION IN AVERAGE OF ABOUT $526 MILLION A YEAR.
THERE'S SOME BIG, UH, ITEMS IN THERE, OBVIOUSLY, ONE OF 'EM IS A LOT OF WASTEWATER IMPROVEMENTS BEING MADE AS PART OF THE E P A CONSENT DECREE.
THIS SLIDE JUST LOOKS AT THE FIVE YEAR C P C
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I P GOING FROM 2020 TO 2024 AND BREAKS IT DOWN BY CORE BUSINESS.AGAIN, THAT FIVE YEAR TOTAL IS 2.5 BILLION.
THE WASTEWATER, THE, AGAIN, THE BIGGEST COMPONENT OF THAT IS GONNA BE $1.5 BILLION.
UH, THAT'S RELATED TO THE E P A CONSENT DECREE ON THE WATER DELIVERY.
UH, CORE BUSINESS, IT'S $798 MILLION.
A LOT OF MAIN REPLACEMENTS, STORAGE TANKS, WELL PUMPS, AND, UH, SYSTEM UPGRADES, UH, THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THOSE TOTALS.
SO WITH THAT, UH, ING COUNSEL, THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'M GONNA ASK ROBERT PUENTE, PRESIDENT C E O OF SASS TO COME UP, AND AGAIN, HE'LL TALK ABOUT NOT ONLY VISTA RIDGE, BUT SEVERAL OTHER TOPICS RELATED TO SAS AS WELL.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MR. MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS, CITY MANAGER.
IN PRIOR CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, OUR MAYOR, SOME OF YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND CITY STAFF, SASO WAS ASKED TO BRIEF YOU ON A FEW TOPICS.
AS BEN MENTIONED, UH, THE PRE-APPROVED RATES, THE, THE VISTA RIDGE, THE CONSENT DECREE, AND A FEW OTHER PROJECTS.
UH, AS A LEADING UTILITY, SAS HAS RECEIVED NUMEROUS AWARDS FOR INNOVATIVE PROJECTS AND EXCEPTIONAL EMPLOYEES.
SASS, ONCE AGAIN, WAS NAMED CITY'S TOPWARE PLACES BY, BY SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS.
EARLIER THIS MONTH, SAS WAS AWARDED THE SUSTAINABLE WATER UTILITY MANAGEMENT AWARD BY THE ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN WATER AGENCIES.
SAS HAS IMP IMPLEMENTED INNOVATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE WATER AND WASTEWATER STRATEGY TO SUPPORT ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING REGIONS IN THE NATION.
SOME OF OUR ACHIEVEMENTS HAVE BEEN SAW US HAVING THE STRONGEST CREDIT RATING EVER ROBUST CONSERVATION EFFORTS SINCE 1993.
OUR PER CAPITA USE HAS GONE DOWN FROM 160 TO 150 GALLONS PER PERSON PER DAY.
AND WE HAVE NINE DIFFERENT SOURCES OF WATER WHEN MOST CITIES HAVE ONLY TWO OR THREE.
BEFORE I DELVE INTO OUR BRIEFING, LET ME FIRST TELL YOU ABOUT A MAJOR MARQUEE PROJECT FOR THE FUTURE OF SAN ANTONIO.
YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH MITCHELL LAKE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN.
RAW S SEWAGE WAS FLOWING INTO MITCHELL LAKE AS LATE AS 1987.
STENCH FROM THE GULF WINDS BROUGHT A SERIOUS ISSUE FOR SOUTH SAN ANTONIONS, AND FOR AND SO FOR THE PAST TWO DECADES.
ALONG WITH THE AUDUBON SOCIETY, WE HAVE TRANSFORMED MITCHELL LAKE INTO ONE OF THE PREMIER BIRDING FACILITIES IN THE COUNTRY, AS WELL AS A TOURIST ATTRACTION AND AN EDUCATION FACILITY.
WE ARE NOW WORKING ON ANOTHER MAJOR TRANSFORMATION THAT WILL MAKE MITCHELL LAKE ONE OF THE BEST URBAN PARK FACILITIES IN THE STATE.
AND RI RIVAL HARBERGER PARK ON THE NORTH SIDE.
WITH THE HELP OF COUNCILWOMAN VRAN, CONGRESSMAN QUAY, CONGRESSMAN HERD, THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS AND OTHERS, WE ARE BUILDING OVER 100 ACRES OF CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS TO EXPAND THE BIRD BIRDING HABITAT ECOSYSTEM, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME RESOLVING A NON-COMPLIANCE PERMITTING ISSUE WITH THE E P A.
NOW, WE ARE ALSO WORKING WITH THE COUNTY, TEXAS A AND M, SAN ANTONIO, SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITY, AND OTHERS TO HELP DEVELOP A IDEA THAT FORMER MAYOR HENRY CISNEROS HAS ABOUT BRINGING A WORLDCLASS, A WORLD CLASS ARBORETUM TO SAN ANTONIO TO BE LOCATED ON PROPERTY THAT SAWS OWNS NEAR MI, UH, NEXT TO MITCHELL LAKE NESTLE, BETWEEN TEXAS A AND M, SAN ANTONIO, THE MISSIONS TOYOTA BROOKS, AND THE NEW NAVI STAR PROPERTY.
AND WITH SAN AND WITH THE CITY'S LINEAR PARK SYSTEM ON SITE.
THIS WILL BE A NATIONWIDE EXAMPLE OF AN AMAZING NATURAL URBAN ECOSYSTEM.
IN 2013, SAULS ENTERED INTO A CONSENT DECREE WITH THE UNITED STATES AND THE E P A ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.
THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MAJOR DRIVERS OF SAN ANTONIO RATE INCREASES OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS.
WE ARE NOW IN YEAR SIX OF A 10 YEAR CONSENT DECREE, AND I'M HAPPY TO REPORT TO YOU THAT EVERY INTERMEDIATE MILESTONE, EVERY DEADLINE HAS BEEN MET.
VERY FEW CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES CAN CAN SAY THAT ABOUT THEIR CONSENT DECREE.
OUR RATE PAYERS MONEY HAS BEEN WELL SPENT.
YOU SEE THE REDUCTION IN SEWER OVERFLOWS OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS AND 2019 IS TRENDING IN THE SAME WAY WE ARE.
WE ARE NOW ENTERING THE MOST CAPITAL INTENSIVE YEAR OF THE CONSENT DECREE.
OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS, WE HAVE COMMITTED OVER $600 MILLION TO THE PROGRAM, AND WE ARE GOING TO INVEST ANOTHER $6 MILLION WITH 2020 BEING PERHAPS THE MOST CRITICAL YEAR AS THAT.
AS THAT IS WHEN WE START THE LONG AWAITED LACKLAND W SIX PROJECT.
WITH THESE PROJECT EXPENDITURES, SAW US AS A MAJOR ECONOMIC DRIVER IN THE COMMUNITY, PUTTING WELL OVER $2 BILLION INTO OUR ECONOMY OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
WHILE WE HAVE PLACED A MAJOR FOCUS ON WASTEWATER, WE HAVE BEEN MAKING OTHER INVESTMENTS TO BENEFIT OUR COMMUNITY.
THE REGIONAL CARISSA PROJECT ONLINE IN 2013 WAS AT THE TIME THE LARGEST DIVERSIFICATION,
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DIVERSIFICATION FROM THE EDWARDS.NOW, THE LARGEST DIVERSIFICATION IS THE BRACKISH DESAL PLANT.
BOTH PROJECTS ALLOWED SAN ANTONIO TO, TO RE REDUCE THEIR RELIANCE ON THE EDWARDS.
BUT THIS DOESN'T MEAN WE WERE ALWAYS SUCCESSFUL IN REQUIRING LARGE SOURCES OF WATER.
FRANKLY, TO BE HONEST, WE FAILED MISERABLY.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT SAN ANTONIO PLANNED FOR, BUT ULTIMATELY FAILED TO PRODUCE WATER.
WE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON THESE PROJECTS, AND MOST OF THAT MONEY WAS LOST DUE TO THE INHERENT RISKS OF BUILDING THESE PROJECTS.
POLITICAL, LEGAL AND REGULATORY ISSUES ARE THE BIGGEST OBSTACLES IN DEVELOPING WATER IN TEXAS, AND ARE SOME OF THE REASONS WHY WE WERE NOT SUCC NOT SUCCESSFUL.
PARTICULARLY TROUBLESOME ARE THE GROUNDWATER REGULATIONS BASED ON HEAVILY POLITICAL COUNTY BOUNDARIES AND A SYSTEM OF PUTTING ONE REGION AGAINST ANOTHER, REGARDLESS OF ANY SCIENTIFIC REASON.
THIS WOULD INCLUDE POTENTIALLY SPENDING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR A PERMIT, A PERMIT TO PRODUCE WATER THAT WOULD ONLY LAST 10 YEARS.
THAT IS A TREMENDOUS RISK FOR OUR RAY PARISHS TO TAKE IN SOMETHING THAT REQUIRED CHANGES IN OUR WATER PLANNING EFFORTS.
BUT FAILING WAS NO LONGER AN OPTION FOR THE CITY AS IT GREW AND GREW, AND WE STILL NEEDED TO PLAN FOR OUR FUTURE.
AND NOW THIS BRINGS US TO THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT.
BECAUSE OF THOSE RISKS I JUST DISCUSSED, WE DECIDED IN 2010 TO TAKE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SECURE THE COMMUNITY'S WATER FUTURE.
A PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PROCESS ASKED THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO PROPOSE A PROJECT UP TO 50,000 ACRE FEET.
THEY WERE REQUIRED TO ASSUME THE ENORMOUS RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT WATER.
WE NEEDED A PROJECT THAT SHIFTED THE POLITICAL, LEGAL, REGULATORY, AND PROJECT RISK AWAY FROM SAWS ONCE AND FOR ALL TO CREATE A TRUE WATER SECURITY FOR DECADES AT A STABLE COST WITH NO INCREASE IN PRICE FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS.
THE VISTA BRIDGE PROJECT IS, IS VIEWED, IS VIEWED AS A MAJOR ACHIEVE ACHIEVEMENT BY NUMEROUS NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.
I AND MY STAFF HAVE BEEN RE HAVE RECEIVED OVER 40 INVITATIONS AROUND THE NATION TO SPEAK ABOUT THE VISTA BRIDGE PROJECT AND THE P THREE PROJECT THAT IT IS VISTA RIDGE, L L C, WHICH IS THE PROJECT COMPANY, HAS JUST RECENTLY COMPLETED THEIR 142 MILE DELIVERY PIPELINE AND ARE NOW, AND ARE NOW PUMPING WATER AND TESTING THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE.
AT THE SAME TIME, INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS ARE REQUIRED TO BE ABLE TO INTEGRATE THIS WATER INTO OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
THIS INCLUDES IMPROVEMENTS AT THE AQUA VISTA STATION IN STONE OAK, WHERE WE ARE PHYSICALLY TAKING DELIVERY OF THE WATER.
VISTA RIDGE WATER WILL BEGIN FLOWING TO OUR CUSTOMERS IN LESS THAN SIX MONTHS AFTER YEARS OF FAILING TO DEVELOP NEW WATER SOURCES AND BEING SEEN AS A RISKY PLACE FOR BUSINESSES TO MOVE.
WE ARE NOW PART OF A, OF THE BIGGEST HISTORIC EVENT IN SECURING OUR WATER FUTURE.
IN FACT, IN TODAY'S EXPRESS NEWS ARTICLE, THERE WAS AN ARTICLE REGARDING THE ECONOMIC, UM, DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION AND THEIR NEW PHILOSOPHY OF NOT LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT THIS IS A CHEAP LABOR TOWN, BUT THEIR, THEIR, THEIR PHILOSOPHY HAS CHANGED.
AND ONE REASON THAT'S CHANGED IS THAT WATER SECURITY IS NO LONGER SOMETHING THAT THEY HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO THESE, UH, UH, POTENTIAL, UH, UH, COMPANIES.
SO JENNA CELO RERA HAS BEEN ABLE TO ESSENTIALLY PUT THAT OFF THE LIST OF THINGS THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT.
A PROJECT OF THIS MAGNITUDE REQUIRED A, A SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC PROCESS AND A VERY COMPLICATED LONG-TERM CONTRACT.
VISTA RIDGE WAS NEGOTIATE, WAS NEGOTIATED IN PUBLIC MEETINGS, FOLLOWED BY NUMEROUS BRIEFINGS, BE BE BEFORE BOTH ARS O'S BOARD AND CITY COUNCIL.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS SLIDE, THE NEGOTIATOR AGREEMENT WAS BROUGHT TO THE COUNCIL IN OCTOBER OF 2014 BY BEN GZE.
AND AFTER REVIEW BY THE CITY'S LEGAL TEAM AND THE PUBLIC UTILITY OFFICE, THIS, UM, THIS COUNCIL WAS TOLD, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTED BOX, THAT THE POTENTIAL RATE INCREASE COULD BE AS HIGH AS 19% IN 2020, EVEN BASED ON THIS INFORMATION, CITY COUNCIL AT THE TIME VOTED 11 ZERO TO ENTER INTO THAT AGREEMENT AS REQUIRED BY THE AGREEMENT, WE CAME BACK TO COUNCIL ONE YEAR LATER IN NOVEMBER, 2015 FOR RATE SUPPORT THE COUNCIL, A FIVE YEAR WATER SUPPLY FEE TO INCREASE, UH, THROUGH 2020.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE LARGEST ADJUSTMENT WAS ALWAYS SCHEDULED TO TAKE EFFECT IN 2020 COINCIDING WITH THE DELIVERY OF WATER.
EVEN THOUGH COUNCIL AUTHORIZED FIVE YEARS OF MAXIMUM INCREASES, WE'VE WORKED DILIGENTLY AT SAUCE TO LOWER EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE INCREASES, AND WE HAVE DONE SO.
AND I APPRECIATE BEN GORDON MAKING THAT PART OF HIS PRESENTATION ON THE EFFORTS WE TOOK TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RATES CAME IN AS LOW AS POSSIBLE.
ON THIS SIDE, YOU'LL SEE STEPS WE HAVE TAKEN TO LESSEN THE IMPACT ON
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FAMILIES AND BUSINESSES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.IN MAY OF 2016, WE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE EXTREMELY FAVORABLE INTEREST RATES TO LOCK IN THE RATES THAT WOULD PAY FOR THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT.
THIS INTEREST RATE LOCK WILL SAVE OUR CUSTOMERS $17.6 MILLION A YEAR FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS IN TOTAL OVER THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT, THIS ACTION WILL SAVE $529 MILLION.
SAUCE CONTINUES TO BECOME EVER MORE EFFICIENT IN OUR OPERATION, OUR CUSTOMER TO EMPLOYEE TO EMPLOYEE RATIO, IMPROVING FROM 441 CUSTOMERS TO ONE EMPLOYEE IN 2009 TO 553 TO ONE PRESENTLY AT THE END OF 2018.
THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT OF OVER 25% OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, AND INCLUDES SAS SEAMLESSLY, ASSUMING CONTROL OF THAT TROUBLED UTILITY, BARE MET A UTILITY THE SIZE OF CORPUS CHRISTI.
FINALLY, SAS HAS AGGRESSIVELY, UH, REDUCED THE LEVEL OF ITS DEBT THROUGH BOND REFINANCING CASH EXCEEDANCE OF OVER $168 MILLION WORTH OF DEBT AND UTILIZATION OF SUB SUBSIDIZED AND VARIABLE RATE FINANCING.
ALL OF THESE ACTIONS HAVE ALLOWED SALES TO SOS TO REDUCE OUR LEVEL OF PROJECTED DEBT SERVICE BY ALMOST $40 MILLION.
THESE ACTIONS AND OTHERS RESULTED IN A POTENTIAL RATE INCREASE PROGRESSIVELY GOING DOWNWARD TO TODAY'S 9.9 FIGURE.
EVEN THIS, EVEN WITH THESE COST SAVING ACHIEVEMENTS, THERE'S NO ESCAPING THE REALITY THAT BEGINNING IN 2020 SAS IS GOING TO EXPERIENCE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE LEVEL OF OUR ANNUAL OPERATING AND, UH, AND MAINTENANCE EXPENSES.
THIS CHART SHOWS OUR BUDGETED ANNUAL EXPENDITURES FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, WHILE ALSO ALLOWING THE BUDGET AMOUNT, SHOWING THE BUDGETED AMOUNT FOR THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT.
I KNOW THERE HAS BEEN SOME TALK ABOUT S OVERALL CASH ON HAND.
I CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THAT THIS IS A SOUND BUSINESS PRACTICE.
IT IS THE SAME SOUND BUSINESS PRACTICE THAT THIS CITY DOES WITH ITS BUDGET RESERVING 15%, UH, FOR, UH, TO PLACE INTO RESERVE.
THE BUILDUP OF THESE CASH RESERVES BY SAWS IS DESIGNED TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT THAT OF DEBT WE WILL TAKE ON OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS.
IN OTHER WORDS, SOME OF THESE PROJECTS WILL BE PAID 50 50 DEBT AND CASH ON HAND TO KEEP OUR CREDIT RATING AS HIGH AS, UH, AS POSSIBLE TO COVER UNEXPECTED COSTS AND TO COVER THE INCREASED VISTA RIDGE ON AND COST.
THIS SLIDE DETAILS HOW WE CURRENTLY PROJECT DAYS CASH ON HAND TO LOOK OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS AS WE SPEND MORE AND MORE CASH ON CAPITAL PROJECTS.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE PROJECT, WE ARE PROJECTING A REDUCTION IN CASH DAYS ON HAND TO BE LESS THAN 300 WITHIN THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
THAT'S AFTER PAYING FOR THE LARGE PROJECTS THAT WERE MENTIONED IN 2020 AND 2021.
AND YET WE ARE STILL STAYING, STAYING WITHIN THE AMOUNT LOOKED AT, LOOKED AT FAVORABLY BY CREDIT AGENCIES.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT HUMAN, THAT HEALTH AND HUMAN SAFETY IS, IS CONTINGENT ON AN AFFORDABLE, DEPENDABLE SUPPLY OF WATER.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT ANY AMOUNT THAT AT ANY AMOUNT A WATER BILL IS A C SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT FOR SOME OF OUR CUSTOMER'S BUDGET.
SO THEREFORE HAS DEVELOPED ALL OF THESE TOUCH POINTS TO ASSIST OUR COMMUNITY.
SO WHETHER IT'S NOT A FAMILY THAT JUST DOESN'T EARN A LOT OF MONEY AND NEEDS CONSTANT MONTH TO MONTH HELP, WE HAVE A PROGRAM FOR THAT.
YOU CAN SEE ANY OF THESE TOUCH POINTS, WHETHER AN INDIVIDUAL SUFFERING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, UH, AS THIS CITY ADDRESSED, THIS COUNCIL ADDRESSED RECENTLY, UH, WE WAIVE, UH, DEPOSIT FEES IF NECESSARY.
SO ALL OF THESE TOUCH POINTS ARE MEANT TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY.
OUR ADDED FOCUS ON THESE PROGRAMS HAVE LED TO MORE FAMILIES SERVED WITH MORE MONEY BUDGETED FOR THEIR NEEDS.
SO WE TAKE THIS, UH, THESE AFFORDABILITY, AFFORDABILITY PROGRAMS VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY.
I WILL BE BACK WITH ONE LAST SLIDE, BUT AT THIS POINT, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE OUR VICE PRESIDENT MARY BAILEY.
SHE WILL TALK TO YOU ABOUT OUR HIGH BILL CONCERNS, THE RACK, THE RATES ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND A M I, UH, AUTOMATED METER INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO I WANNA START OUT BY TALKING ABOUT A RECENT SPIKE IN CUSTOMER'S CONCERNS RELATED TO HIGH HIGH WATER BILLS.
AS YOU KNOW, THIS SUMMER WAS VERY HOT AND DRY.
FROM JULY TO SEPTEMBER, WE HAD 17 DAYS, EXCUSE ME, HAD 17 DAYS OF TEMPERATURES ABOVE 100 DEGREES.
SEPTEMBER WAS THE HOTTEST MONTH ON RECORD FOR SEPTEMBER, AND AUGUST WAS TIED AS THE SECOND HOTTEST MONTH FOR AUGUST.
THE WE, WE ALSO HAD VERY LITTLE RAINFALL DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME AT 1.9 INCHES FOR JULY
[00:25:01]
THROUGH SEPTEMBER.IT WAS 76% BELOW OUR NORMAL FOR THAT PERIOD OF TIME, AND NEARLY ALL OF THAT RAIN FELL IN SEPTEMBER.
JUST AS CUSTOMERS SEE A SPIKE IN THEIR ELECTRIC BILLS, WHEN TEMPERATURES RISE, WATER USAGE ALSO TENDS TO RISE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE'S LITTLE OR NO RAINFALL.
HOWEVER, THIS SUMMER WAS A LITTLE MORE UNIQUE THAN NORMAL BUILD WATER USAGE FOR AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER WAS 19% HIGHER THAN THOSE MONTHS FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS.
AND THE, UH, BUILD USAGE MIRRORED WHAT WE SAW IN OUR INCREASE IN WATER PRODUCTION.
WHILE HOT AND DRY WEATHER ALWAYS RESULTS IN AN INCREASE IN WATER USAGE, WHAT MADE THIS SUMMER DIFFERENT IS THAT DUE TO HIGH, HIGHER THAN NORMAL AQUIFER LEVELS FROM THE RAIN THAT WE GOT FROM SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR THROUGH JUNE OF THIS YEAR, WE HAD NO WATER RESTRICTIONS ON OUTDOOR WATERING.
WHILE SOME OF YOU MAY BE HEARING FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS THAT EVERYONE IS SEEING A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN THEIR WATER BILLS, THAT REALLY ISN'T THE CASE.
THIS MAP SHOWS SAS, UH, SERVICE TERRITORY.
WE HAVE OVER 500,000 METERS SPREAD ACROSS THIS TERRITORY THAT WE MANUALLY READ EACH AND EVERY MONTH.
WE SPLIT THOSE METERS UP INTO 20 DIFFERENT BILLING CYCLES WHERE WE READ THEM, UM, UH, DAILY AND, UH, AND THEN BUILD THEM EACH NIGHT.
IN EACH OF THOSE CYCLES WHERE WE SAW THE BIGGEST INCREASE IN BUILD, UH, BUILD USAGE AND, AND, UH, UH, CUSTOMER CALLS REGARDING HIGH, HIGH CON, HIGH BILL CONCERNS, THEY, THEY WERE IN THE BILLING CYCLES, COLORED AND RED ON THAT MAP.
AND, UM, THIS IS ALSO TENDS TO BE THE AREA WHERE PEOPLE HAVE A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER SYSTEMS. THE REST OF THE BILLING CYCLES COLORED IN LIGHT YELLOW, SAW MUCH SMALLER CHANGES, SOMETIMES NO CHANGES IN THEIR WATER USE.
WE'VE SPOKEN TO A LOT OF CUSTOMERS OVER THE LAST SIX WEEKS ABOUT THEIR HIGH BILL CONCERNS.
WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT MANY OF THEM HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH WATER THEIR SPRINKLER SYSTEMS USE OR WHEN THEY WATER OR, OR HOW OFTEN IT RUNS.
SOME CASES, THE HIGH USAGE WAS THE RESULT OF LEAKS, UM, EITHER IN THEIR IRRIGATION SYSTEM OR EVEN INSIDE THE HOUSE WITH THEIR TOILETS.
ONCE CUSTOMERS REALIZE THAT THEY USE THE WATER, THEIR NEXT CONCERN IS THAT OUR TIERED RATE STRUCTURE IS UNFAIR.
SAWS CURRENT EIGHT TIERED RESIDENTIAL WATER RATE STRUCTURE IS THE RESULT OF THE 2015 RATE STUDY THAT WAS IMPLEMENTED IN JANUARY OF 2016.
THIS RATE STRUCTURE WAS DESIGNED TO SEND PRICE SIGNALS EARLY AND OFTEN.
IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE CONSERVATION AS CUSTOMERS USE WATER EACH MONTH, THEIR USAGE GETS CHARGED AT THE RATES, UH, ASSIGNED TO EACH TIER.
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE FIRST TIER IS WHAT WE REFER TO AS OUR LIFELINE BLOCK.
THE VOLUMETRIC RATE FOR THE FIRST TIER OF 1,496 GALLONS OF WATER IS VERY LOW, BUT THE RATE FOR EACH SUBSEQUENT TIER IS A MULTIPLE OF THAT FIRST TIER RATE.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE NEXT BLOCK IS 1.75 TIMES THAT RATE.
AND THE, BY THE TIME YOU GET UP TO THE FOURTH BLOCK, IT'S 2.7 TIME, TIME, UH, SEVEN, FIVE TIMES THAT RATE.
BY THE TIME YOU GET ALL THE WAY TO BLOCK EIGHT, YOU'RE AT SIX AND A HALF TIMES THAT FIRST BLOCK RATE.
SO, AS WATER, UH, AS WATER USAGE INCREASE THE RATES AND THE TOTAL WATER BILL DOES NOT INCREASE LINEARLY.
INSTEAD, IT INCREASES EXPONENTIALLY.
BY THE TIME YOU GET TO THE HIGHEST TIERED RATE BLOCK, WHICH IS ALL USAGE ABOVE 20 THOU, UH, 20,200 GALLONS, YOU'RE PAYING $115 FOR EVERY 10,000 GALLONS OF ADDITIONAL WATER USE.
SO THIS GRAPH SHOWS HOW QUICKLY THE WATER PORTION OF THE BILL CAN INCREASE AS A RESULT OF THESE TIERED RATES.
LET'S JUST SAY A CUSTOMER USED AN AVERAGE OF 20,000 GALLONS LAST SUMMER WHEN WE HAD ONCE A WEEK WATER RESTRICTIONS.
THAT WATER BILL AT 20 THOU, UH, 2019 RATES WOULD BE $131.
NOW, LET'S ASSUME THEY INCREASE, INCREASED THEIR OUTDOOR WATERING TO TWICE A WEEK THIS YEAR, DOUBLING THEIR USAGE.
NOW THAT WATER PORTION OF THE BILL IS $369.
THEIR USAGE DOUBLED, BUT THEIR BILL NEARLY TRIPLED.
AND AS THEY MOVE UP AND THEIR, AND, AND ADD ADDITIONAL USAGE, EVEN MORE, MORE OF THE CUSTOMERS AND MORE, MOST OF THE CUSTOMERS THAT I SPOKE TO HAD USAGE OF THE 40 TO 50,000 GALLON RANGE A MONTH, THAT IMPACT CAN BE SIGNIFICANT.
SO WHAT CONCLUSIONS CAN WE MAKE? DID THE CUSTOMERS USE THE WATER? YES.
IN FACT, THEY TEND TO UNDER REGISTER AS THEY AGE.
DO CUSTOMERS LIKE OUR RATE STRUCTURE? NO, PARTICULARLY HIGH WATER USERS DO NOT, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE USAGE USAGE SPIKES.
DID THEY GET THE PRICE SIGNAL? YES.
EVEN IN SEPTEMBER, EVEN THROUGH, EVEN THOUGH SEPTEMBER WAS THE HOTTEST MONTH ON RECORD, THE BILLS THAT WENT OUT IN EARLY OCTOBER, WHICH BASICALLY REFLECT THAT USAGE DURING SEPTEMBER, THOSE BILLS DROPPED 25% FROM THEIR
[00:30:01]
SEPTEMBER BILL.PEOPLE GOT THE MESSAGE TURNED OFF OR OTHERWISE MINIMIZED THEIR WATER USE OUTSIDE.
SO I MENTIONED THAT THE CURRENT EIGHT TIER RATE RESIDENTIAL RATE STRUCTURE IS THE RESULT OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE 2015 RATE STUDY.
WE TYPICALLY UNDERTAKE A RATE STUDY EVERY FIVE YEARS.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, SAWS BEGAN A NEW RATE STUDY PROCESS TO REVIEW OUR RATE STRUCTURES.
THIS STUDY IS CONDUCTED WITH THE HELP OF A RATE CONSULTANT AS WELL AS THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND AS IT SAYS HERE IN THE MISSION STATEMENT FOR THIS RACK, WE UTILIZE THE RACK TO OBTAIN A DIVERSITY OF PERSPECTIVES THAT REPRESENT THIS COMMUNITY THAT WE SERVE.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THOSE PER PERSPECTIVES ARE HEARD AND TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN COMING UP WITH ANY RECOMMENDATIONS TO CHANGE THE WATER, SEWER, OR RECYCLED WATER RATE STRUCTURES.
THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE CONSISTS OF 20 MEMBERS, 10 OF WHICH WERE NOMINATED BY EACH OF YOU AND REPRESENT TO REPRESENT THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE CITIZENS IN YOUR DISTRICT.
WE ALSO SOUGHT OUT NOMINATIONS FROM VARIOUS BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY GROUPS.
10 ADDITIONAL AT LARGE MEMBERS WERE ADDED TO THE RACK TO ENSURE THAT ALL TYPES OF SAWS CUSTOMERS WERE REPRESENTED.
APPROXIMATELY 65% OF THE MEMBERS REPRESENT PRIMARILY RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER INTERESTS.
ANOTHER 30% REPRESENT VARIOUS COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS INTERESTS, WHILE 5% OF THE RACK REPRESENTS WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS.
WE'VE HAD THREE RACK MEETINGS OVER THE LAST SIX WEEKS WHERE WE'VE PROVIDED SOME BACKGROUND ABOUT SAWS AND SOME GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND THE PROCESS OF A RE-RATE STUDY.
AT THE NEXT MEETING ON NOVEMBER 12TH, THE RACK WILL BE RANKING THE VARIOUS PRICING OBJECTIVES SHOWN HERE.
THIS RANKING WILL PROVIDE STAFF AND OUR CONSULTANTS A CLEAR DIRECTION OF WHAT THE RACK MEMBERS CONSIDER TO BE OUR COMMUNITY'S HIGHEST PRIORITIES RELATED TO WATER AND SEWER RATES.
USING THESE PRIORITIES, WE WILL BE ABLE TO BRING IDEAS ABOUT POTENTIAL CHANGES TO SAWS RATE STRUCTURES TO THE COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER.
WE EXPECT TO MEET MONTHLY THROUGH MAY OF NEXT YEAR AND GIVE THE RACK AMPLE TIME TO CONSIDER A VARIETY OF ALTERNATIVES.
THE MEETING SCHEDULED IS POSTED ON, UH, THE SAS WEBSITE, WW.SAS.ORG/RAC FOR RAC.
UH, THE MEETINGS ARE LIVE STREAMED AND POSTED ON THE WEBSITE.
ALONG WITH ALL THE MEETING MATERIALS, ANY RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO THE RATE STRUCTURES PROPOSED BY THE RAC WILL BE PRESENTED TO OUR BOARD, UH, AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE COMMITTEE AND ULTIMATELY TO CITY COUNCIL LATER NEXT YEAR.
SO THE LAST THING I WANT TO COVER IS SAS, ADVANCED METER INFRASTRUCTURE OR A M I INITIATIVE.
SO, UH, THIS INITIATIVE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO COMPLETELY TRANSFORM HOW WE OBTAIN AND COMMUNICATE INFORMATION ABOUT A CUSTOMER'S WATER USAGE.
THERE ARE THREE BASIC WAYS TO OBTAIN WATER USAGE FROM THE METER.
THE FIRST IS TO MANUALLY READ ALL THE METERS EACH MONTH.
METER READER GOES OUT, VISITS, VISITS THE ADDRESS, AND EVERY ADDRESS IN THE SERVICE TERRITORY AND MANUALLY COLLECTS THE READ.
THAT'S HOW SAWS DOES IT TODAY.
ANOTHER WAY IS TO COLLECT IT VIA AN AUTOMATED METER READING SYSTEM OR A M R.
THIS TECHNOLOGY COLLECTS WATER USAGE AND TRANSFER TRANSFERS THE DATA FROM THE WATER METER AT THE CUSTOMER'S ADDRESS TO THE UTILITY THROUGH ONE-WAY COMMUNICATION.
THIS CAN BE DONE EITHER BY DRIVING OR WALKING BY THE LOCATION, AND IT CAN'T EVEN BE COMMUNICATED, UH, VIA RADIO, UH, UH, COMMUNICATION DEVICE.
MANY UTILITIES HAVE IMPLEMENTED THIS APPROACH.
IT SAVES ON LABOR COSTS, BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY PROVIDE ANY MORE INFORMATION, UH, ABOUT WATER USAGE TO THE UTILITY OR TO THE CUSTOMER.
THE THIRD WAY IS VIA AN ADVANCED METER INFRASTRUCTURE OR A M I SYSTEM.
ONE OF THE KEY PIECES OF FUNCTIONALITY THAT A M I OFFERS IS A TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE METER AND THE UTILITY.
WATER USAGE DATA IS GENERALLY RECORDED IN HOURLY INCREMENTS AND TRANSMITTED TO THE UTILITY ONE OR MORE TIMES A DAY.
A M I CAN UNLOCK SIGNIFICANT VALUE BY DRAMATICALLY REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF MANUALLY INTENSIVE FIELD ACTIVITIES AND PROVIDING CUSTOMERS THE NEAR REAL-TIME DATA THAT THEY, THAT THEY NEED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND AND MANAGE THEIR WATER USAGE.
WHILE A M I HAS BEEN WIDELY IMP IMPLEMENTED BY ELECTRIC AND GAS UTILITIES, IT IS ONLY IN RECENT YEARS BEGUN TO BE ADOPTED BY WATER UTILITIES.
WHILE SOSS HAS BEEN LOOKING INTO A M I FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS OR SO, WE FINALLY BELIEVE THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS ADVANCED TO THE POINT WHERE WE, WE BELIEVE THE BENEFITS OF A M I CAN MATCH OR EXCEED THE COST OF IMPLEMENTING THIS TECHNOLOGY.
THIS SLIDE PRESENTS A HIGH LEVEL TIMELINE FOR THE SAS PROGRAM.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, WE HIRED A CONSULTANT TO HELP US BEGIN PLANNING THE ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL A M I PROGRAM.
WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING AN RFPS FOR THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM AND EXPECT
[00:35:01]
TO ISSUE THOSE RFPS BY LATE NOVEMBER.OUR INTENT IS TO SELECT ONE OR TWO POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO PILOT DURING THE SECOND HALF OF 2020.
IF THE RESULTS OF THAT PILOT SUPPORT FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM, WE EXPECT TO SEEK SAWS BOARD APPROVAL TO MOVE FORWARD AROUND MID 2021.
COMPLETELY IMPLEMENTING A M I ACROSS OUR ENTIRE SYSTEM OF MORE THAN 500,000 METERS WILL LIKELY TAKE ABOUT FOUR YEARS ONCE APPROVED.
AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT BACK OVER TO ROBERT.
NATIONAL OBSERVANCE OF A DAY WITHOUT WATER WAS OCTOBER 22ND.
HERE YOU SEE THE SUNKEN GARDENS RIVER WALK AND COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL WOOD WOODLAWN LAKE, UM, AT SAWS, WE TAKE OUR ROLLS VERY SERIOUSLY.
AND SO WHETHER IT IS, UH, MAKING LUNCH, MAKING CHALUPA FOR LUNCH, CONSTRUCTING A WARD, A ROADWAY, OR MAKING TRUCKS AT TOYOTA, WE KNOW THE NECESSITY OF WATER AND WE VARY AND WE VALUE THIS RESOURCE.
UH, THANK YOU AND I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
UH, AND BEN, UH, AND TEAM FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS OBVIOUSLY TO, TO GET THROUGH AND A LOT OF TOPICS TO DISCUSS.
UM, OBVIOUSLY, WATER SECURITY AND LONG-TERM WATER SECURITY IS ALLUDED, UH, CENTRAL TEXAS, SOUTH TEXAS, AND THE GREATER STATE FOR A LONG TIME.
AND THIS IS ONE OF THE, UH, PRIMARY REASONS WE GOT INVOLVED IN LONG-TERM WATER PLANNING AND DIVERSIFICATION A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO.
IT IS THE REASON WHY WE APPROVED THE FIVE-YEAR RATE STRUCTURE BASED AROUND A DEAL, UH, THAT WOULD PROVIDE, UH, SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF WATER TO DIVERSIFY OUR PORTFOLIO AND REQUIRED A FINANCIAL STRUCTURE THAT NECESSITATED LONG-TERM CONFIDENCE FROM, UH, THE FINANCIERS.
SO I'M GONNA GO THROUGH A, A KIND OF A SERIES OF QUESTIONS THAT ULTIMATELY LED TO I THINK THE COUNCIL APPROVAL, UH, OF THAT PROJECT AND WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
UM, AND THEY MAY MOVE AROUND A LITTLE BIT, BUT THEY WERE ALL PREDICATED ON FOUR MAJOR TOPICS, UM, THAT I THINK GO FOR ALL SOURCES OF WATER FOR THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM, BUT MAINLY FOR THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT.
UM, ONE, UH, WE WANTED VISTA RIDGE AND ANY OTHER WATER DEAL THAT WE WOULD PUT TOGETHER THROUGH THE PUBLIC UTILITY TO BE FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TO OUR CUSTOMERS, TO THE AGENCY ITSELF AND TO THE GREATER COMMUNITY.
SECOND, UH, WE HAVE AN ETHIC OF CONSERVATION, AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT AS WE BRING IN NEW WATER SOURCES, AS WE DIVERSIFY AND WE SECURE OUR LONG-TERM WATER PICTURE, THAT WE'RE ALS ALSO DOING IT IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS WAY, AND THAT WE'RE INCENTIVIZING CONSERVATION, UH, THE WATER THAT WE, THE, THE CHEAPEST WATER FOR OUR CUSTOMERS IS THE WATER THAT WE DON'T USE AND WE DON'T NEED TO USE.
A COMMITMENT TO MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE DO IS IN A PUBLIC OPEN PROCESS, AND THAT AS EXPECTATIONS RISE FOR THE AMOUNT OF ACCESS WE PROVIDE FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS, THAT WE INCREASE THE STANDARDS THAT THAT WE LIVE UP TO.
AND THEN THE FOURTH BEING REGIONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
UH, WE ARE IN A PECULIAR STATE THAT REALLY HAS NO, UM, REAL ESTATE WATER PLAN.
UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT LOCAL JURISDICTIONS THAT HAVE TO SECURE THEIR OWN WATER BECAUSE THE, THE WATER THAT, UH, THAT WE USE IS BASED ON RULE OF CAPTURE, WHICH MEANS THAT THE PERSON WITH THE BIGGEST STRAW, UH, IS THE ONE THAT OWNS THE WATER.
UM, AND SO IT, IT MAKES FOR A COMPLICATED, UH, SOLUTION.
WHEN WE HAVE THESE URBAN AREAS, SAN ANTONIO BEING ONE WHERE PEOPLE CONTINUE TO FLOCK TO AND OUR POPULATIONS ARE GROWING, IT MEANS THAT IN SOME COMMUNITIES LIKE OURS, WE CAN'T ENSURE THAT THE WATER IS GOING TO BE WHERE IT NEED, WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE ALL OF THE TIME.
SO LET ME GO THROUGH A FEW THINGS THAT THAT I THINK WILL HELP SET THE, THE CONTEXT FOR THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT.
FIRST, UH, THE PROJECT WAS FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT BUILT ON MANAGING RISK.
AS YOU SAID, THERE'S A LOT OF POLITICAL JURISDICTIONS THAT ARE TRYING TO ANSWER THE SAME QUESTIONS.
UH, LONG-TERM WATER SUPPLY IS NOT ENTIRELY CLEAR BASED ON THE ENGINE, THE, THE, UM, HYDRAULICS OF EACH OF THE AQUIFERS AND SO FORTH.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THERE'S THE FINANCIAL AND POLITICAL RISK THAT WE DEAL WITH ON A DAILY BASIS WHEN WE HAVE TO APPROVE RATES AND, AND WORK OUT OUR OWN FINANCES.
CAN YOU GIVE ME A SENSE OF WHO NOW OWNS THAT RISK FROM THE VISTA RIDGE PIPELINE PROJECT? IT WAS A AB AND GO LED PROJECT.
IT WAS THEN GARNEY AFTER ABIN EXITED.
UH, BUT THE, BUT THE RISK WAS NEVER BORN ONTO THE SAWS RATE PAYER.
CAN YOU GIMME A SENSE OF WHO IS MANAGING THAT PROJECT? WHO OWNS
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THE POLITICAL RISK INVOLVED WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PIPE? THE, THAT POLITICAL RISK WILL ALWAYS BE SHIFTED AND, AND PERMANENTLY STAYS WITH WHAT IS WHAT WE REFER TO AS THE PROJECT COMPANY.ORIGINALLY IT WAS AVAN GOA OF SPAIN.
UH, THEY HAD FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES AND WE ALLOWED THEM TO SELL THEIR INTEREST IN THE PROJECT TO GARNEY, UH, CONSTRUCTION, WHICH IS A COMPANY OUT OF KANSAS CITY, UH, THAT HAD BUILT A PIPELINE IN THAT SAME AREA.
UH, AND SO THEY WERE THE ONES TAKING ON THAT RISK FOR THE, THAT PERIOD OF TIME AT SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE.
THEY'RE A CONSTRUCTION COMPANY.
THEY DON'T WANNA OPERATE THIS PIPELINE, SO THEY WILL BE OUT OF THE PICTURE, UH, WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
AND SO THAT RISK ALWAYS STAYS ON THAT SIDE OF THE LEDGER.
IT ALWAYS STAYS, UH, NOT WITH THE SAS CUSTOMERS.
AND THE BIG POLITICAL RISK IS THAT AT ANY TIME, THE JURISDICTION OF WHERE THIS WATER'S COMING FROM, WHICH IS IN BURLESON, TEXAS, IS CALLED THE POST OAK SAVANNAH GROUNDWATER DISTRICT.
THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE, ARE APPOINTED BY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, ELECTED COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
SO AT ANY POINT, MAYOR, IF, IF THEY DECIDE LESS WATER SHOULD BE PUMPED OUT OF THEIR COMMUNITY FOR WHATEVER REASON, WHATEVER REASON, WE DO NOT TAKE ON THAT RISK.
SAS DOES NOT TAKE ON THAT RISK, THAT RISK STAYS WITH THE PROJECT COMPANY.
OKAY? BECAUSE THERE IS RISK INVOLVED.
IF THEY DECIDE THEY WANT TO, UH, TURN OFF THE SPIGOT TO ANY OF THE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE USING THAT WATER SUPPLY, THEY COULD DO IT.
UH, WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE FORCED TO PAY FOR THE WATER THAT THAT DOESN'T ARRIVE UNDERNEATH THAT 50,000 ACRE FOOT MARK.
UH, THE UNIQUE THING ABOUT THIS CONTRACT IS THAT WE PUT IN THE PROPOSAL, BRING WATER TO OUR GATE, UH, TO A PUMP STATION IN NORTHERN BEAR COUNTY.
AND WE, AND IF YOU DO, WE WILL BUY THAT WATER.
AND WHATEVER HAPPENS ON THAT SIDE OF THE, OF THE METER THAT'S YOURS, WHETHER IT'S A, WHETHER IT'S AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, WHETHER IT'S LABOR, COST AND BUILDING THE, THE PIPELINE, UH, EASEMENTS, UH, ALL OF THAT STUFF IS SHIFTED OVER TO THAT SITE.
UM, AND DURING THE COURSE OF THE SHIFTING OF THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, UH, ABIN GO'S NOT THERE, GARNEY IS NOW THERE, GARNEY, UH, IF THERE IS A DIFFERENT PROJECT COMPANY, UM, YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT ANY, AS THOSE PIECES MOVE, WE ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE ON, WE'RE NOT GOING TO BEAR THE RISK.
WE'RE NOT GONNA BRI THE PROJECT RISK BACK TO MAKE IT CHEAPER.
WE ARE NOT, WE NEVER, THAT WAS, THE WHOLE INTENT WAS TO ALWAYS LEAVE IT ON THAT SIDE.
WE HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF DOING THAT.
AND, AND THE REASON WHY I'M POINTING THIS OUT IS THAT THAT IS THE REASON WHY WE PAID A PREMIUM FOR THIS WATER IS SO THAT FOR THE 30 TO 60 YEARS THAT THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT, WE DO NOT SUBMIT SUBJECT OUR CUSTOMERS TO THE RISK OF THAT WATER SOURCE BEING LESS, UH, OR GOING AWAY ENTIRELY.
IF WE GET THE WATER WE'RE PAYING, AND IF WE DON'T, WE DON'T.
IT'S, IT'S JUST LIKE BUYING AN INSURANCE POLICY.
YOU'RE PAYING TO SHIFT THE RISK OVER TO THE INSURANCE COMPANY.
AND BY THE WAY, I DO WANNA EMPHASIZE, MAYOR, THAT THIS, THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT DOES NOT CHANGE FOR 30 YEARS.
THE PRICE OF THE WATER IS THE SAME TODAY AS IT WILL BE IN 2050.
THE SECOND ISSUE IS CONSERVATION.
UM, I BRISTLE OFTEN AT THE MARKETING CAMPAIGN WHERE WE SAY WE'RE A WATERFALL COMMUNITY.
AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK A NUMBER OF PEOPLE DO, UH, BECAUSE IT'S JUST NOT TRUE.
I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE ENDLESS SUPPLIES OF WATER.
WE HAVE ENOUGH WATER IN THE, IN OUR, OUR STRENGTH IS THAT WE CAN SAY TO ANYBODY OUT THERE, WHETHER THEY'RE BORN HERE, WHETHER THE POPULATION INCREASES, WHETHER THEY'RE A COMPANY THAT NEEDS THE WATER, UM, WE HAVE ENOUGH WATER, BUT IT'S ALSO BASED ON THE FACT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE BEING BETTER STEWARDS OF IT BECAUSE OUR PER CAPITA USE HAS DROPPED ALMOST IN HALF IN THE LAST 25 YEARS.
UM, I'M INTERESTED, AND MAYBE THIS IS ALSO A QUESTION FOR MARY, WHAT THE WORK OF THE GREAT ADVISORY COMMITTEES IS DOING TO ENSURE THAT WE FURTHER INCENTIVIZE CONSERVATION AND FOR, UH, BUSINESSES AND CUSTOMERS TO USE LESS OF IT IF THEY DON'T NEED IT.
UM, AND, AND HOW WE'RE GONNA DEAL WITH THAT FROM A RATE STRUCTURE STANDPOINT.
WELL, MA, MAYOR, IF, UM, IF WE CAN GO TO SLIDE, UH, 31, UH, AT OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING, NOT BOARD MEETING AT THE NEXT RAC MEETING, UH, THE MEMBERS OF THAT COMMITTEE WILL BE ASKED TO RATE THESE, UH, SLIDE 31, UM, TO RATE THESE OBJECTIVES.
UM, CONSERVATION, THIS IS ALPHABET, ALPHABETIC ALPHABETICAL ORDER, BUT CONSERVATION BEING ONE OF THEM.
SO YES, UH, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THIS, UH, ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL RANK AS FAR AS, AS FAR AS, UH, HOW TO, UH, WHAT VALUE THEY PUT ON CONSERVATION.
THE PREVIOUS WRECK PUT A BIG EMPHASIS ON CONSERVATION.
THAT'S HOW WE GOT THE EIGHT TIERS.
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UH, ALTHOUGH, UH, AS MARY SAID, THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT FELT THAT TIER AND DON'T LIKE IT, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT MORE PEOPLE THAT DO LIKE IT, UH, BECAUSE THEY NEVER GET INTO THOSE TIERS.AND SO THEIR COST OF THE WATER IS LESS FOR THEM.
AND I, AND I KNOW IT'S DIFFICULT BECAUSE A BUSINESS MODEL IS ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT, UH, PEOPLE, UM, ARE USING THE PRODUCT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THE PRODUCT IS SCARCE.
WE DON'T HAVE AN ELIMINATED SUPPLY OF IT, WHICH IS WHY I ALSO, UH, WANT TO SEE THE DAY WHERE WE WOULD CONSIDER MAKING WATER RESTRICTIONS, UH, JUST A FACT OF LIFE.
UM, STAGE ONE, WATER RESTRICTIONS, UH, THAT MOST OF EVERYONE IN SAN ANTONIO, IN THE STATE OF TEXAS HAVE GOTTEN USED TO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WATERING OUR LAWN, WHICH IS, UH, LUXURY, UH, FOR, FOR MOST FOLKS.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE DOING SO ON A DESIGNATED DAY.
SO IT ALSO HELPS REGULATE, UH, THE, THE BILLS THAT SOME FOLKS GET, BUT ALSO, UH, LONG TERM, UH, HELPS TO IN BUILD ON A, A, AN ETHIC OF CONSERVATION THAT WE'VE GOTTEN, UH, USED TO HERE IN, IN SAN ANTONIO.
UH, THE LAST THING I'LL SAY ABOUT CONSERVATION IS, UM, YOU KNOW, A FAMILY OF FIVE WHO QUALIFIES FOR AWA IS GONNA USE MORE THAN, UH, A PROFESSIONAL WHO'S GETTING, UM, WHO IS LIVING WELL, WHO NEEDS ONLY, UH, TO SUPPORT ONE PERSON IN THAT HOUSEHOLD.
I HOPE THAT THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WOULD CONSIDER, UH, A PARADIGM CHANGE IN A WAY, BUT SOMETHING I THINK OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE LOOKING AT IN SUPPORTING A PER CAPITA TYPE OF LIFELINE RATE THAT ENSURES THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE A LARGE FAMILY, UH, THAT QUALIFIES, YOU'RE NOT PENALIZED BECAUSE THERE'S MORE PEOPLE UNDER YOUR HOUSEHOLD, IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD.
UH, SO THAT'S COGNIZANT OF, OF THE REALITY OF SOME SAN ANTONIO FAMILIES.
UH, YES, MAYOR, THAT IS A DISCUSSION THAT WAS HAD AT THE LAST MEETING ABOUT HOW TO, UH, TO DO THAT.
OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IS, UH, KNOWING HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE THERE WHEN THEY ARE THERE, WHEN THEY'RE NOT THERE, UH, WHEN A CHILD IS BORN, WHEN SOMEBODY COMES HOME FROM COLLEGE.
UM, ALL THESE KINDS OF ISSUES ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UM, AND, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW SOME OF OUR OWN, OUR MOST AT RISK, UH, RESIDENTS IN OUR COMMUNITY, MOST AT RISK CUSTOMERS WITHOUT EVEN ASKING, WITHOUT EVEN WAITING FOR THEM TO APPLY FOR AWAR.
ARE WE DOING ANY PROACTIVE OUTREACH? PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING PUBLIC HOUSING, WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE ON THE BUBBLE WITH REGARD TO THEIR MORTGAGE, THEY'RE GONNA BE ON THE BUBBLE WITH THE WATER BILL AS WELL.
CAN WE PROACTIVELY HELP THEM SIGN UP FOR OUR PROJECT, UH, OUR PROGRAMS? YES.
UM, AND IF I, I WILL CALL UP, UH, GAVIN O RAMOS IF HE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT, UH, THESE, UH, PROJECTS.
BUT, UH, AT THE LAST RAC MEETING, WE WERE COMPLIMENTED BY THE, UM, CONSULTANT THAT WE HAVE THE HIGHEST PARTICIPATION OF ANY ENTITY HE HAS EVER SEEN WATER OR PRIVATE WATER OR ENERGY SECTOR.
UH, I PERSONALLY DO THINGS LIKE BLOCK WALKING WITH DIFFERENT COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, A COUNCILWOMAN SHIRLEY GONZALEZ HAS HAD EVENTS THAT WE SPONSOR ALMOST LIKE A, UM, A FAIR WHERE WE HAVE OUR HANDHELD COMPUTERS THERE SIGNING PEOPLE UP, ENGLISH OR SPANISH.
UH, WE HAVE TREMENDOUS, TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF OUTREACH, UH, REGARDING THAT.
UH, WHY DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT IT? THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.
PART OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS PUT THE ONUS MORE ON THE ORGANIZATION VERSUS ON THE CONSTITUENT.
MUCH TOO OFTEN WE WERE MAKING THE CONSTITUENTS COME TO US AND ASKING FOR THE SERVICES.
SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE GROWN OUR, UH, ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS OUR TEAMS BY 200%.
WHEN I FIRST GOT THERE, ROBERT BIGGEST MANDATE WAS, WE NEED TO GROW IT, AND WE NEED TO GO OUT AND RECRUIT THESE PEOPLE, RECRUIT THESE CUSTOMERS.
SO WE STARTED WITH TWO PEOPLE.
NOW WE'VE GROWN OUR TEAM TO APPROXIMATELY SIX.
TWO OF THEM, WE'RE JUST BRINGING ON STAFF THAT ARE GONNA BE OUT AND ABOUT IN THE COMMUNITIES.
WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH THE DIFFERENT COUNCIL FOLKS SO THAT WE'LL SET UP HOURS WITHIN THEIR, UH, OFFICES.
WE'RE SETTING UP, UH, PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE FOOD BANK AND DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE THE CUSTOMERS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
WE KNOW THAT IF SOMEONE'S HAVING A HARD TIME PAYING THEIR WATER BILL, ODDS ARE THEY'RE HAVING A HARD TIME PAYING THEIR OTHER BILLS.
AND SO WE'RE PARTNERING WITH C P S, WE'RE PARTNERING WITH THE FOOD BANK WITH ST.
SO WE'RE NO LONGER ASKING THE CUSTOMER TO COME FIND US.
THE MANDATE ROBERT GAVE US AND WHAT WE'RE GOING, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS GOING OUT AND FINDING THE CUSTOMERS.
UM, TRANSPARENCY, UM, I'M GLAD FOR NOW, THE LAST THREE YEARS OR SO, FOUR YEARS, MAYBE EVEN LONGER, THAT, UH, Y'ALL HAVE BEEN LIVE STREAMING YOUR BOARD MEETINGS.
I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, ARE YOU POSTING ALL THE DOCUMENTS TO THE MEETINGS, UH, PRIOR TO THE, THE MEETING ACTUALLY HAPPENING? UH, YES.
UH, THE, THE, THE, UH, MATERIALS
[00:50:01]
THAT ARE GIVEN TO OUR BOARD ARE ALSO PUT ON ONLINE.THE LAST THING I'LL ASK ABOUT, UH, ROBERT, AS IT RELATES TO THE, UM, VISTA RIDGE PROJECT, REGIONAL RESPONSIBILITY, WE KNOW THE OTHER END OF THE PIPE IS IN A COMMUNITY THAT ALSO NEEDS WATER, UH, HAS AN UNDERGROUND WATER SOURCE.
AT THE TIME OF THE PASSAGE OF THE INITIAL PROJECT, THERE WAS SOME UNCERTAINTY ABOUT, UH, THE, UH, MAX, A MINIMUM AVAILABLE GROUNDWATER, UH, THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD WAS GOING TO UPDATE ITS REPORTS.
WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT SAY NOW ABOUT THE SECURITY OF THAT WATER SOURCE AND WHAT'S AVAILABLE TO US AND OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT ARE USING IT? UH, THE REAL QUICK ANSWER TO THAT, MAYOR IS, UM, ALMOST, IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE IF IT'S GOOD OR BAD FOR THAT COMMUNITY, THAT MAXIMUM AVAILABLE GROUNDWATER, WHICH IS A FORMULA THAT IS USED, WHATEVER THEY CHOOSE TO DO, WE WILL ABIDE BY, OR THE PROJECT COMPANY WILL ABIDE BY, THEY WILL HAVE TO PUMP THAT MUCH LESS WATER, UH, TO ABIDE BY THOSE NEW REGULATIONS, THOSE NEW, UH, MEASURES.
UH, AND SO THAT, SO IF THAT HAPPENS AND THEY BRING MORE, LESS WATER TO SAN ANTONIO, THEN WE SIMPLY PAY, DO NOT PAY FOR THAT WATER.
BUT IF YOU WANT A, A REAL TECHNICAL ANSWER TO THAT, I, I WOULD ASK DONOVAN TO DONOVAN TO COME UP.
I, I DO WANT AN ANSWER BECAUSE IT DOES MATTER.
AND THE REASON WHY IT MATTERS IS THAT THE RISK IS NOT JUST IN US NOT PAYING THE WA FOR THE WATER, BUT IT'S ALSO IN US PLANNING OUR ENTIRE WATER SECURITY PICTURE AROUND IT.
WE'RE, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE DOING SOME PROJECTS BECAUSE WE'RE DOING VISTA RIDGE.
UM, AND, AND I'D LIKE TO KNOW THE ANSWER.
MAYOR, UM, FOR THE RECORD, DONALD AND BURTON WATER RESOURCES VICE PRESIDENT, BUT THE, UH, SO THERE WAS A MODEL, YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT, UH, BACK, UM, WHEN THE PROJECT JUST CAME ONLINE, UH, THE MODEL WAS FLAWED.
THE WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, THE STATE OWNED THIS MODEL, AND THEY HAVE SINCE UPDATED IT.
THEY HAD A CONTRACT WITH A GROUP TO UPDATE THE MODEL.
AND SO THE MODEL NOW REFLECTS THE, THE INTERACTION BETWEEN GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER BETTER.
IT ALSO SHOWS THE FAULT LINES.
AND SO IT'S CHANGED DRAMATICALLY WHAT THE DRAWDOWN LEVELS WOULD BE, UM, SHIFTING IT UP E ESSENTIALLY.
SO THERE'S A LOT MORE WATER AVAILABLE.
UM, THE GROUNDWATER DISTRICTS WILL ULTIMATELY, THEY WILL START A NEW, UH, WHAT'S THE DESIRED FUTURE CONDITIONS PROCESS.
UM, AND THAT PROCESS WILL CONCLUDE, I BELIEVE, 21 TO 22 TIMEFRAME, AND THEY WILL ADOPT A NEW D F C BASED ON WHAT THE NEW MODEL SAYS.
THE NEW MODEL SAYS THAT THE WATER IS THERE, AND SO IT'S UP TO THE GROUNDWATER DISTRICTS TO MAKE A POLICY DECISION OF HOW MUCH DRAW DOWN THEY WANT TO ALLOW.
SO THAT PIECE OF IT IS A LITTLE BIT STILL OUTSTANDING, BUT THE MODEL THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE REFERRING TO HAS BEEN UPDATED, I GUESS, I GUESS AT, AT THE BOARD MEETING.
WE'LL, WE'LL GET UPDATED ON IT.
I DON'T KNOW IF NECESSARILY IT NEEDS TO BE HERE, BUT THAT, BUT THAT IS A, AN IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR ME, JUST BECAUSE FROM A REGIONAL STANDPOINT, WE ARE NOW TIED AT THE HIP WITH THE COMMUNITY WHO, WITH WHOM WE'RE SHARING THE WATER.
AND I THINK THAT'S OKAY, BUT WE JUST HAVE TO UNDERSTAND IT THAT WAY AND, AND TREAT THEM AS NEIGHBORS, AS OPPOSED TO JUST, UM, MERCHANTS.
SO, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DONOVAN.
UM, YOU'VE ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS, ROBERT, BUT I, I DID, UH, APPRECIATE THE SLIDE, THE UPDATE ON, UM, THE DESAL PLANT.
COULD YOU GIMME JUST A QUICK UPDATE ON, UH, THE CAPACITY OF OUR DESAL PLANT, WHERE WE ARE IN THE PHASING, AND ALSO A S R? UH, THE CAPACITY OF THE DESAL PLANT IS ROUGHLY 13,000 ACRE FEET.
UM, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE WELLS, UM, ONE OF THE 12 WELLS WAS NOT PRODUCING AS MUCH WATER AS WE THOUGHT IT WOULD.
OBVIOUSLY, UH, A LOT OF TIMES YOU DON'T KNOW UNTIL THEY ACTUALLY GET ONLINE.
AND SO A TEST, WELL, THAT WE HAD, WE TURNED IT INTO A PRODUCING WELL.
UH, AND SO NOW WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING BACK UP TO THE 13,000 ACRE FEET.
SO ON A, ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, THAT WATER IS BEING DISTRIBUTED INTO OUR, OUR COMMUNITY, OUR A S R, THE UNDERGROUND STORAGE OF WATER, UH, WAS AT ABOUT 175,000 ACRE FEET AS OF PROBABLY A MONTH AGO.
AND THIS IS WATER THAT WAS ORIGINALLY EDWARD'S WATER THAT WE, WE PULLED OUT, UH, UNDER OUR PERMIT.
IF WE DON'T, UH, USE THAT WATER, WE DON'T GET TO CARRY IT OVER TO THE NEXT YEAR.
SO WE PUMP, UH, OUR MAXIMUM AMOUNT UNDER THE PERMIT.
'CAUSE OTHERWISE YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT ANYWAY.
SO WE'RE STORING IT UNDERGROUND, UH, TO BE USED, UH, AS, AS, UM, AS WE MANAGE IT, EITHER ON, UH, ORIGINALLY WAS GOING TO BE ALMOST ON A YEAR TO YEAR BASIS.
IN THE SUMMER, WE WOULD USE IT IN THE WINTER WE WOULD STORE, UH, NOW IT'S MORE OF A LONG-TERM DROUGHT KIND OF PROTECTION FOR US.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, ALL OF YOU HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB MANAGING, UM, A PRETTY EXTRAORDINARY ENVIRONMENT WHEN IT COMES TO, TO TEXAS WATER, GIVEN OUR POPULATION GROWTH.
AND I WILL ATTEST TO WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION.
[00:55:01]
LONG AGO, UM, THAT WE DID HAVE TO ANSWER THE QUESTION WITH, WITH, IS WATER A WEAKNESS FOR OUR COMMUNITY? IT IS NOW NO LONGER.AND THAT'S BECAUSE THIS COUNCIL AND OUR GREATER COMMUNITY HAVE DECIDED TO INVEST IN ENSURING IT WOULDN'T BE.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING BEFORE US RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND I WOULD ALSO POINT OUT THAT WE GOT INTO THE SITUATION OF THE CONSENT DECREE BECAUSE FOR YEARS, UM, OUR UTILITY AT THE DIRECTION OF THIS COUNCIL, UH, DID NOT INVEST WHAT IT NEEDED TO IN OUR SEWER SYSTEM.
SO MUCH SO THAT WE GOT TO A POINT WHERE THERE'S, UH, AN EXTRAORDINARY NUMBER OF SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS.
AND WE HAD THE E P A COME AND TELL US THAT IT'S JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
WE HAVE TO IMPROVE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE IN THE CONSENT DECREE.
THIS COUNCIL, TWO YEARS AGO, AUTHORIZED ADDITIONAL RESOURCES INTO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET FOR SAWS THAT WE'RE BEGINNING TO UTILIZE.
AND YOU'LL SEE IT AT THE CHART ON 2023 AND OUT YEARS, THIS COUNCIL APPROVED THOSE DOLLARS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN ACCELERATE THE WATER DELIVERY SIDE, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WATER UTILITY SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DIDN'T FIND OURSELVES IN THE SAME SITUATION THAT WE PUT OURSELVES IN YEARS AGO IN THE WATER DELIVERY SYSTEM, OUR WATER MAINS AND SO FORTH.
SO WE ARE ACCELERATING NOW UNDER MIKE'S LEADERSHIP.
WE'RE ACCELERATING, UM, THE REBUILD AND THE REPAIR OF OUR WATER SUPPLY PIPES, WHICH IS AN EXTRAORDINARY PART OF, UM, OUR WATER UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE ALL OWN.
SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR, FOR YOUR MANAGEMENT OF THIS.
UH, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO ASK YOU TO WORK DOWN THOSE NUMBERS, UM, BUT I THINK YOU'RE DOING SO IN, IN, UH, A RESPONSIBLE WAY TO THE, TO THE VALUES THAT WE JUST OUTLINED.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ROBERT.
AND THANK YOU BEN, FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
I JUST GOT THE PRESENTATION WHEN WE STARTED THIS MEETING, SO I ONLY HAVE 17 QUESTIONS, BUT DON'T WORRY.
I'LL GET THEM THE REST TO YOU ALL LATER.
UM, BUT I WANTED TO START OFF, UH, FIRST AND, AND THIS MIGHT BE A QUESTION FOR BEN FIRST, AND THEN WE CAN, UM, BRING MR. PUENTE BACK UP.
UH, BUT SO, AND I KNOW YOU, YOU EXPLAINED THAT THE 2020, THE DRIVER IS VISTA RIDGE.
UM, AND YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU ARE SUPPORTIVE OR STAFF IS SUPPORTIVE OF THIS, I'M ASSUMING BECAUSE THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN VOTED ON AND SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE ANY SAY OR WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO, TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION IF YOU DIDN'T THINK LIKE, AT THIS POINT AS A CLARIFICATION? YES.
SO WHEN, WHEN THE, UH, RATE PLAN WAS PUT IN PLACE IN 2015, IT ESTABLISHED A RATE CAP.
PART OF THE CONTROLS THAT PUT IN PLACE WAS THAT, UM, ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, IF SAS WANTED TO USE PART OF THAT CAPACITY UNDER THE RATE PLAN, THEY NEEDED TO SUBMIT THEIR BUDGET, THEIR RATE PLAN, THEIR, UM, THEIR CASH FLOWS TO US, ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE FINANCIAL ASSUMPTIONS FOR US TO REVIEW.
AND THEN WE WOULD MAKE A RECOMMENDATION.
AND THEN YOU ALL HAD TO BE BRIEFED IN AN OPEN B SESSION, UH, PRIOR TO THAT RATE GOING INTO EFFECT AS WELL, SO THAT YOU ALL COULD BE BRIEFED ON THE, ON THE, UH, ON THE PLAN.
UM, SO WE HAVE REVIEWED ALL OF THAT.
IF WE SAW SOMETHING IN THERE THAT WE FELT WASN'T APPROPRIATE, WE COULD MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO LOWER IT.
AND THEN ALSO IF I CAN JUST SEE, UM, JUST FOR MY OWN, JUST SO I, FOR UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE COUNCIL APPROVED METHODOLOGY WAS THAT WAS USED IN 2015.
I'M SURE YOU HAVE SOME BINDER THAT I COULD PROBABLY READ THROUGH.
WELL, THE METHODOLOGY IS REFERRING TO THE, THE RATE ORDINANCE ITSELF.
THE RATE PLAN ORDINANCE HAD AN ATTACHMENT TO IT THAT LISTED ACTUALLY THE RATES THAT WOULD GO INTO THE MAXIMUM RATES THAT COULD GO INTO, INTO EFFECT IN EACH OF THOSE YEARS.
OKAY, MR. ENTENTE, I AM SORRY.
UM, AND SO I WAS JUST MOVING ALONG HERE.
UM, CAN YOU MAYBE, AND, AND YOU DON'T IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT TODAY, WHICH I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT YOU DO, BUT CAN YOU TELL ME HOW MANY DISTRICT FOUR RESIDENTS HAVE USED THE COMBINATION OF 14 DIFFERENT AFFORDABILITY CUSTOMER TOUCH POINTS? OR IS THERE A HISTORIC, AND I'M LOOKING ALSO FOR MAYBE A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF HOW IT HAS INCREASED, LIKE HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PARTAKE IN, IN THESE PROGRAMS. I'M PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN PROJECT AUA, PROJECT AUA AFFORDABILITY, UM, DISCOUNT THE PLUMBER TO PEOPLE.
BUT I MEAN, ANY OF THOSE 14 THAT YOU HAVE INFORMATION ON WOULD BE GREAT.
UH, SOME OF THOSE, UH, 15, 20 TOUCH POINTS, UH, WE DO NOT TRACK BY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
UH, SO WE DO HAVE EACH, UH, DISTRICT NUMBER.
SO WE'LL GET THOSE TO YOU, UH, AND THE GROWTH OF THOSE NUMBERS.
UM, AND I ANTICIPATE THAT THERE, IT MIGHT, THERE MIGHT BE SOME NEED IN SOME COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
AND HERE'S MY, THE REASON THAT I'M SAYING THIS, I'M JUST CONCERNED THAT SOME OF THE, UH, AND I KNOW Y'ALL ARE TRYING TO DO A PROACTIVE JOB IN INFORMING CUSTOMERS THAT THERE'S THE SERVICES AVAILABLE, BUT I'M HAVING AN INCREASING AMOUNT OF PEOPLE COME TO THE FIELD OFFICE ASKING FOR HELP WITH THEIR UTILITY.
AND IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST US, IT'S ALSO C P S, UM, WHO I SEE IN THE HOUSE TODAY AS
[01:00:01]
WELL.UM, BUT I JUST WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE IF WE SEE THAT THERE'S AN INCREASE, IF WE THEN, UM, BACK TO THE MAYOR'S POINT, IS THERE ANY WAY THAT WE'RE BEING PROACTIVE THAT WE SEE THAT THERE'S MAYBE SOME VULNERABLE POPULATIONS THAT WE SHOULD BE REACHING OUT TO? OH, YES.
UH, AS, UH, THE GINO MENTIONED, UH, THE TWO NEW RECENT HIRES THAT WE HAVE IN THIS PROGRAM, PART OF THEIR JOB DUTY IS TO GO INTO COUNCIL DISTRICTS, UH, AND SIT THERE ALONG WITH YOUR STAFF AND, UH, HELP THESE INDIVIDUALS OUT, UH, TO FILL OUT THEIR FORMS, DO WRITE THEIR, UH, ON OUR COMPUTERS AND QUALIFY THEM IMMEDIATELY.
ARE THEY BILINGUAL OR DO YOU ADVERTISE? OKAY, JUST MAKING SURE I ALWAYS ASK THAT QUESTION.
AND I WOULD LOVE TO BLOCK WALK WITH YOU, BY THE WAY, AND ONE OF, UH, OUR MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES IN MY AREA.
UM, BUT THEN ALSO, ARE THERE ANY RATE ADVISORY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS HERE TODAY BY ANY CHANCE? ANY OF YOUR, OKAY.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
I WAS JUST, UM, I, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I, I, UH, EXPRESSED THE THANKS FOR BEING HERE AND FOR YOUR INTEREST AND FOR YOUR DESIRE TO SERVE.
UM, IF I'M LOOKING AT THE SLIDE, I THINK IT'S PAGE 19 OR IT'S SLIDE 19, HELP ME UNDERSTAND WITH THE RATE INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE.
SO DOES THAT MEAN THAT IF I'M ADDING, UM, IF I'M ADDING THIS, IT'S A 50.5% RATE INCREASE OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS? UH, THE 17, 18 AND 19 WERE WHAT WE CALCULATED THE RATE TO BE IN 2020 AT THAT TIME.
THOSE PARTICULAR YEARS, WE DID CERTAIN THINGS TO DRIVE IT DOWN TO 19 9.9.
SORRY, I WAS A LITTLE BIT CONFUSED ABOUT THAT ONE.
SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I ASKED FOR CLARIFICATION.
UM, ON THE UPLIFT CUSTOMERS, AND I KNOW, AND I'M SORRY I'M SKIPPING AROUND, BUT I WAS, AS THEY WERE POPPING UP ON THE UPLIFT PROGRAM, I'D ALSO LIKE, UM, BY THE WAY, TO SEE HOW MANY FOLKS FROM DISTRICT FOUR TAKE ADVANTAGE OR OUR UPLIFT CUSTOMERS SPECIFICALLY.
AND I FORGOT TO ASK THAT, BUT ON PAGE 26, YOU, UM, MENTIONED, OR SLIDE 26, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE AREAS OF CONCERN.
WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT THE AREAS OF CONCERN? IT'S THE IRRIGATION, AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS 1 26.
I HAVE IT AS 26 ON MY PRESENTATION IN MY IPAD, BUT I THINK IT'S A DIFFERENT PAGE IN THE, A PRESENTATION YOU ALL GAVE US.
SO I'M NOT SURE WHICH ONE YOU HAVE.
UM, I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS YOUR QUESTION? IT WAS, I'M LOOKING SPECIFICALLY LIKE WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS? LIKE, WELL, UH, THE COMPLAINTS THAT WE GOT FROM THOSE AREAS, WE ADDRESSED THEM, UH, EITHER GOING OUT TO THEIR HOME TO CHECK THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM, GIVING THEM INFORMATION ABOUT OUR CONSERVATION, UH, METHODS, UM, SHOWING THEM HOW THEIR METER WORKS.
EVERY SINGLE COMPLAINT THAT CAME IN, WE ADDRESSED, AND THAT'S IF, IF THE COMPLAINT CAME IN.
BUT ARE WE ALSO BEING PROACTIVE THERE, LIKE TRYING TO KIND OF ENGAGE AND, AND MAYBE PREVENT SOME OF THIS, OR NO, NO.
THE, THESE ARE HIGH BILL CONCERNS.
THESE WERE PEOPLE WHOSE BILL WENT UP OKAY.
TREMENDOUSLY BECAUSE THEY WERE USING SO MUCH WATER.
SO IT'S FLAGGED, IF YOU WILL, YES.
SO THEN I, I, I CAN SEE KIND OF THE PROACTIVITY THERE ON PAGE 31.
ON THE, UM, IT'S THE ONE WHERE THE PRICING OBJECTIVES FOR CONSIDERATION.
ARE YOU ADDRESSING THE MINI, HOW ARE YOU ADDRESSING THE MINIMIZATION OF CUSTOMER IMPACTS, OR HOW WOULD YOU PROPOSE TO ADDRESS THAT AT THAT POINT? UM, UH, THIS LIST IS FOR THE RACK INDIVIDUALS, UH, BASED ON THEIR BELIEFS, UH, THEIR TRADE ASSOCIATION OR WHAT THEY BRING TO THE TABLE TO DECIDE WHICH ONE OF THESE SHOULD BE THE MOST IMPORTANT ON HOW WE PRICE THE WATER.
AND SO THEY'LL BE AT LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, ON SIMPLE TO UNDERSTAND AN UPDATE WHO, LIKE FOR WHO, WHO WOULD THAT BE OR FOR, OR HOW IS THAT DEFINED FOR THE CUSTOMER AND SAUCE? OKAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A PARTICULAR COMPUTER BILLING SYSTEM, AND IF IT'S CHANGED DRASTICALLY, THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGE IN THAT IT SYSTEM.
UM, AND THE REASON THAT I'M ASKING THAT IS BECAUSE I, I'M SURE LIKE ALL OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES AND PROBABLY EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM RECEIVED MY, UM, DECLARATION OF INTENT TO CHANGE WATER SUPPLY AND RECYCLED WATER RIGHTS EMAIL ON OCTOBER THE 29TH.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT TALKS ABOUT DEAR VALUED SOURCE CUSTOMER, A PROPOSED RATE ADJUSTMENT TO THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEMS WATER SUPPLY FEE AND RECYCLED WATER RATES IS EXPECTED TO TAKE EFFECT JANUARY, JANUARY 1ST, 2020.
AND SO I, IF I DIDN'T KNOW, OR IF I WASN'T AWARE, I'D THINK THAT IT WAS SOMETHING NEW, RIGHT? SO I, IT, IT MAY BE A REMINDER THAT IT AS PASSED IN 2020.
THIS IS PART OF A FIVE-YEAR RATE STRUCTURE.
BUT THEN GOING ON, AND THIS IS, AND I'M GONNA GET TO MY POINT HERE SHORTLY, THE IMPACT ON YOUR BILL MAY BE GREATER OR LESS THAN THE AVERAGE DEPENDING ON YOUR WATER USE.
BUT THERE'S ALSO NOTHING NECESSARILY THAT, UM, THAT GIVES YOU
[01:05:01]
THE OPPORTUNITY TO THINK OF HOW YOU CAN SAVE ON YOUR WATER BILL.SO THERE'S NOT LIKE AN ACTIVE LINK THAT GIVES YOU, THERE'S AN ESTIMATE ON THERE ON HOW YOUR BILL WILL CHANGE, OR THERE'S THIS INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE IN A P D F, BUT I WAS WONDERING IF THERE IS ANY WAY THAT YOU CAN NEXT TIME ADD SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION? UH, PROBABLY NOT, BECAUSE THAT DOCUMENT IS A LEGAL DOCUMENT THAT'S REQUIRED OF US, UH, TO SEND OUT TO OUR CUSTOMERS WHEN THERE'S A PROPOSED RATE INCREASE COMING.
THERE ARE NUMEROUS OTHER, UH, UH, EMAILS, MAIL, UH, MAIL INSERTS, COMMUNICATIONS THAT WE HAVE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, REGARDING OUR SERVICES AND HOW THEY CAN LOWER THEIR BILL, UH, THROUGH NUMEROUS MEASURES.
IS THAT ALSO THEN WHY IT'S SENT FROM THE SENT ONLY ADDRESS AND THERE'S NOT LIKE AN EMAIL WHERE YOU CAN SEND, UH, IN QUESTIONS OR, UH, YES.
THAT, THAT IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO ABIDE BY, BY STATE LAW.
BUT, BUT WE'RE NOT REQUIRED TO ADD SOMEWHERE IN THERE THAT SAYS IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR IF YOU'D LIKE TO ATTEND THE NEXT SALES BOARD MEETING OR ANYTHING, UM, WE, WE WANNA KEEP THAT DOCUMENT THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY OTHER NUMEROUS WAYS THAT WE COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CUSTOMER.
UM, AND THEN, UH, AND, AND SO I STILL, I'M STILL CONCERNED ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I, I JUST DON'T SEE THAT THERE'S, UM, A, A, A EASY WAY TO NAVIGATE.
BUT, BUT I UNDERSTAND IF IT'S A LEGAL DOCUMENT, I JUST DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS A STANDARD, AND THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING THE QUESTION.
UM, AND THEN ALSO, UM, SO I, DO YOU ALL USE TEXT MESSAGING? I'M SORRY? DO YOU ALL USE TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS WITH OUR CUSTOMERS FOR CONSERVATION EFFORTS OR, UH, WE, WE HAVE, UH, A CHAT FUNCTION ON OUR WEBSITE.
UM, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO? WELL, NO.
UM, I'LL USE C P S AS AN EXAMPLE.
IT DRIVES ME NUTS, UM, BUT IN A GOOD WAY.
RIGHT? AND SO I GET A LOT OF TEXT MESSAGES, I GET VOICEMAILS, AND THEY DO A GOOD JOB OF TELLING ME WHEN I NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT I, UM, PRESERVE ENERGY.
SO, SO DO WE DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT? UH, WE WILL, AS SOON AS THE A M I COMES ONLINE, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, TALK TO THEM BOTH WAYS.
UH, C P S OBVIOUSLY, UH, THE WAY THEY DO IT IS MUCH EASIER BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAVE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE.
THERE'S ALREADY ELECTRICITY THERE.
USUALLY YOU NEVER WANNA MIX WATER AND ELECTRICITY.
SO THERE'S A LOT MORE THAT WE HAVE TO DO TO GET TO THAT POINT.
WHICH LEADS ME TO MY NEXT QUESTION BECAUSE YOU MENTIONED THE A M I.
AND SO HOW DO YOU PLAN FOR OLDER HOMES OR FOR MAYBE HOMES THAT DON'T HAVE, UM, THERE STILL EXIST A DIGITAL DIVIDE? RIGHT.
AND SO I, I'M ASSUMING THAT THESE, UH, UH, THE A M I WORK OFF OF WIRELESS SYSTEMS, OR, UH, IT WILL, IT WILL BE OUR NETWORK.
SO IF THE HOME HAS OR DOES NOT HAVE WIRE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE OR INTERNET ACCESS, WE WILL, UH, IT DOES NOT MATTER.
WE WILL STILL BE ABLE TO DO IT.
AND THE REASON THAT I'M ASKING THAT IS TODAY IS, AND I, AND I'VE, I'VE, I'VE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE AND I'VE MENTIONED THIS TO OUR CITY MANAGER AS WELL, I CAN'T EVEN USE A 3 1 1 APP IN SOME AREAS OF DISTRICT FOUR.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A BACKUP PLAN OR, OR SOMETHING, AND THAT THEY ENJOY THE BENEFITS, IF YOU WILL, OF, UH, SOMETHING AS ADVANCED AS THIS.
UM, AND THEN ON, UH, WATER CONSERVATION, ON THE CONSERVATION EFFORTS, UM, I KNOW THAT WE SAY THAT WE HAVE IMPROVED OUR CONSERVATION EFFORTS EFFORTS, BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO RAID PAYERS? LIKE I KNOW WE INCENTIVIZE BASED ON THIS MODEL THAT YOU ALL PROPOSED AND THE DIFFERENT, UM, I GUESS GROUPINGS, BUT HOW DO WE INCENTIVIZE, OR ARE WE LOOKING AT HOW OTHER ENTITIES ARE INCENTIVIZING THIS AS WELL? LIKE, DO YOU HAVE A DEPARTMENT OF INNOVATION THAT'S, UH, FRANKLY, THEY COME TO US BECAUSE WE ARE SO GOOD AT WHAT WE DO REGARDING WATER CONSERVATION.
UM, KAREN GUSS, WHO'S OUR DIRECTOR OF WATER CONSERVATION, UM, I'M LUCKY TO SEE HER BECAUSE SHE'S SO, SO MUCH IN DEMAND BY, AS A MATTER OF FACT, UH, THIS COUNTRY OF DENMARK WAS IN OUR OFFICES YESTERDAY TALKING TO US ABOUT HOW WE DO WATER CONSERVATION.
UM, SO THEN YOU WOULD, SO, SO, BUT THEY, YOU DON'T HAVE LIKE AN OFFICE OF INNOVATION THAT'S CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT HOW TO EVEN IMPROVE OR, YES, WE DO.
SO I'M, SO I'D LOVE TO LEARN MORE AT ANOTHER POINT ON THAT.
UM, ON PAGE 21, AND WE, WHEN WE MET, WHEN I FIRST CAME ON COUNCIL, YOU ALL, UM, BRIEFED ME, WHICH THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
THAT WAS VERY EDUCATIONAL, CASH ON HAND.
WHAT'S THE AVERAGE CASH ON HAND RECOGNIZED AS A BEST PRACTICE AND BY WHO? OTHER THAN THE CREDIT AGENCIES? BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S 16 MONTHS, UH, OR, OR ABOUT 16 MONTHS, 15 POINT SOMETHING.
UH, THE THAT'S 488 DAYS TRANSLATES.
SO YOU SAY OTHER THAN THE RATING AGENCIES, YES.
I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE IS A BEST CLASS.
I THINK MOST PEOPLE TRY TO, UH, TRY TO ADDRESS THE RATING AGENCIES.
UH, THE MEDIAN, UH, FOR DOUBLE A RATED CREDIT, SIMILAR TO SAW IS AROUND 500 DAYS CASH ON HAND.
AND THEN, UM, IN, UH, ONE OF YOU RE UM, REFERENCED THE RATE STUDY OF 2016, AND WHERE CAN I FIND THAT? UH, 2015 OR 20? UH, WE HAVE
[01:10:01]
IT.IS IT ONLINE, MARY? IT'S ON THE WEBSITE.
IS IT ONLINE? IT'S ON THE WEBSITE.
SO WE CAN FIND THAT, AND I'M SURE WE CAN TRACK THAT DOWN.
AND THEN, UM, UH, HOW IS THE RACK GONNA WORK? SO, SO I KNOW YOU MENTIONED A CONSULTANT.
SO THEY'RE GONNA HAVE A CONSULTANT THAT'S GONNA WALK THEM THROUGH THE PRICING OBJECTIVES, BASICALLY.
AND SO ARE THEY GONNA BE ASSIGNED SOME VALUE AND THEN YOU, DOES IT WORK KINDA LIKE AN, UH, ESSENTIALLY A CONVERSATION AMONG EVERYONE? UH, SOMEBODY MAY INFLUENCE SOMEONE ELSE AS TO WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
UH, THIS MEMBERSHIP IS MADE UP OF YOUR APPOINTEES, COUNCIL APPOINTEES, BUT ALSO DIFFERENT CUSTOMERS THAT WE HAVE APARTMENT ASSOCIATION MANUFACTURING.
SO THEY'LL BE A LIVELY DISCUSSION AND, UM, A CONSENSUS.
WHICH LEADS ME TO MY LAST QUESTION.
AND SO THE, UM, RATE ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS, I KNOW THAT WE'RE, WE SAY THAT THEY'RE REPRESENTATIVE OF, UM, RESIDENTIAL AND BUSINESSES.
DO YOU HAVE DEMOGRAPHICS INCLUDING EDUCATIONAL LEVELS OF THOSE, UM, ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS? I DON'T KNOW IF WE ASKED THEM WHAT THEIR EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND WAS, BUT IF THEY PROVIDED A RESUME, WE WOULD.
THE ONLY REASON THAT I'M ASKING THAT IS BECAUSE A MAJORITY OF THE RESIDENTS IN DISTRICT FOUR DO NOT HAVE A BACHELOR'S DEGREE.
THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE COLLEGE EDUCATION.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS A WHOLE, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, REPRESENTATION OF FOLKS THAT BECAUSE THEY DON'T, UH, MAYBE HAVE A CERTAIN TYPE OF DEGREE WILL EARN LESS, AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT ARE MOST IMPACTED.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THOSE FOLKS ARE REPRESENTED AT THE TABLE.
UM, AND SO THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING.
I DIDN'T KNOW IF WE KEPT KIND OF TRACK OF, OF THAT AND THEN TRY TO SEE IF THERE'S DIVERSITY IN, UM, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS EVEN.
RO ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER GRO.
UM, SO I THINK ONE OF MY, MY FIRST QUESTIONS, UH, YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE TIMING OF THE EXPENSES.
I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT SLIDE THAT WAS ON.
UM, OR MAYBE IT WAS BEN'S SLIDE, UH, NUMBER NUMBER FIVE, BEN, MAYBE THIS WAS YOU, ABOUT THE TIMING OF THE EXPENSES AND THE INCREASE YES.
IS THAT CORRECT? WHEN IT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE O AND M EXPENSES? UH, THAT IS CORRECT.
FOR THEIR PROPOSED 2020 BUDGET MM-HMM.
THEY'VE ELIMINATED SIX POSITIONS FOR A NET AD OF 11, BRINGING THEIR TOTAL PERSONNEL ACCOUNT TO 1,890.
SO, UM, AND THAT IS SUPPOSED, THOSE NEW POSITIONS ARE SUPPOSED TO GO, COME ONLINE WHEN, IN 2020 OR IT'S IN, IT'S IN THE 2020 BUDGET? YES.
AND, UH, YOU ALSO MENTIONED THIS, THIS INCREASE IS SUPPOSED TO BE GOING IN ALIGNMENT WITH, UM, OUR FIRST DELIVERY OF WATER FROM VISTA RIDGE.
IS THAT CORRECT? NO, THE RATE INCREASE GOES INTO EFFECT JANUARY 1ST.
YOUR FIRST DELIVERY OF WATER IS IN THE SPRING? I BELIEVE APRIL IS THE DATE.
SO ROBERT, UM, ARE WE GOING TO BE GETTING OUR FIRST DELIVERY OF WATER IN APRIL OF 2020? YES.
UH, THE, UH, CONTRACT SAYS IT HAS TO BE APRIL 15TH.
THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE TO PREPARE FOR THAT, UH, WE'LL BE ABLE TO ACCEPT SOME OF THAT WATER ON THE 15TH.
WE'RE GOING TO BE ACCEPTING THAT WATER ON THE 15TH? YES.
AND IF THERE IS A DELAY, WHEN WOULD WE KNOW? UH, WE WOULD KNOW THAT DAY.
WE WOULD KNOW BEFOREHAND, UHHUH
BUT, UH, ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT THERE WILL BE NOT, THERE WILL NOT BE A DELAY.
UH, THE, UH, PROJECT COMPANY, THE PRIVATE COMPANY IS ON SCHEDULE.
UH, OUR PARTICULAR INFRASTRUCTURE, THE, UH, TANKS AND PUMPS ARE ON SCHEDULE.
ONE OF THE PIPELINES, UH, IN THE STONE OAK AREA THAT'S GOING UNDER 1604 IS A LITTLE BIT BEHIND SCHEDULE, BUT NOT, UH, SO MUCH THAT WE CAN'T TAKE SOME OF THAT WATER ON APRIL 15TH.
SO APRIL 15TH, UH, Y'ALL ARE INVITED.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LARGE, UM, UH, TURNING OF THE VALVE CEREMONY.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
AND, YOU KNOW, I WAS WONDERING, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AND OF COURSE THE CONSENT DECREE, WHICH WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH FOR, FOR MANY YEARS NOW.
AND WE KNOW THAT WE, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE HAD TO INCREASE SOME OF OUR, UM, OUR RATES, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO GET, UH, MOVING ON THAT.
AND WE HAVE, SO, AND IT WAS MENTIONED, WE'RE CONTINUING TO GROW AS A CITY AND, UM, INTO PARTS WHERE YOU USED TO REPRESENT INTO THE OLD RURAL PARTS THAT ARE STILL IN BEXAR COUNTY SOUTHERN SECTOR.
[01:15:01]
AND OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR LEGACY HOMEOWNERS, UH, ARE STILL OUT THERE AND THEY'VE BEEN ANNEXED OR THEY'RE STILL PART OF THE CITY, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE SAWS WATER, OR THEY'RE STILL ON THEIR WELLS AND THEIR SEPTICS.SO HAVE YOU, YOUR TEAM OR THE SAWS BOARD DISCUSSED ABOUT CONNECTING THEM WITH SAWS PIPELINE? UM, WHAT TO, TO CONNECT WITH SAWS, BECAUSE IF THEY'RE OLDER, IF THEY ARE LEGACY HOMEOWNERS IN, IN THAT PROPERTY, IT'S GOING, IT'S VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE TO CONNECT TO SAWS.
THAT'S WHY THEY'RE NOT DOING IT BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO DO IT.
THEY MAY NEVER GET THE MONEY TO DO IT.
SO HAVE YOU ALL HAD THAT DISCUSSION AND BRINGING THESE, THESE, UM, PROPERTIES ONLINE? UH, YES.
UM, BUT IT WOULD TAKE COUNSEL INVOLVEMENT MM-HMM.
WE HAVE TO CHARGE THEM FOR IT, UH, KNOW THE STATE CONSTITUTION, CONSTITUTION AND OUR FOUNDING ORDINANCE, WE HAVE TO CHARGE FOR OUR SERVICES.
SO YES, WE HAVE DISCUSSED THAT IN, AT DIFFERENT TIMES, DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY, UH, THROUGH THE CITY, WE'RE ABLE TO HELP THEM.
IN PARTICULAR, RIGHT NOW, THERE'S ONE IN SOUTHERN BEXAR COUNTY MM-HMM.
SO WE CAN SEE WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
'CAUSE I THINK ERIC, THAT'S SOMETHING OF A POLICY DISCUSSION AS WE'RE LOOKING ABOUT AFFORDABILITY AS WE'RE LOOKING ABOUT HOUSING AFFORDABILITY, SUSTAINABILITY INTO THE FUTURE.
AND AS WE GROW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT.
UM, 'CAUSE I HAVE, WE HAVE A LOT OF RESIDENTS THAT STILL ARE ON SEPTIC AND PROPANE.
THEY DON'T EVEN, THEY'RE NOT EVEN CONNECTED TO C P SS ENERGY EITHER.
UM, JUST BECAUSE AS WE'RE GROWING AS A CITY.
UM, SO IF YOU COULD PROVIDE THAT, THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
UM, ANOTHER QUESTION, BECAUSE IT WAS THIS SUMMER, UH, I THINK IT'S SLIDE 25 ON YOUR, YOUR PRESENTATION THIS SUMMER.
AND WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK WITH OUR, OUR NEW PIPES.
AND, UH, DID THEY ALL WORK WELL? WERE THEY ALL, DID WE HAVE ANY, UM, ANY RUPTURES OR SOMETHING ON, ON NEW PIPES THAT WE DIDN'T, UH, ANTICIPATE? UH, SURPRISINGLY THIS SUMMER WAS NOT AS BAD AS SOME SUMMERS.
WE DID HAVE A HOT DRY SEPTEMBER AND AUGUST.
SO WE ESCAPED A LOT OF THAT THIS, THIS YEAR, THIS SUMMER.
I THINK A LOT OF US JUST, UM, ASSUMED THAT WE HAD CONSERVATION RESTRICTION.
WE HAD WATERING RESTRICTIONS THIS SUMMER, SO PEOPLE WERE ALREADY INNATELY DOING THEIR, UH, RESTRICTIONS THAT THEY'RE USED TO.
UM, AT LEAST IN OUR AREA, WE SAW THAT.
UM, AND LA I THINK MY LAST QUESTION IS, UH, 'CAUSE I'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WHERE SOME OF MY RESIDENTS, MY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS HAVE CONTACTED MY OFFICE REQUESTING OR WANTING INFORMATION ABOUT AN AUDIT OF VISTA RIDGE AND ABOUT IF THERE HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT, UH, OF VISTA RIDGE.
COULD YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO THAT PLEASE? UM, THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF VISTA RIDGE, AND IT'S HARD TO SAY WHAT IS VISTA RIDGE? OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE THINK IT'S THIS PROJECT, BUT VISTA RIDGE IS REALLY TWO DIFFERENT, UH, THINGS.
UH, WHAT WE DO, UH, UH, AND OBVIOUSLY WE'RE AUDITED ALL THE TIME.
WE HAVE EXTERNAL AUDITS, INCLUDING THE EXPENDITURES ON VISTA RIDGE.
ON THAT SIDE OF THE LEDGER IS THE PRIVATE COMPANY.
UM, BEING A PRIVATE COMPANY, UH, WHAT THEY'RE DOING, WHAT THEY DO IS, UH, WHAT THEY DO AND, AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
UH, ALL WE KNOW IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT WATER, THE BUILDING OF THE PIPELINE.
OBVIOUSLY WE HAD INSPECTORS INVOLVED, UH, WE HAD NEGOTIATIONS WITH THEM AS FAR AS, UH, THE TYPES OF MATERIAL THEY WERE USING, ALL THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
BUT IF THAT ORGANIZATION WANTS TO DO AN INPO IN INDEPENDENT AUDIT, I WELCOME THEM AS, AS A MATTER OF FACT, UH, I WOULD ALMOST WANT THEM TO DO THAT BECAUSE IT'LL SHOW WHAT A GREAT PROJECT THIS IS.
[01:20:01]
GUESSING YOU CAN CLARIFY FOR ME.UM, EVEN WHEN YOU GO TO THE BOND RATE RATING, AGE RATING AGENCIES, THEY'RE REVIEWING ALL OF THIS.
THEY'RE REVIEWING, UM, THE FINANCIALS OF THE PROJECT TOO.
AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE KEY THINGS IS THAT WE HAD, WE HAD TO SHOW THAT WE ESSENTIALLY HAD THE MONEY TO PAY FOR THIS.
AND SO, UM, TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE STILL HERE FROM THAT TIME PERIOD, SHIRLEY GONZALEZ AND OUR MAYOR THAT, UH, VOTED FOR THOSE RATE INCREASES AND ME AND, UH, AND, UH, FIVE YEARS AGO.
AND SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
BUT YES, IT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR CREDIT, CREDIT RATING AGENCIES ALSO LOOK AT.
SO IF IT'S AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY MEAN BY INDEPENDENT.
UM, IF THEY WANT TO PAY FOR IT, THAT REALLY IT'S THEIR PREROGATIVE.
AND THEN, UH, FINALLY, WHEN IT COMES TO THE MITCHELL LAKE WETLANDS, UH, EXCITING ABOUT WHAT'S HA OBVIOUSLY WHAT'S HAPPENED AT MITCHELL LAKE, UM, AND BECAUSE OF THE GROWTH OF NAVISTAR AND WHICH YOU ALL WERE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION WITH NAVISTAR, AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH NAVISTAR, UM, ARE YOU IN, CAN YOU GO TO SLIDE TWO? I'M SORRY, GO AHEAD.
SO YEAH, I'M ON THE PAPER ONE.
SO YOU'RE STILL IN CONVERSATIONS AND I HOPE AS, UH, WE, WE AS A CITY ARE LOOKING AT NAVISTAR AND POTENTIAL SUPPLIERS MOVING FORWARD TO INCREASE MORE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JOBS IN THE COMMUNITY, THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION WITH THIS COMPANY THAT WE'RE REALLY PROUD TO HAVE HERE.
UM, WHERE THE WORD SAS IS WHERE IT SAYS SAS PROPOSED WETLANDS.
UM, WE COULDN'T REACH AN AGREEMENT WITH THE SELLER.
WE, UH, ARE OPENING CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM.
UH, THERE IS A, A ROADWAY THAT NEEDS TO BE BUILT THAT WILL PROBABLY MM-HMM.
AND OBVIOUSLY IT WILL HELP THEM ALSO IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT THEY NEED FOR THEIR FACILITY.
I THINK, UH, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THAT WAS ONE OF THE AREAS TOO, THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT WITH AN EAST, WEST CORRIDOR.
SO, UM, I THINK, UM, OFFLINE OR ANOTHER TIME, I, I CAN SIT DOWN WITH YOU, YOUR STAFF, TO GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE WETLANDS AND ABOUT THE ARBORETUM.
AND, AND I, FRANKLY, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THIS OPEN BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH A GREAT, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR THIS COMMUNITY.
THIS WHOLE AREA, UH, COULD BE JUST A, A, A MAGNET FOR ECONOMIC TOURISM, UH, THAT WOULD, UH, BE DEVELOPED HERE.
SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE MISSIONS, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HOT WELLS WITH, UH, WHAT'S GOING ON THERE, WHICH IS JUST A SMALL SKIP AND JUMP AWAY.
UH, THE BROOKS, UH, GREEN LINE THAT IS EX BEING EXTENDED OVER TO THE RIVER OVER ON THE FAR LEFT IN THE LIGHT GREEN IS THE STATE, UH, FACIL THE STATE PROPERTY OF THE MEDINA RIVER.
UM, UM, THE LAND HERITAGE INSTITUTE, TEXAS A AND M TOYOTA, AND THE CASTLE LAKE.
IT'S ALL OF THAT THAT'S OVER THERE.
I WOULD, THIS, UM, IS SOMETHING I REALLY, REALLY WANT, UH, THIS COMMUNITY TO KNOW ABOUT MM-HMM.
UH, IT'S NOT THAT SAWS ARE JUST SPENDING THIS MONEY ON PARKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT MM-HMM.
SO INSTEAD, INSTEAD OF DRAINING THE LAKE, INSTEAD OF DREDGING THE LAKE, INSTEAD OF RAISING THE DAM AND POTENTIALLY, UH, HAVING TO BUY HOMES BECAUSE THEY'RE FLOODED, UH, THIS IS THE CHEAPEST WAY IS TO CREATE THESE WETLANDS.
I JUST WANNA HAVE OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH YOU ALL SO WE KNOW WHAT YOU ALL ARE PLANNING, AND WE'RE, UH, SO IT'S NOT ON THE NEWS, BUT WE HAVE OPEN COMMUNICATION.
UM, SO, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND THEN, UM, SO YOU MAKE CHALUPAS FOR LUNCH FOR YOUR STAFF? IS THAT WHAT I'M HEARING? UH, NOW I'LL HAVE TO, I GUESS.
UH, FOR THIS PRESENTATION, A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEARD, UM, BEFORE WE WERE ELECTED INTO OFFICE WAS ABOUT THIS VISTA RIDGE PROJECT.
AND, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.
AND SO MY QUESTIONS, UM, PRETTY MUCH GO WITH, IN REFERENCE TO THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT, EXACTLY HOW MUCH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND INPUT WAS SOUGHT ABOUT THE ACTUAL VISTA RIDGE PROJECT.
UM, MORE THAN I'VE EVER SEEN IN THE 11 YEARS I'VE BEEN AT SACE, UH, USUALLY, UH, A $3 BILLION PROJECT LIKE THIS IS NEGOTIATED
[01:25:01]
OFFLINE IN SMOKE FILLED ROOMS. UH, AND THEN YOU COME OUT AND SAY, YOU GOT A DEAL.THIS ONE, WE POSTED THE PUBLIC MEETINGS.
WE TOLD THE PUBLIC ON OUR WEBSITE WHEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE MEETINGS.
WE HAD THE MEETINGS, UH, IN PUBLIC, UH, WHATEVER MATERIALS OR DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE, UH, DURING THAT PARTICULAR MEETING WERE THEN POSTED ON OUR, OUR, OUR, ON OUR WEBSITE.
UM, AND SO IT WAS A VERY PUBLIC THING.
UH, THIS COUN THE COUNCILS AT THE TIME, UH, REPEATED BECAUSE IT WAS, UH, UH, ATTENTION GETTING REPEATEDLY ASKED THAT WE BRIEFED THEM ABOUT THE PROJECT, WHICH WE DID.
I WILL SAY THAT, UH, UH, AT THE TIME, COUNCILMAN, UH, NUREMBERG WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO ANSWER, UH, ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT HE HAD.
UH, BUT HE ASKED THEM FOR THE LEGITIMATE REASONS OF COMING OF
THE, I SAID LEGITIMATE, THE LEGITIMATE REASONS OF WANTING TO KNOW ABOUT THE PROJECT.
WAS IT A GOOD PROJECT? UH, DID IT BENEFIT SAN ANTONIO? DID IT, DID IT MEET THOSE FOUR THINGS THAT HE JUST TALKED ABOUT? UH, AND SO IT, THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS, TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF COMMUNICATION REGARDING THE PROJECT.
IF YOU NOTICE ONE OF MY SLIDES, THIS PROJECT STARTED IN 2010.
THAT'S HOW LONG IT TAKES TO GET THESE PROJECTS OFF THE GROUND.
AND WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE OPPOSING THIS, THEY DIDN'T ATTEND THESE PUBLIC MEETINGS.
UH, THEY DIDN'T, UM, UM, OFFER THEIR, UH, THEIR COMMENTS AT THAT TIME.
AND, UH, AS MUCH AS I MEET WITH THEM AND TRY TO TALK TO THEM, UM, IT IS DIFFICULT.
BUT I WILL CONTINUE TO TALK TO THEM AND MEET WITH THEM AND TRY TO EXPLAIN WHAT A GREAT PROJECT THIS IS.
NOT A GOOD PROJECT, A GREAT PROJECT.
AND, UM, AT THE TIME THAT THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WAS GOING ON AND THIS PROCESS WAS, WAS BEING COMPLETED, WAS THE RATE HIKE INCLUDED IN THE CONVERSATIONS ALONG WITH THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT? UH, YES.
WE HAD TO, UM, YOU KNOW, SAWS OBVIOUSLY IS SOMEWHAT SEPARATED FROM THE CITY.
WE'RE ALLOWED TO, UH, TO BE A, A SEPARATE ENTITY, OBVI, THE, THE MAYOR'S ALWAYS ON OUR BOARD, AND YOU ALL APPOINT OUR BOARD MEMBERS.
BUT IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, IT WAS SUCH A LARGE CONTRACT AND SUCH A MONUMENTAL TYPE OF, UH, CHANGE FROM WHAT WE USUALLY DID.
SO WE BROUGHT THE CONTRACT THAT WAS NEGOTIATED TO COUNCIL TO VOTE ON COUNCIL, VOTED 11 ZERO ON IT, AF UH, AND IN, AND IN THAT AGREEMENT WAS WHAT WE WERE GOING TO PAY FOR THE WATER.
SO COUNCIL, AND THEREFORE, THE PUBLIC KNEW WHAT WE WERE GONNA PAY FOR THAT WATER.
SUBSEQUENT TO THAT, A YEAR OR TWO LATER, WE WERE ABLE TO DRIVE, AS I MENTIONED, THE COST DOWN, UH, OVER $17 MILLION A YEAR BECAUSE OF, UH, SOME, UH, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE INTEREST RATE AT THAT TIME THAT WE NEGOTIATED BACK DURING THE NEGOTIATION OF THE CONTRACT.
SO YES, THE, THE PUBLIC KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO BE PAID FOR THE, THE, THE WATER BACK IN 2014.
IT WENT DOWN, UH, IN 2015, AND WE ARE WHERE WE ARE.
UM, I KNOW THAT YOU SAID A LOT OF THE POST ENGAGEMENT WAS PUT ON THE WEBSITE.
WAS THERE ANY COMMUNICATION SENT WITH THE WATER BILLS OR THE ONLINE WATER, UM, ENGAGEMENT? BECAUSE A LOT OF OF OUR DISTRICTS, UH, LIKE COUNCILWOMAN WAS STATING, ARE STILL IN THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, AND SO THEY MAY NOT HAVE THE ACCESS TO THE CONTENT THAT WAS POSTED ON THE WEBSITE.
UH, ONE THING AT THE TIME, UH, MAYOR TAYLOR DID WAS ASK US TO GO INTO THE COMMUNITIES HAVE, UH, COMMUNITY-WIDE IN, IN PARTICULAR DISTRICTS, IN PARTICULAR AREAS OF TOWN MEETINGS THERE TO HELP EXPLAIN THIS, UH, PROJECT.
UM, MY NEXT QUESTION, WHEN IT COMES TO THE, UM, A M I AND THE EQUIPMENT, HOW ARE THE RESIDENTS BEING INFORMED ABOUT THE EQUIPMENT, HOW THEY CAN GET IT, WHERE THEY CAN GET IT? ARE THERE ANY REBATES? IF THEY DO GET IT, UH, WHAT IS ALL INCLUDED? WE WILL HAVE OUR REGULAR COMMUNICATION WITH OUR, WITH OUR RATE PAYERS.
UH, THERE'LL BE A, UH, PROBABLY A ONE OR TWO HOUR PERIOD OF TIME WHEN WE TAKE OUT THEIR OLD METER, PUT IN THE NEW METER.
AND SO OBVIOUSLY IT'S NO COST TO THEM EXCEPT THROUGH THEIR, THEIR BILL, AND THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BE PRESENT, UH, AT ANY TIME.
BUT IT'S REALLY JUST A MATTER OF US COMMUNICATING WITH THAT PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD AS TO WHEN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD IS GONNA HAVE THEIR METERS CHANGED OUT.
UM, I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION, I APOLOGIZE.
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO THE, THE AFFORDABILITY CUSTOMER TOUCHPOINTS AND IT'S THE PLUMBERS TO PEOPLE, I'VE HAD A FEW RESIDENTS THAT ACTUALLY HAVE REACHED OUT IN REFERENCE TO THIS PARTICULAR SERVICE,
[01:30:01]
AND THEY WERE TOLD AT THIS TIME THAT THERE'S NO FUNDING FOR THAT PROJECT OR THAT PARTICULAR SERVICE.CAN YOU TELL ME WHEN EXACTLY IS THIS PROGRAM FUNDED, HOW IT'S FUNDED, AND THEN, UM, WHAT MARKETING STRATEGIES ARE BEING USED TO ACTUALLY GET THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE OUT TO THE RESIDENTS? IN REGARDS TO PLUMBERS PEOPLE, THERE, THERE IS A DE, THERE'S A, A END BUDGET EVERY YEAR.
AND SO WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS KIND OF SLOW DOWN AS WE GET TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO IT CAN LAST A LITTLE LONGER, DEPENDING ON THE PROJECTS THEMSELVES.
IT WILL DETERMINE HOW MUCH WE CAN ACTUALLY DO.
SO FROM TIME TO TIME, WE DO RUN OUT OF FUNDS AT THE END OF THE YEAR, AND I BELIEVE RIGHT NOW WE'RE BUDGETED AT APPROXIMATELY A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THAT ONE.
AND SO WHAT WE'LL THEN DO IS PUT THEM AT THE TOP OF THE LIST, THEN WE WORK WITH OTHER AGENCIES TO TRY TO GET PLEDGES TOWARD GETTING THOSE CORRECTED.
SO UNFORTUNATELY, SOMETIMES THERE ARE AT THE END OF THE YEAR TYPE PROGRAMS WHERE WE RUN OUT OF FUNDS FOR THAT.
BUT WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS WORK WITH DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AND DIFFERENT AGENCIES TO GET FUNDS TO HELP COVER SOME OF THOSE.
AND THEN WITH THE SPECIFIC MARKETING OF THE SERVICES, UM, WHAT ALLEY OR WHAT AVENUE ARE WE TAKING TO TRULY, BESIDES, I KNOW THE BLOCK WALKING AND THE IN-OFFICE, WHAT OTHER, ARE WE REACHING OUT TO THE SENIOR CENTERS? WHAT OTHER AVENUES ARE WE TAKING? SO PART OF, PART OF WHAT OUR OUTREACH PROGRAMS DO IS ATTEND SENIOR CENTER EVENTS.
WE WORK WITH, UH, LIKE I HAD MENTIONED EARLIER, DIFFERENT AGENCIES.
WE DO DIRECT MAIL PIECES AS WELL.
WE'VE SEEN THAT TO BE VERY EFFECTIVE.
AND THEN WE HAVE OUR TEAM THAT ARE OUT.
AND WHEN I SAY EVERY DAY, I'M NOT EXAGGERATING, THEY'RE OUT AT BREAKFAST LUNCHES AND EARLY EVENING MEETINGS.
AND SO THEY THEN HAVE DIFFERENT TABLES SET UP WHERE THEY CAN HELP PUSH SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS. THEY'RE NOT CITYWIDE TYPE EVENTS BECAUSE NOT EVERYBODY'S GONNA QUALIFY FOR 'EM.
BUT THOSE EVENTS THAT ARE GONNA ATTRACT THE TYPE OF CLIENTELE THAT WE, WE NEED TO HELP FUND THE, TO HELP PROVIDE SERVICE TO THOSE, THOSE COMMUNITIES, WE ATTEND THOSE TYPE OF EVENTS.
BUT IT'S, UH, DIRECT MAIL PIECES.
IT'S PUTTING IT INTO OUR WATER NEWS, WHICH IS IN OUR, OUR BILLS THAT ARE RECEIVED MONTHLY.
AND THEN IT'S ATTENDING NUMEROUS EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY EVERY DAY ALL DAY.
AND AS IT COMES TO THE, THE RATE INCREASE SPECIFICALLY, UM, DEALING WITH VISTA RIDGE, WITH THAT RATE INCREASE, WHAT IS THE REVENUE IMPACT TO THE CITY? AND I KNOW IN OUR BUDGET THIS YEAR, WE INCLUDED, UM, PART OF AN INCREASE FROM SAUCE COMING BACK TO THE CITY.
HOW DOES THIS RATE INCREASE, AFFECT THAT PORTION OF THE BUDGET AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT SAUL'S, UH, RESERVE? SO COUNCILMAN, AS PART OF THE FY 2020 BUDGET, WE DID, UH, ASSUME THAT THIS RATE INCREASE WOULD GO INTO EFFECT IN JANUARY ALREADY.
SO IT'S INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET.
UH, WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT, UH, IT'LL GENERATE ABOUT $2.5 MILLION IN THE F Y 20 BUDGET.
AND THAT WAS ALREADY INCLUDED.
AND FROM HERE ON OUT, WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, THE FIVE YEAR PROJECTION AND HOW THAT LOOKS WHEN IT COMES TO THE RESERVE, THAT WILL THEN, I KNOW WE'RE LOOKING INTO WHERE DOES THAT CALCULATE OR IS THAT SEPARATE FROM THE RATE INCREASE THAT WILL BE COMING BACK IN REVENUE? UH, IN TERMS OF THE, ARE YOU REFERRING TO THEIR AVAILABLE CASH, THE TODAY'S CASH ON HAND CALCULATION? YES, SIR.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THE, UH, RATE MODEL THAT, UM, MODEL REFLECTS THAT, THAT METRIC GOING DOWN OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
SO THEIR TARGET IS TO KEEP THAT A LITTLE OVER 300 DAYS.
CASH ON HAND IS WHAT THEY REFER TO, UH, IN 2020.
IT'S DROPPING FROM 4 79 ROUGHLY IN 2019, DOWN TO 3 78, 20 21, DOWN TO 2 95, 20 22, 2 54.
AND IT'S KIND OF LEVELING OFF AROUND THERE.
SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT UNDER THEIR TARGET, BUT THEY'VE GOT A CONSERVATIVE RATE MODEL.
THEY THINK THEY'LL BE RIGHT AROUND 300 DAYS CASH ON ANN.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN, COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO.
UH, THANK YOU ROBERT, FOR THE PRESENTATION AND, UH, ASK SOME QUESTIONS ASKED.
UH, I'LL JUST SIMPLY START OUT BY THANKING YOU AND YOUR STAFF, UH, FOR, FOR ALWAYS COMMUNICATING WITH MY OFFICE AND, AND BEING A, A GREAT HELP TO US.
CONGRATULATIONS ON THIS TOP WORKPLACES, UH, HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S AN ACCOMPLISHMENT.
I KNOW, HA THAT, UH, THAT IS AN EMPLOYEE SURVEY.
SO, UM, I THINK IT DESERVES A LOT OF CREDIT.
UM, I ONLY WANT TO TO TOUCH ON SOMETHING THAT I THINK YOU, YOU, YOU HEARD REPEATEDLY AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE PROGRAMS THAT, THAT YOU'RE,
[01:35:01]
THAT YOU'RE ALREADY SORT OF WORKING ON AND STRATEGIES LIKE THESE AFFORDABILITY, CUSTOMER TOUCHPOINTS ON PAGE 23, UM, WHICH WE, I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE ARE SO IMPORTANT.UH, MY, MY ASK VIEW IS, IS THAT, UM, THAT WE COORDINATE THE, YOU KNOW, THESE STRATEGIES ALONG WITH, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE, WE STARTED LAST YEAR THAT WE GOT ACCOMPLISHED, UM, THROUGH WHAT WAS CALLED A DATA SHARING C C R.
AND ESSENTIALLY IT, IT, IT WORKS WITH OUR IT DEPARTMENT AND CRAIG HAR HOPKINS IS IN CHARGE OF THAT.
SO, UH, I WOULD ASK THAT, UM, WE, WE GET A COMMITMENT FROM YOU THAT, THAT YOUR, YOUR IT GUYS, UH, MAYBE COORDINATE WITH CRAIG HOPKINS AND OTHERS, AND DEPARTMENT OF INNO, OUR DEPARTMENT OF INNOVATION, UH, TO UTILIZE THE AGREEMENT THAT WE'VE ESTABLISHED TO SHARE DATA.
UH, I, YOU KNOW, I, I SEE ALL THESE THINGS ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, INCREDIBLE PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES THAT, THAT ARE REALLY MEANT TO HELP PEOPLE, UH, IN, IN ONE EXAMPLE, SENIOR CITIZEN BILLING.
AND, UH, WE TALKED ABOUT HOW, UM, HAVING INFORMATION, UH, FLOW BACK AND FORTH, FOR EXAMPLE, FROM THE BARE APPRAISAL DISTRICT TO SAWS IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING WHERE THE SENIORS ARE AND WHERE THE NEED IS.
AND, AND THAT IT, IT CAN, IT CAN WORK.
IT'S A TWO WAY STREET BECAUSE IT CAN ALSO HELP THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT WHEN IT COMES TO SOME OF THE EXEMPTIONS THAT ARE NEEDED.
AND SO, I, WHAT I KEEP HEARING, I, I THINK IS, IS REALLY, YOU KNOW, THIS USEFUL INFORMATION THAT COULD THEN BE CENTRALIZED IN A WAY THAT WE CAN ALL UTILIZE IT AND WE CAN ALL STREAMLINE A LOT OF THESE, UH, PROGRAMS. SO I GUESS I WOULD JUST ASK THAT, UM, WE COULD, WE COULD GET A COMMITMENT THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT AND THE, THE ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT YOU'RE GONNA ABOUT TO PLACE, I THINK CAN BE, UH, POTENTIALLY PART OF A, A SYSTEM THAT YOU CAN REPORT ON AT THE NEXT, AT THE NEXT UPDATE FOR, FOR SAWS.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, UM, DO YOU, DO YOU, DO YOU FEEL THAT, UH, A LOT OF THE COMMUNICATION THAT THAT IS, THAT IS ALREADY HAPPENING, UH, BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN SAWS AND THE CITY, UH, COULD BE IMPROVED? OR WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT MORE CAN WE DO? UM, YOU KNOW, COMMUNICATION, YOU CAN NEVER SAY WE'RE DOING IT BEST.
SO IT'S, IT'S ALWAYS, UH, YOU CAN ALWAYS SAY YOU CAN COMMUNICATE BETTER, BUT OVERALL, I WOULD THINK IT'S, IT'S VERY HIGH.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, PUBLIC UTILITY OFFICE AND MY OFFICE, UH, UH, WITH, UH, DOUG EVANSON, UH, COMMUNICATE ALL THE TIME.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE ABLE TO GET BEN'S SUPPORT WHEN WE COME IN FRONT OF YOU FOR RATE INCREASES.
'CAUSE WE ESSENTIALLY HAVE TO PROVE OUR CASE FIRST TO THAT OFFICE, TO BEN.
UH, SO THERE'S A, A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF COMMUNICATION THERE.
THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF COMMUNICATION WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, THE JOINT, UM, EFFORTS THAT WE HAVE IN, UH, WHEN Y'ALL FIX THE STREET AND OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS THERE.
UH, IT'S SOMETIMES THE SAME CONTRACTOR SETTING DESIGN FIRM.
THERE'S MONEY EXCHANGE BETWEEN, UH, THE CITY AND, AND THE, AND SAWS AS TO WHO, WHO PAYS FOR WHAT, UH, PARTICULAR JOB.
SO YES, THERE'S A, THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF COMMUNICATION, BUT THAT CAN ALWAYS BE THAT, BUT THAT CAN BE IMPROVED BECAUSE IT, AND WE HEAR THAT ALL THE TIME, IS, YOU KNOW, WE GET A RAINY STREET IN, AND THEN WHA THERE'S, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, AN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT THAT COMES IN THAT HAS TO TEAR UP PART OF THAT STREET AGAIN.
AND, UM, WE CAN, WE WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS, UH, BE MORE COORDINATED.
SO I, I GUESS THAT'S KIND OF GOING BACK TO WHAT I WAS SAYING IN TERMS OF THE DATA SHARING.
I, I, I WOULD HOPE THAT MAYBE WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT ELEMENT INTO YOUR PRESENTATION NEXT TIME IN TERMS OF HOW WE CAN EXCHANGE DATA, UH, MORE EFFECTIVELY, MORE EFFICIENTLY, SO THAT, UH, WHEN THERE ARE PROJECTS BETWEEN, UH, THE CITY T C I AND SAWS, AND I SEE YOU HAVE, UH, MIKE FRISBEES HERE, AND THAT GOOD TO SEE YOU, MIKE, UH, THAT, THAT THESE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT COULD BE BETTER COORDINATED THROUGH, THROUGH GOOD DATA.
SO, UM, IS, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU'RE ALREADY WORKING ON? UM, YES.
AND, UM, WITH YOUR COMMENTS, I'LL, UH, PUT A, AN EXTRA LOOK ON IT.
AND A AND YOU'LL REPORT BACK TO US AT THE NEXT UPDATE? YES, YES.
UM, REALLY, THAT'S, THAT'S ABOUT ALL I HAVE AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO THAT UPDATE.
AND THANKS AGAIN TO YOUR STAFF.
COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UH, AS YOU HEARD TODAY, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT PEOPLE HAVE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I SERVE ON, UH, THE CHAIR OF, UH, THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, AND WE ALWAYS SEND OUT THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT, AT OUR MEETINGS AHEAD OF TIME
[01:40:01]
SO THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE CAN LOOK AT THE INFORMATION AND THEY CAN FIND OUT WHAT THE QUESTIONS ARE.AND THEY'LL USUALLY ASK THE STAFF BEFORE WE EVEN COME TO OUR MEETING, HELPS THE MEETINGS GO A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
AND I KNOW YOU DO THE SAME THING, UH, WITH YOUR BOARD.
UH, AND I UNDERSTAND THOUGH, THAT OUR STAFF ASKED FOR THIS PRESENTATION A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, AND, UH, THEY ASKED THAT WE COULD GET IT MAYBE A WEEK AHEAD OF TIME.
AND I WAS WONDERING WHY WE, WE DIDN'T RECEIVE THIS SO WE COULD HAVE MAYBE GOT THOSE QUESTIONS TO YOU BEFORE WE CAME HERE TODAY.
WELL, I, I THINK THERE'S A GREAT VALUE IN THE QUESTIONS THAT, UH, I GET FROM THE DIOCESE THAT I ANSWER FOR THE PUBLIC TO HEAR.
UH, ADDITIONALLY, THERE'S NO WAY THAT THIS PRESENTATION CAN BE, UH, PREPARED TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, THIS MORNING I WAS STILL WORKING ON IT, SO I WASN'T READY, UH, FOR THE COUNCIL UNTIL THIS MORNING.
'CAUSE I KNOW YOU MAKE SUCH GOOD PRESENTATIONS TO YOUR BOARD MEMBERS, YOU GIVE 'EM THEM MANY DAYS AHEAD OF TIME, UH, FRANKLY, UH, THAT, THAT'S INCORRECT.
THEY GET THE PRESENTATIONS THE DAY OF THE, OF THE HEARING OF, OF OUR BOARD MEETING.
WELL, I WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAVE GOTTEN THIS EVEN THIS MORNING, BUT IF YOU CAN'T DO IT, YOU CAN'T DO IT.
UM, I DID NOTE, UH, ON THE RED MAP, OR EXCUSE ME, THE RED AND YELLOW MAP THAT SHOWED, UH, AREAS OF, OF HIGH BILLS THAT, UH, MY DISTRICT IS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT.
AND OBVIOUSLY, I'VE HEARD THAT FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE, UH, WHO LIVE IN DISTRICT NINE, YOU KNOW, IN 2015 SAWS IMPLEMENTED THIS TIERED RATE STRUCTURE AS A METHOD TO SEND PRICE SIGNALS TO HOPEFULLY ENCOURAGE WATER CONSERVATION.
UH, AND SAWS ALSO STATED THAT THEY DELIVERED MORE WATER THAN EVER BEFORE IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, UH, IN THAT TIMEFRAME.
SO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THAT TIERED STRUCTURE ISN'T REALLY WORKING.
UH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO EDUCATE CUSTOMERS ABOUT THIS TIERED STRUCTURE? WELL, UH, I'M SORRY, BUT I BAKED A DIFFER.
THE TIERED SYSTEM IS WORKING EXACTLY AS IT WAS DESIGNED TO DO.
IT WAS DESIGNED THAT IF YOU GOT INTO USAGE OF WATER IN THE MI IN THOSE MIDDLE TIERS, YOU GOT A PRICE SIGNAL THAT SAID, IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE THAT WAY, YOU HAVE TO PAY A WHOLE LOT MORE FOR THAT WATER.
AND SO THAT PRICE SIGNAL WAS HEARD BY THOSE INDIVIDUALS, AND AS MARY SAID, THE NEXT MONTH, THEIR USAGE DROPPED BY 25%.
SO IT'S WORKING EXACTLY THE WAY IT WAS SUPPOSED TO.
ADDITIONALLY, IT WAS NOT, UH, JUST SAS THAT IMPLEMENTED THIS, UH, EIGHT TIER SYSTEM.
THIS WAS A COMMUNITY EFFORT THAT CAME UP TO SASS OR SAWS BOARD VOTED ON IT, AND THEN CITY COUNCIL VOTED ON IT.
SO IT WAS A CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE THAT PUT THIS, UH, TIERED SYSTEM INTO PLACE.
UH, DO YOU THINK THAT IT WOULD'VE BEEN ADVANTAGEOUS TO NOTIFY PEOPLE AHEAD OF TIME THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKELY WITH THIS HOT WEATHER THAT YOUR BILLS COULD GO UP, MAYBE EVEN SHOWING WHAT YOU SHOWED US HERE ON THOSE TWO PAGES? THAT ACTUALLY LAID OUT VERY CLEARLY FOR US WHAT IT MEANS WHEN YOUR BILL GOES UP, BECAUSE I DON'T REALLY BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD THAT.
UH, AND YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT, THEY MAY HAVE NOT UNDERSTOOD THAT, BUT IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO WARN SOMEBODY, UH, OF SOMETHING THAT IS NOT ON THEIR RADAR.
IN OTHER WORDS, UH, IN THE SPRINGTIME AND EARLY SUMMER, THERE WAS NO WAY OF US KNOWING THAT SEPTEMBER WAS GOING TO BE THE HOTTEST SEPTEMBER EVER, THAT WE WERE GONNA HAVE 17 DAYS OF A HUNDRED PERCENT, A HUNDRED DEGREE WEATHER.
UH, BUT, UH, IN, IN OUR COMMUNICATIONS WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, WE HAVE, UH, ADVISED THEM OF THE TIERS.
UH, THE TIERS WERE A BIG PART OF THE DISCUSSION WHEN THEY WERE IMPLEMENTED.
UH, THERE WAS NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ABOUT THAT.
UH, SO THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CHOOSE TO PUT IN OUR BACK POCKET AND THEN SPRING ON PEOPLE.
UH, A LOT OF COMMUNICATION WAS, UH, UH, WAS DONE.
YOU KNOW, I I, FROM THAT COUNCIL BACK IN 2015, I GOT THE SAME QUESTIONS, UH, THAT COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA ASKED, AND REBECCA VRAN ASKED, AND COUNCILWOMAN SULLIVAN ASKED, AND ESSENTIALLY THEY WERE ASKING, WHAT IS YOUR OUTREACH? SO AT THE TIME, I ANSWERED WHAT OUR OUTREACH WAS REGARDING THESE, UH, TIERED RATE SYSTEMS, I, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT POSSIBLY NEXT YEAR IN JUNE, YOU INCLUDE IN THE JUNE BILL OR THE JULY BILL AT LEAST A, A REAL COPY AND AN AN ACTUAL LAYMAN'S DESCRIPTION OF WHAT PEOPLE COULD FACE IF THEY GO UP TO 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 GALLONS, AND MAYBE, UH, ADDITIONAL DIRECTIONS ON HOW THEY CAN CHECK THAT THEMSELVES SO THAT THEY'RE MORE AWARE.
BECAUSE HONESTLY, THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN MY DISTRICT,
[01:45:01]
PROBABLY EVEN THOUSANDS, WHO DIDN'T EVEN CALL US.I KNOW, UH, MY FELLOW COUNCIL PEOPLE HAVE HEARD THE SAME THING, SO I KNOW IT'S A LITTLE EXTRA MONEY, BUT IT COULD SAVE BOTH SAWS AND ALL OF THE CITY.
IF WE CAN INFORM PEOPLE A LITTLE BIT BETTER IN ADVANCE, COME MAYBE EVERY SUMMER, MAKE IT PART OF THAT SUMMER NOTICE.
AND WE'LL, UH, WE WILL DO THAT NEXT, UH, BEGINNING OF NEXT SUMMER.
UM, ANOTHER THING I WANTED TO ASK IS, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED CONSERVATION EARLY IN YOUR PRESENTATION AND THE REDUCED PERSON USAGE.
UH, BUT I DIDN'T SEE IT WRITTEN OUT IN YOUR REPORT.
UH, AND, AND I DIDN'T QUITE WRITE IT DOWN.
WHAT WAS THAT REDUCED USAGE PER PERSON YOU HAD TALKED ABOUT? UH, SINCE 1993, UH, PER CAPITA USE PER, UH, GALLONS, PER PERSON PER DAY WENT DOWN FROM 160 TO 115 GALLONS.
IS THAT HOW WE CALCULATE THE AVERAGE USE PER HOUSEHOLD OF 7,000 AND SOMETHING GALLONS? NO, IT'S, UH, UH, NO, IT'S, IT'S ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FORMULA.
BUT IT, IT COULD RELATE TO WHAT, UH, I BELIEVE COUNCILWOMAN, UH, GARCIA HAD MENTIONED ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE FAMILY, AND IF WE CALCULATE THE SIZE OF THE FAMILY AND THE AVERAGE USAGE, MAYBE IT WOULD HELP MORE PEOPLE, UH, FALL INTO THAT PROTECTED LOWER RATE.
AND THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE OF, UH, INDIVIDUALS IN A HOUSEHOLD IS BEING TALKED ABOUT BY OUR RAPE, UH, ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
I, I WILL LET YOU KNOW THAT IT'S A TREMENDOUSLY DIFFICULT AND EXPENSIVE WAY TO DO, BECAUSE HOW OFTEN DO WE UPDATE THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN A PARTICULAR HOME? IF SOMEBODY MOVES AND ASKS FOR SERVICE, UH, DO THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE TELLING US HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD? RIGHT.
UH, IF THERE'S A BIRTH, IF THERE'S A DEATH, UH, SOMEBODY GOES AWAY TO COLLEGE, SOMEBODY COMES BACK FROM COLLEGE, UH, YOUR, UM, 35 YEAR OLD SON COMES BACK TO LIVE IN YOUR GARAGE APARTMENT.
UM, THOSE ARE ISSUES THAT WE HAVE TO CONSIDER AND LOOK AT.
AND IT'S EXPENSIVE TO, TO KEEP THAT KIND OF INFORMATION, TO GET THAT KIND OF INFORMATION.
BUT, BUT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT IS A, A ISSUE THAT, UM, CAN HELP SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
ANOTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS, I KNOW THAT, UH, SAWS FOR MANY YEARS HAS USED NON-ED EDWARDS, UH, SOURCES FOR ADDITIONAL WATER FOR THE CITY.
UM, HOW MANY NON EDWARD, SO SOURCES DO WE CURRENTLY HAVE UNDER CONTRACT? UM, EIGHT.
ARE WE GOING TO CONTINUE THOSE CONTRACTS? UH, SOME YES, SOME NO.
SOME OF 'EM CAN BE RENEWED, UH, BY EITHER PARTY.
SOME OF THEM, UM, WE WANT TO EXPIRE, HAVE NOT RENEW.
SO IT DEPENDS ON A PARTICULAR, UH, CONTRACT.
TO GIVE AN EXAMPLE, THE WATER WE BUY FROM G B R A AT THE END OF ITS TERM, HAS A HUGE BALLOON ON IT THAT IF WE RENEW IT, IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE, SO WE PROBABLY WILL NOT RENEW THAT PARTICULAR CONTRACT.
UM, I REALIZE THAT RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE AMOUNT OF WATER WE NEED, BASICALLY FOR THE POPULATION THAT WE HAVE.
UH, BUT WE KNOW WE'RE LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE AND GROWING.
UM, WHEN WE BRING IN THE WATER FROM VISTA RIDGE, I UNDERSTAND THAT IF IT COMES IN AT 50,000 SQUARE FEET, UH, OR CUBIC FEET, YOU KNOW, PER DAY, THAT'S GONNA BE MORE WATER OR WHAT IS IT? ACRE FEET A YEAR, RIGHT? YES.
UH, THAT'S GONNA BE MORE WATER THAN WE CAN ACTUALLY USE WITH WHAT WE'RE PUMPING OUTTA THE AQUIFER AS WELL.
UH, SO WHAT'S THE PLAN? UH, A LOT OF IT DEPENDS ON THE, UH, CONDITIONS, UH, DROUGHT CONDITIONS, UH, USAGE, UH, PATTERNS.
BUT IF YOU, IF YOU TAKE A, A VERY HOT SUMMER DAY AND IT HASN'T RAINED FOR A WHILE, UM, THAT WATER WILL BE USED TO ITS MAXIMUM.
IT'LL BE DISTRIBUTED, UH, UH, IN OUR SYSTEM AND, AND BE USED, AND WE'LL STILL NEED OUR OTHER SOURCES OF WATER ON A DIFFERENT DAY.
SOMEONE LIKE TODAY, COLD AND AND RAINY, WHERE THERE'S NOT AN A LOT OF USAGE, WE WILL STILL TAKE THAT WATER BECAUSE WE HAVE TO PAY FOR IT.
AND SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE DO THAT.
BUT IT'LL DISPLACE, UH, EDWARDS WATER.
WE WILL STILL WANT TO PUMP THE EDWARDS WATER BECAUSE WE ALSO HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT.
BUT THAT EDWARDS WATER WE WILL STORE IN OUR A S R, UH, IN, IN, UH, OUR H TWO OAKS FACILITY.
UM, DO WE ANTICIPATE SELLING SAWS OR VISTAGE WATER? AND HOW WOULD THAT WORK? WELL, UM,
[01:50:01]
IT WOULD WORK BY THIS COUNCIL LETTING US KNOW, UH, WHAT RATE TO CHARGE.WE DO NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO SET A RATE ON WHAT WE CHARGE DIFFERENT CLASSES.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, JUST THE RATE INCREASE HAS TO GO THROUGH COUNCIL.
UH, SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE RATES FOR WASTE WATER, FOR WATER, WATER DELIVERY, WHOLESALE WATER, BUT WE DO NOT HAVE A RATE TO SELL THIS VISTA RIDGE WATER.
SO THIS COUNCIL WOULD BE INVOLVED IN THAT DECISION.
UM, WHAT IS THE COST OF OUR AQUIFER WATER RIGHT NOW? UH, IT, IT, IT DEPENDS, FOR EXAMPLE, ON, ON HOW YOU WANT TO CALCULATE IT, BECAUSE, UH, WITH NO RESTRICTIONS, WE HAVE COMPLETE USE OF THE WATER.
UH, WHEN THERE'S DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS, IT CAN GO BACK DOWN TO 44%.
YOU'RE ONLY, YOU'RE CUT BACK 44%.
SO DEPENDING ON THOSE NUMBERS, DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH WE CONSIDER THAT.
ADDITIONALLY, EDWARDS WATER IS, UH, A PURCHASE IS A, WE OWN IT.
THIS OTHER WATER IS ESSENTIALLY BEING LEASED.
UH, THE CARRIZO WATER'S BEING LEASED, THE VISTA RIDGE.
VISTA RIDGE WATERS ESSENTIALLY A LEASE.
THE, UH, WATER FROM OUR DESAL, WE OWN THAT WATER.
SO IT, IT'S, UH, IT'S DIFFERENT, UH, COST INVOLVED.
BUT YOU SAID THAT WE'RE, WE'RE OBLIGATED TO BUY THE EDWARDS WATER.
AT WHAT PRICE ARE WE OBLIGATED PER, UH, WHAT I MEANT BY THAT IS WE'RE OBLIGATED TO PAY THE EDWARDS OFFER AUTHORITY, THE PERMIT FOR THE RIGHT TO PUMP THAT WATER.
THE WATER ITSELF, WE PAID FOR IT WHEN WE BOUGHT IT, QUOTE, BOUGHT IT FROM THE FARMER OUT OF NEW VALLEY FOR EXACT, BUT I'M SURE THERE IS AN AVERAGE COST FOR AQUIFER WATER.
WHAT IS THAT? I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT FIGURE, BUT IT, IT DEPENDING, UM, ON THE FIRM, FIRM YIELD, AS HE WAS DESCRIBING, IT'S ABOUT 530 SOMETHING DOLLARS, I THINK IS WHAT THE LAST NUMBER I SAW.
UM, AND SO IF THE CITY WERE TO GO AHEAD AND DECIDE WE HAVE MORE WATER THAN WE NEED AT SOME TIME DOWN THE LINE, UH, IT WOULD BE UP TO THE CITY TO SET THE RATE IF WE DECIDED TO SELL THAT.
UH, IS THERE OTHER, ANY OTHER AUTHORITY WE WOULD NEED TO GO AHEAD AND SELL THAT WATER? EITHER THE AQUIFER WATER OR THE VR WATER? UH, UH, I WOULDN'T SAY AUTHORITY, BUT THE WAY IT WOULD WORK IS OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD, UH, WANT TO SEE AN INTEREST BY SOMEBODY WANTING TO BUY IT.
OUR BOARD WOULD HAVE A, THEIR ROLE IN IT, OF, UM, APPROVING IT, AND THEN WE WOULD COME TO COUNCIL FOR THAT.
IS THERE ANY STATE LEGISLATIVE ACTION REQUIRED TO DO THAT? NO.
TO SELL IT ANYWHERE? UM, CORRECT.
UH, BUT WHAT ABOUT AQUIFER WATER? IS THAT, UH, UNDER CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS? UH, EDWARDS WATER? YES.
UH, WHAT ARE THOSE RESTRICTIONS? CANNOT SELL IT OUTSIDE OF THE POLITICAL BOUNDARY LINES OF THE E A A.
WHAT COUNTIES IS THAT? IT'S ESSENTIALLY VALDI, MEDINA BEAR, TINY BIT OF ATASCOSA, UH, AL ABOUT HALF OF CALDWELL AND ABOUT HALF OF HAYES COUNTY, KENDALL AS WELL.
UM, NOW, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD THESE RATES THAT HAVE BEEN SET BY A PRIOR COUNCIL, AND THE RATES CERTAINLY HAVE SHOWN TO BE ONES THAT HAVE ENABLED OR ALLOWED SAWS TO ACCUMULATE OVER $500 MILLION IN RESERVES OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, SOMETIME LAST YEAR IT WAS VERY HIGH, $500 MILLION.
AND THEN I KNOW THAT WE PAID OFF SOME DEBT AND I BELIEVE, UH, MIGHT'VE SPENT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT, MAYBE 80, A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS TO PAY OFF PRIOR DEBT.
AND I UNDERSTOOD THAT WAS, UM, IT WAS 168 MILLION, 168 MILLION, BUT WE STILL HAVE 480 SOMETHING MILLION IN CASH RESERVES TODAY.
IS THAT PRETTY ACCURATE? 480? YEP.
I THINK YOUR PRESENTATION SAID WE HAD 488 DAYS CASH ON HAND.
UH, YOU KNOW, I FORGOT TO WEAR MY HEARING AIDS TODAY.
I'VE BEEN WEARING 'EM FOR A WHILE.
AND SO, UH, I THINK I MISSED SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID EARLIER.
UH, I THINK YOU SAID SOMETHING LIKE THE, UM, AGENCIES THAT RATE US SAY THAT WE SHOULD HAVE 500 DAYS OF CASH ON HAND.
UM, I THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT I HEARD HIM SAY.
YEAH, I, BECAUSE I BELIEVE WHEN WE TALKED, UH, BEFORE IT WAS THEY WANTED AROUND $250 MILLION CASH ON HAND TO BE COMFORTABLE WITH RATING SYSTEM.
IF WE COULD PULL UP SLIDE 44, WHAT I SAID WAS, THIS SHOWS THE MEDIAN FOR BOTH
[01:55:01]
FITCH AND MOODY'S.TWO OF THE THREE RATING AGENCIES ON AN ANNUAL BASIS PREPARE MEDIANS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THERE THE MEDIANS FOR BOTH AAA AND AA RATED CREDITS FOR BOTH FITCH AND MOODY'S.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY'RE OUR, AGAIN, CASE OF FITCH 591 DAYS FOR AA RATED CREDIT, MOODY'S 492 DAYS AND SAWS AT THE TIME, THAT WAS WHAT THEY CALCULATED FOR OURS.
THE FITCH MOST RECENT REPORT DIDN'T SPECIFY A FIGURE.
THEY JUST SAID MORE THAN A YEAR'S, UH, CASH ON HAND.
AND THEN MOODY'S CALCULATED A FIGURE OF 5 39.
BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT THE MEDIAN DAYS CASH ON HAND FOR AA RATED WATER AND SEWER UTILITIES IS APPROXIMATELY 500 DAYS.
AND THAT'S WHAT I STATED, BUT IS THAT THE, THE MINIMUM AMOUNT THEY PREFER TO SEE WHEN THEY RATE YOU DON'T, 'CAUSE THEY DON'T, I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU HAD TOLD ME BEFORE.
WELL, YEAH, THEY DO HAVE SOME THRESHOLDS, UH, OKAY.
THRESHOLDS, UH, THAT THEY LIKE TO SEE.
I, I WILL SAY THAT FOR EXAMPLE, UM, JUST IN THEIR LATEST REPORT, UM, S AND P, UH, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HERE, UM, BASICALLY THEY, ONE OF THEIR COMMENTS IS A SIGNIFICANT WEAKENING IN COVERAGE OR ESPECIALLY LIQUIDITY THAT WOULD APPEAR TO US TO BE THE NEW NORMAL WOULD BE CAUSED FOR US TO CONSIDER A DOWNGRADE.
SO THEY DO, THOSE ARE TWO OF THE LIQUIDITY IS ONE OF THEIR VERY KEY MEASURES.
BUT 500 HAS NEVER BEEN OUR NORMAL 500 MEAN FIVE YEARS AGO.
500 IS NOT OUR OBJECTIVE AS BEN TALKED ABOUT.
AND AS I'VE TALKED ABOUT, AND AS I TRIED TO SCHEDULE A COUPLE MEETINGS WITH YOU TO TALK ABOUT, WAS TO SHOW YOU KIND OF WHAT WE HAD ANTICIPATED.
WE HAVE AN EXTREMELY LARGE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN PROGRAM NEXT YEAR.
IT'S MORE THAN 600 MILLION OF WHICH WE'RE GONNA CASH FUND MORE THAN HALF OF THAT PROGRAM.
SO WE NEED $300 MILLION OF CASH ON HAND TO BASICALLY FUND OUR ONGOING C I P NEEDS FOR NEXT YEAR.
AND THAT INCLUDES, UH, THE PLANS WITH THE SEWERS, THINGS THAT WE NEED TO PLAN.
THE, THE BIGGEST PROJECT WITHIN THAT $600 MILLION C I P IS THE W SIX PROJECT, WHICH GOES AROUND LACKLAND.
WELL, IF WE'RE GONNA TAKE 300 MILLION NEXT YEAR, HOW CAN YOU PROJECT THAT NEXT YEAR? YOU WANT TO HAVE CASH ON HAND OF 3 78.
YOU TAKE 300 MILLION OUT OF 4 88, AND IT'S MORE LIKE 180 8.
IT'S 488 IS DAY'S CASH ON HAND HAND.
OBVIOUSLY, I'M GOING TO GENERATE SOME ADDITIONAL CASH AS WE GO THROUGH NEXT YEAR.
OH, I THOUGHT YOU SAID HALF OF THAT WAS GONNA COME OUTTA YOUR CASH ON HAND.
WELL, HALF, HALF OF WILL COME OUTTA CASH ON HAND, BUT I WILL REPLENISH THAT WITH ADDITIONAL CASH.
WE GENERATE ADDITIONAL CASH EACH AND EVERY YEAR.
WE'VE, WE'VE GENERATED A LOT OF CASH ON HAND OVER THE LAST FEW, AND IT WAS PURPOSEFUL.
IF, IF WE HAD NOT DONE SO THIS SAME TIME, WE WOULD'VE LIKELY BEEN ASKING FOR A LARGE, A FAIRLY LARGE WASTEWATER RATE INCREASE TO DEAL WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CONSENT DECREE.
WAS IT EXPLAINED TO THE COUNCIL FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AGO THAT SAWS, CASH RESERVES WOULD RISE OVER 500 MILLION DURING THESE RATE INCREASES.
IT DIDN'T RISE OVER 500 MILLION.
THEY HAVE RISEN TO 500 MILLION.
WE, I, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THEY WERE FIVE YEARS AGO.
I'D BE HAPPY TO GO OVER THAT WITH YOU.
BUT THEY WERE PROBABLY, I'M GUESSING SOMEWHERE CLOSER TO 300 MILLION.
SO THEY DID RISE A COUPLE OF HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.
I HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH BEN, UM, OTHERS ABOUT KIND OF OUR RATE PLAN AND OUR RATE STRATEGY.
WE HAVE TWO THINGS, BIG THINGS GOING ON NEXT YEAR.
AGAIN, THE, THE HIGHEST EVER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, AS WELL AS BRINGING ON THE VISTA RIDGE WATER SUPPLY PROJECT.
THAT WILL AUTOMATICALLY OVERNIGHT, KIND OF OUR O AND M COSTS GO FROM 370, 380 MILLION.
SO TO PUT THAT INTO CONTEXT, THAT'S $106 MILLION ON AN ANNUAL BASIS THAT WORTH ESTIMATING, WE WILL PAY FOR THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT.
SO IT'S A BIG JUMP IN OUR O OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE COSTS THAT WILL IMPACT OUR DAYS, OUR DAY'S CASH ON HAND AS WELL.
SO I KNOW THAT WE'RE HOPING TO PAY SOME OF OUR WATER BILL WITH SOME OF OUR CASH ON HAND TOO.
IS THAT CORRECT? PAY SOME OF OUR WATER BILL.
UM, THAT'S, AGAIN, I PAY THAT MORE OUT OF ONGOING REVENUES THAN I DO OUT OF THE CASH ON HAND.
WHAT THE CASH ON HAND IS USED TO DO IS TO CASH FUND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS SO WE DON'T HAVE TO A HUNDRED PERCENT DEBT FUND ALL OF OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, HOW MUCH, UM, WAS I, I'D LIKE TO ASK, UH, ROBERT, HE PROBABLY KNOWS, I KNOW THERE WAS ORIGINAL ESTIMATES FOR THE, UH, AQUA VISTA STATION.
HOW MUCH HAS THE COST RISEN ON THE AQUA VISTA STATION FROM THE EARLY ESTIMATES UNTIL IT'S ALMOST COMPLETED NOW?
[02:00:01]
UH, THE EARLY ESTIMATES, IT DEPENDS ON HOW BACK, HOW FAR BACK YOU GO.UM, THERE WAS, THERE IS A COST INCREASE, UH, REGARDING THAT PROJECT.
AND IT HAS TO DO WITH THE TUNNEL THAT IS BEING, UH, UH, THE TUNNEL IN WHICH THE PIPE, UH, THE PIPE IS GONNA GO THROUGH.
UH, THE CONTRACTOR EXPERIENCED A LOT OF PROBLEMS REGARDING THAT PARTICULAR TUNNEL.
SO THERE ARE SOME, UH, ISSUES WITH THAT.
DO YOU HAVE THEM, ANDREA? UH, THERE, THERE WAS, UM, GO AHEAD.
OH, WELL, WHAT WAS THE FIRST, UH, ORIGINAL ESTIMATE FOR THE COST OF THAT? UM, OUR ORIGINAL COST ESTIMATE, UM, DEVELOPED IN EARLY 2015 WHEN WE WERE DOING FEASIBILITY, HAD US ROUGHLY AT 130 MILLION.
AND WHAT'S THE ESTIMATE FOR FINAL COST NOW? UM, AND I'M SORRY, I DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, BUT WE'VE HAD AN INCREASE LAST YEAR WHEN WE BID THE PROJECTS, PARTICULARLY ON THE FACILITY PROJECTS.
THERE WERE ISSUES, UM, LABOR ISSUES, ELECTRICAL ISSUES THAT ARE OUR FACILITY PROJECTS WITH ELECTRICAL SERVICES.
WE SAW DRAMATIC INCREASES WITH THOSE AS WELL AS WITH OUR TUNNELING CONTRACT.
SO ALL SAID AND DONE, WE HAD TO SHIFT ABOUT 35 $40 MILLION FROM ANOTHER PROJECT IN ORDER TO FUND THIS.
SO IT'S ONLY GONNA BE ABOUT 175 MILLION TO FINISH ALL THAT.
UM, LET'S SAY ROUGHLY 1 75 TO 180 5.
UM, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, YOUR CASH ON HAND AND YOU KNOW THAT, AND I THINK THAT MOST AVERAGE EVERYDAY PERSON DOESN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT.
BUT I, I SEE YOU'VE GOT PROJECTIONS, WHICH YOU BELIEVE ARE PRETTY REASONABLE.
AND I JUST LIKE TO, UH, ASK, IF YOU DON'T ATTAIN THESE, IF FOR EXAMPLE, UH, IN 2020 YOU HAVE $425 MILLION, OR BY 2021 YOU HAVE $350 MILLION, IN OTHER WORDS, YOU DON'T REDUCE IT THE WAY YOU SAY YOU PROJECT YOU WILL, ARE YOU WILLING TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE RATES AND MAYBE LOWER RATES TO COMPENSATE FOR THAT SO THAT THE RATE PAYER GETS THE BENEFIT OF THAT EXTRA CASH ON HAND? YOU ACCUMULATE? UH, IT, I WOULD HAVE TO KNOW THE CIRCUMSTANCES, EXCUSE ME, OF WHAT IS GOING ON.
BUT COUNCILMAN COURAGE, UH, DAY'S CASH ON HAND, UM, TO ME IS, IS WE DID A PURPOSEFUL, UH, DECISION, A POLICY DECISION TO INCREASE OUR DAYS ON CASH, DAYS CASH ON HAND TO INCREASE OUR CASH RESERVES FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF KNOWING IN 2020 WE'RE GONNA HAVE $600 MILLION WORTH OF CAPITAL.
WE WANT TO PAY HALF OF THAT WITH THAT CASH ON HAND.
SO YOU'LL SEE A, A, A, A DRASTIC REDUCTION IN THAT.
UM, I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY, UH, THE CITY CAN DO THE EXACT SAME THING AND THERE'S NO CRITICISM BY YOU OF THE CITY FOR DOING THE EXACT SAME THING.
OUR RESERVE'S A 15%, 15%, NOT 150%.
UH, UH, THIS IS NOT 150% NOWHERE NEAR COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
ALL IT IS IN, IN MY OPINION, IS A, A PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT YOU THINK WE SHOULD DO VERSUS WHAT WE ARE DOING.
UM, AND IT'S, IT'S, NOTHING'S WRONG WITH THAT.
I, I, I TAKE, UH, CRITICISM, SUGGESTIONS, IDEAS FROM COUNCIL, LIKE YOUR SUGGESTION ABOUT NOTIFYING CUSTOMERS EVERY SUMMER.
COUNCIL ENCOURAGE IS OUR DECISION TO, UM, PAY FOR SOME OF THESE PROJECTS, UH, WITH AVAILABLE CASH AND NOT GO INTO THAT MUCH DEBT.
THIS HELPS OUR RATE PAYER BECAUSE WE BORROW LESS MONEY.
UH, IT HELPS US NOT HAVING TO BE IN FRONT OF YOU, AND THEREFORE THE PUBLIC HAVING TO SUFFER NOT ONLY THIS VISTA RIDGE RATE INCREASE, BUT A SEWER INCREASE ALSO.
SO, AND, AND I WILL ADD THAT, UM, THE, THE STOP GAP TO ALL THIS, IF, IF WE ARE DOING SOMETHING THAT IS, UM, OUT OF THE REALM, OUT OF THE NORMAL BEN GO IS, IS THE PERSON, HE AND HIS OFFICE ARE THE FIRST ONES THAT WE HAVE TO JUSTIFY WHAT WE'RE DOING TO AND BILL GO.
I, I WOULD IMAGINE OWES A DUTY TO THE CITY AND TO COUNCIL TO DO WHAT HE'S SUPPOSED TO DO.
AND THAT'S OVERSEE, UH, OUR BUDGET.
AND ALTHOUGH HE AND AND DOUG COMMUNICATE OFTEN, SOMETIMES THERE'S FRICTION.
I WILL ADMIT, SOMETIMES THERE'S FRICTION BECAUSE WE WANT TO DO SOMETHING AND IT DOESN'T PASS THE BEN GELLE TEST.
SO WE ADJUST BECAUSE WE WANT HIM STANDING RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF THIS COUNCIL SAYING THAT HE RECOMMENDS WHAT WE'RE DOING.
[02:05:01]
SO FAR WE'VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN DOING THAT, AND THOSE ISSUES HAVE BEEN IRONED OUT WITH HIM AND HIS OFFICE.WELL, THE LAST THING I'LL, I'LL JUST, UH, MAKE A COMMENT ON IS I, I HOPE THAT, UH, THE, THE LEADERSHIP, UH, OF SAWS, WHEN YOU WORK WITH THE, UH, THE RACK WILL TAKE THE ADVICE OF YOUR CHAIRMAN AND LOOKING VERY CLOSELY AT THE AUSTIN, UH, METHODOLOGY THEY'RE USING.
'CAUSE THEY'RE ACTUALLY LOWERING THEIR WATER RATES FOR THEIR CONSUMERS.
AND I JUST ASK THAT YOUR STAFF LOOK AT THAT VERY CLOSELY INFORM OUR RATE COMMITTEE ABOUT IT AND SEE IF THERE'S, UH, A WAY THEY CAN INCORPORATE THAT THINKING INTO THE RATES THAT THEY DETERMINE ARE BEST FOR THE RATE LEADERS.
THE LAST THING I'M GONNA ALLOW SAUCE TO DO IS, UH, BE TO FOLLOW AUSTIN'S LEAD.
UH, THAT'S THE CITY THAT SUFFERED A FIVE DAY BOIL.
NOTICE YOU COULD NOT DRINK WATER IN AUSTIN FOR FIVE DAYS.
THAT'S THE CITY THAT HAS THE HIGHEST RATES ALMOST DOUBLE OUR RATES.
SO YEAH, THEY HAVE A LOT OF ROOM TO LOWER THOSE RATES.
IT'S ALSO A CITY DOES THAT DOES NOT HAVE A CONSENT DECREE.
AND WHAT, UH, OUR CHAIRMAN WAS TALKING ABOUT WHEN HE, WHEN HE SAID USE AUSTIN AS A MODEL YEAH.
WAS PARTICULARLY THE, UM, THE INDIVIDUAL THAT WAS A CONSULTANT ON THEIR RATES ON AFFORDABILITY, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE THE SAME CONSULTANT THAT WE JUST HIRED, UH, A MONTH AGO TO HELP US WITH THIS RACK ENDEAVOR ON AFFORDABILITY.
THEN YOU ARE USING SOME OF THE AUSTIN TOOLS? THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I ASKED.
AND THEN AGAIN, UH, THAT'S, UH, UH, THAT'S A, A COMMON, UH, UH, MEETING OF THE MINDS BETWEEN YOU AND I ON, ON THAT ISSUE.
UH, MR. PUENTE, I DO WANT TO COMMEND YOU.
UM, I, I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS PUT OUT A NEWSLETTER, SOMETHING CALLED LIKE WATER IN THE NEWS OR NEWS ABOUT WATER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND MY WIFE, MY WIFE READS IT AND SHE READS PORTIONS OF IT TO ME FROM TIME TO TIME.
UH, AND I GET, UM, THE GARDEN STYLE ESSAY.ORG EMAILS.
UM, AND I REMEMBER, I THINK IN JUNE, UM, YOU GUYS WARNING US, DON'T LET YOU KNOW, JULY SOAK YOU OR THE JULY WATER BILL SOAK YOU, AND YOU GUYS TOLD US, YOU KNOW, UM, WATER ONCE A DAY, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S NO RESTRICTIONS, WATER ONCE A DAY AND MAKE SURE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, USE, WAS IT THE SPRINKLER HEADS ON YOUR, ON YOUR HOSE AND ALL THAT? UM, AND, AND I DID.
AND I GOTTA TELL YOU, MY WATER BILL ACTUALLY WENT DOWN BY $7.
UM, AND I'M, I'M HAPPY I, BUT I LOOK AT SLIDE 26 AND IF YOU GUYS CAN PULL UP THE MAP, UM, WHILE, WHILE YOU'RE PULLING THAT UP, I'M GONNA TELL YOU, YOU SENT, UM, MULTIPLE PEOPLE, I THINK FIVE PEOPLE TO A TOWN HALL OF MINE JUST THIS PAST WEEK.
UH, WE INVITED THE COMMUNITY TO COME TALK ABOUT THEIR BILLS.
AND THE REASON WE DID THAT WAS BECAUSE OUR PHONES WERE RINGING OFF THE HOOK AT MY OFFICE.
PEOPLE WERE REALLY UPSET, UM, AND ALL SAYING, SOMETHING HAPPENED IN MY WATER BILL, I NEED TO KNOW AND I NEED IT FIXED.
AND WE WERE ON THE PHONE A LOT WITH, UM, FELLOW THAT WORKS FOR GAU, UH, BYRON, BYRON, REAL NICE GUY.
UH, AND WE HAD, UM, WE HAD THEM THERE READY TO REVIEW EVERYBODY'S BILL.
I DON'T THINK ANYBODY ANTICIPATED THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD SHOW UP.
AND I THINK IT WAS LIKE 75, 80 PEOPLE WHO SHOWED UP.
THEY ALL SHOWED UP WAIVING THEIR BILLS.
I'VE, AND I'VE HAD PLENTY OF TOWN HALLS ABOUT REALLY SENSITIVE MATTERS, YOU KNOW, THE GUN TOWN HALL AND, UH, YOU KNOW, TOWN HALLS DURING BUDGET SEASON AND TOWN HALLS DURING, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER BEAR COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT SENDS OUT THEIR, YOU KNOW, THEIR, UH, THEIR LETTER, UH, I'VE NEVER SEEN A CROWD THAT WAS MORE ANGRY, UH, THAN THIS ONE.
UM, AND THEY ALL SAID THE SAME THING, LIKE IN THE, IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS.
UM, AND YOUR TEAM WAS PREPARED BECAUSE I THINK IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY'D BEEN ANSWERING THIS QUESTION A LOT FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS.
AND THEY SAID, YOU KNOW, LOOK, IT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THREE THINGS.
UM, YOU GOT LEAKY TOILETS AND YOU DON'T KNOW IT.
RIGHT? UM, TWO, YOU, UM, Y'ALL HAVE MAYBE HAVE WATER, UH, I'M SORRY, POOLS FULL OF WATER, RIGHT? YOUR SWIMMING POOLS.
AND BECAUSE IT WAS SO HOT, THEY EVAPORATED AT A FASTER RATE.
AND YOU KNOW, A LOT OF YOU HAVE THIS AUTO FILL VALVE, RIGHT? UM, AND YOU DIDN'T NOTICE THAT YOUR POOL WAS FILLING UP AT A FASTER PACE.
UM, AND THREE, Y'ALL WATERED YOUR YARD, UM, MORE OFTEN OR WITH MORE WATER THAN USUAL BECAUSE YOU STARTED NOTICING, YOU KNOW, YOUR GRASS WAS GETTING BROWN OR THE LEAVES WERE SHRIVELED ON THEIR BUSHES OR WHATEVER.
[02:10:01]
UM, AND THAT SOUNDED LIKE IT MADE SENSE.UM, AND THEY TURNED ON YOUR EMPLOYEES.
I MEAN, THEY, I MEAN, IT WAS VICIOUS.
IT WAS REALLY, REALLY DISTURBING TO SEE HOW ANGRY THEY WERE, UH, BECAUSE TO THEM AND THE RESPONSE THEY GOT, UM, WELL, THAT RESPONSE MADE ME ANGRY.
AND SO I'M GONNA GIVE YOU, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, UM, JUST BY WAY OF ILLUSTRATION.
UH, I, I KNOW COUNCILMAN COUNCILWOMAN
SO, UH, ANDY SEGOVIA AND I, WE HAVE A, OUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT IS, UH, ENTENTES.
UM, AND THEY SERVE A, A PRETTY DARN GOOD CHALUPA.
UH, AND ANDY GOES THERE ONCE A MONTH AND HE GETS A CHALUPA RIGHT? ONCE A MONTH, EVERY SINGLE MONTH.
AND HE HAS THAT CHALUPA SAME PRICE EVERY SINGLE MONTH.
BUT THEN IN THE MONTHS OF SEPTEMBER, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THOSE LAST TWO MONTHS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY WERE HIGH, HE GETS A BILL THAT IS JUST SORT OF OUT OF WHACK WITH EVERYTHING THAT HE'S EVER PAID.
BUT HE ONLY REMEMBERS ORDERING ONE CHALUPA AND EATING ONE CHALUPA DOESN'T.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, OUT COMES CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TELLS HIM, NO, NO, NO, DON'T WORRY ABOUT YOUR BILL.
YOU DON'T REMEMBER, BUT YOU ORDERED THE NUMBER SIX PLATE WITH AN EXTRA CHALUPA ENCHILADAS, WHATEVER'S ON THE NUMBER SIX PLATE, RIGHT? AND IT WAS WAY MORE EXPENSIVE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAD WANTED TO PAY LESS, YOU SHOULD HAVE PAID ATTENTION TO A NEWSLETTER WE SENT OUT WARNING YOU THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU PROBABLY WERE GONNA GET BILLED MORE, YOU KNOW, IN THESE PAST TWO MONTHS.
AND SO, I, I DO LOOK AT THIS MAP 26, RIGHT? AND IF WE'VE GOT THESE PRICE SIGNALING STRATEGY GOING ON, EVERYBODY IN THE RED DIDN'T GET THE SIGNAL UNLESS THE SIGNAL IS GETTING PUNCHED IN THE GUT, IN WHICH CASE THEY GOT IT RIGHT? AND, AND I'M NOT SURE ANYBODY UP HERE WANTS THAT TO BE THE SIGNAL, RIGHT? I, I THINK WHAT WE WANT IS FOR THERE TO BE A SIGNAL BEFORE A PUNCH TO THE GUT SO THAT YOU CAN AVOID THE PUNCH TO THE GUT.
I GOT A MAN WHO SAT IN OUR TOWN HALL, AND I KNOW THAT YOU HAD A SIMILAR ONE.
UM, HIS BILL WAS JUST A COUPLE HUNDRED BUCKS THE MONTH BEFORE, AND THEN IT JUMPED UP TO $1,700.
UM, AND HE SAID HE HAD TO GO OUT AND SEE IF HE COULD GET, TAKE A LOAN OUT JUST TO PAY HIS WATER BILL.
AND THEN I GOT A LADY WHO TAKES CARE OF A HOME THAT IS NEVER OCCUPIED.
UM, AND BECAUSE SHE'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST, SHE'S GOT IT ON THE MARKET.
AND DURING THOSE TWO MONTHS, IT WAS JUST ON AN AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER SYSTEM, RIGHT? UM, AND IT DOUBLED EVEN THOUGH THERE'S NOBODY IN THERE WASHING CLOTHES AND NOBODY IN THERE USING TOILETS OR TAKING SHOWERS.
AND SO TO THEM, THIS THING OF, YOU KNOW, HOT MONTHS MAKES NO SENSE, RIGHT? ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S ON THE AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. SO IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN SEND THEM THE SIGNAL BEFORE THE BILL COMES, WHICH IS, HEY, YOU'RE USING MORE WATER THIS MONTH.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WHO DOES THAT? AT T DOES THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN, UH, I, YOU KNOW, ON MY, ON MY PHONE, AND I, I'M SURE ON YOURS, RIGHT? IT'LL TELL YOU YOU'RE ABOUT TO BUMP UP TO, UM, YOU KNOW, YOUR DATA LIMIT, RIGHT? AND HERE'S, HERE IT IS, AND IF YOU KEEP USING IT THIS MUCH, WE'RE GONNA BILL YOU THIS MUCH MORE GET READY.
RIGHT? AND THAT WAY, WHEN AT AND T DOES SEND ME THAT HIGHER BILL, I'M LIKE, WELL, I EARNED THAT.
RIGHT? UM, ANYWAY, I'M, I'VE SAID A LOT, BUT YOU SEE WHERE I'M GOING HERE, THESE PEOPLE AREN'T GETTING THE SIGNAL.
AND, AND I APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE CONCERNS OF, UH, THE THREE OF Y'ALL.
'CAUSE THESE ARE YOUR THREE DISTRICTS, UH, EIGHT, NINE, AND 10.
THAT'S WHERE MOST OF THE CONCERNS CAME FROM.
UH, IT IS VERY HARD PERIOD TO, UH, TALK TO A PERSON THAT'S VERY EMOTIONAL ABOUT A VERY EMOTIONAL THING, AND THAT'S MONEY COMING OUTTA THEIR POCKET.
COUNCILMAN LIA, THERE WAS, UH, YOU SAID A LOT OF PEOPLE, UH, CAME TO TALK TO, WELL, THEY, A LOT OF PEOPLE CAME TO YELL AT US.
AND, AND SOMETIMES RIGHTLY SO BECAUSE OF, OF, OF THE WAY THEY FELT.
UM, AND ONE THING THAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS NOT JUST SEND, UM, CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS, UH, JUST, UH, PEOPLE LIKE THAT.
MARY BAILEY, HERSELF, OUR, OUR VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AND OTHER THINGS, FINANCIAL, RIGHT? MARY
UH, SHE PROBABLY ATTENDED ALL OF THE MEETINGS, UH, ESPECIALLY THE VERY HIGH PROFILE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD TYPE OF MEETINGS, UH, ESPECIALLY THE ONES ASKED FOR BY THE THREE OF Y'ALL.
UM, AND SO, YES, THOSE CONCERNS HAD TO BE ADDRESSED.
NOW, THE, THE ISSUE OF, UH, THAT COUNCILMAN COURAGE BROUGHT UP ALSO OF, UH, IT WOULD BE MUCH BETTER IF THEY KNEW AHEAD OF TIME THAN AFTER THAT PUNCH IN THE GUT.
IT'S, IT'S MUCH BETTER TO KNOW, UH, WHAT THE NUMBER SIX THAT ES IT'S YEAH.
UM, AND SO THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION IS WHAT MARY WAS TALKING ABOUT, IS THE A M I, BECAUSE IT LITERALLY WILL, IF YOU SET IT UP, HOWEVER YOU WANNA SET IT UP, LET ME KNOW WHEN I GET TO 2000 GALLONS, UH, GIVE ME
[02:15:01]
A, A, A TEXT MESSAGE WHEN I GET TO 5,000 GALLONS, WHATEVER YOU SET IT UP.SO THAT'S THE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION THAT A M I WILL ABLE TO HELP US WITH, UH, OUR CUSTOMERS.
UH, YOUR CONSTITUENTS, UH, PROBABLY ALL HAVE A CELL PHONE.
MOST OF 'EM HAVE A CELL PHONE.
UM, THEY'RE DEMANDING THIS KIND OF, UH, INFORMATION.
THIS, THE QUICKNESS OF THIS KIND OF INFORMATION.
IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO ONCE A MONTH HAVE THAT AWFUL TYPE OF COMMUNICATION WITH THEM WHERE THEY GET THEIR BILL.
SO, YES, THE ANSWER IS THE A M I AS FAR AS THIS IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION OF HOW YOU'RE DOING WITH YOUR WATER.
AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS.
ANDY, YOU WANNA JUMP IN AND THEN COUNCILMAN PERRY'S NECK? YES.
JUST REAL QUICKLY, MAYOR, FOR THE RECORD, I NEVER EAT JUST ONE CHALUPA.
I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT.
BUT, UH, UM, THIS WAS ALL APPROVED BY A PREVIOUS COUNCIL, RIGHT? SO THIS IS JUST, JUST A REVIEW.
THERE'S NOTHING WE COULD DO UNLESS WE SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T THE RIGHT RATE.
WE NEED TO REDUCE IT OR INCREASE IT, RIGHT? CORRECT.
UM, JUST LOOKING AT THE WHOLE VISTA RIDGE, TO ME, THIS IS NOT WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE.
THIS IS WATER THROUGH THE PIPE.
AND, UH, I'VE BEEN APPROACHED BY THAT GROUP TO DO THIS, UH, AUDIT THING.
AND I, YOU KNOW, UNLESS THEY'RE TRYING TO STOP THE PROJECT OR SOMETHING, I, I DON'T SEE A LOT OF VALUE IN THAT, IN THAT AUDIT.
IT'D BE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY ON SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY ALMOST DONE.
AND, AND I'LL BE FRANK WITH YOU, IF, IF WE PAY FOR IT, OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT INDEPENDENT.
IF THE CITY PAYS FOR IT, IT'S NOT INDEPENDENT BECAUSE Y'ALL PRIOR COUNSELS VOTED FOR IT.
AND SO WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR IT? RIGHT? AND, AND WHAT DOES INDEPENDENT MEAN? RIGHT? BUT IF THEY DO WANT AN AUDIT, I WOULD WELCOME IT, BECAUSE I BELIEVE SO MUCH IN THIS PROJECT.
SO, UH, JUST TO GET TO SOME OF MY QUESTIONS HERE, UH, ON ONE OF THE SLIDES YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE RECYCLE WATER BEING TIED TO RESIDENTIAL WATER.
WHY IS THAT? UM, I'M NOT SURE WHAT, UH, YEAH, IT WAS, I, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT SLIDE IT WAS.
UM, RE RESIDENTIAL WATER, THE RESIDENTIAL VERSUS THE RECYCLE, THE PURPLE PIPE WATER.
UM, THE RATE IS GOING UP ON THAT AS WELL.
UH, SO, SO SEVERAL YEARS AGO, UH, I THINK IT WAS PART OF THE LAST RATE STUDY, WHAT WE DETERMINED, WE LOOKED AT THE DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN POTABLE WATER AND RECYCLE WATER, AND IT WAS FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT.
UH, OBVIOUSLY IT'S A LOT CHEAPER.
OUR RECYCLE WATER IS A LOT CHEAPER, EVEN THOUGH RECYCLE WATER DOESN'T NECESSARILY ENTIRELY PAY FOR ITSELF.
UM, SO WHAT WE DECIDED AT THAT POINT IN TIME AND WHAT WAS ADOPTED WAS THAT EVERY TIME WE HAD A WATER, EITHER WATER DELIVERY OR WATER SUPPLY RATE INCREASE, WE WOULD TAKE THE AVERAGE BETWEEN THOSE TWO INCREASES AND ASSESS THAT INCREASE TO THE RECYCLE WATER RATES SO THAT THAT DIFFERENTIAL DID NOT CONTINUE TO GROW.
SO, UM, SO BASICALLY RECYCLE WATER RATES ARE GOING UP SO THAT THE DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN POTABLE AND RECYCLE WATER STAYS THE SAME.
WHAT WAS HAPPENING WAS, UH, WATER RATES, THE OTHER WATER RATES KEPT GOING FURTHER AND FURTHER, AND RECYCLE WATER KEPT FALLING FURTHER AND FURTHER BEHIND.
UH, BUT AREN'T WE TRYING TO ENCOURAGE THE USE OF ADDITIONAL RECYCLE WATER? OR ARE WE AT OUR MAX NOW? WE ARE GETTING CLOSE TO OUR MAX, WHAT WE'D LIKE TO FIND, WE HAVE MORE WATER, A LITTLE BIT MORE WATER AVAILABLE ON THE RECYCLE WATER SYSTEM, BUT WE DON'T HAVE, UH, WE NEED, WHAT WE WANT IS NOT SUMMER PEAKING TYPE.
WE DON'T WANT GOLF COURSES AND THOSE TYPES OF ENTITIES THAT USE THE WATER ONLY IN THE SUMMERTIME, RECYCLE WATER GETS GENERATED AS, YOU KNOW, AT A VERY CONSTANT LEVEL.
SO WE WANT VERY CONSTANT LEVEL THINGS LIKE TOYOTA.
YES, WE HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL WATER THAT WE COULD PROVIDE TO THOSE BUSINESSES.
ACTUALLY, WE'VE TALKED TO, I THINK WE TALKED TO NAVISTAR ABOUT, UH, THEY MAY BE INTERESTED IN USING SOME OF THE RECYCLED WATER AS WELL.
WELL, I, I'M JUST GETTING AT THE POINT I YOU HAD A PERCENTAGE INCREASE.
I, I, I LIKE TO SEE IN DOLLARS AND CENTS WHAT THE INCREASES ARE ON, ON THAT SLIDE.
YOU HAD A PERCENTAGE INCREASE AND NOT, NOT WHAT IT, WELL, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DOLLARS AND CENTS.
IT WAS 19%, I THINK, WAS THE, YEAH.
WHAT IS THAT IN, UH, DOLLARS? WELL, IT DEPENDS.
WELL, IT DEPENDS ON WHAT, HOW MUCH YOU USE.
WELL, BUT DON'T WE MEASURE THIS IN, UM, ACRE FEED OR PER A HUNDRED THOUSAND GALLONS, UM, IN, ON OUR REGULAR BILLS.
[02:20:01]
IF YOUR BILL WAS A HUNDRED DOLLARS OR, YOU KNOW, A THOUSAND DOLLARS BEFORE, IT WILL NOW BE 19%.SO, I, I DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIFIC FIGURES.
I I, I, I UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT, BUT ARE WE LOOKING AT ADDITIONAL RECYCLED WATER TO BRING UP TO THE CITY TO INCREASE THE DEMAND ON THAT? WE, WE HAVE CERTAIN COMMITMENTS.
UH, WE HAVE A COMMITMENT TO PUT CERTAIN AMOUNTS IN THE RIVER.
AS YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE WATER THAT FLOWS THROUGH THE RIVERWALK IS OUR RECYCLE WATER.
SO WE HAVE CERTAIN COMMITMENTS THAT WE PUT INTO THE RIVER.
WE ONLY HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT AVAILABLE.
WE'RE PULLING UP BASICALLY EVERYTHING WE HAVE, UH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF, WE HAVE, I WANNA SAY, THREE TO 4,000 ACRE FEET STILL TO SELL, TO POTENTIALLY SELL, ASSUMING THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS AGAIN, COME.
THOSE CONSTANT USE TYPE CUSTOMERS COME.
ALRIGHT, COUNCILMAN, I WAS JUST GONNA ADD THAT WE HAVE A RECYCLED WATER AGREEMENT ACTUALLY AGREEMENTS WITH SAWS AS WELL FOR WATER THAT GOES INTO THE RIVER TO SUPPORT THE FLOW IN THE RIVER.
UH, A COUPLE, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT LOCATIONS AS WELL.
THAT AGREEMENT IS SET TO EXPIRE, I THINK, IN A COUPLE OF YEARS.
UH, WE ARE ACTUALLY WORKING WITH SAWS RIGHT NOW TO LOOK AT THAT.
WE WANNA ONE, UH, PROBABLY CONSOLIDATE OUR RECYCLED WATER USES INTO ONE SINGLE AGREEMENT, UH, AND, AND, AND ADDRESS THAT.
BUT WE'RE HOPING AS WE GO THROUGH THAT WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT CAPACITY AS WELL.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO THAT WE HAVE CONTRACTED FOR WITH SAWS THAT WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY USING THAT WE CAN RELEASE AND THEN THEY CAN GO USE THAT AND MARKET IT TO OTHERS.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE WORKING ON NOW.
UM, ON THE DELIVERY OF VISTA RIDGE, YES.
LIKE I SAID, THIS THING IS ALMOST DONE.
UM, WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY DON'T MAKE THE APRIL DATE? ARE WE GONNA GET A CREDIT FOR THAT, OR WHAT, WHAT'S THE DEAL THERE? YES.
THE, THE CONTRACT IS SET UP TO WHERE IF THEY DON'T DELIVER WATER, OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T PAY FOR IT.
UH, IF THEY, AND SO ANY WATER THAT'S DELIVERED WE, WE HAVE TO PAY FOR, BUT THE, UM, EVERY INDICATION IS THAT THEY ARE ON TIME AND WILL BE READY TO DELIVER THAT WATER.
AS I MENTIONED, ALL OF THE PIPELINE HAS BEEN, UH, PUT IN THE GROUND.
UH, THEY'RE ALREADY PRODUCING WATER.
UH, THEY'RE STARTING TO TEST THAT WATER TEST THE SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NO LEAKS.
THERE'S NO, UM, ADVERSE, UH, CONSTRUCTION ISSUES ALONG THE 142 MILE PIPELINE.
SO THEY ARE ON, ON TIME, UH, ON BY APRIL 15TH, WE WILL ALSO BE READY TO ACCEPT SOME OF THAT WATER.
BUT IF IT DOESN'T, LET'S SAY IT'S, IF IT, IF IT DOES, MAY, MAY 15TH.
IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, THEN UH, WE DON'T HAVE, IF THEY'RE NOT READY, THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO PAY THEM.
IF WE'RE NOT READY, WE STILL HAVE TO PAY THEM.
BUT WE'RE ON TARGET, RIGHT? WE'RE ON TARGET.
HOW, UH, BUT EITHER, EITHER ONE, THE CONTRACT DOES PROVIDE, IT DOES HAVE PROVISIONS IN IT THAT, THAT WATER CAN BE MADE UP LATER.
IN OTHER WORDS, THEY CAN SELL US MORE WATER LATER OR WE CAN, UM, RECEIVE WATER.
IF WE HAD TO PAY AND DIDN'T RECEIVE IT AT, IN APRIL, WE CAN RECEIVE THAT WATER LATER WITHOUT, 'CAUSE WE ALREADY PAID FOR IT.
SO THE CONTRACT PROTECTS US AND PROTECTS THEM ON THE, ON THAT ISSUE.
UM, ON, UH, AND I DIDN'T WRITE DOWN THE SLIDE NUMBER AGAIN, BUT YOU HAD THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, UH, THAT SAS HAS CURRENTLY, IT WAS, UH, 500 AND SOMETHING PER SO MANY CUSTOMERS.
WHAT'S THE TOTAL NU WHAT WAS THE TOTAL NUMBER, UH, OF SAW WHAT'S BEEN THE GROWTH OF SAWS OVERALL? THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE, NOT THE PERCENTAGE GROWTH, BUT WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE, UH, OVER WHAT PERIOD OF TIME? WELL, OVER THE LAST, UH, SINCE WE STARTED THIS VISTA RIDGE THING THAT, I MEAN, NOT, UM, SO LET'S SAY SINCE 2015? YEAH.
UM, OUR, OUR EMPLOYEE COUNT PROBABLY, I'LL SAY PROBABLY IN ONE OF THESE INDIVIDUALS WILL CORRECT ME.
PROBABLY INCREASED BY MAYBE 30.
UM, AGAIN, I, I LIKE DEALING YOU, BUT I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXACT NUMBER AS SOON AS THEY, UH, OKAY.
DOUG USUALLY HAS IT, UH, IN HIS, UH,
BUT, BUT I, BUT I WILL SAY THAT OUR CUSTOMER TO EMPLOYEE RATIO IS THE BEST IN THE STATE.
UH, STILL I LIKE TO DEAL IN, YES.
WHAT'S YOUR TOTAL NUMBER? YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT'S WE, WE WILL GET YOU THOSE NUMBERS.
OH, I THINK, UH, I THINK WE GOT SOMETHING HERE.
GOING BACK FIVE YEARS AT 2014, WE HAD 1,699 EMPLOYEES.
AND 2018 WE HAD 1,733 EMPLOYEES.
[02:25:01]
UM, BARE MET, UH, DURING THAT TIME, I THINK.SO BEFORE WE ABSORBED, BARE MET, THE COMBINED TWO ENTITIES HAD AN EXCESS OF 2000.
AND WE HAD, UH, PRIOR TO BARE MET, WE HAD ROUGHLY 1700.
SO NOW WE HAVE 1733 OR AT THE END OF 2018.
I, I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S SOME NUMBERS YOU NEED TO, YOU NEED TO, UH, TALK ABOUT.
THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S A GOOD, GOOD THING TO SHOW YOUR CUSTOMERS HOW YOU'RE MANAGING YOUR, YOUR, UH, EMPLOYEES AND THE TOTAL NUMBERS TO KEEP THE TOTAL COST DOWN.
UM, LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, THE CREDITS OR REDUCTIONS OF BILLS.
YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW WHEN PEOPLE COME IN SAYING, HEY, I I CAN'T AFFORD MY WATER BILL.
IS IT A REBATE? OR WHAT IS THE MECHANISM THERE? IF IT'S AN INDIVIDUAL THAT QUALIFIES AS FAR AS A MONTHLY, UH, REDUCTION IN THEIR BILL, THAT'S THE AFFORDABILITY PROGRAM WHERE DEPENDING ON THEIR LEVEL OF POVERTY ON THE, UH, THE FEDERAL POVERTY LINE, UH, THEY GET A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OFF OF THEIR BILL, WHATEVER IT IS.
DO YOU HAVE, HOW MUCH DID WE ACTUALLY PUT OUT OR REDUCE THIS LAST YEAR? THE TOTAL? YEAH, THE TOTAL, IT, UH, 6.5 MILLION, 6.5 MILLION.
AND WHERE DOES THAT 6.5 MILLION COME FROM? BECAUSE I MEAN, SOMEBODY'S GOTTA PAY FOR THAT.
RIGHT? IT'S ESSENTIALLY SPREAD OUT AMONG ALL THE RATE PAYERS.
IN OTHER WORDS, 6.5 MILLION REVENUE THAT WE DID NOT RECEIVE.
SO THAT JUST AUTOMATICALLY GOES IN EVERYBODY ELSE'S BILLS? YES.
IT, IT'S SHARED BY THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.
AND SO WITH THESE INCREASES THAT ARE ALREADY BUILT IN, DO Y'ALL HAVE ESTIMATES ON WHAT THAT NUMBER IS GONNA BE GROWING TO THIS IN 2020? THIS, UH, OUR BUDGET FOR THE AFFORDABILITY PROGRAMS FOR 2020 IS, IT'S SIX AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IS THE AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
AND WHAT DID WE SPEND LAST YEAR? UM, 5.8.
I CAN, I DON'T, THAT WAS A BUDGET, BUT WHAT DID, WHAT DID YOU REALLY SORRY.
REALLY SPEND, WE SPENT 5.8 AS WELL.
SO YOU'RE ESTIMATING THAT THAT'S GONNA GO UP TO 6.5? 6.5, UH, NOT ESTIMATING THAT.
THE 6.5 IS IN OUR BUDGET, UH, ON TUESDAY, UH, OUR BOARD WILL CONSIDER OUR BUDGET AND HOPEFULLY OH, OKAY.
BUT THAT'S WHAT'S IN, IN, YES.
IS THAT BASED ON JUST THE GROWTH OF THE CITY OR IS THAT BASED ON THE, UH, THE, UH, INCREASE ON THE RATES? UH, IT'S, IT'S BASED ON BOTH.
UH, WE UNDERSTAND THE RATES ARE GOING UP, SO WE WANT TO HELP THEM MORE, BUT IT'S ALSO BASED ON, UH, A, ESSENTIALLY A MANDATE TO GAVIN O TO GET AS MANY FAMILIES INTO THIS PROGRAM AS POSSIBLE.
UM, YOU MAY, AND I, I GOTTA AGREE WITH A COUPLE OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE.
I I DIDN'T GET THIS, UH, PRESENTATION ENOUGH TO, IN ENOUGH TIME TO LOOK AT THIS AND REALLY STUDY IT, BUT, UH, YOU MADE SOME COMMENTS ABOUT WATER COMING INTO THE CITY THROUGH VISTA RIDGE AND THE A SS R.
AND YOU SAID THERE YOU GOT ABOUT 175,000 ACRE FEET IN THE A S R NOW, CORRECT.
AND WHAT IS THE CAPACITY? IT, UH, A U T S A STUDY THAT WE HAVE SAYS THE CAPACITY IS ABOUT 212,000 ACRE FEET.
UH, IT'S HARD TO REALLY KNOW BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT'S UNDERGROUND.
UH, BUT ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT IT CAN ACCEPT THAT MUCH WATER.
AND SO THE WAY WE, UH, HANDLE IT IS, UH, AT DIFFERENT TIMES WE WILL, UH, REVERSE THE, UH, THE FLOW, TEST THE SYSTEM, MAKE SURE WATER CAN GO THE OTHER WAY.
BUT MOST, UH, UH, MAJORITY OF THE TIME WHEN IT'S WET LIKE THIS, WE WILL BE PUTTING WATER IN.
AND SO EACH, UH, THESE LAST FEW YEARS THAT WE'VE HAD A, A RAINY PERIOD, WHICH ESSENTIALLY WAS, UH, 16, 17, AND 18, UH, THAT'S WHEN WE REALLY SHUT UP WITH OUR STORAGE.
AND SO IT'S BEEN ABLE TO ACCEPT THAT MUCH WATER.
AND, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON THE WEATHER, AGAIN, YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT OF HEADROOM LEFT.
IF YOU TAKE IT UP TO THE 212, UH, VERSUS 175 RIGHT NOW, WHAT HAPPENS THEN WHEN YOU GET TO THAT NUMBER? UM, WE'RE, WE'RE CONFIDENT IT CAN TAKE MORE, BUT, UH, WHAT WE REALLY, WE WOULD WANT TO DO IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SURFACE, THAT WE OWN THE SURFACE OF WHERE THAT WATER IS.
UH, IN OTHER WORDS, AS, UH, I THINK, UH, UH, MAYOR, UH, BERG SAID, WHOEVER HAS THE BIGGEST STRAW CAN TAKE THAT WATER OUT.
SO LITERALLY AT OUR BOUNDARY, UH, WHOEVER OWNS THE PROPERTY
[02:30:01]
NEXT TO US COULD DRILL A WELL AND TAKE OUR WATER.UH, AND SO WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND OUR FOOTPRINT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WATER UNDERNEATH THE STORED WATER IS WHERE WE HAVE, UH, OWNED THE SURFACE LAND.
SO IF, IF WE SAW THAT COMING, WE WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO BUY ADDITIONAL ACREAGE IN THAT AREA.
IS THAT SO THAT'S NOT IN THE BUDGET AT ALL TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL PROPERTY? NO.
WE DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT, BUT, UH, THIS IS A, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD, IT'S MORE OF A FOUR OR FIVE, SIX YEAR TYPE OF, UH, ISSUE THAT WE WOULD, WE WOULD BE ADDRESSING.
'CAUSE I, MY CONCERN IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA GET, BE GETTING THIS 50,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER EVERY YEAR NOW FROM, FROM VISTA RIDGE PLUS YOU HAVE, YOU WANT TO KEEP PUMPING OUT OF THE EDWARDS ALSO THAT EXCESS SURE.
PUT IT IN THE AS S R BUT, UM, AGAIN, I, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THERE'S A LOT OF HEADROOM LEFT IN THE AS S R BUT UNLESS YOU GO OVER IT, THE ESTIMATES ARE WRONG, AND IT CAN TAKE MUCH MORE, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE IS A LOT OF TALK IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT, UM, THIS WATER BEING MORE THAN WHAT WE NEED.
UH, THAT'S A VERY SHORT TIMEFRAME BECAUSE IN, IN OUR WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN, EXCUSE ME, WE EVEN HAVE, UH, WE'RE STILL BUYING, UH, WE'RE STILL LEASING EDWARDS WATER IN THAT PLAN BECAUSE WE FEEL WE STILL NEED TO SUPPLEMENT OUR SUPPLY.
UH, WATER CONSERVATION, FOR EXAMPLE, IS STILL CONSIDERED A WATER SUPPLY.
SO WE STILL HAVE TO WORK OUR WATER CONSERVATION NUMBERS.
SO, UM, THESE KINDS OF ISSUES.
AND ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT COUNCILMAN ENCOURAGED BROUGHT UP WAS THE OTHER CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE ON THE OTHER SOURCES OF, OF WATER THAT WE HAVE.
SOME OF THEM WILL EXPIRE, AND WE MAY NOT WANT TO RENEW THOSE.
SO THE, THE PLAN TAKES CARE A LOT OF THE CONCERNS YOU'RE RAISING RIGHT NOW.
UM, THE, IN MY OPINION, UH, WE SHOULD HAVE DONE MORE OF THE WATER DESAL NATION DOWN SOUTH THAN WHAT WE SPEND ON VISTA RIDGE.
BUT AGAIN, THAT'S ALL IN THE PAST.
WE GOTTA LIVE WITH VISTA RIDGE NOW.
AND ONE OF MY BIG ISSUES BACK THEN, WHICH I TALKED TO MY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE, UH, I DIDN'T THINK THAT, UM, THAT WAS THREE.
AND THAT'S WHAT, WHAT'S THE CURRENT ESTIMATE? $3.4 BILLION OVER 30 YEARS.
THAT'S A BIG CAPITAL OUTLAY THAT, UH, SHOULD HAVE BEEN REALLY TAKEN TO THE VOTERS INSTEAD OF APPROVED HERE AT COUNCIL.
BUT AGAIN, THAT'S, THAT'S ALL SAID AND DONE.
UM, LET'S TALK ABOUT CONSERVATION A LITTLE BIT AND COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
TALK ABOUT THE NUMBERS ON THAT.
HOW DO WE RECONCILE, OR WHAT CAN I TELL MY NEIGHBORS OUT THERE THAT CONTINUALLY SEES THEIR WATER RATES GOING UP, BUT YES.
YET THEY'RE USING LESS AND LESS WATER EVERY YEAR.
HOW, HOW DO WE RECONCILE THAT? I MEAN, IT SEEMS THE MORE THEY CAN CONSERVE THE HIGHER THEIR WATER BILL GOES.
UH, YES, COUNCILMAN, THAT'S A VERY DIFFICULT, UM, CONCEPT, UH, THAT WE OURSELVES HAVE PROBLEMS WITH, WITH, WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS ARE OUR, OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO WE DO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM.
IT IS JUST, IT IS DIFFICULT TO TELL THEM, UH, WHAT'S GOING ON.
BUT OUR, OUR MESSAGE IS THAT IT, IT, UM, WATER COSTS, WATER CONSERVATION PAYS FOR ITSELF.
THE, UH, PER CAPITA USE, UH, THAT AGAIN, COUNCILMAN COURAGE ASKED ME ABOUT.
IF WE HAD NOT BEEN DOING THOSE TYPE OF THINGS, WE WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAD ANOTHER VISTA RIDGE PROJECT PROBABLY 10 YEARS AGO.
UH, THE DESALINATION PROJECT WOULD HAVE HAVE TO HAVE BEEN BUILT 15 YEARS AGO.
SO LAYER UPON LAYER OF THESE PROJECTS WOULD HAVE, WOULD HAVE, HAVE TO BEEN BUILT EVERY FIVE TO 10 YEARS, UH, TO MEET THAT DEMAND.
SO CONSERVATION IS REALLY, FOR US, A A BUSINESS MODEL.
IT'S NOT JUST A SUSTAINABILITY ISSUE OR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE, OR A FEEL GOOD ISSUE.
IT'S, IT'S TRULY A BUSINESS MODEL, UH, THAT HELPS US IN THE LONG RUN.
AND IT EVEN HELPS US ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE, BECAUSE THE LESS WATER YOU USE, THE LESS WATER YOU HAVE TO TREAT.
SO, SO MUCH TO THE POINT WHERE WE ACTUALLY CLOSED ONE OF OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS BECAUSE WE COULD, UH, WE HAD ENOUGH CAPACITY WITH THE OTHER THREE, AND WE SAVED OURSELVES A LOT OF O AND M COST ON THAT FOURTH PLANT.
SO THAT'S THE MESSAGE WE TELL THEM IS THAT WATER CONSERVATION KEEPS YOUR RATES LOW.
IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY PREVENT THEM FROM GOING UP.
AND I THINK EVERYBODY UP HERE NEEDS HELP EXPLAINING THAT.
AND, AND I KNOW THERE'S BEEN ATTEMPTS TO EXPLAIN THAT TO MY, MY NEIGHBORS OUT THERE IN DISTRICT 10, THEY DON'T GET IT.
WELL, AND SOMETIMES I DON'T GET IT EITHER, BECAUSE IT, IT JUST MAKES NO SENSE ON COUNCILMAN PERRY.
YOU'VE BEEN VERY, UM, LIBERAL WITH YOUR TIME,
[02:35:01]
UH, WITH US.UH, YOU, YOU ALLOW US TO MEET WITH YOU AND, UH, SET UP A MEETING OF THESE CONSTITUENTS THAT YOU, UH, ARE TALKING ABOUT.
WE WOULD LOVE TO, TO SIT DOWN WITH THEM AND ADDRESS THEM AND HOPEFULLY CONVINCE THEM OF WHAT, WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO.
UM, NOW THIS, UH, BUDGET CYCLE, CITY BUDGET CYCLE, UH, THE CITY APPROVED OR TOOK ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AWAY FROM YOU AND WHAT, WHAT WAS THAT IN DOLLARS? IT'S ABOUT 10 MILLION.
AND SO EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THE IMPACT IS OF THAT.
UM, WE GOT THE 10 MILLION, ESSENTIALLY FROM DAYS' CASH ON HAND.
SO THE QUESTIONS OF, OF COUNCILMAN COURAGE ABOUT DAYS' CASH ON HAND, UH, THAT HELPS OUT WITH THESE UNEXPECTED, UH, THINGS THAT HAPPEN.
UH, SO WHEN, UM, YOUR CITY MANAGER, ERIC WALSH CAME TO SEE ME TO TALK TO ME ABOUT THAT ISSUE, UH, INITIALLY I WAS, UM, NOT IN FAVOR OF IT.
YOU KNOW, I WANTED TO PROTECT SAS.
UM, DOUG EVANSON, OUR C F O SHOWED ME THE NUMBERS THAT YES, UM, BECAUSE OF OUR RESERVE, BECAUSE OF OUR DAYS OFF CASH ON HAND, WE CAN AFFORD TO DO THIS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.
UH, AT SOME POINT, UM, THAT $10 MILLION HAS TO BE MADE UP SOMEWHERE.
AND SO WE WOULD REQUIRE A RATE INCREASE IF WE WANT TO A, A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF A RATE INCREASE TO CONTINUE THAT ON INTO THE FUTURE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN QUESTIONED A LOT ON THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST ROBBING FROM PETER TO PAY PAUL.
UM, AND THE CITY IS TRYING TO MAKE UP BUDGET SHORTFALLS AT THE EXPENSE OF BOTH C P S.
AND NOW, UH, WELL, WE, WE HAVE BEEN AT SAWS, BUT NOW AT A HIGHER RATE THAN WE HAVE IN THE PAST.
AND, UH, PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT, THAT, UH, WE'RE JUST ABLE TO, UH, TAKE THAT OUT WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, WITHOUT MUCH DIFFICULTY ACTUALLY, UH, JUST, UH, UH, PUTTING IT IN THE BUDGET.
BUT I SEE THAT AS, UH, AS MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR SAWS TO MEET THEIR OBLIGATIONS AND PLAN FOR THESE PIPE REPLACEMENTS, WHETHER IT'S SUPPLY OR WASTEWATER, UM, STORM DRAINAGE, THE WHOLE, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS.
I, I, I, I DIDN'T AGREE WITH THAT, AND I STILL DON'T AGREE WITH THAT.
UH, SAWS, UH, TO ME IS, IS DOING A GREAT JOB.
I, I, I, UH, HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT.
BUT THEN WHEN YOU TURN AROUND AND SAY, HEY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE A RATE INCREASE BECAUSE YOU'RE TAKING MORE MONEY AWAY FROM ME THAT I PLAN TO USE TO DO THESE REPLACEMENTS AND, AND, UH, KEEP OUR RATES AS LOW AS POSSIBLE.
I, I HAVE SOME REAL CONCERNS ABOUT THAT.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN Y'ALL COME AROUND FOR THIS NEXT RATE IN INCREASE, WHENEVER THAT IS, UM, THAT'S GONNA BE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN THAT TO OUR TAXPAYERS AND RATE PAYERS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
WHAT'S GOING ON? UH, I UNDERSTAND.
WELL, UM, WHAT I SAY IS, SPEND DOWN THAT DAY, CASH ON DAYS, CASH ON HAND, BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T, THIS CITY IS GONNA COME AROUND AND TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU ANYWAY.
SO, UM, THAT'S AN INTERESTING IDEA.
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT.
UM, I WILL GO THROUGH THE, THE SLIDES A LITTLE BIT CLOSER AND, UM, PROBABLY GET TO BACK TOGETHER WITH YOU AGAIN.
AND, AND THANK YOU FOR STAYING ON CITY COUNCIL.
WELL, YOU MIGHT NOT SAY THAT HERE IN THE NEXT RIGHT.
INCREASE, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, COMING OVER AND GIVING US THE, THE PRESENTATION.
AND I THINK SOMEONE ON THE DIOCESE ASKED ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAD, UH, INNOVATION STAFF.
UM, THEY, DO, THEY HAVE SOMEONE WHO CALLED, UM, JOSE, WHAT'S HIS LAST NAME? DE CRUZ.
JOSE DE LA CRUZ, WHO WAS OUR DIRECTOR OF INNOVATION.
AND HE'S OVER THERE NOW, SO NOT THAT WE'RE BITTER ABOUT IT.
WE'VE GOT BRIAN, BRIAN DILLARD.
UM, I, UH, I WAS LOOKING AT YOUR WEBSITE FOR THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND, UH, I WANT TO COMMEND YOU ON HOW THOROUGH IT IS, UH, HOW THE INFORMATION IS ACTUALLY FAIRLY EASY TO ACCESS.
YOU HAVE VIDEO OF THE MEETINGS, YOU HAVE THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING, UM, AND THE AGENDAS, AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE REALLY EASY TO FIND.
UH, ONE THING THAT WAS ON THERE WAS THE DRAFT
[02:40:01]
BYLAWS FOR THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH I SAW YOU'D ALREADY ADOPTED.UM, BUT BEFORE I SAW THAT YOU'D ADOPTED THEM, I WENT THROUGH AND I READ THE BYLAWS AND I WROTE A BUNCH OF COMMENTS NOW, WHICH ARE, ARE KIND OF MOOT, BUT I, I DO WANT TO AT LEAST SHARE, UH, WITH MY COUNCIL MEMBERS, JUST SO THEY KNOW.
UM, SO THAT, THAT COMMITTEE IS GOVERNED BY YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS, IS, IS MY UNDERSTANDING THEIR RECOMMENDATION WILL GO TO OUR BOARD? YES.
UM, ONE THING THAT I DID NOTICE IN THERE IS THAT EACH COUNCIL MEMBER CAN APPOINT A NOMINEE, BUT THEIR, SORRY, EACH COUNCIL MEMBER CAN NOMINATE SOMEONE TO BE ON THERE, BUT ULTIMATELY IT'S AT THE DISCRETION OF YOUR BOARD TO DECIDE WHO GETS ON THERE.
SO WE DON'T HAVE A GUARANTEED APPOINTEE.
BUT I, I, OUR, OUR BOARD WOULD NOT VETO A RECOMMENDATION BY A COUNCIL MEMBER.
SO I WONDER WHY THEY JUST DIDN'T PUT IT IN THE BYLAWS.
IT, IT COULD CHANGE VERY EASILY.
BUT, YOU KNOW, UH, YOUR MAYOR IS OUR BOARD MEMBER, AND I DOUBT HE WILL LET THAT HAPPEN.
I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT HAPPENED,
UM, BUT I, I WOULD HAVE FELT MORE COMFORTABLE WITH A, A GUARANTEED, UH, APPOINTMENT.
WE'LL, WE'LL, UH, YES, I UNDERSTAND IF YOU WOULD CONSIDER THAT.
UH, THE OTHER THING THAT I NOTICED IS, UH, THE SAME THING GOES FOR IF A VACANCY BECOMES OPEN.
IT DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT, UH, CONSULTING WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBER.
IF THE VACANCY IS FROM OUR, UH, FROM OUR DISTRICT, IT SIMPLY SAYS YOUR BOARD WILL APPOINT, UH, THAT, THAT VACANCY.
AND THEN THE LAST THING I I WOULD MENTION IS, UH, THERE ARE CATEGORIES OF TYPES OF INDIVIDUALS THAT YOU WOULD INVITE TO BE ON THERE.
UM, AND ENVIRONMENTAL IS, IS IN A CATEGORY WITH A LOT OF OTHER, UM, TYPES OF INDIVIDUALS.
UM, BUT I WOULD THINK IT'S A PRIORITY TO ALWAYS HAVE SOMEONE WHO IS US VERSED IN CONSERVATION ISSUES TO BE PART OF THAT RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UM, IF, IF YOU HAPPEN TO GO BACK TO THE BYLAWS, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND.
AND I'LL, I'LL TAKE YOUR SUGGESTIONS.
IF I MAY ADD, UH, YOU COUNCILWOMAN AND A LOT OF OTHER MEMBERS, UH, TALKED ABOUT CONSERVATION.
I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT, UH, SINCE THE 1991, UH, I HAVE BEEN FILING WATER CONSERVATION BILLS IN THE LEGISLATURE, UH, THROUGHOUT MY, MY SERVICE THERE 17 YEARS.
AND WHEN I CAME TO SAS, I, UH, THEY WERE ALREADY DOING VERY GOOD AT WATER CONSERVATION.
UH, BUT I HAVE NOT LET THEM STOP.
THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT IS PERSONAL TO ME, UH, THAT, UH, I DON'T, UM, TAKE LIGHTLY.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, UM, AND DOUG EVANSON, UH, TAUGHT ME THIS.
IT'S NOT JUST, UH, A ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, ISSUE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THAT.
UH, FOR, FOR SO LONG, UH, ROBERT, UM, SO ALONG THE LINES OF, OF CONSERVATION, UH, WE'VE BEEN GIVEN A STATISTIC ABOUT HOW MUCH A PER CAPITA USE IS.
SO WHEN THAT'S CALCULATED, IS THAT DONE BY, UM, IS THAT FOR ALL CATEGORIES? I GUESS I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT IT IS WHEN IT COMES TO THE RESIDENTIAL CATEGORY.
UM, THAT PARTICULAR, WHEN WE PUBLISH A WATER CONSERVATION NUMBER, IT TAKES ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS, INDUSTRIAL, COMMERCIAL, UH, TO GET TO THAT NUMBER.
BUT YES, WE, WE HAVE SEPARATE RESIDENTIAL NUMBERS.
AND, AND WE WILL PROVIDE THOSE TO YOU, PROVIDE THOSE, AND THEN WHEN YOU TAKE EVERYTHING IN, IT'S DONE BY ALL THE INHABITANT, YOU DIVIDE BY ALL THE INHABITANTS IN THE SERVICE AREA.
EVEN THOUGH WE'RE LOOKING AT, I GUESS THAT'S HOW YOU COMPUTE PER, PER CAPITA, BUT IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT INDUSTRIAL USES AS WELL, I MEAN, WE HAVE PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIVE IN THE SERVICE AREA.
THE DOWNTOWN HOTELS, FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE TOURISTS UPON TOURISTS, AND WE DON'T NECESSARILY COUNT THOSE MM-HMM.
UH, UH, AND, UH, I WAS LOOKING THROUGH, UH, SOME OF THE PRESENTATIONS THAT YOU GAVE TO THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND ONE OF, UM, ONE POINT OF DISCUSSION THAT YOU HAD AT YOUR LAST MEETING WAS A SUMMARY OF, UH, THE OBJECTIVES FROM THE LAST TIME THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MET.
AND, UH, YOUR TEAM CATEGORIZED THEM INTO OBJECTIVES THAT WERE ACHIEVED, LARGELY ACHIEVED, AND OBJECTIVES PARTIALLY ACHIEVED, AND OBJECTIVES THAT WEREN'T ADDRESSED, UH, AT ALL.
SO, UM, UNDER PARTIALLY ACHIEVED CONSERVATION IS THERE.
SO I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU COULD ELABORATE ON WHAT YOU FEEL YOU ACHIEVED, BUT, OR WHAT YOUR STAFF THINKS THEY ACHIEVED, BUT WHAT'S REALLY MISSING FROM THE 2015? UM, YEAH.
UM, I WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE THAT BRIEFING.
SO, UM, I THINK WE ACHIEVED, WHAT YOU SAW, WHAT WE LOOKED AT IN THOSE DISCUSSIONS WAS YOU SAW SOME MOVEMENT OUT OF
[02:45:01]
BLOCK SEVEN AND EIGHT, TOTAL USAGE AND NUMBER OF BILLS.BASICALLY WE HAVE SEEN, UH, MORE USAGE IN THOSE LOWER BLOCKS.
OUR FIRST BLOCK HAS BASICALLY 3000 GALLONS WORTH OF USAGE, AND OUR SECOND BLOCK GOES UP TO JUST SLIGHTLY AROUND 4,500 GALLONS OF USAGE.
SO WHAT WE SAW WAS A MIGRATION, SOME MOVEMENT, INCREASED USAGE IN THOSE TWO BLOCKS WITH REDUCED USAGE IN BLOCKS, BASICALLY THREE THROUGH EIGHT, AND IN PARTICULAR BLOCKS FIVE THROUGH EIGHT.
AND DOUG, AND WHEN YOU SAY YOU SAW THE MIGRATION OVER WHAT TIME? LIKE SINCE YOU STARTED HAVING THE BLOCKS? NO, SINCE, SINCE THE RATE STRUCTURE WAS PUT IN PLACE, SO IN 2015 WE LOOKED AT IT, THE LAST YEAR UNDER THE OLD RATE STRUCTURE WAS 2015.
THE FIRST YEAR UNDER THIS NEWER RATE STRUCTURE WAS 2016.
SO WE HAD DATA FROM 20 16, 20 17, AND 2018.
AND THAT'S, UH, WE COMPARED ALL YEARS.
BUT THOSE TWO YEARS WERE ALSO FAIRLY SIMILAR FROM A, A CLIMACTIC, UH, STANDPOINT AS WELL.
SO RAINFALL WAS ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT.
THERE WAS 44 INCHES OF RAIN IN 2015 AND ROUGHLY 42 INCHES OF RAIN IN 2018.
SO WE WERE LOOKING AT APPLES AND APPLES IN TERMS OF WEATHER PATTERNS AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN ONE OF THE OTHER OBJECTIVES, UM, THAT, THAT'S LABELED AS REQUIRING FOCUS WAS AFFORDABILITY.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WE ESTABLISHED A LIFELINE SUPPLY RATE THAT WE WERE HOPEFUL THAT WAS GOING TO PROVIDE, UH, WAY WE KIND OF STRATIFIED, WE DETERMINED THAT, YOU KNOW, HEALTH AND HUMAN SAFETY WAS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT USE OF WATER, UM, UH, PUTTING A VALUE JUDGMENT ON IT.
AND SO THAT WAS KIND OF THE PRIORITY.
AND WE TRIED TO ESTABLISH THIS LIFELINE SUPPLY RATE.
BUT WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT UNFORTUNATELY, MOST OF OUR PARTICIPANTS THAT ARE, OR AT LEAST THE DATA THAT WE HAVE, THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN OUR AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAMS, MAYBE THEY HAVE LARGER FAMILY SIZES, MAYBE THEY HAVE OTHER THINGS THAT THEY CAN'T REALLY GET INTO THAT LIFELINE SUPPLY RATE.
WE SAW MORE, MORE MIGRATION INTO THAT LIFELINE SUPPLY RATE OUT OF OUR GENERAL POPULATION THAN WE DID OUT OF THE AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM, ELIGIBLE CUSTOMERS.
SO THAT WAS ONE, UH, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT MAYBE BEING ABLE TO CALCULATE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN EACH HOUSEHOLD.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IN ROBERT TALKED ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT THAT IS.
WE DON'T KNOW WHEN SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, A NEW CHILD IS BORN OR SOMEBODY PASSES AWAY, ET CETERA.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE LOOKED AT, AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE WILL BE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, MANY ALTERNATIVES, BUT ONE RATE STRUCTURE THAT HAS BEEN USED IN SOME OTHER COMMUNITIES, YOU USE YOUR AVERAGE WINTER CONSUMPTION, AND MAYBE THAT BECOMES YOUR BLOCK ONE USAGE AS OPPOSED TO SOME JUST ARBITRARY 29 92.
BUT IF SOMEBODY HAS EIGHT, 10 PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THEIR HOUSEHOLD, OBVIOUSLY THEIR AVERAGE WINTER CONSUMPTION IS PROBABLY GONNA BE HIGHER THAN SOMEBODY THAT HAS JUST ONE PERSON LIVING IN THE HOUSEHOLD.
UH, SO MAYBE THAT'S A WAY THAT YOU CAN ESTABLISH MORE, UH, I GUESS MORE TAILORED RATE STRUCTURE MAYBE.
BUT YOU MAY ALWAYS BE A HIGH WATER UTILIZER, RIGHT.
IF YOU'RE SOMEONE WHO TAKES, YOU KNOW YEAH.
AND, AND SO OBVIOUSLY IT'S CHALLENGING, BUT, SO WE'RE GONNA TRY TO LOOK AT, AND I SAID THIS IN THE MEETING THE OTHER NIGHT, YOU KNOW, I THINK MAYBE WE'VE MADE SOME IMPROVEMENTS, AND I KNOW CERTAINLY GINO AND HIS GROUP HAVE, HAVE ENROLLED A LOT MORE PEOPLE IN THOSE PROGRAMS. BUT WE NEED TO CONTINUE.
WE, WE GOT, WE KNOW THE SITUATION CONTINUES TO BECOME MORE CHALLENGING, UH, ECONOMICALLY CHALLENGING FOR SOME PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE NEED TO TRY TO RESPOND TO THAT.
UM, SO ONE THING THAT, UM, COUNCILWOMAN VIE AND COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ AND I ARE, ARE STARTING TO WORK ON IS, UH, TRYING TO ADDRESS THIS, UH, WELL, THE POVERTY ISSUE IN SAN ANTONIO.
WE EACH CHAIR COMMITTEES THAT, UM, THAT HOPEFULLY CAN, CAN, UM, CAN HELP IN THAT RESPECT GIVEN THE INFORMATION THAT CAME OUT FROM THE CENSUS BUREAU ABOUT OUR, OUR MOST RECENT NUMBERS AND US BEING NUMBER ONE IN THE TOP 25 METRO AREAS.
UM, MY MY QUESTION FOR YOU IS, UM, GIVEN THAT WE'RE SUCH A POOR CITY, LIKE WHAT, AND I THINK I MAY HAVE ASKED THIS BEFORE, IS WHAT IS THE STRATEGY AROUND AFFORDABILITY ASIDE FROM, UH, WELL, WE'LL DO THE OUTREACH, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD HAVE SOME SORT OF SENSE OF HOW MANY PEOPLE OR HOW MANY HOUSEHOLDS ACTUALLY NEED THAT HELP, AND THEN COMPARE THAT TO WHAT WE HAVE, THE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE SET ASIDE AND OUR TARGETS FOR REACHING THAT MANY HOUSEHOLDS.
IN TERMS OF THAT ULTIMATE GOAL NUMBER, I REMEMBER YOU DID BRING THIS UP THE LAST TIME WE HAD DISCUSSED THIS.
SO WHAT WE DID WAS WE WENT OUT AND ENGAGED THE DEMO, THE STATE DEMOGRAPHER OUT AT U T S A, WORKING WITH HIM, HE PROVIDED US QUITE A BIT OF INFORMATION AND HEAT MAPS AND INFORMATION OF THAT SORT.
WE COMBINED THAT INFORMATION WITH INFORMATION FROM OUR FINANCE GROUP
[02:50:01]
USING CENSUS TRACK DATA AND ALL THE INFORMATION THAT'S AVAILABLE.THE NUMBER THAT WE COULD BEST GET TO WAS IF ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL, THE ULTIMATE GOAL WOULD BE ABOUT 60,000 FAMILIES ARE OUT THERE THAT WOULD NEED OUR HELP.
IT MAY NOT SOUND LIKE A LOT, BUT WE CAN NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT IN ORDER TO GET A DISCOUNT, YOU NEED TO GET A WATER BILL.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF FAMILIES THAT ARE ON ASSISTANCE THROUGH SAHA OR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ARE RENTERS SO THEY DON'T GET A WATER BILL.
SO WHEN I FIRST CAME ON ROBERT'S TEST TO ME WAS, WE NEED TO GROW THIS.
AND MY THOUGHT WAS, WELL, LET'S JUST GO TO SAHA AND WE CAN SIGN EVERYBODY UP.
WELL, UNFORTUNATELY THEY DON'T GET WATER BILLS.
SO THEN THE CHALLENGE BECAME A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
WELL, FORTUNATELY, BUT THEY, THEY ARE PAYING A WATER BILL THOUGH.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT, NOW WITH THE THING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AND WORKING WITH DR.
THEODORE FROM, UH, REP TELLIS OUT TEXAS A AND M, OH, IT'S SPLIT IN SOME WAY BY THE WELL FOUND BY THE PROPERTY MANAGER AND THEN DISTRIBUTE WELL, SO THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON WITH A CONTACT MULTI-FAMILY.
SO IF WE WERE TO GIVE A DISCOUNT TO THE DEVELOPER, WOULD HE, HE OR SHE ULTIMATELY GIVE IT BACK TO IN RENT? WE DON'T KNOW.
SO RATHER THAN DOING THAT, WE'RE TRYING TO FIND ALTERNATIVES ON HOW WE INVEST.
SO IN GOING THROUGH THAT, WE IDENTIFIED APPROXIMATELY 60,000 PLUS OR MINUS FAMILIES.
THAT WOULD BE THE ULTIMATE GOAL.
AS ROBERT INDICATED, WE'RE RIGHT AT 32,000 MM-HMM.
AND SO TO TOOT OUR OWN HORN A LITTLE BIT, THOSE ARE NUMBERS THAT NO ONE HAS SEEN BEFORE, ANYWHERE.
THEODOR AT OUR LAST IRAQ MEETING HAD INDICATED THAT IN HIS HISTORY, HE'S SEEN THE MAX BE RIGHT ABOUT 15%.
AND SO I BELIEVE WE'RE DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I DO KNOW THAT WE CAN DO MORE.
UH, AS I INDICATED EARLIER, THERE ARE TWO NEW AFFORDABILITY SPECIALISTS COMING ON THAT ARE GONNA BE IN THE COMMUNITIES.
WE'VE ALREADY CONTACTED QUITE A FEW DIFFERENT OFFICES, AND WE'RE GONNA TAKE TIME TO SET UP HOURS AT THE DISTRICT OFFICE.
WE'RE GONNA SET UP TIME AT PARTNER AGENCIES BECAUSE WE KNOW THE NEEDS OUT THERE.
AND WE JUST NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB AMONGST OURSELVES TO GO OUT AND FIND WHERE THAT NEED IS THE GREATEST.
AND TO HAVE OUR TEAM MEMBERS GO OUT THERE, WE CAN'T EXPECT THEM TO COME TO US.
WE NEED TO BE DOING A BETTER JOB, BEING PROACTIVE AND GOING OUT TO WHERE THE NEED IS GREATEST, AND THEN ENGAGE THOSE FAMILIES THAT ARE THERE SO THAT THOSE THAT NEED TO HELP GET THE HELP.
I APPRECIATE THAT, AND I COMMEND YOU ON YOUR 50% PLUS, UM, ACHIEVEMENT.
I APOLOGIZE IF I DIDN'T PICK UP ON THAT EARLIER, BUT THANK YOU.
UM, AND THEN ONE EXPLANATION QUESTION AND THEN, UH, ONE MORE QUESTION AFTER THAT.
UM, UH, I THINK IT WAS MARY GIVING US THE, UM, THE MAP WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT AREAS, THE ONES THAT WERE RED AND THE ONES THAT WERE YELLOW.
AND YOU MENTIONED AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, AND, UH, I'VE NEVER HAD ONE THAT WORKS.
SO, UH, DOESN'T IT ALWAYS BASICALLY JUST IRRIGATE WHEN IT'S PROGRAMMED TO IRRIGATE? HOW DOES, HOW DOES THE WEATHER AFFECT AN AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEM? SO, SO THE CHALLENGE IS JUST HOW OFTEN IT'S SET TO IRRIGATE, RIGHT? SO, UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL SET IT, UH, WHEN WE'RE IN DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS TO JUST GO OFF ON THE DAY THAT, THAT THERE IS THEIR WATERING DAY.
BUT THOSE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, IF YOU'RE NOT CONSTANTLY MONITORING THEM, SOMETIMES LET'S SAY YOU USE LOSE POWER TO YOUR HOME, THOSE IRRIGATION CONTROLLERS CAN RESET TO FACTORY SETTINGS, WHICH MAY HAVE MULTIPLE, UM, UH, PROGRAMS TO RUN ON MULTIPLE DAYS.
OTHER, AND ALSO SOMETIMES PEOPLE JUST TURN IT ON, UM, UH, RANDOMLY, OR THEY SET IT FOR MORE DAYS.
SO I, I GUESS WHAT I HAD TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR CONVERSATION OR THE, WHEN YOU PRESENTED WITH THE SLIDES IS THAT THAT'S WHY EVERYONE SAW AN INCREASE IN, WELL, THEY LIKELY RAN IT MORE OFTEN, SO YOU CAN MANUALLY RUN IT.
I RAN MINE MORE THAN ONCE, ONCE A WEEK.
IT WAS, WE WEREN'T, WE DIDN'T HAVE WATER RESTRICTIONS, SO WE MANUALLY TURNED IT ON.
A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST DON'T REALIZE HOW MUCH WATER IS BEING USED EVERY TIME THEY TURN IT ON.
AND IF THEY EVEN HAVE A LEAK IN THEIR SYSTEM, THEN THERE'S EVEN MORE WATER BEING USED WHILE IT'S, WHILE IT'S OPERATING.
AND AS WE'VE SEEN, SOME PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT THEY HAVE MULTIPLE PROGRAMS RUNNING.
THEY THINK IT'S ONLY WATERING ONE TIME A WEEK, BUT IT MAY BE RUNNING TWO OR THREE TIMES A WEEK.
UM, AND THEN THE, JUST MY, MY LAST COMMENT, AND I MENTIONED THIS TO, TO SOME OF YOUR STAFF, ROBERT.
SO LAST TIME YOU WERE HERE FOR, FOR A RATE INCREASE, IT WAS, UM, ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO.
AND, UH, MY COLLEAGUE AT THE TIME,
I HAD, I HAD CONCERNS ABOUT WA THE WATER SUPPLY RATE INCREASE, BUT I, I ENDED UP SUPPORTING THE RATE INCREASE BECAUSE OF THE
[02:55:01]
SEWER, UH, CHARGE, WHICH IS OF COURSE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.AND, UH, YOU'VE BEEN DOING, UH, WORK ALL OVER THE CITY.
UM, I JUST, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WHEN, UH, THAT WE HAVE THE SAME UNDERSTANDING ABOUT WHEN THAT WORK IS DONE, UH, THAT OUR CITY IS WORKING WITH YOUR TEAM TO ENSURE QUALITY WORK.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN THE SEWERS REPLACED AND THE STREET IS PATCHED UP, I JUST, UM, UH, I SPEND A LOT OF STAFF TIME AND MY STAFF SPENDS A LOT OF TIME TAKING CALLS AND CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, SAS WORK.
T C I WORK AS WELL, RIGHT? THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT INNOCENT EITHER, BUT ABOUT SAS WORK.
AND IN FACT, RIGHT NOW WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS, UM, EVALUATION OF WHAT WE PAY OUR COUNCIL AIDES AND WHY WE NEED THEM AND WHETHER THEY SHOULD BE CITY EMPLOYEES OR, OR OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND I'M LIKE, DON'T TAKE AWAY MY COUNCIL AIDES BECAUSE I NEED THEM TO TAKE THESE CALLS, UM, ALL THE TIME.
LIKE THE, THE VAST AMOUNT OF, OF OUR WORK, OF COURSE, HAS TO DO WITH CONSTITUENT SERVICES AND SAWS IS NO SMALL PART OF IT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE C 12.
SO I, WHAT I'D LIKE TO REQUEST, NOT JUST OF YOU, BUT OF OUR STAFF AS WELL, IS HOW CAN WE COORDINATE TO, TO JUST HAVE FEWER OF THOSE CALLS COMING TO, TO OUR OFFICE? OR IS THERE A CENTRAL NUMBER WE CAN SET UP? OR, OR, OR SOMETHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE QUALITY OF THE WORK? UH, OF, OF, GO AHEAD.
LET ME JUMP IN BECAUSE, UH, I THINK IT WOULD BE, AND, AND ROBERT WASN'T PART OF THIS 'CAUSE IT WAS HAPPENING DURING HIS PRESENTATION, BUT, UM, MIKE FRISBEE AND I WERE OVER HERE EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION AND, AND JUST LIKE, UM, WE SAY THAT WE COORDINATE ON THESE STREET PROJECTS, AND MANY TIMES WHEN YOU APPROVE THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS HERE AND YOU'RE ALLOCATING THE MONEY, YOU, YOU'RE ALSO ALLOCATING THE, THE, THE MONEY THAT'S BEING FUNDED, THE PORTIONS THAT ARE BEING FUNDED BY SR C P SS.
SO THERE'S A LEVEL OF COORDINATION AND WHAT MIKE AND I WERE TALKING ABOUT OVER HERE IS, UM, IS, IS PULLING TOGETHER BOTH TEAMS AT THE BEGINNING OF A FISCAL YEAR, YOU GUYS JUST APPROVED $110 MILLION IN STREET MAINTENANCE.
UH, WE HAVE A 2017 BOND PROGRAM.
WE KNOW WHAT PROJECTS WE'RE GONNA BE LETTING OUT.
AND AS MUCH AS FROM AN OPERATIONAL STANDPOINT WE'RE CONNECTED, UH, THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD, UM, WAS THAT MAYBE FROM A LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVE, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE THOSE CONNECTIONS.
AND, UM, SO MIKE AND I TALKED ABOUT DOING THAT AND, AND THAT WAS DURING ROBERT'S PRESENTATION, SO HE PROBABLY ISN'T AWARE OF THAT.
AND I WANTED TO JUMP IN AND SHARE THAT.
UH, MIKE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANTED TO ADD ANYTHING.
THE, THE COORDINATION, YOU KNOW, UH, STARTING 10 YEARS AGO WITH MR. PUENTE AND T C I AND SO FORTH, THAT HAS GONE ON FOR 10 YEARS.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF COORDINATION.
THERE'S A LOT OF JOINT PROJECTS, BUT WE GOTTA HAVE TO CONTINUE TO WORK AT IT.
'CAUSE THERE, THERE'S SOME PROJECTS THAT DON'T, THEY'RE NOT LINING UP TO BE JOINT BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT IN A BOND PROGRAM.
UH, AND, AND THE CONSENT DECREE IS MOVING.
SO WE HAVE A SEWER PROJECT AND THERE'S NO STREET PROJECT.
SO, BUT, UH, BUT TO THE CITY MANAGER'S POINT, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT PARTNERSHIP NEEDS TO CONTINUE, UH, TO GROW.
AND, AND WE JUST FINISHED, UM, ANDREA BEAMER IS HERE.
OUR, OUR VICE PRESIDENT OVER ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION.
UH, SHE AND I AND MANY OTHERS, UH, JUST DID A PARTNERING SESSION WITH TDOT.
IT WAS A HALF DAY SESSION, GOT THE TEAMS TOGETHER.
EVEN THOUGH WE WORK A LOT TOGETHER, IT'S REALLY GOOD TO GET TOGETHER AND TALK ABOUT WHAT'S WORKING, BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, WHAT'S NOT WORKING.
AND BACK TO THE DATA POINT THAT, UH, THE COUNCILMAN TRAVINO MENTIONED EARLIER TOO.
UM, MAKING SURE WE GOT THE DATA RIGHT, MAKING SURE THAT THE COORDINATION IS AS GOOD AS CAN BE.
UH, YOU KNOW, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION'S COMPLICATED.
UH, BUT WE CAN ALWAYS DO BETTER.
UH, THERE'S BEEN A BIG EFFORT TO DATE, BUT WE CAN ALWAYS DO BETTER.
SO WE'LL LOOK TO DO THAT, UH, AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR.
AND, AND DON'T GET ME WRONG, WE ARE GLAD TO HAVE AN UPGRADED SEWER SYSTEM.
IT'S, WE HAD OVERFLOWS IN, IN MY AREA TOO, SO WE'RE REALLY GLAD TO HAVE THAT.
WHAT, UM, WHAT I WANNA SHARE IS I, YOU KNOW, I THINK SOME OF THE CONSTITUENT WORK CAN BE AVOIDED IF, UH, IF WE'RE JUST CAREFUL ON THE FRONT END.
AND FOR, FOR THOSE OF US THAT ULTIMATELY WILL BE VOTING ON ANOTHER RATE INCREASE IN THE FUTURE, IT'S REALLY HARD TO JUSTIFY THAT TO THE CONSTITUENTS WHEN THEY SEE THESE PROBLEMS IN THE STREETS AND THEY'RE THE, THE ONES CALLING US ABOUT IT.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHY I WANT TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, UH, ERIC, OR I GUESS MIGHT BE A QUESTION FOR ROD.
WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COORDINATING COMMITTEE THAT WE'VE HAD? 'CAUSE C P SS ALSO SHOULD BE AT THE TABLE ALONG WITH ANY OF OUR TELECOMS. UM, BUT THAT WAS THE PURPOSE, WAS TO COORDINATE ALL THESE CAPITAL PROJECTS AHEAD OF TIME SO WE'RE NOT DIGGING MORE THAN ONCE
[03:00:06]
THE UTILITY TASK FORCE.THE MARRIAGE UTILITIES TASK FORCE, THEY JUST STARTED MEETING AGAIN EARLY FALL.
AND THAT'S A SUBJECT THAT'S COME UP THIS ISSUE OF, UM, WHEN A STREET IS OPENING UP THAT WE'RE COORDINATING BETWEEN T C I C P S, THE CITY AND THE OTHER UTILITY.
SO WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF THAT DISCUSSION AS WELL AS SHARING DATA BETWEEN ALL THREE ENTITIES IN ORDER TO BETTER COORDINATE WORK, NOT JUST BETWEEN THE CITY AND SAWS, BUT THROUGH THE OTHER ENTITIES AS WELL.
SO I KNOW, UM, DSD CITY D S D JUST SENT SOME INFORMATION ON THE MAP, SO WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF SHARING DATA AS WE SPEAK.
WELL, AND, AND AGAIN, THE PURPOSE FOR, UM, US IS TO SIMPLIFY IT, STREAMLINE IT, SAVE TAXPAYER MONEY AND, AND POTENTIALLY HEARTACHE IN TERMS OF HOW LONG A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT NEEDS TO, NEEDS TO CONTINUE.
SO, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ANDREA.
THANK YOU, ROBERT, FOR THE PRESENTATION, UH, AND TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR THE GREAT, UM, DISCUSSION.