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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 08/16/1993UTILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE Port Angeles, Washington August 16, 1993 Call to Order: Mayor Hallett called the meeting to order at 4:32 p.m. II. Roll Call: Members Present: Jim Hallett, Gary Braun, Thomas Hunt, Joe Michalczik, and Richard Wight. Members Absent: None. Staff Present: C. Knutson, C. Hagar, J. Pittis, B. Jones, B. Titus, G. Leaf, S. Hursh, and S. McLain. III. Approval of Minutes: Councilman Braun moved to approve the minutes of the July 19, 1993, meeting as written. The motion was seconded by Joe Michalczik and carried unanimously. IV. Discussion Items: A. Environmental Waste Systems Contract Environmental Waste Systems has requested that the City waive the required payment of 75% of the proceeds from the sale of collected recyclables. At the May 17th UAC meeting, the Committee requested that staff analyze the situation. It is the opinion of the City Attorney that this contract should not be modified unless the City receives value commensurate with the changes requested by EWS. Public Works Director Pittis informed the Committee that EWS picks up Christmas trees, which is not in their contract and also picks up yard debris on a weekly basis even though the contract stipulates pick up from November to April only. These two items reflect a $48,000 savings to the City. EWS also collects magazine, catalogues and telephone books, at the City's request, which are then taken to the Daishowa recycling facility. This item is not in the contract and saves the City an additional $6,420. Councilman Wight felt that EWS has been very cooperative with the City. If they are losing money due to recycling costs, the City should cooperate with them in modifying the contract to help them offset their losses. Utility Advisory Committee August 16, 1993 Mayor Hallett inquired as to whether or not EWS would continue to provide the additional services if the contract is modified to delete the payment of 75 % of proceeds from recycling. Superintendent Jones answered in the affirmative and offered to get it in writing. Councilman Braun moved that the EWS contract be modified to accept the proposal that the additional services rendered to the City are equal or greater in value than the amount received from recyclable revenues. Thomas Hunt seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. B. Discussion of Electrical Rate Options for October 1993 through September 1995 City Light Director Titus distributed a Capital Projects list for 1994 - 1996. One way to reduce the rate increase would be to eliminate or postpone capital projects to reduce the amount of expenditure. Another method is to determine how much additional reserves are available to offset the increase. This would, again, only postpone it to a future date. The Capital Projects list includes 1996 because the bond issue the City is going out for next year is a three year issue. Director Titus reviewed the list with the Committee and explained why they should not be deleted or delayed. The 4KV upgrades are part of the City's billing credits agreement with Bonneville. The PUD purchases are necessary due to the growth on the eastside, another substation is needed in this area. Pedestrian Lighting is the downtown lighting. The Morse Creek trash rock is part of the needs associated with operating the Morse Creek hydrofacility to stay in compliance with Fisheries. A discussion ensued regarding the capital projects and what they entailed. Director Titus felt these items were necessary, and could not in good conscience defer them. The Committee went on to discuss reserves and how long they would last. City Light should have a $500,000 to $1 million contingency reserve. City's reserves reflect the bottom end of the number. The weather can play a big part in depleting the reserve. Warm weather can make $300,000 of the reserve disappear quickly. Further discussion followed regarding the error in the calculation of the IT rate increase. Industry has more ability to keep the load off during system peak, thus enjoying a potentially substantial savings. The mills are content with this. Councilman Wight moved to reaffirm the previous reconunendation to the Council. Thomas Hunt seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. -2- Utility Advisory Committee August 16, 1993 C. Update on Property Search for Future City Light Operations Center Director Titus reported that the City currently owns property between the City corporation yard and the City Light pole yard. This land would be suitable for an Operations Center assuming "A" Street is vacated. Steps have been taken to vacate "A" Street, and this will go before Council at its September 7 meeting. The land is adequately zoned, and suitably sized and located. Director Titus hopes to have the covered storage built this year so materials and equipment will not have to spend another winter exposed to the elements. A brief discussion followed regarding location of the land, zoning codes, and buffer zones. No action was taken on this item. D. Discussion on Doing Work for Others Clallam County Parks has requested the use of City personnel and equipment in placing poles for the log show during the Clallam County Fair. In light of recent events, i.e. the possible audit finding by the State due to the City installing poles and nets at the golf course, Director Titus feels the City should formalize the policy regarding doing work for others. He would like to continue to provide this service to the community, but would prefer to do it with Council's approval. Director Titus pointed out that other utilities, such as PUD, get similar requests, and perform jobs for their community. A discussion followed regarding what types of jobs the City Light Department would undertake, and how these jobs would be worked into their work schedule. It was also brought up that these jobs must be performed with no cost to the rate payers. Attorney Knutson suggested that City Light prepare a written draft of the current policy and then present it to the City Council for formal approval. Councilman Wight moved to have City Light Department staff develop a written policy regarding doing work for others, which will be presented to Council for approval. Councilman Braun seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Late Item A. System Planning Study City Light is seeking permission to hire a Consultant to prepare a long range electrical system planning study. Funding for this study was included in the 1993 budget. The Consultant will prepare a long range (20 year) transmission, substation and distribution system expansion plan using the City's system model in order to reduce costs. The study -3- Utility Advisory Committee August 16, 1993 VI. will provide recommendations and cost estimates that will be used in the cost of service study, Capital Facilities Plan, budgeting and planning for new line extensions. A brief discussion followed regarding what type of knowledge is gained by this type of study, and how useful that knowledge would be. Thomas Hunt moved to reconunend to the Council that the Light Department hire a Consultant to perform the long range study. Councilman Braun seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Utility Advisory Committee will be held on Monday, September 13, 1993, at 4:30 p.m. Joe Michalczik and Thomas Hunt notified the Committee that they will be on vacation, and unable to attend the next UAC meeting. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m. Deputy City Clerk -4-