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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 12/13/1993UTILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE Port Angeles, Washington December 13, 1993 Call to Order: Mayor Hallett called the meeting to order at 4:34 p.m. II. Roll Call: Members Present: Wight. Members Absent: Staff Present: Jim Hallett, Gary Braun, Tom Hunt, Joe Michalczik, and Richard None. J. Pomeranz, C. Knutson, C. Hagar, and B. Titus. III. Approval of Minutes: Joe Michalczik moved to approve the minutes of the November 15, 1993, meeting as written. The motion was seconded by Councihnan Braun and passed unanimously. IV. Discussion Items: A. City Light Customer Service Policy and Procedures Mayor Hallett reviewed the information provided by the Light Department. Councilman Braun asked City Light Director Titus how the general public is going to he informed of these changes. Director Titus replied that in the past the City has provided this information to the contractors, who are generally the ones affected by these changes. City Manager Pomeranz suggested printing the changes in the newsletter. Director Titus responded that it would have to be done over a period of time, as the changes are too lengthy for just one newsletter. Director Titus explained the changes to Department Policy and Procedure relating to Custom Orders, Section S-1 iA. Councilman Wight expressed concern over Section 3.1 2), City may waive equipment costs for work done for other governmental agencies. He was concerned that other agencies would expect free service all the time, and he felt the waiver of fees should be qualified. Joe Michalczik wanted to know why any agency -1- Utility Advisory Committee December 13, 1993 would have the fees waived. Director Titus cited the logging show at the County Fair, as an example, which involves a non-profit group needing help in placing poles for one of the contests. Employees perform these jobs as compensatory time, so it isn't costing the City for their time; however, they are covered by Worker's Compensation in case of an accident. The City Manager makes the determination in whether or not work for other governmental agencies is performed for free. There was further discussion on the wording of this section. Director Titus explained that this does not come up often; however, there must be consistency in the way the City deals with this issue in order to satisfy the auditor's concerns. Joe Michalczik stated that on rare occasion the mill contacts the City Light crew for an emergency, and when this happens Daishowa writes up a purchase order to cover all the charges, and the City is paid by invoices. If the mills follow the procedure listed under Custom Orders, there will be no way to bill for the emergency. He inquired if this policy was intended to also cover the mills' emergency situation. Director Titus felt there should be a standing agreement for these types of emergencies. Mr. Michalczik would like to see an agreement that holds the City harmless. Attorney Knutson suggested adding a provision stating that this section does not apply to the emergency scenario described by Mr. Michalczik and have a separate agreement for emergency work for the mills. There will be an amendment made to the policy to reference this agreement. Director Titus reviewed Policy No. S- 12A, Area Lighting. Councilman Wight questioned what the nationally recognized standards were. Director Titus stated that the Public Works Department deals with the standards, and he doesn't know whether or not they have been officially adopted. The Light Department defers to Public Works to determine whether or not a light is necessary and if so, what illumination level is required. Councilman Braun attempted to get an answer from Public Works; however, no one was available at this time to answer this question. It was the general consensus that the UAC would like information on national standards, which will be brought back to a future meeting. There was also concern over the wording of Section 3.1 regarding the City's responsibility. Attorney Knutson and Director Titus will work on qualifying statements for this section, so that the City is not obligated to put in street and yard lights in all areas so that people can be safe. Further discussion followed on changes to be made. The Committee moved on to Policy No. S-13A, Services Provided to City Government, which was reviewed by Director Titus. Tom Hunt asked Director Titus if costs have ever exceeded the $250,000 mentioned in the Policy. They have not, but they have come close. Mr. Hunt suggested an inflation factor; however, Director Titus said that the City is attempting to cap these expenses. Manager Pomeranz explained that during negotiations with the mills, one of the things that arose was street lighting costs and the impact of that on customers. The City resolved to cap the expense at $250,000 with the -2- Utility Advisory Committee December 13, 1993 general fund being responsible for the rest. This was an attempt to control this cost to the mills. Councilman Wight felt that each department should be billed for materials and labor under Policy 3.1 subsections 1) and 2). City Manager Pomeranz stated that in the past departments helped one another without any charge whatsoever. This policy is suggesting a charge for services and materials. Further discussion ensued regarding the types of work performed and costs involved. Mr. Michalczik informed the Committee that the mills had once been paying half of the allocated funds, as the cost was determined by the amount of power used. In the last negotiations held between the City and the mills, this amount was capped for street lighting expenses. Mr. Michalczik wanted to know if the City Light Charter required City Light to provide the City with lighting. City Light is a utility and charges for these services. Can the City turn around and give the City itself this lighting? The mills have paid a lot of money over the years, and it has always been factored into the power rates. He wanted to know if this was a legal transfer of money. He would like to know where City Light received the authority to take on this expenditure of $250,000, which represents about 5% to 8% of the money they spend. He does not want this to become part of the policy until the legal aspects have been reviewed. Manager Pomeranz explained that this was in the policy in an attempt to be responsive to the concerns expressed by the mills. Mr. Michalczik stated that the mills appreciated the City's attempt; however, the issue is whether this is a legal transfer of money under City Light's charter. He would like to see this resolved before this is made policy. Attorney Knutson stated that the fact that this has been done for ten years is an indication of its validity; otherwise the State Auditor's Office would have questioned it while auditing the City's books and BPA would have challenged it under the power sales contract. If he were to research this matter further, he would not expect to find any definitive statutory authority or contractual prohibition other than that the City has policy discretion in deciding how to run its light utility. Brief discussion followed. This item will not be included in the policies unless further study is done. Councihnan Braun moved that the policy on Custom Orders, as amended, be forwarded to the City Council with a recommendation for approval. Tom Hunt seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. This was the last meeting of the UAC for Mr. Hunt, Mayor Hallett and Councilman Wight. Mayor Hallett thanked Mr. Hunt for his service to the City and Councilman Braun thanked Mayor Hallett and Councilman Wight and wished them the best of luck in their retirement from the Council. -3- Utility Advisory Committee December 13, 1993 Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Utility Advisory Committee will be held on Monday, January 10, 1994, at 4:30 p.m. V. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 5:33 p.m. ~hairman ~] Deputy City~ Clerk -4-