[1. Open Meeting.]
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GOOD EVENING AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.
TODAY IS THURSDAY, JANUARY 4TH, 2024, AND THE TIME IS 6:00 PM AND THIS IS THE BRIEFING WORKSHOP OF THE LEANDER CITY COUNCIL.
[2. Roll Call.]
CRABTREE.WE PLEASE CALL ROLL COUNCIL MEMBER CATHERINE BATTALION PARKER.
COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID MCDONALD HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER NICOLE THOMPSON.
PRESENT, COUNCIL MEMBER CHRIS SONICK.
HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER BECKY ROSS.
HERE, MAYOR CHRISTINE DELAL HERE.
WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER
[3. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project update]
THREE, ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT UPDATE AND KICKING OFF THE CONVERSATION.UM, TONIGHT'S WORKSHOP ON ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE IS A FOLLOW UP TO A PREVIOUS STAFF BRIEFING WE PRESENTED ON NOVEMBER 2ND OF LAST YEAR, BUT THAT WAS TWO MONTHS AGO.
UM, TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION TEAM CONSISTS OF MYSELF, GINA ELLISON, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR, CONTRACT MANAGER, KELLY WEZEL, AND, UH, EXECUTIVE FINANCE DIRECTOR ROBERT POWERS.
AS A TEAM, WE'RE GONNA PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT A MI BENEFITS AND OUTLOOK IN RESPONSE TO COUNSEL'S INITIAL FEEDBACK.
BUT OUR GOAL TONIGHT IS TO ADDRESS ANY LINGERING QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS YOU MIGHT HAVE, AS WELL AS AFFIRM YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE CITY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ISSUING A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL TO SOLICIT BIDS FOR THE A MI PROJECT.
WE ALSO WANNA REMIND YOU THAT IN MAY OF 2023, COUNCIL AUTHORIZED THE CITY TO CONTRACT WITH OUR D GROUP CONSULTANTS TO SERVE AS OUR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM FOR A MI PROCUREMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION.
SINCE REPRESENTATIVES FROM OUR D AND ATLAS TEAM ASSISTED WITH OUR MEMBER PRESENTATION, WE HAVE TOMMY AND HECTOR, UM, BEHIND ME HERE TONIGHT AS WELL TO HELP US ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AS NEEDED.
SO, TO KICK IT OFF, I'LL HAND IT OFF TO GINA.
GINA ELLISON, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR.
AS MIKE MENTIONED, UM, THERE ARE, WELL, HE DIDN'T MENTION, BUT THERE ARE THREE PRIMARY REASONS, UH, TO ADOPT A MI AND LEANDER.
THAT'S I'M GONNA COVER, UM, THE FIRST ONE, WHICH IS MEET WATER CONTRACT OBLIGATIONS.
BUT WE ALSO, UM, WILL UTILIZE IT TO IMPROVE OUR WATER SYSTEM MANAGEMENT AND IMPROVE WATER CONSERVATION.
SO, UH, WE HAVE NUMEROUS CONTRACTS, UM, THE BIGGEST ONE BEING THAT WITH LCRA WHERE WE GET OUR RAW WATER IN LAKE TRAVIS.
SO IF YOU REMEMBER IN APRIL OF LAST YEAR, WE UP UPGRADED UP ADDED ADDITIONAL ACRE FOOT, UH, FOOTAGE FROM, UH, 24,000 TO 31,000 ACRE FEET.
SO THIS IS A, A LONG TERM 50 YEAR CONTRACT.
WE ALSO HAVE OUR, UM, B-C-R-U-A CONTRACT WHERE WE CURRENTLY RECEIVE 15 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY.
UM, BUT WITHIN THAT CONTRACT, WE HAVE A MAXIMUM PEAK FLOW OF F I'M SORRY, 10,000, UH, 500 GALLONS PER MINUTE.
UM, WE HAVE SEVERAL WHOLESALE CONTRACTS AS WELL.
UM, LIBERTY HILL IS A LONG CONTRACT.
IT'S A 40 YEAR CONTRACT THAT EXPIRES IN 2053.
IT ALSO HAS A GALLONS PER MINUTE, UH, MAX PEAK FLOW.
AND THEN, UH, A LESSER, UH, SHORTER TERM CONTRACT IS WITH GEORGETOWN FOR SEVEN YEARS, EXPIRING IN 2029, UH, FOR 3 MILLION GALLONS A DAY.
AND THEN KIND OF THE LESSER KNOWN ONE IS JONESTOWN.
UH, WE CURRENTLY ONLY HAVE ONE CONNECTION.
IT'S A SCHOOL, IT'S REAL SMALL, BUT THAT CONTRACT IS ALSO FOUR YEARS, UM, FOR 2000 LUE PER YEAR EXPIRING IN 2055.
SO OUR SYSTEM IS GROWING TO MEET AND UTILIZE, UM, THAT WATER FROM LCRA AND THE RAW WATER FROM THE LAKE.
SO CURRENTLY WE'RE AT ABOUT 25 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY, UH, TREATMENT CAPACITY, BUT WE HAVE MANY IMPROVEMENTS AND EXPANSIONS GOING ON.
SO, UM, WE HAVE THE SANDY CREEK, SORRY, IMPROVEMENT WHERE WE'RE DOING THE SLUDGE PROCESSING TO ADD ANOTHER 2 MILLION GALLONS, UM, OF TREATMENT CAPACITY CAPABILITY TO THAT PLANT.
UM, WE HAVE NUMEROUS, UM, B-C-R-U-A EXPANSIONS THAT WILL ULTIMATELY GET LEANDER 50 MILLION GALLONS A DAY.
UH, I MENTIONED ON THE LAST SLIDE THAT THE B-C-R-U-A CONTRACT, UM, STIPULATES THAT WE ARE REFRAMED TO THAT 10,528 GALLONS PER MINUTE, AND EACH DELIVERY POINT SHOULD, UM, BE DESIGNED TO THAT CAPABILITY.
SO THERE'S A, UH, CURRENT PROJECT THAT'S KICKED OFF THAT, UM, IS UPGRADING AND UPDATING A LOT OF THE CONTROL VALVES WITH LEANDER CEDAR PARK AND ROUND ROCK.
PHASE ONE WILL HAVE, UM, PART OF OUR ROUND ROCK DELIVERY POINT UPGRADED, AS WELL AS, I'M SORRY, RONALD REAGAN DELIVERY POINT, AS WELL AS ROUND ROCK'S DELIVERY POINT.
AND THAT IS TO BE COMPLETED IN THE SUMMER OF 24.
AND THEN THE REMAINING UPGRADES TO THE REST OF LEANERS CEDAR PARKS, UH, WILL BE DONE IN PHASE TWO.
THAT WILL BE DONE BEFORE THE SUMMER OF 25.
SO, A MI WILL HELP US, UM, IDENTIFY IN REAL TIME USAGE, HIGH USAGE WATER,
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MAIN BREAKS, ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THAT WILL BEST HELP US MEET THOSE, UM, B-C-R-U-A CONTRACT AS WELL AS OUR WHOLESALE CONTRACT, UH, OBLIGATIONS.AND THEN I'M GONNA PASS IT OFF TO MIKE, WHO'S GONNA KEEP GOING AND EXPLAIN SOME MORE ABOUT A MI.
I KNOW WE'VE COVERED THIS A FEW TIMES WITH COUNSEL, BUT IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO, TO REFRESH, UM, AND TALK ABOUT WHAT A MI IS.
UM, FOR US AND FOR ANYBODY WITH AN A MI SYSTEM.
UM, THIS TECHNOLOGY IS APPLIED TO THE WATER METER AT, AT THE END USER, UH, OUR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL END USERS, TYPICALLY ON THE WATER METER, THAT DATA IS ENCRYPTED, IT'S PASSED ON TO US AND SIMULTANEOUSLY PASSED ON THROUGH, UH, A CUSTOMER PORTAL, WHICH IS WHAT WE INTEND TO DO WITH THIS A MI PROJECT.
MAKE A CUSTOMER PORTAL AVAILABLE TO EACH CUSTOMER SO THAT THEY TOO, LIKE US, CAN SEE THE, THE WATER DATA THAT'S PASSED THROUGH A MI TECHNOLOGY, UM, IN A LOT OF WAYS, THIS, THIS CAN COLLECT, UM, BY THE MINUTE, BY THE HOUR.
AND TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF HOW REALLY IMPORTANT THAT IS, AS FAR AS DATA COLLECTION, WE'RE GONNA GET INTO SOME OF THE BENEFITS IN A LITTLE BIT, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE COLLECTING 12 DATA POINTS PER USER.
WE'RE GOING BY CHECKING A METER ONCE A MONTH, 12 DATA POINTS EVERY YEAR WITH A MI TECHNOLOGY.
HAVING THIS AUTOMATED, HAVING THIS STRUCTURED, UH, IN A WAY THAT THAT BENEFITS OUR SYSTEM.
WE COULD GET UP TO 8,700 DATA POINTS PER USER.
THAT GIVES US A LOT OF, UM, DATA TO WORK WITH TO MAKE, UH, PLANNING DECISIONS WITH, TO MAKE STRATEGIC DECISIONS WITH IN REAL TIME.
SO IT IS AN ABSOLUTE GAME CHANGER IN HOW WE CAN MANAGE OUR SYSTEM AND WHAT WE CAN DO WITH IT.
UM, AND YOU SEE THERE, AS OF SEPTEMBER, 2021, I'M SURE THIS NUMBER'S HIGHER NOW, BUT 68% OF UTILITIES HAVE A MI INSTALLED OR PLANNED.
SO FOR WATER UTILITIES IN PARTICULAR, BECAUSE ELECTRIC UTILITIES LIKE PERELLIS ELECTRIC HAVE IMPLEMENTED A MI ALREADY, MANY OF THEM HAVE.
BUT FOR WATER, WHAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT, THIS CAME FROM AN EPA, UM, UH, BOOKLET THAT KIND OF TALKED IN, IN BREADTH ABOUT A MI BENEFITS TYPICALLY.
UM, AND SOME OF THESE DON'T NECESSARILY APPLY TO US, BUT THEY WOULD APPLY OVER TIME.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE WATER LOSS, UM, NON-REVENUE, WATER LOSS FROM LEAKS IN OUR SYSTEM AND RESIDENTS INDIVIDUALLY FROM LEAKS IN THEIR SYSTEM THAT THEY MAY NOT BE AWARE OF OVER TIME.
THEY MAY COME TO KNOW, AND I'M, I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE SHARED SOME ANECDOTES ABOUT CUSTOMERS WHO SEE THAT SPIKE IN THEIR WATER BILL AND THEN GO BACK AND LOOK.
THEY'VE HAD A LEAK FOR ABOUT 30 DAYS.
UM, THIS COULD SHORTEN THAT TIMEFRAME TO A MATTER OF 24 HOURS.
UM, EVEN FOR US, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S LEAKS THAT WE CAN DISCOVER AND, AND MITIGATE, UH, BEFORE IT BECOMES A REAL DISASTER, UM, AGING INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, IN CERTAIN AREAS OF OUR CITY.
YES, THIS COULD BE AN ISSUE BY AND LARGE.
UM, A LOT OF OLDER CITIES MAY HAVE THIS AS MORE OF A PRIORITY FOR INSTALLING A MI.
FOR US, IT'S SOMEWHAT OF AN ISSUE PROBABLY IN OUR, UM, COUNTY GLEN HERNANDEZ LOOP, SOME OF THOSE AREAS THAT, UH, ARE GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE SOME OF THAT INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS TO CHANGE.
IF WE HAVE THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL CERTAINLY, UH, ALLOW US TO IDENTIFY WHERE THESE LEAKS WERE COMING FROM A LITTLE BIT FASTER, GROWING CONCERNS ABOUT SCARCITY.
UM, WE WILL COVER IT A LITTLE BIT, THE, THE STATEWIDE CONCERN, BUT CERTAINLY YOU'RE AWARE OF, UH, OUR ISSUES AND THE COMPETITION FOR WATER AT LAKE TRAVIS AND, AND THESE OTHER SOURCES OF WATER AROUND THE STATE.
UM, WATER MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES, UM, WE WILL COVER AS A MAIN POINT FOR US MANAGING OUR WATER SYSTEM.
THE DATA THAT WE'LL COLLECT WILL ABSOLUTELY HELP US MAKE QUICKER, FASTER, MORE EFFICIENT DECISIONS.
UM, WATER LEAKAGE AND PRESSURE, WE DID TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT GREATER BILL ACCURACY AND IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE.
AND IT'S NOT JUST WITHIN THE CUSTOMER POOL.
IT'S ALLOWING OUR STAFF TO TAKE PROACTIVE MEASURES TO ENGAGE OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, ON WATER DATA.
AND THEN OF COURSE, LEVERAGING, UH, A MI SYSTEM BENEFITS ALREADY IN PLACE.
A LOT OF THIS IS, IS SORT OF STARTING FROM SCRATCH.
WE DO HAVE A MR, UM, BUT THIS IS AN ENTIRELY NEW SYSTEM.
SO, MOVING ON A LITTLE BIT, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE ASKED OURSELVES WAS, OKAY, WHAT, WHAT ARE OUR PEER CITIES DOING? IT'S ALWAYS A QUESTION THAT, THAT COMES UP.
AND SOME OF OUR PEER CITIES ARE AHEAD OF US IN THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE.
OTHERS ARE A LITTLE BIT BEHIND.
SO THIS GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF OUR PEER CITIES WHO DO HAVE THIS TECHNOLOGY WITHIN THEIR SYSTEM AND ARE USING IT.
CERTAINLY BOTH OUR BCRA PARTNERS ARE USING THIS.
UM, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BENEFICIAL.
IT IS THE FUTURE, UM, OF WATER SYSTEM MANAGEMENT AND, AND A MI DOES TAKE US THERE.
SO WHAT DO WE HAVE NOW? WE HAVE A COMBINATION OF MANUAL AND A MR METERS, AUTOMATED METER READING, IT'S RADIO SIGNAL.
WE CAPTURE THAT DATA BY PROXIMITY TO THE METERS.
UM, WE DO DIGITAL DRIVE-BYS AND OUR MANUAL METERS.
WE HAVE TO GO FLIP OPEN THE LID, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE PERSON BY PERSON.
UH, WE HAVE TECH TEAMS THAT DO THAT.
UH, THAT DOES TAKE TIME AND TO COVER THE WHOLE CITY.
WE'RE ONLY ABLE TO COLLECT WATER DATA MONTHLY.
WE'RE NOT ABLE TO GO EVERY DAY TO LOOK AT EVERYONE'S METER.
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INSANE.UM, AND AGAIN, MANUAL DATA FOR SOME OF OUR METERS IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, THAT'S, THAT DOES TAKE MORE TIME AND MORE, UH, PERSONNEL.
THE NEW TECHNOLOGY DANCE FOR DATA TRANSFER IS AUTOMATIC.
IT COMES STRAIGHT INTO OUR SYSTEMS AND WE CAN START ANALYZING IT RIGHT AWAY.
UM, IT'S AVAILABLE POTENTIALLY IN MINUTES, DEPENDING ON WHAT SYSTEM WE COULD BE COLLECTING PER HOUR, PER 15 MINUTE SEGMENTS.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING WE ANTICIPATE BIDDERS, UH, WITH OUR SOLICITATION, THEY'LL PROVIDE TO US AND GIVE US AN IDEA OF HOW OFTEN WE COULD COLLECT BASED ON THE TECHNOLOGY THEY PROPOSE.
AND THEN THE OTHER MAJOR BENEFIT IS THAT CUSTOMERS CAN SEE THAT DATA IN REAL TIME ALONG WITH US WHEN WE'RE ENGAGING THEM ON ANY BILL DISPUTES OR TALKING ABOUT WATER CONSUMPTION.
THEY'RE ABLE TO LOOK AT THAT THROUGH THEIR PORTAL IF THEY'RE ACCESSING IT, UH, ALONG WITH US.
SO I WANNA FOCUS ON THIS FOR A MINUTE.
UM, AND WE'VE, WE'VE TWEAKED THIS A FEW TIMES.
THERE'S SO MANY BENEFITS, UM, TO A MI WE DIDN'T WANNA OVERWHELM YOU WITH, WITH ALL THE BULLET POINTS OF POTENTIAL BENEFITS.
WE JUST KIND OF WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT SOME HEADLINES HERE.
UH, MOST IMPORTANTLY, AND THIS COVERS PRETTY MUCH EVERY CATEGORY, DATA IN REAL TIME.
AND WHAT THAT DOES TO HELP US BECOME MORE EFFICIENT, NOT ONLY, UM, IN MANAGING OUR SYSTEM, REDUCING LEAKS, REPAIRING LEAKS, BUT ENGAGING THE CUSTOMER, BEING ABLE TO ADDRESS ISSUES AND SPOT FLAGS AND, AND DISCUSS WITH THEM ABOUT WATER CONSUMPTION AND HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THEIR BILL, POTENTIALLY REDUCE THEIR BILL, UM, AND JUST MANAGE THEIR WATER IN GENERAL.
THE, THE KIND OF REPORTS WE GET WILL HELP US IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE IN HOW WE MANAGE OUR SYSTEM.
AND THEN SOME OTHER BENEFITS, UH, WE CAN, I CREATE SOME FLAGS WITHIN OUR SYSTEM.
THIS, THESE ARE AUTOMATED FEATURES, UH, OF A MI TECHNOLOGY WHERE WE CAN IDENTIFY POTENTIAL TAMPERING.
IF WE SEE PRESSURE DROPS OR LITTLE BLIPS IN PRESSURE WITHIN CERTAIN SYSTEMS THAT WE'RE MEASURING, THAT CAN BE A SIGN OF TAMPERING AND WE CAN GO OUT AND CENTIMETER TECH OUT TO ADDRESS THOSE.
TYPICALLY, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO LOOK AT THOSE BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR DATA HOLISTICALLY IN 30 MONTH OR 30 DAY TIMEFRAMES.
UM, SO THAT'S A, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A HUGE, UH, BENEFIT.
WE DON'T REALLY KNOW THE SCOPE OF THAT BENEFIT UNTIL WE IMPLEMENT THE TECHNOLOGY, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT OTHER CITIES HAVE REPORTED SAYING THAT THAT'S A, A BIG PLUS ONCE THEY'VE IMPLEMENTED THE SYSTEM.
UM, CUSTOMER SERVICE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT HERE, TRANSPARENCY.
CUSTOMERS BEING ABLE TO SEE THEIR WATER USE, SEEING THE SAME DATA THAT WE SEE, AND BEING ABLE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION, CONVERSATION WITH THEM ABOUT THAT.
PARTICULARLY ADDRESSING LEAKS.
UM, WHEN THEY SEE SPIKES, AND WE'LL GET TO THIS IN A MINUTE, UM, WE'RE ABLE, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME ALERTS, SOME NOTIFICATIONS THAT WHEN THEY HIT A CERTAIN THRESHOLD OR AMOUNT, WE CAN SET SOME FORMULAS THAT SENDS AUTOMATIC RESPONSES TO THEM THROUGH THAT PORTAL, ALLOWS THEM AT ANY TIME TO ACCESS THAT INFORMATION.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE, UM, ACCESSED YOUR PEC UH, CUSTOMER PORTAL BEFORE, BUT, UH, VERY SIMILAR FEATURES.
UH, WITH PEC, IT MAY NOT BE SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD DO IN PARALLEL NECESSARILY.
WE'VE STILL GOTTA WAIT FOR BIDS TO COME IN AND SEE WHAT THE SOLUTIONS ARE THAT ARE BEING OFFERED.
BUT THERE'S, THERE'S SO MANY, UH, POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO IT.
AND CERTAINLY THINGS THAT IF WE DON'T HAVE ALL OF THE BELLS AND WHISTLES, UH, INITIALLY, WE CAN BUILD ON THAT KIND OF PLATFORM.
UH, WITH, WITH OUR CUSTOMER BASE, AS IT CONTINUES TO GROW, UH, FOR OUR EMPLOYEES, IT HELPS US RAISE EFFICIENCY.
UH, WE CAN REDUCE DEPLOYMENT OF VEHICLES.
WE DON'T HAVE TO GO HOUSE BY HOUSE TO DO THESE MEASUREMENTS.
WE CAN ACTUALLY REDIRECT OUR, OUR FOLKS TO ADDRESS LEAKS, UH, RESPOND TO CUSTOMERS AND DO SOME OF THAT WORK THAT RAISES THAT CUSTOMER SERVICE LEVEL JUST A LITTLE BIT.
AND THEN SUSTAINABILITY, UH, IN GENERAL, IF WE'RE NOT SENDING VEHICLES ON THE ROAD, WE'RE REDUCING THAT FUEL CONSUMPTION AND EMISSIONS.
UH, OVERALL, A MI THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT IS TO ENCOURAGE WATER CONSERVATION.
WE WILL HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THOSE FEATURES AS WELL.
AND, UH, JUST HAS SO MANY BENEFITS.
AND, AND SOME OF THESE ARE JUST A TOUCH POINT FOR THAT.
UM, DATA TRENDS AND OUTLIERS AS FAR AS WATER SYSTEM MANAGEMENT, AGAIN, UM, I HAD MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, AND ON THE RIGHT YOU CAN SEE WHAT A CUSTOMER MIGHT SEE ABOUT, UH, WATER USE.
THEY GET AN ALERT THAT SAYS, UM, THEY SHOULD INVESTIGATE A POSSIBLE LEAK BECAUSE THAT SPIKE IN USAGE HAS, UH, GENERATED THE SYSTEM TO RESPOND BACK TO THEM.
THAT MAY JUST BE IRRIGATION COMING ON FOR THE FIRST TIME.
IT COULD MEAN SOME OTHER THINGS THAT MAYBE THE CUSTOMER'S AWARE OF.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT OUR SYSTEM WOULD LOOK LIKE.
WE MIGHT GET SIMILAR ALERTS OR FLAGS IF THIS WERE SOMETHING RELATED TO SOMETHING WITHIN OUR SYSTEM, UH, MAYBE SOMETHING WE'RE MEASURING FROM A FIRE HY OR ANOTHER POINT IN OUR LINE THAT'S METERED.
UM, THESE KIND OF OUTLIERS, UH, ALLOW US TO FIX LEAKS AND HELP US BE EFFICIENT WITH OUR SYSTEM.
IT'S A, IT'S HARD TO QUANTIFY THAT.
I KNOW, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER PARKER, YOU HAD MENTIONED ABOUT NEEDING TO MAYBE QUANTIFY, PUT THIS IN DOLLARS AND FIGURES.
WE WON'T KNOW THAT UNTIL THE SYSTEM'S
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IN PLACE, BUT WE CAN TELL YOU THAT OTHER CITIES HAVE BENEFITED FROM THE TECHNOLOGY AND BEEN ABLE TO, UH, RECOVER POTENTIAL LOSSES FROM THAT, UH, BENEFIT PROACTIVE NOTIFICATIONS.UM, WHAT YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT THERE IS A, IS AN AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED ALERT LETTER FROM CITY OF FORT WORTH WHO HAS A MI, UM, REPORTING TO CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE SHOWN CONTINUOUS HOURS OF USE AND HIGH USAGE.
UM, AGAIN, NOT, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR SYSTEM WOULD NECESSARILY MIMIC IN THE WAY THAT FORT WORTH HAS, BUT PROACTIVE NOTIFICATIONS IS ABSOLUTELY A CUSTOMER SERVICE BENEFIT THAT I THINK IMPLEMENTING AN A I SYSTEM WOULD ALLOW US TO DO.
UM, IF IT AUTOMATES THOSE NOTIFICATIONS ON A BROAD SCALE FOR THE DIFFERENT FLAGS THAT WE MIGHT SET WITHIN THE SYSTEM, EVEN BETTER, BECAUSE THEN WE'RE ENGAGING THE CUSTOMERS, UM, BY THE DAY, POTENTIALLY BY THE MINUTE ON THEIR USAGE WITHOUT, UM, PICKING UP THE PHONE OR, OR PUTTING THEM ON HOLD OR DELAYING BY EMAIL EXCHANGE.
UM, THAT KIND OF AUTOMATION WILL SAVE TIME FOR US AND THE CUSTOMER.
UM, AND YOU SEE THERE SOME OF THE BILLING OPERATIONS THAT, UM, OTHER CITIES HAVE RELATED AS, AS BENEFITS WITH A MI, UM, REDUCING THOSE QUERIES AND COMPLAINTS.
CUSTOMERS CAN SEE THEIR USAGE.
THEY CAN SORT OF SELF-IDENTIFY, UH, AS TO WHAT THE ISSUE MIGHT BE SHORT OF CALLING US AND, AND TALKING TO US ABOUT IT.
UM, SOME OF THESE THINGS, IF WE DO GENERATE ALERTS OR LETTERS ABOUT CONTINUOUS OR HIGH USAGE, WE CAN INCLUDE WATER TIPS AND INFORMATION, THINGS WE WOULD TYPICALLY TELL CUSTOMERS OVER THE PHONE, UM, THAT CAN BE AUTOMATED.
OUR, UH, UTILITY BILLING TEAM SPENDS ON SOME OF THESE, UH, ISSUES AND ADJUSTMENTS AND DISPUTES.
HOPEFULLY IT PUTS THAT, UH, INFORMATION IN THE CUSTOMER'S HANDS.
AND IF NOT, EVEN IF CUSTOMERS DON'T OPT INTO A PLATFORM, WE'RE STILL ABLE TO SEE THAT DATA.
IF THEY STILL SAY, I DON'T WANNA MESS WITH ONLINE PLATFORM.
WE'RE STILL ABLE TO SEE THIS DATA.
IT'S A HUGE BENEFIT TO OUR STAFF TO, TO SEE THAT DATA IN REAL TIME.
AND THEN WE CAN HELP THE CUSTOMER, UM, MAKE DECISIONS EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT USING THE PLATFORM.
JUMPING INTO WATER CONSERVATION, UM, IMPROVING CONSERVATION IN GENERAL.
THIS IS, THIS IS A LONG RANGE GOAL OF OURS.
UM, SHORT RANGE, ABSOLUTELY, BUT LONG RANGE AS WELL.
THE STATE WATER PLAN, THIS ACTUALLY GOES OUT TO THIS GRAPHIC, GOES OUT TO ALL THE WAY TO 2070, BUT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE IT WAS THE RIGHT SIZE TO BE ABLE TO READ ON THIS SLIDE.
BUT IT DOES GET HARDER AND HARDER AND HARDER EVERY DECADE.
AND THE, THE STATE'S DOING ITS OWN PLANNING TO TRY AND FIGURE OUT NEW WATER SOURCES OR HOW TO INCREASE WATER SOURCES, UH, FROM ITS EXISTING SUPPLY.
UM, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING EVERY CITY IN TEXAS IS, IS VERY MINDFUL OF AND IS MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR.
I KNOW WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO YOU GUYS, UH, OCCASIONALLY TO LOOK AT AND EXPLORE OTHER OPTIONS AS WE DO.
UM, CERTAINLY WORKING WITH OTHER CITIES AND REGIONAL PARTNERS ON SOLUTIONS.
BUT, UM, IN TERMS OF A MI, IT IS A, IT IS ANOTHER TOOL IN OUR TOOLBOX THAT WE CAN USE TO ENCOURAGE CONSERVATION, REDUCE THAT DEMAND THAT IN A, IN AN INDIRECT WAY, GIVES US MORE SUPPLY TO WORK WITH.
UM, HERE'S A CHART THAT COMES FROM OUR WATER PROJECTION TABLE, UH, FROM OUR WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN.
UM, YOU'VE SEEN A, A VERSION OR TWO OF THIS, UH, OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WHAT WE'RE SHOWING YOU THOSE, THOSE GREEN PEAK DAYS COME FROM OUR WATER PROJECTIONS.
THAT'S REALLY MEANT TO REFLECT, UM, WHAT WATER DEMAND WOULD LOOK LIKE WITHOUT ANY RESTRAINT.
UM, IF FOLKS ARE USING AT THE, THE HIGHEST LEVEL, 750 GALLONS PER DAY DEMAND, THAT'S WHERE WE WOULD BE, UM, HITTING WITHIN OUR WATER SYSTEM.
AND OBVIOUSLY BREAKING THAT, UH, CAPACITY IN A VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME WITH THE CONTROLS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE WITH OUR ORDINANCE UPDATES, WITH OUR CONSERVATION MEASURES AND ACTIONS WITH BILL TEETER'S, TIRELESS WORK AND, UM, COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATIONS OF STRATEGIC GROWTH.
YOU'RE SEEING OUR ACTUALS FALL A DECENT AMOUNT BELOW THAT.
UM, WE PLAN TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
AGAIN, A MI IS IS ANOTHER, UH, TOOL IN THAT TOOLBOX TO HELP US, UM, GET INTO A POSITION THAT PUTS US IN A STRONGER, UH, A STRONGER POSITION FOR WATER, BUT GIVES US MORE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FUTURE.
WHAT YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT IS A EXAMPLE OF A, WHAT THE CUSTOMER WOULD SEE WHEN THEY PULL UP THEIR WATER USAGE.
UM, QUITE SIMPLY, IT CAN INCLUDE, UH, GENERAL MESSAGES.
UM, LET'S SEE OVER HERE, GENERAL MESSAGES FROM THE CITY, SOME ALERTS OR MESSAGES THEY MAY HAVE RECEIVED BECAUSE OF HIGH USAGE DAYS.
AND THEN JUST SEE A TREND LINE ALLOWS THEM TO REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW THEY'RE USING THE DATA.
AND IT'S, OF COURSE, COMPATIBLE WITH DIFFERENT DEVICES.
SO IF THEY WANTED TO DO THAT FROM THEIR PHONE REMOTELY, THEY COULD DO THAT AS WELL.
UM, AGAIN, NOTIFICATION LEAKS, RECAPTURING WATER
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LOSS.THAT'S, THAT'S NOT ONLY A MONEY SAVER, IT'S A SUPPLY SAVER.
UM, ADHERING TO LOCAL GUIDELINES, IT'S NOT SOMETHING, UM, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, BUT THE NOTIFICATIONS AND THE ALERTS CAN ALWAYS INCLUDE MENTIONS OF CURRENT WATERING DAYS AND REFERENCES TO OUR ORDINANCE AND, AND REMINDING THEM OF OUR RULES.
AND THEN OUR EFFORTS FOR CUSTOMER SUPPORT IS BIG.
EVEN IF THE CUSTOMER DOESN'T USE THE PORTAL THAT WE MAKE AVAILABLE TO THEM, WE HAVE ACCESS TO A WEALTH OF DATA THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE BEFORE.
AND THAT'S GONNA BENEFIT OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAMS AS FAR AS COMMUNICATIONS, UM, ONE THING WE'RE, WE WILL BE WORKING ON AS PART OF THIS PROJECT WITH OUR IS, UH, FINALIZING A COMMUNICATION PLAN FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A MI.
THIS IS A LIST OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WOULD BE PART OF THAT PLAN.
UM, OF COURSE WE WOULD DO EVERYTHING DIGITAL, BUT, UH, GETTING IN FRONT OF PEOPLE'S, UH, FRONT PORCH IS ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE FOLKS IN THEIR METER BOX ON THEIR PROPERTY.
SO THE PAPER ASPECT OF THIS IS, IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS I THINK, UM, MAYBE EMAILS AND WEBSITE UPDATES AND, UH, RSS FEEDS THAT WE WOULD, WE WOULD DO ANYWAY, SOCIAL MEDIA AS WELL.
SO, UM, AT EVERY PHASE OF THE PROJECT, WE WOULD HAVE SOME SORT OF COMMUNICATION TO CUSTOMERS, WITH CUSTOMERS AND BE, UH, RESPONSIVE FROM AN FAQ STANDPOINT WITH OUR, UH, UTILITY BILLING STAFF.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA HAND OFF TO KELLY WENZEL FOR SOLICITATION.
KELLY WENZEL CONTRACT MANAGER.
SO WE'RE JUST GONNA KIND OF GO OVER WHAT THE TIMELINE FOR THE SOLICITATION COULD POTENTIALLY LOOK LIKE.
AND THIS IS JUST ANTICIPATED TIMELINE.
OF COURSE, THERE ARE OTHER OUTSIDE FACTORS THAT COULD AFFECT THIS, BUT WE ARE HOPING THAT WE CAN RELEASE THIS TO THE PUBLIC IN JANUARY AND GET THE RESPONSES BACK IN FEBRUARY.
THE EVALUATION PROCESS, DEPENDING IF WE DO A BEST AND FINAL OFFER OR INTERVIEWS, UH, COULD POTENTIALLY TAKE, UH, MARCH AND APRIL, AND THEN THE NEGOTIATION FOR THE CONTRACT APRIL AND MAY, AND EXPECT TO TAKE THIS SOLICITATION BACK TO Y'ALL FOR CONSIDERATION.
AND THIS IS THE EVALUATION CRITERIA THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO PUT IN THE SOLICITATION, AND IT KIND OF FOLLOWS THE, THAT THE, UH, REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL IS GONNA BE, UM, OUTLINED.
SO HITTING ALL OF THE MAJOR CATEGORIES THAT ARE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION ON SELECTING THE MOST APPROPRIATE VENDOR FOR THIS TASK.
SO WE HAVE THE TECHNICAL SCORE, WHICH IS GOING TO BE COMPRISED AGAIN, OF THE CATEGORIES, BUT ALSO THE VENDOR EXPERIENCE, AND IF THEY MET THE MINI MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS THAT WE'VE OUTLINED AND THEIR REFERENCES.
BUT THE THING TO NOTE IS WE'LL BE TAKING THE TECHNICAL SCORE AND THE TOTAL LIFECYCLE COST.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE UPFRONT, UH, COST FOR INTEGRATING A MI, AND THEN ALSO THE OVERALL OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COST FOR THE PROJECT LONG TERM, WHICH WE WILL RESULT IN THE, UH, BEST VALUE.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UM, MY PORTION OF THIS PRESENTATION IS, UH, GOING TO COVER, UM, CAN WE AFFORD THIS PROJECT? UM, BUT, UM, WHEN THAT QUESTION IS USUALLY ASKED, THERE'S REALLY TWO QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW IS, UM, HOW WILL WE PAY FOR IT AND WILL THAT CAUSE IT, UH, AN INCREASE IN, IN RATES.
UH, BUT THE OTHER QUESTION, UH, THAT FOLLOWS FROM THE BIGGER QUESTION IS, IF WE DO THIS PROJECT, DOES IT PUSH ANOTHER PROJECT, UM, DOWN THE ROAD OR, OR OFF THE TABLE ALTOGETHER? SO, UH, WE'RE GONNA ADDRESS, UH, BOTH OF THOSE, UH, QUESTIONS.
I, I DO WANT TO INTRODUCE, UM, CHRIS ALLEN.
CHRIS IS OUR, THE CITY'S FINANCIAL ADVISOR.
HE'S WITH RBC CAPITAL MARKETS.
CHRIS HAS BEEN OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR SINCE 2009.
AND SO I'M GONNA KIND OF OPEN IT, AND THEN WHEN IT GETS HARD, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO CHRIS.
BUT, UM, SO BEFORE WE GET INTO THE, UM, HOW WE PAY FOR IT AND, AND THAT
[00:25:01]
WANTED TO LOOK AT THE CITY'S IMMEDIATE UTILITY, UH, DEBT PICTURE.SO WHAT WE, WE DID IS OBVIOUSLY WE'RE TALKING THIS EVENING ABOUT THE A MI PROJECT, UM, BUT WE ALSO LOOKED AT, UH, CRITICAL UTILITY PROJECTS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN AND ARE, UM, ALSO EXPECTED IN THE NEXT TWO TO THREE YEARS.
UM, GENERALLY I DON'T DO WELL WITH COLORS, BUT THESE COLORS ACTUALLY DO MATTER, UH, WHEN WE GET TO THE, TO THE NEXT, UH, SLIDE.
BUT, UM, ON THE A MI PROJECT, WE HAVE A PRELIMINARY ESTIMATE FROM, FROM THE ENGINEERS AND OUR CONSULTANTS THAT SAID, UM, POTENTIALLY IT COULD BE AS MUCH AS $15 MILLION.
UH, I WOULD DEFER TO THEM IN TERMS OF, OF, OF HOW, UM, SOFT OR HARD THAT ESTIMATE IS.
BUT THAT'S WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF THIS, UM, UH, DEBT OUTLOOK.
AS YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE FEDERAL FUNDS FROM THE ARPA ACT THAT WE RECEIVED, UM, LAST YEAR.
UH, WE HAVE MORE THAN $5 MILLION PUT ROUNDING FOR $5 MILLION.
SO TO BORROW THE FUNDS FOR THIS PROJECT, WE WOULD NEED TO BORROW $10 MILLION.
UM, B-C-R-U-A, UH, THE FIRST BULLET IN YELLOW, THE PHASE TWO SYSTEM EXPANSION, THAT $40 MILLION IS PLANNED TO, UH, BE, UM, ISSUED IN NOVEMBER OF THIS YEAR.
YOU MAY RECALL THAT THIS CITY IS OBLIGATED FOR $120 MILLION OF THAT PROJECT, AND WE'VE TAKEN OUT TWO TRANCHES FROM THE WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD OF 80 MILLION.
UM, AND WE'RE TAKING THE THIRD AND FINAL, UH, IN NOVEMBER, UH, OF THIS, UH, COMING YEAR.
SO THAT'S, WE'RE COMMITTED TO THAT ONE.
WE KNOW, WE KNOW THAT ONE IS, IS ON THE BOOKS.
UM, PHASE TWO A CONSTRUCTION, THAT'S THE NEXT, UH, EXPANSION OF THE TREATMENT CAPACITY.
IT'S NOT BEEN, UM, APPROVED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH CONSTRUCTION.
THAT WOULD BE A-A-A-A-B-C-R-U-A BOARD AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER CITIES, UH, UH, DECISION.
BUT FOR A LOT OF REASONS IN TERMS OF PRODUCTION CAPACITY, THAT IS AN IMPORTANT PROJECT THAT IF THERE ARE NO DELAYS, THE DESIGN, UH, WILL BE FINISHED, UH, EARLY NEXT YEAR.
AND, UH, BIDS COULD BE TAKEN, UH, IN FY 25.
THE ESTIMATE AT THIS POINT ON THE CITY OF LEANER SHARE OF THAT PROJECT, WHICH WOULD BE SHARED WITH ROUND ROCK CEDAR PARK, IS NOT A PART OF THAT PARTICULAR PHASE.
OUR ESTIMATE WOULD BE $25 MILLION FOR THAT PROJECT.
TWO OTHER, UH, CITY PROJECTS THAT ARE CRITICAL AND, AND N-R-C-I-P AND, UH, IN THE NEXT, UM, TWO TO THREE YEARS.
ONE IS THE BAGHDAD PERMANENCE, UH, BAGHDAD, TERMINUS PUMP STATION.
IT ALSO INCLUDES SOME GROUND STORAGE.
UM, AND I WOULD, AGAIN, DEFER TO GINA ON, UH, UH, THE EXPAND, UH, EXPLANATION OF THE, THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT PROJECT.
BUT THAT IS CURRENTLY UNDER DESIGN.
AND WOULD, THE DESIGN WILL BE FINISHED THIS FISCAL YEAR THAT WE'RE IN.
AND SO, UH, IF WE HAD THE, THE FUNDS, WE, WE DO HAVE SOME MONEY BUDGETED, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO COVER THE CURRENT, UH, CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATE.
IF WE HAD THE ADDITIONAL $10 MILLION, WE COULD, UM, LET THAT PROJECT, UH, START, UH, THIS YEAR.
THE, THE LAST PROJECT ON THE LIST, THE RONALD REAGAN PUMP STATION, AGAIN, THAT ALSO INCLUDES SOME GROUND STORAGE, WHICH IS CRITICAL TO THE MANAGING THE CONTRACT WITH THE B-C-R-U-A IN TERMS OF, UH, UH, HOURLY AND, AND, AND DAILY, UH, LIMITS.
THAT IS CURRENTLY UNDER DESIGN.
UH, IT SHOULD BE, THE DESIGN SHOULD BE FINISHED, UH, AT SOME POINT NEXT YEAR.
SO IT WOULD BE READY TO, UH, BID AND START CONSTRUCTION, UH, NEXT YEAR AS WELL, IF, IF WE HAD THE FUNDS AVAILABLE.
SO JUST IF YOU KEEP TRACK OF THOSE COLORS.
AND THIS IS WHERE I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO CHRIS PRETTY SOON, BUT THE BLUE LINE IS ON THE BOTTOM.
AND THAT IS OUR CURRENT ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY PAYING.
IT'S A LITTLE OVER AROUND $18 MILLION IN THE UTILITY FUND.
AND YOU, IF YOU FOLLOW THAT LIGHT BLUE LINE ALL THE WAY OUT, YOU CAN SEE THAT'S OUR EXISTING DEBT SERVICE, UH, FOR THE NEXT 20, 20 YEARS.
THE NEXT LINE ABOVE IT IS THE A MI PROJECT.
IF WE WERE TO ISSUE $10 MILLION IN DEBT, THE
[00:30:01]
ESTIMATED ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE WOULD, WOULD BUMP THAT NUMBER UP ROUGHLY $750,000 A YEAR FOR 20 YEARS.THE GOLD OR YELLOW, UM, LINE IS THE B-C-R-U-A PROJECT THAT'S COMING IN NOVEMBER.
SO THESE ARE ASSUMPTIONS THAT, THAT CHRIS AND HIS TEAM HAVE COME UP WITH IN TERMS OF, UH, UH, THE ANTICIPATED, UH, UM, INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT FROM THE WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD.
UM, BUT WHEN YOU BORROW $40 MILLION, IT'S PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.
SO THAT IS WHY THAT LINE BUMPS UP.
THE GREEN LINE IS, UH, AND CHRIS WILL EXPLAIN THIS, UH, THE GREEN LINE REPRESENTS WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE ADDITIONAL DEBT CAPACITY BETWEEN WHAT WE'RE PAYING NOW AND WHAT WE COULD AFFORD TO PAY WITHOUT, UH, RAISING, UM, UTILITY RATES.
THERE ARE A LOT OF ASSUMPTIONS, UH, WHENEVER YOU LOOK FORWARD INTO THE FUTURE, BUT, UM, CHRIS CAN GO INTO DETAIL ABOUT SOME OF THOSE ASSUMPTIONS.
THE RED LINE IS THE, UM, THE OTHER THREE PROJECTS WERE THAT WERE ON THE, THAT SLIDE, THE, THAT ARE IN RED, THE PHASE TWO, UH, EXPANSION, UH, AT THE B-C-R-U-A.
IT'S NOT BEEN COMMITTED TO BY THE MEMBER CITIES, AND CERTAINLY NOT BY THIS COUNCIL, BUT IT'S UNDER DESIGN AND IT'S A CRITICAL PROJECT, UH, FOR US.
AND THEN THE BAGHDAD TERMINUS PUMP STATION AND GROUND STORAGE, AND THE RONALD REAGAN PROJECT.
AT THIS POINT, I'D LIKE TO HAND IT OFF TO CHRIS TO TALK ABOUT, UM, HOW HE, HE AND HIS TEAM PUT TOGETHER THE, UM, ANALYSIS OF WHAT OUR, OUR DEBT CAPACITY WAS.
AND, AND FEEL FREE TO ASK HIM ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, ISSUING DEBT IN THE CITY'S FINANCIAL, UM, CONDITION.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, CITY MANAGER FOR THE RECORD.
CHRIS ALLEN, RBC, UH, FINANCIAL ADVISOR TO THE CITY.
UM, WHEN WE BEGAN THIS, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN, UH, ROBERT REACHED OUT TO US TO, TO PREPARE A, A DEBT CAPACITY ANALYSIS, WE WERE WORKING IN A, IN A LITTLE BIT HIGHER INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT.
'CAUSE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS IN NOVEMBER, AND AS MANY OF YOU PROBABLY KNOW, WE'VE SEEN RATES, UH, BECOME A LITTLE BIT MORE POSITIVE.
SO THIS IS REALLY GOOD TIMING ON YOUR PART, AND WE FEEL LIKE OUR ANALYSIS, UH, ADDS A LEVEL OF CONSERVATISM, UM, TO THIS PICTURE.
BUT WHAT WE DID WAS, IS WE ASSUMED ROBERT GAVE US THE AUDITED NUMBERS FOR THE CHARGES FOR SERVICES ON HIM AND EXPENSES, ET CETERA, FOR, UH, FISCAL YEAR, THE FISCAL YEAR END, THE LA LAST AUDIT REPORT.
SO WE THEN BACKED INTO, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT CAPACITY THE CITY HAS TO ISSUE DEBT, UM, UNDER THE CURRENT, UNDER THE CURRENT RATE ENVIRONMENT.
UM, WE ASSUMED FOR THE TENURE.
AND, AND THEN THE, THE, THE, FOR THE 10, THE $10 MILLION ISSUE, WE ASSUMED INTEREST RATES IN NOVEMBER, WHICH WERE ABOUT, I WOULD SAY, UM, IN OCTOBER WE SAW THE HIGHEST TENURE TREASURY.
UH, WE'RE CURRENTLY AT, I LOOKED AT IT TODAY, IT'S 3.99.
SO WE'VE, WE'VE DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE THEN.
RATES ARE, YOU KNOW, STILL ELEVATED FROM WHAT WE BEEN, UM, THAT'S CUSTOM TO, THAT'S THE PURPLE LINE THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
THAT'S THE PURPLE LINE IS THE 10 MILLION.
UM, SO WE WON, ASSUME THAT THAT, UM, REVENUES, UH, THERE WAS NO GROWTH IN REVENUES.
UM, AND THEN WE LAYERED IN THE A MI TO SHOW YOU THAT PURPLE LINE AS YOU, YOU INDICATE TO SHOW THAT YOU STILL HAVE A, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CAPACITY.
UM, AND THEN WE LAYERED IN THE, UH, LCRA, OR EXCUSE ME, THE, UM, WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD LOAN THAT YOU HAVE COMING ONLINE, UM, $40 MILLION.
AND THEN ONCE WE LOOKED AT THAT, WE BACKED INTO WHAT YOUR CAPACITY WOULD BE, AND THAT'S THE GREEN LINE.
THAT'S THE EXCESS REVENUES OUTSIDE OF THAT.
NOW, THAT GREEN LINE ALSO FACTORS IN SOME CONSERVATISM, AS WE'VE ASSUMED A ONE AND A QUARTER, UM, COVERAGE RATIO.
SO, UM, THERE IS SOME, A LEVEL OF CONSERVATIVES CONSERVATISM THERE.
BUT, UM, WE ALSO ASSUME 20 YEAR LEVEL DEBT SERVICE, AND THAT MEANS THAT WE ASSUMED RA UH, DEBT SERVICE WOULD BE THE SAME EVERY YEAR.
NOW, THERE IS SOME, WE DO HAVE SOME ABILITY TO DO SOME STRUCTURING IF THERE'S, YOU KNOW, SOME BUMPS IN THE ROAD TO
[00:35:01]
KINDA LEVEL TO LEVEL THAT OR, OR TO MITIGATE ANY IMPACT RATE IMPACT.BUT THAT BEING SAID, YOU KNOW, THE INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FED, YOU KNOW, ALL EYES WERE ON THE FED IN DECEMBER.
THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE GONNA DO ANOTHER RATE HIKE.
THEY'D ACTUALLY HELD IT CONSTANT, YOU KNOW, CPI AT THE, UM, SUMMER OF 22 AT THE ALL TIME HIGH WAS 9.1%.
IN NOVEMBER, THEY SAW IT AT AT 3.2.
IT'S NOW CLOSER TO 2.62% IS THEIR TARGET RATE.
SO THEY'RE ALREADY SIGNALING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE ANOTHER, UM, A COUPLE OF CUTS IN INTEREST RATES NEXT YEAR.
SO YOUR TIMING IN MAY IS, IS LIKELY GOOD.
UM, SO WITH THAT, UM, I, I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UM,
I CAN'T
THAT'S, THAT, THAT SHOWS THE, THE DEBT ISSUANCE ON TOP OF EVERYTHING.
YEAH, BASICALLY SAYS IN A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE, IF WE GO FORWARD WITH ALL THOSE PROJECTS RIGHT NOW, THAT AT SOME POINT, WHICH WE'D FIND OUT THE TIMELINE OF THOSE THINGS, AND I WOULD ASSUME THAT THE A MI WOULD SOMEHOW FEATHER IN HERE AND MAYBE THERE'S A WAY TO BETTER MONITOR THESE THINGS TO BETTER GUARANTEE MAYBE WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO OR WOULDN'T HAVE TO AS MUCH.
I'M NOT SURE IF THERE, IF THERE'S A TIE IN BETWEEN THE TWO THINGS.
BUT, UM, INTERESTED TO FIND OUT LIKE TIMELINE, LIKE IF, IF SO, IF, IF, UM, IF WE HAD, IF WE WERE GOING, 'CAUSE ALL THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT PROJECTS FROM US, FROM EVERYTHING I'VE SEEN SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL SO FAR.
UM, AND I CAN'T IMAGINE US NOT MOVING FORWARD AT SOME POINT WITH THOSE FROM EVERYTHING THAT I SEE, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE A CHOICE.
SO I, I GUESS IT'S A TIMING, YOU KNOW, TIMING THING.
I DON'T IF, IF WE'RE IN A FAVORABLE MARKET FOR THESE THINGS, YOU KNOW, I, I AGREE.
I'M SEEING THOSE THINGS IN MY INDUSTRY WITH INTEREST RATES ON THE, ON THE MORTGAGE SIDE.
SO I COULD CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND TRYING TO TIME THIS WELL, UM, RIGHT NOW TOO.
I GUESS MY ONLY QUESTION WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, IS THERE ANY, IS THERE ANY LOGIC TO NOT DOING IT ALL AT ONE TIME, UM, TO NOT, TO NOT GO OVER THE THRESHOLD? OR IS IT JUST SOMETHING WE NEED TO CONSIDER? YES, UH, AB ABSOLUTELY.
AND, UM, UH, IF WE ARE GIVEN, UH, THE GREEN LIGHT OR A PALE GREEN LIGHT TO, TO MOVE FORWARD, UH, THOSE ARE THE KIND OF QUESTIONS THAT, UH, I'LL DISCUSS WITH CHRIS ALONG WITH THE, THE ENGINEERS.
BUT GOING BACK TO THE, TO THE COLORS ON THE RED PROJECTS, THOSE, THOSE ARE THE THREE PROJECTS THAT, UH, WE SEE RIGHT IN FRONT OF US IN ADDITION TO THE A MI, UM, THE PHASE TWO A AND THE RONALD REAGAN, UH, BORROWING NOW CAN DEFINITELY BE DEFERRED TO NEXT YEAR BECAUSE THOSE ARE STILL UNDER DESIGN.
THOSE ARE ESTIMATES TODAY, AS WE ALL KNOW.
UH, THAT CAN BE, THAT CAN CHANGE ONCE THOSE ARE FINALIZED BY THE ENGINEERS.
THE BAGHDAD WILL BE READY TO BID SOON AND IT'LL, THOSE PLANS WILL EITHER SIT ON THE SHELF OR WE'LL DO ONLY A PART OF IT AND THEN HAVE TO WAIT.
I THINK OUR CITY MANAGER HAS A COMMENT AS WELL, UH, MADAM MAYOR, MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL, AND, UH, PUT ROBERT AND, AND, UH, CHRIS ON THE SPOT HERE A LITTLE BIT.
JUST REMEMBER THAT, UH, OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE LINE CHART, THE LAST THREE THAT ARE PROJECTS THAT ARE IN RED ARE REALLY WHAT'S CAUSING THE RED TO GO OVER THE GREEN LINE, IF YOU WILL, FOR LAYPERSON'S TERMS. THIS LOOK AT THE DEBT IN THIS DETAIL, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S, THIS WAS DONE PRIOR TO THIS EXERCISE, HOWEVER, IT WILL BE DONE MORE IN DEPTH AS WE GO THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS.
AND YOU LOOK AT YOUR CIP, WHICH ROBERT AND I HAVE DISCUSSED, WILL BE EXPANDED FROM TWO YEARS LOOKING OUT TO FIVE YEARS.
SO THE DEBT ANALYSIS THAT YOU WILL GET AS PART OF YOUR BUDGET PACKAGE AND SUBSEQUENT BEFORE YOU ISSUE ANY DEBT, WILL BE IN MORE DETAIL.
WE'LL LOOK A LITTLE BIT FURTHER OUT.
THE THINGS THAT I LOOK FOR AS A LAY PERSON IN THIS IS THE GREEN LINE AND WHERE ALL THE OTHER LINES ARE RELATIVE TO THE GREEN LINE THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS.
NOT JUST THE PART WHERE THE RED LINES ABOVE THE GREEN LINE, BUT ALSO THE
[00:40:01]
PART WHERE THE RED LINES BELOW THE GREEN LINE, THAT'S DEBT STRUCTURING, AND THAT'S SOME WIZARDRY THAT YOUR FA CAN DO.BUT WHEN YOU DO SEE THAT, YOU'LL NOT ONLY SEE HOW THE DEBT WILL FIT, YOU'LL SEE THE TOTAL COST INTEREST AND PRINCIPLE FOR THOSE ISSUANCES BY ISSUANCES.
SO YOU'LL HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION FROM WHICH TO MAKE A DECISION THERE AT THAT TIME.
WE SHOULD BE IN A LITTLE BETTER PREDICAMENT TO, UM, FORECAST WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE MARKET AND WHAT'S MOST ADVANTAGEOUS AND WHAT'S NOT AS ADVANTAGEOUS.
AND AS ROBERT DID MENTION SOME OF THIS, SOME OF THESE ITEMS, UH, THE BONDS DON'T NEED TO BE SOLD RIGHT NOW.
THEY'RE PROBABLY A YEAR, MAYBE TWO YEARS, UM, DOWN THE ROAD IN TERMS OF GETTING THE PLANS AND GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE YOU'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE, UH, SIGNING CONTRACTS FOR THE PROJECTS.
I DID HAVE ONE LAST SLIDE, IF I CAN MOVE AHEAD IF, IF THERE'S OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT OH, SURE.
SO IF YOU CAN GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DELTA BETWEEN THE GREEN AND RED LINES, WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT TRANSLATE TO FOR OUR SET RESIDENTS OR THE TAX, UH, RATE OR ANYTHING ELSE? SO, UM, IT'S GONNA BE, UM, HIGHLY SIMPLIFIED, BUT AT THE, AT THE PEAK OF THE DIFFERENCE, ROUGHLY BETWEEN $24 MILLION A YEAR AND $26 MILLION A YEAR, THAT'S $2 MILLION.
THAT'S, UH, UM, PRETTY GOOD ON MY PART.
BUT, UM, SO THAT IS, THAT IS ABOUT 7% OF OUR CURRENT WATER, UH, REVENUE STREAM.
SO IF I JUST HAD TO SAY EVERYTHING WAS, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY OTHER CHOICES, WE COULDN'T, UM, UM, MODIFY THE DEBT SERVICE SCHEDULE.
WE JUST HAD TO, UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY GROWTH IN REVENUE AND DIDN'T HAVE ANY REDUCTION IN EXPENDITURES.
WE JUST HAD TO COME UP WITH AN ADDITIONAL $2 MILLION.
WE, WE NEED 7% MORE ON THE, ON THE WATER RATES.
NOW, UH, THE UTILITY FUND IS HEALTHY, IT HAS MORE RESERVES THAN ITS, UH, MINIMUM REQUIREMENT.
BUT TO, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IN, IN THOSE TERMS, UH, THAT WOULD ROUGHLY BE A 7% INCREASE.
UM, THEN IT, IT DOES NARROW DOWN A A LITTLE BIT, BUT IN THE OUT YEARS, AND JUST FOR CLARITY, ALL OF THESE PAYMENTS WOULD COME OUT OF UTILITY FUNDS, IT WOULDN'T BE OUT OF PROPERTY TAXES, CORRECT? YES.
AND WOULD SAY THAT, UH, BEARING IN MIND THAT WE WILL HAVE TIME TO WORK WITH SOME OF THESE ESTIMATES, AND IF THE ESTIMATES DOES NOT, DO NOT INCLUDE ANY GROWTH, WE KNOW BETTER THAN THAT.
WE KNOW THAT THE GROWTH IS OCCURRING.
SO THAT'S GONNA HELP OFFSET SOME OF THAT.
SO, UM, JUST LOOKING AT THIS, IT, IT'LL GET TIGHTER, BUT, UM, WELL, LET ME STOP SPECULATING HERE.
SO THE ARPA FUNDS YOU'RE ACCOUNTING FOR 5 MILLION, DO, IS THERE A TIMELINE ON THOSE ARPA FUNDS THAT WE HAVE TO USE THEM BEFORE CERTAIN TIME? THERE, THERE IS A, A, UM, A DEADLINE TO COMMIT TO USING THE FUND.
SO THE OBLIGATION, UM, UH, DUE DATE IS BY THE END OF 2024.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THEY HAVE TO BE SPENT, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE, UM, UH, OBLIGATED THE, THE, THE PROJECT.
SO, SO DO WE HAVE ANY BACKUPS IF WE CHOOSE NOT TO DO A MI OR, UH, WELL, ONE, UM, AND I, UM, GIVE CREDIT TO OUR CONSULTANTS.
WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT OTHER PROVISIONS WITHIN THE ARPA ACT THAT BECAUSE OF OUR, UM, POPULATION CATEGORY, THERE ARE SOME, SOME, UH, OTHER OPTIONS ON HOW TO, UM, DESIGNATE USE OF THOSE FUNDS THAT WOULDN'T REQUIRE, UH, ACTUALLY SPENDING THE FUNDS.
THEY WOULD, IT'S CALLED A REVENUE OFFSET PROVISION.
UH, IF THAT WORKS, THEN WE'RE, WE'RE HOME FREE IN TERMS OF, UH, MEETING THE OBLIGATION PERIOD.
BUT OTHERWISE, UH, WE WOULD NEED TO OBLIGATE THE FUNDS WITH A, A CONTRACT OR A PROJECT BY THE END OF 2024.
I KNOW THOSE ARE RESTRICTED AND KIND OF, KIND OF A TIME ON A TIMELINE, RIGHT? SO YES, BUT I'M, I'M NOT AWARE THAT THEY HAVE TO BE SPENT, UM, AT A CERTAIN TIME, JUST THAT THE, THE OBLIGATION HAS TO HAVE BEEN INCURRED.
[00:45:01]
OOPS, GOING BACKWARDS.SO DO, UH, EXPLAIN, UH, AND COVER THE DEBT ISSUANCE PROCESS.
THIS WOULD BE THE SAME FOR ANY, UM, UH, DEBT THAT THE CITY MIGHT BE, UH, UH, INTERESTED IN PURSUING.
BUT I ALSO WANTED TO KIND OF DOVETAIL IT WITH, UH, UH, KELLY'S PRESENTATION IN TERMS OF, UH, THE RFP AND THE BID PROCESS.
WE WOULD CERTAINLY TIME THIS TO COINCIDE WITH, UH, HOW THAT, UH, MOVES FORWARD.
BUT ASSUMING THAT COUNSEL, UH, UH, GIVES US THE PERMISSION TO MOVE FORWARD AND RELEASE THE, UH, RFP FOR THE A MI PROJECT, THEN THE NEXT STEP DOESN'T HAVE TO BE FEBRUARY 15TH, BUT, UH, THE NEXT STEP, UM, WOULD BE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL HAS TO ADOPT A RESOLUTION NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION.
THIS IS NOT A COMMITMENT OR A, UM, UH, TO, TO ISSUE, BUT YOU HAVE TO, UM, WITH COS YOU HAVE TO GIVE THE, UH, THE PUBLIC NOTICE THAT YOU ARE INTENDING TO ISSUE DEBT.
AND THEN THEY HAVE A PROCESS IF THEY WANT TO FILE A PETITION TO, UH, TO CONTEST THAT.
AND YOU ALSO HAVE TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING.
BUT, UM, AT THE, AT THE NOTICE, UH, TIME PERIOD WITH THE RESOLUTION, UH, TYPICALLY IN ALMOST EVERY INSTANCE, UM, THE COUNSEL WOULD PUT A NOT TO EXCEED LIMIT.
I MEAN, WHATEVER YOU PUBLISH BECOMES YOUR MAXIMUM LIMIT.
SO, UM, IT'S, UM, SINCE YOU DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE, UH, GOING TO NEED AT THE, AT CRUNCH TIME WHILE YOU'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH THE PROJECT, UH, TYPICALLY THE AMOUNT THAT YOU PUT IN THE RESOLUTION IS HIGHER THAN WHAT, UM, YOU KNOW, STAFF MAY BE TELLING YOU AT THE, AT THE TIME.
UH, YOU ALSO, UM, GENERALLY, UH, PUT THE, THE RESOLUTION TO BE, UM, BROAD SO THAT IF THINGS CHANGE, YOU CAN USE THOSE MONEY, UH, MONIES ON OTHER, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR PROJECTS.
SO INSTEAD OF SAYING, UM, WE'RE GONNA BORROW MONEY FOR AN A MI SYSTEM, YOU WOULD, UH, THE RESOLUTION WOULD STATE UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND OTHER THINGS.
SO IF, IF, IF THE WHEELS FELL OFF AND YOU BORROWED THE MONEY, YOU WOULDN'T BE STUCK WITH, UM, NOT BEING ABLE TO USE IT.
SO, UM, ONCE THAT NOTICE IS, IS, UH, PUBLISHED, THEN, UM, CHRIS AND HIS TEAM AND, AND CITY STAFF, WE REALLY BEGIN WORKING ON THE DETAILS OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT.
WHAT DO WE NEED, HOW MUCH DO WE NEED, UM, AND WHAT IS THE MARKET LOOKING LIKE? DO WE, DO WE NEED TO LOOK AT, UH, STRUCTURING THE DEBT, UH, DIFFERENTLY THAN JUST STRAIGHT ACROSS THE BOARD? UM, THERE IS A TIME PERIOD BETWEEN WHEN YOU PUBLISH THE NOTICE AND WHEN YOU CAN HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARING, AND THEN THE TIME IT TAKES FOR THE UNDERWRITING TEAM TO, TO WORK WITH CHRIS AND THE CITY STAFF TO COME UP WITH A PROPOSAL.
SO THE EARLIEST WOULD BE THE MAY COUNCIL MEETING.
YOU COULD SCHEDULE THAT PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE FIRST MEETING IN MAY, AND AT THAT POINT YOU CAN VOTE TO ISSUE THE, THE, THE DEBT AND THEN THE, THE FUNDS ARE DELIVERED 30 DAYS AFTER, AFTER THAT.
GOING BACK TO, UM, KELLY'S PRESENTATION, IN TERMS OF THE TIMING OF THE RFP, THAT'S KIND OF THE GOLDILOCKS RULE.
YOU DON'T WANNA BORROW TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE.
YOU WANNA BORROW JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT.
AND AS WE STARTED OFF, OR I STARTED OFF WITH, UH, MY FIRST SLIDE, WHAT WE ARE ESTIMATING TODAY IS $15 MILLION FOR AN A MI PROJECT.
BUT THE TRUTH WILL BE WHEN THE, THE BIDS COME IN AND WE WORK THROUGH THOSE PROPOSALS WITH THE SUCCESSFUL BIDDER, AND WE WILL KNOW, UH, A HARD NUMBER AT THAT TIME.
SO WE WOULD WANT TO BRING TO THE COUNCIL THE AMOUNT WE NEED, UM, ALMOST FOR CERTAIN IN TERMS OF THE, THE, THE PROJECT.
SO WE WOULD WORK WITH THE CIP, UH, TEAM TO STRUCTURE THIS DEBT SEQUENCE, UH, PROCESS TO COINCIDE WITH THE, THE RE RETURN OF THE, OF THE BIDS.
AND, AND, BUT, UM, THAT IS MY, I'M GONNA JUMP IN REAL QUICK, ROBERT.
I'M GETTING THE
[00:50:01]
I JUST WANTED TO COVER, YOU CAN SEE, KIND OF ANTICIPATE THAT IF WE'RE NOT SELECTING AN A MI VENDOR UNTIL JUNE, THIS SUMMER'S NOT GONNA BE, UH, NOT GONNA BENEFIT FROM A MI.SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO, UH, WITH THE COUNCIL IN FEBRUARY, WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO YOU AND PROVIDE A WATER CONSERVATION ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY.
IT'S GONNA INCLUDE ENFORCEMENT, UH, STRATEGY FROM THE STAFF.
IT'S GONNA ENCODE ENFORCEMENTS PARTICIPATING IN THAT.
IT'S GONNA INCLUDE WHAT ARE OUR COMMUNICATION METHODS AND, AND MESSAGES WILL LIKELY BE GOING INTO THIS SUMMER.
I MEAN, WE'RE ALREADY STARTING THAT PLANNING PROCESS NOW, BUT WE WANTED TO FORMALIZE THAT FOR COUNCIL PROBABLY ON THAT FEBRUARY 15TH MEETING.
SO EXPECT TO HEAR THAT FROM US.
BUT WHAT WE'LL INCLUDE, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T REALLY COVER IN A LOT OF DETAIL HERE, WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF OUR HOUR.
BUT, UM, LONG RANGE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IF A ONCE A MI SYSTEM IS IN PLACE, WHAT IS THE CONTINUATION OF OUR COMMUNICATION WITH CUSTOMERS? HOW DO WE KEEP THEM ENGAGED? HOW DO WE, SO HOW DO WE GET MORE CUSTOMERS INVOLVED IN WANTING TO, ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT ARE APATHETIC, WE KNOW THE DATA'S VALUABLE, WE KNOW CUSTOMERS WILL BENEFIT FROM IT.
SO SOME OF THAT MESSAGING WILL BE COUPLED WITH A MI.
SO WE'LL GIVE YOU ONE JUST FOR THE SUMMER, THIS COMING SUMMER, BECAUSE WE WON'T HAVE A MI IN PLACE BY THEN, BUT WE'LL GIVE MAYBE A PREVIEW INTO WHAT OUR LONGER RANGE STRATEGY WOULD LOOK LIKE.
THAT IS WHAT I NEED TO HEAR ALL THE TIME.
AND NOW QUESTIONS, COUNSEL QUESTIONS? WE HAVE A COUPLE OF MINUTES.
BECKY, DO YOU WANT, UM, I, WELL, A I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES I FEEL LIKE WE JUST GET A LOT OF INFORMATION, BUT A LOT OF THE WHY IS NOT BEHIND IT.
AND SO I REALLY LIKE THE WAY Y'ALL PUT THIS TOGETHER WITH A LOT OF THE WHY.
AND I ALSO THINK IT HELPS FOR THE FOLKS THAT ARE WATCHING IT AND THE PEOPLE THAT DON'T WORK WITH IT ALL THE TIME.
BUT I'M WONDERING WITH SOME OF THESE OTHER PLACES THAT HAVE DONE IT, WHAT HAVE THEY SEEN IN SAVINGS, UM, FROM DETECTING THE LEAKS AND HOW DOES THAT COMMUNICATE? BECAUSE YES, WE'RE POSSIBLY LOOKING AT A $15 MILLION ISH PROJECT, BUT I KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA SAVE MONEY ON THE BACKEND.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT GONNA OFFSET IMMEDIATELY, BUT I'M CURIOUS AS TO WHAT SAVINGS AND AS FAR AS PAYROLL AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WE'VE GOT OUR TEAMS THAT CAN DO OTHER THINGS AND NOT DRIVING AROUND CHECKING METER.
SO CURIOSITY MORE THAN ANYTHING, BUT, WELL, I WONDER IF THAT SAVINGS WOULD BE MORE IN THE GALLONS PER DAY VERSUS THE DOLLARS, BECAUSE IF PEOPLE ARE USING LESS, THEY'RE SPENDING LESS INTO A SYSTEM, WELL, YOU'RE SAVING MONEY THERE, BUT YOU'RE ALSO, YOU'RE LOSING REVENUE.
YOU ARE GOT, THAT'S TRUE PUBLIC WORKS.
PEOPLE THAT CAN GO DO DIFFERENT THINGS INSTEAD OF DRIVING MY CHECK IN METERS.
I MEAN, THERE'S LOTS OF INDIRECT COSTS THAT WE'RE GONNA, ARE GONNA ADD UP INTO SOME SIGNIFICANT OFFSET, I THINK IN THE LONG RUN.
UM, IT, IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT FOR US TO MAYBE QUANTIFY THAT NOW, BUT, UM, THERE ARE EXAMPLES WE CAN PROVIDE SOME, SOME PROBABLY BACKUP DOCUMENTATION OF CASE STUDIES.
I KNOW WE CAN PULL SOME OF THAT AND, AND TOMMY AND HIS TEAM CAN CERTAINLY HELP WITH THAT AND JUST GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF, OF WHAT THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT LOOKS LIKE.
ONE CITIES HAVE IMPLEMENTED IT AND YEAH, THAT THEY FOUND JUST RANDOM CURIOSITY, BUT, AND IT'S, AND THEN, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT.
IT'S BEEN A, IT WAS A THOUGHT PROCESS, WHICH IS WHY KELLY BROUGHT UP LIFECYCLE COSTS, RIGHT? YES.
WHEN THESE BIDDERS COME BACK AND THEY GIVE US PROPOSALS, WE'RE EXPECTING THEM TO LOOK AT THIS HOLISTICALLY, NOT JUST, UM, INSTALL THE METERS AND WALK AWAY.
THIS IS, THEY'RE EVALUATING THIS OVER 15, 20, 25 YEAR PERIOD.
SO WE'RE EXPECTING THOSE EFFICIENCIES TO APPEAR WHEN WE START EVALUATING THESE PROPOSALS.
THAT'S SOMETHING WE WILL COME BACK TO COUNCIL ONCE WE'RE READY TO SELECT A VENDOR AND, AND KIND OF SHARE THAT PERSPECTIVE.
YEAH, VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THOSE.
COUNSEL, ANYTHING ELSE? I HAD A COUPLE OF THINGS REALLY QUICKLY.
UM, JUST TO ECHO WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER ROSS SAID, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION AND THANK YOU ESPECIALLY FOR GETTING IT TO US IN ADVANCE.
UM, I FEEL THE SAME, LIKE WE GET A LOT OF INFORMATION SOMETIMES, AND THIS WAS HELPFUL TO BE ABLE TO SORT OF GO BACK IN MY NOTES AND REVIEW CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST AND I WAS ABLE TO ANSWER SOME OF MY QUESTIONS THAT I WOULD'VE NOT REMEMBERED IF IT WAS JUST SEEN HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A WHILE, UM, SINCE LAST YEAR.
TO YOUR POINT,
WHAT'S ONE OF THOSE QUESTIONS, MADAM MAYOR? THAT IT DEPENDS, RIGHT? BUT NO, THE ANSWER IS, THE ANSWER IS NO.
THE, WHAT WE HAVE IS, UH, FIRST AND FOREMOST IN THE MARKET, YOU SEE A LOT OF DIFFERENT IMPLEMENTATIONS.
AND SO YOU HAVE A PER METER TYPE COST THAT YOU HAVE A LITMUS TEST OF THIS IS WHAT IT'S GONNA COST.
THAT'S FIRST AND FOREMOST, AND THAT FIGURE IS WELL WITHIN THAT.
[00:55:01]
THE OTHER PIECE TO THE PUZZLE IS DURING THE RFI PROCESS, WE ASKED WITHOUT ANY DETAIL, THE VENDORS TO GIVE US BUDGETARY COSTS.AND FOR A PROJECT THIS SIZE, ALL OF THEM WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN THE 15 MILLION.
SO WHAT WE DID IS JUST TO BE CONSERVATIVE IS TO SAY, WE THINK THAT WE DON'T THINK I'LL BE MORE ADAMANT, WE'RE PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN.
THEN SECOND, I MEAN, THE OTHER EFFORTS THAT WE'RE GOING ARE UNDERTAKING TO TRY TO PROTECT THIS IS ONE, YOU KNOW, I'M CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW WORKING ON THE PRICING TABLES AND ALMOST TO THE POINT WE'RE GONNA SEND 'EM OVER TO KELLY AND LET THE TEAM REVIEW THEM.
BUT WE'RE BEING VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT COSTS THAT WE WANNA BE ACCOUNTING FOR AND OVER THE LIFE CYCLE, AS MICHAEL TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT, WE LOOK AT THIS OVER 20 YEAR PERIODS.
WE LOOK AT IT AS AN IMPLEMENTATION COST AS WELL AS AN ONGOING SUSTAINABLE OPERATION COST.
SO WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT IT COMPLETELY IN THAT PROCESS.
THERE ARE A LOT OF ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE'RE ASKING THEM TO IDENTIFY AND SAY, WE WANT A PROJECTED NUMBER OF FAILURES.
WE WANT IT BOTH WARRANTED AND NON WARRANTED FAILURES.
WE WANT ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE'VE GAINED THROUGH OUR EXPERIENCE.
SO AS WE DEFINE THAT, THAT GETS A, A REALLY GOOD SOLID COST.
AND WITHIN THAT COST, WE'VE ALSO PROVIDED BACKGROUND TO THEM.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO PROVIDE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO OUT AND DO SITE VISITS WITH US.
AND SO THERE'S ALL THIS INFORMATION THAT'S GOING IN AND THE MORE INFORMATION WE GIVE THEM, THE BETTER THE PRICING WILL BE AT THE POINT OF PROPOSAL.
NOW THE RISKS REALLY ARE LACK OF INFORMATION, AND THAT IS WHAT IS THE METER CONDITION.
LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE THINK THAT WE NEED TO REPLACE 5,000 METER LIDS AND WE END UP REPLACING 10,000 METER LIDS, THAT VOLUME IS JUST W WOULD BE SIGNIFICANT.
BUT EVEN IN THAT R REALM, FIRST OF ALL, I DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA BE THAT BAD BECAUSE WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD FEEL OF WHAT LIDS ARE METAL IN THE CITY AND NOT, AND THAT TYPE OF THING.
BUT SECONDARILY, IT'S ONLY NOMINAL COMPARED TO THE OVERALL COST OF THE PROJECT.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I, YOU KNOW, NOT TO READ INTO OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER ALL THE OTHER QUESTIONS.
UH, BUT I VERY, VERY CONFIDENT ABOUT THAT FIGURE.
UM, I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT IT AT ALL.
AND IN FACT, AND THE MORE THAT WE WENT BACK AND WHEN THIS CAME UP LAST TIME CALLED, YOU KNOW, FRIENDLIES IN THE MARKET AND THEY ALL SAID IT'S WELL WITHIN IT, SO WE'RE GOOD.
MM-HMM,
UM, THE ONLY OTHER THING I WANTED TO SAY WE TOUCHED ON BRIEFLY ABOUT, UM, SORT OF THE MARKETING, UM, IS JUST WHAT GOT US HERE WON'T GET US THERE, RIGHT? AND SO IF WE'RE GOING TO INVEST ALL OF THIS MONEY AND PUT ALL OF THIS ON THE LINE, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE REACHING THE USERS THAT WE NEED TO REACH AND, AND I WANT TO HEAR WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO DIFFERENTLY.
AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE TIME RIGHT NOW.
REAL QUICK ANECDOTE, UM, AND THIS IS OUR PLANNING SESSION WITH PIO AND, AND BILL TEETER SUPPORT AND PUBLIC WORK STAFF.
UM, HE'S ALREADY ENGAGED OVER A DOZEN CUSTOMERS, TIER THREE CUSTOMERS BY PHONE, BY EMAIL, WONDERFUL.
SO WE ARE TOUCHING THOSE HIGH, HIGH, HIGH, A HUNDRED THOUSAND GALLON A MONTH LEVEL USERS.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT THROUGHOUT GOING INTO THIS SUMMER.
UM, I THINK YOU'RE ALWAYS GONNA HAVE THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE ALREADY ENGAGED AND THEY'RE CONSERVING AND THEY'RE GETTING ALL OF OUR MESSAGING.
AND I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT THEM ADOPTING THE SYSTEM.
I'M WORRIED ABOUT THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN TIER THREE, THAT WE REALLY NEED TO BRING THEM DOWN AT LEAST TO TIER TWO.
AND THEY'VE JUST BEEN RESISTANT HOW DO WE GET THEM TO EMBRACE IT AND ADOPT IT? UM, AND SO I THINK THAT SHOULD BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION GOING FORWARD.
I'M SO GLAD THAT THAT IS STARTING.
UM, AND THEN JUST THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THIS PRESENTATION, AND I'M EXCITED FOR SOME OF THE POTENTIAL FUTURE USES, LIKE, UM, ADDING IT INTO THE WIDER SYSTEM MONITORING TO LOOK FOR BREAKS.
WE APPRECIATE ALL OF THE EFFORT.
COUNSEL, ANYTHING ELSE WITH THAT? WE ARE GOING TO ADJOURN THE BRIEFING WORKSHOP.
WE NEED AT LEAST A CONSENSUS FROM THE COUNCIL BACK.
MEMBERS COUNCIL, WE NEED AT LEAST A CONSENSUS FROM THE COUNCIL THAT WE CAN GO AHEAD AND PROCEED WITH ISSUING THE RFP.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH PROCEEDING? I SEE, I, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE A CHOICE.
AND THE BIGGEST REASON FOR THAT IS I DO THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE LIKE A, A PERCEPTION ISSUE.
IT'S MORE OF A BIG BROTHER ISSUE.
I MEAN, IF, IF I'M BEING, IF I'M JUST BEING FRANK, AND I THINK THAT WILL BE OUR, OUR BIGGEST CONCERN OUT THERE AND THEY WILL BE.
UM, BUT I THINK THE LIST OF CITIES, UM, THAT ARE ALREADY DOING THIS, INCLUDING OUR PARTNERS AND B-C-R-U-A AND AND THEM, THAT'S HELPFUL.
THAT'S EXTREMELY HELPFUL INFORMATION BECAUSE IF EVERY YOU CAN MOVE TO THE CITY NEXT DOOR, YOU CAN MOVE TO THE OTHER CITY NEXT DOOR.
AND THEY'RE ALL DOING THE SAME THING HERE.
THIS IS BRINGING US UP TO DATE.
I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING TO BE SAID, BUT NOT HAVING THAT INFORMATION WOULD MAKE OUR, MY CONCERN A A LOT BIGGER OF AN ISSUE.
SO, UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I, I'M, I'M IN FAVOR AND, AND I GIVE MY CONSENSUS.
WELL, AND THIS, IN THE BEGINNING
[01:00:01]
WE DID TALK ABOUT THE BIG BROTHER ISSUE AND IT WAS VERY CONCERNING AND STAFF HAS DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF DOING THE RESEARCH AND PRESENTING IT TO US AND MAKING ME FEEL A LITTLE BETTER, A LOT BETTER ABOUT THISUM, SO I HAVE NO, NO ISSUES WITH IT NOW THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH THAT EXHAUSTIVE, NOT THIS, BUT EVERYTHING BEFORE LEADING UP TO THIS, SO THANK YOU.
I THINK IT'S HELPFUL TO REMEMBER TOO, THAT THIS ISN'T JUST SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS WITH WATER.
UM, WE'VE ENGAGED ONE OF THE GAS PROVIDERS, THEY'RE USING IT.
I THINK PEC MIGHT BE USING, YOU'VE THERE TO CHANGE ALL OF OUR METERS OUT, WHETHER EVERYBODY DOES IT OR NOT, THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE DOING.
AND, AND SO IT'S JUST, IT'S THE WAY EVERYBODY IS GOING FOR ALL THE UTILITIES.
SO ANY OTHER, DOES THAT GIVE YOU ALL, DID WE ALL SAY WE'RE GOOD? YEAH.
WITH THAT, IT IS SEVEN O'CLOCK.
WE ARE GOING TO ADJOURN THE BRIEFING WORKSHOP.
PLEASE BE BACK AT SEVEN 10 FOR THE START OF THE MEETING.
[4. Open Meeting, Invocation and Pledges of Allegiance.]
GOOD EVENING.TODAY IS THURSDAY, JANUARY 4TH, 2024.
AND THE TIME IS 7:14 PM AND THIS IS THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE LEANDER CITY COUNCIL.
JOE BOB ELLISON CHAPLAIN WITH BOTH LEANDER FIRE AND LEANDER PD WILL BE PROVIDING OUR INVOCATION THIS EVENING.
FOLLOWING THE INDICATION, PLEASE REMAIN STANDING FOR THE PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE.
COUNCILMAN, UH, CHRIS, UM, COUNCILWOMAN NICOLE, MAYOR CHRISTINE, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID COUNCIL OR MAYOR PRO, TIM ESME, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, CATHERINE.
AND OF COURSE, UH, OUR INTERIM CITY MANAGER, ISAAC TURNER.
AND AS ALWAYS, THE AMAZING DARA FATHER, I JUST PRAY, LORD, THAT YOU CONTINUE TO BLESS EACH ONE OF THEM AND THEIR LEADERSHIP.
ALL OF OUR, UH, CITY DIRECTORS AND ALL OF OUR CITIZENS, UH, DISCONTINUE.
WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO 2024 TO BEING AN AMAZING YEAR.
EVEN BETTER THAN 2023 WAS, WE LOVE YOU LORD AMEN.
IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD.
BOB, THAT WAS A GREAT WAY TO START THE YEAR.
[5. Roll Call.]
INTO ITEM NUMBER FIVE, CITY SECRETARY CRABTREE, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL ROLE COUNCIL MEMBER CATHERINE BATTALION PARKER.HERE, MAYOR PORT TIM AS BEING MATT LONGORIA.
HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID MCDONALD.
HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER NICOLE THOMPSON.
PRESENT COUNCIL MEMBER CHRIS ERDEN.
CITY COUNCIL IS ELIGIBLE TO DO BUSINESS.
[6. Public comments on items not listed in the agenda.
Public comments on items listed in the agenda will be heard at the time each item is discussed by Council.
[All comments are limited to no more than 3 minutes (6 minutes if translation is needed) per individual.]
]
FOR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA, I WILL CALL ON SPEAKERS PRIOR TO THE DISCUSSION OF THE AGENDA ITEM AND DURING THE PUBLIC HEARING, INDIVIDUALS THAT SUBMITTED COMMENTS VIA THE WEBSITE WILL ONLY HAVE POSITIONS READ INTO THE RECORD.
ANY WRITTEN COMMENTS HAVE BEEN SHARED WITH COUNSEL WILL BE MADE A PART OF THE OFFICIAL RECORD.
THIS IS NOT A TIME FOR BACK AND FORTH WITH COUNSEL, BUT JUST A TIME FOR YOU TO GET OUT.
WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND WITH THAT? WE HAVE NOBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TONIGHT.
WAS THERE ANYBODY WHO WANTED TO SPEAK ON SOMETHING THAT IS NOT ON THIS AGENDA? ALRIGHT, MOVING ON TO I'M NUMBER SEVEN, PROCLAMATIONS
[7. Recognitions/Proclamations/Visitors
]
COUNCIL MEMBER THOMPSON HAS OUR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
UH, WHEREAS DURING THE REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR'S LEADERSHIP OF THE MODERN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT FROM 1955 TO 1968, BLACK AMERICANS ACHIEVED MORE GENUINE PROGRESS TOWARDS RACIAL EQUITY IN AMERICA THAN THE PREVIOUS 350 YEARS HAD PRODUCED.
AND DR. KING IS WIDELY REGARDED AS AMERICA'S PREEMINENT ADVOCATE FOR NONVIOLENCE AND ONE OF THE GREATEST NONVIOLENT LEADERS IN THE WORLD.
AND ON AUGUST 28TH, 1963, JUST A CENTURY, AFTER THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, THE REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
LED MORE THAN 200,000 AMERICANS IN A MARCH ON WASHINGTON IN PURSUIT OF JOBS AND FREEDOMS FOR ALL PEOPLE STANDING ON THE STEPS OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL, HE CALLED ON AMERICANS TO QUOTE, SIT DOWN TOGETHER AT THE TABLE OF BROTHERHOOD AND MEET OUR PROMISE OF LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS FOR ALL.
AND WHEREAS TODAY, PEOPLE OF ALL BACKGROUNDS CONTINUE THAT MARCH, RAISING THEIR VOICES TO CONFRONT ABUSES OF POWER, CHALLENGE, HATE AND DISCRIMINATION, PROTECT THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND ACCESS QUALITY JOBS, HEALTHCARE, HOUSING, AND EDUCATION.
ON THIS DAY, WE REFLECT ON THE LEGACY OF A MAN WHO ISSUED A CALL TO THE CONSCIOUS OF OUR NATION AND OF OUR WORLD.
AND WHEREAS LEGISLATION PASSED IN 1983, MAKING MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
[01:05:01]
A FEDERAL HOLIDAY WITH THE FIRST NATIONWIDE OBSERVANCE IN 1986, WHERE A RECOGNITION OF DR.KING'S LEGACY IS CELEBRATED WITH MARCH'S PARADES AND SPEECHES BY CIVIL RIGHTS AND POLITICAL LEADERS.
AND WHEREAS ON MONDAY, JANUARY 15TH, 2024, THE CITY OF LEANDER WILL HONOR AND CELEBRATE THE REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
DURING THE CITY'S MLK DAY MARCH IN CELEBRATION IN OLD TOWN LEANDER.
THE 2024 THEME IS ACTION STARTS WITH ME NOW.
THEREFORE, I MAYOR CHRISTINE DELILAH OF THE CITY OF LEANDER, LEANDER, TEXAS, SORRY.
DO HEREBY RECOGNIZE MONDAY, JANUARY 15TH, 2024 AS DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
I APPEAR TO SET MY HAND AND CAUSE THE SEAL OF THE CITY OF LEANDER TO BE AFFIXED ON JANUARY 4TH, 2024.
REVEREND HOLMES HAS, UH, SOME COMMENTS FOR US FOR MLK DAY.
GOOD EVENING, REVEREND, AND WELCOME.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO SIT STAND BEFORE YOU TODAY IN RECOGNITION OF A GREAT, NOT ONLY AMERICAN LEADER, BUT WORLDWIDE LEADER, UH, TO THE HONORABLE MAYOR, ALL STAFF, COUNCIL MEMBERS, THOSE PRESENT FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND YES, EVEN FOES.
WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY TO RECOGNIZE A SIGNIFICANT FIGURE THAT I BELIEVE HAD STARTED THE SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.
THAT ALL MEN HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY IF RECOGNIZED PROPERLY, TO BE A PART OF THIS GREAT NATION, THIS COMMUNITY, THEIR COUNTIES, THEIR CITIES, THEIR COUNCILS, AND EVEN IN THEIR CONSCIENCE.
WE ASK TODAY THAT YOU CONTINUE TO DO WHAT YOU DO IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ALL MANKIND, BOTH WHITE, BLACK JEWS, GENTILES, PROTESTANTS, AND CATHOLICS.
THAT WE CAN ALL STAND AT THE TABLE AND DO A WHOLE LOT MORE WITH COOPERATION, COMMUNICATION, AND COLLABORATION, NOT ONLY JUST FROM OUR PAST THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THESE EXERCISES AND THE EXPERIENCES, BUT WHAT WE GO THROUGH NOW IN THIS PRESENT TIME, AND THAT WE NOW CAN LOOK TO A PROMISING FUTURE FOR ALL CITIZENS HERE IN LEANDER, THE COUNTY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY, STATE OF TEXAS, AND THE UNITED STATES, ABROAD AND WORLDWIDE IF NECESSARY.
THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AND A DAY OF RECOGNITION.
Y'ALL BE BLESSED AND LOVE ALL Y'ALL AND ALL THOSE WHO WANNA JOIN US FOR A PHOTO.
WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT I'LL SNEAK IN HERE TOO.
[01:10:54]
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE WITH ONE MORE PUBLIC COMMENT BECAUSE USUALLY PROCLAMATION TIME IS ALSO TIME FOR RECOGNITIONS.AND REVEREND HOLMES JUST GAVE US A VERY NICE RECOGNITION FOR OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND I THOUGHT MAYBE THIS WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO GIVE THAT SHOUT OUT.
I'M NOT SURE IF THE CHIEF IS HERE, BUT I DO WANT TO CHIEF THAT.
UH, WE HAD SOME, UH, A SPARK THAT STARTED IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, LEON, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, SHOWED UP IN ABOUT SIX AND A HALF MINUTES AND PUT OUT A FIRE ON OUR STREET.
AND, UH, WE WERE REAL GRATEFUL FOR THE SERVICE, THE ATTITUDE, THE ATMOSPHERE, THE CALMNESS THAT THEY BROUGHT.
IT'S ATTRIBUTED A LOT OF WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE WITH THESE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO, UH, SERVE US IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU FROM MY BLOCK, PAMAS DRIVE.
WE THANK YOU FOR GIVING US, UH, UM, PUTTING OUT THE FIRE AND THEN BRINGING A CALM TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
I WANT TO RECOGNIZE YOU FOR THAT.
[ CONSENT AGENDA: ACTION]
WE'RE GONNA MOVE INTO OUR CONSENT AGENDA.ITEM NINE IS BEING PULLED FROM CONSENT WILL BE CONSIDERED SEPARATELY.
YOU'RE GOING TO VOTE ON CONSENT.
AGENDA ITEMS EIGHT AND TEN THREE TWENTY ONE.
AND SECOND, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? DID YOU HEAR POLICE ONE? GOOD JOB.
EVERYTHING BUT THAT ONE, RIGHT? YES.
[9. Approval of an Ordinance amending Parks and Recreation Department user fees and related policies.
]
COUNSEL, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO COME UP.
WE, UH, CERTAINLY, UM, WILL ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS AND THOUGHTS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE FROM, FROM BOTH OF US.
OF COURSE, WE HAVE THE EXPERT, MS. PARISH HERE, SO SHE CAN CERTAINLY, UH, ANSWER PROBABLY MOST OF YOUR QUESTIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT, UM, UH, JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS IN, IN BEGINNING, UH, SOME THINGS THAT WE HAVE DISCUSSED THAT MIGHT MIGHT HELP IN THE LONG RUN TOO.
UH, AS WE, WHETHER WE LOOK AT THE FEE, THE, THE, THE RETURN FEE, THE FINE, UH, FEE OR OTHER PARTS OF THE, THE ORDINANCE, UM, YOU KNOW, IT TOOK ME SOME TIME TO ALSO SORT OF GRASP HOW WE WERE MOVING FORWARD.
AND I REALLY HAD TO, IT, IT TAKES A WHILE TO REALLY UNDERSTAND IT, UM, UH, AND FULLY PROCESS.
BUT ONCE I REALIZED WHAT THE GOALS WERE AND BEING, YOU KNOW, HAVING BETTER PATRON SATISFACTION, BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE, UM, HAVING PATRONS WHO HAVE NOT BEEN WITH US FOR A LONG, LONG TIME COME BACK, UM, IS ALSO VERY SIGNIFICANT TO US.
BUT ALSO RETAINAGE OF OUR ITEMS, OUR MATERIAL COLLECTION IS REALLY CRITICAL TO US.
AND SO I THINK ALL THESE, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE GOALS OF OUR, OUR PROCESS, THOSE COME TOGETHER IN MOVING FORWARD IN THIS, IN THIS, THIS MANNER.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN RETAIN SOME OF THOSE MATERIALS, IT, IT COST US LESS AS A CITY.
UM, AND SO SOME OF THOSE THINGS WENT, ONCE THAT LIGHT BULB WENT OFF FOR ME, IT WAS, IT ALMOST BECAME SORT OF A NO-BRAINER TO CONTINUE TO, TO MOVE FORWARD IN, IN THAT AREA.
BUT I ALSO LIKE TO, TO, TO RECOMMEND IT.
'CAUSE WE HAVE DISCUSSED IT MYSELF WITH MS. PARRISH AND, AND MR. NEW ALSO IS WE'D LIKE TO TRACK SOME DATA OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS AND VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT SOME OTHER COMMUNITIES MAY HAVE DONE ALSO.
UM, IT, IT WE'RE NOT EXACTLY SURE OF ALL THE DATA.
THERE MAY BE MANY, BUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE JOTTED DOWN WAS OBVIOUSLY TRACKING THE NUMBER OF PREVIOUS MEMBERS WHO HAVE NOW RETURNED CIRCULATION RATES, UM, WITH THE NEW POLICY TRACK
[01:15:01]
ON TIME, RETURN RATES, AND THE NUMBER OF OVERDUE MATERIALS AS COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS.TRACK THE RETURN RATE FOR OVERDUE MATERIALS, UH, OBVIOUSLY PATRON SATISFACTION, WE WANT TO DEFINITELY TRACK AND IS THIS CHANGING PATRON BEHAVIOR ALSO.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA LOOK TO TRACK OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS AS WELL.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS AND THEN WE'LL BE GLAD TO JUMP, UH, ANSWER.
SO I APPRECIATE THE, THE, UH, WILLINGNESS TO WORK WITH US ON THIS.
UH, I WILL SAY THE LIGHT BULB HAS NOT GONE OFF FOR ME.
UM, AND I DID A LOT OF SEARCHING.
UH, I ASK A FEW PEOPLE NOT EXHAUSTIVE RESEARCH BY ANY MEANS, BUT NO ONE I'VE ASKED ABOUT ELIMINATING, UH, THE, THE FINES SAYS IT MAKES SENSE.
I MEAN, YOU NAME IT, I'VE, I'VE ASKED THEM.
AGAIN, THAT IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE RESEARCH.
I I DON'T EXPECT THAT IT WAS JUST RANDOM CONVERSATIONS.
UM, BUT TRYING TO FIND THE, THE HARD DATA, I CAN'T FIND IT.
UM, I FOUND A LOT OF DIFFERENT ARTICLES WITH, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT THINGS SAYING, I MEAN, A LOT OF FEEL GOOD STUFF, A LOT OF THINGS ALLUDING TO THIS IS A GOOD IDEA, THIS IS A GOOD IDEA.
AND THEN OTHERS WHERE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER SOURCE OF, UH, OF, UH, REVENUE.
I MEAN, I REALIZE IT'S ONLY 11,000 SOMETHING, UH, BUT WITH A, A MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF A A FINE AT $5, I JUST FIND IT HARD TO, I I I'M ONE OF THOSE THAT THINKS THAT THERE, THERE COULD BE A LESSON IN SOMETHING AND, AND TEACHING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE OF CHECKING OUT A, A LIBRARY BOOK IF IT'S AN ADULT AND THEY CAN'T FIGURE THAT OUT.
I MEAN, THEY MAY BE TOO FAR GONE, BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT PAYING A, A SPEEDING TICKET VERSUS HAVING MY DRIVER'S LICENSE REMOVED, HAVING THE DRIVER'S LICENSE REMOVED IS SCARIER THAN HAVING TO PAY THE TICKET.
SO YOU CAN JUST PAY THE TICKET IF YOU CAN AFFORD THE TICKET.
WHAT ARE THE, THE RAMIFICATIONS? SO WITH THAT, UM, I, I WOULD LIKE TO APPROVE IT WITH THAT STIPULATION OF DOING YOUR OWN RESEARCH.
I'D ALSO ASK THAT YOU ADD, UM, LIKE THE, I I'M ASSUMING YOU HAVE A LIST OF BOOKS THAT ARE MISSING OR BOOKS THAT ARE, ARE OVERDUE AND YOU HAVE A, AN AGE CATEGORY.
I DON'T KNOW IF, IF, UH, OR IF IT'S CHILDREN'S BOOKS OR YOU KNOW, WHAT CATEGORY IT WOULD BE, UM, IF THAT CAN BE INCLUDED IN THAT, THAT RESEARCH AND, AND DO THIS FOR A YEAR, AND THEN IT'S AUTOMATICALLY GONNA COME BACK TO US IN A YEAR OR ROUGHLY A YEAR FOR US TO, TO SEE IS IT, IS IT DOING WHAT, WHAT YOU EXPECT IT TO DO, WHAT YOU WANT IT TO, AND I WANT THOSE GOALS CLEAR.
WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU EXPECTING THIS TO DO? UM, JUST TO MAKE SURE IT'S A, THAT IT, THAT IT IS A REASONABLE GOAL.
UM, NOT JUST SOMETHING THAT MAKES EVERYBODY'S LIFE EASIER.
UH, BECAUSE LIFE ISN'T ALWAYS EASY AND THERE COULD BE EMPIRICAL DATA THAT MM-HMM.
UM, BUT THEN A LOT OF IT COULD BE JUST PATRON SATISFACTION IN TERMS OF MM-HMM.
UM, BUT IT COULD BE, UM, A MARKED INCREASE IN, UM, PATRONAGE MM-HMM.
UM, THE PROBLEM WITH A LOT OF WHAT WE HOPE TO COLLECT IS EMPIRICAL DATA.
IT COULD BE CONTRIBUTED TO OTHER THINGS.
AND SO ONE OF THE ISSUES AS I'VE TALKED TO OTHER DIRECTORS IS THAT WE'RE A RAPIDLY GROWING CITY.
SO THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT COULD BE DIFFICULT TO MEASURE AFTER GOING FINE.
LIKE, ARE WE GETTING ALL OF THESE NEW PATRONS JUST BECAUSE WE'RE GROWING MM-HMM.
YOU CAN, AND I, I THINK TOO, THIS CAN BE A VALUABLE TOOL TO OTHER CITIES THAT DON'T, HAVEN'T DONE THE RESEARCH.
THEY'RE JUST FOLLOWING ALONG SOME ARTICLE AND, OH, WELL, IT'S THE TRENDY THING TO DO, SO WE SHOULD DO THIS.
UM, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHO WE ARE.
WE DON'T DO THINGS BECAUSE THEY'RE TRENDY.
WE DO THINGS BECAUSE IT MAKES GOOD SENSE.
AND WE JUST, WE DO WANT TO MAKE OUR PATRONS HAPPY.
WE WANT TO DO WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS.
AND THAT'S WHAT I JUST KEEP HEARING OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE JUST HEARING THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN FROM OUR COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE KIND OF AT THE POINT WHERE WE AT LEAST HAVE TO TRY.
UM, BECAUSE WHAT ARE THEIR MAIN COMPLAINTS ABOUT NOT DOING THIS? IS IT, IS IT THE INCONVENIENCE OR? IT'S THE INCONVENIENCE.
IT'S THE GETTING PENALIZED WHEN THEY'RE ALREADY TAXPAYERS.
AND, UM, THOSE THAT AREN'T, YOU KNOW, THEY GOT A FREE CARD.
THEY HAVE PAID FOR THEIR CARD.
[01:20:01]
INVESTED IN THE LIBRARY, UM, AND IF THEY'RE COMING TO THE LIBRARY, THEY CARE ABOUT IT.SO I HEAR IT FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE IN VERY DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHICS TOO, WHERE THEY SAY, WHY AM I BEING PENALIZED? I JUST FORGOT, YOU KNOW? MM-HMM.
UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS ALSO THAT WE'LL DO IS SHORTEN THAT TIME FROM THE LAST DUE DATE TO WHEN THEY ACTUALLY GET BILLED FOR AN ITEM.
RIGHT NOW IT'S 90 DAYS, WE WILL SHORTEN THAT.
SO THERE'S EVEN THAT GREATER CHANCE OF GETTING AN ITEM BACK.
AND OFTEN, EVEN NOW WITH THAT 90 DAYS, PEOPLE JUST SIMPLY HAVE GOTTEN BUSY.
SO THEY GET THAT LETTER SAYING THAT THEY NOW OWE FOR IT.
UM, THEY THINK, SHOOT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOTTA GET THIS STUFF BACK.
SO I DO BELIEVE THAT WE WILL GET OUR ITEMS RETURNED.
UM, EVEN IF, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT GETTING THOSE LATE FEES, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL STILL BE BILLED FOR AN ITEM IF THEY DON'T BRING IT BACK.
AND THEN WELL, I, I CAN APPRECIATE THAT.
AND THE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ALL PAY TAXES.
IF WE LIVE HERE, WE'RE, WE'RE PAYING TAXES.
EVEN IF YOU RENT, YOU'RE PAYING TAXES SOME, SOME WAY OR ANOTHER.
IT MAY NOT COME OUT LIKE THAT, BUT, BUT WE'RE ALL PAYING FOR THAT.
WE DON'T HAVE TO USE IT, BUT WE'RE PAYING FOR IT.
AND YOU ONLY PAY TO PLAY, BUT YOU'RE STILL PAYING FOR IT THROUGH YOUR PROPERTY TAXES.
UH, THE ROADS, SCHOOLS NEVER HAD KIDS.
I'M PAYING THOSE PROPERTY TAXES.
SO, SO WITH THAT, I MEAN, AGAIN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SUCH A SMALL AMOUNT THAT IT REALLY SHOULD NOT BE TRAGIC ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
WHETHER WE SAID, NO, DON'T DO IT, OR SURE, NO PROBLEM.
YOU KNOW? UM, BUT, BUT THAT ARGUMENT IS WE ALL PAY TAXES WHETHER WE USE THE SERVICE OR NOT, BUT THAT'S WHERE THAT HELPS YOU, UM, HELP PEOPLE BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT THEY'RE CHECKING OUT.
AND, YOU KNOW, I, I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT, BUT I JUST, I THANK YOU FOR, FOR BEING WILLING TO DO THE, THE RESEARCH FOR US AND, AND HAVING US REVIEW IT.
UH, WITH THAT SAID, ACTUALLY THERE'S ANOTHER QUESTION.
OH, WITH THAT SAID ON, UM, PAGE 11 OF 54, IT'S, UH, 85 IN OUR PACKET.
UM, IF WE'RE CHANGING THAT, WE WOULD NEED TO CHANGE THE, THAT PARAGRAPH.
SO YOU'LL YOU'LL GET THAT? YES.
YEAH, WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE HANDLE EVERYTHING THAT IS RELATED TO THAT CHANGE.
AND THEN INCORPORATE THE REVIEW IN A YEAR, OR IS THAT WHERE THAT WOULD GO? HOW, HOW DO WE MAKE THAT, MAKE US ALL ACCOUNTABLE TO THAT? I, I MEAN, I THINK THAT WOULD BE REFLECTED IN THE ACTION THAT COUNSEL WOULD TAKE.
NOT NOT NECESSARILY WITHIN THE POLICY DOCUMENT OR THE, OR THE FEE TABLE.
I HAVE GOT IT NOTATED IN AS FAR AS THE ACTION OF THE MOTION.
SO WHAT IS MY MOTION, DORA? WELL, THERE WAS ANOTHER QUESTION, SO, YEAH, YEAH.
I WAS JUST GONNA ASK YOU, UM, FOR THOSE THAT ARE WATCHING, CAN YOU GIVE THE SHORTHAND VERSION OF WHAT THE CHANGES ARE THAT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED AND WOULD BE APPROVED IF THEY'RE APPROVED TONIGHT? OKAY.
FOR, FOR THE FINES SPECIFICALLY, SINCE THAT WAS THE HOT TOPIC THE LAST TIME WE TALKED ABOUT IT.
SO, UM, CURRENTLY WE CHARGE 10 CENTS PER DAY FOR ANY ITEM THAT IS PAST ITS DUE DATE.
UM, SO ALL THAT WE'RE ASKING COUNSEL TO APPROVE IS TO NOT CHARGE THE 10 CENTS PER DAY LATE FEE.
HOWEVER, IF SOMEONE WERE TO NOT BRING SOMETHING BACK, THEY WOULD STILL OWE FOR THE COST OF THE ITEM AT, AT THAT POINT, PAST THAT DUE DATE, UM, THAT, WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE THAT CHANGE.
AND THE TIMEFRAME WILL BE SHORTENED FROM 90 DAYS TO 60.
IS THAT WHAT Y'ALL DECIDED? OR, UM, OR IT HASN'T BEEN STILL TALKING TO MARK ABOUT THAT.
BUT WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S VERY CLEAR.
ANYTHING ELSE, COUNSEL? ALL RIGHT.
YOU MAY MOVE FORWARD WITH YOUR MOTION.
COUNCIL MEMBER PAN TILLIAN PARKER, YOUR, YOUR MOTION IS TO PROVE AN ORDER AMENDED PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, USER FEES AND RELATED FEES, AND PROVIDE A STAFF REPORT IN 12 MONTHS ON THE RESULTS OF VARIOUS TOPICS, TRACKING AS DISCUSSED.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[22. Conduct a Public Hearing regarding Zoning Case Z-23-0098 to amend the current zoning of Interim SFS-2-B (Single-Family Suburban) and Interim SFR-1-B (Single-Family Rural) to GC-2-B (General Commercial) on one (1) parcel of land approximately 6.314 acres ± in size, more particularly described by Williamson Central Appraisal District Parcel R031278; and more commonly known as 17451 Ronald W. Reagan Boulevard, Leander, Williamson County, Texas.
]
ITEM NUMBER 22, CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING ZONING CASE Z DASH 23 DASH 0 0 9 8.
TO AMEND THE CURRENT ZONING OF INTERIM SFS TWO B, SINGLE FAMILY SUBURBAN AND INTERIM S FFR ONE B, SINGLE FAMILY RURAL TO GC TWO B, GENERAL COMMERCIAL, A ONE PARCEL OF LAND, APPROXIMATELY 6.314 ACRES, PLUS OR MINUS IN SIZE AS STATED ON THE POSTED AGENDA.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, GRIFFIN.
UM, THIS IS, UH, A PUBLIC HEARING FOR A ZONING CASE, UM, FOR A PROPERTY LOCATED TO THE NORTHWEST OF THE INTERSECTION OF RONALD REAGAN AND 2243.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN, THIS IS A, A VERY EASY REQUEST 'CAUSE IT'S A SINGLE FAMILY POCKET THAT'S ALONG A A CORRIDOR.
[01:25:01]
UM, THE APPLICANT IS REQUESTING A GENERAL COMMERCIAL ZONING.DISTRICT STAFF DID RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE REQUEST AND THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION.
ALSO RECOMMENDED APPROVAL DURING THEIR DECEMBER 14TH MEETING.
AND, UM, I'M GLAD TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AFTER THE PUBLIC HEARING AND THE APPLICANT'S HERE TO MAKE A PRESENTATION.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
I'M WITH KIMLEY HORN, REPRESENTING THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY.
UM, I'LL MAKE IT SHORT AND SWEET.
IT IS A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD REQUEST, BUT HERE'S A GENERAL LOCATION OF WHERE WE'RE AT.
WE'RE TOWARD THE EAST OF TOLIN 83 THERE, JUST LOCATED AT RONALD REAGAN IN 2243.
AND LIKE ROBIN SAID, WE'RE KIND OF THAT MISSING LINK WHERE WE GOT THAT INTERIM SFS AND SFR ZONING, AND WE ARE REQUESTING TO MATCH OUR NEIGHBORS WITH THAT GENERAL COMMERCIAL TWO B ZONING.
UM, THE, WE'RE IN THE ACTIVITY CENTER OF FUTURE LAND USE, WHICH LENDS ITSELF TO BE A COMMERCIAL CENTER.
SO WITH THAT, THE APPROPRIATE LAND USES ARE, ARE OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, RETAIL OFFICE, UH, RESTAURANTS, THINGS LIKE THAT AND THAT.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE ENVISION TO HAVE ON THE PROPERTY.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIFIC USERS LINED UP OR ANY, UM, SPECIFIC PLANS ALREADY DRAWN UP.
BUT WE DO ENVISION SORT OF LIKE A RETAIL GATHERING CENTER, MAYBE A, A MIX OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS LIKE A RESTAURANT, MAYBE AN OFFICE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF Y'ALL HAVE 'EM.
THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW OPEN.
NOBODY HAS SUBMITTED ANY CARDS TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM.
IS THERE ANYBODY WHO WISHED TO SPEAK ON THIS? ALL PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED.
WE'LL NOW DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION REGARDING ZONING CASE Z DASH 23 DASH 0 0 9 8 AS DESCRIBED PREVIOUSLY.
COUNSEL, MOTION TO APPROVE A SECOND MOTION AND A SECOND.
ANYTHING ELSE? I'M JUST EXCITED.
I'M ONE OF THE EAST SIDE LEANDER RESIDENTS AND WE HAVE HEB AND THEIR TORCHY'S AND NO COFFEE SHOPS, NO ICE CREAM PLACES.
VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS, THE OPPORTUNITY.
SO
I'LL SAY, WHEN I SAW SOMEBODY CONVERTING FROM RESIDENTIAL TO COMMERCIAL, I WAS LIKE, DID I MISREAD THIS? THIS IS FANTASTIC.
AND EXACTLY WHAT WE WANNA SEE.
I FEEL LIKE YOU GET TO BRING US ALL THE GOOD THINGS,
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[23. Conduct a Public Hearing regarding Ordinance Case OR-23-0012 to amend the Subdivision Regulations and Ordinance to address the requirement for a traffic study; change the Roadway Adequacy Fee to Roadway Adequacy Payment; to implement the use of a Traffic Study Screening Evaluation Form to determine the level of traffic study required for a development; to update definitions to conform those used elsewhere in the Code; to clarify the appeals procedure; and to provide for related matters, Williamson and Travis Counties, Texas.
]
CHANGE THE ROADWAY ADEQUACY FEE TO ROADWAY ADEQUACY PAYMENT TO IMPLEMENT THE USE OF A TRAFFIC STUDY SCREENING EVALUATION FORM, AND DETERMINE THE LEVEL OF TRAFFIC STUDY REQUIRED FOR A DEVELOPMENT TO UPDATE DEFINITIONS TO CONFORM THOSE USED ELSEWHERE IN THE CODE TO CLARIFY THE APPEALS PROCEDURE AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.
WILLIAMSON AND TRAVIS KENNEDYS, TEXAS CITY ENGINEER, TRUMAN, GOOD EVENING.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
I'M HERE TONIGHT TO PRESENT AN ITEM TO AMEND THE SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS AND ORDINANCES FOR THE CHANGES THAT YOU OUTLINED.
I DON'T, I DON'T THINK I NEED TO GO OVER 'EM AGAIN.
UH, HE WORKED ON THE ROADWAY IMPACT FEE ORDINANCE THAT WAS ADOPTED IN 2022.
UH, WE ARE GOING TO START COLLECTING FEES FOR THAT LATER THIS MONTH.
UM, SO THAT'S WHAT, UH, YOU KNOW, ENCOURAGED US TO GO AHEAD AND CHANGE THE ORDINANCE SO THAT THE CURRENT OR ORDINANCE WORKS HAND IN HAND WITH THE, WITH THE NEW FEES THAT WE'RE GONNA BE COLLECTING PAYMENTS.
WELL, ROADWAY IMPACT FEE AND ROADWAY ADEQUACY PAYMENTS,
SO, UM, SO YEAH, THAT, THAT'S THE DISTINCTION WE, WE MADE BECAUSE OF THE, THE NEW IMPACT FEES.
UM, I, UH, I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU GUYS MIGHT HAVE.
IT'S A PUBLIC HEARING, SO WE HAVE TO OPEN IT FIRST.
UM, THERE'S NO MORE PRESENTATION FROM EITHER OF Y'ALL.
THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW OPEN.
NOBODY HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS VERY COMPELLING TOPIC.
IS THERE ANYBODY WHO WISHES TO SPEAK? ALL RIGHT.
THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED.
WE'LL NOW DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION REGARDING ORDINANCE CASE OR DASH 23 DASH ZERO TWO AS DESCRIBED PREVIOUSLY.
COUNSEL, NO, THIS IS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD FOR ME.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE IT.
SECOND, SECOND MOTION AND A SECOND.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[24. Conduct a Public Hearing regarding Comprehensive Plan Case CPA-23-0008 to adopt an updated Comprehensive Plan including the update of the future land use plan and map; and to provide for related matters; Williamson & Travis Counties, Texas.
]
WILLIAMSON AND TRAVIS COUNTIES, TEXAS
[01:30:01]
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, GRIFF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, GRIFFINSO THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING, UM, THAT'S BEEN INITIATED BY THE, THE CITY TO MAKE UPDATES TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
UM, SO WITH THESE UPDATES, WE HAD SOME GOALS WE WERE TRYING TO ACHIEVE.
AND THE PRIMARY GOAL WAS TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF RESIDENTIAL THAT, UM, IS ENCOURAGED AS PART OF THE LAND USE CATEGORIES.
SO WHEN A, A DEVELOPER COMES TO THE, THE CITY AND THEY'RE RESEARCHING THEIR PROJECT AND PREPARING THEIR PLANS, THEY START WITH THE ZONING OF THEIR PROPERTY.
AND IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT ZONING, THEY LOOK TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT THE CITY IS LOOKING FOR.
SO TODAY, WHEN WE HAVE CATEGORIES THAT, UM, INCLUDE RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICTS, THEY THINK THAT THE CITY WANTS TO SEE RESIDENTIAL.
SO THE PURPOSE IN THIS AMENDMENT IS, UM, TO MAKE AN UPDATE TO COMMUNICATE, UM, WHERE WE'RE AT AS A CITY.
UM, SO THE FIRST THING THAT, UM, IS CHANGING IN THE PLAN IS WE UPDATED THE, THE BREAKDOWN, UM, OF THE LAND USE CATEGORIES.
THIS IS A LITTLE CONFUSING BECAUSE, UM, I SAID 2021, SO THAT'S WHEN IT WAS ADOPTED.
UM, IT'S NOT THAT THIS CHANGES THE MAKEUP, IT'S UPDATING IT BECAUSE OF ALL THE CHANGES WE'VE MADE THROUGH PUBLIC HEARINGS.
UM, SO THERE IS ONE, UH, MAP CHANGE THAT'S PART OF THIS REQUEST, UM, THAT DEALS WITH THE, UH, URBAN MIXED USE CATEGORY.
WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE.
SO DON'T THINK THAT WE'RE CHANGING THE MIX WITH THIS CHANGE 'CAUSE WE DIDN'T NOTIFY FOR THAT.
UM, THE NEXT THING THAT WE UPDATED IS OUR NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTIAL CATEGORY.
UM, WE ADDED A REFERENCE TO THAT WATER RE RESOLUTION THAT PRIORITIZES A CERTAIN LOT SIZE.
UM, WHEN WE ACHIEVE OUR GOALS WITH WATER AND, UM, FEEL LIKE WE CAN REMOVE THE RESOLUTION, WE'LL DO AN AMENDMENT TO THIS PLAN TO TAKE THAT REFERENCE OUT.
BUT STAFF FELT LIKE IT WAS IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE IT SO THE THE COMMUNITY WOULD KNOW WHAT OUR EXPECTATION IS.
SO THE NEXT, UM, CATEGORY THAT WE UPDATED WAS THE ACTIVITY CENTER.
UM, SO IN THE ACTIVITY CENTER, WE CLARIFIED THAT THE ONLY TIME, UM, RESIDENTIAL WOULD BE SUPPORTED IS IN INSTANCES WHERE IT'S A VERTICAL MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT.
SO, UM, THINGS LIKE TOWNHOUSES WOULD NOT BE AN ACCESS ACCEPTABLE USE.
UM, ONE THING THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM YOUR PACKET, THERE WAS A TYPO.
UM, IT, I BELIEVE IT SAYS THE DESIRED MIX IS 70 TO A HUNDRED AND ZERO RESIDENTIAL.
SO WE HAD CHANGED IT TO A HUNDRED PERCENT FOR THE ORDINANCE UPDATE.
UM, SO THAT'S THIS PART RIGHT DOWN HERE.
AND THEN ON THE NEXT SECTION OF THE ACTIVITY CENTER, THIS IS WHERE WE REMOVE THE TOWNHOUSE, UH, USE COMPONENT AND THE DIRECTION TO CREATE MIDDEN MULTIFAMILY DISTRICT AND THE REFERENCES TO THE RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS.
SO WHEN WE SEE FUTURE PROJECTS AND ACTIVITY CENTERS, WE WON'T, UM, ANTICIPATE STANDALONE RESIDENTIAL USES.
UM, AND AGAIN, IF WE CHANGE OUR MINDS, WE CAN UPDATE THIS PLAN AS OUR CITY CHANGES.
SO THE NEXT CATEGORY WE UPDATED WAS EMPLOYMENT CENTER.
UM, WE ALSO CHANGED THE DESIRED MIX TO SAY A HUNDRED PERCENT NON-RESIDENTIAL.
AND, UM, WE REMOVED THE STANDALONE COMPONENT, UH, FOR RESIDENTIAL USES IN THE, THE INTENT AND CHARACTER SECTION.
UM, ON THE, THE SECOND PAGE, UM, WE DID PROVIDE A DEFINITION OF A PRIMARY EMPLOYER AND A CAMPUS STYLE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, THESE ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO WRITE.
UM, MY TEAM DID A LOT OF RESEARCH TRYING TO GIVE A A, A DEFINITION THAT WAS HELPFUL, YET STILL A LITTLE GENERIC SO YOU CAN ALLOW DIFFERENT USES.
UM, WE ALSO UPDATED URBAN MIXED USE.
THIS CAME AS A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION.
SO WHEN THEY WERE LOOKING AT THE PLAN, THEY RECOGNIZED THAT THIS LAND USE CATEGORY CALLED FOR A HUNDRED PERCENT RESIDENTIAL AS AN OPTION.
UM, SO IT'S SOMETHING STAFF MISSED.
SO WE WERE VERY GLAD TO HAVE THEM PROVIDE THAT FEEDBACK.
AND, UM, WHAT WE CHANGED ABOUT THIS CATEGORY IS THAT, UH, RESIDENTIAL IS ALLOWED, UM, WHEN YOU'RE DOING THE VERTICAL MIXED USE COMPONENT.
AND, UM, WE ALSO REMOVED THE CREATION OF MIDDEN MULTIFAMILY DISTRICT.
UM, ONE THING I WANTED TO BRING UP IS IN THIS CATEGORY WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF PROPERTIES THAT ARE ZONED FOR URBAN MIXED USE.
UM, SO SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FROM A STAFF PERSE PERSPECTIVE IS MAYBE A FUTURE AMENDMENT TO THE ACTUAL LAND USE PLAN.
UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PROPERTY, WE HAVE A LOT OF, UH, ALREADY ESTABLISHED RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL THAT MAYBE WE DON'T WANNA SEE URBAN MIXED USE IN THIS, THIS AREA.
SO WE MIGHT COME BACK, UM, AFTER REVIEWING THE COMP PLAN WITH THE COMMISSION THIS YEAR, AND THAT MIGHT BE AN UPDATE THAT YOU SEE IN THE FUTURE.
UM, SO AS PART OF THIS AMENDMENT, UM, WE'VE BEEN APPROACHED BY SEVERAL DEVELOPERS ABOUT THIS, UM, THIS CORNER RIGHT HERE.
UM, THIS IS THE CORNER OF 180 3 A AND HERO WAY.
AND A LOT OF DEVELOPERS DESIRE TO DO A COMMERCIAL STYLE DEVELOPMENT, BUT THE URBAN MIXED USE CATEGORY DOESN'T SUPPORT
[01:35:01]
THOSE DISTRICTS.SO AS PART OF THIS AMENDMENT, UM, WE ARE PROPOSING TO CHANGE THE LAND USE CATEGORY TO ACTIVITY CENTER, WHICH WOULD ALLOW FOR MORE COMMERCIAL IN THAT AREA.
AND, UM, THAT IS IT FOR MY PRESENTATION.
UM, THIS DID GO TO THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION.
UM, THEY HELD A, A PUBLIC HEARING AND THAT'S WHEN THEY DIRECTED STAFF TO MAKE THE CHANGES TO URBAN, UM, MIXED USE.
SO WE HAD A FOLLOW UP MEETING LAST WEEK WHERE THEY LOST THE CHANGES.
AND, UM, I'M GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AFTER THE PUBLIC HEARING.
UM, WITH THAT, THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW OPEN.
THERE'S NOBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM.
WAS THERE ANYBODY WHO WISH TO SPEAK? ALL RIGHT.
WE'LL NOW DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION REGARDING COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
CASE CPA A DASH TWO THREE DASH 0 0 8 AS DESCRIBED PREVIOUSLY.
COUNSEL, NO, THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE, YOU GO FIRST.
I LIKE THE CHANGES, ESPECIALLY WITH THE HERO A AND, UH, 180 3 A, I THINK IT MAKES MORE SENSE FOR THE USE.
I THINK IT'S REAL, REALLY EASY TO, THIS IS JUST, IT WAS SO NEEDED.
IT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR A WHILE AND IT MAKES IT SO SIMPLE.
SO IT MAKES EVERY STAFF'S JOBS EASIER.
AND OUR JOB EASIER TOO, WHEN WE'RE SEEING APPLICANTS COME THROUGH AND ASK FOR CERTAIN THINGS.
THIS IS JUST SETTING EXPECTATIONS AND MAKING IT VERY CLEAR.
AND SO, YES, ABSOLUTELY 100% THANK YOU FOR, FOR DOING THIS.
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I'VE SEEN, LIKE JUST UNDERSTANDING WHAT COMES IN BEFORE US.
AND KUDOS TO ALL OF YOUR STAFF.
THIS PROBABLY TOOK TONS OF TIME AND THOUGHT AND IT REALLY SHOWS THROUGH AND IT'S FANTASTIC.
MY ONLY ONE QUIBBLE, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THIS ALREADY, IN EMPLOYMENT CENTER, AUTO ORIENTED, TRADITIONAL CHARACTER IN A PLANNED ENVIRONMENT, UPPER STORY, VERTICAL MIXED USE, RESIDENTIAL IS ENCOURAGED.
WHY CHOOSE ENCOURAGED AND NOT LIKE TOLERATED.
SO THAT WAS, UM, EXISTING LANGUAGE.
WE CUT THE LAST SENTENCE ON THAT ONE SO WE CAN CHANGE THE WORD ENCOURAGED TO IS ALLOWED IS WE CAN COPE WITH ANOTHER WORD.
IF YOU WANT ANOTHER WORD THAT'S NOT A BIG DEAL.
WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? IT'S ON THE EMPLOYMENT CENTER.
I MEAN, WHEN YOU SEE ENCOURAGED I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, UHHUH.
IT MAKES SOUND LIKE WE REALLY WANT IT.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S EVERYBODY'S ARGUMENT EVERY TIME OR BY EVERYBODY.
I MEAN, DEVELOPER COMES IN OR ABE COMES IN AND THEY'RE SAYING, THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR.
WE COULD JUST DELETE THE LAST SENTENCE, RIGHT? I'D BE FINE WITH IT.
AND, AND ALSO WHILE YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT TOO, PUTTING THE RESOLUTION IN THERE AND SAY, GIVING OUR WHY THAT WE'RE DOING SOME OF THESE THINGS IS REALLY IMPORTANT TOO.
YEAH, I THINK WE COULD, SINCE UNDER APPROPRIATE USES, IT DOES LIST THAT IT CAN BE THERE.
SO YEAH, I THINK THAT'D BE FINE TO JUST REMOVE THE LAST SENTENCE.
ARE Y'ALL OKAY WITH THAT? YES.
WITH THAT, DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE COMMENTS? THEN I'M GONNA MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE WITH THE DELETION OF THAT ONE SENTENCE ON THE EMPLOYMENT CENTER.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[25. Discuss and consider action on an Ordinance providing for updates to the Roadway Impact Fee Service Area Map and the Roadway Impact Fee Study.]
ALL RIGHT.MOVING INTO OUR REGULAR AGENDA, ITEM 25, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR UPDATES TO THE ROADWAY IMPACT FEE SERVICE AREA MAP, AND THE ROADWAY IMPACT FEE STUDY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
UM, SO THIS IS, UH, AN UPDATE TO THE ROADWAY IMPACT FEE SERVICE AREA MAP AND ROADWAY IMPACT FEE STUDY.
AND, UM, I HAVE JAKE HERE TO CORRECT ME IF I SAY THIS WRONG.
UM, BUT THE, THE PURPOSE IN THIS UPDATE WAS TO ADD THE AREAS THAT ARE MARKED IN GREEN ON THIS MAP, UM, TO THE SERVICE AREA MAP.
UH, SO WHEN WE ANNEX PROPERTY INTO THE CITY, WE HAVE TO TAKE THE STEP TO ADD IT TO THIS MAP.
WE'RE WORKING WITH, UH, OUR CITY ATTORNEY TO MAKE THAT PART OF THE PROCESS WITH AN ANNEXATION ANNEXATION.
SO YOU WON'T SEE A LOT OF THESE CHANGES.
UM, BUT THAT'S THE, THE CHANGE AS PART OF THIS ITEM LOOKS GREAT.
COUNSEL ROBIN, IF YOU'LL CLARIFY.
SO I, UM, I MESSED UP, UH, IN THE AGENDA.
I SAID TAKE ACTION ON ORDINANCE.
THERE IS NO ORDINANCE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS.
SO WHAT ARE WE APPROVING? EXACTLY? THE STUDY.
YEAH, IT'S UPDATE TO THE STUDY AND THE, UM, MAP.
YEAH, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE STUDY IN THE MAP.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[26. Discuss and consider action on Ordinance Case OR-21-0004 and OR-21-0005 to amend the Subdivision Ordinance and Chapter 13 Utilities to add provisions for development phasing; and to provide for related matters; Williamson & Travis Counties, Texas.]
26, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON ORDINANCE CASE OR DASH 21 DASH 0 0 0 4 AND OR DASH 21 DASH 0 0 0 5 TO AMEND THE SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE AND CHAPTER 13 UTILITIES TO ADD PROVISIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT PHASING AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.WILLIAMSON AND TRAVIS KENNEDYS, TEXAS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
GRIFFIN, THIS IS YOUR LAST ITEM.
SO THIS IS, UM, OUR ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE PHASING ORDINANCE.
[01:40:01]
ORIGINALLY ADOPTED IN 2022, REVIEWED IN 2023.AND IN YOUR PACKET I INCLUDED THE THREE NEW SUBDIVISIONS THAT HAVE COME IN THAT, UM, ARE APPLYING THIS PHASING PLAN REQUIREMENT.
UM, WE FEEL LIKE WE'VE HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS AND DON'T SEE A NEED FOR A CHANGE.
SO WE'RE HERE TO HEAR IF YOU NEED A CHANGE.
I DO NOT KNOW BETTER THAN YOU, SO I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
[27. Council Member Future Agenda Items [Any deliberation of or decision about the subject of the inquiry shall be limited to a proposal to place the subject on the agenda for a subsequent meeting.]]
ALL RIGHT.FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. ANY DELIBERATION OF A DECISION ABOUT A SUBJECT OF AN INQUIRY SHALL BE LIMITED TO A PROPOSAL TO PLACE THE SUBJECT ON THE AGENDA FOR A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING? ALL RIGHT.
MOVING INTO EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE ITEM,
[28. Council Member Closing Statements.]
ITEM 28, COUNCIL MEMBER CLOSING COMMENTS PLEASE.TWO MORNING TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY NEW YEAR AND, UM, HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE OUT AT THE REVEREND MARTIN LUTHER KING JUNIOR MARCH AND CELEBRATION FROM 10 TO TWO ON, UM, MONDAY, JANUARY 15TH.
AND I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR THE ESSAYS OR THE WINNING ESSAY FROM LEANDRO ISD FOR THE MLK DAY PLACE THREE.
I'M JUST SURPRISED THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBER IN PLACE ONE
SO HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYBODY.
SO HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYBODY AND I TOO LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING Y'ALL OUT AT THE MLK CELEBRATION.
AND THANK YOU TO STAFF FOR ALL THE WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE PUTTING IN AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS NEW YEAR WITH FOUR DAYS IN, LIKE LOTS OF WORK HAS BEEN DONE.
UH, TONIGHT WE PICKED UP DINNER FROM GOLDEN CHICK BECAUSE WE HAVE MADE A COMMITMENT, A RESOLUTION IF YOU WILL, TO SHOP LOCAL WHENEVER WE CAN AND SUPPORT OUR LOCAL LEANDER ECONOMY.
SO WE ARE ASKING YOU ALL OF OUR FELLOW RESIDENTS IN LEANDER TO MAKE THE SAME RESOLUTION THIS YEAR.
SHOP LOCAL SHOP LEANDER WHENEVER POSSIBLE, AND SHOW UP TO ALL OF OUR LEANDER THINGS, INCLUDING THE MLK DAY FESTIVAL.
[29. Convene into Executive Session pursuant to Section 551.074, Texas Government Code, to discuss Interim City Manager assignments and duties.
Recovene into open session to take any action as deemed appropriate in the City Council's discretion regarding Interim City Manager assignments and duties.]
THE TIME IS 7:55 PM AM I NEED TO LOOK UP THERE.
ALRIGHT, WE'RE GONNA RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION AT 8:20 PM TO TAKE ANY ACTION DEEMED APPROPRIATE IN THE CITY COUNCIL'S DISCRETION REGARDING INTERIM CITY MANAGER ASSIGNMENTS AND DUTIES.
MAYOR PRO TEM, DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? NO ACTION WITH THAT.
ITEM NUMBER 30 AT 8:20 PM GOODNIGHT.