Utility Advisory Committee

City Hall Meeting Minutes 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Utility Advisory Committee Contact: Andy Haub 360.753.8475 Thursday, May 5, 2016 5:40 PM City Hall, Room 207 1. Call to Order Chair Curtz called the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m. 2. Roll Call Present: 7 - Chair Thad Curtz, Committee member Michelle Barnett, Committee member Roger Wilson, Committee member Austin Hildreth, Committee member Arland Schneider, Committee member Jeremy Twitchell, and Committee member Chase Gallagher Absent: 2 - Committee member Dever Kuni, and Committee member Steve Fossum 3. Approval of Agenda The agenda was approved as amended with one minor change to the order of the business items. 4. Approval of Minutes 16-0574 Approval of April 7, 2016 UAC Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved as amended with some minor grammatial edits and changing Committee Member Fossum's attendance to present. 5. Public Comment - No public comment 6. Announcements from UAC and Staff Chair Curtz asked the new UAC members to introduce themselves. New members are Arland Schneider, Chase Gallagher, Jeremy Twitchell and Austin Hildreth. Water Resources Director/UAC Liaison Andy Haub announced the topic to potentially switch to monthly utility billing will go before the Council Finance Committee in mid-June. Staff will bring this item back to the UAC in the Fall for further discussion. Mr. Haub noted the recent media attention regarding lead in drinking water. He said the City of Olympia's water system does not have the lead "goosenecks" like Tacoma which are a source of lead getting into drinking water. Olympia found two goosenecks within it's system years ago and they were replaced immediately. Lead plumbing in City of Olympia Page 1 Utility Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes May 5, 2016 older homes is the usual source of lead in drinking water. He noted the City will have a lead informational website soon. On the website will be lab contact information so homeowners can have their water tested. Chair Curtz made a suggestion that staff should speak at an upcoming Council meeting regarding lead in drinking water. The UAC discussed election of a Vice-Chair. Michelle Barnett stated that she was interested in the position. A motion was made to elect Michelle as Vice-Chair of the UAC. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. 7. Business Items 16-0575 Storm and Surface Water Plan Online Survey Water Resources Senior Planner Laura Keehan received feedback on the draft survey questions for the Storm and Surface Water Master Plan process. She provided draft questions in the UAC meeting packet. Once finalized, the City will post the questions for citizens to participate in an online survey. The UAC had general comments and suggestions regarding the survey questions. They did not suggest any deletions or additions to the questions. The information was received. 16-0576 Urban Septic Conversion Strategy Water Resources Director Andy Haub provided a briefing on the local strategy to convert urban septics to municipal sewer. This item is a briefing only; no UAC action needed. The partners in this strategy are the Cities of Lacey, Tumwater and Olympia along with Thurston County (the regulatory agency over septics) and LOTT. Staff noted the financial complexities of converting septic systems to sewer. The City of Olympia has a septic-to-sewer conversion program. City staff provide technical assistance and some financial incentives to homeowners. Staff answered several clarifying questions from the UAC. Mr. Haub will keep the UAC up-to-date on this item as the discussion continues regionally. The information was received. 16-0577 Climate Change/Sea Level Rise Planning Water Resources Engineering and Planning Manager Eric Christensen provided a briefing on Olympia's response to climate change and sea level rise. This item is a briefing only; no UAC action needed. The briefing included information on global and local sea level rise trends, impacts to our downtown and potential preventative measures the City could take to protect downtown. City of Olympia Page 2 Utility Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes May 5, 2016 UAC members asked clarifying questions. Staff is scheduled to come back to the UAC several more times this year to continue this discussion and develop a plan for responding to sea level rise. The information was received. 8. Adjournment Chair Curtz adjourned the meeting at 7:49 p.m. City of Olympia Page 3