Utility Advisory Committee

City Hall Meeting Minutes 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Utility Advisory Committee Contact: Andy Haub 360.753.8475 Thursday, December 1, 2016 5:40 PM City Hall, Room 207 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Curtz called the meeting to order. 1.A ROLL CALL Present: 8 - Chair Thad Curtz, Vice Chair Michelle Barnett, Committee member Dever Haffner-Ratliffe, Committee member Roger Wilson, Committee member Austin Hildreth, Committee member Steve Fossum, Committee member Jeremy Twitchell and Committee member Chase Gallagher Absent: 1 - Committee member Arland Schneider 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 16-1283 Approval of October 6, 2016 UAC Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved as amended. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT - None 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM UAC AND STAFF No announcements from UAC members. Water Resources Director and UAC Liaison Andy Haub presented the following announcements: · Noted the City's Action Plan process memo from Stacey Ray (Community Planning & Development) in the UAC's December packet. · Reminder of upcoming high tides on December 17 and 18, 2016. · The overall 2017 City utility rate went down one-tenth of a percent. The rates are continuing to move forward through the City Council approval process. · LOTT is taking potential steps to reduce the connection fee for citizens converting from septic to sewer. · Reminder there will be no UAC meeting in January, 2017. City of Olympia Page 1 Utility Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes December 1, 2016 · Chair Curtz will sign a letter with UAC recommendations and support for staff's proposed amendments to wastewater regulations (discussed at the October 2016 UAC meeting). The regulations relate to septic to sewer conversion, ownership and maintenance of side sewers and S.T.E.P permitting. The letter will accompany an upcoming staff report to amend the wastewater-related Olympia Municipal Code and the City's Engineering Design and Development Standards. 6. BUSINESS ITEMS 16-1284 Private Utilities in City Rights Of Way Steve Sperr, Assistant City Engineer, provided information on private utilities that are permitted within the City's right-of-way and easements. The Olympia Comprehensive Plan is the overall guidance document regarding private utilities. The types of private underground utilities are telecommunications, fiber optic, cable, natural gas and electric. Steve explained the City's private utility master use permits and franchise agreements. He also explained how private utility companies must follow many different regulations at the City, State and Federal level. The City regulates private utilities through the Olympia Muncipal Code and the Engineering Design and Development Standards (EDDS) which also ties into the permitting process. The City is beginning to re-negotiate with Puget Sound Energy (PSE) on their franchise agreement. After some clarifying questions and a brief discussion on the presentation, the UAC thanked Steve for the briefing. The report was received. 16-1285 UAC 2017-2018 Workplan and Officer Elections Mr. Haub facilitated a discussion on the development of the UAC's 2017-2018 workplan. He noted it does not need to be finalized at the meeting tonight. Staff will return with a revised workplan at the February meeting based on feedback tonight. The UAC will also need to elect officers during the February meeting. The UAC provided the following feedback and suggestions for the 2017-2018 workplan: · Briefing on the LOTT cost of service study and the possibility for tiered LOTT rates and a general rate review of LOTT. · Update from staff on the number of S.T.E.Ps that are permitted once the new regulation is adopted. · How to engage our community in City planning and outreach efforts. City of Olympia Page 2 Utility Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes December 1, 2016 Items City staff and Council are requesting the UAC review within their next workplan: · Funding a Downtown public toilet (Council request) · Climate change and energy planning (Council request) · Sea Level Rise · Storm and Surface Water Plan Update · Wastewater Master Plan Update · Commercial recycling program and rates · City Council would like the UAC to review again the topic of converting to monthly utility billing. Staff will bring this item back during the current work planning period in either February or March to review and provide a recommendation to Council. The draft workplan was discussed and received. The Utility Advisory Committee will postone action on this item until the February 2, 2017 meeting. 16-1290 Utility Finances - Public Involvement Mr. Haub presented information on utility related public involvement and education/outreach. He gave an overview of the City's current involvement and outreach as it relates to utilities. Waste ReSources staff Dan Daniels and Ron Jones were in attendance to provide information on their programs. Mr. Jones noted Waste ReSources is considering a new smartphone app for garbage and recycling information. He will send UAC members a link to information on the apps being considered. The UAC and staff discussed ideas for how to enhance community involvement, such as staff attending meetings of local groups such as Kiwanas or Rotary. Another idea was the use of list serves and other electronic community forums. The information was received. 9. ADJOURNMENT Chair Curtz adjourned the meeting at 7:40 p.m. City of Olympia Page 3