Utility Advisory Committee

City Hall Meeting Minutes 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Utility Advisory Committee Contact: Andy Haub 360.753.8475 Thursday, March 2, 2017 5:40 PM City Hall, Room 207 1. CALL TO ORDER 1.A ROLL CALL Present: 5 - Chair Thad Curtz, Committee member Roger Wilson, Committee member Austin Hildreth, Committee member Arland Schneider and Committee member Jeremy Twitchell Absent: 3 - Committee member Dever Haffner-Ratliffe, Committee member Steve Fossum and Committee member Chase Gallagher 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 17-0189 Approval of February 2, 2017 UAC Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT - None 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM UAC AND STAFF Water Resources Directer and UAC Staff Liaison Andy Haub provided the following annoucements: Tonight is Chair Curtz's last meeting as a UAC member. Mr. Haub thanked Chair Curtz for his seven years of service, including service as the UAC Chair. He presented Chair Curtz with a certificate of appreciation signed by Mayor Selby and Councilmember Cooper. Chair Curtz opened the floor for nominations for Chair and Vice Chair. Committee member Wilson said he would volunteer for either position. A motion was made to elect Committee member Wilson as Chair; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. The Committee decided to elect a Vice Chair at a future meeting. Community Planning and Development is requesting a member of the UAC to City of Olympia Page 1 Utility Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes March 2, 2017 volunteer for a "Missing Middle" Infill Housing work group, which will meet once a month for nine months, beginning March 14. The committee will be comprised of two members of the Planning Commission, a UAC member and members from the building and banking community, and other representatives from the community. The committee will produce a set of recommendations to Council that will affect changes to the codes and standards on tiny homes, duplexes/triplexes/fourplexes, townhomes, cottage homes and other alternative housing options. Mr. Haub explained how the utilities play a large role in housing development policy. Committee member Hildreth volunteered and will serve as a UAC representative on the City's work group. Mr. Haub announced the sea level rise response plan is moving forward. The City, LOTT and Port of Olympia are in the process of negotiating a contract with the selected consultant who will help with the plan. He noted the community meeting on February 8 was well attended. The participants were very engaged and asked lots of questions. 6. BUSINESS ITEMS 17-0195 Downtown Toilets - Wastewater Utility Funding Downtown Liaison Mark Rentfrow and Mr. Haub briefed the Committee on a referral from the City Council regarding the funding of public toilets in downtown Olympia. Councilmember Jim Cooper attended the meeting to listen to the discussion. The Committee asked: What is the main driver/reason for establishing downtown toilets? Staff explained it's an active community dialog and requests for a downtown toilet have increased recently from the public and downtown business owners. Staff explained that installing downtown toilets will hopefully help with the problem of cleaning up human waste on the sidewalks and in front of downtown businesses. Staff showed a map depicting the current location of bathrooms downtown. Staff noted most of the toilets were located in the perimeter of downtown and a recent pilot program created portable toilets within the downtown core. Staff and Committee members continued the discussion and asked further clarifying questions, especially how the wastewater utility and capital project funding would work for installing a permanent structure called a "Portland Loo". The UAC consensus indicatedsupport of the current funding of the pilot and Artesian Common toilet from the wastewater utility. The UAC did not feel comfortable supporting the long-term funding of an additional three-four Portland Loos unless Council could show a funding proposal for them to make a decision on. The UAC is concerned with impacts and increases to utility rates. Councilmember Cooper said the Council would be willing to present the UAC with a long-term funding strategy that could include funding the toilets through a dedicated capital project or through debt-funding. A motion was made and seconded to draft a letter to Council expressing the Committee's opinion on the funding of downtown toilets. The motion City of Olympia Page 2 Utility Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes March 2, 2017 carried unanimously. 17-0193 NPDES Annual Report Storm and Surface Water Utility Associate Planner Jeremy Graham provided an introduction to the federal Clean Water Act’s National Pollution Discharge and Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The Department of Ecology (DOE) is the state agency that oversees compliance with the permit. The annual reporting for the permit incorporates and documents the City's work to show compliance with the permit. The Committee reviews the permit report prior to submittal to DOE. The Committee also reviewed the City's Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) which is required by the permit. The NPDES annual report was approved for staff submittal to the Department of Ecology. 7. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 7:29 p.m. City of Olympia Page 3