Utility Advisory Committee

City Hall Meeting Minutes 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Utility Advisory Committee Contact: Andy Haub 360.753.8475 Thursday, April 6, 2017 5:40 PM City Hall, Room 207 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Wilson called the meeting to order. 1.A ROLL CALL Present: 6 - Chair Roger Wilson, Committee member Steve Fossum, Committee member Austin Hildreth, Committee member Dever Haffner-Ratliffe, Committee member Arland Schneider and Committee member Jeremy Twitchell Absent: 2 - Committee member Luke Bowerman and Committee member Chase Gallagher 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The Sea Level Rise Update was moved before the Storm and Surface Water Financial Incentives. The agenda was approved as amended. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 17-0353 Approval of the March 2, 2017 UAC Meeting Minutes Chair Wilson requested two minor grammatical changes. Staff made note of those changes and will amend the minutes. The minutes were approved as amended. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT The following people gave public comment on the sea level rise business item: - Bev Bassett - Walt Jorgensen (also spoke about the storm and surface water incentives) - Helen Wheatley - Judy Bardin - Chris Sterns - Thad Curtz Water Resources Director and Staff Liaison Andy Haub read written comments City of Olympia Page 1 Utility Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 6, 2017 received from Bob Jacobs regarding sea level rise. Chair Wilson thanked speakers for providing comments. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM UAC AND STAFF Chair Wilson and Mr. Haub attended the Council's General Government Committee meeting on March 22. The meeting was the annual check in with all the advisory committee chairs. Committee member Hildreth attended a meeting on March 14 for the City's "Missing Middle" Housing work group. He volunteered to be the work group's UAC representative as it works toward providing recommendations to Council. Mr. Haub announced Luke Bowerman was appointed as a new member of the UAC effective April 1. Mr. Bowerman was not able to attend tonight's meeting, but will be at the May 4 meeting. The UAC sent a letter at the end of March to the City Council regarding wastewater utility funding for downtown toilets. A motion was moved and seconded to elect Dever Haffner-Ratcliffe as Vice Chair of the UAC. The motion carried unanimously. 6. BUSINESS ITEMS 17-0354 Storm and Surface Water Financial Incentives Mr. Haub presented information on incentivizing Storm and Surface Water Utility rates to better encourage contemporary best management practices and innovation. The incentives could foster commercial developments and residential homes to exceed current development regulations in exchange for a reduction in monthly utility charges. The City's financial consultant is conducting a complete financial review of the Storm and Surface Water Utility. The consultant is also reviewing the incentives as a part of the 2018 utility rate review. Mr. Haub requested thoughts and ideas which can then be incorporated into the UAC's rate recommendation in September. Mr. Haub explained the current rate structure for the utility. Single family residential stormwater rates are a flat rate and also calculated on an assumed amount of impervious surface. Commercial and multi-family is a three tiered system and based on age of development. Examples of environmentally-friendly stormwater practices include: - Pervious concrete - Green roofs - Infrastructure that treats stormwater onsite, such as rain gardens. City of Olympia Page 2 Utility Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes April 6, 2017 Mr. Haub noted other communities have stormwater incentives rates, such as Portland. He indicated it's very difficult for them to administer. The UAC asked some clarifying questions. It was noted the cost of installing a green roof (for example) is a substantial cost compared to the relatively "small" credit the City can provide to a customer. The UAC thanked staff for the briefing. The information was received. 17-0355 Sea Level Rise Planning - Update Mr. Haub provided an update on the planning efforts for sea level rise response project. City staff will attend the April 11 City Council meeting to request approval of the Interlocal Agreement for sea level rise efforts between the City, Port of Olympia and LOTT Clean Water Alliance. The three agencies will hire the consulting firm AECOM Technical Services to assist with the project. Mr. Haub showed a flowchart on Olympia's response planning. UAC members suggested moving the governance item to the beginning of the chart. He made note of this change and also commented that governance occurs throughout the process. All documents presented during the meeting will be posted to the sea level rise business item (file number 17-0355). Staff will keep UAC members briefed on this topic throughout the year. Staff will also keep UAC and the public informed of any community outreach meetings or opportunities for public input. A list serve will be created for citizens to sign up for notifications. The UAC thanked staff for the update. The information was received. 9. ADJOURN Chair Wilson adjourned the meeting at 7:49 p.m. City of Olympia Page 3