Public Works Committee

TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING January 5, 2023 Page 1 CONVENE: 8:00 a.m. PRESENT: Chair Eileen Swarthout and Councilmembers Michael Althauser and Charlie Schneider. Staff: Water Resources & Sustainability Director Dan Smith, Sustainability Coordinator Alyssa Jones Wood, and Department Assistant II Bonnie Hale. Others: Meridith Greer, Greer Environmental Consulting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE, DECEMBER 8, 2022: MOTION: Councilmember Althauser moved, seconded by Councilmember Schneider, to approve the minutes of December 8, 2022 as published. A voice vote approved the motion unanimously. SOLSMART Sustainability Coordinator Jones Wood presented the proposal to initiate PROGRAM efforts for the City to receive accreditation as a SolSmart community. PROPOSAL: SolSmart is a national technical assistance and designation program designed to recognize local jurisdictions for encouraging solar energy growth and addressing barriers to solar energy. The program was created in 2016 by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office. The SolSmart program has Bronze, Silver, and Gold designation levels. Eight communities in Washington have been designated under SolSmart with four communities designated as Bronze, one community as Silver, and three Gold designations (City of Olympia, City of Issaquah, and the City of Mercer Island). The SolSmart designation is an action identified within the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan. The first step in receiving the designation is submittal of a Solar Statement to enable the City to receive technical assistance for the program from a SolSmart consultant. The technical assistance is provided at no cost to the City. SolSmart assists the City in reducing solar soft costs for residents and businesses installing solar on their homes and businesses. Soft costs are actions required through the permitting process, which can account for 66% of the total cost for installing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. SolSmart estimates soft costs can be approximately $2,500 per system. The goal of the program is to eliminate soft costs to make installation of the systems transparent and easier to understand. The first step for pursuing SolSmart designation is to connect with SolSmart technical assistance providers through a consultation call. During the call, TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING January 5, 2023 Page 2 technical assistance providers describe the program and process, learn about the City’s solar goals, and identify the applicable SolSmart Designation Criteria for the City. The consultation call and all technical assistance are provided at no cost because of a grant through the U.S. Department of Energy. The City is targeting for SolSmart Silver because of staff capacity with a future goal to achieve SolSmart Gold. Coordinator Jones Wood advised that she has completed the first consultation call with the technical advisors. The next step is submittal of the written commitment (Solar Statement) to enable the City to receive technical assistance. Following successful designation as a SolSmart community, the City is able to publicize the designation and display a glass plaque signaling to the community the City’s efforts to reduce barriers for the installation of solar energy systems. Coordinator Jones Wood described the steps required to achieve Silver SolSmart designation. To receive Gold SolSmart designation, the City must meet the requirements for Bronze and Silver designations, as well as requirements for Gold SolSmart designation. Those requirements include codifying the zoning ordinance to eliminate barriers and commit to a three- business day turnaround for permit review for small rooftop solar systems. Councilmember Althauser described the experience he encountered when he installed a small rooftop solar system on his house. The process for permit review entailed a 40-day period delaying the ability for his system to generate energy. Another challenge within the process is the requirement for the Department of Labor and Industries (LNI) to inspect electrical work as opposed to the City inspecting electrical. Coordinator Jones Wood responded that she understands the City oversees residential solar and L&I oversees commercial; however, L&I also must inspect electrical. She plans to contact City of Olympia staff to learn how Olympia was able to work with L&I in order to achieve Gold accreditation. Councilmember Althauser added that another factor not under the control of the City is the requirement for Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to install the appropriate meter for the solar system. Between the L&I inspection and PSE meter installation, over two months in the summer lapsed without the ability to generate at least 32 kilowatts of clean electricity. Councilmember Althauser asked about plans for the Tumwater School District to receive a SolSmart designation. Coordinator Jones Wood advised that the City and L&I serve as the permitting agencies. The school district would not be eligible to seek SolSmart designation because they are not a permitting agency. Chair Swarthout inquired about the coordination between the SolSmart TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING January 5, 2023 Page 3 program and energy providers. Coordinator Jones Wood explained that as part of the City’s process for seeking accreditation, staff will develop a solar webpage offering a one-stop location for residents and businesses to obtain information on local installers, available financial incentives, financing options, and protections as a consumer for solar installations. Chair Swarthout shared that she was recently advised by L&I that the department is required to inspect electrical work within 72 hours of being notified. She is unsure as to the turnaround time for PSE. Coordinator Jones Wood asked the Public Works Committee to recommend the City Council authorize the Mayor to sign a solar statement to begin the process of seeking SolSmart accreditation. MOTION: Councilmember Althauser moved, seconded by Councilmember Schneider, to recommend the City Council authorize the Mayor to sign a solar statement to begin the process of seeking SolSmart accreditation. A voice vote approved the motion unanimously. GRANT Consultant Greer reported the City received a Washington State Department AGREEMENT WITH of Ecology grant to complete three Stormwater Management Action Plans THE DEPARTMENT (SMAPs) for the three highest priority subbasins within the City. SMAPs OF ECOLOGY FOR are watershed-based approaches to stormwater management, which allow SMAP staff to collect data about each subbasin and specifically tailor management STORMWATER actions to help improve water quality based on several factors including land BASIN PLANNING: use, pollutants of concern, and habitat health. The current focus is the Trosper Lake Subbasin to meet a permit deadline by March 31, 2023. Some of the subbasin priorities include developing an enhanced street sweeping plan, developing and implementing a ditch maintenance program, launching the business source control program effective in 2023 focusing on businesses located within the subbasin, and development of a stormwater monitoring program. The remaining two subbasins of focus over the next year include West Mottman Subbasin and Fish Pond Creek Subbasin. The Department of Ecology grant funds 75% of the City’s total cost. She asked the committee to move the agreement forward to the City Council. The grant agreement expires January 31, 2025. The City of Tumwater’s Stormwater Utility will cover the remaining 25% of the project cost. MOTION: Councilmember Althauser moved, seconded by Councilmember Schneider, to recommend the City Council approve and authorize the Mayor to sign the Grant Agreement with the Department of Ecology for SMAP Stormwater Basin Planning. A voice vote approved the motion unanimously. GRANT Consultant Greer reported the golf course received Salmon Safe Certification TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING January 5, 2023 Page 4 AGREEMENT WITH in 2019. Salmon Safe is a standard many golf courses are achieving to make THE DEPARTMENT golf courses and other facilities salmon safe and friendly for salmon. Part of OF ECOLOGY FOR the certification required providing stormwater treatment for the parking lot. THE GOLF COURSE Some other requirements have been completed. The next step is designing PARKING LOT the golf course parking stormwater retrofit project. The parking lot is STORMWATER scheduled for resurfacing in summer 2023. The agreement helps staff to RETROFIT DESIGN: align the projects concurrently. Currently, stormwater from the parking lot drains untreated to the Deschutes River from two locations at the Tumwater Valley Golf Course parking lot. The proposal is to design a bioretention facility to capture stormwater from the golf course parking lot and provide treatment before discharging to Deschutes River. The facility will treat for total suspended solids (TSS), dissolved copper, total phosphorous, and dissolved zinc. Funding from the Department of Ecology will cover 46.4% of the total project cost with the remaining from the City’s Parks and Facilities Capital Budget. The two proposals include the grant agreement with the Department of Ecology and a Service Provider Agreement with Skillings Inc. for the Golf Course Parking Lot Stormwater Retrofit Design of $84,000. Chair Swarthout inquired about the status of the Valley Athletic Club parking lot and any interest by the club to participate in the project. Consultant Greer advised that the project scope is only applicable to the golf course parking lot. Water Resources Department goals include technical assistance to local businesses. Should the club convey interest in retrofitting its parking lot, staff would meet with the business to provide assistance. Staff is currently working on stormwater and flood-related issues as part of the Deschutes River Flood Reduction Study. There could be future opportunities if the study identifies areas that might benefit from retrofits for stormwater. Councilmember Althauser asked about the loss of parking spaces caused by the retrofit project. Consultant Greer responded that the conceptual designs do not represent any loss of parking spaces. The project scope is an area of 5,000 square feet located north of the parking lot between the parking lot and the Deschutes River. The priority is not losing parking spaces. Chair Swarthout questioned whether the club is required to treat its stormwater. Director Smith replied that there are no retrofit requirements by the state unless the business was planning to complete some improvements. Chair Swarthout reviewed the requested action. MOTION: Councilmember Althauser moved, seconded by Councilmember Schneider, to recommend the City Council approve and authorize the TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING January 5, 2023 Page 5 Mayor to sign the Grant Agreement with the Department of Ecology for the Golf Course Parking Lot Stormwater Retrofit Design. A voice vote approved the motion unanimously. SERVICE Consultant Greer requested the committee recommend the City Council PROVIDER approve and authorize the Mayor to sign the Service Provider Agreement AGREEMENT WITH with Skillings Inc. for the Golf Course Parking Lot Stormwater Retrofit SKILLINGS INC. Design. FOR THE GOLF COURSE PARKING LOT STORMWATER RETROFIT DESIGN: MOTION: Councilmember Althauser moved, seconded by Councilmember Schneider, to recommend the City Council approve and authorize the Mayor to sign the Service Provider Agreement with Skillings Inc. for the Golf Course Parking Lot Stormwater Retrofit Design. A voice vote approved the motion unanimously. SERVICE Director Smith commented on some inconsistent information contained PROVIDER within the staff report and advised that the amendment request is for AGREEMENT WITH $21,620. The amendment is requested for Greer Environmental Consulting GREER to accommodate project changes over the last year since the initial agreement ENVIRONMENTAL was executed to include the addition of one project and several scopes for CONSULTING another project. The new project is for the Percival Creek Culvert across AMENDMENT 2: Percival Creek at Somerset Hill Drive caused by bank erosion from an undersized culvert and high velocity flows. The project has been added to the contract. Project management is $42,095. A second change in scope is the Deschutes River Reduction and Erosion Study at the former brewery properties to determine factors causing flooding and steps to reduce flooding. Some additional stakeholder efforts were requested by the Department of Ecology. The grant increased since the original project scope was negotiated with Greer Environmental Consulting. Staff is proposing to add several additional tasks at a cost of approximately $4,000 in project management additions. The last change pertains to the East Linwood Basin Retrofit project. Because the City was unable to reach an agreement with the property owner to acquire property necessary for managing stormwater through best management practices, the grant received by the City cannot be utilized at this time. Other elements evaluated for the project were deemed not cost- effective for stormwater treatment. Staff continues to pursue additional options, such as downstream treatment. Consultant Greer has pursued conversations with other local agencies to consider a larger flood TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING January 5, 2023 Page 6 management grant for the entire watershed. Consequently, the return of the grant to the Department of Ecology affects the agreement resulting in a decrease within the agreement of $24,470. The total revised contract cost is $305,970 representing an additional $21,620. The request is to recommend the City Council approve and authorize the Mayor to sign the Service Provider Agreement with Greer Environmental Consulting Amendment 2 for project management services in an amount not to exceed $21,620.00. MOTION: Councilmember Althauser moved, seconded by Councilmember Schneider, to recommend the City Council approve and authorize the Mayor to sign the Service Provider Agreement with Greer Environmental Consulting Amendment for project management services in an amount not to exceed $21,620.00. A voice vote approved the motion unanimously. WATER SYSTEM Director Smith provided an update on water supply capacity as a CAPACITY continuation of a conversation on the Comprehensive Water System UPDATE: Management Plan adopted in 2021. Director Smith displayed a series of images and graphs during his presentation. Water capacity is based on water system equivalent residential units (ERUs). The formula is used to forecast the number of residential, commercial, and industrial uses that could be developed and supported by the City’s water system. The City has a total water right portfolio representing end use allocation of current water customers totaling 22,756 ERUs. Additional ERU requests include 170 ERUs in 2020, 1,136 ERUs in 2021, and 274 ERUs in 2022. Water rights to accommodate those ERUs are reserved for those projects. The amount of requested ERUs is closely tracked to avoid exceeding water rights capacity. Nearing or exceeding the capacity threshold could result in a development moratorium. Today, the City’s total water portfolio is approximately 34,710 ERUs. Of that amount, approximately 1,600 ERUs are reserved, 22,756 ERUs are existing customers, and another 3,278 ERUs are designated for future uses. The City submitted two water right applications to the Department of Ecology. One application is for the Southwest Wellfield, which would need to be significantly modified to acquire the water right at the desired capacity of 19,435 ERUs. The application is a placeholder and could be generated from other water right applications if a path forward can be identified to satisfy Department of Ecology requirements. The second water right application is for 4,736 ERUs and is being actively pursued. If successful with the two water right applications, the total amount of capacity of ERUs would be 36,125 providing the City with additional headway for the provision of water. TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING January 5, 2023 Page 7 One of the challenges of the City’s watershed, the Deschutes River, is finding new water. New sources could be from agriculture water rights or subdivisions that might convert to City water (generally do not provide new capacity as the water right had been allocated). Today, the City has approximately 10,000 ERUs that are not obligated. Councilmember Schneider mentioned the proposal of a soda bottling plant near the airport and the possibility of using one million gallons of water. He asked about the timeline for using a million gallons of water and the source of the water. Director Smith advised that the source of water would be the City’s water system. The proposed use is forecasted to be 600,000 gallons of water a day at full operation, representing a significant user. The City has the capacity of serving a significant user but it would result in approximately 7,000 ERUs remaining in reserve. Director Smith displayed and described an average day demand graphic reflecting the City’s ability to meet daily customer water demands. Today, the average day demand is 2.5 million gallons. The graph forecasts both growth and demand. Another tracking mechanism is the City’s existing ability to pump sufficiently to meet demands on an average day. Based on the planning horizon, the City is able to meet average day demands through 2038. The graph also reflects how several future large users (1 million gallons per day) would impact the forecast, which is forecasted in the water system planning process. Based on the forecast, the City would be able to accommodate two additional large users. Councilmember Althauser questioned how future large uses could impact capacity during the summer when usage is higher. Director Smith explained that many of the improvements forecasted over time increase the City’s capacity to meet demand. The maximum day demand as forecasted in the planning level estimate could be affected by different variables during the summer, such as the loss of source, or a surge in irrigation use. The issues experienced by the City of Lacey are related more to conveyance rather than production factors. The City’s water system modeling accounts for peak day demands and fire flow demands throughout the year. Director Smith referred to the City’s existing ability to pump water. By 2028 after the first large user comes on line, the City may experience significant challenges to meet the demand. A number of projects have been identified to avoid that situation. With the recent acquisition of the Lathrop Water System, the City can exercise those water rights of 300 gallons per minute. Last year, the City purchased the golf course water right, which needs to be activated and added to the system. Those two projects add 8,000 gallons per minute per day to meet demands to the end of the planning horizon. Additionally, the City’s brewery wellfield project is underway TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING January 5, 2023 Page 8 providing 10,000 future gallons per minute per day to help meet maximum day demands. The biggest challenge in terms of future source is the Southwest Wellfield as the project is uncertain and requires some modifications. With some system modifications, the City currently produces approximately 7 million gallons of water a day. Based on capacity, the City is able to accommodate some significant users in the future. Director Smith responded to questions about the City’s ability to keep pace with water system infrastructure needs. Future infrastructure needs are forecasted in the Comprehensive Water System Plan by identifying areas of deficit flows, lower pressures, or areas of future greater demands, etc. Water system modeling determines the kind of infrastructure improvements required. Director Smith reviewed the circumstances resulting in the temporary loss of Well 17. The City was able to meet demand during that period. Director Smith reviewed future milestones:  Consultant – Scope Development and Preliminary Planning with Carolla Engineers  Hiring of Water Resources Program Manager – Focus will be on source development, integration of Lathrop water rights, and Well 15 reliability by adding backup power source  Projects – Brewery Wellfield, Golf Course Integration, well decommissioning  Water Rights Acquisitions  Pursue new water right applications Councilmember Schneider commented on his concern that the planning horizon of 2028 was inadequate for planning future water capacity needs because of the inherent long process of obtaining water rights. He asked whether conservation measures were factored within the capacity and usage forecasts. Director Smith affirmed water conservation measures are factored within the planning timeline. The City sponsors a conservation program. Staff will be exploring the revision of the current conservation plan as the City develops new incentives and considers different programs, especially because LOTT Clean Water Alliance does not plan to offer water conservation incentives. Another planning line within the forecast represents a level without any water conservation. He added that the need may have changed with the advent of technology in appliances and updated regulations to reduce water consumption. Staff is working on researching other types of water conservation programs. TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING January 5, 2023 Page 9 ADJOURNMENT: With there being no further business, Chair Swarthout adjourned the meeting at 9:08 a.m. Prepared by Valerie Gow, Recording Secretary/President Puget Sound Meeting Services, psmsoly@earthlink.net