District 3 Advisory Board

District III Advisory Board Minutes for November 4, 2015 District III Advisory Board Minutes November 4, 2015 www.wichita.gov The District III Advisory Board meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at the Wichita WATER Center, 101 E. Pawnee. Vice Mayor James Clendenin was absent Paul Davis filled in as chairmen. Eight District Advisory Board members, Four City staff and six signed in members of the public were present. Members Present Staff Present Paul Davis Teia Wair, Community Representative David Robbins Penny Feist, SR Management Analyst Gerald Henry LaShonda Garnes, SR Management Analyst Terry Brewster Mark Manning, Budget Officer Cindy Miles Bruce Gass Guests Connie White Listed on last page Elena Ingle Members Absent Eric Bell Marjorie Griffith James Clendenin ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. Paul Davis called the meeting to order. The minutes for October 7, 2015 meeting was approved. The agenda for November 4, 2015 meeting was approved. STAFF REPORTS Scheduled Items None PUBLIC AGENDA Scheduled Items None Off-agenda items Janice Brady, (The Wichita Water Coalition), conveyed that The Wichita Water Coalition opposes the current proposed $1.7 million contract between the city of Wichita and CH2M Hill, for phase 1 management Assessment of Wichita’s water systems.  Paying over the $1.7 million for a job the City could do  Conflict of interest  CH2M Hill would rely heavily on city staff and data  The city should invest the money into the water system or local jobs  Doesn’t want a private corporation to profit  Requested that City Council vote down to the proposed contract with CH2M Hill DAB? (Bruce Gass) Why did the Water Department seek to have their backyard asset? 1  District III Advisory Board Minutes for November 4, 2015 A. (Penny Feist) stated that the department is under staffed. Right now the water and sewer utilities combined have nearly 400 budgeted positions, 4,400 miles of water and sewer lines, and a backlog of rehabilitation projects that totals nearly $1.6 billion. The City has utilized CH2M Hill in the past on other jobs. DAB? Has there been any problems locally from CH2M Hill. A. (Penny Feist) No issues to report. Stated that CH2M Hill is a large company and anyone with concerns can google the company’s history. DAB? (David Robbins) Was CH2M Hill involved in the ground water recharge project? A. (Penny Feist) Yes CH2M has successfully performed work for Wichita.  Midtown Storm water Master Plan  Several ASR Projects-68 miles of overhead power, 1 major electrical substation, SCADA and control system, hydrogen peroxide groundwater modeling, diversion well piloting  Wastewater CMOM and Condition Assessment  Four Mile Creek WWTP design DAB? What is Phase II? A. (Penny Feist) Phase I is an analytical or information-gathering phase. Phase II would be an implementation phase - where the information gathered in Phase I is put into practice. Public? (Mary Dean) The city has tried to improve that water system for years. How much of the cost will get passed down to the consumers? A. (Penny Feist) Utilizing the alternative revenue will alleviate the risk for increase from the consumers. This alternative financing will free up money so that the city does not have to increase rates. Public? How many bids were from Wichita? A. (Penny Feist) There were 50 total bids 1 other bid in Kansas if you consider Kansas City Mo Kansas. Public? (Janice Bradley) How many employees does the local office of CH2M Hill have? A. (Penny Feist) 6 people are local 5 in Wichita and 1 in Colby. Q. How many engineers are there in Wichita? A. 2 in Wichita NEW BUSINESS Scheduled Items LaShonda Garnes: Senior Management Analyst, present the proposed redesign of the water utility bill. On April 25, 2015 City Council approved a new billing system. The new billing system will enhance customer service, provide better self-service, and allow the water department to be more proactive as well as to address other anomalies they that see when it comes to billing. Add the new billing design in with the ne billing system to eliminate future cost down the line. First the Internal focus group/customers gave input as to what they would like to see for the new design, second DAB is to give feedback as to which one they would like. Provided two options for the redesign along with the old version of the bill. DAB? (Bruce Gass) How old is the current software? A. LaShonda Garnes 15 years, the new system will allow daily task to be conducted and completed faster. Finance side does not catch up until the next day. The current system does not allow for electronic communication regarding service turn on. The new system will allow for electronic communication. DAB? How much will the new system save the city? A. LaShonda Garnes the new system will not show a monetary savings but will show a non-monetary savings such as production time and customer service. DAB? Why did the yearly consumption history change? A. LaShonda Garnes the yearly consumption will be added back to the redesigned bill. 2  District III Advisory Board Minutes for November 4, 2015 DAB? (Cindy Miles) Likes the old bill better because it has the account number at the top along with the service address. Please make the service address on the redesign bigger. DAB? (Connie White) Will the new system eliminate the charge for electronic payments? A. LaShonda Garnes No but if you enroll in automatic bank draft you will not be charged a fee. Recommended Action: DAB provided comments and feedback 3for current 3for option 2(page 1 of 1 upper right corner) 1 for option 1 (page 1 in upper left corner) Cost of Service Analysis for the Water and Sewer Utilities Penny Feist: Senior Management Analyst with Public Works utilities presented the alternative rate structures. Rate structures are fixed charges based on the amount of gallons utilized. There were two new rate structures scenarios provided. Scenario one expanded block one from 110% of average winter consumption up to include 125% of average winter consumption. Scenario two created a 4th block by breaking the current block two in half. There is a lifeline rate which is based on income that falls within the federal poverty income guidelines. Approximately 17% residential customers in Wichita qualify. They are eligible for a 50% discount on a minimum monthly charge. Recommended Action: Provided comments and feedback Recommendations for FY 2016-2017 Funding Allocations: CDBG, HOME, ESG Funds Mark Manning: Housing Community Service Department requested feedback on how to allocate federal funding for the 2016-17 year. Provided a form which each DAB member completed to determine where each member felt the funding should be spent. The types of funding are Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG). Funding is only allowed to be spent on specific items. 2015-16 year $4 million was received. Unsure of the amount for the 2015-16 year. Completion of the form provided will assist in determining where the funding should remain or go if funding for 2016-17 is lower than $4 million. DAB? Which program is going to be eliminated? A. (Mark) Congress discussed elimination of Housing Program. As of now funding has not been eliminated. DAB? Is neighborhood clean ups funded through any of these programs? A. Nomination of Grants Review Committee Representative-District III Mark Manning: Housing Community Service Department The 2015-16 GRC representative from District III was Eric Bell. Three meetings to attend in February: 1. February 19, 2016 5:30pm-7:30 pm 2. February 23,2016 9:00am-11:00am 3. February 29, 2016 9:00am-11:00am Recommended Action: It is recommended that the District Advisory Board nominate a District III representative to the Grants Review Committee Cindy Miles was nominated. 3  District III Advisory Board Minutes for November 4, 2015 BOARD AGENDA Meeting was adjourned. The next meeting for District Advisory Board III will be held at 6:30 p.m., December 2, 2015, at the Wichita WATER Center, 101 E. Pawnee, Wichita, KS 67211 Respectfully submitted, Teia Wair, Community Representative District III Guests Tom Shickland Betty Shickland Ronald Tracey Mary Dean Janice Bradley Lonnie Wright 4