CUAC Draft Minutes February 2024
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D R A F T MINUTES CITIZENS UTILITY ADVISORY COMMISSION OASIS WATER CAMPUS 7070 NORTHERN AVE. GLENDALE, ARIZONA 85303 FEBRUARY 7, 2024 6:00 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Berryhill called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Robin Berryhill, Chair Amber Ford, Vice Chair Dr. Kerry Duskin, Commissioner Srikanth Grandhi, Commissioner Scott Scherer, Commissioner Attendees: Ron Serio, P.E., Director, Water Services Katrina Alberty, Deputy Director, Water Services John Henny, Deputy Director, Water Services Megan Sheldon, Deputy Director, Water Services Lisa Esquivel, Administrator Department Support Services, Water Services Alana Reid, Management Assistant, Water Services Michelle Woytenko, Director, Field Operations Stacy Mawhiney, Account Specialist, Field Operations Kimberly Mackert, Administrator Financial Programs, Field Operations 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS None. 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES a. Citizen Utility Advisory Commission Minutes of January 3, 2024 Motioned by Commissioner Scott Scherer, seconded by Commissioner Srikanth Grandhi to approve the minutes of the January 3, 2024 Citizens Utility Advisory Commission Meeting as written. AYE: Chair Robin Berryhill Vice Chair Amber Ford Commissioner Dr. Kerry Duskin Commissioner Srikanth Grandhi Commissioner Scott Scherer Passed 5. FINALIZE CY2024 CALENDAR AND TOPICS a. 2024 Commission Calendar and Agenda Item Topics Ms. Lisa Esquivel, Administrator Department Support Services, Water Services, presented the proposed list of Agenda Topics for January 2024 through January 2025, based on the Commission discussion at the January meeting. Motioned by Commissioner Scott Scherer, seconded by Commissioner Srikanth Grandhi to approve the Agenda Topics as presented for January 2024 through January 2025. AYE: Chair Robin Berryhill Vice Chair Amber Ford Commissioner Dr. Kerry Duskin Commissioner Srikanth Grandhi Commissioner Scott Scherer Passed 6. STAFF UPDATES a. Mr. Serio welcomed new Commissioner Duskin. Mr. Serio gave the following update: Staff is currently manually reading approximately 5,000 water meters. Staff is looking at automating the process and will present at the Council Workshop next week. If Council consensus is obtained, staff will move forward to research a vendor for automation of meter readings. The topic will be brought back to the Commission. Lead and copper environmental regulations have been expanded. Staff is in the process of evaluating the revised regulations and will bring an update to the Commission in May. The Commissioners have been invited to take a tour of City water facilities on February 21st from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The tour will commence at the Arrowhead Water Reclamation Facility and then move to the Pyramid Peak Water Treatment Plant. Additional details will be sent to the Commission soon. The City went through a bond rating process with Fitch Ratings and the bond rating has been upgraded from AA to AA+. Ms. Woytenko gave the following update: A year ago, the City outsourced its recycling program to Waste Management. With this process, a neighborhood with higher contamination rates was identified, which did not have blue barrels. Blue barrels and increased education were provided to the neighborhood. The contamination rates decreased from 30% to approximately 22% from December 2022 to October 2023. A more detailed presentation will be provided to the Commission in the future. If contamination improvement continues, the blue barrels will be taken citywide pending grant funding. 7. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS Commissioner Grandhi complimented staff on the great updates. Commissioner Scherer asked if the meter reading automation was for residential or commercial. Mr. Serio said it was for both. Commissioner Scherer asked if all 5,000 meters would be addressed or just a test section. Mr. Serio said staff was looking at automation via wireless/cell phone so that residents could log into a portal, opt for leak detection, and more. Commissioner Scherer said his neighborhood did not have blue barrels, but he has seen other sections that do. Ms. Woytenko said the neighborhood referenced in the report was specifically chosen for blue barrels, and the rest of the City will be done by attrition, unless a grant can be obtained. Commissioner Grandhi asked if the meter reading automation would result in a rate increase. Mr. Serio expected more revenue with the automation, since there was most likely water loss not being captured. Vice Chair Ford asked if other cities were automating meter readings and where Glendale stood in relation to other cities. Mr. Serio said several cities had implemented automation, and others were in the process. Vice Chair Ford asked if automation would impact personnel. Mr. Serio anticipated automation would reduce staff by four, from eleven full-time positions to seven. Mr. Serio estimated the automation implementation would take approximately three years. Chair Berryhill welcomed new Commissioner Duskin. 8. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS a. Chair Berryhill announced the following: May 1, 2024 Water Services Financial Update Solid Waste/Landfill Financial Update Water Resources Update 9. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the Citizens Utility Advisory Commission will be held on May 1, 2024, at 6:00 p.m., at the Oasis Water Campus, 7070 W. Northern Ave., Glendale, Arizona, 85303. 10. ADJOURNMENT Motioned by Commissioner Srikanth Grandhi, seconded by Commissioner Scott Scherer to adjourn the meeting at 6:20 p.m. AYE: Chair Robin Berryhill Vice Chair Amber Ford Commissioner Dr. Kerry Duskin Commissioner Srikanth Grandhi Commissioner Scott Scherer Passed The Citizens Utility Advisory Commission meeting minutes of February 7, 2024, were submitted and approved this ___ day of ________, 2024. ____________________________________ Denise Kazmierczak Recording Secretary