Public Utilities 2025/01/22CITY OF ANAHEIM
PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD
MINUTES
January 22, 2025
The agenda having been posted on Thursday, January 16, 2025, the Public Hearing/Regular Meeting of the
Public Utilities Board (Board) was called to order by Chairperson J. Seymour at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday,
January 22, 2025, in the Gordon Hoyt Conference Center, 2nd floor, Anaheim West Tower, 201 S. Anaheim
Blvd., Anaheim, California.
Board Members Present: Chairperson J. Seymour, M. Lee, A. Pham, T. Bilezikjian, A. McMenamin
Board Members Absent: T. Ibrahim
City Staff Present: D. Lee, P. Starr, B. Beelner, C. Parker, J. Lonneker, M. Avelino -Walker,
J. Lehman, B. Mendoza, M. Seifen, A. Lee, A. Nguyen, T. Castaneda,
T. Mardikian, A. Nguyen, C. Pereyra, S. Marsh, P. Bogdanoff
Guests Present: R. Huerta, B. Robles, C. Vargas, M. Herrera, E. Silva, J. Philleo, V. Badillo,
A. Gutierrez, D. Rosario, J. Anderson, J. Zug
Anaheim Union High School District: Brian O'Neal, Board of Trustees President;
Ron Hoshi, Board of Trustees Member, Jessica Guerrero; Board of Trustees Clerk;
Robert Saldivar, Executive Director, Educational Services
South Junior High School: Yolanda Mejia, Principal; Lisa Marquez, Science
Department Chair and Teacher; Jason Collar, Community School Teacher Lead;
Linh Ho Huerta, Science Teacher; Angelica Quezada, Special Educational Teacher
Cambridge Virtual Academy: Hilda Vazquez, Coordinator; Ruth Park, Science
Teacher; Jae Kim, Math Teacher; K. Robles, Student; I. Vargas, Student;
N. Bonilla, Student; A. Herrera, Student; A. Silva, Student; W. Philleo, Student;
V. Badillo, Student
Love Anaheim: Nathan Zug, Richard Morales, Eve Troutt, Brenda Wylde, Corey
Wylde, Tiffany Hernandez, Ruby Moreno, Virginia Martinez, Katherine Solano,
Maggie Edward
AGENDA ITEM
1. OATH OF OFFICE: **
ACTION TAKEN
BOARD MEMBER TALAB IBRAHIM (DISTRICT 4)
BOARD MEMBER MITCH LEE (DISTRICT 5)
A. Lee, Deputy City Attorney, administered the Oath of Office for
the reappointment of M. Lee — District 5.
Board Member T. Ibrahim — District 4 was unable to attend;
therefore, the Oath of Office will be postponed to a later date.
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2. ELECTION OF BOARD VICE -CHAIRPERSON. **
By voice vote, the Board
closed the nominations.
Chairperson J. Seymour opened the floor for nominations for
Chairperson J. Seymour
Vice -Chairperson. Board Member A. Pham nominated Board Member
moved the election of M. Lee
M. Lee, who accepted the nomination. The Board elected M. Lee to the
as Vice -Chairperson of the
position of Vice -Chairperson of the Public Utilities Board.
Public Utilities Board.
A. McMenamin seconded the
motion.
MOTION CARRIED: 5-0.
ABSTAINED: 0.
ABSENT: 1. [T. Ibrahim]
3. RECOGNITION: SUSTAINABLE SCHOOL AWARDS.
S. Marsh, Resource Programs Specialist, presented the Sustainable
Schools Award Program, highlighting its history, thanking the Board
ad hoc committee members for selecting the winning schools and
recognizing the Sustainable School Award recipients: South Junior
High School and Cambridge Virtual Academy. In attendance were
members of the Anaheim Union High School District Board of
Trustees, administrators, and students.
S. Marsh highlighted South Junior High School's student -led
sustainability projects, installation of solar panels, electric vehicle
charging stations and motion sensors. S. Marsh highlighted Cambridge
Virtual Academy for their student -led initiative to create a greenhouse
entirely from recycled water bottles and partnered with Gilbert High
School's Community Garden to support families in the community.
Anaheim Public Utilities (APU) will coordinate with each school on
their respective prize selections. The Board congratulated the schools
for their awards.
4. RECOGNITION: LOVE ANAHEIM ORGANIZATION FOR
PROVIDING FIRE HYDRANT PAINTING, FACILITY CLEAN
UP, AND EVENT FLYER DISTRIBUTION SERVICES.
M. Seifen, Communications Supervisor, provided an overview of Love
Anaheim's partnership with APU and highlighted collaborative projects
to improve the community, including painting fire hydrants, planting at
an APU water facility, and distributing flyers for community events.
Nathan Zug, JMh Anaheim's Executive Director, provided an overview
of the organization's mission to meet the needs of the community. The
Board thanked Love Anaheim for the support they offer to improve the
community.
5. PUBLIC COMMENTS: There being no electronic or
oral public comments,
Chairperson J. Seymour
closed the public comments
portion of the meeting.
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6. APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF
DECEMBER 18, 2024. *
7. PUBLIC HEARING: PROPOSED INCREASES TO THE WATER
COMMODITY ADJUSTMENT (WCA) AND WATER SYSTEM
RELIABILITY ADJUSTMENT (WSRA) RATES WITH
CORRESPONDING REVISIONS TO SCHEDULES W-CA AND
W-SRA OF THE WATER RATES, RULES AND
REGULATIONS. * *
Chairperson J. Seymour called the Public Hearing to order;
interpretation services were offered in Spanish; and the Court Reporter
swore in APU staff.
APU presented prepared and oral testimony supporting the proposed
modifications to the Water Rates, Rules and Regulations, increasing the
Water Commodity Adjustment (WCA) by approximately $0.13 per
hundred cubic feet (HCF) and the Water System Reliability Adjustment
(WSRA) by $0.10 per HCF.
B. Beelner, Assistant General Manager — Finance and Energy
Resources, presented oral testimony explaining that these increases are
intended to address rising wholesale water costs, investments in
distribution infrastructure, and compliance with state water efficiency
mandates. The proposed increases would, for a residential customer
consuming approximately 12,000 gallons of water per month, raise the
monthly bill by approximately $3.62. Nevertheless, despite this
increase, Anaheim's water rates would remain approximately 25%
below the average of Orange County water agencies.
D. Lee, Public Utilities General Manager, reported that Anaheim
mailed approximately 84,118 Notices of Public Hearing: 82,330 in
English and 1,788 in Spanish. Of these notices, approximately 61,159
were mailed to property owners and approximately 22,959 were mailed
to customers of record. In response to the notices, Anaheim received
five related customer service phone calls and a total of six written
protests prior to the public hearing.
At the conclusion of the foundational testimony, the Board did not pose
any questions, and no members of the public made oral comments
during the public comment period. D. Lee concluded with remarks
emphasizing APU's commitment to affordable, reliable water service
and its offering of water conservation and bill assistance programs.
A. Lee then requested that all evidence, oral and written, submitted by
staff, including the Prepared Testimony with exhibits of B. Beelner, the
A. Pham moved the approval
of the Minutes of the Regular
Meeting of December 18,
2024. A. McMenamin
seconded the motion.
MOTION CARRIED: 4-0.
ABSTAINED: 1. [M. Lee]
ABSENT: 1. [T. Ibrahim]
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Affidavits of Publication of the Notices of Public Hearing, the
Certificate of Mailing of the notices, and the written protests filed with
the Secretary of the Board, be moved into evidence and made a part of
the record. Chairperson J. Seymour granted the motion and then closed
the Public Hearing, seeing no further witnesses or evidence to consider.
Board Member T. Bilezikjian mentioned her appreciation to APU for
proposing increased rates in small amounts to limit impacts to
households.
Chairperson J. Seymour summarized D. Lee's testimony, confirmed
that the six written protests do not constitute a majority protest, and
stated that the WCA and WSRA rate increases will take effect on
February 1, 2025, and April 3, 2025, respectively, in accordance with
state law.
The Court Reporter was directed to prepare a verbatim transcript of the
Public Hearing with all testimony and exhibits that were made a part of
the record. The certified original transcript will soon be on file in the
11 rh floor Department Records, Public Utilities Department, Anaheim
West Tower, and a certified copy of the original transcript will soon be
on file in the Office of the City Clerk, 2nd floor, City Hall.
8. QUARTERLY STATUS REPORT FOR PRE -QUALIFIED
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, CONSTRUCTION, AND
MATERIAL PURCHASES (OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2024).
J. Lonneker, Assistant General Manager — Electric Services, informed
the Board that Design -Build Master Agreements (DBMA) for electric
projects have not been issued in the current Fiscal Year, as multi -year
projects are still in progress. Additionally, J. Lonneker noted that
multiple bids are being received for APU capital projects and
equipment procurement which fosters competitive pricing.
C. Parker, Assistant General Manager — Water Services, clarified that
the Water Division has one DBMA award this Fiscal Year for about
$1.8 million. APU anticipated awarding an additional three DBMAs
this Fiscal Year for pipeline projects.
9. UPDATE ON ELECTRIC SYSTEM ITEMS.
J. Lonneker provided an overview of the electric grid performance
challenges faced during the Santa Ana windstorm that impacted the Los
Angeles areas with wildfires. Following a red -flag warning (RFW)
initiated on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, APU initiated overhead patrols
in the fire threat zones (FTZs) and implemented the wildfire mitigation
operation procedures and increased staff response coverage. Several
small outages occurred but were restored in under four hours.
Regionally, utilities in the Los Angeles area experienced severe wind
and wildfire conditions, resulting in infrastructure damage and wide
Chairperson J. Seymour
confirmed that there was no
majority protest made against
the proposed rate increases to
the WCA and WSRA and
stated that the rate increases
would take effect per state law
on February 1, 2025, and
April 3, 2025, respectively.
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area power outages. Glendale Water and Power (GWP) called for
mutual aid and in response, APU sent two electric crews. GWP was
appreciative of APU's assistance during difficult conditions.
Expenditures for the mutual aid provided are tracked and GWP will
reimburse APU once funding is received from FEMA.
The Board asked what the maximum speed of winds the crew can
safely work in. J. Lonneker shared that equipment needs to withstand
120 mph winds, but crew supervisors also monitor the conditions to
ensure safety. The Board would like to express their appreciation to
both crews at the next Board meeting.
J. Lonneker provided an update to the Board regarding areas in need of
tree trimming maintenance around the streetlights. APU coordinated
with the contractor to trim trees that were blocking the streetlights.
J. Lonneker thanked M. Lee for identifying areas needing improvement
within the community.
10. UPDATE ON WATER SYSTEM ITEMS.
C. Parker shared that the Orange County Groundwater Basin is in good
condition, even with little rainfall this year. In addition, Orange County
Water District just completed their Basin Resiliency Plan ensuring
Orange County groundwater will be reliable for years to come.
The State Water Project is in good condition, due to the above average
rainfall to date this year in Northern California. The Sites Reservoir
Project is close to starting, which will provide needed storage on the
system.
The Colorado River has received below average rainfall to date and the
United States Bureau of Reclamation recently announced over $150
million in funding to assist in conservation.
C. Parker shared that APU provided bottled water to the agencies that
were affected during the Santa Ana windstorm and wildfires. C. Parker
briefed the Board on the prior preparation of the water system to assist
Anaheim Fire & Rescue in fighting wildfires in East Anaheim. This
preparation included a Wildland Fire Preparedness Plan (Plan) that was
initiated after the 2008 Freeway Complex Fire. APU will be reviewing
and updating the Plan to make recommendations on improvements.
The Board asked if APU has improvement ideas that have not been
executed yet. C. Parker shared that since the highest water zone does
not have a reservoir, staff is evaluating if APU should construct a
storage facility or provide another backup water supply. Any
improvements seeking Board and City Council consideration will be
included in the proposed budget.
APU staff will invite electric
field employees who provided
mutual aid to a future Board
meeting.
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11. UPDATE ON FINANCE AND ENERGY RESOURCES ITEMS.
B. Beelner, discussed the monthly Finance Dashboard for the period
ending December 31, 2024. B. Beelner clarified that the $59.5 million
positive operating budget variance is largely due to lower expected fuel
and power supply costs; however, these natural gas and power supply
prices have begun to normalize which would stabilize this variance as
well. B. Beelner shared that this variance may be used for accelerated
capital spending, bolstering cash reserves, a reduction in planned bond
issuance or a reduction in electric rates as previously done by APU.
B. Beelner then discussed the recent reduction in short-term interest
rates by the Federal Reserve and how that reduction has not led to
lower long-term interest rates. B. Beelner reminded the Board that the
bonds issued in 2024 for water infrastructure are variable in nature and
most recently priced at 1.45% compared to fixed rate bonds pricing
much higher.
The Board asked if the 1.45% bond pricing was a fixed rate. B. Beelner
clarified that it is not a fixed rate and the percentage changes every day.
The interest rate market could significantly change if trade policies
cause inflation, which would be unfavorable to the interest rate market.
The Board requested an update on APU's resource plan in the near
future due to federal policies.
12. UPDATE ON ADMINISTRATION AND RISK SERVICES
ITEMS.
J. Lehman, Assistant General Manager - Administration and Risk
Services, provided an overview of the Administration and Risk
Services Dashboard and shared that the Legislative Working Group
discussed key bills that had been introduced to date. J. Lehman shared
that most of these bills were still "spot" bills and were not yet well
developed. J. Lehman highlighted the following bills:
• AB 61 — Legislative Analysis Requirements for Electricity and
Natural Gas;
• AB 34 — State Air Pollution Vehicle Emission Regulation Cost
Review; and,
• AB 44 — Energy Load Modification Protocols.
J. Lehman then shared that there were no reportable injuries during this
period; however, two injuries that occurred in November were
reclassified as lost time injuries and impacted safety metrics. J. Lehman
shared that APU continues to provide safety training to help minimize
injuries, including safety awareness and incident reviews with staff.
A future presentation on
power resources will be
agendized.
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13. ITEMS BY SECRETARY.
D. Lee shared agenda items planned for next month:
• High School Mentorship Program;
• Presentation on the Grant Award to Upgrade and Automate
Distribution Switches;
• Community and Sustainability Annual Update; and,
• Water Quality Management Software Services Agreement.
D. Lee shared that APU staff hosted tours of APU facilities for the new
City Council members, Council Member R. Balius — District 1, and
Council Member K. Maahs — District 5. Additionally, a street light
installation took place in District 2, and the jobsite was visited by
Council Member C. Leon. Lastly, the Bright Girls program was
extended to the Anaheim Elementary School District during their
winter break.
D. Lee requested that the Board meeting be closed in memory of
Shirley McCracken, a former Council Member from 1996 to 2004.
14. ITEMS BY BOARD MEMBERS.
Board Member T. Bilezikjian thanked APU for the leadership and
engagement with the community.
Board Members A. Pham and M. Lee thanked APU for the mutual aid
provided during the windstorm.
15. ADJOURN: (NEXT REGULAR MEETING ON FEBRUARY 26,
2025, AT 5:00 P.M.)
Chairperson J. Seymour asked for a moment of silence in memory of
Shirley McCracken.
Respectfully subAtted,
o-
Dukku Lee
Public Utilities General Manager
T. Bilezikjian moved to
adjourn the Public Hearing/
Regular Meeting in the
Gordon Hoyt Conference
Center at 6:41 p.m. to the
Board's Regular Meeting date
of February 26, 2025, at 5:00
p.m. M. Lee seconded the
motion.
MOTION CARRIED: 5-0.
ABSTAINED: 0.
ABSENT: 1. [T. Ibrahim]
* Indicates item(s) that will be forwarded to City Council for action upon recommendation by the Board.
* * Indicates item(s) that will be forwarded to the City Clerk and City Council for informational purposes.
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