Public Utilities 2022/08/24CITY OF ANAHEIM
PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD
MINUTES
AUGUST 24, 2022
The agenda having been posted on Thursday, August 18, 2022, the Regular Meeting of the Public Utilities
Board (Board) was called to order by Chairperson J. Seymour at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 24,
2022, in the Gordon Hoyt Conference Center, 2nd floor, Anaheim West Tower, 201 S. Anaheim Blvd.,
Anaheim, California.
Board Members Present: Chairperson J. Seymour, Vice -Chairperson V. Baroldi, A. Abdulrahman,
N. Campos Kurtz, M. Lee, A. Pham
Board Members Absent: R. Bhalla
City Staff Present: B. Beelner, P. Starr, A. Kott, M. Avelino -Walker, M. Moore,
J. Lehman, J. Lonneker, C. Parker, M. Seifert, T. Castaneda, B. Mendoza
Guest(s) Present: Yosselin De La Cruz, Cintya Felix, Iyana Higgins
AGENDA ITEM
1. PUBLIC COMMENTS.
ACTION TAKEN
There being no electronic or
oral public comments,
Chairperson J. Seymour
closed the public comments
portion of the meeting.
2. PRESENTATION: CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY,
FULLERTON (CSUF) INTERNSHIP PROGRAM.
M. Avelino -Walker, General Services Manager, introduced the
interns who participated in Anaheim Public Utilities (APU) 2022
Internship Program. This program provides both high-school and
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) students an
opportunity to engage in hands-on career preparation and
community interaction. As part of the presentation, M. Avelino -
Walker invited three interns to speak and share their internship
experience. The three interns were Y. De La Cruz (California State
University, Fullerton), C. Felix (Chapman University), and I.
Haggins (California State University, Fullerton). The presentation
concluded with a short video highlighting the residential
WaterSmart Landscape 2022 winners, created by intern 1. Haggins.
The Board congratulated the students on the completion of their
internship.
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3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC
A. Abdulraham moved the
UTILITIES BOARD MEETING OF JULY 27, 2022. *
approval of the Minutes of
the Public Utilities Board
Regular Meeting of July 27,
2022. Vice -Chairperson V.
Baroldi seconded the
motion.
MOTION CARRIED: 6-0.
ABSTAINED: 0.
ABSENT: 1. [R. Bhalla].
4. RECOMMENDATION THAT CITY COUNCIL, BY MOTION,
N. Campos Kurtz moved the
APPROVE THE CITY OF ANAHEIM'S RESPONSE TO THE
approval of the City of
ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT ENTITLED
Anaheim's Response to the
"WATER IN ORANGE COUNTY NEEDS `ONE VOICE"
Orange County Grand Jury
AND AUTHORIZE AND DIRECT THE PUBLIC UTILITIES
Report. M. Lee seconded the
GENERAL MANAGER TO SIGN AND PROVIDE THE
motion.
RESPONSE TO THE PRESIDING JUDGE OF THE ORANGE
MOTION CARRIED: 6-0.
COUNTY COURT AND THE ORANGE COUNTY GRAND
ABSTAINED: 0.
JURY. *
. ABSENT: 1. [R. Bhalla].
M. Moore, Assistant General Manager — Water Services, provided
an overview of the proposed response to the OC Grand Jury Report
titled "Water in Orange County Needs `One Voice"'.
One of the items in the report was an evaluation of combining the
Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) with the
Orange County Water District (OCWD). APU prepared a response
to the findings and recommendations contained in the Report and, if
approved, it will be presented to City Council in September.
The Board asked what may have prompted the OC Grand Jury to
prepare a report on this particular issue. M. Moore responded that
the reasons for initiating the Report were not provided, but the
Report does mention a need for better water agency efficiency and
representation throughout California. M. Moore indicated that in
their responses to the Report, OCWD favored consolidation while
MWDOC did not.
The Board asked if the findings in the OC Grand Jury Report were
general or if they concerned the City of Anaheim (Anaheim)
specifically. M. Moore indicated that the Report related to all of
Orange County and specifically the combination of the OCWD and
MWDOC. OCWD and MWDOC have formed ad hoc committees
to determine whether they will further consider the OC Grand Jury
proposal.
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The Board complimented M. Moore and his team for preparing
APU's response and representing the interests of Anaheim. M.
Moore thanked A. Kott, Assistant City Attorney, and D. Payne,
Deputy City Attorney, for their assistance in preparing the response.
5. APPROVAL OF DEPARTMENT ORDERS (DO)105 -
PROCESSING CITY COUNCIL AND PUBLIC UTILITIES
BOARD AGENDA ITEMS AND DO 410 - PROCEDURE FOR
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF
CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
M. Avelino -Walker, General Services Manager, summarized the
update to Department Order (DO) 105 which was initially approved
by the Board in 2016. The updated DO provides procedural
clarification and new timelines relative to the City Clerk's staff
report submittal process. Further, M. Avelino -Walker shared that
the updates to DO 105 were timely, considering the number of new
APU staff that participate in the process and the updated DO 105
will be a resource tool for them to utilize.
J. Lonneker, Assistant General Manager — Electric Services,
provided the Board with a summary of the proposed DO 410-
Procedures for Public Notification of Construction. The procedures
include template notifications to be sent to residents and businesses
for large, medium, and small construction projects that involve
excavation in the area. DO 410 was created to maintain consistency
when messaging residents and businesses with pertinent
information.
6. UPDATE ON ELECTRIC SYSTEM ITEMS.
J. Lonneker, Assistant General Manager — Electric Services, shared
with the Board the updated APU webpage "Digging Safely", which
provides contact instructions before excavating on public and
private property. The website also provides a legend on the color
codes used to identify the various types of utility infrastructure. The
webpage can be found at the following link:
https://www.anaheim.net/6263/Dig,gin�-Safelv.
J. Lonneker shared with the Board the results of the Mile High
Lineman Rodeo held on August 20, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. R.
Berry, Apprentice Line Mechanic, and D. Diaz, Apprentice Line
Mechanic, won 1 st and 2°a places in three of the events. There were
25 teams represented, with 77 apprentices competing in 5 different
events.
7. UPDATE ON WATER SYSTEM ITEMS.
N. Campos Kurtz moved the
approval of Department
Orders (DO) 105 and 410.
A. Pham seconded the
motion.
MOTION CARRIED: 6-0.
ABSTAINED: 0.
ABSENT: 1. JR. Bhallal.
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M. Moore, Assistant General Manager — Water Services, provided
an update on the Water Supply dashboard. The local Groundwater
Basin and the MWD storage are in good condition. However, the
Colorado River and Lake Mead water supply continues to fall,
which will soon cause California and the seven other states that
have taken water from the Colorado River for the past 100 years to
reevaluate how they manage water consumption. The Federal
Government has already indicated that these states need to come up
with ways to save and reduce water consumption.
M. Moore provided a reminder that approximately 80% of the
population of the Western United States is currently in severe or
extreme drought conditions. If these trends continue and Colorado
River access becomes limited, California will have stricter water
restrictions.
The Board asked if the recent number of monsoons has affected
drought conditions in California. M. Moore responded that the high
number of monsoon rains did stall water decline and raise the water
level in Lake Mead, but the water supply will continue to diminish
despite these recent rains.
M. Moore shared construction photos of the progress of the two
Groundwater Treatment Plant sites. MWD is doing a pipeline
shutdown on September 6, 2022, and APU is helping MWD by
using water from Walnut Canyon Reservoir during the shutdown.
An open house was held on August 20, 2022 at Willow Park to
share information with the community on the upcoming
construction of a Groundwater Treatment Plant in that area. Positive
feedback was received from the community on this project.
APU has increased its social media messaging and created a new
video message to spread the word about water conservation. The
video includes children from APU employees.
Board Member N. Campos -Kurtz raised a concern from the
community regarding the irrigation times at Boysen Park. M. Moore
reminded the Board that the best way to raise a concern about water
conservation is to submit a request through the Anaheim Anytime
app or website. The request goes straight to the APU conservation
team who can address these issues.
8. UPDATE ON FINANCE & ENERGY RESOURCES ITEM] S.
B. Beelner, Acting Public Utilities General Manager, discussefl the
monthly Finance dashboard with the Board. The year-to-date
electric revenue through July 2022 was 5.8% above budget ($2.OM)
due to higher than expected wholesale revenue. Electric costs for
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FY 22/23 has fallen below budget by 3.1 % ($1.OM) causing a net
positive budget variance of $3.OM. B. Beelner then mentioned that
year-to-date water revenue was 12.2% ($1.1 M) below budget due to
conservation undertaken by APU's customers. Water operating
costs also fell below budget by 12.9% ($0.9M) causing a net
negative budget variance of $0.2M.
B. Beelner presented the Power Supply dashboard and discussed the
higher than typical amount of wholesale revenue. This variance was
due to the fact that the Intermountain Power Project (IPP) operated
at full capacity for the month of July. IPP's operating level coupled
with higher than normal energy prices meant additional wholesale
revenue generated for APU.
The Board asked B. Beelner about fuel price levels and APU's
natural gas hedging strategy. B. Beelner discussed how fuel supply
and prices to IPP have stabilized and then discussed APU's strategy
to own physical natural gas wells along with purchasing natural gas
through long, medium, and short term contracts to mitigate fuel
price volatility.
9. UPDATE ON ADMINISTRATION & RISK SERVICES
ITEMS.
J. Lehman, Assistant General Manager - Administration and Risk
Services, provided the Board with several updates. The first was
regarding the Internal Compliance Plan and provided an update in
regards to the Canyon Power Plant. She indicated that the South
Coast Air Quality Management District may potentially issue a
notice of violation due to a minor exceedance of carbon monoxide
emissions that occurred during maintenance activities. J. Lehman
shared that all other programs were in compliance, and that no
violations were received during this period.
J. Lehman then invited the Board's attention to the Administration
and Risk Services Dashboard and highlighted three bills of interest
and then reviewed the safety metrics.
10. ITEMS BY SECRETARY.
B. Beelner, Acting Public Utilities General Manager, provided
updates to the Board on local events attended by APU staff. He
shared photographs from the National Night Out event hosted by the
Anaheim Police Department, held at Ponderosa Park. Approximately
130 dusk to dawn lights were distributed to attendees, along with
information about energy efficiency programs.
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B. Beelner also shared photographs from the Solar Car Kits
Assembly event attended by community members from Lincoln
Elementary School.
B. Beelner discussed the Flashlight Walk at Edison Park attended by
APU employees. Safety issues were discussed with residents, as well
as new light fixtures and other community concerns. Updates
regarding lighting improvements and the dusk to dawn program were
provided to community members.
B. Beelner shared agenda items planned for next month:
• Legislative Working Group Meeting
• Neighborhood and Residential Lighting Presentation
• FY22 Utilities Success Indicators
• Approval of the Annual Department Order 310 Change Order
Report
• Approval of the New Utility Pole Lease Rates for FY 22/23
through FY 31/32
• Acceptance of the Second Distribution of Bill Reduction
Funds Administered through the State of California for
COVID-19 Pandemic Relief for the Benefit of Electric Utility
Customers to Reduce Arrearages, and Discussion of Past Due
Balances.
11. ITEMS BY BOARD MEMBERS.
Board Member M. Lee commended M. Moore on the open house
event at Willow Park and noted employee satisfaction among those
employees he spoke to. M. Lee also commended M. Avelino -
Walker on the CSUF Intern Program and the speeches heard from
the interns this evening.
12. ADJOURNMENT: (NEXT REGULAR MEETING ON
SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 AT 5:00 P.M.)
N. Campos Kurtz moved to
adjourn the Regular Meeting
in the Gordon Hoyt
Conference Center at 6:10
p.m. to the Board's Regular
Meeting date of September
28, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. M.
Lee seconded the motion.
MOTION CARRIED: 6-0.
ABSTAINED: 0.
ABSENT: 1. [R. Bhalla].
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Respectfully submitted,
Brian Beelner
Acting Public Utilities General Manager
* 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 City Clerk and City Council for informational purposes.
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