11/15/2013 - Minutes (3) n l 3-a
RECEIVED
Salt Lake City NOV 1 5 2013
Public Utilities Advisory Committee
Minutes CITY RECORDER
September 26,2013
The Public Utilities Advisory Committee meeting was held at 7:00 a.m. September 26, 2013 at
1530 South West Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah. Committee members present were Dwight
Butler, Dixie Huefner, Roger Player, Larry Myers and Kent Moore. Committee member Allen
On was absent. Salt Lake City Public Utilities employees present were Jeff Niermeyer, Tom
Ward, Jim Lewis, Chuck Call, Laura Briefer, Jesse Stewart, Brad Stewart, Dave Pearson, Wes
Ing, Jason Brown and Zee Smith. Also in attendance were Rusty Vetter, SLC Attorney's
Office; Mike Wilson, MWDSLS; Keith Larson & Mike Collins, Bowen Collins & Associates;
Jim Olson, Waterworks Eng.; Jeff Denbleyler, CH2MHILL; Trevor Lindley, JUB Engineers;
Brandon Heidelberger, Brown & Caldwell; Alan Taylor, Forsgren Assoc; and Holly Hilton,
SLC Mayor's Office.
Approve Minutes of August 22,2013 Meeting
Committee member Kent Moore moved and committee member Larry Myers seconded the
motion to approve the minutes of the August 22, 2013 meeting as amended. All members present
voted aye.
Financial Report—Jim Lewis
Mr. Jim Lewis briefed the Committee on the financial report for the period ending August 31,
2013. Mr. Lewis stated that all four funds are in good financial condition. He stated that in spite
of one of the hottest summers on record our water sales are below last year by 8% due to the
weekly rain storms that passed thru with the hot weather. He then presented a chart showing
water consumption by month for the past six years. He stated that you can see the increase in
water sales in May and June of this year and how consumption changed as each of the storms
came thru during July and August. He then presented the water conservation chart showing water
usage for the past eight months, which indicates that we are currently very close to meeting our
conservation goal for the year.
The next slide presented was a comparison of revenue for all three funds versus budget. Mr.
Lewis stated that revenues from both the Water and Sewer Utilities are higher than last year due
to the 4% water rate increase and the 6% sewer rate increase effective July 1st of this year. The
Stormwater Utility and Street Lighting are slightly below our expected levels for this time of
year. It is expected that Street Lighting will be under budget estimates at the end of this year by
as much as $400,000 due to over estimating the new revenue potential of the new fund. The r-I
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Water Utility revenue is currently $133,000 higher with the Sewer Utility about $160,000 higher
than last year.
The next slide presented was a comparison of operating costs, comparing last year with the
current budget amounts. Mr. Lewis stated that operating costs for the Water Utility are higher
than last year by$560,000, which relates to additional water purchases over the previous year.
The Sewer costs are higher than last year by $200,000 and the Stormwater costs are above last
year by $24,000. Both Stormwater and Sewer are higher over last year as additional personnel
were hired and additional funds budgeted to provide a higher level of service during the budget
process. Mr. Lewis stated that, overall the Department has been doing a very good job of
controlling expenditures over the last couple of years.
The last slide presented listed the capital improvements for each of the funds as compared to
budget. The chart was revised at the request of the committee last month to show the anticipated
capital projects to be compared to the total budget amount. This will help show projects that are
multi-year projects and their related budget amounts. The Water Utility has expended $1.1
million in capital improvements with $5.5 million encumbered at the end of August. The Sewer
Utility has expended $500,000 with $7.3 million encumbered. The Stormwater Utility has
expended $615,000 with $4.1 million encumbered. The Street Lighting Utility is just starting to
upgrade some of the lights to energy efficiency in the amount of$38,000. Total for all four
equals $2.2 million expended and $16.9 million encumbered as of the end for August 2013.
Mr. Lewis stated the Department is currently working on a proposed contract for the Water and
Sewer Lateral Warranty Program. The contract is anticipated to be completed by the end of
October.
Street Lights Program Update—Brad Stewart & Dave Pearson
Brad Stewart explained to the Committee that when Public Utilities took responsibility for the
City's Street Lighting Program in January 2013, 2646 lights or 17% of the lights had not been
working, because of the lack of budget for lighting maintenance. Today the Department is happy
to report that essentially all of the backlogged maintenance needs have been addressed. The
strategy was to put as many lights back in service as quickly as possible. Part of this effort was to
show the public some quick results, so they could see results for paying the new user fee. The
Department started with the easy, less expensive fixes first, which were burned out bulbs, fuses,
and photocells. These quick fixes were responsible for about half of the maintenance problems
with the lights. The remaining 1,000 lights requiring maintenance issues were more expensive
and time consuming. Parts had to be ordered, circuits repaired, poles replaced, etc. Except for a
few isolated and mostly undeveloped industrial areas the Department is done with the
backlogged maintenance issues. This is freeing up some time and money to focus on other
things, such as routine maintenance and energy efficiency conversions.
The Department is finding out that about 400 lights a month need some kind of maintenance.
Under our maintenance contract the contractor has 3 days to do the easy fixes. They are keeping
up without a problem. At the current rate of repairing 400 lights a month, this means that on the N
average each light will be visited every 3 or 4 years. And that is approximately the life span of tic
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the typical old bulbs. Approximately 17% of the system is essentially new, and LED lights have
a 3 to 4 times longer life expectancy.
Dave Pearson demonstrated to the Committee the color rendition difference between high
pressure sodium vapor lights and LED lights. The yellowish HPS made the picture on the wall
look black and white. The LED bulb brought out all of the colors. Mr. Person also showed the
Committee a small LED array panel and a piece of gooey aluminum wire that is being used in
some applications as a deterrent to wire theft.
Climate Change Sensitivity of Public Water Supplies—Laura Briefer & Tim Bardsley
Ms. Laura Briefer, Salt Lake City Public Utilities Water Resource Manager and Tom Bardsley of
Western Water Assessment, presented results of ongoing research regarding climate change
impacts to Salt Lake City's water resources. This research is a product of partnerships between
Salt Lake City Public Utilities, Western Water Assessment, University of Utah, Utah State
University, BYU and others. Results of a portion of the research will be published in an
upcoming article in the scientific journal Earth Interactions.
By applying tools and scenarios, including hydrologic modeling, tree ring records, and climate
models, Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities is gaining better information regarding a
range of potential long term impacts and sensitivities associated with climate change. Increased
temperatures and changes in precipitation will affect runoff timing, water demand, and snowpack
storage. In addition, current research also indicates that weather such as storm events and
droughts will likely be intensified.
For instance, hydrologic models of Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities surface water
sources show that increasing air temperatures will likely reduce the overall volume of water
available in free-flowing streams, as well as cause the peak runoff period to occur earlier in the
season. This has implications with the long term management of water, and helps Public Utilities
anticipate a range of scenarios based on our sensitivity analyses.
Public Utilities continues to partner with research institutions to develop good science to inform
our future actions associated with planning for water resources in an uncertain climatic future.
Our goal is to understand the range of potential climate change impacts, and apply adaptation
techniques that have multiple benefits to provide for the long term sustainability of our water
resources.
Continuity of Operation Plan (COOP) - Wes Ing
Mr. Wes Ing informed the Committee that Salt Lake City Public Utilities is developing a
Continuity Of Operation Plan (COOP). This plan attempts to foresee what actions are necessary
for the continued operation of the Department during a wide range of potential emergencies. This
plan is a collection of resources, procedures, lines of succession of information developed and
ready to be implemented in the event of a major disruption of operations. COOP planning helps
the Department to prepare to maintain service to our customers after any emergency or disaster.
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Each Department within Public Utilities performs functions that are critical to meeting our
customer's needs.
During the development of the COOP, many areas were considered during the plan
development, such as:
• Provide for continued performance of essential departmental functions under all
circumstances.
• Ensure survivability of critical equipment records and other assets.
• Minimize business damage and losses.
• Achieve orderly response and recovery for the incident.
• Ensure succession of leaders.
• Assure survivability of Salt Lake City Public Utilities in most severe events.
The Department has developed a succession plan for Departmental Leadership. Also alternate
facilities have been identified in various other city departments for temporary emergency
operating locations. A mobile dispatch center has been established. Also, vital information,
historical records and computers databases are backed up off site at regular intervals. Employee
position, skills and knowledge are being evaluated to complete a call out list for establishing
remote work sites.
Once the plan is completed a table top exercise will be conducted to test the plan. Lessons
learned from this exercise will be implemented into the COOP Plan.
Introduce Mr. Jesse Stewart
Mr. Niermeyer introduced the Departments new Water Quality Administrator, Mr. Jesse Stewart.
Mr. Stewart has been in the consulting business for many years, and has a lot to offer this
Department. Mr. Niermeyer welcomed Mr. Stewart.
Meeting Adjourned at 8:50
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