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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-12-15 Min - Board REGULAR MEETING December 15, 1999 In accordance with District Code Section 2.08.010 the TDPUD minutes are action only minutes. All Board meetings are recorded on audio tapes which are preserved Perpetually and made available for listening to any interested party upon their request The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District was called to order at approximately 7:10 PM in the TDPUD Board Room by President Hemig. ROLL CALL: Directors Ron Hemig, Bob Jones, Patricia Sutton and James Maass were present. Director Joe Aguera was expected. EMPLOYEES PRESENT: Susan Craig, Steve Hollabaugh, Peter Holzmeister, Neil Kaufman, Kathy Neus, Ed Taylor and Scott Terrell. CONSULTANTS PRESENT: District Counsel, Steve Gross. OTHERS PRESENT: There were several unidentified parties in the audience and Tracy Stout of AT&T Wireless. PUBLIC INPUT There was no public input. CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION DISPENSING WITH BIDDING AND AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE RELATING TO WATER SYSTEM SCADA Included in the 1999 budget there is funding in the amount of $100,000 for the first phase of a SCADA system upgrade for the Water Department. The current system is six years old and is experiencing operational problems. The software will not interface with other District systems and will not permit staff to add new sites or custom reports. Staff has looked extensively for software that will meet the Water Department's SCADA needs from a vendor who specializes in SCADA system software. The software has to have the open architecture that the District needs to permit all of the District's computer systems to share information. This software will allow the electric and water SCADA systems to operationally interact for energy conservation. The software must meet the current and future needs of the District. Staff has identified a SCADA software that will meet all of the needs of the Water Department — iFix from Intellution. Intellution is owned by Emerson Electric Company and is a worldwide SCADA software provider with over 100,000 installations. The cost of the software is $26,100 plus tax. The Board asked for a report showing all the elements, how they will work together and the line of responsibility. Director Aguera arrived at this point in the meeting (7:15 PM). Director Jones moved, and Director Maass seconded, that the Board adopt Resolution No. 9920 directing that competitive bidding be dispensed with in connection with the District's purchase of computer software to provide for the District's water utility supervisory control and data acquisition computer system. ROLL CALL: all Directors, aye. SO RESOLVED. 12/15/99 Page 1 €, . CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION ADOPTING A POLICY REGARDING THE SUBMISSION OF AS-BUILT DRAWINGS BY DEVELOPERS Currently the District does not have any written requirements regarding the submission of as- built drawings by developers. The informal policy requires the submission of as-built drawings in order to remove blanket easements from a property under development. However, the District has not required this submittal to be in electronic format and the District does not have a mechanism to insure that as-built drawings are actually submitted. The intent of this proposed policy is to insure that as-built drawings are submitted and to require the information to be in a format that is compatible with the District's current CAD software. The proposed standard is also compatible with the GIS software to be purchased. The proposed policy includes the implementation of a project documentation fee. The intent of this fee is to provide a monetary incentive for the developer to provide the required as-built information. It is intended that the project documentation fee would be charged to a developer upon the signing of a development agreement. Upon completion of the project, the full fee would be refunded after submission of the as-built drawings. If as-built drawings are not submitted within a given time, the District would proceed to develop as-built drawings using the project documentation fee to cover those costs. It is anticipated that the as-built drawing requirement given in the policy be incorporated in the project specifications for all future projects. t_ There was some discussion and it was noted that single family residences would be excluded from this policy. The Board asked that this matter be brought back for discussion at a workshop meeting and that developers be made aware of the proposed policy. Also, staff is to check the practices of other District's in this regard. TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS PLANNING PROCESS - CONSIDERATION OF CONDUCTING A SURVEY OF CUSTOMER INTEREST IN HAVING THE DISTRICT PERFORM TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES Staff is recommending that the District measure the public's interest in having the PUD enter the telecommunications business by having a consultant conduct a survey. Option A is to obtain insights regarding how part-time residents fulfill communications needs during stays in Truckee and determine satisfaction levels with available ISPs and CATV companies. As Task 1, it is being suggested that they conduct a minimum of 15 in-depth interviews by telephone among individuals or business owners who maintain a residence in the Truckee area but consider themselves to be full-time residents of another area. A requirement would be that the interviewee make at least six trips to their Truckee residence each year, or that they stay for two or more months per year. The consultant would be asked to propose a cost for constructing the sample, developing the interview script, conducting the interviews and writing the report and to indicate a timeline for completion of the task. Task 2 would consist of a telephone survey conducted among a minimum of 400 residents within the market. The sample would be provided by TDPUD or purchased through an appropriate agency. Interviews would be structured to last no longer than five minutes. Issues to be addressed would be: subscription levels of Internet, CATV and satellite TV services; how Internet services are used; satisfaction levels with current providers; switching intent if options i 12/15/99 Page 2 were available; switching intent if option were TDPUD; full-time or part-time residency; other demographics. The consultant would be asked to propose a cost for developing and pre-testing the questionnaire, conducting the interviews and analysis and report writing. They would also be asked to indicate a timeline for completing these tasks. Option B is to describe the status of the draft business plan and ask the consultant to make a proposal on how they would approach the task of determining current customer satisfaction levels and interest in having the District enter the telecommunications market. This would be an open-ended request and asks the consultant to make suggestions as how to proceed. There was discussion and it was suggested that a coupon be placed in the newspaper and newsletter to give everyone a chance to express themselves. A direct mailing that includes a stamped, self-addressed response form was mentioned. Customers could be alerted that they may be called and asked to participate in a formal survey. It was agreed that the District should obtain professional input on how to put the mailer and/or coupon together. This would be the first step in the process. Director Maass moved, and Director Jones seconded, that staff be directed to issue a request for proposals on Options A and B and that the proposal include development of a "pre-survey" mailer to go to all customers. ROLL CALL: all Directors, aye. SO MOVED. PLACER COUNTY GRAND JURY The Manager noted that Placer County Grand Jury has requested that the District provide information regarding management and operation of the District for 1999. Counsel indicated }! that it his understanding that the Grand Jury does have the authority to make this request. PRESENTATION ON THE STATUS OF ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLY ISSUES For many years the District has been seeking long term transmission access in order to receive market rate prices for energy delivered to its customers. On November 10, 1999, FERC issued an order accepting the September agreement signed by Sierra Pacific that gives the District the right to import energy and capacity from outside Sierra Pacific's transmission control area to meet its load (including load growth) until 2027. (Docket Nos. ER97-3593-000 and ER97-4462- 000.) Mr. Hollabaugh presented a comparison of costs, full requirements versus current market based rates (using year 2000 forecasted loads (copy attached). A copy of the Power Supply Engineer's report on other FERC Dockets that the District is or has been involved with is also attached. DISCUSSION OF THE DRAFT TRUCKEE GOVERNANCE STUDY Since the Board packet was put together, several comments from other Districts were included in the study and a copy was prepared and presented to SR Jones, Executive Officer of LAFCo. A subcommittee was created to review the study and report back to LAFCo in January and to recommend whether or not to hire a consultant. It was noted that the incorporation study done prior to Truckee becoming a town indicated that z all the Districts are doing an excellent job — none were (or are) in failure mode — and all are focused on their areas of expertise. The governance study shows this and also points out areas where things could be done jointly as well as showing where they are already doing things f 12/15/99 Page 3 s` jointly. Mr. Holzmeister will be presenting copies of the study to all districts and refining the study after hearing their comments. Staff suggested that it may be time to get Bob Rauch involved and to have public discussions. A joint public meeting of all the special district boards could be held in about a month. The suggestion was made to include some historical information about formation of the town and the fact that there was not supposed to be any change in the services provided by the special districts. DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE REVISION TO THE DISTRICT'S PUBLIC BENEFITS PROGRAM One of the main components of the District's public benefits program is offering cash incentives to electric customers who incorporate energy-efficient measures into their buildings or purchase and use high efficiency electric space and water heating appliances. These measures include adding insulation to floors, walls and ceilings; converting window areas from single to double- pane windows; and reducing air leakage in the building envelope and/or the central air/heating distribution system. There is a 5% cash incentive for electric customers who install specified energy efficient measures. The maximum rebate a customer can receive per building is $400. Staff believes that an increase to 10% would result in more program participation and would also like to raise the cash incentive maximum from $400 to $500 per building. Mr. Terrell mentioned that some manufacturers of clothes washers have developed new models that are superior to their old lines. These design changes have resulted in lower water use and higher energy efficiency as well as other benefits. like less wear on clothes and cleaner clothes. Staff was asked to come back to the Board with recommendations regarding raising the building energy efficiency measures cash incentive from a maximum of $400 to $500 per building; raising the building energy efficiency cash rebate incentive from 5% to 10%; and adding clothes washers and possibly other appliances to the cash incentive program. DISCUSSION OF PLACEMENT OF MICROWAVE STATIONS AT DISTRICT FACILITIES The Manager provided a copy of the District code regulating the placement by lease of wireless communications facilities on District owned property. It provides that any party wishing to construct and maintain wireless communications monopoles and antennas make application to the General Manager of the District and submit a $500 application fee. After review, the Manager shall approve or disapprove the request based on its conformance with the terms of the District's standard lease agreement and based on a finding of no significant visual impact such facility may have on surrounding residential neighborhood. Mr. Holzmeister advised that AT&T Wireless, represented by Tracy Stout, is proposing to lease the area behind the Gateway Tank and will be going through the full special use permit process with the Town and working with him towards this end. MONTHLY STAFF REPORTS Staff reports were provided to the Board in the meeting packets and are attached to these minutes for reference. There were no questions. 12/15/99 Page 4 CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR — AGENCY NEGOTIATOR: PETER HOLZMEISTER. EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION: LOCAL 1245 OF THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS The Board adjourned to closed session to discuss the above item at 9:04 PM. RETURN TO PUBLIC SESSION The Board returned to public session at approximately 9:50 PM. There was no action taken or direction given as a result of closed session. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:51 PM. TRUCKE ONNER PUBLIC UTILIYY DISTRICT _ J. Hpn„yefnig, Presidierrt Prepared bye ,'-� Susan M. Cram; Deputy District Clerk smc 12/15/99 Page 5