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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Los Alamos County Board of Public Utilities Regular Meeting - August 19, 2026

County Council & Boards — Wednesday, August 19, 2026

BodyLos Alamos County, New Mexico

SessionCounty Council & Boards

DateWednesday, August 19, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 3:44:00

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

This August 19th, 2026 meeting, regular meeting of the Board of Public Utilities.

0:05

Welcome to another evening of fun and frolic.

0:09

We appreciate everyone's participation.

0:15

Is there anyone before we go into any more substance?

0:19

Is there anyone here or online for the water rate hearing that was incorrectly published for tonight when it's actually going to be two weeks from now?

0:37

Do you have anybody online for that?

0:40

No, Chair Gibson.

0:41

Okay.

0:42

Thank you.

0:43

Um with that, we will open the floor to public comment.

0:48

Is there any public comment on any item this evening that is not otherwise on our agenda?

0:56

I don't see any in chambers.

0:58

We have any online.

0:59

Thank you, Chair Gibson.

1:00

For members of the public who are joining us tonight on Zoom, when Chair Gibson calls for public comment, please use the raise hand function.

1:06

If you are participating by phone, press star nine to raise your hand.

1:10

If you wish to pick make a public comment at this time, please raise your hand.

1:15

There is no public comment.

1:17

Thank you.

1:19

That takes us to the uh approval of the agenda.

1:23

And there's uh several things we need to deal with there.

1:27

First, item four C on the consent agenda.

1:32

Um got the agenda got published last Friday without a title for that.

1:39

So without a title, there's no description, there's nothing for the public to know what we're doing.

1:44

And by the time that was caught and corrected, it was too late for the uh normal 72-hour notice requirement.

1:50

So we will not hear that tonight.

1:53

That'll be postponed.

1:55

Uh secondly, uh, there are two board members, Eric and myself, who both wish to pull item 4B from consent and have a normal discussion on that.

2:07

And I would propose putting that after the discussion of the electric coordination agreement.

2:14

Um third, as a we don't know how long the ECA is going to take.

2:22

We have a we have a full meeting again tonight, in part because we had to roll over some things from last meeting.

2:30

Um the Foxdale Flats business plan could take a long time by itself.

2:36

So uh I'm thinking that either we we may, depending on what how our clock is running, when we get to that uh under department business, uh we may just say we're only gonna uh get started on it and limit the discussion to 30 minutes or limit limit the total time for that to 30 minutes or something like that, depending on how our time is going.

3:02

Or we could push it to the end of the meeting and then we'll know how much time we have left.

3:08

Um what's what would be the board's pleasure?

3:12

How um how time urgent is is that particular topic?

3:16

Well, I mean wonder we could just go ahead and set it aside for another meeting.

3:20

It is something that we need to get started on, it's a big deal.

3:24

Um but we're it's not an action item tonight.

3:27

Um so uh um I was thinking we might get started on it, but Ben do his presentation so we kind of get it out on the table and know what we're dealing with to start with anyway, but it's a complicated issue.

3:42

I it might take quite a while.

3:44

And I had never expected that we'd get it all done tonight anyway.

3:48

That's the sort of thing you need to look at and think about and uh ruminate on a bit.

3:54

So um anyway, that one we could wait until we get to seven, what is what now be the third item in department business and decide at that point.

4:10

I don't think anybody would be terribly inconvenienced if we did that since we don't have a lot of public interest tonight.

4:16

That's fine.

4:17

Uh if every if everyone is okay with that um, then I would uh uh seek a motion to approve the agenda as amended with the understanding that seven that the Foxdale Flats business plan may be shortened or postponed.

4:38

Okay, so let me understand the amendments.

4:40

I'll make the motion, but the amendments as I understand them is that 4C is off the table for tonight.

4:45

Correct.

4:46

4B is pulled off the consent agenda and put after the ECA discussion, correct?

4:52

And then we will see what happens when we get to uh the Fox Philip Flats business plan.

4:58

Correct.

4:59

All right.

5:00

Given that I move that the Board of Public Utilities approve the items on the consent agenda as amended and that the motions and the staff reports be included in the minutes for the record.

5:11

I think you're a step ahead here.

5:12

Oh now we're approving the agenda.

5:17

Given all that, I approve I I move that the Board of Public Utilities approve the agenda for tonight's meeting as amended.

5:24

Second.

5:26

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural████████████████████████████28%

Energy Management█████████████████████████25%

Water And Wastewater Management██████████████████████22%

Contract Management███████████11%

Engineering And Infrastructure████4%

Environmental Protection████4%

Public Engagement███3%

Pending Litigation██2%

Strategic Planning█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Los Alamos County Board of Public Utilities Regular Meeting - August 19, 2026

The Board of Public Utilities (BPU) convened a regular meeting on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, at 5:30 PM in the Municipal Building Council Chambers, with remote participation available. Chair Robert Gibson presided. Present were Members Matt Heavner, Charles Nakhleh, Eric Stromberg, and Jennifer Hollingsworth (remote). Philo Shelton (Utilities Manager) and Anne Laurent (County Manager) served as ex-officio non-voting members, and Ryn Herrmann attended as Council Liaison. The meeting covered a consent agenda, two public hearings, a major contract discussion for the Electric Coordination Agreement, approval of the 40-Year Water Supply Plan, and routine board business. The Electric Coordination Agreement discussion resulted in a motion to table, with the meeting recessed to a special session on August 21, 2026.

Consent Calendar

Approval of Meeting Minutes (4.a.): The board unanimously approved the minutes from the July 22, 2026, regular meeting as presented (motion passed 4-0). Items 4.b. and 4.c. were removed from the consent agenda for separate discussion.

Public Hearings

Ordinance No. 759 – NMFA Loan/Grant for Denver Steels Waterline Replacements (6.a.): James Martinez (Deputy Utility Manager-Engineering) presented an ordinance authorizing an amended loan/grant agreement with the New Mexico Finance Authority (NMFA) for $3,252,000 to fund Phases II and III of the Denver Steels waterline replacements. The additional $525,000 supports replacing galvanized service lines (identified as severely corroded) with new PEX lines and transferring ownership of the segment beyond the meter to homeowners. The board recommended Council approval unanimously (4-0).
Resolution No.26-22 – Write-off of Uncollectible Utility Accounts for FY2022 (6.b.): Joann Gentry (Deputy Utility Manager-Finance & Administration) presented the annual resolution to remove 76 accounts totaling $31,800.33 from receivables. Of this, $28,851.59 requires BPU affirmation (less refuse fees). The write-off ratio of 0.00079 per revenue dollar is below the national weighted average of0.0008 for comparable utilities. The board recommended Council approval unanimously (4-0).

Discussion Items

2026 Electric Coordination Agreement (ECA) (7.a.): Ben Olbrich (Deputy Utility Manager-Power Supply) and Utilities Manager Philo Shelton, assisted by outside legal counsel Seth Kirshenberg, reviewed changes from the July22 version. The ECA is a10-year fixed-price contract with the U.S. Department of Energy/NNSA for coordinated electric operations, including a10-year extension option and a total contract value of approximately $424 million for the first term. Key new provisions include:FAR clause52.249-2 (termination for convenience of the government), language to mitigate the County's risk from long-term Foxtail Flats commitments (allowing DOE to take assignment of up to80% of the resource upon termination), and a requirement for the Operating Committee to plan for the extension option three years in advance. Board members expressed concerns about asymmetric terms, the short notice period for extension, and the clarity of termination provisions. A motion to recommend Council approval was made, but a motion to table the discussion passed3-1 (Heavner opposed), postponing the vote. The meeting was recessed to continue this item onAugust21,2026 at1:00 PM in DPU Conference Room135.
40-Year Long-Range Water Supply Plan Update – Approval of Contract with Bohannon Huston (4.b.): James Martinez presented a recommendation to award AGR26-62 to Bohannon Huston, Inc. (BHI) and sub-consultant John Shomaker& Associates for a base amount of $142,650 plus optional services ($56,550) and a12.4% contingency ($24,800), total not to exceed $224,000 plus gross receipts tax. The plan will update the 20-year-old forecast, integrate San Juan-Chama surface water rights (1,200 acre-feet), evaluate climate risks, support a new diversion permit for Overlook Park, and meet New Mexico Office of the State Engineer requirements. The board approved the contract unanimously (4-0).
Foxtail Flats Business Plan Update (7.b.): This agenda item was deferred to a future meeting due to time constraints. Staff had prepared an update addressing the financial impacts of excess solar energy generation.

Key Outcomes

Ordinance No.759 recommended to Council (4-0).
ResolutionNo.26-22 recommended to Council (4-0).
Agriculture Contract AGR26-62 approved (4-0) for the water supply plan.
2026 ECA discussion tabled; special recessed meeting scheduled forAugust21,2026 at1:30 PM to continue deliberations.
Foxtail Flats update postponed.
Annual Open Meetings Act & Public Records Training received from Assistant County Attorney Cristella Valdez.
Board Procedural Rules reviewed; a proposed revision regarding minor rate ordinance corrections was rejected, and the schedule for uncollectible account approval was shifted from August to September to align with County procedures.

Meeting Transcript

This August 19th, 2026 meeting, regular meeting of the Board of Public Utilities. Welcome to another evening of fun and frolic. We appreciate everyone's participation. Is there anyone before we go into any more substance? Is there anyone here or online for the water rate hearing that was incorrectly published for tonight when it's actually going to be two weeks from now? Do you have anybody online for that? No, Chair Gibson. Okay. Thank you. Um with that, we will open the floor to public comment. Is there any public comment on any item this evening that is not otherwise on our agenda? I don't see any in chambers. We have any online. Thank you, Chair Gibson. For members of the public who are joining us tonight on Zoom, when Chair Gibson calls for public comment, please use the raise hand function. If you are participating by phone, press star nine to raise your hand. If you wish to pick make a public comment at this time, please raise your hand. There is no public comment. Thank you. That takes us to the uh approval of the agenda. And there's uh several things we need to deal with there. First, item four C on the consent agenda. Um got the agenda got published last Friday without a title for that. So without a title, there's no description, there's nothing for the public to know what we're doing. And by the time that was caught and corrected, it was too late for the uh normal 72-hour notice requirement. So we will not hear that tonight. That'll be postponed. Uh secondly, uh, there are two board members, Eric and myself, who both wish to pull item 4B from consent and have a normal discussion on that. And I would propose putting that after the discussion of the electric coordination agreement. Um third, as a we don't know how long the ECA is going to take. We have a we have a full meeting again tonight, in part because we had to roll over some things from last meeting. Um the Foxdale Flats business plan could take a long time by itself. So uh I'm thinking that either we we may, depending on what how our clock is running, when we get to that uh under department business, uh we may just say we're only gonna uh get started on it and limit the discussion to 30 minutes or limit limit the total time for that to 30 minutes or something like that, depending on how our time is going. Or we could push it to the end of the meeting and then we'll know how much time we have left. Um what's what would be the board's pleasure? How um how time urgent is is that particular topic? Well, I mean wonder we could just go ahead and set it aside for another meeting. It is something that we need to get started on, it's a big deal. Um but we're it's not an action item tonight. Um so uh um I was thinking we might get started on it, but Ben do his presentation so we kind of get it out on the table and know what we're dealing with to start with anyway, but it's a complicated issue. I it might take quite a while. And I had never expected that we'd get it all done tonight anyway. That's the sort of thing you need to look at and think about and uh ruminate on a bit. So um anyway, that one we could wait until we get to seven, what is what now be the third item in department business and decide at that point. I don't think anybody would be terribly inconvenienced if we did that since we don't have a lot of public interest tonight. That's fine. Uh if every if everyone is okay with that um, then I would uh uh seek a motion to approve the agenda as amended with the understanding that seven that the Foxdale Flats business plan may be shortened or postponed. Okay, so let me understand the amendments. I'll make the motion, but the amendments as I understand them is that 4C is off the table for tonight. Correct.

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