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Record of Proceedings

Utilities Rate Advisory Commission Meeting Summary - February 27, 2019

Utilities Rate Advisory Commission — Wednesday, February 27, 2019
BodySacramento, California
SessionUtilities Rate Advisory Commission
DateWednesday, February 27, 2019
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

Melissa, maybe you guys want to say a little something about your interest in being in the URAC.

0:10

Just a little something about why you decided to do it.

0:13

Sorry, I'm not meaning to put you on the spot.

0:16

Just friendly.

0:19

Hi, I'm Megan Fidel.

0:21

I am excited to be appointed.

0:23

This is the first time I've done anything like this.

0:29

Is that I have a long-standing interest in water policy in the state.

0:32

I've um followed rate issues in water policy before.

0:36

Um so I thought that was where I could best serve.

0:39

Um and I think uh substantial focus of mine is going to be climate change and trying to help the city apply that in every venue.

0:50

And um because of my son who's here in the audience today.

0:55

Nice.

0:56

All right, thank you.

0:58

Melissa.

1:00

Hi, I'm Melissa.

1:01

I have a lot less to say.

1:02

Um I work in wastewater and um I'm familiar with the Prop 218 process.

1:09

And I'm interested in helping my community.

1:12

It's also the first time I've ever done anything like this.

1:14

Megan convinced me to do it.

1:17

So thank you for having me here.

1:19

Great, great, great.

1:20

Well, Prop 218, knowing all of that and uh wastewater issues, it's gonna be important for the next couple years.

1:26

So that's great to have your skills for that.

1:28

Okay, so the next thing is that we want to do a consent calendar, right?

1:33

So maybe people want to take a look.

1:36

Or have you already all taken a look at the consent calendar?

1:40

Um of the minutes.

1:43

That's kind of it, right?

1:49

Okay, can I um so what do I do if I'm the only one that was at that meeting also, and we're looking for a second.

2:01

Um, I think you can go ahead and second.

2:03

Okay, then I'll I'll second a motion to approve the September minutes.

2:10

Okay, so we'll take a vote, Melissa Lee.

2:19

We're having a little trouble with the technology, so go ahead and just speak loud or um and and Aaron's gonna try to turn on your mic.

2:26

Oh, okay.

2:26

They're all on now, they're red.

2:27

I say aye, then Brian B E Earing.

2:33

Megan Fidel.

2:35

Andrew Day.

2:38

Anthony Thomas.

2:39

Hi.

2:40

April Javis.

2:41

Hi.

2:42

Motion passes.

2:44

Hi.

2:45

Okay, so I obviously skipped the out-of-turn with the new commission members.

2:50

Sorry.

2:51

Um, so now we want to we want to look at the URAC meeting calendar.

2:55

Aaron, do you want to talk about this?

2:57

Yes.

2:57

Um, this is an item um typically we bring uh at the end of the year, but um we didn't have a meeting in the last couple months of the year.

3:05

Um we have to uh by policy approve uh meeting uh I'm sorry, a meeting calendar uh for the year.

3:14

Um because of um the status of the URAC, um our meetings have to be held in the these chambers.

3:20

Um and uh part of that's so that they're live streamed.

3:24

Uh and we are going with the typical calendar we've had for the last several years.

3:28

That is we meet the last Wednesday of the month.

3:31

Um I'm sorry, the fourth Wednesday of the month from January through um October, and then in November and December, because of the holidays, we meet the second Wednesday of those two months.

3:44

Um so those are our standing meetings.

3:46

Um and we also have a policy in our um code that we can meet no more than 12 times in a year.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Recycling████████████████████████████████32%
Solid Waste████████████████████████████████32%
Solid Waste Management██████████████14%
Procedural███████████11%
Water Management███████7%
Public Works███3%
Asset Management█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Utilities Rate Advisory Commission Meeting – February 27, 2019

The Utilities Rate Advisory Commission (URAC) met on February 27, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers at 915 I Street, Sacramento. The meeting included approval of previous minutes, introduction of new members, approval of the 2019 meeting calendar, and a financial overview presentation from the Recycling and Solid Waste Division. Commission members present included Chair April Javis, and commissioners Brian Beering, Megan Fidel, Andrew Day, Anthony Thomas, and Melissa Lee (new members). The meeting was live-streamed and open to the public.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes for September 26, 2018: The commission voted unanimously to approve the draft minutes. Motion passed with all members in favor (ayes: all present).

Discussion Items

  • Introduction of New Commission Members: Chair Javis introduced new members Megan Fidel and Melissa Lee. Megan Fidel expressed interest in water policy and climate change; Melissa Lee noted her background in wastewater and Prop 218 processes. Both are first-time commissioners.
  • 2019 URAC Meeting Calendar: The commission approved the proposed 2019 meeting calendar, which sets meetings on the fourth Wednesday of each month from January through October, and the second Wednesday in November and December. Motion passed unanimously.
  • Recycling and Solid Waste Division Financial Overview: Jerome Council, General Manager, presented an overview of the division's operations, budget, and challenges. Key points:
    • The division has 164 FTEs and a $63 million revenue budget, with 98% from user fees.
    • Revenue from recyclable sales has declined due to China's National Sword policy, projected at $280,000 for the current year.
    • The operating budget is $56 million; MIOPS (Major Investment and Operating Projects) is $7.7 million, with 86% for fleet replacement.
    • Capital improvement projects include landfill closures at Canon and Skolin (planned for next year) and a CIS system upgrade.
    • Challenges: China's recycling policy, SB 1383 organic waste mandates (food waste added by 2021), fuel infrastructure conversion from LNG to CNG lacking adequate refueling stations, and labor costs.
    • Commissioners asked questions: Anthony Thomas inquired about rain impact (increases tonnage and wet recyclables become garbage) and China policy response (additional outreach, reliance on processors). Megan Fidel asked about the new food waste compliance staff (hiring a planning analyst). Chair Javis asked about fleet replacement: trucks cost ~$400,000, replaced every 7 years, but fleet size has not kept pace with 3,500 new residential accounts since 2013; ~900-1,000 accounts require an additional route of three trucks. Andrew Day asked about waste generation per household (no per-household data, only total tonnage). Brian Beering commended the Meadow View Yard tour and noted the positive impact of new equipment on safety and operations.
  • Member Comments: Commissioner Brian Beering shared his positive experience visiting the Meadow View Yard, highlighting the cleanliness and efficiency of operations.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the minutes of September 26, 2018 (unanimous).
  • Approved the 2019 URAC meeting calendar (unanimous).
  • Received and filed the Recycling and Solid Waste Division Financial Overview presentation; no formal vote was taken, but the presentation was discussed and acknowledged.
  • The meeting adjourned without further business.

Note: No public comments were made during the designated "Public Comments – Matters Not on the Agenda" section.

Meeting Transcript

Melissa, maybe you guys want to say a little something about your interest in being in the URAC. Just a little something about why you decided to do it. Sorry, I'm not meaning to put you on the spot. Just friendly. Hi, I'm Megan Fidel. I am excited to be appointed. This is the first time I've done anything like this. Is that I have a long-standing interest in water policy in the state. I've um followed rate issues in water policy before. Um so I thought that was where I could best serve. Um and I think uh substantial focus of mine is going to be climate change and trying to help the city apply that in every venue. And um because of my son who's here in the audience today. Nice. All right, thank you. Melissa. Hi, I'm Melissa. I have a lot less to say. Um I work in wastewater and um I'm familiar with the Prop 218 process. And I'm interested in helping my community. It's also the first time I've ever done anything like this. Megan convinced me to do it. So thank you for having me here. Great, great, great. Well, Prop 218, knowing all of that and uh wastewater issues, it's gonna be important for the next couple years. So that's great to have your skills for that. Okay, so the next thing is that we want to do a consent calendar, right? So maybe people want to take a look. Or have you already all taken a look at the consent calendar? Um of the minutes. That's kind of it, right? Okay, can I um so what do I do if I'm the only one that was at that meeting also, and we're looking for a second. Um, I think you can go ahead and second. Okay, then I'll I'll second a motion to approve the September minutes. Okay, so we'll take a vote, Melissa Lee. We're having a little trouble with the technology, so go ahead and just speak loud or um and and Aaron's gonna try to turn on your mic. Oh, okay. They're all on now, they're red. I say aye, then Brian B E Earing. Megan Fidel. Andrew Day. Anthony Thomas. Hi. April Javis. Hi. Motion passes. Hi. Okay, so I obviously skipped the out-of-turn with the new commission members. Sorry. Um, so now we want to we want to look at the URAC meeting calendar. Aaron, do you want to talk about this?

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