Weatherford Municipal Utility Board Regular and Executive Session – April 24, 2025

The Weatherford Municipal Utility Board met at noon on April 24, 2025, at City Hall. The board approved minutes, a consent agenda, and a major wastewater construction contract, received informational presentations on a proposed $80 million bond issuance, customer disconnect policies, and quarterly performance dashboards for electric and water utilities, and held an executive session on retail power supply.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of Minutes: The board unanimously approved the minutes from the March 27, 2025 meeting.
• SCADA Programming Services (6a): Authorized procurement of on‑call SCADA programming from North Point Technology LLC in an amount not to exceed $25,000, for a total aggregate fiscal year expenditure not to exceed $185,000.
• Utility Budget Amendment (6b): Approved Resolution R2025‑05 amending the FY25 adopted utility budget.
• Lake Lot License Reinstatement (6c): Approved reinstatement of a lake lot license for Mr. John Garrison (Lot 115) upon payment.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public addressed the board on non‑agenda items.

Discussion Items

• Service Award: Joe Farley, Director of Electric Utilities, presented a 15‑year service award to Edgar Esquivel, who has actually worked for the city for 19 years (including a break in service). Esquivel now serves as Electric Superintendent, overseeing construction crews and actively responding to outages despite his managerial role. Mayor Paschall thanked him for his leadership in rebuilding the lineman workforce.
• Town Creek Interceptor Wastewater Improvements (7a): Bill Smith, Assistant Director of Public Works, presented a contract award recommendation for replacing an 18‑inch clay trunk line with a new 36‑inch line. The project extends from the wastewater plant to Jack Borden Way and includes a nine‑month construction timeline starting May 2025. Special considerations include a three‑week closure of the northern half of Patsy Hooks Dog Park (southern half remains open with temporary fencing) and a one‑week temporary closure of a trail spur near Jack Borden Way, with detours on the main trail system. The project will be funded from wastewater rate revenues.
• Bond Issuance – Certificates of Obligation (8a): CFO Dawn Brooks and financial advisor Marty Shue (Hilltop Securities) provided an informational overview of the city’s plan to issue $80 million in certificates of obligation (Series 2025) for water ($55M) and wastewater ($25M) infrastructure. These debt instruments are similar to general obligation bonds but do not require a public vote. The board took no action; authority rests with the City Council, which had already approved a notice of intent. Estimated interest rates are 4.20%–4.50%, with pricing expected June 24, 2025, and funds available July 24, 2025. Board members expressed support, noting that delaying infrastructure investments increases long‑term costs (e.g., an overpass project cost rose from $9M in 2017 to nearly $18M in 2024).
• Customer Service Disconnect Policy (8b): Budget Coordinator Ashley Esquivel presented the utility disconnection timeline: bills issued day 0, due day 15, late notice and phone/text notifications starting day 16, delinquency and 5% penalty at day 25, disconnection after day 26. Reconnection requires full payment plus fees. Delinquency rates average 0.6% of billings (approximately $40,000 of $6.4M billed monthly), and the overall collection rate exceeds 99%. The customer service team consists of only four representatives, one billing specialist, one supervisor, and one manager. Board member Ken Davis commended the team and noted that only 0.28% ($234,000 of $84M billed) goes to collections, calling it “incredible.” He also confirmed that the city now offers both mailed and emailed bills.
• Quarterly Performance Dashboard (8c): Joe Farley presented electric utility metrics: residential rate of 13 cents/kWh (unchanged for over 30 months) – 9% below the regional average, 22% below Tri‑County (16.9¢), and 26% below the national average. System reliability (SAIDI) averaged 35 minutes per customer without power annually, far below the Texas municipal average of 70 minutes and the national average of 342 minutes. Customer average interruption duration (CAIDI) was 75 minutes. About 40% of outages are equipment‑related, 20% weather, 15% public, 15% wildlife/vegetation, and 1% unknown. Rick Shaffer, Director of Water Utilities, presented water utility metrics: residential water rates 7% below average, commercial 22% below, wastewater rates 33% below average – combined 17% below average. Cost of water service was $7.57 per thousand gallons (above the goal of being within 10% of the four‑year average), attributed to winter low demand and inflation. In‑house construction crews averaged $102/linear foot for rehab, compared to contractor costs of $200–$400. The crew recently replaced chemical lines at the water plant (7,000 feet of 2‑inch PVC, with a second spare line installed) and completed a rock‑filled project on Garner Road. Reclaimed water returned 240 million gallons to Lake Weatherford in the quarter, and the city began selling reuse water to Oeste Ranch Golf Course in April.

Key Outcomes

• Minutes Approved (unanimous).
• Consent Agenda Approved (unanimous).
• Construction Contract Awarded: Authorized the City Manager to execute a contract with RW Jones Heavy Construction, LLC for the Town Creek Interceptor Wastewater Improvements project in an amount not to exceed $2,798,067. (Motion by Ken Davis, seconded; approved unanimously.)
• No Action on Bond Issuance: The board took no vote; the item was informational only. City Council will consider the final issuance in late June.
• Executive Session: The board recessed at 12:51 PM for a closed executive session under Section 551.086 (retail power supply) and later adjourned at 1:07 PM without further action.

Meeting date and time per agenda: 12:00 PM, April 24, 2025. (Prompt note: This summary uses the provided timestamp 2025-04-24 18:00:00+00:00 for the meeting date.)