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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/27/1985 - Workshop Minutes City Council MINUTES WORKSHOP CITY COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1985 4:00 P.M. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: STUDENT GOVT. LIAISON: VISITORS PRESENT: Mayor Halter, Councilmen Anderson, Boughton, McIlhaney, Prause, Runnels None Assistant City Manager VanDever, Direc- tor of Capital Improvements Ash, City Secretary Jones, Utilities Office Man- ager Piwonka, Personnel Manager Dick- son, Assistant Utilities Office Manager Albright, Billing Supervisor Sopasakis, Energy Specialist Schaer, Administra- tive Assistant Magoon, Printing Coordi- nator Fry, Council Coordinator Jones Mike Hachtman See guest register. Agenda Item No. 1 - Council Concerns. Mayor Halter informed the Council of the National League of Cit- ies Meeting to be held in Washington, D.C. on March 23-26, 1985 and requested that anyone interested in attending the meeting contact City Secretary Jones. Agenda Item No. 2 - Discussion of the utilization of or the re- funding of the Gulf States Utilities Rebate. Utilities Office Manager Piwonka presented the item. She re- ferred to a memorandum dated January 17, 1985 from City Manager Bardell regarding several methods of use of the Gulf States Util- ities Rebate as follows: (1) retain the dollars in the utility account as income; (2) retain the dollars in a reserve account and utilize the interest for special projects in the energy area; (3) attempt to rebate the dollars directly to those who paid them; and, (4) apply these funds to current power costs to effect a reduction of the Power Cost Adjustment on current customers bills. She stated that the Council had requested that the staff provide more information on different types of projects that could be initiated in the energy area. She suggested that the staff review each proposed project and then open the floor for questions. She briefly reviewed the proposed Street Lighting Re- fit Program which had been presented and approved at the Workshop City Council Meeting, February 13, 1985. She distributed a pro- posed Fund Use Schedule which delineates the approximate time WORKHHOP CITY COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1985 PAGE 2 schedule for transfer of funds from the Rebate Fund. She stated that the staff proposes that completion of the Street Lighting Refit Program be accomplished within one year. Assistant City Manager Vandever stated that the city has received two rebates from Gulf States Utilities, the first one in the amount of $660,048.00 and the second one in the amount of $317,204.0U totaling $977,252.00. He noted that to date the city has earned approximately $85,000.00 in interest bringing the to- tal to over $1,062,000.00. He further stated that as long as the principle stays intact the city could earn between $80,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year at today's rates. Utilities Office Manager Piwonka presented Proposal II, the Load Management Program. She stated that last year this program saved the citizens of College Station approximately $431,000.00. She stated that the Energy Division spent approximately $4,000.00 last year in advertising for this program. She further stated that the staff is requesting $10,000.00 this year to implement the program to enable the city to perform a more intense adver- tising schedule. She noted that the funds will be used for tele- vision advertising, radio advertising and mailings. Energy Specialist Schaer presented Proposal III, the Thermograph- ic Mobile Scan. He stated that the Energy Department proposes that the city implement a thermographic mobile scan of the entire city, which is a process by which heat loss/heat gain data is ac- cumulated by a vehicle with thermographic scanning equipment traveling the city. He noted that a computer run of the data will provide citizens with recommendations and exact paybacks on various energy conservation improvements. He recommended that the city proceed with this proposal with a target date of January 1986. He explained the entire process for completion of this program. He listed the main benefits of the thermographic mobile scan as follows: (1) citizens who implement the improvements de- lineated will realize lower individual utility bills; (2) the im- provements made will help bring the city's peak demand down; and, (3) it is estimated that over $750,000.00 will be spent in the local area on home improvements due directly to this scan. He stated that Proposal III will require approximately $88,825.00 in funding. Mr. Ed Temple, representative of Earth Scan, Inc. of Texas, showed a slide presentation on the thermographic mobile scan. He noted that this procedure has changed from aerial to mobile be- cause the mobile process is more efficient. He further stated that this process is used to make citizens more aware of the amount of heat loss/heat gain that they are experiencing in their homes. 00 .L793 WORKSHOP CITY COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1985 PAGE 3 Councilman Runnels asked how long this process will take to com- plete. Mr. Temple stated that it will take approximately fifteen days for completion of this project in the City of College Station. He noted that the thermographic mobile scan must be done in weather below forty degrees Fahrenheit. Councilman McIlhaney asked if this project would be more effec- tive in areas that experience extremes in weather. Mr. Temple replied negatively. Utilities Office Manager Piwonka presented Proposal IV, the Ener- gy Assistance Program. She stated that this proposal stems from a council concern, which resulted in the implementation of the Senior Citizen Deferred Due Date Plan in December, 1984. She summarized the results of the public opinion surveys undertaken to determine the types of energy assistance programs that the citizens of this community would support. She noted that it was determined that the energy assistance programs should not be di- rected toward a particular age group. She stated that the staff is requesting funds to start the program and also some direction from the Council on how to proceed with the project. She pointed out that if the Council decides to proceed with this program it will require extensive programming. She explained the type of data processing that will be required and estimated the cost to be approximately $6,000.00. She summarized the program briefly. She stated that because of the nature of the program it is essen- tial that careful consideration be given to the selection of the administering agency. She listed the three local agencies con- sidered for the administration of this program as follows: the Brazos Valley Community Action Agency, the Brazos Valley Communi- ty Council, and the American Red Cross. She recommended that the American Red Cross Chapter in Bryan be selected to administer the proposed program because they offer a greater degree of flexibil- ity in their guidelines. She summarized the proposed guidelines for the program. She stated that the fund will be maintained by utility customers optionally contributing a dollar per billing and the acceptance of pledges on a monthly basis. She listed the suggested names for the program as follows: (1) "Can-Do" (Caring About Neighbors - Donations Operation); (2) HOPE (Helping Others Pay Energy); (3) WARMTH (We are Requesting Many To Help or We Are a Responsible Minicipality That Helps); and, (4) BEACON. Councilman Runnels asked about the proposed time period for this program. WORKSHOP CITY COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1985 PAGE 4 Utilities Office Manager Piwonka stated that this would be an on- going program. She explained that it will require approximately six months to complete the required programming. She noted that the staff would like the program to be implemented by the Septem- ber billing period. She further explained that at that time they are requesting funding in the amount of $11,000.00 to be distrib- uted in this manner: $5,000.00 for seed money for the program and $6,000.00 to cover programming costs. She noted that at this time there is no possible way to determine exactly how much fund- ing this program will receive through pledging. She requested the Council to consider the appointment of a citizens committee on Energy, which could function as a monitoring system for these types of programs. Councilman McIlhaney asked how much money per year this program will require. Utilities Office Manager Piwonka stated that the staff had re- ceived figures from the agencies indicating that approximately $3,300.00 of assistance money had been allocated to citizens of College Station since April, 1984. She explained that if the funds are not available in the program, individuals will not be provided with financial assistance. Councilman Prause asked if the program will ultimately be self- supporting. Utilities Office Manager Piwonka replied affirma- tively. Utilities Office Manager Piwonka summarized Proposal V, the Re- mote Metering Equipment. She stated that she and Technical Su- perintendent Garry Lange had been studying the feasibility of purchasing and installing remote metering equipment on the city's top twenty-five electrical customers, who represent $4,411,708.00 in utility revenue per year. She explained that this equipment will call and transmit data at pre-programmed times to the cen- tral computer via standard and existing telephone lines, which can be integrated through established software to provide various forms of reports. She listed several items that this historical information can be used to evaluate such as.' Customer Loads for Energy Management; Transformer Loading Criteria; Power Factor Monitoring of Feeders at Remote Locations; and, Voltage Monitor- ing. She noted that power factor monitoring will enable the city to determine the extent to which the larger customers are adding to the system. She pointed out that as the city's load in- creases, additional capacitors are needed yearly in order to pre- vent excess billing by the city's supplier due to bad power fac- tor. She explained that under the city's present Ordinance the customer can be penalized for bad power factor, but the present system provides no rate structure or means to monitor it. 00t '1'95 WORKSHOP CITY COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1985 PAGE 5 Councilman McIlhaney stated that she had some reservations about the implementation of Proposal III, the Thermographic Mobile Scan. Utilities Office Manager Piwonka explained that this proposal will aid the city in making citizens aware of the amount of heat loss/heat gain they are experiencing in their homes. She pointed out that this program will be of great assistance in reaching apartment owners. Councilman Runnels asked if the thermographic scan can be con- verted from a gray to a color scale. Energy Specialist Schaer replied affirmatively, but noted that there is an increase in cost. Councilman McIlhaney asked if there will be a need for additional staff to implement these programs. Energy Specialist $chaer explained that a temporary employee could be used to assist the volunteers and that the Utility De- partment will be putting extra people in the budget. Utilities Office Manager Piwonka stated that they will utilize existing staff to implement the majority of the programs. She noted that the Energy Assistance Programs will be handled by the Utility Billing Department and the remote metering equipment will be installed by existing staff. She further noted that the Ther- mographic Mobile Scan will require that a temporary employee be hired. She requested direction fro,~ the Council concerning the appointment of a citizen committee on Energy. Mayor Halter stated his agreement with the idea of appointing a citizens committee to monitor these types of programs. Councilman McIlhaney concurred with Mayor Halter's comment. She thanked the staff for the preparation of a very informative and precise report. Councilman Boughton pointed out a mathematical error in the Fund Use Schedule. Councilman Boughton moved approval of the progra,~s as presented, the Fund Use Schedule and the concept of appointing a citizens committee to monitor these types of Energy Programs. Councilman Anderson seconded the motion which was approved unani- mously, 6-0. 00 796 WORKSHOP CITY COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1985 PAGE 6 Agenda Item No. 3 - Consideration of Auditors to perform annual audit. Assistant City Manager VanDever presented the item. He recom- mended the firm of Hereford, Lynch & Co. to perform the city's annual audit. Councilman McIlhaney requested that consideration of this item be delayed until she could gather information from other auditing firms for consideration by the Council. She stated that she would like to research some different firms that might be able to provide essentially the same services for a lesser price. She noted that the Council did not receive the Management Letter for last year until approximately two months ago. Assistant City Manager VanDever explained why there was a delay in the receipt of the Management Letter. Mayor Halter stated that he had no objections to delaying consid- eration of this item. He listed the different types of informa- tion from each firm that the Council might be interested in re- viewing as follows: (1) How many cities has the firm audited; (2) How many Municipal Finance Officers Association Certificate of Conformance in Financial Reporting Awards has the firm re- ceived; and, (3) Copies of the audits the firm has prepared. The Council concurred to delay consideration of this item until the next regular meeting. Agenda Item No. 4 - Staff Report on Library Committee Recommenda- tions. Administrative Assistant Magoon presented the item. She stated that the figures provided in the report are based on renting the space on Brothers Boulevard at $.65 per square foot and the cur- rent operating costs provided by the Bryan Library. She noted that these figures include start-up and operating costs for the first year. Councilman McIlhaney asked what positions were included in the salary costs. Administrative Assistant Magoon stated that included in the sala- ry figure were monies for a librarian, two clerks and a mainte- nance worker. Councilman Runnels asked what the start-up capital entailed. OO&-'f 9"f WORKSHOP CITY COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1985 PAGE 7 Administrative Assistant Magoon stated that the start-up capital includes furniture, books, magazines and subscriptions. Councilman McIlhaney asked where funding for this project will be appropriated. Assistant City Manager VanDever stated that fund- ing for this project will have to be appropriated from General Fund Revenues. Mayor Halter stated that approval of this project would result in an increase in property taxes of approximately $.02 per $100.00 of assessed valuation. He stated that if the Council desires to proceed with this project it will be necessary to begin working it into next year's budget. He noted that there are many details that will need to be worked out between the City of College Sta- tion and Bryan. He suggested that the city include a non-binding survey on the ballot of the April 6, 1985 Election on the ques- tion of the establishment of a public library. He asked City Secretary Jones to research the possibility of adding this to the ballot. Councilman Boughton and McIlhaney concurred with Mayor Halter's suggestion. Councilman Runnels moved to direct and encourage the city staff to incorporate this proposal into the upcoming budget process and requested the City Secretary to consider placing a non-binding survey of the electorate on the question of the establishment of a public library on the April 6, 1985 ballot. Councilman Boughton seconded the motion which was approved unani- mously, 6-0. Agenda Item No. 5 - Adjourn. Mayor Halter adjourned the meeting at 5:50 P.M. ATTEST:. .~'--~ ~-~t , 7t~'~~/ Dian Jones~,~ity Secretary APPROVED~ .... Gary Halter, Mayor 00&798 GUEST REGISTER WORKSHOP CITY COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1985 5:00 P.M. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. ® 19. 20. 21. 10. 22. 11. 23. 12. 24.