1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,720 Okay, it's 902 and we do have a quorum, so we're called to order the Public Utility Board 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,480 meeting for the City of Denton on March 8, 2021. 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,800 The first item is public comment. 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,120 Do we have anyone on the phone waiting to have public comment? 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,880 Hi there, this is Tyler Smith. 6 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:21,440 At this moment, we do not. 7 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:22,440 Okay. 8 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:23,440 All right. 9 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,440 Then we will move on to consent agenda. 10 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:30,960 Does any board member wish to pull an item from the consent agenda? 11 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,400 Okay, I do. 12 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:40,560 I'm going to pull item C. I have a potential conflict of interest, so I'll step out when 13 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:42,520 we get to that point. 14 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:48,480 Do we have a motion to approve items A, B, D, and E? 15 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:49,480 Move approval. 16 00:00:49,480 --> 00:00:50,480 Second. 17 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:52,840 All in favor, say aye. 18 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:53,840 Aye. 19 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:54,840 Aye. 20 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:56,480 All right, Billy, it's all yours. 21 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:57,480 Text me when you're done. 22 00:00:57,480 --> 00:00:58,480 I will do. 23 00:00:58,480 --> 00:00:59,480 All right. 24 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:07,400 Well, Susan's stepping out, and as the vice chair, we're looking at consent agenda item 25 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,080 C. Are there any questions? 26 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:15,920 We may like to discuss anything about this. 27 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:17,560 I have one question. 28 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:18,560 Oops. 29 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,360 I'm new to the board, so I just wanted to ask. 30 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:28,560 I presume this has already been discussed in past public utility board meetings. 31 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:35,960 So, Mr. Rybeck, I'm Tony Punt, I'm the executive manager of utilities and the facilitator for 32 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:40,800 the PUB and staff, and so I'm going to ask Pritam Deshmuth in our water/wastewater department 33 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:42,760 to respond to that question. 34 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:43,760 Okay. 35 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:44,760 Thank you. 36 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:45,760 Since I'm new, I just wanted to ask. 37 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:46,760 Appreciate it. 38 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:51,400 Hi, this is Pritam Deshmuth, deputy director of water and wastewater. 39 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:53,000 Can you please repeat the question? 40 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,840 I've kind of heard part of it. 41 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:02,520 I was just asking if the board had previously considered this since this is my first meeting. 42 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,200 Not this particular item. 43 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:06,800 This is a decommissioning. 44 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,520 It's for design of the actual plant. 45 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:15,600 We have a 0.5MGD plant out on ropes and ranch. 46 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:19,520 This item, particularly for design, has not gone through the board. 47 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:20,520 Okay. 48 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,320 Well, I live at ropes and ranch, so I need to recuse myself. 49 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:30,920 Tony, or I think Ms. Susan, she's on the board there, right? 50 00:02:30,920 --> 00:02:32,760 Is that why she's recusing herself? 51 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:38,720 Yeah, I'm not really sure what the matter is there, to be honest with you. 52 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:43,720 I don't think living in an area causes you not to be able to vote. 53 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:44,720 I think that'll... 54 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:50,000 I'll see if Catherine Clifton can respond to that. 55 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:56,040 That's something that you might want to consider, but that's within your judgment to make. 56 00:02:56,040 --> 00:03:02,360 Okay, so if I don't vote, will we not have a quorum to approve the item? 57 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:07,640 It appears to me that you'll still have four, so you'll still have a quorum. 58 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:12,760 Okay, then I think I'll recuse myself from this vote as well. 59 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:13,760 Okay. 60 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:19,200 Is there any further discussions from other board members? 61 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:20,200 No. 62 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:21,200 Okay. 63 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:29,920 After we take this vote, quick discussion about that recusal, if you don't mind. 64 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:35,120 I entertain a motion to approve item number C on the consent agenda. 65 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:36,120 So moved. 66 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:37,120 Second. 67 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:39,840 We have a motion from Karen, a second from Barbara. 68 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:42,600 All those in favor, please say aye. 69 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:43,600 Aye. 70 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:44,600 Aye. 71 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:45,600 Aye. 72 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:46,600 Any opposed? 73 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:51,520 It's four to oh on that one, with two abstaining. 74 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:59,120 I think if each one of us had to recuse ourselves over anything that affected us from a utility, 75 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:00,800 none of us would vote. 76 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:02,960 So that's my opinion. 77 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:03,960 If you felt like... 78 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:12,720 I think Lee's new, so let me text Susan. 79 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:18,520 I just think we're all affected by rates, we're all affected by water flow, sewer flow, 80 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:21,640 drainage, electrical. 81 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:28,400 So unless you have a direct interest or a direct effect on what happens in that vote, 82 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:29,400 I don't see the reason. 83 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:33,120 I'd be surprised if there would be some sort of conflict. 84 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,600 Susan, are you on the board of Robeson? 85 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:38,640 I'm actually employed by Robeson. 86 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:39,640 Okay. 87 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:41,440 See, that's a good recusal. 88 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:42,440 Yeah. 89 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:43,440 I'm actually... 90 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:50,960 The legal entity is Robeson Communities, but they're all under the same larger umbrella. 91 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,040 Okay. 92 00:04:54,040 --> 00:05:02,720 I would think that there would have to be an adequate financial interest for recusal. 93 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:08,520 So for instance, if I was a consultant to the engineering firm that's being awarded 94 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:13,280 the contract under this item, then that would be the kind of thing. 95 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:14,280 Okay. 96 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:23,640 I think in the rewritten ethics ordinance, there's a set financial number. 97 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,600 $600, I believe it is. 98 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:27,600 That's correct. 99 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:28,600 Yeah. 100 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:30,000 Yes, I remember reading that. 101 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:31,000 Right. 102 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:36,040 The other component is just, is there an appearance of conflict? 103 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:41,080 This other kind of catch-all provision where you have to make that determination for yourself. 104 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:45,640 That's not something that we give any particular direction on. 105 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:50,080 And that's where I said, I think maybe I should just step out on this one so that there isn't 106 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:55,960 an appearance because a lot of people don't know the difference. 107 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:57,960 Hand it back over to you. 108 00:05:57,960 --> 00:05:58,960 Okay. 109 00:05:58,960 --> 00:05:59,960 Hand it back over to me. 110 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:00,960 Okay. 111 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:03,800 Items for individual consideration. 112 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:11,740 Are there any changes to the February board minutes, February 8th, 2021 board minutes? 113 00:06:11,740 --> 00:06:13,760 All right. 114 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:15,120 Do we have a motion to approve? 115 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:16,120 So moved. 116 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:17,120 And a second? 117 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:18,120 I'll second. 118 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:19,120 All in favor say aye. 119 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:20,120 Aye. 120 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:21,120 Okay. 121 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:30,880 Next item is consider adopting an ordinance for the city of Denton, Texas, a professional 122 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:35,920 services agreement with Fries and Nichols Inc. for engineering related on-call professional 123 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:51,560 services in the amount of not for three years, not to exceed $3,031,783. 124 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:52,560 I'm back here. 125 00:06:52,560 --> 00:07:12,000 Pretend they smoke again and let me give me a second, I'll pull up the presentation. 126 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:17,480 Please let me know when you can see the presentation and I move forward. 127 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:19,360 Okay. 128 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:26,680 So it's a professional services contract, quick overview. 129 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:33,080 The objective behind this particular contract is we are seeing a lot of growth in the city 130 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:42,240 and we have to continue at a fast pace implementing some of our water and wastewater capacity 131 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:50,240 enhancement and upgrading for the entire infrastructure, not just the pipes in the ground, but also 132 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:55,600 the treatment facilities, both on the water and wastewater side. 133 00:07:55,600 --> 00:08:03,120 The reason I did allude to that high growth rate, we are growing at a much faster pace 134 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:08,640 and we have a lot of backlog on projects that we have to quickly complete in the next two 135 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:10,440 to three years. 136 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:14,800 So this contract will help augment our staff. 137 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:20,360 It is primarily for project management, pushing some of these projects through. 138 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:26,120 And it's critical that we get these move forward in a timely fashion. 139 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:34,280 Here's a quick list of projects that it is not necessarily all of these projects or some 140 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:39,720 of these projects may drop out, but definitely these are projects are currently on our books. 141 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:46,440 There are several others, but what we want is have the ability and flexibility to add 142 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:48,160 more capacity to our staff. 143 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:53,840 We currently have only one engineer that was involved in delivering capital projects on 144 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:56,360 the treatment facility side. 145 00:08:56,360 --> 00:09:01,520 So a lot of bandwidth issues there with the staff. 146 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,080 And that's the reason this contract is in front of you. 147 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:09,840 And there are several large projects, if I may kind of highlight, there's a Mayhill 35 148 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:15,240 utility relocation based on the widening of I-35E. 149 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:21,880 By tech start, there was another larger project, I-35 North, that's from the split to Milam. 150 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:24,160 That's a 30 plus million dollar project. 151 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:30,160 So you can see there are several large projects and we necessarily don't have staff to move 152 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:32,000 these projects forward. 153 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:38,360 A little bit of detail on this, I want to explain what the differences, the Lakeview 154 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:44,080 Ranch Interceptor and then the Robeson Decommissioning, those were in front of you earlier today. 155 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,480 The contracts were just only for design. 156 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:53,280 This particular is staff augmentation to push those projects, to manage them, to process 157 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:58,120 invoices, help us review engineering design and stuff like that. 158 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:00,520 So there's a little bit of nuance. 159 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:04,000 I'm sure you must have caught onto that. 160 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:08,880 So we went through a process of selecting and short listing firms. 161 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:10,440 We had a pre-qualified list. 162 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:16,720 This is 6590, you might have heard that number multiple times. 163 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:22,320 It was back in 2018, about three years ago, that we went through council and a formal 164 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:24,600 approval process. 165 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:30,680 And out of that, five firms were shortlisted for the project management piece of it. 166 00:10:30,680 --> 00:10:38,160 We've ranked those firms and we have selected, or at this point recommending, Fries and Nichols 167 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:42,600 as the highest ranked firm for this particular item. 168 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:50,200 So at this time, staff does recommend moving forward and ask the PV members and the commission 169 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:54,960 to recommend council for approval of this particular contract. 170 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:57,360 It's a three-year contract. 171 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:04,440 And then it's capped at $3 million, a little over that. 172 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,680 I will be happy to answer any questions if you have. 173 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:08,680 Questions? 174 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:10,720 Yes, Ed, go ahead. 175 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:17,940 Yeah, I was just curious if in the future the city has any plans to hire any more engineering 176 00:11:17,940 --> 00:11:24,480 staff so that we're not so shortlisted in that area. 177 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:25,720 Absolutely. 178 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:27,240 I think this is our first step. 179 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:34,640 We want to make sure that we have a consistent 10-year CIP and master plans that back all 180 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:35,680 of that. 181 00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:42,280 So as we move into that transition, we don't want to hire someone and in a few years then 182 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:45,620 think that we don't have the need for what we thought we had. 183 00:11:45,620 --> 00:11:50,240 So as a first step, we're going to have a consultant and consistently track that work 184 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:52,240 over the next year or so. 185 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:56,720 And then accordingly make recommendations to move forward and hire permanent staff that 186 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:57,720 will be required. 187 00:11:57,720 --> 00:11:58,720 Great. 188 00:11:58,720 --> 00:11:59,720 Thank you very much. 189 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:01,240 And add all that to that. 190 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:06,520 We had at least one vacancy that we were attempting to fill and really had a hard time finding 191 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:11,040 applicants that kind of believe it even in this job market. 192 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:12,040 We looked at different options. 193 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:17,320 And I think at this point, this is kind of the route that we'd like we'd recommend. 194 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:21,320 And then certainly we'll be looking at that as the job market continues to improve. 195 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:26,700 But for now, we just need this additional help to get these projects going. 196 00:12:26,700 --> 00:12:27,700 Thank you, Tony. 197 00:12:27,700 --> 00:12:29,760 Barbara, did you have a question? 198 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:30,760 Well, I did. 199 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:33,760 And I found it in my notes. 200 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:42,760 An hourly this would be an hourly way it would be charged, yeah. 201 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:43,760 All right. 202 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:44,760 Thank you. 203 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:45,760 No other questions. 204 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:46,760 Do we have a motion to approve? 205 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:47,760 Move approval. 206 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:48,760 Second. 207 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:49,760 Okay. 208 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:50,880 I hope Kim got all that. 209 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:52,440 All in favor say aye. 210 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:53,440 Aye. 211 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:54,440 Opposed? 212 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:55,440 All right. 213 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:56,440 Management reports. 214 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:57,440 Tony. 215 00:12:57,440 --> 00:12:58,440 So again, this is Tony. 216 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:08,320 I'm an executive manager of utilities, before we get into this item, I just wanted to just 217 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,960 communicate something to the board. 218 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:15,760 So many of these items that are on here, and certainly if you have questions about these 219 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:22,360 items, their staff here that can respond to each of those items, I want to be clear that 220 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:27,680 our process and certainly our preference is that these items not go to the council before 221 00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:29,760 they're seen by the PUB. 222 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:34,440 But unfortunately, just because of the recent events that we had, I did communicate with 223 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:40,600 Susan and we talked about canceling the previous PUB meeting. 224 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:45,880 And then I did inform her that we would be looking at the agenda and that there might 225 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:50,400 be some contracts that we would have to take directly to council just because of their 226 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:57,080 nature and the need to have them approved so that projects and other efforts could continue. 227 00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:02,820 What Susan and I then subsequently discussed is that, you know, it probably made sense 228 00:14:02,820 --> 00:14:08,720 for me to communicate that to the board rather than her because of some of the Open Meeting 229 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:09,720 Act rules. 230 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:14,880 And so going forward, I just want to assure the PUB that when those types of issues come 231 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:20,080 up, I will normally speak with Susan as the chair of the PUB. 232 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:25,960 I will make every attempt as well to communicate with Billy Cheek as the vice chair. 233 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:30,080 But then going forward, what I'll do is I'll then communicate that to the PUB as well to 234 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:33,960 all the other members to let you know what's going on with the meeting, why we arrived 235 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:37,680 at canceling the meeting, and if there are any contracts that will be going straight 236 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:43,520 to the council as a result of those discussions, that I will communicate that to you. 237 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,620 And so that's something, again, that Susan and I did talk. 238 00:14:46,620 --> 00:14:51,280 But again, just wanted to give you that explanation and let you know as well that as issues come 239 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:58,720 up, and if certainly like three weeks ago, just know that I'm in constant communication 240 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:04,440 with the chair about what's going on and responding to her on any questions that she or you might 241 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:05,440 have. 242 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:07,920 So, again, just wanted to let you know that. 243 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:12,520 But again, we have a number of items here. 244 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:16,440 If anyone has a question about any of those items, please let us know. 245 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,640 And like I said, there's ample amount of staff here. 246 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:26,000 On the future agenda items, I think we just had the really our intent was to come back 247 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:32,560 to you and kind of give you a wrap-up of where we ended the budget with the utilities, specifically 248 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:33,880 DME. 249 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:39,120 But as a result of the events of three weeks ago, we're pushing that back and do plan to 250 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:45,640 come back to you and give you some additional information about how we -- where we ended 251 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:51,560 up the '19-'20 budget, but then also kind of let you know where we're at for the current 252 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:53,240 year's budget and obviously the forecast. 253 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:55,480 And so that will be forthcoming to you. 254 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:59,880 And then the new business action items, as you can see on there, are just items that 255 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:02,280 we've had already on the table. 256 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:06,760 The one item that I did not add, and my hope is that you have already received, is that 257 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:11,940 we are planning to have a joint PUB and council meeting on the 23rd. 258 00:16:11,940 --> 00:16:16,080 And so that's already in the works and being scheduled. 259 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:23,120 Two presentations will be made at that meeting will be an update from DME on the winter storm 260 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:27,800 events, which will probably take us some time, and then the other one will be an update for 261 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,320 water and wastewater to do exactly the same. 262 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:34,480 And again, that'll be a joint council and PUB meeting. 263 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:38,440 And again, the agenda and those types of things will be forthcoming to you. 264 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:42,800 Like I mentioned earlier, for those of you that weren't on, if you have specific questions 265 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:49,120 about those utilities, please send those directly to Kim. 266 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:54,160 My request to you is to send us all your questions all at once so that we're not piecemealing 267 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:55,160 them. 268 00:16:55,160 --> 00:17:01,040 And then our intent would be to either incorporate responses to your questions within the presentations 269 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:07,600 or to have a separate memo that's attached to that agenda item that addresses those specific 270 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:08,600 questions. 271 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:12,540 And that way we have a little bit of time so that we can get those together. 272 00:17:12,540 --> 00:17:17,100 If you can get those to me by the middle of this week, it would be very helpful. 273 00:17:17,100 --> 00:17:19,880 And then we will compile those along with any questions that we get from the council 274 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:21,360 as well. 275 00:17:21,360 --> 00:17:24,640 But with that, I'll go ahead, Susan, that's what I have. 276 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:27,880 If there's any questions, let us know. 277 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:28,880 Questions. 278 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:33,500 Karen, go ahead. 279 00:17:33,500 --> 00:17:40,140 This is pretty minor and I don't want staff taking time away from the storm related stuff. 280 00:17:40,140 --> 00:17:48,980 A while ago, I brought up with Larry the fact that we're approving minutes as the state 281 00:17:48,980 --> 00:17:53,960 record for our meetings, but the real state record is going to be the video now that we're 282 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,280 doing, I think. 283 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:57,280 Didn't he change that? 284 00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:58,280 I believe. 285 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:00,840 Well, he said he was going to look into it. 286 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:06,680 I thought he circled back and said the, am I wrong there? 287 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:08,640 Well, I missed one meeting. 288 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:09,640 So maybe that... 289 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:10,640 Okay. 290 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:14,240 I think at that meeting, he circled back, maybe Catherine, can you shed some light on 291 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:19,600 that and said that the written ones are the official document, but we keep the video. 292 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:20,600 Okay. 293 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:27,640 So if the written ones are the official document, I would like them to be more extensive. 294 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:32,560 Right now, it says so and so asked a question, so and so answered it. 295 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:37,120 If that's going to be the official document, then we need to know what the question is 296 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:39,020 and what the answer was. 297 00:18:39,020 --> 00:18:43,840 And I know that's going to be bringing more work on staff, but it just seems like the 298 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:50,920 minutes as they are now are not fulfilling their job as the record of the meeting. 299 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:57,440 And I think, Karen, that my recollection is that Larry put a memo together. 300 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:02,520 Let us circle back up on that to make sure, and then we can kind of share that with Catherine, 301 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,000 unless Catherine, you remember that memo and you can respond. 302 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,240 I do not remember that off the top of my head. 303 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:13,760 I do remember some discussions about it, but we'll get that memo and provide that for you. 304 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:14,760 I mean, I know that... 305 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:19,760 We track that under new business action items so that we can keep track of it. 306 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:20,760 Okay. 307 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:21,760 We can add it on there. 308 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:23,080 Yeah. 309 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:27,840 I know that people can go to the video, but there's not going to be the attention paid 310 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:34,600 to preserving the video as an archive, if it's not the required record. 311 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:42,000 Catherine, correct me again, but aren't they... 312 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:51,160 You're keeping them in forever, the video, under the records law, records management? 313 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:56,280 Sorry, circle back. 314 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:57,280 Thanks. 315 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:00,840 Okay, Seb, go ahead. 316 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:06,280 Yeah, I had a question for Tony. 317 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:13,640 I was just curious if there were any updates coming up in the future regarding the development 318 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:18,080 of the high BTU landfill facility. 319 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:23,640 Yeah, we have Brian Borners right here, so I'll let him respond to that. 320 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:28,040 Good morning, Madam Chair, members of the board, Brian Borners, Solid Waste Director 321 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:29,040 with the City of Denton. 322 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,440 I appreciate the question this morning, Mr. Sof. 323 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:32,440 Thank you. 324 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:38,480 We are currently in the process of finalizing the RFP to go out for consideration. 325 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:45,800 So internally, we have not put it out to find out specifically what the bid might be once 326 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:54,840 we get the information back from the potential proposers, we will be bringing information 327 00:20:54,840 --> 00:21:03,360 to the PUB for consideration and moving forward with contracting. 328 00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:04,360 Thank you very much. 329 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:05,360 You're welcome. 330 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:18,960 On the other hand, yes Barbara, go ahead, you're on mute. 331 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:25,800 I read in the minutes about my asking for maps when you're talking about locations, 332 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:32,960 so that if we wanted to go visually look at what we would be talking about in our minutes 333 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:40,920 and our meetings and I appreciate very much that that was included and it is helpful. 334 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:46,000 And just a word, I know you've got thanks from a lot of people, but I knew when I was 335 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:51,240 sitting in my house, though it may have been without electricity, that some of you guys 336 00:21:51,240 --> 00:22:00,240 were out there and what a staff we have and I appreciate it so much as everybody that 337 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:05,880 I've talked to have been impressed with the city staff, so thank you very much. 338 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:06,880 Thank you, Barbara. 339 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:07,880 Yes, Billy. 340 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:13,280 Yeah, I guess I better thank you as well for this item and we're adding added the little 341 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:18,200 simple description of where the money's coming from for each item, the fiscal information, 342 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:22,840 thank you for adding that. 343 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:28,080 All right then, concluding items, does any board member wish to have something added 344 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:32,960 to a future agenda or have any congratulations to the staff? 345 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:36,880 I guess we've all been doing that. 346 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:38,720 And under this item, Lee, welcome. 347 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:43,920 Do you want to tell us a little bit about you and why you were interested to join us? 348 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:46,240 Well, thanks for asking. 349 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:53,960 I was recruited by my predecessor, Russ Bafford, to ask me if I'd be interested in helping 350 00:22:53,960 --> 00:23:01,160 out with the board, since I don't know most of you, I'm a commissioning project director 351 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:02,960 for the McKinstry Company. 352 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:10,680 My current assignments include Charles Schwab's DFW headquarters there at the 114 and 170 353 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:11,680 Trophy Club. 354 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:18,960 I've got 30 plus years experience with building systems, including HVAC, heating, ventilating, 355 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:24,000 air conditioning, lighting controls, emergency power, and that sort of thing. 356 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:29,260 And so I have some interest in and knowledge about the functioning of utility systems. 357 00:23:29,260 --> 00:23:35,640 So I thought it might be a good fit and I'm happy to add my two cents for my civic responsibility. 358 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:36,640 So thank you. 359 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:40,280 Sounds like a great fit with your background. 360 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:41,680 Thank you. 361 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:43,000 Any other board members? 362 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,200 All right, let's go into the work session. 363 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:52,040 We're going to receive a report, hold a discussion, and give staff direction regarding the processes, 364 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:57,320 impacts, and results of service delivery during the February 2021 inclement weather event 365 00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:59,920 by Solid Waste and Recycling Department. 366 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:03,080 Good morning again, Madam Chair, members of the board. 367 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:04,080 My name is Brian Berner. 368 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:06,200 I'm Solid Waste Director with the City of Denton. 369 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:11,320 I do appreciate the opportunity this morning to talk a little bit about our service delivery 370 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:16,960 during the Snowvid event that we had here a couple of weeks ago. 371 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:24,960 So if you give me a minute to pull this up. 372 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:36,160 All right, hopefully everybody can see the presentation. 373 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:39,680 What I want to do is talk a little bit about how we went about developing our response 374 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:45,720 plan with regard to the inclement weather that we had the week of the 14th of February, 375 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:49,480 review a little bit about what actually was happening in North Texas with both the public 376 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:54,800 and private solid waste providers, and then give you a few little results of the results 377 00:24:54,800 --> 00:25:00,240 of what happened as a result of the service change that we had during that week. 378 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:08,520 The development of our program and the way we approach service during that week all circulates 379 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,200 around safety. 380 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:16,720 Solid waste industry is the sixth most dangerous profession statistically that you can be involved 381 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:18,720 in right now. 382 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:24,320 You are more apt to be injured or killed as a result of a solid waste accident than any 383 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:26,900 other public service right now. 384 00:25:26,900 --> 00:25:33,920 So again, we have to think about our employees and the citizens that we serve, both curbside 385 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:35,520 and out on the road. 386 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:41,120 So as we approached and saw what was coming, we were thinking how will it affect our customers 387 00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:43,360 and how will it affect our operators. 388 00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:47,060 The question we ask about our customers is, you know, can we actually get the garbage 389 00:25:47,060 --> 00:25:52,120 to the curb with minimal for potential entry to the customer? 390 00:25:52,120 --> 00:25:57,240 You know, it's icy, it's slick, there is a slip trip and fall hazard, and with the record 391 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,320 low temperatures that we saw, there was also some exposure potential. 392 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:06,200 We wanted to minimize those risks, and secondarily, for our operators, the question is, is it safe 393 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:07,200 to be on the road? 394 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:11,560 We operate some of the largest pieces of equipment in the fleet of the city of Denton. 395 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:18,480 We drive on a weekly basis the most miles of any department, and as a result, we have 396 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:21,940 to ask our question, you know, is it safe? 397 00:26:21,940 --> 00:26:24,780 If we are going to be out, how do we minimize equipment damage? 398 00:26:24,780 --> 00:26:28,880 How do we minimize potential impacts to private property? 399 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:30,640 And then again, how do we protect our drivers? 400 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:35,240 Again, if they have to get out, there are slip trips and fall hazards, exposure issues. 401 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:39,840 At the end of the day, we don't want to create a risk obligation to the city as a result 402 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:44,560 of injuring a driver when it was something that we had really in our control. 403 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:49,100 So again, safety first as we approach this issue. 404 00:26:49,100 --> 00:26:56,240 We actually started preparing for that week, the snow, during the week of February 8th. 405 00:26:56,240 --> 00:27:00,520 Again, that weather affects us significantly, we're a little bit of a weather nerd. 406 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:05,440 We saw that looking through all the apps and all the TV stations out there, there was this 407 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:09,840 convergence that was coming of cold weather, and the forecast weren't changing. 408 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:11,160 They were getting worse and worse. 409 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:15,640 So we had internal communications talking about, you know, what are we going to do? 410 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:17,360 How are we going to approach this? 411 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:21,600 We started discussion with our public, discussions with our public and private counterparts to 412 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:27,680 determine what was going to be required as a result of us, and then we began weatherproofing, 413 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:32,120 looking at our equipment, our facilities to minimize any long-term damage as a result 414 00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:34,320 of the cold weather. 415 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:39,160 On the 14th of December, which is a Sunday, we made a decision to curtail all operations 416 00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:44,620 during that week, only because from a safety issue, it was the right decision to make. 417 00:27:44,620 --> 00:27:50,000 We did open the landfill shortly for a few hours on Tuesday the 16th. 418 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:55,340 As you know, we do receive sludge from some wastewater treatment, third-party wastewater 419 00:27:55,340 --> 00:28:01,040 treatment plant operators, and their sludge boxes were full, and in order to keep wastewater 420 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:06,660 flowing throughout the region, we needed to be open so they could dispose of the sludge. 421 00:28:06,660 --> 00:28:09,760 We did open full-time on Thursday, February 18th. 422 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:15,000 Operations resumed, and at that time, we were operating the landfill full-time. 423 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:21,080 On Friday, February 19th, we resumed our commercial operations, focusing on hospitals, warming 424 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:27,120 centers, other places that were high operation, and then moved into multifamily and grocery 425 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:34,640 stores and other commercial operations to get at least one empty of the dumpsters during 426 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:38,480 that week so that we continue to operate over the weekend. 427 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:44,440 We reopened residential collection the week of the 22nd. 428 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:48,640 This was a double week, so all the trash that we missed during the week of the 14th, we 429 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:50,680 picked up during the 22nd. 430 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:54,920 We did defer yard waste in bulk until the following week. 431 00:28:54,920 --> 00:29:00,040 Any HCC home chemical collection appointments that were called in previously and during 432 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:05,120 that week were serviced on time. 433 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:09,080 During March 1st, that week, we resumed full service, picking up all the yard waste, the 434 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:17,800 garbage in bulk, and as of this week, we're returning to normal services, collecting garbage 435 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:22,840 recycling, everything within the service standard that we had previously committed to. 436 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:24,920 We look across the Metroplex. 437 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:29,440 Most private and public operators did curtail operations during that week. 438 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:34,320 The cities of Fort Worth, Arlington, Dallas, and any of the other cities that were serviced 439 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:39,400 by our private waste haulers, whether it be CWD, Frontier, Republic, Waste Connections, 440 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:41,880 most of them did defer throughout the week. 441 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:48,560 Again, it was simply unsafe to have drivers try to get to the yard and then have the trucks 442 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:53,860 out on the streets, so with few exceptions, everybody was closed that entire week. 443 00:29:53,860 --> 00:29:58,800 We saw, again, just as the city of Denton, commercial collections start again on the 444 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:06,360 19th and then full residential collections start again the week of the 22nd. 445 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:13,360 This is just a few examples of what presented itself to us as we started going through the 446 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:17,120 neighborhoods and the multifamily and the commercial during the 19th and the week of 447 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:18,560 the 22nd. 448 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:24,560 We did allow excess bags outside the containers, and again, we did get all this off the curb 449 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:31,120 and got it picked up within our service standard. 450 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:35,240 When we look at the weather impacts to our facilities, we did have water leaks in several 451 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:39,400 of the buildings that are on the solid waste facility, our administration building, home 452 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:40,400 chemical collection. 453 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:45,600 We have a warehouse at 651 Mayhill, what we're calling the electronics building, our fleet 454 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:52,220 building, about $100,000 worth of damage both in the plumbing as well as the ultimate repair 455 00:30:52,220 --> 00:30:54,720 of the drywall and things of that nature. 456 00:30:54,720 --> 00:31:00,240 We look at the solid waste collections as a result of pushing back the collection, two 457 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:02,200 weeks collection into one. 458 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:07,600 We did realize almost twice the tonnage collected in a regular week, and that makes sense, but 459 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:12,160 it wasn't quite twice, it was right at about 80 percent, so where'd the other 20 percent 460 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:13,160 go? 461 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:17,360 Well, Amazon wasn't delivering, people weren't going out to pick up food, there were just 462 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:24,520 some things that weren't characteristically waste generating activities that occurred 463 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:25,520 during that week. 464 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:30,800 So we saw that if it wasn't available to go in the trash, it didn't go in the trash. 465 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:36,200 So it was a nice little data exercise for us, and we're still evaluating what happened 466 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:41,920 last week with the bulk and the brush, and it'll be interesting to use it as we plan 467 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:43,240 for the future. 468 00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:46,700 So with that, I'd be glad to answer any questions that you might have regarding our service 469 00:31:46,700 --> 00:31:50,320 standard and the inclement weather in our response to it. 470 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:51,320 Questions? 471 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:53,760 Go ahead, Ed. 472 00:31:53,760 --> 00:32:00,280 Yeah, I think that your policy over the storm was, the extent of the storm was admirable 473 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:03,560 and really better, it's better to be safe than sorry. 474 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:10,520 So common sense came through, and I appreciate that, do a lot of people. 475 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:11,520 Thank you. 476 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:21,280 The idea of wrestling those carts out over the icy driveway was, I can't imagine, disaster. 477 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:30,520 But my question is, has there been any discussion of further winterization of the facilities 478 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:39,120 that received this damage that had the broken pipes, so that if there is another weather 479 00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:48,520 event like this, which they say there will be, we won't have that expense of fixing busted 480 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:53,580 pipes and ruin drywall. 481 00:32:53,580 --> 00:32:57,840 As part of our after action report, we're evaluating not only what happened, but trying 482 00:32:57,840 --> 00:32:59,320 to evaluate the root cause. 483 00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:05,640 We do know that in one, it was a pressure swell due to the ice dam and caused a pipe 484 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,320 burst, but the other, we actually had a failure in a joint. 485 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:12,720 So it was really inconsequential to the cold weather, it was going to happen when it just 486 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:14,000 happened at the same time. 487 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:18,480 So there are a couple of things that we are looking at, as well as our weatherization. 488 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:24,240 So we will be coming back as part of that after action to include that information in 489 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:25,240 there. 490 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:26,240 Okay, thank you. 491 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:27,240 You're welcome. 492 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:30,840 Other questions or comments? 493 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:33,280 Yes, Lee. 494 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:34,280 Yes, ma'am. 495 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:38,680 I wanted to echo the previous comments, I was really glad we didn't have to go out to 496 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:43,920 the curb during the storm, so my thanks for postponing, even though it was all for the 497 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:48,280 good reasons of safety, but not only for your guys, but for us as well. 498 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:49,280 You're welcome. 499 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:51,800 Appreciate that. 500 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:58,120 And those heavy trucks on the highway is not a good idea, nice, so they don't stop either. 501 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:01,400 All right, any other questions? 502 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:05,160 All right, did you get what you need? 503 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:06,280 Good job. 504 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:07,280 Thank you. 505 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:10,120 All right, that's all the items. 506 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:12,920 So do we have a motion to adjourn? 507 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:17,120 All right, motion, Ed seconded. 508 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:18,120 We are adjourned. 509 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:20,640 See you next week or next time.