[00:00:03]
GOOD AFTERNOON. THIS IS THE JANUARY 3RD, 2023 MEETING FOR THE FORT PIERCE UTILITIES AUTHORITY BOARD.
I WILL CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
WILL YOU PLEASE STAND? GOOD AFTERNOON. WILL YOU PRAY WITH ME? I'D LIKE TO START WITH READING A QUICK SCRIPTURE.
LORD WE'RE ASKING FOR MORE FAVOR, MORE INFLUENCE, MORE EXPOSURE.
WE'RE ASKING FOR FAVOR IN THE ARENA OF GRANTS AND POLITICAL INFLUENCE ON STATE AND A NATIONAL LEVEL.
WE'RE ASKING FOR FAVOR AND STABILITY FOR NATURAL GAS AND MATERIAL PRICES AND AVAILABILITY.
AMEN. AMEN. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
MISS MISS GAZELLE, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL TO DECLARE THE QUORUM.
PRESENT, MR. LAMMERS. PRESENT.
[A. SET THE AGENDA]
THE FIRST ITEM IS TO SET THE AGENDA.ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO SET THE AGENDA? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO SET THE AGENDA.
MRS. BENNETT, RIGHT? YES, MR. FEE? YES, MA'AM. MR. LAMMERS? YES, MA'AM.
[B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:]
THE SECOND ITEM IS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES TO APPROVE SECOND? MRS. BENNETT.
THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS.
YOU MUST ADDRESS THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC WITH RESPECT.
ANY INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
IF NO ONE COMES UP SEEING, NO ONE CAME UP.
I WILL CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENTS.
[D. CONSENT AGENDA]
THE NEXT ITEM IS THE CONSENT TO CONSENT THE AGENDA.ARE THERE ANY ITEMS THAT WE WISH TO BE PULLED FOR DISCUSSION OR DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA.
YES, MA'AM. MR. FEE. YES, MA'AM. MR. LAMMERS. YES, MA'AM.
[E. RECOGNITION OF EXCELLENCE]
THE NEXT ITEM IS RECOGNITION OF EXCELLENCE.THERE ARE NONE FOR THIS MEETING, SO WE WILL MOVE TO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA.
THE NEXT ITEM IS OLD BUSINESS.
THERE ARE NONE FOR THIS MEETING.
SO WE WILL MOVE TO THE NEXT AGENDA.
[G.1. 2022 NERC Annual Review ‐ For Information Only]
THE NEXT ITEM IS NEW BUSINESS DIRECTOR.PLEASE INTRODUCE ITEMS. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.
A YEARLY PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD IS PART OF OUR PROGRAM.
ERIC MEYER ELECTRIC, SUPERVISING ENGINEER, AND DUANE STRUBLE, WILL PRESENT THIS ITEM.
VICE CHAIR BENNETT AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
[00:05:07]
AND DWAYNE, DWAYNE STRUBLE, A COMPLIANCE ANALYST FOR FORT PIERCE UTILITY AUTHORITY.TONIGHT, WE'D LIKE TO PRESENT TO YOU EPA'S ELECTRIC UTILITY REGULATORY COMPLIANCE OVERVIEW FOR 2022 WITH NURK, ALSO KNOWN AS THE NORTH AMERICAN ELECTRIC RELIABILITY CORPORATION. BEFORE BEGINNING OUR REVIEW, I WOULD LIKE TO RECAP.
FP WAS AUTHORITY STRUCTURE FOR ELECTRIC UTILITY REGULATORY COMPLIANCE.
FERC, WHICH IS THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, IS AN INDEPENDENT REGULATORY BODY WITHIN THE US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ACTS AS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ENERGY REGULATION WITHIN THE UNITED STATES.
ESSENTIALLY, NURK IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPING REGULATORY STANDARDS THAT ELECTRIC UTILITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY MUST ADHERE TO, WHICH GOVERN COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS, PROTECTION SYSTEMS, TESTING TIME FRAMES, GRID SECURITY AND OTHER GENERAL LIABILITY REQUIREMENTS.
NRC'S JURISDICTION INCLUDES USERS, OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF THE BULK POWER SYSTEM ACROSS PARTS OF NORTH AMERICA, WHICH SERVES ROUGHLY 400 MILLION PEOPLE THROUGH THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA COMBINED.
CIRC, ALSO KNOWN AS THE CIRC RELIABILITY CORPORATION, SERVES AS EPA'S REGIONAL ENTITY WITH DELEGATED AUTHORITY FROM NURK FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROPOSING AND ENFORCING RELIABILITY STANDARDS WITHIN THE SERC REGION, WHICH IS THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES.
ORDERS FOR AUDITS OR REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION WILL TYPICALLY COME FROM CIRC.
THESE DEPARTMENTS ARE ELECTRIC AND GAS ENGINEERING, ELECTRIC AND CONSTRUCTION.
THE FIRST IS THE PHYSICAL OWNERSHIP OF ENERGIZED ELEMENTS BY VOLTAGE RATING.
THE SECOND IS THE OPERATIONAL CAPACITY OF ENERGIZED ELEMENTS BY VOLTAGE RATING.
AND THE THIRD IS THE OWNERSHIP AND OPERATION OF LARGE ELECTRIC GENERATION.
UNDER CURRENT FPA ELECTRIC ASSETS OWNED, WE ARE REGISTERED AS A TRANSMISSION OWNER, MEANING THAT WE OWN TRANSMISSION LINES RATED ABOVE 100 KV AND A DISTRIBUTION PROVIDER, MEANING THAT WE DISTRIBUTE ELECTRIC SERVICE DIRECTLY TO CUSTOMERS FROM OUR TRANSMISSION SYSTEM.
FPA DOES NOT OWN OR OPERATE ANY ELECTRIC GENERATION ASSETS AS TREASURE COAST ENERGY CENTER IS OWNED AND OPERATED OFFICIALLY BY FPA, AND FPA DOES NOT HAVE COMPLETE OPERATION OF ANY TRANSMISSION LINES AT 100 KVA OR ABOVE FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT ACTS AS OUR TRANSMISSION OPERATOR FOR OUR 138 KV TRANSMISSION AND SUBSTATION ASSETS, AND FPA SUPPORTS FPA WITH TRANSMISSION AND RELIABILITY PLANNING STANDARDS WITH NURK I WILL HAND IT OVER TO DWAYNE STRUBLE.
OUR COMPLIANCE SPECIALIST FOR OUR 2022 NEC REPORT.
THANK YOU. CYBERSECURITY CONTINUE TO BE A MAIN FOCUS FOR NURK FOR 20 2022 AS ADVANCEMENTS IN CYBER WARFARE FROM MALICIOUS ACTORS AROUND THE WORLD WERE IDENTIFIED AS CONTINUING KEY THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES BULK ELECTRIC SYSTEM OR BASE.
NOR DEFINED CYBERSECURITY ELEMENTS AS FALLING INTO ONE OF THREE CATEGORIES.
HIGH IMPACT ELEMENTS OR ASSETS WHICH, IF COMPROMISED IN A CYBERSECURITY ATTACK, WOULD CAUSE SERIOUS HARM TO THE BASE, WHEREAS LOW IMPACT ELEMENTS WOULD CAUSE MINIMAL DISRUPTION TO THE BES.
THERE WERE SIX UPDATED STANDARDS AND ONE NEW WORK STANDARD FOR 2022.
FIVE OF THESE RELATE TO CYBERSECURITY, AND TWO OF WHICH RELATE TO PROTECTION AND RELATE CONTROL SYSTEMS. THE UPDATED STANDARDS INCLUDE CIP FIVE SEVEN, WHICH DEALS WITH ELECTRONIC PERIMETER SECURITY AND CYBERSECURITY.
SEP TEN FOR CONFIGURATION CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS.
SEP 13 TWO SUPPLY CHAIN RISK MANAGEMENT SEP 14 THREE PHYSICAL SECURITY PRC SIX FIVE AUTOMATED UNDER FREQUENCY LOAD SHEDDING AND PRC 24 THREE GENERATING RESOURCE FREQUENCY AND VOLTAGE PROTECTION.
THEREFORE, THEY ARE NOT APPLICABLE TO PORT PARIS UTILITY AUTHORITY.
THE NEW STANDARD WAS CIP 12 ONE, WHICH CONCERNS COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN CONTROL ROOMS. SINCE LP DID NOT HAVE ANY IRC DEFINED CONTROL ROOMS INVOLVING MEDIUM OR HIGH IMPACT ELEMENTS, API WAS EXEMPT FROM THE STANDARD AS WELL.
[00:10:03]
PROTECTIVE SYSTEM MAINTENANCE PLAN.IN THIS REPORT, EPI STAFF DID NOT HAVE EVIDENCE OF PERFORM THAT REQUIRED FOUR MONTH INTERVAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM TESTING FOR PROTECTIVE DEVICES AT HARTMAN AND GARDEN CITY SUBSTATIONS AS THE CENTER HAD BEEN UPDATED, WHICH CHANGED THIS INTERVAL FROM 48 MONTHS TO FOUR MONTHS AND FDA DID NOT CATCH THIS.
THE SECOND AND THIRD 2021 SELF REPORTS WERE VIOLATIONS OF CIP THREE EIGHT TITLED CYBERSECURITY SECURITY MANAGEMENT CONTROLS, IN WHICH FP DID NOT HAVE A CORRECTLY DOCUMENTED CYBERSECURITY PLAN.
ALTHOUGH FPI HAD PLANS FOR THESE POLICIES, THEY WERE NOT DOCUMENTED PROPERLY PER STANDARD.
THE CIP SENIOR MANAGER HAVE NOT SIGNED CYBERSECURITY PLAN EVERY 15 CALENDAR MONTH AS REQUIRED.
AFTER CIRCUIT VIEW, IT WOULD DETERMINE THAT THE DISCIPLINARY MEASURES WERE NOT NECESSARY.
AS UPDATE STAFF DEMONSTRATED, THERE WAS NO SERIOUS RISK TO THE BEES AND THAT CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS, AS DESCRIBED IN THE SELF REPORTS FROM STAFF, WERE SUFFICIENT TO RESOLVE THE NONCOMPLIANCE.
AFTER ALL, REQUESTED DATA WAS PROVIDED TO THE SELF.
WE HELD A MOCK AUDIT WITH A CONSULTING FIRM IN OCTOBER OF 2021 AND THE CONSULTING FIRM.
THEIR MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS WERE THE HIRE OF A FULL TIME COMPLIANCE PERSONNEL.
THIS PERSON IS MYSELF AND I WAS HIRED IN FEBRUARY OF LAST YEAR.
EPI UTILIZED THIS CONSULTING FIRM TO ASSESS THE DRAFTING OF A CYBERSECURITY PLAN AS DESCRIBED.
IN THE MITIGATED ACTIVITY OF 2021 SELF REPORT AND TO RUN A CYBERSECURITY TABLETOP EXERCISE.
THESE ACTIVITIES CONCLUDED IN MARCH OF 2022.
THE CONSULTANT ALSO WAS USED BETWEEN MARCH AND AUGUST OF 2022 TO REVIEW THE REMAINING STANDARDS.
AND TO MAKE SURE THE DOCUMENTATION AND STRONG EVIDENCE FOR NOT IN CASE IT WOULD NOT.
IT WAS DONE BY SERC CONSULTING FIRM, ATTENDED OUR BIWEEKLY COMMITTEE MEETINGS DURING THIS TIME PERIOD AND PROVIDED FEEDBACK TO HELP IMPROVE AND PROVIDE ADVICE ON HOW TO KEEP A STRONG COMPLIANCE PROGRAM MOVING FORWARD.
WITH THAT, WE CAN TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE AT THIS TIME.
YEAH, YOUR LANGUAGE IS SORT OF LIKE NOT IN MY WHEELHOUSE.
BUT I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT DO YOU WORK WITH FMT PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY HAVE CYBERSECURITY COVERAGE NOW FMT? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE BEEN WORKING WITH OR IS IT SOMEBODY THAT RISK MANAGEMENT WORKS WITH? WE TYPICALLY WORK WITH MPI.
THEY HAVE CYBERSECURITY SPECIALISTS AND THAT'S WHO WE WORK WITH.
I KNOW THAT IT IS VERY INVOLVED WITH CARTER FROM MPR AND ERIC'S VERY INVOLVED WITH THE MPR TEAM.
SO I DON'T KNOW THAT WE WORK WITH MIT, SPECIFICALLY THE INTERACTION WITH MIT.
SO, WELL, JUST SO THAT YOU ARE AWARE THAT THEY HAVE NOW BUILT IN CYBERSECURITY INSURANCE COVERAGE AND THAT THEY ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH YOU AT THIS MIGHT BE MORE SOPHISTICATED THAN BECAUSE THEY WORK WITH CITIES AND COUNTIES.
THEY DON'T, BUT THEY ALSO, SINCE WE ARE A UTILITY AND THEY COVER CITIES THAT HAVE UTILITIES, IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT YOU SHOULD LOOK INTO TO FIND OUT WHAT THE COVERAGE IS, TO FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF BECAUSE THEY DO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO AND ALSO EDUCATION.
AND AND IT'S GOING TO BE AN INCREASING COST FOR CYBERSECURITY FOR INSURANCE COVERAGE PURPOSES.
SO I DO KNOW THAT EARLIER THIS YEAR WHEN WE RENEWED OUR INSURANCE POLICIES, I DO KNOW THAT PART OF OUR RENEWAL INCLUDED SOME CYBER INSURANCE, WHICH WE TRY NOT TO PUBLICIZE TOO MUCH BECAUSE THEY USUALLY TARGET THOSE ENTITIES WITH WHATEVER THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT IS.
SO I GUESS WE DO HAVE SOME INSURANCE POLICY FOR CYBERSECURITY.
SURE. BUT THE LEGISLATURE HAS ALSO DEVELOPED SOME RULES SO THAT IF SOMEBODY IS INTERESTED IN TRYING TO DO THAT, THAT THERE'S ALL KINDS OF LAWS IN PLACE TO TO TRY TO CURTAIL THAT.
AND I'LL TRY AND I'LL GET BACK TO MR. CISNEROS TO WHEN I HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU ON THAT.
YEP. AND I KNOW THERE WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION WE WE KIND OF THROUGH IT, YOU GUYS THERE.
[00:15:05]
I THINK REALLY THE BOTTOM LINE, WE JUST WANT TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW OF IS THAT WE'RE IN A STRONG POSITION RIGHT NOW.CYBERSECURITY HAS BEEN A BIG ELEMENT RIGHT NOW GOING AROUND.
WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF CYBER ATTACKS HAPPENING.
SO NURK MAY DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT.
NOT TOO SURE, BUT SECURITY IS DEFINITELY A BIG CONCERN RIGHT NOW MOVING FORWARD.
YEAH. I'D LIKE TO ADD TO THAT, ERIC.
DUANE MENTIONED IT A COUPLE OF TIMES AND SO DID ERIC.
THE BEES, THE BULK ELECTRIC SYSTEM.
SO THAT'S A GOOD SUMMARY OF OUR COMPLIANCE PROGRAM.
FIRST OF ALL, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I KNOW IT'S A DELICATE BALANCE WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT STUFF THAT MOST OF US HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT, AND THEN ALSO TRYING TO GIVE INFORMATION SO THAT WE CAN START TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT.
SO YOU GUYS MENTIONED THAT YOU HAD A CONSULTANT REVIEW OUR CURRENT PROCEDURES FOR THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM AND SPECIFICALLY CYBERSECURITY.
WHAT KIND OF RECOMMENDATIONS DID THEY GIVE US ON WAYS THAT WE COULD IMPROVE? SO WHAT THEY DID WAS WE GAVE THEM A SET OF STANDARDS TO TO AUDIT FOR US AS A MOCK AUDIT AND KIND OF FIND OUT WHAT WE'RE MISSING.
ESSENTIALLY KIND OF LIKE A GAP ANALYSIS IN THIS GAP ANALYSIS.
THAT WAS BACK IN OCTOBER OF 2021.
THE REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE IN IN THEIR I GUESS I'M PARAPHRASING THEIR WORDING, BUT THEY BASICALLY SAID THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE TAKE CYBERSECURITY EXCUSE ME, COMPLIANCE SERIOUSLY.
AND A PART OF THAT IS HAVING SOMEBODY DEDICATED TO COMPLIANCE FULL TIME.
I THINK THAT THEY SAID THAT CIRC USUALLY DOESN'T TAKE IT AS SERIOUS.
IF WE DIDN'T HAVE SOMEONE WHO WAS ON IT PART TIME OR ONLY MAYBE FOURTH OF THE TIME, VERSUS IF WE HAVE SOMEBODY FULL TIME, AS THERE COULD BE A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO MAKE IT SO THAT FULL TIME ATTENTION WOULD BE NEEDED TO COMPLIANCE.
AND YEAH, WE KIND OF SEE THAT BEING A BIG FOCUS MOVING FORWARD.
SO HAVING HIM ON THAT FULL TIME IS DEFINITELY A BIG HELP.
YES, SIR, THAT'S RIGHT. GOT IT.
AND IS THIS SOMETHING WE PLAN ON DOING ON A PERIODIC BASIS, HAVING A CONSULTANT COME IN TO REVIEW THE PROGRAM? OR IS THIS KIND OF LIKE A ONE TIME THING TO GET US UP TO SPEED? YES, ACTUALLY, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING IT ON A BIENNIUM EVERY TWO YEARS.
WE'LL BE DOING A AUDIT ON OUR STANDARDS AND OUR POLICIES.
I THINK THE WAY WE'LL BE DOING IT, THOUGH, IS BASED ON CERTAIN STANDARDS.
SO I DON'T THINK WE'LL GIVE THEM THE WHOLE STANDARD PACKAGE THAT WE'RE REGISTERED AS.
SO IT WOULD BE ALL THE STANDARDS FOR A TRANSMISSION OWNER AND A DISTRIBUTION PROVIDER.
IS IT POSSIBLE, INSTEAD OF US GIVING THEM THE STANDARDS TO AUDIT THAT, THEY TELL US WHAT STANDARDS THEY BELIEVE ARE THE BEST ONES TO REVIEW? YEP. WE COULD DO THAT TOO.
THE GOOD NEWS IS, IS THAT WE HAD THE FIRM STEP IN FOR US BETWEEN MARCH AND AUGUST OF 2022 LAST YEAR.
THEY GOT WITH DUANE AND MADE SURE THAT HE WOULD BE ABLE TO KIND OF RECORD ALL THE EVIDENCE.
ANYTHING NEW THAT COMES IN, HE'D BE THE MAIN PERSON FOR GETTING ALL THAT DATA IN.
SO THEN WHAT WE DO IS WE'D BE, I GUESS WE COULD BE READY FOR ANYTHING.
SO IF THEY WANTED TO CHOOSE WHAT STANDARDS TO AUDIT FOR US, WE'D BE READY FOR THAT.
[00:20:01]
UNDERSTOOD. AND I HEARD YOU MENTIONED THAT DUANE HAS BEEN WITH US SINCE FEBRUARY, CORRECT? ALMOST A YEAR NOW. ALMOST A YEAR.GOOD DEAL. WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE LIKE BEFORE YOU JOINED FPA? I WORKED FOR APPLE FOR 15 YEARS AT THE NUCLEAR PLANT.
THEN I WAS A MATH TEACHER FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS SINCE THEN.
AND WERE YOU INVOLVED WITH COMPLIANCE AT ALL? YES, I. GOOD.
GOOD DEAL. I'D LIKE TO ADD JUST ONE ADDITIONAL ITEM.
FMP DOES PEER REVIEWS WITH OTHER CITIES, AND WHEN THEY GO THROUGH A PEER REVIEW OR THEY GO THROUGH AN AUDIT, THEY USUALLY GIVE US, THEY USUALLY PROVIDE THAT FEEDBACK TO FPA AND THE AUDIT OR THE COMPLIANCE TEAMS FROM OTHER UTILITIES SO THAT THEY CAN START PREPARING, HEY, WE MISSED THIS.
YOU PROBABLY NEED TO PREPARE FOR MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THIS IN YOUR IN YOUR PROGRAM SO THAT YOU DON'T.
YES YES. WE ACTUALLY DID WANT TO THINK TWO YEARS AGO WHEN WE I THINK IT WAS TWO, TWO YEARS, TWO OR THREE YEARS AGO, BUT WE HAD THEM AUDIT SEVERAL STANDARDS FOR US MOVING FORWARD FROM THAT, WE DECIDED TO GO TO A CONSULTANT JUST TO KIND OF MAKE SURE THAT WE COULD SEE HOW WE STAND ON A NATIONAL SCALE RELATIVE TO OTHER UTILITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS WELL, WHICH WAS IMPORTANT FOR US BECAUSE WE WANTED TO SEE HOW WE STACK UP WITH THEM.
COMPLIANCE WISE. ANYTHING ELSE? NOPE. THANK YOU.
[G.2. RFQu No. 20‐10A: Authorize staff to negotiate contracts for Continuing Professional Engineering and/or Design‐Build Services related to Electric and Gas Systems with selected firms for a five‐year term with unlimited five‐year renewal options. Once finalized the agreements will be submitted to the Board for approval and signature.]
SERVICES AND DESIGN BUILD SERVICES FOR ELECTRIC AND GAS SYSTEMS. ONCE WE APPROVE THE SHORT LIST, WE'LL STAFF WILL MOVE TO NEGOTIATION PHASE FOUR CONTRACTS WITH THESE FIRMS. ERIC MEYER WILL PRESENT THIS ITEM.AND THANK YOU AGAIN, MR. CISNEROS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
ON JUNE 16, 2020, THE BOARD APPROVED STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION TO NEGOTIATE CONTRACTS WITH 12 PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES AND TO DESIGN BUILD FIRMS. STAFF REQUESTED THAT A NEW REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS BE CONDUCTED IN ORDER TO MEET THE DEMAND FOR ADDITIONAL FIRMS FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING AND OR DESIGN BUILD SERVICES.
THE RFQ IS SENT TO 547 VENDORS.
22 VENDORS REQUESTED SPECIFICATIONS, WITH EIGHT RESPONDING RESULTING IN A 36% RESPONSE RATE.
OF THE EIGHT RESPONDING QUALIFICATIONS STATEMENTS, NONE WERE LOCAL VENDORS OR A REVIEW PANEL CONSISTING OF ELECTRIC AND GAS ENGINEERING SYSTEM STAFF REVIEWED ALL THE SUBMITTALS AND RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING FIRMS FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES.
KENMORE AND ASSOCIATES, INC OF FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA.
GA CONSULTANTS, INC OF HOMESTEAD, PENNSYLVANIA.
HBK ENGINEERING, LLC OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.
WORKPLACE COMPLIANCE SOLUTIONS, INC.
KIMBERLY HORN AND ASSOCIATES INC OF RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA.
STAFF IS REQUESTING APPROVAL FOR AUTHORIZATION TO NEGOTIATE CONTRACTS FOR CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES RELATED TO ELECTRIC AND GAS SYSTEMS WITH THE SELECTED FIRMS FOR A FIVE YEAR TERM WITH UNLIMITED FIVE YEAR RENEWAL OPTIONS.
ONCE FINALIZED, THE AGREEMENTS WILL BE SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE.
WE DO NOT HAVE ANY DESIGN BUILD FIRMS THAT REQUESTED FOR QUALIFICATIONS ON ON THIS PARTICULAR DAY, BUT WE DID GET EIGHT PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES FIRMS. AND WITH THAT, I CAN TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
QUESTION DO YOU NORMALLY HAVE RENEWAL TERMS UNLIMITED THAT I DON'T I THINK WE WE CHANGE THAT.
I WANT TO SAY FIVE OR TEN YEARS AGO.
SO WE USED TO HAVE A SEVEN OR TEN YEAR TERM LIMIT.
BUT THEN A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, THERE WAS A FLORIDA STATUTE THAT ALLOWED US TO RENEW RENEW THOSE ON A FIVE YEAR BASIS OR A THREE OR FIVE YEAR BASIS. AND UNFORTUNATELY, I'M I'M GRASPING HERE BECAUSE I HAVE TO JUST TRY AND REMEMBER WHAT WE'RE DOING THERE.
BUT I CAN PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
[00:25:06]
CONTRACTORS, THAT YOU JUST GET IN THE HABIT OF JUST RENEWING AND KEEP GOING.SO IS THERE A REVIEW PROCESS AFTER EVERY TERM OF CONTRACT EXPIRES AND THEN YOU DECIDE WHETHER YOU'RE GOING TO RENEW WITH THEM OR IF IT'S A MUTUAL RENEWAL? YEAH, ACTUALLY, OUR CONTRACTS ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT WILL GET WITH ME ON THAT REQUISITION PROCESS AS WE CREATE ONE TO GO BACK TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL AND IT'LL BE BASED ON STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
IF THE FIRM DIDN'T PERFORM TO OUR EXPECTATIONS, WE WOULD NOT RENEW WITH THEM.
BUT IF THEY CONTINUE TO BE GOOD FOR THE COMMUNITY, GOOD FOR FP, WE WOULD LOOK AT THEM AGAIN AND CONTINUE OR EXCUSE ME, CONSIDER THEIR RENEWAL FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEAR PERIOD. SO MY QUESTION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? QUESTION. SO HOW DOES IT WORK? NOW YOU HAVE EIGHT.
IS IT EIGHT? AND SO THEN YOU JUST DO IT ON A ROTATING BASIS, OR YOU PICK THE ONE THAT'S BEST FOR SUITED FOR WHATEVER THE PROJECT IS? YES. WHAT WE WOULD DO IS WE WOULD NEGOTIATE CONTRACTS WITH THEM IN THE FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
AND WHAT WE WOULD DO IS NOT NECESSARILY WORK ALL THE TIME, BUT WE WOULD USE THEM AT OUR DISPOSAL.
SO IF WE NEEDED ONE OF THESE FIRMS TO HELP US WITH TRANSMISSION LINE REBUILDS, DOING SOME KIND OF A DESIGN THING THERE, WHAT WE WOULD DO IS WE GIVE THEM A SPECIFIC AUTHORIZATION UNDER THE CONTRACT.
AND THEY WOULD JUST BE AT OUR DISPOSAL FOR THAT FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
SO THIS IS KIND OF LIKE A STABLE OF EXPERTS THAT YOU'D GO TO WHEN YOU NEED SOMETHING AND YOU ALREADY YOU'VE ALREADY GOTTEN BOARD APPROVAL TO USE THEM? YES, MA'AM, THAT'S CORRECT.
WE WOULD GO BACK FOR IF THE DOLLAR AMOUNT ON CERTAIN PROJECTS WAS LARGE ENOUGH, WE WOULD COME BACK TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL FOR THOSE, BUT WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO NECESSARILY REQUALIFY THAT FIRM EVERY TIME AND REDOING A CONTRACT AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF, WE WOULD JUST BE ABLE TO DO A SPECIFIC AUTHORIZATION FOR THEM.
AND JUST FOR CLARITY, THE SPECIFIC AUTHORIZATION AT 50,000 AND BELOW WOULD NOT COME TO THE BOARD.
ANYTHING ABOVE THAT WOULD COME TO THE BOARD, BECAUSE THAT'S MY SIGNATURE.
THAT'S MY SIGNATURE AUTHORITY.
YEAH. MR. MEYER DO WE HAVE ANY ENGINEERING FIRMS UNDER CONTRACT RIGHT NOW THAT WE CAN REACH OUT TO FOR THESE TYPES OF THINGS? YES, WE HAVE A CURRENT STABLE ALREADY.
WE'RE GOING BACK OUT TO GIVE OTHER VENDORS A CHANCE TO COME IN AS WELL AND ALSO TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE GETTING NEW FIRMS TO KEEP OUR AUGMENTATION OF KNOWLEDGE WITH OTHER FIRMS OUT THERE AS WELL, TO KIND OF KEEP IT THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE OTHER FIRMS. WE'RE NOT USING THE SAME FIRMS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
WE'RE ABLE TO ACTUALLY UTILIZE OTHER FIRMS AND AND KIND OF CREATE A.
FAIRNESS MADE ME THE RIGHT WORD, BUT BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT OTHER COMPANIES HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BID ON OR NOT BID, BUT USE THEM FOR WORK THAT WE NEED THROUGHOUT THE SERVICE TERRITORY.
YEAH, AND I KNOW WHEN I'VE BEEN IN SITUATIONS SIMILAR TO YOUR POSITION THAT IT WAS, THERE WAS ALWAYS A BALANCE THAT YOU HAD TO STRIKE BETWEEN ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING GOOD RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE THAT'S IMPORTANT WHEN, WHEN YOU'RE WORKING WITH CONSULTANTS, BUT ALSO CREATING A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE THAT'S A PRETTY STRONG MOTIVATOR.
HAVE WE HAD ANY LACK OF LACKLUSTER PERFORMANCE BY ENGINEERING FIRMS WE THAT WE HAVE UNDER CONTRACT NOW? FORTUNATELY, NO.
BUT WE'VE HAD SOME THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO BID ON THE WORK THAT WE BID DO THE WORK THAT WHEN WE ASK THEM FOR A SCOPE OF WORK THAT THEY CAN'T DO, MAYBE THEY DON'T HAVE THE EXPERTISE FOR IT.
SO WE'RE FORTUNATE IN THAT REGARD AND OUR CURRENT LIST IS SMALL, RIGHT? FOR ELECTRIC ENGINEERING, WE ONLY HAVE THREE FIRMS. NO, ACTUALLY WE HAVE WE HAVE QUITE A FEW.
AND TO DESIGN BUILD FIRMS. SO THE DESIGN BUILD IS BASICALLY PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING AND THEY ALSO HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO DO TURNKEY PROJECTS FOR US.
SO THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO ENGINEER THE PROJECT AND THEN BUILD THE PROJECT AS WELL.
OUT OF THOSE EXISTING FIRMS WE HAVE CONTRACTS WITH.
WHAT TYPE OF WORK HAVE WE STRUGGLED TO FIND THE SKILLS UNDER THOSE 12? IT'S BASICALLY BEEN A LOT OF VERY DETAILED, REFINED PROJECTS THAT MAYBE FALL OUT OF THEIR SCOPE.
SO FOR INSTANCE, SUBSTATION QUALIFICATION, THEY'D BE MORE PANELS AND CONTROLS VERSUS ACTUALLY DOING NITTY GRITTY SETTINGS VERIFICATION, KIND OF VERY DETAILED THINGS LIKE THAT THAT MAYBE THEY'LL PASS ON.
[00:30:03]
BUT THEY HAVE MORE EXPERTISE IN THEIR PANELS AND CONTROLS.SOME ARE MORE EXPERIENCED IN BUILDING TRANSMISSION STRUCTURES WHERE OTHERS AREN'T NECESSARILY AS.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IS WE WIND UP GOING ON TO THE NEXT ONE AND IF THEY CAN CAN DO THE WORK FOR US, THEN WE END UP CONTRACTING WITH THEM WITH THE SPECIFIC AUTHORIZATION THAT'S.
SO WITH THAT 12 IN ADDITION TO THESE.
IS THAT WHAT YOU MEANT? NO, WE HAVE 12.
AND THEN THESE EIGHT WILL BE IN ADDITION TO THE 12.
OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH. SO YOU NEED A VOTE ON THIS MOTION? ON THIS? YES.
APPROVAL FOR AUTHORIZATION TO NEGOTIATE.
MOTION TO APPROVE. I'LL SECOND CALL THE ROLL, PLEASE.
MR. LAMMERS? YES, MA'AM. MADAM MAYOR? YES, MA'AM. MRS. BENNETT. YES, MA'AM.
[G.3. Natural Gas Rate Stabilization Fund Updated – November 2022 – For Information Only]
THIS IS SEPARATE FROM THE ELECTRIC GAS NEEDS THAT WE TALK ABOUT.SO THIS IS JUST FOR THE GAS DISTRIBUTION SIDE.
THIS IS AN INFORMATION ONLY PRESENTATION.
FRED GADDIS, GAS OPERATIONS SUPERINTENDENT, WILL PRESENT THIS ITEM.
NATURAL GAS PRICES AT THE HENRY HUB HAVE BEEN TRENDING DOWN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF DECEMBER.
THE PRICING OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS HAVE AVERAGED ABOUT $7.53.
A DECK OF THERM. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF DECEMBER.
PRODUCTION IS AT NEAR-RECORD LEVELS AND THE EIA STORAGE REPORT SHOWS A NET WITHDRAWAL OF 21 BCF 73% LOWER THAN THE PRIOR WEEK WITHDRAWAL OF 80 BCF.
THIS IS A BILL COMPARISON BETWEEN FP IOWA AND FLORIDA CITY GAS.
AND CITY GAS HAS NOT INSTALLED THEIR NEW RATE OF $20 SERVICE CHARGE.
THAT'S IT. SO ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? WELL, THAT WAS BRIEF.
SO THERE'S NO CHANGE REQUESTED? NO, MA'AM. THIS WAS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.
OKAY. AND SO WHERE ARE WE NOW? WHAT IS OUR PRICE RIGHT NOW? WHAT IS OUR $0.17? 17. THANK YOU.
[G.4. Approve Amended Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Allegany Franciscan Ministries, Inc. (AFM), of Palm Harbor, Florida, the City of Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County and FPUA for the Smart Neighborhood Initiative to provide high speed connectivity in the Lincoln Park community of Fort Pierce. FPUA's contribution to this project is not expected to exceed $600,000, or 48% of the total $1,250,000. The effective date of this MOU will be the date of final approval by all parties and is anticipated to be completed within 24 months of the effective date.]
JASON MILLER, FPA ASSET MANAGER, WILL PRESENT THIS ITEM.I AM EXTREMELY EXCITED TO FINALLY BRING THIS PROJECT TO FRUITION AND I AM EXCITED TO SHARE THE PROGRESS OF THE FPU AND ITS TEAM IN THE NETWORK DEPLOYMENT OF THE LINCOLN PARK COMMUNITY.
THE ORIGINAL FOOTPRINT WAS FROM ORANGE AVENUE TO AVENUE RD, SEVENTH STREET TO 25TH STREET.
THE PLAN INCLUDED A FIBER LOOP AROUND THE PERIMETER WITH INSTALLATION OF WIRELESS SERVICE INSIDE.
AFTER DOING AN EVALUATION OF THE NETWORK DESIGN, WE FOUND THAT IT WOULD HAVE REQUIRED ABOUT ONE AND ONE HALF MILLION DOLLARS MORE THAN WHAT WAS BUDGETED, AND IT HAD A HIGH OPERATIONAL COST TO MAINTAIN THAT TYPE OF NETWORK.
[00:35:05]
KEY AREAS.THIS PROJECT WILL MAKE A SUBSTANTIAL LONG TERM IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING A 30 YEAR FIBER TO THE HOME INFRASTRUCTURE, PROVIDING AFFORDABLE, ULTRA HIGH SPEED, RELIABLE BROADBAND SERVICE.
OFFER FREE PUBLIC WI FI IN FIVE KEY AREAS.
IT WILL POSITION LINCOLN PARK TO BE A SMART NEIGHBORHOOD, READY TO HELP ENCOURAGE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE BUSINESS CORRIDORS AND INCREASE THE LINCOLN PARK BROADBAND ADOPTION RATES.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE FOOTPRINT OF THE AREA, THE FIBER, THE PARCEL WILL BE BUILT.
HMM. NOT ONLY ARE WE BRINGING FIBER TO EVERY PARCEL, BUT WE'VE SELECTED FIVE LOCATIONS FOR FREE PUBLIC WI FI IN THE LINCOLN PARK AREA. THIS IMMEDIATELY HELPED TO BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND PROVIDE DIGITAL EQUITY AMONGST THE LINCOLN PARK COMMUNITY.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS IT'S THE PARK AT 10TH STREET AND AVENUE C AND THE FIBER HAS TO BE THERE.
THE LATEST ONE WE JUST COMPLETED WAS A LINCOLN PARK COMMUNITY CENTER ON 13TH STREET IN AVENUE M, AND WHILE I WAS OUT THERE TESTING IT, I RAN ACROSS TWO YOUNG BOYS SITTING UNDER A TREE ON THE ON THE BENCH THERE.
FP NET IS LUCKY TO BE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH ALLEGHENY FRANCIS MINISTRIES CITY OF FORT PIERCE SAN COUNTY TO PROVIDE A PROMOTIONAL PARTNERSHIP RESIDENTIAL RATE FOR THE LINCOLN PARK PROJECT AREA.
RESIDENTS THAT QUALIFY CAN SUBSCRIBE TO FP NET'S STANDARD TIER OF SERVICE AT NO COST AT ALL.
AND SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS AN INDIVIDUAL THAT QUALIFIES FOR THE ACP.
MEANING IF SOMEONE HAS FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH, LOW INCOME HOUSING AND MANY OTHER VARIOUS QUALIFIERS, THEIR RATE, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO ACCESS A $30 VOUCHER.
EP AND IT'S BEEN RECOGNIZED ON A NATIONAL LEVEL FOR THE LINCOLN PARK PROJECT, RECEIVING THE CORNERSTONE AWARD IN MAY OF 2022 AT THE BROADBAND COMMUNITY SUMMIT IN HOUSTON, TEXAS. ADDITIONALLY, BROADBAND COMMUNITIES, THE BROADBAND BUNCH AND COMMUNITY NETWORKS HAVE HIGHLIGHTED THE PROJECT AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES AND PODCAST ON A STATE LEVEL. FP NET HAS PRESENTED ITS STORY TO THE FLORIDA LEAGUE OF CITIES.
WE ARE EXTREMELY EXCITED TO SEE THIS VISION COME TO FRUITION AND ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE BOARD'S SUPPORT ON THIS MONUMENTAL PROJECT THAT WILL HELP BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND PROVIDE DIGITAL EQUITY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
I HAVE ONE. WHERE WOULD THEY GET THE LOW INCOME VOUCHER FROM THE ACP VOUCHER.
WE WE WILL BE ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY.
AND THERE ARE VARIOUS STEPS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT WHERE WE WOULD HELP THEM GO THROUGH A NATIONAL VERIFIER PROCESS WHERE IT VERIFIES INCOME, VERIFIES ALL THESE QUALIFICATIONS.
AND SO WE WILL BE ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION.
[00:40:03]
IS THERE A LOCATION THAT THEY MUST COME TO IN ORDER FOR YOU TO VERIFY THEIR INCOME? YOU WOULD GO TO I BELIEVE IT'S USEC HAS IT THERE'S THERE'S LINKS THAT WILL BE SENDING OUT WITH MARKETING MATERIAL AND AS WE ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY.OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS HAVE IT.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IT IS FAIRLY ADMINISTRATIVELY HEAVY AND SO THAT'S PART OF WHAT FPA DOES IS PROVIDE GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE. AND SO WE'RE GOING TO BE ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY.
WHEN YOU'RE AT THE COACH. SO ON YOUR MAP, YOU SAY IT GOES FROM DH TO ORANGE.
NOW I'M GOING TO SHOW MY IGNORANCE HERE.
IS THAT ON BOTH SIDES OF DH, IT'S NOT.
SO YOU LOOK AT WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT NETWORKS BECAUSE AVENUE DH WAS UNDERGROUND AND ORANGE AVENUE IS UNDERGROUND AND THE SIZE OF THE FOOTPRINT, THERE ARE CERTAIN CABINETS THAT ARE SIZED.
THE WAY THAT WE'RE PUTTING A 500 AND A 578 PORT CABINET.
AND SO THAT'S THE AREA THAT IT FITS BETWEEN AVENUE D AND ORANGE AVENUE AND THE CROSS.
WE ARE LOOKING AT THE NORTH SIDE OF AVENUE D OF HOW TO BRIDGE THAT PIECE.
MR. MIMS FROM THE CITY WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO TRY TO ACCOMMODATE SOME OF SOME OF THOSE OTHER AREAS AS WELL.
SO WE'RE IN A PROCESS OF EVALUATING THAT.
BUT THIS SPECIFIC BUILD IS FOCUSED AROUND AROUND THIS AREA.
THERE'S A COUPLE OF WELL, THERE'S MORE THAN A COUPLE OF BUSINESSES.
AND THEN WHEN YOU GO TO ORANGE, IT DOESN'T CROSS ORANGE SOUTH.
IT WILL NOT CROSS ORANGE SOUTH YET.
AND SAME WITH SEVENTH AND 14TH.
IT IS THE EAST SIDE OF WEST SIDE OF SEVENTH.
SORRY. IT DOES GO TO THE WEST SIDE OF 14TH, I BELIEVE.
OKAY. AND 14TH WAS CHOSEN BECAUSE THAT'S FIT THE NUMBER FITS THE NUMBER BUDGET AND NUMBER.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WE DID WAS THE FEEDER CABLES THAT GO THROUGHOUT THE TERRITORY BECAUSE THIS FEEDS FROM ONE OF OUR DATA CENTERS. WE PUT ENOUGH FIBER IN IT TO FEED THE ENTIRE PROJECT IN THE FUTURE SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO GO BACK AND PUT NEW FEEDER IN.
WE ARE HOPING THAT WHILE THIS PROJECT WILL BE SUCCESSFUL AND THERE'LL BE MORE RECOGNITION THAT OTHER ORGANIZATIONS OR CURRENT ORGANIZATIONS WOULD LIKE TO PARTNER WITH US AGAIN TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND AND PROVIDE THESE TYPE OF PROMOTIONAL RATES.
ALSO, IT ALL DEPENDS ON TAKE RATES, RIGHT? THIS IS A GREAT PILOT AREA FOR US TO COME IN TO SEE HOW IT ENGAGES THE COMMUNITY, HOW THE COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO IT.
AND SO THIS KIND OF IT WAS BUILT AROUND A BUDGET, RIGHT? NOW, JASON, COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS? WE GO TO THE NEXT CITY COMMISSION MEETING AND DISTRIBUTION OF.
I BELIEVE IT'S A CONSENT AGENDA, SHE SAID.
BUT I'LL BE THERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU YOU WOULD HAVE.
AND SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
ONCE THAT HAPPENS, WE WOULD THEN REACH OUT TO THE PARTNERS AND REQUEST.
PLEDGED FROM THE VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS.
BECAUSE WE ARE WELL INTO CONSTRUCTION.
TRYING TO COORDINATE BETWEEN ALL THE PARTNERS TO GET SIGNED SIGNATURES.
AND IT'S A QUITE A PROCESS TRYING TO HAVE MULTIPLE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS SIGN A MOU AND COME TO AGREEMENT OF TERMS. SO IT IT'S BEEN A LOT OF FUN.
YEAH, A LOT OF PEOPLE LOOKING AT IT, RIGHT? A LOT OF PEOPLE. SO AFTER THAT HAPPENS, YOU'LL BE PROMOTING IT TO ALL THE RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES IN THIS AREA.
AND SO IF SOMEBODY ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF ORANGE OR WAS ALL OF A SUDDEN HEARD ABOUT THIS, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM? LIKE WHEN WHEN IS THIS GOING TO COME TO THEM? YES. SO SO THIS WORK THIS WILL WORK HAND IN HAND WITH OUR CROWD FIBER SOLUTION, WHERE WHAT WE HAVE IS WE HAVE A MAP OF THE CITY AND WE BUILD ZONES.
[00:45:08]
AND MANY, MANY SERVICE PROVIDERS DO THIS WHERE YOU MIGHT FIND THAT ONE SERVICE PROVIDER HAS SERVICE ON ONE SIDE OF THE STREET, BUT NOT THE OTHER SIDE. IT JUST THAT'S JUST HOW NETWORKS ARE BUILT, RIGHT? AND SO IT'S NOT UNCOMMON TO BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET AND YOU DON'T HAVE SERVICE.IT'S IT'S VERY DIFFERENT FROM OUR NORMAL OPERATIONS AS A MUNICIPALITY THAT OPERATES ELECTRIC AND WATER AND WASTEWATER, BECAUSE THE REALITY IS, IS IF WE'RE IF YOU'RE IN AN AREA THAT WE HAVE ELECTRIC, WE'RE THE ONLY PROVIDER.
BUT IN THE AREA OF TELECOM AND BROADBAND, THERE ARE MANY PROVIDERS, RIGHT? SO IT'S JUST A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
AND YOU SAID 13TH AND AND THE COMMUNITY CENTER RIGHT AT 1310 NO, NOT M M OR WHATEVER IT IS.
THE COMMUNITY CENTER, THEY'RE THERE.
RIGHT. SO YOU SAID YOU SAW THE BOYS.
WHERE THE BOYS, DO THEY HAVE TO BE IN THAT BUILDING? ARE THEY GOING TO BE IN THE VICINITY.
A GOOD EXAMPLE WAS I WASN'T THE ONE THAT RECEIVED THE TESTIMONY, BUT AT THE MEN'S COURT CENTER WHERE WE HAVE PUBLIC WI FI, THERE WAS A A FAMILY THAT CAME OVER AND THANKED, I THINK IT WAS MS.. TENET THAT WAS THERE AT ONE OF THE OUTREACHES.
AND SHE CAME OVER SO EXCITED BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO REACH INSIDE THEIR HOUSE.
THEY WERE ABLE TO ACCESS THE THE INTERNET THAT WE PUT OUT THROUGHOUT THE MEN'S COURT CENTER.
AND I THINK SHE HAS AN AUTISTIC CHILD OR I'M NOT SURE WHICH ONE, BUT BUT THE THEY WERE ABLE TO GET ON HER TABLET AND SHE'S BEEN ABLE TO PROSPER AS A AS A YOUNG GIRL TRYING TO ENGAGE AND JUST USE THE INTERNET.
MY HEART WAS REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY, WE'RE BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, WE'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE WHERE PEOPLE NEED IT. AND SO I HAVE TO BE THERE ON THURSDAY NIGHT.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ALREADY IN PLACE.
PEOPLE ARE ALREADY USING IT, RIGHT? WHICH ONE? AT THE LINCOLN PARK COMMUNITY CENTER? YEP. YEP. YES, MA'AM.
YEAH. I DON'T WANT TO SAY IT IF IT'S NOT HAPPENING.
YES. AND SO WE JUST GOT SOME MORE SIGNS.
AND SO WE WANT TO GET THE WORD OUT.
ABSOLUTELY. IT'S GREAT, GREAT NEWS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? MR. MILLER. SO I SAW THE THE PRICES FOR RESIDENTIAL SERVICE.
THIS AREA ENCOMPASSES MORE THAN A HANDFUL OF BUSINESSES.
WHAT WHAT DO YOU HAVE AVAILABLE FOR FOR THOSE FOLKS? SO SO THIS IS OUR STANDARD RETAIL RATES IS WHAT WE'RE GOING WITH AT THE MOMENT.
AT ANY MOMENT IN TIME, WE CAN CHOOSE TO OFFER PROMOTIONAL RATES.
AND THAT IS ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS.
WHEN WE DID OUR RATE RESOLUTION BACK LAST JANUARY, I THINK WE PUT IN A CLAUSE THERE THAT HAS A RATE OF RETURN CLAUSE FOR PROMOTIONAL RATES.
ONE THING YOU CAN'T DO IS IF YOU OFFER A LOWER RATE, YOU GOING UP IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA.
THAT LINCOLN PARK AREA IS THE LOWEST BROADBAND ADOPTION RATE BASED ON THE FCC'S FINDINGS.
SO THE THE RETAIL RATE THAT I SEE IN THE THIRD COLUMN ON THIS SLIDE THAT APPLIES TO RESIDENTIAL.
YEAH. SO I DON'T HAVE THE RESIDENTIAL RETAIL RATES FOR COMMERCIAL RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, BUT THEY GO FROM 100 MEG FOR $99 ALL THE WAY UP TO A GIG A BIT OR 1000 MEGABITS PER SECOND FOR A 399.
I AM LOOKING AT COMING BACK TO THE BOARD WITH SOME CHANGES IN THE FUTURE, WITH SOME SERVICE CHANGES IN OUR RATES, AND SO THAT SHOULD BE COMING SOON AFTER YOU ENTER THE MARKET AND YOU FIGURE OUT.
HOW THINGS FIT, HOW HOW ARE PEOPLE RESPONDING? THAT'S THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THE BUSINESS THAT WE'RE IN.
[00:50:01]
IT'S VERY DIFFERENT. WE HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE CUSTOMERS.WE HAVE TO LISTEN TO WHAT THE OTHER COMPETITORS ARE DOING BECAUSE ONCE WE PUT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE OUT, IF WE DON'T CONNECT, WE DON'T MAKE MONEY IN IT OR WE DON'T PAY NOT, NOT MAKE MONEY, BUT WE DON'T COVER OUR COST.
AND SO MUCH OF THE COST IS THE UPFRONT CAPITAL.
AND THEN AS THE PROJECT ROLLS A LITTLE BIT, YOU LOSE STEAM AND YOU YOU WONDER WHAT'S GOING ON.
YEAH, I THINK JUST SOME QUICK METRICS IS I THINK IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, 250 GIGABYTES OF DATA WAS USED AND AT ANY GIVEN TIME 25 DIFFERENT PEOPLE WERE CONNECTED ACROSS THE SITES.
AND SO THAT'S THAT'S VERY EXCITING, RIGHT? BECAUSE SOMETIMES YOU PUT OUT STUFF AND IT JUST NO ONE DOES ANYTHING WITH IT.
AND THAT'S WITHOUT US REALLY GOING OUT THERE AND DOING A GREAT JOB PROMOTING IT.
WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THIS MORE EFFECTIVELY.
AND WE'RE HOPING TO SEE THAT GO UP IN INCREASED USAGE.
IN. WHAT ELSE? I HAVE ONE QUESTION WITHIN THAT AREA, THE COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES.
HOW ARE WE HANDLING THEM? BECAUSE I KNOW THIS IS RESIDENTIAL PRICES.
WHAT PRICES WILL THE COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES.
I CAN LOOK INTO THAT, BUT AT THE MOMENT IT'S JUST OUR RETAIL RATE FROM $99 TO 399.
ALL RIGHT. DO WE HAVE A MOTION? I MOVE APPROVAL.
MS.. GRIZZLE. MR. FEE. YES, MA'AM.
MR. LAMMERS? YES, MA'AM. MADAM MAYOR? YES, MA'AM. MRS. BENNETT. YES, MA'AM.
THANK YOU. THE NEXT ITEM IS A REQUEST TO APPROVE THE SINGLE SOURCE.
[G.5. POA 15‐11: Approve the single source purchase of Neptune Meters and Registers from Sunstate Meter & Supply, Inc. (Sunstate) of Newberry, Florida, in an amount not to exceed$1,028,576.72, for the Final Phase for the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Project.]
SINGLE SOURCE PURCHASE FOR WATER METERS FOR THE FINAL PHASE OF THE ADVANCED METER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.MR. DANIEL RUTHERFORD, DIRECTOR OF UTILITY SUPPORT SERVICES, WILL PRESENT THIS ITEM.
BOARD MEMBERS. WHAT WE HAVE BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING OR THIS AFTERNOON IS REALLY A STRATEGIC REQUEST TO MANEUVER OUR ORDERS FOR OUR WATER METERS TO MARKET NOW, AS OPPOSED TO OVER THE NEXT TWO OR THREE YEARS, AS WE KNOW, THE SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES.
WE'RE LOOKING TO DO THAT AT ONE ONE TIME, ONE PURCHASE.
RIGHT NOW FOR A MILLION BUCKS, WE'VE GOT THE SPACE IN THE WAREHOUSE.
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DELIVER $1,000,000 WORTH OF METERS TO US.
BUT WHAT IT DOES IS IT GETS US ENCUMBERING THOSE FUNDS AND GETTING THOSE THOSE THOSE ORDERS TO MARKET SO THAT THOSE MANUFACTURERS CAN UNDERSTAND THAT THAT THAT MONEY IS ENCUMBERED AND IT'S THERE AND THEY CAN START DELIVERING AND WE'LL PAY IT AS IT COMES.
IT'S PREVIOUSLY APPROVED, PREVIOUSLY FUNDED, PREVIOUSLY BUDGETED FUNDS.
WE WILL BE USING THE THE BOND MONEY TO PAY FOR THIS.
SO IT'S IT'S IT'S NOTHING NEW TO YOU.
IT'S SOMETHING YOU'VE ALREADY APPROVED. WE'RE JUST LOOKING TO ASK TO DO IT ONE TIME UP FRONT NOW, AS OPPOSED TO TRYING TO DRAG IT OUT OVER A COUPLE OF YEARS, WHICH WE'RE FINDING IS CHALLENGING BECAUSE UNLESS YOU CUT A PO AND GET IT ON THE DESK OF THOSE MANUFACTURERS OR SUPPLIERS, THEN YOU JUST DON'T GET ON THEIR LIST.
SO THAT'S THAT'S REALLY THE REQUEST.
AND THEN THAT WOULD BE AT A SET PRICE WHEN WE'RE BUYING THIS.
SO SO THE BENEFITS OF DOING THIS NOW IS WE SAVE IMMEDIATELY, WE SAVE 90 OR 100,000 BETWEEN 90 AND 100,000 ON THE INCREASE TO THE WATER METERS THAT WE WOULD BE PAYING IN 2023.
SO THAT'S THAT'S ONE BENEFIT THAT'S TANGIBLE RIGHT NOW.
AND WE KNOW WE GET IN LINE, WE KNOW WE GET WE GET OUR ORDERS IN LINE FOR FOR THE ORDER NOW.
SO THOSE ARE THOSE ARE OUR BENEFITS RIGHT AWAY.
SO THIS IS ONE OF THE THE WAYS TO GO ABOUT BENEFITING FROM IT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I DO. SO I KNOW.
[00:55:05]
IN THE LIGHT CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, A LOT OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES HAVE BEEN GREATLY ALLEVIATED OVER THE PAST 5 TO 6 MONTHS.THERE WAS A 1.2 BY FOUR, EIGHT FOOT TWO BY FOUR WAS $8 AND NOW IT'S $3 AND THEY WERE HARDER TO GET.
SHEET OF PLYWOOD WAS $75 AND NOW IT'S $30 CLOSE TO BACK TO WHERE IT WAS PRE-PANDEMIC.
HAVE WE EXPERIENCED LIKE ANYTHING LIKE THAT, ANY ALLEVIATION IN THOSE ELEVATED PRICES ON THE UTILITY SIDE OF THINGS? I'M NOT SEEING ANYTHING ON THE ON THE PRICES.
THE PRICES ARE STILL CONTINUING TO INCREASE.
I'M STILL SEEING THE SAME AMOUNT KNOW, EIGHT, TEN, 12, 13% PRICE INCREASE REQUESTS.
BUT WE ARE SEEING AS THE STRANGLEHOLD ON THE MATERIAL IS LOOSENING A LITTLE.
SO I EXPECT THE PRICES TO COME SOON.
BUT A LOT OF FOLKS ARE STILL TRYING TO CATCH UP.
THEY HAVE TO INCREASE THE PRICES A LITTLE JUST TO RECOVER.
SO I EXPECT NEXT YEAR WE'LL PROBABLY SEE A LITTLE A LITTLE BETTER ON THE PRICE END.
BUT WE ARE STARTING TO SEE A LITTLE BIT OF LET UP ON THE ON THE ON THE RELEASE OF MATERIALS.
SO BOTH SHOULD GET BETTER OVER THE NEXT YEAR OR TWO.
AND DOES THAT CREATE? THAT BEING SAID, DOES THAT CREATE ANY CONCERN THAT WE MAY PAY A LITTLE MORE IF WE TRY TO PURCHASE EVERYTHING NOW THAN WE WOULD IF WE PURCHASE SOME OF IT IN TWO YEARS? WELL, WE ALREADY KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO SAVE 100,020 23 PRICE INCREASES BECAUSE WE'VE GOT OUR ORDER STAGED WITH THEM NOW.
AND WHAT SOON AS YOU APPROVE IT, WE PULL THE TRIGGER IF YOU IF YOU WERE TO APPROVE IT.
SO WE ALREADY KNOW WE'RE GOING TO SAVE THAT.
IF THIS IS APPROVED, WE DO ANTICIPATE PRICE INCREASES FOR NEXT YEAR ALSO STILL WITH THIS MARKET.
IT'S HARD FOR ME TO IMAGINE THAT PRICES WOULD NECESSARILY COME DOWN.
THEY PROBABLY WOULD STABILIZE, BUT THEY WOULD.
SO YEAH, I IN GENERAL, I AGREE WITH THAT SENTIMENT.
I DO QUESTION IT IN THESE CONDITIONS JUST BECAUSE OF WHAT I JUST SAID.
EVERYTHING WAS WAY, WAY, WAY UP AND STUFF HAS COME DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY.
SO IN GENERAL, I AGREE INFLATION JUST CONTINUES TO PUSH EVERYTHING UP.
I GET THAT. AND THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING THE QUESTION.
SURE. WHAT YOU'RE THE EXACT CONSIDERATION THAT YOU'RE HAVING IN YOUR MIND IS ONE WE'RE HAVING ABOUT THE NOT THE METERS, FOR INSTANCE, BUT SOME OF THE OTHER ITEMS IN THE ARMY SYSTEM THAT ARE REALLY EXPENSIVE AND CONTINUE TO CLIMB OR WE'RE CONSIDERING WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE IF WE WERE TO PAUSE AND WHAT WOULD THAT MARKET LOOK LIKE IN A YEAR? NOT THIS STUFF, BUT SOME OTHER THINGS.
SO I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
AND I ALSO UNDERSTAND THERE'S THERE'S, LIKE I SAID, A LOT LESS LINKS IN THE CHAIN FROM CUTTING DOWN A TREE IN ALABAMA AND RUNNING THROUGH A SAWMILL AND PUTTING IN HOME DEPOT THAN THERE IS GETTING 15 DIFFERENT METALS FROM DIFFERENT MINDS AROUND THE GLOBE AND CHIPS AND ALL THIS KIND OF STUFF THAT IS REQUIRED FOR THE TYPES OF MATERIAL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. YES, SIR.
SO I'M LEANING ON YOU GUYS EXPERTISE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? MR. CALDWELL.
YES, MA'AM. MR. LAMMERS. YES, MA'AM.
MADAM MAYOR? YES, MA'AM? MRS. BENNETT. YES, MA'AM.
THANK YOU. THE NEXT THREE ITEMS ARE ALL BEING PRESENTED BY BARBARA.
[G.6. CDARS Investments – For Information Only]
SO SHE WILL TAKE THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON.THE NEXT ITEM IS A PRESENTATION ON FPIS INVESTMENTS TO INCLUDE US TREASURY NOTES AND CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT ACCOUNT REGISTRY SERVICE, ALSO REFERRED TO AS SEEDERS.
AS I MENTIONED, BARBARA WILL PRESENT THIS ITEM.
[01:00:09]
THANK YOU, MR. CISNEROS.TODAY'S PRESENTATION WILL EXPLAIN THE LATEST INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO THAT HAS BEEN COMPILED FOR FP A.
FP WA HAS INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS THAT FOR THE LAST QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 22 EARNED ABOUT 0.1% INTEREST RATES IN 2021 AND 2022 WERE HISTORICALLY LOW.
IN OCTOBER, A STAR'S INVESTMENT THROUGH SEACOAST BANK MATURED, AND WHEN THAT INVESTMENT MATURED, SEACOAST MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDED LPL FINANCIAL TO PROPOSE SOME PORTFOLIOS THAT COULD NOW EARN US A MUCH BETTER RATE OF INTEREST.
LPL FINANCIAL IS A WEALTH MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT INSTITUTION.
THE US TREASURY INVESTMENTS ARE NOT LIMITED TO 250,000 MAX BECAUSE THEY ARE BACKED BY THE FULL FAITH AND CREDIT OF THE US GOVERNMENT AND ARE NOT LIMITED TO THOSE FDIC REGULATIONS.
SEEDERS IS THE CERTIFICATE IS A CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT ACCOUNT REGISTRY.
SERVICE IS AN EASY AND CONVENIENT WAY TO ACCESS FDIC INSURANCE ON LARGE DEPOSITS.
THROUGH SEEDERS, YOU CAN ACCESS MULTIMILLION DOLLAR FDIC INSURED COVERAGE ON YOUR CD DEPOSITS.
THE CEDARS AGAIN IS CERTIFICATE DEPOSIT ACCOUNT REGISTRY SERVICE IS INSURED 100% THROUGH FDIC.
THE INVESTMENTS ARE DONE IN MULTIPLES OF THE 250,000.
OUR CURRENT PORTFOLIO HAS 11 CD'S AND THEY'RE ALL WITH OUT OF STATE BANKS.
THE TOTAL INVESTED IN THESE CD'S IS 2,750,000, WITH VARYING RATES OF RETURN FROM 4.7 TO 4.85, AND MATURITIES VARY AGAIN FROM THERE 12 TO 18 MONTHS, SOME FOR 15 MONTHS.
THE US TREASURY NOTES ARE AGAIN ARE BACKED BY THE FULL FAITH AND CREDIT OF THE US GOVERNMENT.
THEY ARE PURCHASED AT A DISCOUNT AND THEY MATURE AT FACE VALUE PLUS THE INTEREST.
SO THERE ARE NINE US TREASURY NOTE INVESTMENTS THAT WE HAVE FOR A TOTAL OF 2.2 MILLION, WITH RATES VARYING FROM 3.84 TO 4.14 WITH MATURITIES AGAIN FROM THE 12 TO 18 MONTHS.
THEY'RE VARIED IN THOSE NINE INVESTMENTS.
THESE ARE THE LIST OF THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR PORTFOLIO NOW.
THE FIRST LINE I GROUPED ALL OF THE TREASURY NOTES TOGETHER.
AND WITH THAT VARYING RATE, THE LATEST ONE BECOMING DUE AT THE END OF MAY.
AND THEN THE LIST OF THE CD'S THAT ARE THERE.
I THINK THERE ARE 11 AND THE NAMES OF THE BANKS AND WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED.
YOU CAN SEE THEY'RE ALL OUT OF STATE AND THE INTEREST RATES ARE BETTER THAN 4%.
THEY WERE 4% AT THE BEGINNING.
AND THEN BY THE TIME WE SETTLED AND GOT OUR REVISED PORTFOLIO, THE RATES WERE MUCH BETTER.
SO THIS IS WHAT OUR CURRENT PORTFOLIO LOOKS LIKE.
THIS IS A SUMMARY OF THE INVESTMENTS.
THE US TREASURY NOTES WE HAVE 2.2 2,243,000 AND THAT WILL YIELD A 75,300.
[01:05:05]
AND THAT IS ALL THAT I HAVE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS.ANY QUESTIONS? I SEE THERE IS SOMETHING NEW OR.
THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN USING NOW.
IT'S JUST THE THE THE CD'S GO OUT INTO INDIVIDUAL BANKS SO THAT YOU'RE NOT EXCEEDING THE FDIC LIMIT.
WE'VE USED IT BEFORE THROUGH SEACOAST, BUT NOT THROUGH THIS FINANCIAL.
HE PUT TOGETHER A VERY A YEAR AGO WHEN WE HAD THE CEDARS, WE DID HAVE ONE FOR ABOUT $5 MILLION AND WE GOT A COUPLE THOUSAND BECAUSE INTEREST RATES RIGHT SO RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, BARBARA.
SO THE NEXT ITEM IS AN UPDATE ON THE POWER COSTS ADJUSTMENT FOR NOVEMBER OF 2022, AS YOU MAY RECALL.
[G.7. Status Report on Electric Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) for November 2022]
AND I'LL CONTINUE TO MENTION THIS JUST BECAUSE I THINK IT'S THAT IMPORTANT STAFF HAS IN MAKING RECOMMENDED MAKING SMALLER ADJUSTMENTS OVER TIME TOWARDS COST RECOVERY OF OUR RATE STABILIZATION FUND.AND BARBARA WILL PRESENT THIS ITEM.
THANK YOU AND GOOD AFTERNOON AGAIN.
THIS TABLE SHOWS THE QUARTERLY IMPACT OF THE PCA AND THE CUMULATIVE BALANCE OF THE POWER COSTS COLLECTED IN ORDER TO RETAIN SUFFICIENT FUNDS TO PAY OUR COSTS OF PURCHASE POWER.
WE HAVE A GOAL TO MAINTAIN A RESERVE THAT IS CURRENTLY SET WITH A $1 MILLION MINIMUM.
DURING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER WITH THE PCA OF $19 PER MEGAWATT HOUR.
FP WAS RECOVERY OF POWER COSTS TO THE CUSTOMER WAS A -$88,500 FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER? THIS, COMBINED WITH THE OCTOBER UNDER-RECOVERY, LEAVES THE CUMULATIVE BALANCE IN POWER COSTS COLLECTED AT THE CLOSE OF NOVEMBER WITH A -$200,000.
THE COST OF POWER PURCHASE FROM EPA FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER WAS BILLED TO FPU, A AT A BLENDED RATE OF $98.15 FOR 1000 KILOWATT HOURS, WHICH WAS A DECREASE OF $9.88 WHEN COMPARED TO THE OCTOBER BILLING.
MY FOCUS RIGHT HERE, $19 PER 1000 KILOWATT HOUR.
THIS CHART DEPICTS TWO $8 INCREASES IN THE PCA THAT WERE IMPLEMENTED FOR BILLINGS IN DECEMBER.
AND IN JANUARY, IN ADDITION TO THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATION OF $8 FOR FEBRUARY 1ST, THESE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE PCA WILL ELEVATE THE PCA FURTHER INTO THE RATE STABILIZATION FUND, SAFEGUARDING OUR UNRESTRICTED DAYS OF CASH AND PROVIDING STABILITY FOR FUTURE UNCERTAINTIES. THIS PROJECTION AND OTHER ALTERNATIVES YOU WILL THAT YOU WILL SEE IN THE UPCOMING SLIDE HAVE BEEN PREPARED BY RAFAEL'S FINANCIAL CONSULTANTS AND ARE BASED UPON DATA FORECASTS THAT HAVE BEEN PREPARED BY MPR SINCE OUR LAST FORECAST FOR IMPACT ESTIMATE OF THE COST OF PURCHASE POWER FOR THE UPCOMING 12 MONTHS HAS DECREASED BY ABOUT 2.4 MILLION OR 4.1%.
THIS IS THE SECOND MONTH IN A ROW THAT IT'S SEEMINGLY STABLE.
OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, IT'LL BE AROUND 94.
BUT FOR THE FIRST UPCOMING THREE MONTHS, IT'LL BE A LITTLE OVER $100.
[01:10:08]
ALL THREE OF THESE SCENARIOS AFFECT THE SAME CHANGE MOVING FORWARD INTO THE SUMMER MONTHS AND AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, BUT SHOW DIFFERENT IMPACTS IN THE NEAR TERM.THE RED LINE, THE ONE ALONG THE BOTTOM, THE RED LINE DEMONSTRATES THE POWER COST ADJUSTMENT TRENDING WITH NO IMMEDIATE CHANGE BEYOND THE ALREADY APPROVED AND IMPLEMENTED INCREASE ON JANUARY 1ST WITH A PKA OF $35.
SO THE RED LINE IS $35 AND HOLDING UNTIL JUNE.
WHERE THIS LINE WOULD INDICATE A $15 DECREASE IN JUNE BEFORE THE SUMMER MONTHS AND AN ADDITIONAL $5 DECREASE IN OCTOBER. AND THEN THAT RED LINE HELPS US AND MAINTAINS US IN THAT RATE STABILIZATION FUND ONCE WE GET PAST THE SPRING MONTHS AND INTO JUNE.
THE ORANGE LINE INCREASES THE CURRENT PCA OF $35 BY AN ADDITIONAL $4 FOR FEBRUARY, RAISING THE PCA BACK INTO THE STABILIZATION FUND A BIT SOONER AND ALLOWING FOR THE SAME JUNE AND OCTOBER REDUCTIONS IN THE PCA.
AGAIN, $15 IN JUNE AND $5 IN OCTOBER.
THE GREEN LINE TAKES A SIMILAR BUT SLIGHTLY MORE AGGRESSIVE PATH TO RECOVERY OF OUR STABILIZATION FUND WITH AN $8 INCREMENT IN FEBRUARY AND ALSO ALLOWING FOR THE SAME JUNE AND OCTOBER REDUCTIONS.
OUR STAFF MONITORS THE POWER COST ADJUSTMENT AND THE IMPACT ON OUR COST FROM THE MARKET PRICES AND OTHER OPERATIONAL DECISIONS REGULARLY SO THAT WE CAN REPORT MONTHLY AND RECOMMEND CHANGES ONLY AS IS DEEMED NECESSARY.
AT THIS TIME, STAFF IS RECOMMENDING AN INCREASE TO THE PCA OF $8 FOR 1000 KILOWATT HOURS, FROM $35 TO $43 EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 1ST, 2023.
BARBARA, I'D LIKE TO ADD SOMETHING REAL QUICK.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE GOAL BEHIND THESE THESE THIS CHART HERE WITH THE DIFFERENT LINES IS TO PREPARE OURSELVES FOR THE SUMMER OF 2024 BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT LOCKED IN GAS PRICES LIKE WE DID IN 2023.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD UP THE RATE STABILIZATION FUND.
SO THAT COMES SUMMER IF PRICES CONTINUE TO ESCALATE.
PROJECTIONS ARE THAT THE COST OF NATURAL GAS WILL CONTINUE TO RISE AS WE MOVE INTO THE SUMMER WE OF 2024, WE ARE PREPARED SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO NECESSARILY HOPEFULLY WE CAN AVOID WHAT WE WENT THROUGH IN JULY OF THIS YEAR.
SO THAT'S THE GOAL BEHIND THESE.
THE COST ADJUSTMENT RECOMMENDATION HERE IS TO START THINKING ABOUT NOT JUST THE NEXT MONTH OR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS, BUT ALSO WHAT DO WE LOOK LIKE, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT 24 MONTHS? SO YOU SAID 2024 YOU MEANT 2024.
SO WE HAVE 75% OF OUR GAS HEDGED FOR MARCH OF 2023 THROUGH APRIL OF 2024.
AND THEN WE HAVE 25, 25, 25% FROM APRIL OF 2024 THROUGH.
GOT IT. WE'VE ONLY LOCKED IN 25%.
SO WE WANT TO PREPARE OURSELVES FOR THAT WITH LOOKING AT A LONG TERM PLAN HERE.
MR. CISNEROS, WHAT IS THE WHAT'S THE REASONING BEHIND US NOT LOCKING IN A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF OUR FUEL COST IN 2024? SO THE THERE WAS A COMBINATION OF THINGS.
TYPICALLY, THEY DON'T WANT TO GO OUT FURTHER THAN A YEAR.
IT WAS ALREADY A LITTLE BIT OF A IT WAS QUITE A BIT OF THERE WAS A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT LOCKING IN PRICES JUST FOR LAST YEAR. WE REALLY CHANGED THE THE CONVERSATION THERE, ESPECIALLY IN JULY, ESPECIALLY JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, AS ALL THE UTILITIES STARTED EXPERIENCING THE THE HIGHER GAS PRICES BECAUSE THERE WAS SOME HISTORY THERE WITH LOCKING IN GASES BACK IN THE EARLY 2008 AND TEN TIME FRAME.
SO THEY AGREED THAT WE WOULD LOCK IN SOME PRICES.
[01:15:01]
YEAR, THE 20 2425 TIMEFRAME.SO IS THERE A REAL POSSIBILITY THEN THAT AROUND APRIL, MAY OF THIS YEAR, WE'LL START LOOKING TO PRE-PURCHASE GAS FOR 2024? YES, I THINK THE I THINK THERE'S GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR FOR THAT CONVERSATION TO CONTINUE TO HAPPEN AT THE F AND PAY BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE LEVEL.
YES. IT SOUNDS LIKE FROM YOURS AND STAFFS STANDPOINT, IF I'M TRYING, I'M TRYING TO READ IN BETWEEN THE LINES A LITTLE BIT THAT IT IT THERE WAS SO MUCH PERSUASION NEEDED TO GET US TO THE GOOD STANDING THAT WE'RE IN NOW THAT THERE'S NOT A HIGH DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN AGAIN.
I THINK I THINK THE THE IDEA THERE IS TO START SHIFTING THE PARADIGM THE WAY PEOPLE THINK, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE THERE WERE CONVERSATIONS AT THE BOARD LEVEL THAT IF WE COULD GET GAS AT BELOW $5, THEY WOULD DO IT FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
RIGHT. OBVIOUSLY, THAT'S A LONG TWO TOO LONG OF A TIME FRAME.
BUT GAS PRICES HAVE COME DOWN AND THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ALSO IDENTIFIED PERCENTAGES AND DOLLAR AMOUNTS WITH EACH EACH ONE OF THOSE PERCENTAGE PERCENTAGE PERCENTAGES TO GIVE THE STAFF AUTHORITY TO EXECUTE ADDITIONAL PRICE LOCK IN AND GET ADDITIONAL GASES AT THOSE PRICES.
SO THEY ALREADY HAVE MARCHING ORDERS TO DO THAT IF THEY HIT THE RIGHT NUMBERS.
SO THEY DO HAVE SOME DIRECTION.
AND THAT GREEN LINE PROJECTION SHOWS STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS WE RAISE THE PCA BY $8 NOW AND THEN THE BOARD HAS TAKEN THE STANCE THAT WE WANT TO REDUCE THE PCA IN THE SUMMER MONTHS.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT EXTENSIVELY SO THAT WE CAN GIVE OUR COMMUNITY A LITTLE BIT OF RELIEF FROM THE FROM THE INCREASED USAGE REQUIRED TO MAKE HOMES LIVABLE DURING THE SUMMER HERE AND.
AND AS LONG AS WE ARE CLOSE ENOUGH ON THE PROJECTIONS WE CURRENTLY HAVE, WE REMAIN IN A FAIRLY GOOD POSITION TO STABILIZE RATES IF GAS PRICES GET OUT OF CONTROL FOR 2024.
RIGHT. YES, THAT'S A VERY GOOD SUMMARY.
SO. SO IT'S IT'S GONE DOWN TWO MONTHS IN A ROW, RIGHT? YES. YES, IT DID.
SO WHY WHY DO WE FEEL IT SEEMS COUNTERINTUITIVE TO THINK THAT IT'S GOING TO TO RISE IF IT'S GONE DOWN? WELL, AS YOU MAY RECALL, BACK IN JULY, THERE WERE A COUPLE THREE OR FOUR WEEKS THAT GAS HAD DIPPED DOWN QUITE A BIT.
SO WE EXPERIENCED THAT FOR MOST OF NOVEMBER.
SO THE 25% THAT WE DIDN'T THAT WE DIDN'T LOCK IN, WE WERE ABLE TO GET AT A LOWER, MUCH LOWER RATE.
JODI, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER WHAT, NEAR $4, NEAR $4 WHERE WE WERE PROJECTING SEVEN $58.
RIGHT. SO SO THAT 25% HELPED REDUCE THE THE COST FOR DELIVERED POWER TO FPGA, I THINK.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? I'M NOT SURE THAT I, I JUST THINK IT JUST SEEMS TO ME IF THE TREND IS GOING DOWN, WHY ARE WE WORRIED THAT IT'S GOING UP? BECAUSE IT HAPPENS ABOUT EVERY FIVE YEARS.
WE EVERY 3 TO 5 YEARS, WE THERE'S A TREND.
SO WE'RE JUST TRYING TO PREPARE FOR THAT THAT SWING.
OKAY, BECAUSE WE'RE A HIGH PRICE RIGHT NOW.
AND THE ONLY WAY THAT PRICE CAME DOWN IS WHEN THE NATIONAL STORAGE REACHED MAXIMUM CAPACITY.
AND WE'RE NOT NOWHERE NEAR THAT.
SO RIGHT NOW, IT'S IT'S ON SHORT SUPPLY GOING IN THE WINTER MONTHS.
[01:20:01]
BUT, YOU KNOW, DO I THINK IT'S GOING TO GO DOWN LOWER? I THINK SO, BUT I THINK IT'S GOING TO RISE AGAIN, YOU KNOW, FOR A SHORT PERIODS.YES. I KIND OF LIKE THE IDEA OF BEING LOCKED IN AT A RATE AND TRY TO STABILIZE THINGS.
RIGHT. BECAUSE THEN PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COMPLAIN.
SO I'D LIKE TO ADD, I THINK TO KIND OF PUT THIS IN PERSPECTIVE, IF WE CAN GET TO THE TOP END OF THAT RATE STABILIZATION FUND AND KEEP IT THERE BEFORE WE HIT ANOTHER BIG SPIKE IN GAS, WE'RE ABLE TO MITIGATE IT FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND WE WANT TO DO THAT BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO LOCK IN GAS PRICES, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACTUALLY DO THAT, AND WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE CERTAINTY, A HIGHER DEGREE OF CERTAINTY ANYWAY, THAT THIS IS WHAT THE PROJECTIONS WILL BE.
AND SO IS THAT WHAT YOU MEANT BY THINKING ABOUT 2024 AND BEING PREPARED FOR 2024? THAT'S RIGHT. YES. SO RIGHT NOW WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS, IS TO ADD $8 TO THE 35, WHICH WOULD MAKE IT 43.
SO IT WOULD BE 43 FOR FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL AND MAY.
UNLESS WE. WELL, I MEAN, WE'RE ONLY MAKING THE DECISION FOR FEBRUARY.
RIGHT? AND THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER FACTORS THAT THAT I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT MAYBE AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING WHERE WE MAY BE ABLE TO TO NAVIGATE THAT NUMBER TO HELP OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO. AND ONCE AGAIN, WE'RE ONLY MAKING IT FOR ONLY THIS MONTH.
SO IT REALLY IS UP TO THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD.
YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT THIS AND THINKING ABOUT THE CONSUMER, THE CONSUMERS THAT ARE GETTING THE ELECTRIC AND THEN THINKING ABOUT THE RATE PAYERS OF WHAT THEY'RE DOING. IF WE LOOK AT THIS AND WE GO $4, WE DROP IT IN JUNE AT 15 AND THEN WE DO NOT TOUCH IT IN OCTOBER, OF THE NEGATIVE FIVE WILL STILL BE ABOVE THE THE, THE LINE THAT WE WANT TO BE AT WILL BE OVER THE 5 MILLION BY OCTOBER, NOVEMBER.
THAT LOOKS BETTER TO ME THEN TO SPIKE IT AT $8 GOING UP TO 43 BECAUSE WE HAVE TO REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE WITH THE UTILITY BILLS THAT WE RECEIVED A FEW MONTHS AGO AND HAVING IT AT 43.
THAT'S PUSHING IT A LITTLE BIT FOR THE RATEPAYER.
SO. EVEN IF WE GO FOR WE'RE HALF OF THE EIGHT.
BUT IF WE LEAVE IT THE SAME AS IT IS NOW, WE'LL STILL BE WITHIN THE TIME THAT THE AMOUNTS THAT WE WANT TO BE. IF WE LEAVE IT THE SAME, DROP IT FOR JUNE WITH THE RED AT 15 AND THEN DROP IT.
DON'T, DON'T DROP IT IN OCTOBER FOR THE FIVE WE'LL BE AT THE THE YELLOW WHERE THE FOUR THE $4 WILL BE ABOVE THE 5 MILLION BY THE TIME.
SO I'M THINKING TO LEAVE IT THE SAME.
NOW, THAT'S JUST ONE SCENARIO THERE I'M LOOKING AT.
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THE SENTIMENT.
MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE SAVING OUR RATEPAYERS MONEY.
MY CONCERN I HAVE I HAVE TWO CONCERNS WITH WITH WHERE WE ARE NOW.
ONE IS WE RAISED IT BY THIS BOARD WAS VERY AGGRESSIVE IN RAISING THE PCA WHEN WE.
WHEN WE FIRST STARTED EXPERIENCING THE FUEL HIKES.
[01:25:07]
BUT ONE HUGE BENEFIT THAT WE GAVE TO OUR COMMUNITY IS THAT WHEN THEY SHOWED UP AND VOICED THE FACT THAT IT WAS THEY WERE IN A VERY DIFFICULT SPOT.WE HAD MONEY IN OUR RATE STABILIZATION FUND TO MITIGATE THAT AND WE DROP THE PCA.
AND THEY HELPED US A LOT, TOO.
BUT WE I DON'T THINK WE DID HAVE SOME MONEY IN THE RIGHT STABILIZATION FUND WHEN WE DID THAT.
BUT MY POINT IS, RIGHT NOW WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO MITIGATE.
ANY POWER COSTS CHANGES TO US RIGHT NOW.
SO RIGHT NOW, IF WE SAW ANOTHER WILD SWING WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, WE WOULD HAVE VERY LIMITED OPTIONS AS A BOARD AS FAR AS HOW MUCH OF THAT WE COULD PASS ON TO THE CUSTOMER.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM OUR BILLS RECENTLY, OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, THAT 25% DROPPING WAS ABLE GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO REDUCE OUR RATE AS WELL, FROM FX TO US AND US TO OUR CUSTOMER. SO THAT 25% MARKET CAN STILL BE PRETTY VOLATILE OR THAT 25% THAT STILL LEFT THAT WE COULD WE COULD THAT WE COULD LOCK IN PRICES COULD STILL BE PRETTY VOLATILE.
I LIKE THE IDEA OF OF NOT CHANGING IN OCTOBER.
SO THIS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
EVEN THOUGH WE'RE DECREASING IT IN JUNE, WE'RE DECREASING IT FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS, BUT PRIMARILY IS BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO LOCK IN GAS PRICES AND WE'RE ABLE TO MANAGE THE COST WHERE IN THE PAST THE BOARD HAS ALWAYS TRIED TO REDUCE IT DURING THE SUMMER BECAUSE IT WAS A HOTTER MONTHS.
SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT SITUATION.
SITUATION. SO WE HAVE THE BENEFIT OF BEING ABLE TO DO BOTH BECAUSE OF LOCK IN PRICES.
SO THAT'S THAT'S A THAT'S A CONCERN FOR ME.
AND THEN WITH THE WAY THINGS HAVE BEEN, I ALMOST WISH BARBARA ANYTHING RIGHT OF SIX MONTHS OUT.
SHE JUST PUTS A GUY SCRATCHING HIS HEAD AND DOESN'T EVEN SHOW A LINE.
RIGHT. BECAUSE LIKE, WHO KNOWS WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE LIKE THEN? WELL, I THINK THE OTHER THING, TOO, IS WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE SIX MONTH TIME FRAME, WE CAN LOOK AT MAYBE A MAY, JUNE, JULY RATHER THAN A SINGLE MONTH DECREASE, MAYBE DO SMALLER DECREASES, STAGED THEM SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THIS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY AS WE AS WE APPROACH THE SUMMER. SO.
WE HAVE INCREMENTS OF OF FIVE, MAY, JUNE AND JULY.
YEAH, WE COULD WE COULD LOOK AT SOME DIFFERENT OPTIONS INSTEAD OF 15.
RIGHT. SO THE THE IDEA HERE IS WE HAD SO MANY SCENARIOS WE COULD POTENTIALLY PRESENT TO THE BOARD, BUT WE WANTED TO PRESENT SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS ADJUSTMENT WOULD BE THE THIRD OF THE THREE SMALLER ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE STARTED DOING IN DECEMBER, JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.
AND YES, I'M MORE OUT WITH I KNOW WE WANT TO BE AGGRESSIVE, BUT.
I WOULD FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH FOR $4.
AND 15 AND THEN NO DID REDUCTION IN OCTOBER.
WE COULD PRESENT IT TO YOU EACH MONTH.
SO MAKE SURE WE'RE FOLLOWING THAT PATH SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO PRESENT THE NEXT MONTH.
WE'LL BE ABLE TO TELL YOU WHERE WE'RE AT SO WE CAN SEE WHAT THE $4 INCREASE DID FOR US.
WELL, ACTUALLY, THE NEXT MONTH WOULD BE WHAT WE WHAT WE DID IN JANUARY OR DECEMBER.
IF I WANT TO REMIND YOU HOW WE WE HAVE THE PSC INDEX THAT'LL RIGHT IN OCTOBER.
WHAT'S THAT THE THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION INDEXES THE.
SO THERE AND WHEN WE SIGNED FOR OUR BOND COVENANTS, WE SAID THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE INCREMENTS BY THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION INDEX FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS. THAT WAS PART OF WHAT WE SIGNED ON OUR IN OUR BOND COVENANTS WHEN WE SIGNED FOR THE BONDS WE JUST ISSUED BACK IN JUNE.
AND COME OCTOBER, WHATEVER THE RATE IS, WON'T BE PUBLISHED UNTIL APRIL.
[01:30:03]
BUT THAT'S OF COURSE, THIS COMES WITH OUR NORMAL PROCESS OF IT'S NOT PART OF THE NORMAL PROCESS, BUT AS FAR AS A CHANGE TO THE BILLS, THOSE AMOUNTS ARE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN WE NEED DIFFERENT.YEAH, BUT WE'VE BEEN DOING THOSE RIGHT? WE'VE BEEN DOING THOSE. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
MADAM CHAIR, JUST JUST TO POINT SOMETHING OUT, ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF DOING THE $8 IS, ONE, WE'RE MITIGATING A LITTLE BIT AGAINST VOLATILITY IN THE FUTURE.
AND WE KNOW WITH PROBABLY A HIGH DEGREE OF CERTAINTY THAT IT'S GOING TO BE VOLATILE NEXT TWO YEARS.
BUT THAT GREEN LINE GIVES US A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY FOR SUMMERS TO COME.
IF WE STAY AT THE TOP, THERE'S NO REASON WHY WE CAN'T RAISE IT $8 TODAY AND THEN LOWER $19 WHEN WE HIT JUNE, BECAUSE THAT WILL HAVE THE SAME NET EFFECT OF THE YELLOW LINE.
IF YOU DON'T DO IT, I DON'T THINK WE CAN DROP IT DOWN AS LOW.
AND I'M JUST KNOCKING ON WOOD.
BUT IF THINGS STABILIZE, WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO KNOCK IT DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THE $15.
I'M THINKING YOU MIGHT EVEN BE ABLE TO KNOCK IT DOWN TO 20, POSSIBLY, DEPENDING ON HOW THINGS GO.
BUT IF YOU STAY AT THE YELLOW LINE, YOU'RE JUST KIND OF TREADING THE WATER.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO RAISE IT BY DOWN BY $15.
SO BEING AT THE TOP NOW IS BETTER FOR THE RATEPAYER THAN JUST FLOATING ALONG THE LINE AND THEN WAITING FOR SOMETHING BAD TO HAPPEN WHERE WE HAVE TO RAISE IT AT A BAD TIME OF YEAR.
CAN I LIVE WITH THE YELLOW LINE? YES, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO SLEEP WELL AT NIGHT KNOWING THAT WE'RE JUST KIND OF TREADING IT.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WITH THE GREEN LINE, WE HAVE A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY, A LOT OF TOOLS IN THE TOOLBOX.
IF THINGS HAPPEN, JUST STABILIZE.
WE COULD DO A LOT MORE FOR THE RATEPAYER FOR A LONGER TIME.
BUT THAT'S FOR YOU TO CONSIDER.
MS.. BENNETT, IF I'M NOT REPRESENTING YOU ACCURATELY, THEN YOU CAN LET ME KNOW.
BUT IT SEEMED LIKE MR. FEE, YOU'RE YOUR PROPONENT OF THE GREEN LINE, THE $8 INCREASE.
AND, MRS. BENNETT, YOUR YOU'RE A PROPONENT OF NOT INCREASING IT AT ALL.
AND BOTH OF YOU SAID BASICALLY THAT YOU'RE WILLING TO LIVE WITH A $4 INCREASE.
SO WHAT IF WE JUST MET IN THE MIDDLE AND REEVALUATED NEXT MONTH? I PREFER TO GO WITH THE $8.
NOW LET'S GET OUT OF THE NEGATIVE QUICKER AND THEN THEN REVIEW IT THE NEXT MONTH.
OR MAYBE JUST I MEAN, WHAT ARE WE FEBRUARY NOW? START TO LOOK AT IT AROUND APRIL AND MAY.
BUT WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THE NEGATIVE SOONER THAN LATER.
I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT THE RATEPAYER.
WHEN THEY ARE LOOKING AT THEIR THEIR UTILITY BILL, THEY HAVE DIFFERENT ITEMS ON THE BILL THAT THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR BESIDES THE ELECTRIC.
THEY HAVE WATER, GAS, ALL OF THESE THINGS, AND IT ADDS UP.
BUT I'M THINKING ABOUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE THAT NEED THAT EXTRA $30 OR $40 TO PAY ANOTHER BILL AND THEY DON'T HAVE THE MONEY.
CERTAIN AREAS DON'T HAVE A LOT OF FUNDS THAT THEY HAVE EACH MONTH TO BE ABLE TO PAY DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY HAVE TO PAY, WHEREAS.
YOU MAY HAVE THAT, BUT THEY MAY NOT.
AND WE HAVE TO CONSIDER THAT, TOO.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S ON THE SAME PAGE.
DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. PEOPLE ARE USING LESS AC.
BUT WHEN WE HIT THE SUMMER MONTHS AND THERE'S A PROBLEM, WE HAVE TO RAISE IT UP.
THAT'S WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO COME IN AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE UPSET.
THAT'S WHEN A NORMAL BILL HAS NOW RAISED BY $200.
[01:35:03]
AND WOULDN'T YOU MUCH RATHER SAVE THEM MONEY THEN THAN RIGHT NOW? I MEAN, THAT'S WHEN THE KIDS ARE HOME.THAT'S WHEN PEOPLE ARE DOING FAMILY VACATIONS.
THE SUMMERTIME IS HARD ON THE RATEPAYER.
SO I DON'T THINK MEETING IN THE MIDDLE IS A GOOD LONG TERM PLAN.
BUT IF YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT YOUR RATEPAYERS AND THE PEOPLE THAT YOU REPRESENT NEED TO HAVE IT NOW.
WHEN IT COMES SUMMERTIME, IT COULD BE A VERY DIFFICULT PROPOSITION.
BUT IF WE LOWER IT, IF WE GO AT FOUR AND THEN WE SAID THAT WE WOULD LOWER IT IN JUNE 15, OCTOBER FIVE. IF WE DON'T LOWER IT IN OCTOBER, WE STILL MADE UP THAT FOUR OR $5 THAT WE WERE DOING FOR THE RATHER LOWER IT BY 19 POTENTIALLY AT JUNE.
WITH, WITH YOUR WITH THE FOUR HERE WITH THE YELLOW LINE, YOU CAN GO DOWN $15, BUT WITH THE GREEN LINE YOU COULD GO DOWN 19 AND YOU'RE IN THE SAME SPOT, BUT YOU MIGHT EVEN BE ABLE TO GO MORE.
WITH THE GREEN LINE, AND WE WON'T KNOW UNTIL WE'RE THERE.
BUT WITH THE YELLOW LINE, WHEN YOU DROP IT DOWN, YOU'RE AT 15.
BUT THINGS ARE DROPPING NOW, THOUGH.
THEY'RE GIVING US RATES THAT WE CAN GO DOWN.
LAST MONTH WE DIDN'T SEE THIS, SO WE CAN'T PROJECT THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY GOING TO HAPPEN.
AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THE IDEA IS.
WE CAN'T SEE WHAT'S GOING AFTER SIX MONTH PERIOD.
NOBODY KNOWS. BUT WE CAN LOOK AT THE PROJECTIONS, SAY, ALL RIGHT, RIGHT AROUND JUNE, WE SHOULD BE IN A POSITION TO LOWER, MAYBE EVEN LOWER DOWN MORE, QUITE A BIT MORE AFTER THE FACT.
BUT IF YOU STAY WITH THE YELLOW LINE, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET MUCH MORE WORK THERE.
YEAH. SO WE WANT TO STAY ABOUT TWO AND ONE HALF MILLION.
NORMALLY, WE'D LIKE TO STAY IN THE MIDDLE, BUT HOW MUCH WAS THAT? DID YOU SAY TEN AND ONE HALF? TWO AND ONE HALF IS TWO AND ONE HALF.
ONE HALF. THAT'S ABOUT THE SAY.
DOES IT GO UP THAT I MEAN, I'M SORRY.
RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE IS IS THREE THE MIDDLE? THE MIDDLE IS THREE BETWEEN ONE AND FIVE.
RIGHT. SO THE THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO BE AT THE HIGHER END OF THAT RATE CIVILIZATION FUND SO THAT WE CAN PREPARE FOR THE SUMMER. SO I REALIZED I THREW SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, NOT JUST FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, BUT WHAT DO WE WANT TO DO IN THE NEXT SIX TO 12 TO 24 MONTHS? WE CAN DEFINITELY JUST FOCUS ON ON FEBRUARY.
BUT I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE LONG, LONG TERM THERE.
SO WE WANTED TO PROVIDE THREE OPTIONS SO THAT THE BOARD COULD CONSIDER WHERE WE'RE WHERE WE'LL BE IN OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR AND THEN WHERE WE'LL PREPARE OURSELVES FOR THE SUMMER OF 2024.
CARE TO HAVE MOTION? WELL, I HAVE TO SAY THAT EVERY TIME ONE OF YOU SPEAKS, I'M THINKING, OH, THAT MAKES SENSE.
WELL, REMEMBER, IF WE GO TO EIGHT OR IF WE GO TO FOUR, WE THE NEXT TIME WE LOOK AT THIS, WE WE REVISIT IT, WHICH IS WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS EVERY SINGLE MEETING NOW.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO IF WE DID FOUR RIGHT NOW, I THINK WE'D HAVE TO DO FOR THE NEXT MONTH.
THAT'S WHAT I THINK. SO WE DO IT EIGHT NOW, OR WE DO FOUR AND FOUR.
BUT RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF THE NEGATIVE.
UNTIL WE'RE THERE, WE CAN'T REALLY EVEN TALK REASONABLY ABOUT LOWERING THE PCI.
[01:40:05]
SO WE MAKE A MOTION.SO I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO RAISE THE PCA.
CALL THE ROLL, PLEASE, MR. FEE? YES, MA'AM.
NO, MA'AM. MADAM MAYOR? YES, MA'AM. MRS. BENNETT. NO, MA'AM.
SO IT FAILS. SO I MAKE A MOTION TO RAISE THE PCA.
OKAY. CAN YOU MAKE A MAYOR MADE THE MOTION FOR $4? YES. AND THERE WAS THIS EXTRA LAMMERS SECOND, MR. FEE? NO, MA'AM.
MR. LAMMERS? YES, MA'AM. MADAM MAYOR? YES, MA'AM. MRS. BENNETT. YES, MA'AM.
[I.1. Approve Resolution No. UA 2023‐01 – FPUA Investment Policy.]
THE CURRENT POLICY WAS APPROVED IN 2002, 20 YEARS AGO.SO STAFF HAS REVIEWED AND PROPOSED A REVISED VERSION FOR THE BOARD TO REVIEW AND APPROVE.
BARBARA MICA WILL PRESENT THIS ITEM.
YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU THE NEWLY REVISED INVESTMENT POLICY.
OUR EXISTING POLICY FOR INVESTMENTS, AS MR. CISNEROS HAS SAID, HAS SAID, RECEIVED ITS LAST BOARD APPROVAL IN 2002.
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND BEST PRACTICES HAVE CHANGED SINCE THEN, LEAVING THE EXISTING POLICY LACKING.
INVESTMENT POLICY SHOULD BE REVIEWED ANNUALLY AND UPDATED AS NECESSARY.
FP WAS EXISTING POLICY RECENTLY UNDERWENT A REVIEW BY MPR WITH EFFICIENCIES AND SHORTFALLS NOTED.
THE POLICY BEING PRESENTED TO YOU FOLLOWS FLORIDA STATE STATUTE CHAPTER 218.
THE POLICY ADDRESSES OUR OBJECTIVES FOR INVESTING.
IT DESIGNATES AUTHORIZING AUTHORIZED STAFF AND THE STANDARDS BY WHICH THEY WILL CONDUCT THEMSELVES.
STAFF IS REQUESTING THE ADOPTION OF THIS INVESTMENT POLICY BY RESOLUTION TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY STAFF.
ANY QUESTIONS? I JUST WANT TO ASK.
SO YOU'RE CLARIFYING, YOU'RE BRINGING SOMETHING UP TO STANDARD THAT THAT IS LEGALLY THAT WE WERE REQUIRED TO WE WERE FOLLOWING STATE STATUTE, BUT IT WASN'T IN WRITING THAT WAY.
SO IT'S NOW DOCUMENTED AS IS THERE ANYTHING IN HERE THAT'S VASTLY DIFFERENT THAN WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BOARD NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT? IT'S JUST VASTLY DIFFERENT.
IT'S IT WAS JUST A VERY, VERY BRIEF POLICY THAT WE HAD.
AND IT WAS BASICALLY FOLLOWING STATUTES.
IT'S THIS ONE YOU THE NEW POLICY IS MORE DETAILED, OUTLINES THINGS MORE CONCISELY AS FAR AS WHAT WE NEED TO DO AND THE PROCEDURES THAT WE NEED TO FOLLOW INTERNALLY TO BE IN COMPLIANCE.
WE JUST HADN'T UPDATED THE DOCUMENT.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? YES, CORRECT.
NOW IT'S NOW IT'S ALL TIED UP.
GOT IT. NOW THAT'S UPDATED, IS THERE ANY MATERIAL, SIGNIFICANT MATERIAL CHANGES TO THE WAY YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO YOUR INVESTMENTS VERSUS THE WAY YOU DID BEFORE? WELL, THERE ARE SOME WE WERE NOT ALWAYS INVESTING THROUGH SEEDERS WITH THE $250,000 LIMIT, WHICH GOES AGAINST THE FDIC INSURANCE.
THAT WAS NOT PART OF THE POLICY.
BUT WE DO HAVE WE'RE USING OUR BEST PRACTICES AND AND MEETING AS A GROUP, AS AS FAR AS THE INVESTMENT TEAM AND SAYING THIS IS THE BEST RATE WE CAN GET AND WHAT'S WHAT'S OUT, WHAT ELSE IS OUT THERE. SO WE WERE DOING OUR DUE DILIGENCE.
IT'S JUST THAT WE WEREN'T DIDN'T HAVE IT ALL IN WRITING.
[01:45:04]
ARE YOU LIMITED ONLY TO SEE HOURS WHEN DOING THE INVESTMENTS? NO. THERE'S A LIST OF TYPES OF INVESTMENTS THAT ARE THAT ARE IN THERE AND QUALIFIED WILL QUALIFY AS AN INVESTMENT MANAGER.WE WERE BASICALLY USING BANKS AND CD'S, BUT THEY WEREN'T EARNING US ANYTHING.
THANK YOU. IS IT SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE REVIEWED BY THE ATTORNEY OR IS THIS SOMETHING I'VE REVIEWED THE RESOLUTION AND I'VE TAKEN A LOOK AT THE INVESTMENT POLICY AND IT MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS FOR STATUTES.
THANK YOU, SIR. SO YOU NEED TO READ THE RESOLUTION, IS THAT IT? I THINK WE HAVE TO MAKE A MOTION FOR.
READ IT FIRST. YES. I'M SORRY.
READ IT FIRST. YES, MR. GAZELLE, WILL YOU READ THE RESOLUTION, PLEASE? RESOLUTION OF THE FORT PIERCE UTILITIES AUTHORITY.
ADOPTING THE ATTACHED INVESTMENT POLICY CONSISTING OF 17 PAGES, DESIGNATING THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION RESPONSIBLE FOR EXECUTION OF THIS POLICY, PROVIDING THAT A COPY OF SAID UTILITIES INVESTMENT POLICY BE ON FILE IN THE OFFICES OF THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND THE DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES, REPEALING ALL RESOLUTIONS AND PARTS OF RESOLUTIONS IN CONFLICT HEREWITH AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF.
SECOND. PLEASE CALL THE ROLL, MR. FEE. YES, MA'AM.
MR. LAMMERS? YES, MA'AM. MADAM MAYOR? YES, MA'AM. MRS. BENNETT. YES, MA'AM.
YES. MRS. BENNETT. I MEAN, MADAM VICE CHAIR.
[J. DIRECTOR:]
I HAVE A COUPLE OF UPDATES FOR THE BOARD TODAY.WE HAVE FINALIZED A RESOLUTION FOR MR. REGARDS. 20 YEARS OF 27 YEARS OF SERVICE.
IT WILL LIKELY COME BEFORE THE BOARD AT THE FIRST MEETING IN FEBRUARY.
I HANDED THAT OUT EARLIER FOR YOUR REVIEW.
PENDING ANY ADDITIONAL CHANGES, I WILL STAFF WILL HAVE THIS ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT BOARD MEETING FOR APPROVAL AND FOR DISCUSSION ON HOW WE DEVELOP A SHORT LIST AND THE INTERVIEW PROCESS.
MADAM. MADAM CHAIR, GIBSON GIBBONS ON HOW SHE WOULD LIKE TO HANDLE THAT AS THE AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND AS A REMINDER, THE NEXT BOARD MEETING IS JANUARY 17TH.
IT WILL ALSO BE AT 2:00 BECAUSE IT'S AFTER A HOLIDAY.
SO WE'LL BE BACK IN CHAMBERS AT 2:00 ON THE 17TH.
THAT WAS THE SECOND PAPER THAT I HAD GIVEN YOU THIS AFTERNOON.
ON DECEMBER 21ST, WE PROVIDED A WASTEWATER PLANT RELOCATION TOUR TO TWO STATE REPRESENTATIVES AND TWO FEDERAL SENATE REPRESENTATIVES WITH MAYOR HUDSON AND COMMISSIONER JEREMIAH JOHNSON.
THAT'S RIGHT. NO SUNSHINE LAW VIOLATIONS.
THIS WEEK WE ARE SUBMITTING TO STATE APPROPRIATION REQUEST.
NEXT WEEK WE WILL BE PRESENTING TO THE ST LOUIS COUNTY DELEGATION AND OUR LOCAL POLICYMAKERS ABOUT THESE PROJECTS, AND WE ARE EXPECTED TO HEAR SOME RESULTS FOR TWO OF OUR LARGER WASTEWATER PLANT GRANT REQUESTS THIS MONTH.
SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL HEAR BACK THIS MONTH AND PROVIDE SOME SOME GOOD NEWS LATER, LATER THIS YEAR.
THE LAST ITEM IS I HAVE PROVIDED THE BOARD MEMBERS WITH MY PERFORMANCE MEMO FOR YOUR REVIEW.
TODAY IS OFFICIALLY MY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY IN THIS ROLE.
AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR YOU, MADAM VICE CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBERS.
THE NEXT ITEM IS COMMENTS FROM THE ATTORNEY.
[K. ATTORNEY:]
MADAM VICE CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.[01:50:01]
I JUST HAD A COUPLE OF THINGS I WAS GOING TO MENTION.AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO PROSECUTE THAT.
THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF SECURITY CONCERNS IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER INVOLVING SUBSTATIONS.
AS YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A SUBSTATION, THE TRANSFORMER THAT WAS SHOT IN NORTH CAROLINA.
AND THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER SUBSTATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PHYSICALLY ATTACKED, EITHER WITH LITERALLY CUTTING THINGS OUT OF THE SUBSTATION OR ACTUALLY ATTACKED BY CYBER, WHERE THEY'VE GONE IN AND CHANGED TRANSFORMER SETTINGS AND DONE THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO I EXPECT TO SEE INCREASED REGULATORY REVIEW OF THOSE TYPES OF THINGS THAT MIGHT PUSH DOWN TO A UTILITY LIKE FHWA, AN AND WE TALKED A BIT EARLIER ABOUT SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES.
WHEN THAT SUBSTATION IN NORTH NORTH CAROLINA WAS ATTACKED AND THE TRANSFORMER WAS TAKEN OUT OF SERVICE AND YOU HAD 35, 40,000 CUSTOMERS IN NORTH CAROLINA OUT OF SERVICE, THEY ACTUALLY DID NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO REPLACE THE TRANSFORMER.
AND THEY STILL DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO GET THAT TRANSFORMER.
SO THOSE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES ARE VERY REAL FOR UTILITIES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND THOSE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES ARE HIGH ON THE AGENDA FOR THOSE MEETINGS.
THANK YOU. DO WE HAVE ANY COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD'S MEMBERS AT THIS TIME?
[L. COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS]
I HAVE A QUESTION. HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE REVISED JOB DESCRIPTION FOR THE ATTORNEY? YES, MA'AM. I LOOKED AT EARLIER TODAY.OKAY, SO THE CHANGES LOOK VERY GOOD.
ANYONE ELSE JUST WANT TO MENTION SOMETHING ON THE ON THE POWER COST ADJUSTMENT? I THOUGHT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION FOR THE $8 COST ADJUSTMENT WAS, IN MANY WAYS A GOOD ONE.
THAT BEING SAID, I'M A LITTLE BIT SENSITIVE TO HOW MUCH WE RAISE THE PCA RIGHT NOW, HAVING GONE THROUGH WHAT WE WENT THROUGH AND WE WERE REALLY AGGRESSIVE.
SO DEFINITELY WANT TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN NEXT MONTH.
RE EVALUATE AND SEE HOW WE CAN STILL ACHIEVE THE GOALS THAT WE'D LIKE TO ACHIEVE DURING THE SUMMER.
YES, SIR. AND SO IT'S NOT EXCEPT FOR ONE LITTLE COLD SNAP.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER ISSUE THAT IS UNLIKE OTHER TIMES.
I MEAN, USUALLY IT'S COLD THIS TIME OF YEAR AND IT'S NOT HAPPENING HERE.
BUT YEAH, RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT.
HOW ARE THINGS UP NORTH WITH THEIR GAS AND EVERYTHING UP THERE IMPACTING THE PRICES? I KNOW THAT THEY THE CNG EXPORT STATION IN TEXAS WAS OFFLINE FOR TWO WEEKS OR SO.
IS THAT RIGHT, FRED? JODY, IT WAS OFF OFFLINE FOR MAYBE THREE WEEKS, THREE WEEKS, MAYBE THREE WEEKS.
I THEY, THEY MAY HAVE BEEN PART OF THE REASON THAT GAS PRICES HAD COME DOWN AS WELL.
BUT ONCE THOSE EXPORT STATIONS COME BACK ONLINE, THAT'S WHEN WE START TO SEE THE PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE BECAUSE THEY'RE STILL SHIPPING QUITE A BIT OF GAS OUT OVERSEAS.
YEAH. AND SO WHAT WHAT WHAT ABOUT THE INCREASES FOR FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT? SO AS YOU MAY HAVE SEEN, THERE'S BEEN A COUPLE OF ARTICLES ONLINE.
THEY DO HAVE AN INCREASE THAT WENT INTO EFFECT IN JANUARY.
THAT WAS A PRE APPROVED NUMBER FROM 2021, I THINK MAYBE SOONER.
THEY HAVE ONE POTENTIALLY IN APRIL.
THAT'S RIGHT. IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
AND THEN POTENTIALLY ANOTHER ONE IN OCTOBER.
AND THEN THEY ALREADY HAVE A PRE APPROVED ONE FOR JANUARY OF 2024.
SO THEY'RE TRYING TO RECOVER NOT ONLY THE COST OF FUEL, THE PCA FOR THE LAST FOR THE LAST YEAR, THEY'RE ALSO TRYING TO PREPARE FOR THE 2023 ESTIMATED COST FOR PURCHASE POWER.
THEY'RE ALSO TRYING TO RECOVER COSTS FOR THE HURRICANE IAN.
IS THAT RIGHT, NICOLE? THE HURRICANE THAT HIT THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA.
[01:55:01]
YEAH, IAN DID QUITE A BIT OF DAMAGE AND THEY'RE TRYING TO RECOVER SOME COST FROM THAT.AND I THINK THEY'RE LOOKING AT 2025 AS WELL.
THEY'LL HAVE AT LEAST THREE RATE INCREASES.
EACH OF THE IOUS WILL HAVE AT LEAST THREE RATE INCREASES THIS YEAR.
FIRST ONE WILL BE THIS MONTH, THEN APRIL, AND THEN THEN PROBABLY ANOTHER ONE LATER IN THE YEAR.
AND THERE MAY BE A FOURTH, IN FACT.
AND I KNOW IN FEBRUARY THEY HAVE A TAX CREDIT.
IN JANUARY, THEY HAVE A TAX CREDIT, BUT THAT GOES AWAY IN FEBRUARY.
SO THEY KIND OF HAVE ANOTHER ONE IN FEBRUARY.
THE CUSTOMERS UP NORTH ARE EXPERIENCING 30% INCREASES.
THEY HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING COST TO HEAT.
THEIR HOMES HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY HIGH.
YES, RANGING FROM ALL OVER THE NORTHEAST.
THEY'VE BEEN RAGING AND SIGNIFICANTLY, I THINK 30% IS PROBABLY ON THE LOW END.
JODY, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU COULD. THAT PROBABLY IS ON THE LOW END.
YEAH. 30% HAS BEEN ON THE LOW END FOR THE COST FOR GAS TO HEAT THEIR HOMES.
PRICES FOR 2023 IS A SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT FOR FOR EMPA AND THE MEMBER CITIES.
AND YOU HAVE THE PRE APPROVAL TO TO GO AHEAD AND LOCK IN SOME AND WHEN IT REACHES A CERTAIN LEVEL.
BUT FBA HAS A STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION COMING UP IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR.
AND WHAT TO DO GOING FORWARD WILL BE PART OF THAT STRATEGIC PLANNING DISCUSSION.
KNOW, I THINK ALL OF US WOULD LIKE THAT TO HAPPEN.
AND I'LL BE PART OF THAT STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION WITH THE NPA TEAM.
SO. SO WHEN WILL YOU LOOKED AT TO TRY TO HEDGE AGAIN LIKE APRIL ISH? LOOKING FORWARD, WE WILL TALK ABOUT IT.
WE TALK ABOUT IT. EVERY BOARD MEETING WILL MOST LIKELY TALK ABOUT IT IN TWO WEEKS.
I THINK AT THE NPA BOARD MEETING, OR AT LEAST HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT IT BECAUSE THE PRICES DID COME DOWN, BECAUSE THE PRICES WOULD HAVE CAME DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO EXECUTE SOME ADDITIONAL PRICE, LOCKING IN SOME ADDITIONAL PRICES.
IT IS AN AGENDA ITEM ON EVERY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AGENDA.
AND SO IT WILL BE DISCUSSED IN FEBRUARY.
ARE THOSE MEETINGS OPEN? OH, YES, MA'AM. SO ANY MEMBER OF THE BOARD COULD LISTEN IN FROM A FROM A FROM A PHONE.
RIGHT. DIDN'T HAVE DON'T HAVE TO SIT DOWN, ATTEND ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO DO.
ALL OF THEM ARE BROADCAST BY MICROSOFT TEAMS, TEAMS, AND I CAN SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
YEAH, I'VE BEEN THERE A LONG TIME AGO.
THE THIRD THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH EXCEPT FOR NOVEMBER.
AND THEN FOR BOTH THE BOARD MEETING AND THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING, AND WE TYPICALLY LEAVE AROUND 6:00 HERE TO GET THERE IN TIME AND THEN GET BACK IN THE AFTERNOON AND GET BACK IN THE AFTERNOON UP ONE IN THE MORNING AND BACK IN THAT.
YES, MA'AM. WE LEAVE IN THE MORNING AND WE COME BACK THAT AFTERNOON.
ANYBODY CAN MAKE THAT. THAT'S REALLY A GOOD EDUCATION.
OKAY. YOU MAKE A MOTION TO EXCUSE MISS CHRISTINA.
YOU KNOW, WE HAD IT ON. I HAD IT ON THE AGENDA HERE.
YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. WE NEED TO JUST KIND OF CURE THAT REAL QUICK.
OH, I GOT IT. YES. CONSENT AGENDA.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR, TOO.
AND I WAS LIKE, WAIT A MINUTE. I BET IT'S IN THE CONSENT AGENDA.
THANK YOU. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN THIS MEETING? ALL RIGHT. OKAY.
THANK YOU. IT'S.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.