[Call to Order]
[00:01:18]
>> MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU CALL THE ROLL, PLEASE?
>> MISS CAVALCANTI? MR. BEY, CAN YOU HEAR US?
>> WE DO HAVE A QUOMUM. WOULD YOU BRING US UP TO DATE ON
[A. SET THE AGENDA]
THAT BEFORE WE SET THE AGENDA. >> YES.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. AT THE REQUEST OF THE CITY COMMISSION, I'D LIKE TO ADD A DISCUSSION ITEM ON SERVICE DISCONNECTIONS. WE CAN DISCUSS THAT AS PART OF ITEM G1 WHICH IS MY COVID-19 UPDATE.
THE SECOND ITEM THAT NEEDS APPROVAL IS A SUBRECIPIENT AGREEMENT WITH ST. LUCIE COUNTY TO REIMBURSEMENT OF COVID-19 EXPENSES. I'D LIKE TO ADD THAT ITEM AS G4.
AND WE WILL EXPLAIN THE DETAILS WHEN WE GET THERE.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE, MR. CHAIRMAN. >> OKAY.
>> DID I HEAR, IS DARRYL BEY AT THE MEETING?
>> HE HASN'T ANSWERED THE ROLL. >> YOU HAVE TO HAVE UNANIMOUS VOTE ON ANYTHING TO PASS BECAUSE IT TAKES THREE VOTES TO PASS SOMETHING, NOT JUST TWO. AND THREE PEOPLE ARE THERE.
JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND. >> YES, SIR.
THANK YOU, MR. ATTORNEY. >> MR. CHAIRMAN, THIS IS LINDA
>> I MOVE TO APPROVE THE CHANGES THAT ARE PRESENT.
>> TESTING ONE TWO THREE. TESTING ONE TWO THREE.
>> YES, SIR. >> I CAN HEAR YOU.
MAYBE IF I TURN THE VALIUM -- VOLUME UP.
>> WE HAD A MOTION MADE TO SET THIS.
THIS IS HANK FEE. >> THANK YOU.
MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU CALL THE ROLL.
[B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
ITEM B WOULD BE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR THE JANUARY 7TH[00:05:09]
METING -- JULY 7TH. MOVE TO APPROVAL.>> LINDA HUDSON SECOND. >> MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU
>> YES, MA'AM. >> MAYOR HUDSON?
>> YES, MA'AM. >> MR. MATTHEWS?
>> YES, MA'AM. >> ITEM C, DO WE HAVE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC, YOU NEED TO SAY YOUR NAME AND YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. YOU NEED TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF, NAME. I THINK IT'S BEEN AMPLE TIME.
WE HAVE NO SPEAKERS FROM THE PUBLIC.
[D. CONSENT AGENDA]
ITEM C AND D, CONSENT AGENDA. >> LINDA HUDSON.
MOTION TO APPROVE. >> HANK FEE.
LET THE MINUTE SHOW FIRST AND SECOND.
>> YES, MA'AM. >> MAYOR HUDSON?
>> YES, MA'AM. >> MR. MATTHEWS?
>> YES, MA'AM. ON THE E, WE HAVE APPRECIATION.
[E. LETTERS OF APPRECIATION]
ANY COMMENTS ON APPRECIATION? >> WHAT ABOUT THE CONSENT
MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU MAKE NOTE OF WHO IS UNDER THE
LETTERS OF APPRECIATION JULIE SIZEMORE RECEIVED A PHONE CALL STATING HOW HAPPY HE WAS WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE AND HELPING HIM WITH HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW'S UTILITY BILLS.
HE STATED THAT VAL WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND AND WORKED VERY HARD
IN ORDER TO HELP HIM. >> OKAY.
NOW, WE'RE UNDER NEW BUSINESS. WE HAVE FOUR ITEMS.
[G.1. COVID-19 Verbal Report by John Tompeck – For Information Only.]
WE'RE GONNA START WITH ITEM 1. MR. TOMPEK?>> I'M SORRY. I HAD TO TAKE OFF THE MUTE BUTTON. WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE NUMBER OF CASES IN ST. LUCIE COUNTY AND BASED ON THE CONTINUING NUMBER OF INCREASES, WE ANTICIPATE NO CHANGES TO OUR OPERATING PROTOCOLS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS, AT LEAST.
WE'RE CONTINUING STRICT ISOLATION OF OUR CONTROL ROOM.
WE RESTRICTED IN STATE TRAVEL AND WE HAVE SUSPENDED ALL AUT OF STATE TRAVEL. WE CONTINUE TO STRESS SOCIAL DISTANCING AND MANDATORY USE OF MASKS IN ALL COMMON AREAS.
NO CHANGES TO THE OFFICE. MAJORITY OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE SUCCESSFULLY WORKING FROM HOME. WE'VE EXPENDED APPROXIMATELY 653 HOURS RELATED TO THE FAMILIES FIRST CORONA RESPONSE ACT.
THE CUSTOMER SERVICE LOBBY REMAINS CLOSED AND LOBBY PERSONNEL HAVE BEEN FREED UP TO HANDLE PHONE INQUIRIES.
THE LATEST COLLECTION STATUS SHOWS WE'RE RUNNING ABOUT 5.6% BEHIND THE SAME PERIOD FROM LAST YEAR WHICH EQUATES TO APPROXIMATELY $2.9 MILLION. THIS NUMBER HAS SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.
AS YOU ARE WEAR, WE'VE OFFERED NO INTEREST PAYMENT PLANS FOR OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS FOR 12 MONTHS AND SIX MONTHS FOR OUR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS. I'M DELIGHTED TO REPORT THAT WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS.
TO DATE, WE HAVE 359 RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WITH APPROVED PAYMENT PLANS, WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT $205,000.
AND 32 COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE PLANS WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT $36,000. FOR THE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS,
[00:10:03]
THAT'S A MARKED INCREASE OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, SO WE'RE DELIGHTED TO SEE THAT. WE'RE CONTINUING TO OFFER ASSISTANCE THROUGH MUSTARD SEED. SO FAR $34,000 OF THE FUNDS HAVE BEEN COMMITTED. THAT'S OUT OF THE TOTAL OF 100,000 THAT'S CURRENTLY SET ASIDE FOR THE PROGRAM.AN ADDITIONAL $100,000 THAT'S AVAILABLE TO SUPPLEMENT THE SYSTEM. LITTLE DISAPPOINTED THAT WE HAVEN'T MADE MORE HEADWAY HERE. I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING TO THE MUSTARD SEED FOLKS.
SEEMS LIKE THERE'S SOME DIFFICULTIES IN GETTING THE APPLICATIONS PROCESSED. SEEMS LIKE IT'S DIFFICULT FOR OUR CUSTOMERS TO NOT ONLY GET THERE, BUT GET THE APPLICATIONS.
AS WE DISCUSSED AT OUR LAST MEETING THE CARES ACT MEETING WENT INTO EFFECT ON JULY 8TH. THERE'S APPROXIMATELY $16.6 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR ST. LUCIE COUNTY CITIZENS TO REQUEST UP TO $4,000 FOR HELP WITH MORTGAGE, RENT, UTILITIES AND INSURANCE.
ALREADY A POPULAR PROGRAM, ALREADY RECEIVED 1800 APPLICATIONS. WE'VE ENCOURAGED OUR CUSTOMERS TO APPLY TO THIS PROGRAM TO HELP THEM WITH THEIR UTILITY PAYMENTS. WE REALLY NEED TO GET THEM OUT THERE FILLING OUT THE APPLICATIONS SO THEY HELP THEMSELVES. WE CONTINUE TO ACTIVELY PUSH THE PROGRAMS TO HELP OUR CUSTOMERS, INCLUDING RADIO SPOTS ON 88.9 AND WFLM 104.5 ADVERTISING THE PROGRAMS. IN ADDITION, WE'VE PUSHED THESE PROGRAMS ON FACEBOOK, FPUA.COM AND BILL INSERTS. NOW, THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS ELIGIBLE FOR DISCONNECTION HAS FALLEN TO ABOUT 1674 AND OUR CURRENT FINANCIAL EXPOSURE FOR THESE CUSTOMERS IS ABOUT $806,000. THIS EXPOSURE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW BY ABOUT 350,000 EACH MONTH.
AS WE TALKED ABOUT AND DECIDED IN EARLY JUNE, WE ARE PLANNING ON INITIATING DISCONNECTS ON JULY 27, WHICH IS NEXT MONDAY.
ALL OUR CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED WITH INDIVIDUAL MAILINGS AND PHONE CALLS. MOST OF THE OTHER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES AROUND THE STATE HAVE STARTED DISCONNECTION.
I DID CONTACT KATIE RAY, LAKE WORTH AND NEW SMYRNA BEACH TO CHECK ON THEIR SERVICE DISCONNECTIONS.
KATIE RAY, 90% OF THEIR CUSTOMERS AVOIDED DISCONNECTION BY PAYING THEIR BILLS OR GETTING ON A PAYMENT PLAN OPINION AT NEW SMYRNA REACH, ALL BUT 30 OF THOSE ACCOUNTS WERE RESOLVED WITHOUT DISCONNECTION. LAKE WORTH JUST STARTED RECENTLY DISCONNECTIONS. THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY NUMBERS AVAILABLE YET, BUT THEY SUSPECT THAT IT SHOULDN'T BE TOO BAD BECAUSE THE SAME KIND OF PAYMENT PROGRAMS THAT KATIE WAY HAS AND NEW SMYRNA BEACH HAS AND THE PROGRAM WE HAVE, WHICH IS STARTING TO GET A LITTLE MORE ENTHUSIASM.
SO, AT THE LAST CITY COMMISSION MEETING LAST NIGHT, I WAS REQUESTED TO ADD SERVICE DISCONNECTIONS TO THE AGENDA.
ONE OF THINGS I WOULD DISCUSS WAS THE POTENTIAL FOR MOVING THE SERVICE DISCONNECTIONS FROM STARTING ON JULY 27TH BACK TO AUGUST 24TH. AND WITH THAT BACKGROUND, MR. CHAIRMAN, I THINK YOU'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION FOR THE BOARD AND SEE WHAT KIND OF AGREEMENT THEY'D LIKE TO PURSUE.
>> THANK YOU, SIR. >> MR. CHAIRMAN? THIS IS LINDA HUDSON. I WAS THE ONE WHO ASKED LAST NIGHT THAT IT BE POSTPONED TO AUGUST 24TH.
JOHN AND I HAD A CONVERSATION YESTERDAY AND WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT THIS MORNING. WHEN WE VOTED ON THE JULY 27TH DATE, WE ANTICIPATED THAT WE WOULD BE IN A VERY DIFFERENT PLACE THAN WE ARE RIGHT NOW. WE THOUGHT THAT WE WOULD REALLY HAVE THE STATE BACK AND THE STATE WOULD BE OPEN AND THINGS WOULD BE MOVING ALONG SMOOTHLY AND PEOPLE WOULD BE WORKING.
BUT THAT ISN'T THE CASE RIGHT NOW WITH THE NUMBER OF CASES AND WHAT'S HAPPENING. AND THE NUMBER OF BUSINESSES THAT ARE CUTTING BACK AND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT WORKING. AND SO I WOULD LIKE US TO SPEND THE EXTRA TIME BETWEEN JULY 27 AND AUGUST 24 AND WORKING TO
[00:15:05]
MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE AVAIL THEMSELVES OF THE OPPORTUNITIES.AS MR. TOMSAK SAID, THERE'S MONEY FROM MUSTARD SEED AND THE COUNTY. THE COUNTY MONEY JUST KIND OF BECAME KNOWN. I THINK IF WE COULD PERHAPS REPURPOSE A COUPLE OF STAFF MEMBERS AND WE COULD DO SOME PROMOTIONAL THINGS, WE COULD GET PEOPLE TO FILL OUT THE PROPER PAPERWORK. I KNOW WE CAN'T GO TO THEIR HOUSES. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE HAVING THEM COME IN. I KNOW IT'S DIFFICULT TO MEET FACE TO FACE NOW. THAT'S ONE OF THE BIG CHALLENGES. BUT I THINK WE COULD FIGURE OUT A WAY TO DO IT. THE CITY IS WILLING TO HELP.
I ALSO WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT THE GOVERNOR EXTENDED THE EXECUTIVE ORDER OF EMERGENCY UNTIL SEPTEMBER AND THE SCHOOLS PUSHED BACK THEIR OPENING DATE TO AUGUST 24TH.
ALSO, AUGUST 1 EVICTIONS, FORECLOSURES START AS OF RIGHT NOW, ALTHOUGH THE GOVERNOR MAY EXTEND THAT.
SO I THINK THAT WE'RE STILL IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY AND I CERTAINLY WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THE EXTRA TIME.
I WOULD BE HAPPY TO HELP. AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE'RE GONNA CUT UP PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE CITY ON THIS ISSUE, DEPENDING ON WHAT WE DECIDE TODAY.
I'D LIKE TO WORK WITH YOU AND WHO EVER YOU SAY I SHOULD WORK WITH, AND OUR CITY VIDEO PEOPLE. WE'RE GOING TO DO A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT. SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SHOW THAT WE'RE GOING THAT EXTRA MILE AND REALLY TRYING TO MAKE AN EXTRA EFFORT TO HELP OUR CUSTOMERS.
IF WE GET OUR CUSTOMERS HELP FROM THE MONEY, THEN THEY PAY THEIR BILLS, THIS HELPS THE COMPANY AND THE CUSTOMER.
I WOULD LIKE TO POSTPONE IT TO AUGUST 24TH.
I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION. YOU MENTIONED THAT SOME OF THESE OTHER COMMUNES LIKE KISSIMMEE AND LAKE WORTH IN LIGHT OF THE LOOMING DISCONNECTIONS, THEY GOT A GREAT RESPONSE IN GETTING BILLS PAID. HOW LIKELY DO YOU THINK THAT IS TO HAPPEN IN FORT PIERCE? WHAT WOULD CHANGE BY US EXTENDING? WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL CHANGE? WHAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT IF WE EXTEND THE CUTOFF FOR ANOTHER MONTH? BESIDES THE FACT THAT THERE'S MORE MONEY AVAILABLE AND THAT SORT OF THING?
>> YOU KIND OF ASKED ME TWO QUESTIONS THERE.
I THINK THE ANSWER TO THE FIRST QUESTION IS THAT I DON'T THINK OUR PERCENTAGE WILL BE AS HIGH AS KISSIMMEE OR NEW SMYRNA BEACH, BUT I DO EXPECT MAJORITY OF OUR CUSTOMERS WILL BE ABLE TO PAY UP. WHAT DO I THINK IS GOING TO CHANGE IN THE NEXT MONTH? TO BE QUITE HONEST WITH YOU, I DON'T THINK ANYTHING WILL CHANGE IN THE NEXT MONTH.
EXCEPT THAT THE ADDITIONAL MONEY WILL BE OWED BY THE CUSTOMERS ON THE CUT LIST, WHICH WILL MAKE IT EASIER TO PAY.
I CAN UNDERSTAND MAYOR HUDSON'S THOUGHTS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THERE'S RESOURCES OUT THERE THAT THEY CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF.
I CERTAINLY WANT -- WE PUSH THOSE RESOURCES FOR THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF CARES, WHICH IS A MUCH MORE RECENT ONE. I DON'T EXPECT THAT WE'LL GET A WHOLE LOT MORE MOTION ON PAYMENT PLANS OR PEOPLE GOING INTO OUT TO MUSTARD SEED BUT IT'S POSSIBLE AND WE'LL SEE.
COUPLE OTHER REAL QUICK THOUGHTS THERE.
WHEN WE -- I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO THINK THAT WE'RE A HEARLESS ORGANIZATION, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT. WE CONSISTENTLY DO A LOT OF GOOD THINGS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. I WENT THROUGH SOME OF THOSE LAST NIGHT, IN TERMS OF THE MONEY WE GAVE BACK ON THE PCA.
THE $280,000 THAT WAS FORGIVEN IN LATE FEES AND SERVICE CHARGES. IF WE DO DECIDE TO START THE CUTOFFS ON THE NEXT MONDAY, WE'D PROBABLY BE DOING SOMEWHERE
[00:20:03]
BETWEEN 50 TO 100 DAY. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN EXCESS OF TWO WEEKS TO CUT EVERYBODY. OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WE WILL MAKE CONSIDERATIONS FOR, FOR INSTANCE, IF THERE'S ANY MEDICALLY ESSENTIAL CUSTOMERS ON THAT LIST, WE'RE CERTAINLY NOT GONNA CUT THEM. ONE OF THE THINGS THE CITY COMMISSION ASKED ME LAST NIGHT WAS, YOU KNOW, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE 1674 CUSTOMERS, HOW MANY TRULY HAVE A PROBLEM PAYING? I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.YOU KNOW? IS IT 10%, 20%, 50%? I HAVE NO IDEA. THERE'S NO WAY TO TELL THAT UNTIL WE START DISCONNECTING PEOPLE.
NOW, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS I MENTIONED TO THE CITY COMMISSION LAST NIGHT IS THAT WE'RE A SMALL ENOUGH AND NIMBLE ENOUGH ORGAN ORGANIZATION THAT SHOULD WE START CUTOFFS AND WE SEE THAT WE HAVE MAJOR PROBLEMS. IF WE SEE THAT PERCENTAGE IS MUCH HIGHER THAN WE ANTICIPATE, WE CAN STOP. WE CAN STOP.
WE CAN STOP ON A DIME IF WE SEE THAT WE HAVE SOME MAJOR ISSUES WITH OUR CUSTOMERS PAYING. COUPLE OTHER THINGS TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION AS YOU MAKE YOUR DECISION.
>> MR. CHAIRMAN, I LIKE THE IDEA THAT LINDA SUGGESTED THAT IF THERE WAS A WAY TO GET STAFF TO POSSIBLY REACH OUT AND IF THERE'S A SITUATION WHERE PEOPLE ARE HAVING A PROBLEM GETTING PAPERWORK OR FILLING OUT THESE APPLICATIONS, THAT SORT OF THING. I THINK IF WE COULD GET MAYBE SOME OF OUR EMPLOYEES AND MAYBE SOME OF THE CITY'S EMPLOYEES TO FORM SOME KIND OF COMMITTEE OR GROUP THAT COULD ASSIST THESE PEOPLE, I THINK I COULD SUPPORT THE IDEA OF EXTENDING IT IF I KNOW THAT WE ARE GOING TO TRY THAT WE'RE DOING EVERY POSSIBLE
THING TO HELP THESE PEOPLE PAY. >> MR. CHAIRMAN, GOOD AFTERNOON.
>> YES, SIR. >> MR. CHAIR, I DID HAVE THE TUNE OF HEARING MR. TOMSAK'S PRESENTATION LAST NIGHT, AS WELL AS SPEAKING TO THE MAYOR THIS MORNING.
I AM IN GREAT SUPPORT OF THE STAY OF THE DISCONNECTIONS OF THAT PERIOD MOVING TOWARD LATE AUGUST.
AND THE REASON WHY IS I BELIEVE THAT WE, AS A COMMUNITY, CAN DO MUCH MORE AND INTENSIFY COMMUNICATION REACHING OUR COMMUNITY. WHETHER THAT IS REACHING OUT TO THE CREOLE SPEAKING POPULATION, CONTACTING ALL OF THE PASTORS, SOCIAL MEDIA, HITTING ANY MEANS THAT WE HAVE.
ALSO, I DID HEAR THAT YOU ALL HAVE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY IN YOUR POSSESSION. AND ANY EXPENSES THAT ARISE DURING COVID-19 IF THAT FUNDING IS GOING TOWARD HELPING PEOPLE.
SO WE HAVE A RECIPIENT AGREEMENT.
WE'RE GOING TO BE EXECUTING OURS RELATIVELY SOON.
SY BELIEVE THAT IS ANOTHER WONDERFUL TOOL.
WHAT I DO BELIEVE IS WE NEED TO INTENSIFY OUR COMMUNICATION.
WE NEED TO HITPAVEMENT, KNOCK ON DOORS.
I'M SURE YOU KNOW WHERE EVERY ONE OF YOUR ACCOUNTS ARE THAT ARE DELINQUENT. YOU CAN ESTABLISH OUTREACH AREAS AND GEOGRAPHIC ALLOCATIONS WITH STAFF.
WHETHER THAT IS RECENTLY HIRED STAFF OR EXISTING STAFF.
ALL THESE COSTS CAN ALSO BE REIMBURSED THROUGH RECIPIENT AGREEMENT THROUGH THE CARES ACT. AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, I'M ALL FOR IT. I'M GIVING MY TWO CENTS OF BEING WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED HERE. WE, THE CITY OF FORT PIERCE, IS HERE TO HELP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
ANY OTHER BOARD MEMBER? I WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT AND PUT A PLAN OF ACTION THAT I WROTE. I CALL IT THE SEVEN-POINT PLAN.
JUST MATTER OF INFORMATION. FIRST OF ALL, THE MAYOR AND I ARE THINKING SOMEWHAT OF THE SAME TO AN EXTENT.
THE ON DIFFERENCE IS I WANTED TO INCLUDE THE FIRST OF THE MONTH WHEN PEOPLE GET THEIR PAY CHECKS AND AT THE SAME TIME TAKE THE IDEA TO PUT A VOLUNTEER PROGRAM TOGETHER WITH OTHER CITY STAFF,
[00:25:03]
UTILITY STAFF. THERE MIGHT BE AN ORGANIZATION SET UP TO DO JUST THIS. TO MAKE CONTACT.I'M KIND OF EMBARRASSED IF WE HAVE EXTRA MONEY AND WE ARE CUTTING OFF FOLKS. ONE OF MY SEVEN POINT PLAN IS TO GO AND PUT AN AMOUNT OF THE PEOPLE ON THAT BILL OF 1600 AND THEN CALL THEM, WRITE THEM AND SAY WE'VE DONE THAT AS A CREDIT TO YOUR ACCOUNT TO BRING IT UP TO DATE.
SECONDLY, I'M LOOKING AT THE EXTENDED DATE TO GO THE FIRST OF THE MONTH RATHER THAN THE END OF THE MONTH.
THE END OF THE MONTH IS ROUGH. THAT'S JUST ROUGH.
MY THIRD CONCERN WAS TO PUT A PROGRAM TOGETHER TO RELAX OR DO A FORGIVENESS OF THOSE PAST THREE OR FOUR MONTHS SO THAT PEOPLE WON'T BE SAYING, OH GOD, I'M GONNA PAY THIS MONEY AND THEY'RE GONNA SLIP AND CUT THE LIGHTS OFF.
WE STILL NEED TO BE FAIR THAT WE TELL PEOPLE, BECAUSE YOU'RE STRUGGLING AND BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO REACH OUT AT THE 50 YARD LINE OR 75 YARD LINE, WE'RE GONNA HELP ME.
MY NEXT CONCERN OF MY PLAN WAS TO EXTEND IT TO A 12 MONTH PAYMENT PLAN. GO INTO THE PAYMENT PLAN, INCLUDE THE CARES ACT, HELP THEM OUT IF WE HAVE TO HELP THEM OUT WITH THE PAPERWORK. MY NEXT ONE WAS TO ESTABLISH A HARDSHIP PLAN. WE COULD TAKE A LIGHT BILL AND JUST WALKED INTO WAL-MART AND PUBLIX AND SAY, DO YOU WANT TO DONATE A DOLLAR TO THE CAUSE. ONE WAS THE CHILDREN'S MIRACLE FUND. WE CAN DO THAT SAME THING AND PROBABLY PICK UP 25,000 OR $30,000 SO FAST WE WOULDN'T BELIEVE. IN OTHER WORDS, WE JUST EXTEND THE HARDSHIP DONATION PLAN. THAT'S WHAT I CALL IT.
LAST ONE I'M CONCERNED, THAT WE TAKE THE $94,000 PLUS THAT MR. BEY TALKED ABOUT AND WE PUT THAT AS A BACKUP.
ONE BACKUP REASON I HEARD MR. TOMSAK SAY, WE'RE GOING TO HIT THE DEPOSIT. THIS WOULD GIVE EVERYBODY TO STILL HAVE CHANCE TO HAVE SOMETHING IN THE DEPOSIT IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT YOUR BOND ISSUES AND BOND FLOW.
I THINK WITH THAT, WE STILL WAIVE FEES.
WE STILL WOULD WORK TOWARDS IT. AT THE END OF THE PERIOD, WE WOULD SAY WE HAVE DONE ALL WE CAN DO.
NOT ONLY THAT, WE HAVE USED UP EVERY DOLLAR THAT WAS AVAILABLE.
IT'S TIME WE CAN VOTE ON 30 DAYS OR 45 DAYS.
JUST TO CUT SOMEBODY AT THE END OF THE MONTH, I THOUGHT WAIT UNTIL THEY GET THEIR CHECK IN THE HAND AND THEY DON'T HAVE TOO
MUCH EXCUSE. >> HOW MUCH MONEY IS FILLED WITH
MUSTARD SEED? >> FROM OUR INITIAL $100,000, THERE'S STILL $67,000 LEFT FOR MUSTARD SEED.
WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT AN ADDITIONAL $100,000 WHEN THE
MONEY RAN OUT. >> DO YOU HAVE A FEEL ABOUT WHAT PERCENTAGE OF CUSTOMERS THAT WERE IN DEFAULT WHAT PERCENTAGE BROUGHT IT CURRENT BASED ON OUR LAST NUMBERS. SHOOTING FROM THE HIP.
I KNOW YOU PROBABLY WON'T HAVE ACCESS TO NUMBERS, BUT WHAT PERCENT OF CUSTOMERS THAT ARE AT RISK OF BEING DISCONNECTED THAT HAVE BROUGHT THEIR ACCOUNT CURRENT, IF YOU FOLLOW ME?
>> WELL, SOME OF THEM I'M NOT SURE, I'M PROBABLY NOT ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION, BUT LET ME TAKE A CRACK AT IT.
WE HAVE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE 60 DAYS, 90 DAY, 120 DAYS PAST DUE.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE CUSTOMERS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE ARE IN THE 60, PLUS 60 CATEGORY.
THEY DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT IN THE PLUS 120 AND NOT NEARLY AS MANY IN THE PLUS 90. MOST OF THEM ARE JUST OVERDUE BY
THAT ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT 60% OF THE TOTAL.
>> WELL, I DON'T SEE THAT IT WOULD BE REALLY HARMFUL, TOO TERRIBLY HARMFUL, TO GO AN EXTRA MONTH.
[00:30:02]
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, AS EVERY MONTH YOU GO BY AND THEIR OBLIGATION TO PAY THEIR POWER BILL IS JUST MORE OF A BURDEN TO THEM TO BRING IT CURRENT. AS TIME GOES BY, IT STARTS TO WORK AGAINST THE CUSTOMER, ESPECIALLY IF THEY HAVE RENT TO PAY OR MORTGAGE PAYMENTS. I GET CONCERNED ABOUT TOO MUCH TIME GOING BY BECAUSE I START TO THINK, WELL, THAT COULD BE AN ADDED BURDEN. MAYBE THE MONEY FOR THE COUNTY WON'T BE ENOUGH TO BRING THE LIGHT BILLS CURRENT.BUT AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THE MONEY AT THE COUNTY LEVEL, THE INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMER NEEDS TO APPLY FOR IT OR IS IT SOMETHING THE UA CAN APPLY FOR FOR THEIR BENEFIT?
>> THE INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMER HAS TO APPLY FOR THE MONEY.
>> IT'S BEEN ABOUT, WHAT, 90 DAYS PLUS THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO WORK WITH CUSTOMERS AND DIRECT THEM TO THE MUSTARD SEED MONEY. I THINK WE INITIALLY FUNDED THAT AT $100,000. ONLY $40,000 OF IT HAS BEEN USED. IS THAT FAIR STATEMENT?
>> THAT'S FAIR STATEMENT. ONCE AGAIN, I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WE'RE DISAPPOINTED, AND WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING WITH MUSTARD SEED. I'M NOT SURE WHERE THE PROBLEM IS. IF IT'S THE APPLICATION IS BEING PROCESSED TOO SLOWLY OR NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE ARE COMING IN.
I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.
WE'LL FIND OUT. >> BASED ON THE REVIEW OR WHAT YOU STATED BEFORE, YOUR OUTLOOK, IF WE GO ANOTHER 30 DAYS, YOU WANT IT TO BE BETTER THAN IT IS NOW, RIGHT?
>> RIGHT. >> SO I GUESS MY QUESTION TO THE BOARD IS, WHAT POINT IN TIME DO WE THINK TOO MUCH TIME HAS GONE BY? I KNOW THAT'S A HARD QUESTION ESPECIALLY WHEN PEOPLE ARE HURTING THESE DAYS.
I'M NOT OPPOSED TO A 30 DAY EXTENSION TO SEE IF WE CAN'T GET PEOPLE TO THE COUNTY TO APPLY FOR MONEY.
KIND OF SOUNDS LIKE TO ME, NO MATTER WHAT WE'LL DO, WE'LL HAVE MEDIOCRE OR PMODERATE RETURNS O IT.
I THINK AT SOME POINT IN TIME THE BOARD IS GOING TO HAVE TO SAY, HEY, ENOUGH TIME HAS GONE BY.
THE QUESTION IS, DO WE GO ONE MORE MONTH OR ARE WE PREPARED AS A BOARD TO LOOK AT THESE AS A MONTH TO MONTH CASE.
>> ONE OF THE THINGS I FOUND OUT IS FROM A PERSON WHO APPROACHED ME. THEY ARE GOING DOWN TO MUSTARD SEED. I'M NOT PICKING AT THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES. BUT THIS WAS THE COMPLAINT.
THEY'RE WALKING INTO MUSTARD SEED OR CATCHING A RIDE TO MUSTARD SEED AND THE PEOPLE AT THE OFFICE THERE ARE GIVING THEM INFORMATION SAYING, I'M GONNA SET YOU UP FOR AN APPOINTMENT AND I'LL CALL YOU AND COME BACK AND THEY'RE NOT CALLING THESE PEOPLE. I JUST TALKED TO A GENTLEMAN TODAY. HE SAID HE WENT DOWN THERE ALMOST 12 DAYS AGO AND HASN'T GOTTEN A CALL FROM THEM YET.
>> DO WE THINK THE MONEY NEEDS TO BE PULLED FROM MUSTARD SEED
AND ADMINISTERED BY THE CITY? >> I THINK THAT'S WHAT I THINK.
>> IS THAT POSSIBLE? >> GENTLEMEN, I BELIEVE -- I BELIEVE WE ALL HAVE THE ABILITY TO POSSIBLY ADMINISTER THE DISTRIBUTION OF THESE FUNDS. MUSTARD SEED IS AN AWESOME CHOICE. IF WE EXPEDITE THIS.
IF WE WANT TO GET AGGRESSIVE, LET'S PUT OUR COLLECTIVE HEADS TOGETHER AND UTILIZE THE RESOURCES THAT WE ALL HAVE.
WE'RE WILLING TO DO IT. WE CAN BRING THIS IN ENTIRELY AND UTILIZE THE CITY RESOURCES TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
>> HOW QUICK OF A PLAN CAN WE PUT TOGETHER TO PULL THE MONEY FROM MUSTARD SEED TO GET IT ADMINISTERED TO THE PEOPLE THAT
I HAVE SOMEONE ON STAND BY WAITING FOR THE CONCLUSION OF THIS TOPIC FROM THE BOARD SO WE CAN SET UP A MEETING.
WE CAN GET WITH COUNTY STAFF, CITY STAFF AND FPUA STAFF AND WE CAN SET THIS UP FOR TOMORROW. WE CAN START PUTTING THIS THING IN ACTION OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.
>> I WOULD TOTALLY SUPPORT A JOIN EFFORT BETWEEN THE CITY,
[00:35:01]
FPUA AND ANY OTHER ENTY THAT WOULD LIKE TO GET TOGETHER AND EXPEDITE THIS SO THAT WE CAN START IT.IT SEEMS LIKE THE BUREAUCRACY OF ACTUALLY GOING AND FILLING OUT THE PAPERWORK HAS BECOME A PROBLEM.
WE NEED TO BE PRO-ACTIVE TO MOVE THIS THING ALONG.
>> CAN WE LOOK AT TWO MOTIONS? THE FIRST ONE IS THE MOTION TO PULL THE MONEY, BRING IT BACK TO CITY AND INTO THE STAFF? SECOND MOTION I WOULD LOOK AT MOVING THE DATE OVER A LITTLE BIT BY TWO DAYS TO GET YOUR ADMINISTRATION SET UP AND TAKE THE MONEY BACK. WITH THAT, CAN WE SAY WE'LL GO TO SEPTEMBER 5TH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
>> THIS IS LINDA HUDSON. SO I WANT TO JUST PUT A WORD IN HERE FOR MUSTARD SEED. THIS IS A LONGSTANDING CHARITY HERE IN FORT PIERCE. THEY ARE BEING INUNDATED BECAUSE OF COVID. I THINK THAT IS PART OF THE PROBLEM, WHY THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO -- BECAUSE THEY ARE SUPPORTED BY DONATIONS, FOR THE MOST PART. THEY DO A REALLY GOOD JOB.
I REALLY DON'T WANT MUSTARD SEED TO BE LOOKING LIKE -- BECAUSE OF THIS CRISIS, THEY ARE OVERWELL MED, TOO.
I WOULDN'T PULL IT ALL BECAUSE PEOPLE TRADITIONALLY GO TO MUSTARD SEED FOR HELP WITH THEIR UTILITY BILLS.
THEY'RE USED TO DOING THAT. SO I WOULDN'T -- I WOULDN'T SUPPORT PULLING IT ALL, BUT CERTAINLY WE COULD FIND OUT HOW MUCH THEY HAVE AND PULL SOME OUT, AT LEAST SOME THERE FOR THEM TO HANDLE. THAT'S ONE OF THEIR PROBLEMS. THEY'RE JUST HAVING A ROUGH TIME.
THEY HAVE OTHER THINGS THAT THEY DO THERE.
THEY PROVIDE FOOD, RENTAL ASSISTANCE, ALL KINDS OF THINGS.
LIKE OTHER CHARITIES, THEY JUST INUNDATED.
I DON'T MIND THE EXTRA -- I THINK THE GOVERNOR'S ORDER LASTS UNTIL SEPTEMBER 5TH, MR. CHAIRMAN.
IS THAT THE DATE THAT YOU MENTIONED?
RIGHT. >> SO THAT WOULD COINCIDE WITH THAT ORDER. SOMEBODY WOULD HAVE TO VERIFY THAT FOR ME. I DON'T OBJECT TO THAT.
>> TWO OTHER CONCERNS I HAVE BEFORE WE GET READY TO VOTE.
WHO EVER ELSE GOT TO MAKE ANY DISCUSSION.
ONE IS THAT WE LEAVE SOME MONEY -- I THOUGHT WE'D JUST HELP THEM OUT. TAKE ALL THE MONEY.
THEY HAVE NOT USED IT. >> OKAY.
>> THE OTHER ONE IS I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THAT OTHER MONEY THAT'S LEFT THERE THAT WE GOT THE 94,000 PLUS.
WE PUT A GOOD PROGRAM TOGETHER LIKE WAS SUGGESTED.
THAT'S A GOOD POINT. >> MR. MATTHEWS, PERHAPS THE WAY TO PROCEED IS ONE, COLLECTIVELY THE CITY AND UA CAN ADD SOME MANPOWER TO THE MUSTARD SEED AND MAYBE GET SOME MONEY FROM THE STORM PROGRAM AND HAVE THE UA AND CITY ADMINISTER THAT ON
>> ALL RIGHT. NOW, WE GOT THREE THINGS WE GOT TO WORRY ABOUT NOW. LET'S START WITH SOME MOTIONS.
THE FIRST ONE WOULD BE, DO WE MAKE A MOTION -- WE SHOULD MAKE A MOTION TO PULL THE MONEY. YOU'RE SAYING DON'T PULL THE MONEY, LEAVE IT THERE. BUT THEN WE NEED TO MAKE A MOTION TO ASK THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF TO PULL THE MONEY AND MAKE A MOTION TO TRANSFER IT INTO CUSTOMER SERVICE.
>> MR. CHAIRMAN, IF I'M NOT OUT OF LINE THE EXTENSION DATE THAT WE'RE WILLING TO GO THROUGH AND THEN PUT EVERYTHING THERE.
[00:40:01]
>> WE PUT OUT SEPTEMBER 5TH. DO YOU WANT TO MAKE IT UP OR DOWN? THAT'S UP TO YOU.
>> I MOVE APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 5
>> IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED. MISS HUDSON MADE THE MOVE AND SECONDED BY MR. BEY. UP FOR DISCUSSION.
GO AHEAD. >> YOU CAN PUT IN THE RECORD THAT I'M SUPPORTING THE EXTENSION TO SEPTEMBER BASED ON OUR CONVERSATION OF ESTABLISHING A JOINT PROGRAM BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE UA TO EXPEDITE SO WE CAN GET THIS RESOLVED.
>> ANY MOTION. >> THIS IS HANK FEE.
I AGREE WITH MR. BEY. >> OKAY.
AT THIS TIME, WE GOT A MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO THE MOVE CUT OFF DATE TO ACCEPT 2020. MADAM SECRETARY, CALL THE ROLL.
HOLD ON. YOU'RE VOTING YES IF YOU'RE GOING TO SEPTEMBER 5TH. IF YOU DON'T LIKE SEPTEMBER 5TH, YOU VOTE NO. CALL THE ROLL, MADAM SECRETARY.
>> YES, MA'AM. >> MAYOR HUDSON?
>> YES, MA'AM. >> AND MR. MATTHEWS?
>> YES, MA'AM. WE GOT THAT ESTABLISHED.
SEPTEMBER 5TH, 5 P.M. LET'S MOVE TO THE SECOND.
WE NEED A MOTION TO TRANSFER THE WEATHERIZATION MONEY, SAID TO BE ABOUT $94,000. WE'LL SAY IN EXCESS OF $94,000.
THAT WILL BE HANDLED BY THE CITY STAFF AND UTILITIES STAFF.
SO THE MOTION WOULD BE TRANSFER THE MONEY FROM THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM TO ADMINISTER SERVICE CUSTOMER SER SERVICE.
>> I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO TRANSFER THE WEATHERIZATION FUND, APPROXIMATELY $94,000 TO A JOINT PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE UA AND THE CITY TO BE ADMINISTERED TO THOSE CUSTOMERS THAT NEED ASSISTANCE WITH PAYING THEIR UTILITY BILLS.
THIS IS HANK FEE. >> THIS IS LINDA HUDSON.
I SECOND. >> MOTION MADE BY HANK FEE AND SECONDED BY LINDA HUDSON THAT WE WOULD TRANSFER THE MONEY $94,000 TO TRANSFER THE MONEY TO PAY THE BILLS.
MADAM SECRETARY, ANY QUESTIONS? CALL THE ROLL.
>> MAYOR HUDSON. >> YES, MA'AM.
>> MR. MATTHEWS? >> YES, MA'AM.
[G.2. FPUA Electric Outage Update – For Information Only.]
OKAY. THAT TAKES CARE OF THAT.WOULD YOU COME WITH THE NEXT ITEM?
>> YES, MR. CHAIRMAN, NEXT ITEM IS INFORMATION ONLY ITEM ABOUT SOME OF THE RECENT ELECTRIC OUTAGES THAT WE'VE HAD.
I THOUGHT THE BOARD WOULD LIKE TO GET A LITTLE BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING.
WE WILL MAKE THE PRESENTATION. >> WHO DID YOU SAY WILL MAKE IT?
>> THANK YOU, MR. TOMSACK, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE OUTAGES WE'VE HAD.
FIRST I WANT TO GIVE YOU A BACKGROUND AS SOME OF WHY SOME OF THE OUTAGES AFFECTED MORE PEOPLE THAN THEY NORMALLY WOULD.
WE HAD AN OUTAGE AS OUR SAVANNAH TRANSFORMER.
TRANSFORMER NUMBER ONE FAULTED, AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE PICTURE.
THAT'S NOT THE NORMAL COLOR OF AN INSULATOR.
THE NORMAL COLOR IS THE GRAY COLOR THAT YOU SEE BEHIND.
THERE'S AN INTERNAL FAULT IN THE TRANSFORMER THAT CAUSED THIS BUSHING TO BLOW. THAT OUTAGE AFFECTED 3800 CUSTOMERS. ALL CUSTOMERS WERE RESTORED WITH POWER 1:36 P.M. THROUGH SOME CREATIVE SWITCHING.
WHEN I SAY CREATIVE SWITCHING, WE HAD OUR SUB OUT BY 37TH STREET FEEDING SOME OF THE LOAD OVER BY U.S. 1.
SO THAT JUST GIVES YOU A GENERAL IDEA OF HOW MUCH SWITCHING WE HAD TO DO TO GET OUR CUSTOMERS BACK INTO POWER.
THE GOOD PART ABOUT IT, WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE OF THE
[00:45:01]
WAY OUR SYSTEM WAS CON FIGURED. WE HAD SOME SWITCHED OVER TO OUR KING SUB, COTTON SUB AND WE HAD ADDITIONAL CAPACITY IN THE SECOND TRANSFORMER AT SAVANNAH. THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THIS IS THIS TRANSFORMER WAS THE FIRST ONE TO BE REPLACED IN DECEMBER.THE BOARD HAD APPROVED SOME IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR SUBSTATIONS OVER THE NEXT SIX YEARS TO REPLACE TRANSFORMERS.
THIS JUST HAPPENED TO BE THE FIRST ONE.
OTHER GOOD NEWS, WE HAD A SPARE TRANSFORMER IN OUR COTTON SUB, SO WE WERE ABLE TO REPLACE THAT. THE CREWS WERE GIVEN 30 DAYS TO GET THAT REPLACED OR RE-ENERGIZED.
I'M PROUD TO TELL YOU THAT IN 23 DAYS LAST WEDNESDAY IT WAS ENERGIZED AND ALL THE CIRCUITS WERE RESTORED BACK TO NORMAL WHICH ELIMINATED SOME OF OUR EXPOSURE.
I CAN TELL YOU THIS RIGHT NOW. LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THIS.
LIGHTNING IS NOT OUR FRIEND. AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE STRIKE HERE, THIS WAS NOT ON OUR SYSTEM, BUT YOU CAN SEE LIGHTNING WANTS TO GO TO GROUND, IT'S GOING TO GO THROUGH WHATEVER IT CAN TO GET THERE. WE TALKED A LITTLE ABOUT THIS OUTAGE HERE AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING.
BUT ON JULY 4TH, THE HOLIDAY, WE HAD LIGHTNING STORM COME THROUGH AT 6:52 P.M. LIGHTNING TOOK DOWN THREE PLANTS. THIS RESULTED IN ROUGHLY 1500 CUSTOMERS BEING OUT OF POWER WHICH INCLUDED ST. LUCIE.
IT WAS COMPLETELY RESTORED AROUND 9:04.
AT THAT TIME, 7:23, WE TOOK A BUNCH OF OTHER LIGHTNING STRIKES. COTTON TRANSFORMER NUMBER 2 WENT OUT, WHICH AFFECTED OUR ESC, ENERGY SERVICES CENTER, AND THE WATER PLANT. THAT AFFECTED ROUGHLY 470 CUSTOMERS. THAT OUTAGE WAS RESTORED ABOUT 7:38 P.M., TRANSFORMER WAS PUT BACK ON AND CUSTOMERS WERE RESTORED. THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAD, WE ALL HAD SOME I.T. ISSUES AND PHONE ISSUES AS WELL.
WE LOST OUR OUTAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WHICH BASICALLY THROWS THE WEBSITE DISPLAY THAT SHOWED ROUGHLY 1500 CUSTOMERS OUT.
WE ALSO LOST HALF OF OUR PHONE LINE THROUGH AN AT&T ISSUE.
IN ADDITION TO THE MAYOR OUTAGES THAT I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED ON THE SCREEN, WE ALL HAD SIX ADDITIONAL BREAKER OPERATIONS WHICH LASTED 26 MINUTES. AROUND 9:25 ALL OF OUR NETWORK SYSTEMS WERE REBOOTED AND TESTED AND WE TOOK OUR PHONE LINES OFF OF THE IBR SYSTEM. WE THEN STARTED WITH WHAT I WOULD CALL OLD SCHOOL STORM RESTORATION, BASICALLY PENCIL, PAPER, STICKY NOTES AND OUTAGE MAPS.
BY 11 P.M. ALL THE SERVERS WERE REBOOTED AND TESTED AND WE WERE ABLE TO START ENTERING DATA INTO THE OUTAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WHICH ALLOWED US TO BETTER PUT OUR CREWS TO WHERE THEY NEEDED TO BE. CREWS WORKED THROUGH THE NIGHT TO REPLACE ROUGHLY FIVE DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMERS THAT ALSO GOT STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. JULY 10TH WE HAD ANOTHER LIGHTNING STRIKE. WEST OF U.S. 1.
THE POWER WAS RESTORED TO ALL THE CUSTOMERS AFFECTED BY 3:06 AND ALL REPAIRS WERE MADE BY 8:30 P.M. THAT NIGHT.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE PICTURES HERE, THIS IS A LINE PT.
TAKES THE 69 VOLTAGE AND DROPS IT DOWN TO 120 VOTES FOR RELAYING. YOU CAN SEE THE PICTURE ON THE LEFT, THE MIDDLE PT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE THAT.
IT'S SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE THE ONES ON EITHER SIDE OF THEM.
THE RIGHT HAND PICTURE IS WHAT THAT STRUCTURE LOOKED LIKE AFTER THE LIGHTNING STRIKE. IN ADDITION TO THIS, WE ALL HAD SCATTERED OUTAGES BUT DID NOT LOSE OUR OUTAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. WE WERE ABLE TO ADDRESS THOSE ACCORDINGLY. THE NEXT DAY, JULY 11TH, WE HAD ANOTHER LIGHTNING STRIKE OVER IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA ABOUT 3:352 P.M. IT TOOK DOWN TWO SPANS OF CABLE AROUND GEORGIA AND THIRD STREET. ALL CAUSED THE BREAKER TO LOCK OPEN AT THE KING PLANT SUB. IT AFFECTED ROUGHLY 702 CUSTOMERS. AROUND 4:45 P.M. OUR CREWS ISOLATED IT AND WE WERE ABLE TO RESTORE POWER TO 500 CUSTOMERS.
AT 5:04 THEY WERE ABLE TO GET THE PRIMARY BACKUP AND DO THE REST OF THE RESTORATION BECAUSE OF THE STORM THAT ROLLED THROUGH. IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, ON JULY 12TH, WE ALL HAD A STORM ROLL THROUGH IN THE MORNING THIS TIME. LITTLE AFTER 10:00, LIGHTNING TOOK OUT THE BREAKER AT OUR COTTON SUB.
AFFECTING ROUGHLY 600 CUFF PHERS.
CREWS RESTORED ALL THAT POWER AROUND 10:56, LITTLE BEFORE 11:00. THIS LIGHTNING STRIKE ALSO OPENED UP ONE OF THE 138 BREAKERS INSIDE OUR COTTON YARD.
[00:50:06]
FPL WAS NOTIFIED BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT OPERATE THIS FOR US. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO COME BACK IN MONDAY AND DO THE INVESTIGATION AND REPAIR.WHAT THEY DID FIND IS THERE WERE TWO SETS OF CONTACT OUTSIDE OF THE RELAY. THEY HAD COME IN, DONE ALL THE REPAIRS AND TESTING AND WERE ABLE TO PUT THE LINE BACKES IN SERVICE ON THE 14TH. IN ADDITION TO THE OPERATION AT THE COTTON SUB, WE ALL HAD THE KING SUB AND LONGWOOD SUB ALSO AT OPERATED CAUSING SCATTERED OUTAGES.
WE ALL HAD DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMERS TO REPLACE.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO FIX THIS? SOME OF THE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS THAT WE HAVE ARE INSTALL ADDITIONAL LIGHTNING SYSTEMS ON OURSY TESTIMONY. TWO PICTURES ON THE RIGHT AND LEFT ARE WHAT WE HAVE. THEY'RE LIGHTNING ARRESTERS.
BASICALLY WHAT THEY DO, THEY'LL SHUNT THE HIGH VOLTAGE COMING FROM LIGHTNING TO GROUND, SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU HAVE WHEN YOU HAVE A SURGE STRIP FOR YOUR COMPUTERS.
WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT MORE LOCATIONS THAT WE CAN INSTALL THEM. THE OTHER OPTION THAT WE HAVE IS TO ENHAN OUR LIGHTING PROTECTION IN OUR SUBSTATIONS.
WHAT WE PLAN ON DOING IS LOOKING AT OUR GROUND SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ADEQUATE FOR WHAT WE NEED IN OUR SUBSTATIONS.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, IS THERE A DIFFERENT WAY TO GROUND AND PROTECT OUR EQUIPMENT INSIDE OUR SUB? IF YOU LOOK AT THIS PICTURE, THESE METAL POLES ACT LIKE LIGHTNING RODS. THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO ATTRACT THE LIGHTNING INSTEAD OF HITTING THE EQUIPMENT, IT'S SUPPOSED TO HIT THOSE POLES AND DISSIPATE INTO GROUND.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE KING PLANT PICTURE AND PREVIOUS SLIDE, THAT DIDN'T NECESSARILY HAPPEN.
ALL THIS, THROUGH ALL THESE OUTAGES, A BIG THANK YOU TO THE LINE CREW, SUBSTATION CREW, CUSTOMER SERVICE, ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING FOR THEIR DEDICATION TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND RESTORING POWER TO OUR CUSTOMERS. WITH THAT, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OTHER THAN HOW CAN WE TRULY GET LIGHTNING
OFF OF OUR SYSTEM. >> MR. CHAIRMAN, THIS IS LINDA
>> PAUL, ISN'T FLORIDA LIKE THE LIGHTNING CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES? DON'T WE HAVE MORE LIGHTNING THAN ANY OTHER STATE, OR MORE LIGHTNING STRIKES?
>> THAT IS CORRECT, WE DO HAVE MORE LIGHTNING STRIKES THAN ANY OTHER PLACE. I SHOULD HAVE INCLUDE THE PICTURE I HAD GOTTEN FROM THE WEATHER SERVICE.
LITTLE FURTHER NORTH AND TOWARD THE MIDDLE OF THE STATE IS LIKE LIGHTNING CENTRAL. FROM THE LOOK OF THE MAPS, THEY GET PROBABLY TWICE AS MUCH AS WE DO.
>> I HAVE HEARD THE WEST COAST, HILLSBORO AND PINELLAS COUNTY GET A LOT, TOO. OKAY.
THANK YOU. >> SO WE CAN COUNT ON THIS MUCH LIKE JULY AND AUGUST BEING HEAVY WITH LIGHTNING.
>> UNFORTUNATELY, I BELIEVE SO. AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE AT MY NEXT RELIABILITY REPORT IS THAT OUR THESE LIGHTNING STRIKES AND THE AMOUNT OF OUTAGES THAT WE'VE HAD.
>> OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BY THE
SOME OF THESE TRANSFORMERS ARE ON MAIN THOROUGH FARES.
WE HAVE TO GET POLICE ESCORTS OR SOMETHING TO TAKE CARE OF THAT
OR HELP TAKE CARE OF IT? >> IF THEY'RE ON MAIN THOROUGHFARES, YES, WE'LL NORMALLY TRY TO GET THE POLICE TO HELP US WITH TRAFFIC. THIS PAST WEEKEND ON SUNDAY WE HAD A CAR VERSUS POLE WHICH TOOK OUT THE ENTIRE POLE ON SOUTH U.S. 1 AT FARMER'S MARKET. IF THE GUYS FEEL THEY NEED POLICE HELP, THEY'LL GET POLICE HELP.
IF NOT, NORMALLY WE'LL MAKE SURE WE SET UP THE PROPER PROTECTION FOR OUR CREWS WORKING ALONGSIDE THE ROAD WAYS.
[G.3. Bill Comparison for Month of May 2020 – For Information Only.]
CAN YOU BRING US UP ON THE NEXT ITEM?>> YES, MR. CHAIRMAN. NEXT IS THE BILL COMPARISON FOR THE MONTH OF MAY 2020 AND ROBERT MICHAEL WILL MAKE THE PRESEN PRESENTATION.
>> GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M PRESENTING TO YOU TODAY THE MONTHLY UPDATE ON COMPARISONS OF PHMUNICIPAL RATE ON THE ELECTRI BILLS MAY 2020. COMPARISON OF THE RESIDENTIAL
[00:55:03]
ELECTRIC RATE FORCE 1,000KILOWATT HOURS OF CON SEPL SHUN FOR THE MONTH OF MAY. MUNICIPAL UTILITIES THAT ARE MEMBERS OF THE ALL REQUIREMENTS PROJECT.THESE ARE DISPLAYED AND RANKED BASED UPON THEIR BASE BILL AMOUNT. IN THE GRAPH, WE CAN SEE WHERE FPUA RANKS IN YELLOW. MAY RATES ARE AT $103.84, WHICH AGAIN IS LISTED IN YELLOW. FPUA WITH THE SIXTH LOWEST RATE IN THIS GROUP. THIS NEXT MAP IS COMPARISON OF THE ELECTRIC RESIDENTIAL RATES, BUT INCLUDES ALL THE MUNICIPAITIES IN THE STATE. THE DATA FOR ALL OF THESE GRAPHS THAT ARE BEING PRESENTED HAVE BEEN COMBINED BY FLORIDA MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION.
FPUA'S BILL WHICH INCLUDES THE $2 REDUCTION AND RANKS WITH THE 15TH LOWEST RATE IN COMPARISON, IN COMPARISON TO THE 31 MUNICIPALITIES IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA.
PUTS FPUA IN THE MID POINT FOR THE 1,000 KILOWATT HOURS.
IN MAY, THERE WERE TEN -- LOT OF CHANGES TOOK PLACE IN MAY.
10 OF THE 13 PARTICIPANTS IMPLEMENTED GREAT CHANGES FOR THEIR CUSTOMER. THE OVERALL IMPACT ON THE ALL REQUIREMENTS AVERAGE WAS AN INCREASE ACTUALLY OF $3.02.
THAT WAS DUE TO THE TWO LARGE RATE INCREASES WITH CITY OF HAVANA AND STARK. THEY BOTH HAD CHARGE INCREASES WHICH OFF SET ALL THE DECREASES THAT THE OTHER UTILITIES HAVE PUT IN PLACE. THEY IMPACTED THE MUNICIPAL AVERAGE. THIS TIME IT'S WITH A REDUCTION.
THE REDUCTION WAS ABOUT $2. FPUA'S MAY 2020 RATE FALLS BELOW ALL THREE AVERAGES FOR THIS LEVEL OF CONSUMPTION AT 103 BELOW THE REQUIREMENTS IN MUNICIPAL AVERAGE AND THE IOU.
THIS GRAPH REPRESENTS A SIMILAR COMPARISON OF THE MUNICIPAL UTILITY BILLS WITHIN THE STATE OF FLORIDA FOR 2500 KILOWATT HOURS OF CONSUMPTION. FPUA'S MAY BILL STANDING AT $262.30 WAS IMPACTED BY THE OR MUNICIPALITIES RATE REDUCTIONS WITH A SHIFT TO THE LEFT SINCE APRIL, WE WERE IN THE 17TH POSITION, 17TH LOWEST RATE AMONG THE GROUP FOR 2500 KILOWATT HOURS. OUR RATE FALLS BELOW THE AVERAGES FOR THE ALL REQUIREMENTS AND THE IOU.
WE'RE JUST ABOUT ON OUR MUNICIPAL AVERAGE.
THIS TABLE HERE IS THE MAY COMPARISON OF THE AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL UTILITY BILL ON THE TREASURE COAST.
IN THIS COMPARISON, FORT PIERCE UTILITY BILL FOR ALL THREE SERVICES OF ELECTRIC WASTE WATER INSIDE CITY LIMITS IS INSIDE THE FIRST COLUMN SHOWN IN BLUE. ALL OF THE OTHER BILLS HAVE THE ELECTRIC SERVICE THAT ARE PROVIDED BY FPAU.
WASTE AND WATER SERVICES ARE SERVICED BY THE LOCAL PROVIDER.
THE ELECTRIC RATES IN THIS COMPARISON BROUGHT A ONE TIME DROP FOR CUSTOMERS WHICH LOWERED THE AVERAGE BILL FOR TREASURE COAST CUSTOMERS BY $23 TO $24 RANGE FOR THE TOTAL BILL FOR THE 1,000KILOWATT HOUR. WE LOWERED OUR BILL TO THE 111 THAT YOU SEE HERE ON THE CHART. TIS LOCAL BILL COMPARISON LEAVES FPUA WITH THE LARGEST OVERALL BILL.
JUST KNOW THAT THE FPL FUEL COST REDUCTION WAS ONE TIME.
IT REVERTS BACK IN A JUNE BILL. WHEN I LOOKED AT IT, IT BROUGHT THE AVERAGE OF THE FPL BILLS FOR THESE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES CLOSER TO OUR RATE THAT WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW AT 111.
[01:00:11]
THEY WERE EXPERIENCING THE TERRITORY.THESE FIGURES INCLUDE ALL OF THE TAXES AND FEES THAT HAVE BEEN COMPARED TO ACTUAL OR HISTORICAL BILLS.
THAT'S THE MAY PRESENTATION. THIS ITEM IS PRESENTED FOR YOUR INFORMATION AND REQUIRES NO ACTION.
BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE.
[Additional Item]
>> WE HAVE ITEM 4. CAN YOU BRING US UP TO DATE ON
THAT ONE. >> FUNDING AGREEMENT FOR THE COUNTY COMPARES ACT. HOLLY CISNEROS WILL MAKE THE
PRESENTATION. >> GOOD EVENING.
I'M HERE TO REQUEST THE EXECUTION OF THE SUBRECIPIENT AGREEMENT FOR THE CORONA AID RELIEF AND ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT ALSO KNOWN AS THE CARES ACT THIS AWOWS FPUA TO RECOVER COSTS DIRECTLY RELATED TO COVID-19. I'D LIKE TO START WITH A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE CARES ACT. FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY THROUGH THE FLORIDA DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, THE COUNTY IS ELIGIBLE UP TO $55.55 MILLION FOR OUR COMMUNITY'S RESPONSE IN RECOVERY TO COVID-19.
THE COUNTY WILL RECEIVE AN INITIAL DISBURSEMENT OF $18 MILLION. THE CARES ACT FUNDING IS DIVIDED INTO FIVE CATEGORIES STARTING AT THE BOTTOM LEFT OF YOUR SCREEN.
30% OR APPROXIMATELY $16.6 MILLION WILL BE USED FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY WHICH INCLUDES SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS, WORK FORCE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT AND OTHER BUSINESS RELATED SERVICES. HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN CIRCLE AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR SCREEN IS DEDICATED TO SOCIAL SERVICES.
WE TALKED ABOUT THAT TODAY. 30% OR APPROXIMATELY $16.6 MILLION WILL BE USED FOR SOCIAL SERVICES, EVEN THOUGH THIS IS NOT DIRECTLY RELATED TO THIS SPECIFIC ITEM ON THE AGENDA TODAY FOR APPROVAL, I DO WANT TO HIGH LIGHT SOCIAL SERVICES IN THE NEXT SLIDE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS AND THE AUDIENCE WATCHING ONLINE AND ON TV. NEXT 20% OR $11.1 MILLION WILL BE USED FOR ST. LUCIE PUBLIC SAFETY HEALTH AN CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES SUCH AS THE ST. LUCIE COUNTY JAIL, TAX OFFICE, PROPERTY APRAISER OFFICE, MEDICAL EXAMINERS, COURT ADMINISTRATION, ETC. HIGHLIGHTED IN RED, 10% OR APPROXIMATELY $5.5 MILLION WILL BE RESERVED FOR MUNICIPALITIES IN UNINCORPORATED SEINE LUCIE COUNTY OFFICES.
THIS DOES INCLUDE FPUA. WE'LL COVER THIS IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES. LAST 10% OR APPROXIMATELY $5.5 MILLION WILL BE RESERVED FOR FUTURE COVID EXPENSES AND HURRICANE EXPENSES. THROUGH AN ONLINE APPLICATION, A ST. LUCIE COUNTY RESIDENT CAN REQUEST A ONE TIME ASSISTANCE UP TO $4,000 TO HELP PAY FOR UTILITY BILL, MORTGAGE OR RENTAL PAYMENTS, PROPERTY TAXES, HOA, FLOOD INSURANCE PAYMENTS AND TRANSPORTATION SUPPORT SUCH AS CAR PAYMENTS, CAR INSURANCE AND REGISTRATION RENEWALS. THE COUNTY AND ECONOMIC COUNCIL HAVE BEEN HELPFUL GETTING US UP TO SPEED WITH THE CARES ACT SO WE DO APPRECIATE THEIR HELP. THEY HAVE ALL INCLUDED FPUA ON THEIR WEBSITE UNDER SOCIAL SERVICES.
I'D LIKE TO THANK FEMME FOR BEING GREAT ADVOCATES.
NOW BACK TO BUSINESS. FPUA MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO RECOVER
[01:05:01]
EXPENSES. THE FIRST IS TO EXECUTE THE SUBRECIPIENT AGREEMENT WITH ST. LUCIE COUNTY WHICH WE'LL DISCUSS ON THE NEXT SLIDE. EXPENSES THAT WE CAN RECOVER INCLUDE PAYROLL EXPENSES, EQUIPMENT MATERIAL, ECT.ANY ITEM THAT WAS NOT BUDGETED OR DIRECTLY RESPONDED TO COVID-19. THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE REQUIREMENT. TO DATE WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY $209,000 DIRECTLY RELATED TO COVID.
SOME OF THOSE ITEMS INCLUDE $162,000 FOR H202, HAND SCRUBBER AND ISSUES TO HELP CLEAN AND FILTER THE AIR TO MITIGATE THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS. ANOTHER $27,000 STAFFING HOURS FOR TEMPERATURE CHECKS AND COVID-19 PLANNING.
ABOUT 20,000 IN MASKS, CONTRACTUAL CLEANING SERVICES AND OTHER RELATED EXPENSES. SO THIS AGREEMENT DOES REQUIRE FPUA TO ADHERE TO ALL RULES AND LAWS FOR THIS FUNDING.
WE FEEL PRETTY COMFORTABLE WITH THAT BEING IN COMPLIANCE.
IT IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAVE TO COMPLY WITH FOR FEMA REIMBURSEMENT RELATED TO HURRICANES. SO WE FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE WITH THAT. EXPENSES MUST BE INCURRED ON OR AFTER MARCH 1ST OF 2020 THROUGH DECEMBER 30 OF 2020.
$5.5 MILLION IS A LOT OF MONEY, BUT GIVEN THE ENTITIES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO RECOVER SOME OF THESE COSTS, I DON'T BELIEVE IT WILL LAST VERY LONG. IN SUMMARY, STAFF IS REQUESTING EXECUTION OF THIS AGREEMENT AND AUTHORIZING ME AS A REPPIVE OF FPUA FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THIS AGREEMENT.
I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
>> ANY BOARD MEMBER? >> MR. CHAIRMAN --
>> GO AHEAD. >> EVERYTING IS ON A REIMBURSEMENT BASIS, IS THAT RIGHT?
>> YES, MA'AM. WE WILL SUBMIT DOCUMENTATION.
IT'S PRETTY INVOLVED PROCESS. I'LL BE WORKING CLOSELY WITH BARBARA MIKA. WE'LL HAVE TO PROVIDE DOCUMENTATIONS, SUBMIT IT ONLINE, AND THEN IT GOES THROUGH A VERIFICATION PROCESS FOR ELIGIBILITY.
THEN ONCE THAT GETS APPROVED, IT WILL -- WE WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR REIMBURSEMENT. I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT THE TIMEFRAME IS. THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT THREE TO FOUR WEEKS, BUT I HONESTLY DON'T -- I HAVEN'T SUBMITTED ONE SO I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE.
>> IF FEMA EVER WORKED THAT FAST, IT WOULD BE A MIRACLE.
>> I'M LOOKING AT BARBARA. SHE'S LAUGHING WITH US.
>> THIS IS NICK AGAIN. I WANT TO SAY SOMETHING TO HOLLY. THE RECIPIENT AGREEMENT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE COUNTY WILL FRONT THE REIMBURSEMENT AND THEN THEY WILL BE REIMBURSED THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. SO OUR REIMBURSEMENT, OR YOUR REIMBURSEMENT WILL COME MUCH QUICKER THAN WE'RE ACCUSTOMED
THAT LINES UP WITH THE 13.8 THAT THEY INITIALLY GET.
THEY GET ADDITIONAL FUNDING AS THEY DISPERSE THAT 13.8.
THAT'S REALLY GOOD TO HEAR. THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET THIS DONE SO WE CAN START SUBMITTING REQUESTS FOR
REIMBURSEMENT. >> I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS.
THE FIRST ONE IS THAT ANYTHING AFTER DECEMBER 30, YOU'LL HAVE
TO SUBMIT A NEW AGREEMENT? >> NO, SIR.
RIGHT NOW THE CARES ACT SPECIFICALLY TARGETS ANY EXPENSES BETWEEN MARCH 1 AND DECEMBER 30.
THERE MAY BE SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE AFTER DECEMBER 30, BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW, THAT'S THE TIMELINE THAT'S BEEN DEFINED BY
ANOTHER QUESTION I HAVE, I DON'T SEE ANYWHERE THAT MEDICINE OR FOOD WAS ELIGIBLE FOR REIMBURSEMENT.
WE GOT A LOT OF SENIOR CITIZENS IN THE CITY OF FORT PIERCE.
>> YES, SIR. SOCIAL SERVICES IS PART OF THAT.
BUT THIS AGREEMENT ONLY APPLIES TO FPUA AS A MUNICIPALITY.
>> OKAY. >> IT DOESN'T APPLY TO INDIVIDUALS. IT APPLIES TO ORGANIZATIONS AND COMPANIES LIKE FPUA AND THE CITY, FIRE DEPARTMENT, POLICE DEPARTMENT, THOSE KIND OF ENTITIES.
>> OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS? OKAY. THAT WILL CONCLUDE THAT.
THANK YOU, SIR. >> YOU HAVE TO HAVE A MOTION TO
[01:10:02]
APPROVE? >> YES, MA'AM, WE DO.
>> I MOVE APPROVAL. >> HANK FEE.
IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED. AT THIS POINT, ASK MADAM
SECRETARY TO CALL THE ROLL. >> MR. BEY?
>> YES, MA'AM. >> MAYOR HUDSON?
>> YES, MA'AM. >> MR. MATTHEWS?
[I. RESOLUTIONS]
ON THE RESOLUTION -->> THIS ITEM HAS TO DO WITH ADOPTING RESOLUTION 2020-07 WHICH IS THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021 AND AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019. BARBARA MIKA WILL MAKE A PRESENTATION ON THE BUDGET AND THEN MISS JOHNSON WILL READ THE
>> THANK YOU. CHAIRMAN AND BOARD MEMBERS.
GOOD AFTERNOON. I AM PLEASED TO PRESENT TO YOU THE ANNUAL BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 AND AMENDING FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2020.
THIS BUDGET WAS PREPARED WITH A STRATEGIC FOCUS OF FPUA IN MIND.
ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE MAINLAND WATER RECLAIMATION FACILITY LEAD THE PACK.
WORKING WITH THE CITY THAT HELP SUPPORT THE CURRENT AND FUTURE NEEDS OF FPUA SERVED TERRITORY AND THE CITY, CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT, EXPANSION OF THE GAS SERVICE TERRITORY AND DEVELOPING THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A SMART CITY ARE ALL PART OF THE PLAN TO BRING NEW BUSINESSES TO FORT PIERCE.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN DEVELOPED THE PART OF THIS BUDGET, PROVIDES FOR RELIABILITY IMPROVEMENTS THAT WILL BE MADE OVER TIME. FPUA ARE WORKING ON A PROGRAM TO IMPROVE OUR ELECTRIC SYSTEM RELIABILITY, IMPROVES RELIABILITY OF OUR AGING RESOURCE ASSISTANCE WITH THE CONTINUED WORK IN FORCE MAIN LINING.
FPUA AND ITS EMPLOYEES HAVE ALWAYS TAKEN PRIDE IN THE ORGANIZATION SUPPORTING OUR CUSTOMERS THROUGH RELIABLE AND FRIENDLY SERVICE, WE LIVE, WORK AND VOLUNTEER IN THE COMMUNITY TO PROMOTE A POSITIVE IMAGE FOR FPUA.
WILL HAVE BEEN NO CHANGES TO THESE BUDGETS SINCE THEY WERE APPROVED BY THE FPUA BOARD ON JUNE 16TH.
THE O&M BUDGET IS FORMALLY AMENDED TWICE A YEAR.
NOW AND THEN LATER AFTER THE FISCAL YEAR END AS A TRUE TO THE ACTUAL REVENUES AND EXPENSES. CALCULATION OF THE FUNDS AVAILABLE IS ON PAGE 49D IN YOUR ANNUAL BUG BOOK.
THE AMOUNT AVAILABLE FOR FISCAL YEAR 20, 2020 IS $8.3 MILLION AND $7.9 MILLION FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021.
ANY SHORTFALLS AND FUNDS AVAILABLE WILL COME FROM OPERATING CASH OR SPENDING WILL BE SLOWED.
FISCAL YEAR 2020 PROJECTED REVENUES ARE RELATIVELY FLAT TO THE AMENDED FISCAL YEAR 2020 A LOWER COSTED A JUSTMENT HAS RESIDENTIAL AND GENERAL SERVICE SALES SHOWING HIGHER ONLY TO BE OFF SET BY A REDUCTION IN CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021. THE $1 MILLION INCREASE IN 2021 OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE COST IS ASREUBTABLE TO AN INCREASED NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES WHICH YOU CAN SEE IN YOUR ANNUAL BUDGET BOOK EXPLAINED ON PAGE 31. EXPENSE ACCOUNTS ACCOUNT FOR THAT CHANGE. THIS GRAPH REPRESENTS THE TOTAL BUDGET. THESE AMS INCLUDE ALL FUNDING SOURCES. THE COST OF PURCHASE POWER
[01:15:03]
PROJECTED FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021 IS 41% OF THE TOTAL O&M.COST OF OUR PURCHASE FOR RESALE ARE NOT CONTROLLED BY FPUA.
HOWEVER, WE DO BUDGET IN A MANNER THAT ALLOWS FOR FLUCTUATION IN COST. WE ALWAYS HOPE TO COME UNDER BUDGET AND WE TYPICALLY DO. REVENUES BY SYSTEM ARE ON A SLIGHT INCREASE. ACTUAL REVENUE TOTAL SHOW INCREASES FOR ALL SYSTEMS, ALL BUSINESS REVENUE DUE TO CHANGES THAT IMPACTED THE ENTIRE FISCAL YEAR.
FISCAL YEAR 2020 AMENDED AND THE 2021 ORIGINAL ARE LOOKING LEVEL WITH SOME SYSTEM REVENUE INCREASES OFFSETTING OTHER DECREASES. FISCAL YEAR 2021 ELECTRIC REVENUE INCREASES OVERALL ARE A RESULT OF INCREASES IN THE POWER COST ADJUSTMENTS THAT ARE PROJECTED.
WATER REVENUES INCREASED BOTH FOR FISCAL YEAR 20 AND 21 ARE A RESULT OFFED EFE EFED A ADJUST THE WATER AGREEMENT WITH ST.
LUCIE COUNTY. HERE WE HAVE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 REVENUES BUDGETED BY SYSTEM.
ELECTRIC REVENUES ARE PROJECTED TO BE $67.3 MILLION OR 61% OF THE TOTAL REVENUE BUDGETS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR '21 WITH A 1.3% INCREASE FROM THE AMENDED FISCAL YEAR '20.
WATER AND WASTE WATER REVENUES ARE RELATIVELY FLAT IN '21 FROM THE AMENDED 2020. THEY ARE FLAT BECAUSE THEY ARE IN THAT THEY ARE THE SAME FOR AS A RESULT OF THOSE WATER ADJUSTMENTS FOR ST. LUCIE COUNTY THAT WERE NOT IMPLEMENTED BEFORE 2020 SO IT -- WE WILL SEE THEM, WE'RE PROJECTING THEM TO BE FLAT IN 2021 FOR WATER AND WASTE WATER.
WASTE REVENUES, ANTICIPATED OPERATING REVENUE INCREASES IN CONTRACT SALES WILL BE OFFSET SLIGHTLY BY DECREASES IN THE PURCHASE GAS ADJUSTMENT. THIS TABLE TRENDS THE RATE FUND ORIGINAL BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018-2021 WITH CHANGES YEAR OVER YEAR AND CUMULATIVE CHANGE OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS.
REFUNDED BUDGETS EXCLUDE NONCASH EXPENSE ITEMS LIKE DEPRECIATION, CONTINGENCY, AM PHORTIZATION AND SO FORTH.
FUNDED CAPITAL FOR 2019 WAS A LITTLE HIGHER.
WE CAN SEE IT INCLUDED SOME LARGER RELIABILITY PROJECTS.
THOSE WERE THE INITIAL BUDGETS FOR AMI WERE IN THAT YEAR AND THE ISLAND WATER RECLAIMATION, EMERGENCY GENERATOR WAS IN THAT YEAR. IT WAS LITTLE HIGHER IN FISCAL YEAR '19. BUT WE SEE BOTH FISCAL YEAR '20 AND '21 CAPITAL BUDGETS ARE DOWN 2% WITH THE RELIABILITY PROJECTS. INCREASES IN RATE FUNDED O&M OF 1.2 MILLION IS PRIMARILY DUE TO THE INCREASE IN PERSONNEL HEAD COUNT AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND THOSE OTHER EXPENSES THAT I HAD MENTIONED EARLIER. PURCHASES FOR RESALE RECOVERS TESTIFY STEADY DECLINE IN THE PURCHASE POWER.
THIS SLIDE COMPARES ACTUAL EXPENSES TO THE ORIGINAL OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE BUDGETS.
WE CAN SEE THE TREND IN OUR ACTUAL EXPERIENCE.
IT'S LESS THAN THE ORIGINAL BUDGET, BUDGET OF PROJECTIONS BY ABOUT 5% ON AVERAGE SINCE 2017. TYPICALLY WE'RE ONLY SPENDING 95% OF OUR O&M BUDGET. THE MAIN REASON WE COME BELOW, IT'S THE COST OF PURCHASES FOR RESALE.
[01:20:01]
BECAUSE QUESTION NOT CONTROL THESE EXPENSES, WE ARE USUALLY PLEASED THAT COSTS ARE LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED.PURCHASES FOR RESALE IS OUR BIGGEST LINE ITEM AND OUR O&M BUDGET. THIS IS AN ITEM THAT WE DON'T WANT TO BE PUT SHORT ON IN THIS BUDGETED AREA.
THIS IS A CLEAR REPRESENTATION OF WHAT'S MADE UP OF RESALE.
$46 MILLION. RESALE IS ABOUT 41% OF THE O&M BUDGET FOR 2021. DISTRIBUTION TO THE CITY OF FORT PIERCE, CALCULATION FOR 20 AND 21 ESTIMATES CAN BE FOUND IN YOUR ANNUAL BUDGET BOOK ON PAGE 50.
THE FISCAL YEAR 2020 CALCULATED DISTRIBUTION, WHICH IS PAYABLE IN FISCAL YEAR 2021 IS ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT $6.4 MILLION 1.9% HIGHER THAN THE DISTRIBUTION THAT WE MADE IN 2020 OF 6.3.
LITTLE BIT HIGHER PROJECTION FOR NEXT YEAR.
WE COLLECT 10% UTILITY TAXES. LAST YEAR FISCAL YEAR 2019, THAT WAS ABOUT $2.7 MILLION IN UTILITY TAXES COLLECTED.
THIS IS SIMILAR TO A PREVIOUS VIEW ON BUDGET VERSUS ACTUAL.
WE TYPICALLY SPEND 40% TO 50% OF OUR CAPITAL BUDGET EACH YEAR.
PROJECT DELAYS HAPPEN FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
STAFF CONTINUES TO MOVE FORWARD WITH RELIABILITY EXPANSION AS WELL AS OTHER MANDATED PROJECTS TO KEEP THINGS MOVING.
STRATEGIC FOCUS OF THE COMPANY DRIVES THE PROJECTS THAT ARE ADDRESSED IN THE CURRENT CAPITAL BUDGET AND THE FIVE YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN. THE ADVANCED METERING EXPANSION PROJECTS FOR FISCAL YEAR CAPITAL BUDGET ACCOUNT FOR A LITTLE OVER 13% OF THE TOTAL CAPITAL BUDGET. 74% OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 CAPITAL BUDGET IS PROJECTED TO BE FUNDED THROUGH RATES.
RATE EFFICIENCY STUDY INDICATED THAT APPROXIMATELY 40% OF OUR REFUNDED CAPITAL CAN BE SUSTAINED.
IT IS EXPECTED, AS IN PRIOR YEARS, THAT ONLY A PORTION OF THE TOTAL CAPITAL BUDGET WILL BE SPENT.
SPENDING IS LIMITED, EMERGENCY PROJECTS THAT COME UP, UNANTICIPATED CHANGES IN SCHEDULING.
IF NECESSARY AND FPUA WILL EVALUATE THE NEED TO USE CASH TO COVER ANY SHORTFALLS. THE BUDGETING PROCESS IS COMPLEX, CHALLENGING AND TAKES A TEAM.
I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THE EFFORTS AND EXPERTISE OF THE DIRECTOR OF UTILITY, THE FINANCE STAFF, DIRECTORS, DEPARTMENT HEADS AND SUPPORT STAFF FOR THE MANY HOURS DEDICATED TO COMPLETING THIS BUDGET. IN CONCLUSION OF THIS PRESENTATION, STAFF IS REQUESTING THE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION NUMBER UA2020-07, RESOLUTION ADOPTING A BUDGET BEGINNING 2020 TO SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 AND AMENDING OCTOBER 1, 2019 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 FOR THE FORT PIERCE UTILITY AUTHORITY FOR THE CITY OF FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? >> THANK YOU.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU READ
RESOLUTION ADOPTING A BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2020 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 AND AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING 2020 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 FOR THE CITY OF FORT PIERCE FLORIDA.
[01:25:04]
THAT IS RESOLUTION 2020-07 BY TITLE.>> YES, MA'AM. BOARD, WE READY TO VOTE?
>> MOTION TO APPROVE. >> ARE WE STILL HERE?
>> DO WE NEED A SECOND ON THE MOTION?
>> LINDA HUDSON, SECOND. >> OKAY.
BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED RESOLUTION UA2020-07 BE APPROVED. MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU CALL
>> YES, MA'AM. >> MAYOR HUDSON?
>> YES, MA'AM. >> MR. MATTHEWS?
[J. DIRECTOR]
>> THANK YOU, MR. MATTHEWS. JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK COMMENTS.
BEAU HUTCHISON AND I WILL BE MEETING WITH THE CITY COMMISSIONERS INDIVIDUALLY TOMORROW TO UPDATE THEM ON THE WATER RECLAMATION STUDY PERFORMED.
THE PRESENTATION WILL BE VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT THE BOARD SAW AT THE LAST MEETING. ONE NICE PIECE OF GOOD NEWS, WE RECEIVED NOTIFICATION TODAY OF AN AWARD OF A GRANT FROM DEP FOR THE FORT PIERCE CONVERSION PROJECT.
THIS GRANT IS FOR $505,000 AND THE MONEY WILL BE USED FOR THE WASTE WATER WORK ON FLEETWOOD ACRES.
WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO OFFER LOW OR NO COST HOOKUP FOR OUR CUSTOMERS TO MOVE THEM OFF SEPTIC SYSTEMS AND ON TO OUR WASTE WATER SYSTEM. SO THAT'S THE GOOD PIECE OF NEWS. THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
ONE OTHER NOTE, MR. CHAIRMAN. WE DO HAVE GEORGE COLLINS FROM THE ST. LUCIE COUNTY. MISSED THE PUBLIC COMMENT SECTION, BUT I THINK HE'S ON THE LINE.
[C. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC]
IF THE BOARD WISHES, WE CAN CERTAINLY CUT HIM IN TO MAKE APUBLIC COMMENT. >> IF THE BOARD HAS NO OBJECTION, MR. COLLINS, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
>> MR. CHAIRMAN, LET ME GET HIM ON THE LINE HERE.
IT MAY TAKE 30 SECONDS TO A MINUTE.
GEORGE COLLINS, IF YOU'RE ON THE LINE, IF YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND START. YOU HAVE THE THREE MINUTES.
BASICALLY I WANTED TO SAY TO THE CHAIRMAN AND TO THE BOARD AND DIRECTORS. I WAS SPEAKING WITH MR. TOMS SA -- TOMSAK. YOU ADDRESSED A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT I HAVE BEEN RECEIVING FROM THE COMMUNITY.
I'M SURE IT'S APPRECIATED THAT WE KNOW YOU ARE PRACTICING WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS. THEY REALLY ARE HAVING A HARD TIME AT THIS TIME. FOR YOU TO DO WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS A GREAT THING AND WE APPRECIATE IT.
I SEE NOW THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO WORK WITH THE CUSTOMERS.
I AM SURE THEY WILL APPRECIATE IT.
AS FAR AS YOUR NEW COALITION, GETTING THE MONEY OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, I APPLAUD THAT. I'D LIKE TO KEEP IN CONTACT WITH HOW THAT WILL BE SET UP AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE AS POSSIBLE MAKE AWARE OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
WE THANK YOU AGAIN AND YOU ALL HAVE A BLESSED DAY.
>> YES. JUST FOR THE RECORD, THE CITY MANAGER AND HIS STAFF ARE GONNA PLAY A BIG ROLE IN HAVING THE UTILITY AUTHORITY AND HIS STAFF. WE HOPE THE WORD GETS AROUND.
WE GOT INTO SEPTEMBER 5TH. WE'LL HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.
OKAY, MR. ATTORNEY. THANK YOU.
[01:30:02]
>>QUIET. NOTHING TO REPORT ON AT THIS
MEMBERS PWOFRTD? MEMBERS OF THE BOARD?
[L. COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS]
>> MR. CHAIRMAN, I HAVE A COMMENT.
MR. TOMSAK, WITH REGARD TO THIS JOINT COMMITTEE BETWEEN THE UA AND THE CITY OF FORT PIERCE, THAT YOU WILL SPEAR HEAD IT ON OUR END AND MAKE SURE WE HAVE PROPER REPRESENTATION TO MOVE
I'LL GET TOGETHER WITH M MR. MIMMS. HE WILL BE OVER HERE TOMORROW ANYWAY.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW TO ORGANIZE THIS THING AND GET IT SET UP. BUT, YES, THAT'S CORRECT.
>> ONE THING FOR MR. MIMMS. I HOPE WE DON'T HAVE ANY CONFUSION WHERE THE CITIZENS AND TAXPAYERS WILL GO TO TRY TO GET THE FUNDS BETWEEN THE TWO FACILITIES.
MAYBE BOTH FACILITIES CAN HAVE THE APPLICATION, WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MOVE IT ON. I WOULDN'T WANT THEM TO BE MONDAY AT UTILITY AND TUESDAY AT CITY HALL.
PEOPLE GET SO CONFUSED WITH A SCHEDULE LIKE THAT.
>> I THINK WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT, MR. CHAIRMAN.
THE ONLY THING I WORRY ABOUT IS THAT ESSENTIALLY CITY AN OUR ADMIN BUILDING ARE CLOSED. WE'LL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY THAT WE CAN OPEN IT UP, AT LEAST FOR THESE FOLKS TO COME IN, FILL OUT APPLICATIONS OR HELP THEM GET MOVING.
>> WE GOT SPACE AT THE DOOR. OKAY.
IF NO MEMBER OF THE BOARD HAVE ANYTHING FURTHER, AT THIS TIME
WE'LL ADJOURN. >> MR. CHAIRMAN, BEFORE WE ADJOURN, THERE'S ONE THING I FORGOT.
MR. TOMSAK, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU.
IS THERE A WAY THAT WOULD FIT WITHIN THE FRAME WORK OF OUR CHARTER THAT WE COULD SET UP SOME KIND OF EMERGENCY FUND IN ANTICIPATION OF SITUATIONS LIKE THIS PANDEMIC AND OTHER POSSIBLE THINGS THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SET SOME MONEY ASIDE OR SOMETHING THAT WE COULD USE, HAVE AVAILABLE TO USE TO ASSIST OUR RATE PAYERS IN THE EVENT OR WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS AG AGAIN?
>> I THINK THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS YES.
THE PROBLEM BECOMES, MR. BEY, HOW DO WE USE THAT MONEY? AND HOW WE USE THAT MONEY IS REALLY CONTROLLED BY THE CHARTER AND IT'S CONTROLLED BY OUR BOND COVENANTS.
AND THAT BECOMES THE -- THAT BECOMES THE ISSUE.
WE ALREADY HAVE EMERGENCY FUNDS SET UP, FOR INSTANCE, FOR HURRICANES OR WHATEVER. THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE.
WE CAN DO THAT. WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN DO THAT TO ASSIST OUR CUSTOMERS AND STILL NOT VIOLATE THE BOND COVENANT AND OUR CHARTER REQUIREMENTS.
>> IS THAT SOMETHING YOU COULD LOOK INTO AND BRING BACK SOME
>> MR. BEY AND MR. TOMSAK, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANYTHING IN THE CHARTER WITH THE BONDS. I'M PRETTY SURE THAT CAN BE
THANK YOU. >> IT CERTAINLY SOUNDS LIKE WE CAN GO IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION FOR THAT.
I THINK WE'RE DOING PRETTY GOOD AS A BOARD TO TRY TO WORK WITH THE PUBLIC ON THIS PARTICULAR SITUATION, ESPECIALLY OUR RATE PAYERS AND OUR
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.