1 CITY OF RIALTO
REGULAR MEETING OF THE WATER SUBCOMMITTEE
January 24, 2024 - 10:00 A.M.
MINUTES
The Regular meeting of the Water Subcommittee of the City of Rialto was held in the Civic Center Council Chambers located at 150 S. Palm Avenue, Rialto, California 92376, on Wednesday, January 24, 2024.
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CALL TO ORDER Call to order at 10:09 A.M.
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ROLL CALL The roll call was taken by Senior Administrative Analyst , Nicole Hemmans.
Subcommittee Members / City Staff:
Mayor Deborah Robertson
Councilmember Ed Scott
David Carmany, City Manager
Arron Brown, Assistant City Manager
Robert Messinger, Deputy City Attorney
Steve Dopudja, P.E., Interim Utilities Manager
Toyasha Sebbag, Assistant to the City Manager
Nicole Hemmans, Senior Administrative Analyst
Additional Attendees:
Peter Luc hetti, R ialto Water Services (R WS)/Table Rock (attended Virtually)
Meagan Matson, R ialto Water Services (R WS)/Table Rock (joined at 10:27 a.m., attended virtually)
Dr. June Hayes, Resident
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PUBLIC COMMENTS Public comment received on January 24, 2024:
♦ None
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APPROVAL OF MINUTES-
Regular Meeting of September 27,
2023
Minutes Prepared By: Nicole Hemmans, Senior Administrative Analyst Meeting Date: September 27, 2023 - Minutes Approved.
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NEW BUSINESS ITEMS
WS-24-1079 – Provide Feedback on
Proposed Contract for LCRR.
(ACT ION)
Request that the Water Subcommittee provide feedback on the City Council and Rialto Utility Authority Board entering into a not -to-exceed contract in the amount of $164,650 for 120Water to provide services in compliance with Federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Revisions.
Questions & Comments
♦ Stephen Dopudja, Interim Utilities Manager, requested to table this item to have Robert Messinger, Deputy City Attorney review the Master Service Agreement with 120Water and operational cost associated with RWS’s participation.
♦ Councilmember Scott requested for staff to determine the operational cost, if any, to RWS’s participation and to include those costs as part of the total project cost.
♦ Mayor Robertson would like staff to address her concerns regarding the city’s use of 120Water’s proprietary software and ensure that the city would own the data.
♦ Mayor Robertson would like staff to provide the details regarding the criteria and process used for the selection of 120Water, including whether a Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued.
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♦ WS-24-1081 – Provide
Feedback on Contract
Amendment No. 1 with FG
Solutions.
♦ (ACT
ION)
Request that the Water Subcommittee provide feedback on Contract Amendment No. 1 with FG Solutions in the amount of $5,480 for the City’s Water and Wastewater Rate Study.
Questions & Comments
♦ Councilmember Scott asked for details of cost outside the scope of work.
♦ Mrs. Sebbag advised the additional cost pertains to request for preliminary Labor Reset calculations and additional financial scoping meeting with RWS about capital financing options, which were outside the scope of the Water and Wastewater Rate Study. ♦ Councilmember Scott advised that the additional cost should have been included in the original contract cost. Further, Councilmember Scott approved moving this item forward with placing this item on the 3 City Council agenda; however, stated that those costs should have been included in the original scope of work.
♦ Mayor Robertson suggested staff establish a checklist of itemized costs for future awarded contracts that goes over the scope of work for each project.
♦ Councilmember Scott would like to see the Labor Reset contract go out for an RFP.
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WS-24-1083 – Update on the Water
Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation Act (WIFIA).
(RECEIVE AND FILE)
Update on the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Loan Agreement by and between the City of Rialto/Rialto Utility Authority Board and Rialto Water Services.
Questions & Comments
♦ Mr. Luchetti requested for Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP, the City/Rialto Utility Authority’s (RUA) Concession Agreement and Bond Counsel to provide a legal opinion by mid-February 2024 regarding the City/RUA’s capital improvement financing options.
♦ Mrs. Sebbag stated that she would work with Mr. Luchetti to set up a RUA/RWS Capital Improvement Plan Financing Meeting prior to the February 2024 Water Subcommittee Meeting.
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WS-24-1082- Ratification of
Arrearage Payment Program
(RECEIVE AND FILE)
Update on the placement on the City Council’s agenda: 1) the Ratification of Accepting $402,237.74 for Water and $5,677,933.19 for Wastewater from the State Water Resources Control Board’s California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program and Authorizing $13,168.01 in Water and $28,843.59 in Wastewater to return unused funds; and 2) Accepting $1,824,579.14 from the State Water Resources Control Board’s California Extended Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program.
Questions & Comments
♦ Councilmember Scott requested for RWS to provide the latest report on the Water and Wastewater arrearages program and to include a comparative analysis to pre-Covid.
♦ Mayor Robertson and Councilmember Scott requested for the RWS Monthly Operations Report (MOR) be included in the Water Subcommittee reports going forward.
♦ Councilmember Scott asked if our current payment plans model that of Southern California Edison (SCE).
o Per Mr. Luchetti, yes, the RWS payment plans model the payment plans supported by SCE.
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WS-24-1080 – Cadiz Water Project
(ACTION)
Request that the Water Subcommittee provide feedback on the City of Rialto and Rialto Utility Authority Board Issuing a Notice of Intent Letter to the County of San Bernardino of Rialto’s Interest to Facilitate the Delivery of Water from the Cadiz Water Project to Disadvantaged Communities (25,000 Acre-Feet).
Questions & Comments
♦ Councilmember Scott asked if sending the Notice of Intent Letter would require the city to pay for the 25,000 Acre- Feet of water from San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors (SBC Board)? If so, what is the cost?
♦ Councilmember Scott commented that Cadiz water is expensive.
If the SBC Board is willing to give it t o the city of Rialto, as a disadvantaged community, at no cost, then he would be in support of issuing a Notice of Intent Letter.
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UPCOMING MEETINGS/OTHER
DISCUSSION ITEMS
♦ None
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ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 11:55 a.m.
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