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FROM THURSDAYS[Storm Water Advisory Committee on August 30, 2023.]
TO, WE WILL TRY TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.AND WE'RE SO USED TO, I KNOW THERE, THERE'S GONNA BE SEVERAL MEMBERS THAT COULDN'T MAKE IT TODAY.
I'M, I'M SORRY ABOUT THE, UH, THE DAY CHANGES THAT WE HAD.
WE, UM, I, I MOVED IT TO ONE DAY AND THAT DIDN'T WORK OUT FOR ONE OF THE PRESENTERS, AND THEN I WENT TO MOVE IT TO ANOTHER DAY AND THAT DIDN'T WORK OUT TO ONE OF THE PRESENTERS.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY WE WILL GET BACK ON TRACK WITH THE, UH, WITH THE NEXT ONE AND BE BACK ON THE, THE FOURTH THURSDAY OF THE, THE MONTH.
IT JUST DIDN'T WORK OUT WITH THIS ONE, SO I KNOW FOR SURE WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ANYONE FROM THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION.
UH, TIM HARDY HAD SOMETHING COME UP THIS MORNING.
HE HAD ANOTHER MEETING HE HAD TO GO TO, SO I KNOW HE'S NOT GOING TO BE HERE.
AND I, I THINK, UH, EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL, SAME THING.
THEY HAD SOMETHING THAT THEY COULDN'T MAKE IT TODAY, SO I KNOW THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE HERE.
AND, UH, WITH THAT, WE'LL, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
WE'LL, UH, QUICK, UH, THE TOPICS FOR TODAY.
UH, QUICK RECAP OF THE LAST MEETING.
THE, THE DECISION THAT WE MADE AT THE LAST MEETING, WE'LL GO INTO THE RATE IMPACT OF IF WE DO ADD THESE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN ITEMS TO THE, THE FEE, WHAT WOULD THAT, HOW WOULD THAT IMPACT THE FEE? AND THEN AFTER THAT, I WILL, UH, TURN IT OVER TO MELISSA KENNEDY SO SHE CAN, UH, GIVE YOU MORE DETAILS ON THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN PROJECTS.
AND THEN WE WILL, WE CAN HAVE ANY OTHER FURTHER DISCUSSIONS YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE.
OKAY, SO LAST MEETING, WE HAD A LOT OF GOOD DISCUSSION ABOUT THE RATE STRUCTURE AND WHICH ONE WE WOULD GO WITH.
WE TALKED ABOUT A, A TIERED SYSTEM.
WE TALKED ABOUT ALL INDIVIDUALLY CALCULATED, AND THEN WE HAD A, A HYBRID MODEL, AND THAT'S THE, THE ONE THAT WAS ULTIMATELY CHOSEN WHERE THE RESIDENTIAL UP TO 1 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF IMPERVIOUS AREA WOULD BE TIERED.
AND THEN ANYTHING LARGER THAN THAT, THAT'S RESIDENTIAL.
AND THERE'S ONLY A HANDFUL OF THOSE.
ONCE WE TOOK OUT THE, THE ITEMS THAT WERE MULTIFAMILY OR, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THERE WEREN'T MANY LEFT THAT WERE RESIDENTIAL THAT WERE AT THAT, UH, SQUARE FOOTAGE.
AND THEN ALL NON RESIDENTIAL WOULD BE INDIVIDUALLY CALCULATED AS WELL.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE ONE THAT WAS AGREED UPON AT THE LAST MEETING.
THIS IS THE RATE SCHEDULE BASED ON THE CURRENT, UH, FUNDED AMOUNT OF SIX AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS, THE DIFFERENT CHARGES FOR THE, THE TIERED RESIDENTIAL.
AND THEN AGAIN, ANYTHING ABOVE THAT ARE NON-RESIDENTIAL WOULD BE INDIVIDUALLY CALCULATED, AND THEN THE BILLING UNITS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH ONE.
SO WE, IN THE INFORMATION THAT WAS SENT OUT LAST WEEK, WE GAVE YOU, UH, BASICALLY TWO OPTIONS.
WE GAVE YOU A GROUP OF CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT WAS $200 MILLION, AND THEN A GROUP OF, AND THEN A LITTLE BIT MORE THAT GOT US UP TO $300 MILLION IN CAPITAL PROJECTS.
AND ONE THING I WANNA POINT OUT, AND, AND MELISSA WILL TOUCH ON THIS A LOT MORE, BUT THE, UM, ALL THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE, IT DID INCLUDE, UH, ENGINEERING AND, AND LAND ACQUISITION.
IT DID NOT INCLUDE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.
WE ADDED IN THE, UM, A PORTION FOR PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.
SO WHEN YOU, IF YOU WOULD ADD UP ALL THE MONEY, IT ACTUALLY ENDS UP BEING, AND THEN WE ALSO TOOK THE, WHAT WAS APPLIED FOR THROUGH GRANTS, THERE IS A LOCAL MATCH AND THAT WAS 17.7 MILLION.
SO WHEN WE ADDED ALL OF THOSE UP TOGETHER, THE 200 MILLION BECOMES 238 MILLION WHEN YOU ADD IN THE, THE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.
AND THEN WHEN YOU ADD IN THE, THE LOCAL MATCH FOR ANYTHING THAT WAS FUNDED THROUGH GRANT, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THE BLACK AND VEATCH LOOKED AT THE FEE OVER ALMOST 10 YEARS, THEY WENT OUT TO 2035 WITH IT.
SO YOU CAN SEE AS WE BOND MORE AND TAKE ON MORE DEBT, THAT, UH,
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COST PER BILLING UNIT GOES UP, IT'S AT 200 MILLION, IT'S JUST UNDER 60 CENTS, AND AT 300 MILLION IT'S UH, A LITTLE OVER 80 CENTS.UM, AND THEN CLICK IT ONE MORE TIME.
I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT WAS ONE OF THOSE WHERE IT, ONE MORE.
SO WHAT WE DID HERE WAS WE LOOKED AT THE $200 MILLION IN 2035, THAT WAS THAT HIGHEST AMOUNT, RIGHT AROUND 60 CENTS.
AND THEN WE TOOK THE, UH, AND I GUESS I SHOULD GO BACK THOSE NUMBERS THAT WE, THAT I JUST SHOWED YOU ON THAT LAST SLIDE, THAT IS JUST FOR THE CAPITAL PROJECTS ONLY.
THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE 25 CENTS FOR THE SIX AND A HALF MILLION.
SO WHEN WE ADD THOSE TWO TOGETHER FOR THE 200 MILLION, WHEN YOU GET TO 2035, YOU'RE AT 85 CENTS PER BILLING UNIT.
SO YOU CAN SEE NOW HOW, WHAT THOSE ANNUAL CHARGES WERE TO LOOK LIKE FOR THE DIFFERENT SIZE RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES AND THEN THE INDIVIDUALLY CALCULATED FOR THE NON-RESIDENTIAL.
THIS WAS A SLIDE THAT WE HAD USED EARLY ON.
IT WAS A, AN 800 SQUARE FEET OF IMPERVIOUS AREA HOME, AND THEN ANOTHER ONE AT 2000 SQUARE FEET.
WELL, NOW THAT WE'RE AT THAT TIERED STRUCTURE, BOTH OF THOSE FALL INTO THAT INITIAL CATEGORY OF ZERO TO 27 50, AND THEN THE 3,700 FALLS INTO THE NEXT ONE.
SO THAT, THAT'S THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE.
AND THEN SAME HERE FOR 300 MILLION, THE COST GOES UP TO THE A DOLLAR 10 PER BILLING UNIT.
AND THEN THOSE ARE THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH ONE OF THOSE, UH, DIFFERENT STRUCTURES AT THAT AMOUNT.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO, UH, MELISSA TO TALK ABOUT THE, UH, MASTER PLAN PROJECT.
UM, MY NAME'S MELISSA KENNEDY.
I AM A SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER WITH H N T B, AND I WAS THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE STORM WATER MASTER PLAN AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
SO I KIND OF WANNA JUST GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF HOW WE CAME UP WITH THESE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
SO TO START WITH, WE DIVIDED THE PARISH INTO 11 SEPARATE WATERSHEDS, AND THERE'S A MAP ON THE NEXT SLIDE, AND I'LL SHOW YOU WITHIN EACH OF THOSE WATERSHEDS, WE DEVELOP SEPARATE HYDROLOGIC MODELS TO EVALUATE HOW WATER MOVES IN WITHIN THOSE WATERSHEDS AND THE IMPACT OF VARIOUS STORM EVENTS IN THOSE WATERSHEDS DETERMINE WHERE THERE ARE AREAS OF CONCERN THAT WE WANTED TO ADDRESS.
THOSE MODELS ARE COMPUTERIZED MODELS, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE BASICALLY DEVELOPED BASED ON THE TOPOGRAPHY, THE SOILS CONDITION, THE CHANNELS, THE TRIBUTARIES, DITCHES, CULVERTS, BRIDGES, AND OTHER TYPES OF STRUCTURES WITHIN THAT.
AND THAT'S PUT INTO THE MODEL.
AND THEN WE PUT RAIN ON THAT SYSTEM AND EVALUATE HOW THAT WORKS.
SO WHEN WE STARTED THIS, WE HAD, LIKE I SAID, WE HAD 11 WATERSHEDS.
WE HELD WHAT WE CALLED LITTLE CHARETTES, WHERE EACH WATERSHED GROUP GOT TOGETHER, EVALUATED, PRESENTED THE VARIOUS ISSUES WITHIN THAT WATERSHED AND KIND OF BRAINSTORM VARIOUS PROJECTS.
THERE WERE OVER 350 OF THOSE PROJECTS IDENTIFIED FROM THOSE.
WE LOOKED AT, UM, KIND OF A VERY ROUGH BENEFIT COST RATIO BASED ON A VERY ROUGH COST ESTIMATE AND BENEFIT THAT WE UTILIZE TO DETERMINE SHOULD THAT PROJECT CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD.
SO WE GOT THAT DOWN TO ABOUT 150, 115 PROJECTS PER WIDE.
WE THEN EVALUATED EACH OF THOSE PROJECTS.
WE DID MORE OF A DETAILED ANALYSIS, LOOKED AT THE MODELS, INPUT THOSE PROJECTS IN THE MODEL TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT THEY HAD AND THE BENEFIT THEY HAD.
WE DID A CONCEPT LEVEL DESIGN, WE EVALUATED THE BENEFITS, AND THEN WE CAME UP WITH SOME TECHNICAL CRITERIA TO EVALUATE EACH OF THOSE PROJECTS.
UM, ONCE WE DID THAT, THEN WE CAME BACK TO A LIST OF 65 PROJECTS THAT WE THEN PUT FORWARD INTO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
UH, AND THOSE, AND THOSE IN THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN WERE THEN PRIORITIZED
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BASED ON THE TECHNICAL SCORE FROM THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN, AS WELL AS LOOKING AT OTHER CRITERIA.UM, EQUITY AND I FORGET WHAT ELSE, BUT THERE ARE OTHER THINGS.
OH, READINESS, PROJECT READINESS.
SO THIS MAP SHOWS THE RECOMMENDED PROJECTS.
WHILE MY PRESENTATION LOOKS A LITTLE WEIRD ON HERE, BUT ANYWAY, SO THIS MAP SHOWS THE YELLOW STARS ARE SHOWING WHERE ALL THE DIFFERENT PROJECTS THAT WE RECOMMENDED, UM, ARE LOCATED.
AND YOU CAN SEE THEY'RE THROUGH VARIOUS WATERSHEDS.
UM, AND THE RED LINES, UH, SHOW THE DIFFERENT WATERSHEDS.
WHAT WE DID NOT DO IS INCLUDE BAKER CENTRAL AND ZACHARY IN OUR EVALUATION BECAUSE THOSE ENTITIES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN DRAINAGE.
SO WE DID NOT IDENTIFY PROJECTS IN THOSE.
YOU'LL ALSO NOTICE IN THE NORTHERN AREA THAT THERE'S NOT A LOT OF PROJECTS.
THERE'S NOT A LOT OF ISSUE THERE.
RIGHT NOW IT'S VERY RURAL, IT'S VERY, UM, UH, WOODED.
SO THERE WEREN'T, THERE WEREN'T REALLY NEEDED PROJECTS IN THOSE AREAS.
UH, THE PROJECT TYPES INCLUDE CHANNEL IMPROVEMENTS, UH, DETENTION, SUBSURFACE, UH, SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS, SOME FLOODPLAIN PRESERVATION, UM, SOME DIVERSIONS, VARIOUS DIFFERENT TYPES OF IMPROVEMENTS.
WHAT WE DID THEN IS FROM OUR ORIGINAL MODELING ANALYSIS, WHEN AFTER THE 2016 FLOOD, THE PARISH WAS ALLOCATED HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT FUNDS.
SO THEY ASKED US TO FIND PROJECTS THAT WE COULD IDENTIFY TO UTILIZE THOSE FUNDS.
THOSE YELLOW DOTS ARE THE PROJECTS THAT WE IDENTIFIED THAT WE COULD SUBMIT FOR HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT MONEY, AND THOSE WERE APPROVED.
THERE'S, UM, CHANNEL IMPROVEMENTS, DETENTION STREAM, BANK EROSION PROTECTION, UM, THOSE ARE MOST OF 'EM.
THEN THERE WERE, UM, ALSO LOUISIANA WATERSHED INITIATIVE CAME OUT AND WAS LOOKING FOR, UM, PROJECTS BASED ON FUNDING THEY HAD.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO DEVELOP, UM, APPLICATIONS AND I THINK WE DEVELOPED FIVE APPLICATIONS.
UM, AND THOSE ARE SHOWN IN RED ON THIS MAP.
THESE PROJECTS ARE ALL SEPARATELY FUNDED.
THEY ARE ONGOING NOW, UM, IN VARIOUS STAGES OF DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT.
SO THAT'S WHAT THIS MAP SHOWS.
I JUST WANTED TO SHOW THIS BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO SHOW VARIOUS STAGES OF PROJECTS.
AGAIN, SUB SUBSEQUENT TO THOSE PROJECTS AND THE COMPLETION OF THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN, WE HAVE SUBMITTED GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR ANO A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROGRAMS. UM, THERE WAS MORE FUNDING THAT CAME FROM IDA, LAURA, UH, SOME WINTER STORMS, ET CETERA.
SO WE'VE SUBMITTED, I CAN'T READ IT.
IT SAYS EIGHT OR NINE, NINE HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM PROJECTS.
UM, L W I CAME OUT WITH ROUND TWO FUNDING.
WE'VE SUBMITTED FOUR APPLICATIONS FOR THAT.
WE'VE SUBMITTED TWO BRICK APPLICATIONS THROUGH FEMA.
BRICK IS BUILDING RESILIENCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE SOMETHING COMMUNITIES.
I HAD CON I HAD A CATARACT SURGERY AND IT'S NOT QUITE LINING UP YET, SO I CAN'T READ THE SLIDES.
UM, AND THEN WE SUBMITTED, UM, UH, ONE P D M PROJECT THAT'S PRE-DISASTER MITIGATION.
ALL THESE HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED.
WE HAVE NOT REALLY HEARD BACK YET ON THESE.
I WILL SAY WE DID HEAR BACK ON THE TWO BRICK JUST THIS WEEK.
THEY SAID THEY DIDN'T MEET THE CRITERIA.
I AM, UM, ACTUALLY VERY FLABBERGASTED AT THAT.
UM, SO WE WILL GET A DEBRIEF FROM FEMA TO FIND OUT WHAT THE REAL REASON IS.
AND EVEN IF THESE DON'T GET APPROVED UNDER THESE CURRENT PROGRAMS, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO EITHER RESUBMIT IF WE FIND OUT THERE'S SOMETHING WE MISSED OR COULD DO BETTER, WE CAN ALWAYS RESUBMIT.
SO THE INTENT IS TO TRY AND GET MONEY AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
NOW, THESE ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE 200 MILLION, THESE ARE, SINCE WE'RE ALREADY PURSUING FUNDING, WE DID NOT INCLUDE THOSE.
YOU CAN READ THOSE AT YOUR LEISURE, UM, THOUGH, BUT THOSE ARE THE DIFFERENT GRANTS AND THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE, WE PREPARE, AND THEN THE DIFFERENT FUNDING AND THE DIFFERENT AMOUNT THAT THE PARISH WOULD HAVE TO PLAY, PAY FOR EACH OF THOSE.
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THE COST ESTIMATE WE PREPARE INCLUDE ENGINEERING DESIGN.WE TRY TO COME UP WITH UTILITY RELOCATION COSTS, TRY TO COME UP WITH POTENTIAL RIGHT OF WAY.
ACQUISITION COSTS IS, THAT'S VERY HIGH LEVEL.
SO, UM, THAT'S IN, THAT'S TRUE FOR ALL THESE CONCEPT PROJECTS FOR THE GRANTS AS WELL AS THE C I P PROJECTS THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT FURTHER.
UM, SO THOSE NUMBERS CAN CHANGE A LITTLE BIT.
AND THEN THIS IS JUST A MAP SHOWING, UM, WHERE ALL THOSE, UH, GRANT PROJECTS ARE.
THOSE ARE SHOWN IN THE BLUE STARS.
AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THEY'RE, THEY'RE SPREAD OUT THROUGH THE, UM, PARISH.
AGAIN, NOT SO MUCH IN THE NORTHERN AREA, AGAIN, BECAUSE IT'S VERY RURAL.
UM, AND WHEN WE PUT THIS TOGETHER, EVERYTHING, THE GRANT APPLICATIONS ARE REALLY BASED ON CRITERIA THAT WE HAVE TO MEET.
SO THERE MAY BE A PROJECT THAT WE WOULD NOT HAVE RECOMMENDED ORIGINALLY OR WOULD'VE BEEN FURTHER DOWN IN THE PROCESS, BUT IN MEET CERTAIN CRITERIA SO WE COULD MOVE IT UP.
UM, CRITERIA USUALLY HAS LIMITATIONS OR MAXIMUMS ON FUNDING.
IT HAS TO DO WITH THE ABILITY, THE LOCAL MATCH AND WHETHER THE PARISH CAN PAY THE LOCAL MATCH.
A LOT OF THEM NOW HAVE LOW TO MODERATE INCOME REQUIREMENTS.
UM, SO THERE ARE DIFFERENT, UM, DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS FOR DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS.
BRICK APPLICATIONS ARE VERY INTENSIVE.
UM, SO IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHETHER A PROJECT WILL MEET THAT CRITERIA OR NOT.
AGAIN, THE BENEFIT COST RATIO IS ALSO A BIG CRITERIA.
SO THE RECOMMENDED PRO C I P PROJECTS.
WHAT THIS IS, IS THEN WE TOOK OUR LIST FROM THE, UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND LOOKED AT IT IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
AND WHAT WE WANTED TO FOCUS ON ARE PROJECTS TO PROVIDED THE MOST BENEFIT TO STRUCTURES AND PEOPLE.
IT WASN'T NECESSARILY THE MOST ECONOMICALLY BENEFICIAL PROJECT.
WE WERE LOOKING AT PROJECTS THAT PROBABLY THE MOST BENEFIT TO PEOPLE.
SO WE CAME UP WITH A LIST OF 15 PROJECTS, UM, AND THAT TO EQUALS TO 200 MILLION.
THERE WERE THREE ADDITIONAL PROJECTS.
THEN WE ADDED TO GET THAT COST UP TO 300 MILLION IF YOU WANTED TO CONSIDER GOING, UM, WITH MORE MONEY.
AGAIN, THE PROJECT TYPES INCLUDE, UH, CHANNEL IMPROVEMENTS, SUBSURFACE IMPROVEMENTS, DETENTION, ET CETERA.
AND THEN WE PRIORITIZE THOSE PROJECTS.
SO THE, THE LIST YOU SEE IS BASED ON OUR, AGAIN, HIGH LEVEL PRIORITIZATION BASED ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE THINK WE COULD GET DONE QUICKEST.
UM, AND THOSE, UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO THIS IS THE ORDER THAT WE RECOMMEND.
UM, SOME OF THEM WERE MORE SIMPLE PROJECTS.
THEY WON'T TAKE AS LONG TO DESIGN.
SO WE INCLUDED THOSE, UM, HIGHER UP IN THE LIST.
SOME OF THE PROJECTS, UM, HAVE TO BE DONE IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER PROJECTS, SUCH AS ONE PROJECT MAY CAUSE SOME DOWNSTREAM IMPACTS, WHICH WE DON'T WANT.
BUT THERE'S A PROJECT DOWNSTREAM THAT THEN MITIGATES THOSE.
SO THERE ARE SOME PROJECTS THAT HAVE AN ORDER AND THOSE ARE LISTED.
THEY'LL SAY COMBO AND IT WILL TELL YOU, UH, WHAT, HOW THAT ORDER NEEDS TO BE DONE.
SO THIS LIST GIVES YOU, SHOWS YOU THE 15 AND UM, THAT 200 MILLION AND THEN THE OTHER THREE THAT WE'VE ADDED TO GET TO THE 300 MILLION.
AND THEN NEXT SLIDE SHOWS, THIS IS A SLIDE OF WHERE THEY ARE.
THE YELLOW STARS ARE THE ONES THAT MAKE UP THE 200 MILLION.
AND THE RED STARS ARE THOSE THAT MAKE UP THE ADDITIONAL TO GET TO 300 MILLION.
AND AGAIN, THERE'S NOTHING IN THE REALLY IN THE NORTHERN AREA OR CENTRAL.
UM, AND IF YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF THIS, THE METHODOLOGY OF HOW WE DID IT, A PARTICULAR WATERSHED, UM, THE C I P, THIS IS ALL AT THE, AT WEBSITE ON THE BOTTOM, STORMWATER DOT B RLA.GOV.
ALL THE REPORTS ARE ON THAT, UH, WEBSITE.
THE MAIN REPORT, WE DID A SEPARATE WATERSHED, UH, REPORT FOR EACH WATERSHED.
WE HAVE WHAT WE CALL A DESIGN, UM, PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY.
YOU WANNA GET INTO MORE DETAIL HOW THE MODELING'S DONE, ET CETERA, OR HOW THE PROCESS WAS DONE FOR HOW WE EVALUATED PROJECTS.
SORRY, YOU HAD TO DO THIS, UH, AFTER EYE SURGERY.
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DO Y'ALL HAVE MODELING ON THE FLOOD REDUCTION THAT THESE PROJECTS WOULD CREATE? SO THERE'S SOME WAY FOR THE, THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND THE BENEFIT THAT WOULD BE CREATED IF THESE 200 MILLION WERE FUNDED OR THE 300 MILLION WERE FUNDED, WHAT THAT WE MEANS IN TERMS OF NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL FLOODING? YEAH, WE, WELL, WE DID IT BY WATERSHED AND WE DID IT BY PROJECTS.WE HAVE NOT DONE AN EXERCISE OF TAKING ALL THE PROJECTS AND PUTTING THEM INTO ONE MODEL TO SEE THE IMPACT OF EVERYTHING AT ONCE.
UM, WE DID DO 'EM ONE AT A TIME, BUT WE DID EVALUATE, UH, HOW, WHAT IMPACT THEY WOULD HAVE ABOVE OR BELOW.
AND IF IT HAD NEGATIVE IMPACT, WE THEN EITHER ADJUSTED THE PROJECT OR THAT ONE WE MIGHT NOT HAVE DONE.
OR AGAIN, WE HAVE THOSE COMBINATION PROJECTS AND THE MODELS RIGHT NOW, WE, WE HAVE THEM AVAILABLE TO, WE, WE USUALLY GIVE 'EM OUT TO OTHER ENGINEERING FIRMS WHO ARE DOING EVALUATIONS AND WANT TO USE 'EM.
AND THEN WE ARE ALSO USING THEM TO EVALUATE, UM, DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS WITHIN WHAT WE CALL A CONVEYANCE ZONE THAT'S BEEN ESTABLISHED.
I'M NOT AN ENGINEER OBVIOUSLY, SO I'M CURIOUS, IS IT POSSIBLE TO KNOW THAT IF YOU PUT THESE COMBINATION TOGETHER, THEY LOOK AT THE COLLECTIVE EFFECT OR THEY HAVE TO BE MODELED INDIVIDUALLY? IT, IT IS POSSIBLE TO DO THAT? UH, THAT WOULD TAKE TIME AND EFFORT AND FUNDING.
I'M THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOU DID THE MODELING BASED UPON A CERTAIN DENSITY, YOU KNOW,
HOW, HOW DID YOU TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION FUTURE DEVELOP OR EVEN PROJECTS TO
WE ESTABLISHED WHAT ARE CALLED CONVEYANCE ZONES ALONG THE MAJOR TRIBUTARIES.
AND NOW PER ORDINANCE, ANY DEVELOPMENT THAT GOES, WANTS TO DEVELOP WITHIN THOSE CONVEYANCE ZONES HAS TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE RIGOROUS HYDRAULIC ANALYSIS TO ENSURE THERE'S NO UPSTREAM OR DOWNSTREAM IMPACT.
SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW WE'RE, ONE MORE QUESTION THAT BASED UPON THE HYDRAULIC ANALYSIS THAT'S DONE, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE TAKEN AND THEN PUT IT WITH HYDRAULIC ANALYSIS THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING TO SEE MAYBE OVERALL EFFECT? SO WE ALSO DID, UM, UH, WHAT I CALL A REGIONAL MODEL.
WE DID MODELS FOR EACH WATERSHED AND THEN WE ALSO DID SUB WATERSHED MODELS TO CAPTURE THE SUBSURFACE SYSTEM.
UM, SO THEY'RE 127 OR THIRTY SEVEN, A HUNDRED THIRTY SEVEN OF THOSE.
AND THEN WE ALSO DID WHAT WE CALL A REGIONAL MODEL FOR THOSE LARGER STORM EVENTS TO CAPTURE, UM, THE BACKWATER IMPACTS AS WELL.
SO WE DID ONE FOR THE A E THAT EXTENDS UP INTO THE MISSISSIPPI, EXTENDS DOWN INTO ASCENSION.
AND WE USED THAT KIND OF FOR ASCENSION BEFORE AS WELL.
UM, DON'T LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT.
SO, SO, UM, SO THOSE BACKWATER IMPACTS WERE EVALUATED WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT EACH WATERSHED.
SO WE HAD TO LOOK AT THE MODEL FOR THE PARTICULAR WATERSHED AS WELL AS THE HOW THE REGIONAL MODEL AND THOSE BACKWATER IMPACTS.
UM, ALSO NOW I WILL TELL YOU IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO ADDRESS THOSE BACKWATER IMPACTS.
UM, SO LEMME JUST PUT SOME CONTEXT AROUND.
SO THIS COMMITTEE EXPRESSED, UH, ADAM IN OUR LAST MEETING, THAT WE WANTED TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN PROJECTS BECAUSE WE FELT LIKE ANY FEE SHOULD INCLUDE SOME ASPECT OF ACHIEVING THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN LIST OF PROJECTS.
THE, YOU'VE COME AND NOW SAID THAT THERE WERE 65 PROJECTS IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE YEARS, PLURAL OF WORK MM-HMM.
AND SO NOW JUST SORT OF BRINGING US TO WHERE WE ARE AS WE DISCUSS A FEE,
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IT WOULD BE FOR EITHER MATCHING FUNDS IF WE'RE SUCCESSFUL IN SOME OF THE CURRENT OUTSTANDING GRANT APPLICATIONS AND OR FUNDING SOME OF THESE CURRENTLY UNFUNDED PROJECTS.AS IT STANDS NOW, THE 65 IDENTIFIED PROJECTS MINUS THE 11 WHERE GRANT FUNDING HAS, I, I WANNA SAY THE, THE, UM, THE INITIAL H M D P PROJECTS THAT WE DID ARE NOT EVEN INCLUDED IN THAT 65.
SO WE DID NOT EVEN INCLUDE THOSE IN THE C I P SINCE BY THAT TIME THEY'D ALREADY BEEN APPROVED.
THE WATERSHED INITIATIVE ONES, I BELIEVE WERE ONES THAT WE HAD IN THE V I P.
AND I DO WANNA SAY THE 65 PROJECTS THAT WE IDENTIFIED WAS A COST OF A BILLION DOLLARS.
SO AS A TOTAL OF, AS A TOTAL, YES.
THAT WAS KIND OF WHERE I WAS LEADING INTO.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE TALK ABOUT A FEE AND, AND BE ABLE TO CALCULATE THAT, WOULD WE EVER ACHIEVE FINALITY ON THIS THING? AND IF IT'S A BILLION, UH, I DON'T THINK WE'RE ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THAT.
UM, FOR EXCLUDING THOSE THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED GRANT FUNDING FOR, UM, ARE IS OUR HOPE TO ACHIEVE SOME OF THESE PROJECTS TO CONTINUE AT THIS POINT AS IT STANDS TODAY, TO CONTINUE TO RELY ON GRANT FUNDING FEDERAL, UM, OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEDERAL FUNDS? IF, IF WE CAN, YES.
I MEAN, ANYTIME THERE'S A DISASTER, YOU GET MONEY.
NOT THAT I'M HOPING THERE'S A DISASTER, BUT IT'S A WAY OF GETTING MONEY.
THE I I J A BILL, UH, IS PROVIDING FUNDING.
UM, THERE IS ALSO THE STATE FLOOD CONTROL PROGRAM.
UM, BUT WE STILL WANNA UTILIZE THAT IF WE CAN.
UM, THEY HAVE VERY DIFFERENT CRITERIA AND THEY, THEY EVALUATE OR DETERMINE BENEFITS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY AS WELL.
SO YES, THE INTENT IS TO KEEP TRYING TO FIND OTHER GRANT FUNDED SOURCES THAT CURRENTLY IS OUR GAME PLAN YES.
TO FUND THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS.
AND, BUT I WILL TELL YOU BEYOND H M G P AND AND L W I, ROUND ONE, I THINK WE GOT REALLY LUCKY, UM, IN HOW MUCH THEY PROVIDED.
I'M NOT AS CONFIDENT IN ROUND TWO.
NOT THAT WE DIDN'T PROVIDE GOOD PROJECTS, BUT THERE'S, PEOPLE HAVE HAD TIME TO GET THEIR STUFF MORE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO SUBMIT SOME BETTER PROJECTS.
AND I WILL SAY BRECK SUBMITTED TWO PROJECTS IN ROUND TWO THAT WERE BASED ON A COUPLE OF THE PROJECTS WE HAD IN THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN.
THEY'RE NOT EXACTLY THE SAME, BUT THAT'S STILL IS ANOTHER SOURCE WE PARTNER WITH BRE TWO.
UM, SO THEY'RE, AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO FIND AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE.
SOME ARE VERY, VERY COMPETITIVE.
B BRICK IS VERY, VERY COMPETITIVE.
MELISSA, UM, IF YOU COULD COMMENT ON THE FACT OF CENTRAL ZACHARY BAKER, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE IS THE METRO COUNCIL MM-HMM.
THEY, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
THIS HAS TO GET ON THE BALLOT.
THIS HAS TO GET ON THE BALLOT.
TELL ME WHY I'M MO AND I WANT TO BE FOR THIS OR NO.
OR NOEL WELL, I GET, BUT I UNDERSTAND THE LEGAL ISSUE, BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT THE POLITICAL ISSUE.
I GUESS THE THOUGHT WOULD, SO BAKER CENTRAL AND ZACHARY WOULD NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE FEE? THEY WOULD NOT BE INCLUDED FEE.
THEY WOULD NOT, THEY WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE FEE.
SO THAT'S, SO IT'S ONLY THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF THOSE MEMBERS, DISTRICTS THAT WOULD BE PART OF THIS.
AND, UH, JUST, UM, AND MAYBE FRED COULD COMMENT ON WHAT TOOK PLACE YESTERDAY AT THE A E BASIN COMMISSION ABOUT THE PROJECTS THAT WERE PROPOSED, THE TOP FIVE PROJECTS, UM, THAT, THAT A E RIVER SENT IN TO L W I AND WE THINK THAT REGION NINE MAY GET AS MUCH AS A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.
AND I THINK AS, UM, MELISSA CLEARLY
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STATED ALSO LARRY, THAT, UM, THE OTHER PARISHES, WHILE WE'RE IN THE SEVEN PARISH WITH EMIT RIVER BASIN COMMISSION, ALL OF 'EM ARE NOW ARE GETTING AWARE OF WHAT, WHAT YOU CAN DO, WHAT YOU CAN APPLY.AND THAT'S WHY YOU START TO SEE THE MONEY BE SPREAD OUT A LOT MORE.
WE WERE VERY LUCKY 'CAUSE WE DID A STORMWATER MASTER PLAN.
WE HAD THE TECHNICAL DATA TO ACTUALLY DO THE EVALUATION, AND WERE ABLE TO SUBMIT MOST OF THAT DATA AT THAT POINT.
UH, IN REGARDS TO BAKER AND ZACHARY AND CENTRAL, JUST SO EVERYBODY KNOWS, MANY OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE, A LOT OF THEIR FEEDER CHANNELS RUN INTO THE THINGS THAT WE'RE MAKING THESE IMPROVEMENTS WITH.
SO THERE WILL BE SOME BENEFIT, IT WON'T BE NECESSARILY NECESSARY SPENT IN THE, IN THEIR CITY LIMITS, BUT THERE WILL BE A LOT OF BENEFIT TO THE THINGS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING.
J JUST SO, SO THE, UH, MEMBERS KNOW THAT THE, UH, AMY RIVER BASIN, UH, SENT TO L W I, THEIR TOP FIVE PROJECTS, WHICH WERE ONE CLEARING AND SNAGGING OF EAST OCEANA, UM, OF, OF THE A MEET FROM, UH, HIGHWAY 10 SOUTH AND ALSO CLEARING AND SNAGGING FROM HIGHWAY 10 NORTH AND THEN THE WEST SHORE INTERCONNECT LEVY IN ST.
JAMES PARISH, UH, THE TAYLOR BAYOU REGIONAL IMPROVEMENT IN THE CITY OF WALKER.
AND THEN, UH, THE BREX PROPOSAL FOR KNOCK KNOCK WAS THE, THE FINAL ITEM OF THE TOP FIVE PROJECTS TO BE SUBMITTED TO L W I.
IS THAT ALL YOU GOT LARRY? YES, SIR.
I HAVE ONE QUESTION, AND THIS IS TO TRY AND RECONCILE.
AND FRED, YOU MIGHT ALSO PARTICIPATE HERE AT THE FIRST MEETING THAT WE TALKED ABOUT THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS OVER A 20 YEAR PERIOD, WE TALKED ABOUT A $2.4 BILLION PROJECT TO TOTAL.
UH, I THINK YOU'RE THINKING THE TOTAL, THE TOTAL PROGRAM, THE PRO CAPITAL PROJECTS ARE A LITTLE OVER 1 BILLION.
BUT THEN THERE WERE OTHER PROGRAMMATIC ITEMS THAT WE HAD INCLUDED.
UM, WE INCLUDED SOME MONEY TO FINISH THE ASSET ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN DATABASE.
WE HAD MONEY IN THERE TO ADDRESS, UM, SOME REESTABLISHMENT OF SOME OF THE DRAINAGE IN THESE MIXED SYSTEM AREAS WHERE THERE'S DITCHES AND HAPHAZARD, UM, DRAINAGE PIPES.
THOSE ARE AREAS WHERE IT USED TO BE DITCHES AND THEN PEOPLE FILLED IN AND PUT THEIR PIPES IN.
SO THOSE HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN MAINTAINED OR IN A LONG TIME.
SO WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT REESTABLISHING THOSE.
WE HAD FUNDING IN THERE FOR SOME OF THE SEVERE REPETITIVE LOSS AND REPETITIVE LOSS STRUCTURES.
WE HAD SOME MONEY IN THERE FOR, UM, MODEL MANAGEMENT MAINTENANCE, UM, UH, THEN JUST KIND OF LIKE PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.
AND I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT ALL, BUT, SO I DON'T KNOW.
I DON'T REMEMBER IF THE TOTAL WAS 2.4 BILLION.
I DON'T REMEMBER, BUT IT'S UP THERE.
WELL, WHAT I, WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO IS RECONCILE THE NUMBERS.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE LIST OF PROJECTS IN TOTAL THAT YOU JUST SHOWED US, IT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS ABOUT CLOSE TO HALF A BILLION, 500 MILLION.
IS THAT CORRECT? OF THOSE THREE DIFFERENT SETS OF, SO IT WAS ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION FOR THE GRANTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN APPROVED.
AND I DIDN'T PUT ON THERE ON THAT ONE.
THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN WAS ALSO A PROJECT, IT WAS A GRANT PROJECT THAT WAS APPROVED.
SO THERE'S ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION IN THAT FIRST SET.
AND THEN THERE WAS, I DON'T KNOW, DAR DO YOU REMEMBER? WELL, ANOTHER THREE, 160 SOMETHING MILLION IN THE GRANTS.
WELL, HERE I'LL PLAY WELL, AND I, IF I'M, I THINK I'M, MAYBE I KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH THIS.
I ASKED MELISSA FOR A GROUP OF PROJECTS ADDING UP TO 200 MILLION AND THEN 300 A GROUP OF PROJECTS ADDING UP TO 300 MILLION.
AND THE WAY I CAME UP WITH THOSE NUMBERS WAS, AS YOU CAN SEE, WHEN YOU GET TO THE 300 MILLION AND THEN YOU ADD IT TO THE SIX AND A HALF MILLION THAT'S BEEN FUNDED FOR THE COMPLIANCE, THAT GETS US BACK UP TO THAT DOLLAR 10 PER BILLING UNIT THAT I DIDN'T THINK WE REALLY WANTED TO GET HIGHER THAN THAT.
SO I GUESS I, I ARTIFICIALLY LIMITED HER TO ONLY GIVING Y'ALL, UH, PROJECTS WITHIN THOSE THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT.
NOW IF, IF THE COMMITTEE'S WILLING TO FIND MORE, WE CAN CERTAINLY NO, I, I PAY UP TO, I'M, I'M JUST, I SAW TWO SETS OF, OF NUMBERS HERE AND I'M JUST TRYING TO RECONCILE WHY IS THERE A DIFFERENCE ON HIM.
AND I THINK YOU EXPLAINED PART OF IT AWAY.
[00:35:05]
ANYBODY ELSE? UH, WHAT, UH, ADAM, WHAT KIND OF THESE WOULD BE BONDED PROJECTS? YES, SIR.AND HOW LONG WOULD THE ANTICIPATION, SO THE FEE WOULD HAVE TO LINE UP WITH THE BOND FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.
IS THIS A 10 YEAR, IT IT'S A 30 YEAR BOND.
THEY, IN TALKING WITH BLACK AND AND BEACH, THEY DON'T, THEIR MODELS JUST DON'T GO OUT 30 YEARS JUST BECAUSE THERE'S JUST TOO MUCH UNCERTAINTY BETWEEN NOW AND THE END OF THE TIME.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY THEY, THEY LIMIT IT TO THE MORE THE, THE 10 YEAR MARK.
AND WHAT WOULD BE THE TOTAL AMOUNT GENERATED, ANTICIPATED AND THE AMOUNTS OF INCREASES THAT PEOPLE WOULD SEE OVER THAT 30 YEAR PERIOD, MEANING THE HIGHEST DEBT SERVICE AMOUNT? WELL, I PRESUME THAT IF YOU'RE GOING TO BOND ALL THIS AND YOU'RE GONNA DO IT OVER 30 YEARS, THERE'S GONNA BE INCREASES AND PERIODIC INCREASES IN THE FEE, CORRECT? YES.
SO, UM, IT, IT WOULD, YEAH, IF WE GO BACK, JOE, IF YOU GO BACK TO SLIDE SEVEN OPTION, THAT'S THIS.
WE DON'T, YEAH, SO YOU CAN, BUT THE, THE WAY WE DID IT WAS WE ASSUMED THAT THERE WOULD BE, UH, THREE SETS OF BONDS TAKEN OUT.
THE FIRST BOND WOULD COVER THE, THE FIRST 200? WELL, NO, IT WOULD BE THE, SO HERE'S THE OTHER ISSUE.
WHEN YOU BOND PROJECTS, YOU HAVE TO SPEND 85% OF THE BONDED AMOUNT IN THREE YEARS.
SO WE CAN'T TAKE OUT THE 200 MILLION ALL AT ONE TIME.
SO WHAT WE DID WAS WE ASSUMED THAT ALL OF THE PROJECTS THAT HAD A GRANT APPLICATION WERE GOING TO BE ACCEPTED, AND THEN WE WOULD FUND ANY LOCAL MATCH WITH THE BONDED AMOUNT.
AND THEN WE SAID WE NEED SOME FUNDING TO GET GOING WITH ENGINEERING AND LAND ACQUISITION AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND THAT TYPE OF THING.
FOR SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT WERE, UM, I GUESS NONE OF THESE PROJECTS ARE SHOVEL READY, BUT I'M GONNA JUST USE THE PROJECTS THAT ARE, COULD FEASIBLY BE CONSTRUCTED SOONER THAN OTHERS.
AND WE TOOK THAT, THAT WE, WE BONDED OUT THAT AMOUNT IN INITIALLY, AND THEN WE SAID, OKAY, THE DESIGN'S GONNA MOVE FORWARD, THEN THREE YEARS LATER WE'RE GONNA BE READY TO ADVERTISE FOR CONSTRUCTION.
SO THEN WE TOOK OUT ANOTHER POT OF MONEY THAT WAS MORE IN THE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR RANGE OR SO, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE THE JUMP FROM IN 2029, YOU'RE AT 13 CENTS PER BILLING, BILLING UNIT.
AND THEN IN 2030 YOU'RE AT 34 CENTS PER BILLING UNIT.
SO THAT'S WHEN THAT NEXT AMOUNT OF MONEY WAS BONDED.
AND THEN AGAIN, I BELIEVE IT WAS IN, UH, 2033 WHERE YOU BOND OUT THE REMAINDER OF THE MONEY TO FUND THOSE PROJECTS.
SO WHAT WOULD YOU ANTICIPATE THE FEES BE WHEN IT MAKES THAT JUMP? WELL, THAT'S WHERE IT GOES FROM THAT 45 CENTS TO THE 53 CENTS.
'CAUSE AT SOME POINT, AND IT, IF IT'S SIMILAR TO THE WAY THE, THE SEWER BONDS ARE, THEY PEAK AND THEN THEY, THEY GO BACK TAIL OFF.
AND, AND AGAIN, I I DO WANT TO POINT OUT THIS IS, UM, THIS IS VERY MUCH HIGH LEVEL.
THERE'S, UH, A, A LOT OF, UM, JUST UNKNOWNS RIGHT NOW.
YOU KNOW, MELISSA MENTIONED EARLIER, UTILITY RELOCATIONS AND THAT TYPE OF THING.
I MEAN, THERE, THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT YOU JUST, AND, AND WE SEE IT EVERY DAY IN OUR CONSTRUCTION.
YOU JUST, YOU DON'T KNOW FOR SURE UNTIL YOU REALLY START GETTING INTO THE, THE DESIGN.
SO, WELL, LET ME ASK YOU ON THE H AND T B ESTIMATES.
[00:40:01]
ESTIMATES THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT PREVIOUSLY OR HAVE YOU PUT SOME INFLATION? BECAUSE BASED UPON WHAT I'M HEARING, FOR LIKE THE COMEY DIVERSION CANAL, IT'S MORE, IT'S 30% OR MORE.SO THAT'S, WE HAD PUT SOME INFLATION IN THERE.
WE DIDN'T PUT 30%, WE PUT ABOUT 20%.
AND WE, WE DID THAT ALSO BECAUSE WE'RE FINDING WHEN YOU DO A GRANT PROJECT, THERE ARE SO MANY MORE REQUIREMENTS AND THINGS YOU HAVE TO DO TO MEET THE GRANT AND GET APPROVAL.
SO WE UP, WE JUST SAID, LET'S JUST UP ALL OF THEM.
AND ALSO BECAUSE OF CONSTRUCTION.
I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY Y'ALL HAVE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB.
AND I THINK THIS IS THE, WE STARTED OUT WITH A LOOK OF HOW DO WE D DEAL WITH, UH, OUR CONCERNS WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
BUT THIS COULD BE, UH, A SOLUTION THAT I THINK YOU COULD SELL TO THE PUBLIC, UM, OF PROJECTS THROUGHOUT AND, UH, MAKE THIS WORK.
IT WON'T BE PAINLESS, BUT IT IS A LOT LESS PAINFUL THAN WHAT I ANTICIPATED.
I MEAN, REALLY, I MEAN, YOU COULD LIVE WITH, I, I COULD, I COULD LIVE WITH A $300 MILLION PROJECT OR EVEN MORE.
BUT, UM, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE FLESHED OUT AND PRESENTED TO THE COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.
AND, AND THANKS TO FRED, MELISSA AND DARBY AND THEIR, THEIR TEAM FOR PULLING ALL THIS TOGETHER.
'CAUSE THEY, THEY DID PULL A LOT OF INFORMATION TOGETHER IN A, IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
ANYBODY ELSE, THIS, THIS MAY BE GETTING AHEAD OF OURSELVES.
UM, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR MISSING THE, THE MEETING, UM, LAST MONTH, BUT I'M ASSUMING THESE NUMBERS ON THE 200 AND 300 AND LOOKING AT KINDA WHAT THE RATE MIGHT NEED TO BE TO GET TO THE BONDING LEVELS TO ACHIEVE THOSE LEVELS ARE NOT INCLUSIVE OF ANYTHING RELATED TO WHAT WE'VE PREVIOUSLY BEEN DISCUSSING ON MAINTENANCE TO REACH THAT EXPECTED LEVEL OF SERVICE ON THE MS FOUR WORK.
IS THAT DISTINCT? SO WHAT'S THAT? THAT'S RIGHT.
SO WHAT'S PRESENTED ON, UH, SHEET SEVEN, THESE, THESE BILLING UNIT RATES, THAT IS STRICTLY THE CAPITAL PROJECT.
NOW, IF YOU GO TO THE, THE FOLLOWING SLIDE, WHAT WE DID HERE WAS WE TOOK BOTH OF THEM AND ADDED THEM TOGETHER.
NOW THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE SIX AND A HALF MILLION THAT WAS AGREED UPON FOR COMPLIANCE.
AND WHAT WE DID WAS WE USED YEAR 2035, BECAUSE THAT'S THE, THE HIGHEST THAT WE'VE GOT IN THIS TABLE.
AND I THINK I ROUNDED IT UP 'CAUSE I THINK IT WORKS OUT TO LIKE 82 CENTS OR SOMETHING.
'CAUSE AGAIN, WE'RE JUST THROWING OUT HIGH LEVEL NUMBERS HERE.
SO THOSE 9 MILLION THAT'S CURRENTLY ALREADY IN THE BUDGET, SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE ALREADY, WE'RE 9 MILLION.
WE'RE GONNA ADD ANOTHER SIX, RIGHT? CORRECT.
BUT THE, THIS IS, THIS IS JUST ADDITIONAL, THIS ISN'T, WE'RE ASSUMING WHATEVER IS COMING OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND NOW THAT, OR THAT WAS NOT SPECIAL FUNDING THAT WAS PROVIDED IN ANY KIND OF WAY.
IF IT WAS, IF IT'S ALWAYS BEEN PART OF THE GENERAL FUND AND CONTINUE TO BE PART OF THE GENERAL FUND, THAT THAT WAS NOT IN THIS.
SO THIS IS THE SIX AND A HALF MILLION FOR COMPLIANCE AND THEN BONDING OF THE $200 MILLION WORTH OF PROJECT.
IT DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY ADDITIONAL O AND M IF THE COMMITTEE CHOOSES TO DISCUSS THAT IN, IN MORE DETAIL.
ADAM, I HAVE A QUESTION OVER HERE.
JUST THESE EXAMPLES WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT, ON SLIDE EIGHT WHERE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, 200 MILLION IN 2035 AND LOOKING AT THE ANNUAL CHARGES MM-HMM.
IS THAT RIGHT? AM I NOT READING THAT RIGHT? YES.
I THINK WHAT I NO, THAT, THAT'S MY ERROR.
I THINK WHAT I DO, IT, IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE 48 40 AND AGAIN, 48 40.
[00:45:02]
I'M SORRY.SO THE LAST NUMBER IS CORRECT, BUT THE THE FIRST NUMBER IS NOT YEAH, YEAH, RIGHT THERE.
SO BECAUSE NOW WE'RE DOING TIERS TWO AND, AND 800 SQUARE FEET AND 2000 SQUARE FEET FALL INTO THE SAME TIER.
ALL WHAT IS INACCURATE IS ON SLIDE NINE.
UM, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN 48 40 AND 48 40, AND THEN 1 0 1 20.
AND AND THE REASON I USED THOSE IS BECAUSE I THINK THIS WAS A SLIDE FROM, I THINK IT WAS THE SECOND MEETING AND I JUST CAPTURED THE SAME SLIDE AND USED IT AGAIN JUST TO SHOW IT.
AND IT, WE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THAT LAST TIME OF THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE THE TIERED APPROACH.
SO THE, THOSE TWO RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES PAY THE SAME AMOUNT.
ADAM? UM, I THINK IT IS WORTH EXPLORING, UM, BECAUSE ONE OF THE MAJOR COMPLAINTS THAT PUBLIC CONTINUES TO HAVE IS THE ISSUE OF MAINTENANCE.
AND I THINK THAT ADDITIONAL ENHANCEMENT TO MAINTENANCE IS SOMETHING WRAPPING THIS UP INTO ONE BIG BALL, THAT THIS DOESN'T SOLVE EVERYTHING, BUT IT AT LEAST ADDRESSES EVERYTHING.
AND I THINK, I THINK THE PUBLIC WOULD CONSIDER ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR MAINTENANCE.
SO I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU WOULD POTENTIALLY WANT TO CONSIDER THAT, BUT SO IF, IF THE COMMITTEE AGREES, I THINK ONE THING I WOULD SUGGEST, WE HAD TALKED LAST TIME WHERE WE WEREN'T GONNA TALK ABOUT CREDITS UNTIL WE KNEW WHAT THAT, WHAT THAT NUMBER WAS GOING TO ULTIMATELY BE.
RIGHT? SO MY RECOMMENDATION, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THIS INTERNALLY, BUT MY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE COMMITTEE WANTS TO LOOK INTO, THAT COULD BE THE TOPIC OF THE NEXT MEETING, AND WE CAN GO, UH, LINE BY LINE, HOWEVER Y'ALL WANT TO DO IT.
AND THEN THE, SO THAT WOULD BE THE, UH, SEPTEMBER MEETING, WE COULD GET INTO THE O AND M MORE.
AND THEN THE OCTOBER MEETING WOULD BE WHERE WE TALK ABOUT CREDITS AFTER WE KNOW WHAT THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT IS.
WELL, I, I DID HEAR ANYBODY SAY ANYTHING.
I'D MAKE A MOTION THAT WE CONSIDER OKAY.
ALTERNATIVES FOR, UM, MAINTENANCE CON MAINTENANCE PAYMENT AS IN BEING ENHANCED TO SOME DEGREE IN GETTING SOME IDEA BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MAINTENANCE MONEY IN THE PROJECT, IN THE BUDGET TODAY.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ANY ANY OPPOSITION TO THAT? ALL RIGHT.
DO Y'ALL WANT TO MAKE A DECISION ON THE 200 MILLION, 300 MILLION TODAY OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE TALK ABOUT AT A LATER DATE? ALL RIGHT.
SO AS I UNDERSTAND IT, IT IS A, UH, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A QUORUM OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE PRESENT.
I THINK THAT YEAH, YOUR HONOR.
THERE'S NOT A MAJORITY OF THE, THERE'S, IT'S, YEAH, I, I SAID THAT WRONG.
IT'S NOT LIKE THE METRO COUNCIL WHERE YOU HAVE TO HAVE SEVEN PEOPLE HERE.
YOU JUST, IT IS, UM, BECAUSE OF THE TYPE OF COMMITTEE THAT SAYS YOU HAVE TO HAVE A MAJORITY DECIDED BY MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE, THAT ARE HERE.
BUT I GUESS, DO WE, UH, NEED TO, UH, OPEN THIS UP TO ANY PUBLIC COMMENT BEFORE WE TAKE ANY FORMAL ACTION HERE? IS THE PARISH ATTORNEY GONNA GIVE US SOME ADVICE ABOUT WHETHER OR
[00:50:01]
NOT WE HAVE TO HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT FROM THE AUDIENCE THAT MAY BE HERE? I DON'T.I CAN, I CAN CERTAINLY OPEN IT UP IF THERE'S ANY ONE FROM THE PUBLIC THAT EITHER THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK, WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT.
UH, I'VE GOT A SUGGESTION HERE.
IF WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT WHETHER IT'S TWO OR 300 MILLION, WE PROBABLY OUGHT TO LOOK AT WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF EACH ONE OF THOSE.
IF IT'S 200 MILLION, THIS WOULD BE A BENEFIT OF THAT VERSUS THIS WOULD BE A, A NEGATIVE FOR THAT.
AND THEN THE 300, AND THEN THAT WAY WE ALL HAVE A SORT OF A COLLECTIVE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT MIGHT, WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON.
I THINK THE QUESTION I ASKED EARLIER ABOUT THE CUMULATIVE BENEFIT OF WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON, I THINK IS A SUPER IMPORTANT PIECE OF THIS.
I RECOGNIZE, UM, WHAT MS. KENNEDY SAID THAT WOULD'VE TO BE A FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECT, BUT WE'RE, WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT WE'RE ACHIEVING BY CHOOSING.
UM, ALSO THESE WERE STUDIED, I THINK DISCREETLY AS PROJECTS.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THE PRIORITIZATION CHANGES, IF YOU LOOK AT CUMULATIVE PROJECT ACTIVITY, DOING TWO OR THREE THINGS TOGETHER CREATES A GREATER EFFECT IF THEY WEREN'T KINDA MODELED INDEPENDENTLY.
AND THAT, AGAIN, NOT BEING ENGINEER, I DON'T KNOW EITHER OF THOSE ANSWERS.
UM, IF THAT WOULD HELP US ALSO TO KNOW.
BUT MY SENSE WOULD BE MY PERSONAL PREFERENCE WOULD BE TO VOTE NO ON TAKING ACTION TODAY.
JUST BECAUSE I THINK IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS IS FOR WHAT WE'RE GETTING.
SO IN, IN TERMS OF, UM, THERE ARE A FEW PROJECTS THAT ARE IN COMBO THAT WE DID TALK ABOUT.
I THINK DO WE RUN THOSE TOGETHER? WE THOSE ONES THAT WE DID RUN TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THEY ALL WORKED.
AND WE CAN GET THE BENEFITS OF THOSE.
I THINK WE CAN LOOK AT THE PROJECTS AND SEE INDIVIDUALLY AND THOSE THAT ARE COMBO HOW THAT BENEFITS ALL, ALL LINE UP.
UM, BECAUSE I'M, I'M TRYING TO THINK IF THERE'S, YOU KNOW, WE DO, THIS PROJECT HAS THIS BENEFIT.
WILL THIS ONE DOWNSTREAM, DOES IT OVERLAP A LITTLE BIT WITH THE PREVIOUS ONE? AND ARE WE, I DON'T, YOU KNOW, DOUBLE COUNTING BENEFITS.
SO I, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT IN A LITTLE BIT OF MORE DETAIL TO BE ABLE TO FIGURE THAT OUT WITHOUT, AND I, I DON'T, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT RERUNNING MODELS AND ALL THAT, BUT WE CAN LOOK AT THE BENEFIT AREAS 'CAUSE WE HAVE ALL OF THAT.
WE KNOW WHAT THE BENEFIT AREAS ARE AND WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE WITH EACH PROJECT.
MELISSA, TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE CAME ABOUT 200 MILLION VERSUS 300 MILLION.
UM, AND AS FAR AS LIKE COST TO THE RESIDENT OR COST TO THE INSTITUTION, THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT, THERE'S NOT A LARGE GAP BETWEEN EACH ONE.
I I'M WONDERING IF, IF THIS SHOULDN'T BE A DISCUSSION MORE ABOUT 200 VERSUS 350 OR 200 VERSUS 400, UM, I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT PROJECTS ARE WE MISSING OUT BY LIMITING OURSELVES TO THE 300 VERSUS VERSUS SOME OTHER LEVEL? UH, I, I GUESS I'M, MY QUESTION IS, IS THAT, ARE THESE LEVELS ARBITRARY OR, OR WERE THEY BASED ON TRYING TO CAPTURE CERTAIN PROJECTS? HOW DID WE DETERMINE THE FUNDING LEVELS? I HAVE TO DIVE ADAM DIVERT TO ADAM.
'CAUSE I WAS JUST TOLD TO COME UP WITH
AGAIN, THE, UM, THE 200 AND 300 WERE, AGAIN, JUST, THEY WERE BASED ON LEVELS OF FUNDING THAT WE HAD DISCUSSED IN THE PAST THAT IT, IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE WE WANTED TO GO ABOVE THAT.
BUT, UM, I THINK IF WE GO BACK TO ABOUT A YEAR AGO THIS TIME, THE, THE RECOMME I'M JUST GONNA TALK ABOUT BROADLY, BIG PICTURE, THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS PRESENTED BY ALL THE EXPERTS THAT CAME TOGETHER PUT US AROUND 45 MILLION A YEAR, MINUS THE 9 MILLION THAT WE ALREADY HAD THE BUDGET, WE WERE GOING FOR 36 MILLION, IF Y'ALL REMEMBER EVERYBODY WITH ME.
WE'RE NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT HOW THAT WASN'T A GOOD THING.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT WAS IN THAT DATA WAS THE BEST PRACTICES AND THE BEST MINDS PUT TOGETHER A PROPOSAL FOR US TO GET RIGHT IN THIS COMMUNITY, RIGHT.
WITH STORMWATER MANAGEMENT, WITH THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN.
AND WE ALL, YOU KNOW, PRETTY MUCH AS A COMMUNITY BALKED AT THAT.
[00:55:01]
DELIVERY, RIGHT? THE METHOD.BUT AT THE BOTTOM LINE, THAT WAS A GROUP OF EXPERTS THAT WE HIRED THAT WE ALL, YOU KNOW, RESPECT, H N T V, BLACK AND BEACH JACOBS, OTHERS THAT PUT TOGETHER THIS FABULOUS PROPOSAL.
AND THAT NUMBER WAS $45 MILLION.
I'M ROUNDING IT UP ROUND FIGURES, 45 MILLION A YEAR, MINUS THE 9 MILLION THAT'S ALREADY BEING SPENT.
SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, DWIGHT, 36 MILLION A YEAR TIMES 10 YEARS, THAT'S 360 MILLION, RIGHT? WELL IT IS, BUT MY UNDER UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE, THAT THOSE DOLLARS WEREN'T FOR ANY KIND OF CAPACITY STORMWATER MASTER PLAN PROJECTS, RIGHT? SO THINK WERE KIND OF APPLES AND ORANGES WITH THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS.
ORANGES, THAT PRIOR, THE PRIOR NUMBER DID NOT INCLUDE CAPITAL PROJECTS.
SO THEN IT WAS LOW, THEN THERE'S THE ANSWER.
THEN EVEN THAT 36 MILLION WAS LOW IF IT DIDN'T INCLUDE CAPITAL PROJECTS.
I'M JUST ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION.
WHAT'S THE NUMBER TO GET US WHERE WE NEED TO BE? IT'S A LOT MORE THAN 200 MILLION, RIGHT? A LOT MORE THAN 300 MILLION.
BASED UPON WHAT THE EXPERTS HAVE TOLD US.
MY QUESTION WOULD BE IF, IF, IF YOU'RE CORRECT, IF IT'S MORE THAN 300 MILLION, ARE, ARE WE, WHY ARE WE RECOMMENDING 200 OR 300 MILLION? BECAUSE WE SAID WE DON'T HAVE THE APPETITE FOR IT.
I MEAN, WE SAID AT, AT ONE OF THE MEETINGS IT WAS LIKE, LET'S JUST DO THE MINIMUM COME UP WITH $6 MILLION.
AND THEN THE CITY CAME UP WITH THE SIX FOR THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS TO GET US THROUGH.
AND SO YOU'RE BACKING INTO IT.
I MEAN, WE'VE GONE FROM HERE TO HERE TO HERE.
Y'ALL ARE JUMPING THROUGH EVERY KIND OF HOOP FROM WHERE I CAN, FROM WHERE I SIT TO TRY AND MEET A NUMBER FOR US.
I GUESS FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, IT'S PALATABLE.
WITH ALL OF THAT BEING SAID, YOU KNOW, I THINK TO, TO VOTE ON A PLANET 200 MILLION IS, I MEAN, I I JUST, TO ME IT DOESN'T, DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
IT GOES BACK TO I'M NOT, I MEAN, BASED ON WHAT YOU JUST, YOU JUST TOLD ME YEAH.
THE, THE THE NEED IS IS IS FAR BIGGER THAN THAT.
AND SO WE'RE KIND OF SETTING UP A PLAN THAT'S NOT GONNA WORK.
IT GOES BACK TO MY ANALOGY WITH THE VOLKSWAGEN AND THE CHEVROLET AND THE CADILLAC PLANS.
I I, ADAM HAS DONE EXACTLY WHAT WE'VE ASKED HIM TO DO.
HE CAME UP WITH A NUMBER BASED UPON WHAT WE SAID.
WAS WHAT WE BELIEVE WAS THE TOLERANCE OF BEING ABLE TO GET SOMETHING PASSED.
AND I PRESUME THIS IS GONNA BE LIKE A GREEN LIGHT PROGRAM THAT IS, HERE'S THE LIST AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO.
BUT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS NEED TO HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO EVALUATE THESE PROJECTS AS THEY SEE FIT.
I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF DATA WENT IN HERE, BUT THIS AGAIN, IS A POLITICAL DECISION AND WE'VE GOT TO GET THE VOTES TO PASS IT IN THE COUNCIL, AND THEN WE HAVE TO GET IT, THE VOTES PASSED BY THE PEOPLE BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THAT THAT'S WHAT IS THE POLITICAL REALITY.
BUT, UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO GO ABOUT TELLING YOU IT'S $300 MILLION OF THE NUMBER, PROBABLY NOT.
BUT WE NEED TO SAY WE'RE WILLING TO INFLICT THIS MUCH PAIN ON THE PUBLIC.
AND IT'LL DO WHATEVER IT DOES.
AND THEN DWIGHT AND, UH, LORI AND ROWDY CAN CARVE IT UP.
MY, MY MAIN HESITATION WITH 300 MILLION AS IT, AS IT SITS ON THIS SHEET RIGHT HERE IS THAT THIS IS 300 MILLION FOR, UM, CAPACITY PROJECTS AND, AND ISN'T REALLY A LOT OF ANY, ANY ADDITIONAL MONEY FOR MAINTENANCE.
UH, AND SO IF THE NUMBER TRULY NEEDS TO BE 200 MILLION IN CAPACITY AND THEN, AND THEN A HUNDRED MILLION IN ADDITIONAL FOR, UM, MAINTENANCE, THEN, THEN, OKAY, 300 MILLION IS THE NUMBER.
BUT I, I JUST WORRY THAT IF WE'RE MAKING A MOTION ON 300 MILLION OF CAPACITY PROJECTS, STORMWATER MASTER PLAN PROJECTS, THEN WE'VE MADE A MISTAKE AND WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN OUR SYSTEM.
SO THAT, THAT'S MY HESITATION KIND OF WITH WHERE THE, WHERE I SEE THIS CONVERSATION HEADED RIGHT NOW.
UM, I, I WANT, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT MAINTENANCE DOLLAR NEEDS TO BE.
MAYBE, MAYBE STAFF CAN, CAN UPDATE US ON, ON WHAT IT IS.
BUT, UM, I THINK THAT AN INCREASE IN BOTH MAINTENANCE DOLLARS AND CAPACITY HAS TO BE A PART OF THE DISCUSSION.
SO LET ME, I'M GONNA REFLECT BACK ON, FRED'S ATTENDED A NUMBER OF MEETINGS THAT WE'VE HAD AND
[01:00:01]
ONE OF THE STATEMENTS THAT WAS MADE WAS, WE CAN SPEND THIS 300 OR 500 OR A BILLION DOLLARS AND IT AIN'T GONNA STOP EVERYONE'S HOUSE FROM FLOODING.IT'S NOT, AND SO WHAT IS THE QUESTION THAT THE PUBLIC'S ASKING WHEN THEY SAY, I THINK IT'S JUST SORT OF, I'M SORT OF SAYING WHAT ADAM JUST SAID.
WHAT ARE WE GETTING FOR THE 300 MILLION? IS MY HOUSE GONNA QUIT FLOODING? AND THE ANSWER IS, WE'RE GONNA GO, I DON'T KNOW RIGHT NOW, AND IT MAY NEVER STOP IT FROM FLOODING.
I'M OFFERING THAT BECAUSE THERE'S AN UNCERTAINTY TO BEGIN WITH IN THIS THING, NO MATTER WHAT AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU SPEND.
AND I AGREE, IF YOU'RE GONNA SPEND MORE MONEY ON CAPITAL PROJECTS, YOU NEED TO MAINTAIN WHAT YOU'RE PUTTING IN PLACE AND WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE.
BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT MIX IS BECAUSE I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH MORE MAINTENANCE MONEY WE'RE GONNA NEED TO SPEND GOING OVER.
AND THAT'S WHY I WAS, WHEN I SUGGESTED WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS.
I THINK A LOT OF THESE KINDS OF COMMENTS ARE GONNA COME OUT WITH, WITH NO MATTER WHAT SELECTION THAT WE HAVE.
IS IT 300? IS IT 500 MILLION? WAS IT THIS ONE POINT SOMETHING BILLION DOLLARS? I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S, I REALLY DON'T.
AND I THINK NONE OF US DO, QUITE HONESTLY.
I THINK WE, I I GUESS COMING FROM A LITTLE DIFFERENT WAY IS THAT YOU, YOU'RE RIGHT.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NUMBER IS, BUT WE KNOW ONE THING THAT IF YOU DO 200 MILLION, IT AIN'T ENOUGH.
SO WHY YOU DO 200 MILLION? AGREE? WHAT'S, WHY DON'T WE GO BACK TO WHAT THE EXPERTS ALREADY ORIGINALLY RECOMMENDED? LET'S LOOK AT THAT AGAIN.
LET'S BRING THAT BACK AND PUT THE TWO TOGETHER, THE MAINTENANCE SIDE AND THE CAPITAL SIDE.
CAN I ASK A FRIEND A HISTORY QUESTION? IS IT WHEN WE DID, UH, GREEN LIGHT AND SOME OF THE OTHER PROGRAMS, DIDN'T WE HAVE A LIST AND WE SAID WE'RE GONNA WORK DOWN THIS LIST AND WE HAVE MORE IF WE GET MORE MONEY OR WE HAVE MORE MONEY, THESE ITEMS? IS THAT, IS THAT HOW WE DID IT BEFORE? ACTUALLY THE LIST THAT WAS PREPARED UNDER THE GREEN LIGHT AND LIKE UNDER THE MOVIE YARD, IS WHAT WE ACTUALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE GET CONSTRUCTED.
YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON LIKE WHAT WE HAVING RIGHT NOW WITH INCREASE IN COSTS AND STUFF, SOME PROJECTS MAY OR MAY NOT GET DONE THAT WE HAD THAT PROBLEM UNDER THE GREEN LIGHT, BUT THEY'RE STILL PART OF THE MOVIE ARE, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING IT.
ONCE YOU MOVE FORWARD TO THESE PROGRAMS, YOU'RE ULTIMATELY GOING TO END UP SEEING IT CONSTRUCTED.
IT MAY NOT BE AS SOON AS YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE IT DONE, BUT I MEAN, WAS THERE A PECKING ON, THERE WAS A, OH YES, YOU HAVE PRIORITY PRIORITIZATION.
THAT THAT WAS WHAT WE CONSIDERED FROM A PRIORITY.
THAT'S WHAT MELISSA AND OUR GROUP ALSO LOOKED AT, THAT WE WANTED TO BE SURE THAT WHAT WE COULD GET THE BIGGEST BANG FOR THE BUCK.
AND IT IS ABOUT MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FEDS FED, PARTICULARLY DEALING WITH FLOOD INSURANCE, TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO, UH, REDUCE FLOOD RISK.
AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT OUR PROGRAM WAS SET UP TO DIRECTED BY.
YEAH, SO ANOTHER COMMUNITY'S PERMANENTLY FUNDED STORM WATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS HELP TO PLAN FOR THE FUTURE COMBINED WITH BONDING AND GRANTS AND ALL OF THESE THINGS.
AND I'LL JUST REMIND YOU THAT LOUISIANA'S NUMBER ONE IN RAINFALL, WE, WE HAVE NOT HAD A PERMIT.
WE HAVE NOT HAD A PERMANENTLY FUNDED, PROFESSIONALLY MANAGED STORM WATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IN THIS COMMUNITY.
WE'VE HAD BITS AND PIECES, PIECES, PARTS, RIGHT.
AND MOVING TOWARDS THAT, YOU GET THAT PERMANENT FUNDING STREAM THAT HELPS YOU GET THE BONDING AND THE GRANTS BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S GOT SKIN IN THE GAME.
STATE, FEDERAL, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AND THE INDIVIDUALS RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY OWNERS.
SO I THINK WHAT WE COULD DO IS, ONE, ONE OF Y'ALL TWO USED THE WORD TOLERANCE EARLIER.
I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE IT WAS
BUT, UM, AND AGAIN, THAT, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I WAS AT WHEN I DID THE TWO TO THREE.
WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE CAN LOOK AT BONDING VARIOUS AMOUNTS IN A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR INCREMENTS.
AND THAT PART, I, I'LL SEE, I, I'LL WORK WITH BLACK AND VEATCH TO SEE HOW FAR OUT, JUST, JUST FROM A BONDING PERSPECTIVE, WHAT THEY CAN LOOK AT AS FAR AS WHAT THOSE RATES WOULD BE.
BUT WE CAN DO EVERY FROM $200 MILLION ON WHAT WOULD IT IN A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR INCREMENTS.
WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE AS YOU BOND EACH ONE OF THOSE AMOUNTS OUT IN, IN 30 YEAR INCREMENTS? WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE TO WORK WITH THE H N T B FOLKS.
'CAUSE AGAIN, GOING BACK TO YOU CAN'T, CAN'T BIND IT ALL OUT.
YOU GOTTA HAVE IT READY TO BUILD.
SO WE'LL HAVE TO HAVE SOME LEVEL OF COMFORT THAT WE COULD DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT ALL OF THOSE IN THAT TIME PERIOD.
[01:05:01]
WHAT THOSE, UM, WHAT THOSE DIFFERENT FUNDING LEVELS WOULD LOOK LIKE.I THINK THE PUBLIC IN THAT PARTICULAR, THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS HAVE IN THEIR BRAIN WHAT LEVEL OF MAINTENANCE, YOU KNOW, HOW OFTEN DOES THAT DITCH NEED TO BE CLEANED? AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO POTENTIALLY SELL THAT TO THEM INTO THE COMMERCIAL, UM, PEOPLE THAT THE DITCH BEHIND THERE IS GONNA BE MODE AT LEAST SUCH AND SUCH OR WHATEVER.
I MEAN, THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME KIND OF, IT JUST CAN'T BE JUST A MORE POT OF MONEY.
IT'S GOT TO HAVE SOME STANDARDS OF ANTICIPATED PERFORMANCE.
AND WE CAN, WE CAN RESURRECT THOSE, THOSE LIST AS WELL.
UM, WE HAD THE, THE PHYSICAL INSPECTION OF THE LINES.
WE SAID, ALL RIGHT, IF WE LOOK AT 'EM EVERY 10 YEARS, WE'RE AT, THIS IS THE FUNDING THAT WE NEED.
IF WE LOOK AT 'EM ON A 15 YEAR INTERVAL, THIS IS THE FUNDING THAT WE NEED.
AND THEN JUST ON A, AND THEN WE HAD A THIRD LEVEL THAT I THINK WAS JUST, IT WAS KIND OF REALLY A LITTLE MORE REACTIVE THAN LOOKING AT ANYTHING ON ANY KIND OF REALISTIC LEVEL.
SO WE CAN WE CAN, UH, THROW OUT THOSE O AND M LEVELS AGAIN, AND, AND EACH ONE OF THOSE LINE ITEMS, WHETHER IT'S POINT REPAIRS, UH, DITCH DIGGING CONTRACTS, CHANNEL CLEARING CONTRACTS, ALL THOSE DIFFERENT TYPES OF, OF ACTIVITIES.
AND WE'LL, WE WILL GET THOSE LISTS BACK OUT SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT AT THE NEXT ONE.
AND, AND WE, WHEN WE LOOKED OVER THIS C UH, C I P PROJECTS, THE ONE I ASKED ABOUT CORPORATE CANAL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND THAT ALL OF THESE PROJECTS WE'RE LOOKING AT, EXCEPT THAT PROJECT JUST, IT, IT JUST MOVES WATER AROUND IT, IT IS GONNA FLOW INTO ASCENSION, INTO LIVINGSTON.
AND THIS IS, THAT'S THE ONLY PROJECT THAT GETS WATER OUT OF THE WATERSHED AND PUTS IT IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
SO I THINK THAT'S AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT PROJECT.
AND IT HAS A LOT OF HOUSES, A LOT OF STRUCTURES THAT ARE AFFECTED BY THAT, UH, CORPORATE CANAL DIVERSION AND PUMP STATION.
I MEAN, IT'S, I THINK IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT ONE.
AND THERE ARE ONLY THREE PROJECTS THAT MAKE UP THAT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, UH, PERKINS HIGHLAND CHANNEL AND CULVERT IMPROVEMENTS AND THIS LIVELY BAYOU.
SO, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE BIG, THOSE ARE BIG TICKET ITEMS. BUT, UM, WE GOTTA REMEMBER, WE'RE JUST PUTTING WATER ON PEOPLE DOWNSTREAM.
IT COULD BE MAKING IT POTENTIALLY MORE DIFFICULT FOR SOME OF THEM.
YEAH, I WANT TO DOVETAIL WITH WHAT LARRY JUST SAID.
MY BIGGEST FEAR IS THAT THIS IS A HOLISTIC SYSTEM OF, UH, SEVERAL PARISHES AND A MAJOR TRIBUTARY IN THE A E AND WE CAN DO A LOT OF THINGS HERE, BUT IT MAY, BECAUSE OF PROBLEMS DOWNSTREAM, MAY NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM LONG TERM.
AND, AND THAT'S MY CONCERN AROUND, DO YOU GO OUT AND SPEND $500 MILLION ON PROJECTS, OR DO YOU TAKE A $200 MILLION, SEE WHAT IT GETS YOU, AND THEN MAYBE CONSIDER SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE TO, TO ADD MORE.
I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S THE BEST APPROACH NOW, OR IF PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THIS, THIS WHOLE PROGRAM LAID OUT FOR 30 YEARS AND THEN BUY INTO THAT, WHATEVER THAT NUMBER IS.
I, I'M STILL NOT CONVINCED THAT WE HAVEN'T PASSED THE TIPPING POINT TO SOLVE FLOODING PROBLEMS IN THE BERRIES.
NO, IF YOU HAVE A I COMMENT ABOUT THE, I CAN ADDRESS THAT.
AND IN TERMS OF, UM, THE PROJECTS, AGAIN, WE LOOKED AT THEM TO MAKE SURE THEY DID NOT HAVE A DOWNSTREAM IMPACT.
SO WE'RE NOT PUSHING MORE WATER DOWNSTREAM.
A LOT OF THE PROJECTS ARE DETENTION PROJECTS TO HAL THE WATER UNTIL THE, UH, PEAK PASSES AND THEN PUTTING IT BACK DOWNSTREAM.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE THAT CLEAR.
AND IN TERMS OF THE TIPPING POINT, I CAN'T NECESSARILY ANSWER THAT.
BUT, UM, I THINK THE, THE BIG THING THAT WE DID WAS PASSING THE ORDINANCES TO NOT MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE.
I THINK THAT IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
WE, WE HOPEFULLY WILL NOT EXASPERATE AN EXISTING CONDITION.
WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS THE EXISTING CONDITION.
WILL WE SOLVE EVERYTHING? NO, I CAN'T SOLVE A 2016 FLOOD.
I MEAN, I COULD, BUT NOBODY HAS THAT KIND OF MONEY, RIGHT? UM, SO
[01:10:02]
THAT'S THE FEAR THAT I HAVE AS PEOPLE ARE THINKING BY DOING THESE PROJECTS, WE'RE GONNA MAKE VERY DIFFERENT OUTCOME FOR A TWO SIX FOR A 2016 EVENT.AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE.
RIGHT? AND IT'S PROBABLY NOT THE CASE.
AND SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE SELLING TO THE PUBLIC WHEN WE GO OUT AND SAY, WE'RE GONNA DO ALL OF THESE PROJECTS? AND I THINK ADAM WAS TRYING TO SAY, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WHEN, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE COMM MEET, DIVERSION CANAL, I KNOW ONE, ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT THE MAYOR HAD MADE AT ONE MEETING IS IT'S GONNA LOWER THE LEVEL AT DENIM SPRINGS BY PICK A NUMBER, I DON'T KNOW, TWO, TWO AND A HALF FEET OR WHATEVER.
AND PEOPLE HAVE THAT FIXATED IN THEIR MINDS IS CAN YOU COME BACK AND TELL ME WHAT DOING ALL THESE PROJECTS IS GONNA LOWER THE LEVEL IN THE NEXT 2016 EVENT? I DON'T, WE CAN'T, I THEY WON'T LOWER THE WATER LEVELS REALLY IN THE 2016 EVENT, BECAUSE MOST OF THE 2016 EVENT IS A BACKWATER, ALL THAT WATER COMING IN AND COMING DOWN AND THEN BACK WATER.
I MEAN, ASCENSION'S WORSE, I'M SORRY,
BECAUSE ALL THAT WATER GOES INTO ASCENSION, UH, YOU KNOW, BAYOU FOUNTAIN MANCHAC IS THE LOWEST AREA OF THE PARISH.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO GET PROJECTS TO PRESERVE THOSE AREAS THAT ARE FLOODPLAIN TO SO THAT WE'RE NOT EXASPERATING THE SITUATION.
WE'RE, WE'RE ADDRESS INTENT FLASH, IMPROVE THE FLOOD, LOWER OUR FLOOD RISK.
THE OTHER THING THAT WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IS A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE WILL HELP WITH YOUR COMMUNITY RATING AND COMMUNITY RATING.
YOU GET POINTS THROUGH FEMA, YOU GET CERTAIN NUMBER OF POINTS AND IT LOWERS YOUR FLOOD INSURANCE.
AND I BELIEVE RACHEL AND COMPANY ARE WORKING ON THAT BASED ON SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE DONE.
SO IF THEY CAN GET THE RATES LOWER NUMBER, IT LOWERS, UM, INSURANCE RATES PARISH WIDE.
AND WE ARE UP, AND I, AND I MENTIONED TO THIS GROUP THAT WE DID SOME RESEARCH IN THE FLORIDA, UM, DIFFERENT COUNTIES.
AND THERE ARE SOME, SOME CITIES ON THE COAST OF FLORIDA THAT HAVE BETTER RATINGS THAN WE DO, BECAUSE SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THEY HAVE ROBUST AND MATURE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS, THEIR NUMBERS ARE LOWER.
SO, AND EACH POINT REPRESENTS, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, LIKE SOMETHING LIKE AN EIGHT TO 10% REDUCTION IN FLOOD INSURANCE.
THERE'S DATA ON IT, IT'S PRECISE.
THERE'S DATA ON ALL THIS, AND IT'S MONEY, IT'S HARD DOLLARS.
YOU CAN TRANSLATE AND YOU CAN SHOW, YOU WANNA SHOW SOMETHING TO YOUR STATI THAT'S HARD DOLLARS.
AND, AND THE, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE DID, UM, WE CAME UP WITH MAPS FOR ALL THESE WATERSHEDS, FOR ALL THESE DIFFERENT RAIN EVENTS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE WHAT THOSE WATER LEVELS ARE IN THAT TYPE OF EVENT.
NOW, IT'S GOING TO BE EXACT, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ASSUMING THE RAIN IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA, RAIN ISN'T GONNA GO WHERE WE SAY IT'S GONNA GO ALL THE TIME.
UM, BUT THE PARISH HAS, HAS ALL OF THOSE MAPS, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY, LIKE A THOUSAND OVER, OVER A THOUSAND DIFFERENT MAPS IN, IN THE SMALLER WATERSHEDS AND THEN THE BIGGER WATERSHEDS.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST INFORMATION THAT CAN BE UTILIZED FOR PLANNING PURPOSES.
YOU KNOW, BIG RAINS COMING, THEY'RE TELLING YOU WHERE IT'S GONNA BE.
YOU CAN LOOK AT THAT AND KIND OF GET A GAUGE AND KIND OF PLAN FOR THAT.
NOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S, WE'RE IN A DROUGHT RIGHT NOW, SO I DON'T KNOW THAT'S BEING UTILIZED AT THIS POINT, BUT MM-HMM.
SO IT'S, IT'S A COMBINATION OF ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE'RE JUST TRYING TO LOWER THE FLOOD RISK.
A LOT OF GREAT POINTS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT OUT, ESPECIALLY WHAT LARRY WAS SAYING, THAT WHEN YOU HAVE TO GO TO GET BOTH TO THE COUNCIL AND BOTH TO THE PEOPLE TO SUPPORT SOMETHING MM-HMM.
GOT TO MANAGE THE EXPECTATION FROM EXPERIENCE.
WE HAD A VERY GOOD PROJECT IN ASCENSION PARISH DEAL WITH ROADS.
THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE IN ASCENSION PARISH AT THAT TIME WAS TRAFFIC AND ROADS.
IT DIDN'T PASS BECAUSE THE PUBLIC COULD NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS WE WERE ASKING AND DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE BENEFIT.
AND WHEN IT GOT TOO DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO COMPREHEND, THEY'RE GONNA VOTE NO.
SO IT IS MANAGING THE EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT WE DECIDING, UM, TO DO HERE.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S THE VERY IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS.
AND, YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA DO SOMETHING.
YOU'RE NOT GONNA SOLVE ALL THE PROBLEMS. YOU'RE NOT GONNA SOLVE A 2016 FLOOD.
[01:15:01]
YOU'RE NOT GONNA SOLVE A LOT OF THINGS, BUT IF THERE IS CLEAR COMMUNICATION AS TO WHAT THE MONEY YOU, YOU HAVE AND WHAT IT IS DOING NOW, YOU'RE NOT GONNA PLEASE EVERYBODY.BUT I THINK THAT REASONABLE PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING CAN'T BE DONE AT ONE TIME, AND AT LEAST YOU MOVE WATERMARK OR TRYING TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION.
I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE VERY, VERY HELPFUL.
SO IS MANAGING EXPECTATION, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I, WHAT I KEEP HEARING.
AND ANOTHER THING THAT WE DID, WE DEVELOPED A, WHAT I CALL A DRAFT ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN AS PART OF THE PROGRAM.
ADAM HAS THAT, AND THAT'S WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT.
YOU KNOW, DO WE WANT TO INSPECT EVERYTHING ON A FIVE YEAR BASIS, 10 YEAR, 15.
I'LL TELL YOU, THEY HADN'T BEEN INSPECTED PROBABLY UNLESS THERE WAS A CALL SPECIFICALLY.
SO WHEN WE DID THIS INITIAL, UM, EVALUATION, WE DOCUMENTED THAT AND GAVE THEM THE LIST, SAID, LOOK, THESE ARE REALLY CRITICAL.
THESE, THESE STRUCTURES, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY DON'T FUNCTION.
THESE ONES ARE IN POOR CONDITION.
THESE ONES, YOU KNOW, WE GAVE A LIST.
AND SO THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO USE, I THINK IT'S A A R P MONEY TO ADDRESS THOSE MM-HMM.
AND WAS THAT 40 MILLION OR SOMETHING? I FORGET THE TONS AND TONS OF DEBRIS PULLED OUT OF THE SUBSURFACE SYSTEM.
AND THAT'S JUST BECAUSE THERE HAD BEEN LACK OF MAINTENANCE.
THERE WAS NO PROGRAM FOR SO MANY YEARS.
SO I, I'M JUST SAYING I REALLY SUPPORT MONEY FOR MORE MAINTENANCE.
YOU KNOW, ASCENSION PARISH, WE HAD THE ISSUE WHEN I WAS C UM, CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER DOWN THERE.
WE HAD, LIKE YOU SAID, THE WATER COMES DOWN THERE, THEN YOU HAVE A BACKFLOW SITUATION.
A LOT OF 'EM, BECAUSE THINGS WERE JUST CLOGGED UP.
SO, AND BEING IN FACILITY, UH, PLANNING NOW IS GREAT WHEN WE GET NEW FACILITIES.
YOU KNOW WHAT, PEOPLE REALLY DON'T THINK ABOUT THE LONG TERM COST, BUT IT TAKES TO MAINTAIN THE THAT'S RIGHT.
SO I THINK THAT I WOULD ENCOURAGE THAT THERE BE A MAINTENANCE COMPONENT PUT IN THIS, BECAUSE IF YOU BUILD THIS GREAT FACILITY OKAY, AND YOU CAN'T MAINTAIN IT, OR YOU HAVE OTHER THINGS IMPLEMENT, MAINTAINED, YOU MAY HAVE A NET LOSS, YOU KNOW, OVER, OVER SOME PERIOD OF TIME.
SO I ENCOURAGE MAINTENANCE COMPONENT TO DEFINITELY BE ADDED TO THIS SO THAT THOSE NEW PROJECTS CAN BE MAINTAINED.
BUT WE HAVE, WE CAME UP WITH NUMBERS FOR ALL OF 'EM, AND YEAH.
YOU GUYS DID THE IN ASCENSION, THEY DID THE DITCHED PROGRAM AND YEP.
GETTING CAUGHT UP ON THEIR BACKLOG OF DITCHED MAINTENANCE, THAT WAS QUITE A GOOD DEAL.
ADAM, I THINK THE PIECE THAT'S REALLY, UM, MISSING FOR US RIGHT NOW, AND, AND NOT THAT, NOT THAT YOU WOULD HAVE THIS, 'CAUSE I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE, THIS IS WHAT, WHAT IS THE PUBLIC'S TOLERANCE? LIKE WHAT, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHERE, UM, AND THIS IS TO EVERYBODY.
I MEAN, WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE PUBLIC'S FINANCIAL TOLERANCE? IS IT $5 A MONTH? IS IT $20 A MONTH? I MEAN, ON AVERAGE.
UM, 'CAUSE IF WE'RE LOOKING AT NEEDING, NEEDING COMMUNITY, UM, SUPPORT, WHICH I THINK WE ARE, UM, WE NEED TO KNOW, UM, WHAT ON AVERAGE PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO PUT INTO, UM, CAPITAL PROJECTS AND MAINTENANCE AND ENSURING THAT, THAT THEY HAVE A BETTER DRAINAGE SYSTEM AND THAT THEIR NEIGHBOR, UM, HAS A BETTER DRAINAGE SYSTEM AND THAT THEIR NEIGHBORS AND THEMSELVES ALSO DON'T FLOOD.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'RE STRUGGLING WITH IS WE DON'T, WE DON'T KNOW, UM, WHAT TO BACK INTO.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, I THINK, UM, I THINK THAT THE, THE, THE STORMWATER, THE MS FOUR COMPLIANCE PART, UM, IS A, IS A DIFFICULT SELL TO THE PUBLIC.
I THINK PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THAT SHOULD JUST BE OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S, I THINK GOING TO THE, THE PUBLIC WITH, UM, MAINTENANCE, WITH YOUR SYSTEM OPERATING WITH THE, THE MAINTENANCE WORK THAT PEOPLE WANNA HAVE DONE, THE WORK ORDERS THAT HAVE BEEN IN, YOU KNOW, YOU LOOK AT THE WORK ORDERS ALL THE TIME, UM, AND, AND KNOWING THAT, YOU KNOW, WORK ORDERS WOULD GET COMPLETED WITHIN THREE MONTHS, SIX MONTHS, 12 MONTHS.
AND THEN ALSO THAT THERE WOULD BE A CAPITAL COMPONENT AS WELL, YOU KNOW, FOR LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENT IN THE SYSTEM, I THINK.
I THINK THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ARE EASIER TO TAKE TO THE PUBLIC, BUT WITHOUT REALLY KNOWING WHAT THE PUBLIC, UM, YOU KNOW, IS WILLING TO, TO PAY FOR FUND.
SO WE, WE PROBABLY NEED TO HAVE A TALK ABOUT HOW WE, HOW WE GAUGE WHERE THE PUBLIC IS, BECAUSE WE COULD MAKE THE BEST PLAN IN THE WORLD IN HERE AND ROLL IT OUT AND WE COULD HAVE WASTED A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY.
WE'VE DONE THAT IN THE PA AND I, I WAS THINKING THAT AS, UH, COUNCILMAN WAS SPEAKING.
[01:20:01]
I CAN LOOK INTO THAT.ANY OTHER, SO I THINK WE'RE, I'VE HEARD THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA VOTE ON THIS PORTION OF IT TODAY.
WE'RE GOING TO, UH, GET YOU SOME MORE INFORMATION ON BOTH CAPITAL PROJECTS AND THE O AND M COMPONENT OF THIS AND HAVE THAT FOR DISCUSSION AT THE NEXT ONE.
AND THEN WE WOULD DISCUSS CREDITS ONCE WE KNOW WHAT THE AMOUNT IS, THE FULL AMOUNT IS THAT WE ARE GONNA LOOK FOR IN THIS FEE.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? IS THIS GONNA BE THE SHORTEST, UH, SWAC MEETING TO
AND THE LAST 30 MINUTES HAS SORT OF SHOWN THAT WE'RE REALLY NOT ALL ON THE SAME PAGE AND WE NEED MORE INFORMATION.
I'M NOT SURE YOU CAN GET OUT TO THE PUBLIC AND EDUCATE THEM ENOUGH RIGHT NOW TO HAVE THEM PARTICIPATE IN THE DECISION.
BUT I'M JUST SAYING, HOW CAN WE EDUCATE THE, THE CITIZENRY ON WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH? BECAUSE I HADN'T BEEN PART OF THIS CONVERSATION FOR THE LAST X NUMBER OF TIMES, ED, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT.
AND I, I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERY ONE OF THIS BODY TO DO SOME RESEARCH AND DO SOME READING ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, HOW THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED IN OTHER COMMUNITIES.
WE DON'T NEED TO REINVENT THE WHEEL.
THIS IS DONE ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND THERE'S CERTAIN COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THIS IS DONE VERY WELL.
WE'VE GOT SOME EXPERTS THAT WE'VE HIRED THAT CAN TELL US EXACTLY HOW OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE GOTTEN AROUND THIS ED, IT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
AND IN OUR RESEARCH, WHAT WE FOUND IS IT'S A UTILITY.
SO IT'S TREATED IN OTHER COMMUNITIES AS A UTILITY IS, FOR EXAMPLE, THE COMMUNITY DOES NOT VOTE ON WHAT WE DO WITH OUR SEWER SYSTEM BECAUSE IT IS SO COMPLICATED AND IT IS SO CRITICAL.
I MEAN, MAYBE YOU CAN TELL ME WHY, WHY DOESN'T THE COMMUNITY VOTE ON OUR SEWER UTILITY? CAN SOMEBODY EXPLAIN THAT? ANYBODY HERE? I CAN'T.
I WAS ON THE COUNCIL WHEN WE DID IT.
UH, WE WERE UNDER A CONSENT DECREE AT THE TIME.
IT PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN VOTED ON BY THE PEOPLE.
AND I WILL TELL YOU, THIS PROJECT WILL NOT HAPPEN UNLESS THERE'S A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE, PERIOD.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO GET OFF THAT.
BUT I JUST, THERE'S NO POLITICALLY, THERE'S NO WAY I COULD ASK THE MEMBERS OF THESE COUNCILS TO HAVE THIS PUT ON AND JUST IMPOSE IT ON THE PEOPLE WITH ALL OF THE POLITICS.
I MEAN, THAT WAS 30 YEARS AGO NOW THAT WE'RE BEEN IN THE SEWER MM-HMM.
I KNOW THAT BILL PASSED, I KNOW YOU HAVE A BELIEF THAT IT DOES, BUT WE HAVE THE POLITICAL REALITY THAT THIS ISN'T THE ONLY WAY THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN.
IF ANYBODY HAS ANY OTHER THOUGHTS ABOUT IT, HAVE AT IT.
BUT IT, UH, I APPRECIATE AND I RESPECT WHAT, YOU KNOW, I RESPECT YOU, LARRY.
I'M JUST SAYING THAT THERE ARE BEST PRACTICES OF HOW THIS HAS BEEN DONE IN OTHER COMMUNITIES.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, SHAME ON US IF WE DON'T TAKE A LOOK AT THAT, ADAM.
I JUST, I MEAN MAYBE I'M, I'M ON THE WRONG PAGE, BUT I THOUGHT THAT WHAT WE WANTED TO DO HERE WAS TO COME UP WITH A REALLY GOOD PLAN TO ADDRESS OUR ISSUE.
AND MAYBE, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE PLAN AND SAY, THIS IS THE PLAN THAT COST $300 MILLION OR $400 MILLION OR 500 MILLION.
SEND IT TO THE COUNCIL AND SAY, HERE'S, HERE'S WHAT THE BEST PLAN IS.
BUT WHAT IT SEEMS LIKE WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS WORK THE POLITICS RIGHT HERE.
WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THE WHAT CAN POLITICALLY PASS RIGHT HERE.
WE'RE NOT TRYING TO PASS A PLAN THAT WORKS.
WE'RE TRYING TO PASS ONE THAT THE COUNCIL WILL THINK IS POLITICALLY ACCEPTABLE SO THEY CAN PASS IT.
AND I THINK IT HAS TO BE GO FOR A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE.
BUT WHEN YOU GET A THIRD, I MEAN, EVERY COUNCIL PERSON WHO'S NOT REPRESENTED HERE, THAT'S THE ONLY ONES.
WE DIDN'T HEAR THEIR POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THIS ISSUE.
[01:25:01]
AND I THOUGHT WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO DO WAS COME UP WITH THE BEST PLAN AVAILABLE, TELL 'EM WHAT THE HONEST, WHAT IT HONESTLY DOES AND WHAT IT'S GONNA HONESTLY COST.AND IF THEY DON'T THINK IT CAN POLITICALLY PASS, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT OR NOT.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST, JUST JUST MY THOUGHT.
I'LL JUST, YOU KNOW, QUICKLY, I, I CERTAINLY HAVE OPINION OF AN OPINION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT SHOULD GO TO THE PEOPLE.
BUT I, I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW, RECOGNIZE AS A COMMITTEE IS THAT THAT IS REALLY NOT A QUESTION THAT'S BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE.
WE ARE TASKED WITH COMING UP WITH A RATE STRUCTURE COMING UP WITH A, A PLAN AND, AND, UH, FUNDING THAT CAN WORK.
UM, THAT DECISION WILL BE MADE BY THE COUNCIL ULTIMATELY.
AND, AND SO I DON'T THINK IT'S, I DON'T THINK IT'S A DISCUSSION THAT WE NEED TO HAVE, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TASKED WITH AS A COMMITTEE.
THERE IS A POLITICAL REALITY TO IT THAT YOU HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, UM, IF, IF I'M AT THE BEST PLAN, I'M GONNA CHOOSE THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SERVICE.
I MEAN, KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? LIKE, THAT'S THERE.
SO WE CAN PRETEND LIKE THERE'S NOT A POLITICAL PART TO IT.
BUT I MEAN, IF YOU ASKED ME TO COME UP WITH MY DREAM SOLUTION, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, THE $300 MILLION AND IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, 40 MILLION A YEAR FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, MAINTENANCE.
AND IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, 8 MILLION A YEAR FOR STORMWATER COMPLIANCE.
RIGHT? I MEAN, THAT WOULD JUST BE, OF COURSE, IT'S GONNA BE THE BEST PLAN WHEN YOU INVEST THE MOST RESOURCES SO THAT NO MATTER WHAT, THERE IS A POLITICAL REALITY WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
ADAM, ANY OTHER, UH, BACK IN MEETING TWO, UH, WE TALKED ABOUT MAINTENANCE COSTS AND LEVEL OF SERVICE, WHAT WE NEEDED TO, TO MAINTAIN WHAT WE'VE GOTTEN TO CLEAN ALL THE DRAINS OUT AND EVERYTHING.
UH, IT WAS LOOKING AT ABOUT, UH, BETWEEN 27 AND $28 MILLION A YEAR TO DO THAT.
UH, AND THEN, THEN WE, THEN WE SUBTRACTED THE 9.4 MILLION THAT'S IN THE BUDGET FROM THAT.
BUT THAT'S GOING, THAT CURRENTLY GOING TO MS FOUR.
SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT PROBABLY $28 MILLION OF MAINTENANCE TO KEEP THE SYSTEM GOING AS IT STANDS NOW.
I, I'M ASSUMING THAT WOULD INCLUDE ANYTHING WE BUILD ADDITIONALLY TO MAINTAIN THAT.
SO, UM, I THINK WE SHOULD FIGURE THAT 27, 20 $8 MILLION INTO WHATEVER WE DECIDE TO DO FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS TO KEEP THE SYSTEM MAINTAINED IN ITS BEST POSSIBLE SHAPE, WHICH IT WASN'T WHEN WE STARTED THIS PROJECT.
WE'LL, AND WE'LL, WE WILL BRING THOSE NUMBERS TO THE NEXT MEETING, BUT I THINK
AND THEN SECONDLY, WE WILL, UH, RESURRECT THE O AND M INFORMATION THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED IN THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SERVICE THAT WERE DONE AND HOW OFTEN WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT ASSETS OR MAINTAINING DIFFERENT ASSETS, WHAT THAT, WHAT THAT INTERVAL WOULD BE, AND BRING THAT BACK AS WELL AND HAVE THAT DISCUSSION NEXT TIME.
I, I'M SORT OF WITH GREG, I DON'T KNOW.
UM, JUST BRINGING BACK A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR INCREMENTS AND CHANGING THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, IT DOESN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION, WHAT DOES THAT INCREMENTAL A HUNDRED DOLLARS MILLION BUY ME OR WHAT, WHAT ADDITIONAL RISK TO ME AS A HOMEOWNER DO I GET BY ADDING ANOTHER A HUNDRED MILLION? THAT'S THE DILEMMA THAT I'M HAVING RIGHT NOW, IS WE DON'T KNOW WHAT EXACTLY THAT LOOKS LIKE.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THEY'RE GONNA REDUCE THE RISK, WE'RE GONNA IMPROVE OUR RATINGS, SO THEREFORE YOUR FEMA INSURANCE SHOULD GO DOWN.
THAT'S SORT OF THE BIG PICTURE THING.
BUT I CAN'T TELL THEM WHAT AN INCREMENTAL INCREASE IN A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS BY YOU.
[01:30:01]
WE MAY BE, WE MAY BE TRYING TO SPLIT HAIRS HERE AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE GETTING FOR IT.I WAS GONNA SAY THAT THAT'S GONNA, THAT'S GONNA COMPLETELY VARY.
I MEAN, WHO'S GONNA GET THE MOST BENEFIT? WHERE I LIVE, I PROBABLY WON'T SEE ANYTHING 'CAUSE I'M IN A HIGHER AREA AND VERY OUTSIDE X ZONE, WHATEVER.
BUT, BUT I'M, YOU KNOW, I'M WILLING TO PAY 'CAUSE I UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE.
SO IT'S, IT'S, I I, I DON'T, I DON'T, YOU'RE ASKING FOR A LOT, I THINK TO PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER TO BE ABLE TO SAY WHAT THEIR EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON'S RISK REDUCTION IS GOING TO BE.
I'M REALLY NOT ASKING YOU TO DO THE EXTRA WORK.
THAT'S MY POINT IS IT'S SUCH A DAUNTING TASK TO UNDERSTAND WHAT EACH A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR INCREMENT WOULD BUY YOU BECAUSE IT'S DIFFERENT ALL OVER THE PARISH.
IT'S GONNA BE DIFFERENT ALL OVER THE PARISH.
AND SO I'M SAYING, DO WE REALLY WANT TO GO THERE? I SEE YOU CAN HEAR CRICKETS,
IF YOU LOOK AT HOW THESE PROJECTS ARE SPREAD OUT IN THE 200 AND 300 MILLION, UH, CATEGORIES, UH, ON THE MAPS, THE WATERSHEDS VARY.
THE PLACES IN THE WATERSHED VARY.
SOME PEOPLE BENEFIT MORE THAN OTHERS, UH, DEPENDING ON HOW CLOSE THEY ARE TO CERTAIN WATERSHEDS AND CERTAIN DRAINAGE WAYS YEAH.
WHEN IN DOUBT, LOOK AT THE ELEVATION.
YOU CAN TELL WHO'S GONNA FLOOD AND WHO'S NOT.
SO I THINK YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A, YOU'RE GONNA VOTE ON THIS.
PEOPLE ARE GONNA, AND YOU SHOW THEM WHAT YOU'RE GONNA GET FOR YOUR MONEY, THEY'RE GONNA SAY, WELL, I'M NOT, I'M OVER HERE.
THEY'RE NOT DOING A PROJECT BY ME, BUT IT'S NEEDED NEED DOING OVER HERE.
WHY SHOULD I VOTE FOR THAT? IT IS KIND OF, KIND OF A NIMBY THING.
IF YOU'RE NOT DOING SOMETHING IN MY BACKYARD, WHY SHOULD I VOTE FOR THIS GUY OVER THIS SIDE OF TOWN TO GET SOMETHING? SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S A MISTAKE TO, TO DO THAT.
UH, 'CAUSE YOU'RE GONNA GET THE VOTE VARYING ALL OVER THE PARISH DEPENDING ON WHO GETS WHAT.
AND, AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE PUBLIC EDUCATION COMPONENT COMES INTO IT.
'CAUSE AGAIN, GOING BACK TO THE, UH, THE COMMUNITY RATING SYSTEM, WHEN THEY LOOK AT IT AS A, A PARISH AS A WHOLE, THEY'RE NOT LOOKING AT IT AS BASIN SPECIFIC.
SO WE, WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS EDUCATE FOLKS AND SAY, HEY, WE NEED TO FIX THE PARISHES, OR NOT FIX.
THAT'S NOT, BUT WE NEED TO REDUCE THE PARISH'S BLOOD RISK.
EVERYBODY BENEFITS IN A COMBINATION OF WAYS, AND THEN EVERYBODY BENEFITS FROM IT IN, IN VARIOUS WAYS.
AND I, I THINK TOO, JUST THEY MAY, THEY MAY LIVE IN IN ONE AREA AND, AND WORK IN ANOTHER AREA, DO OTHER THINGS IN ANOTHER.
I MEAN, YOU, WE, WE USE INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGHOUT THE PARISH.
IT'S NOT JUST, I MEAN, YEAH, EVERYBODY'S WORRIED ABOUT THEIR, THEIR HOME, BUT IT'S, IT'S OUR COMMUNITY THAT WE, AND WE GOTTA PROTECT THAT WHOLE COMMUNITY.
THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO EXPLAIN.
AND I THINK WE ALSO NEED TO AVOID ANY MENTION OF THE 2016 FLOOD.
BECAUSE WE'RE ADDRESSING FLASH FLOODS HERE.
WE'RE NOT AT ALL ADDRESSING THE AMATE RIVER.
SO WATER KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES AND THE LIKE, I MEAN, MELISSA SAID THAT MM-HMM.
I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT.
BUT YEAH, I THINK EDUCATION IS HUGE.
PART OF THE COMPONENT, YOU KNOW, JUST EDUCATING ON THE BENEFITS OF A, A ROBUST PERMANENT PROGRAM, RIGHT.
WHICH INCLUDES ALL OF THE THINGS WE DISCUSSED HERE, PLUS EDUCATION, ONGOING EDUCATION INITIATIVES FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE.
IT INCLUDES LITTER ENFORCEMENT.
AND THAT'S NOT POLICE OFFICERS, THAT'S PROFESSIONAL, PROFESSIONALLY PAID LITTER PATROL.
IT INCLUDES EQUIPMENT, UH, LITTER, CATCHING EQUIPMENT, ONGOING MAINTENANCE AND CLEANUP OF THAT EQUIPMENT.
SO AS THE COMMUNITY BEGINS TO SEE A CLEANER COMMUNITY TO SEE LESS FLOODING AND LESS LITTER ON THE STREETS, THEY, AND THEY'RE EDUCATED CONSISTENTLY ABOUT IT, THEN THEY BUY INTO THE PROGRAM.
AND THEN IT BECOMES ABOUT FOR BRAC, COMMUNITY, COMMUNITY PLACE, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, RECRUITMENT, YOU HAVE A CLEANER COMMUNITY WITH LESS FLOODING.
[01:35:03]
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? MM-HMM.