Item 2a-Draft of August 7, 2015 Meeting Minutes — original pdf

Backup

Page 1 of 3 LOW INCOME CONSUMER ADVISORY TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 7, 2015 The Low Income Consumer Advisory Task Force convened in a regular meeting at Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs Road, Room 100, in Austin, Texas. Chairperson, Carol Biedrzycki called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Task Force Members in Attendance: Carol Biedrzycki (Chair), Tim Arndt (Vice Chair), Lanetta Cooper, Richard Halpin, Cyrus Reed, and Michael Wong. Karen Hadden was not present at the call to order, but arrived later. Chris Strand and Dan Pruett were absent. Staff in Attendance: Austin Energy (AE) staff included Debbie Kimberly, Liz Jambor, Stacy Lewis, Kurt Stogdill, John Umphress, Michael Husted, and Hayden Migl. Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department (NHCD) staff included Letitia Brown. Debbie Kimberly introduced Hayden Migl as the new staff liaison to the Task Force. Chair Carol Biedrzycki stated that the City Council appointed Michael Wong to the Task Force at its August 6 meeting. Members and staff in attendance introduced themselves. 1. CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS: GENERAL Scott Johnson spoke regarding the accessibility and user-friendly nature of the CPS Energy website. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Approve minutes from July 17, 2015 meeting- A motion was made by Member Lanetta Cooper to approve the July 17, 2015 meeting minutes and seconded by Vice Chair Tim Arndt. Amendments were proposed. Under Old Business Item 3c, end of 1st paragraph: Add “The revised motion was not approved.” Under New Business, Item 4d, second sentence: Edit to read, “Employees of approximately…” Member Cooper and Vice Chair Arndt accepted the amendments and all members approved on a 7-0 vote. 3. OLD BUSINESS The Chair discussed the order items would be taken up in the meeting, and members distributed late back-up for various items. a. Discussion and possible action on on-bill repayment and financing arrangements - Member Karen Hadden introduced the document “Proposal for On Bill Repayment with Rebates” (Back-up Item 3a, August 7, 2015 meeting). Member Cyrus Reed motioned approval of the recommendation, and Member Richard Halpin seconded. Discussion included concerns of this program for the rental market, consequences if someone cannot pay their bill, target audience and designating it only for solar. The item was tabled until the next meeting.  Page 2 of 3 b. Discussion and possible action on amendments to the multifamily energy efficiency program - This item was not discussed. c. Discussion and possible action on low income energy efficiency program design including one-stop weatherization, program goals, and heating and cooling equipment repair and replacement – Member Lanetta Cooper introduced multiple recommendations for this item: 1. Motion to approve “Proposed Recommendation for Universal Application with Automatic Referral Process” (Back-up Item 3c, August 7, 2015 meeting) was made by Member Cooper, and seconded by Member Richard Halpin. Letitia Brown stated that NHCD is working with Green and Healthy Homes to move toward a single application. Friendly amendments included the addition of the phrase “variations in income eligibility requirements will be considered,” and the addition of the sentence “The benefit of the program individually can be $1,000 per home.” The motion passed with all in favor 7-0. 2. Motion to approve “Recommendation for Contractor Rebates in Conjunction with Affordable Housing Projects” (Back-up Item 3c, August 7, 2015 meeting) was made by Member Cooper, and seconded by Member Karen Hadden. Friendly amendments included the addition of the sentence “The department would serve as a case manager to ensure AE is brought in the process,” the addition of the phrase “as part of that process, AE will be contacted to evaluate for,” and changing the Time Schedule to “Begin planning to implement in 2016, with implementation in 2017.” The motion passed with all in favor 7-0. 3. Motion to approve “Recommendation for Vulnerable Populations” (Back-up Item 3c, August 7, 2015 meeting) was made by Member Cooper, and seconded by Member Richard Halpin. Discussion included the budget and priorities for the program. The item was tabled to the next meeting. 4. “Resolution Recommending $7 million for Low Income Weatherization” (Back-up Item 3c, August 7, 2015 meeting) brought forward by Member Richard Halpin was tabled to the next meeting to have a discussion on budget. d. Discussion and possible action on ECAD (Energy Conservation Audit Disclosure) including but not limited to enforcement and expanding scope of disclosure requirements to small rental properties - This item was tabled to the next meeting. e. Discussion of public comments and possible action in response to comments - This item was not discussed. 4. NEW BUSINESS a. Discussion and possible action on definition of multifamily properties serving low and low moderate income customers – This item was not discussed. b. Discussion and possible action on setting program standards to provide energy efficiency services on a priority basis to low and low moderate income customers that are at risk of service interruptions and/or on a payment plan – This item was not discussed.  Page 3 of 3 c. Discussion and possible action on Building Codes – Member Cyrus Reed presented the document “Staff Response to Cyrus Reed's Recommendation on Building Codes” (Back-up Item 4c, August 7, 2015 meeting), described each of the nine proposals, and discussion included staff’s thoughts on the proposals. Member Reed stated that he would revise some language in the proposals and bring them back at the next meeting for a vote. d. Discussion and possible action on heating and cooling equipment repair and replacement – Members discussed having a special called meeting on August 14, 2015 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to discuss this topic. Staff was asked to look into room availability. e. Discussion and possible action on a third party assessment and verification in the absence of a code inspector – This item was not discussed. f. Discussion and possible action on recommendations to coordinate energy and water efficiency programs with the housing authority – This item was not discussed. 5. BRIEFINGS & REPORTS a. Austin Energy staff update on the weatherization program job status - Staff referred to the back-up document “Weatherization Program Status Update as of August 3, 2015” (Back-up Item 5a, August 7, 2015 meeting). There was no discussion. b. Status of data requests – The Chair requested the total amount that CAP customers were billed last year. Member Lanetta Cooper provided a data request through the document “Data Request on August 7, 2015 - Request for Information from Member Lanetta Cooper” (Back-up Item 5b, August 7, 2015 meeting) with questions based on information provided in a past newspaper article regarding rebates paid by AE. c. Discussion and possible action on final report – The schedule to develop the final report was discussed. The Chair stated the minority report is due September 18. d. Committee Reports – possible reports from the Low Income Energy Efficiency Program Committee, Low-Moderate Income Energy Efficiency Program Committee, and/or Affordable Rental Property Committee - This item was not discussed. 6. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS a. Discussion regarding future agenda items including a schedule of topics and issues and topics raised during briefings and citizen communications – The proposed special called meeting for August 14, 2015 was discussed. The meeting will have one discussion item regarding the low income weatherization program, including but not limited to heating and cooling equipment repair and replacement. Member Cyrus Reed stated that he would like an item to discuss demand and savings goals for low income programs as stated in the Task Force’s enabling Resolution. Member Lanetta Cooper stated that she will bring forward a recommendation regarding a true-up of the Customer Benefit Charge and rates. ADJOURNMENT - The Chair adjourned the meeting at 12:15 pm with no objection.