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CCWWA Minutes 03/21/2022 March 21, 2022 MINUTES OF THE COLLIER COUNTY WATER AND WASTEWATER AUTHORITY MEETING Naples, Florida, March 21, 2022 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, the Collier County Water and Wastewater Authority in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 2:00 P.M. in REGULAR SESSION at the Collier County Growth Management Department Building, Conference Room 609/610, 2800 Horseshoe Drive N., Naples, Florida, with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: Patricia Sherry VICE-CHAIRMAN: Eloy Ricardo Ruchi Arora Dr. Sherwin Ritter Eugene Wordehoff ALSO PRESENT: Ken Kovensky, Director, Operations and Regulatory Management Ashley Lang, Senior Management and Budget Analyst, Operations and Regulatory Management Derek Perry, Assistant County Attorney 1 March 21, 2022 I. Call to Order(Determination of Quorum) and Roll Call Chairman Sherry called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. Roll call was taken and a quorum of five was established. H. Approval of Agenda—Meeting of March 21,2022 Dr. Ritter moved to approve the agenda. Second by Mr. Ricardo. Carried unanimously, 5-0. III. Approval of Minutes—Meeting of Nov. 15,2022 Mr. Wordehoff moved to approve the Nov 15, 2021, meeting minutes, as presented. Second by Dr. Ritter. Carried unanimously 5-0. IV. Items Requiring Action by the Authority A. Final Order 2022-01 —Annual Price Index Mr. Kovensky said that every year, the Authority is required by Ordinance to adopt the price index established by the Florida Public Service Commission. This must be done by May 15th. This year, Florida Public Service Commission Order No. PSC-2021-0463-PAA-WS was issued on December 17, 2021. It established a price index of 4.53% and it was consummated by Order No. PSC-2022- 0024-CO-WS on January 12, 2022. Staff put together a final order and asked the Authority to approve it as Final Order No. 2022-01. Mr. Wordehoff said he looked at rates over the past 20 years. This is a lot higher than before, but these are unusual times. He noted there was "stagflation" in the 1970s or 1980s and asked if there was stagflation. Mr. Kovensky said the County Ordinance is from 1996 and that is when the Authority was established. So,that was way before his time. He wasn't certain but said Mr. Wordehoff was correct. They used to see anywhere from half a percent to less than 2%, so this is pretty high. He expects they will see the two utilities that the Authority regulates come in for a price adjustment once the final order is sent out. Chairman Sherry asked if it was because costs have not gone up that much. Mr. Kovensky said the PSC has their own methodology of how they establish the rates. But as Mr. Wordehoff noted, it reflects costs increasing due to inflation across the board. Chairman Sherry noted that usually when you get more customers, the rates can go down because it costs the same. Mr. Kovensky said this is from the Florida Public Service Commission. By ordinance, the County has to adopt whatever the FPSC establishes. FPSC has a developed methodology, and the County adopts their rate. Chairman Sherry said it was very high. Ms. Arora said it does seem high and asked if they ever do a negative rate. Mr. Kovensky said not according to the tables in their order. 2 March 21, 2022 Mr. Ricardo moved to approve the FPSC Price Index as the County's Final Order No. 2022-01. Second by Dr. Ritter. Carried unanimously, 5-0. B. Annual Election of Officers Mr. Kovensky said the ordinance requires the Authority to elect officers, a Chairman, and a Vice Chairman every year, and they usually do it around this time of year. Dr. Ritter moved to nominate Mr. Ricardo as Chairman. Second by Ms. Arora. Carried unanimously, 5-0. Dr. Ritter moved to nominate Ms. Sherry as Vice Chairman. Second by Mr. Wordehoff. Carried unanimously, 5-0. Mr. Kovensky noted that the Ordinance has a three-year cap for the number of years in a row. Chairman Sherry has served for two years. V. Staff Discussion Mr. Kovensky said he spoke with Ave Maria Utility Company, and they will be coming to the Authority in May for a rate adjustment. Staff will probably try to schedule a meeting in May. Mr. Kovensky said that at the last meeting, Mr. Wordehoff asked the Ave Maria representative for its DEP permits. Mr. Kovensky reached out to Tammy Smith,the utility's manager,and she said she is working on it, but asked for more clarification on what kind of permits. Mr. Wordehoff said he already got the information from the DEP's Oculus public information website. He just wanted the Authority to have access. His reason for being quizzical about the permit is that he has been looking at Marco Island water quality for the last year and a half. He said we have been able to determine that the deficiency of dissolved oxygen throughout our water bodies is due to effluent from the County Wastewater Treatment Plant. So, he was curious about the situation in Ave Maria. The first step to understanding that is understanding the permitting process. It is not that they are not operating according to the permit. They surely are. In many cases, DEP permits excess nutrients to be distributed. It would behoove the Authority to understand that. Mr. Kovensky said he would distribute that information. Mr. Kovensky added that there were no further staff reports. VI. Open to Public No public comment VII. Authority Members Discussion None There being no further business for the good of the County,the meeting was adjourned by the order of the Chairman at 2:11 P.M. 3 March 21, 2022 COLLIER COUNTY WATER AND WASTEWATER AUTHORITY Eloy Ricardo, Chairman These minutes were approved by the Authority on 7b Iii 2A'lZ, as presented , or as amended ���/// 4