12112007 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Regular Meeting December 11, 2007 Page 7 acquisition. Mayor Narvaiz stated everyone knows where there is water, but it is important to secure the water first. The Council agreed by consensus to support the Staff recommendation. Mayor Narvaiz introduced a discussion regarding setting a date, time, and place for the CIP Workshop date and direction to Staff. The Council agreed to hold the Workshop on January 29th or 31st at 6:00 p.m. and for the Interim City Clerk to check the availability of the Council and the Council Chamber, then email the Council the date for the Workshop (CIP Workshop will be held on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers). Hold a discussion regarding LCRA contract and the Meet and Confer and direction to Staff. Mr. O'Leary stated it has been a pleasure to work with City Council and he really appreciates his right hand man Collette Jamison. He also thanked Laurie Anderson, Stephanie Garcia, Rebecca Britain, Melissa Millecam, and Karen Smith for their hard work and never complaining. 1) Meet and Confer- He stated when the Police and Fire Associations came to the Council, the Council choose to enter into Meet and Confer with each association, which allowed them to sit down with the City management team instead of holding an election. He stated the end result of the Meet and Confer should be an official contract regarding how things can work better at the Police Department (pay, disciplinary procedures, promotions, etc.). He stated at the last meeting discussions were held about Mr. O'Leary leaving and the group came to an agreement to wait until the new City Manager is hired to make any decisions. He stated the SMFD is moving slower on their Meet and Confer process. 2) LCRA- He stated the City buys power from LCRA and the city has a contract to purchase power until 2016, which is a sole source of electrical power. He stated LCRA now has to decide what they are going to do after 2016, so they are approaching their customers. He stated LCRA owns a power producing plant in Fayette County, which produces coal. He also stated there are some environmental pressures and the Federal Government will probably start charging for coal. LCRA needs to know which of their customers want to stay with them, so they can begin to locate other power sources. He pointed out five reasons why some customers are reluctant to stay with LCRA; 1. LCRA charges us for the cost of producing power plus the cost it takes for LCRA operations. Since the customers are paying to fund their operations, many larger cities feel they shouldn't fund LCRA operations; 2. Ownership of Assets- If LCRA is building multi - million dollar plants, should customers own some of those plants; 3. LCRA's attitude toward customers; 4. Customer flexibility regarding purchasing alternative forms of energy, and S. LCRA has not identified how they will produce power in the future. He stated recently the General Manager resigned and a new General Manager has been appointed. Some customers are waiting to see how he approaches these issues. Mr. O'Leary stated San Marcos' relationship has been good and we have enjoyed a great price. He stated he thinks it makes sense to continue to purchase from LCRA because of the prices and other resources they provide to the City