Agenda - 07/10/12 Eugene City Council and EWEB Joint Meeting

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Securing access to reliable, long-term supplies of drinking water is a community-wide issue. The first agenda item will include a presentation from consultants at Barney & Worth, Inc. who will provide an overview of their research on public understanding and perceptions about drinking water reliability issues. This multi-faceted public opinion polling effort was conducted last spring and included stakeholder interviews, two focus groups and a statistically valid telephone poll. EWEB contracted for this work as a critical step towards moving plan goal of pursuing a second drinking water source. While staff recommendations for strategies forward will be framed within the context of other major utility initiatives and financial considerations later this year, this report will inform recommended next steps specific to expanding community understanding and engagement in this critical issue. Please see Attachment 1 for the report executive summary. As for the second agenda item, City ManagerJon Ruiz and General Manager Roger Gray directly participated in the development of the 10-year Energy Action Plan. Both executives will take a few minutes to share key takeaways from this effort, as well as insights into how local initiatives align with some of the report recommendations. Please see Attachment 2 for a staff summary of the draft plan, which is available for review at www.oregon.gov/energy/AnalyticsReports/Ten_Year_Energy_Action_Plan.pdf?ga=t The joint session will also include time for open discussion. Of particular relevance is the budgetary situation facing both organizations and how eachare striving to deliver high quality services to the public while obtaining long-term financial health. Attachment 3 contains budget messages from both the City and EWEB so that elected officials are more familiar with how each agency is working towards long-term budget stabilization. Another potential area of discussion is the Envision Eugene project. A staff status update in included as Attachment 4. Lastly, after providing central steam heat to downtown Eugene buildings for 50 years, the steam utility plant will close at the end of June. A brief commemoration is planned in honor of the steam decommissioning effort. Recommended Action: None, this is a work session only.