2020-07-22 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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The commissioners discussed how they supported pursuing public-private partnerships and their potential advantages, including: • ESPCs are contracts with private energy companies that require no money up front from taxpayers, as the companies expect to recover their investment costs. • They offer a new approach to financing at a time when it is difficult to look at raising taxes. • The county has to always be aware of the impact of pursuing bonds. • It is a proven alternative that would provide financing for some of the expensive things that need to be done. • There is a variety of applications they can be applied to, such as the sewer collection system. • Bringing an energy conservation perspective and thinking about resource recovery is a good way to save money. • It is a mechanism that allows contractors who have done it before to guarantee as part of the contract that it will be at no cost. Director Kucharski said he has been dealing with the issue of public-private partnerships for several years, and a problem has been how to get a contractor under the state’s procurement laws. His understanding of the electric vehicles PPP is that it was approved by the State Procurement Office but is now being looked at by the State Attorney General to see if it is in full compliance with state law. If it gets fully approved, he has draft RFPs ready for contracts to increase the capacity of some of the sewer pump stations, and they could also check on doing a construction contract for the R-1 project. An issue is that the current sewer rates do not cover infrastructure costs, which use bonds paid for from the General Fund. If that debt is transferred to the Wastewater Division as an operating expense, it may require a significant increase in sewer fees. He is in full support of PPPs but is just not sure how we get there from here. Government does not change course easily. He has been working with Riley Saito of Research and Development, as renewable energy falls in their purview, and that is how he learned the electric vehicles PPP is being looked into by the AG. Ms. Mellon-Lacey said there was a bill carried over from the 2019 legislature to start an Office of Public-Private Procurement, which would address the procurement issues. It has not been acted upon due to the current pandemic problems. Commissioner Fulton said she has a difference of opinion with the director on the Konno concern. The case was legitimate, but it is not legitimate to continue to use it as an obstacle towards progressive remedies to the problems we have. It is her understanding that if nobody is harmed, there is no grounds for a Konno type of lawsuit. Ms. Mellon-Lacey said unions bring up this type of lawsuit. When work becomes privatized and is no longer done by a union worker, it is viewed as harm. It is complicated. 7