First – Monday, April 13th any time after 11:30am Second – Monday, April 20th - - - - - 8am or 1pm Jennifer Morton Councilmember, Position 7 P: 509.385.1443 E: jmorton@cawh.org www.cawh.org 13120 W 13th Ave, Airway Heights, WA 99001

Good Evening Public Works Committee Members: In preparation for discussing the questions outlined below and for receiving a presentation from Apricus regarding their reclaimed water request, I would like to gauge availability for two separate meetings. First, we are looking to schedule a meeting during the week of April 13 to discuss utility rate structure with FCS Group. This meeting would include Bill, Davin, and Jennifer. FCS Group is available to meet on Monday and Thursday, or alternatively on Tuesday and Wednesday if there are conflicts. Second, Apricus has indicated availability during the week of April 20 to provide a presentation to the Committee regarding their data center/hydrogen reclaimed water request. This meeting would include Jesse, Jennifer, and Bill. Please let us know your availability for each week, and we will move forward with scheduling both meetings. Thank you, Albert Tripp City Manager, City of Airway Heights 509.434.4885 Cell

Good morning, Regarding our efforts to update our municipal water rates, I think we need to consider making significant changes to the rate structure. My goal is to create a rate structure which encourages water conservation while ensuring that residential and commercial customers have an affordable and predictable water bill. The commercial side is more complex than the residential. Therefore, I want to focus on the residential for the moment. I would like us, the City, to consider establishing a base rate for residential customers which includes usage equal to an amount (of water) that would satisfy 65% of customers at the non-peak average (or median) level. This would become Tier 1 and would amount to a fixed charge for water and administrative needs. Tier 2 would be a relatively small tier designed to cover modest overruns above Tier 1, for example an additional 10% of usage. Tier 3 (and if really necessary, 4) would capture all usage above Tiers 1 & 2 and be steeply inclined in price to encourage conservation. As has been pointed out in discussions and emails, people need water to live their daily lives and run their businesses. After that, most usage is highly discretionary. I think our rate structure should reflect that ideal. Previously, I had asked Director Miller for additional information following the presentation by FCS during the last council study session. I am presenting my questions again, with a few changes: What does it cost the city to provide water (per unit)? Do we (or FCS) have data to establish a base usage for residential customers (based on the non-peak average or median)? Do we have (can we get) the average/median peak residential usage? If within the bounds of the contract with FCS, can they model a residential water base cost that would include our current service charge and a usage volume that would cover 65% of residential customers for the annual average use? Does our current residential Water Base Charge include any water usage? What are the current and projected rates being charged by City of Spokane through 2032? Can FCS provide some cost models for the reclaimed water rate analysis with actual dollar examples? (What do the examples look like "in the flesh" so to speak?) A final idea I wish to explore is whether or not our billing system can accommodate a “comfort billing” level, such as offered by Avista? This process takes a customer’s annual billing data to create an average bill per month. I look forward to the next meeting of the Public Works Committee, and I am hopeful we can craft a sustainable rate system that will meet our City’s and our customers’ needs. Sincerely, Bill Campbell Council member