[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6264693,"mediaKeyId","3095899-fcc31b1e4aa908ab93b151ca89ad6859","parentId",3095899,"title","Water renewal and environmental resources report expansion, reuse and resource‑recovery gains; ask for three positions and pipelining equipment","audioSeconds",543,"startMs",2428000,"endMs",2971000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3095899-fcc31b1e4aa908ab93b151ca89ad6859&start=2428&end=2971","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3095899-fcc31b1e4aa908ab93b151ca89ad6859/thumbnail_2428000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6264693/Nampa/Canyon-County/Idaho/Water-renewal-and-environmental-resources-report-expansion-reuse-and-resourcerecovery-gains-ask-for-three-positions-and-pipelining-equipment","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6264693-9817436ebceca987ed95c916fb8370e8/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442895&Signature=N60dQ77JLv6Tw-t4zb~rNEO41T0GDkWZC4WR9gmclSuCkDVIp7Jwtu-HLfG5QkvkZ96GbkzHVQdj3O3z1f~MptQPhk1FvrgZlmcWjbEcflfq-GzLlbCBdrMXZXEBgqgSS74st2PLjJSBAp8q8V5pWRDfD7ivn1JiDljLZOanAJK2toisNYt2g~y1TTGKOZ7Km0Nyogf38-mFSOENOwYedy4X7UIUal72ryIYO4tWvqrlE6uqsfT70QsQWqa2tR4xySqO-CimQHnwoMdkWhVsu-gPkZnydJI53XxUODhF2e2Rhl2myVGFmh8uOCsf-EruBZLeTFMzulSw2e4AGiE96g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Nampa ID","date","2025-04-23T16:35:12.777Z","article","Andy Zimmerman (water renewal superintendent) and Jeff Barnes presented accomplishments at the water renewal facility and environmental resources program, described a multi‑year expansion completed on time and under budget and outlined measures to turn residuals and biogas into revenue.

Barnes and staff said the plant recovers biogas to power boilers, recycles about 1.7 billion gallons annually for irrigation (described in the presentation as roughly 15% of the city’s irrigation supply) and recycled about 10,000 tons of biosolids this year through an external composting partner. Staff said the facility is the largest recycling operation in the Northwest by some measures and that an upgraded headworks replacement and a number of capital projects were completed ahead of schedule.

The water renewal proposal requests three new positions for FY26: a pipelining construction crew supervisor (to stand up an in‑house CIPP program), an instrumentation technician for plant analyzers and meters, and a plant operations position to oversee new equipment and safety. Staff said bringing pipelining in house could reduce unit costs by roughly 60% compared with outsourcing and enable 3–5 miles of lining per year once the program is running. A one‑time equipment purchase of about $1.5 million was discussed as the capital cost to start an in‑house pipelining program; staff said FY26 staffing costs for water renewal were estimated at roughly $359,000 including retention measures to reduce turnover losses currently estimated at about $650,000 annually.

Barnes and other speakers credited environmental resources staff and the project delivery team with savings realized by bringing program management in house and noted a program to use plant resources for energy resilience. Staff also said they are working to make lift stations, wells and public works facilities more resilient to power outages and are exploring gas‑to‑pipeline projects to generate revenue. Councilors asked whether federal grant timing could affect capital projects; staff said the enterprise operating budget does not rely on the federal grants for core operations but that grant timing could affect specific capital projects and that staff expected grant decisions in July for some federal awards.

No formal vote or appropriation occurred at the presentation; councilors asked for follow‑up details during the FY26 budget review process.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","April 23, 2025 - City Council Workshop - Annual Department Update (Water Resources & Utilities)","oneSentenceSummary","City staff reported the wastewater (water renewal) expansion is ahead of schedule and on budget, described reuse that returns about 15% of irrigation water from the treatment plant, and proposed three positions plus equipment purchases to bring pipelining and instrumentation work in house to reduce outsourcing and improve maintenance.","taxTitle","Nampa, Canyon County, Idaho","taxId",2629,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6264699,"Public works seeks 8 water-and-irrigation positions, cites high line‑break rate and deferred pipe work",1447,829000,2276000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3095899-fcc31b1e4aa908ab93b151ca89ad6859&start=829&end=2276","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3095899-fcc31b1e4aa908ab93b151ca89ad6859/thumbnail_829000.jpg","/articles/6264699/Nampa/Canyon-County/Idaho/Public-works-seeks-8-water-and-irrigation-positions-cites-high-linebreak-rate-and-deferred-pipe-work","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6264699-64dc7d0cb7acda81a8f3fbfc61c7aa29/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442895&Signature=J94kYXiZDn82KpTVujP0FlsJq6uf1BKbE~cQnhHBfGse~dfILWDND9HEPJGP3Vgj1jVooWML-J3Ot~42nAfhYspTRTjzt4GM5ctn0sOvgaBQx0BLNvSk-LCIiJw7rVLZEiSp894CMFQ0u8g6N-S56Lom51jxs~ccH4g2tG44qpmwfI5RJkG6zoylZ212RfuZmedfBemU-PKlJSF7UxhkXtfdxYwNGOMfTZboLU-IIdguZxxSHzGLzxVXDjqJ5mrAMzrDdrZbGPu-oid8bAj5lF5F4yjHasorgi7I3i-0ESjmKkcJbA5OIzvbHrrHYM0ZmxQBA4BDmF0FNgYdTNUFXw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Jeff Barnes, Director of Water Resources, told the Nampa City Council that the water and irrigation division will ask for eight full‑time employees in FY26 to reduce emergency overtime, expand an in‑house construction crew, and support operations and startup of irrigation stations.

Barnes described the division’s scale and vulnerabilities: 33 staff in the water and irrigation unit, about 73,000 domestic and irrigation connections, roughly 1,200 miles of water pipe, 6,300 fire hydrants, and a recent tally of 167 line breaks this year. He said crews spend about two‑thirds of their time responding to emergency breaks and that high turnover and deferred pipe replacement are key vulnerabilities.

Barnes proposed a five‑person utility construction team (a second construction crew) plus three additional operations staff and a retention package to reduce turnover. He said the department is proposing to fund personnel increases from growth, cost savings and by reallocating a portion of prior capital spent on the automated meter infrastructure (AMI) rollout: $2.1 million invested in AMI over prior years provides $434,000 proposed for personnel in FY26.

Barnes said the city completed installation of about 38,000 automated meters, which improves leak detection and billing analytics, and that the division seeks to move to monthly billing in coordination with Utility Billing staff. He said the division currently averages a 3.8‑hour response time for unplanned disruptions—faster than a 100‑utility benchmark average cited in the presentation—and that the department handles more miles of infrastructure per employee than nearby utilities because Nampa manages both domestic water and irrigation.

Council members asked about overtime and whether enterprise funds could be used for personnel. Barnes said overtime spikes during irrigation season startup and that some employees had logged more than 100 hours in a two‑week period during that work. Barnes and other staff said the enterprise fund covers water and irrigation staffing; outsourcing some work currently paid to contractors would be reduced by building in‑house capacity.

Barnes said the proposed construction team would reduce outsourcing and deliver a projected ROI by retaining work in house and accelerating hydrant and valve replacement. He estimated $1.5 million in one‑time equipment purchases would be needed to start an in‑house CIPP (cured‑in‑place pipe) lining program in FY26 and that the staffing increase could allow the division to shift from emergency response toward preventative asset management over a multi‑year program.","Water Resources Director Jeff Barnes proposed eight full‑time hires for FY26 to reduce overtime, respond to emergencies, bring construction work in house and accelerate pipe and hydrant replacements; presentation included infrastructure metrics, AMI rollout and plans to fund hires through growth, cost savings and reallocation of AMI capital.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6264704,"Utility billing staff outlines plan to move to monthly billing, boost e-billing and keep staffing flat",661,76000,737000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3095899-fcc31b1e4aa908ab93b151ca89ad6859&start=76&end=737","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3095899-fcc31b1e4aa908ab93b151ca89ad6859/thumbnail_76000.jpg","/articles/6264704/Nampa/Canyon-County/Idaho/Utility-billing-staff-outlines-plan-to-move-to-monthly-billing-boost-e-billing-and-keep-staffing-flat","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6264704-b95d96280f8ed9581a7aaed85d29f0d8/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442895&Signature=bO3ch78o6eJDLfXwTHIwugHCHuKTj3nvdXZGgWjltXXrVmghgJkLLPK0JNbQ1GQDsHAIMlLrkxqqXxz6xiFPw1OFkcHcY~3Fbvskcgh93irZMpitqeNxwzymXJboIqpVX3oQGIxZDrP7vxKF9TWAMI5gQJ5gHDH86yWLzLxi80tN3BRwMx0QUmO~5Ci7jBy3lSJbO2TA5dVJrV2KyEKaIzDDM0tdbuX8i95zvCGk~t-36PatkeQ20BGz-SdcodY3bGundq7R56grNoyVskGxISNnktwDFy3xA~aE~CW6c5DKiMeKIcp4q5yfPBuZTgBusDi2xs2F77lmdL3~vaqIqg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Utility Billing representative Alpha Rodriguez told the Nampa City Council that the department plans to move from biannual statements toward monthly billing, increase electronic billing adoption and keep staffing levels unchanged while shifting hours to serve customers more hours daily.

Rodriguez summarized the unit’s mission to “provide the highest quality customer service by processing bills efficiently, timely, and above all, accurately,” and listed this year’s results: about 75,250 accounts built, more than 142,000 payments processed, over 21,000 phone calls answered and more than 5,000 payment-plan arrangements entered.

The proposal described specific steps to make monthly billing workable: evaluate the cost of monthly billing and options to absorb or offset it, increase electronic (e‑bill) enrollment, place a kiosk in the billing lobby to help customers sign up for AutoPay and eBilling, run a promotion to encourage electronic enrollment, and send staff to vendor conferences (Springbrook) to study implementation details. Rodriguez said the department had extended telephone and lobby hours to 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Monday–Friday.

Rodriguez told council that only about 12% of the city’s roughly 37,000 customers currently receive e‑bills and that the department reduced delinquent Local Improvement District balances by $83,000 (about 47%) after beginning biannual statements to delinquent accounts. She said the department expects small increases to bank fees and postage, and that postage could rise about 7.4% if the U.S. Postal Service increases rates.

Council members and staff discussed accommodations for customers without internet access. Rodriguez said the administration will consider options and noted the kiosk idea as one way to assist customers who lack home internet. At least one council member said customers could be charged to continue receiving paper bills, but the council did not adopt any policy or vote on fee changes during the presentation.

On next steps, Rodriguez said internal meetings are scheduled to evaluate legal and operational constraints and to design a transition. She also said the department will work with communications staff on outreach and proposed sending employees to Springbrook training to prepare for monthly billing.","Utility Billing presented FY26 operating metrics and a plan to move from biannual to monthly billing, increase electronic billing adoption and absorb costs without new personnel while proposing customer-facing improvements such as a lobby kiosk and extended service hours.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Water renewal and environmental resources report expansion, reuse and resource‑recovery gains; ask for three positions and pipelining equipment

Public works seeks 8 water-and-irrigation positions, cites high line‑break rate and deferred pipe work

Utility billing staff outlines plan to move to monthly billing, boost e-billing and keep staffing flat