Angels Camp council recommends two priorities for joint meeting with Utica water authority
Loading...
Summary
Council members voted to ask the Utica Water and Power Authority joint meeting to prioritize the five‑year funding agreement and Angels penstock reconstruction; discussion centered on FERC exemption costs, transparency and possible impacts on irrigators.
The Angels Camp City Council on Nov. 4 voted to recommend that the upcoming joint meeting with the Utica Water and Power Authority focus on two priorities: the five‑year funding agreement between member agencies and the Angels penstock reconstruction.
Staff introduced Resolution 25‑86 and described a list of topics UWPA had proposed. Steve, a city staff member, told the council the Utica board had narrowed five suggested topics to three and asked the council to select which items it wanted on the joint agenda. "So before you tonight is a request to consider a resolution that would identify the top priorities of this council for a joint meeting between the Utica JPA," Steve said.
Council discussion emphasized the financial stakes tied to federal relicensing and the city’s ongoing work to seek a FERC exemption. A councilmember summarized that FERC relicensing could carry a roughly $10 million price tag while the district has spent about $1.5 million pursuing an exemption. "If the FERC exemption gets approved ... we would see a reduction in what we have to pay," a council member said.
Several members pressed for clearer accounting of the revenue and costs associated with the two local powerhouses (Angels and Murphy’s), asking staff to present figures that show whether the plants are net revenue generators or net costs before committing large CIP investments. One council member urged an audit or formal accounting: "I'd like us in that meeting to talk about how we can show accounting to the public for what those numbers are."
A public comment also flagged potential community impacts: council members were asked to consider how decommissioning or altering penstock flows could affect local irrigators and whether alternatives exist for affected users.
Vice Mayor Sherrado made the motion to recommend the five‑year funding agreement and the Angels penstock reconstruction as the two priority topics; Councilmember Alvin seconded. The council proceeded with a roll‑call vote and recorded affirmative responses during the meeting.
The council and staff agreed to consolidate available feasibility and prior presentation materials ahead of the joint meeting so the GM team and elected representatives can review specific revenue/cost estimates, decommissioning cost estimates and options for irrigators. City staff indicated the GMs of the member agencies will meet to refine technical content and that the council expects the new general manager to participate once hired.
Next steps: staff will insert the council’s selected topics into Resolution 25‑86 and coordinate with the Utica board and the GM group to set an agenda and compile the financial and feasibility documents requested by council members.
