Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Outreach topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cave Creek advisory committee approves water-conservation outreach to send to mayor and council
Summary
The town's utility advisory committee voted to send a revised water-conservation and outreach package'including a public video and mascot-based materials'to the mayor and council, while staff outlined backup options including a Phoenix interconnect and well reactivations.
The Cave Creek Utility Advisory Committee voted on the minutes and later approved sending its revised water-conservation outreach package to the mayor and council, saying the materials are intended to inform residents about the town's reliance on Central Arizona Project (CAP) supplies and planned conservation work. Speaker 3 moved to present the package as amended; Speaker 5 seconded and the motion passed by voice vote.
The package includes a short video produced at the direction of town manager Grady Miller that organizers say explains how CAP water is used and why conservation matters. "This is how we can protect our water resources and what we're doing to look for future water resources," Speaker 7 said while introducing the video and instructions for where residents can watch it online.
Committee members emphasized that the outreach is not intended to alarm residents but to encourage participation in conservation programs. Staff highlighted previous grants and technology investments that support the effort: the town replaced a portion of its meters with Neptune devices and is expanding an AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) system to give customers near-real-time usage data. Speaker 2 said a Bureau of Reclamation conservation grant helped pay nearly half of the meter replacement effort and that a wider rate and outreach strategy will be included for council review.
The committee also reviewed suggested edits to wording on how much old wells might mitigate future CAP reductions, softening claims that wells could "cover most" of any shortfall. "If successful, the town's old wells can potentially cover some of the shortfall," Speaker 2 said after committee edits.
Votes at a glance - Motion to approve July 9 minutes: Moved by Speaker 3; seconded by Speaker 5; outcome: approved (voice vote). - Motion to forward the conservation/outreach package to mayor and council (as amended): Moved by Speaker 3; seconded by Speaker 5; outcome: approved (voice vote).
What happens next: Staff will include the revised package and a slide deck in the council packet for the joint workshop scheduled the week of the 23rd; committee members will be invited to present highlights and answer council questions.
(At the meeting staff also encouraged residents and committee members to watch a CAP briefing available online to better understand anticipated shortages and to participate in the upcoming joint workshop.)
