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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 09 - Approve an updated MOU with Morro Bay and Paso Robles for Central Coast Community Energy Department Name: Administration Cost Center: 1001 For Agenda of: December 8, 2020 Placement: Consent Estimated Time: N/A FROM: Greg Hermann, Deputy City Manager Prepared By: Chris Read, Sustainability Manager SUBJECT: APPROVE AN UPDATED MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE CITY OF MORRO BAY AND CITY OF PASO ROBLES FOR SHARING POLICY BOARD, OPERATIONS BOARD, AND COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE SEATS ON CENTRAL COAST COMMUNITY ENERGY RECOMMENDATION 1. Approve the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Morro Bay for sharing Policy Board, Operations Board, and Community Advisory Committee seats on Central Coast Community Energy (Attachment A); and 2. Authorize the City Manager to execute the MOU in a form subject to approval of the City Attorney’s Office. DISCUSSION Background In November of 2018, the City of Morro Bay and the City of San Luis Obispo adopted ordinances and resolutions committing both cities to join Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP). On December 5, the MBCP Policy Board unanimously voted to approve the two cities’ membership. In September of 2020, MBCP officially changed its name to Central Coast Community Energy (CCCE). CCCE is governed by two Boards: 1) a Policy Board that meets quarterly and is comprised of elected officials, and 2) an Operations Board that meets at least eight times per year and is comprised of City Managers and County Administrative Officers. CCCE also has a Community Advisory Council comprised of local residents and business owners. In CCCE, counties and jurisdictions with 50,000 or more residents hold permanent Board seats. Additional Board seats are shared by multiple jurisdictions based on geography. As part of membership in 2019, the City of San Luis Obispo and the City of Morro Bay agreed to share a seat on each of the boards and to negotiate a formal agreement for sharing the Policy Board and Operations Board seat. In December of 2018, staff from the two cities drafted and negotiated the draft MOU that is provided as Attachment B. The draft MOU was approved and executed by both cities in early 2019. Item 9 Packet Page 157 In 2019, additional cities and counties joined CCCE. Due to population and geographic proximity, the City of Paso Robles was added to the seat currently shared by San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay. Because of the addition of Paso Robles, the name change from MBCP to CCCE, and a mutual desire by all three cities for the City of San Luis Obispo to serve the 2021-22 term, the original 2019 MOU needs to be updated. Attachment A provides the new MOU, which includes an agreement for each respective city to serve two-year terms with San Luis Obispo serving in calendar years 2021-22, Morro Bay serving in 2023-24, and Paso Robles serving in 25-26. The MOU provided as Attachment A was approved by the Morro Bay City Council on November 9, 2020 and the Paso Robles City Council on November 17, 2020. The current assignments are outlined below; Council may direct staff to retain the current Board assignments or to identify new Council Members to participate: Board Director Alternate Policy Board Mayor Harmon Vice Mayor Pease Operations Board Derek Johnson, City Manager Bob Hill, Sustainability & Natural Resources Official Policy Context At Council’s direction, the City has been pursuing participation in a Community Choice Energy program since 2013. The City joined CCCE in 2019 and began receiving service in 2020. Public Engagement Council and staff received public and written testimony in support of joining CCCE and sharing Board seats with the City of Morro Bay at the November 13, 2018, City Council meeting. Throughout the 2019 and 2020 Climate Action Plan Update, community members expressed support for CCCE participation. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to the recommended action in this report, because the action does not constitute a “Project” under CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15378. FISCAL IMPACT Budgeted: Yes Budget Year: 2020-21 Funding Identified: Yes Item 9 Packet Page 158 Fiscal Analysis: Funding Sources Current FY Cost Annualized On-going Cost Total Project Cost General Fund N/A State Federal Fees Other: Total N/A The only fiscal impact to participating on CCCE’s Boards come from staff time and occasional travel to Monterey County. These impacts are accounted for in City Administration’s current standard operational budget. ALTERNATIVES 1. The City Council could request amendments to the MOU. Should Council request amendments, they would be provided to the City of Morro Bay and City of Paso Robles for consideration and brought back to Council at a future date. 2. The City Council could propose an alternative Director and Alternate. Council direction to propose alternative representation could be accommodated at this meeting. Attachments: a - CCCE Board Seat MOU_2020 b - CCCE Board Seat MOU_2019 Item 9 Packet Page 159 01181.0001/678708.1 Page 1 MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, CITY OF EL PASO DE ROBLES, AND CITY OF MORRO BAY REGARDING PARTICIPATION WITH CENTRAL COAST COMMUNITY ENERGY This MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) is hereby made and entered into by and between the City of San Luis Obispo, a California municipal corporation and Charter City, hereinafter referred to as SAN LUIS OBISPO, the City of Morro Bay, a California municipal corporation, hereinafter referred to as MORRO BAY, and the City of El Paso de Robles, a California municipal corporation hereinafter referred to as PASO ROBLES (SAN LUIS OBISPO, MORRO BAY, and PASO ROBLES hereinafter individually referred to as “party” and hereinafter collectively referred to as the “parties.”). A. INTRODUCTION In November 2018, SAN LUIS OBISPO and MORRO BAY jointly pursued community choice energy programs for the purpose of providing choice in the electricity market, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, proving potential rate savings, supporting energy efficiency, promoting regional collaboration, and contributing to economic development. The two cities pursued participating in a community choice energy program by joining Monterey Bay Community Power, which has since changed its name to Central Coast Community Energy (CCCE). On December 5, 2018, SAN LUIS OBISPO and MORRO BAY became official members of CCCE. PASO ROBLES joined CCCE in 2020 and will begin receiving service on January 1, 2021. As outlined in the CCCE Joint Powers Agreement, the agency is governed by two decision making bodies and one advisory body: • The Policy Board is comprised of elected officials and meets quarterly to make high level policy decisions. • The Operations Board is comprised of City Managers or their designees and meets approximately eight times per year to make operational decisions. • The Community Advisory Council is comprised of community members and serves in an advisory role to the Policy Board and Operations Board. CCCE is a large agency and to ensure manageable meetings, smaller jurisdictions share seats on the Policy Board and Operations Board. Jurisdictions with 50,000 or more residents have permanent seats, while smaller jurisdictions share seats based on geographic proximity. Since SAN LUIS OBISPO, PASO ROBLES, and MORRO BAY are smaller than 50,000 each, the three cities will share a Policy Board and Operations Board seat. On November 13, 2018, SAN LUIS OBISPO and MORRO BAY City Councils voted unanimously to direct staff to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding to provide a collaborative and fair strategy for CCCE representation and to return to their respective Councils for final approval. The MOU was executed by SAN LUIS OBISPO and MORRO BAY in December of 2018. That MOU is hereby replaced by this MO U to include PASO ROBLES and provide minor updates, as described below. B. PURPOSE The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding is to identify a clear framework between SAN LUIS OBISPO, MORRO BAY, and PASO ROBLES to share governance seats on CCCE’s Policy Board, Item 9 Packet Page 160 City of San Luis Obispo and City of Morro Bay Central Coast Community Energy Participation Memorandum of Understanding 01181.0001/678708.1 Page 2 Operations Board, and Community Advisory Council. This MOU rescinds and replaces the previous MOU between SAN LUIS OBISPO and MORRO BAY. It should also be noted that community collaboration and regionalism was a key value of the effort to create a local community choice energy program. This Memorandum of Understanding seeks to encourage further regional collaboration. C. SHARED SEATS 1. Policy Board - The Policy Board representative shall serve for a term of two years and shall rotate between cities (with exception of the first two, two year terms, shall be held by SAN LUIS OBISPO). SAN LUIS OBISPO shall provide the initial representative and will serve from December 2018 to December 2022 and thereafter shall transition every two years between MORRO BAY, PASO ROBLES, and SAN LUIS OBISPO. a. The City with the currently serving Policy Board representative shall distribute via email to all three City Councils and City Managers the meeting minutes and any additional narrative deemed necessary after each Policy Board meeting to stay informed of policy, business or other related matters. b. The Policy Board Director alternative shall be identified by the City currently holding the seat. 2. Operations Board - The Operations Board representative shall serve for a term of two years and may be one of two options: a. The City Manager for the City of the Policy Board representative; or b. A director or deputy-director level staff member as determined by the City Manager of the Policy Board representative. 3. Community Advisory Council – There shall be one Community Advisory Council member who shall serve a two-year term and be selected by the current Policy Board Member and their alternative. The pool of Community Advisory Committee applicants shall include all registered voters residing in the cities of San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, and Pos Robles. The City currently providing the Policy Board representative shall conduct the Community Advisory Council selection process. The Community Advisory Council member does not need to be from the same city as the Policy Board member and the parties agree that the seat should rotate informally among the three cities. 4. In all cases, the elected officials, staff, or public representing the joint interests of SAN LUIS OBISPO, PASO ROBLES, and MORRO BAY, for purposes of the CCCE, shall consider the program purposes outlined in the Central Coast Community Energy Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement: a. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions; b. Providing electric power to customers at a competitive cost; c. Carrying our programs to increase energy efficiency; d. Stimulating and sustaining the local economy by developing local jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency; and Item 9 Packet Page 161 City of San Luis Obispo and City of Morro Bay Central Coast Community Energy Participation Memorandum of Understanding 01181.0001/678708.1 Page 3 e. Promoting long-term rate stability and energy security and reliability for residents through local control of electric generation resources. 5. If a party fails to attend or otherwise comply with the CCCE JPA and bylaws, and if the seat becomes vacated because of such conduct, the next party shall serve in that seat. D. PROCESS SAN LUIS OBISPO City Council will appoint its respective Board Members for the two -year term by February 2019. Terms shall run for two-years starting in December and concluding in November of even- numbered years. Based on mutual agreement of the parties, SAN LUIS OBISPO will also appoint respective Board Members for the two year term running from January 2021 through December 2022. Future term appointees shall be made by alternating City Councils in November of the year that the term concludes (e.g., SAN LUIS OBISPO in 2020, MORRO BAY in 2022, PASO ROBLES in 2024). Thereafter, the rotation shall continue in two year periods until this MOU is amended. E. PRINCIPAL CONTACTS The principal contacts for this MOU are: SAN LUIS OBISPO: Name Role: Derek Johnson, City Manager Bob Hill, City Lead MORRO BAY: Name Role: Scott Collins, City Manager, City Lead PASO ROBLES: Name Role: Tom Frutchey City Manager, City Lead F. COST OBLIGATION Each party to this Memorandum of Understanding shall be financially responsible for absorbing costs incurred for their own participation on the Policy Board, Operations Board, and Community Advisory Council. G. COMMENCEMENT/EXPIRATION DATE This Memorandum of Understanding is executed as of the date of last signature and is effective until the CCCE governance model changes, , or SAN LUIS OBISPO, PASO ROBLES, or MORRO BAY withdraw from CCCE, or either party fails in good faith to resolve with the other party a conflict over a substantial issue concerning the CCCE or the parties’ performance of this MOU. As to SAN LUIS OBISPO and MORRO BAY, this MOU is effective as of December, 2018, in so far as this MOU replaces and rescinds Item 9 Packet Page 162 City of San Luis Obispo and City of Morro Bay Central Coast Community Energy Participation Memorandum of Understanding 01181.0001/678708.1 Page 4 a prior MOU similar in substance to this MOU, with the exception of PASO ROBLES not being a party to the earlier MOU. Prior to such termination, the party desiring to terminate this MOU shall provide the non- terminating party with written notice of its desire to terminate and the reasons therefore. Both parties agree to engage in a meet and confer process, and, in the case of termination based on a conflict over a substantial issue concerning the CCCE or the parties’ performance of this MOU, the parties shall engage with one another in good faith to resolve the conflict. If a conflict still exists after such good faith negotiations, this MOU shall terminate upon thirty (30) days final written notice. H. LIABILITIES It is understood that none of the parties to this Memorandum of Understanding is the agent of any of the other parties and none of the parties is liable for the wrongful acts, omissions or negligence of any other party to this MOU. Each party shall be responsible for its wrongful or negligent acts or omissions and those of its officials, officers, employees, and agents, howsoever caused, to the extent allowed by law, and shall be responsible for their own Commercial General Liability, Auto, Worker’s Compensation and Errors and Omissions insurance and adherence to their respective City’s policies. Each party to this Memorandum of Understanding agrees to indemnify, defend and hold the other, and their officials, officers, employees, and agents, against any liability, claim, personal injury, including death, or property damage caused by that party’s negligence or willful misconduct in their performance under this Memorandum of Understanding. I. NO ASSIGNMENT The rights and obligations of the parties to this Memorandum of Understanding may not be assigned or delegated. J. AMENDMENT This Memorandum of Understanding may not be amended or modified in any manner whatsoever except by written agreement between the parties hereto. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this agreement as of the last written date below. FOR SAN LUIS OBISPO Date: ________________ ______________________________________ Name, City Manager – City of San Luis Obispo FOR MORRO BAY Date: ________________ ______________________________________ Name, City Manager – City of Morro Bay FOR PASO ROBES Date: ________________ ______________________________________ Name, City Manager – City of Paso Robles Item 9 Packet Page 163 MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BEETWEEN CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND CITY OF MORRO BAY This MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) is hereby made and entered into by and between the City of San Luis Obispo, hereinafter referred to as SAN LUIS OBISPO, and the City of Morro Bay, hereinafter referred to as MORRO BAY. A. INTRODUCTION In November 2018, SAN LUIS OBISPO and MORRO BAY jointly pursued community choice energy program for the purpose of providing choice in the electricity market, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, proving potential rate savings, supporting energy efficiency, promoting regional collaboration, and contributing to economic development. The two cities pursued participating in a community choice energy program by joining Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP). On December 5, 2018, SAN LUIS OBISPO and MORRO BAY became official members of MBCP As outlined in the MBCP Joint Powers Agreement, the agency is governed by two decision making bodies and one advisory body: • The Policy Board is comprised of elected officials and meets quarterly to decide high level policy decisions. • The Operations Board is comprised of City Managers or their designees and meets approximately eight times per year to decide finer detailed operational decisions. • The Community Advisory Council is comprised of community members and serves in an advisory role to the Policy Board and Operations Board. MBCP is a large agency and to ensure manageable meetings, smaller jurisdictions share seats on the Policy Board and Operations Board. Jurisdictions with 50,000 or more residents have permanent seats, while smaller jurisdictions share seats based on geographic proximity. Since SAN LUIS OBISPO and MORRO BAY are smaller than 50,000 each, the two cities will share a Policy Board and Operations Board seat. Additionally, MBCP has communicated that the two cities may select one Community Advisory Council member. On November 13, 2018, both City Councils voted unanimously to direct staff to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding between SAN LUIS OBISPO and MORRO BAY to provide a collaborative and fair strategy for MBCP representation and to return to their respective Councils for final approval. B. PURPOSE The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding is to identify a clear framework between SAN LUIS OBISPO and MORRO BAY to share governance seats on Monterey Bay Community Power’s Policy Board, Operations Board, and Community Advisory Council. It should also be noted that community collaboration and regionalism was a key value of the effort to create a local community choice energy program. This Memorandum of Understanding seeks to encourage further regional collaboration. C. SHARED SEATS Item 9 Packet Page 164 1. Policy Board - The Policy Board representative shall serve for a term of two years and shall alternate between cities. SAN LUIS OBISPO shall provide the initial representative and will serve from December 2018 to December 2020 and thereafter shall rotate every two years between the City of Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo. a. The City with the currently serving Policy Board representative shall distribute via email to both City Councils and City Managers the meeting minutes and any additional narrative deemed necessary after each Policy Board meeting to stay informed of policy, business or other related matters. b. The Policy Board Director alternative shall be identified by the City currently holding the seat. 2. Operations Board - The Operations Board representative shall serve for a term of two-years and may be one of two options: a. The City Manager for the City of the Policy Board representative; or b. A director or deputy-director level staff member as determined by the City Manager of the Policy Board representative. 3. Community Advisory Council – There shall be one Community Advisory Council member that shall serve a two-year term and be selected by the current Policy Board Member and their alternative. The pool of Community Advisory Committee applicants shall include all registered voters residing in MORRO BAY and SAN LUIS OBISPO. The city currently providing the Policy Board representative shall conduct the Community Advisory Council selection process. 4. In all cases, the elected officials, staff, or public representing the joint interests of SAN LUIS OBISPO and MORRO BAY shall consider the program purposes outlined in the Central Coast Community Energy Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement: a. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions; b. Providing electric power to customers at a competitive cost; c. Carrying our programs to increase energy efficiency; d. Stimulating and sustaining the local economy by developing local jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency; and e. Promoting long-term rate stability and energy security and reliability for residents through local control of electric generation resources. 5. If a party fails to attend or otherwise comply with the Monterey Bay Community Power JPA and bylaws, and if the seat becomes vacated because of such conduct, the other party shall serve in that seat. D. PROCESS SAN LUIS OBISPO City Council will appoint its respective Board Members for the two-year term by February 2019. Terms shall run for two-years starting in December and concluding in November of even- numbered years. Future term appointees shall be made by alternating City Councils in November of the year that the term concludes (e.g., MORRO BAY in 2020, SAN LUIS OBISPO in 2022, MORRO BAY in 2024, etc.). E. PRINCIPAL CONTACTS Item 9 Packet Page 165 The principal contacts for this MOU are: SAN LUIS OBISPO: Name Role: Derek Johnson, City Manager Bob Hill, City Lead Chris Read, City Lead MORRO BAY Name Role: Scott Collins, City Manager, City Lead F. COST OBLIGATION Each party to this Memorandum of Understanding shall be financially responsible for absorbing costs incurred for their own participation on the Policy Board, Operations Board, and Community Advisory Council. G. COMMENCEMENT/EXPIRATION DATE This Memorandum of Understanding is executed as of the date of last signature and is effective until an additional San Luis Obispo County jurisdiction joins MBCP, or SAN LUIS OBISPO or MORRO BAY withdraw from MBCP, at which time it will be renegotiated. H. LIABILITIES It is understood that neither party to this Memorandum of Understanding is the agent of the other and neither is liable for the wrongful acts, omissions or negligence of the other. Each party shall be responsible for its wrongful or negligent acts or omissions and those of its officials, officers, employees, and agents, howsoever caused, to the extent allowed by law, and shall be responsible for their own Commercial General Liability, Auto, Worker’s Compensation and Errors and Omissions insurance and adherence to their respective City’s policies. Each party to this Memorandum of Understanding agrees to indemnify, defend and hold the other, and their officials, officers, employees, and agents, against any liability, claim, personal injury, including death, or property damage caused by that party’s negligence or willful misconduct in their performance under this Memorandum of Understanding. I. NO ASSIGNMENT The rights and obligations of the parties to this Memorandum of Understanding may not be assigned or delegated. J. AMENDMENT Item 9 Packet Page 166 This Memorandum of Understanding may not be amended or modified in any manner whatsoever except by written agreement between the parties hereto. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this agreement as of the last written date below. FOR SAN LUIS OBISPO: Date: Derek Johnson, City Manger FOR MORRO BAY Date: Scott Collins, City Manager Item 9 Packet Page 167 BLANK PAGE This page is intended to be blank so that you can print double-sided. Item 9 Packet Page 168