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[1. CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/MOMENT OF SILENCE]
UH, WE'RE CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.PLEASE JOIN ME FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC TO STAND ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
[2. ROLL CALL]
MADAM.DEPUTY CLERK, THE ROLL CALL, PLEASE.
[3.a. AB 3201 Discussion and presentation from Arizona Public Service (APS) regarding their wildfire preparedness plans.]
ITEM THREE, SPECIAL BUSINESS.A AB 32 0 1, DISCUSSION AND PRESENTATION FROM THE ARIZONA PUBLIC, UH, SERVICE A PS REGARDING THEIR WILDFIRE, UH, PREPAREDNESS PLANS.
ALRIGHT, RIGHT THERE, I GUESS.
WELL, HONORABLE MAYOR AND ESTEEM COUNCIL, UH, IT IS MY PLEASURE TO BE HERE, UH, BEFORE YOU.
THANK YOU FOR THE TIME ESTEEMED.
UH, FIRST OFF, UH, WE WANT YOU TO KNOW, UM, AS FAR AS FIRE MITIGATION, NOTHING COMES ABOVE OUR CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITIES AS FAR AS WHAT WE DO.
WE ARE HERE TO BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY.
UH, WE HAVE A VERY COMPREHENSIVE FIRE MITIGATION PLAN, UH, THAT INCLUDES A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND SOME OF YOU, THIS MAY BE A REFRESHER.
AND, AND FOR SOME OF YOU, THIS MAY BE, UH, NEW INFORMATION AND, AND SOME OF THE THINGS ARE NEW SINCE LAST YEAR.
SO HOPEFULLY I'M, I'M SOMEWHAT, UH, ENTERTAINING AND, AND GET YOU THE INFORMATION YOU NEED.
UH, FIRST OFF, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE 1500 CIRCUITS OR WHAT WE CALL FEEDERS THAT RUN THROUGH OUR SERVICE TERRITORY HERE IN ARIZONA.
AND 237 OF THOSE, UH, FEEDERS ARE IN A HIGH FIRE RISK FIRE MITIGATION AREA.
UH, MOST OF THOSE, I WOULD SAY 95% OF THOSE, UH, CIRCUITS ARE IN NORTHERN ARIZONA.
AND AS YOU KNOW, UH, WITH THE CURRENT, UH, LACK OF MOISTURE, HEAT, UH, AND THE, THE STATE OF THE FUELS, UH, IN OUR AREAS, ESPECIALLY HERE IN YAVAPAI COUNTY AND, AND SEDONA, UH, IT IS, IT IS A CAUSE FOR CONCERN AND IT'S A CAUSE TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO HELP, UH, MITIGATE, UH, WILDFIRES IN OUR AREAS AND IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
UH, WE START OUT OUR FIRE MITIGATION PLAN WITH VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, AND THAT IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST O AND M EXPENSES THAT A PS HAS IS CLEARING THE VEGETATION AROUND OUR LINES.
UH, TH THIS IS A YEAR LONG EFFORT THAT, UH, TAKES MANY, MANY CREWS, MANY, MANY PLANNERS AND, AND MANY, MANY CONNECTIONS, ESPECIALLY, UH, WITH OUR FOREST SERVICE AND LAND PARTNERS.
UH, ONE THING REAL QUICK, I DO WANNA SHOW A PICTURE, AND I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE AHEAD OF TIME.
I'M NOT, UH, THE GREATEST POWERPOINT PUT PUTTER TOGETHER, BUT HERE, HERE'S MY BEST.
UH, ONE THING THAT WE STARTED A COUPLE YEARS BACK IS, IS CALLED THE DSAP PROGRAM, WHICH MEANS DEF DEFENSIBLE SPACE AROUND POLES.
AND WHAT THAT IS, IS ANY STRUCTURE WE HAVE THAT HAS A DEVICE ON IT THAT CAN CAUSE A SPARK, SUCH AS A TRANSFORMER, A SWITCH, A FUSE, A RECLOSER, UH, ANY OF THOSE DEVICES.
WHAT WE DO IS WE CLEAR, UH, 10 FEET AROUND THAT, AND THEN WE TREAT THAT AREA.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PICTURE, UM, THIS IS THE BENEFIT OF DOING THAT.
WE TRY TO BE AS RESPONSIBLE AS WE CAN WITH OUR ENVIRONMENT, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE FROM A FIRE PERSPECTIVE, A FIRE BURNED THROUGH THIS AREA.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THOSE PLACES THAT WE DID THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE RESULT WAS POSITIVE AS FAR AS, UH, YOU KNOW, IF SOMETHING WERE TO FALL FROM OUR INFRASTRUCTURE INTO THAT AREA.
AND IF FIRE WAS TO BURN INTO IT, UH, FROM OTHER CAUSES, UM, IT, IT DEFINITELY HELPS REDUCE THE RISK OF WILDFIRES.
UH, THE, THE ONE OTHER THING I'LL MENTION AS FAR AS VEGETATION MANAGEMENT GOES IS OUR HAZARD TREE PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON WITH, WITH LAND AGENCIES, ESPECIALLY THE FOREST SERVICE.
UH, ALL OF OUR LINES ARE WITHIN, UH, RIGHT OF WAY, UH, YOU KNOW, VARYING IN SIZES.
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UH, WHAT THIS PROGRAM ALLOWS US TO DO IS LOOK OUTSIDE OF OUR RIGHT OF WAY.AND IF WE NOTICE ANY DEAD OR DYING TREES THAT COULD INTERACT WITH OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, WE REACH OUT TO THAT AGENCY AND MAKE A DETERMINATION.
CAN WE REMOVE THAT SO THAT IN THE NEXT SNOWSTORM, THE NEXT THUNDERSTORM OR WIND, WE'RE ABLE TO REMOVE THAT BEFORE IT BECOMES A PROBLEM.
AND, AND SO THAT EFFORT, AGAIN, CONTINUES ALL YEAR LONG, EVERY YEAR.
FROM A GRID HARDENING PERSPECTIVE.
UH, WE ARE, UH, WORKING VERY HARD.
UH, WE HAVE A WHOLE TEAM THAT'S DEDICATED TO LOOKING AT OUR CIRCUITS AND MAKING SURE THAT, UH, WE PUT THE RIGHT DEVICES UP IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
UH, AND FURTHER ON IN OUR DISCUSSION AROUND PUBLIC SAFETY, POWER SHUTOFF, YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE WHERE THIS COMES INTO PLAY.
WHAT THESE DO IS THEY HELP US PROTECT, UH, OUR COMMUNITIES, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, AND BE ABLE TO SPLIT UP AND, AND REROUTE POWER IN A VERY EFFECTIVE MANNER.
AND SO WE HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, A BIG TEAM WORKING ON THAT.
UH, ANOTHER THING AS FAR AS, UH, RESILIENCY GOES, UH, THAT, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, START INSTALLING A COUPLE YEARS BACK IS THE MESH WRAP.
AND WHAT THAT IS, IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE CHICKEN WIRE AND IT, IT IS A MEDICAL COMPOSITE, UH, THAT WE WRAP THE, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY THE FIRST 10 FEET OF THE POLE WITH, AND WHAT IT DOES IS IT DISSIPATES HEAT.
UH, I'VE SEEN EXAMPLES WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, HOLD A TORCH ON A POLE WITH THIS MESH WRAP ON, AND THEN INSTANTLY BE ABLE TO PUT YOUR HAND RIGHT ON IT BECAUSE IT DISSIPATES THE HEAT SO WELL.
SO WHEN WE THINK OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S BEEN INSTALLED IN, IN OUR SYSTEM OVER THE LAST 140 YEARS, UM, AS WE TAKE A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO MAINTAINING THOSE LINES, WE ARE ACTIVELY PUTTING MESH WRAP ON WOOD POLES.
UH, YOU MAY ASK THE QUESTION, WELL, WHY DON'T YOU PUT A STEEL POLE THERE? UH, AND WE CONSIDER OURSELVES A STEEL POLE COMPANY WHEN IT COMES TO OVERHEAD.
UH, THE ONLY CAVEAT TO THAT IS, AS YOU KNOW, HERE IN NORTHERN ARIZONA, WE HAVE A LOT OF RURAL, UH, VERY TREACHEROUS TERRAIN, UM, PLACES WHERE WE CAN'T GET OUR BUCKET TRUCKS TO.
UH, AND IN THOSE SCENARIOS, OUR LINEMEN HAVE TO CLIMB THE POLE AND TO BE ABLE TO CLIMB THE POLE, THEY HAVE TO, THEY HAVE TO BE WOOD.
UM, AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, THAT'S AN ANOTHER IMPORTANT, UH, TECHNOLOGY THAT, THAT WE'VE REALLY ADOPTED.
UH, THE THIRD ONE THAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT, AND IT HAS TO DO WITH THE DEFENSIBLE SPACE AROUND POLES, IS THE NON EXPULSION FUSING AND YOUR TYPICAL FUSE THAT'S BEEN USED FOR THE LAST A HUNDRED YEARS.
WHEN IT BLOWS, WHEN THE CURRENT REACHES A CERTAIN LEVEL, IT, THE FUSE OPENS UP AND EMITS A SPARK.
WELL, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IN THE CURRENT SCENARIO WE'RE IN THAT, THAT DOESN'T CUT IT.
UH, THERE HAS BEEN TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED FOR NON EMULSION FUSING, AND WE ARE GETTING THAT INSTALLED ON ALL OF OUR FIRE MITIGATION FEEDERS ACT.
WE'RE ACTIVELY DOING THAT, REPLACING THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF FUSES TO THE NON EMULSION TYPE SO THAT WE CAN FURTHER HELP MITIGATE, UH, WILDFIRES IN OUR AREAS.
UH, YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN A PS TRUCKS AROUND.
UH, WE DO PATROL OUR LINES ON AN, ON A ACTIVE BASIS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UH, ONE THING WE DO EVERY YEAR AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR IS, IS WE DO FIRE MITIGATION SPECIFIC PATROLS, AND WE'VE ASSIGNED, UM, CERTAIN TIMEFRAMES ON ANY DEFECTS WE FIND ON HOW LONG WE CAN WAIT BEFORE WE DO IT.
AND THEY ARE VERY SHORT TIMELINES.
AND SO, ESPECIALLY NOW, UH, IF YOU SEE AN A PS CREW OUT WORKING, THEY ARE WORKING ON FIRE MITIGATION ACTIVITIES AND, AND FIXING THOSE THINGS, UM, BEFORE THEY BECOME A PROBLEM.
WE ALSO, UH, UTILIZE HELICOPTERS, DRONES, UH, THAT ARE EQUIPPED WITH INFRARED.
UH, ONE THING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T, DON'T KNOW IS THAT CURRENT FLOW GENERATES HEAT.
AND, UH, THESE INFRARED CAMERAS HELP US IDENTIFY THOSE HEAT SIGNATURES AND BE ABLE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKE THOSE FIXES AND MAKE IT TO WHERE IT IS SAFE FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UH, WE'VE ALSO ADDED TO OUR FIRE MITIGATION TEAM.
UH, WE EVEN HAVE OUR OWN METEOROLOGISTS, UNFORTUNATELY, JUST LIKE THE REGULAR NEWSMAN, OR THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE RIGHT ALL THE TIME.
UH, BUT, UH, WE ARE VERY DEDICATED TO UNDERSTANDING WEATHER PATTERNS, UNDERSTANDING THE, THE CURRENT CLIMATE CONDITIONS AND, AND REACTING APPROPRIATELY.
UH, WE'VE ALSO INVESTED IN ADVANCED FIRE MODELING SOFTWARE, AND THE BEST WAY I CAN EXPLAIN IT IS THIS
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IS A, A SUPER COMPUTER THAT, UH, TAKES IN MANY DIFFERENT DATA POINTS, BOTH CURRENT DATA POINTS AND PAST OR HISTORICAL DATA POINTS, AND IS ABLE TO LEARN, UH, YOU KNOW, BASED ON ALL THE DATA WE HAVE AND ALL THE DATA WE PRODUCE IN BEING ABLE TO PREDICT WHEN THERE ARE HIGH, UH, WILDFIRE, UH, CONDITIONS AND, AND BE ABLE TO REACT APPROPRIATELY.AT A PS WE HAVE, WE RUN UNDER A PREPAREDNESS PLAN.
AND, AND THE WAY WE, UH, KIND OF DIVVY THAT UP IS, UH, PREPAREDNESS LEVEL ONES ONE THROUGH FIVE.
UH, THE ONE I THINK WOULD BE OF MOST INTEREST TO, TO THIS COMMUNITY IS WHEN WE GET TO PREPAREDNESS LEVEL THREE, THAT'S WHEN WE GO INTO WHAT'S CALLED NON RE-CLOSING.
UM, AND A RE NON RE-CLOSING HAS TO DO WITH OUR RECLOSERS.
UM, AND, AND THE BEST WAY I KNOW TO EXPLAIN THAT IS I, I THINK WE'VE ALL BEEN AT OUR HOMES DURING A THUNDERSTORM.
LIGHTS GO OUT, LIGHTNING STRIKES, THE LIGHTS GO OUT, AND ABOUT A MINUTE LATER THEY COME BACK ON.
AND WHAT THAT IS, IT'S A MICROPROCESSOR BASED DEVICE THAT, UH, MONITORS THE CURRENT FLOW, AND IF IT SEES MORE CURRENT FLOW, THEN SHOULD BE THERE.
ONCE IT OPENS UP, IF IT'S, IF IT'S IN REGULAR OPERATION, IT WILL COUNT TO 60 AND THEN TRY TO RECLOSE.
WELL, ONCE WE REACH A CERTAIN TIME OF YEAR, CERTAIN WEATHER CONDITIONS, WE DISABLE THAT RE-CLOSING AND OUR TROUBLE MEN WILL GO AND, UM, PATROL THE LINE AND MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS SAFE BEFORE WE TURN IT BACK ON.
WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE COMMUNITY AND OUR CUSTOMERS IS THAT THEY EXPERIENCE LONGER THAN NORMAL OUTAGES BASED ON, UH, THAT SCENARIO.
UH, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED DOING THIS, UH, SIX OR SEVEN YEARS AGO, WE WERE VERY NEW TO IT.
UH, WE WOULD PATROL THE ENTIRE LINE BEFORE WE WOULD TURN IT ON.
UH, ONE TECHNOLOGY THAT'S HELPED US A TON, AND YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN 'EM AROUND TOWN AND KNOW SCOTT, THEY'RE NOT CAMERAS
THEY'RE LITTLE BALLS ABOUT THAT BIG.
AND WHAT THEY DO IS THEY BASICALLY GUIDE THE TROUBLE MEN TO WHERE THE PROBLEM IS.
AND THEY DO THAT, UH, THEY FLASH WHEN IF, IF THEY SEE, IF THAT SEES THE FAULT, IT WILL FLASH.
AND SO IT MAKES IT MUCH MORE EXPEDITED FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO FOLLOW THAT AND THEN FIND THE PROBLEM RATHER THAN STARTING AT ONE END OF THE CIRCUIT AND GOING TO THE OTHER.
AND SO THAT'S BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN LIMITING THE OUT OUTAGE TIME, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE TO PATROL IT BEFORE WE TURN IT BACK ON.
AND, UH, WE, WE ALWAYS KNOW THAT, UH, ANY OUTAGE IS INCONVENIENT FOR OUR COMMUNITIES BECAUSE OF, OF THE WAY WE LIVE AND THE THINGS WE DEPEND ON.
AND SO, UH, OUR, UH, COMMITMENT IS TO GET THAT POWER ON AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN AFTER SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENS.
UH, ONE THING THAT I'M SUPER EXCITED, UH, TO TALK ABOUT IS OUR CAMERAS AND WEATHER STATIONS, AND REAL QUICKLY, SO THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAMERAS.
THE, THERE'S THE REGULAR CAMERAS THAT YOU CAN ZOOM IN AND OUT, YOU CAN TURN 'EM SIDE TO SIDE AND PAN.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S AI CAMERAS, UH, AND WE HAVE A, A GOOD NUMBER OF BOTH STYLES OF THOSE CAMERAS, UH, INSTALLED.
UM, AND WE ARE ACTIVELY, ACTIVELY INSTALLING MORE.
UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU A GLIMPSE OF WHAT THE AI CAMERA CAN DO, THIS, UH, IS A, IS A FRAME OF THAT CAMERA, AND YOU CAN SEE IT'S PINPOINTED THE SMOKE IN THAT AREA.
IT, IT'S 360 DEGREES WHEN IT DE IT, IT'S VERY INTELLIGENT AND IT CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HOT MUFFLER RATHER THAN A, AN ACTUAL FIRE.
UH, AND, UH, WHEN IT DETECTS FIRE, UH, IT INSTANTLY SENDS A TEXT IN AN EMAIL TO OUR FIRE MITIGATION TEAM.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, FROM THERE WE CAN GET IN, IN TOUCH WITH OUR EMERGENCY SERVICES.
OH, AND I'M SORRY, I I DIDN'T EVEN INTRODUCE ASHLEY.
THIS IS ASHLEY FROM THE COUNTY.
SHE'S THE, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGER FOR OUR COUNTY, AND SHE IS AWESOME.
I JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO KNOW THAT, UH, REAL QUICK, AND I KNOW THIS IS KIND OF AN EYE CHART, UH, YOU, YOU CAN'T REALLY SEE IT REAL WELL, BUT THESE ARE THE, THESE ARE THE CAMERAS, UH, THAT ARE CURRENTLY INSTALLED ACROSS OUR SERVICE TERRITORY.
AND, YOU KNOW, TO ADD TO THAT, THE WEATHER STATIONS, THE REASON THE WEATHER STATIONS ARE IMPORTANT IS, UM, IN THAT ADVANCED SOFTWARE, THE MORE DATA POINTS WE HAVE, THE BETTER DECISIONS WE CAN MAKE.
AND SO IT, THE, THE THING I ALWAYS DO IS IF I'M COMING TO SEDONA, I LOOK AT, I LOOK AT THE WEATHER AND IT SAYS, OKAY, IT'S 75 DEGREES IN SEDONA.
WELL, IT MAY BE HERE, BUT ACROSS TOWN IT MAY BE, YOU KNOW, QUITE A BIT DIFFERENT OR THE WIND MIGHT BE DIFFERENT.
AND SO THE MORE DATA POINTS WE CAN HAVE OF INDIVIDUAL AREAS,
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WE CAN MAKE BETTER DECISIONS.UH, LEMME GO BACK TO THIS ONE.
THE, THE LAST THING I, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT, UH, ACTUALLY I HAVE TWO THINGS.
UH, IS PUBLIC SAFETY, POWER SHUTOFF.
UH, YOU GUYS, UH, HERE IN SEDONA DID HAVE SOME CIRCUITS, UH, THAT WERE WITHIN THE PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUTOFF ZONE.
LAST YEAR WE HAD A TOTAL OF 13 CIRCUITS THROUGHOUT OUR WHOLE SERVICE TERRITORY.
UH, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE WITH, UH, THE INCREASED RISK THIS YEAR, WE HAVE EXPANDED, UH, THAT, AND, UM, JUST TO REMIND EVERYBODY WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE, UH, IS WE RELY HEAVILY, UH, ON THE PREDICTIONS OF OUR ADVANCED SOFTWARE, AND THEN IT MAKES A RECOMMENDATION.
THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE INSTANTLY GO TURN THE POWER OFF.
UH, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS.
THE DECISION IS MADE ONCE THAT DECISION IS MADE.
OUR FIRST CALL, WHEN ME AND DARLA GET, UH, THAT INFORMATION FROM, UH, OUR OPERATING CENTER, UH, THAT, HEY, NEXT SATURDAY, UH, FROM THREE O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON TILL SIX IN THE MORNING, WE THINK IT'S GONNA BE ONE OF THOSE DAYS WHERE THIS SMALL SECTION OF LINE NEEDS TO BE TAKEN OUT AND IT'S GONNA AFFECT X AMOUNT OF CUSTOMERS.
OUR FIRST CALL IS TO MARI AT THE COUNTY, AND OF COURSE, ASHLEY.
AND THEN WE IN VERY SHORT ORDER MUNICIPALITIES.
AND THE REASON WE'RE DOING THAT IS WE WANT OUR LEADERSHIP TO KNOW, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, IT'S ALWAYS IMPORTANT THAT THE LEADERSHIP, UH, KNOWS FIRST AND CAN REACT APPROPRIATELY.
IT, THERE WON'T BE A BIG TIMEFRAME BETWEEN WHEN, YOU KNOW, THE LEADERSHIP IS, UH, COMMUNICATED WITH AND OUR CUSTOMERS ARE COMMUNICATED WITH.
BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING A GOOD PARTNER AND THAT, YOU KNOW, FIRST, UM, FROM THERE EVERY DAY UP UNTIL THE DAY THAT THE WEATHER EVENT IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN, UH, THE SAME PROCEDURE WILL TAKE PLACE.
UH, WE WILL SEE WHAT THE DATA IS TELLING US.
UH, IF IT FOUR DAYS OUT, UM, IT, YEP, IT STILL LOOKS LIKE SATURDAY'S GONNA BE THE DAY.
SAME COMMUNICATION COUNTY MUNICIPAL CUSTOMER EVERY DAY.
UM, THEY, OUR CUSTOMERS OR YOUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS WILL BE RECEIVING, UH, TEXTS, EMAILS, AND PHONE CALLS EVERY DAY IF THEY ARE IN THAT AREA.
UM, AND SO THEN WE GET UP TO, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY IT'S SATURDAY AT THREE O'CLOCK NOW.
UH, WE SEND OUT ONE FINAL COMMUNICATION.
THE POWER GOES OUT IN THAT SPECIFIC AREA.
UH, ONCE THE POWER GOES OUT, YOU WILL SEE A LOT OF A PS PEOPLE AROUND.
UM, THE REASON I BROUGHT UP THE NON RE-CLOSING STRATEGY FIRST IS NORMALLY ON A PATROL LIKE THAT, YOU HAVE TWO TO THREE TROUBLE MEN PATROLLING THE LINE FOR ONE OF THOSE, UH, BEFORE AT SIX O'CLOCK BEFORE WE TURN THE POWER BACK ON, UH, WE PATROLLED THE ENTIRE LINE AND WE HAVE CREATED PATROL PLANS UTILIZING HELICOPTERS, DRONES, SIDE-BY-SIDE TRUCKS, PEOPLE WALKING TO SIMULTANEOUSLY, UH, PATROL THAT LINE.
AND IN JUST ABOUT EVERY SINGLE PATROL, DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUIT, THERE'S ANYWHERE BETWEEN 15 AND 30 PATROLLERS, UH, SO THAT WE CAN PATROL THAT LINE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
UH, THE OTHER THING TO, TO KEEP IN MIND TOO IS THAT WE'LL ALSO HAVE CREWS ON SITE WITH MATERIAL POLES, TRANSFORMERS, AND IF ANYTHING IS FOUND, THEY WILL BE THERE TO, YOU KNOW, PICK RIGHT UP AND, AND MAKE THOSE REPAIRS SO WE CAN GET EVERYBODY BACK ON AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
THE LAST THING, AND I, I DO WANT TO GIVE ASHLEY JUST A SECOND TO, TO TALK TO THE GROUP ABOUT THIS FROM THE COUNTY'S PERSPECTIVE, BUT YOU, YOU KNOW, ONE OF OUR MAIN MESSAGES THAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO COMMUNICATE IS THE IMPORTANCE OF EACH INDIVIDUAL BEING PREPARED.
YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUTOFF, WHETHER IT'S A FLOOD, WHETHER IT'S OTHER, ANY OTHER TYPE OF, UH, EMERGENCY, YOU KNOW, TAKING RESPONSIBILITY, TAKING ACTION, AND MAKING SURE THAT, THAT WE'RE PREPARED.
SO WITH THAT, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING, ASHLEY, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE.
SO WHEN IT COMES TO GENERAL PREPAREDNESS WITH THE PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUTOFFS, WHEN THIS CAME TO BE, AND A PS LET US KNOW THAT THIS WAS SOMETHING THEY WERE GONNA BE, UM, IMPLEMENTING OR HAVING THAT PROCESS IN PLACE, IT, IT TRIGGERED US IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TO START HAVING PLANS.
THAT'S, THAT'S OUR WHOLE THING, RIGHT? UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE PROCESSES IN PLACE.
AND AGAIN, UM, WORKING TOWARDS STATED OF PREPAREDNESS.
SO IN RECOGNIZING THAT THE PSPS IS A, A TULO BLAST RESORT, IT'S GONNA BE PLANNED, IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ADVANCED NOTICE OF AS WELL AS THE RESIDENTS.
IT, IT'S MAKING SURE THAT WE, WE ALMOST, I DON'T WANNA SAY SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY, BUT ALMOST IN THAT SAME SENSE, UH, LOOK AT SITUATIONS WHERE WE CAN ENCOURAGE RESIDENTS, AGAIN, TO HAVE THAT INDIVIDUAL SET OF PREPAREDNESS.
BECAUSE IF WE LOOK AT THE MICRO, UM,
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DISASTER, SO TO SPEAK, THAT WE CAN BE EXPOSED TO AT THE, OUR HOUSEHOLD LEVEL, POWER OUTAGES, ET CETERA.AND, AND POWER CAN GO OUT FOR ANY NUMBER OF REASONS.
UTILITY, DIGGING UP SOMETHING, UH, CAR ACCIDENTS, WEATHER, ET CETERA.
UM, AND THEN HOW THAT CAN TRANSITION TO BEING PREPARED FOR THOSE MACRO DISASTERS, ESPECIALLY IN MY, OF SEEING EVERYTHING THAT OCCURRED IN CALIFORNIA RECENTLY, HURRICANE HELENE, ET CETERA.
UM, AND EVEN IN RECENT MONTHS, RECOGNIZING THE, UH, TEMPERATURE OF THE FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION AND THE EXECUTIVE ORDER IS REALLY ENCOURAGING, UM, RESILIENCE OF PREPAREDNESS AT THE LOCAL LEVELS.
AND SO WHAT DOES LIFE LOOK LIKE? UM, SO HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE OUR RESIDENTS TO BE PREPARED, UM, PERIOD.
AND HOW, AS THE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, THE PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES, HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PREPARED FOR THOSE, THOSE THINGS? SO, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE IS HAVE TABLETOP EXERCISES, GUIDED DISCUSSIONS WITH OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS AND OUR LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CONTACTS.
UH, WE HAD ONE LAST WEEK, UM, AT THE FACILITY HERE IN THE VERDE, UM, AT PSS FACILITY.
UH, WE HAD, UH, SEDONA POLICE THERE.
WE ALSO HAD SEDONA FIRE AS WELL AS OTHER, UH, PARTNERS THROUGHOUT THE VERDE TO DISCUSS, UM, WHAT PREPAREDNESS MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
UM, HOW CAN WE WORK TOWARDS THAT PUBLIC MESSAGING? 'CAUSE IT'S, IT'S REALLY ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AND HOW THEY CAN BE BEST PREPARED.
AND, UH, ALSO TALKED ABOUT FROM THE, THE RESOURCE PERSPECTIVE, UM, WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE ARE MULTIPLE INCIDENTS TAKING PLACE? SAY THERE'S A, A WILDFIRE IN THE PRESCOTT BASIN.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S A-P-S-P-S OVER HERE, UH, MY OFFICE, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE FOCUSED ON THE, THE WILDFIRE.
UM, WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE DEALING WITH A, A SHORTAGE OF AMERICAN RED CROSS VOLUNTEERS IF THERE'S A SHELTER, UH, ACTIVATED OVER THERE.
AND SO WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE FOR US TO INSTILL RESILIENCY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL TO HELP, UM, BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THOSE THAT MIGHT BE DEALING WITH HEAT RELATED ISSUES DURING A POWER OUTAGE OR, OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
SO, UM, AGAIN, INDIVIDUAL PREPAREDNESS IS, IS REALLY THE, THE CORE OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET TO.
AND ALSO ENCOURAGING CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLANNING.
UM, SO THAT WAY EVERY ORGANIZATION HAS THOSE STEPS OF, YOU KNOW, WHO'S, WHO'S THE SUCCESSOR, UM, AS WELL AS WHAT DO WE DO TO MAINTAIN, UH, OPERATIONS FOR, UM, OUR RESIDENTS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO IN A NUTSHELL.
YEAH, AND I'M OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, ANYONE HAS, DEREK, SO YOUR SLIDE SAYS PSPS IS A TOOL ONLY BE USED DURING EXTREME HIGH FIRE RISK CONDITIONS.
WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF SOME OF THOSE CONDITIONS? ARE THEY, DO THEY TEND TO BE INTERNAL FORCES WITH THE EQUIPMENT? EXTERNAL FORCES? YEAH.
SO THIS WOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE EQUIPMENT OTHER THAN IT'S LOCATED IN A HIGH FIRE RISK AREA.
AND, UH, IT, IT'S REALLY AMAZING WHAT THIS SOFTWARE CAN DO.
IT LOOKS AT THE TOPOGRAPHY, THE HUMIDITY THERE, THERE'S PROBABLY 50 TO 75, UH, DIFFERENT DATA POINTS.
IT'S LOOKING AT IT, AND IT'S LOOKING AT IT NOT ONLY, UM, FROM A HERE AND NOW PERSPECTIVE, BUT FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE.
THE OTHER THING, UH, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IS IT, IT CAN THINK AND LOOK WHERE WILL THE, IT CAN PREDICT WHERE IF, IF A FIRE WAS TO START RIGHT HERE, WHERE WOULD IT BURN BASED ON THE CURRENT CONDITIONS? THE WIND AND WIND IS, IS NINE TIMES OUTTA 10 GONNA BE ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL ASPECTS OF IT.
UH, BUT WHERE WILL IT BURN IF IT STARTS, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE WHERE ARE THE, YOU KNOW, IT JUST TAKES IN SO MUCH INFORMATION.
UH, BUT THAT IS, THAT IS REALLY WHAT IT'S LOOKING AT IS LOCATION ONLY.
WE HAVE SOME, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUTOFF AREAS WHERE WE'VE GOT BRAND NEW EQUIPMENT AND WE'RE, IT'S STILL A PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUTOFF AREA BECAUSE OF THE CONDITIONS IN THE AREA, UM, BASED ON THE FUELS, THE TOPOGRAPHY AND, AND THE, THE FACT THAT THERE ARE CITIZENS OR COMMUNITIES THERE.
UH, I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
SINCE WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE PUBLIC SHUTOFF PLANS, HOW MANY, ROUGHLY, IF YOU CAN, ZONES ARE THERE IN SEDONA THAT COULD, HOW, HOW FINE IS THAT CONTROL? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO, UH, THERE ARE THREE ZONES.
UH, ONE IS IN THE ENCHANTMENT AREA, I BELIEVE THERE'S 27 CUSTOMERS ON THAT CIRCUIT.
SO THAT'S A, THAT'S PROBABLY ONE OF OUR SMALLEST CIRCUITS, UH, WEST OF TOWN.
UH, THEN THERE'S THE, UH, CATHEDRAL ROCK AREA, UH, AND THEN THE THIRD AREA THAT, THAT'S ANYWHERE BETWEEN SIX AND 800, UH, CUSTOMERS IN, IN THAT AREA.
AND THEN THE, UH, OAK CREEK CA, NORTH NORTHERN PART OF SEDONA DOWN INTO OAK CREEK CANYON IS, IS THE THIRD.
AND THERE'S SIX TO 800 CUSTOMERS AFFECTED BY THAT.
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THEN AREAS OUTSIDE THOSE ZONES DON'T HAVE THAT CONTROL.WE HAVE THAT CONTROL, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT, UH, IDENTIFIED AS BEING IN A RISKY ENOUGH AREA TO, SO THEY, THEY WOULD STAY ON AND THOSE CUSTOMERS WOULD COME OFF.
YOU SPOKE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE AI CAMERAS, BUT MY EYES WEREN'T GOOD ENOUGH TO SEE WHERE THAT PHOTO WAS TAKEN FROM.
ARE THERE AI CAMERAS IN SEDONA? SO, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
AND I, I ASKED WADE WARD, UM, WHO IS OUR FIRE MITIGATION MANAGER.
WE ARE WORKING VERY HARD RIGHT NOW TO GET ONE AT THE AIRPORT.
UH, ANY HELP THIS COUNCIL COULD GIVE US THERE, UH, THAT, THAT'D BE A PRIME LOCATION, UH, TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE.
UM, BUT WE ARE LOOKING IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT AREAS AND WE, WE CONTINUE TO DEPLOY THESE AS QUICKLY AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
AND THAT CITY MANAGER, IS THAT ON YOUR RADAR TO THINK ABOUT? HAVE YOU HEARD THAT REQUEST BEFORE? UH, THANK YOU.
NO, I HAVEN'T, BUT HAPPY TO ADD IT TO THE LIST,
YEAH, AND I, I HAVE NOT APPROACHED THAT WITH THAT, SO SORRY ABOUT THAT.
NEXT QUESTION WAS, UH, ABOUT, UH, THINKING ABOUT HAWAII AND CALIFORNIA, SOME OF THOSE DISASTERS THAT HAVE HAPPENED ABOUT EVAC ROUTES AND, AND UNDERGROUNDING, HAVE YOU WORKED WITH US OR DONE YOUR OWN ANALYSIS ABOUT WHETHER THERE ARE POWER LINES THAT ARE ABOVE OUR PRINCIPAL EVAC ROUTES AND WHETHER THERE'S UNDERGROUNDING APPROPRIATE IN ANY OF THOSE LOCATIONS? SO, UH, FIRST QUESTION AROUND, UH, LOOKING AT AREAS WHERE THERE ARE, UH, POWER LINES GOING OVER, UH, ROADWAYS OF EGRESS ESPECIALLY.
UM, THERE ARE, THEY, THOSE DEFINITELY EXIST.
UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY WALKED SOME OF THESE COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE SEDONA AREA.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, ESPECIALLY IN THE EBOLA AREA, UH, HAVE IDENTIFIED, I BELIEVE, EIGHT OR 10, UH, WE'RE WORKING TO GET THOSE COMPLETED.
I THINK TWO OF THEM HAVE BEEN COMPLETED, AND WE'VE GOT, UH, FOUR OR FIVE ON THE SCHEDULE.
UM, THERE ARE SOME CHALLENGES TO THAT, BUT, UH, WE ARE TRYING TO GET THOSE, UH, YOU KNOW, AND IN THOSE, JUST TO BE CLEAR, IN THOSE SCENARIOS, WE ARE WHERE WE HAVE WOOD POLES ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.
WE ARE, AGAIN, WE ARE A STEEL POLE COMPANY.
UM, AND, AND THEN LOOKING ALSO AT THE HEIGHT, UH, OF THOSE, UH, CONDUCTORS THAT GO ACROSS THE ROAD, UM, WE OFTENTIMES HAVE ISSUES WITH, WHETHER IT'S OUR OWN LINES OR COMMUNICATION LINES, SAGGING TOO LOW AND A AND A HIGHER TRUCK, CATCHING THOSE AND, AND CAUSING PROBLEMS. UH, WE'RE, WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT AND WE'RE TRYING TO RESOLVE THOSE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE FROM THE OVERHEAD TO UNDERGROUND DISCUSSION.
UM, IT BECOMES A LOT MORE COMPLICATED IN THE FACT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE ROADS IN OUR RURAL COMMUNITIES ARE VERY NARROW, UM, AND THEY'RE ALSO VERY ROCKY.
AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UH, AFFORDABILITY FOR ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS, WE HAVE TO WEIGH THE FIRE RISK.
WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE CURRENTLY, AND I, I WOULD SAY VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AS WELL.
LOOK AT THAT VERSUS THE COST AND THE, THE IMPACT TO THE, THE NATIVE SOIL, LET'S SAY.
UM, AND, AND MAKE A DETERMINATION THERE.
SO IN, IN SOME CASES, I WOULD SAY YES, WE ARE, AND IN SOME CASES IT, IT MAKES MORE SENSE TAKING THE WHOLE PICTURE INTO IMPROVE THE CURRENT LINE THAT WE HAVE.
AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION IS REALLY MORE OF AN OBSERVATION, BUT YOU TALKED ABOUT YOUR DEFENSIBLE SPACE AROUND POLES, AND YOU TALKED ABOUT THE EQUIPMENT THAT CAN SPARK, AND THAT SEEMED TO BE THE MOST MM-HMM
DOES THAT, IS THAT SAYING THAT WHEN THE LINE ITSELF IS GETTING CLOSE TO TREES, THAT'S LESS RISKY THAN THE SPARKY EQUIPMENT THAT CAN HAPPEN AROUND POLES? UM, I, I WOULDN'T SAY LESS RISKY.
UH, IT, IT, IT'S, IT'S BOTH OF A RISK OF WHAT WE CALL A SYSTEM TO GROUND.
AND SO WHEN, WHEN WE'RE DOING OUR VEGETATION PATROLS AND VEGETATION WORK, WE HAVE STANDARDS OF HOW FAR BACK.
UH, SO A, AND I'M SURE A LOT OF YOUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE HAD OUR PLANTERS COME TO THEIR HOUSE AND SAY, HEY, WE NEED TO TRIM YOUR TREE X BACK.
AND IT, IT IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE OWN THEIR PROPERTY, THEY WANT IT TO BE BEAUTIFUL, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S THAT, BUT THERE'S ALSO THE SAFETY RISKS.
BUT WHAT WE DO IS WE, UH, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY ESTABLISH STANDARDS THAT AS LONG AS IT'S X FEET AWAY FROM, FROM OUR, UH, PRIMARY POWER LINES, AND THEN WHEN IT COMES TO THE DEVICES, JUST BY THE NATURE OF HOW THEY FUNCTION, UM, WE WANT TO, UH, YOU KNOW, SINCE
[00:30:01]
THERE'S NO OTHER, YOU KNOW, REAL WAY TO MITIGATE IT, TO MITIGATE THAT AREA AROUND IT SO THAT IF OR WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS THAT THE, THE LIKELIHOOD OF IT STARTING A CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRE IS VERY LOW.SO THEN JUST THE OBSERVATION, OF COURSE, I HAVE A COMPLETELY UNCALIBRATED, UNTRAINED EYE, BUT IT WAS JUST A HANDFUL OF WEEKS AGO, FOUR WEEKS AGO, OR FIVE, I WAS WA I WENT FOR A HIKE UP MOUNT WILSON.
SO PARK IN THE, UH, MIDGLEY BRIDGE PARKING LOT OFF, HEAD OFF WEST, THE TRAILS GO THERE, THEY GO UNDERNEATH THE POWER LINES, AND RIGHT THERE FROM THE TRAIL, THOSE POWER LINES DIPPED DOWN BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE VEG, THE TREE TOPS AND ARE VERY, WERE AT LEAST A FEW WEEKS AGO, WE'RE VERY, VERY CLOSE TO THE, OKAY, WELL, THE VEGETATION.
SO I, IF THAT'S THE CASE, I'D REALLY LIKE TO, TO GET WITH YOU AND, AND SEE, THE, THE ONE THING I'D JUST WANNA BE, UH, A EVERYBODY TO BE AWARE OF IS, AND, AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT THIS IS THE CASE HERE, A LOT OF PEOPLE DO, UM, MISTAKE CALM STUFF FOR OUR STUFF.
UM, AND, AND THERE IS A DIFFERENCE THERE THAT'S VERY LOW VOLTAGE STUFF.
AND SO THE RISK OF THAT IS NOT WHAT THE PRIMARY LINE IS.
SO I, IF YOU SEE A PLACE WHERE WE EITHER HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO OR WE'VE MISSED, I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT AND I'LL GET SOMEBODY OUT THERE.
FRANK ASHLEY, FOR THE COORDINATION THAT YOU'VE DONE WORKING WITH THE CITY, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
THIS IS ALWAYS AN ONGOING CONVERSATION AND A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR PRESENTATION.
YOU SAID THAT THE METEOROLOGIST, THAT YOU ADDED A TEAM, IS THAT A NEW PROGRAM OR YOU ADDED ADDITIONAL? I JUST WANTED TO BE CLEAR.
YEAH, SO, UH, OUR FIRE MEDICATION TEAM WAS PUT TOGETHER ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO.
IT STARTED WITH ABOUT THREE PEOPLE.
UH, AND WE HAVE CONTINUALLY ADDED TO THAT TEAM.
I, I BELIEVE THERE'S 16 ON IT NOW, AND THREE OF THEM ARE METEOROLOGISTS.
UH, AND, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STUFF WE'RE GETTING, BUT THEY ALSO ARE LOOKING AT THE MODELING.
THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE DATA THAT, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO BRING IN OURSELVES AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WHICH ADDS TO JUST THE, THE DETAIL AND THE COMPLEXITY OF, OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND SO, UH, STRATEGICALLY, I, I SEE THAT TEAM CONTINUE TO GROW AND GROW.
UM, I HAD ALSO HAD A QUESTION REGARDING THE, THE CAMERAS AND THEIR LOCATION AND 'CAUSE IT SEEMS SO HIGH TO ME MM-HMM
THE, THE PICTURE, AND AGAIN, I DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE, BUT I COULDN'T TELL, ARE THOSE ACTUALLY ON THE OVERHEAD LINES OR ARE THEY FREE STANDING CAMERAS? UH, MOST OF THEM WE'VE HUNG ON OUR OWN STRUCTURES.
UH, IF WE WERE TO GO ON A CELL TOWER OR SOMETHING, UM, WE, WE COULD, IN SOME SITUATIONS, IF THEY HAVE JOINT USE THINGS AND IT'S A GREAT LOCATION, WE WOULD WORK WITH THAT ENTITY.
SO I, I WOULD SAY MOST OF THEM ARE ON OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, BUT THAT, UM, IT, IT WOULD NOT BE SURPRISING TO SEE THEM ON ANOTHER.
AND HOW SUCCESSFUL THE ONES ON YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE HAVE THOSE BEEN IN CATCHING ITEMS BEFORE THEY ESCALATE? SO THAT, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, AND IT'S ACTUALLY KIND OF A REALLY GOOD STORY, IS, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE BRADY FIRE, UH, THAT HAPPENED JUST SOUTH OF MAYOR ABOUT A MONTH AGO.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, WITH SOME OF THE, THE CHANGES IN POLITICS, UH, THE FOREST SERVICE ISN'T ABLE TO, UH, HIRE SEASONAL EMPLOYEES LIKE THEY NORMALLY DO.
AND AND FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, UH, SOME OF THOSE SEASONAL EMPLOYEES ARE FIRE WATCHES UP ON TOWERS, UH, TWO CAMERAS.
UH, AI CAMERAS OF OURS CAUGHT THAT FIRE.
IT WAS ABLE TO TRIANGULATE THE EXACT LOCATION.
AND THEN AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, UH, WADE WARD GETS THE TEXT IN THE EMAIL, HE GETS A HOLD OF EMERGENCY SERVICES AND THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHERE IT IS AND THEY CAN CATCH, CATCH IT IN THAT INCEPTION PHASE.
AND, AND THAT'S REALLY WHERE THE VALUE COMES IN.
AND ON TOP OF THAT, WE SHARE ACCESS TO THESE CAMERAS WITH OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PARTNERS.
AND ON THE, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUTOFFS THAT YOU MENTIONED, THE ORDER IN WHICH YOU CALL AND ALERT PEOPLE AND I JUST, WHO AT THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL, WHO, WHO ACTUALLY GETS THAT CALL ON ON OUR END? SO, UM, WE CAN DO IT.
I'M, I'M SURE ASHLEY, THE MINUTE SHE HEARS WHERE IT'S GOING ON IS GONNA BE COMMUNICATING WITH YOU.
IF IT'S IN THE AREA OF SEDONA, YOU'RE GONNA GET A CALL FROM, UH, DARLA AND I AS WELL, BUT WHO, WHO GETS THAT CALL? RIGHT.
AND THAT'S, WE WOULD ASK YOU CITY YEAH.
CITY MANAGER, THE MAYOR, UH, OR WHATEVER, UM, SYSTEM YOU SET UP, UH, THAT, HEY,
[00:35:01]
CALL THIS PERSON AND THIS PERSON AND THIS PERSON, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE WILL DO.DO YOU HAVE ANY PROLONGED OUTAGE? DO YOU HAVE ANY EMERGENCY GENERATORS THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC USE? OR, OR IS THAT JUST A LONG SHOT WISHLIST QUESTION? YEAH, SO, UH, THAT'S WHERE WE WOULD REALLY RELY ON OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PARTNERS.
UM, WE DON'T, UH, AND THAT'S WHY WE REALLY STRESS, UH, THE, THE PREPAREDNESS PIECE OF THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE ASHLEY SAID, IT COULD BE ANY NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WOULD CAUSE A POWER OUTAGE OR, UH, AN EXTENDED OUTAGE.
UM, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF TOOLS TO, TO DO OUR VERY BEST TO, UM, INFORM OUR CUSTOMERS, LET THEM KNOW TO HOW TO PREPARE.
UH, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I'LL JUST THROW A QUICK PLUG INTO SIGNING UP FOR THE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WEBSITE.
AND, UH, FOR THOSE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO MAY HAVE SPECIAL MEDICAL NEEDS TO SIGN UP AS A MEDICALLY MONITORED CUSTOMER WITH A PS AND THAT, WHAT THAT REALLY DOES IS IT GIVES US AN IDEA OF WHERE OUR, UH, CUSTOMERS ARE THAT ARE AT RISK.
ASHLEY, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT? YOU LOOK LIKE YOU DO.
UM, SO FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, ONCE WE GET THAT NOTIFICATION THAT A-P-S-P-S IS GOING TO OCCUR, UM, WE'RE GONNA NOTIFY ALL OUR STAKEHOLDERS, UM, AND WE ARE GOING TO START ASSESSING WHAT THAT, THAT IMPACT'S GOING TO BE.
SO IS IT GOING TO BE JUST A, A COUPLE OF HOURS, UM, DURING THE DAYTIME, OR ARE WE LOOKING AT, UH, THE FULL 20 HOURS, UH, THAT THEY, IT COULD BE OUT AND ASSESSING, UH, AS WELL AS THE OTHER CONDITIONS, THE WEATHER, UM, THE COMMUNITIES, WHAT KIND OF RESOURCES ARE NEARBY? UH, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, FOLKS IN GROOM CREEK WALKER, UH, THEY CAN VERY EASILY GO TO PRESCOTT IF PRESCOTT'S NOT BEING IMPACTED.
SO IT, OUR, OUR PLAN OF ATTACK MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON WHERE IT IS VERSUS AREAS THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE RURAL, UM, LIKE MAYOR, UM, PEOPLE'S VALLEY, ET CETERA.
SO WE, WE START HAVING, UH, WE CONNECT WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS, WE'LL START HAVING COOPERATIVE CALLS WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS TO START GOING THROUGH THAT PLANNING PROCESS.
OUR EOC WILL BE ACTIVATED TO ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL AND WILL BE REMAINING IN CONTACT WITH A PS, GETTING THOSE DAILY UPDATES, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THAT OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS ARE, ARE ABLE TO TAKE THE RIGHT POSITION IN TERMS OF DO THEY NEED TO INCREASE STAFFING FOR DISPATCH, FIRE LAW ENFORCEMENT, IF THAT'S A CAPABILITY THAT THEY HAVE, UM, AND ASSESS, DO WE NEED OPEN UP A COOLING CENTER IF NOTHING ELSE IS GOING ON, PARTNER WITH AMERICAN RED CROSS TO GET THAT ESTABLISHED AS WELL AS WE'LL BE ACTIVATING ANIMAL DISASTER SERVICES TO PROVIDE, UH, DOMESTIC HOUSEHOLD PET, UH, SHELTERING IF THAT IS A NEED.
AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING THROUGH SOME OF THE, THE LOGISTICS OF, UH, WELL WATER.
THERE'S A LOT OF PLACES IN THE RURAL AREAS THAT ARE IN WELL WATER.
AND IF THEY LOSE THAT POWER, THEY, THEY LOSE THAT ABILITY TO, UM, PROVIDE WATER TO THEIR, THEIR LIVESTOCK AND THEIR BARN ANIMALS.
SO, UH, THAT ONE'S, THAT'S STILL IN THE PROCESS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WORST CASE SCENARIO, WE WILL ACTIVATE OUR LARGE ANIMAL SHELTER AND EMERGENCY READINESS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE ANIMALS COULD GO.
UM, IF IT TURNS INTO SOMETHING THAT BECOMES A VERY EXTENDED, UM, BUT THAT'S, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE, UH, AS UH, A GOVERNMENT PUBLIC SAFETY KIND OF APPARATUS THAT WE, WE ARE PREPARED AND WE'RE POSITIONING OURSELVES TO SEE, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY AN INCREASE OF HEAT RELATED ILLNESSES, UM, WORKING WITH, UH, NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS TO SEE MAYBE PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TRANSPORTATION.
ARE THERE METHODS THAT WE CAN WORK THROUGH THAT IF THERE'S SOMEONE THAT NEEDS A RIDE TO A SHELTER? UM, SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, THE OTHER ELEMENTS AS WELL.
UM, MY LAST QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, YOU WORK SO CLOSELY, PROFESSIONALS TO PROFESSIONALS WITH, YOU KNOW, OUR POLICE CHIEF CITY MANAGEMENT, THE FIRE CHIEF, BUT THE FIRE BOARD, LIKE THE COUNCIL ARE LAY PEOPLE UP HERE THAT IT'S, BUT THAT ARE ANSWERABLE DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC.
SO DO YOU MAKE A PRESENTATION SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU JUST PRESENTED TO US, TO THE FIRE BOARD MEMBERS AS WELL? UH, NOT, I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST IT TO MY KNOWLEDGE, NO, BUT THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION.
AND, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE, UH, THE OTHER DAY, UH, ASHLEY AND I WENT OUT TO PAULDEN JUST TO A COMMUNITY FIRE, UH, DEAL.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE CAN GET AHOLD OF THE DATES AND TIMES, I, WE BOTH WOULD LOVE TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE THAT DISCUSSION WITH THOSE COMMUNITIES AND THE COMMUNITIES, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE THE FIRST BEST LINE OF COMMUNICATION.
BUT I THINK THE FIRE BOARD SPECIFICALLY THOSE BOARD MEMBERS WOULD, WOULD GLEAN A LOT THE SAME AS WE DO FROM, FROM MEETING WITH YOU.
THANK YOU FOR ENTERTAINING THAT IDEA.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
UH, NOT WITHSTANDING THAT, UH, THERE'S ANOTHER MEETING A WEEK FROM TODAY THAT I BELIEVE YOU ALL ARE PARTICIPATING IN.
I'M VERY SURPRISED THAT WE DON'T HAVE, UH, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC HERE TODAY, BECAUSE THERE'S CERTAINLY SOME HOT BUTTON ISSUES THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE LIKELY TO ADDRESS THEM NEXT WEEK, I'M SURPRISED THAT, UH, SOME OF OUR VERY ACTIVE
[00:40:01]
SOULS HAVE NOT, UH, SHOWN UP TO, UH, INQUIRE ABOUT THEM TODAY.SO PICKING UP WHERE COUNCILOR FURMAN LEFT OFF ON UNDERGROUNDING, SOME OF THE CURRENTLY ABOVE GROUND, UH, LINES, YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED FOR UNDERGROUNDING IN UPTOWN.
SO, SO THAT WAS IDENTIFIED FOR GOING FROM, UH, WOOD POLE TO STEEL, UH, WHERE THEY, THEY CROSSED THE ROAD.
UH, SO NO PLANS CURRENTLY TO UNDERGROUND ANYTHING? NO.
IN THE CITY LIMITS, UH, I CAN'T SAY WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS 'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF PROJECTS GOING ON, UH, THAT I DON'T HAVE A LINE OF SIGHT TO.
BUT FROM A FIRE MITIGATION PERSPECTIVE, NO.
AND THEN THIS IS A, PLEASE EDUCATE ME, POSSIBLY BE EDUCATING MY COLLEAGUES HERE.
I HAVE READ THAT THERE ARE, THAT THERE IS A MEANS BY WHICH IF A STREET OF, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS ALL SAID, WE WANT OUR LINE UNDERGROUNDED, WE CAN COME TO A PS AND ENTER INTO SOME KIND OF AGREEMENT THAT WOULD RESULT IN THAT HAPPENING.
IS THAT CORRECT? AND IF SO, CAN YOU ILLUMINATE A LITTLE BIT ON THAT PROGRAM? YEAH, THAT I ABSOLUTELY CAN.
AND I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP.
IT'S CALLED AN IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT AND BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD A A DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, GROUP OF HOWEVER MANY COME TOGETHER AND, YOU KNOW, IF THE COST IS GONNA BE X THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THAT PROGRAM AND I, I CAN GET MORE INFORMATION ON THAT, BUT BASICALLY THOSE RATHER THAN, UH, UNDERGROUNDING FOR THAT COMMUNITY AND THEN CHARGING ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS FOR, FOR THAT UNDERGROUNDING, THEY, UH, ABSORB THAT COST.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? MM-HMM
AND SO THAT'S TOTALLY VOLUNTARY.
IF, IF A NEIGHBORHOOD CAME TO YOU AND SAID, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO LOOK, WANT YOU TO LOOK INTO THIS, YOU'LL COME BACK WITH A PRICE AND THEY CAN SAY YAY OR NAY, AND THEN THAT GETS AMORTIZED OVER HOW MANY YEARS AT THAT POINT.
YEAH, AND I, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT DETAILS ON THAT, UM, BUT I CAN GET THEM AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE RELEVANT A WEEK FROM NOW.
THAT THERE'S LIKELY TO BE SOME FOLKS THAT COULD BE INTERESTED IN.
UM, I WOULD GUESS, UM, WHILE NOT IN THE CITY LIMITS, WE'RE ALL VERY WELL AWARE OF, UH, CONCERNS ABOUT FIRE IN THE AREA.
AND FOLKS IN THE VILLAGE OF OAK CREEK ARE CERTAINLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE PROPOSED, UH, OVERHEAD LINE TO GO IN, UH, HEADING INTO THEIR COMMUNITY.
WHAT IS THE LATEST STATUS ON THAT, IF YOU CAN SHARE THAT WITH US? SO FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, THE STATUS IS, UH, IT WENT THROUGH WHAT'S CALLED THE NEPA PROCESS.
AND PLEASE DON'T ASK ME WHAT THAT ACRONYM MEANS.
UM, BUT UH, IT HAS GONE THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
UH, THE FOREST SERVICE HAS, UH, PUBLISHED THE FINDINGS.
UH, I BELIEVE THERE WAS A, IT WAS EITHER 30 OR 45 DAY, UH, REBUTTAL PERIOD.
UH, IT ENDED MARCH 3RD, I BELIEVE.
AND, UM, AT THIS POINT, WE'RE WAITING FOR A RESPONSE FROM FOREST SERVICE.
UH, WE EXPECT THAT TO COME BACK SOMETIME, FIRST PART OF JUNE.
IS THERE ANY DEGREE OF PUSHBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT WOULD SWAY YOU TO UNDERGROUND THAT LINE RATHER THAN PROCEED OVERHEAD? FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, NO.
I THINK THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS.
MAYOR, COULD YOU PIGGYBACK ON THAT, ON THE MIC? WHY IS IT THAT THERE WOULD BE NO AMOUNT OF PUBLIC PUSHBACK THAT WOULD PERSUADE YOU? SO, A WHAT'S THE VALUE AND THE BENEFIT? GIVE US A YEAH, AND, AND IT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S REALLY A, A LARGE QUESTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THINGS HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED, UM, IN THAT, OBVIOUSLY FIRE IS, IS ONE OF THEM OVERHEAD, UH, POLES, UH, IN MOST OF THAT AREA TILL IT GETS TO THE SADDLE AND HEADS TO THE SOUTH.
THERE ALREADY IS A 69 KV SUBT TRANSMISSION LINE THERE.
UM, WHAT THIS PROJECT IS GOING TO BE DOING IS, UH, ADDING AN ADDITIONAL LINE TO MCGUIRE V.
AND THE REASON THAT'S IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE, UH, AS OUR CUSTOMERS USE MORE AND MORE ELECTRICITY, UH, THE, THE CAPACITY HAS TO IMPROVE AS WELL.
UH, ALSO WE HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO TRY REALLY HARD TO BE AS RELIABLE AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
AND SO NOT ONLY BEING ABLE TO MEET THAT DEMAND, BUT MEET IT IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE IN THAT IF ONE OF THE TWO LINES WAS OUT, WE'D STILL BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, UH, GET POWER TO THOSE, UH, CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND SO MANY OF THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES REALLY BENEFIT FROM THAT LINE GOING IN.
[00:45:01]
UH, IF, UH, THE, THE OTHER THING, UH, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY LOOKING AT WHERE WE CAN CITE THESE LINES, UH, IS A DIFFICULT TASK.UH, ON TOP OF THAT, UH, YOU, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE UNDERGROUND DISCUSSION VERSUS OVERHEAD IS ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES THAT ARE ALONG, UH, THAT PATH.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, PART OF THAT PROJECT, AT LEAST THE WAY IT STANDS RIGHT NOW, WILL BE UNDERGROUNDED.
UH, IT, IT'S DEFINITELY IN AN AREA THAT'S LESS RUGGED IN, IN THE TERRAIN IS BETTER.
AND, YOU KNOW, FROM A LAND SCARRING PERSPECTIVE, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE WOULD BE LESS IMPACT.
AND I, I ACTUALLY FEEL A LITTLE REMISS TALKING ABOUT IT 'CAUSE I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.
LIKE SOME OF OUR, UH, PEOPLE THAT DO THAT KIND OF WORK DO.
UM, BUT IT, IT'S LOOKED AT FROM MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL BE COMPLETELY HONEST, COST IS, UH, A PIECE OF THAT.
AND THE REASON IT'S A PIECE OF IT ISN'T, UH, NECESSARILY TO SAVE A PS MONEY BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE WAY WE'RE REGULATED, ANYTHING WE INSTALL FROM A CAPITAL PERSPECTIVE IS THEN SPREAD OUT AMONG ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND SO IF, IF WE CONSISTENTLY DO PROJECTS THAT COST TWO AND THREE AND FOUR AND FIVE TIMES MORE, DOING IT UNDERGROUND VERSUS OVERHEAD, AND THAT COST GETS SPREAD EVENLY ACROSS OUR CUSTOMERS, IE THAT WHY THE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT IS, IS AN OPTION, UM, THEN THAT'S JUST NOT EQUITABLE FOR THE REST OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
CAN I JUST TAG ON TO WHAT THE VICE MAYOR WAS ASKING ON THOSE SAME, UH, POLES TO MCGUIRE V? WAS THERE ANY DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION ABOUT THOSE POLES HAVING THOSE AI CAMERAS? ABSOLUTELY.
I WAS JUST OUT THERE TWO TO THREE WEEKS AGO, UH, WITH, UH, SOME MEMBERS FROM, FROM THE VOC AND WADE WARD, OUR FIRE MITIGATION MANAGER.
AND AS WE WERE WALKING WHERE THOSE STAKES WERE, WADE WAS LOOKING OUT OVER THAT VALLEY, UH, OF VOC AND HE'S LIKE, THIS WOULD BE A FANTASTIC PLACE TO PUT ONE OF THESE CAMERAS.
'CAUSE IT CAN SEE, YOU CAN SEE BACK BEHIND WHERE, WHERE THE LINE WILL GO.
YOU CAN SEE THE WHOLE WHOLE VALLEY.
AND AND THAT WOULD BE AMAZINGLY BENEFICIAL TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE IN THOSE AREAS.
AND, YOU KNOW, TO ALREADY HAVE A STRUCTURE THERE THAT CAN SUPPORT THAT AGAIN IS ANOTHER POSITIVE THING.
SO WHILE THOSE POLLS ARE NOT, UH, APPEALING TO THE RESIDENTS, IT WOULD BE HUGE LIFESAVING, UH, DEVICE FOR US.
WELL WHO'S NEXT? YOU BACK ON YOURS.
SO, SO YOU LOOKED AT IT AND SAID, OKAY, THIS WOULD BE A GREAT SPOT.
SO IS THERE A COMMITMENT TO PUTTING THE CAMERAS THERE? OH YES.
I WILL HANG IT THERE MYSELF IF I HAVE TO
SO I JUST HAVE ONE 'CAUSE EVERYBODY'S PRETTY MUCH ASKED EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND AGAIN, AS MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID, THANKS FOR COMING AND DOING THIS PRESENTATION.
THIS IS A TOPIC, UM, NEAR AND DEAR TO EVERYONE WHO LIVES IN A NATIONAL FOREST, UH, AREA.
AND SO, UM, I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE IT AND I APPRECIATE THE EDUCATION.
UM, AND JUST FOR THOSE OF YOU, WE HAVEN'T STATED SPAC APRIL 2ND, UM, FOUR TO SIX, UH, IS WE WILL HAVE EVERYBODY AROUND, UH, THE WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT, UM, ON STAGE, UH, PRESENTING WHAT IS GOING ON IN OUR COMMUNITY AND AROUND OUR COMMUNITY.
I THOUGHT A THROAT PLUG IN THERE.
UM, MY QUESTION IS REALLY MORE ALONG THE LINES OF, YOU TALKED ABOUT YOUR 10 FOOT, UM, DEFENSIBLE SPACE MM-HMM
UH, AND THAT SOUNDS GREAT IF A SPARK FALLS STRAIGHT DOWN MM-HMM
UM, ONE OF MY UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE FIRES WE'VE SEEN RECENTLY OVER IN CALIFORNIA IS THE HIGH WINDS.
UM, AND CATCHING THE SPARKS AND MOVING THEM.
UM, IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, DO YOU BELIEVE THE 10 FEET IS SUFFICIENT? SHOULD WE ALSO BE IN A HIGH WIND? BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN KNOWN LATELY TO GET SOME PRETTY WINDY DAYS HERE.
AND IF THOSE ARE HAPPENING, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE GET TO OUR A HUNDRED DEGREE WEATHER DAYS, YOU KNOW, I WOULD JUST WANT EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER YOU FEEL THAT 10 FEET DEFENSIBLE SPACE IS SUFFICIENT WITH WINDS.
YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT 10 FEET IS LIMITED AND I'VE CHASED MY TRAMPOLINE DOWN THE ROAD BEFORE.
SO, UH, WHAT, WHAT I WOULD SAY FOR THAT IS DOES IT COMPLETELY MITIGATE NO, IT IT, IT HELPS MITIGATE.
UM, THE OTHER THING, UH, THAT WE'RE CONTINUALLY WORKING ON IS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT RECLOSERS AND WHAT WE CALL PROTECTION DEVICES, UH, THEY'RE GETTING MUCH MORE
[00:50:01]
ADVANCED.UH, AS YOU, AS YOU HAVE A FAULT ON AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT, THE SIZE OF THE FAULT AND HOW MUCH IT SPARKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT IS, UH, BASED ON THE TIME THAT IT'S ENERGIZED WHILE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S GROUNDING OUT OR FACE TO FACE, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO WE, WE'VE GOT RELAYING THAT, UH, CAN TAKE THE LINE OUT OF POWER WITHIN MILLISECONDS AND IT, WE CONTINUE TO STUDY OUR LINES, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THE SETTINGS THAT ARE IN THOSE PROTECTIVE DEVICES ARE AS FAST AS THEY CAN POSSIBLY BE WITHOUT, UH, CAUSING NUISANCE OUTAGES.
UM, AND THAT'S A VERY, VERY FINE LINE.
UM, AND SO WE, WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT.
BUT THAT, THAT'S A GREAT POINT.
SO, UM, I WANNA PREFACE, I'M, I'M NOT A FIREFIGHTER, I'M NOT A FIRE EXPERT.
UM, I, I'VE BEEN TO A COUPLE CONVERSATIONS, BUT I THINK THIS JUST REINFORCES THAT THE PARTNERSHIP THAT NEEDS TO EXIST BETWEEN GOVERNMENT, UTILITIES, PUBLIC SAFETY, ET CETERA, AND THE, THE RESIDENTS THEMSELVES IN TERMS OF IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MATTER WHAT STARTS THE FIRE.
UM, THESE EMBERS CAN GO A GREAT, GREAT DISTANCE.
AND SO ENCOURAGING OUR, OUR RESIDENTS TO BE, UH, INSTILLING DEFENSIBLE SPACE AT HOME, HARDENING THEIR HOMES IS, IS REALLY WHAT'S GONNA BE THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO, TO MITIGATE IT THEMSELVES.
UM, AND WE'VE SEEN GREAT SUCCESS WITH DEFENSIBLE SPACE AND WE'VE SEEN THOSE SITUATIONS WHERE EVERYTHING ELSE IS TORCHED, BUT THE HOUSE STANDS BECAUSE THEY HARDEN THEIR HOME CORRECTLY.
UM, AND THAT I THINK SHOULD BE DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE, WE ENCOURAGE, UM, AND WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE FIREWISE OVER HERE ON THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.
SO SPEAKING OF THIS SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE VERY SENSITIVE TO THE FACT THAT WE GET A LOT LESS, WE CONTRIBUTE A LOT MORE, WE GET A LOT LESS BACK.
SO THE, NOT SPECIFICALLY A PS BUT IN GENERAL, YOU TOLD A GREAT STORY ABOUT MAYOR, THAT'S THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.
WHEN ARE WE GETTING THE CAMERAS OVER HERE? YOU TALKED ABOUT THE AIRPORT, BUT IF THEY SAID YES TODAY, COULD A CAMERA BE INSTALLED TOMORROW? I, I WOULDN'T SAY TOMORROW, BUT THE TIMELINE WOULD BE FAIRLY EXPEDITIOUS.
I, I DON'T KNOW THEM 'CAUSE I'M NOT RUNNING THAT PROJECT, BUT I CAN GET YOU THOSE DETAILS BECAUSE I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST FROM, UH, NOT ONLY THE PROTECTION AND THE SAFETY OF THE AREA, HAVING SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT ALSO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE ANXIETY OR FEAR AROUND THAT FROM A COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE, WE WANT TO FROM SURE.
ONE THAT WE HAVE IT IN PLACE AND TWO, THAT THAT PEOPLE FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE AS A WHOLE.
THERE IS A HIGH ANXIETY IN THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW, AND I DON'T SU SUSPECT THAT WE'RE ALONE IN THAT GIVEN, YOU KNOW, WHAT JUST HAPPENED IN CALIFORNIA.
AND BECAUSE WE HAVE A GREAT NUMBER OF POLES THAT ARE ABOVE GROUND THAT E EVEN REINFORCES MORE.
SO CAMERAS COULD GO A LONG WAY TO HELPING TO REDUCE THAT ANXIETY AND TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE.
WE ONLY HAVE ONE WAY IN AND ONE WAY OUT MM-HMM
IN TERMS OF EVACUATION, IT WAS NEEDED.
AND I WILL KEEP YOU GUYS UPDATED AS, AS THAT PROGRESSES.
UH, AND MY, UH, MY LAST QUESTION IS JUST CURIOUS CURIOSITY QUESTION.
WHY IS THE CATHEDRAL ROCK AREA IN THE, YOU KNOW, EXTRA RISK CATEGORY AND NOT OTHER PLACES IN SEDONA THAT I MIGHT NAIVELY THINK SHOULD BE? AND THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I DON'T KNOW THAT I'LL BE ABLE TO ANSWER IT.
UH, BUT IT, IT'S REALLY LOOKING AT ALL OF THE DATA, UH, THE TYPES OF FUELS WHERE, WHERE THE LINES ARE LOCATED IN, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE LAYOUT.
UM, THAT, THAT'S ABOUT ALL I KNOW IS THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT IT, WE'VE STUDIED IT, WE'VE HAD REALLY SMART PEOPLE, UH, YOU KNOW, DETERMINE THAT THIS IS A PLACE THAT IF, IF THE WEATHER CONDITION GOT BAD ENOUGH, THIS, WE MAY, MAY HAVE TO DO THAT, BUT I CAN, UH, ASK THE FIRE SCIENTISTS A LITTLE BIT MORE AND, AND GET BACK WITH YOU BECAUSE I, I'M SURE YOU KNOW, THE, YOUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE EITHER IN IT OR NOT IN IT.
LIKE WHY AM I NOT IN IT MM-HMM
AND THEY'RE IN IT OR VICE VERSA.
[00:55:01]
AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT PRESENTATION FOR BOTH OF YOU.
UH, WELL, I THINK A LOT OF THE CONCERNS AND QUESTIONS WERE COVERED.
WE HAVEN'T, I, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE BROUGHT UP EBOLA HILLS.
I THINK, UH, BRIAN BROUGHT, BROUGHT UP, UH, BRIEFLY, BUT, UH, IF YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE ONE OF THESE PSPS EVENTS BECAUSE OF THE SENSITIVITY OF THEM LOSING THEIR WATER SUPPLY, IF THE POWER GOES OUT, EVEN JUST FOR A-P-S-P-S EVENT, WILL YOU BE NOTIFYING ARIZONA WATER TO GIVE THEM ENOUGH TIME TO GET THEIR GENERATOR UP AND CONNECTED? ABSOLUTELY.
SO, UH, I THINK THAT'S CRITICAL FOR THOSE PEOPLE.
WE WANT THEM TO FEEL SAFE MM-HMM
UH, AS EVERYBODY ELSE WOULD WANT AS WELL.
UH, AND UP IN, AND I KNOW WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT THIS QUITE A FEW TIMES, THE STEEL POLES IN EBOLA HILLS.
UH, I THOUGHT THAT WAS, I THINK YOU GAVE ME A COMMENT BEFORE THAT THE REASON, UH, STREET SIDE, UH, THE WOOD POLES CAN BE REMOVED AS YOU CAN GET A TRUCK RIGHT THERE ON THE STREET TO GET THOSE WOOD POLES OUT.
BUT BY PUTTING STEEL POLES, THERE'S A VALUE TO THAT AS WELL BECAUSE, UH, FOR EVACUATION PURPOSES, YEAH.
FROM AN EVACUATION PERSPECTIVE, UH, STEEL POLES OBVIOUSLY AREN'T AS SUSCEPTIBLE TO FIRE, UH, AND WIND.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IN THOSE SCENARIOS, ESPECIALLY THE ONES WE IDENTIFIED, I MEAN, THEY ARE RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF THE ROAD.
AND SO ONE, ENSURING THAT, THAT WE CHANGE THOSE OUT TO STEEL POLES, UH, WHETHER YOU THINK ABOUT A CAR HITTING A POLE, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE BY AND LARGE STEEL POLES HOLD UP BETTER IN THAT TYPE OF A SCENARIO.
UH, THE OTHER THING THAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DO IS WHAT I, I THINK WE'VE ALL TERMED ORPHAN POLES GETTING THOSE OUT OF THE WAY BECAUSE THAT, THAT DOES, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKE IT LESS DESIRABLE TO HAVE A TOPPED WOOD POLE RIGHT NEXT TO A STEEL POLE.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, THE OTHER PART OF THAT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE TRYING TO GET RESOURCES IN AND OUT DURING AN EMERGENCY, WE WANT, UH, THE OTHER, UH, CONDUCTORS ON, ON THAT LINE TO BE IN A, IN A STATE WHERE THEY'RE NOT HANGING TOO LOW AND AREN'T GONNA CAUSE US ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS, UH, THAT AREN'T, UH, RELATED TO THE STEEL POLE.
AND I THINK YOU TOLD ME ONCE, JUST CONFIRM FOR ME THAT SOME OF THE WOODEN POLES THAT ARE IN BACKYARDS OR BETWEEN BACK OR REAR SETBACKS, THERE ARE CHALLENGED TO GET, GET THOSE WOOD POLES OUT EVEN IF, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF THEY NEED TO BE CHANGED, IT'S ALWAYS A CHALLENGE TO GET THEM OUT.
SO TO CHANGE THEM TO METAL, BUT THEY CAN'T BE CLIMBED, UH, THEY, THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE CLIMBED.
AND SO Y YOU KNOW, IF YOU THINK IN A SCENARIO WHERE IT'S, WE CALL 'EM BACKYARD EASEMENTS, BUT IF IT'S RUNNING, ESPECIALLY DEPENDING ON HOW THE TERRAIN IS, IF IT'S NATIVE TERRAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, AND WE NEEDED TO DO WORK ON THAT STRUCTURE OR ANY OTHERS IN THAT AREA, UM, IF WE WERE TO PUT A STEEL POLE IN, WE'D HAVE TO BUILD A ROAD, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'D HAVE TO BUILD A ROAD IN THERE AND THAT'S GOING TO, YOU KNOW, DISRUPT THE ENVIRONMENT POSSIBLY, UH, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE PROPERTY OWNER AS FAR AS THAT GOES.
US BUILDING SOMETHING IN TO GET A, A BIG TRUCK IN.
UH, AND IN THOSE SCENARIOS WHEN WE DO HAVE TO CHANGE 'EM OUT, WE DO CHANGE 'EM BACK OUT TO WOOD.
BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF SCENARIOS WHERE WE'RE DIGGING THOSE HOLES BY HAND, UM, TO CHANGE THAT OUT, HOW YOU DO THAT.
I JUST HAD ONE OTHER QUESTION AND I REALLY WANT TO TURN IT TO ANNETTE, WONDERING IF WE HAVE IN OUR, IN OUR WORK PLAN, YOUR STAFF'S WORK PLAN ANYWHERE ABOUT A REALLY OL A CO I KNOW MULTI-AGENCY COORDINATION IS A DIFFICULT THING, BUT DO, DO WE HAVE AN ELEMENT THAT SAYS WE REALLY SHOULD BE COORDINATING WITH A PS NOT JUST ON THEIR OWN, BUT THE COUNTIES AND FIRE AND US THINKING ABOUT OUR EVACUATION ROUTES AND METAL POLLING OR UNDERGROUNDING, YOU KNOW, REALLY THINKING THROUGH ALL OF THIS STUFF TO AVOID SOME OF THESE, UH, HAWAII AND CALIFORNIA DISASTERS? THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, COUNSELOR FURMAN.
UM, YES, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE COULD DO MORE, UM, AND YOU'LL SEE A DECISION PACKAGE IN THE BUDGET PROCESS FOR OUR OWN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT POSITION TO REALLY TAKE POINT ON THIS.
WE HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITIES CURRENTLY SPLIT OUT AMONGST A NUMBER
[01:00:01]
OF PEOPLE.UM, THE OTHER THING I WOULD SAY ABOUT COORDINATION WITH THE AGENCIES IS, UM, WELL, AS YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T BEEN HERE VERY LONG YET, BUT, UM, THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING BEHIND THE SCENES TO GET READY FOR APRIL 2ND.
EVERYBODY'S REALLY WORKING WELL TOGETHER AND WE'RE ALL FOCUSED ON THAT WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS, UM, UM, PLAN.
UM, AND THE OTHER THING I WOULD SAY IS I DO MEET WITH A PS REGULARLY AND, UM, I HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT OUR FINANCES AND OUR BUDGET RESOURCES BECAUSE WE DO COLLECT A FRANCHISE FEE FROM A PS.
UM, AND THIS YEAR WE USED THOSE REVENUES TO PAY FOR OUR OWN UNDERGROUNDING PROJECT AT THE FOREST ROAD EXTENSION.
UM, BUT WE CONTINUED TO COLLECT THOSE.
AND SO, UH, ONE THOUGHT I HAD WAS, OKAY, IF WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE X AMOUNT OF MONEY COMING IN EACH YEAR FROM THE A PS FRANCHISE FEE, WE COULD, UM, BE MORE INTENTIONAL WITH THE RESOURCE AROUND ANY PROJECTS WE WOULD WANT TO DO WITH A PS, UM, AROUND THIS TOPIC.
SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REALLY DO A LOT IN THIS SPACE.
UM, AND EVERYBODY'S BEEN A GREAT PARTNER.
DEREK, JUST A COUPLE FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS ON THIS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT CONCEPT.
UM, THIS ISN'T A NEW PROGRAM, RIGHT? NO.
IT'S BEEN AN OPTION FOR A LONG TIME.
I I WOULD IMAGINE, UH, IT EVER SINCE I'VE BEEN AT A PS IT HAS BEEN IN PLAY.
AND HOW DOES IT WORK IF, YOU KNOW, IF 20 NEIGHBORS GET TOGETHER IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND SAY, YEAH, WE WANT TO DO THIS, AND THERE'S ONE IN THE MIDDLE THAT SAYS NO, DOES THAT TANK THE WHOLE PROJECT OR CAN YOU FORCE IT? HOW DID, HOW DOES THAT WORK? EXPLAIN THAT TO US.
I I COULD GET YOU AN ANSWER TO THAT.
'CAUSE THAT I, I COULD SEE THAT IN SOME SCENARIOS HAPPENING.
UM, I'M SURE THERE IS A WAY AROUND IT.
UH, THE, THE ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND THERE, UH, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DID HAVE CONSENTING OR, UH, NON-CONSENTING, UH, GROUPS, UM, THE, YOUR PANEL ON YOUR HOUSE IS ACTUALLY EITHER SET UP FOR OVERHEAD OR IT'S SET UP FOR UNDERGROUND.
AND SO AS PART OF THAT PROCESS FROM GOING OVERHEAD TO UNDERGROUND, UH, YOU MAY HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR PANEL OUT TOO.
UH, SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT THEY HAVE TO CONSIDER THAT'S NOT CHEAP.
IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, I MEAN, SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ASKING US TO UNDERGROUND THEIR LINES, I THINK WERE GIVEN THIS OPTION YEARS AGO AND REJECTED IT.
IT, IT USUALLY MO MOST PEOPLE DO NOT GO FOR IT BECAUSE IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO TO, UH, COMMENTS.
IS, UM, THAT PROGRAM, WHEN IT EXISTED A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, HAD A MATCH SOME FORM OF MATCHING, UH, INCENTIVE FROM A PS.
IS THAT GONE? UH, I, I APOLOGIZE.
I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS TO IT, BUT I, I WILL GET YOU THE ANSWER TO THAT.
I WOULD IMAGINE IT, IT MAY HAVE TO DO WITH THE AMOUNT OF, OF POWER THAT THAT'S GOING TO BE CONSUMED IN, IN THE AREA AS WELL.
AND THERE'S SOME KIND OF, UH, CONCESSION, BUT I CAN'T SAY FOR SURE.
UM, BUT I WILL GET YOU THAT INFORMATION.
SO WHY DON'T WE GO TO COMMENTS AND THEN WE CAN CLOSE OUT THIS SESSION SESSION HERE.
YOU HAVE, UH, DEREK, YOU WANNA HAVE ANY COMMENTS, FINAL COMMENTS, PETE, FINAL COMMENTS? YEAH.
AGAIN, MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
THIS DEFINITELY IS A, A NEW PART OF OUR REALITY OF HAVING TO THINK ABOUT THIS LONG TERM.
AND IT IS A LONGER TERM PROJECT FOR US TO GET FROM WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY TO SOME DEGREE OF SAFER IF WE CAN'T EVER BE FULLY SAFE.
BUT I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT AND THE THOUGHTS, SO THANK YOU, KATHY.
YOU KNOW, THIS TOPIC OF UNDERGROUNDING, I DON'T THINK IS GONNA GO AWAY.
AND, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT HERE TODAY TO GET INTO, YOU KNOW, THE EQUATION THAT YOU USE TO DECIDE YAY OR NAY ON UNDERGROUNDING, BUT I HAVE TO THINK THAT THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION IS NOT GOING TO BE KIND FOR YOU TO DECLINE, TO MOVE TO UNDERGROUND, UM, IN AT LEAST THE AREAS THAT ARE AT THE HIGHEST RISK FOR WILDFIRE.
SO, UM, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO THINK ABOUT THAT CORPORATELY.
I KNOW IT'S A BIG, BIG DECISION AND SO FORTH, BUT I THINK THAT YOU'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO HEAR, UH, AN OUTCRY OVER IT AND, UM,
[01:05:01]
A BELIEF THAT IT NEEDS TO BE DONE.AND A, AT A MINIMUM, YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA HAVE TO BE ABLE TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT IN PRESENTING THE REASONS WHY NOT, UH, TO UNDERGROUND WHERE YOU'VE GOT THESE, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT IT.
AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
IT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL AND REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
COUNCIL DUNN, NO ADDITIONAL VICE MAYOR.
I JUST WANTED, BEFORE I CLOSE OUT THE SESSION, I WANT TO, UH, BRING UP A POINT.
I HAD SPOKEN TO SOMEBODY, A RESIDENT IN UPTOWN, AND I MENTIONED THAT WHAT I THOUGHT AND WHAT I GOT FROM FRANK AND AND DOLLAR ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN FOR UNDERGROUNDING AND THE AMOUNT OF DEMOLITION THAT HAS TO GO INTO, ESPECIALLY FOR THE, UH, THE RIGHTS OF WAY IN BETWEEN THE, THE REARS OF THE PROPERTY.
AND I ALSO LEARNED ABOUT THIS, THAT, UM, EBOLA HILLS IS VERY UNIQUE IN THAT THEY HAVE WIRES GOING ACROSS STREETS.
AND I MEAN, HAPHAZARDLY, I, I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.
THE VICE MAN, I TOOK A TOUR THERE WITH FRANK AND SOME OF HIS STAFF.
SO I CAN'T, YOU KNOW, I JUST HOPE THAT, WHILE I KNOW HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT, AND BRIAN, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, IT'S NOT GONNA GO AWAY, BUT PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS TO GO INTO THE PROJECT TO BURY THOSE LINES.
SO, UH, BUT I THINK IT, YOU KNOW, BRIAN'S RIGHT, IT'S NOT GONNA GO AWAY, BUT I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A DISCUSSION AT THE VERY LEAST.
AND I KNOW YOU WANNA BE TRANSPARENT.
YOU'RE TRANSPARENT ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE.
UH, I ALSO WANT TO THANK A PS FOR THIS AI TECHNOLOGY.
YOU DON'T LIKE GAME? YEAH, I KNOW.
AND, AND, AND AN INFORMATION KIOS THAT ON RECORD.
ON, ON AT THE INFORMATION CENTER KIOSK.
I DON'T LIKE IT, BUT FOR THIS, IT'S LIFE, YOU KNOW, LIVES COULD BE SAVED, HOMES COULD BE SAVED, COMMUNITIES COULD BE SAVED.
AND I, I THINK IT'S, UH, IN THIS CASE WOULD BE REALLY GOOD.
I, I JUST COMMEND YOU FOR, UH, WANTING TO EVEN DO THAT.
AND I HOPE IT HAPPENS SOONER THAN LATER.
UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, CHASM RADIO IS ALWAYS OFFERED UP THEIR TOWER ON, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE A, A TRANSMISSION TOWER.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT MEETS THE HEIGHTS OR WHATEVER, BUT THEY'RE, UH, ALWAYS OPEN TO HELPING ANY WAY THEY CAN.
SO WE COULD TALK MORE ABOUT THAT.
AND ONE THING, IF I MAY, UM, I WANT TO THANK, UH, THIS MAYOR AND COUNCIL AND, UH, ANNETTE AS THE CITY MANAGER, UM, FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP HERE.
UH, THE WHOLE REASON WE ARE ABLE TO INSTALL THOSE AI CAMERAS IS BECAUSE WE, UH, APPROACH, UH, TO GET A GRANT FOR THAT AND RIGHT.
THE, OUR COMMUNITIES, OUR CITIES, OUR MUNICIPALITIES, UH, YOU KNOW, TOOK THAT, THEY GAVE US LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE ABLE TO, TO PUT THOSE IN.
OKAY, ASHLEY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING TODAY.
DID YOU HAVE TO COME OVER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN OR ARE YOU HERE? OH, I'M IN PRESCOTT.
GET TO LISTEN TO AN AUDIO BOOK.
UM, LET'S GO TO ITEM B, DISCUSSION, POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING, UH, IDEAS FOR FUTURE MEETING, AGENDA ITEMS. DO WE HAVE ANYTHING FROM THE COUNCIL?
[5. ADJOURNMENT]
OKAY.HEARING NOTHING ELSE, THIS MEETING'S ADJOURNED.