By Gus Herrera
At their regular meeting on Monday, the Pasadena City Council approved two critical items for the city’s future.
The first, Item 4 on the evening’s agenda, enables the city to continue to receive “capacity, energy, and ancillary services” from Hoover Dam for the next 50 years.
The second, Item 11, authorizes Mayor Terry Tornek to execute an amendment to an agreement that will create an agency to be known as the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, hopefully clearing a path for the construction of a modernized terminal at Bob Hope Airport.
Both items approved were done so with vigilant foresight and will hopefully benefit Pasadena and its neighbors for years to come.
Item 4 or the Post-2017 Boulder Canyon Project, which was approved without opposition as part of a motion sweep of the evening’s consent calendar, authorizes several agreements between the City of Pasadena and the United States Department of Energy, acting by and through the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), Desert Southwest Region.
These agreements, collectively referred to as the “Post-2017 Agreements,” will ensure that Pasadena citizens will receive power from the Hoover Dam, a “reliable, low-cost federal resource that does not emit carbon dioxide (C02),” for the next half-century.
The original Boulder Canyon Project (BCP), which included Hoover Dam, was authorized by Congress in 1929. Hoover Dam, located in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River on the Arizona-Nevada border, was constructed between 1931 and 1936.
According to city staff’s report, the BCP was intended to serve three main functions: river regulation (i.e. improvement of navigation and flood control), delivery of stored water for irrigation and other domestic uses, and power generation.
Hoover Dam consists of 17 main turbines, upgraded between 1986 and 1993, with a capacity of 2,074 megawatts.
The current contract, which is dated Jan. 1, 1987, was preceded by a contract, dated May 29, 1941. Under these contracts, power generated at Hoover Dam was provided to City of Pasadena and 14 other contractors in California, Nevada, and Arizona.
According to staff’s report, the Post-2017 Agreement will have term of 50 years, effective Oct. 1, 2017 through Sept. 30, 2067 and “will provide … roughly five percent of Pasadena Water and Power’s (PWP) retail electric sales.”
The new contract will also increase the number of contractors from 15 to 51. Original contractors, in addition to Pasadena, included the following cities: Anaheim, Azusa, Burbank, Glendale, Los Angeles, and Riverside, to name a few. According to staff’s report, “new customers consist primarily of Native American tribal entities and small municipalities.”
California is expected to receive 59 percent of Hoover Dam’s capacity allocation and 54.98 percent of its firm energy allocation, with Pasadena making up .97 percent of the capacity allocation and 1.3 percent of the firm energy allocation.
Although Hoover Dam is not technically considered “renewable,” according to state law, it will indeed act as a reliable non-carbon emitting resource, “supporting Pasadena’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.”
Furthermore, city staff’s report states that the contract will “commit to deliver the power output of the Hoover power plant at the lowest possible cost consistent with applicable laws, statutes, regulations, and sound business principles.”
The cost over the 50-year term of this agreement is expected to total approximately $69 million, with $1.02 million to be spent during Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 and the remainder of the costs to be spent over next 49 fiscal years, concluding in FY2068, according to staff’s report.
Item 11 on Monday’s agenda, was one of, “great significance to the region,” to quote the mayor. According to staff’s report, Bob Hope Airport’s existing terminal, which is over 80 years old, does not meet current safety, runway, or seismic standards.
In 1977, the councils of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena voted to form an airport authority to operate Burbank Airport, “by way of a Joint Powers Agreement,” according to staff’s report. This agreement has been amended several times since then and today, the authority is governed by a nine-member commission, made up of three members from each city.
Talks have been going for quite some while, concerning the construction of a new, larger terminal, but the City of Burbank has been hesitant to move forward. Although Burbank benefits from the airport, it also suffers the consequences more so than Pasadena or Glendale. Thus, in order to secure their approval, Burbank would like to have a more significant authority over the proceedings.
Council Member Steve Madison, who sits on Pasadena’s delegation, along with Mayor Tornek, likened the current situation to a scenario where Burbank and Glendale are able to control major events at the Rose Bowl.
After several years of negotiations, Burbank has finally agreed to move forward with the requirement of a “supermajority,” which will need two-thirds approval from each delegation, to authorize certain terms and matters of great consequence and impact to Burbank.
In other words, the amendments will ensure that Burbank will never be able to be out-voted, with respects to key issues. It is important to note that these “key issues” will only be those of major impact/significance, not simply operational matters.
According to Mayor Tornek, the new terminal will be larger, but will maintain the same number of gates (14). There will be larger passenger hold rooms, improved security areas, a wider concourse, added modern passenger amenities, and more.
Upon approval by the Pasadena and Glendale Councils, Burbank’s Council will be able to discuss construction at their upcoming regular meeting on Monday, July 25, hopefully placing it on the November ballot for Burbank voters to approve.
According to Mayor Tornek, a clear majority of the Burbank Council is supportive, in addition to their city manager, and he is optimistic of achieving positive results both on July 25 and in November.
Council Member Margaret McAustin agreed that the item was a “very significant achievement” and she thanked both Tornek and Madison for their hard work.
Ultimately, the amendments will not take effect unless Burbank places the construction of the new terminal on their ballot and the measure is passed. “Really the stars seem to be in alignment. We need to win the election,” Mayor Tornek concluded.
