20200707 Regular City Council Meeting - Agenda (5)July 7, 2020
Item - Public Comment
■ S. Boltinghouse
SWEETENER PRODUCTS COMPANY
SINCE 1923
J u ly 7, 2020
Vernon City Council
4305 S. Santa Fe Ave
Vernon, CA 90058
Dear Vernon City Councilmembers:
As a major power user and a participant in the City's Integrated Resource Plan, we have been concerned
over the Council's interest and approach to engage with developers on the City's Jawbone Canyon
property. We are writing to thank this Council for voting NO on proceeding with what would not only
have been a costly project, but one that would have gone against Vernon's reforms.
In 2018, the Vernon Utilities Department took rate payers through a lengthy public and collaborative
process to develop the Power Integrated Resource Plan, a 10-year blueprint for ensuring reliable energy
that encompassed energy usage, cost for service, and a study for predicted rates on customers. This
included a transparent review of the healthy governance energy policies established to ensure that
Vernon would no longer make deals in the dark, and that there would be a thorough and public RFP
process to ensure projects are vetted --and entertaining this project in this way would have violated that
plan.
City Administrator Carlos Fandino has led the business community and the City on the goal to achieve
the lowest utility rates by 2030, and we believe that the City should stay the course towards that goal.
We would also like to remind the Council about these additional points:
• Exploring a renewable energy project at this time does not make economic sense when the cost
for renewable energy procurement is extremely low.
Business leaders, City leadership and Utilities Department staff have invested a lot of time and
resources together on energy planning, energy policies, rate studies, etc. to ensure that we
make decisions together using the established, public policy process. Do not take us backwards.
Vernon announced that it would explore to work collectively with other cities with municipally
owned power plants on renewable energy projects. This near -miss proposal detracts from that
directive.
We applaud Councilmembers Mayor Leticia Lopez, Mayor Pro Tempore Melissa Ybarra and Bill Davis
who understand the City's financial position and voted NO on this plan. We also commend City
Administrator Carlos Fandino who has taken bold leadership decisions that positions the City for strong
fiscal health.
2050 E. 38th Street • Vernon California 90058
(323) 234-2200 • (800) 305-2200 FAX (323) 232-3608
www.sweetenerproducts.com
We must work together to achieve the lowest utility rates in California by 2030, but let's not set
ourselves up for failure, nor detract from the long-term planning established by good City Staff and the
trusted partnerships developed over these past 10 years.
J seph E. Tack
resident
Sweetener Products Company