JESICA N PENA: In this webinar, I will provide you information
on the WUTAP program, its inception and goals.
By the end of the webinar, you'll have an overview of the program,
including how it will work and how to apply.
You'll also have a sense of timing of implementation, and we will,
of course, take questions related to the program at the end.
Everything that the board does is rooted in its mission
to ensure a secure water future for Texas.
In the Office of Water Supply and Infrastructure,
that involves working with communities to assist them in securing
financial assistance for their water and wastewater needs.
Through our Drinking and Clean Water State Revolving Fund programs,
entities can request funding to address compliance issues they may
be facing with the Safe Drinking Water Act or the Clean Water Act.
However, accessing those funds can be challenging for some.
As many of you know, running a community
or a system is not a simple task.
Oftentimes, particularly in smaller communities,
there is one person handling a multitude of tasks,
and the training or expertise may be lacking or non-existent.
And over the years, the board has recognized
that some entities need specialized
forms of technical assistance to address these unique challenges.
In recent years, as a way to begin to address that gap,
the board created two technical assistance programs,
the Asset Management for Small Systems,
or the AMPSS program that aids communities of less than 5,000
connections or 10,000 people to create
and implement asset management plans,
and then providing incentives to those entities
that successfully complete the program.
And the CFO to GO program was designed to
provide services to entities already
in the board's portfolio in areas of financial reporting,
internal controls,
and regulatory and borrowing covenant compliance issues.
But as these programs have matured,
the board noticed that while they helped entities identify what
projects they needed to apply for and how to stay compliant,
there was still something missing.
As we received project information forms
and financial assistance applications,
staff found that they were spending large amounts of time assisting
communities complete the applications themselves.
Or applications stalled for months in order
to pull together required information.
And even in some cases, applications had to be withdrawn
because critical information just could not be provided.
And for first time applicants to the board,
that time spent one on one with the application issues was even greater.
And that was the gap that the board wanted to address.
What could we do to help entities and staff be more
efficient in processing these applications?
And that brings us to today and the purpose of this webinar,
which is to introduce you to the board's newest
initiative in technical assistance,
the creation of the Water Utilities Technical
Assistance Program, or WUTAP for short.
The WUTAP seeks to assist water and wastewater utilities not currently
in the board's portfolio, gain the financial, managerial,
and technical capabilities necessary to apply
for financial assistance from the board,
and we seek to do this in a few ways.
The goals of the program are to, one,
improve the overall health of the organization,
and two, better position the entity to navigate applying for funding,
which ultimately can help them become compliant
with clean water and safe drinking water acts.
And by overall health, we mean to say that we are looking
to help guide them to build sustainable operations,
which would be, for example,
things like the development of water conservation plans,
a necessary component of the TWDB financial assistance
application for entities that request over $500,000.
We also wanted to help them develop
a sound fiscal management by reviewing
their financial processes for budgeting, record keeping,
and the preparation for financial statements,
as well as reviewing internal control processes
to minimize fraud, waste and abuse.
And finally, help them improve the quality of the application submittals
at both the project information form and full application phases.
We also looked at what areas of the application
processes took in our reviews,
and could we include this in this initiative,
those areas that would increase efficiency of staff time.
And we felt like training and assistance
with the completion of forms related to
the disadvantaged business enterprises
could be included in this initiative.
Now, what can the WUTAP do for communities?
So, the vision is that contractors will
meet with staff of the entity to get
a sense for how it interacts and communicates with its governing body.
Could there be an opportunity for training on how to inform
and educate them on compliance issues and the need for the project.
And training on how to message the projects was something
we thought could help water and wastewater managers.
We envision this program will help entities develop water conservation
plans that are required by Texas Administrative Code,
Chapters 288 and 363 as part of the Financial Assistance Application.
And these plans will look at strategies
for reducing the consumption of water,
reducing the loss or waste of water, improve efficiencies,
or increase recycling and the reuse of water.
We would also expect that the quality of the project information,
forms or financial assistance applications would be improved.
Oftentimes, we are seeing that entities need
more assistance with forms associated
with additional subsidy programs in the state revolving funds,
like the Disadvantaged Communities form or the Green Project
reserve or Emergency Need and Urgent Components.
And should entities be invited for funding,
we envision that the program would provide assistance in the submittal
of the application in the online application format
and procurement processes that are needed for consultants.
Entities would have reports with recommendations
for best management practices related
to financial management controls and operating
processes that will help minimize risk,
and again, make for a better quality application as it goes through
the Water Development Board's credit review process.
This would include a review of existing
processes and identifying any gaps.
In some cases, entities could have a review of their rate setting
processes and receive a completed rate study that may
include a leave behind tool for entities to be able to continue
to evaluate rates after completion of the program.
And depending on the need of the entity,
the development of an education curriculum
to help inform customers of any rate changes could be provided.
And if needed, as mentioned earlier,
entities could receive assistance and training
with the Federal Disadvantaged
Business Enterprise requirements like how to complete
the forms and assist with the procurement of consultants.
So, how will it work?
Entities will be matched with pre-qualified contractors
who have expertise in the specific needs of the entity.
To have this pool of contractors in the coming days,
we will publish a request for qualifications
on the state's Electronic State Business
Daily website, so stay tuned for that.
We'll also post on our website,
the application for entities to apply for the program,
and the application solicitation will run for 75 days.
And the timeline looks like this.
We'll open up applications for entities seeking
to participate in the program on Friday,
November 17th, and will take those applications until January 31st.
And just as a reminder, this is the applications for
the entities to actually go through the program.
The RFQ for contractors, again, is coming soon, so stay tuned for that.
Once the solicitation period closes,
we're going to score and rank the applications.
And after approval by the board, we'll begin contracting
those selected and executing contracts.
However, like the SRS, entities can still submit
an application to be included in the list at any time.
And those received after the initial deadline, though,
are going to be added to the bottom of the list.
And if you're familiar with our State Revolving Fund program,
that's similar to how that works as well.
So, at this time, I'll go ahead and open it up for questions.
Keep in mind, any questions about
the RFQ for contractors will be addressed
during the question and answer period of the solicitation process,
which means today, we can only take questions
at this time about the program itself.
And if you have any questions,
you can enter those into the chat and we'll call them up.
Or we can, I think, you can raise...
SPEAKER: Jessica, we have two questions already.
First question is, what is the total funding available for the program?
JESICA N PENA: Do you have any questions?
SPEAKER: Jessica, can you hear me?
This is (UNKNOWN).
JESICA N PENA: It looks like we do have some questions.
(UNKNOWN), I can't hear you.
Le me see.
OK.
It looks like the first question is,
if an applicant previously completed or completed
a previous asset management plan
funded by the TWDB and a determination
was made that a rate study was needed,
can this program pay for that rate study?
The program can pay for the rate study.
If you had an asset management plan completed,
that's part of the application process is
going to ask questions about, you know,
kind of where you are in the process,
when was the last time you had an asset management
plan done or a rate study done?
And it'll be, the points are awarded based
on how frequently that was done.
Ideally, you know, the program would be,
is designed to help those entities that have
had trouble coming in to the board.
So, if you hadn't had something funded before, you might score higher.
But it certainly doesn't mean that you
couldn't still apply to the WUTAP.
OK.
I don't see any other questions.
SPEAKER: Jessica, can you hear me now?
JESICA N PENA: I see, hold on, let me go up to the top.
Sorry.
What is the total funding available for the program
and how many applicants can be funded each year?
So, right now we're looking at $1 million in each program,
and we're estimating, you know,
it'll be dependent upon the types of initiatives that
are going to need to be funded for each applicant.
It'll be dependent upon how many we can get in for that amount of funds.
There's $1 million from the drink and $1 million from the clean.
Next question is, we answered that question.
Can an entity apply for and be awarded both AMPSS and WUTAP this cycle?
Yes, they can be awarded both, theoretically,
the AMPSS is separate and asset management
in and of itself is not necessarily something
that would be covered under the WUTAP.
So, you could fit and qualify under both programs.
How many firms are expected to be pre-qualified,
again, that is part of that RFQ.
So, we'll have those questions during the question
and answer period when that solicitation is up.
I understand that this is targeted at entities who
have not already received funding from the TWDB.
Will it also apply to entities who currently have loans as well?
It could apply to to those entities.
However, again, the scoring and criteria is going to be
dependent upon those who haven't necessarily access.
So, you could still be ranked and you know,
depending upon how many entities take the funding ahead
of someone who has already come into the board,
it just depends on how far down the list we could get.
Next question, how long will the technical
assistance appointments last?
I think, it's just going to depend upon the number
of services that the entity qualifies for.
You know, we're going to ask, of course, that the communities, you know,
have staff available to work with the consultants to make,
to get the most of the information out of there.
But you know, it's really going to be dependent upon how many different
types of services the entity ends up qualifying for.
How is the application to WUTAP different from the one for AMPSS?
It's not much different than that.
There are more questions related to review
of processes for like internal controls,
more financial operating questions.
So, it's really not that much different than the AMPSS application.
In a community, that question didn't look
like it came all the way through.
Does participating in WUTAP increase the chances of receiving
construction funds through the SRF at any?
Not at this time, it does not.
Again, you know, this is the initial phase of the WUTAP,
but what it does do is hopefully provide applicants with
an opportunity to present an application that hopefully
can get through the process quicker and with more ease.
I think, I'm down to the bottom of the questions.
OK.
Anybody else have any questions?
Those are all really great questions again.
It looks like we got through.
What is the timing from submittal of application to publish list.
That's to be determined.
You know, we anticipate getting through reviewing those applications
and prioritizing them as quickly as possible.
But at this point, to get the list published and out, you know,
it's just going to be dependent upon how many we receive
and how long it takes us to get through that process.
Any other questions?
So, like I said, you know, we are recording this webinar.
So, we'll put, we'll make this available on our website.
If anybody missed parts of it at the very beginning,
you can go back and kind of get a history of how we kind of
got to here and what our thoughts are for the program.
And for any other information, you can visit
the WUTAP webpage on our website.
And then for questions related to the request for qualifications,
see the information that's going to be made available on
the Electronic State Business Daily once that is posted.
If you have questions related to the application itself,
you can email those directly to WUTAP@twdb.texas.gov.
And it looks like we got a couple more questions.
So, let me go back to those.
What types of work or tasks are expected during
the entities required 80 hours minimum?
There's not an 80 hours requirement like there is in the AMPSS,
but we do ask that folks may just make staff available for it.
We're not requiring a time amount that the entity
staff have to spend with the contractors.
And then the type of work is really just
going to be more interview, and so,
that the contractor can get a sense for
the operations that are going on there.
What do they have?
What do they not have?
Are their processes documented?
You know, things like that.
Is funding all grant or partial grant and loan.
This would be 100%.
It's a service provided from the board.
So, it would be all free money, essentially grant.
Any other questions?
These are all really great questions again.
OK.
Is a community size limit, is that a community size limit to apply?
There is not a size limit to apply.
I mean, ideally, you know, rural communities, smaller communities,
those communities that have not applied to the board are certainly
kind of where this program is directed towards.
But at this point, there's not a limit on size to apply.
Should we reach out to our (INAUDIBLE) region
planning to let them know we are applying?
Will they have any input into the selection?
You, I mean, it's always helpful to keep the planning
group informed about what you're doing?
But there's not any, I mean, there's not a requirement that
you notify them that you're applying for the funds.
And there's not any points related to, you know,
where it is in the plan or things like that.
Any other questions?
It looks like the link to the website has been shared in the chat.
So, if you are having trouble finding that,
you can go into the chat and get the link to that WUTAP page.
OK.
Well, I'm not seeing any more questions pop up.
But again, if you think about something after the fact,
feel free to email the WUTAP@twdb.texas.gov.
Otherwise, I want to thank you for your interest in this new
exciting initiative that we're hoping will help communities.
Oh, I did get another one.
How will entities select from the pre-qualified firms?
So, right now, the plan is that the board will match you with those,
that group of contractors.
So, we'll essentially send someone to you if you're selected.
OK.
Alright.
Well, that really is all I had as far as the presentation.
That concludes the presentation.
So, I hope that you all have a great rest of your
day and have a very happy holiday season.
And look forward to getting this program up
and running and getting the help out there.
Appreciate it.
Thank you all for joining.
Have a great day.