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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-03-11 - Board of Directors Meeting Minutes2004-31 MINUTES OF THE YORBA LINDA WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING March 11, 2004 8:30 A.M. The March 11, 2004 meeting of the Yorba Linda Water District Board of Directors was called to order by President William R. Mills at 8:30 a.m. The meeting was held at District Headquarters, 4622 Plumosa Drive, Yorba Linda. Directors Present at Roll Call William R. Mills, President Michael J. Beverage, Vice President Paul R. Armstrong Arthur C. Korn John W. Summerfield Staff Present: Michael A. Payne, General Manager Arthur G. Kidman, District General Counsel Lee Cory, Operations Manager Beverly Meza, Business Manager Michael Robinson, Assistant Administrator Ken Vecchiarelli, Assistant General Manager Amelia Cloonan, Administrative Secretary Pamela Pietras, Assistant Administrator Visitors present: John Noble, Resident CONSENT CALENDAR (Items 1 through 5) On a motion by Vice President Beverage, seconded by Director Summerfield, the Board of Directors voted 5-0 to approve the Consent Calendar, with the notation that Item 7 of the minutes of the regular meeting held February 26, 2004 should indicate the Board of Directors voted to "receive and file" the investments for the quarter ending December 31, 2003. And, the Avocado Street name for the terms and conditions of Item 4 will be corrected by the Engineering Manager. Approve minutes of regular meeting February 26, 2004. 2. Authorize directors to leave the State of California prior to next meeting. 3. Approve disbursements of $397,788.42. 4. Approve Terms and Conditions for Water and Sewer Service with Toll Brothers Incorporated for Tract No. 16314 (Vista Del Verde Planning Area "N"), Job No. 0402. 5. Approve Progress Payment No. 9, in the amount of $167,045.99, to Pascal and Ludwig Constructors for construction of Well No. 15 and Well No. 18 Improvements and the Richfield Plant On-Site Sodium Hypochlorite Generation (OSHG) and Disinfection System Projects, Job Nos. 200209, 200104, and 200207, respectively. -1- 2004-32 CONSENT CALENDAR As Katherine Beseau of Moreland and Associates was not yet present, Item 6 was put aside to await her arrival. 7. Consider Permission for Directors to Leave the State of California. Michael Payne, General Manager, presented the report. General Counsel Kidman researched the issue and could find no legal requirements for placing this item on Board of Directors agendas. General Manager Payne also reported Board Resolution 90-41 approved conditions for setting special meetings. Director Summerfield commented the Resolution should be updated. The Resolution mentions notification by telegram. Director Armstrong stated a number of policies and resolutions are antiquated, and the Board should discuss this subject at the workshop. On a motion by Director Korn, seconded by Vice President Beverage, the Board of Directors voted 5-0 to authorize the General Manager to remove the item "Authorize Directors to leave the State of California prior to the next meeting" from future Board of Directors agendas. 8. Consider Board of Directors Goals Workshop - Continued from the February 26, 2004 Board of Directors meeting. Michael Payne, General Manager, presented the report. President Mills suggested taking the items in question one at a time. The first item was whether a workshop should be held. The consensus of Directors was that a workshop should be held. The second item was whether facilitation should be by the General Manager or an outside facilitator. President Mills believes an outside facilitator should be used, because they are trained to bring out issues and listen to the group. Director Armstrong stated he wants the General Manager to be part of the workshop as a participant. Director Summerfield stated using a facilitator may help speed the process and, he would be in favor. Director Beverage believes using a facilitator takes the pressure off the staff. Director Korn stated the whole concept is in conflict with his view of the role of the manager and doing business in public. President Mills stated there were three in favor and one who could go either way. He believes the Board should try working with a facilitator one time to see what is gained. General Manager Payne said if the Board is going to use a facilitator this would be a good time to do so because of the changes that have taken place. Director Summerfield agrees the General Manager and possibly the Assistant General Manager should be participants. The third item was location for the workshop. Director Armstrong stated the District has a marvelous room at the Richfield plant. The meeting must be held in the District. There are TV's, overheads, and the room is large. President Mills stated the Richfield Plant is where the workshop will be held. -2- 2004-33 The fourth item was the length of the workshop. Vice President Beverage said if the Board is going to use a facilitator, this person should be selected first. General Manager Payne will get the names of local consultants with water agency experience and provide those names to the Executive-Administration Committee. Vice President Beverage mentioned the need for public sector rather than private sector experience. President Mills said the Board will leave that to the General Manager and Executive-Administration Committee. General Manager Payne asked the Board members to look at the questionnaire to determine if there are items the Board members would like to add. He will talk to the facilitator first, because that person may have something they want to send out. With respect to the procedural part of the questionnaire, he would like to have this back from the Board members, so staff may better be able to serve the Board. Vice President Beverage asked if the Board members have the option of notification by e- mail. General Counsel Kidman stated it is not clear in the Brown Act if electronic notification is sufficient. GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT 9. General Manager's oral report and comments. a) General Counsel Kidman had nothing to report in open session. b) Report of Metropolitan Water District shutdown. Lee Cory, Operations Manager, gave a brief summary of what occurred during the one-week shutdown. No real problems were encountered. He distributed pictures showing the improvements being added at the Diemer Plant. A large gate valve was replaced. The cooperation from the city and school district was terrific and the rain beneficial. General Manager Payne thanked the entire staff for a good job. c) ACWA's 2004 Legislative Symposium, Monday, March 29, Sacramento. General Manager Payne reminded the Board members that this symposium takes place the 29th and 30th of March. If anyone is interested in attending, they should please let staff know. d) Retirement Tribute to Stanley Sprague, MWDOC, Thursday, March 18, 6:00 p.m. Director Armstrong and General Manager Payne will attend. COMMITTEE REPORTS 10. Executive-Administration Committee (Mills/Beverage) Meeting scheduled for March 16, 4:00 p.m. Consultants'. expenses, Board of Directors workshop. Vice President Beverage said a question came up about a Director who has contracts with one or both cities the District contracts with for sewer cleaning services. General Counsel Kidman gave the opinion that a Director is not permitted and needs to abstain and. not be part of any discussion involving the possible transfer of sewers, because the city is a source of $500 or more a year in income. Katherine Beseau of Moreland and Associates entered the meeting at 9:07 a.m. -3- 2004-34 6. Consider Reconciliation of Cash and Investments Accounts as of December 31, 2003. _ Beverly Meza, Business Manager, introduced Katherine Beseau of Moreland and Associates. Ms. Beseau stated Moreland and Associates performed the reconciliation of cash and investment accounts as of December 31, 2003. She outlined what they reviewed and how the reconciliation was performed. On March 9th, she and an associate met with the Finance-Accounting Committee. There were no changes from the draft presented to the committee. Access to the District credit card was briefly discussed. On a motion by Director Korn, seconded by Director Summerfield, the Board of Directors voted 5-0 to receive and file the report of Moreland and Associates regarding Reconciliation of Cash and Investments Accounts as of December 31, 2003. Katherine Beseau and Beverly Meza left the meeting at 9:16 a.m. 11. Finance-Accounting Committee (Korm/Summerfield) Director Korn reported on the meeting held March 9. There was discussion regarding the internal audit and items that audit may cover. The Committee looked at customer billing options. Stacy Bavol, Customer Service Supervisor, made some interesting points in presenting information about the number and method of payments. Looking at over 50,000 transactions, there were over 3,000 autopays, over 5,000 electronic pays, and 1,632 cash transactions. Credit card payments are not a major part of payments and are expensive. The District might discuss this at the workshop and decide to drop credit card payments. General Manager Payne spoke about the Met refund, which the District received in the form of a credit of $206,890.35. It is proposed the District leave the credit and down pay as it goes. Refunding to customers was discussed, but this is difficult because the refund to the District is in the form of a credit. General Manager Payne said the amount is a lot smaller than in the past and the cost of staff time and mailing needed to generate a refund is an issue. Vice President Beverage stated it is the Board's policy to refund to the customer rather than holding the funds, and he believes the District should refund to the customers. Director Armstrong suggested a note on the bill stating there is a percentage refund resulting in a reduction on the bill. President Mills said the item needs more discussion and should be brought back as an agenda item at the next Board meeting. Director Korn reported on the discussion about the agricultural water rate. The District is down to six agricultural customers with nine accounts. Staff will be looking at terminating the agricultural program. The certification process for only six customers and the dollar amount involved is expensive. Director Korn reported the final payment of the Improvement District #1 bonds issue will be made on May 1. The final payment for Improvement District #2 comes up next year. Director Summerfield reported on the financial consultant discussion. The Committee members looked at the current interest rates and the cost of a financial consultant. It is better to pay a financial consultant when the return is 12%, but at 1% return, a financial consultant is not as critical. There was discussion about how the District should decide where to invest the District's money. President Mills recommends speaking to someone about investments and believes the District can invest in Triple A rated bonds. -4- 2004-35 General Manager Payne pointed out the reference to the word agricultural in the mission statement. He asked the Board members to consider in the workshop whether the District needs to update the mission statement. 12. Personnel-Risk Management Committee (Summerfield/Mills) Director Summerfield reported on the meeting held March 8. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) was discussed. General Manager Payne said there is a new program offered by ACWA and Blue Cross. The program, service and rates have been compared to that offered by Dorris & Associates, and the recommendation will be to move the contract to ACWA. Director Summerfield continued with Board benefits. The Board requested staff to come up with a status report so the Board could institute any desired changes. The report is in draft form and comments and suggestions should be communicated to Michael Payne. Director Summerfield reported on the discussion about District staffing and requirements. General Manager Payne reported an offer was made to Scott Moulton for Project Engineer. An offer will be made to a Meter Reader I candidate, and discussions are under way regarding the replacement in Support Services. 13. Planning-Engineering-Operations Committee (Beverage/Armstrong) Meeting scheduled for March 17, 4:00 p.m. Vehicle and equipment replacement update to the five-year plan, Grandview sewer main extension, Grandview water pipeline replacement, SWEPI Temporary Capacity Credit Village 3. 14. Public Information Committee (Armstrong/Korn) The summary minutes of meeting held March 2, 4:00 p.m. were included in the agenda. Director Armstrong commented the items covered included Water Awareness Month in May, the open house at the Richfield plant to include mini tours, and review of the article in West Coast magazine. The item involving the most effort by the group is the new construction outreach. The District will be constructing a large transmission main on some major streets in Yorba Linda. Efforts to bring public awareness of the inconvenience will be major. The Waterlines newsletter will be issued March 11. Michael Robinson, Assistant Administrator II, outlined the articles. Television coverage on channel 3 was suggested as a method of informing Yorba Linda residents. 15. Orange County Water District Ad Hoc Committee (Mills/Beverage) Meeting scheduled for March 15, 4:00 p.m. OCWD rates, Annexation, Well #10 financing, Consumer Confidence Report. 16. MWDOC Ad Hoc Committee (Mills/Kom) Meeting scheduled for March 22, 4:00 p.m. Toilet giveaways, children's programs, Met rates, Allen McCulloch Pipeline-Central Pool Augmentation Project, Consumer Confidence Report. -5- 2004-36 INTERGOVERNMENTAL MEETINGS 17. Yorba Linda City Council, March 2, 6:30 p.m. Director Summerfield attended. The Metrolink station was discussed. The prohibition of parking vehicles for longer than 72 hours in private driveways was discussed and was passed. 18. MWDOC,/MWD Workshop, March 3,8:30 a.m. General Manager Payne attended. The appointment of a new Met chairman was discussed. 19. OCWD, March 3, 5:00 p.m. General Manager Payne attended. OCWD is considering joining CalPERS and going with the 2% at 55 formula. The budget workshop was also discussed, but no action was taken. 20. Yorba Linda Planning Commission, March 10, 6:30 p.m. (Korn) Director Korn attended. Discussion at the meeting concerned the determination of whether a small horse and donkey may be maintained on residential properties. Three to four hundred people attended. BOARD OF DIRECTORS ACTIVITY CALENDAR Authorization to attend meetings scheduled after March 11, 2004. Agenda is available in the District office prior to meeting. Yorba Linda City Council, March 16, 6:30 p.m. MWDOC, March 17, 8:30 a.m. OCWD, March 17, 5:00 p.m. Yorba Linda Planning Commission, March 24, 6:30 p.m. WACO, April 2,7:30 a.m. ISDOC Board, April 6, 7:30 a.m. Yorba Linda City Council, April 6, 6:30 p.m. MWDOC/Met Jt. Workshop, April 7, 8:30 a.m. OCWD, April 7,5:00 p.m. Yorba Linda Planning Commission, April 14, 6:30 p.m. Yorba Linda City Council, April 20, 6:30 p.m. MWDOC, April 21, 8:30 a.m. OCWD, April 21, 5:00 p.m. Yorba Linda Planning Commission, April 28, 6:30 p.m. ISDOC Membership, April 29, 11:30 a.m. Armstrong Staff Staff Beverage Mills Summerfield Staff Staff Korn Armstrong Staff Staff Beverage Mills & Payne A recess was declared at 9:55 a.m. Michael Robinson and Lee Cory left the meeting. The meeting reconvened at 10:04 a.m. with all Directors present. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS/ITEMS FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION Director Summerfield reported the committee agendas did not arrive on time. Since the Personnel-Risk Management and Finance-Administration Committee meetings both occur in the same week as the Board meeting, it is difficult to prepare minutes in advance. Suggestions were made about how to handle this problem. They included faxing the minutes to Board members and copying the minutes and distributing them at the Board meeting. General Manager Payne stated the minutes will be available at the Board meeting. -6- 2004-37 President Mills presented Prado Dam storage information and gave and outline of the proposed regulations for perchlorate. General Counsel Kidman commented that 6 ppb is above the level MWD is getting out of the Colorado River. Historically the level there has stayed under 6 ppb. The Board of Directors went into Closed Session at 10:18 a.m. CLOSED SESSION 21. Discussion of pending litigation to which the District is a party, (Justification for Closed Session is Subsection (a) of Section 54956.9), Superior Court of California, County of Orange, Central Justice Center, Case No. 815921 Huntington Beach vs. OCWD, and Case No. 818852 Fountain Valley vs. OCWD. 22. Discussion of potential litigation to which the District may be a party, (Justification for Closed Session is Subsection (c) of Section 54954.2 and Subsection (b) of Section 54956.9), International Custom Enterprises. 23. Discussion of pending litigation to which the District is a party (Justification for Closed Session is Subsection (b)(1) of Section 54956.9), Superior Court of California, County of Orange, Central Justice Center, Case No. 03CCO5867 Peters vs City of Yorba Linda, Southern California Edison; Yorba Linda Water District and Yorba Linda Water District vs Southern California Edison; Cecil Maurer, Jackie Peters. The Board of Directors came out of Closed Session at 11:05 a.m. The Board of Directors authorized the General Manager to deliver a letter discussed in Closed Session to OCWD. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Director Armstrong, seconded by Director Korn, the Board of Directors voted 5- 0 to adjourn at 11:06 a.m. The next meeting of the Board is scheduled for Thursday, March 25, 2004 at 8:30 a.m., at the District Headquarters. Michael A. Payne Secretary/General Manager -7- 2004-38