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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-08-14 - Board of Directors Meeting Minutes2008-127 MINUTES OF THE YORBA LINDA WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING August 14, 2008 The August 14, 2008 regular meeting of the Yorba Linda Water District Board of Directors was called to order by President Summerfield at 8:30 a.m. The meeting was held at the District's offices at 1717 E. Miraloma Avenue, Placentia, CA. DIRECTORS PRESENT AT ROLL CALL John W. Summerfield, President William R. Mills, Vice President Paul R. Armstrong Michael J. Beverage DIRECTORS ABSENT AT ROLL CALL Ric Collett STAFF PRESENT Michael A. Payne, General Manager Kenneth R. Vecchiarelli, Asst. G.M. Arthur G. Kidman, General Counsel Lee Cory, Operations Manager Sandi Van Etten, Senior Accountant Miguel Serna, HR Analyst Amelia Cloonan, Personnel Tech Linda Bauermeister, District Counsel INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS Brett Barbre, MWDOC Director Keith Khorey, Wells Capital Billy Rone, Flavours Inc. SPECIAL RECOGNITION None On a motion by Vice President Mills, seconded by Director Armstrong, the Board of Directors voted 4-0 to adjourn to Closed Session at 8:31 a.m. All Directors were present. Also present were General Manager Payne, General Counsel Kidman and District Counsel Linda Bauermeister. ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION 1. Conference with Legal Counsel regarding existing litigation to which the District is a party. (Justification for Closed Session is Government Code Section 54956.9(a)) Stuart Glenn and Jong Wen Wu vs. City of Yorba Linda and Yorba Linda Water District, Orange County Superior Count Case No. 060000083. The Board of Directors reconvened in open session at 8:54 a.m. CLOSED SESSION REPORT There was no reportable action taken. Linda Bauermeister left the meeting. 2008-128 MWDOC Director Barbre handed out a memorandum and spoke about the Monthly Water Usage Date, Tier 2 Projection and Water Supply Information. Mr. Barbre also reported on current events at MWDOC and groundwater storage this year and next year. Vice President Mills asked if it would be possible to give information on how much water was extracted and how much is available around the state and asked if the graph could compare June to June to see if there was any less consumption this year than last year. MWDOC Director Barbre agreed to this request. DISCUSSION ITEMS 2. Wells Capital Investment Report for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2007/08. Keith Khorey of Wells Capital Management presented information on the performance summary report page. The economic update was summarized, and he commented on the situation in the market. General Manager Payne and General Counsel Kidman left the meeting at 9:02 a.m. 3. Review Action Levels outlined in the 2005 Urban Water Management Plan Chapter 8 - Water Shortage Contingency Plan. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli introduced the item. The purpose of the discussion item is to clarify some items. There are differences between mandated and voluntary. On June 24, the Board of Directors adopted a resolution requesting 10% reduction in water usage. Page 8-2 of the 2005 Urban Water Management Plan identifies the action plan with levels. The Board asked about increments. Risk Management Professionals indicated this action plan and levels involved are guidelines. The guidance from Risk Management Professionals is that the Board should adopt a resolution and make it very clear where the Board intends to go. It is important to identify the implementation methods the Board plans to take. The District's initial plan is to communicate and educate and let people know what their options are. According to RMP, the plan does not need to be overhauled now, because it is a guideline. There was discussion about the levels and about where the District can go within the levels. Director Beverage wants to let the public know what the potentials are. Vice President Mills asked if the resolution referred to Ordinance 91-03. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli responded that it referred to the Urban Water Management Plan, which refers to Ordinance 91-03. The District is trying to develop a plan to meet all its objectives. General Manager Payne and General Counsel Kidman returned to the meeting at 9:10 a. m. President Summerfield asked General Counsel Kidman's opinion on whether the District is required to provide water. When the Urban Water Management Plan was last updated, the District was not facing a severe water shortage. The concept of going to a water service moratorium is alien when speaking about a voluntary conservation. Do you have a duty to serve new customers? The District -2- 2008-129 is a government agency as well and must treat everyone equally. That does not mean you don't have some ability to control your level of obligation when facing a water shortage. President Summerfield asked about the two different levels, 10% across the board for the District and another 10% individually. General Counsel Kidman said the District was required by State law to adopt the Urban Water Management Plan. It was based on Ordinance 91-02 where the list of 26 items is found. On Exhibit "A" it states these are guidelines. All of these can be done before you get to the mandatory level. Vice President Mills asked what the District's time frame is to meet the voluntary reduction. General Manager Payne said staff was working on the water consumption data and groundwater supply condition. A report will be presented to the Board. This will take time. There is a public outreach campaign planned, and water budgeting, not water rationing. Vice President Mills asked if on January 1, 2009 the District has achieved 8% reduction, what do we do? General Manager Payne responded that the District evaluates all the elements. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli said we have no defined action plan to get to the 10% other than saying we have a broad understanding of what we do and a broad understanding of our customers. We need to educate our customers about what they need to do and what will happen if they don't conserve. There may be penalties, a tiered structure or water allocation plan. Brett Barbre and Miguel Serna left the meeting at 10:00 a.m. ACTION CALENDAR 4. Consider FY 2008/09 Public Outreach Campaign. General Manager Payne introduced Laer Pearce and Ben Boyce who are presenting a proposal for a public outreach campaign. Laer Pearce spoke, and Ben Boyce distributed materials to the Board and staff. Laer Pearce explained the approach envisioned and he and Ben Boyce outlined the program planned. Vice President Mills stated he is interested in what Metropolitan and MWDOC are going to do. He believes the regional campaign can be very effective. San Bernardino previously managed a 15% reduction without doing any programs. He does not want to move ahead of the regional agencies that are going to have major programs. Laer Pearce responded that this is a legitimate concern. The Metropolitan campaign will be introduced shortly. We are not doing a full-blown campaign before Metropolitan goes out with theirs. Vice President Mills asked how we become effective in communicating that the District is for water conservation. We should not mix this message up with water rates. Laer Pearce responded that the plan can be revised for the next Public Information-Technology Committee meeting and then brought back to the Board. President Summerfield agreed with Vice President Mills that conservation should be the focus. He wants this to go back to the Public Information-Technology Committee. Looking at the time line, he would like to start on the items chosen. The PIT Committee and staff should come back to the Board with recommendations on what should be done and start with those items immediately. -3- 2008-130 General Manager Payne agrees with the Director Mills. What staff was trying to do was to have Laer Pearce help the District for eleven months using the funds allocated to fill a vacant position in the Administration Department. Staff was hoping for a good PR campaign. There was no motion. General Manager Payne will meet with Laer Pearce and bring a report to the Public Information-Technology Committee and then to the Board. Vice President Mills asked why the District does not go forward with table top notices in restaurants and flyers. He does not see why the District has to have a huge campaign laid out before we commence. Keith Khorey left the meeting at 10:41 a.m. The Board of Directors declared a recess at 10:42 a.m. The Board reconvened in open session at 10:50 a.m. All Directors were present. 5. Consider Contract with Project Partners for Temporary Employment Services. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli introduced the item. President SummerField asked if the intention was to relieve Assistant General Manager/Engineering Manager Vecchiarelli of some of his duties. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli answered affirmatively stating he should be able to phase out of running the capital programs. On a motion by Vice President Mills, seconded by Director Armstrong, the Board of Directors voted 4-0 to authorize the General Manger to execute a Professional Services Agreement with Project Partners, subject to approval as to form by General Counsel, for a fee not to exceed $180, 000 to provide engineering and administrative services for the District's Capital Improvement Projects for fiscal years 2007-2012. 6. Reconsider Consent Calendar Items approved on the June 26, 2008 and July 24, 2008 Board Agenda. General Manager Payne introduced the item. General Counsel Kidman stated on a consent calendar item, if a Board member has a conflict and needs to abstain, the Board member may remain in the room and identify the consent calendar item he is abstaining from, so he can go ahead and vote on the remaining consent calendar items. Item 6 involves a conflict of interest and is not a consent item. Therefore, it is required that Director Beverage announce the conflict of interest and leave the room. Director Beverage stated he was not aware staff approved a professional services agreement with Metcalf & Eddy. He further stated he made an honest mistake, and he left the boardroom during consideration of this item. -4- 2008-131 On a motion by Director Armstrong, seconded by Vice President Mills, the Board of Directors voted 3-0 to ratify prior action on the following items: June 26, 2008 Board of Directors Agenda Consent Calendar - Agenda Item No. 2 Payment of bills, refunds and wire transfers. Recommendation: Ratify and authorize disbursements in the amount of $772,680.68. July 24, 2008 Board of Directors Agenda Consent Calendar - Agenda Item No. 2 Payment of bills, refunds and wire transfers Recommendation: Ratify and authorize disbursements in the amount of $2,015,265.61. Director Beverage returned to the Boardroom. He asked that staff point out to him if a conflict exists in the future. General Manager Payne stated that it is the responsibility of the Director to review the Board agendas and if there is a conflict, to bring it to the attention of the President. President Summerfield requested that Consent Calendar items 11, 12 and 13 be pulled for discussion. Director Beverage stated he would abstain from voting on check numbers 49761 and 49728 of Consent Calendar Item 8 due to a conflict of interest. CONSENT CALENDAR (Items 7 through 14) On a motion by Vice President Mills, seconded by Director Armstrong, the Board of Directors voted 4-0 to approve Consent Calendar items 7, 8, 9, 10 and 14. 7. Minutes of the Regular Board of Directors meeting held July 24, 2008. Recommendation: Approve the minutes as presented. 8. Payment of bills, refunds, and wire transfers. Recommendation: Ratify and authorize disbursements in the amount of $3,982,426.06. 9. Progress Payment No. 3 for the Highland Reservoir Replacement Project. Recommendation: That the Board of Directors approve Progress Payment No. 3 in the net amount of $303,214.64 to Schuler Engineering Corporation for construction of the Highland Reservoir Replacement Project, Job No. 200309. 10. Progress Payment No. 15 for the Lakeview Reservoir Construction. Recommendation: That the Board of Directors approve Progress Payment No. 15 in the net amount of $357,936.98 to SSC Construction, Inc. for construction of the Lakeview Reservoir Project, Job No. 200704. -5- 2008-132 14. Damage Claim filed by Dan W. Baer, 19369 Easy Street, Yorba Linda. Recommendation: That the Board of Directors reject and refer the claim to ACWA/JPIA. ACTION CALENDAR President Summerfield wants to be sure the Board members understand the amount of water these three items are going to use and ramifications for these organizations if the District cuts back on water usage. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli presented information. The customer in Item 11 would be one of the largest water users in the District. Cal Water is one of our largest customers now. Yorba Linda High School's, Item 13, yearly demand is 225 acre feet per year. Yorba Linda Friends Church, Item 12, is about 65 acre feet per year. Director Armstrong asked if there are any two of the three customers to be served by the same reservoir system. The answer was no. Director Armstrong also asked if there is any way to limit the hours of the day when they perform backflows so the effect on our storage is minimized? Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli stated this District typically takes those actions when needed. General Counsel Kidman said there is not a way to institute special rules for these three customers. Vice President Mills asked Mr. Rone of Flavours if there was waste water coming from their plant? Mr. Rone answered there is a waste water stream, and there is a water reuse program in their plant. The cleaning rinse from the previous batch becomes the rinse water in the next cycle. The first rinse cycle is waste water. The second is reuse. The waste is only what they use to wash the equipment. This is their expansion plant. On a motion by President Summerfield, seconded by Director Beverage, the Board of Directors voted 4-0 to approve Consent Calendar Items 11, 12 and 13. 11. Terms and Conditions for Water Service with Flavours, Inc., 24855 Corbit Place, Yorba Linda. Recommendation: That the Board of Directors approve the Terms and Conditions for Water Service with Flavours, Inc., Job No. 200810. 12. Terms and Conditions for Water and Sewer Service with Friends Christian High School, north of Bastanchury Road between Casa Loma and Eureka Avenues. Recommendation: That the Board of Directors approve the Terms and Conditions for Water and Sewer Service with Friends Christian High School, Job No. 200805. 13. Terms and Conditions for Water and Sewer Service with Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, 4175 Fairmont Blvd, Yorba Linda. Recommendation: That the Board of Directors approve the Terms and Conditions for Water and Sewer Service with Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, Job No. 200706. Billy Rone left the meeting at 11:19 a.m. -6- 2008-133 REPORTS, INFORMATION ITEMS AND COMMENTS 15. a. President's Report There was no report. b. Directors Reports Director Armstrong (AB 2270 (Water Softeners)) received information about the regulation of home water softeners. Vice President Mills will be talking next week in Irvine with water experts from Iran. c. General Managers Report 1) Update on earthquake damages. Operations Manager Cory gave an update on the earthquake and what happened since that event. Key maintenance personnel took normal, immediate action to activate the system and the EOC. Contact was made with WEROC. The District's system was assessed within a two-hour period. More practice and drills will be performed. 2) An order form for T-shirts to wear to District functions, etc., was distributed to the Directors. d. General Counsels Report General Counsel had nothing further to report. COMMITTEE REPORTS 16. a. Executive-Administrative-Organizational Committee (Summerfield/Mills) Alternate: Collett 1) Minutes of meeting held August 13. President Summerfield reported. Action Items discussed by the committee included consideration of amendments to the Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. Professional Services Agreement. They will continue until June 30, 2009, focusing on state issues, grants and timelines on getting grants. The District will not submit Legislative Proposals for 1St year of 2009-2010 Legislative Session. Discussion items included: Target levels of the 2005 Urban Water Management Plan, status reports on legislative issues, grant applications and the O.C. Advocacy Group, the 2008 Conflict of Interest Biennial review and the Board agenda for August 14. 2) Meeting scheduled for September 16, 4:00 p.m. b. Finance-Accounting Committee (Beverage/Summerfield) Alternate: Mills 1) Meeting scheduled for August 12 was cancelled. 2) Meeting scheduled for September 9, 4:00 p.m. -7- 2008-134 c. Personnel-Risk Management Committee (Armstrong/Collett) Alternate: Summen`ield 1) Minutes of meeting held August 11. Director Armstrong reported the main topic of discussion was the ACWA/JPIA general liability insurance deposit premium October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009 and Retrospective Allocation Point. A damage claim filed by Dan W. Baer was discussed. Also discussed were approval of a position upgrade from Sr. Project Engineer to Sr. Project Manager and approval of a contract with Project Partners for temporary employment services. The status of recruitments, status of risk management activities and status of personnel on administrative leave were covered. 2) Meeting scheduled for September 8, 4:00 p.m. d. Planning-Engineering-Operations Committee (Mills/Armstrong) Alternate: Beverage 1) Minutes of meeting held August 7. Discussion items included: Status report on the meter replacement and radio read retrofit project, meeting with the City of Yorba Linda on irrigation demand management, preventative maintenance program status report, monthly water production and purchased imports through July 2008, the Monthly MWDOC Managers Meeting and MWD Allocation Plan & MWDOC Implementation Plan and the Draft Irrigation Feasibility Study. Vice President Mills commented on Item 8. Staff met with the City of Yorba Linda to discuss a decrease in water usage on their land and how much water is being used. Elements of water irrigation study were discussed in connection with grants. Director Armstrong questioned wells with iron bacteria problem. Can the District get plastic equipment? Vice President Mills said there are plastic casings. 2) Meeting scheduled for September 4, 4:00 p.m. e. Public Information-Technology Committee (Collett/Beverage) Alternate: Armstrong Director Beverage reported. 1) Minutes of meeting held July 23. The committee discussed the status of the grant applied for by MWDOC on behalf of the District and fifteen other member agencies for developing a tiered rate structure and staff's notes on possible public information tactics. 2) Minutes of meeting held July 30. Discussion items considered included: The WaterLines-Summer 2008 edition, which will not go out. Customer survey results came in and a report will come to the Board. -8- 2008-135 3) Minutes of meeting held August 5. The committee considered a Public Information Campaign. Laer Pearce and Ben Boyce of Laer Pearce and Associates presented a proposal. Discussion Items included a meeting with the City of Yorba Linda regarding landscape watering, the Summer 2008 Waterlines edition and customer survey results. 4) Meeting scheduled for September 2, 4:00 p.m. f. MWDOC Ad Hoc Committee (Mills/Collett) Alternate: Summerfield 1) Meeting scheduled for August 26, 4:00 p.m. g. City of Placentia Ad Hoc Committee (Beverage/Payne) 1) Meeting to be scheduled. General Manager Payne will get together with Director Beverage to choose a date for a meeting. INTERGOVERNMENTAL MEETINGS 17. a. Yorba Linda City Council, August 5 Vice President Mills attended. There was a discussion of sewer rates. The City Engineering said they are doing a study of the District's rates. The housing plan was another item of interest. It was deferred for 2-3 weeks. b. MWDOC/MWD Joint Workshop, August 6 General Manager Payne said they discussed Met critical items. e. OCWD Board, August 6 (Staff) There was nothing on the agenda of critical concern to the District. f. MWDOC/OCWD Joint Workshop, August 12 General Manager Payne stated Director Barbre reported on the highlights during the public comment. e. Yorba Linda Planning Commission, August 13, 7:00 p.m. President Summerfield did not attend. He reviewed the agenda. On the minutes of the July 23 meeting, the draft of the housing element was discussed extensively. -9- 2008-136 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ACTIVITY CALENDAR Authorization to attend meetings scheduled after August 14, 2008. Agenda is available in the District office prior to meeting. August 2008 Yorba Linda City Council, August 19, 6:30 .m. Armstrong MWDOC Board, August 20, 7:30 a.m. Staff OCWD Board, August 20, 5:00 .m. Staff MWDOC Ad Hoc Committee, August 26,4:00 .m. Mills/Collett Yorba Linda Planning Commission, August 27, 7:00 p.m. Summerfield District Board Meeting, August 28, 8:30 a.m. September 2008 Public Information Committee, Sept 2, 4:00 .m. Collett/Beverage Yorba Linda City Council, Sept 2, 6:30 .m. Mills MWDOC/MWD Joint Workshop, Sept 3, 7:30 a.m. Staff OCWD Board, Sept 3, 5:00 .m. Staff Plan nin -En ineerin -O erations Committee, Sept 4, 4:00 .m. Mills/Armstrong Personnel-Risk Management Committee, Sept 8, 4:00 .m. Afms#eng/Collett Finance-Accounting Committee, Sept 9, 4:00 .m. Bevera a/Summerfield Yorba Linda Planning Commission, Set 10, 7:00 .m. Collett District Board Meeting, Sept 11, 8:30 a.m. Executive-Admin-Or anizational Committee, Set 16, 4:00 .m. Summerfield/Mills Yorba Linda City Council, Sept 16, 6:30 .m. Affqs" MWDOC Board, Set 17, 7:30 a.m. Staff OCWD Board, Set 17, 5:00 p.m. Staff Yorba Linda Planning Commission, Sept 24, 7:00 .m. Summerfield District Board Meeting, Sept 25, 8:30 a.m. CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS 18. Authorize attendance of Directors and such staff members of the District as approved by the General Manager to attend the following conferences and seminars. a. 2008 Northern California Tour Sponsored by the Water Education Foundation. September 10-12 2008. No Directors will attend. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Vice President Mills, seconded by Director Armstrong, the Board of Directors voted 4-0 at 11:47 a.m. to adjourn to a regular meeting of the Board of Directors scheduled for August 28, 2008, at 8:30 a.m., at 1717 E. Miraloma Avenue, Placentia 92870. Kenneth R. Vecchiarelli Assistant Secretary -10-