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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-10-25 - Board of Directors Meeting Minutes2007-171 MINUTES OF THE YORBA LINDA WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING October 25, 2007 The October 25, 2007 regular meeting of the Yorba Linda Water District Board of Directors was called to order by President Collett at 9:30 a.m. The meeting was held at District Headquarters, 4622 Plumosa Drive, Yorba Linda. DIRECTORS PRESENT AT ROLL CALL Ric Collett, President John W. SummerField, Vice President Paul R. Armstrong William R. Mills STAFF PRESENT Michael A. Payne, General Manager Kenneth R. Vecchiarelli, Asst. G.M. Lee Cory, Operations Manager Leon de Los Reyes, Water Quality Engineer Amelia Cloonan, Exec. Secretary DIRECTORS ABSENT AT ROLL CALL Michael J. Beverage INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS Kevin Hunt, General Manager, Municipal Water District of Orange County Susan Janowicz, East Lake Village Homeowners Association SPECIAL RECOGNITION None CONSENT CALENDAR (Items 1 through 3) On a motion by Director Mills, seconded by Director Armstrong, the Board of Director voted 4-0 to approve the Consent Calendar, with President Collett abstaining from voting on check number 47628 of Item 2. Minutes of the Regular Board of Directors meeting held October 11, 2007. Recommendation: Approve the minutes as presented. 2. Payment of bills, refunds, and wire transfers. Recommendation: Ratify and authorize disbursements in the amount of $1,416,937.69. 3. Progress Payment for Construction of the Lakeview Reservoir. Recommendation: Approve Progress Payment No. 5 in the net amount of $688,647.45 to SSC Construction, Inc. for construction of the Lakeview Reservoir Project, Job No. 200704. ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION 4. None 2007-172 ACTION CALENDAR 5. Compromise Proposal for the Municipal Water District of Orange County Municipal Services Review. Kevin Hunt, MWDOC General Manager, presented a report on the compromise proposal between MWDOC and six south county agencies. The south county agencies have taken a very aggressive stance about any action Municipal Water District takes. Desalination was one of the issues. MWDOC's historic role has been to get projects in line and in process. This was the only thing Mr. Hunt believed could have created tension. Last year because they knew they were going into the MWDOC MSR process, they decided to take a proactive position. A meeting was held with agencies. On December 20, they thought all was settled. When the LAFCO process commenced, their goal was to secede from MWDOC. Six agencies signed the letter. A professional facilitator was hired. Compromises were reached. Some of the agreements included: a 5% reduction in the budget for 2008/2009, the CPI index base is lowered, procedures for projects benefiting less than five agencies and costing more than $100,000 were clarified and rates and charges were considered. Irvine Ranch Water District asked to be allowed choice in some of their programs. Municipal Water District overhead was not being charged to any participants in the programs. Three cities are now being charged for the education program. The only item remaining in dispute is arbitration. One agency requested binding arbitration for dispute resolution. Non-binding mediation with the final decision to be left with the board was originally in the agreement that was accepted. A special closed session of the Board of MWDOC will be held on October 30 with a vote to be held on November 5. Mr. Hunt commented that the money used in this process should have been spent on member services. Director Mills asked if it is to the benefit of the District to employ a lobbyist also used by a lot of other agencies. Mr. Hunt responded this is something that should be discussed. General Manager Payne asked how much it would cost YLWD and the other MWDOC member agencies if the south county agencies start pulling out of MWDOC programs. Mr. Hunt mentioned the public information effort, which is regional, might suffer increased costs to agencies if some agencies pulled out. The Board of Directors thanked Mr. Hunt for coming to the District to explain the issues. Kevin Hunt left the meeting at 10:02 a.m. -2- 2007-173 DISCUSSION ITEMS 6. None Susan Janowicz, East Lake Village Homeowners Association, asked to be recognized. She spoke about what she understood was discussed and decided on at the October 13 Board Meeting. She wants the status recorded in the minutes. General Manager Payne stated District staff met with several developers and contacted several pump companies. Ms. Janowicz asked when an outside consultant would be hired. General Manager Payne stated the District anticipates a report to the Board of Directors in January. President Collett responded the Board wants to see the progress as much as the homeowners. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli said a draft will go to the PEO Committee in January and an analysis will go to the Board in January. Vice President Summerfield stated the District has to design a solution around the entire zone of low pressure. Ms. Janowicz reported she has received 100-150 complaints. The District needs this information to include in the consultants study. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli said the District is looking at the entire Zone 3 area. The District wants a consistent service level for minimum pressure and minimum fire flows. Priorities will be set coming out of the study. What is decided by January should go into setting an RFP (Request for Proposal), which will go into detail. Director Armstrong said this would be a precedence setting expenditure on capital projects. Ms. Janowicz left the meeting at 10:19 a.m. REPORTS, INFORMATION ITEMS AND COMMENTS 7. a. President's Report President Collett has read in the newspapers that other water agencies helped out during the fires with pumping. Operations Manager Cory said the District is reviewing specifications on two trailer type emergency pumps for our use in order to help out during emergencies. Director Armstrong asked about trailer mounted pumps that were to have been donated by a developer for concessions. General Manager Payne stated this was never consummated. b. Directors Reports Director Mills received a copy of the letter signed and sent to Congressman Miller requesting federal assistance with financing for the Highland Reservoir. He also received a telephone call from Sean Fitzgerald of Townsend Public Affairs. Director Mills called Congressman Miller who said he had not had any luck getting this put in. Director Mills then called Congressman Calvert who asked for some information. Congressman Miller needs to fill out a form asking Congressman Calvert to put his item in. Director Mills assumes Congressman Miller will agree to have an earmark in the Bill. General Manager Payne spoke with Assemblymen Duvall and Huff and they have indicated their support for the District's project. Mr. Payne stated the Chino Hills escaped a fire this time but it was just a matter of time before Yorba Linda would face the same situation as the other fire storms. Director Mills has not heard back from Sean Fitzgerald. -3- 2007-174 President Collett commented that Townsend Public Affairs represents a lot of agencies. How effective they are is a concern. c. General Managers Report Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli gave an update on the effect of the fires and winds. The corrugated roof at the Highland Reservoir was peeled back for a 30' x 20' area. Water Quality Engineer de los Reyes and the Production group immediately increased disinfection levels at the reservoir. Some debris did get into the reservoir. The results of testing samples will be in late today. Monitoring has been increased. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli continued to say the pump equipment has been removed from the site. Complete abandonment of the oil wells is in process. A contractor can then come out to abandon the reservoir. The plan is to have temporary tanks in place by this time next year. Construction, assuming financing is in place in December, will begin in March next year. General Manager Payne stated $1- 1/2 million of the bonds will be made available locally. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli reported drilling of pot holes was performed in connection with the Wu/Glenn lawsuit. There was very dense clay material in the area with very little transmission of water going through. On October 31, the District Health/Benefits Fair will take place in the EOC room at the Richfield Plant. Flu shots will be available in a limited quantity. Well No. 19, put in place through agreements with MWD et al, is running at 1,500 gpm, which is 85% of total projected.. d. General Counsel's Report General Counsel was not present. A recess was declared at 10:34 a.m. Michael Payne left the meeting. The Board reconvened at 10:40 a.m. All Directors were present. COMMITTEE REPORTS 8. a. Executive-Administrative-Organizational Committee (Collett/Summerfield) Alternate: Armstrong 1) Minutes of meeting held October 16 will appear in the Board Agenda for November 8. President Collett reported the Committee considered the Board of Directors Rules of Organization and Procedures. He asked Directors to submit their feedback. The Committee also considered the Reorganization of the Board of Directors to select a President, Vice President and to Appoint Corporate Officers for calendar 2008 and the Annual Review and Consideration of the Board of Directors Compensation. The Committee recommends no change in the compensation. Discussion Items included: District investments, legislative activities, grant applications, water related issues in Orange County and LAFCO issues. Vice President Summerfield reported that he, President Collett and General Manager Payne met with LAFCO on October -4- ± 2007-175 1. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli commented that LAFCO is not sure they should be involved in our dispute with OCWD. A follow-up meeting was held with LAFCO's mediator. The mediator thought it would be productive to get back with OCWD on a staff level. The General Manager of LAFCO, Joyce Crosswaithe's position is that they are not water specialists. 2) Meeting scheduled for November 20, 4:00 p.m. b. Finance-Accounting Committee (Mills/Beverage) Alternate: Summerfield 1) Director Mills reported that the Minutes of the meeting held October 9 appeared in the Agenda and were discussed at the last Board meeting. The Proposed Water Rates for 2007-08 and 2008-09 were the main topic of discussion. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli stated the mailing of the District's public notice regarding the upcoming public hearing commences today, October 25. The notice announced the maximum potential increase. 2) Meeting scheduled for November 13, 4:00 p.m. c. Personnel-Risk Management Committee (SummerfieId/Arm strong) Alternate: Mills 1) The Minutes of the meeting held October 8 were discussed at the last Board meeting. Topics discussed included: A joint emergency exercise drill between the Yorba Linda Water District and the City of Yorba Linda, a status reports on current recruitments and new hires and risk management issues. Information about a proposed employment application was presented to the Committee. 2) Meeting scheduled for November 14, 4:00 p.m. d. Planning-Engineering-Operations Committee (Armstrong/Mills) Alternate: Collett 1) Meeting scheduled for November 1, 9:00 a.m. e. Public Information Committee (Collett/Beverage) Alternate: Armstrong 1) Meeting scheduled for November 6, 4:00 p.m. f. Building Ad Hoc Committee (Summerfield/Beverage) Alternate: Armstrong 1) Meeting scheduled for November 15, 4:00 p.m. -5- 2007-176 g. MWDOC Ad Hoc Committee (Beverage/Collett) Alternate: Mills 1) The Minutes of the meeting held Agenda for November 8. Director alternate for President Collett. October 16 will appear in the Board Armstrong attended the meeting as MWDOC Director Brett Barbre and General Manager Kevin Hunt attended. The Committee discussed the MWDOC LAFCO MSR Process Conclusion, the water bond issue status, water availability and latest news on Met water rates. 2) A Meeting needs to be scheduled for December. h. City of Placentia Ad Hoc Committee (Beverage/Payne) 1) Meeting to be scheduled. INTERGOVERNMENTAL MEETINGS 9. a. Placentia Heritage Festival, October 13. The District manned a float in the Placentia Heritage parade on Saturday, October 13. Participants from the District included: Ruben Gonzales, Todd Howard and Mando Raya. b. Yorba Linda City Council, October 16. Director Mills attended. The downtown temporary parking issue was discussed. c. MWDOC Board, October 17. Michael Payne was not present to report on the meeting. d. OCWD Board, October 17. Michael Payne was not present to report on the meeting. e. Yorba Linda Planning Commission Special Meeting, October 23. Vice President Summerfield attended. The Glenn development was continued (property immediately adjacent to the Highland Reservoir). A two-year extension to the Friends Christian High School project was discussed. Move in is projected for 2010. There are oil wells on the property. BOARD OF DIRECTORS ACTIVITY CALENDAR Authorization to attend meetings scheduled after October 25, 2007. Agenda is available in the District office prior to meeting. -6- 2007-177 October 2007 Yorba Linda Fiesta Days, Oct 27, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Cancelled due to smoke November 2007 Plan nin -En ineerin -O erations Committee, Nov 1, 9:00 a.m. Armstrong/Mills WACO, Nov 2, 7:30 a.m. Mills Public Information Committee, Nov 6, 4:00 .m. Collett/Beverage Yorba Linda City Council, Nov 6, 6:30 p.m. Collett MWDOC/MWD Joint Workshop, Nov 7, 8:30 a.m. Staff OCWD Board, Nov 7, 5:00 .m. Staff Veterans' Day Holiday, Nov 12 Offices Closed Finance-Accounting Committee, Nov 13, 9:00 a.m. Mills/Beverage Personnel-Risk Management Committee, Nov 14, 4:00 p.m. Summerfield/Armstron Yorba Linda Planning Commission, Nov 14, 6:30 .m. Armstrong Building Ad Hoc Committee, Nov 15, 4:00 p.m. Summerfield/Bevera e Executive-Admin-Or anizational Committee, Nov 20, 4:00 p.m. Collett/Summerfield Yorba Linda City Council, Nov 20, 6:30 .m. Mills Board of Directors Meeting, Nov 21, 8:30 a.m. MWDOC Board, Nov 21, 8:30 a.m. Staff OCWD Board, Nov 21, 5:00 .m. Staff Thanksgiving Holiday, Nov 22 & 23 Offices Closed Yorba Linda Planning Commission, Nov 28, 6:30 p.m. Summerfield December 2007 Public Information Committee, Dec 4, 4:00 p.m. Collett/Beverage Yorba Linda City Council, Dec 4, 6:30 .m. Collett MWDOC/MWD Joint Workshop, Dec 5, 8:30 a.m. Staff OCWD Board, Dec 5, 5:00 .m. Staff Plan nin -En ineerin -Operations Committee, Dec 6, 4:00 p.m. Armstrong/Mills WACO, Dec 7, 7:30 a.m. Mills Personnel-Risk Management Committee, Dec 10, 4:00 .m. Summerfield/Armstron Finance-Accounting Committee, Dec 11, 4:00 p.m. Mills/Beverage Yorba Linda Planning Commission, Dec 12, 6:30 .m. Armstrong Executive-Admin-Or anizational Committee, Dec 18, 4:00 p.m. Collett/Summerfield Yorba Linda City Council, Dec 18, 6:30 .m. Mills MWDOC Board, Dec 19,8:30 a.m. Staff OCWD Board, Nov 21, 5:00 p.m. Staff Building Ad Hoc Committee, Dec 20, 4:00 .m. Summerfield/Bevera e December 24 and December 25 - Holidays Offices Closed Yorba Linda Planning Commission, Dec 26, 6:30 .m. Summerfield -7- 2007-178 CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS 10. 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. Water Policy Forum & Dinner, Speaker Celeste Cantu, G.M. Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, Thursday, November 1, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Doubletree Hotel. No Directors could attend. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Director Mills, seconded by Vice President Summerfield, the Board of Directors voted 4-0 to adjourn at 11:02 a.m. to a regular meeting of the Board of Directors scheduled for Thursday, November 8, 2007, at 8:30 a.m., at 4622 Plumosa Drive, Yorba Linda 92886. Kenneth R. Vecchiarelli Assistant Secretary -8-