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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-09-22 - Board of Directors Meeting Minutes2005-139 MINUTES OF THE YORBA LINDA WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING September 22, 2005, 8:30 A.M. The September 22, 2005 regular meeting of the Yorba Linda Water District Board of Directors was called to order by President Michael J. Beverage at 8:30 a.m. The meeting was held at District Headquarters, 4622 Plumosa Drive, Yorba Linda. DIRECTORS PRESENT AT ROLL CALL Michael J. Beverage, President Paul R. Armstrong, Vice President William R. Mills John W. Summerfield DIRECTORS ABSENT AT ROLL CALL Ric Collett STAFF PRESENT Michael A. Payne, General Manager Arthur G. Kidman, General Counsel Kenneth Vecchiarelli, Asst. G.M. Beverly Meza, Business Manager Amelia Cloonan, Admin Secretary Pamela Pietras, Assistant Administrator Dan Payne, Legal Counsel VISITORS PRESENT Richard Slade, President Richard C. Slade & Associates LLC Timothy Hoban, Regional Counsel, Toll Brothers Lisa Moskowitz, Dokich Court Reporters, Inc. Stephen Kielty, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Brooke Thomas, Shea Homes John Danvers, Shea Homes Richard Slade introduced himself and stated he had been retained by the Law Firm of Susan Trager in Irvine. He mentioned a memorandum wherein the issue of cascading water was raised. He has looked at the data. It is clear from the data that historically cascading water has been experienced in the past at all wells at the Richfield Plant. Tim Hoban of Toll Brothers spoke. He started with Village IV. Vista Del Verde submitted the sewer plan on March 9. He requested comments or approval several times but received no response. Time is very critical now for those plans. Advance notice is required to order materials for the sewer lines. He asked the staff for information about what is holding this up. President Beverage said Mr. Hoban should direct questions to the Board. The Board will refer the questions back to staff. Mr. Hoban said he has done this and received no response from staff. With respect to certificates of occupancy for Village III, Saratoga project, they received copies of a letter sent by the District's Assistant General Manager to the City of Yorba Linda. The Assistant General Manager indicated any further releases would be conditioned upon developer's diligent completion of the backbone structure. He would like to know what those conditions are, because homeowners are taking actions to sell their old homes, arrange financing and preparing to move. If the Board has any issues that will be an obstacle, he would like to know. -1- 2005-140 President Beverage asked Mr. Hoban to call General Manager Payne and Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli to set up a time to sit down and discuss those issues. Tim Hoban spoke regarding the petition Vista Del Verde filed with the court, which ruled yesterday that it does not believe the District can be forced and the remedy lies in breach of contract. Delays are causing sales to slow and stop. He spoke to General Counsel Kidman last night about the proposals submitted a month or so ago. He reiterated a request for 193 permits for Village 111. General Counsel Kidman arrived at 8:40 a.m. President Beverage said Mr. Hoban acknowledged he received the letter sent by President Beverage basically covering the issues. General Manager Payne stated a letter sent to him on September 8 referenced another letter sent to him on August 31. Mr. Payne never received the letter dated August 31. Mr. Hoban said he would have a copy of the letter sent to General Manager Payne. SPECIAL RECOGNITION AND PRESENTATIONS This item was continued to the Board meeting to be held October 13. Vice President Armstrong asked that Item 3 be removed from the Consent Calendar for questions. CONSENT CALENDAR (Items 1 through 5) On a motion by Director Mills, seconded by Director Summerfield, the Board of Directors voted 4-0 to approve Consent Calendar items 1, 2, 4 and 5. Minutes of the Regular Board of Directors meeting held September 8, 2005. Recommendation: Approve minutes as presented. 2. Payment of bills, refunds, and wire transfers. Recommendation: Ratify and authorize disbursements in the amount of $1,189,013.70. 4. Terms and Conditions for water service for Forum Capital Management, LLC. Recommendation: Approve Terms and Conditions for Water and Single Sewer Service with Forum Capital Management, LLC, Job No. 200514. 5. Eighteen-Month Gasoline Contract Recommendation: Authorize the President and Secretary to execute an 18- month agreement with D.B. Oil, LLC for gasoline purchases at the agreed to contracted price of $0.02 off their posted price. 3. Damage Claim. Recommendation: That the damage claim filed by the law firm of Davis, Punelli, Keathley, LLP on behalf of Wen Jong Wu be rejected and referred to ACWA/JP/A. -2- 2005-141 With respect to item 3, Vice President Armstrong stated this was the first time the full Board was made aware of the problem although some committee members might have already been made aware. This is a substantial claim, and some significant information should come before the Board before it is transferred to our insurance carrier. General Manager Payne stated the claim was received in August and involves a home in the Hidden Hills area where there have been many landslides. Houses have been lost. The District has not been found responsible for any claims filed and did not believe homes should ever have been built in that area. The house in question is directly southwest of where the slides took place. The homeowners are claiming water is coming into the water main trench causing the damage and are suing the District and City of Yorba Linda. Director Mills stated the item did come before the Personnel-Risk Management Committee, which recommended the claim be rejected and referred to JPIA. President Beverage asked that when a claim is above a certain level, it should be discussed in Closed Session. General Counsel Kidman asked the item be added to the Closed Session Agenda. On a motion by Vice President Armstrong, seconded by Director Mills, the Board of Directors voted 4-0 to add agenda item 3 to the Closed Session agenda. Brooke Thomas, John Danvers and Stephen Kielty left the meeting. The Board of Directors adjourned to Closed Session at 8:47 a.m. All Directors were present. Also present were General Manager Payne, Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli, General Counsel Kidman and Legal Counsel Payne. ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION 6. a. 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)) Orange County Water District vs. Yorba Linda Water District. b. 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)) Vista Del Verde II, L.P. and SWEPI LP vs. Yorba Linda Water District. Director Summerfield left the closed Session at 10:03 a.m. The Board of Directors came out of Closed Session at 10:13 a.m. Dan Payne left the meeting. RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION The Board of Directors reconvened in open session at 10:21 a.m. Beverly Meza, Amelia Cloonan, Michael Robinson, Pamela Pietras, Tim Hoban, Richard Slade and Lisa Moskowitz rejoined the meeting. CLOSED SESSION REPORT President Beverage reported in Open Session that with respect to Mr. Hoban's request, the Board of Directors is asking staff to report back in two weeks. This includes the report on the sewer report for Village IV and the report on certificate of occupancy for -3- 2005-142 Village lll. It was also reported in Open Session that the Board would bring Item 3 back for a motion. On a motion by Vice President Armstrong, seconded by Director Mills, the Board of Directors voted 3-0 to reject and refer to ACWA/JPIA the damage claim filed by the law firm of Davis, Punelli, Keathly, LLP on behalf of Wen Jong Wu. Tim Hoban and Richard Slade left the meeting at 10:18 a.m. ACTION CALENDAR 7. Consider the ACWA/JPIA Liability Insurance Deposit Premium. General Manager Payne presented the report. Director Mills stated the item came before the Personnel-Risk Management Committee on September 12. Assistant General Manager Vecchiarelli gave some additional explanation about how the system works. On a motion by Vice President Armstrong, seconded by Director Mills the Board of Directors approved the ACWA/JPIA General Liability Insurance deposit premium for the policy year October 1, 2005 thru September 30, 2006 in the amount of $211,548 and continue with the Retrospective Allocation Point of $25,000. 8. Consider adding additional facilities and equipment to the ACWA/JPIA Property insurance program for coverage. General Manager Payne requested this item go back to the Personnel-Risk Management Committee. 9. Consider adopting the National Incident Management System as the District's Standard for Incident Management. Assistant Administrator Robinson reported. On September 20, thirty people from the District were trained in the NIMS system. September 30 was the mandatory date for compliance. Through training and adoption of the resolution, the District will be in compliance. This is a federal mandate as directed by the Department of Homeland Security. On a motion by Director Mills, seconded by President Beverage, the Board of Directors on a Roll Call Vote with Directors Collett and Summerfield Absent and Directors Mills, Beverage and Armstrong voting Yes, adopted Resolution No. 05-08 adopting the National Incident Management System as the District's standard for incident management. General Manager Payne spoke about making a crew available for assistance with hurricane relief. 10. Consider concurring with the nomination of Edward N. Layton as President of ACWA/Joint Powers Insurance Authority. Assistant Administrator Robinson reported. The Board of Directors decided to consider Items 10 and 11 together. 11. Consider concurring with the nomination of Joan C. Finnegan as Vice President of ACWA/Joint Powers Insurance Authority. On a motion by Vice President Armstrong, seconded by Director Mills, the Board of Directors on a Roll Call Vote, with Directors Collett and Summerfield Absent and -4- 2005-143 Directors Armstrong, Beverage, and Mills voting Yes, adopted Resolution No. 05- 09 titled Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Yorba Linda Water District concurring with the nomination of Edward N. Layton as President of ACWA/Joint Powers Insurance Authority and adopted Resolution No. 05-10 titled Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Yorba Linda Water District concurring with the nomination of Joan C. Finnegan as Vice President of ACWA/Joint Powers Insurance Authority. DISCUSSION CALENDAR 12. Legislative Updates. Barry S. Brokaw, President of Sacramento Advocates Inc., reported on legislative activities in Sacramento. Action on a number of issues that could have affected water agencies was postponed. He mentioned Cal Fed projects and storage monies. Because the administration did not present information on time, a two hundred million dollar budget became a one hundred million dollar program, which will be discussed again by the Legislature in January. The approval ratings for all groups is down, including the governor, police, fire and the legislature. Bills that did move forward this year were message bills, e.g., same sex marriage, and drivers licenses for undocumented Californians. Solar energy is being promoted by the governor, but at the last minute, the Democrats put in a union clause, which would have greatly increased the cost. There were a couple of bills that do affect special districts. They are on the Governor's desk right now and involve ethics training and compensation for local officials. Another bill deals with military families and payments for water service when a family member is serving overseas. The Salinas Bill set a requirement for two hours of ethics training for the legislature, all local districts, supervisors, local counsels and elected officials. The Bill takes effect in 2006 if the Governor signs it. By 2007, all those on the Board of Directors will have to undergo ethics training. This training can be done online and must be completed every two years. The Bill also set forth policy regarding practices that would be compensable. Basically, existing practice was not changed. As long as the District has a policy set forth and in operation to cover attendance at meetings, reimbursement is appropriate. General Counsel Kidman stated he believes this District's practices exceed what is required in the bill. Bill 1666 deals with problems of military families having a difficult time making ends meet and allows active duty armed forces personnel to have a stay from shutoff of service. The onus is on the person seeking a stay for shutoff of service. The District is not required to initiate any action. Vice President Armstrong posed a question about redistricting. Mr. Brokaw stated the Governor wants redistricting done in time for the 2006 election. Democrats in the Legislature oppose it strongly. They might go for redistricting by independent judges after the 2010 census. Republicans support the Governor hoping that with redistricting they will gain a few more Republican seats. Court challenges can be expected. The validity of census figures would be called into question. -5- 2005-144 A question was posed about water bonds and Prop 50 funds. General Counsel Kidman reported a change in the State Water Resources Board. Last week Art Bagett resigned as Chairman. President Beverage thanked Barry Brokaw who left the meeting at 11:16 a.m. REPORTS, INFORMATION ITEMS AND COMMENTS 13. a. President's Report There was no report. b. Directors Reports There were no reports. c. General Managers Report There was no report. d. General Counsel's Report There was no report. COMMITTEE REPORTS 14. a. Executive-Administrative-Organizational Committee (Beverage/Armstrong) A meeting is scheduled for October 3, 4:00 p.m. b. Finance-Accounting Committee (Mills/Collett) A meeting is scheduled for October 11, 4:00 p.m. c. Personnel-Risk Management Committee (Collett/Mills) Minutes of meeting held September 12 appeared in the agenda and covered the ACWA/JPIA liability insurance deposit premium, the damage claim filed, status of recruitments, risk management claims status, ACWA/JPIA risk assessment and training conducted, ACWA/JPIA property insurance coverage, industrial medical providers, and the health benefit fair scheduled for October 19. A meeting is scheduled for October 10, 4:00 p.m. d. Planning-Engineering-Operations Committee (Armstrong/Summerfield) Minutes of the meeting held September 1 appeared in the agenda and covered a professional service agreement with Parsons Water and Infrastructure, a professional service agreement with Carollo Engineers for the Highland Reservoir Replacement Design, a professional services agreement with Tetra Tech, Inc. for engineering design services and an addendum to the Consultant's agreement for the Hidden Hills Reservoir with Carollo Engineers for the Santiago Booster station modifications. Standing items and information items were also discussed. -6- 2005-145 A meeting is scheduled for October 6, 4:00 p.m. President Beverage will substitute for Director Summerfield. e. Public Information Committee (Summerfield/Beverage) A meeting is scheduled for November 7, 4:00 p.m. President Beverage asked to have a copy of the Annual Report a week before the meeting. f. Building Ad Hoc Committee (Beverage/Summerfield) The meeting of September 21 was cancelled. General Manager Payne wants to schedule a Board Workshop at the end of October. g. MWDOC Ad Hoc Committee (Beverage/Armstrong) A meeting is scheduled for September 26, 2005, 4:00 p.m. Director Mills will substitute for Vice President Armstrong. INTERGOVERNMENTAL MEETINGS 15. a. Yorba Linda Planning Commission, September 14. Vice President Armstrong attended. The majority of the meeting was taken up with a conditional use permit to increase the beds in a private residential facility from 6-9. President Beverage asked if the city had any rights respecting property on a private road. General Counsel Kidman stated the city has no authority over the road but does have authority over the land use. b. Yorba Linda City Council, September 20. Director Summerfield attended but was not present to report. BOARD OF DIRECTORS ACTIVITY CALENDAR Authorization to attend meetings scheduled after September 22, 2005. Agenda is available in the District office prior to meeting. September MWDOC Ad Hoc Committee, September 26,4:00 .m. Bevera a/Armstron Yorba Linda Planning Commission, September 28, 6:30 .m. Armstrong Mills October Executive-Admin-Or anizational Committee, October 3, 4:00 .m. Beverage/Armstrong Yorba Linda City Council, October 4, 6:30 p.m. Collett Plan nin -En ineerin -Operations Committee, October 6, 4:00 p.m. Armstron /Summerfield MWDOC/MWD Joint Workshop, October 5, 8:30 a.m. Staff OCWD Board, October 5, 5:00 p.m. Staff WACO, October 7, 7:30 a.m. Mills Personnel-Risk Management Committee, October 10, 4:00 p.m. Collett/Mills Finance-Accounting Committee, October 11, 4:00 .m. Mills/Collett Yorba Linda Planning Commission, October 12, 6:30 .m. Mills Yorba Linda City Council, October 18, 6:30 p.m. Summerfield MWDOC Board, October 19, 8:30 a.m. Staff OCWD Board, October 19, 5:00 p.m. Staff Yorba Linda Planning Commission, October 26, 6:30 .m. Armstrong -7- 2005-146 November Yorba Linda City Council, November 1, 6:30 .m. Summerfield MWDOC/MWD Joint Workshop, November 2, 8:30 a.m. Staff OCWD Board, November 2, 5:00 .m. Staff Planning-Engineering-Operations Committee, November 3, 4:00 .m. Armstron /Summerfield WACO, November 4, 7:30 a.m. Mills Public Information Committee, November 7, 4:00 .m. Summerfield/Bevera e Finance-Accounting Committee, November 8, 4:00 .m. Mills/Collett Yorba Linda Planning Commission, November 9, 6:30 .m. Mills Personnel-Risk Management Committee, November 14, 4:00 .m. Collett/Mills Executive-Admin-Or anizational Committee, November 15, 4:00 .m. Beverage/Armstrong Yorba Linda City Council, November 15, 6:30 .m. Collett MWDOC Board, November 16, 8:30 a.m. Staff OCWD Board, November 16, 5:00 p.m. Staff Yorba Linda Planning Commission, November 23, 6:30 .m. Armstrong inaicates tnis person is sumututing for the committee member. CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS 16. 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. ACWA's 2005 Fall Conference, San Diego, CA, November 29 - December 2, 2005. Director Mills, Vice President Armstrong and General Manager Payne will attend. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Director Mills, seconded by Vice President Armstrong, the Board of Directors voted to adjourn at 11:26 a.m. to a regular meeting of the Board of Directors scheduled for Thursday, October 13, 2005 at 8:30 a.m., at 4622 Plumosa Drive, Yorba Linda, CA 92886. Michael A.-Payne Secretary/General Manag -8-