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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-07-25 - Board of Directors Meeting Minutes2002-83 MINUTES OF THE YORBA LINDA WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING July 25, 2002 8:30 A.M. The July 25, 2002 meeting of the Yorba Linda order by President Arthur C. Korn at 8:30 a.m. 4622 Plumosa Drive, Yorba Linda. Water District Board of Directors was called to The meeting was held at District Headquarters, Directors Present at Roll Call Arthur C. Korn, President John W. Summerfield, Vice President Mark Abramowitz Paul R. Armstrong Michael J. Beverage Staff Present: Michael Payne, Assistant General Manager Arthur G. Kidman, District General Counsel Lee Cory, Operations Manager Beverly Meza, Business Manager Michael Robinson, Assistant Administrator Ken Vecchiarelli, Engineering Manager Gloria Lujan, Management Analyst Amelia Cloonan, Executive Secretary Katy Brown, Customer Service Rep I Pati Medina, Customer Service Rep III Nemesciano Ochoa, Senior Project Engineer Armando Raya, Maintenance Worker III Visitors present: Brett Barbre, MWDOC Director Richard E. Wood, Laborers' Int'l Union of North America, Local No. 652 Jose Ramirez, Laborers' California Organizing Fund Jorge Razo, Armando Zavala, Emmett C. Harder, Jesse J. Renteria, Alton Alway, Jerry Montalvo, and Fernando Soto, attending for Local No. 652 Richard Wood and Jose Ramirez introduced themselves and presented information regarding their view of Banshee Construction. President Arthur C. Korn instructed staff to verify the information before making a recommendation to award the Fairmont Booster Station project. Staff is instructed to send a copy of the findings to Banshee Construction. Richard Wood, Jose Ramirez and the attendees from Local 652 left the meeting at 8:37 a.m. SPECIAL RECOGNITION 1. Brett Barbre, MWDOC Director, presented a 50th Anniversary Poster of the Municipal Water District of Orange County. Brett Barbre left the meeting at 8:40 a.m. 2. President Arthur C. Korn recognized Kenneth Vecchiarelli, Engineering Manager, for ten years of service to the Yorba Linda Water District and presented him with a service pin. -1- 2002-84 President Arthur C. Korn recognized the members of the Recreation Committee for their efforts in putting together a successful and enjoyable Employee Picnic: Katy Brown, Eddie Gutierrez, Pati Medina, Nemesciano Ochoa, Armando Raya. Katy Brown, Pati Medina and Armando Raya left the meeting at 8:42 a.m. CONSENT CALENDAR On a motion by Director Armstrong, seconded by Director Beverage, the Board of Directors voted 5-0 to approve the Consent Calendar. 4. Approve minutes of regular meeting, July 11, 2002. 5. Authorize directors to leave the State of California prior to next meeting. 6. Approve disbursements of $812,176.62. PUBLIC HEARING CALENDAR 7. Consider Resolution No. 02-02 to Collect Locke Ranch Sewer Maintenance Charges. a. President Arthur C. Korn opened the public hearing at 8:43 a.m. b. Assistant Secretary Michael A. Payne provided proof of the public hearing notice. There was no correspondence and/or petitions. c. Testimony began with a report by Beverly Meza, Business Manager. d. There was no testimony from the public. e. President Arthur C. Korn closed the public hearing at 9:04 a.m. f. There was discussion by the Board of Directors. Director Abramowitz questioned why the staff report lays out different rates for residential and commercial properties while the resolution does not reflect a difference in price between residential and commercial. Kenneth Vecchiarelli explained the District does not provide water to the customers in the Locke Ranch area. So, the District charges according to the number of shops in a strip mall. He explained the way the charge is made. Michael A. Payne also added that William J. Robertson, General Manager, was trying to show in the staff report the rates as they are in the western portion, and because the District does not have water facilities in the Locke Ranch area and cannot obtain water meter readings, the District cannot base sewer rates on consumption. A set fee per residential or commercial connection is used. 'T'here was discussion about annexation of Locke Ranch to the District. General Counsel Kidman commented this is a legal question. There is no reason why this could not happen. Director Abramowitz asked if this could go to committee. President Korn commented the Board has taken this question up several times in the past. Vice President Summerfield inquired about the difference in commercial/industrial/school and alternative rates and asked about the methodology used to determine the two different rates. Kenneth Vecchiarelli and President Korn explained. Sometimes in a manufacturing environment, it is better to measure flows, and customers have the option of installing flow meters. There are currently no sewer meters in the District. -2- 2002-85 On a motion by Director Beverage, seconded by Vice President Summerfield, the Board of Directors voted 4-1, with Director Abramowitz voting No, to accept the Yorba Linda Water District Sewer Maintenance Charge Report Fiscal Year 2002-03. On a motion by Director Beverage, seconded by Vice President Summerfield, the Board of Directors voted 4-1 on a roll call vote, with Directors Armstrong, Beverage, Vice President Summerfield and President Korn voting Yes and Director Abramowitz voting No to Adopt Resolution No. 02-02 Adopting Locke Ranch Sewer Maintenance Charges and Rescinding Resolution No. 01-13. ACTION CALENDAR 8. Consider Debt Service Requirements for Improvement District No. 1 and Improvement District No. 2 for Fiscal Year 2002-2003. Beverly Meza, Business Manager, presented the report. Questions were asked, and a discussion was held. On a motion by Director Beverage, seconded by Director Armstrong, the Board of Directors voted 5-0 on a roll call vote to adopt Resolution 02-03 Adopting Fiscal Year 2002-2003 Debt Service Requirement for Improvement District No. 1 "1993" Refunding General Obligation Bonds and Resolution No. 02-04 Adopting Fiscal Year 2002-2003 Debt Service Requirement for Improvement District No. 2 "1998" Refunding General Obligation Bonds. 9. Consider Changing Dates of the Board of Directors meetings in August 2002. Michael A. Payne, Assistant General Manager, presented the report and outlined the different options. Questions were asked, and a discussion was held. On a motion by Director Beverage, seconded by Vice President Summerfield, the Board of Directors voted 4-0-1, with Director Armstrong abstaining, to change the dates of the Board of Directors meetings in August 2002 to August 15 and 29. A recess was called at 9:12 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 9:21 a.m. with all members of the Board of Directors present. DISCUSSION CALENDAR 9. Report on pressure problem Improvement District No. 1 issues. Kenneth Vecchiarelli, Engineering Manager, and Nemesciano Ochoa, Senior Project Engineer, presented the report. Kenneth Vecchiarelli stated the issue had been addressed by the Planning- Engineering-Operations Committee several times and covered in detail the items in the Powerpoint presentation. Questions were asked, and a lengthy discussion was held regarding: pressure levels, design of the system, diurnal and seasonal fluctuations, hydraulic sag, elevations, pressure reducing stations, pumping, water demands, costs and time savings. Director Beverage asked: Who pays for the regulator? Where is the connection made? Who installs the regulator? Who tells the homeowner who to contact in case of a drop in pressure? -3- 2002-86 Director Abramowitz stated the District needs to be aware of policy suggestions to deal with both past and future pressure problems. He asked what the range of options is in figuring out how to pay for this. The District should be careful this does not cause a significant increase in service calls in the future. Director Armstrong said a general statement is necessary to state the solution is in the pipelines rather than in pressure pumps. President Korn commented this is a progress report on a project until staff comes up with greater knowledge of details. He conveyed his belief staff is on the right track. This is a big project. The Board can look at alternatives that will affect the cost and investigate all options. Staff needs to come up with recommendations. Maintenance by homeowners is not a good solution. A problem has been inadequate enforcement of the 40 psi minimum. Director Beverage complimented Nemesciano Ochoa and Kenneth Vecchiarelli for bringing the report to the committee and to the Board. He wishes to see them proceed with finalizing the report listing the various options. A recess was declared at 10:41 a.m. Nemesciano Ochoa and Beverly Meza left the meeting. The meeting reconvened at 10:53 a.m. with all members of the Board of Directors present. GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT 11. General Manager's oral report and comments. a) General Counsel Kidman reported on a case where there was a maintenance issue with a 50-60 year old flood control project. In the late 70's, it became less stylish to clear vegetation. The Department of Fish and Game allowed the growth. There was a flood, a levy overflowed, and private property was damaged. The Court of Appeal ruled that the local agency that did not do the maintenance could be held liable, even though they were not responsible for allowing the growth. A second issue regards a problem coming out of SB 221 and 610. This relates to what happens when the water supplier or developer makes contract arrangements for additional water supply. Under the drought program, if the local agency has another source, the amount of water the original source provides to the agency is reduced, involuntarily. The amount of additional water assigned in the water supply assessment may be smaller than the amount actually brought in. These issues need to be harmonized on each side between water rights and water needs. Metropolitan has always tried to do it on the basis of need. San Diego is concerned about rights. Bill SB 1938, is of some interest. It started out as a ground water study bill. Now it has changed into a requirement. If an agency is going to get any state aid, they need to have a ground water management plan in place. They will also have to adhere to the state's planning objectives. b) Michael A. Payne, Assistant General Manager noted Campaign Disclosure Forms 460 and 470 are due no later than July 31, 2002. -4- 2002-87 c) District activities. Michael Robinson, Assistant Administrator, spoke about an article in the Yorba Linda Star on the Jessamyn West house. Jessamyn West's father came to work for the Yorba Linda Water Company. He was the holder of 5 shares in the Yorba Linda Water company, was elected to the Board on January 16, 1913 and left the Board in 1914. Gloria Lujan, Management Analyst, stated a representative from CalPERS will be here on July 31 to give a presentation on the voluntary long term care insurance available through that agency. Meetings will be held at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. All staff and members of the board are invited to attend. COMMITTEE REPORTS 12. Executive-Administration Committee (Korn/Summerfield) 13. Finance-Accounting Committee (Beverage/Kom) 14. Personnel-Risk Management Committee (Abramowitz/Armstrong) Minutes of meeting held July 17, 11:00 a.m. were included in the Agenda. Performance evaluations, MSC salary review, Risk Management activities, property insurance deductibles. 15. Planning-Engineering-Operations Committee (Summerfield/Beverage) A meeting is scheduled for August 13, 4:00 p.m. Hidden Hills Reservoir status, Richfield Plant project update, Well #18 update, sodium hypochloride generator, follow-up on I.D. No. 1 pressure issues. 16. Public Information Committee (Armstrong/Abramowitz) 17. Orange County Water District Ad Hoc Committee (Beverage/Kom) A meeting is scheduled for September 23, 4:00 p.m. OCWD activities. 18. MWDOC Ad Hoc Committee (Korn/Abramowitz) A meeting is scheduled for August 5, 4:00 p.m. MWDOC activities, Metropolitan Water District activities. INTERGOVERNMENTAL MEETINGS 19. Yorba Linda City Council, July 16, 6:30 p.m. President Korn attended. 1) There was an item brought up at the meeting regarding the presence of coyotes in the channel between the Nixon Library and the house. This is causing quite a problem for city personnel. He asked that Operations and Meter Readers be made aware of these hazards. 2) The City Council discussed sewer rates for their service area. President Korn asked Michael Payne to contact Mr. Becker at the City, because the information presented by their staff was incorrect. -5- 2002-88 20. Yorba Linda Planning Commission, July 24, 7:30 p.m. Director Armstrong reported Professor Carter of Cal State Fullerton attended with 15 visiting Chinese students who observed the meeting. He also reported that the Friends Church on Lakeview is planning a 14,000 sq. ft. expansion. The church recognizes the fact they must install a pipeline before the additions can be occupied. BOARD OF DIRECTORS ACTIVITY CALENDAR WACO, August 2,7:30 a.m. No ISDOC Board, August 6, 7:30 a.m. No Yorba Linda City Council, Aug 6, 6:30 p.m. Korn OCWD, August 7, 6:00 p.m. Abramowitz MWDOC/MET Jt. Workshop, Aug 7, 9:00 a.m. No MWD, August 13,12:30 p.m. No Yorba Linda Planning Commission, August 14, 7:30 p.m. Beverage BOARD MEMBER COMMENTSATEMS FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION Director Armstrong asked about the Banshee Construction issue. General Counsel Kidman replied that if a bidder is the lowest responsive one, the District would be hard put to disqualify them. Liability issues might be created. No Closed Session was held. CLOSED SESSION 21. Discussion of pending litigation to which the District is a party, (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. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Director Beverage, seconded by Director Abramowitz, the Board of Directors voted 5-0 to adjourn at 11:25 a.m. to a meeting to be held Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 8:30 a.m. at the District Headquarters, Michael A. Payne Assistant Secretary/Assistant General Manager i -6-