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 MINUTES
OF A REGULAR MEETING 583 SAN YSIDRO ROAD, MONTECITO, CALIFORNIA CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, DETERMINATION OF QUORUM The meeting was called to order by President Puddicombe at 2:00 p.m.
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PUBLIC FORUM There were no comments from any members of the public during the public forum.
CONSENT CALENDAR Several suggested changes were made to the minutes of March 21, 2000. A motion was made by Director Wilson, seconded by Director Abel and carried 4-0-1, with Director Drewry abstaining, to approve the minutes of March 21, 2000. A motion was made by Director Abel, seconded by Director Wilson and unanimously carried to approve the consent calendar as follows:
BOARD OF DIRECTORS A. BOARD COMMITTEE AND REGIONAL COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS. Director Abel moved to approve the Board committee and regional committee assignments. The motion was seconded by Director Bachman and carried unanimously.
B. CONSIDER REQUEST OF HENRY L. INGRAM FOR RE-ELECTION TO THE ACWA/JPIA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. The Board discussed the request of Mr.Ingram, a Director with Citrus Heights WD, to support him in being re-elected to the ACWA/JPIA Executive Committee. None of the members of the Board were personally acquainted with Mr. Ingram. Therefore, the Board decided there was no reason to either support or not support Mr.Ingram’s request. It was the consensus of the Board to have Manager Adjarian write a letter to the General Manager of the Citrus Heights Water District stating that the Board did not wish to take a position at this time, and that MWD’s JPIA delegate, Director Puddicombe, could be contacted at the ACWA conference by Mr. Ingram to discuss support for his candidacy for the JPIA Executive Committee. ENGINEERING / DISTRIBUTION / TREATMENT
President Puddicombe indicated that the Operations Committee had met on April 10th and approved the NOE so that the District could proceed with the construction of this critically important pump station as soon as the NOE timeline had run its course. At this time, the request was for the Board to ratify the Committee’s action regarding the Notice of Exemption. A motion was made by Director Abel, seconded by Director Puddicombe and unanimously approved by the Board to ratify approval of the CEQA Notice of Exemption for the Buell Pump Station.
President Puddicombe stated that the Operations Committee had met on April 10th and approved the Section 65402c document for the Buell Pump Station. A motion was made by Director Bachman, seconded by Director Puddicombe and unanimously approved by the Board to ratify approval of the posting of the Section 65402c document for the Buell Pump Station.
Mr. Adjarian noted that this was a receive and file report and was part of the process of establishing the administrative record for the Ortega Reservoir Cover Project. FUGRO West Inc’s geotechnical study had been completed last Friday (April 14, 2000). This was an important milestone in the process of completing the covering of Ortega Reservoir to satisfy the California Department of Health Services (DOHS) requirements. Mr. Adjarian stated that this project had been difficult to complete because it needed to be timed in conjunction with the City of Santa Barbara’s schedule to take Sheffield Reservoir out of service for the same type of work to be performed by FUGRO West, Inc. In addition, extraordinary coordination was required with the Cachuma Operations Maintenance Board (COMB) and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) to secure requisite permits and approvals prior to starting the study. It was noted that the inlet and outlet piping for the Ortega Reservoir will be part of the next phase. Manager Adjarian informed the Board that MWD had just received two preliminary applications (from DOHS) for state grant funding of the inlet/outlet piping and the covering of the reservoir. These "short forms" had been completed and mailed to qualify MWD for the next round in the state’s funding cycle which will involve: (1) processing longer and more detailed grant paperwork; and (2) careful study by staff whether such funding would benefit MWD financially---given the various "strings" imposed by DOHS---over the long run.. This item will be reviewed on a regular basis with both the Operations and Finance Committees as more details are provided by DOHS.
President Puddicombe pointed out that the Operations Committee had met April 10th and reviewed in detail the proposed Metron meter replacement program. Business Manager Kerman noted that these meters would pay for themselves within 24 months or less based on the experiences of other water utilities and water districts around the state. She said that these meters also had a 20 year guarranty, while the District’s current meters had no guarranty. Mrs. Kerman also noted that a total of 694 meters will be replaced and that it will take approximately five to seven weeks to do so. A motion was made by Director Abel, seconded by Director Bachman and unanimously carried to: (1) approve the purchase of 694 Metron meters through a 5-year leasing program with Municipal Services Group, Inc. at a fixed rate of 5.15%; and (2) contract with Metron-Farnier Inc., to install the 694 meters, with MWD staff inspecting all installations. It was also pointed out that MWD staff would be sending a letter to affected District customers to inform them in advance about the changeout of their meters. In addition, there would be a "pre-construction" meeting with Metron representatives prior to the start of the replacement program to coordinate installation issues.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / CONSERVATION
Manager Adjarian said that this item had been previously brought before the Board on March 21st. At that time, the Board requested staff to review the proposal with Ms. Lynn Rodriguez to see if the number of hours for public outreach could be revised. The original estimate of 20 hours for coordinating public participation and the adoption process was decreased to 2 hours. The new total estimated contract amount was $7,575, which was $1,875 less than the original estimated amount of $9,450. Manager Adjarian stated that this plan is updated every five years and is required of all public water agencies by DWR to identify all conservation and drought manangement programs an agency has in place. A motion was made by Director Wilson, seconded by Director Puddicombe and unanimously carried to approve the revised proposal and scope of work as recommended by the Operations Committee for the Urban Water Management Plan Update for the Montecito Water District. Mrs. Rodriguez was introduced by Manager Adjarian to the Board; she responded to several questions from the Board.
ORDINANCES/RESOLUTIONS
Manager Adjarian reported that Ordinance No. 83 would update Ordinance No. 82 in three different places: backflow devices, fee schedule and policy relative to relocating main extensions. Counsel Wullbrandt suggested that the Board might as a matter of procedure wish to consider adopting Ordinance No. 83 as a restatement of Ordinance No. 82, including the new changes. A motion was made by Director Abel, seconded by Director Drewry and unanimously carried to approve the scheduling of a public hearing at the Board of Directors May 16, 2000 meeting to receive public comment and possibly approve Ordinance No. 83.
BUSINESS AND FINANCE APPEAL OF MR. PAUL SELWYN, 1801 SINALOA DRIVE Director Abel reported that the Appeals Committee had met with Mr. Selwyn to discuss his request for relief of water charges for approximately 180 HCF of unexplainable water use which occurred in the month of December 1999. Director Abel said that the Committee and staff had visited the site and inspected the irrigation system, landscape and the meter. She said since the Appeals Committee could not find any fault of MWD in the process, and that the District could not be found responsible for water that went through the meter and therefore could not give any sort of exception. There was Board discussion on the accuracy of meter reads. Business Manager Kerman said that the meter is an analog device i.e., it can not speed up but can certainly slow down. She said that Sensus meters will generally underrecord over time. Mr. Selwyn asked if MWD would test a meter for accuracy if requested. Manager Adjarian responded affirmatively. President Puddicombe stated that the Board had never given relief for water that went through a customers meter---the ultimate disposition of which could not be explained. Mr. Selwyn pointed out that every business sets aside a certain percentage of money for inventory "losses". Mr. Adjarian noted that it would be a gift of public funds by MWD to do what Mr. Selwyn was requesting---i.e., to share in any part of the cost of Mr. Selwyn’s water loss. Mr. Selwyn felt that the District should consider a "fairness policy" in which neither side would be happy if the loss was shared between the customer and MWD. A motion was made by Director Abel, seconded by Director Wilson and unanimously carried to deny the appeal of Mr. Paul Selwyn for relief of water charges totaling $511.20 with due respect and sympathy.
SBWPA CLOUDSEEDING QUESTIONNAIRE President Puddicombe said that the Operations Committee had previously reviewed this item and was recommending that the Board approve MWD’s continued participation in the regional cloudseeding program and that the Board authorize staff to complete the questionnaire and return it to SBWPA. A motion was made by Director Wilson, seconded by Director Drewry and unanimously carried to approve MWD’s continue participation in the regional cloudseeding program, and to authorize staff to complete the questionnaire and return it to SBWPA.
DIRECTOR AND STAFF MEETING REPORTS A. ACTIVITIES OF MONTECITO ASSOCIATION B. CENTRAL COAST WATER AUTHORITY MEETING OF 3/23/00 C. CACHUMA CONSERVATION RELEASE BOARD MEETING OF 3/27/00 Director Abel reported that the FY1999/2000 Budget for CCRB had been reviewed and that the FY2000/2001 budget was being prepared. She noted that Chip Wullbrandt had reported on the Pacific Coastal Salmonid Initiative. She said that they had gone to Washington and met with most of the California congressional delegation and both the Chairs of both the House and Senate who will be reviewing the budget process. Director Abel noted that they had left legislators with copies of Santa Barbara News Press editorials, resolutions, and notes that MWD had voted yes on this initiative and that this would be taken into consideration to receive priority for funding.
Member Unit Legal Issues Update.
C. CACHUMA OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE BOARD MEETING OF 3/27/00. D. ACWA BOARD MEETING OF MARCH 30-31, 2000.
A. OPERATIONS COMMITTEE B. FINANCE COMMITTEE C. PUBLIC INFORMATION COMMITTEE
Manager Adjarian passed out copies of an article by ACWA-JPIA to Directors relative to large diameter prestressed concrete pipeline failures, noting major examples of such events occuring in San Diego (1991, 1994) and Orange Counties (1999). He also noted that both Jameson and Cachuma Lakes were spilling following receipt of approximately five-seven inches of rain last week and early Monday. He reminded the Board about the ACWA Conference next month in Monterey. Mr. Adjarian also asked the Board about whether they wanted to keep the regular Board meeting at the same time on the same day. It was the general concurrence of the Board to keep the meetings at the third Tuesday of each month at 2:00 p.m.
A. DISTRICT COUNSEL REPORT
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Attest:
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SECTION 3 SECTION 4 SECTION 5 SECTION 7
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©1998 Montecito Water District
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