MINUTES - TUESDAY, AUGUST 5, 1997

MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
of the
BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE MONTECITO WATER DISTRICT
held at the
DISTRICT BOARD ROOM

583 SAN YSIDRO ROAD, MONTECITO, CALIFORNIA
at 3:00 p.m. on TUESDAY, AUGUST 5, 1997

Present:	Directors Abel, Campbell, Muller, Puddicombe and Wilson
Absent:	None
Also Present:	C. Charles Evans, General Manager/Secretary Chip Wullbrandt, District Counsel Tom Mosby, Engineering Manager Cathy Muneio, Secretary Pat Yochum

There were several suggested changes to the minutes. A motion was made by Director Puddicombe, seconded by Director Wilson and unanimously carried to approve the amended minutes of July 15, 1997.

The Board went into closed session at 3:10 p.m. When the Board returned to open session at 3:30 p.m. it was stated that instructions had been given to the real estate negotiator.

A special meeting was scheduled for Monday, August 11, 1997 at 9:00 a.m. to further discuss the Yaggy property offers.

The General Manager stated that water production for the month of July was 646 AF which exceeded the estimated amount by 136 AF.

Director Campbell made a motion to ratify the July 25, 1997 transfer of $200,000 and the August 4, 1997 transfer of $140,000 to the District’s LAIF/General Capital Repair & Replacement/Operations fund account. It was seconded by Director Wilson. The motion carried unanimously.

The Board reviewed the report on the water distribution system and fire flow upgrade program, water availability charge funds and hydrant upgrade program.

Director Wilson gave the Montecito Association meeting report. He said that a SBCAG meeting was scheduled for August 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Montecito Union School with a representative from Caltrans to discuss with the public the plans for the Highway 101 project. He also reported that the Land Use Committee is currently reviewing a plan for a debris basin that is being recommended by County Flood Control on Montecito Creek at Casa Dorinda which infringes approximately 100 or more feet up from the property line.

A motion was made by Director Puddicombe, seconded by Director Abel and unanimously carried to give preliminary approval of termination of the District water shortage emergency and direct District Counsel and the General Manager to prepare the necessary authority to terminate it.

The Board reviewed the cashflow report through June 30, 1997 and discussed the $65,606 of PERS funds that were received as a result of the reorganization with the Summerland Water District.

The Board discussed the projects that the District would like to complete and have funded by the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan. Director Wilson was concerned with the cost to cover the Ortega Reservoir which would be shared by the Carpinteria Valley Water District. The Engineering Manager said that these were just pre-application submittals to start the process on obtaining funding for some or all of these projects and in no way committed the District to taking these funds. Director Campbell made a motion to ratify the State Revolving Fund pre-application submittals for the water system improvement projects noted in the Board memo. The motion was seconded by Director Puddicombe. The motion carried 4-1 with Director Wilson opposed.

The General Manager explained that the District is scheduling the construction of a new pump station on East Mountain Drive which is part of the District’s Water Availability Charge Program, and that the District will join in a cooperative effort between the Burden Trust, the Montecito Fire Protection District and the Water District to pay a portion of this project. The Burden Trust would be responsible for $140,000, the Water District for $110,000 and the Fire District for $80,000. It was proposed that the Water District pay the Fire District’s proportionate share of costs and that the Water District would be reimbursed by the Fire District over a five year period. Director Puddicombe made a motion to approve the distribution of costs totaling an estimated $330,000 for the cost of construction of the proposed East Mountain Drive area pump station. It was seconded by Director Campbell. The motion carried unanimously. Counsel Wullbrandt suggested a reimbursement agreement between the Fire and Water Districts.

Director Campbell made a motion to approve the bid received from Mel Clayton Ford for the purchase of two 1998 District trucks totaling $34,975 replacing three declared surplus vehicles, which was previously approved by the Board in the 1997/98 budget in the total appropriated amount of $39,500, and to the approve the purchase of an HP 350E Plotter for use in the District’s Engineering Department and appropriate $3,548 from the Water Availability Charge fund for the purchase of this equipment. The purchase of the HP Plotter will be a shared purchase between the Water District and the Montecito Sanitary District . Montecito Sanitary District will contribute $1,000 towards the purchase of this plotter. The motion was seconded by Director Abel, and carried unanimously.

It was the consensus of the Board to approve the letter supporting Mary Jane Forster to the State Water Resources Control Board.

RESOLUTION NO. 1845 VOLUNTEERS TO BE CONSIDER EMPLOYEES
FOR WORKERS’ COMPENSATION PURPOSES

Director Puddicombe made a motion to approve Resolution No. 1845 determining that volunteer workers shall be considered District employees for purposes of workers’ compensation insurance benefits. It was seconded by Director Abel. A roll call vote resulted as follows:

The Board went into closed session at 3:30 p.m. When the Board returned to open session at 4:15 p.m., it was stated that no action had been taken.

Director Abel reported that a report was included in the Board packet regarding the SWRCB Order 94-5 studies.

Director Abel reported on the fishery matters other than the 94-5 studies. She said that CCRB is going to pursue a Habitat Conservation Plan endorsed by the State as an alternative to a local plan. She said that the work that Jean Baldrige is doing for these studies will be included in this plan and therefore additional costs will not be incurred. Counsel Wullbrandt gave an additional update on the listing that will be out next week. He said the listing may not include inland trout and that NMFS may use a six month extension to resolve the issue of inland trout.

Director Abel reported on the Lompoc lawsuit against the USBR regarding water quality damages. She said there was a report on the pending issues in the Board packet. She said that Burke Wong is still continuing to work on his motion to dismiss. It was originally expected to be filed by July 9th but now is projected to be filed within the next several weeks.

President Muller reported on the status of the Cachuma seismic safety work. He reported that Bud Girard, the Consultant Engineer for COMB, has been reviewing the progress of this project.

There was nothing to report regarding the Lompoc lawsuit against the USBR regarding the Cachuma Renewal EIR/EIS.

Director Abel gave the CCRB report since she needed to leave early. She said that COMB had increased Kate Rees’ salary by 3% and that CCRB had approved the increase, but she thought it was necessary for the Board to ratify it. Director Abel moved that the Board ratify the CCRB action to approve the 3% increase to Kate Rees’ salary. Director Wilson seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Director Abel also reported that protests were filed regarding place of use permits and that one had been filed by the Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District. The District has requested two things to be done by CCRB in order for them to withdraw its protest,

Director Puddicombe said that the whole Board had attended the State Water Project ceremony on July 21, 1997.

President Muller reported that there were several issues that needed to be resolved on the Cachuma contract. One is liability and the other issue is the amount of money to be left in reserves. He also reported that Resolution 290 had been adopted regarding which agency would be responsible for which issues. He said the President for the coming year will be Matt Roberts.

Director Puddicombe stated that the CCWA Board considered calling a portion of the 1996 Revenue Bonds by either October 1, 1997 or 1998, and had voted to wait until 1998 because the CCWA would actually earn about $65,000 in interest. The Board discussed the reconciliation of the South Coast project participants’ unit cost of State Water in the May 1991 EIR and the 1997 CCWA four year budget plan.

Director Puddicombe report on the Santa Barbara Water Purveyors Agency meeting of July 24, 1997. He said that there was a brochure from Metropolitan Water District which tells how to join their Water Agency Response Network (WARN) and that the General Manager should discuss this with MERRAG and look at the feasibility of the District joining at no cost. He also said that Rob Almy has asked that the districts review the cloud seeding proposals.

Director Campbell reported on the Special Districts meeting of July 28, 1997. There was a discussion on the proposed Senate Bill 712 regarding elections for special district mergers. Bob Braitman attended the meeting and talked to several districts who were in favor of this bill. Director Campbell said that some of the language proposed is not acceptable to the Special Districts Association.

Director Puddicombe stated all that Operations Committee items had already been discussed under other agenda items.

During the Finance Committee report there was a discussion on the amount of funds that CCWA maintained as a reserve and regarding the prepayment of the revenue bonds. Director Puddicombe said that a standard way of handling bond issues is to pay up front by paying the last year’s payment in the first year.

Note: The agenda was posted at the front counter and outside front wall at the Montecito Water District on August 1, 1997.