minutes

Regular Meeting

Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority

February 8, 2006

The Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority held a regular meeting on Wednesday, February 8, 2006, at the Sweetwater Authority Administrative Office, 505 Garrett Avenue, Chula Vista, California. Chair Pocklington called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.

· ROLL CALL

Directors Present: Alkire, Beauchamp, Doud, Pocklington, Salas, and Welsh.

Directors Absent: Morrison.

Others Present: General Manager Bostad, Operations Manager Rogers, Legal Counsel Cowett, and Board Secretary Schoonderwoerd. Staff members Rick Alexander, Debra Farrow, Michael Gravitt, George Silva, Jim Smyth, Don Thomson, and Tom Woodrum. Members of the public: Randy Hill and Bob Pruitt, CH2M Hill

· PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
Chair Pocklington conducted the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

· OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT (Government Code Section (54954.3)
There were no members of the public present for comment.

· CHAIR’S PRESENTATION

The Board viewed a five-minute video photo journal of the dedication of the Bonita Library and Veteran’s Memorial provided by Chair Pocklington. Mr. Pocklington said that he was pleased to be a part of the event.

NOTE: Director Morrison arrived at 6:07 p.m.

ACTION CALENDAR ITEMS

1. ITEMS TO BE ADDED, WITHDRAWN, OR REORDERED IN THE AGENDA

Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the ACWA 2006 Legislative Symposium on March 8-9, 2006, in Sacramento, CA, be added as item 7.H. on the agenda. The motion carried.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the Governing Board approve the minutes of the January 25, 2006 meeting. The motion carried.

3. APPROVAL OF DEMANDS AND WARRANTS

Director Doud made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Governing Board approve Warrants 103767 through 103964, including all voided checks. The motion carried.

4. OPERATIONS COMMITTEE (Meeting of February 1, 2006)

Environmental and Governmental Services Director Alexander provided a brief overview of the steps involved in processing environmental documents and, following staff’s review of the California Environmental Quality Act guidelines, proposed modifications intended to streamline the process. Director Doud made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Governing Board approve the elimination of Governing Board approval for the initiation of public review for environmental documents, unless otherwise determined by the General Manager. The motion carried.

Director Doud made a motion, seconded by Director Welsh, that the Governing Board award a sole-source contract in the amount of $33,936, to Southland Technology, Inc., 8053 Vickers Street, San Diego, CA 92101, for the Board Room Audio/Visual Improvements. The motion carried.

Discussion of Distribution System Hydrant and Valve Maintenance. Operations Manager Rogers provided a brief summary of the Authority’s hydrant and valve maintenance program. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board.

Removal of Asbestos Cement Pipe. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board.

5. FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE (Meeting of February 6, 2006)

Director Alkire made a motion, seconded by Director Welsh, that the Governing Board award a contract in the amount of $34,945 to Enterprise Automation, 3002 Dow Avenue, #508, Tustin, CA 92780, to proceed with the final SCADA communications and programming design for the Perdue Plant improvements. The motion carried.

Director Alkire made a motion, seconded by Director Doud, that the Governing Board approve the reclassification of one Chemist position to Water Treatment Plant Operator Supervisor; the reclassification of one Chemist position to Lab Supervisor; and the reclassification of the Water Quality Technician to an entry level Chemist position at a total annual cost of $13,266.

6. NEW BUSINESS

ACWA/JPIA Executive Committee Elections for three Executive Committee member positions (three-year term) and one Executive Committee member position for the remainder of its term (one year). No action was taken by the Governing Board.

7. APPROVAL OF DIRECTORS’ ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

A. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the Governing Board approve per diem for Directors who attended the First Friday Breakfast on February 3, 2006. The motion carried with Director Salas opposing.

B. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the Governing Board approve per diem for Directors who attended the City of Chula Vista Workshop on Revitalization Population, Housing and Market Trends, on February 7, 2006. The motion carried.

C. Council of Water Utilities, San Diego County Meeting at StoneRidge Country Club, Tuesday, February 21, 2006. All Directors except Directors Pocklington and Beauchamp will attend this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

D. Best Best & Krieger Required Ethics Training for Local Agency and City Officials and Key Employees, March 1, 2006, at the Hilton San Diego Mission Valley. All Directors except Directors Welsh and Beauchamp will attend this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

E. California Special Districts Association – Open, Ethical Leadership: AB 1234 Compliance Training for Special Districts, February 24, 2006, at the Oyster Point Yacht Club, South San Francisco, CA. No Directors will attend this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

F. WateReuse 2006 California Section Annual Conference, March 12-14, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco – Any Directors wishing to attend this pre-approved event will contact the Secretary. No action was required by the Governing Board.

G. CSDA Special District Governance Academy – Module 1: Governance Foundations – March 8, 2006; and Module 2: Setting Directions/Community Leadership – March 9, 2006, at the Radisson Hotel, Fresno, California. No Directors will attend this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

H. ACWA 2006 Legislative Symposium, March 8-9, 2006, at the Sacramento Convention Center, Sacramento, CA. No Directors will attend this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

8. REPORTS BY DIRECTORS ON EVENTS ATTENDED

Chair Pocklington stated that, in the future, each agenda would reflect events that have taken place since the previous Board meeting, so that Directors will be able to prepare for reports on attendance.

Director Welsh reported on attending the CLE California Wetlands Conference and discussions on attempting to define wetlands and trying to protect them. In comparison, she found the Urban Water Conference more positive, as it gave representatives from different parts of the state an opportunity to talk about what they had done to help solve the state’s water problems. The first day’s agenda dealt with water issues, and the second day dealt with energy. Regarding the First Friday Breakfast, she noted problems arising from the issue of eminent domain.

Director Beauchamp reported on attending the Urban Water Conference, and he thought presentations from Debra Man and Wes Bannister of MWD were especially good. He was amazed that the West Basin MWD was doing reverse osmosis. He found it interesting how the subject of desalination was presented for different sites.

Director Doud reported on attending the CLE California Wetlands Conference and distributed an article from the California Water Reporter referring to criticisms of the Quantification Settlement Agreement being dealt with by the Imperial Irrigation District Board. He also attended the First Friday Breakfast and gave a summary of Dr. Freeman’s briefing on the plans for the Third Avenue Village. The third event he attended was the Redevelopment Agency Workshop at the Chula Vista City Council Chambers, which did not come up on the docket until after 7:00 p.m., when it was publicized to begin at 4:00 p.m. He gave a short summary of what was discussed, and he said he spoke to the Council regarding displacement of businesses during redevelopment. Much concern was voiced about the issue of eminent domain and the controversy over a petition to limit it, which was rejected by the City.

Director Salas reported that she attended the First Friday Breakfast and clarified her no vote on approval of per diem for that event. She thought the Board’s representative should receive per diem, but she did not believe the subject had enough of a nexus with the business of the Board. She also attended the South County Economic Development Council’s monthly meeting. San Diego Gas & Electric gave a presentation on plans for the Sunrise Power Link transmission lines from Imperial County and the three different routes they were looking at. There are possible concerns regarding the impacts to power reliability in the local region and how this will affect rebuilding of the Duke Power Plant and the Calpine plant. She believes this is something in which Sweetwater Authority and South Bay Irrigation District have an interest. It was suggested that a Board workshop could be held to hear presentations from all sides involved. Director Salas will continue to keep the Board informed on this issue as it develops.

9. MANAGEMENT REPORT

Report of Operations Manager Rogers: Mr. Rogers gave an update on the Loveland Reservoir water transfer. The valve was turned off on January 29th, and we successfully reached the goal to transfer 12,000 acre-feet of water into Sweetwater Reservoir. Even though the transfer was done during relatively dry weather conditions, with temperatures reaching well into the ‘70s and ‘80s, and with only a small amount of rain before the release, it appears that our water loss is only about 14 percent. The other good news is that we filled up the aquifer and the water is still coming up out of the ground and coming in through the low flow barriers, so at the end of this release, our water losses may be as low as 13 percent.

Report of General Manager Bostad: Mr. Bostad reported on the struggles some of the northern water agencies are having during the 10-day scheduled winter shutdown while MWD completed major work to expand the treatment plant at Skinner, and CWA performed major work on some of its pipelines. They were losing storage rapidly due to over irrigation during the shutdown. A television newscast reported that Vallecitos hoped to get by on 5 million gallons a day, but on the first day of the shutdown alone 12 million gallons was used. Mr. Bostad said that this reinforces again the value of the local investments authorized by this Board and others in prior years so that Sweetwater Authority has the ability to provide alternative diversified supplies.

Mr. Bostad also reported that Director Doud had inquired about a $10 million authorization for a water transmission main in Alpine, which he thought might be related to some of the Authority’s projects. Staff researched the report and found that this is for a new pipeline for the Viejas Indian tribe that would be placed by the Army Corps of Engineers.

10. DIRECTORS’ COMMENTS

Director Doud read a quote from Queen Elizabeth I of England, “Eyes of youth have sharp sight, but commonly not so deep as those of elder age.” He also mentioned the not-so-well-known fact that General George Washington had his Continental Army troops inoculated for smallpox, which was unprecedented.

Director Pocklington told the Board that MWD had selected Jeffrey Kightlinger to be the new CEO, subject to negotiation. Mr. Kightlinger is the current General Counsel for MWD and has been with the agency for 12 years. The Board went through an all-day interview process with five candidates, three of whom were internal and two external.

11. CLOSED SESSION

At 7:15 p.m., in compliance with Government Code Section 54956.8, the Board recessed to convene in Closed Session to discuss the following:

CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR concerning potential acquisition of real property pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8

· Property: Water rights and franchise rights outside district boundaries
· Negotiating Parties: Dennis Bostad, General Manager, Sweetwater Authority, C. Michael Cowett, Attorney, Best Best Krieger LLP
· Negotiating for Property Owner: None yet identified

Everyone left the Board Room, with the exception of the Board members, Management Team, Legal Counsel, and Board Secretary. There were no minutes taken, and the session was not tape-recorded.

At 7:42 p.m., Chair Pocklington declared the meeting to be in open session, and there was no reportable action.

12. ADJOURNMENT

With no further business before the Board, Chair Pocklington adjourned the meeting at 7:42 p.m., to the hour of 3:30 p.m. on February 22, 2006.