minutes

Regular Meeting

Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority

March 11, 2003

The Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority held an adjourned regular meeting on Tuesday, March 11, 2003, at the Sweetwater Authority Administrative Office, 505 Garrett Avenue, Chula Vista, California. Chair Doud called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

· ROLL CALL

Directors Present: Beauchamp, Doud, Pocklington, Wolniewicz and Wright.

Directors Absent: Inzunza and Welsh.

Others Present: General Manager Bostad, Operations Manager Rogers, and Board Secretary Farpón-Friedman. Staff members, Hank Gaus, Mary Ann Mann, Bill Olson, Paula Roberts, George Silva, Jim Smyth, and Tom Woodrum.

· PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
Director 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
There was none.

· ITEMS TO BE ADDED, WITHDRAWN, OR REORDERED IN THE AGENDA
There were none.

1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Board approve the minutes of February 26, 2003. The motion carried.

2. APPROVAL OF DEMANDS AND WARRANTS

Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Board approve Warrants 87375 through 87592 including all voided checks. The motion carried.

CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS

3. OPERATIONS COMMITTEE (Meeting of March 5, 2003)

CONSENT ITEMS

Director Beauchamp made a motion, seconded by Director Wright, that the Governing Board approve consent Items A, B, and C. The motion carried.

A. Approve Alternative No. 2 (replace vinyl flooring and modify the lobby partitions) and award the Administration lobby improvements as a sole-source contract to Merz Construction Company, 145 Twin Oaks Circle, Unit B, Chula Vista, CA 91910, in the amount of $19,126, with funds to come from the Unallocated Reserve Fund.

B. Award the Pump Efficiency Improvement project at the Rice Canyon Booster Station to Beylik Drilling Inc., 555 Harbor Boulevard, La Habra, CA 90631, in the amount of $25,245.

C. Adopt a Resolution of Application requesting that LAFCO take proceedings for the Sphere of Influence Amendment and Annexation of the Robert A. Perdue Water Treatment Plant site to the Spring Valley Sanitation District.

4. RECREATION COMMITTEE (Meeting of March 10, 2003)

ACTION ITEMS

A. Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Governing Board authorize the General Manager to execute the 2081 Permit with the California Department of Fish and Game. The motion carried.

B. Update of Opening the Program. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board.

C. Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Governing Board approve Resolution 03-05 requesting additional State funding for the Sweetwater Reservoir Shoreline Fishing Program. The motion carried.

5. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS

A. Upon a motion made by Director Pocklington, seconded by Director Wright, the following Resolution:

RESOLUTION 03-04

REQUESTING THE LOCAL AGENCY FORMATION COMMISSION TO TAKE PROCEEDINGS FOR THE ANNEXATION OF THE ROBERT A. PERDUE WATER TREATMENT PLANT SITE TO THE SPRING VALLEY SANITATION DISTRICT.

was passed and Adopted by the following vote, to wit:

Ayes: Directors Beauchamp, Doud, Pocklington, Wolniewicz, and Wright
Noes: None
Absent: Inzunza and Welsh
Abstain: None

B. Upon a motion made by Director Pocklington, seconded by Director Wright, the following Resolution:

RESOLUTION 03-05

APPROVING THE APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS FOR SWEETWATER RESERVOIR SHORELINE FISHING PROGRAM.

was passed and Adopted by the following vote, to wit:

Ayes: Directors Beauchamp, Doud, Pocklington, Wolniewicz, and Wright
Noes: None
Absent: Inzunza and Welsh
Abstain: None

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

A. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Wright, that the Governing Board approve per diem for directors who attended the First Friday Breakfast on February 7, 2003. The motion carried.

B. Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Governing Board approve per diem for Director Inzunza’s attendance at a meeting with Manager Bostad and Legal Counsel Cowett on February 7, 2003. The motion carried.

C. Director Wolniewicz made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Governing Board approve per diem for Director Wright’s attendance at the MWD Board meeting on February 25, 2003. The motion carried.

D. National City Chamber of Commerce Membership Breakfast – Speaker: Mayor Nick Inzunza – March 19, 2003 at 7:30 a.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Community Building. Director Wolniewicz made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Governing Board approve per diem for directors who wish to attend this event. The motion carried.

E. ACWA Spring Conference – May 7-9, 2003, South Lake Tahoe. Directors Beauchamp, Pocklington, Welsh, Wolniewicz and Wright will be attending this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

NOTE: Director Welsh arrived at 9:09 a.m.

F. Council of Water Utilities – StoneRidge Country Club, Poway – March 18, 2003. All directors present will be attending this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

G. CSDA Government Affairs Day – Sheraton Grand Hotel – Sacramento, CA - April 1-2, 2003. Directors Doud and Wolniewicz will be attending this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

7. REPORT OF TREASURER – WANDA AVERY

Ms. Avery was not present at the meeting. Sweetwater Authority’s Director of Finance Gaus referred to the Treasurer’s Report and noted that the average 6-month Treasury Note is about 1.16 percent. Investments in the general fund are averaging about 1.925 percent and the total portfolio, which includes bond proceeds money, brings the total percentage to around 2 percent.

8. MANAGEMENT REPORT

A. Report of Rainfall and Reservoir Levels – Operations Manager Rogers: Operations Manager Rogers highlighted some of the activities included in the Monthly Report. He referred to the results of the inspections to the filters and the sedimentation basins at the Perdue Treatment Plant by Montgomery Watson and to the 10-million gallon clearwell by Harper and Associates of Los Angeles.

He gave an update on the amount of raw water that we are importing from Aqueduct No. 3. He expects that by April 28, 2003 there will be 8,383 acre-feet in the reservoir.

He reviewed the rainfall report. Both Sweetwater and Loveland Reservoirs had received over the average rainfall at the end of February. Sweetwater received 10.45 inches to date and the 100-year average is 7.99 inches. Loveland Reservoir’s rainfall is 10.95 inches to date and the 55-year average is 10.35 inches. It is the first time in many years that the reservoirs have received over the average rainfall.

Mr. Rogers also reported on the runoff into Loveland and Sweetwater reservoirs in December, January and February. We received 967.4 acre-feet into the reservoirs in February.

B. Report of General Manager Bostad: General Manager Bostad referred to the article in the North County Times on the Carlsbad desalination plant. He said that the pilot plant unit that was constructed over the last two months is a $1 million computerized mini desalination plant, and they are currently testing the systems.

9. REPORT OF CALFED/BAY-DELTA OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVE - DIRECTOR WRIGHT

Director Wright did not have anything to report. He thinks that CALFED might have one meeting every six months or maybe once a year.

10. DIRECTORS’ COMMENTS

Director Wright said that he is on the California Regional Water Quality Control Board mailing list. He has received information that they are cracking down on the City of San Diego with a list of things to tighten up discharge in connection with landfills. He might attend one of the Board hearings on TMDL because of its impact on the groundwater in National City. He also said that the Institute of the Americas is announcing an executive roundtable in Mexico City in March to evaluate options and opportunities in the Mexican water market. He thinks it is interesting that Mexico is starting to look at the way that they manage and sell its water.

Director Pocklington said that he attended the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Engineering and Operations Committee meeting yesterday. They voted on the Reservoir Agreement with the San Diego County Water Authority (CWA) and it passed unanimously. The CWA Board meets at 10:00 a.m. today and they will be voting on it. He noted that if we take 8,000 acre feet this winter, it will save us about $560,000 but we will have to pay for evaporation. Under the new agreement, we should be able to get 12,000 acre-feet, which would save us $840,000, and we do not pay for evaporation. The program is worth over $1 million per year to us.

Director Beauchamp said that, regarding the issue of evaporation, there was a vendor at the Tucson conference that had a long-chain alcohol, and this issue keeps coming back. He said maybe we could save some costs. He was concerned when he heard that the Colorado River Aqueduct sprung a leak at Desert Hot Springs. They shut it down and said that they had plenty to defer from the State project and could bring water in that way. He said that a major waterline will be built between San Bernardino and Corona and they were surveying the pipeline in route. It starts as a 70-inch pipe and it works its way down as it gets closer to the delivery point. Much of the route uses the old gauge canal, which is how the orchards got their water back in the turn of the century. The canal just hugs the side of the hill and they are using this same route for the pipeline.

11. CLOSED SESSION

There was no need for one.

12. ADJOURNMENT

With no further business before the Board, Chair Doud adjourned the meeting at 9:24 a.m., to the hour of 3:30 p.m. on March 26, 2003.