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minutesRegular Meeting May 26, 2004 The Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority held a regular meeting on Wednesday, May 26, 2004, at the Sweetwater Authority Administrative Office, 505 Garrett Avenue, Chula Vista, California. Chair Doud called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. · ROLL CALL Directors Present: Alkire, Beauchamp, Doud, Pocklington, Reynolds, and Welsh. Directors Absent: Inzunza. Others Present: General Manager Bostad, Operations Manager Rogers, Legal Counsel Cowett, Treasurer Avery, 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 · OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT (Government Code Section (54954.3) · CHAIR 'S PRESENTATION Chair Doud introduced Marco Sainz, the winner of the $1,000 award recognizing outstanding achievement in the areas of scholarship and community service in school involvement, as well as exemplary research related to the function of Special District Governments within the State of California. Chair Doud congratulated him and introduced his family to the Board as well. Chair Doud presented Service Awards to Davis Doane, Plant Maintenance Technician III, and Jim Raines, Watershed Caretaker II, for five years of service; to Michael Brady, Watershed Caretaker II, for ten years of service; to Paula Roberts, Communications Director, for fifteen years of service; and to Pete Baranov, Chemist, for twenty years of service. Chair Doud announced a five-minute break. NOTE: Director Inzunza entered the meeting at 3:39 p.m. The meeting resumed at 3:51 p.m., with all members of the Board present. ACTION CALENDAR ITEMS 1. PRESENTATION BY SUE MOSBURG, TRAINING COORDINATOR Administrative Services Director Tom Woodrum introduced Training Coordinator Mosburg. He said that Ms. Mosburg has worked for Sweetwater Authority for the last five years, and that one of the responsibilities of her job is conservation. Ms. Mosburg said that the Conservation Incentive Programs are managed through the CWA as a service to member agencies. The programs are funded by MWD and CWA, and a matching percentage by Sweetwater Authority. Some of the programs available started in 1991, such as the Large Turf Audits, Showerheads, and Ultra-Low Flush Toilet Rebates. In the spring of 2004, they added programs for Professional Assistance for Landscape Management (PALM), Commercial/Industrial or Institutional Vouchers, Residential Vouchers, ULFT Vouchers, and High-Efficiency Clothes Washers (HEW). Besides the programs funded by the CWA, Sweetwater Authority has been distributing spray nozzles at some of the community events. The program costs are shared at a rate of 50 percent by MWD, 25 percent by CWA, and 25 percent by Sweetwater Authority. The Professional Assistance for Landscape Management (PALM) program provides free surveys of the irrigation system and landscape at sites with one or more acres of irrigated landscape. The landscape managers are provided with some ideas to better use the water. The total cost of each audit is $1,500, of which Sweetwater pays 25 percent, CWA pays 25 percent, and MWD pays 50 percent. The total cost per acre-foot is $198.96, and Sweetwater's share is $49.74. The idea behind the incentives is that the cost of having the incentive available to our customers is less than the cost of that same amount of water to us. That is calculated on the life of the incentive, how long that particular device or survey is calculated to last, and what the cost is. The commercial, industrial and institutional ultra-low flush toilets (ULFT) program provides vouchers of up to $95 to purchase the toilet. The program per device is $125, and the cost to Sweetwater Authority is $32.50. Another incentive program is the commercial, industrial and institutional urinal vouchers. The voucher is for $95 and the cost to Sweetwater Authority is $32.50. The water-efficient washers rebate program provides a voucher worth up to $300 per coin-operated high-efficiency clothes washer. The cost to Sweetwater Authority is $40.00 per device. The cooling tower conductivity controllers (CTCC) program was instituted about a year ago. The cooling towers are for the air conditioning units that tend to dump out recycled water on a set time schedule so many times per day. This is a program that we are probably going to see marketed much more heavily countywide and which will affect our customers. There is also the residential ultra low flush toilet voucher program, with MWD carrying 58 percent of the cost, and the customers get a voucher for $75 to purchase the toilet. The Residential High Efficiency Washer program gives the customer a voucher for $156 to purchase the high-efficiency washers. The residential water use surveys program provides water conservation surveys to single-family homes, as well as multi-family properties, with less than two acres of irrigated landscape. As far as how these programs are paid for, the contract management and oversight is provided by the CWA, and Sweetwater Authority is billed monthly based on what the CWA shows that we have used. At the start of each fiscal year, the CWA allocates a certain amount of dollars for various programs for the member agencies. As the agencies and their customers choose to participate or not, the CWA reallocates the available funding. For example, we typically use up most of our allocation about midyear. The agencies that have not had the same usage release funds and those funds become available for our customers to use. The amount budgeted this fiscal year was $57,600, and over the course of the year we will use up most of that funding. We have requested the same amount of funding for next year. Ms. Mosburg said that for Fiscal-Year 2005, we would continue issuing the residential and commercial device vouchers; we will market X-ray machines, increase the distribution of pre-rinse spray valves, and increase the participation in the new Landscape Assistance Program. She then talked about the ETO timers, which are evapotranspiration controllers. These devices, based on the annual precipitation, our climate, and the amount of water that the average plant is supposed to take, will put out the amount of water necessary instead of presetting the time to go off every day and spread out the amount of water regardless of the conditions. Some future program options are the dual-flush toilets, the multi-load washers, and the on-demand water heaters. She said that we have not chosen to actively market some of these devices because we are waiting for a more advanced technology to make sure that these programs will be viable for us. She noted that there are two types of on-demand water heaters, one is on-demand from a central location and another is on-demand in the shower or below the sink. There are still some questions about which one of those might best work for areas like ours where the infrastructure is already there in most of the homes and businesses, how much it costs to retrofit, how much the devices cost, etc. She said that we are watching the City of San Diego's program to see how effective it is. The City has a limited number of retrofits and there are waiting lists to participate in the pilot study. Within the next year there should be some data showing results. Sue Mosburg said that these incentives are designed to encourage people to install the water-saving devices. When the ULFT residential toilets program started, there were not many on the market. Now, the plumbing codes require that all toilets on the market be ULFT. Director Pocklington commented that the consumption of water in Sweetwater Authority's area is about 135 gallons per day per capita, and the average consumption in San Diego County is about 170 gallons. We have probably one of the lowest consumptions per capita in San Diego County and he thinks it is mainly due to the use of these incentive programs. There was a discussion regarding landscaping and new developments. It was mentioned that the City of San Diego and the CWA are working very closely with the Landscapers Association and meet on a monthly basis. General Manager Bostad noted that Sue Mosburg is following up on that issue to coordinate our efforts. Sue said that this group, the Conservation Action Committee, is focused on outdoor landscape water efficiency. She added that she would be attending their meeting tomorrow. 2. ITEMS TO BE ADDED, WITHDRAWN, OR REORDERED IN THE AGENDA 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Board approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of May 12, 2004. The motion carried. 4. APPROVAL OF DEMANDS AND WARRANTS Director Beauchamp made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the Board approve Warrants 94454 through 94644 including all voided checks. The motion carried. 5. RECREATION COMMITTEE (Meeting of May 13, 2004) Sweetwater Reservoir Shoreline Fishing Program. A. Construction Progress. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board. B. Ribbon Cutting Schedule: Director Reynolds made a motion, seconded by Director Doud, that the VIP ribbon cutting ceremony for the Sweetwater Reservoir Shoreline Fishing Program be scheduled for July 24, 2004, tentatively at 10:00 a.m. The motion carried. 6. FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE (Meeting of May 17, 2004) A. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Governing Board approve the Board Secretary's salary as recommended by Management in the proposal. The motion carried. B. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Governing Board approve awarding a contract to Timberline Engineering, Inc., for the SCADA System Review and Planning Study at a cost of $66,530 to be funded from the Unallocated Reserve Fund. The motion carried. C. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the Governing Board approve the execution of the Memorandum of Understanding between Joint Boards. The motion carried. 7. OPERATIONS COMMITTEE (Meeting of May 19, 2004) A. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Governing Board approve Sharon Qualls' request for remote service, and that Ms. Qualls pay all costs for the service in accordance with the Authority's policy. The motion carried. B. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the Governing Board approve the request to quitclaim the existing easement at Willow Glen Drive and Jamacha Road in exchange for a new easement to include the execution of a Hold Harmless Agreement with the owner paying all costs to process this request. The motion carried. C. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Welsh, that the Governing Board approve awarding a Time & Materials contract to ABC and SJH Hanson Construction Companies for the as-needed paving work for the remainder of this fiscal year and the 2004-05 fiscal year. The motion carried. D. Upon a motion made by Director Pocklington, seconded by Director Welsh, the following Resolution: RESOLUTION 04-10 was passed and adopted by the following vote, to wit: Ayes: Directors Alkire, Beauchamp, Doud, Inzunza, Pocklington, Reynolds
and Welsh E. Proposed designations of Critical Habitat for the Coastal California Gnatcatcher and the San Diego Fairy Shrimp, and related Draft Economic Analyses. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board. 8. FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE (Meeting of May 24, 2004) A. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Doud, that the Governing Board approve the amendment to Policy 510 and the reimbursement forms as modified by staff to include a signature line. The motion carried. B. Further Review of FY 2004-2005 Budget. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board. 9. OLD AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS Directors Doud, Pocklington, and Reynolds expressed their opposition to passing Resolution 04-09 Supporting Development of Desalination and Encouraging the San Diego County Water Authority to Take Action Consistent with its Stated Support for Local Desalination Projects at this time. After some discussion and hearing the input from Director Pocklington, Chair Doud made a motion, seconded by Director Welsh, that the Governing Board rescind this Resolution at this time and bring it back in July for reconsideration. The motion carried. 10. NEW BUSINESS A. Association of California Water Agencies - NWRA California Caucus Ballots for election of three (3) representative positions and one (1) alternate position: Director Reynolds made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Governing Board vote for incumbents David A. Breninger, Lawrence M. Libeu, and Gregory A. Zlotnick, and for James F. Turner. The motion carried. B. Rescheduling of Board Meeting of June 23rd due to conflict with the WESTCAS conference: Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Welsh, that the Regular Board meeting of June 23rd be rescheduled to June 30th at 3:30 p.m. The motion carried. 11. REPORT OF THE SOUTH BAY IRRIGATION DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE AND THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY REPRESENTATIVE TO THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY Director Pocklington reported that Dale Mason had resigned as a member of the Vallecitos Water District Board, and that he will be applying for the job of Assistant Manager. He then provided his report on issues of interest to Sweetwater Authority that will be discussed at tomorrow's meeting. Some of these issues were a PERS contract amendment; a Resolution adopting a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Pomerado Pipeline 4 project; and the Preferred Master Plan Rate Case. He also said they would discuss MWD's Diamond Valley Lake Recreation Plan and staff recommendations, as well as the issue of body contact at the Lake. Other issues to be discussed under Engineering are the Agreement for Acoustical Monitoring of Pipelines 3 & 4 and the Agreement for San Vicente Dam Raise Drilling Services, as well as the construction contract for the Rancho Penasquitos Pressure Control/Hydroelectric Facility. 12. APPROVAL OF DIRECTORS' ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS A. Invitation from Padre Dam Municipal Water District to the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the Lions Accessible Fishing Pier at the Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve, Friday, June 11, 2004. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Doud, that the Governing Board approve per diem for directors who wish to attend this event. The motion carried. B. Water Education Foundation - The Bay Delta Tour, June 16-18, 2004: None of the directors will be attending this pre-approved tour. No action was required by the Governing Board. C. ACWA 2004 Fall Conference & Exhibition Early-Bird Registration - Wyndham Hotel & Palm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs - November 30 - December 3, 2004. Directors Beauchamp, Doud, Inzunza, Pocklington, Reynolds, and Welsh will attend this pre-approved conference. No action was required by the Governing Board. D. First Friday Breakfast - June 4, 2004 - Director Doud made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the Governing Board approve per diem for any director who wishes to attend this event. The motion carried. E. Port of San Diego and City of Chula Vista Public Meeting at the City of Chula Vista Council Chambers - Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan - May 25, 2004 - Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Governing Board approve per diem for directors who attended this event. The motion carried. 13. REPORT OF TREASURER - WANDA AVERY Ms. Avery reported that the interest rate for Treasury Notes is 1.53 percent for a 1-year note, 2.95 percent for a 3-year note, and 3.55 percent for a 5-year note. 14. BUDGET REPORT - DIRECTOR OF FINANCE GAUS Director of Finance Gaus reported that Water Sales are $479,953 below budget, while Other Income is $467,428 over budget. The Interest Income is $49,461 over budget. The Operating Expenses are $659,695 below what we had estimated. He said that we had estimated to have $4.9 million of excess revenue at this time, and we have $5.6 million, about $700,000 more cash flow than we had anticipated. Mr. Gaus reported that there were no major changes in the Capital Projects. We had estimated to spend 63 percent of the budget at this time of the year, but we have only spent 42 percent. 15. MANAGEMENT REPORT A. Report of Rainfall and Reservoir Levels - Operations Manager Rogers: Operations Manager Rogers referred to the leader tour that we had last week, which was attended by Luis Hernandez, Assistant Planning Director for the City of Chula Vista, and Maureen Stapleton, General Manager of the CWA. On the system storage he reported that Sweetwater Reservoir is 54 percent full and this is mainly due to the Surface Storage Operating Agreement. He noted that we had originally signed up to take about 10,900 acre-feet. In early May we received notification that there was an additional 700 acre-feet available, which we are taking now and there is the potential to take another 700 acre-feet if the City of San Diego does not take its share. There is also a possibility that we might be able to take more water from Olivenhain due to the pipeline failure. He reported that Sweetwater Reservoir received 8.46 inches of rainfall compared to the 100-year average at 11.18 inches. Loveland Reservoir received 11.282 inches and the 100-year average is 15.22 inches. B. Report of General Manager Bostad: General Manager Bostad mentioned the planned luncheon or early dinner for Cary Wright on June 30th. The members of the Board suggested that it be a luncheon. He also asked the members of the Board to inform the Secretary whether or not they would be interested in taking a tour of the Hydraunautics Headquarters. This company manufactures reverse osmosis membranes and they would be pleased to give us a tour of their facilities at any time. He read a message that he had received from Judy Hanson indicating that she was very impressed with Paula Roberts' talents in writing her notes for the meeting, organizing the scholarship applications and review process, making sure everything happened when it was supposed to happen, and making it a successful meeting. General Manager Bostad thanked Paula Roberts and her staff. He informed the Board that SDG&E would be inserting ads in the paper this summer expressing appreciation to Sweetwater Authority for its efforts on the Demand Management Program to help control demand on the electrical grid system. They are already concerned about rolling blackouts. He referred to the tour provided to the Helix Board yesterday. He said that the tour was very effective as a tool to communicate the value of local resource management and investment. He also reported that he had met with Roger Simpson, Utilities Engineer for the Sycuan tribe, and had provided him a copy of the early draft report from Montgomery Watson on the Intertie Project. 16. DIRECTORS' COMMENTS Director Pocklington said Cuyamaca normally gets 28 inches of rain each year, and this year the rainfall was less than 13 inches. He commented that Sweetwater Authority had used 35 percent of Tier 1 on the first three months through March, and he hoped we would not get into Tier 2 this year. He reported on the Chula Vista Bayfront meeting that he had attended. He said they had three programs to consider. They discarded Option A and chose Option C that allows more open space but requires a land swap. The land swap is between the private developer and the Port District and has to be approved by State agencies. They are now going to start the work and it will be done in three 10-year phases. They figured it would take 30 years to build it. Director Beauchamp said he had looked at a bid that the CWA had for revegetation, and that he saw a lot of waste. He will give Director Pocklington a list of his critiques on how CWA is doing business and how expensive it is. His second comment was regarding the project of the hotel at Bay Marina in National City. He said that Sweetwater Authority had a project to upgrade the pipe in 24th Street, alias Bay Marina Drive, and he was wondering if it had been done yet as this was one of the oldest pipes. The question is posed because, if we have not done that, maybe we should as there will be many people, many toilets, and many hotel rooms. We may look at what is going on in National City too with its Bayfront Development. Director Alkire apologized to everyone who was attending the Personnel Workshop. He said it was not until the third person came up to him and asked him how he felt that he realized he should not be there. He hoped he did not get anybody sick because it was the flu. Director Inzunza said good things are happening in National City. They are completely rebuilding the City. They are going to build $150 million worth of housing all around the downtown area. The density is going to increase tremendously in the western part of the city only. The eastern parts of the City where there are single-family homes will probably lower the density because they are not going to encourage building homes behind homes. It makes more sense to clear entire city blocks in the western part of the city and put 250 condominium units in the city block. The City is working towards putting a public safety initiative in the ballot this November to the tune of $30 million to build a new police station and fire station in the northeast part of the city on El Toyon Park. The $30 million bond will also include monies to rebuild Casa de Salud West Recreation Center, the Camacho Gym, as a new recreation center in the east, and two more recreation centers, one in the south and one in the north. They plan to build an aquatic center, and they are currently building a 54,000 square-foot library, the largest fire station in the south county, and the college, which is almost finished. Future projects include the Sycuan $30-million project, which will be the only three-star hotel in the south county. National City is on its way to becoming a big city with a small to medium size population. It is nice to have a City Manager and a Redevelopment Director that are getting along, as well as a council that is getting along and that looks at density as a positive thing not as a bad word. We hope to be the second city after the City of San Diego that is serious about rebuilding in density. They expanded the redevelopment agency to include all areas that are currently not in the redevelopment area, but within the city limits, that are vacant or depressed. They are also gaining eminent domain authority on all commercial property or vacant land within the city limits. The livability of people in National City will be different 10 years from now. 17. CLOSED SESSION There was no need for one. 18. ADJOURNMENT With no further business before the Board, Chair Doud adjourned the
meeting at 5:19 p.m., to the hour of 6:00 p.m., on June 9, 2004. |
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