minutes

Regular Meeting

Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority

May 28, 2003

The Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority held a regular meeting on Wednesday, May 28, 2003, 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: Beauchamp, Doud, Pocklington, Wolniewicz and Wright.

Directors Absent: Inzunza and Welsh.

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
Chair Doud 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

Chair Doud made an announcement that the Urban Water Institute Conference in June has been cancelled due to a lack of interest and will be postponed to a future date.

ITEMS TO BE ADDED, WITHDRAWN, OR REORDERED IN THE AGENDA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

1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Board approve the minutes of May 14, 2003. The motion carried.

2. APPROVAL OF DEMANDS AND WARRANTS

Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Board approve Warrants 88672 through 88895 including all voided checks. The motion carried.

CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS

3. OPERATIONS COMMITTEE (Meeting of May 21, 2003)

CONSENT ITEMS

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

A. Approve the funding of $20,000 from the Repair and Replacement Reserve Fund for the Oxford Street drainage improvements relocation work, with the understanding that the City of Chula Vista will share 50 percent of the final cost.

B. Approve the funding of $95,000 from the Repair and Replacement Reserve Fund for the replacement of the 12-inch main for the Bay Marina Drive widening.

4. FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE (Meeting of May 22, 2003)

CONSENT ITEMS

Director Wolniewicz made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Board approve consent items A, B and D. The motion carried.

A. Approve the request from National City Golf Course for an adjustment of $1,109.62, with the understanding that if next year’s consumption is not in line with this year’s consumption, the Authority will back charge $643.10 to the account, which is the difference between the total adjustment using last year’s consumption and the standard calculation method.

NOTE: Director Welsh arrived at 3:35 p.m.

B. Select CH2M Hill and Water Quality and Treatment Solutions, Inc. to provide peer review of the preliminary work for the Robert A. Perdue Water Treatment Plant – Water Quality Studies by Montgomery Watson Harza, and that the services be based on a time-and-material basis in a maximum amount of $10,000 per consultant, for a total of $20,000.

C. Director Benefits. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board.

D. Award a sole-source contract to Fox Lawson and Associates in an amount not-to-exceed $14,000 to provide a review of all Sweetwater Authority job descriptions, adjustments to internal pay relationships, and completion of a salary survey with local cities and agencies.

E. Review of Fiscal Year 2003-04 Budget. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board.

5. COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE (Meeting of May 27, 2003)

ACTION CALENDAR ITEMS

A. Oral report on survey process and instrument development for baseline public opinion survey. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board.

B. Consideration of proposed key messages for an outreach program to address community concerns regarding delays in establishing a recreation program at the Sweetwater Reservoir. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board.

C. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Wolniewicz, that the Governing Board members sign up to serve as roving ambassadors at the Lions Club 4th of July Carnival for the date of July 4, 2003. Each participant would be asked to speak to members of the crowd and distribute Sweetwater Authority information and promotional items, and then provide input to the Communications Committee to evaluate the addition of this event to Sweetwater Authority’s annual outreach schedule. The motion carried.

NOTE: Director Inzunza arrived at 3:40 p.m.

Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Governing Board approve the purchase of a full-page advertisement in the Chula Vista Historical Home Tour program at a cost of $500 to raise community awareness that the Authority’s water system has provided a reliable water service since the 1800’s. The motion carried with Director Wright opposing it.

D. Press Releases, other items prepared for public information distribution, and update on major projects. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board.

6. NEW BUSINESS

Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) – Call for Nominations for Region 10 Leadership – Seeking candidates for Region Officer and Board Member Positions for 2004-2005 Term. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Doud, that this item be rescheduled until the next board meeting. The motion carried.

7. 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 on some of the issues discussed at the last CWA Board meeting. He noted that Mike Madigan retired and has been replaced by Fern Steiner, who is a labor lawyer appointed by the City of San Diego. He said that the CWA gave out 23 $1,000 scholarships for underprivileged people in need. He commented on the desalination water conveyance system and the ongoing dispute regarding leadership, which MOU he thinks would be completed by the end of June. He gave reports on issues under the Water Policy Committee, one of which was the IID Transfer. He noted that if they do not reach an agreement the water cost would increase significantly. He also reported that there would be a public hearing on June 26th to consider the new rate and charges.

Mr. Valderrama also provided a report on items under the Public Affairs Committee, the Planning and Environmental Committee, and the Administrative and Legal Committee.

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

A. The Institute of the Americas Second Annual Water Conference – La Jolla, California, June 12, 2003 – Tijuana, Mexico, June 13, 2003. Directors Beauchamp, Pocklington, Wolniewicz and Wright will attend this conference. Director Welsh 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. WESTCAS – 11th Annual Summer Conference – June 25-27, 2003 – Shelter Point Hotel & Marina, San Diego. Directors Beauchamp, Doud, and Wolniewicz will attend this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

C. CLE International – The Law of the Colorado River – June 26-27, 2003 – Marriott Mountain Shadows Resort and Golf Club, Scottsdale. Directors Welsh and Wright will attend this conference. Director Wright 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.

D. National Water Resources Association (NWRA) – 20th Western Water Seminar July 23-25, 2003, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad. Directors Doud, Inzunza, Welsh, Wolniewicz and Wright will attend this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

E. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Governing Board approve per diem for Director Wright’s attendance at the Garden Festival, Cuyamaca College, May 17, 2003. The motion carried.

9. REPORT OF TREASURER – WANDA AVERY

Ms. Avery reported that interest rates from the Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) are still between 1.75 and 2.00 percent, and there are rumors that we might see a decrease of one-quarter percent in June.

10. BUDGET REPORT – DIRECTOR OF FINANCE GAUS
Budget Report as of April 31, 2003.

Director of Finance Gaus reported that Water Sales are $631,000 higher than estimated. Other Income has a deficit of $681,000 due to some approved grants that we have not yet received. He noted that we received $115,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency for reimbursement on the vulnerability study. The Interest Income is higher than projected by $65,000. In summary, we have spent $528,000 less than what we planned at this time.

11. MANAGEMENT REPORT

A. Report of Rainfall and Reservoir Levels – Operations Manager Rogers: Operations Manager Rogers said he had no report.

B. Report of General Manager Bostad: General Manager Bostad reminded the Board of the Sweetwater Authority Recreation Association Annual picnic at the Sweetwater Reservoir on June 21, 2003 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. He said that we also invite past Board members and retirees. He also commented on an ACWA communications advisory received today regarding the Sacramento Bee talking about financial practices of some water districts in the Sacramento area. He also informed the Board of an invitation to attend the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) conference, which includes two tours on Monday and Tuesday, July 7th and July 8th. He also noted that Mayor Inzunza would be participating in the ribbon cutting for the new National City Chamber building at 5:30 this evening.

12. REPORT OF CALFED/BAY-DELTA OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AND NWRA REPRESENTATIVE - DIRECTOR WRIGHT

Director Wright said that Senators Boxer and Feinstein have introduced a bill for the reauthorization of Calfed. He also commented on the upcoming resignation of Christine Todd Whitman from the EPA. He then read a short article about the conservation banks, which stated that they provide the highest level of long-term protection for threatened and endangered species and have assisted in the implementation of recovery efforts. The Vice President of the National Mitigation Banking Association had said that the banking also presents opportunities for private landowners to get economic value with endangered species habitat.

13. DIRECTORS’ COMMENTS

Director Wolniewicz said that three different news services are carrying a story about the EPA and the way they measure clean water, which seems to be wrong. He added that as we keep progressing, the further behind we get.

Director Wright said that the City Council of Chula Vista has been studying a green belt master plan and he thinks that the plan went to Parks and Recreation on May 15. He would like to see what effect this will have on the Sweetwater Reservoir and our role in the green belt. On a personal note, he said he would be leaving tonight for North Carolina and Virginia on an exploratory trip on genealogy and Civil war. He recently learned that his grandfather and a great-grandfather, father and son, had served in the Civil war and they were in the 101st Illinois regiment with Grant.

Director Welsh said that this morning she was concerned about water swishing down the street. When she came back from her morning class, she drove up her street and saw Sweetwater Authority’s employees working with water gushing over their heads and in the trenches. She remarked that they sure were doing a good job and wanted them to know how she appreciated their efforts. She asked Director of Distribution Olson to pass on her comments to these employees.

Director Beauchamp said that he attended the recent Otay Water District open house for its constituents. They had a display in the parking lot of equipment that they use, one of which was a vacuum machine used to jet out the sewer lines. He was told that the truck was used to clear out leaks. They open it up and suck out all the water. They told him that they save time equal to $120,000 with the truck.

14. CLOSED SESSION
There was no need for one.

15. ADJOURNMENT
With no further business before the Board, Chair Doud adjourned the meeting at 4:40 p.m., to the hour of 6:00 p.m. on June 11, 2003.