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minutesRegular Meeting June 24, 2008 The Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority held a regular meeting on Tuesday, June 24, 2008, at the Sweetwater Authority Administrative Office, 505 Garrett Avenue, Chula Vista, California. Chair Beauchamp called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. • ROLL CALL Directors Present: Alkire, Beauchamp, Doud, Morrison*, Thomas, Welsh Directors Absent: Pocklington Others Present: General Manager Rogers, Operations Manager Smyth, Legal
Counsel Miller, Treasurer Farrow, and Acting Secretary Gonzalez. Staff members:
Jack Adam, Cynthia Berndt, Pete Famolaro, Scott McClelland, Sue Mosburg, Bill
Olson, George Silva, Don Thomson, Dina Yorba. Also present: Lin Wurbs *Note: Director Morrison entered the room at 4:01 p.m. • PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG • OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT (Government Code Section (54954.3) Mr. Dave Hanna, 14 Hilltop Court, Chula Vista, CA 91911, addressed the Board
on variable and fixed water rates. He reviewed Sweetwater Authority’s variable
vs. fixed water rates in comparison to the recommendation of the California
Urban Water Conservation Council (CUWCC). CUWCC’s recommendation, according to
Mr. Hanna, is that at least 70 percent of revenue be derived from water sales
(variable portion) and 30 percent be derived from fixed service charges. He
stated that the Authority’s most common customer pays a 64 percent variable vs.
the recommendation of 70 percent. He believes there is room for improvement on
the part of Sweetwater Authority to shift more costs towards the variable as
opposed to the fixed rate. He feels the Authority is not charging enough for
water. He would like to see, in future rate setting negotiations, the $3.40 San
Diego County Water Authority Infrastructure Access Charge broken out and shifted
over to the variable. He recommended lowering the $29.78 meter charge and adjust
the $3.40 access charge to come closer to the CUWCC’s recommendation. He
recommends raising rates and building reserves. (Please note General Manager
Rogers’ comments relative to Mr. Hanna’s analysis under Item 11, Management
Report.) • CHAIR’S PRESENTATION ACTION CALENDAR ITEMS 1. ITEMS TO BE ADDED, WITHDRAWN, OR REORDERED IN THE AGENDA Chair Beauchamp introduced Legal Counsel Brooke Miller, an Associate of Best
Best & Krieger, who was substituting for Legal Counsel Cowett. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Director Morrison made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the
Governing Board approve the minutes of the June 11, 2008 meeting. The motion
carried. 3. APPROVAL OF DEMANDS AND WARRANTS Director Doud made a motion, seconded by Director Thomas, that the Governing
Board approve Warrants 114672 through 114795 including all voided checks. The
motion carried. 4. FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE (Meeting of June 16, 2008) A. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Doud, that the Governing Board approve the 2008-09 membership renewal in the Local Government Commission and the payment of dues in the amount of $600. The motion carried. B. Best Best & Krieger rate schedule. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board. C. Online payment options for water bills and discussion of customer walk-ins. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board. D. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Thomas, that the
Governing Board approve the use of the San Diego Natural History Museum’s
promotional code program to promote the exhibition on the Authority’s internet
site, flyers, billing message, and by other means. The motion carried. 5. OPERATIONS COMMITTEE (Meeting of June 18, 2008) A. Director Doud made a motion, seconded by Director Thomas, that the Governing Board approve a one-year extension of the time and materials contract with Cass Construction, Inc., 1100 Wagner Drive, El Cajon, CA 92020. The motion carried. B. Director Doud made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the
Governing Board approve a one-year extension of the time and materials contract
with ABC Construction Company, Inc., 3120 National Avenue, San Diego, CA 92113.
The motion carried. 1) J.R. Filanc Construction Co., Inc., 740 North Andreasen Drive, Escondido, California 92029, in the amount of $2,635,877, for the general contract work, and authorize the omission of the certification from the instrumentation supplier to be waived as an irregularity; 2) DuPont Chemical Solutions, 40 Whitecap Drive, North Kingstown, Rhode Island 02852, in the amount of $257,631, for the supply of the chlorine dioxide generation equipment; 3) Enterprise Automation, 3002 Dow Avenue, No. 314, Tustin, California 92780, in the amount of $486,190, for SCADA integration; 4) MWH Global, Inc., 9444 Farnham Street, Suite 300, San Diego, California 92123, in the amount of $105,950, for construction support services; and 5) Timberline Engineering, 4425 Juan Tabo Boulevard, Suite 201, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87111, in the amount of $97,700, for SCADA integration. Operations Manager Smyth stated that J.R. Filanc was the lowest bidder, and that it was determined that staff would contract directly with DuPont Chemical Solutions rather than going through J.R. Filanc. The motion carried. D. Administration Building relocation update. The Board reviewed the current draft Letter of Intent (LOI) from the City of Chula Vista. Director Thomas expressed concern with the language in the Operations Committee minutes, which stated that the LOI had to be completed by the end of July. It was her understanding that this would continue to be discussed as a draft document until it came back to the Board for a final decision. Director Morrison left the room at 4:22. Operations Manager Smyth stated that, in order to proceed, the LOI needs to be signed by General Manager Rogers. The comment in the minutes about having it signed by the end of July would start the 120-day period for the Authority and the City to implement the tasks as described in the LOI. This will also go to the City Council for its approval, which will occur in July. The LOI does not state anywhere that the Authority agrees to move, but that the move will be studied. After reviewing some graphics of the location and a discussion of the proposed site along Highway 5 and F Street, Directors Beauchamp, Thomas, and Welsh stated this location was problematic for the Authority. Director Morrison reentered the room at 4:28. Since this was a non action item, the Board agreed to send it back to the Operations Committee to consider ending discussions with the City of Chula Vista regarding this proposed site. Because at the last Board meeting Chair Beauchamp questioned whether the old Lions Club building on Mankato Street could be a site for a new Administration building, staff made a presentation that concluded this site is not adequate to relocate the entire Administration building. Director Morrison pointed out that negotiations for land need to look not only at matching square footage per square footage, but should match the value of the square footage. Chair Beauchamp added that the Authority needs to be provided with more options to choose from. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board. 6. NEW BUSINESS 7. REPORT OF THE SOUTH BAY IRRIGATION DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE AND THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY REPRESENTATIVE TO THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY Director Morrison reported on items of note appearing on the June 26, 2008
CWA Board agenda. He stated that the Board will consider the allocation of
approximately $40 million for contract services, amendments, and change orders,
mostly for the San Vicente Pipeline Project. Conservation outreach is being
moved over to Imported Water. The Board will consider several items of state
legislation. One is a bill that just passed the Assembly Floor which will give
every Metropolitan Water District Board member an alternate, thereby doubling
its size. Met has taken an opposition stance on this unless amended. The Board
will consider a professional services contract for an Environmental Program
Manager. The drought management plan will look at member agency efforts to
update the existing drought response ordinances, which is going well. Director
Morrison added that the implementation report and advertising campaign update
revealed that the 20-Gallon Challenge website has had a 100 percent increase in
hits, and the CWA’s website has had a 30 percent increase in hits. As an
information item on this month’s agenda is an action item that was deferred last
month for a Lakeside Water District annexation. There will be a presentation on
the Delta improvements. Director Morrison added that there were new directors
coming onboard, Elsa Saxod of SAXOD Enterprises and Mitch Dion from Rincon del
Diablo Municipal Water District. 8. APPROVAL OF DIRECTORS’ ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS AND FUTURE AGENDA A. ACWA/CSDA State Controller’s Workshop on July 9, 2008 from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. at the San Diego County Water Authority. Directors wishing to attend this pre-approved event will contact the Secretary. No action was required by the Governing Board. B. Urban Water Institute Annual Conference on August 13-15, 2008 at the
Hilton Mission Bay Resort in San Diego. Directors wishing to attend this
pre-approved event will contact the Secretary. No action was required by the
Governing Board. 9. REPORTS BY DIRECTORS ON EVENTS ATTENDED Director Doud reported on the ACWA Scholarship Committee Conference Call on June 12th, and stated that the winner of the 2008-09 Water Law and Policy Scholarship in honor of Steve Hall is Michael Kiparsky. Director Thomas reported on the Council of Water Utilities Meeting of June 17th and stated that Bill Jacoby of Bill Jacoby Water Resources Consulting gave an excellent presentation focusing on water efficiency and naming a number of areas that needed improvement. Three of the essential areas include plumbing code changes, monetary support from the WateReuse Foundation, as well as legislation, and improved and more efficient communication. He also recommended a number of things related to implementation plans. Director Alkire reported on the Twin Oaks Treatment Plant Tour on June 19th and said that he was impressed with the way they reached out to the neighborhood and got people involved to get any complaints out of the way prior to the construction of the plant. Something that surprised him were the objections to solar power because of the possible reflection on the hills and onto the houses. Director Water Quality Thomson stated that they are conscientious of noise control, and there is zero discharge sending backwash to the membranes. Director Morrison stated that his assistant attended the tour with him and found it very interesting. Director Morrison reported on the National City Chamber of Commerce meeting
on June 19th, stating that this year they combined all of the National City
service awards and dedicated this meeting to these awards. It was a well
attended meeting. One award centered on an incident where a car went off the
South Bay Freeway and into Sweetwater River. One National City police officer
went under water and rescued the woman driver from her car and another officer
then gave her resuscitation, but unfortunately she did not survive. Both police
officers received awards. 10. REPORT OF TREASURER Ms. Farrow reported on the budget report as of May 31, 2008. She noted that
the last two months of April and May had higher revenues than projected in the
budget by approximately $500,000, indicating that it has been very hot and
people are starting to irrigate. Water Revenue was $1,803,000 or 5.2 percent,
under budget. Operating Expenses were $3,467,000 or 11.4 percent, below budget,
which is a good thing. Average monthly expenses are $2.4 million per month. The
month of June is projected to be about $3.9 million, and she believes we will be
about 11 percent under the Operating Budget, indicating that the budget workshop
projections are right on target. 11. MANAGEMENT REPORT A. Report of Operations Manager Smyth: Mr. Smyth reported that Sweetwater Authority has a very good educational tuition reimbursement program. He recognized Water Treatment Superintendent/Principal Engineer Scott McClelland as another success of that program, announcing that Mr. McClelland completed his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Redlands. B. Report of General Manager Rogers: Mr. Rogers reported on the continued
discussion regarding the meter fee charge listed on the Authority’s new billing
statement, and staff will work to address this issue. He stated that he met with
Bob Yamada and Caesar Lopez yesterday from CWA. They are doing a five-year plan
for local supplies and asked what they can do to accelerate the Authority’s
quest for local supplies. Three key things talked about were the brine line,
accelerating the Otay Desal Plant, and the study with the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) to explore the how much water is in the San Diego Formation. The USGS
does fantastic work; however, they are not very fast. CWA asked if we could
bring in an outside firm to work with the USGS on these studies to determine if
it is feasible to expand production of the Otay Plant, the National City Wells
or the Reynolds Facility. Mr. Rogers also commented that Sweetwater Authority
limits its fixed fees to 25 percent of an average bill in response to Mr.
Hanna’s calculation that it is over 30 percent. 12. DIRECTORS’ COMMENTS Director Doud stated he had breakfast on Saturday with Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi and Mary Salas. He had his “Got Desal” and “Save the Delta” buttons on, which sparked some interest. Director Thomas reminded the Board that this Thursday at 6:00 p.m., the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission is going to have a citizen’s forum board at the Imperial Beach Community Room. One of the agenda items includes the research that was carried out concerning the contamination resulting from distress along our shoreline and the result of the Surfrider lawsuit. They will give the latest report on the research carried out by Scripps and discuss the levee system. She noted that this is the end of her second four-year term on the commission. She is going to decline to continue serving on the commission, and they are taking applications for those interested in serving. Chair Beauchamp stated that KPBS had a very good discussion on Saturday morning regarding the Delta issues. The bottom line is the climate change and sea level rise. He reminded the Board about the WESTCAS conference over the next few days and the company picnic this coming Saturday, and he encouraged attendance. 13. CLOSED SESSION 14. ADJOURNMENT With no further business before the Board, Chair Beauchamp adjourned the
meeting at 5:13 p.m.
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