minutes

Regular Meeting

Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority

June 30, 2003

The Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority held an adjourned regular meeting on Monday, June 30, 2003, at the Sweetwater Authority Administrative Office, 505 Garrett Avenue, Chula Vista, California. Chair Doud called the meeting to order at 3:00 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 Paula de Sousa, Treasurer Avery, and Administrative Aide Rita Schoonderwoerd for Board Secretary Farpón-Friedman. Staff members: Hank Gaus, Mary Ann Mann, Tony Rasco, Paula Roberts, George Silva, Jim Smyth, and Tom Woodrum.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
Director Beauchamp 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
Service Awards

Operations Manager Rogers presented 5-year Service Awards to Mark Brody, Water Treatment Plant Supervisor; John Chavez, Chief Pump Technician; Cindy Parra, Human Resources Coordinator; and Tom Woodrum, Human Resources Director. Also, 10-year Service Awards were presented to Jessica Reyes, Accounting Clerk III, Myrna Rivera, Customer Accounts Representative III; and Sylvia Rubio, Accounting Clerk III. Mr. Rogers then presented a 15-year Service Award to Barbara Showman, Customer Accounts Leadworker and 25-year Service Awards to Tony Rasco, Superintendent of Construction and General Manager Dennis Bostad. Howard Rasmussen, Senior Plant Maintenance Technician, was not present to receive a 5-year Service Award, and Patsy Garcia, Customer Accounts Leadworker, and Vickie Stuart, Engineering Clerk III, were not present to receive 10-year Service Awards.

Note: Director Welsh entered the Boardroom at 3:04 p.m. Director Inzunza entered the Boardroom at 3:05 p.m.

Chair Doud congratulated all of the recipients and at 3:06 p.m. called a 10-minute recess for the Board to share cake and coffee with the recognized employees. Chair Doud called the meeting back to order at 3:14 p.m.

ITEMS TO BE ADDED, WITHDRAWN, OR REORDERED IN THE AGENDA

Director Wolniewicz made a motion, seconded by Director Doud, that per diem for Director Wright’s attendance at the California Desalination Water Commission meeting on June 25, 2003 be added as Item 7C. The motion carried.

1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Wolniewicz, that the Governing Board approve the minutes of June 11, 2003. The motion carried.

B. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Wolniewicz, that the Governing Board approve the minutes of June 19, 2003. The motion carried with Director Wright abstaining as he was absent from that meeting.

2. APPROVAL OF DEMANDS AND WARRANTS

Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Governing Board approve Warrants 89221 through 89338 including all voided checks. The motion carried.

CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS

3. OPERATIONS COMMITTEE (Meeting of June 18, 2003)

CONSENT ITEMS

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

A. Approve the installation of 650 feet of 16-inch water main in Palomar Street, and the allocation of $138,500 from proposed Budget Projects 03-05D-1 and 03-06E-1 and $63,500 from the Repair and Replacement Reserve Fund to cover the necessary total funding of $202,000 for this project.

B. Discussion of Robert A. Perdue Water Treatment Plant modifications. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board.

ACTION CALENDAR ITEMS

4. NEW BUSINESS

A. Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Wolniewicz, that the Governing Board approve the Merit rejection letter to Mr. John Duenas. The motion carried.

B. Director Wolniewicz made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Governing Board approve the request from Vallecitos Water District to concur in the nomination of Margaret E. Ferguson for the position of Chair of ACWA Region 10. The motion carried.

C. Director Wolniewicz made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Governing Board approve the request from Vista Irrigation District to concur in the nomination of Jo MacKenzie for the position of Director of ACWA Region 10. The motion carried.

5. OLD AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS

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

RESOLUTION 03-11
SUPPORTING SB 117, APPROPRIATING $200 MILLION
TO SUPPORT THE QUANTIFICATION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT (QSA) AND SUPPORTING SB 317, PROVIDING RELIEF FROM THE CALIFORNIA FULLY PROTECTED SPECIES ACT FOR THE QSA

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

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

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

RESOLUTION 03-12
PLACING IN NOMINATION JAMES S. WOLNIEWICZ AS A MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA WATER AGENCIES REGION 10 BOARD

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

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

6. REPORT OF THE SOUTH BAY IRRIGATION DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE AND THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY REPRESENTATIVE TO THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY

Director Pocklington covered the highlights of the meeting of June 26, 2003, for the Water Policy, Fiscal Policy, and Engineering and Operations Committees. He noted that the Board adopted a position of support on Senate Bill 1097, the Feinstein/Boxer bill requesting $880 million in federal funds to help with the implementation of the Calfed Bay Delta Program. He also commented on the new rate structure that will become effective January 1, 2004; the approval of the Fiscal Year 2003/04 and 2004/05 Operating Budgets in the amounts of $439 million and $461 million, respectively and Capital Improvement Program appropriations of $101 million and $129 million respectively; and the preliminary design and the environmental permitting process for a regional water treatment plant at the Twin Oaks Valley Diversion Structure site.

Mr. Valderrama reported on items under the Public Affairs, Planning and Environmental, and Administrative and Legal Committees. He noted that the Lakeside and Riverview Water Districts passed a resolution to detach from Padre Dam Municipal Water District. Padre Dam was in agreement. Mr. Valderrama also discussed a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation to receive $120,000 in funding for water management studies.

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

A. Alpine Chamber of Commerce – "An Evening with your Elected Representatives,” – Alpine Community Center, July 18, 2003. 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.

B. American Membrane Technology Association (AMTA) 2003 Annual Symposium – Westin Resort, Westminster, Colorado, August 3-5, 2003. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Governing Board approve per diem for Director Wright to attend this conference should he decide to do so. The motion carried.

C. California Desalination Water Commission – Carlsbad, June 25, 2003. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Doud, that the Governing Board approve per diem for Director Wright’s attendance at this event. The motion carried.
8. REPORT OF TREASURER – WANDA AVERY

Ms. Avery reported that interest rates went down another one-quarter percent.

9. BUDGET REPORT
Report as of May 31, 2003

Director of Finance Gaus stated that the preliminary budget for next year had been approved. At eleven months into the year, Water Sales are $362,000 greater than anticipated. Part of that is due to some extra water sales to the Navy while the City was working on Harbor Drive. Other Income is $628,395 under budget, partly due to grant money not received as of yet and which can be carried over to next year. Interest Income is $59,877 higher than projected. Operating Expenses are $641,731 under budget. Mr. Gaus also reviewed the status of the departmental budgets. For Capital Projects, we estimated that 92 percent would be spent at this time, and only 65 percent has been spent.

10. MANAGEMENT REPORT

A. Report of Rainfall and Reservoir Levels – Operations Manager Rogers: Operations Manager Rogers reported that the booth at the Del Mar Fair was very well received, and he thanked Communications Director Roberts and her staff for all their hard work. He also showed the Board a map identifying the "hot soils" within our service area. Hot soils generally have a high concentration of chlorides, which accelerates pipe corrosion, causing them to break and leak. Studying this soil enables us to determine the kind of pipeline to install whenever we plan for a main replacement.

B. Report of General Manager Bostad: General Manager Bostad reported that Senate Bill 572, sponsored by Denise Ducheny, providing for support of the NCCP has moved through both sides of the Legislature, has been sent forward to enrollment, is expected to be signed by the Governor within the next month, and will be implemented into law by the first of January. We are also requesting grant funding support of $50,000 out of the NCCP planning fund.

Mr. Bostad thanked the Board for adopting the resolution supporting Senate Bills 317 and 117 to provide support for the Quantification Settlement Agreement and relief from the California fully protected species statutes. He also shared a draft letter of support to be sent out to Senator Dede Alpert regarding AB 1051. This bill provides important safeguards for public safety by protecting the financial stability of local public utilities and has a net zero effect on schools and state agencies. He reported that staff had been in recent communications with CWA and MWD regarding moving additional imported water to the Sweetwater Reservoir in the near future under the Seasonal Storage Operating Agreement instead of waiting until the first of November. Also, management met recently with representatives from Otay Water District, Tijuana River Valley County Water District, and the City of San Diego to discuss potential groundwater projects in the San Diego Formation.

Mr. Bostad reported that he participated in the Clean Water Summit in Point Loma the previous week. This meeting was attended primarily by cities and counties dealing with storm water runoff, and he was able to give our perspective on the protection of local water supplies. He also commended Director of Water Quality Mann for the outstanding slides she created for his presentation.

Mr. Bostad briefed the Board on the new telephone system and staff's new phone numbers. He also thanked Communications Director Paula Roberts and her team for their support to the Employee Health Fair.

Mr. Bostad then asked Communications Director to give a brief review of this year's Water Quality Report, its regulatory history, and what has been done to make the Report less complex and more user-friendly to the customers.

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

Director Wright reported that the Supreme Court will hear a case in Florida which has to do with the Clean Water Act. The whole industry is watching this case very closely, and it is possible that the outcome could be a restriction on water going from one basin to another. Asked by Director Wright, Legal Counsel de Sousa and General Manager Bostad provided comments on the issue.

12. DIRECTORS’ COMMENTS

Director Welsh said that she appreciated Mayor Inzunza’s letter to the editor in the San Diego Union on June 22nd commenting on the state's decision to dump 200,000 acre-feet of water into the ocean. She also made available to the Directors conference materials from the CLE Law of the Colorado River conference that she recently attended. She remarked that the CLE conferences are some of the very best.

Director Pocklington reported that he attended the Clean Water Summit meeting at Point Loma Nazarene College, and that General Manager Bostad gave an outstanding presentation and answered some good questions from young college students in attendance. He also attended the Health Fair and remarked that it was one of the most outstanding programs we have at Sweetwater, and that it was well attended by employees.

Director Wolniewicz reported that he attended the WESTCAS Summer Conference last week, and he passed the Activities Report for the Regulatory/Legislative and Science Committees and the Washington Report to the Secretary to make available to the Directors for review. He said it was a good conference, and he thinks that everyone enjoyed it. He also commented on the latest article in the Sacramento Bee.

Director Wright discussed some of the sessions at the CLE Law of the Colorado River conference. The conference was very timely, and more than one speaker spoke to the IID situation. He is an active member of Crossroads and receives their literature. They have an interest in the bayfront studies. He also noted that on July 22, 2003 the Chula Vista City Council will hear an item on the proposed sewer rate restructuring and, if approved, the rates would be determined by the amount of water used. This will be an interesting issue to follow.

Director Inzunza said he had the opportunity to attend the Special District Institute Finance Seminar and found it very informative. He also learned a lot from interacting with other Board members from some of the special districts.

Director Doud reported that he attended WESTCAS as well, and he gave his books to the Board Secretary. He said that there was some good information in the conference books for staff to review.

13. CLOSED SESSION

There was no need for one.

14. ADJOURNMENT

With no further business before the Board, Chair Doud adjourned the meeting at 4:30 p.m., to the hour of 6:00 p.m. on July 9, 2003.