minutes
Regular Meeting
Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority
SWEETWATER AUTHORITY GOVERNING BOARD
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
July 25, 2007
The Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority held a regular meeting on
Wednesday,
July 25, 2007, at the Sweetwater Authority Administrative Office, 505 Garrett
Avenue, Chula Vista, California. Chair Beauchamp called the meeting to order at
3:30 p.m.
• ROLL CALL
Directors Present: Alkire, Beauchamp, Morrison, Pocklington, Thomas, and
Welsh
Directors Absent: Doud
Others Present: General Manager/Treasurer Bostad, Operations Manager Rogers,
Legal Counsel Strand, Treasurer Delegatee Farrow, and Board Secretary
Schoonderwoerd. Staff members: Rick Alexander, Mark Hatcher, Bill Olson, George
Silva, Jim Smyth, Don Thomson, and Tom Woodrum. Also present was Lin Wurbs.
• PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
Director Morrison 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.
• CHAIR’S PRESENTATION
There was none.
ACTION CALENDAR ITEMS
1. PUBLIC HEARING (Government Code Section 54954.3)
Chair Beauchamp stated that the Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority was
holding a Public Hearing to give the opportunity for members of the public to
address the Board concerning the “2007 Report on Water Quality Relative to
Public Health Goals and Maximum Contaminant Level Goals.” Chair Beauchamp opened
the Public Hearing at 3:32 p.m. General Manager Bostad stated that Laboratory
Supervisor Hatcher had provided a presentation on the report at the June 28th
Board meeting, and that the necessary Public Hearing notification procedures had
been followed.
There were no members of the public in attendance to provide comments. Chair
Beauchamp closed the Public Hearing at 3:32 p.m.
Director Thomas made a motion, seconded by Director Morrison, that the
Governing board accept the “2007 Report on Water Quality Relative to Public
Health Goals and Maximum Contaminant Level Goals.” The motion carried.
2. ITEMS TO BE ADDED, WITHDRAWN, OR REORDERED IN THE AGENDA
Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the Governing
Board add Director Thomas’s request to attend the San Diego State University
School of Public Health’s Climate Forecast workshop meetings to the agenda as
Item 9.C. The motion carried.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the
Governing Board approve the minutes of the July 11, 2007 meeting. The motion
carried.
4. APPROVAL OF DEMANDS AND WARRANTS
Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Thomas, that the Governing
Board approve Warrants 110696 through 110868 including all voided checks. The
motion carried.
5. FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE (Meeting of July 16, 2007)
A. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the
Governing Board decline the 2007 membership renewal in the San Diego East
Visitors Bureau. The motion carried.
B. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Morrison, that the
Governing Board award a contract in the amount of $27,594 to iWater, Inc., 11
Marconi, Suite A, Irvine, CA 92618, for the purchase of the field application
software. The motion carried.
C. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Thomas, that the
Governing Board approve a two-year extension (2007-2009) of the time and
materials contract for geotechnical services with Construction Testing &
Engineering, Inc., 1441 Montiel Road, Suite 115, Escondido, CA. The motion
carried.
D. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the
Governing Board award a contract in the amount of $305,940 to MWH, 9444 Farnham
Street, Suite 300, San Diego, CA 92123, for the final design of the Perdue
Chemical Systems Improvements; and contracts in the amount of $47,488 to
Enterprise Automation, 3002 Dow Avenue, No. 508, Tustin, CA 92780 and $58,790 to
Timberline Engineering, 4425 Juan Tabo Blvd., Suite 201, Albuquerque, NM 87111,
for the final SCADA communications and programming design for the Perdue
Chemical Systems Improvements. The motion carried.
6. OPERATIONS COMMITTEE (Meeting of July 18, 2007)
A. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Welsh, 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.
B. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, 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.
C. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Morrison, that
the Governing Board approve additional funding in the amount of $66,000 from the
Capital Contingency Fund for the Moss Street sewer improvements. The City of
Chula Vista will refund the Authority one-half of the actual cost upon
completion of all the Authority’s work, as some relocation work for other water
facilities has already been completed. The motion carried.
7. NEW BUSINESS
ACWA-NWRA Election – Call for candidate nominations for three directors and
one alternate to serve the 2008-09 term – Deadline to submit nominations:
September 7, 2007 None of the Directors expressed an interest in nomination as
candidates for these positions. No action was taken by the Board.
8. 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 several items of note to be considered by
the CWA Board at its meeting on July 26th. Among the items to be considered by
the Board are: construction contract change orders totaling increases of $3
million for the San Vicente Pipeline Project; acceptance of the San Diego
Integrated Regional Water Management Plan and authorization to submit a
Proposition 50, Chapter 8 grant application; award of a professional services
contract to Rick Engineering to perform aerial surveying services for the San
Diego Pipeline 6 Project; adoption of the revised Revenue Collection Policy and
the denial of late fee refunds for delinquent payments of capacity charges
(based on a request from the City of San Diego); approval of the memorandum of
understanding and FY 2008 classification and salary schedule, and salary table
adjustments; adoption of opposed positions to SB 412 (Simitian); adoption of a
legislative policy guideline to oppose legislation increasing the size of the
MWD Board of Directors from 36 to 50; adoption of the Blueprint for Water
Conservation as CWA’s strategic plan for conservation; approval of CWA’s
promotional partnership in the USEPA’s WaterSense Program; adoption of a
resolution to accept grant funds from the Department of Water Resources for
development of a water budget web-enabling program; the new appointments of
Joseph Craver and Kenneth Williams representing the City of San Diego; and the
reappointments of John Linden and Richard Smith of Helix Water District.
9. APPROVAL OF DIRECTORS’ ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS AND FUTURE AGENDA
ITEMS
A. California Special Districts Association, San Diego Chapter Quarterly
Meeting – Thursday, August 16, 2007, 6:00 p.m. at the DoubleTree Club Hotel –
Program: “San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) Candidates Forum”
along with Special Topics Speaker Michael D. Ott, LAFCO Executive Officer.
Directors wishing to attend this pre-approved event were asked to turn in their
sign-up sheets. No action was required by the Governing Board.
B. 14th Annual Urban Water Conference – August 22-24, 2007, Del Mar Marriott
(Conflict with Board meeting of August 22nd). Directors wishing to attend this
pre-approved event will contact the Secretary. The status of the August 22nd
Board meeting will be considered based on interest in this event. No action was
required by the Governing Board.
C. Director Thomas expressed interest in attending, as a Sweetwater Authority
Board representative, possible follow-up breakout sessions held as a result of
the San Diego State University School of Public Health’s Climate Forecast
workshop held on July 12th. Staff will research the status of these meetings and
obtain additional printed information to be brought to the Board for
consideration. No action was required by the Governing Board.
10. REPORTS BY DIRECTORS ON EVENTS ATTENDED
Director Welsh reported on the Water Education Foundation Hetch Hetchy Tour,
which she attended on July 11-13, and presented brochures to all Directors
showing the chronological development of the system. She explained that this
system has been operating for years without much-needed representation of the
cities it served. She read an excerpt from one of the program brochures
describing how long ago two groups of people each believed they knew what was
the highest purpose of the river and valley, but both the valley and river lost
in the debate. Today the debate has been renewed between those who want to
restore Hetch Hetchy and those who don’t. Four engineering studies since 1988
have said that the O’Shaughnessy Dam can be taken down, the Hetch Hetchy Valley
can be restored, the interest of Native Americans protected, and the needs of
water and power users in the San Francisco Bay area, Central Valley, and
Tuolomne County can be met in other responsible ways. But, the outcome for these
stakeholders is still unknown. Patrick Hodell reported that Restore Hetch Hetchy
estimates the cost of replacing water and power supplies, removing the
O’Shaughnessy Dam, and restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley at about $1 billion,
comparable to other park and wildlife restoration projects. He said that the
removal of the dam at Hetch Hetchy could be funded with a public campaign that
wouldn’t require any federal money, sort of like the restoration of the Statue
of Liberty, which was done with private funds, not with taxpayers’ money.
Director Welsh said that they see this as an invasion into protected land that
was part of the National Park system. She added that this was a very interesting
tour with many people with different points of view, and noted that she has
additional materials to share if any directors are interested.
Director Pocklington reported on the Council of Water Utilities Meeting on
July 17th, and stated that Nancy Sutley, an MWD representative from the City of
Los Angeles, was the speaker. He said it was a very positive discussion given
the past history between San Diego and Los Angeles. Director Morrison added that
he ran into Ms. Sutley in Los Angeles yesterday, and she commented on how she
appreciated being able to come down and converse with San Diego and that there
needs to be more of that. Director Thomas added that she also believed it was an
excellent presentation and that is was very systematically presented.
Director Morrison reported on the National City Chamber of Commerce meeting
on July 18th, stating that the program was on the Enterprise Tax Zone, which
encompasses a portion of Chula Vista, almost all of National City, and a portion
of San Diego. The program also featured the impact this can have on businesses.
Director Thomas attended the Water Agencies Association Quarterly Meeting on
July 19th. Assembly Member Joel Anderson was unable to be in attendance to make
his presentation. Mark Robak, Otay Water District, gave a PowerPoint
presentation on the Water Conservation Garden.
Director Beauchamp reported that the Joint Board Meeting on July 20th went
very well and adjourned on time. Director Pocklington agreed that the reports
given were excellent and that Sweetwater Authority staff did a very good job of
hosting the meeting. Director Thomas reported that the presentation by Marty
Eberhardt of the Water Conservation Garden was very enthusiastic and showed the
long--range impacts of things being done at the Garden. She showed a comparison
of various methods so people could see the differences in the irrigation
processes. In addition she had materials on hand including the Nifty 50 Plant
List, the California Friendly Plant List, the Firewise Plant List, etc., and
shared the enthusiasm for the plants from the landscape companies.
The Chula Vista Interagency Water Task Force Meeting scheduled for July 23rd
was cancelled due to lack of a quorum.
Director Thomas reported on the Bonita Business and Professional Association
meeting on July 24th and informed the Board that the First Annual
Bonita-Sunnyside Library Job Fair will be held on September 11th from 10:00 a.m.
to 3:00 p.m. The kick-off for BonitaFest will be held on August 4th at the
Bonita Golf Club. She added that once again she received great feedback on the
Authority’s Water Quality Report and calendar. She also announced that County
Supervisor Greg Cox will be giving a State of Bonita address tonight at 6:00
p.m. at the Bonita Library. Next month, fire protection and other security
agencies will be making presentations.
11. QUARTERLY REPORT OF DIRECTORS’ EXPENSES – 4TH QUARTER FY 2006-07
This spreadsheet report was provided to the Board for information purposes
and there were no comments from the Board.
12. MANAGEMENT REPORT
A. Report of Operations Manager Rogers: Operations Manager Rogers reported on
the recent discovery of a three-inch-tall baby burrowing owl in one of the
condos constructed by the Authority and provided some infrared video photography
of the baby owl taken by Biologist Pete Famolaro.
B. Report of General Manager Bostad: General Manager Bostad reported that,
with the help of Water Quality and Communications staff, a press conference for
the Governor was held yesterday using Sweetwater Reservoir as a backdrop. The
main purpose was to sell the Governor’s 2008 $5.9 billion water plan and to find
a reservoir that looked half empty. It afforded another opportunity to
communicate very closely again with Joe Grindstaff, Director of the California
Bay-Delta Authority. This was a controlled event coordinated by the Governor’s
Office and law enforcement. Staff was not even aware of the event until the day
before. Chair Beauchamp attended and Mayor Morrison was there representing the
City of National City, and it was a good opportunity to connect with Sacramento.
The Authority’s website contains a link to a streaming video of the press
conference on the Governor’s website. Mr. Bostad added that Mayor Sanders
publicly promoted the City of San Diego’s partnership with the Reservoir
Intertie Project. Mr. Bostad added that in trying to promote the idea of
linkages with local projects such as groundwater and seawater desalination, he
believes that progress has been made in discussing storage with Mr. Grindstaff.
Mr. Bostad also announced that he was just informed by Poseidon Resources that
the Coastal Commission staff has finally deemed the application for a Coastal
Development Permit for the Carlsbad Desalination Project complete, which clears
the way for a project approval hearing before the Commission in November. This
was a significant step for this project.
13. DIRECTORS’ COMMENTS
Director Pocklington commented that he would be leaving town for a week on
Saturday.
Director Alkire commented that he had great weather on his Ohio vacation, and
that the pictures he shared of the burrowing owl were well received.
Director Beauchamp announced that the San Diego Electric Railway Museum,
which is in the National City Depot, is interested in landscaping the area
occupied by some cars being stored there but scheduled for relocation. They are
interested in a conservation theme, but the plants will be in containers/boxes
on top of the asphalt. He stated that this is an opportunity to have some
conservation demonstration locally in National City, and he will approach the
Garden regarding this.
14. CLOSED SESSION
There was none.
15. ADJOURNMENT
With no further business before the Board, Chair Beauchamp adjourned the
meeting at 4:36 p.m.
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