minutes

Regular Meeting

Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority

September 10, 2003

The Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority held a regular meeting on September 10, 2003, at the Sweetwater Authority Administrative Office, 505 Garrett Avenue, Chula Vista, California. Chair Doud called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Directors Present: Beauchamp, Doud, Inzunza, Pocklington, Reynolds, Welsh, and Wright.

Directors Absent: None.

Others Present: General Manager Bostad, Operations Manager Rogers, Legal Counsel Akins, Treasurer Avery, and Board Secretary Farpón-Friedman. Staff members Hank Gaus, Mary Ann Mann, Troy Murphree, Bill Olson, 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)
No members of the public were present for comment.

CHAIR ’S PRESENTATION
There was no presentation.

ITEMS TO BE ADDED, WITHDRAWN, OR REORDERED IN THE AGENDA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

1. PUBLIC HEARING (Government Section 54954.3)

Chair Doud 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 notice of intent to adopt a Negative Declaration for the Lynwood Hills Tank replacement project.

Deputy Chief Engineer Michael Garrod gave an extensive report on the project. He noted that the proposed tank serves the Lynwood Hills area North of the actual tank site. The neighbors and the City of Chula Vista have several concerns. The site has two tanks on it, a 10,000-gallons and a 100,000 gallons tank, which is the one that will be replaced. The construction will be done during the wintertime when the customer usage would be minimal. During this time, the 10,000-gallon tank will be serving the area, and there should be no problem maintaining service. The new tank will be 129,000 gallons, with a 28-feet diameter and a 31-feet height. The project budget amount is $213,000.

Staff will send out bids in September. The proposed award of contract will be presented to the Board in November, and the existing tank will be abolished in December. The construction of the new tank should be completed in January. Mr. Garrod said that one of the problems with this construction is that it will coincide with the gnatcatcher-breeding season. Invitations were sent to 51 neighbors to attend a public meeting and only five attended. Staff received comments from the City of Chula Vista and from Ms. Shirley Harpenau, who lives across the street from the tank. The City of Chula Vista’s biggest concern was the construction noise during the gnatcatcher-breeding season. Deputy Chief Engineer Garrod said that if construction goes beyond February 15, we would have to install 20-feet tall sound blankets to dampen the sound. Directors brought up questions regarding earthquake safety of the new tank, the number of gnatcatchers seen in the area, and sovereignty issues.

Director Beauchamp recommended that the wording on item 4.4 Biological Resources on page 4-2 be changed from “Authority staff has contacted Fish and Game and Fish and Wildlife Service and will coordinate with those agencies to address the issue to their satisfaction,” to read “…to address the issue to the satisfaction of the law.”

Chair Doud opened the Public Hearing at 6:25 p.m. to receive comments from the Public.

Ms. Georgianne Van Patten from 416 Windrose Way, Chula Vista, addressed the board. She expressed concerns about the risk of fire during construction and asked what kind of protection Sweetwater Authority would provide.

Mr. Garrod responded that the Authority is very cognizant of the fire risk due to the torching and welding involved. The specifications include a fire plan that the contractor will have to get approved by the Fire Marshall. He stated that in past tank projects we had fire suppression equipment sitting at the site, with one person welding and one person watching the welding with fire equipment in hand. Ms. Van Patten appeared to be satisfied with this answer.

Chair Doud closed the Public Hearing at 6:27 p.m.

Director Beauchamp made a motion, seconded by Director Wright, that the Board approve the Draft Negative Declaration of the Lynwood Hills Tank Replacement, with a change in the last sentence of paragraph 4.4 1) of the CEQA document of the project to read “…to address the issue to the satisfaction of the Law” instead of “to their satisfaction.” The motion carried.

2. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 03-15

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

RESOLUTION 03-15

ACCEPTING AS ADEQUATE AND ADOPTING THE NEGATIVE DECLARATION FOR THE LYNWOOD HILLS TANK REPLACEMENT AND DIRECTING THAT A NOTICE OF DETERMINATION BE FILED

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

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

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Board approve the minutes of August 27, 2003. The motion carried.

4. APPROVAL OF DEMANDS AND WARRANTS

Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Board approve Warrants 90324 through 90549 including all voided checks. The motion carried.

CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS

5. NEW BUSINESS

A. Approval of Records Retention and Destruction Policy drafted by Legal Counsel.

Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Doud, that the Governing Board approve the Records Retention and Destruction Policy drafted by Legal Counsel. The motion carried.

B. Approval of Public Records Policy drafted by Legal Counsel.

Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Governing Board approve the Public Records Policy drafted by Legal Counsel. Chair Doud suggested that the schedule of fees be changed from 37 cents to first-class cost. The motion carried.

C. ACWA Committee Appointment Nominees for 2004-2005 Term.

Chair Doud noted that General Manager Bostad and Communications Director Roberts are members of the Clean Water Subcommittee and the Communications Committee respectively. General Manager Bostad noted that Director of Water Quality Mann is a member of the Water Safety Sub-Committee. Chair Doud asked if any of the Board members wished to be appointed to a committee, and Director Wright expressed his interest to be appointed to the State Legislative Committee.

Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Doud, that the Governing Board nominate him to be considered for appointment to the ACWA State Legislative Committee for the 2004-2005 Term. The motion carried.

6. FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE (Meeting of September 2, 2003)

CONSENT ITEMS

Director Wright made a motion, seconded by Director Inzunza, that the Governing Board approve consent Items A through F. The motion carried.

A. Approve an adjustment of $676.89 to Mr. Albert Barclay’s account in accordance with the Adjustments to Customers’ Water Bills Policy.

B. Approve the membership renewal in the American Water Works Association for Fiscal Year 2003-04 in the amount of $3,864.

C. Award a contract to C.A. Gamble & Associates in an amount not to exceed $40,000 to provide planning, design, and development of bid specifications and administration of bids for the implementation of technology to accomplish specific recommendations of the Vulnerability Assessment.

D. Award an annual sole-source contract to DEC Consultants, Inc., for the testing of the Authority’s Cathodic Protection Systems, and that subsequent annual project costs be budgeted accordingly.

E. Award a contract in the amount of $29,920 to ActivManuals for writing consulting services.

F. Approve an amendment to the Nitrification Study performed by Charlotte Smith and Associates, Inc., to include an additional $11,700 for a flushing plan.

7. OPERATIONS COMMITTEE (Meeting of September 3, 2003)

CONSENT ITEMS

Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Wright, that the Board approve consent item A through C. The motion carried.

A. Approve a remote service to Mr. Steven Abramovitz at 3708 Bonita Canyon Road.

B. Award a contract to Koch-Armstrong General Contractors, 9709 Airport Vista Road, Santee, CA, on the based-bid amount of $241,368.80, and the as-needed pavement repair work based on the unit prices submitted in their bid.

C. Discussion of 2003 CSDA Innovative Program Award. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board.

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

A. Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting for the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan – Monday, September 15, 2003, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Bus Tour of Chula Vista Bayfront. Directors Beauchamp, Doud and Pocklington will attend this meeting. 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.

B. Council of Water Utilities breakfast meeting – StoneRidge Country Club – Tuesday, September 16, 2003, 7:15 a.m. All the directors will attend this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

C. Special District Institute Seminar – Special District Administration – October 15 – 17, 2003 – Catamaran Resort, San Diego. None of the Directors will attend this event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

D. Water Education Foundation – Southern California Groundwater Tour – October 15 – 17, 2003. None of the Directors will attend this event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

E. WESTCAS’ Fall Conference – October 29 – 31, 2003 – Tucson, Arizona. Director Beauchamp, Doud and Wright will attend this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

F. National Water Resources Association (NWRA) 72nd Annual Conference – November 11 – 14, 2003 – Hyatt Regency Long Beach, Long Beach, California. Directors Beauchamp, Doud, Reynolds, Welsh and Wright will attend this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board.

9. REPORT OF TREASURER – WANDA AVERY

Ms. Avery reported that there was no change in interest rates.

10. BUDGET REPORT
Report as of July 31, 2003

Director of Finance Gaus reported Water Sales being on schedule; Other Income slightly above budget; Interest Income $27,399 under budget; and Operating Expenses $58,000 below budget.

11. MANAGEMENT REPORT

A. Report of Rainfall and Reservoir Levels – Operations Manager Rogers: Operations Manager Rogers said that after the first week of the rate increase, we have had no questions from our customers.

B. Report of General Manager Bostad: General Manager Bostad spoke about a meeting with a representative of the Friends of the Library who asked us to give a public presentation on water supply and water supply reliability in our area. He also informed the Board that at the CWA Managers meeting tomorrow, they would be reviewing the adequacy of treated water from the Skinner Filtration Plant and some alternatives to increase treated water in the region, i.e., additional water treatment plants and/or additional treatment capabilities at some of the plants.

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

Director Wright referred to two issues of the ACWA newsletter, where CALFED is mentioned six or seven times, including a formal statement on what its mission is. He noted that ex-Senator Costa talked about the future of CALFED and about legislation in place stating that if there is no agreement between the feds and the state by a certain time, the CALFED group would dissolve.

Director Wright had distributed several handouts that covered information regarding the lawsuit against Metropolitan Water District for diversion of water from Cajalco Creek at Lake Matthews in Riverside County; the New Mexico water rights suit; the details for the QSA where the Davis administration and the Southern California Water Agencies are close to another Colorado River agreement; and the energy bill and the price increases. With regards to this last issue, he asked staff to give the board information on the fund we had to set aside for this purpose, and whether there will be any major accounting changes because of additional monies that we have to pay if the local energy companies get what they want. The last item was an article on the International Boundary Waters Commission and the construction of a sewage treatment plant with Congressman Filner demanding action from the Commission.

13. DIRECTORS’ COMMENTS

Director Pocklington said that there are two CWA meetings tomorrow. A workshop on the Water Treatment Plant project at the Mission Valley Marriott, and a regular board meeting in the afternoon with a Closed Session to get an update on the QSA. After the closed session, there will be a workshop on rate policy issues associated with the Master Plan. The discussions will include how to pay for a new treatment plant or for desalination. He also said that the Department of Water Resources Dam Safety is looking at increasing the safety fee for the dams and it looks like they want to charge for the water that is in the dam. He thinks it could be quite expensive and that we need to get involved. The Turlock Irrigation District presently pays $19,000 in dam safety fees and under the new program their costs would go up to $453,000.

Chair Doud said that they are not charging us for the water that we store but for the capacity.

Director Wright called to the attention of the Board that there should be no discussion on any item under Directors’ Comments. He noted that Directors’ comments are placed on the agenda to enable individual board members to convey information to the board and the public, and there is no discussion or action taken on comments made by board members. Director Wright asked that Legal Counsel give a full report on the subject at the next board meeting.

Director Beauchamp referred to a letter from the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission inviting him to a meeting on September 25th regarding the border and Imperial Valley. He also referred to the CEQA document that was discussed previously during the Public Hearing and our autonomy enabling our ability to do things independent of other agencies that might try to affect us. In light of the fact that we are part of that whole governance system i.e., Chula Vista, National City, Caltrans, he thinks the comment that we must have a Conditional Use Permit was not appropriate, and suggested that we bring the issue to a committee to understand what our position is.

On a personal note, he said that his daughter, who is a PhD student at ASU in Tempe, Arizona, is involved in Riparian Systems. She has been studying the Verde River and she is about to get a $100,000 grant to study issues in the Rio Grande. She told him that the river does not get its water from the river but from some side branch in Mexico, and it is all dried up down there. She said that all the trees were chopped down and they are not coming back.

Director Wright said that the Helix Water District directors are now getting $200 per meeting per diem and he would like the Finance and Personnel Committee to check that out and see where we stand.

14. CLOSED SESSION

There was no need for one.

15. ADJOURNMENT

With no further business before the Board, Chair Doud adjourned the meeting at 7:04 p.m., to the hour of 3:30 p.m. on September 24, 2003.