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minutesRegular Meeting November 17, 2004 The Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority held an adjourned regular meeting on Wednesday, November 17, 2004, 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: Alkire, Beauchamp, Doud, Inzunza, Pocklington, and Welsh. Directors Absent: None. Others Present: General Manager Bostad, Operations Manager Rogers, Legal Counsel Cowett, Treasurer Avery, and Board Secretary Farpón. Staff members Hank Gaus, Bill Olson, Rita Schoonderwoerd, George Silva, Jim Smyth, Don Thomson and Tom Woodrum. · PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG · OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT (Government Code Section (54954.3) · CHAIR 'S PRESENTATION ACTION CALENDAR ITEMS 1. ITEMS TO BE ADDED, WITHDRAWN, OR REORDERED IN THE AGENDA 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Director Beauchamp made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Board approve the minutes of October 27, 2004. The motion carried. 3. APPROVAL OF DEMANDS AND WARRANTS Director Alkire made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Governing Board approve Warrants 96999 through 97352 including all voided checks. The motion carried. 4. FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE (Meeting of November 1, 2004) Review of Leak adjustment report for the period July 1 through September 30, 2004. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Governing Board approve awarding a contract to Bob Stall Chevrolet in the amount of $46,472.58 for two ¾ ton pick-up trucks. The motion carried. Director Beauchamp made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Governing Board approve awarding a contract to RDO Equipment Co., of Poway for a John Deere Model 410 G Backhoe Loader. The motion carried. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Beauchamp, that the Governing Board approve a contribution of $800 to the Partnership for Safe Drinking Water Program for the period March 1, 2005 through February 28, 2006. The motion carried. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Director Welsh, that the Governing Board approve authorizing the filling of a Systems Analyst position as of January 1, 2005, and that additional funding in the amount of $18,241 be made available from the Unallocated Reserve Fund. The motion carried. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the Governing Board approve the adjustment to the wording to reflect a 2.5 percent increase for personnel in the Utility Worker series, and that this change be made effective as of January 1, 2005. The motion carried. 5. OPERATIONS COMMITTEE (Meeting of November 3, 2004) Director Beauchamp made a motion, seconded by Director Alkire, that the Governing Board approve awarding a contract to Otay River Constructors to proceed with the Sand Mining Ponds at Sweetwater Reservoir, and that funds in the amount of $55,000 be made available from the Unallocated Reserve Fund. The motion carried. Director Beauchamp made a motion, seconded by Director Welsh, that the Governing Board approve authorizing staff to enter into an agreement with SDG&E for the Energy Efficiency Study, and that funds in the amount of $2,000 be authorized from the Williams Energy Reserve in lieu of the Unallocated Reserve Fund. The motion carried. Steele Canyon Golf Course and Common Areas - Proposed Groundwater Use for Irrigation. This was an information item and no action was required by the Governing Board. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Annual Winter
Weather Report. This was an information item and no action was required by
the Governing Board. 6. FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE (Meeting of November 15, 2004) A. Upon a motion made by Director Welsh, seconded by Director Pocklington, the following resolution: RESOLUTION 04-18 was passed and adopted by the following vote, to wit: Ayes: Directors Alkire, Beauchamp, Doud, Inzunza, Pocklington and Welsh Upon a motion made by Director Welsh, seconded by Director Doud, the following resolution: RESOLUTION 04-19 was passed and adopted by the following vote, to wit: Ayes: Directors Alkire, Beauchamp, Doud, Inzunza, Pocklington and Welsh Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Pocklington, that the Governing Board approve a one-line item called CWA Surcharges on customer bills combining the Infrastructure Access Charge and the Customer Service and Storage Charges to reflect the pass-through charges from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the San Diego County Water Authority. 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 Mr. Valderrama provided his report on some of the issues that would be discussed at the CWA's board meeting tomorrow. Two closed sessions will be held, and one of them is to discuss the Carlsbad Seawater Desalination Plant. An action item under the Administrative and Legal Committee is the renewal of annual software maintenance and support fees with PeopleSoft, Inc. An informational item is the Small Contractor Outreach and Opportunities program (SCOOP). He stated that staff has exceeded the goals every quarter and more women and small new businesses have been awarded contracts. He briefly talked about the Ethics and Expenditures of Public Funds, the audits that the state has been doing of water districts, and the changes that have occurred as a result of the audits' findings. Director Pocklington then gave his report on the issues of interest to Sweetwater Authority that would be discussed at tomorrow's meeting. He gave a brief report on two consent items under the Engineering and Operations Committee; the award of a procurement contract for replacement pipes, and the completion of Pipeline 3 and the relining of pipeline 4 from Black Mountain to Miramar Hill. Under the Water Policy Committee they will consider extending for one-year two professional agreements to provide legislative advocacy consulting services. Under Fiscal Policy they are going to discuss the adoption of a resolution to update the annexation fee to reflect existing Water Authority facilities. Director Pocklington provided background information on this issue. He also talked about the capacity charge and said that the CWA had a public hearing last month and the Board will vote on it tomorrow. They plan to increase it by $400 effective February 1, 2005, but it is intended as an interim increase as they are evaluating specific details. He also reported on the impact that the changes in tax laws in California will have on Special Districts. 8. NEW BUSINESS ACWA - Vacant Position on Region 10 Board - Solicitation of candidates for appointment: There was no interest from the Board members to be appointed as candidates for the vacant position on the Region 10 Board. No action was required by the Governing Board. 9. APPROVAL OF DIRECTORS' ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS B. ACWA Conference - Dinner hosted by Best Best & Krieger LLP, - November 30, 2004, at 6:30 p.m. at the Palm Springs Air Museum. All the Directors present at the ACWA Conference will attend this dinner. No action was required by the Governing Board. ACWA Conference - Dinner hosted by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP and Sutter Securities Incorporated, December 1, 2004, 6:30 p.m., at the Chop House in Palm Springs: All the Directors attending the ACWA conference will go to this dinner. No action was required by the Governing Board. California Special Districts Association (CSDA) - Staying in Compliance Workshop - December 15, 2004 at the Embassy Suites Hotel, San Diego. Directors Doud and Pocklington will attend this pre-approved event. No action was required by the Governing Board. CLE International - 11th Annual Conference - California Wetlands - January 27-28, 2005, Loews Coronado Hotel in San Diego. Director Pocklington made a motion, seconded by Dirctor Alkire, that the Governing Board approve per diem for directors Beauchamp, Doud and Inzunza to attend this event. The motion carried. 10. REPORT OF TREASURER - WANDA AVERY Ms. Avery reported that current rates are at 2.5 percent for a one-year Certificate of Deposit (CD), 3.5 percent for a 3-year CD, and 4.05 percent for a Treasury Note. 11. MANAGEMENT REPORT Report of General Manager Bostad: Mr. Bostad showed on the overhead screen the new on-line newsletter that provides information to our internal customers, the employees. This newsletter will ultimately be available online to all the families and employees so that they can read information regarding Sweetwater Authority and it will be updated continuously in some areas. It will also provide information on Board actions. He thinks it will be a valuable tool to keep the employees and families informed on wellness, minutes upon approval, etc. He also referred to the most recent fact sheet that had just been updated and distributed to all the Board members. He reported that the November 19th leadership tour was set up and it would be attended by David Rowlands from the City of Chula Vista, Bruce Hollingsworth from the Port of San Diego, and Jeannie Swaringen, General Manager from Riverview. He added that the word is getting out more, and we are reaching strong community leaders. 12. DIRECTORS' COMMENTS Director Alkire said that this morning he attended the CWA Financial Assistance Program Review Committee (FAP). The committee meets twice a year to consider requests for grants and its budget is $50,000. It used to be $100,000 but evidently it was not being used. There was only one request for $25,000 from the City of San Diego. They want to do long-term testing on water recycling, the new generation of Reverse Osmosis membranes and determination of removal efficiency for recycled water contaminants. The entire study will cost $419,000 and they have a DWR grant of $230,000. The committee recommended granting the request, which will be presented to the CWA board for approval. Director Alkire said that he was interested in the issue because, even though it is for water recycling, it is Reverse Osmosis filter membranes and basically the same technology used in desalination. They are going to be running parallel trains with three filters each in their tests, and they will test for five different manufacturers. He commented that he felt like a fish out of water at the meeting because he was the only director while everyone else was an engineer. He took the place of former Director Reynolds, who was an engineer. He suggested that perhaps we should reassign this task to an appropriate staff member, and he added that the committee meets only twice a year. Director Welsh said that she really appreciates the support that this board has given to her in this election. She never felt that this was a done deal and for the last month and one-half her family has been aware of her anxiety level. She walked, talked, mailed, and sent out pieces that, she realized as an English teacher, had not gone the way she had approved them. She added that she has remembered every employee who said "congratulations." Director Pocklington referred to the Fact Sheet and said that they had talked about keeping the Board of Directors informed by having fact sheets at the Operations Committee meeting a couple of months ago. He suggested to include data on fishing and recreation, reservoir levels, runoff procedures, etc., and how much money we spend on them all. It can be updated once a year. He added that he plans to keep it in a separate folder and review it periodically so when people ask him questions at the CWA and MWD, he will have some background. He also commented on the presentation that General Manager Bostad had given at the meeting with Commissioner Keys last Wednesday, and said that Mr. Bostad provided a lot of information in the 15 minutes that he was given. Commissioner Keys and his staff were very excited over the things that Dennis talked about regarding connecting the reservoirs and using reclaimed water. They also congratulated us on the fact that we are doing it the proper way. It is a long process but getting the studies done first and then following through is the right way to do it. We should all be very proud of our Manager and what he does. He is one of very few managers that have a foresight to look into these things and, he added, I am very pleased to work with him. He continued to say that yesterday morning he met with other MWD directors on the CWA and Orange County, and they had about three hours of conversation. Wes Banister was there, and Director Pocklington is looking forward to working with him as the new Chairman of the MWD Board. Mr. Bannister gave them some insight on the process for hiring the new CEO. They have hired an agency and asked them to bring the 15 top people that they can find. They will work through a committee structure to work it down to seven, and from seven to three. The MWD Board will make the selection among the three final candidates. Mr. Gastelum's last day of work is December 31. This meeting was very interesting and they hope to continue meeting once a quarter and maybe expanding and bringing other agencies in. Director Beauchamp said that at the meeting with Commissioner Keys, Director Doud wore the Sweetwater shirt, and Commissioner Keys was very impressed that we were showing the flag. Little things like that can stick and the Commissioner will remember Sweetwater Authority. Unlike Margaret, he said, he went down in flames in the election, but he thinks he is good for two more years in the Sweetwater Authority Board. He then commented on what happened last night in National City during the Council meeting, which is public knowledge. There was an item to appoint Port Commissioner VandeVenter to another term. His reappointment would require a super majority, in this case four votes. There were four votes but, because of some things that happened, it was pulled from the agenda and it will be brought back in December. At that time a new council member, Ms. Zarate, will be replacing Mr. Ungab. They will then take nominations for the Port Commissioner -Mr. Valderrama is one of the applicants. We might be looking at a new National City appointee to the County Water Authority after the next meeting of the new reconstituted council in December. He also commented on a conversation with Harold Ball at the Council of Water Utilities about our fishing program. Mr. Ball said that they are pulling the concession from Jennings and they are going to run it themselves. Theirs is different than our fishing program because they have a pier, snack bar, boats, etc. The fact is that they already have the Cuyamaca garden, and they are going to buy into another subsidy --the fishing concession. 13. CLOSED SESSION There was no need for one. 14. ADJOURNMENT With no further business before the Board, Chair Doud adjourned the
meeting at 4:31 p.m., to the hour of 6:00 p.m. on December 8, 2004. |
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