minutes

South Bay Irrigation District
Minutes of the Regular Meeting

December 15, 2003

The Board of Directors of South Bay Irrigation District held a regular meeting on Monday, December 15, 2003, at the Sweetwater Authority Administrative Office, 505 Garrett Avenue, Chula Vista, California. President Pocklington called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.

· ROLL CALL

Directors Present: Doud, Pocklington, Reynolds, and Welsh.
Directors Absent: None.
Others Present: General Manager Bostad, Operations Manager Mark Rogers, Legal Counsel Peggy Strand, and Board Secretary Marisa Farpón-Friedman; Sweetwater Authority's Chief Engineer Smyth; and applicants for Division 3 Jim Alkire and R. Roy Tellez.

· PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
Director Reynolds conducted the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

· OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT (Government Code Section (54954.3)
There was no comment from the public.

· PRESIDENT'S PRESENTATION
President Pocklington announced that John Jamieson is scheduled to give a presentation to the Board on January 19, 2004 on sewer and desalination. In February or March 2004, Counsel Strand will talk about Proposition 50. General Manager Bostad said that Sweetwater Authority has completed a major emergency planning effort and he would like to brief this Board on the improvements regarding the Authority's ability for coordination and emergency response. Another future presentation could be on the Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP).

1. INTERVIEWS OF APPLICANTS TO FILL THE VACANCY IN DIVISION 3

Two applicants were present to be interviewed, R. Roy Tellez and James C. Alkire. Counsel Strand reviewed the process to conduct the interviews. President Pocklington stated that although this is a public hearing, it would be fair to both applicants that the Board interviewed them separately. The applicants had no objections, and Mr. Tellez agreed to be interviewed following Mr. Alkire.

Mr. Alkire said he is 66 years old and whenever he has taken on any project, he has seen it through. If he is selected for this position, he intends to serve and see it through to the end of the term. He added that he would run for the seat in November.

He responded to questions from Directors Doud, Welsh, Reynolds and Pocklington. He said that he resides in Division 3 and is a landowner. He believes rate increases are necessary to keep the system running and operating properly. He talked about the financial and policy decisions that he has made throughout his career as a Commanding Officer in the Navy. He confirmed that he would be able to meet any travel commitment necessary to do this job. He believes that the Members of the Board have a responsibility to insure a plentiful supply of reliable water in a system that operates properly at rates that are not outrageous. He also thinks that directors should give overall direction to the General Manager, let him do the job, and have him report on the progress. If directors do not agree with how things are progressing, then they should step in.

Mr. Alkire then left the room and Mr. R. Roy Tellez was brought in. He thanked the board for allowing him to speak today. He thinks it is a privilege to serve the City of Chula Vista as a member of South Bay Irrigation District Board. He has lived in Chula Vista for the last 35 years and is a landowner. He believes he would have the ability to transfer some of the skills that he has acquired in the gas and electric industry to the water utility industry.

In response to the questions from directors, Mr. Tellez stated that Sweetwater Authority's rates are affordable but he understands there have to be rate increases in order to maintain the infrastructure. He talked about the financial and policy decisions that he has made throughout his professional career with SDG&E, as well as his expertise as a utility fraud investigator. Mr. Tellez also noted that he has the time to attend meetings scheduled by the Board. He thinks that a director's job is to be accountable and responsible for the constituents and ratepayers, and that it is important as a public servant to be competent and capable to answer the constituents' questions. As part of his experience in servicing the public, he noted that in the early 80's Greg Cox appointed him to serve on the Chula Vista Task Force 2000. He believes that his competency and skills in education and training, as well as his love for talking to people and for being out in the community, would be a good fit for this job.

Mr. Tellez then left the room, and the Members of the Board discussed the qualifications of both candidates. Director Welsh made a motion, seconded by Director Doud, that the Governing Board appoint James C. Alkire as the new director for Division 3 of the South Bay Irrigation District. The motion carried unanimously.

Mr. Alkire and Mr. Tellez were then invited back in the room. President Pocklington thanked both candidates and informed them of the Board's decision to appoint Mr. James Alkire as the new director for Division 3. He said that all board members found both candidates to be highly qualified, and reminded Mr. Tellez that he would have an opportunity to run for the seat at the next general election in November of next year.

At 4:15 p.m., President Pocklington called for a 5-minute break. The meeting was called back to order at 4:21 p.m., with all members of the Board in attendance.

2. ITEMS TO BE ADDED, WITHDRAWN OR REORDERED TO THE AGENDA
(Government Code Section 54956.5)

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Director Doud made a motion, seconded by Director Welsh, that the Board approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 17, 2003. The motion carried.

4. APPROVAL OF DEMANDS AND WARRANTS

Director Doud made a motion, seconded by Director Welsh, that warrant numbers 10065 through 10074 be approved. The motion carried.

5. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 554 APPOINTING OFFICERS FOR 2004

Upon a motion by President Pocklington, seconded by Director Doud, the following Resolution

RESOLUTION 554
RESOLUTION OF THE SOUTH BAY IRRIGATION DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
APPOINTING OFFICERS FOR 2004

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

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

The officers appointed were Margaret Welsh as President, Richard Reynolds as Vice President, James Doud as Deputy Treasurer, Wanda Avery as Treasurer, and Marisa Farpón-Friedman as Secretary/Controller.

6. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 555 ESTABLISHING NEW SIGNATORIES ON THE DISTRICT'S CHECKING ACCOUNT WITH THE BANK OF AMERICA

Upon a motion made by Director Pocklington, seconded by Director Welsh, the following Resolution:
RESOLUTION 555
RESOLUTION OF THE SOUTH BAY IRRIGATION DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ESTABLISHING NEW SIGNATORIES ON THE DISTRICT'S CHECKING ACCOUNT WITH THE BANK OF AMERICA

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

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

The signatories appointed are Wanda Avery, Treasurer; James F. Doud, Sr., Deputy Treasurer; W. D. Pocklington, Director; and Richard A. Reynolds, Vice-President.

7. APPROVAL OF DIRECTORS' ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS & FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

There were none.

8. NEW BUSINESS

A. Consideration of continuation of scholarship program. Director Welsh said that she was one of the promoters of the program but she now has concerns about continuing it given the current financial situation of the district. Consequently, she would vote for discontinuing the $1,000 scholarship program. President Pocklington concurred with Director Welsh but expressed concerns about totally discontinuing the program. Director Reynolds wondered if the money would be better spent on publications to be distributed to the schools and libraries. President Pocklington suggested that the District continue the program in conjunction with Sweetwater Authority where if there were two equally outstanding participants for the Sweetwater Authority program, SBID would award the $1,000 scholarship to one of them. General Manager Bostad suggested setting it up as a policy that if there were two very competitive candidates, the second one be referred to SBID for consideration.

President Pocklington said that this issue would be brought back. He will ask staff to work with Sweetwater Authority's Communications staff to review the policy and come up with a situation that would allow SBID to award the $1,000 scholarship, if in fact qualified candidates are identified.

B. CSDA, San Diego Chapter - Call for Nominations for Board Member positions - 2nd Vice President and Treasurer. Director Doud explained that the 2nd Vice President and the Treasurer are up for election. The current Treasurer, Richard Hyde, has offered to continue in this position, and none of the directors showed interest in running for either position. No action was required by the Board.

C. Consideration of membership renewal with California Special Districts Association. President Pocklington said that Both Sweetwater Authority and South Bay Irrigation District are members of CSDA, both at State level and locally. The membership with CSDA at State level is $285. The members of the Board engaged in a discussion regarding whether both agencies, Sweetwater Authority and SBID, should belong to the CSDA at State level, or only one of them. Legal Counsel Strand noted that Sweetwater Authority operates pursuant to Irrigation District law. She suggested doing some work on this issue with the Secretary and bringing back a recommendation. No action was required by the Board.

9. REPORT OF TREASURER

Ms. Avery was not present.

10. REPORT OF LAFCO SPECIAL DISTRICTS REGULAR MEMBER

President Pocklington said he had attended two LAFCO meetings. Donna Frye from the City of San Diego, who is part of the Executive Committee formed to discuss the problems experienced during the recent fires, had mentioned that there was no LAFCO member on the Fire Commission. She suggested that Andrew Vanderlaan and Ron Wootton would be two good candidates. They discussed the issue and the decision was to vote for both. Director Pocklington reported that Patty Davis had been selected as Chair and himself as Vice Chair of the Commission.

He also reported that the LAFCO Advisory Committee had voted seven to three to disband the Tiajuana Valley Water District. He said that the City of San Diego must now step up and take over this responsibility. This issue will be coming to the LAFCO Commission perhaps in February or March. He also gave a brief report on a Municipal Service Review Working Group meeting he had attended where they reviewed draft analyses of chapter 3 (Administration, Management and Operations) and 4 (Governance). He noted that there were no negative comments towards Sweetwater Authority in the review.

11. REPORT OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY REPRESENTATIVE

President Pocklington said that there were no major items of significance to be discussed at the Board meeting on Thursday. He referred to one item dealing with the County Water Authority Water Treatment plant schedule. The Board had asked staff to work with the member agency General Managers on economic and rate analyses of treatment options. The managers have agreed that there is a need for additional water treatment capacity for the region. They have concluded that CWA staff needs to provide economic cost comparisons of an Authority water treatment plant versus MWD providing additional treatment capacity, as well as rate analysis on how a regional water treatment plant would be paid for and by which agencies.

12. DIRECTORS' COMMENTS

Director Welsh said that she wanted to be the first to welcome Jim Alkire to our board.

Director Reynolds welcomed Mr. Alkire aboard.

Director Doud welcomed Mr. Alkire aboard.

Director Pocklington also welcomed him aboard. He said that he and Mr. Alkire went to the Pacific together back in 1961. He thanked everyone for this past year as President, which has been challenging and yet rewarding. He thanked the Secretary for all her help in keeping him honest and Counsel Strand for keeping him legal and to all the board members for their support. Also to Director Welsh and Director Reynolds as they take over next year.

13. CLOSED SESSION

There was no need for a closed session.

14. ADJOURNMENT

With no further business before the Board, President Pocklington adjourned the meeting at 5:07 p.m., to the hour of 3:30 p.m., on January 19, 2004.