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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1974-02-19; Water Committee Ad Hoc; MinutesMinutes of WATER COMMITTEE February 19, 1974 Chairman, Knox Williams Vice-Chairman, Robert Watson Present:Committee Members: Staff: Knox Williams Robert Watson Bill Cannon Glenn McComas A.C. Bowen Thelma Sowell Charles Gibb The meeting was called to order at 4:25 PM in the Council Chambers of the City of Carlsbad. The minutes of the last meeting were approved with minor corrections. Bill Baldwin, Assistant to the City Manager, presented the Committee with a copy of the appraisal of Lake Calavera. The Committee was also provided with a copy of the City of Carlsbad agenda bill on Calavera property appraisal for their information. There was some discussion by the Committee as to the merits of selling the property with or without conditions attached thereto. They also discussed selling versus leasing the property. The Committee was in general support of the attempts by the City to have the County of San Diego purchase the property for a regional park, but was also desirous of the need for some decision to be made in this regard. A motion (Watson/McComas) to recommend to the City Council of Carlsbad that the appraisal of Lake Calavera be forwarded to the County of San Diego and that it is the opinion of this Committee that the Council seek an answer from the County of San Diego within sixty days as to their intention to buy the property. If no answer is received from the County within sixty days, the Water Committee recommends that the Lake Calavera property be placed on the market for lease or sale. The motion was approved unanimously. The Committee was briefed by the staff on the status of the proposed con- solidation of water services. The Committee was informed that Mr. Frank Libley, former City Manager and presently a management consultant to the City of Carlsbad, is conducting a study of the overall water consolidation problem area. The Chairman indicated that he was aware of this and had been interviewed by Mr. Lilley. There was a general discussion of consolidation and the proposed water district. Glenn McComas stated that water and sewer services are by California law basically a municipal function. Bill Cannon stated that the City will eventually have to form a separate water district. There was some discussion as to whether the City could buy water from the County Water Authority with- out being a district. A.C. Bowen stated that the City of Oceanside purchases its water directly from the County Water Authority without benefit of a water district. Knox Williams stated that water and sewer systems need to work together to serve the needs of the citizens of this community. Water Committee minutes February 19, 1974 Page 2 Thelma Sowell, the City's Finance Director, presented the financial report. She indicated that the mid-fiscal year report showed that the water enter- prise was in good financial condition. Bob Watson asked what she contributed this good financial condition to. She stated that the service charge and water rates were at a level which was providing the income that was needed. Bob Watson also asked why it was that we were so worried about minor items on the revised water budget if we were in such good financial condition. The staff reply was that the water budget was revised with the thought that, if we could approach this point in mid-year, we would have sufficient funds for any contingencies, such as a wet spring (low water sales) without having to go into the reserves as in past years. The Committee took up the question of Mr. Friday, of the CMWD, attending the meetings. The Water Committee meetings are public meetings and anyone can attend the meetings; however, in answer to this specific request, the Committee indicated that they would be most happy to have Mr. Friday attend the meetings and he would be a welcome addition. Water Committee agendas and minutes will be sent to CMWD on a regular basis. The staff appraised the Committee of the fact that several cities in the San Diego County have recently either enacted or are considering a buy-in water connection charge for the purposes of obtaining funds for future capital improvements to their water systems brought about by the growth of their areas. The Committee requested that the staff look into these buy-in charges and provide the Committee with a summary at the next meeting. The next meeting of this Committee will be held on Tuesday, March 12, 1974. The meeting was adjourned at 5:10 PM. Respectfully submitted, C.E. Gifeb CEG/de