Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-09-07; Municipal Water District; MinutesMINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF COSTA REAL MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT, HELD ON SEPTEMBER 7, 1988, AT 6:OO P.M. AT 5950 EL CAMINO REAL, CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA. The meeting was called to order at 6:OO p.m. by President Bonas with Directors Henley, Maerkle and Woodward present. Director Haasl arrived at 6:08 p.m. Also in attendance were General Manager/District Engineer Greaney, Legal Counsel Moser, Superin- tendent Musser, Administrative Manager Poole, Public Information Officer Renyer and Executive Secretary Woodward. Patti Heissenberger, Patricia Laurence, Gordon Bryan, Ralph Anderson, Steve Deering, Harry McCabe, Roger Greer, Kelly Irving and Jack Kubota also attended. I Pledge of Allegiance The pledge of allegiance to the flag was given. Approval of Minutes Director Maerkle made a motion seconded by Director Henley and unanimously carried, approving the minutes of the regular board meeting of August 3, 1988, as changed, and the special board meeting of August 19, 1988, as mailed. Oral Communications from the Audience I Thomas Smith: regarding illegal Mr. Smith did not appear to aliens at 'E' Reservoir make this presentation. Ms. Renyer explained the problem (water theft) and Mr. Greaney advised that our staff has met with City staff and the matter is being handled. Kelly Irving, Candidate for Mr. Irving, of 1675 Basswood , .Board seat, Division No. 4 Avenue, CarLsbad, made a pres- entation to the Board that basically promoted the continued separation of the District from the City of Carlsbad. At President Bonas's request his speech follows for the record. "I trust that the members of the Board have had an opportunity to review some comments that I have made in previous weeks to the City of Carlsbad with respect to this water board. "Tonight I wish to share some opinions that go somewhat beyond what I previously talked about. I'd like to begin by indicating an opinion that in the 34 to 35 years that there has been a water board or water district in Carlsbad, that until just perhaps recently the efficiency and the economy and the management of this government institution has never been accurately portrayed in the media, and therefore the appropriate information has not really been sent into the homes of people via 4 or 5 newspapers every week about what's happening here and what has happened here for a long period of time. It seems to be somewhat common knowledge that if you wish to get your name in the newspaper, perhaps a photograph or two, say something bad about the water I "_.- " - "" i board and you'll get coverage. If you choose not to say some- thing good about the water board or something good is said about the water board, it tends to be generally underreported. It seems to me that in the past 4 years, perhaps the last year the most, this board has been practically operating under siege as it relates to the waves of negative publicity that have been carried into everyhomeof everyuserwhouses your service. "This water board has done some good things and they never get mentioned. Example: There's a series of water boards surrounding the Costa Real Municipal Water District. They all have one thing in common and that is you sell water. Costa Real sells water I believe at 98 cents a unit. Valley Center 98 cents. Ramona Municipal Water District $1.09. Olivenhain $1.15. City of Del Mar $1.20. City of Oceanside 77 cents. It might be noted that when making a comparison in terms of the service and the product and how this district stands with any of its neighboring water districts, you stand tall. Oceanside appears to have a cheaper rate, It's in the newspaper today that if a catastrophe occurred with river water and it was shut off the city of Oceanside doesn't have enough stored water to last a single day. This water board, I believe has weeks' of water stored sothe city of Oceanside can afford to lista cheaper rate knowing that if the drought occurred or an act of God occurred and water delivery was shortened they would come to this board and say, 'will you provide the water for our citizens because we don't have the stored water to do it?' "In terms of the cost when comparisons are made with the city, this district charges the city of Carlsbad 98 cents a unit. It's true that the city takes that 98 cents and passes it on to the water user, but it is further true that the city charges each user $4.40 a month in return for the opportunity to receive the water that you've,sold the city. Plus, the city of Carlsbad picks up connection fees and lots of other fees in relation to water and they keep it all. So in terms of cost this water district compared to the city of Carlsbad compares very very favorably; ''A second example: Years ago when this district had the responsibility of reading water meters, you read, like most districts do, on a bimonthly basis. When the city of Carlsbad assumed that responsibility they went with their program of ,reading 16,000 water meters once a month. Now 'I believe that an argument can be established that the amount of manpower/woman- power it takes to read 16,000 meters a month, versus every other month, would indicate a savings would occur if it was done bi- monthly. "Another example: The Lake Calavera Reclamation Plant. In 1983 the courts certified it was a city responsibility to reclaim water; not a water district responsibility. The city has, in my judgment, a 6 million dollar water reclamation plant that doesn't work, ' It would take, according to Dexter Wilson and Roger Greer, a minimum of 2.7 million dollars to open that plant up. In terms I I I -2- September 7, 1988 I____* of efficiency, economy and management the water district hasn't made a 9 million dollar mistake in 35 years. "Recently I've been interested in pursuing city officials to give some additional life and meaning to the 1983 Water District/City Agreement which, in part, states that both parties, I read that to mean the city council members themselves, their staff, this water board and your staff, will not do anything in an attempt to have a city takeover of this water district. My concern is that that very agreement was negotiated by city officials who now, as retired city officials, are out pumping the sidewalks to gain signatures to violate the very agreement they negotiated. "In a recent agreement' with respect to a former employee of this water board, you took a legal position and you signed a legal document claiming that once the separation was complete that nobody on this board would complain about that termination. And yet, the newspapers are full of articles of officials of this water district doing precisely that; complaining about the termination. "One last thing: There's a letter from LAFCO dated May 3, 1988. I had an opportunity to view it for the first time a few days ago. And I say this with respect to the court certified 1983 water/city agreement which says 'all parties to wit will not do anything to make this district a subsidiary district of the city.' On May 3rd the executive director of LAFCO wrote a letter. Allow me to quote a few lines from it. 'LAFCO did not initiate the meeting with Ralph Anderson and Susan Haasl. Mr. Anderson and Ms. Haasl requested to meet with us and we agreed. I do not feel it is appropriate to invite others to a meeting that had been initiated by someone other than me or my staff without permission from those parties. With regards to the petition, knowing it would be officially submitted at a later date and possibly in a different form, I had no reason to keep a copy of the working draft. We did phone Ms. Haasl to request a copy. Although we were informed we would receive one within several days of that call it has not yet been received.' I I . "My point, President Bonas, is this. The agreement of 1983 laid out in clear language that the two parties would not involve themselves in another takeover attempt of the water district. It appears, based on the LAFCO letter of May 3, that the current city utility maintenance director has been directly involved in the petition to do what the agreement says he shouldn't do. I intend to return to city council and, as recommended by the city manager, submit an agenda, and on my agenda submit 4 or 5 items and in the backup material to include the letter from LAFCO. "Finally, pursuant to the Public Records Act and those rights that are reserved for members of the public, myself, we are requesting the appointment calendars and the phone logs of the city's utility maintenance director to see in the past year, in addition to his involvement with LAFCO and his alleged involvement in the televised debate between yourself and Mr. I -3- September 7, 1988 I Skotnicki, if he has been actively pursuing involvement with those whose only interest is to abolish the water district. In time we'll have those records and I' 11 be willing to share them with both this board and the Carlsbad city council. "This is my third time to say 'in closing,' I feel strongly that this water board has never received a fair shake in the media. It is a board that operates in this room and compared to the television cameras and the movie stars on Elm Avenue, from a publicity standpoint you're at a disadvantage. But, if this district would make a concerted effort to, two things, get the news out about what you do, how you've done it and how you compare to other agencies, and be receptive to any city overtures to sit down and discuss the feasibility of conducting some joint projects. Thank you.'' President Bonas thanked Mr. Irving for his presentation. Addition to Consent Calendar Mr. Greaney requested Board ~ action to add an item to the Consent Calendar for today because response on the item is due before our next Board meeting. Director Henley made a motion to add Item L - Authorization to attend National Water Resources Assn. (NWRA) Annual Conference in Spokane, Washington to be held in October 1988, seconded by Director Haasl and unanimously carried. I Opening of Bids and Authorization for Award of Contracts Reservoir Painting: ,E" President Bonas advised that and Ellery Reservoirs this is the time and place for the opening of bid proposals for the painting of two reservoirs. The Board Secretary will open the sealed bids and the General Manager/District Engineer will read aloud the bidder's name and total sum bid. The bids were read as follows: NAME AMOUNT George Calafat Painting Jess Worthington, Inc. $ 37,389.00 52,690.00 Director Henley made a motion to award the contract to George Calafat Painting after staff has reviewed the bids, seconded by Director Woodward and unanimously carried. Landscaping: Santa Fe I1 No bid proposals were received and La Costa Hi for this project. Director Woodward made a motion that the proposal made by the District forthis project be reviewed,a report made at the next Board meeting and the project resubmitted for bids, seconded by Director Henley and unanimously carried. I -4- September 7, 1988 I Consent Calendar: A. Ratification of Checks Director Woodward pulled Item B. Ratification of Investments K and Director Haasl pulled D C. Purchase Orders (none) and E for discussion. D. Authorization to proceed with construction drawings for the Director Henley made a motion, Allan 0. Kelly Opns. Center seconded by Director Haasl and E, Consideration of agreement with unanimously carried, approving Luke-Dudek for design and bid the Consent Calendar except documents for 10 million for Items D, E and K. gallon reservoir F. Authorization for Board atten- Discussion followed, with Mr. dance at Ozone Water Treatment Greaney and Mr. Deering re- Forum on 9/22/88 - Los Angeles viewing the recommendation for G. Authorization for purchase of the rectangular tank (Item E). generator Director Maerkle made a motion H. Authorization to approve Helen that this project be put on Hidalgo's leave request hold until the PacTel lease is I. Authorization to proceed with resolved. The motion died for PERS requirements to formalize lack of a second. CR"D Board-approved amendments to our PERS contract Item K was pulled as a result J. Review of salary schedule in of discussion in the Committee the Administrative Code and ap- meeting. A motion was made by proval of contract with Per- Director Woodward, seconded by sonnel Associates Director Henley and unanimous- K. Consideration of proceeding ly carried, to postpone this with refunding 1984 Certifi- to the next Board meeting. cates of Participation L. Authorization to attend Na- President Bonas called for a tional Water Resources Assn. vote on Item D (construction (NWRA) October 17-20, 1988 drawings for Allan 0. Kelly Spokane, Washington Operations Center). Director Woodward made the motion auth- orizing Krommenhoek/McKeown & Associates to prepare the construc- tion drawings, seconded by Director Henley and carried, with Director Haasl voting no. I President Bonas called for a vote on Item E (agreement with Luke- Dudek for design and bid documents). Director Henley made the motion authorizing the agreement, seconded by Director Woodward and carried with Directors Haasl and Maerkle voting no. Staff Reports Superintendent Mr. Musser reported the aver- age flow for the month of August at 29.5 c.f.s. In addition we pulled about a million gallons out of Squires Dam. Currently we are buying 32 c.f .s. and the lake is at elevation 497.9. Operation and maintenance has been routine for the past month. The pressure in Calavera Hills in the higher zone has been increased by approximately 20 pounds. A new road has been constructed on Squires I1 property. I -5- September 7, 1988 Public Information Officer Ms, Renyer presented a copy of the water conservation ad cur- rently running in the Blade-Tribune, The City of Oceanside, San Diego County Water Authority and Costa Real are sharing the cost of this ad and the additional ads that are being prepared for future editions. There are four different ads for this month; each to be run three times, People are still requesting the water saving kits, The tent cards for restaurants advising patrons that water will be served only on request are being distributed. Director Woodward has done the five minute spot on cablevision demonstrating how to install the water displacement bags in toilets and the flow restrictors for showers; it's been very successful. Discussion followed. Administrative Manager Mr. Poole reviewed the water consumption comparison between June 1987 and June 1988 (see memorandum with attachmentments in agenda packet) indicating a total reduction in consumption of 2%. Discussion followed to the effect that this comparison is for a month prior to the water conservation measures promoted by the District in the last few months. Mr, Poole was asked to ref- erence the population figure, if possible, in his next resi- dential use comparison, He was also asked to determine how many people we can serve with the water currently in storage. I I Mr. Poole reported completion of the annual audit. We will be receiving the draft financial statements from the auditor within the next week or so. The request for proposal for financial consulting services on the District's Capital Improvement Program, was prepared by staff in response to a directive from the Board. It has been distributed to about five firms in Southern California. This will be on the agenda for the next Board meeting. Attorney Mr. Moser advised that the appellant's brief on the Com- munity Resources Corporation's case has been received. The reply brief is due the 14th so we are probably six months or so from a decision by the Court of Appeal, General Manager Mr. Greaney reported on the status of the El Camino Real waterline project. The drawings are completed and have been sent to the various utilities; the traffic control plan is finished and submitted to the City. It is anticipated that this project will be on the agenda of the October Board meeting for authori- zation to go out to bid. I Mr. Greaney reviewed the activities in the engineering depart- ment. There has been an increase in plan checking most of which is due to the Pacific Rim development. The Highland subdivision will be coming in for additional review. Calavera Hills will be coming in with villages Q and T. Director Woodward asked about the status of Supplement No, 8 in reference to this. This is I -6- September 7, 1988 still in Mr. Hubbs office (City of Carlsbad) pending Mr. Biondo's approval, but we are billing the developers directly. Organizational Reports San Diego County Water Authority Board Meeting Director Bonas reported that the Water Policy Committee, now chaired by Dr. Charles Cooper, approved $5,000 participation for the Bay Delta studies. The population in southern San Diego County has increased 8-fold since the major water lines in that area were built in 1943. Director Bonas reviewed the need for new and improved pipelines and facilities estimated to cost half a billion dollars just for engineering and design. This will be considered at their next meeting. Director Bonas has been appointed to chair the audit committee. The next meeting is scheduled for September 8, 1988. I I WARAC Director Bonas advised that on August 29th at this meeting they were given copies of the 20 year plan for the reuse facilities. They heard a presentation on water reclamation in Arizona. The next meeting is scheduled for September 26withaCCBAreport on the agenda. Presidents and Managers Council President Bonas reported on her attendance at this meeting held on August 16th. Jane Merrill of LAFCO was the speaker. The LAFCO budget is $350,000 a year with one-third recovered from fees. They were formed in 1963. Directors' Reports Ramona Dam Tour Director Maerkle reported on his attendance at this tour along with Director Bonas. He took photographs. It will be 4-5 years before it is filled: totally dry now. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:25. Respectfully submitted, I -7- September 7, 1988