Grizzly Flats Community Services District Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Board February 13, 2015 A. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Grizzly Flats CSD Board of Directors was called to order at 9:04 AM by Director Legrand. ROLL CALL OF THE BOARD Present: Directors Ball, Legrand, MacDonald and Updike Absent: Director Sullivan Others: Kim Gustafson, Mel Kelley, Jodi Lauther and Leo Rainwater SALUTE TO THE FLAG was led by Director Legrand. B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA- Director Ball made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Director Updike 2 nd the motion. There was no further discussion. Director Legrand called for a vote. The motion passed with all directors present voting aye. C. PUBLIC COMMENT There were no public comments. D. ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING 1. Confirm whether or not Director Ball would like to continue as the District s representative to the El Dorado County Water Agency (EDCWA) Kim Gustafson asked Director Ball if he would like to continue to serve as the District s representative to the El Dorado County Water Agency (EDCWA) and the Mountain Counties Water Resources Association (MCWRA). Director MacDonald said that he would like to volunteer to take over as the District s representative to one of these agencies. Director Ball would like to slowly introduce Director MacDonald to the two agencies and then they ll mutually agree on which one Director MacDonald should take over. 2. Confirm whether or not Director Ball would like to continue as the District s representative to the Mountain Counties Water Resources Association (MCWRA) See above. 3. Review and consider adjustment of the membership to the Finance & Budget and the Drought Measures Infrastructure Project Committees - Kim Gustafson said that although there is no specific law prohibiting three Board members from serving on a committee, the practice is not recommended. This is due to the fact that if the three committee members form a recommendation for the Board, there has already been a decision made by a quorum of the Board. In result, it was recommended that the Finance & Budget and the Drought Measures Infrastructure Project committees be scaled back so that only two Board members sit on each committee. Director MacDonald made a motion to limit committee participation to two Board members, and to revise the District s policy to include this limitation. Director Updike 2 nd the motion. Director MacDonald volunteered to step down from the Drought Measures Infrastructure Project Committee. Director Updike volunteered to step down from the Finance & Budget Committee. There was no further discussion. Director Legrand called for a vote. The motion passed with all directors present voting aye. E. CONSENT CALENDAR- These items are expected to be routine business not normally requiring discussion. Action by the Board was taken at one time with one motion. 1. Approval of the minutes of the Ad-Hoc Committee meeting on January 6, 2015. 2. Approval of the minutes of the regular meeting on January 9, 2015. 3. Approval of the minutes of the Drought Measures Infrastructure Project Committee meeting on January 21, 2015. 4. Receive and file Special District Risk Management Authority s (SDRMA s) Notification of Nominations 2015 Election, SDRMA Board of Director. February 13, 2015- regular meeting Page 1
5. Receive and file the Local Agency Investment Fund s (LAIF s) investment report for the quarter ending 12/31/2014. Director Updike made a motion to approve the Consent Calendar as presented. Director Ball 2 nd the motion. There was no further discussion. Director Legrand called for a vote. The motion passed with all directors present voting aye. F. OFFICE & FINANCE / Jodi Lauther, General Manager Monthly review of Office Operations 1. Update on the Environmental Impact Statement for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service s Trestle Forest Health Project Kim Gustafson told the Board that Duane Nelson of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service said that their agency has been busy with the clean-up following the King Fire. In result, there has been a delay with regards to drafting the Trestle Forest Health Project s Environmental Impact Statement, which should now be distributed sometime in late February or March. Director Ball said that during the recent Mountain Counties Water Resources Association (MCWRA) event, one topic of discussion was headwaters management, which may have an impact upon the Trestle Forest Health Project. 2. Announce upcoming Wildfire Table-Top Exercise with the Grizzly Flats Fire Safe Council scheduled for Friday, April 10, 2015 Kim Gustafson said that Leo Rainwater will be the District s representative for the upcoming Grizzly Flats Fire Safe Council s Wildfire Table-Top Exercise, which is scheduled to take place at the Grizzly Flats Community Church on Friday, April 10, 2015. 3. Announce Special District Risk Management Authority s (SDRMA s) Safety/Claims Education Day scheduled to take place at the Hilton Sacramento Arden West Hotel on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 and see who wants to attend the event. There is no cost to attend - Jodi Lauther announced that the Safety/Claims Education Day will be held in Sacramento on March 24, 2015. She said that participation in this event earns the District additional CIP points with Special District Risk Management Authority (SDRMA), which will lower the District s insurance rates. 4. Instant Runoff Election of Regular and Alternate Special District Representative to El Dorado LAFCO There was some discussion about the various candidates, and the Board decided that they did not have enough information or knowledge about the candidates to vote effectively. Director Updike made a motion that the Board not vote for the Regular and Alternate Special District Representative to LAFCO. Director MacDonald 2 nd the motion. There was no further discussion. Director Legrand called for a vote. The motion passed with all directors present voting aye. 5. Review and approve the District s RFP s for new Audit and Legal Services Jodi Lauther said that she would like to submit the new Audit and Legal Service RFP s to the Policy Review Committee and the District s legal counsel for review sometime in the next few weeks, and that they will bring it back for the Board s review and approval at the March 13, 2015 regular meeting. Monthly review of Financial Operations 6. Present the financial reports, spending and purchase orders issued for January 2015 Jodi Lauther presented the financial reports, spending and purchase orders issued for January 2015. She referred the Board to the Profit & Loss for the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) account listed on page 20 of the packet, where it showed that the account ended with a negative net income of ($6,394.75) due to some quarterly payments, supplies which were ordered for inventory, and the purchase of new snow tires for the Ford Ranger. Jodi then went on to the Profit & Loss for the Capital Improvements Project (CIP) account on page 22, and said that the account ended with a positive net income of $8,278.67 due to the stand-by charges which have been coming in. She then went on to cover the Budget vs. Actual report for the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) account listed on page 28. She said that the District s total O&M expenses 58% through the fiscal year were at 50%. Director MacDonald recommended that Jodi change the Net Income left in the budget on page 31 to negative ($66,135.43), rather than positive $66,135.43. Director MacDonald made a motion to approve the financial reports, spending and purchase orders issued for January 2015 as amended. Director Updike 2 nd the motion. There was no further discussion. Director Legrand February 13, 2015- regular meeting Page 2
called for a vote. The motion passed with all directors present voting aye. G. OPERATIONS / Leo Rainwater, Water System Manager Monthly review of plant and field operations 1. Present the GFCSD System Report for January 2015 Leo Rainwater said that last month s chemical usage was down to 36.16 gallons of 14.09% average concentration Sodium Hypochlorite from 43.94 gallons of 12.35% in December, 2014, and approximately 2 gallons of 8809 from 4.5 gallons in December, 2014. Leo then went on to say that North Canyon diversion dropped from 8.25 to 7.375 going into the pipe, and that Big Canyon was down from 5.75 to 3.75 going into the pipe. The butterfly valve at the reservoir remains open at one notch, and the reservoir is continuing to spill. Leo said that Treatment Plant 2 ran well last month, and that backwash remained at 50 hours. Staff is on schedule for the Filter Phase 2 of the Treatment Plant 1 Rehabilitation Project, and has been working around their other duties. There were six leaks in the distribution system last month, four of which were located on the customers sides of the meter. One of the leaks on the District s side of the meter was a result of a faulty 1 gate valve in a meter box. The second leak on the District s side was located on Old Mine Road. Upon further investigation of this leak, staff discovered a crack in a 4 PVC main which they were able to repair with a full circle repair band without having to shutdown any customer services. Staff checked the Grizzly Pond site one or two times a week in January, and cleaned up various debris located around the water edge and near the picnic tables. A total of.06 of rain was received in January, bringing our fiscal year total to 16.97. The daily production average for January was 78,854 gallons, which was a 10% decrease over last year s production. Leo then went on to present the diversion data. He said that in November, 1.2 acre-feet went through Big Canyon, 29 acre-feet went through North Canyon, and 23 acre-feet went into the reservoir, leaving 7.2 acre-feet unaccounted for. In December, 26 acre-feet went through Big Canyon, 50 acre-feet went through the meter at North Canyon, and 35 acrefeet went into the reservoir, leaving 41 acre-feet unaccounted for. Kim Gustafson then presented the administration report to the Board. She mentioned that 588 bills were mailed out in January, and that 107 penalties were assessed, with two shut-offs. The Operations staff was busy completing 35 work orders in January, and a total of 41 payments were made through the Official Payments system. 2. Update on battery charging options for the District s stream gages Jodi Lauther said that Bill Slightam (a sub-contractor of ECorp, Inc.) contacted Duane Nelson of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service to discuss relocation of the solar panels into the tree canopies to better charge the District s stream gages at the diversions during winter. Duane Nelson sent the District a special use application for completion, which Kim Gustafson filled out and returned. Once the application has been processed, the District will hire a licensed tree feller to climb up the trees, relocate the panels, and run the wiring down accordingly. 3. Discuss the possibility of additional funding to construct a second water storage reservoir - Jodi Lauther said that Proposition 1 funding will only cover 50% of costs for projects which are shovel ready (with environmental work and preliminary engineering reports already completed.) Director Ball mentioned that during the recent El Dorado County Water Agency (EDCWA) meeting, John Mills (water expert and Water Agency Consultant) mentioned that there will be some grant funding released in July and December of this year to create off-stream storage. Director Legrand recommended that staff contact other agencies which might also be interested in off stream storage to coordinate our efforts with. Director Ball offered to contact the Department of Water Rights to inquire about the possibility of procuring additional water storage rights, prior to the District investigating additional off-stream storage locations. GENERAL BUSINESS ITEMS H. DROUGHT MEASURES INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT 1. Update on the progress of the grant and the project components a. Backwash Tank Jodi Lauther said that the 50% plans were delivered on schedule, and that the Drought Measures Infrastructure Project Committee met with Domenichelli and Associates (D&A) to review them on January 21, 2015. She said that since there was enough money in the budget, she authorized B&B Locating to find the District s underground utilities at the proposed Backwash Tank site. Currently, staff is gathering comments on the bid documentation for the Backwash Tank project. Leo February 13, 2015- regular meeting Page 3
Rainwater will figure out where to advertise for bids, which should go out by the end of February. Jodi mentioned that another Drought Measures Infrastructure Project Committee meeting will be scheduled soon. She then said that the original Backwash Tank estimate was for $60,000, when the actual estimate now is $213,000. If it becomes necessary to drop other projects in order to fund the Backwash Tank, the committee felt that the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Meter Replacements, Air Release Valves (ARVs), Leak Detection Program and Conservation Program projects were of the lowest priority. b. Cathodic Protection Systems (for Clearwell, Winding & Forest View) Jodi Lauther said that the designs were received from David Kashifi of Corrosion Protection Solutions, Inc. on January 28, 2015. This project should go out to bid by the end of February. c. SCADA This project is currently on hold pending advancement of the Backwash Tank Project. d. Meter replacements, ARVs, Leak Detection Program and Conservation Program These projects are currently on hold pending advancement of the Backwash Tank Project. I. WATER SUPPLY, DROUGHT AND CONSERVATION 1. Discuss condition of the District s water supply, water demand, drought conditions and related communications Jodi Lauther said that the District s usage in January 2015 was down 10% over last year, and that the combined average conservation from July to January totaled 15%. Jodi referred the Board to page 46 of the packet, where a letter from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) warned of the possibility of upcoming diversion curtailments if the hydrologic conditions do not significantly improve in the next several months. J. COMMITTEE REPORTS 1. Mountain Counties Water Resources Association (GFCSD Representative: R. Ball) a. Report from the Mountain Counties Water Resources Association (MCWRA) event held at the Ridge Golf Course & Event Center in Auburn, CA on February 6, 2015 Director Ball said that he attended the Mountain Counties Water Resources Association event in Auburn on February 6, 2015, and that there were between 8 to 10 speakers, and approximately 200 attendees. During the meeting, it was discovered that the District no longer qualifies as a disadvantaged community according to the Department of Water Resources, as they no longer base the calculation off median household income but rather off the amount of water which is available. Although the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service was not in attendance, headwater management was a large topic of discussion. K. EL DORADO COUNTY WATER AGENCY (EDCWA) 1. Report from the El Dorado County Water Agency meetings held on January 14, 2015 and February 11, 2015 Director Ball said that Tracey Eden-Bishop has resigned from the El Dorado County Water Agency, so there is no interim General Manager. During the meeting, John Mills (water expert and Water Agency Consultant) talked about drought and bond funds. It was mentioned that monitoring of per-capita water use will be ramped-up. During the meeting, they elected Brian Veerkamp as the Board Chair and Jim Jones as Vice Chair. Cloud seeding options were also discussed for the Central and Southern Sierra Mountains. The Board recommended that staff contact Janet Cohen to request that she keep her eyes open for grant opportunities which may be geared toward our District. L. ANNOUNCEMENTS / DIRECTORS COMMENTS 1. Discuss reservoir security concerns - Director Ball asked what staff is doing to improve the District s security throughout the system. It was mentioned that staff will be investigating the option of adding a better camera system to the Office and raw water reservoir site during the next budget cycle. Additionally, staff will look into the possibility of grant funding in late spring or early summer, to fence the District s various locations. Kim Gustafson mentioned that a customer is spreading rumors around town to the effect that drinking our water is causing seizures in their children and dogs. In result, a water quality and treatment fact sheet will be distributed to our customers later this month, to quell any misconceptions. February 13, 2015- regular meeting Page 4
M. ADJORNMENT- Director Updike made a motion to adjourn. Director MacDonald 2 nd the motion. Director Legrand called for a vote. The motion passed with all directors present voting aye. The meeting was adjourned at 11:56 AM. The next regular meeting will be at 9:00 am on Friday, March 13, 2015 at The Grizzly Flats CSD office. Minutes submitted by: Approved by: Date: Kim Gustafson, Board Secretary GFCSD Board Chair February 13, 2015- regular meeting Page 5