June 23, 1999
7:30 p.m.
The Board of Directors of the San Benito County Water District convened in
Regular Session. Directors John Tobias, Ken Perry, Gary Gonzales, Bob Swanson
and Wm. Rupert were present together with District Manager/Engineer
President Perry called the meeting to order and led the pledge of allegiance to the flag.
Upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously passed the Agenda was approved as submitted.
President Perry opened and closed the public input portion of the meeting hearing no comment from the public.
1. Approval of Minutes for: May 26, 1999 – Regular Meeting
2. Allowance of Claims
3. Authorization to Pay July’s Interest and Principal Payment for 1988 Certificates of Participation – State Street Bank and Trust Company of California, N.A.
Director Tobias asked if the possible rationing would effect the Agreement. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated he has discussed the situation with Santa Clara and they are flexible. He recommended to go forward with the Agreement and stated he will report back to board. Director Swanson asked how long the Agreement was for? District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated it was set up for one year at a time. Director Swanson asked if it had always been 16,000 acre feet? District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated it had always been up to 16,000 acre feet. He stated we would receive the water in August from Santa Clara and return it to them in January or February. Director Gonzales asked if the savings was thousands of dollars? District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated it was.
Upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously carried the Consent Agenda was approved as presented.
District Manager/Engineer Gregg explained that unused water is not something the manager has authority to relieve. Javier Ledesma stated he has tried to reduce what he grows on his twenty acres. He stated he usually grows baby lettuce and has changed to tomatoes because they use less water. He stated he would like the board’s consideration. Water Programmer III Barbara Mirrione explained that he has signed for the water and has to pay. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated this is Mr. Ledesma’s second year as a customer. He stated the first year he had a small unused water charge that went through. Water Programmer III Mirrione stated in 1998 he had an unused water charge of $1,000. Director Rupert asked why the District doesn’t send bills out more frequently. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated the District doesn’t bill in the dead of the winter. Director Rupert stated if Mr. Ledesma had gotten more bills throughout the year he could have seen the excess water. Director Swanson asked Mr. Ledesma if he understood that he had to pay if he didn’t use the water. Mr. Ledesma stated the first year he had a credit; and that it would help the farmers if they knew where they were in October or November. Director Rupert asked if Mr. Ledesma had a well on his property? Mr. Ledesma stated he had a small well for the home. Director Gonzales stated the policy needs more flexibility. He stated he has seen this situation before and it wasn’t anything new. Director Tobias asked Mr. Ledesma when he bought more water in August, didn’t he know that he wouldn’t need 20 acre feet. Mr. Ledesma stated he harvests tomatoes into December. Director Perry stated he was sympathetic towards the farmers. He stated the Board needs to have policy and adhere to it. Director Tobias asked what has been board policy on returned water? Director Perry stated we do not receive unused water. Director Gonzales asked what happens when someone orders water in August and they need more? He asked if they could order more water? District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated they could if there is water available. Water Programmer III Mirrione stated it does happen. She added they could also transfer the unused water. Director Rupert asked if the District still notifies people if there is extra water. Water Programmer III Mirrione stated the District doesn’t send out letters but notifies farmers verbally. Director Rupert stated if Mr. Ledesma had known about the amount of water remaining he could have transferred it to someone else. Director Tobias asked if the balance of the water is on the bill? Director Swanson stated the District needs to take a hard look at the allocations. He stated it is unfortunate that Mr. Ledesma did not understand the policy. He stated the District has to continue with policy, but stated that Mr. Ledesma brought up good points. Director Rupert stated maybe the District could do something in the months of October to highlight the amount of water remaining on the account, to alert the customers. Director Gonzales stated last year the Board denied someone and it would not be fair to change policy tonight. He stated the policy should be looked into. Director Tobias stated he was sympathetic to Mr. Ledesma but felt the policy has to be adhered to. Director Perry stated he felt the Board should stick to board policy. He added all districts handle it differently in addressing unused water charges. He stated it was not fair to change policy for one person. Director Tobias asked if something could be worked out for a payment plan. Director Swanson stated he would like a timetable to review the policy? District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated a change could occur in September or October. He stated the Board has informed him that we are heading in that direction. Director Swanson stated it needed to be handled at committee level and then brought back to the Board. Mr. Ledesma stated he now has to reduce his children’s food supply to pay the $1,000 bill for water he did not use. He stated $1,000 means a lot for small farmers.
District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated the delay in action has caused anxiety. District Counsel Pipal pointed out the change to the language in Item #4. Director Rupert stated he was satisfied with District Manager/Engineer Gregg’s addition that the Plan did not include Zone 6.
Upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously passed, Resolution No 99-14 was adopted. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated this District has a cooperative relationship with Sunnyslope County Water District and the City of Hollister. He stated he commended Bryan Yamaoka for his leadership and handling the contract.
a. City of San Juan Water System – Funds are being sought to support planning and design of the water system. The project has passed the first critical step. Mr. Gregg stated he will meet with San Juan on how to move forward.
b. City of Hollister Domestic Wastewater – Comments on the environmental document have been delivered to the City. Mr. Gregg stated he has communicated with the city staff and also with County Planning. He stated he has a copy of the County’s comments. He reported the City was surprised that we came on so strongly. Bob Cruz stated the Board of Supervisors agreed with San Benito County Water District’s views on the domestic wastewater project. He stated the Board of Supervisors would like to get together with John, two board members, two supervisors, city administration, County Council member to have a roundtable discussion. Mr. Gregg stated the District and Board of Directors should commit time and energy to this meeting. Mr. Cruz stated he would like to have a meeting with the County Water District first before the group meets with the City. He stated he felt it was a more powerful vehicle to have the two large agencies get together and meet with the City. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated there was no evidence of C.E.Q.A. compliance. He stated he requested District Counsel Pipal to find out about the odor. District Counsel Pipal stated he has requested information from the City. He stated George Lewis has stated they had filed a categorical exemption. Director Rupert stated he thought we decided last week that we will deal with quality of water only and not the odor. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated what they use is a nitrate compound and there is not a comprehensive study. Director Swanson asked Bob Cruz if they wanted us to meet together before we meet with the City. Director Perry chose Director Gonzales and Director Tobias for the Board’s representatives.
c. San Luis Reservoir Low Point – District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated this is a water quality issue. He stated as you get further down you get algae and significant water treatment problems. Director Tobias asked if the District keeps San Justo Reservoir at a high level in anticipation of probable problem. Director Perry stated District Manager/Engineer must have the backing of the Board to take action whenever necessary. He stated the Central Valley people are trying to obtain water with no regard to the San Felipe project. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated Dan Nelson has assured him that everyone will get hit. Director Rupert asked if there was a potential to file a lawsuit to make the Bureau pump more water?
d. Aquifer Storage and Recovery – District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated in the next 60 days he would like to arrange a presentation to the Board. He stated the water has stayed in area. He stated the consultant believes we can terminate the test program. He stated we were about 100 days into the 200 day operation. He stated the remaining work that needs to be done is the analysis. He stated it performed generally as expected. He stated they will look at the results in the next 60 days to see whether we want to inject San Felipe water. Director Perry asked if it will be completed this year? District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated he hadn’t discussed time with the consultant but felt it could be this calendar year. Director Swanson asked about the presentation. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated he was planning a presentation in either August or early September at a Special Meeting. Director Gonzales asked it there would be any local objection to injecting San Felipe water? District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated there will be some concern.
e. San Juan Valley and North County Shallow Groundwater Studies – District Manager/Engineer Gregg reported the work was progressing well. He stated the District is looking at quality and quantity issues. He stated he will meet with the City of Hollister in July to review the conceptual picture. He stated North County study is approximately 60 or 90 days different from San Juan. He stated the District needs the information to support policy and programs. Director Perry asked if the level of groundwater in San Juan was going up or down. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated the artesianing was going down. Director Perry asked about North County. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated he did not know.
f. USBR Contract Renewal – District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated he has an obligation to have this on the Agenda regularly. He stated there has been no action by the Bureau.
g. San Benito River System Operations – District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated there was not a great deal of change. Director Swanson asked about the water flowing under KT bridge. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated Hernandez Reservoir was being released because it was a little over 15,000 acre feet.
h. San Felipe System Operations – District Manager/Engineer Gregg reported some percolation. He stated pipe is on order and the design review will be complete next week. He stated there are no major problems. He stated he hopes to get majority of work done with minimum problem to farmers. Director Rupert asked if the District should stop percolation due to the unknown allocation of the Bureau. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated after tomorrow’s meeting, if there is no clarity at the bureau level, we will shut down percolation. He stated we have some flexibility.
i. Employer-Employee Relations – District Manager/Engineer Gregg reported he had received a valid petition to seek new determination whether SEIU would represent Field and Office Employees. He stated an election will be held on Friday with an overview of San Benito County Elections Department. He stated he felt the Executive Sessions would not be necessary because the first negotiation meeting will be this Friday. Director Perry stated he felt no reason to change the Personnel Committee. District Manager/Engineer Gregg stated he hopes for a multiple year contract.
These Agenda Items were found to be not necessary and were pulled.
The vote of each member of the Board on the preceding matters was as follows, unless otherwise stated:
AYES: DIRECTORS: Swanson, Tobias, Perry, Gonzales, Rupert
NOES: DIRECTORS: None
ABSENT: DIRECTORS: None
The Board adjourned to a Regular Meeting to be held on July 28, 1999 at 7:30 p.m., 30 Mansfield Road, Hollister, California.
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Kenneth Perry
President of the Board
ATTEST:
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Janet L. Torres
Administrative Services Officer