Regular Meeting
7:30 p.m.
The Board of Directors of the San Benito County Water
District convened in regular session on
The meeting was
called to order at
a. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
President Perry led the Pledge of Allegiance.
b. Approval of Agenda
President Perry asked District Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg if he had
any items to move on the agenda.
District Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg noted that items 6 and 7 were to
be removed from the agenda.
Upon
a motion duly made and seconded. Items 6 and 7 were removed.
c. Public Input: Members of the Public are Invited to Speak on
any Matter not on the Agenda.
President Perry invited the public to speak
on any item not on the agenda. There
being none, the public input session was closed.
CONSENT AGENDA:
1. Approval of Minutes:
2. Allowance of Claims
Upon
a motion duly made and seconded. The Minutes of
REGULAR AGENDA:
3. Accept
District Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg noted to the
board that at the last regular meeting the landowners and residents of the
Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Directors formally accepted the Petition Regarding the City of Hollister Percolation Ponds.
President Perry asked if anyone from the group wished to
speak on this matter. An member of the
public asked if there was any update.
President Perry noted that the District was working on it. That this would be forwarded to the Committee
and noted that the District has been working with the City of
District Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg noted that the Water District, the County and the City has been in a series of meetings to address a broader range of issues with respect to water supply and waste treatment and waste disposal. Our focus on waste disposal is to identify appropriate sites. The Petitioner’s concerns regarding the quality of life and impact on property values are common with the District and County. Mr. Gregg noted that he felt it was the District’s responsibility to keep the interested parties apprised.
President Perry noted that the District will keep on top
of it.
4. Approve Memorandum of Understanding between the San Benito County Water District and Service Employees International Union – SEIU, Local 817 (Field and Office Employees Representation Unit) and Authorize District Manager to execute on behalf of the District.
District Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg noted to the board that the
District has concluded the meet and confer with SEIU. An agreement has been considered by the
employees and has been ratified. The
District negotiated with boundaries as set by the Personnel Committee. As district negotiator, Mr. Gregg recommended
the approval of the MOU. Mr. Gregg noted
that the board members had a summary in their board packet. Mr. Gregg noted that the MOU was for a
three-year term, and in his view represented a balance between direct
compensation in terms of wages and salary and compensation attached to areas of
continuing education and certification.
Director DeLaCruz noted that the last contract was for two years and
asked why this MOU was for 3 years. Mr.
Gregg responded that the District was concerned with long-term agreements with
inflated settlements with others. We did
not want to participate in that process.
Director DeLa Cruz asked for the percentage
wage increase for the previous years.
Mr. Gregg noted for the record that the general wage adjustment was
increased by .75 for the first year and 1 percent for the second and third year.
Upon a motion duly made and seconded the Memorandum of Understanding between the San Benito County Water District and Service Employees International Union–SEIU, Local 817 (Field and Office Employees Representation Unit) and Authorize District Manager to execute on behalf of the District was approved.
5. Review of Water Supply and Consider Authorizing Manager to Execute Agreement for the Transfer of CVP Irrigation and/or M&I Water.
District Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg made reference to long-term goals in developing a reliable water supply and making available water to our customers. The District developed a Groundwater Management Plan to pursue that objective. Over the short term, there are times that the District has an excess of our current customers’ interest and we have an opportunity to market that. This is one of those years. In August the board authorized the sale of 1500 acre-feet. Since then, the Bureau of Reclamation has increased our M&I and Agriculture/irrigation supplies. It is our opinion that we have 1000 acre-feet of water as temporary surplus. We have received informal proposals from Meyers Farms Family Trust and The Water Group. They are both prepared to pay approximately two-hundred dollars and acre-foot and noted that the transfers were a sort of “good will” among contractors at other times we may need to purchase water. Mr. Gregg discussed the September summary which basically demonstrates that we have about 1100 acre feet of temporary surplus on the ag side and that we have to purchase a minimum of 7100 acre-feet this year of M&I water. We have almost 3000 acre-feet of that, we would propose to use that for two things, first, as a buffer to ensure that we go this water year with a full San Justo reservoir, maximizing our supply and would consider exchanges or sales of any water. We are discussing that possibility with the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
If the board finds the recommendation of the Manager appropriate, he recommended that the board authorize the District Manager to sign contracts for the transfer of water with Meyers Farms and The Water Group for 500 acre-feet of water each. We would continue conserve M&I exchange or transfer options.
Director DeLaCruz asked what type of dollars and if those were restricted or unrestricted. District Manager Gregg noted that the board has directed that these funds be put in an emergency water purchasing fund for instances like a severe drought.
Upon a motion duly made and seconded the board unanimously authorized District Manager John S. Gregg to sign contract for the transfer of water.
8. Report on
Jeff Cattaneo, Deputy District Engineer, noted that
this matter would not be a surprise to the longer tenured directors. Mr. Cattaneo provided a brief history of the
operation and seepage and slide issues.
Director Keck asked if the slide close to Teledyne
was likely to cause a problem to them.
Mr. Cattaneo noted that the District was concerned of the damage it
would cause the property. Mr. Cattaneo
noted that it was close to storage buildings, not to any structures occupied by
individuals.
President Perry noted this would be an expense of
the Bureau. Mr. Cattaneo noted that it
was.
Director Keck asked if the six million dollars was
the upper limit that the Bureau was suggesting.
Mr. Catteneo noted that that was the
extreme.
District Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg noted to the
board that with respect to seepage problems those have been excluded from the
acceptance of the facility, and as such, our concerns in this particular
instance is the operations and on-going maintenance. Mr. Gregg noted that a one proposal was to
eliminate the use of the San Justo Reservoir.
We need to negotiate for service and protection. The Santa Clara Valley Water District has
helped in that regard.
Frank Bettencourt asked if the liners would stop the
leakage. Mr. Cattaneo noted that
installation methods have improved. Mr.
Gregg noted that the liner is not viewable and repairs to such liners have been
made.
9. Report on
Deputy District Engineer Jeff
Cattaneo provided and executive summary. The Pajaro River Flood Prevention
Authority was formed by the legislature in an action due to flooding issues in
the
Mr.
Cattaneo noted that the
Director
Swanson noted that this was a good retention area.
Mr.
Perry noted that some parcels had already been purchased. Mr. Cattaneo noted that RMC will be making a
presentation to the Water Resources Association next week on the entire
project. District Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg noted to the board that
comments would be presented to the full board at the next meeting.
10. Report on Treated Water Systems
District
Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg noted that a meeting was scheduled for a Water
Treatment Committee to discuss the treated systems in Hollister. The meetings are attended by the City of
Mr.
Gregg noted that the Sunnyslope County Water District is currently working on
evaluating an area near the
11. Report on Wastewater Treatment and Disposal
District Manager/Engineer John S.
Gregg noted that the recycling of water needs to be a part of our water
future. There are persons and dollars
committed to this issue. Mr. Gregg noted
that taking the salt out of water is a key point. The
Mr. Gregg noted that the
Sunnyslope County Water District was reviewing technical draft discharge
requirements. The District is working to
developing discharge requirements for the City of
12. Committee Reports:
a. Ag Waiver Committee (Swanson/Tobias)
Director Swanson noted that data was still being collected. A report will be given in November.
b. Audit
& Budget Committee (Swanson/DeLaCruz)
No report was given for this item.
13. District Manager/Engineer’s Report:
a. USBR
Contract Negotiations
District Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg noted that discussions
are focusing on the repayment provision of the contract. At a meeting last Friday with the regional
director clarification and a high level of commitment on the repayment and
renewal was discussed. Mr. Gregg noted
that the rate standards would be significantly altered. The Bureau has committed to prepare and
transmit to
b.
District Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg noted that we are
at a point to have the Highway 25 gap project analyzed and alternatives to
storage of groundwater. The District
will be proceeding with discussions with the
c. Paicines/Hernandez
Fall Inspections
District Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg noted that the District recently inspected Paicines and Hernandez dams. They looked good and require minor maintenance. Hernandez is dry and an inspection of the repair outlet will be done.
The Division of Safety of Dams will be conducting an inspection on Monday. The results of the inspection will be reported to the Board.
Director Swanson noted that seepage issues were a concern in the past. Mr. Gregg noted that those issues had been resolved. Mr. Gregg noted that minor repairs had been made on the spillway and brush issues had been addressed.
d. FY
2004-2005 Revenue Assumptions
District
Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg reported to the board that the District was
working towards completion of the 04/05 budget. We had indications regarding property tax
revenue which were included in the final
budget is based on that 40% general property tax transfer.
There is an additional consideration of 350 million dollar transfer
requirement from enterprise districts.
Certain districts were exempted from the transfer and other districts
had to make up the difference. We will continue
to monitor so see what effect this will have on us. Mr. Gregg discussed two propositions on the
ballot, Proposition 1A and Proposition 65 which deal with providing
constitutional assurances and the District is free to take an informational on
either of those.
e. FY
2003/2004 Financial Report
With respect to the
2003/2004 Financial Report. We are
working with the Audit and Budget Committee.
This will be the first year that our report will be in full compliance
with Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
It includes the management discussion and analysis, which include a
written statement of what the numbers mean and a Statement of Certain Known
Facts will also be included. This item
discusses the things that we know will affect our source of water or our source
of revenue.
f. San
Felipe Reach 1 Operations and Maintenance
District Manager/Engineer John S. Gregg reported to the board that he and
Jeff Cattaneo have been working to re-focus on Santa Clara Valley Water
District on reach 1, Pacheco Pumping Plan.
We have observed things like, the pumps should receive preventative
maintenance. The District has been able
to have very open and productive discussions with budgeting and focused on
constructive and productive meetings.
There are some major issues that need to be addressed and budgeting for
replacing obsolete equipment. Mr. Gregg
noted that reasonable progress is being made.
There being no
further business, the meeting was adjourned at
Kenneth A.
Perry
President
Maria E. Alfaro
Administrative
Services Officer