August 2, 2010
VALLEY CENTER MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT
Regular Board Meeting
Monday, August 2, 2010
Time: 2:00 P.M.
Place: Board Room
29300 Valley Center Road
Valley Center, CA 92082
The Valley Center Municipal Water District Board of Directors’ meeting was called to order by President Broomell at 2:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL
Board members present were: Directors Broomell, Polito, Aleshire, Stone and Haskell. Staff members present were: General Manager Arant, General Counsel de Sousa, District Engineer Grabbe, Manager of Accounting Pugh, Director of Operations Hoyle, Wastewater Systems Supervisor Beath, Consumer Services Supervisor Tilley, Board Secretary Stetson and Manager of IT Pilve. There were no spectators present.
CONSENT CALENDAR
1. Upon motion by Polito, seconded by Stone and unanimously carried, the following consent calendar items were approved:
• Minutes of the Board meeting held July 19, 2010
• Audit demand check numbers 126357 through 126464
• Treasurer’s Report for the period ended June 30, 2010
ACTION AGENDA
2. Presentation on Operational Efficiency Efforts, Lower Moosa Canyon and Woods Valley Ranch Water Reclamation Facilities:
Wastewater Systems Supervisor Beath presented an overview of operational efficiency improvements installed at the Lower Moosa Canyon and Woods Valley Ranch Wastewater Facilities during Fiscal Year 2009-2010. These improvements have reduced energy consumption and chemical consumption. Savings realized are: $36,000 annually at the Lower Moosa Canyon Plant with electrical consumption reduced by 30%, and $11,000 annually at the Woods Valley Ranch Reclamation Plant with electrical consumption reduced by 16% and chemical usage reduction of 40%. The improvements include:
Moosa Canyon Water Reclamation Facility
• A new fine bubble diffusion system which controls the air supply to the aeration basins. With the operational change and adjustments implemented, the use of aeration blowers was reduced.
Woods Valley Ranch Water Reclamation Facility
• Aeration lines were redirected for improved air flow and distribution through the plant resulting in reduced equipment run times.
• An awning cover was installed over the chlorine contact tank which reduced the chemical consumption and chemical pumping hours.
Facility improvements to be installed in FY 2010-11 as approved in the budget include a variable frequency drive on the aeration blowers at the Woods Valley Ranch Reclamation facility and replacing the two centrifugal blowers with new high-efficiency positive displacement blowers and replacing the dewatering system (centrifuge) with an energy efficient system at the Lower Moosa Canyon Water Reclamation facility.
State certification of the laboratory at the District’s Lower Moosa Canyon Water Reclamation facility has been pursued and certification is expected within the next couple of weeks. All Wastewater personnel have obtained their Water Quality Analyst’s Certifications. The anticipated first year’s savings on outside lab fees once the District’s lab is certified by the State is $12,700, with savings expected in the future to be $30,000 per year. Also, there is the potential for income to perform laboratory tests for others with expected revenue of $27,000 per year.
3. Special Agricultural Water Rate Carry-Over From FY 2009-2010 Into FY 2010-11:
Board approval to allow District customers, who are participants in the San Diego County Water Authority’s Special Agricultural Water Rate (SAWR) Program, to carry forward conservation credits earned during Fiscal Year 2009-10 as additional water allocation for the Fiscal Year 2010-11 program was requested. As of the end of the FY 2009-10 SAWR program, usage was 30% under the allocation and customers had accumulated 4,931 ac. ft. in conservation credits. Staff recommended that the Board approve allowing 50% of the conservation credits accumulated by SAWR participants, or 2,465 ac. ft., to be carried forward as additional water allocation in the FY 2010-11 SAWR program.
Upon motion by Polito, seconded by Aleshire and unanimously carried, the carry-over of 50% of the conservation credits accumulated by Special Agricultural Water Rate Program participants in Fiscal Year 2009-2010 (2,465 ac. ft.) to the Fiscal Year 2010-2011 Program as additional water allocation was approved.
4. Water Demand Offset Fee Concept:
The District’s Administrative Code Article 230, Water Supply Shortage Response Program, sets forth policy pertaining to extending water service to a development larger than 4 units; i.e. applicant must demonstrate that the net water demands for the development will be offset (net zero water demand impact). General Manager Arant reviewed that new water demand can be offset by:
▪ The reallocation of existing base year water allocation assigned to the property being developed or owned by the applicant,
▪ The development of on-site local potable and non-potable supplies which offset an existing or future demand for imported water, or
▪ Participation in a local or regional net demand offset program or specific project.
A Water Demand Offset Fee concept-policy white paper has been developed by staff for administering funding of local water supply development projects and programs. This policy is being proposed in response to the water availability limitations for new developments under the District’s Water Supply Shortage Response Program and that the water supply constraints are long-term as there are no near-term solutions to the State Water Project. Potential local water supply projects and programs that could be funded through the collection of a development fee include:
Woods Valley Ranch Water Reclamation Facility expansion
Welk’s Skimming Plant
Lower Moosa Canyon Water Reclamation Facility expansion and upgrade
Local private well development
Lake Turner surface and groundwater development
Conservation investment-existing customers
Excess allocation redistribution
The establishment of a Water Demand Offset “bank” as a means to facilitate the transfer of excess allocation among properties in the District’s service area was discussed. As such, a “bank” is a mechanism that would account for a property’s excess water allocation upon a change in the property’s water demands that could be purchased by a developer needing additional allocation. The value of the water allocation will need to be determined. The value could be determined by the average cost of developing new local supply.
Policy issues to be addressed include priority status for the access of water demand offset projects and programs for property in the District’s boundaries and territory wishing to annex, and a method to credit conservation investments. Staff recommended that water developed be considered general supply for the District rather than developments being linked to specific local supply development projects, and properties in the District would have priority rights for the purchase of water allocations. The Water Demand Offset Fee concept policy will be further analyzed by General Counsel with emphasis on the allocation redistribution component.
GENERAL MANAGER’S AGENDA
5. Review of Miscellaneous Informational Items:
General Manager Arant provided an update on miscellaneous projects/programs, as follows:
• At the San Diego County Water Authority’s July 22nd Board meeting, the term sheet was approved for the potential Water Purchase Agreement with Poseidon Resources for desalinated seawater from the Carlsbad Desalination Project. The Board directed staff to prepare a draft water purchase agreement based on the key terms and conditions contained in the term sheet.
• The State Water Resources Control Board issued a report on the Bay-Delta flow stating that 75% of all of the water in the Delta should flow through the Delta. This report considered fish and navigation purposes of the Bay-Delta. This matter will be analyzed further considering the co-equal goals of environmental restoration and protection as well as water supply development.
• As part of AB 32, Green House Gas Emissions, a public goods charge has been proposed to fund programs for improving water use efficiency.
• Metropolitan Water District will be conducting workshops on its Integrated Resources Plan Update with a workshop in San Diego on August 10th.
• Regarding San Diego Gas & Electric’s Fire Suppression Plan, Operating Heads of affected water agencies are working with SDG&E’s officials reviewing their circuit maps and agencies’ affected critical pumping facilities. The circuits that may be affected by a shut-down during emergency conditions will be determined and the facility improvements to maintain service such as generators and communication equipment will be identified.
• A CNBC crew will be in San Diego to report on our region’s water supply challenges which will be a part of their planned hour special on water issues throughout the world. General Manager Arant stated that CNBC is interested in the impacts from the drought and water prices on agriculture and arrangements for access to grove areas will be made. Also, the CNBC crew will interview Maureen Stapleton, General Manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, at the San Vicente Dam Raise project.
• Governor Schwarzenegger has recommended that the Safe, Clean and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2010 general obligation bond measure set for the November 2010 ballot be removed from the ballot. However, a two-thirds vote from the Legislature is required to remove this measure from the ballot. It is widely felt that the ballot measure will not be successful due to the current economy and that the campaign effort to raise funds for its passage has been disbanded. The Legislature must act to remove this measure from the November 2010 ballot by August 9th which is the printing deadline.
DISTRICT GENERAL COUNSEL’S AGENDA
6. Legislative Updates:
General Counsel de Sousa reported that Proposition 226, a Howard-Jarvis backed ballot measure, if adopted, will require that certain local and state fees be approved by a 2/3rds vote. This measure could impact the proposed District Water Demand Offset Program. Best, Best & Krieger is tracking this measure and reviewing it for its implications on agency operations.
The Supreme Court has ruled on AB 815 pertaining to requiring full, complete and accurate plans and specifications. It ruled that a contractor can seek damages from a public agency for nondisclosure of information that would have affected the bidder’s bid.
CLOSED SESSION
7. A Closed Session was called by President Broomell at 3:47 p.m. pursuant to:
● Government Code §54956.9(c), Conference with Legal Counsel, Anticipated
Litigation
Number of potential cases: 1
● Government Code §54956.9(a), Conference with Legal Counsel, Existing
Litigation
Name of case: Valley Center Municipal Water District V. Sensus Metering
Systems, North America, Inc.
San Diego County Superior Court
Case No. 37-2010-00051403-CU-BC-NC
RECONVENE
8. The Regular Board meeting was reconvened at 4:08 p.m. There was no reportable action.
ADJOURNMENT
9. Upon motion by Polito, seconded by Aleshire and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 4:09 p.m.
ATTEST: ATTEST:
____________________________ _______________________________
President Secretary