CONTRA COSTA WATER DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

REGULAR MEETING

September 20, 2006

MINUTES

 

 

CALL TO ORDER 

 

President Campbell called to order a regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Contra Costa Water District at 6:30 p.m., at 1331 Concord Avenue, Concord, the regular meeting place of the Board.

 

ROLL CALL

 

            Directors Present:                      Joseph L. Campbell, President

                                                            Elizabeth R. Anello, Vice President

                                                            John A. Burgh

                                                            Karl L. Wandry

            Directors Absent:                       Bette Boatmun

            General Manager:                       Walter J. Bishop

            Legal Counsel:                           Carl P.A. Nelson

            District Secretary:                      Sharon Burris

 

President Campbell noted that Director Boatmun was absent from the meeting and that she had previously notified the Board of her absence.

 

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

 

Water Operations Manager Dave Huey led the Pledge of Allegiance. 

 

ADOPTION OF AGENDA

 

Mr. Bishop reported that the minutes of the September 6, 2006 had been revised to include one minor edit and that a copy of the revised minutes was before the Board for consideration.  He also reported that Agenda Item No. 14 – Real Property Transactions as allowed under Government Code 54956.8 was being removed from the agenda.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT 

 

President Campbell asked if there were any public comments.  There were no public comments.

 

CONSENT

 

1.         Approve the minutes of September 6, 2006 meeting. 

 

2.         Approve the warrant register dated September 21, 2006. 

       

3.                   Authorize execution of an agreement with Marcus G. Faust for government relations services for FY07 in an amount not to exceed $165,000. 

 

4.                   Authorize execution of the Joint Powers Agreement with the City of Concord for the Commerce Avenue Water Main Extension Project in an amount not to exceed $400,000.  

 

MOTION: Wandry/Anello to approve the consent calendar.  The motion carried by a unanimous voice vote. 

 

ACTION

 

5.                   Adopt the revised water quality objectives.

 

Mr. Bishop reported that Water Operations Manager Dave Huey would be making a presentation on the revised water quality objectives.  The proposed revisions had been reviewed by the Operations and Engineering Committee on August 17, 2006.  He reminded the Board that the report was given on a regular basis, or when significant changes were made in regulations.  He reported that the Enhanced Service Surface Water Treatment Rule and Disinfection/Disinfectant Byproduct Rule had significant impacts on the water industry.  The District had successfully been placed in Bin No. 1, which means low risk for cryptosporidium and giardia.  He credited Mr. Huey with being pro-active and monitoring data to track the information long before it was required.   

 

Mr. Huey reported that the water quality objectives serve as a planning tool for capital improvements and research activities.  The last update was presented to the Board in August 2002.  He stated that the proposed changes were minor and would bring the District into alignment with new and upcoming regulations. 

 

Mr. Huey advised that the untreated water quality objectives were originally adopted in 1998 and that no changes were being recommended.  He reviewed the parameters and identified them as salinity, disinfection byproducts precursors, and microbiological pathogen. 

 

Mr. Huey reviewed and identified the four proposed changes for the treated water quality objectives:  increase the percent reduction in Total Organic Carbon from 30-45 percent to 50 percent; decrease the percent positive of Total Coliform samples from one percent to zero percent; revise the Fecal Coliform non-detect objective to be E. coli non-detect; and remove the numeric goal for chloramines.

 

Mr. Huey explained that the District had been operating to the water quality objectives since their adoption in the 1990’s and had been successful in compliance with new regulations.  The first regulation, the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment rule, in which the District was placed in Bin No. 1, indicated a very low risk for cryptosporidium.  In addition to providing a benefit to the District, the data was also provided to the municipal water customers, which assisted them in their grandfathering efforts.  He reviewed the State 2 Disinfectant/Disinfection Byproduct Rule, which came into effect in 2006 and advised that the District was already meeting the monitoring requirements.  The Total Coliform Rule II may establish a maximum contaminant level for E. coli and Mr. Huey advised that this rule may also become a Distribution System Rule in 2008.

 

A review of the fiscal impact indicated that the proposed changes would not increase costs to operations to meet the objectives.   

 

President Campbell thanked Mr. Huey for his presentation, and commented that he appreciated Mr. Huey’s ability to simplify his presentations so that they could be easily understood.  He also commented positively on a tour that he and Director Wandry had taken which led by Mr. Huey.     

 

President Campbell asked for public comments.  There were no public comments. 

 

MOTION:  Wandry/Anello to adopt the revised water quality objectives.  The motion carried by a unanimous voice vote. 

 

6.         Revisions to District Reserve Policy

a.        Authorize establishment of the Retiree Health Benefits Reserve Fund;

b.       Authorize the establishment of a Workers’ Compensation Reserve Fund;

c.        Authorize consolidation of the Los Vaqueros Project Fund into the Los Vaqueros Commitments Reserve Fund; and

d.       Adopt revisions to the District Reserve Policy for these actions and for the Vehicle Replacement Fund.

 

Mr. Bishop reported that the item had been to the Finance Committee on August 31, 2006 and that the Committee had concurred with the recommended actions.  He explained each fund and advised that funding was established with the adoption of the two-year budget.  He indicated that Assistant General Manager of Administration Kurt Ladensack and Director of Finance Karen Ustin were available to answer questions from the Board. 

 

President Campbell asked if anyone would like to comment on the item. 

 

Director Burgh commented that the staff report was effective and clear.  Responding to a question from Director Burgh about the next two-year budget cycle and if the payments into the funds would be budgeted costs of doing business, Mr. Bishop responded that he was correct. 

 

MOTION:  Burgh/Anello to a) authorize establishment of the Retiree Health Benefits Reserve Fund; b) authorize the establishment of a Workers’ Compensation Reserve Fund; c) authorize consolidation of the Los Vaqueros Project Fund into the Los Vaqueros Commitments Reserve Fund; and d) adopt revisions to the District Reserve Policy for these actions and for the Vehicle Replacement Fund.  The motion carried by a unanimous voice vote. 

 

7.                   Transfer of Funds between Unrestricted Reserves and Board Restricted Reserves

a.       Authorize transfer of $3.0 million from Unrestricted Reserves to the Retiree Health Benefits Reserve Fund; and

b.       Authorize transfer of $1.0 million from Unrestricted Reserves to the Workers’ Compensation Fund.

 

Mr. Bishop reported on the Retiree Health Benefit Reserve Fund and indicated that the District would be one of the first districts in the area to fund the reserve.  He thanked the Board for addressing liabilities and not putting them off into the future. 

 

President Campbell asked for public comments.  There were no public comments.

 

Director Burgh commented positively on staff performance for the financial management of the District.   

 

MOTION:  Anello/Wandry to a) authorize transfer of $3.0 million from Unrestricted Reserves to the Retiree Health Benefits Reserve Fund; and b) authorize transfer of $1.0 million from Unrestricted Reserves to the Workers’ Compensation Fund. The motion carried by a unanimous voice vote. 

 

DISCUSSION & INFORMATION

 

8.                   Review Chapter 7.16 of the District Code of Regulations pertaining to financial management.

 

Mr. Bishop reported that this was the annual review of the District’s Investment Policy and gave background on why it was necessary to perform the annual review.  He advised the Board that the Finance Committee reviewed the policy on August 31 2006, and that there were no recommended changes. 

 

President Campbell asked for public comments.  There were no public comments. 

 

There was a Board consensus that Chapter 7.16 of the District Code of Regulations pertaining to financial management had been reviewed and approved. 

 

REPORTS FOR DISCUSSION

 

9.         Committee Report(s)

            a.   Finance Committee Post-Meeting Report (8/31/06)

            b.   Board of Supervisors’ Transportation, Water and Infrastructure Post Meeting Report (9/11/06)

 

President Campbell asked if there were any comments on the Committee Reports.  There were no comments. 

     

10.        Schedule Future Meeting Dates and Times

 

Mr. Bishop reported that the District had just received notice of a Special Meeting of the Joint Powers Authority for the State Route 4 Bypass Authority scheduled for September 21, 2006 at 6:00 p.m., in Antioch.  He advised that there did not appear to be an issue of interest on the agenda for the District, but that a pre-meeting report would be prepared.  He also reminded the Board of the CCWD Employee Picnic being held on September 24 at Prewett Family Park in Antioch at 12:00 p.m.

 

REPORTS

 

11.        General Manager

 

Mr. Bishop reported briefly on his recent trip to Singapore and China on behalf of AwwaRF.  He also reported that he would be in Washington, D.C. September 26-28 presenting the Los Vaqueros Economic Evaluation to the Regional Director of the United States Bureau of Reclamation Bob Johnson and would attend a series of congressional briefings.  

 

12.        Legal Counsel

 

Mr. Nelson did not have a report. 

 

13.               Board Members

 

Vice President Anello did not have a report.

 

Director Wandry announced that he would be attending the California Special Districts Association Annual Conference September 25-28, in North Lake Tahoe. 

 

Director Burgh referenced an article from the Contra Costa Times addressing the amount of money spent by the Forest Service for airplanes to put out forest fires.

 

President Campbell reported on a letter he received from the National Purchasing Institute acknowledging the District for receiving the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award.  He also expressed his sympathy for the recent passing of Senator Nejedly and referenced past encounters with Nejedly before and after he became a Senator.  He commented that he was a great Statesman.  

 

CLOSED SESSION

 

14.        Real Property Transactions as allowed under Government Code 54956.8; Property:  Water Supply Contract; Negotiating Party:  Golden State Water Company; District Negotiator:  Walter J. Bishop, General Manager; Issue:  Instruct Negotiator on Terms and Price.

 

15.        Public Employee Performance Evaluation as allowed under Government Code 54957; Title: General Manager.

 

16.                 Instruct Labor Negotiator to meet and confer as allowed under Government Code 54957.6, Agency Negotiator:  Board President; Employee:  General Manager

 

At 7:05 p.m., President Campbell announced that the Board would move into closed session.  He reported that there were two items before the Board and that no additional attendees were required for either the Public Employee Performance Evaluation item or the Labor Negotiation item. 

 

RECONVENE FROM CLOSED SESSION

 

17.                 Report on Closed Session.

 

At 7:26 p.m., President Campbell reconvened the meeting and announced that the Board did instruct the negotiator. 

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

At 7:27 p.m. President Campbell adjourned the meeting in the memory of Senator Nejedly.  The next regular meeting of the Board of Directors was scheduled for October 4, 2006, commencing at 6:30 p.m.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                    Joseph L. Campbell, President

 

 

 

 

ATTEST:

 

                                               

Sharon L. Burris

District Secretary