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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-01-18 Board Minutes 1 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGS OF THE OTAY WATER DISTRICT AND OTAY WATER DISTRICT FINANCING AUTHORITY August 1, 2018 1. The meeting was called to order by President Smith at 3:33 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Directors Present: Croucher (arrived at 3:55 p.m.), Gastelum, Robak, Smith and Thompson Staff Present: General Manager Mark Watton, General Counsel Dan Shinoff, Chief of Engineering Rod Posada, Chief Financial Officer Joe Beachem, Chief of Administration Adolfo Segura, Chief of Operations Pedro Porras, Asst. Chief of Finance Kevin Koeppen, Asst. Chief of Operations Jose Martinez, District Secretary Susan Cruz and others per attached list. 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion was made by Director Robak, and seconded by Director Gastelum and carried with the following vote: Ayes: Directors Gastelum, Robak, Smith and Thompson Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: Director Croucher to approve the agenda. 5. DISTRICT CONTRIBUTION TO FOUNDATION FOR GROSSMONT AND CUYAMACA COLLEGES’ CENTER FOR WATER STUDIES President Smith indicated that the District is proud to make a contribution to Cuyamaca College’s Center for Water Studies. Cuyamaca College is working on a state-of-the-art training facility and curriculum for water studies to assist in attracting and training the next generation of water industry professionals. In conjunction with their recently completed field operations skill yard, the soon to be completed building for the Center for Water Studies will help students interested in the water industry gain hands-on experience while taking water related courses. He stated the District is looking forward to continuing and building this partnership into the future and presented a check in the amount of $5,000 to Cuyamaca College President, Dr. Julianna Barnes; Executive Director for the Grossmont/Cuyamaca 2 College Foundation, Ms. Sally Cox; and Lead Coordinator for the Center for Water Studies Project, Mr. Donald Jones. Dr. Barnes thanked the District and the board for their continued support. She stated that they are very grateful for that support which allows the College to provide a very strong water and wastewater program. She indicated that they are committed to providing the skilled workers that are needed in the water/wastewater industry and they have invested $2 million into the new facilities for the program. She stated they look forward to their continued partnership with the District and the industry. Dr. Barnes responded to questions and comments from the board. The board requested if the College could reach out to the Sweetwater Union High School District to make their students aware of the program as well. President Smith thanked Dr. Julianna Barnes, Ms. Cox and Mr. Jones for attending the District’s meeting. 6. APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF MAY 2, 2018 A motion was made by Director Thompson, and seconded by Director Gastelum and carried with the following vote: Ayes: Directors Gastelum, Robak, Smith and Thompson Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: Director Croucher to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of May 2, 2018. 7. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – OPPORTUNITY FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO SPEAK TO THE BOARD ON ANY SUBJECT MATTER WITHIN THE BOARD'S JURISDICTION BUT NOT AN ITEM ON TODAY'S AGENDA No one wished to be heard. CONSENT CALENDAR 8. ITEMS TO BE ACTED UPON WITHOUT DISCUSSION, UNLESS A REQUEST IS MADE BY A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OR THE PUBLIC TO DISCUSS A PARTICULAR ITEM: A motion was made by Director Robak, and seconded by Director Thompson and carried with the following vote: Ayes: Directors Gastelum, Robak, Smith and Thompson Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: Director Croucher 3 to approve the following consent calendar item: a) APPROVE THE ISSUANCE OF A PURCHASE ORDER TO HAWTHORNE POWER SYSTEMS FOR THE PURCHASE OF A TRAILER MOUNTED ENGINE AND PUMP IN AN AMOUNT NOT-TO-EXCEED $764,000 FOR THE TEMPORARY LOWER OTAY PUMP STATION REDUNDANCY PROJECT ACTION ITEMS 9. GENERAL MANAGER a) CALIFORNIA WATER FIX UPDATE General Manager Watton indicated that the San Diego County Water Authority (CWA) board had originally planned to approve some principles for the Bay Delta (California Water Fix), however, they instead decided at their last board meeting to not make a decision for another month. Ms. Amy Chen, CWA’s Metropolitan Water District (MWD) Program Director, was scheduled to provide a presentation on the principles at today’s meeting. Since CWA did not adopt principles, the District decided to invite her back when CWA’s board acts on this issue. Mr. Watton presented the presentation Ms. Chen would have presented. Please reference the Committee Action notes (Attachment A) attached to the staff report for the details of Mr. Watton’s report. It was discussed that Olivenhain MWD is the only retail agency in San Diego County, at this time, that has voted to support the Water Fix project. There was further discussion on the impact of the cost of the Water Fix project to San Diego County ratepayers and that the District’s CWA representatives do what they can to protect it’s ratepayers from paying more than their fair share of the project or to even push the project into the future if it is not required now. 10. ENGINEERING AND WATER OPERATIONS a) CONSIDER THE AMENDED AND RESTATED REGIONAL WASTEWATER AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO (CITY) AND PARTICIPATING AGENCIES (PA) IN THE METROPOLITAN SEWERAGE SYSTEM (AGREEMENT) AS PART OF A LONG-RANGE REGIONAL WATER REUSE PLAN WITH THE GOAL OF REALIZING A SECONDARY EQUIVALENT POINT LOMA WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT (PLWTP) AND A NEW LOCAL SUSTAINABLE WATER SUPPLY Engineering Manager Bob Kennedy indicated that the Board’s last action related to this item was in October 1, 2014 when the board voted to support the City of San Diego’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit as part of the Pure Water Reuse Plan with the goal of realizing a secondary equivalency at the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant (PLWTP). A copy of the latest redline version of 4 the proposed Restated Regional Wastewater Agreement between the City of San Diego (City) and Participating Agencies (PA) in the Metropolitan Sewerage System (Agreement) was distributed to the Board. The Metro Commission will be considering the Agreement at their meeting tomorrow, August 2, 2018. Please reference the Committee Action notes (Attachment A) attached to the staff report for the details of Mr. Kennedy’s report. Director Robak stepped off the dias at 4:32 p.m. and returned at 4:34 p.m. Mr. Kennedy introduced Mr. Dexter Wilson of Dexter Wilson Engineering. Mr. Wilson represents the City of Lemon Grove and has been hired by the Metro Commission JPA (JPA) to assist in the technical presentations and to prepare some of the documentation for the Agreement. Mr. Wilson indicated that the proposed Agreement is not expected to be in its final form until approximately September 2018 as the City of San Diego is still completing two attachments to the Agreement, which is the reason the JPA is requesting a conceptual level approval of the Agreement. Mr. Wilson indicated that he felt the Agreement was good for all the PA’s of the JPA. He stated that the reason the Agreement is being renegotiated is the City approved their Pure Water Plan with the capacity doubled over the objections of the PA’s. The City is offering this renegotiation process of the Agreement as an overture. The negotiations started with the sharing of costs, which then moved to capping exposure costs for the PA’s and making necessary amendments to the Agreement. It is hoped that they will work out the amendments over the next year. Today’s request is for the District’s Board to conceptually approve the agreement. When the City approves the amendments in October 2018, the agreement will come back to the District in its final form for consideration by the District’s Board. Director Croucher stepped off the dias at 4:53 p.m. and returned at 4:57 p.m. Mr. Wilson presented the details of the proposed amendments to the agreement and the projected schedule for phase one of the Pure Water Project (please see attached copy of Mr. Wilson’s presentation). He responded to comments and questions from the members of the board. President Smith thanked Mr. Wilson for his presentation and his efforts and work in the development of the Agreement. 11. BOARD b) DISCUSSION OF 2017 BOARD MEETING CALENDAR There were no changes to the calendar. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 12. THIS ITEM IS PROVIDED TO THE BOARD FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NO ACTION IS REQUIRED ON THE FOLLOWING AGENDA ITEM. 5 a) INFORMATIONAL UPDATE ON THE DISTRICT’S EFFORTS TO EXPAND THE USE OF RECYCLED WATER Engineering Manager Bob Kennedy presented an update on the District’s efforts to expand the use of recycled water. Please reference the Committee Action notes (Attachment A) attached to the staff report for the details of Mr. Kennedy’s report. There was discussion regarding staff’s effort to expand the use of recycled water and the City of San Diego’s opposition to the use of recycled water north of Otay Lakes. It was noted that the District’s current permit does not allow the use of recycled water upstream of Otay Lakes. To change the permit, it would require action by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. Staff indicated that it would be very difficult to get this approval. Staff noted that it would also require modifications to the City of San Diego’s Basin Plan for the operation of Otay Lakes, which would require long term testing to assure there are no impacts. REPORTS 13. GENERAL MANAGER’S REPORT General Manager’s Report General Manager Watton reviewed handouts that were provided on the dias for each member of the board (see attached). He also presented information from his report which included an update on the upcoming employee recognition luncheon, the Salt Creek gate security and access control, the release of the lease agreement with Salt Creek, the water rate increase and sewer 2018 notices, the Vista Vereda and Hidden Mesa water pipelines replacement, and water sales and purchases. Staff responded to comments and questions from the board. CWA Report Director Croucher indicated that MWD’s board operates under Chairs Rules, which means whatever the Chair wishes, is what is done. There are other partner agencies that are concerned about MWD’s use of Chairs Rules and the concern is being shared with MWD. He stated that CWA is focused on issues concerning the funding of the proposed California Water Fix plan and there are discussions whether CWA should be paying for someone else to benefit from the plan. He also shared that the Sycuan Indian Reservation had been considering annexing into either the Otay WD or Padre Dam MWD service areas and they have decided to move forward with annexing into Padre Dam MWD. He also reported that CWA voted to support Proposition 3, Water Supply/Water Quality Bond, and will continue to oppose the water tax. He lastly reported that President Smith will be formally seated as CWA’s representative on MWD’s board at their (MWD’s) August 20 and 21 meetings. President Smith further reported on the Carlsbad desalination intake system. He stated due to a change in the law, CWA’s staff needed to redesign the intake structure. CWA’s staff will be presenting at a future board meeting an estimate of 6 the cost for the new intake structure and its impact on water rates. A preliminary estimate indicates that the redesign would increase CWA’s water rate by approximately 6% to 7% (the agreement allows for an up to 30% increase). 14. DIRECTORS' REPORTS/REQUESTS Director Thompson indicated that he is attending a San Diego County Taxpayers Association online class regarding pensions through the Point Loma Nazarene College. He stated that the class is very informative and that he had passed along some information from the class to President Smith. Director Gastelum thanked Director Thompson for passing along the information on pensions. Director Robak shared that there was a very good article published in the Wall Street Journal on pensions. He stated that it indicates that the State and City pension deficits across the United States is the size of Japan’s economy. He indicated that pension liability is a problem being addressed throughout the Country. He also reported that the Mesa Water and Costa Mesa Sanitary District had an opportunity to merge, but their boards did not approve merging the two agencies. This is similar to the Rainbow Water District and the Fallbrook Municipal Water District boards who did not approve their agencies’ merger. He stated that he had filed a complaint with the California Fair Political Practices Commission regarding Rainbow Water District and Fallbrook Municipal Water District failure to merge and he was made aware that they are just now reviewing his complaint. He lastly shared that Mr. Fred Hanson is pictured on page 6 of the District’s Strategic Plan pamphlet for FY 2019 to 2022 (see attached copy). He indicated Mr. Hanson was a large avocado grower along highway 94 and was one of the founders of the Otay Water District. He also donated millions of dollars through his Foundation for an Institute of Peace for Leadership and International Cooperation which is housed on the University of San Diego campus. Director Robak suggested that the District name a tank after Mr. Fred Hanson who is a founder of the District. Director Thompson added that he has calculated the City of San Diego’s unfunded pension obligation from information he received from the pension class he is taking through the San Diego County Taxpayers Association and the obligation is approximately $7,000 per family living in the City of San Diego. 15. PRESIDENT’S REPORT President Smith’s report is attached. 16. CLOSED SESSION The board recessed to closed session at 6:20 p.m. to discuss the following matter: a) PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION [GOVERNMENT CODE §54957.6] 7 TITLE: GENERAL MANAGER Director Gastelum left at 7:15 p.m. The board reconvened at 8:05 p.m. and General Counsel Shinoff presented the General Manager’s contract for the board’s approval. A motion was made by Director Robak, and seconded by Director Croucher and carried with the following vote: Ayes: Directors, Croucher, Robak, Smith and Thompson Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: Director Gastelum to approve extending the General Manager’s contract an additional year and to provide a compensation increase effective July 1, 2018 consistent with the increase provided to employees on July 1, 2018. 17. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to come before the Board, President Smith adjourned the meeting at 8:08 p.m. ___________________________________ President ATTEST: District Secretary 8 President’s Report Tim Smith August 1, 2018 Board Meeting # Date Meeting Purpose 1 2-Jul Board Agenda Briefing Met with General Manager Watton and General Counsel Shinoff to review items that will be presented at the July Board Meeting 2 11-Jul OWD Regular Board Meeting Monthly board meeting 3 13-Jul Committee Agenda Briefing Met with General Manager Watton to review items that will be presented at the July committee meetings 4 16-Jul OWD EO&WR Committee Reviewed items that will be presented at the August board meeting 5 18-Jul OWD F&A Committee Reviewed items that will be presented at the August board meeting 6 19-Jul Special Mtg of the Metro Commission Monthly Commission Meeting 7 19-Jul OWD PRL&L Committee Reviewed items that will be presented at the August board meeting 8 20-Jul CWA Matters Meeting Met with Director Croucher and General Manager Watton to discuss CWA matters 9 23-Jul Ad Hoc General Manager Evaluation Committee Discussed the General Manager's Evaluation 10 25-Jul East County Caucus Discuss CWA issues 11 27-Jul Board Agenda Briefing Met with General Manager Watton and Attorney Blumenfeld to review items that will be presented at the August Board Meeting 9 12 30-Jul OWD Special Board Meeting Special Board Meeting for a Tour of the Layfield Group Facilities