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12-03-09 S0 TA yF V et Cif e he r•1950'Yd s � UTILITY SOUTH TAHOE PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT Richard Solbrig, General Manager Paul Sciuto, Assistant General Manager Mary Lou Mosbacher, President BOARD MEMBERS Dale Rise, Vice President James R. Jones, Director Eric W. Schafer, Director Ernie Claudio, Director REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SOUTH TAHOE PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT DECEMBER 3, 2009 MINUTES The Board of Directors of the South Tahoe Public Utility District met in a regular session, December 3, 2009, 2:00 P.M., District Office, 1275 Meadow Crest Drive, South Lake Tahoe, California. to BOARD OF DIRECTORS: ROLL CALL President Mosbacher, Directors Rise, Claudio, Jones, Schafer STAFF: Solbrig, Sharp, Sciuto, Hughes, Hussmann, Noble, Hammond, R. Johnson, Bird, Curtis, Henderson, Rasmussen, Morse, Hoggatt, Attorney Kvistad GUESTS: Anders Hauge, Melanie Greene, Garth Ailing /Hauge Brueck; Eric McGrath /Pogge Meyer Engineering; Larry Mace /Grant Thornton; Bob Tucker /Lahontan; Chris Cefalu Chris Cefalu led the pledge to the flag. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Moved Rise / Second Schafer / Passed Unanimously CONSENT CALENDAR to approve the Consent Calendar as submitted: a. Employee Assistance Program — Authorized execution of a contract with CSAC Excess Insurance Authority to provide employee assist- ance program services to District employees and their families, in the amount of $3,341; tow b. Approved Regular Board Meeting Minutes: November 19, 2009. REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES - DECEMBER 3, 2009 PAGE - 2 Larry Mace, Grant Thornton, reviewed the results of PRESENTATION: REPORT ON the 2009 financial audit. He reported no adjustments 2009 FISCAL YEAR FINANCIAL were necessary. He also reported that federal grant STATEMENT AUDIT requirements necessitated a second audit. His experienced team was very complimentary of the District's grant administrators. The resulting reports will be very positive. ITEMS FOR BOARD ACTION Staff and the Finance Committee reviewed this item SELF - INSURED HEALTH PLAN and recommended the stop loss coverage carrier, RENEWAL Gerber, be changed to a new carrier, QBE, who offered the best renewal rates. After analysis by BB &H, staff and the Finance Commit- tee recommended increasing the specific stop loss deductible. They also recommended to continue using the current third party administrators to provide services to the District's self insured health plan. Moved Claudio / Second Schafer / Passed Unanimously to: (1) Approve renewal of stop Toss carrier with QBE Insurance Group; (2) Approve specific stop Toss deduc- tible level of $75,000; and (3) Approve renewal of third party administrators with CDS Group Health and Universal Health Network. Nancy Hussmann reported on recommended revisions PLAN DOCUMENT FOR SELF - to the Plan Document: INSURED HEALTH PLAN Effective January 1, 2010, there are two federal man- dates pertaining to health insurance coverage pertaining to mental health /substance abuse treatment, and leaves of absence and coverage for dependent children who attend post- secondary schools. Additionally, the District changed the provisions related to occupational and physical therapy, to the tests required of young children, and added foot surgery procedures. Moved Schafer / Second Claudio / Passed Unanimously to approve revisions to the Plan Document. BB &H performed an analysis to determine the approp- SELF - INSURED HEALTH PLAN riate funding level to fund claims and fix costs for the RENEWAL — FUNDING LEVEL AND self- insured health plan. Due to the plan's good claim COBRA RATES experience in 2009, the projected claims for 2010 is lower than the projections for estimated claims in the analysis for the funding level for 2009. REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES — DECEMBER 3, 2009 PAGE - 3 The Finance Committee and staff reviewed this item SELF - INSURED HEALTH PLAN C and recommended that COBRA rates for 2010 remain RENEWAL — FUNDING LEVEL AND the same as 2009. By maintaining the current funding COBRA RATES level, the plan's reserves can be built up to a more (continued) acceptable level. Moved Claudio / Second Rise / Passed Unanimously to approve 2010 funding level and COBRA rates at the same level as the 2009 funding level and COBRA rates. Paul Sciuto reported the repairs are still underway. Most SNOWSHOE THOMPSON DITCH of the repairs are covered under warranty from the work NO 1 / MILLICH DITCH WASHOUT performed in early summer. Sierra Erosion is on site making repairs; straw bales will be placed at the bottom of Millich soon. Staff installed a modified French drain to direct flows away from the steep slope. Since it snowed, all repairs cannot be made right away; some must be postponed until spring. The emergency declaration is expected to be terminated by the December 17 Board meeting. Moved Schafer / Second Jones / Passed Unanimously to continue emergency action of November 5, 2009. Moved Schafer / Second Rise / Passed Unanimously PAYMENT OF CLAIMS k le to approve payment in the amount of $1,626,177.47. Water and Wastewater Operations Committee: Director BOARD MEMBER STANDING Rise reported he attended the November 30 committee COMMITTEE REPORTS meeting (Director Jones was at the ACWA Conference.) Minutes of the meeting are available upon request. Director Rise requested staff assist with improving the communications between contractors and vendors. Finance Committee: The committee met December 3. Minutes of the meeting are available upon request. Topics of discussion included the annual financial statement audit, Department of Energy grant application and potential inclusion of the C -line extension project, possible postponement of the January 1 capacity charge adjustments for six months to one year as part of the Board's intent on working with the community to keep costs as low as possible, the recommendation to cease the practice of holding new connection prepaid user fees immediately, and the preliminary budget schedule. PUBLIC HEARING SOUTH TAHOE PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT RECYCLED WATER Jim Hoggatt reported the Final EIR (Environmental FACILITIES MASTER PLAN Impact Report) was prepared which included responses k w to comments received on the draft. Anders Hauge, Hauge Brueck, gave a PowerPoint presentation and reviewed four master plan projects. He covered com- ments received and the responses given, modifications REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES - DECEMBER 3, 2009 PAGE - 4 made to the document and conclusions reached, and SOUTH TAHOE PUBLIC UTILITY explained the mitigation monitoring program. The DISTRICT RECYCLED WATER Board also received clarification regarding leasing land FACILITIES MASTER PLAN and cattle grazing. (continued) President Mosbacher opened the Public Hearing at 2:55 p.m. to receive public comments on the Final EIR. No comments were received and the Public Hearing was closed at 2:55 p.m. Mr. Hauge reviewed the provisions contained in Resolution No. 2877 -09, which will certify the EIR as being a true and complete disclosure of the impacts of the projects and the master plan, including adoption of the Recycled Water Facilities Master Plan, approval of Projects 1, 2, 11, and 12; approval of the California Environmental Quality Act findings and statement of overriding considerations, and adopting the mitigation monitoring program. He also reviewed the findings contained in Appendix A. Moved Jones / Second Schafer / Passed Unanimously to adopt Resolution No. 2877 -09, to certify the final environmental impact report for the Recycled Water Facilities Master Plan and adopting findings per CEQA, 400 a statement of over - riding consideration, a mitigation monitoring and reporting program, adopting the Recycled Water Facilities Master Plan, and approving Master Plan projects 1, 2, 11, and 12. (Director Claudio left the meeting at 3:15 p.m. This being his last Board meeting, members of the Board thanked him for his service) Planning Committee: Director Schafer stated there should be a transition relative to Alpine County and the District's recycled water facilities. Now that the plan- ning stages are complete and the actual projects are ready to begin, the Master Plan is more appropriately aligned with the Water and Wastewater Operations Committee rather than the Planning Committee. 3:15 - 3:45 P.M. MEETING BREAK Union & Management MOU Ad Hoc Committee: The BOARD MEMBER AD HOC committee met November 24 to discuss the self- COMMITTEE REPORT insured medical plan items on this agenda. The idea to merge the dates of the management and union contract and medical plan into the same calendar year was discussed, as well as the suggestion to hire a facilitator for negotiations. REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES - DECEMBER 3, 2009 PAGE - 5 The majority of the December 1 meeting was spent EL DOARD COUNTY WATER on a closed session personnel issue. District represen- AGENCY WATER PURVEYOR tatives broached the subject of reorganizing the agency. REPORT The suggestion was made to put the request or plan in writing for consideration. Director Jones reported he just returned from the ACWA BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Conference where issuance of the new $11.1 billion water bond was a major topic of discussion. Director Rise reported he will attend the December 9 ECC (Employee Communications Committee) meeting in place of Director Schafer. He also reported he will attend the December 9 Green Builders night at the Lake Tahoe Community College. Director Schafer reported on several items: 1) A study performed showed that chemicals are being transmitted to newborns at birth, which could lead to more testing of water supplies. 2) The Democrats are proposing a stimulus plan to create jobs, thereby helping them to retain their seats in the House and Senate. 3) The Supreme Court ruled in a Florida case that when public funds are used to enhance a beach, it essentially removes the beach front rights of property owners. This ruling could easily apply elsewhere. 4) The IRS will be the lead agency to oversee the national health care plan and determine compliance with the rules. The good things that the IRS does will fall by the wayside if they are forced to contend with societal problems they are not equipped to handle. 5) Some of the agenda topics discussed at a recent CASA Fed Leg Committee meeting he attended included: transportation stimulus funding and efforts to have water and wastewater included; the state revolving funding program; degradation of the water quality in the delta is being blamed on wastewater treatment plants; and the use of wastewater systems to dispose of pharmaceuticals is causing big problems. 6) He attended the December 2 public hearing held in Alpine County on the District's Recycled Water Facilities Master Plan. The only comments received were from one person concerning fishing at Indian Creek Reservoir and were not related to the public hearing. 7) The estate tax law could be repealed as part of a compromise made under the Bush administration. Director Mosbacher reported that one member of the public attended the Luther Pass Pump Station (LPPS) Power Generation Facility neighborhood meeting held at her grandson's house. REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES - DECEMBER 3, 2009 PAGE - 6 General Manager: Richard Solbrig reported on the LPPS GENERAL MANAGER REPORT 4 60 . power generation facility project. The project will bring back full capacity to the station in terms of power gener- ation. It will also look nicer and will be quieter. Staff attended a meeting with Lake Valley Fire Department (LVFD) about fire suppression requirements on the pro - ject (TRPA requires LVFD to sign off on the plans). The fire marshall is opposed to the use of recycled water to fight fires, and believes it presents health risks to fire- fighters. El Dorado County Environmental Health will provide an evaluation to identify any potential related hazards, and take into consideration that any exposure would be very limited. LVFD proposed the use of a gaseous system. Staff is working with consultants to decide what fire suppression system would be best. Chief Financial Officer: Paul Hughes reported staff met STAFF REPORT with City staff to discuss the impacts of the Redevelop- ment Project No. 2. They presented some estimated figures and a map of the project area, which mainly focuses on the south side of the city (the Y section). If the plan is put into place, the financial impacts to the District are significant. El Dorado County will also be severely impacted. The District's special counsel will present the limited options available to the Board at a 4 0 future meeting. 5:15 P.M. ADJOUNMENT TO CLOSED SESSION ACTION / REPORT ON ITEMS DISCUSSED DURING CLOSED SESSION No reportable Board action. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(a) /Conference with Legal Counsel — Existing Litigation re: Meyers Landfill Site: United States of America vs. El Dorado County and City of South Lake Tahoe and Third Party Defendants, Civil Action No. S -01 -1520 LKK GGH, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Ca. No reportable Board action. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(a) /Conference with Legal Counsel — Existing Litigation: Tahoe Asphalt, Inc., and Tahoe Asphalt Materials Company, LLC, vs. STPUD, Case No. 41Iw SC20090104, El Dorado Superior Court REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES - DECEMBER 3, 2009 PAGE - 7 5:25 P.M. ADJOURNMENT C )1 Mary Lou Mosbacher, Board President South Tahoe Public Utility District ATTEST: ( 'it ,` Kathy Sharp`, \Cl --� erk of the Ooard South Tand�Public Utility District P ',- , 7 , ' 1 '-; } ir9 :ids x. ' 0 0 . U) W ;; €�' O 0 Z :::..igF W o 1$.:x6 Z Ce a . W W -o :,` 2W �o ,4 . 1 //�� 2 - ., ; ...., III I_ .„. 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