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01-06-00SOUTH TAHOE PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT "Basic Services for a Complex World" Christopher H. Strohm, President BOARD MEMBERS Pembroke Gochnauer, Vice President Duane Wallace, Director REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SOUTH TAHOE PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT January 6, 2000 MINUTES The Board of Directors of the South Tahoe Public Utility District met in a regular session, January 6, 2000, 2:00 P.M., City Council Chambers, 1900 Lake Tahoe Boulevard, South Lake Tahoe, California. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: President Strohm, Directors Wallace, Jones, Gochnauer, Mosbacher. ROLL CALL STAFF: Baer, Solbrig, Sharp, McFarlane, Noble, Swain, Alsbury, Zaninovich, Hrbacek, Cocking, Hoggatt, Schroeder, Hydrick, Johnson, Attorney Kvistad. GUESTS: Andy Bourelle/Tahoe Daily Tribune, Catherine Abel/ Tahoe Mountain News, Ed Gee/US Forest Service, Scott Brooke/Brooke & Shaw, Danny Lukins/Lukins Brothers Water Company, Joyce Blackstone, David Kelly Consent Item b. was brought forward for discussion prior to Board action. Consent Item e. was brought forward for a separate vote. CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA OR CONSENT CALENDAR ST074379 REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES - JANUARY 6, 2000 PAGE - 2 Moved Jones/Second Wallace/Passed Unanimously to approve the Consent Calendar, as amended: CONSENT CALENDAR ao Underground Repair/Water - Temporary Help: Authorized purchase order to Blue Ribbon Personnel Service in the amount of $30,000; b (See Consent Items Brought Forward); Highway 50 / Midway Road Waterline: Approved Change Order No. 2 for G. B. Construction in the amount of $6,663.38; do Pilot Plant Study License Agreement: Authorized execution of license agreement with Lukins Brothers Water Company for use of Lukins Well No. 3; e. (See Consent Items Brought Forward). CONSENT ITEMS BROUGHT FORWARD FOR DISCUSSION I BOARD ACTION Moved Mosbacher/Second Wallace/Jones and Gochnauer Abstained/Passed to approve Regular Board Meeting Minutes of December 2, 1999. (Directors Jones and Gochnauer were away on District business and did not attend that meeting.) REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES: DECEMBER 2, 1999 (Consent Item e.) President Strohm reported the Operations Committee reviewed this item and has serious concerns. In absence of a long-term Special Use Permit for the well, the committee recommended that the Board not approve staff's request for electrical design work by Carollo Engineers for the Gardner Mountain Well. GARDNER MOUNTAIN WELL PUMP AND CONTROL BUILDING (Consent Item b.) President Strohm presented the history regarding the well which led to this recommendation. He pointed out two important items: 1) A Special Use Permit has not been issued for the well on USFS land; and 2) there is currently a temporary water service agreement in place with the USFS, effective through May 31,2000. There is a pos- sibility that the USFS may request an extension for tem- porary water service beyond that date. However, the District is still in the same water shortage situation as last year due to loss of wells from MTBE contamination. It is unlikely that the District will be in a position to provide any PAGE - 3 REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES - JANUARY 6, 2000 water service to the USFS after May 31,2000 without the well being on-line. Ed Gee, the acting Forest Supervisor for the USFS, was present and a lengthy discussion was held regarding the various reasons leading to a delay in issuance of a Special Use Permit for the well. Although the standard terms and conditions for a Special Use Permit have been provided to the District, permit issuance has been delayed due to USFS' inability to provide the criteria for determining the appraised value of the well site. The appraisers have not been able to move forward due to conflicting information, including the USFS' recent discussion that royalties for the water value should be included in the appraisal. The USFS previously had sent a letter dated August 16, 1999, that stated the value of water was not to be considered in determining the well site value. GARDNER MOUNTAIN WELL PUMP AND CONTROL BUILDING (Consent Item b.) In order to expedite the appraisal process, it was suggested to proceed in a manner similar to the District's water connec- tion fee process since the appraisal will not be complete for at least one or two months. The permit could include an estimated range of the value for the well site. After the general terms of the permit and formula for determining the well site value is agreed upon, the permit could be issued by the USF$. Mr. Gee will determine if such language can be included in the permit and work with the District to develop the specific formula for determining the well site value. The idea of well sharing was also discussed. Due to the complexities of having two pumps in the well casing, or sharing the well, the Board recommended that staff no longer consider these proposals. Staff recommended that the USFS be considered a customer of the District but that the District would, as previously discussed with the USFS, provide a fair value for USFS infrastructure and assets used by the District to offset some of the District rates and charges for permanent water service to the USFS. The Operations Committee noted that $800,000 had already been invested by the District in the well. The investment was based on the USFS' representations that the permit would be ready for issuance on or about January 6, 2000 and that the Special Use Permit fee would not include any component related to the value of water. The Operations ST074381 REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES - JANUARY 6, 2000 PAGE - 4 Committee recommended no further expenditures for this project until a Special Use Permit is in hand. President Strohm stressed the need to resolve this issue quickly in order to meet the needs of the District's customers and, if desired by the USFS, water service to USFS facilities including Camp Richardson. GARDNER MOUNTAIN WELL PUMP AND CONTROL BUILDING (Consent Item b.- continued) Richard Solbrig reviewed the schedule necessary to con- tinue with the next stage of work in order for the project to be finished by June 2000. Further delays mean that the well will not be on-line when the temporary water service agreement expires on May 31, 2000. The District may not be in a position to ensure full unrestricted water supply service to its customers and most likely will not be in a position to provide any further water service, temporary or permanent, to the USFS without the well being on-line. The Board expressed willingness to call a Special Board Meeting before the next regular Board meeting to expedite the process of examining, and the possibility of accepting, the terms of the Special Use Permit. It was agreed that Mr. Gee will contact the USFS Wash- ington office immediately to get direction regarding the criteria and language for determining the appraised value of the well site upon which the Special Use Permit will be determined. He will provide this information to Bob Baer by January 10, 2000 and work with the District to finalize the terms of a Special Use Permit in order to avoid any further delays in bringing the well on-line. Moved GochnaueflSecond Mosbacher/Passed Unanimously to table this item to the next Regular Board meeting on January 20, or to a Special Board Meeting (whichever comes first). ITEMS FOR BOARD ACTION Richard Solbrig reported the Gardner Mountain (Valhalla Road) well is projected to have a capacity of 1,200 gpm. After USFS demand is met, approximately 1,000 gpm is available to deliver back into the Gardner Mountain Zone. Since the Gardner Mountain Zone peak demand is ap- proximatey 400 gpm, there is an excess of 600 gpm which could be transferred into the Main Zone. This waterline project consists of installing the necessary larger water mains to be able to deliver these increased flows up to the GARDNER MOUNTAIN TRANS- MISSION LINE PROJECT ST074382 REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES - JANUARY 6, 2000 PAGE - 5 existing Gardner Mountain tanks, and through the Gardner Mountain Zone to Lake Tahoe Boulevard at the Main Zone boundary. Three alternatives were developed to address these needs. All alternatives connect the end of the 10-inch USFS line behind the St. Francis to the current system on 13th Street, and increase the size of the pipeline to the Gardner Moun- tain tanks. The connection to the Main Zone on Lake Tahoe Boulevard can be accomplished in three different routes (alternatives): 1) Highway 89, 2) Roger Ave., 3) Julie Lane, 3A) Julie Lane and 10th Street. Key issues to be considered are: cost, fire protection for Highway 89 corridor and interior of Gardner Mountain Zone, future water service availability along Roger Ave., replacing existing water mains. Funds in the current budget year will be transferred from the Tahoe Paradise Waterline account for this project. Using an overhead slide presentation, Solbrig reviewed the pros and cons of each alternative. Staff and the Operations Committee recommended approval of Alternative 3A - Julie Lane plus 10th Street. Design work will be completed by District staff, then the project will be bid, and construction is estimated to begin in May. Danny Lukins stated when this line was proposed 20 years ago, there was disagreement where his service boundary line and the District's were located. In the mid-80's, an attempt was made to form a Special Assessment District, 2% registered positive results, and the rest were negative. Moved Strohm/Second Jones/Passed Unanimously to approve alternative 3A (Julie Lane plus 10th Street) and directed staff to begin final design. Moved Jones/Second Strohm/Passed Unanimously to approve payment in the amount of $871,994.23. President Strohm announced the Board's Standing Committee appointments for 2000: Executive - Strohm / Gochnauer Finance - Wallace / Gochnauer Water and Wastewater Operations - Strohm / Jones Planning - Mosbacher / Gochnauer GARDNER MOUNTAIN TRANS- MISSION LINE PROJECT (continued) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS BOARD MEMBER STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS ST074383 PAGE-6 REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES - JANUARY 6, 2000 Operations Committee: The committee met January 3. Minutes of the meeting are available upon request. Director Jones reported that Dan Walsh, Terra Thermal Power, attended the meeting and provided additional information regarding his proposal to construct hydro- electric facilities on the C-line. Planning Committee: Bob Baer reported a meeting with Alpine County representatives will be held January 19, 1:30 p.m., at Turtle Rock Park. Director Mosbacher reported on her attendance at the January 4 Alpine County Board of Supervisors meeting. She also reported on a conversation with Dan Walsh, Terra Thermal Power, regarding possible locations for hydroelectric facilities on the C-Line. Director Wallace reported high-level representatives from Caltrans will attend a luncheon at Harrah's on January 20. He invited staff to attend. General Manager: Bob Baer reported on four items: 1) RFPs for auditing services have been sent. Staff and the Finance Committee will present recommendations after interviews are held in February. 2) The 2001 budget process is underway. 3) The STAR group (South Tahoe Alliance for Recreation) is finalizing the ballot on a recreation tax. The election will be held in June. At this time, the group anticipates three ball fields will be located on properties owned by Caltrans and the Lake Tahoe Community College. 4) Due to advanced planning, no Y2K problems were encountered. BOARD MEMBER STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS (continued) GENERAL MANAGER REPORTS Manager of Customer Service: Diane Noble reported on the status of the new automatic payment option that will be available to customers beginning in April. 4:50 P.M. 5:05 P.M. MEETING BREAK MEETING RESUMED AND ADJOURNED TO CLOSED SESSION 6:45 P.M. RECONVENE TO REGULAR SESSION ST074384 PAGE-7 REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES - JANUARY 6, 2000 ACTION I REPORT ON ITEMS DISCUSSED DURING EXECUTIVE SESSION Moved GochnaueflSecond Mosbacher/Passed. ~ to authorize settling the liability claim in the amount recommended at the December 27, 1999 settlement conference. Pursuant to Section 54956.95 of the California Government Code/ Liability Claim: Sanders v. STPUD, Superior Court, LTD. Civil Case No. CV-N-93-851-DWH Legal counsel and staff updated the Board regarding this item. No Board action..._ Pursuant to Section 54956.9(a) of California Government Code/Con- ference with Legal Counsel Existing Litigation: Schwake v. STPUD, Federal Case No. CV-N-93-851-DWH Legal counsel updated the Board regarding this item. No Board action. Pursuant to Section 54956.9(a) of California Government Code/Con- ference with Legal Counsel: Existing Litigation - STPUD v. ARCO, et al, San Francisco County Superior Court Case No. 999128 The Board directed negotiators regarding this item. No Board action.. Pursuant to Section 54956.8 of California Government Code/Confer- ence re: Real Property Negotiations: Negotiating Parties - District staff (Bob Baer, Richard Solbrig, General Counsel), District Board of Directors, Under Negotiation - Property Terms Property ID: APN 19-081-09 The Board directed negotiators regarding this item. No Board action. Pursuant to Section 54957.6/Con- ference with Labor Negotiators Agency Negotiator: Robert Baer Unrepresented Employee Position: Human Resources Director 6:45 P.M. Kathy Shar~_lerl~ of the Board South Tahoe Public Utility District ADJOURNMENT Christopher H. Strohm, Board Presiden[ South Tahoe Public Utility District REGULAR BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING GUEST SIGN-IN St, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BRC COMPLETION OF THIS INFORMATION IS VOLUN' AND IS NOT A PRECONDITION FOR/~ .,~/2 - ~-0o7