04-01-2021SOUTH TAHOE PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT
David Peterson, Vice President
Chris Cefalu, Director
BOARD MEMBERS
Shane Romsos, Director
Kelly Sheehan, President
Nick Exline, Director
John Thiel, General Manager Paul Hughes, Chief Financial Officer
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SOUTH TAHOE PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT
April 1, 2021
MINUTES
The South Tahoe Public Utility District Board of Directors met in a regular session, 2:03 p.m., at the
District Office, located at 1275 Meadow Crest Drive, South Lake Tahoe, California.
ROLL CALL:
Board of Directors: President Sheehan, Directors Romsos, Peterson, Exline
Absent: Director Cefalu
Staff: John Thiel, Paul Hughes, Gary Kvistad, Marla Sharp, Brian Bartlett, lvo Bergsohn, Adrian
Combes, Brent Goligoski, Chris Stanley, Jessica Henderson, Julie Ryan, Liz Kaufman, Ryan Lee, Shelly
Thomsen, Steve Caswell, Greg Dupree, Cuz Cullen
Guests: Scott Ferguson
CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA OR CONSENT CALENDAR:
None
CONSENT CALENDAR:
Moved Exline/Second Peterson/Sheehan Yes/Cefalu Absent/Romsos Yes/Peterson Yes/Exline Yes to
approve the Consent Calendar as presented.
a.2019 HEAVENLY TANK IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT
(Adrian Combes, Senior Engineer)
Authorized staff to file a Notice of Completion with the El Dorado County Recorder's Office for
the 2019 Heavenly Tank Improvements Project.
b.RESOLUTION FOR BUREAU OF RECLAMATION WATERSMART APPLIED SCIENCE GRANTS FOR FISCAL
YEAR 2021 (Lynn Nolan, Grants Coordinator)
Adopted Resolution No. 3167-21 approving submittal of a grant application to the Bureau of
Reclamation WaterSMART Applied Science Grants for Fiscal Year 2021 Grant Program for the
Technology Based Condition Assessment of the District's Water System.
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES April 1, 2021 PAGE-2
c.AERATION BLOWER SYSTEM EMERGENCY POWER AND SECONDARY CLARIFIERS NO'S. 1 AND 2
REHABILITATION PROJECT
(Brent Goligoski, Associate Engineer)
Approved Proposal to amend existing Task Order No. 22 for Carollo Engineers, Inc., for
additional design services for the Aeration Blower System Emergency Power and Secondary
Clarifiers No's. 1 and 2 Rehabilitation Project in an amount not to exceed $20,740.
d.2020 WATER METER INSTALLATION PROJECT-PHASE 58
(Trevor Coolidge, Senior Engineer)
e.
Approve the Final Balancing Change Order No. 1 to Vinciguerra Construction, Inc., in the
credit amount of <$305,622.18>.
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES: March 18, 2021
(Melonie Guttry, Executive Services Manager/Clerk of the Board)
Approved March 18, 2021 , Minutes
ITEMS FOR BOARD ACTION
a.2021 Rocky I Waterline and Pressure Regulating Valve (PRV) Replacement Project (Adrian Combes,
Senior Engineer) -Julie Ryan provided details regarding the Project and addressed questions from
the Board.
Moved Romsos/Second Exline/Sheehan Yes/Cefalu Absent/Romsos Yes/Peterson Yes/Exline Yes
to (1) Waive minor deviations identified for the apparent low bidder, (2) Award Project to the
lowest responsive, responsible bidder, Haen Constructors, Inc., in the amount of $2,726,518.60;
and, (3) Authorize staff to file a California Environmental Quality Act and a Notice of Exemption
with the El Dorado County Clerk.
b.2021 Asphalt Patching Services (Tony Prieto, Underground Water Repair Supervisor) -Chris Stanley
provided details regarding the Asphalt Patching Services and addressed questions from the
Board.
Moved Exline/Second Peterson/ Sheehan Yes/Cefalu Absent/Romsos Yes/Peterson Yes/Exline
Yes to 1) Find low bid for 2021 Asphalt Patching Services to be non-responsive; 2) Award
Contract to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder, West Coast Paving, Inc., in the amount of
$298,939; and, 3) Authorize staff to allow for changes (size estimates or repair site additions) in
the Contract not to exceed an additional 10% of the Contract price.
c.Lakeside Park Association, Inc., Water Service Agreement (John Thiel, General Manager) -John Thiel
provided details regarding the Water Service Agreement and presented a brief history. Attorney
Kvlstad provided details regarding the signed Agreement and revisions that were made to the
Agreement and addressed questions from the Board.
Moved Peterson/Second Romsos/Sheehan Yes/Cefalu Absent/Romsos Yes/Peterson Yes/Exline
Yes to approve the Water Service Agreement between South Tahoe Public Utility District and
Lakeside Park Association, Inc., in order for Lakeside Park Association, Inc. to provide water
service to all of the properties located within a small portion of the District's service area
("Proposed New Service Area")
Director Cefalu joined the Board meeting at 2:20 p.m.
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES April 1, 2021 PAGE-3
d.Keller Heavenly Installment Sale Agreement (Paul Hughes, Chief Financial Officer) -Paul Hughes
reported that the District received approval with a fantastic interest rate of 1.2% for 20 years and
will save approximately $300,000 in interest.
Moved Sheehan/Second Romsos/Sheehan Yes/Cefalu Yes/Romsos Yes/Peterson Yes/Exline Yes
to approve Resolution No. 3168-21, the Installment Sale Agreement Resolution of the Board of
Directors of the South Tahoe Public Utility District for the Keller Heavenly Water Systems
Improvement Project.
e.Approve Payment of Claims (Debbie Henderson, Accounting Manager)
Moved Sheehan/Second Exline/Sheehan Yes/Cefalu Absent/Romsos Yes/Peterson Yes/Exline
Yes to approve Payment of Claims in the amount of $1,021,087.87.
STANDING AND AD-HOC COMMITTEES AND LIAISON REPORTS:
None
BOARD MEMBER REPORTS:
None
EL DORADO WATER AGENCY PURVEYOR REPORT:
None
STAFF/ATTORNEY REPORTS:
lvo Ber gsohn presented an update regarding the 2014 Groundwater Management Plan, which after
the update will be referred to as the Tahoe South Subbasin (TSS) Alternative and the recent
completion of the 2020 Water Year Annual Report which was submitted to the Department of Water
Resources (DWR) on March 29, 2021 and addressed questions from the Board.
GENERAL MANAGER REPORT:
John Thiel reported on several items:
•Provided a staffing update•Provided details regarding the first District Leadership Team Meeting on Wednesday, March
24.This is a new collaboration to work on building a stronger and focused cohesive leadership
team. The plan is to meet every two months to focus on strategic planning and goal setting.•Provided a COVID-19 update with no current illness at the District. Interested staff are receiving
vaccinations with a majority already receiving their first vaccination. The District will move to
Risk Level 2.5 on April 15 which includes field crews returning to 10 hour shifts, a transition from
remote to in-office work and Customer Service opening to the public. The Board discussed
returning to in-person Board meetings and by consensus, will do so on April 15, with the option
of attending by webinar. Paul Hughes requested Board input regarding waiving late fees for
the last quarter and by consensus, the Board will discontinue the waiving of late fees.
Information Technology and Customer Service will collaborate to bring an update to the April
15 Board meeting.•Provided details regarding approval of a Power Resiliency Grant in the amount of $200,000
from the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) for two stand-by generators sets for the
Upper Truckee and Al Tahoe Pump Stations. There is no match requirement for this grant and
John Thiel congratulated Lynn Nolan and Cliff Bartlett for the submittal of the grant
application.
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES April 1, 2021 PAGE-4
•The meeting with Joe Irvin, City Manager, was rescheduled to next week. The Board discussed
future meetings for the Ad-Hoc City Council Committee.•Provided information regarding the passing of Mary Lou Mosbacher, a previous Board Member
of 21 years, who served as a Board Member from 1990-2011. She was known as the
"Grandmother of the District" who was a strong, intelligent and pragmatic lady. She was a
fierce advocate for the District and the rate payers. John Thiel acknowledged Mary Lou
Mosbacher for all that she has done for the District.
Director Peterson recused himself at 3:01 p.m. due to a potential conflict of interest.
•John Thiel reported that he attended a meeting with the Tahoe Keys Property Owners
Association (Tahoe Keys) and their consultant on Friday, April 26, and provided an update
regarding their water well situation. He reported that they are pursuing an intertie with Lukins
Brothers Water for the short-term and that the District is making adjustments at a few of its wells
and booster stations to increase flow capacity at the Tahoe Keys intertie. The Board discussed
potentially providing water to trucks and Director Exline expressed his adamant opposition to
providing water for irrigation to the Ta hoe Keys, which is counterproductive to everything the
District has done. Attorney Kvistad provided details regarding the District's Administrative
Code and the restrictions of the District fire hydrants for irrigation use, outlining the steps that
would be necessary to reflect changes in the Administrative Code. Director Romsos expressed
concern with other possible cascading effects that could be created with trucks filling at the
District. Shelly Thomsen provided details regarding the District's investment in water
conservation as well as meter installation and her concern with the use of the District's water
for irrigation outside of the District's service area. Chris Stanley and Cuz Cullen provided details
regarding inquiries from landscapers and homeowners to purchase water directly from the
District. The Board discussed the District's investment in water conservation and the investment
of $22 million into meter installation as well as the ability for the District to assist the Tahoe Keys
with their situation. Julie Ryan expressed concern with supplying water to the Tahoe Keys
intertie at 500 gallons per minute during peak demand times and also to supply water to trucks
during the same peak demand times. A consensus was reached to bring further information to
the April 15 Board meeting.
•Paul Hughes provided further details regarding late fee charges, which will be brought to the
April 15 Board meeting.
ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION: 3:40 p.m.
RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION: 4:08 p.m.
a.Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957(a)/Conference with Labor Negotiators:
Memorandum of Understanding with Stationary Engineers, Local 39. Present at this Closed
Session will be Agency Negotiators: John Thiel, General Manager; Paul Hughes, Chief Financial
Officer; and Liz Kauffman, Human Resources Director.
No reportable Board action
b.Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957(a)/Conference with Labor Negotiators:
Memorandum of Understanding with Management Group. Present at this Closed Session will
be Agency Negotiators: John Thiel, General Manager; Paul Hughes, Chief Financial Officer;
and Liz Kauffman, Human Resources Director.
No reportable Board action
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES April 1, 2021
ADJOURNMENT: 4:09 p.m.
M rk of the Board
South Tahoe Public Utility District
PAGE-5
Kel Sheehan, Board President
South Tahoe Public Utility District