November 16, 2009
VALLEY CENTER MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT
Regular Board Meeting
Monday, November 16, 2009
Time: 2:00 P.M.
Place: Board Room
29300 Valley Center Road
Valley Center, CA 92082
The Valley Center Municipal Water District Board of Directors’ meeting was called to order by President Broomell at 2:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL
Board members present were: Directors Broomell, Polito, Aleshire and Haskell. Director Stone was absent. Staff members present were: General Manager Arant, General Counsel Cowett, District Engineer Grabbe, Director of Finance Jeffrey, Director of Operations Hoyle, Board Secretary Stetson, Manager of IT Pilve and Water Systems Supervisor Klimas. There were no spectators present.
CONSENT CALENDAR
1. Upon motion by Polito, seconded by Haskell and unanimously carried, the following consent calendar items were approved:
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Minutes of the Board meeting held October 19, 2009
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Fitzpatrick waterline extension consisting of approximately 516 feet of 8-inch water main, two 6-inch fire hydrants and other appurtenances
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Quitclaim of Easement to Williams, a portion of the District’s easement within the Champagne Lakes RV Resort where the piping was removed from service
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Audit demands 123887 through 124171 and wire disbursements for October 2009
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Treasurer’s Report and Financial Statements for the period ended September 30, 2009
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Board of Director’s request for per diem compensation and report of expense reimbursements per Government Code
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Annual report of properties approved for deferral of water availability charges as of June 30, 2009 per Administrative Code Section 165.2(f)3
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Purchase Order No. 17972 to Rancho Ford in the amount of $61,170.79 for the purchase of a service utility truck
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Purchase Order No. 17990 to Theodore Robins Ford in the amount of $43,530.54 for the purchase of two mid-size trucks
ACTION AGENDA
2. Response to County’s Petition for Permanent Road Division Formation Ballot Proceeding for Mesa Verde Drive:
A notice of a proposed Permanent Road Division Zone for Mesa Verde Drive was received from the County. The Permanent Road Division would establish an assessment area for maintenance of the road. The District received the notification because of its ownership of a 370 square foot parcel that is the site of the abandoned Mesa Verde Pump Station.
The process for the formation of a Permanent Road Division (PRD) Zone is that the Petition for PRD Formation be signed by greater than 60% of the owners of the properties designated in the proposed PRD zone. Signing the petition does not commit the property owner or the County to the formation of the PRD, but demonstrates support to move the formation process forward and, with 60% of the property owners signing the petition, allows the County to initiate the ballot process for the proposed formation of a PRD for Mesa Verde Drive. District Engineer Grabbe explained that if sufficient signatures on the petition for the PRD formation are received, the vote for the measure would be weighted by the parcel’s Equivalent Benefit Unit, and the District’s parcel would represent less than 0.0004% of the total vote.
The District’s policy has been to decline participation in road improvement assessments but maintain access to District facilities as needed. However, the Board felt it would be prudent to sign the petition for the proposed Permanent Road Division Zone for Mesa Verde Drive that may allow the property owners to vote on the proposed formation of a PRD.
Upon motion by Polito, seconded by Haskell and unanimously carried, the Board directed staff to sign the Petition to initiate the ballot process for the proposed formation of a Permanent Road Division Zone for Mesa Verde Drive and to decline voting if a ballot vote is conducted for the formation of the Permanent Road Division.
3. Presentation on New Energy Management Pumping Strategies and Practices:
Water Systems Supervisor Klimas provided an update on the District’s energy management strategies and practices that have been implemented as a result of current factors such as reduced pumping demands, lower natural gas prices and solar generation. The District has been aggressive in reducing energy consumption by upgrading and replacing older pumping facilities with high efficiency pumps and motors and, with the greater operations flexibility afforded the District with decreased water flows and the solar generation facility at Lake Turner, strategies to reduce energy consumption have been expanded.
Pump station overhauls have included New Lilac Pump No. 1, Circle R, Couser, Jesmond Dene and Pfau. Soft-starts have been installed at 15 of the 26 pump stations and there is on-going efficiency testing and diagnosis of the District’s pumps.
San Diego Gas & Electric’s different rate schedules are continually evaluated to implement pumping strategies to achieve energy savings. Certain electric meters that meet the qualification of large consumption have Time-of-Use “ALTOU” or “PAT1D” schedules which have less electric kW/hr. costs, but have semi-peak and peak demand charges. SDG&E’s Demand Response Program or Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) can be elected for meters with time-of-use schedules (ALTOU and PAT1D) and the District has 12 meters under the CPP Program which provides cheaper electric kW/hr. costs throughout the year. Parameters of the CPP Program include that a one day notice must be given for a CPP event which is in effect from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Any electric usage on a CPP meter during a CPP event is at ten times the rate of our normal kW/hr. price. In 2010, a CPP event can be called throughout the year including Sundays. In 2009, a CPP event could have been called 18 times from May through September with Sundays exempt.
Additional strategies and practices that have reduced the District’s electrical expenses are early morning and evening shifts to better facilitate maximizing off-peak pumping and evaluating direct purchase of natural gas through SDG&E’s Core Aggregation Transportation agreement. The District’s solar facility at Lake Turner has reduced energy consumption and the District is able to sell back the electric generation from the facility during a CPP event at ten times the electric rate. Staff noted that in August and September of 2009, there were 8 CPP events and the District was able to curtail its pumping on the affected meters and recharge the system following its conclusion (after 6:00 p.m.). Also, the solar pumps were shut down during these CPP events for 85% of the time resulting in the electricity generated being sold back to SDG&E at 10 times the electric rate. Water Systems Supervisor Klimas reiterated that staff will continue to evaluate rate schedules, monitor natural gas prices and investigate alternative Demand Response Programs to further reduce the District’s energy expenses.
GENERAL MANAGER’S AGENDA
4. Review of Miscellaneous Information Items:
▪ A letter of comment on the Draft Southern California Steelhead Recovery Plan for the San Luis Rey River was mailed to the National Marine Fisheries Service which outlines the District’s opposition to the efforts to reallocate the water resources of the San Luis Rey River watershed to restore steelhead. The letter points out that local water dedicated to steelhead restoration must be replaced by imported water which is a restricted supply and that a funding source for the replacement water is not identified.
▪ At the Metropolitan Water District’s Board meeting of November 10th, following discussion at the November 9th Water Planning and Stewardship Committee meeting, the Poseidon/Carlsbad Desalination Project received approval for Local Resources Project funding. This approval was granted following action to add language that if an MWD member, who is signatory to and benefiting from a Local Resources Project agreement is subsequently part of a successful effort to modify the MWD’s funding structure for Local Resources Projects, the MWD Local Resources Project funding for that particular project would terminate.
▪ Water sales for Fiscal Year 2009-10 are projected to be 33,918 ac. ft. Budgeted water sales were 33,130 ac. ft. Water usage has reduced as follows:
• Municipal and Industrial – 34% under the 2004-07 base year usage
• Interim Agricultural Water Program – 44% under the 2006-07 base year usage
• Special Agricultural Water Rate – 34% under the 2006-07 base year usage
All IAWP customers received notification of revised allocations for November and December 2009. The reduction level for these two months was adjusted from 30% to a 10% level due to the conservation level of 44% thus far in 2009. A letter will be sent to Metropolitan Water District requesting that they reconsider the IAWP regulations and allow the carry-over of conservation credits earned from one calendar year into the next.
DISTRICT GENERAL COUNSEL’S AGENDA
5. Miscellaneous Updates:
General Counsel Cowett reported that U.S. District Judge Wanger had indicated at a recent hearing that he would compel the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Reclamation to complete an environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) prior to implementing a Biological Opinion that called for water reductions to protect the Delta Smelt and address the impact of operations of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project. The State Water Contractors, a party to the Delta Smelt NEPA challenge, have been represented by Best, Best & Krieger.
Provisions of the comprehensive water package approved by the Legislature and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger will be closely monitored and analyzed with summaries and updates provided the District. General Counsel Cowett noted that the legislation has the potential to bring major changes to water law, especially groundwater management. The water bond of over $11 billion will be on the ballot in November 2010.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ AGENDA
6. JPIA Risk Management Conference:
Director Aleshire reported he had attended an ACWA JPIA Risk Management Conference. A motivational speaker at the conference gave a presentation on the decisions of the members of the Beatles that caused them to be a success. These included bringing in workers or partners that add value, have a single shared vision, play to your strengths, implement changes and maintain that focus and have a memorable mission statement.
The advantages of a concise and memorable mission statement such as “Exceed Customers’ Expectations” were discussed. The Beatles mission was to “be more popular than Elvis”.
CLOSED SESSION
7. A Closed Session was called by President Broomell at 3:47 p.m. pursuant to:
● Government Code §54956.9(b), Conference with Legal Counsel, Anticipated
Litigation
Number of potential cases: 1
RECONVENE
8. The Regular Board meeting was reconvened at 3:54 p.m. There was no reportable action.
ADJOURNMENT
9. Upon motion by Aleshire, seconded by Haskell and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 3:55 p.m.
ATTEST: ATTEST:
___________________________ ___________________________
President Secretary