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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-07-15 Min - Board REGULAR MEETING July 15, 1991 The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District was called to order by President Aguera at 7 : 09 PM in the TDPUD Board Room. ROLL CALL: Directors John Corbett, Richard Curran, Jim Maass, Patricia Sutton and Joe Aguera were present. EMPLOYEES PRESENT: Peter Holzmeister and Susan Craig. CONSULTANTS PRESENT: Counsel John Phelps; Bob Churn and Larry Johnson of SEA; Keith Knibbs, Consulting Engineer. OTHERS PRESENT: Among those present in the audience were Mel Nicholson, Catherine Gibbs of the Sierra Sun, Charlie White, Joel Alford and Richard Langan. INVITATION TO ATTEND NCPA COMMISSION MEETING/TOUR IN MURPHYIS ON JULY 25 The NCPA Commission meeting will be held in Murphys at 1: 30 PM on July 25. Following the meeting, NCPA will host a barbecue dinner near the field office. A tour of the McKays Dam and Beaver Creek Dam will begin at 9: 00 AM on July 26, and should take one-half day. Directors interested in attending should contact the Secretary. The August NCPA Commission meeting is being hosted by the TDPUD; the Directors were encouraged to attend. LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN PUD AND WESTSTAR; CONSIDERATION OF AMENDMENTS AND POSSIBLE ACTION Joel Alford of WestStar was present in the audience. By letter dated June 19, WestStar requested that they be permitted to change equipment at the Northside well site. They currently have a container building and three satellite television receive dishes located at the site. In order to continue the same programming it will be necessary to install a fourth dish at the present site. The Board briefly discussed WestStar' s request at the last meeting. Regulation of cable television rates, current lease agreement provisions and pole attachment fees were researched by the Manager and discussed by the Board and Mr. Alford. Thereafter, Director Maass moved that the Board approve the request of WestStar to amend the lease to allow for placement of a fourth satellite dish; seconded by Director Corbett. ROLL CALL: Sutton, no; all other Directors, aye. SO MOVED. Director Sutton stated her "no" vote is, in part, due to her belief that the District should be getting a larger amount of rent from WestStar. Director Maass moved that, in accordance with the new FCC ruling, the President be directed to write to the Nevada County Board of 7/15/91 Pg 1 Supervisors and strongly urge them to look at the regulation of local cable companies. The motion was seconded by Director Sutton. ROLL CALL: all Directors, aye. SO MOVED. Chairman Aguera directed that the pole attachment agreement be reviewed and recommendations be brought back to the Board at the next meeting. Counsel Phelps will prepare the lease amendment. PUBLIC INPUT Richard Langan of Tahoe Donner asked to address the Board. He said the PUD newsletter, in his opinion, is misleading. It states that "the water system that brings water to you is owned by you, the customer. It was his opinion that a man who can't vote doesn't own anything. Discussion ensued and Directors voiced their various individual opinions. Mr. Langan had several questions about the water system in Tahoe Donner, the original construction and the current replacement project. Conversation took place concerning history of the Tahoe Donner development and its water system, related lawsuits and the District's bidding requirements. Mel Nicholson, a member of the audience, commented that all the customers are paying for the Tahoe Donner repairs. PUBLIC HEARING RECEIPT OF PUBLIC INPUT ON THE NEGATIVE DECLARATION FOR THE TDPUD WATER SYSTEM MASTER PLAN Keith Knibb, Consulting Engineer, explained that the proposed Negative Declaration and Revised Initial Study have been circulated to responsible agencies and filed in the office of the Nevada County Clerk and with the State Clearinghouse. Director Corbett moved that the public hearing be opened at 8: 11 PM; seconded by Director Maass and passed unanimously. The purpose of the public hearing is to receive public comment on the adoption of the Negative Declaration and on the Water System Master Plan itself. Mr. Knibb advised that the District received a number of written responses. The Department of Health Services, Truckee Sanitary District and Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District indicated they have no comment regarding the documents. Agencies having comments are the Truckee Fire Protection District, Nevada County Planning Department and State Water Quality Control Board, Lahontan Region. Comments will be included in the final documents and the District will then schedule on an agenda approval of the Negative Declaration and the Water System Master Plan. There was no public comment. Director Maass moved that the public hearing be closed at 8: 15 PM; seconded by Director Corbett. ROLL 7/15/91 Pg 2 CALL: all Directors, aye. SO MOVED. • DISCUSSION OF NATURAL GAS SERVICE IN TRUCKEE The purpose of placing discussion of natural gas service in Truckee on a PUD meeting agenda is to provide the means for a forum at which members of the community can speak out and determine if there is a genuine interest. Counsel performed some preliminary research and determined that the PUD does have the power to provide "heating. " Charlie White, present in the audience, reminded the Board of two recent natural gas outages in South Lake Tahoe and Reno. He stated he likes his propane tank and doesn't want to see the roads torn up again to put in natural gas lines, although he applauded the Board for "throwing the gauntlet out there. " Mr. Langan said he presently has an all-electric home in Tahoe Donner. He stated he thought the cost to bring in natural gas would be astronomical. During discussion, the following questions were raised: Would natural gas prices be regulated? How? What is the cost of natural gas compared to propane, oil and electricity? What public agencies provide natural gas? Why didn't Southwest Gas come to Truckee 15 years ago when they provided service to Northstar? Catherine Gibbs of the Sierra Sun was present in the audience. The Board asked that in her article concerning the matter she solicit comments from the public. She indicated she would do so. CONSIDERATION OF LETTER TO LARRY HOBART RE APPA LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE The sole purpose of having Director Maass appointed to the American Public Power Association Legislative Committee is so that he will be placed on their mailing list and copied directly with all their communications having to do with NCPA. Director Aguera moved, and Director Curran seconded, that the letter nominating James Maass for appointment to APPA's legislative committee be approved. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. TAHOE DONNER PIPELINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT - STATUS REPORT - CONSIDERATION OF PROGRESS PAY ESTIMATES - CONSIDERATION OF PAVEMENT DAMAGE SETTLEMENT Bob Churn of SEA, the project engineer, reported that the two contractors, T & S and Ford, are progressing with work on the Tahoe Donner pipeline replacement project. To date there is no change in isthe work hours for the contractors, but they have made a request to work ten hours a day, six days a week and will be submitting a specific plan. The specifications state that the contractor is 7/15/91 Pg 3 responsible for the overtime payment of the inspectors. • There is some controversy regarding the contractors' use of land at the upper end of Alder Creek Drive as their storage area although they appear to have a formal agreement with the owners of the land, the Tahoe Donner Property Owners Association. August 15 is the deadline for completion of the work on Alder Creek Road and Hansel Avenue by Ford Construction. Nevada County Department of Transportation will be providing the updated schedule of the planned overlays that are to be completed in Tahoe Donner this year. There was some discussion and, thereafter, Director Maass moved that the Board authorize Bob Churn and SEA, working with Peter Holzmeister, to administer the Tahoe Donner contracts in a manner consistent with getting the jobs done as quickly as possible with minimal extra expense; seconded by Director Corbett. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. Manager Holzmeister reviewed with the Board the two progress pay estimates presented for consideration. Subsequently, Director Curran moved, and Director Maass seconded, that the Board approve payment to T & S Construction in the amount of $216,974 . 13 on Contract A, and $5, 682 .98 on Contract B. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. The Chairman indicated the Board would consider the pavement damage settlement during closed session. CONSIDERATION OF LETTER OPPOSING SB 959 The Directors reviewed the draft letter opposing SB 959, which would establish a fee of $100 per acre foot of water per year wildlife delivered by the roundwaterrict to suport fish clean up and c enhancements, g lean water act d funding. Director Maass moved, and Director Corbett seconded, that the President be authorized to sign the letter on behalf of the Board. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. DIRECTION REGARDING MINUTES OF MAY 20, JUNE 3 AND JUNE 17, 1991 Director Maass provided several changes and then moved that the minutes of May 20, 1991 be approved as corrected; seconded by Director Corbett. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. The minutes of June 3 , 1991 were tabled at the request of Director Sutton. Director Maass moved, and Director Curran seconded, that the minutes of June 17, 1991 be approved as presented. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. CORRESPONDENCE 7/15/91 Pg 4 Letter dated 7/5/91 from several Tahoe Donner property owners • The Board reviewed the letter from several Tahoe Donner property owners that noted some concerns about the current water line replacement projects, use of the meadow at the end of Alder Creek as a staging area, and the related traffic. A copy of the letter is attached. There was some discussion and it was decided the Manager would prepare a notice for the newspaper asking the Tahoe Donner residents to bear with inconveniences caused by the project. BILLS FOR APPROVAL Director Maass moved, and Director Corbettseconded,for that the bilt. ls presented for consideration be approved Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. STAFF REPORT A copy of the entire staff report has been made an attachment to these minutes. Water operations Recently the District's wells have been operating l000 of the time and the tanks are not full, Mr. Holzmeister reported. A considerable amount of water is being lost through Tahoe Donner leaks; the golf courses are using irrigation water because of the hot sunny days; Truckee has been growing and more landscaping a dscaeal in is being installed. The water crew is spending a great me monitoring, adjusting and juggling the supply. The master plan calls for well rehabilitation at Southside and Donner Creek, and the Manager suggested beginning work on that project. Water quality report The summary of bacteriological water quality for June shows that all of the 28 samples taken within the District's distribution system are free of coliform bacteria and met the State's drinking water standards. There were two tubes positive at the Northside Well; however, subsequent samples showed no coliform bacteria present. Memorandum on internal control structure Each year in conjunction with the annual audit, the auditors prepare a memorandum on internal control structure. Mr. Holzmeister briefly reviewed with the Board the auditors' suggestions to review the rate structure, formalize the inter- department loan, diversify the pension investment portfolio, review overhead rates and application methods, make direct deposits for employees and establish a credit card payment procedure. Financial reports for May 7/15/91 Pg 5 The financial reports for May were attached to the staff report. Committee meetings This item was not discussed. CLOSED SESSION The Board adjourned to closed session at 9:25 PM for the purpose of discussing pending litigation in accordance with Government Code Section 54956.9 (b) (1) . RETURN TO PUBLIC SESSION The Board returned to public session at 10: 18 PM. There was no action taken or direction given as a result of closed session. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent at 10: 19 PM. TR,UCKEE DONNER BLIC UTILITY DISTRICT e R. Ague , Pr ident , i SPrepared by Susan M. C ig, Deputy District Clerk smc 7/15/91 Pg 6