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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-05-18 Min - Board REGULAR MEETING • May 18, 1992 The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District was called to order by President Aguera at 7:06 PM in the TDPUD Board Room. ROLL CALL: Director Joe Aguera, John Corbett, Richard Curran and Patricia Sutton were present. Director Jim Maass was ill and unable to attend the meeting. EMPLOYEES PRESENT: Dave Rully, Mary Chapman, Rosana Matlock, Peter Holzmeister and Susan Craig. CONSULTANTS PRESENT: Keith Sauers, Consulting Engineer, Steve Gross and John Phelps, Attorneys. OTHERS PRESENT: There were no others present in the audience. SCADA-ACCEPTANCE OF PRE-DESIGN REPORT;AUTHORIZATION TO PREPARE CONTRACT FOR ACQUISITION OF SYSTEM Consulting Engineer Sauers and Water Superintendent Rully met with Eric Sandel and Bill Avery to review the pre-design report on the SCADA system for the District. The report addresses the features, schedule and the cost issues associated with designing, • administering, procuring, installing and documenting a new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system for the PUD. It describes all the features that will be designed into the system and gauges both the costs for implementing the design and the time needed to build it. The Board briefly discussed the system. Also considered was the fact that new technology may be introduced over the next 25 years which would make portions of the system obsolete before it is entirely paid for. It's value to the District will be considerable, however, and upgrades can be made if necessary. Director Corbett moved, and Director Sutton seconded, that the Board accept the Pre- design Report: SCADA System for TDPUD, and authorized staff to negotiate a contract with Sandel-Avery Engineering for acquisition and installation of the described SCADA system. The Board will consider awarding the contract at the next regular meeting after hearing staff comments and a brief presentation by Sandel/Avery. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. REPAIR AND RECOATING OF THE AIRPORT WELL TANK - ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION APPROVING SPECS AND CALLING FOR BIDS Some time ago the dome cover on the Airport well tank was inspected and found to be seriously spalling. Keith Sauers, as directed, prepared plans and specifications for • completion of the rehabilitation work. As part of the environmental review, laboratory testing of potential waste materials was performed. It was determined that the materials 5118192 Pg 1 do not pose a toxic material hazard; nonetheless, the contract will alert bidders to the necessary safety provisions. The project is now ready to bid. $30,000 has been budgeted for this purpose. Counsel Phelps noted there should be several amendments to the District's standard contract due to legislation recently passed. Director Corbett moved, and Director Curran seconded, that the Board adopt Resolution iVo. 9213 approving plans, specifications and contract documents and issuing a call for bids on the repair and recoating of the Airport well tank subject to minor revisions of the contract documents by Counsel. ROLL CALL: all Directors, aye. SO RESOLVED. REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF 1991 AUDIT This afternoon, the General Manager, Administrative Services Manager and Director Sutton met with Rick Blumenfeld and Joe Wallace to go over the 1991 audit in detail. Director Sutton, as a member of the Finance Committee, advised that several changes to the notes to the financial statements were suggested for clarification purposes. Also, the General Manager will be checking into two matters - whether the TDPUD financing corporation has an audit requirement, and to determine what procedures there may be to protect the employees' interest in the ICMA funds (they are presently considered District assets). • Director Sutton moved that the Board accept the audit report and ask Arthur Andersen to place it in final form with the two explanatory .changes MOVED footnotes; seconded by Director Curran. All Directors, aye, byvoice PUBLIC INPUT There was no public input. DISCUSSION OF CHANGES IN BROWN ACT Counsel has provided a memo describing changes that have occurred in the Brown Act. The District is now required to permit public comment on each agenda item at the time that item is up for discussion. it was noted that the PUD has always extended this courtesy to the public. By consensus, the Board directed that a statement relating to the allowance for public comment be included on future agendas. Relating to changes in the Public Contract Code (Sections 20104.2 and 20104.4) having to do with settlement of claims by arbitration, the Board askedCounsel to determine whether or not arbitration is a requirement. PROPOSITION 55- CONSIDERATION OF A CONTRACT BETWEEN THE STATE OF 5118192 Pg 2 CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES AND THE TRUCKEE DONNER • PUD A formal letter from the California Department of Water Resources offering the District $5,000,000 in loan funds for water system improvements has been received. The interest rate is 3.1%; the semi-annual payments will be $152,958.83 for25 years. Consulting Engineer Sauers gave a brief explanation of the key elements of the contract and the process to be followed. Director Corbett moved that the matter be referred to the Water Committee for review and that a report and recommendation be brought back to the Boar at a future MOVED. meeting; seconded by Director Sutton. All Directors, aye, by voice DISCUSSION OF PROPOSALS FOR ABANDONMENT OF EAST RIVER STREET WELL AND DEMOLITION OF NORTHSIDE BUILDING The cost of performing the abandonment of the East River Street well and demolition of the Northside Building was thought to be less than $10,000 and would, therefore, be removed from the formal bid requirement. Four quotes were secured; all were under $10,000. Staff recommended going with the low bidder, Al Pombo, Inc. Director Corbett moved that the Board award the contract to At Pombo in the amount of $7,850, subject to minor contract provisions by Counsel; seconded by Director Sutton. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. It was mentioned that Duane Haddock, the adjoining property owner on East River Street, would sign a release since there is a question of whether the building is on his or the District's property. PENSION FUND INVESTMENT On May 14 the Finance Committee met with Wayne Richardson. He recommended that the District use three investment funds for contributions to the pension plan. Making regular monthly deposits minimizes the risk involved in stock funds, because shares are purchased when the market is up, when it is down, and in between. Using three funds from different families should average out variations in performance and volatility. Director Curran moved, and Director Sutton seconded, that the Board authorize the President to execute a group annuity contract with Nationwide Life Insurance Company for investment of pension assets in American Funds Group Fundamental Investors, Nationwide Financial Services Nationwide Fund, and Twentieth Century Growth (Twentieth Century Investors). Further, that the Board authorize the General Manager to invest pension contributions due for the 1991 and 1992 plan S0 MOVED,a monthly basis M equally to these funds. All Directors, aye, by voice vote.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE APPROVAL OF REPLACEMENT OF METER 5118192 Pg 3 READING DEVICES • The District has been having a variety of problems with the meter reading devices since November, in some cases the problem has been isolated as either being hardware or software related and has been resolved. For the past two and a half months, however, tproblems with the devices have been continuous. Parts in the units themselves have been replaced; new cable and batteries have been purchased;full diagnostics have been run on the computer, the devices and the programs; the communications port in the computer has been replaced; two other cradles were purchased; batteries were recharged; an anti-static mat was installed. The Meter Readers have lost some routes; this required them to reread some areas. As a result of the situation, they are now reading on paper. When the routes are done, the readings must be entered into the computer, The additional effort that has gone into trying to resolve these problems has made it difficult to keep current with the billing schedule without working overtime. Due to the fact that the existing system has become unreliable and is causing considerable inefficiency of work effort, staff is recommending that the existing meter reading devices be replaced with ITRON devices for an approximate cost of$25,072.50 Director Corbett moved that the ITRON devices be ordered; seconded by Director Aguera. ROLL CALL: Maass, absent,Aguera and Corbett, aye; Curran and Sutton, no. MOTION FAILED. Director Curran moved that the Board direct the General Manager to have Sandei/Avery Engineering investigate and make a recommendation as to how to solve the problem with the meter reading devices. Upon recommendation by Sandel/Avery, the Directors indicated they would approve the appropriate expenditure. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSAL FOR CONSULTING SERVICES BY RAUCH COMMUNICATION The General Manager has been discussing team building exercises with Bob Rauch. He will be available to talk by telephone so the type of team building that is appropriate can be determined. Then, he can act as a sounding board for discussion of ideas and to react to data sent to him. His hourly fee is $137,50, During the week of June 8, Mr. Rauch would come to Truckee and gather data to help design some workshops for staff in the areas of mission statement, organization structure, team building, supervisory training. His fee for work on site is $1,100 per day plus travel expenses. Director Corbett moved, and Director Curran seconded, that the Board authorize the General Manager to utilize the services of Robert Rauch in an ongoing program aimed at improving mission effectiveness, team building and supervisory practices, and instructed him to keep the Board informed as to progress. All Directors, aye, by voice 5118192 Pg 4 vote. SO MOVED. • DESIGNATION OF VOTING DELEGATE AND ALTERNATE FOR APPA ANNUAL MEETING Director Curran moved that Director Maass be designated as the voting delegate at the APPA national conference, and that Director Corbett be the alternate delegate. The motion was seconded by Director Corbett. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. DECLARATION OF UNIT 18 AS A SURPLUS VEHICLE AND AUTHORIZATION TO OFFER FOR SALE BY SEALED BID Director Corbett moved, and Director Curran seconded, that the Board declare unit 18 to be surplus property and authorized the General Manager to dispose of it in accordance with District policy. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES OF MAY 4, 1992; POSSIBLE DIRECTION Since Directors Curran and Sutton were not present at the May 4 meeting, consideration of the minutes was put over to the next regular meeting. CORRESPONDENCE • There was no correspondence discussed by the Board. BILLS FOR APPROVAL Director Corbett moved that the bills presented for consideration vote. SOroved MOVEDr payment; seconded by Director Curran, All Directors, aye, by voice STAFF REPORT A complete copy of the staff report is attached to these minutes for reference. Street lighting Presently there is no policy regarding street lighting requests. A controversy is developing regarding installation of lightat the intersection of Highway 89 and Gienshire Drive. CalTrans wants the District to install alight at that location and to bill Nevada County; however, there is no arrangement of any kind with Nevada County regarding street lighting. The Board agreed that upon receipt of a request from the Department of Transportation or the Board of Supervisors concerning street lighting, the matter will be placed on the . agenda and a formal process will be considered. Staff was asked to advise the Board who is billed for the flashing red light at Northwoods 5118192 Pg 5 Boulevard and the stop light at Highway 89 and Donner Pass Road. • Deeds for Modesto Ski Club, Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District and TDPUD A question was raised several meetings ago regarding ownership of three parcels behind the headquarters building. Copies of the deeds and a map identifying the parcels were provided to the Board. Modesto Ski Club purchased their parcel from Eve Popovich; the PUD obtained title from Donner Traits Corp.; TDR&PD acquired their parcel from the County Assessor. American Management Association Seminar The AMA is holding a seminar in San Francisco June 17 through 19 on building consensus, resolving conflict, team building, group interaction, etc. With all the changes going on at the District and issues that are surfacing, the Manager asked to attend this seminar rather than the APPA conference in Washington. The total cost of the AMA seminar is $1,500, and there are funds in the budget to cover the cost. Director Aguera moved, and Director Corbett seconded; that the Manager be authorized to attend the American Management Association seminar in San Francisco June 17 through 19 at a cost of$1,500. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. Finance reports Financial reports for March, including an investment report, statement of general fund, water and electric balance sheets, water and electric income statements and a budget report, were provided to the Board. CLOSED SESSION At 9:25 PM, the Board adjourned to closed session for the purpose of discussing personnel matters in accordance with Government Code Section 54957, two lawsuits (SPPCo v TDPUD, Nevada County Superior Court Case No. 45757 and TDPUD v SPPCo, Placer County Case No. S-2180) in accordance with Government Code Section 54956.9(a); and threatened litigation in accordance with Government Code Sections 54956.9(b)(1). RETURN TO PUBLIC SESSION The Board returned to public session at approximately 11:16 PM. There was no action taken as a result of closed session. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 11:17 PM. 5118192 Pg 6 TRUCKEE DONNER P LIC UTILITY DISTRICT J s ph { . Aguera, t' sident J Prepared by Susan M. Craig, Deputy District Clerk / Smc 5118192 Pg 7