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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-09-05 Min - Board REGULAR MEETING September 5, 1989 The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District was called to order by President Maass at 7 : 05 P.M. in the TDPUD Board Room. ROLL CALL: Directors John Corbett, Pat Sutton, Karen White and Jim Maass; Director Joe Aguera was expected. EMPLOYEES PRESENT: Peter Holzmeister, Andy Hyde and Susan Craig. CONSULTANTS PRESENT: John M. Phelps, Counsel . OTHERS PRESENT: Among those present in the audience were Rick Ingebritson and Simon Broadley. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Director White moved, and Director Corbett seconded, that the minutes of August 7 , 1989 be approved as written. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. Director Aguera arrived at this time, 7 : 07 P.M. Director Corbett moved that the Secretary be directed to prepare the minutes of July 17 , 1989 in final form as corrected; Director White seconded the motion. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. Several changes were suggested and, thereafter, Director Corbett moved that the Secretary be directed to prepare the minutes of August 21, 1989 in final form as corrected; seconded by Director White. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. STATEMENT OF GENERAL FUND; FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, COMPARISON REPORT (CAPITAL BUDGET/CAPITAL EXPENDITURES) , BUDGET REPORT AND BILLS FOR APPROVAL The Board briefly reviewed the financial statements and investment report prepared by the Finance Supervisor. Director Sutton asked that an explanation be provided to the Board regarding expenditures listed in the capital budget summaries for tools, and to also explain what items are capitalized. She further asked that she be advised of where interest and income are entered on the various reports and whether interest on the statement of general fund is a monthly or quarterly figure. Regarding the bill from Christiansen Business Systems in the amount of $7 , 091. 25 for a one year supply of two separate kinds of envelopes and regular bills, the Chairman directed Counsel to give an opinion as to whether or not these items should be bid on an • annual basis. Director Corbett moved, and Director White seconded, that the bills 1 presented for consideration be approved for payment. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. So MOVED. MANAGER' S REPORT Storm damage Electrical Engineer Buckhouse and Civil Engineer Hyde provided memoranda concerning the lightning storms on August 6, 7 and 8 . The District's electrical system suffered the loss of three distribution transformers, one combination cutout, a half dozen fuses and one voltage regulator control. All damage was immediately repaired with the exception of the voltage regulator control, and that is scheduled for repair by General Electric this week. Cost of the repairs to date are $1, 777 . 41. Mr. Hyde reported that most of the bills have come in for the materials and labor related to the lightning storm damage. Some replacement telemetry equipment and labor was covered under the maintenance agreement with Sandel-Avery Engineering. The Northside Well motor repairs cost $1,701. 42 . The Water Crew spent 36 overtime hours operating and repairing the system; direct labor costs of this overtime totaled $1, 042 . 39. . Colorado/Ute bankruptcy Mr. Holzmeister explained that the Colorado/Ute Electric Association is a generation and transmission cooperative which provides wholesale power to a group of 14 rural electric distribution cooperatives in Colorado. Colorado/Ute was unable to make debt service payments to CFC and three banks attempted to force them into bankruptcy. According to a recent article in the APPA bulletin, a bankruptcy court dismissed that petition. The District is not affected by the issue, the Manager said, as there is no relationship between the PUD, CFC, Colorado/Ute Electric Association, or any of the 14 distribution co-ops. Legal opinion re trip fee At the last meeting the Board asked Counsel to research and determine whether a $15 fee adopted by the District by motion (and without a public hearing) on June 17, 1985 was properly adopted. The fee is charged to recoup the District's expense in delivering a 48-hour notice of termination. It was Mr. Phelps ' conclusion that the $15 fee was properly adopted. In 1985 there was no statute applicable to the District that required a public hearing prior to the adoption or increase of a fee or charge. There was some discussion and Chairman Maass asked the Manager to research the bylaws concerning District procedure for changing 2 rates and fees and report to the Board at the next regular meeting. Standby fee/sprinkler fee Mr. Holzmeister noted that, during discussion of the quarterly budget report, a question was raised regarding combining the standby fees with sprinkler fees. On the income statement standby charges and sprinkler fees are combined. The combined revenues reported to the Board totaled $2 , 172 .49, which represents sprinkler fees. The standby fee was not recorded at the time the report was made to the Board. It totals $12 , 344 . 50. In the future the items will be reported separately. Water Advisory Council Manager Holzmeister reported that Supervisor Tucker asked if the PUD would reconsider participating on the Nevada County Water Advisory Council. Directors Corbett and Sutton both said they thought this involvement might be advantageous to the District. There was some discussion, and the Chairman directed the Manager to invite Supervisor Tucker to attend the next regular PUD meeting to make a presentation regarding the Advisory Council, its goals and objectives. PUBLIC INPUT There was no public input. CORRESPONDENCE - POSSIBLE DIRECTION Mrs. Andrew Oddo's letter of August 25, 1989 Mrs. Oddo's letter of August 25, 1989 notes she was assessed a late charge in the amount of $5. She asks how the District can charge a late charge on such a short time period and without any notice that such a charge will be assessed. Normally, such correspondence is handled by staff, Mr. Holzmeister noted. If such a letter was addressed to the District rather than to the Board of Directors, the Office Supervisor would have checked her account out, authorized the reversal of the late charge, and taken the opportunity to familiarize Mrs. Oddo with the billing policy. There was some discussion of the late charge, and Chairman Maass asked that this and other miscellaneous fees be placed on the agenda after the first of the year for review. Eire Chief Copelandis letter of August 250 1989 Chief Copeland' s letter calls to the District's attention some fire hydrants that are out of service due to lack of maintenance. He included a group of photographs of hydrants that appeared to be functional but which were overgrown with brush. Mr. Holzmeister 3 called and was told the Fire District expects the PUD to keep the ® hydrants clear of brush as part of its maintenance responsibilities. Mr. Holzmeister noted there are several hundred hydrants in the system. If the Fire District expects the PUD to keep them clear of brush, they probably will expect snow removal also. That level of effort would require increasing the Water Crew. Copies of the 1978 Fire Hydrant Agreement and Ordinance No. 8104 establishing fire hydrant maintenance fees were provided to the Board. Mr. Holzmeister recommended that the PUD be responsible for the mechanical functioning of the hydrants, and the Fire District maintain access to the hydrants. There was some discussion, and Chairman Maass referred the matter to the Water Committee. Regarding mechanical functioning of the fire hydrants, the Directors agreed this should be a top-priority item. Paul Simmons' letter of August 14, 1989 Mr. Holzmeister provided a copy of Paul Simmons ' letter forwarding a trust account check to the District in the amount of $526 . 01 representing Nevada County's payment of costs in the groundwater ordinance litigation. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION ADOPTING CERTAIN OVERHEADS TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION COST ACCOUNTING ORDINANCE The Manager stated that, at the last Board meeting, the Board reviewed the recommended overheads and the resolution implementing them. The three recommended changes were incorporated into the resolution: 1. The resolution should reflect that the overhead rates will be adopted each year separate from adoption of the budget. 2 . The resolution should make no reference to the letter of Touche Ross, but rather should make reference to complying with the requirements of the Cost Accounting Policies and Procedures Manual of the California Uniform Public Cost Accounting Commission. 3 . The resolution should make reference to the fact that the General Manager or the Board can initiate a review of the overhead rates and their impact on the District ' s competitiveness. Director White moved, and Director Corbett seconded, that the Board approve Resolution No. 8924 adopting certain overheads to be used in conjunction with the Uniform Construction Cost Accounting 4 Ordinance. ROLL CALL: all Directors, aye. SO RESOLVED. • HIRSCHDALE WATER PROJECT - POSSIBLE ACTION - INFORMATIONAL PACKET SENT TO HIRSCHDALE PROPERTY OWNERS - DISCUSSION OF BILLINGS FOR WATER DIVERSION - CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING RECORDATION OF RIVARA AND LAMB AGREEMENTS - ASSESSMENT PROCEEDINGS Mr. Hyde provided the Directors, in the Board packet, with a copy of the information that was sent out to the Hirschdale property owners advising them of what has happened since the public hearing. They were asked whether they object to the decision to drop the rezoning requirement for the Lamb and Rivara properties and were invited to this meeting to express their views. Other items in the Hirschdale packet related to the revised allocation per unit, the formation of the assessment district and service hook-up. Regarding the billings for water diversion, Mr. Hyde said it was his understanding that those who already hooked up to the Hirschdale system would be charged the following: 1. Back charges for water service for all months that the residence was connected to and actively receiving service from the new system. 2 . A portion of the costs incurred by the District for verifying that connections were made, inspecting service . boxes and pulling meters. Mr. Hyde suggested that the District wait until after the inspection to verify that the disconnection from the old system is done before charging the property owners so that only one bill needs to be sent. After review by the Board, Director Corbett moved, and Director white seconded, that Resolution No. 8925 authorizing recordation of the Rivara and Lamb agreements regarding Hirschdale be adopted. ROLL CALL: all Directors, aye. SO RESOLVED. Mr. Hyde advised that Counsel Jim Copeland of Brown and Wood will have two resolutions prepared for the next Board meeting. One will initiate the proceedings and direct the District' s Engineer to prepare the cost estimate, plans, specifications and other necessary data, the other is for consideration by the Nevada County Supervisors consenting to conduct the assessment. Chairman Maass directed that a complete package of the documents necessary to initiate the Hirschdale assessment proceedings be provided to the Directors, and that Mr. Copeland be invited to make a presentation at the next meeting. CONSIDERATION OF PENSION PLAN TRUSTEE APPOINTMENT FORM; POSSIBLE DIRECTION After some discussion, the Chairman directed that staff provide a list of all the documents the Board signs concerning the pension 5 plan. They are to be divided into two categories, 1) routine ® documents and reports that can be signed by the President (or the Vice President in his absence) without Board action, and 2) those requiring Board action. A draft resolution is to be prepared for consideration. RECONSIDERATION OF ACTION TAKEN AT THE AUGUST 7 BOARD MEETING AUTHORIZING STAFF TO PROCEED WITH PLANS FOR AN ANNUAL PARTY Director White said she wasn't sure the PUD should be paying for guests of employees at the annual party. Director Aguera noted the intent of the party is to build employee morale, and he thought things should remain the same as last year. Director Maass stressed the importance of including spouses or special guests at the party; Director Corbett agreed. Director White did not pursue the matter. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION REGARDING TAHOE DONNER WATER SYSTEM LEAKS Mr. Holzmeister noted that, as reported to the Board in the past, the District is experiencing numerous leaks in the Tahoe Donner water system. He described the full range of the problem and said a repair program is necessary. His preliminary estimate of the cost was between three and seven million dollars. He recommended forming an assessment district and arranging long-term financing for the project. After some discussion, the Chairman referred the Tahoe Donner water leak situation to the Water Committee for discussion and recommendation. Director Sutton suggested the settlements received from Dart be taken into consideration during the discussion. CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT WITH U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FORGIVING LOAN ON BOCA HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT Mr. Holzmeister explained that, upon execution of the agreement, the District's loan with the Department of Energy will be cancelled. The District originally agreed to borrow $45, 000 with the understanding that if the project was found to be economically infeasible, the DOE would cancel the loan. In February 1989 the PUD applied to FERC to surrender the license on the Boca project as it was found to be infeasible; in May 1989 FERC accepted this surrender. He said it does not appear the District is giving up anything by signing the agreement as it states that, should the District decide to pursue the project prior to October 26, 1991, it would again be responsible for the loan. Director White moved, and Director Corbett seconded, that the Board approve the agreement with the U. S. Department of Energy forgiving the loan on the Boca hydro project. All Directors, aye, by voice ® vote. SO MOVED. REPORT FROM GENERAL MANAGER ON ASSIGNMENT OF PERSONNEL 6 ® Director Sutton had some question as to whether or not this matter should be discussed in public or closed session. The Chairman asked her to meet with the Manager and make this determination prior to the next meeting agenda being prepared. CLOSED SESSION The Board adjourned to closed session at 9 : 14 P.M. to discuss personnel matters in accordance with Government Code Section 54957 . RETURN TO PUBLIC SESSION The meeting was returned to public session at 9 : 44 P.M. Do action was taken as a result of closed session. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Board, Director Aguera moved that the meeting be adjourned at 9:45 P.M. ; seconded by Director Corbett. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT es• A. Maass, P -dent Prepared by f Susan M. Craig, Deputy District Clem smc 7