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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-07-16 Min - Board SPECIAL MEETING July 16, 1990 The special meeting of the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District was called to order by President Maass at 6: 00 P.M. in the TDPUD Board Room. ROLL CALL: Directors Joe Aguera, John Corbett, Richard Curran, Pat Sutton and Jim Maass were present. EMPLOYEES PRESENT: Peter L. Holzmeister. CONSULTANTS PRESENT: Special Counsel Richard Brown of the McDonough law firm. CLOSED SESSION The Board adjourned to closed session at 6: 01 P.M. for the purpose of discussing personnel matters in accordance with Government Code Section 54957 . RETURN TO PUBLIC SESSION The meeting was returned to public session at 6:55 P.M. 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 6:56 P.M. TRUCREE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT Jam�s A. Maass, P esiden( j Prepared by l6v• / Susan M. Craig, Deputy District erk smc ip ..... ...... REGULAR MEETING July 16, 1990 The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District was called to order by President Maass at 7 : 03 P.M. in the TDPUD Board Room. ROLL CALL: Directors Joe Aguera, John Corbett, Richard Curran, Pat Sutton and Jim Maass were present. EMPLOYEES PRESENT: Maria Martinez, Sue Felce, Debi Black, Tom Buckhouse, Andy Hyde, Sam Aubrey, Bev Johnson, Mike Connell , Dave Rully, Mary Chapman, Mike McGovern, Peter Holzmeister and Susan Craig. CONSULTANTS PRESENT: Counsel John Phelps; Tim Grover and Joe Howard of SEA. OTHERS PRESENT: Marji Aubrey, Jack Osburn, C. R. VanLandingham, Mary Blanton, Laddie Corbett, Bonnie Hilarides, Scott Andre and K. M. Cannon. CONSENT AGENDA AWARD OF ELECTRIC METER BIDS AWARD OF BID FOR TREE TRIMMING Director Sutton asked that Item 5 be removed from the consent agenda. Director Sutton moved, and Director Curran seconded, that the consent agenda be approved as follows: That the electric meter bids be awarded as follows: Schedule A to General Pacific at $33 .78 per meter; Schedule B to WESCO at $50. 19 per meter; Schedule C to WESCO at $244 . 27 per meter; Schedule D to WESCO at $306 per meter. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. Director Sutton expressed concern that the Board wasn't copied with more information about the bid received for tree trimming; she noted that only copies pertaining to a company' s refusal to bid were received. Director Aguera moved, and Director Corbett seconded, that the Board award the tree trimming bid to the low bidder, Utility Tree Service, at a cost of $72 . 40 per hour. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION REGARDING 1990 BUDGET Manager Holzmeister noted that the electric portion of the budget 1 balances without any need for a change in the rates. Also, there are no proposed changes to policies or basic programs. Regarding the water fund, Mr. Holzmeister reviewed trends from 1983 through 1989 in number of customers, operating revenues and operating expenses. He also compared the number of customers and pumping costs and presented a cost comparison between operations versus emergency repairs. Operating expenses crossed over operating revenues in 1989 and expenses now exceed revenues. The number of customers is increasing at a moderate rate. Pumping costs are increasing at a faster rate than the number of customers. Mr. Holzmeister noted that leaks in the Tahoe Donner system dominate the work effort of the water crew. He would like to keep emergency repairs down and spend more on routine maintenance. The projected revenue at full build-out from Tahoe Donner has never materialized, thus there are no funds for maintenance of that system. Director Maass said the Board anticipated build-out in Tahoe Donner to be in 2020; Director Sutton agreed noting that this should be no surprise to staff. Civil Engineer Hyde listed the current functions performed by the Water Department: installation of new services; repair of leaks; operations (chlorination, status checks, repairs) ; line locations for contractors; on-call inspections; response to complaints. He said the District is neglecting important functions that keep the system functioning properly such as exercising, lubricating, clearing, painting fire hydrants; locating, accessing and exercising valves; preventive pump station maintenance; cleaning, painting and inspecting storage tanks; maintaining meters ; the backflow prevention program; water quality flushing; problem solving (shallow services, high and low pressure, upgrades) ; and inspection of contractors. Responding to a question posed by Director Sutton, Mr. Hyde noted that the District issues a conditional acceptance of a system until such time as as-built drawings are received. He said most of the time the as-builts aren't very accurate. No one inspects them; it should be done, but it isn't being done. He said the District can't rely on inspection by consultants for operational information. Mr. Hyde noted this is the first budget he ' s been involved with as the District never had a Civil Engineer before. Director Maass stated that the Board expects things to be done in accordance with the policies it sets and noted it can't set appropriate policy without knowing the facts. He went on to say he wished this presentation occurred last November; maybe things would have been a lot different this summer. Director Sutton said a written report would have been helpful. She also asked why consideration of an increase in fire hydrant maintenance charges didn't come to the Board for consideration. She said the Water Committee discussed an increase and talked about hiring two young men to do the brush clearing this year. 2 Mr. Hyde said the Water Department functions are now split between two foremen; an eighth position (helper) was approved by the Board two weeks ago. New services and operations are under Dave Rully; leaks and line locations are under Mike Connell. Inspections and complaints are split between the two foremen. Mr. Hyde noted that his initial proposal for the 1990 budget last November was for three additional employees; it was reduced to one by the Manager. Director Sutton noted that some of the recommendations having to do with the reorganization of the District came from interviews she and Director Curran conducted with the employees. Mr. Hyde said there are several projects the Water Department has been unable to get to. They include shallow services in Tahoe Donner and elsewhere that freeze and cause customer unhappiness and require staff response time; low pressure in various Tahoe Donner locations and in the Armstrong Tract; pressure problems in Olympic Heights; and system upgrades at Ponderosa Palisades hydro station, Prosser Heights well house, Prosser Heights tank, the telemetry system, Donner Creek well and station, Gateway water tank, Proposition 55 upgrades and water meter installations. Manager Holzmeister stated that the overall picture suggests the need to develop a work plan and funding sources quickly. He noted some factors to keep in mind: 1. The increase in customer base is steady, but moderate; revenues increase as customer base increases. 2 . Operating expenses increase with the age of the system and in relation to maintenance activity. 3 . The water utility needs a financial plan that recognizes the District' s condition - operating revenues should cover operating costs - reasonable working capital should be built up - the District needs to provide funds from operations to cover some capital replacements and additions - debt service requirements for Proposition 55 and the Tahoe Donner water line upgrade should be anticipated - connection fees should cover the cost of the work - facilities fees should cover the need for facilities used by future development. The Board decided to conduct a workshop to discuss the matter further. Director Maass asked for sufficient information as to the kinds of personnel and structure necessary to put the operating system in order. DIRECTION REGARDING PARTICIPATION IN THE NCPA PHASE IIA PROGRAM Mr. Holzmeister provided the Board a letter in the packet • recommending that it authorize him to communicate to the Northern California Power Agency that the District recognizes the benefits of participating in Phase IIA, but wishes to move quickly toward a resolution of the issues that bring NCPA power to the PUD system 3 before participating. Speaking as the District' s Commissioner on the NCPA Board, Director Maass agreed. Director Sutton moved, and Director Corbett seconded, that the Board authorize Mr. Holzmeister to advise NCPA that the District recognizes the benefits of participating in the Phase IIA program but wishes to conclude negotiations for bringing NCPA power to the PUD system before participating. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. PUBLIC INPUT Nepotism policy Jack Osburn, IBEW Business Representative, noted that the Board has been conducting an investigation revolving around the relationship of someone he represents and asked for the results of the analysis. Chairman Maass advised that the nepotism policy, as adopted, only applies to management staff; no one in the bargaining unit is covered by the policy. He also noted that the investigation of one of the management staff members is subject to provisions of the Brown Act. He went on to say that, at a previous meeting, he was directed to meet with Mr. Osburn regarding a nepotism policy for bargaining unit employees but has not had time to do so yet. CONSIDERATION OF JOB DESCRIPTIONS Mr. Holzmeister said he's been spending a lot of time working on job descriptions. He sent a draft to the Directors on Friday; today he met with Jack Osburn and Bev Johnson of the IBEW. They had some good comments and suggestions, and a revised draft was given to the Board at the beginning of the meeting. Director Maass asked if consideration of the job descriptions could be combined with the budget workshop. Director Sutton noted that she feels the drafts are confusing as they aren't clearly marked with a date and draft number. Responding to her question as to who prepared them, the Manager advised that Office Manager Chapman prepared them and Maria Martinez, Engineering Clerk, did the amendments. Director Sutton said the July 12 draft strikes out references to familiarity with the District and makes the description more generic. She asked for an explanation as to why it was deleted. Also, she questioned why certain jobs require a length of time working at the PUD, and why Class A licenses could be obtained up to 90 days after appointment instead of being required before hiring. She also asked why job descriptions for the Technical Services Foreman and Purchasing Agent/Warehouseman positions were included in the packet. . Director Maass indicated he also had some questions, and the matter was tabled to the workshop meeting. TAHOE DONNER LEAK ANALYSIS 4 Mr. Hyde noted that copies of the draft report for Phase I of the Tahoe Donner leak analysis were given to the Directors last month. No revisions were suggested, and Mr. Hyde recommended that the report be accepted by the Board and SEA be directed to issue it in final form. Director Corbett moved that the Board accept Phase I of the Tahoe Donner leak analysis and direct SEA to issue the report in final form; seconded by Director Aguera. ROLL CALL: all Directors, aye. SO MOVED. Total cost of Phase I is $25, 000. Mr. Hyde said he has examined the proposal from SEA concerning Phase II and concluded that the scope of work and cost of services is acceptable. He originally questioned the corrosion engineer' s services because he had not been provided with a detailed scope of services for this engineer. Since the services were not included in SEA' s original scope of work, the current estimated total cost of the project exceeds original estimates. Including the corrosion engineer's services, the estimated total cost is $93 , 200 . The need to focus on corrosion, Mr. Hyde noted, has been identified by several repairs performed this year on service lines. The leak crew has found severely corroded pipe at three or more excavations. A segment of the corroded pipe was brought to the meeting for examination by the Directors. Responding to Director Maass' question, Mr. Grover of SEA said that perhaps cathodic protection would have helped, but not eliminated the corrosion. Director Maass noted that Tahoe Donner donated funds for cathodic protection; however, the District' s consulting engineer did not think it would be beneficial to go forward with the program. Mr. Maass mentioned how difficult it is for an elected Board to make informed and correct decisions when often they receive conflicting opinions from consultants. The scope of work for Phase II consists of retaining a leak detection company to perform a survey of the entire system; to plot and analyze the results; retain corrosion engineer and do corrosion analysis; plan field excavations; excavate pipe at chosen locations; prepare preliminary analyses of field data in report form; research alternative pipe materials, repair costs and pipeline rehabilitation methods and obtain information on costs and suitability for use in Tahoe Donner; obtain approval to proceed to Phase III, the final report. Cost for Phase II is $38 , 200. Director Corbett moved, and Director Curran seconded, that the Board authorize SEA to go forward with Phase II of the Tahoe Donner leak analysis at a cost of $38, 200. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. DISCUSSION OF POLICY GOVERNING ATTENDANCE BY DIRECTORS AT SEMINARS/CONFERENCES AND THE POSSIBILITY OF LIMITING HOW MANY • CONFERENCES A DIRECTOR ATTENDS Director Sutton said she would like to see a limit on the number of seminars and conferences each Director attends per year. Director 5 • Curran said perhaps there should be prior approval for each conference. Manager Holzmeister reminded the Board that this expenditure is an item in the budget. Director Aguera read from the current policy, "In order to manage the District it is necessary that the Directors and General Manager remain well informed on latest technologies, management practices and issues affecting water and electric utilities. It is the policy of the District to encourage Directors and the General Manager to participate in training programs offered by professional and trade associations by paying the expenses for membership and attendance at conferences. " Director Curran noted that District policy states, "Board authorization for attendance and payment of appropriate expenses for the General Manager and Directors to attend conferences, training sessions, schools and/or meetings shall be obtained in advance. " Director Sutton asked if the Board could rely on conference attendance and expenditures being properly authorized. The Chairman said this would be discussed in conjunction with the budget. DISCUSSION OF REQUIREMENT TO POST AGENDAS AT POST OFFICE; POSSIBLE DIRECTION Director Corbett mentioned that he spoke with the Post Master and other Districts in the area about obtaining a bulletin board all the Districts could have access to so postal service staff would not have to post the agendas. Director Sutton noted that the bylaws set the requirement for posting meeting agendas at the post office. Since there are now two post offices in Truckee, she suggested posting them in both places and also asked Scott Andre, present in the audience, to see if the dates could be set forth in the Sierra Sun calendar of events. Mr. Andre said he would make such a recommendation to the Editor. Chairman Maass said he would contact the Post Master and discuss the matter with him. DIRECTION REGARDING DRAFT MINUTES OF JUNE 18, JULY 2 AND 9, 1990 Director Sutton noted she had planned to listen to the June 18 meeting tape but hadn't had a chance to do so yet. She said she wouldn't object to the Board going ahead with consideration of the minutes. Director Curran moved, and Director Corbett seconded, that the Secretary be directed to prepare the minutes of June 18, 1990 in final form. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. Director Corbett moved that the Secretary be directed to place the • minutes of July 2 , 1990 into final form; seconded by Director Curran. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. Director Corbett moved, and Director Curran seconded, that the 6 • Secretary be directed to prepare the minutes of July 9, 1990 in final form. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. CORRESPONDENCE There was no correspondence discussed by the Board. BILLS FOR APPROVAL It was ascertained that the bills for cable were the result of a formal call for bids. Manager Holzmeister noted that the Glenn M. Reiter bill in the amount of $2, 762 .45 is for site work preparation and the workshop with employees. Gregg Lowry will be working with staff to solve some problems with the District's planning functions. There is no additional written report at this time. A cap of $15, 000 has been placed on this phase of Reiter's analysis. Director Curran moved, and Director Corbett seconded, that the bills presented for consideration be approved for payment. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. Director Sutton asked about the statement of general fund; it was noted one was received at the last Board meeting. . STAFF REPORTS A copy of the staff report addressing the finance statement, water quality report, fire protection facilities fees, District policy on contractor insurance and District organizational renewal has been attached to these minutes. WATER QUALITY Responding to Director Sutton's question, Mr. Hyde reported that the same individuals are taking samples now as were taking them in June, the clerical staff in the Engineering Department. Director Sutton said she would like an item on the next agenda to discuss what job classifications should be responsible for taking water samples. She said that in the past someone who was a technician was doing it. She asked for a report explaining the change. DISTRICT POLICY ON CONTRACTOR INSURANCE Director Sutton noted that the District is not complying with its own requirement on contractor insurance and no change in policy has been proposed. She said there should be a policy that' s followed consistently and suggested placing the matter on a future agenda. CLOSED SESSION The Board adjourned to closed session at 9: 01 P.M. for the purpose of discussing personnel matters in accordance with Government Code Section 54957 . 7 RETURN TO PUBLIC SESSION The meeting was returned to public session at 10: 17 P.M. There was no direction given or action taken as a result of closed session. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent at 10: 18 P.M. TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT r J ies A. Maass, Pr -den Prepared by Susan M. Craig, Deputy District C rk smc • 8