HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-04-15 Min - Board REGULAR MEETING
April 15, 2009
In accordance with District Code Section 2.08.010 the TDPUD minutes are action onl
minutes. All Board meetings are recorded on audio tapes which are preserved perpe-
tualiv and made available for listening to any interested party upon their request
The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District
was called to order at 6:00 PM in the TDPUD Board room by President Ron Hemig.
ROLL CALL: Directors Joe Aguera, Jeff Bender, Ron Hemig, John Hillstrom and Pat Sutton
were present.
EMPLOYEES PRESENT: Steven Hollabaugh, Ed Taylor, Mary Chapman, Rosana Matlock,
Neil Kaufman, Kathy Neus, Michael Holley and Barbara Cahill
CONSULTANTS PRESENT: Steve Gross
OTHERS PRESENT: Pat Davison, Juanita Schneider and Paula Sutton
CHANGES TO THE AGENDA
General Manager Holley asked to pull agenda item No. 7, Adopt Resolution for revisions to
Title 8, District Property.
PUBLIC INPUT
Juanita Schneider asked the Board to please speak into the microphones so the audience
can hear what they are saying, plus for the TV audience.
Pat Davison of the Contractors Association of Truckee Tahoe wanted to inform the Board
about a "Build It Green" certification class being held at Village at Northstar on April 24 and
25, 2009. A staff member of Truckee Donner PUD has been asked to give a short talk about
conservation programs and rebates.
DIRECTOR UPDATE
There was no director input.
1 Minutes: April 15 2009
ACTION
CONSIDERATION OF THE AWARD OF A CONTRACT TO PERFORM THE WATER RATE
STUDY This item involves a hiring a consultant to help develop a new volume-based
water rate structure.
Director Aguera moved, and Director Bender seconded, that the Board award a contract to
perform a Water Rate Study to HDR Inc in an amount not to exceed $48,870; and authorize
the transfer of $48,870 from the Reserve for Future Meters Fund to the Water Department
General fund to cover the cost of the contract.
ROLL CALL: All Directors aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED
ADOPT A RESOLUTION FOR REVISIONS TO TITLE 8, DISTRICT PROPERTY This item
involves the adoption of a resolution to adopt revisions to District Code, Title 8,
District Property.
This agenda item will be moved to the May 6, 2009 Board meeting.
CONSIDERATION OF SCHEDULING PUBLIC HEARINGS RELATED TO THE ADOPTION
OF WATER AND ELECTRIC STANDBY CHARGES This item involves a discussion of
the upcoming authorization request to continue assessing Water and Electric Standby
charges.
Director Hillstrom moved, and Director Aguera seconded, that the Board set a date for a
Public Hearing on June 17, 2009 at 6:00 PM for the purpose of receiving input on the
adoption of Water and Electric Standby Charges.
ROLL CALL: All Directors aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED
WORKSHOPS
SB1 SOLAR PROGRAM UPDATE This item involves a review of the SB1 Solar
Program.
Kathy Neus gave a presentation:
• Background / History
o SB-1 passed August 21, 2006 and was adopted by the District November 19, 2007
o SB-1 Commitments:
■ $1,774,000 total
■ $177, 400 average per year for ten years
■ kW goal: 1,610 Kilowatts
■ Incentive: $5.00 for 2008; $4.50 for 2009; $4.05 for 2010
• New Information
o 2008: 10 PV Systems, 35.3 kilowatts, $141,000 rebated
o 2009: 2 PV Systems, 8.3 kilowatts, $28,500 rebated, 10 applications pending, TSD
PV System
o 2010: 10 applications pending
2 Minutes: April 15 2009
, . NCPA Members- Solar PV System Summary for 2008 & 2009
08 Installs 09 Installs Electric customers
o Turlock Irrigation District 38 14 97,435
o City of Roseville 289 -- 51,361
o Silicon Valley Power 15 -- 50,426
o City of Redding 19 -- 42,126
o City of Alameda 23 3 33,869
o City of Palo Alto 84 5 28,624
o City of Lodi 16 2 28,500
o City of Lompoc 5 2 15,000
o Truckee Donner PUD 10 2 13,155
o Plumas Sierra Rural Electric 5 1 71500
o City of Ukiah 3 1 7,500
o City of Healdsburg 4 9 5,786
o City of Gridley 1 0 2,600
• Fiscal Impact
o Solar Program Customer Charge
■ Residential - $0.60 per month
■ Small Commercial — $5.00 per month
■ Medium Commercial — $10.00 per month
■ Large Commercial - $15.00 per month
There was no public input.
Board discussion:
• Didn't Roseville build PV systems into a lot of new homes
• Are there any 2011 applications
• What will the rebate be in 2011
• Can dollars move forward if they are not used in one year
• Have installed systems been operating well
• What technology are people using
• When will TSD be on line and can the Board go see the operation
• What about the Federal subsidy
DISCUSSION OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF RECESSION ON DISTRICT ELECTRIC
REVENUES This item involves follow-up to an article in the Sacramento Bee.
Steve Hollabaugh gave a presentation:
• Background / History
o SMUD announced a general rate increase and stated that the economic recession
had greatly impacted their revenues due to decreasing commercial and industrial
load. Other contributing factors cited were:
■ Depleting reserves
■ Vying for more renewable energy for which costs are rising
■ Needing to upgrade an aging infrastructure
■ Increasing costs for natural gas
o These factors are not common to Truckee Donner PUD's situation
3 Minutes: April 15 2009
• New Information
o The District receives 45% of its revenue from commercial customers and 55% from
residential customers
■ Commercial Customer counts and KWH Sales
2008: count 1,464; total KWH 72,002,721
2007: count 1,436; total KWH 72,025,566
The number of customers has not declined over the past two years and the
KWH sales are relatively the same.
■ Residential Customer counts and KWH Sales
2008: count 11,550; total KWH 75,000,000
2007: count 11,402; total KWH 74,009,589
The main variables for residential sales are weather factors and usage by
second home owners.
■ The five largest electric customers by load
Water Utility 10,536,252 KWH
Waste Water Plant 7,898,715 KWH
Hospital 5,482,731 KWH
Education 3,206,405 KWH
Private Sector 2,146,500 KWH
The five largest customers are not at a high risk to leave the District.
The District has a diversified electric purchase power portfolio that balances
risk.
There was no public input.
Board discussion:
• PUD requires new development to pay their own way through a development agree-
ment- does SMUD require this same type of financial arrangement
• Water conservation and meters may reduce usage by 20%- with the water utility being
the biggest electric customer, the load could change- seems there are implications
• For the water utility, what percent of KWH is for pumping
• What about the change in amount of electric used by the waste water plant once the
solar is installed
DISCUSSION ABOUT PURCHASE AND CONTRACTING PROCEDURES This item
involves a discussion about Title 3.08, Purchasing, and procedures the District follows
Mary Chapman gave a presentation:
• When purchasing, the District must follow:
o California Public Contract Code
o California Government Code
o Public Utilities Code
o District Code — Title 3.08 Purchasing
• The District also follows internal procedures and guidelines to:
,�- o Meet Board policy
o Standardize purchasing procedures
o Provide for levels of purchasing authority
4 Minutes: April 15 2009
• Why are we required to follow a public process?
o To prevent corruption and cronyism in public agency purchasing
o To assure that the public receives the best pricing on purchases of commodities,
equipment and public works projects
o To verify that only "responsive" "responsible" contractors perform public works
projects
• How do we meet the requirements of the public process?
o Solicit requests for bids (RFB) when purchasing commodities, equipment and
public works projects
o Process results in the lowest price for a given product or project
o Solicit requests for proposal (RFP) when procuring services
o Process looks for the most qualified proposal and still considers cost
o Obtain telephone quotes for items of less than $15,000
o Consider price, terms and delivery in evaluating all purchases, large or small
• The District involves the public in the Request for Bid or Request for Proposal by:
o Advertise in a local newspaper of general circulation
o Mail CDs with bid documents to vendor distribution lists maintained by the District
o Post the RFB or RFP on the District website
o Schedule a date and time for the opening of the RFB or RFP
o Open the bids in public
o Award the bids in public
• There are three levels of purchasing authority in the District Code:
o Greater than $15,000 must be approved by the Board
o Greater than $10,000 and less than $15,000 must be approved by the GM
o Purchases less than $10,000 must be approved by the Department Heads
• Categories of purchases per District Code
o Commodities and equipment
o Service contracts (public works contracts)
o Agreements for special services
o Agreements for consulting services
o Joint purchasing with the State of California or other public agency
• Other considerations in purchasing
o Change orders
o Procurement authorization during an emergency
There was no public input.
Board discussion:
• Good policy coverage
• Change orders should be acted on before the work is done
• Change orders amount to 5% of the project
• Concern in the policy as to how much independence the General Manger has from the
Board when over$15,000
• Things should come to the Board before they are purchased
• The President of the Board should sign contracts according to Public Utility Code
5 Minutes: April 15 2009
REVIEW OF 2008 CONSUMER CONFIDENCE REPORTS (WATER QUALITY REPORT)
This item involves discussion of the required notice to water customers annually
describing the District's water quality.
Ed Taylor gave a presentation:
• The District is required to prepare an annual Consumer Confidence Report for each
water system (Main & Hirschdale) in accordance with Ca. Health and Safety Code
• The District is required to mail a copy of the report to each customer by July 1
• 2008 reports have been prepared & reviewed by State Department of Public Health
• The District's water supply meets all of the Maximum Contaminate Levels (MCL)
imposed by the State and Federal governments with the onetime exception of the
arsenic level at the Glenshire Dr. Well
o The MCL for arsenic is 10ppb
o The Glenshire Dr. Well arsenic level has met the MCL since 2003
o The December 4, 2008 test was 13ppb
o The water quality rules require four quarterly retests
o The first quarterly retest was 9ppb
There was no public comment.
Board discussion
• When did the Federal government pass the permissible arsenic standard and when
did the State of California adopt it
• Why is the Hirschdale report different
DISCUSSION OF A BACKFLOW PROGRAM This item involves the discussion of
additional inspections and service for the Cross-Connection Program.
Ed Taylor gave a presentation:
• Background / History
o District has basic Cross-Connection Program
o Goal: To protect public health
o Current program:
■ Notification and tracking of annual device testing
■ Review new and remodeled commercial construction
�urrent
Inspection of potential high hazard businesses that require backflow protection
o program utilizes 50% of a full time employee
■ This includes supervisory and support time
■ Paid for entirely from rates
• New Information
o Staff recommends that the Cross-Connection Program be expanded to provide
additional protection to our customers which will include:
■ Annual inspection of high hazard commercial accounts
■ Two-year inspection of all other commercial accounts
■ Program of verification testing of devices to validate proper annual testing
■ Program to coordinate with the other agencies to identify non-commercial high
hazard accounts
6 Minutes: April 15 2009
o Expanded level of effort may involve an estimated additional 50% of a full time
employee
o Program Benefits— Higher level of protection
■ Annual inspection of high hazard commercial accounts: any changes in hazard
and any modification to the protection, which will identify and mitigate any new
potential hazards
■ Two-year inspection of all other commercial accounts: any changes in hazard
and any need for protection, which will identify and mitigate any new potential
hazards
■ Program of verification testing of devices to validate proper annual testing and
repair: validate the testers are using proper testing technique and devices are
being tested
■ Program to coordinate with the other agencies to identify non-commercial high
hazard customers and any need for protection, for example sewer lift pumps
• Next Steps:
o Review District code for possible revisions
o Conduct a public outreach program
o Start annual inspections of high hazards-December 2009
o Start two-year inspections of all other commercial accounts - March 2010
o Start verification program - August 2010
o Start coordination program with other agencies - May 2009
There was no public input.
Board discussion:
• Does the District run the Backflow Program now with fees from customers who need
backflow devices
• Should customers pay for this as a customer benefit
• Is the District planning on a fee for those who need a Backflow device
• Some Backflow users have a great potential to contaminate water
• Does the District have a lot of high hazard Backflow devices, have they failed and
where are they
• There are potential problems with connections to fire suppression systems
• District needs to start testing and inspecting
• PUD should talk with some of the inspectors
• Inspectors are necessary
• Speak with the Town of Truckee about a residential program
• How often should devices be inspected
• Does the customer pay for all the Backflow devices and inspections
CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FOR MARCH 18 AND APRIL 1, 2009
Director Hillstrom moved, and Director Aguera seconded, that the Board approve the minutes
of March 18 and April 1, 2009. ROLL CALL: All Directors, aye. SO MOVED.
7 Minutes: April 15 2009
TREASURER'S REPORT: INTERIM MARCH 2O09
Approval of the report: Director Sutton moved, and Director Bender seconded, that the
Board approve the interim treasurer's report for the month ended March 31, 2009.
ROLL CALL: All Directors, aye. SO MOVED.
Approval of disbursements: Director Aguera moved, and Director Hillstrom seconded, that
the Board approve the March 2009 disbursements report.
ROLL CALL: Director Sutton, no (feels the Board should approve the checks before they are
mailed); All other Directors, aye. SO MOVED.
CLOSED SESSION
CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54956.9,
SUBDIVISION (B), POTENTIAL LITIGATION, ONE CASE
RETURN TO OPEN SESSION
Report from closed session
There was no reportable action.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:04 PM.
TRUCKEE DONN R PUBLIC UT ITY DISTRICT
J. on mig, President
Prepared b
p Y
Barbara Cahil , peputy District Clerk
8 Minutes: April 15 2009