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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-01-20 Min - Board REGULAR MEETING January 20, 1986 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 Cooley, Corbett , Hamilton, Sutton and Maass were present. EMPLOYEES PRESENT: Tom Buckhouse , Peter Holzmeister and Susan Craig. CONSULTANTS PRESENT: Counsel John M. Phelps and Special Counsel Martin McDonough. OTHERS PRESENT: Dick VanLandingham was present in the audience. STATUS REPORT ON PROPOSED NEVADA COUNTY GROUNDWXMR ORDINANCE - CLOSED SESSION The Chairman stated the Board would go into closed session to discuss pending litigation pursuant to Government Code 54956.9(c). RETURN TO PUBLIC SESSION loom*^, The meeting was returned to public session at 7:50 P.M. , and President Maass advised that it appears there is still a problem regarding potential adoption of the groundwater ordinance by the County of Nevada. Direction was given to the Manager and Special Counsel McDonough to represent the District at the Supervisors' meeting on January 21 , 1986. Director Cooley moved , and Director Corbett seconded, that the District oppose the enactment by Nevada County of any groundwater export ordinance which applies to the Truckee Donner Public Utility District now or in the future, and instructed counsel to prepare and file appropriate litigation in the event of such enactment. ROLL CALL: All Directors, aye. SO MOVED. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Director Corbett mentioned a typographical error in the January 6 , 1986 minutes , and Director Sutton suggested corrections of this nature not be brought to the Secretary's attention during the Board meetings. President Maass requested that a change be made on page three of the January 6th minutes - he did not obtain an extension of a ten-day time limit from Grand Jury Foreman Rudicel; he simply informed him that the requested information would be forwarded when the Secretary returned to work. Director Hamilton moved, and Director Corbett seconded, that the Secretary be directed to prepare the minutes of December 16, 1985, January 6 and 10, '^ 1986 in final form as corrected. ROLL CALL: All Directors, aye. SO MOVED. -1- BILLS FOR APPROVAL With respect to the D & C Roadside Service bill, vehicle maintenance was discussed. It was noted that four of the vehicles worked on in January were also worked on in December , and the Board asked for a detailed maintenance and repair report for all the vehicles. Also requested, was a copy of the letter of agreement with D & C. Director Corbett ascertained that the USFS bill was for the annual permit , and the charge from the Tahoe Truckee Inn was for rental of a room for employee CPR training. (These items were listed on the preauthorized payments made prior to the January 6th meeting). Director Hamilton moved, and Director Corbett seconded, that the Board approve the bills presented for consideration. ROLL CALL: All Directors, aye. SO MOVED, Director Sutton asked that it be made known the TDPUD just approved the bill of HydroSearch in the amount of $2,078.52 for consulting services. These services were required only because of Nevada County's proposed groundwater ordinance. MANAGER'S REPORT Budgetary Analysis Manager Holzmeister noted the budgetary analysis for December , which includes all of 1985 , was presented to the Directors this evening. He indicated his pleasure with the department heads for adhering to the budget and with the good condition of the District. Public information program During the past year, Mr. Holzmeister stated, the District became aware that part of its responsibility is to keep customers properly informed of the water and power issues affecting them so they will have more confidence in the District , and to listen to their ideas and problems. A customer opinion survey was conducted during 1985. The survey pointed out the need to clarify certain points in order to erase some misunderstandings. He suggested a customer communication program be initiated, and that monthly statements or articles be prepared. Annual cost of newspaper advertising would be approximately $1 ,920; mailing the same information would cost about $11 ,700. The Board seemed to agree on advertising in the newspaper. Director Sutton mentioned that advertising is less expensive when there is a contract such as the District currently has. She also suggested having the paper print extra "pull sheets" for mailing to out of town customers who may not subscribe to the local paper. The Board agreed the January topic, "District owned by customers; what is public power?" is a good one. -2- Conferences and siiinars Mr. Holzmeister advised that the CMUA annual meeting will be held February 26, 27 and 28 in Long Beach. This is an excellent conference, he noted, that deals with utility issues facing California. There is a two-day course on being a Board member put on by the NRECA in Las Vegas coming up soon, and the CSDA Board Management Institute conference on February 28, March 1 and 2. To date , Directors Cooley and Corbett have indicated interest in attending. Mr. Holzmeister asked other interested Directors to advise him no later than January 24th so related reservations may be made. Funds have been set aside in the budget. System operating maps The District Engineer brought the Board up to date on what's being done on system operating maps. He explained the symbols used on the maps , and noted the next step will be to incorporate the wire sizes and possibly the fuse sizes. The District is accumulating the necessary information on new connections. Mr. Buckhouse stated he hopes to have everything complete and to the crews within a month. Once the maps are complete, they will be updated as soon as a change occurs. PUBLIC INPUT There was no public input. CORRESPONDENCE There was no correspondence discussed. COMMITTEE REPORTS Director Corbett advised he would be preparing a written report on the Nevada County Water Agency Advisory Committee meeting he attended recently. CONSIDERATION OF ARTHUR ANDERSEN'S RECOMMENDATION REGARDING THE ALLOCATION OF PAYROLL COSTS TO WORK ORDERS Mr. Holzmeister noted that Arthur Andersen & Company found that the problem of allocating payroll cost to work orders is caused by the use of two independently prepared source documents. Hours used to generate the payroll checks are taken from daily time reports. Hours charged to the work order are derived from staking sheets. There are often inconsistencies between the two source documents since they are filled out at separate times. He recommends using blanket work orders for District operations and maintenance; that hours be maintained on staking sheets only when labor is used on a nonstandard construction project; and care be exercised in generating the documents that account for payroll costs. The Board agreed this is basically a procedural matter and managerial decision. Director Sutton moved that the Board acknowledge advice of the information and support the Manager' s approach; seconded by Director Corbett. All Directors , aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED. -3- DELEGATIONS FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO THE GENERAL MANAGER; POSSIBLE APPROVAL Director Sutton noted she appreciated receiving a copy of the mission statement prepared by Interim Manager Schinman and adopted by the Board in April 1984, and stated she supports the statement. The delegations were reviewed, and it was made clear that the Manager will be expected to keep the Board informed of various appropriate matters. President Maass asked that an item be added as F(5) - "Items will be reported to the Board by the Manager as appropriate under the Manager's Report." Director Hamilton moved, and Director Corbett seconded, that the delegations from the Board to the General Manger be approved as corrected by the Chairman. ROLL CALL: All Directors, aye. SO MOVED. EXTENSION OF BID OPENING DATE FOR ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION EQUIPMENT TO FEBRUARY 12, 1986 Manager Holzmeister advised that an extension of the bid opening date is necessary since the Secretary and Foreman of Technical Services were both absent from work for several days and unable to meet the deadline set forth in Resolution No. 8546. It was noted that February 12th is Lincoln's birthday and, perhaps, a holiday for some individuals. Director Corbett moved, and Director Hamilton seconded, that the Board amend Resolution No. 8546 to extend the bid opening date for electrical distribution equipment to February 13th. ROLL CALL: All Directors, aye. SO RESOLVED. DISCUSSION OF NEW DISTRICT COMPLEX The Manager noted that the County building permit for the new complex should be issued next week. He said $1 ,500,000 has been identified in the budget for the new building; he' s talked with a number of financial institutions about the possibility of borrowing $400,000 - $500,000 or borrowing the entire amount. (He stated it may be beneficial to the District to borrow the entire $2 ,000,000.) Mr. Holzmeister suggested spending some time at the next regular meeting going through the various financing options, reviewing the final design of the building, and discussing temporary quarters. Counsel Phelps advised that the Public Utility District Act requires that expenditures of over $100 ,000 be authorized by ordinance. This should be done at the time the Board considers awarding the construction bid, he stated , and would run the usual 30 days before becomming effective. Director Sutton suggested, and Director Maass agreed, that the ordinance should set forth events leading to, and circumstances concerning, the entire project. Mr. Holzmeister recommended the following timeline: Go to bid on February 3; open bids on March 12; adopt the ordinance accepting a bid on March 17; execute the contract on April 17 , and begin construction on May 1. -4- Counsel Phelps reported that the District's standard contract format is not adequate for a job this large; a more comprehensive agreement is necessary. He said he has started "beefing it up," and wanted to let the Board know since it's taking quite a bit of time. The Board agreed that Mr. Phelps should proceed, and also indicated its approval of Mr. Holzmeister's timeline. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION RENEWING COMPUTER LOAN WITH TRUCKEE RIVER BANK This matter was tabled. Renewal of the computer loan is not necessary, as the loan is now at a fixed amount which will continue until payoff. GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE - DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION Regarding the notices of nonrenewal of the Districts automobile and general liability insurance, Mr. Holzmeister noted that Mort Levinson will locate another carrier for the District although it may be different coverage , and cost will be a factor. He spoke of the possibility of joining one of the two pools that are forming, and also suggested hiring an insurance consultant to evaluate the different options and possibly draw up specifications for going out to bid. The Chairman asked Mr. Holzmeister to request proposals from consultants, and indicated the matter would be placed on the February 3rd meeting agenda. ADJOURNMENT Director Corbett moved, and Director Cooley seconded, that the meeting be adjourned. All Directors, aye, by voice vote. SO MOVED at 9:08 P.M. TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT By James A. Maass, President Prepared by: Susan M. Craig, Deputy District Clerk -5-