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HomeMy WebLinkAbout18 a Draft Minutes 2021-06-02 REGULAR MEETING MINUTES June 2, 2021 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting of the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by President Finn. Disclaimer: Due to the COVID-19 situation and the California Governor’s Executive Orders, this Board meeting was conducted with the Board via video/teleconferencing measures and live streamed on the District website. Public comment was opened using email and questions and answers on Zoom. 2. ROLL CALL Director(s) Bender, Aguera, Harris, Vice President Laliotis, and President Finn. EMPLOYEES PRESENT: Brian Wright, Steven Poncelet, Mike Salmon, Joe Horvath, and Shanna Kuhlemier. CONSULTANTS PRESENT – Steve Gross, District Counsel 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – defer. 4. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA – none. 5. PUBLIC INPUT President Finn called for public comment, seeing none. President Finn announced the public comment received at the prior meeting would be read into the record at item 10. 6. DIRECTOR UPDATE This item provides time for Directors to comment on any item within the purview of the Dis- trict. 7. GENERAL MANAGER UPDATE – General Manager Wright provided an update. PUBLIC HEARING(S) 8. Consideration to Adopt the Water Shortage Contingency Plan. A) Conduct a public hearing on the Water Shortage Contingency Plan. B) Adopt Ordinance 2021-01 Water Shortage Contingency Plan. President Finn opened the public hearing asking for testimony in support or in opposition to the Water Shortage Contingency Plan. Seeing none, President Finn closed the public hearing. Director Bender moved, and Vice President Laliotis seconded, that the Board approve staff’s recommendation. The motion passed (5-0) by a roll call vote. 9. Consideration to Adopt the 2020 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). A) Conduct a public hearing regarding the 2020 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). B) Adopt Resolution 2021-12 2020 Urban Water Management Plan President Finn opened the public hearing asking for testimony in support or in opposition to the Urban Water Management Plan. Seeing none, President Finn closed the public hearing. Director Harris moved, and Director Aguera seconded, that the Board approve staff’s recom- mendation. The motion passed (5-0) by a roll call vote. 10. Consideration of Approving the General Manager’s Employment Agreement. A) Conduct a public hearing regarding Ordinance 2021-02. B) Adopt Ordinance 2021-02 approving the Employment Agreement with Brian C. Wright as the General Manager and Authorize the Board President to execute the agreement. President Finn opened the public hearing asking for testimony in support or in opposition to Ordinance 2021-02. Becky Mazzer: The Truckee Donner Public Utility District does a great job in providing reliable power and high quality water to its customers. Ratepayers are quite satisfied in that regard. However, there is room for improvement in other areas. The Board of Directors can do better. Why did the Board relax the education and managerial experience requirements for the Gen- eral Manager position after Peckham and McKenney had released the hiring brochure? Orig- inally, in both the 2020 and 2021 executive searches, a Bachelor’s degree was required. Then, at some point during the process, it was no longer required. Also required were five to ten years of executive management experience. This requirement was also relaxed. Why did the requirements change mid-stream? In this light, the selection of Brian Wright as the new GM appears to be a pre-determined se- lection. Why did the Board allocate tens of thousands of rate-payer dollars retaining Peckham and McKenney to conduct a second search for a new GM? Was it to fulfill some regulations and give the appearance that it was a legitimate search? It appears that the criteria were changed to fit the pre-selected candidate rather than selecting from qualified applicants per the original, advertised search criteria. The process the Board ultimately followed was not fair to fully qualified applicants. It was not fair to others who may not have applied in the first place because they didn’t meet those origi- nally advertised requirements. I hope Brian Wright does great things for the TDPUD. However, it does not appear that the process was geared to find the best candidate, the person with the experience, appropriate education, and the best temperament and aptitude for this GM position. It was geared to con- veniently pre-select one candidate, Brian Wright. Period. Next, I would like to know if there is a plan to re-instate in-person Board meetings when the California co-vid regulations allow. I would like these questions presented and answered. The public deserves your acknowledge- ment, your attention, and your answers. Thank you. Kim Nolan: Thanks to the board for all of your hard work in confirming a new general manager. I appreciate Brian Wright's commitment to 100% Green Energy and providing an alternate internet provider with the PUD's existing infrastructure. I think a good choice was made and I look forward to seeing all that this team can accomplish moving forward. Mike Wolf: Truckee PUD Board, General comment regarding the new GM, I appreciate everything every- one on the board has been working for and the selection of Brian for GM seems to fit the goals of the PUD and the residence of Town. With the work you all have done and are doing and the drive of the new GM Truckee PUD will be able to bring to light all of the forward thinking projects in the works. Thank You Mike David Diamond, Vice President Truckee Tahoe Airport District: I want to congratulate the Board on the selection of Brian Wright as your new GM. I'm not only confident that Brian will bring solid leadership to the PUD, I'm equally confident that the five of you offer the perfect balance of perspectives Brian will need to become an outstanding GM, trusted and respected by PUD staff, the public we serve, and yourselves. Together, you can ensure our PUD remains a functional, respected agency. As elected officials, we work for the people of one of the world's outstanding regions. They voted us in, and they entrust us to make good decisions on their behalf. You have a solid foundation now from which to move forward, so let's move forward. Let's work together as agencies, always in deference to the will and the benefit of the people whom we serve. On a more personal note, thank you from this Prosser Lakeview resident for whatever magic the PUD crews did a few years back to improve our service reliability. When I see your field crews, I smile and wave, because I no longer fear big winter storms. David M. Kean: I strongly support the selection of Bryan Wright as General Manager. The Board of Directors made the right decision in selecting someone with an established record of successful man- agement. Mr. Wright's management of the PUD during a difficult time has been exemplary. The PUD ran a successful strategic planning process with extensive community input during a pandemic while keeping our lights on and water flowing. That's was a huge accomplishment.. I look forward to supporting the Mr. Wright and the PUD in their move to a more sustainable future for Truckee. Tanya Africa: I just wanted to voice my support for the excellent job the current PUD Board is doing and their choice of Brian Wright as the new GM. I appreciate the speedy and thoughtful process they've used to identify the best candidate for our community. Brian is a great choice! The 72% approval rating the PUD received in their community survey is a reflection of the work Bryan has done including extensive public outreach to inform the PUD's new strategic plan. I believe the PUD shares my passion for moving our community to sustainable and renewable energy sources and I trust Bryan to manage this complex and exciting transition. President Finn closed the public hearing. Director Aguera moved, and Director Bender seconded, that the Board approve staff’s recom- mendation with the amendment of the July 2nd date in the ordinance to July 3rd. The motion passed (4-0) by a roll call vote. Director Harris abstained. CONSENT CALENDAR 11. Consideration of Contract for Aerial Mapping. This item will Authorize the General Manager to execute a Memorandum of Understand- ing with The Town of Truckee, North Tahoe Public Utility District, Northstar Community Services District, Tahoe City Public Utility District, Truckee Donner Public Utility District, Truckee Sanitary District, and Truckee-Tahoe Airport District, for Aerial Mapping ser- vices in the amount of $29,100, plus a 10% change order allowance. 12. Consideration to Execute a Software and Hardware License Agreement with CDW Govern- ment. Authorize the Interim General Manager to execute a contract with CDW Government for hardware and software support services with an amount not to exceed $76,764.60. 13. Consideration to Approve a Purchase Order with NISC for Software Implementation Ser- vices Authorize the Interim General Manager to execute a purchase order with the National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) for software implementation services in the amount of $21,000 plus a 10% charge order authorization for a total not to exceed con- tract amount of $23,100 plus any applicable taxes, and an annual maintenance fee of $8,808. Not to exceed amount of $29,808. 14. Consideration to Adopt the 2021 Wildfire Mitigation Plan. Adopt the updated 2021 Wildfire Mitigation Plan and direct staff to submit the Plan to the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board. 15. Notice a Public Hearing on July 7, 2021 related to changes to District Code, Appendix C, Miscellaneous Fees. Notice a public hearing for July 7, 2021 for changes to District Code President Finn called for public comment, seeing none. Vice President Laliotis moved, and Director Harris seconded, that the Board approve the con- sent calendar. The motion passed (5-0), by a roll call vote. ACTION ITEM (S) 16. Consideration of the Audited Financial Report for FY20. Post-Moss Adams presentation, accept the final draft Audited Financial Reports for fiscal year ending December 31, 2020, Consolidated and Primary Government Only. President Finn called for public comment, seeing none. Director Harris moved, and Vice President Laliotis seconded, that the Board approve staff’s recommendation. The motion passed (5-0), by a roll call vote. 17. Annual Review of the District’s Investment Policy. A) Annual review of the District’s investment policy. B) Delegate authority to the Treasurer, Michael Salmon. C) Authorize the General Manager to execute agreement to engage with a new invest- ment broker, Time Value Investments. President Finn called for public comment, seeing none. Director Aguera moved, and Vice President Laliotis seconded, that the Board approve staff’s recommendation with the policy as is. The motion passed (5-0), by a roll call vote. 18. Payoff of CA DWR SRF Loan related to Donner Lake Water System. This item concerns the potential early pay off of the Donner Lake Water System. President Finn called for public comment, seeing none. Vice President Laliotis moved, and Director Bender seconded, that the Board approve staff’s recommendation. The motion passed (5-0), by a roll call vote. ROUTINE BUSINESS 19. Approval of the Treasurer’s Report: June 2021. a. Approval of the Treasurer’s report of fund balances for the Month Ended March 2021. b. Approval of disbursement for April 30, 2021. President Finn called for public comment, seeing none. Director Aguera moved, and President Finn seconded, that the Board approve the Treasurer’s Report. The motion passed (5-0), by a roll call vote. 20. Approval of the May 5, 2021 and May 19, 2021 meeting minutes. President Finn called for public comment, seeing none. Director Bender moved, and President Finn seconded, that the Board approve the minutes. The motion passed (4-0), by a roll call vote. Director Harris abstained. ADJOURNMENT - 7:56 p.m. There being no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned to the next scheduled regularly scheduled meeting of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District on May 19, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT _________________________________________ Christa Finn, President Respectfully Submitted, ________________________________ Shanna D. Kuhlemier, CMC, District Clerk