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Home My WebLink About2020-12-02 Min - Board DocuSign Envelope ID:F5C6AA41-8597-483B-875A-FBF53115F88E REGULAR MEETING MINUTES • December 2, 2020 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. in the TDPUD Boardroom by President Bender. 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) Ellis, Laliotis, Aguera, Vice President Finn, and President Bender. EMPLOYEES PRESENT: Brian Wright, Ian Fitzgerald, 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 Bender called for public comment, seeing none. 6. DIRECTOR UPDATE Director Ellis: • Stated he was sad this was to be his last meeting. • The PUD is such an amazing organization that he was proud to serve. • Congratulated Joe and Jeff on their re-election. • Stated during his time as President there were some hard issues that were handled. Appreciated Jeff's leadership during his term. Director Aguera: • Enjoyed serving with Director Ellis. Wished him the best in the future. • Thanked the community and Board for the support through re-election. President Bender: • Thanked Director Ellis for his service. • Stated appreciation for re-election and looks forward to the years to come. o The District has some challenging and exciting times ahead. • Provided the following statement: • Unfortunately, last week Moonshine Ink published an article about the termination of our Y GM which had quite of bit of untruths in it from the anonymous employee. And as I said DocuSign Envelope ID:F5C6AA41-8597-483B-875A-FBF53115F88E • during our November 18th meeting regarding Kim Harris' public comment, I just cannot help but keep thinking about the Speak Your Peace, civility project and also The Truckee Way. I respect and honor every person's right, every employee's right, to have and ex- press their opinion, but what's difficult for me, and unfortunate, are the personal attacks and untruths during public comment and in this article. This is completely against what we are all trying to do regarding honesty, respect, constructive criticism and what's best for the District. Pamela Hurt Associates contract had nothing to do with the board's decision regarding the General Manager. Transitions are very difficult, and our consultant has taken us through an incredibly challenging and enlightening process. We identified the District's core values and used those values to identify core cultural skill sets which were incorpo- rated throughout this very intense hiring process. And the work done in that process is not lost, just the person at the end was. The core values have not changed, we keep them close to our heart and they should guide us going forward. I have full confidence in this board to continue this process to retain the very best fit we can with the next general man- ager. I understand some people are upset, but please know, some are not. The board's deci- sion was termination without cause, and it's just that, without cause. I completely under- stand this is extremely difficult for those who are not in closed session with this board; not knowing what is going on in closed session is very frustrating. • Looking forward, I completely trust my fellow board members and respect them and we must all respect this unanimous, extremely important and difficult board decision. I com- pletely trust and respect our employees and know they will always do their very best even though we may disagree on some issues. I truly feel this decision was in the very best in- terest of the district, the rate payers, and all employees, even though some do not feel that way. And finally, please, embrace and live our District's core values, follow the Truckee Way, and speak your peace, so we can all move ahead in a constructive, inclu- sive, and respectful manner. Thank you Director Laliotis: • Stated Director Ellis was a valuable Board member and was sorry to see him leave. • Congratulated all successful elected. Director Finn provided the following statement: My director's comment this evening is going to acknowledge that there is an elephant in the room. I respect and welcome input, opinions and different perspectives. I believe this entire board does. We have been participating in training to help us navigate such differences with open minds, kindness and empathy. • Therefore, it was extremely jarring to read the Moonshine Ink article, for which I provided an interview, quoting an employee using words like "retribution" and "toxic" to describe the work DocuSign Envelope ID:F5C6AA41-8597-483B-875A-FBF53115F88E environment here. By design, the board does not have much opportunity to connect with staff. • But I recognize that District employees have feelings and fears and are understandably con- fused. I also understand that a vacuum begs to be filled. In the absence of information (which we cannot provide because it must be held in confidence), rumors and inaccuracies are bound to fill the space. While I cannot tell you what we did discuss, I can share what we did not discuss. Pam Hobday's contract never entered the arena. As far as the board knows, Rem was as satisfied with her work as we are, which, speaking for myself, is extremely. Reference the Sep- tember 2 board meeting, where we renewed the contract for the purpose of strategic planning. Rem and the board were in full alignment. It was always the intent to expire the contract in the spring with the completion of the strategic plan. To my knowledge, that never changed. The board had to make a hard decision. We had to set our egos aside and admit that a situation was not working. There is no upside in this for the board, EXCEPT for the fact that we are united in our belief that this was the best thing to do, for our community AND for employees of the district. We will carry our lessons learned forward and we will continue to work towards a more perfect PUD, practicing our District values of safety, communication, integrity, accounta- bility, timeliness, and work hard-play hard. Thank you. I would also like to take a moment to thank Director Ellis for his service to the district. I really • appreciate your financial expertise and your level headed perspective. It has been a pleasure working with you for the past two years and I wish you all the best moving forward. GENERAL MANAGER/CEO UPDATE 7. Interim General Manager Brian Wright gave updates regarding: • Thanked Director Ellis for his service to the District. • Strategic Planning Update o Survey is scheduled o Website has been built o Benchmarking with industry leaders is scheduled o Focus Group are scheduled for early January PUBLIC HEARING 8. Conduct a public hearing regarding Ordinance 2020-02 Setting Water Rates for FY21- FY25. a) Conduct a Public Hearing on Proposed Water Rates for FY21-FY25 b) Accept and Direct Staff to File the Truckee Donner Public Utility District 2020 Water Rate Study c) Adopt Ordinance 2020-02 Setting Water Rates for FY21-FY2. Brian Wright and Shawn Korn provided a presentation (presentation available upon request). • Director Comments: o Appreciated that the "why" was answered through this process. o The Board's responsibility and goal is commitment to the infrastructure. DocuSign Envelope ID:F5C6AA41-8597-483B-875A-FBF53115F88E o There has been lots of discussion on "kicking the can" down the road. It is prudent to • ensure this is handled and not for future generations to deal with. o Other agencies have different revenue streams like property tax. The TDPUD does not have these options. o This is a cost of service increase. o Need better communication of programs and options. o Need low income protection o This is necessary for the health and safety of the community o Fire is a large part of this increase. President Bender opened the public hearing for comments in support or opposition to the rate increase. Due to some technical difficulties the comments were read into the record: Emilie Kashtan 06:03 PM I have a public comment but it did not let me raise my hand. May I still state public comment due to technical difficulties Emilie Kashtan 06:06 PM I sent in concerns to the General Manager July 16, 2020 and never received any response. Can the Board review my concerns regarding unrepaired drainage issues eminitating from the Montano property inwhch the TDPUD installed a road, as seen by sattelite, where drain- age was not properly mitigated as per LAHONTON or the Town's Planning Resolution on the Montano Planning Commission findings. • Emilie Kashtan 06:12 PM Given that the 1400 hookups involving Donner Lake property owners where to get off a year boilng water notice owners were put in a special district where they paid for legal costs, drill- ing wells and all the infrastructure to completely rebuilt the system, at present where we con- tinue to pay with out inclusion of all other TDPUD customers, why should Donner Lake own- ers have to now have rates raised to repair those customers in Town's water system, which should have been covered by those communities. Put those communities in special distrcts, which would be fair. Ann Penfield 06:51 PM The rates looks to be 50% increase and was not advertized as that amount. And commercial rates are not going up as high as home owners. Paula Henrikson 06:52 PM Why did your mailers not include an annual total. Mine will be an increase of$400 per year! Ann Penfield 06:53 PM the info in the notice did not explain on how much the rate was increasing so I feel we can all say that the notice was insuffient Paula Henrikson 06:53 PM Are the increases affected by the new developments around Truckee? Paula Henrikson 06:53 PM Would the Board consider creating a lower base rate for those who don't use much water? Emilie Kashtan 06:54 PM With only three q&As, these, as in all public comment periods in meetings, should be heard • by the public and read for the public to hear. Simply approving them is not allowing public voice. Ann Penfield 06:54 PM DocuSign Envelope ID:F5C6AA41-8597-483B-875A-FBF53115F88E since notice insuffient we can ask that it be thrown out and should be redone. • Emilie Kashtan 06:58 PM Please inform the Board, that as I and many watch this, There is no button to see what ques- tions or comments were placed prior and during Public Comment. This is not full disclosure to the public, not to read and identify an analysis of what was sent in.. Please make this a mat- ter of public record so the CPUC can review. Ann Penfield 07:01 PM I can only see 4 so maybe there is a problem with the Q&A Ann Penfield 07:02 PM The comment portion is not working so you should redue the entire process. Emilie Kashtan 07:02 PM Excuse me, you did not inform the public on all comments and questions how to access prior to closing public comment. Please review as this is not transparency Thomas Deurloo 07:02 PM The public q&a appears to only be available to the host and panelists jan zabriskie 07:03 PM Thank you to Jeff Bender for trying to answer my question. However, my Q and A tab shows one "All Questions" only (in apparent reference to my question). There is a glitch some- where. Paula Henrikson 07:03 PM Thank you for the discount a few years ago when I was laid off. It's only good once per fam- ily. Emilie Kashtan 07:07 PM • Why did not Glenshire that the TDPUD took on at the same time as Donner Lake not have the same obligations? Emilie Kashtan 07:09 PM In the late 1990s and early 2000, the water system in Donner Lake was a collander of water leaks. Cost cutting methods cause premature failure of the system, and yet all the rest of us are paying for fixing their system, a long gong failing system. Emilie Kashtan 07:12 PM Please make sure that all submitted comments prior or during the meeting are posted for people to read. This has been done real time with the Town Council The CPUC needs to know what public had availa le Deirdre Henderson 07:25 PM May I ask how this infrastreucture problem was allowed to get to this point? Board Comments: • Requested language change in the ordinance for Board approval of increase yearly. This ordinance will still set the cap, but the Board can look at the progress. Director Ellis moved, and Vice President Finn seconded, that the Board approve the staff rec- ommendation. The motion passed unanimously (5-0), by a roll call vote. President Bender called for a recess at 7:47 p.m. The Board reconvened at 7:56 p.m. 111 CONSENT 9. Insurance Renewals 2020-2021 — Property, General Liability, and Workers Compensation DocuSign Envelope ID:F5C6AA41-8597-483B-875A-FBF53115F88E with ACWA JPIA. • Approve Property, General Liability, and Workers Compensation insurance re- newals for coverage period's fiscal year ending (FYE) 6/30/2021, 9/30/2021, and 6/30/2021 respectively, for a total of $249,965 (Property and General Liability) and $265,000 for Workers Compensation. 10.Consideration for Approval of an Increased Annual Procurement with Thatcher Company. Approve an increase in annual procurement of sodium hypochlorite with Thatcher Company from an amount of$26,030 to an amount not to exceed $31,000. 11. Contract Approval — FY20 and FY21, Wildan Financial Services. a) Authorize 2020 Willdan Financial Services Contract Amount- $32,003.29. b) Authorize General Manager to contract for 2021 Willdan Financial Services—CFD stand- ard services, Contract Amount - $35,500.00. President Bender called for public comment, seeing none. Director Ellis moved, and Director Aguera seconded, that the Board approve the consent cal- endar. The motion passed unanimously (5-0), by a roll call vote. ACTION ITEM(S) 12.Continue the approval for the Emergency Procurement of Transformer Bushings for Martis Valley Substation. Continue the emergency procurement of transformer bushings for Martis Valley Substation. Joe Horvath provided a presentation (available upon request). III President Bender called for public comment, seeing none. Director Laliotis moved, and Director Ellis seconded, that the Board approve the staff recom- mendation. The motion passed unanimously (5-0), by a roll call vote. 13.Consideration to Award a Contract to Design the Martiswoods Hydropneumatic Pump Sta- tion. Award a contract to Farr West Engineering to perform design of the Martiswoods Hydropneumatic Pump Station project in an amount not to exceed $135,700. Neil Kaufman provided a presentation (available upon request). President Bender called for public comment, seeing none. Director Laliotis moved, and Director Aguera seconded, that the Board approve the staff rec- ommendation. The motion passed unanimously (5-0), by a roll call vote. 14.Consideration of FY21 Annual Contract and Procurements. a) Authorize the routine annual procurements totaling $7,432,675 from the ven- dors listed in attachments 1,2, and 3. b) Authorize the General Manager to execute the required documents necessary IIIto procure the products and services listen in attachments 1, 2, and 3. President Bender called for public comment, seeing none. DocuSign Envelope ID:F5C6AA41-8597-483B-875A-FBF53115F88E 0 Director Laliotis moved, and Director Ellis seconded, that the Board approve the staff recom- mendation. The motion passed unanimously (5-0), by a roll call vote. ROUTINE BUSINESS 15.Approve the Minutes of Special Meeting, September 16, 2020, Regular Meeting, October 7, 2020 and Special Meeting, October 21, 2020. President Bender called for public comment, seeing none. Director Ellis moved, and Director Aguera seconded, that the Board approve the minutes. The motion passed unanimously (5-0), by a roll call vote. 16.Approval of the Treasurer's Report: December 2020 a) Approval of the Treasurer's report of fund balances for the Month Ended October 2020. Vice President Finn moved, and Director Laliotis seconded, that the Board approve the Treas- urer's report. The motion passed unanimously (5-0), by a roll call vote. b) Approval of disbursements for November 2020. • President Bender called for public comment, seeing none. Director Aguera moved, and Director Ellis seconded, that the Board approve the disburse- ments. The motion passed unanimously (5-0), by a roll call vote. SPECIAL BUSINESS 17.Board Meeting Schedule 2021. Set the Board meeting schedule for 2021. Shanna Kuhlemier provided a presentation (available upon request). President Bender called for public comment, seeing none. Director Laliotis moved, and Director Finn seconded, that the Board approve the staff recom- mendation. The motion passed unanimously (5-0), by a roll call vote. 18.Results for the November 3, 2020 Election. Accept the November 3, 2020 Election Results. Shanna Kuhlemier provided a presentation (available upon request). President Bender called for public comment, seeing none. • Director Finn moved, and Director Ellis seconded, that the Board approve the staff recommen- dation. The motion passed unanimously (5-0), by a roll call vote. DocuSign Envelope ID:F5C6AA41-8597-483B-875A-FBF53115F88E • CLOSED SESSION —8:27 p.m. 19. Closed Session Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957, Public Employee Perfor- mance Evaluation — Interim General Manager's Performance Review. No reportable ac- tion. ADJOURNMENT - 9:44 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 January 6, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT (-DoeuSigned by: 5,?-->--)2_ Alfieriider, President DocuSlgned by: Respectfully Submitted, S ix Kijoe I1B F.e8 12c44 7 Shanna D. Kuhlemier, C , Eisiric Clerk II •