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CALL TO ORDER / PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF JANUARY 18, 2017 FY 2016/17 MUNICIPAL & INDUSTRIAL CONNECTION FEE PROGRAM UPDATE |
MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ________________________________________________________________
ALAMEDA COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT, ZONE 7
MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS The following were present:
DIRECTORS: SANDS FIGUERS DIRECTORS ABSENT: NONE
ZONE 7 STAFF: JILL DUERIG, GENERAL MANAGER COUNSEL: DAVID ALADJEM, DOWNEY BRAND Item 1 - CALL TO ORDER / PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Vice President Greci called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. and the board went into Closed Session immediately. Item 2 - Closed Session Item 3 - Open Session and Report Out of Closed Session The Board came out of Closed Session at 6:45 p.m. and took a 15-minute break. At 7:00 p.m., President Quigley called the meeting back into session and said that no reportable actions had been taken in Closed Session. Item 4 - Pledge of Allegiance President Quigley led the Salute to the Flag. Item 5 - Paul Zullo, Water Treatment Plant Operator, addressed the Board regarding lengthy contract negotiations held through a consultant negotiator. He expressed concern that many SEIU members have been negatively impacted as a result of the main contract with the County of Alameda and Zone 7's cost of living increases that may or may not have kept up with inflation. He urged the Board to give retro pay to the members to July 1st. Darren Putman, Water Quality Laboratory Technician, addressed the Board regarding the SEIU contract agreement with Zone 7. He expressed concern that the denial of retro pay is patently unfair given that the Board approved retro pay for the highest paid employee of Zone 7. He stated they are not asking for anything in addition to the cost of living increases that Zone 7 has offered, but are only asking that the increase be applied retroactively to the beginning of July in the same way it was offered to others at Zone 7. He urged the Board to allow the negotiations to come to an end and to honor retro pay. Barry Lindsay, Water Treatment Plant Operator, addressed the Board regarding retro pay. He stated that in December the Board approved retro pay for the General Manager, while at the same time refusing retro pay for members of SEIU. He asked how members are to look at this action as anything other than some sort of punitive action for merely engaging in negotiation. He respectfully urged the Board to direct the Zone 7 negotiator to offer SEIU members retro pay just as retro pay has historically been offered. Vin Pohray, a resident of Pleasanton, thanked the Board for allowing the setup of the informational workshop held on January 30th. He then addressed the Board about concerns of the citizen's coalition regarding Zone 7's reserve transfers to the expansion fund and asked that the Board revisit the transfer and reserve policy to provide relief to the ratepayers from undue burdens, especially now in an atmosphere where there is no longer a water crisis. Linda Kelly, a member of the Facebook group she called Citizens for Sensible Water Rates, addressed the Board regarding a communication chasm between the water rate payers and Zone 7's Board and staff. She urged the Board to consider ways in addition to postcards and newspaper ads to increase public awareness of Zone 7 meetings and to foster better communication so that folks can take action and have a say in issues. Item 6 - MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF JANUARY 18, 2017 Director Palmer moved that the minutes of January 18, 2017 be accepted and approved and Director Greci seconded the motion. The minutes were approved by a voice vote of 7-0. Item 7 - a. Fee Deferral Agreement - 16980 Tesla Rd., Livermore, CA 94550 APN 99A-2200-1-25 Director Palmer moved to approve Item 7(a) and Director Greci seconded the motion. The item was passed by a voice vote of 7-0. Resolution No. 17-05 Authorized a Fee Deferral Agreement with the property owner at 16980 Tesla Rd., Livermore, CA (Item 7a) Item 10 - General Manager, Jill Duerig asked that Item 10 be heard before Items 8 and 9. There being no objections, President Quigley agreed to the change in order. December Employee of the Month Recognition - Diana Gaines Ms. Duerig announced that Diana Gaines, Senior Engineer in Zone 7's Flood Control division, was selected as the December Employee of the Month and was present in the audience. Diana came to Zone 7 in 1993 as an Associate Civil Engineer having worked with a local engineering consultant and also three years with the Alameda County Public Works Agency. She is recognized for her positive attitude and being a "jack of all trades" serving the agency in various capacities for over 20 years. The Board congratulated Ms. Gaines for her accomplishments. Item 8 - FY 2016/17 MUNICIPAL & INDUSTRIAL CONNECTION FEE PROGRAM UPDATE Amparo Flores, Manager of Integrated Planning, gave a brief overview of the Zone 7 Water Agency Water Connection Fee Update, a study which is performed every five years. Recommended fees are developed in compliance with California Government Code Section 66000, et seq. (also referred to as the California Mitigation Fee Act). She explained that data is collected from Retailers via Master Plans, UWMPs and growth and demand data and also from various Zone 7 financial planning documents and projected Expansion Fund Expenditures through buildout. Public outreach was accomplished through various meetings from June 2016 through February 2017. Dr. Flores then introduced Carmen Narayanan, a consultant with NBS who conducted the study, continued the presentation and discussed key program objectives of the Expansion Program (Fund 130) targets, the basis for Zone 7's connection fees, projected water demand by retailers, a 23% projected increase in area population between 2015-2040, demand and growth projections by retailer through buildout, DUE projections (with growth cycling) and a discussion on expansion program expenses which total $898,658,357 through buildout. The New Proposed Connection Fee in Zone 7's service area is $27,180 and in the Dougherty Valley service area is $26,080. Staff recommended the Board adopt the resolution approving the FY 2016/17 M&I Connection Fee Update Report and adopting the recommended fees. President Quigley advised the Board and audience that the Finance Committee had met on February 6, 2017 and voted to support the staff recommendations and forward to the full Board for adoption. He then opened the public hearing for this item. No public comments were received, and President Quigley closed the public hearing at 7:33 p.m. He then asked for Board discussion and comments. Director Ramirez Holmes thanked Staff for working with and inviting the consultant NBS. She expressed appreciation for the follow-up that took place after the Finance Committee meeting to ensure that further questions of the public were answered. She suggested that looking forward, Staff should pursue outreach sooner in order to provide an opportunity for deeper discussions earlier on in the process. A motion was made by Director Stevens, seconded by Director Palmer to adopt the FY 2016/17 Municipal and Industrial (M&I) Connection Fee Program Update Report and direct staff to finalize it. The motion was passed by a roll call vote of 7-0. Resolution No. 17-06 Approved the 2017 update and adopted the Municipal and Industrial (M&I) Connection Fees (Item 8) Item 9 - Ms. Duerig introduced Rhett Alzona, Principal Engineer in the Facilities Engineering section. Mr. Alzona gave a brief presentation which highlighted the original project scope of the Medeiros Parkway reach along with the proposed addition of the Granada-Murrieta reach; the benefits and risks of adding the Granada-Murrieta reach, impacts to the project schedule, and estimated project costs and cash flow needs. In response to Director Palmer's question about how much of the project the agency expects could be covered by a grant, Mr. Alzona responded that it depends upon the grant. The agency currently has a $500K River Parkways Grant for flood management and recreational aspects on the Medeiros Reach. An additional Urban Rivers Grant application for up to $3,000,000 is currently in the review stage. President Quigley suggested incorporating reasonable numbers for capture and recharge when applying for the grant. The addition of best case or worst case scenarios in storm water retention may be big later this year with the new bill. Mr. Alzona agreed that when the agency applies for grants, those are some of the typical questions that get asked so the information is incorporated. Director Palmer mentioned this is a highly used recreational area and asked who oversees the bike/hiking trails? Mr. Alzona replied that the City of Livermore is responsible for the existing main bike path. Zone 7 could be responsible for the other features on site such as gravel roads for maintenance access. Director Ramirez Holmes suggested that alerting the residents affected by the work early on so that they can be a part of the process and understand the concepts earlier should be a priority. She said it is important for them to understand the long-term benefits and safety issues. Director Palmer agreed so that they can see from the beginning how it will protect their homes and property values. It's a win-win situation. In response to questions from Director McGrail regarding the amount spent to date and if this additional amount requested will complete the project, Mr. Alzona explained that in August 2015 the project was budgeted for Phase 1 for preliminary planning and initial conceptual design activities for a not-to-exceed amount of $346,500, of which approximately $200,000 has been spent. The additional request is for the full detailed design, permitting and CEQA. Construction will come later. Staff recommends combining the design, permitting and construction of the AM Medeiros Parkway and the AM Granada projects as one project to recognize savings of scale and project management efficiencies. The overall project cost is $16.3M. Now is the opportune time to combine the projects and move forward seamlessly. Director Figuers added that it is important to remember that this is based on a 100-year flood scenario, which exceeds most people's lifespans. Anything under 100-year flood is going to be fine. Director Palmer stated that it is important to do the Granada reach because that area is much more liable to experience flood damage. Director Stevens agreed that completing the improvements to the Granada reach is the right thing to do. President Quigley asked if there were any public comments. None were received. Director Figuers moved to approve Item 9 and Director Palmer seconded the motion. The item was passed by a roll call vote of 7-0. Resolution No. 17-07 Authorized the Arroyo Mocho Medeiros-Granada Project (Item 9) Resolution No. 17-08 Approved the Application for Grant Funds for the Arroyo Mocho Medeiros Parkway Project, Arroyo Mocho Granada Project or Combined Arroyo Mocho Medeiros-Granada Project (Item 9) Item 11 - a. Finance Committee Meeting - February 6, 2017 - notes No comments were received. Item 12 -
a. Verbal comments by President Director Figuers reported that he had attended the ACWA Groundwater Committee meeting earlier in the day. Director Ramirez Holmes reported that she attended the January 25, 2017 Recycled Water Celebration at DSRSD along with a couple of her colleagues. On January 30th, she attended the Zone 7 Public Workshop on water rates. There was a full house and it was quite a lengthy meeting. On February 6th she attended the Finance Committee meeting. On February 10th she attended the Elected Women's Luncheon. Director Palmer reported that she had also attended the DSRSD Recycled Water Celebration and commended DSRSD staff for conducting such an informative tour of the RO plant. She also attended the H2O Women Conference in Santa Barbara January 27-28. She commended Zone 7's General Manager, Jill Duerig, who spoke at the conference about the value of imported water, saying that she did a very nice job. Felicia Marcus from the State Water Resources Control Board was the keynote speaker. Other topics discussed were Investing in Water Infrastructure, Implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, and The Role of Communication in Advancing Water Policy. She said that overall it was a good networking experience with people attending from all parts of the state and she learned a lot from it. President Quigley attended the DSRSD Recycled Water Celebration and spoke on behalf of Zone 7. His talking points are listed in his written report. He also attended an ACWA Region 5 meeting earlier in the day in Scotts Valley. The ACWA Region 5 Board has decided to give a presentation at its Spring Conference on water rates. They may call on Zone 7's expert on the matter, Osborn Solitei, to discuss reserve funds, etc. Item 13 - ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA - DIRECTORS No future items were discussed. Item 14 - STAFF REPORTS (Information items. No action will be taken.)
a. General Manager's Report Ms. Duerig discussed information from the State Water Contractors, providing an overview on the Oroville Dam facilities and recent events. She also mentioned that this weekend is the Spring Home and Garden Show at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, Friday through Sunday, and there will be a Zone 7 booth there to visit. Item 15 - ADJOURNMENT - The meeting was adjourned at 8:18 p.m. Board Secretary
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