VALLEY CENTER MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT
Regular Board Meeting
Monday, July 19, 2004
Time: 2:00 P.M.
Place: Board Room
29300 Valley Center Road
Valley Center, CA 92082
The Valley Center Municipal Water District Board of Directors’ meeting was called to order by President Broomell at 2:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL
Board members present were: Directors Broomell, Polito, Aleshire and Haskell. Director Stone was absent. Staff members present were: General Manager Arant, General Counsel Cowett, District Engineer Jewell, Director of Operations Dacus, Manager of Accounting Pugh, IT Specialist Learue and Board Secretary Stetson. Spectators present were: Messrs. Weinberg and Pyle of the San Diego County Water Authority and Mr. Ross of the Valley Roadrunner Newspaper.
EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION
The District’s 50th Anniversary Task Force Members were commended for their work by the Board and General Manager Arant. Staff members that worked to coordinate the displays, events, and information booths/trailers for the 50th Anniversary Open House are: Laurie Doerr, Trish Garcia, Bob Jones, Anne Masley, Gaby Olson, Kathy Stetson and Department Heads Chuck Dacus, Pat Jewell and Bill Jeffrey. The historical documents that were compiled and reproduced are now digitized and will be stored for future use along with the video prepared by District Engineer Jewell commemorating the District’s 50th Anniversary of water and wastewater service to the community.
CONSENT CALENDAR
1. Upon motion by Aleshire, seconded by Polito and unanimously carried, the following consent calendar items were approved:
• Minutes of the Board meeting held July 6 and 12, 2004
• Audit demand check numbers 99729 through 99950 and quarterly wire disbursements 04-026 through 04-048B
• Quarterly report of expense reimbursements per Government Code §53065.5
ACTION AGENDA
2. Presentation on the
Sa
n Diego
County Water Authority’s Regional Facility Master Plan:
A presentation on the San Diego County Water Authority’s recently adopted Regional Facility 2030 Master Plan projects and rate impacts was provided by Water Authority representatives Ken Weinberg, Director of Water Resources and Richard Pyle, Engineering Manager.
As part of the Master Plan study process, the Authority’s current and future ability to meet water demands was evaluated. Alternatives for future facilities were evaluated that consisted of:
Supply from the North (Pipeline 6)
Supply from the West (Seawater Desal.)
Supply from the East (Mexican Pipeline or Colorado River Conveyance)
Mr. Weinberg reported that Seawater Desalination had been selected by the Authority Board as the preferred alternative in January 2003. The adopted Regional Facility Master Plan maintains the Authority’s flexibility to change direction based on need. With the Seawater Desalination as the preferred future facility alternative, Pipeline 6 is retained as a future project estimated to be constructed in 2025.
Mr. Pyle explained that the Master Plan includes several capital improvement projects that will improve the efficiency of the Authority’s supply system. The basic premise of the Master Plan is to meet future regional demands by protecting existing investments, maximizing the use of member agency investments in treatment plant capacity, augmenting system reliability with regional facilities and enhancing supply reliability through diversification. This will be achieved through:
▪ Asset Management ($384 million) – Relining or replacements of the Authority’s existing aqueducts to maintain reliability based on a condition assessment of the facilities.
▪ Untreated Water Delivery ($407 million) – Projects to ensure that bottlenecks in the system for the delivery of untreated water are reduced or eliminated. This is primarily in the South County where the majority of the treatment plants are located.
▪ Treatment Capacity ($155 million) –Enhancement of treated water with the construction of an Authority regional treatment plant at the diversion structure site in San Marcos (50 to 100 mgd), and improvements of member agencies’ treatment plants to satisfy the treated water demands of the region.
▪ Operational Improvements ($39 million) – Primarily flow regulatory reservoirs which assist in the day to day operation of the system.
▪ Carryover Storage ($242 million) – The raising of the San Vicente Dam was identified for an additional 100,000 ac. ft. of carryover storage.
▪ Seawater Desalination ($668 million) – Future facility preferred alternative to construct a 50 mgd plant at Encina to be built by 2010 with a 30 mgd expansion by 2015 and the conveyance facilities. Other alterative sites under consideration include San Onofre and in South County.
Mr. Weinberg stated that in determining the master plan projects, the reliability factor was given high consideration. Variables affecting reliability predictions include weather, local supplies (recycling and groundwater recovery) and changes in demographics. With the data analyzed, it is estimated that by 2020, the chance of a water shortage of approximately 25,000 ac. ft. could occur less than 2% of the time.
The Member Agency Rate Impact Review Committee (MARIRC), which was comprised of General Managers or Assistant General Managers of 21 of the Authority’s 23 member agencies, provided a technical review of the Master Plan rate impacts and proposed level of reliability. MARRIRC advised the Authority’s Fiscal Policy Committee on a preferred rate case to accomplish a desired level of reliability. Fifteen Capital Improvement Project scenarios were reviewed and considered for: reliability, rate impacts, capital financing, total annual expenditures and total noncommodity revenues. The Member Agency Rate Impact Review Committee’s Findings and Recommendations, which are attached hereto as Exhibit “A”, were adopted by the Authority Board in May of 2004.
The MARRIRC recommendations pertaining to funding was that untreated water rates and charges not be used to support the capital or operating costs associated with the Authority’s treatment plant and that a treatment service category be established. Participants in the Interim Agricultural Water Program receiving a discount for the concession of less reliability (interruption) in times of water storage will not be charged the Authority’s surcharge for its desalination and treatment plant projects. Projected (2016) water costs upon implementation of the Master Plan Projects are at $966/ac. ft. for M&I and $690/ac. ft. for agricultural deliveries. These projected costs are for the wholesale cost of water (Metropolitan and the San Diego County Water Authority), but do not include local costs.
Benefits to the region to be achieved with implementation of the Master Plan projects were reviewed as listed below:
Supply diversification and reliability
Sufficient peak water treatment plant capacity
Drought storage
Ability to reliably deliver treated and raw water throughout the service area
Increased price certainty on supply and treatment
Mr. Weinberg reviewed that a revenue study will examine the non-commodity revenues that will support implementation of the Master Plan projects; specifically, review the methodology used to calculate the capacity charge on new growth and determine whether growth is paying its fair share of transportation, storage, customer service, and treatment and supply facility costs. The Master Plan Projects, as adopted, were added to the Authority’s Capital Improvement Project budget and a long-range financing plan is being evaluated.
3. Review of Customer Service
Sa
tisfaction Comment Card Program for Fiscal Year 2003-2004:
General Manager Arant reviewed the Fiscal Year 2003-2004 Customer Service Satisfaction Comment Card Program in which 180 customers who had had some form of service contact with the District received the Customer Comment Card. Of these, 39 comment cards were returned. Within the five service rating categories, the ratings were:
130 (69.5%) – Exceeded Expectations
51 (27.3%) – Met Expectations
6 (3.2%) – Did Not Meet Expectations
The Fiscal Year 2003-04 customer service satisfaction was at a 96.8% rating for responses of Exceeded Expectations or Met Expectations. Two responses were received with a negative rating (“Did Not Meet Expectations”) which resulted in corrective action and letters of explanation forwarded to the customers. Many responses from customers were complimentary with many comments indicating they found employees to be very knowledgeable, courteous and responsive to their inquiries. All customers who return a comment card that is signed receive a letter of appreciation from the District for their participation and input in the District’s customer comment card program. The General Manager was commended for effectively administering this program.
4. Report on Water Service Reliability Performance Measurement Standard for Fiscal Year 2003-2004:
An adopted District Strategic Plan Performance Measurement is that water service reliability for our customers shall be greater than 99%. The water service reliability report for Fiscal Year 2003-04 indicates that 1,103 customers were impacted with a total of 8,083 hours of service interruption. With a total of 8,760 service hours per customer per year, the average reliability factor was 99.910% for customers experiencing an outage. The District’s overall water reliability factor was 99.989% for the fiscal year considering 8,116 customers with a total 71,096,160 service hours.
An increase in the total hours of service interruption from the previous fiscal year can largely be attributed to new construction and shut-downs to complete tie-ins of new pipelines. However, from an overall system perspective, District customers have a very low chance of ever experiencing a water service outage. The high level of water service reliability is the result of many factors, including the pipeline replacement program, increased number of three-way valve intersections installed, providing temporary service through meter high lines during shutdowns and that service is restored as soon as possible with District crews and/or contractors staying on the site to complete the needed repairs.
GENERAL MANAGER’S AGENDA
5. Review of Miscellaneous Information Items:
~ Fiscal Year 2003-04 Water Deliveries and Meter Sales. Projected water deliveries for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2004 are 49,056 ac. ft. Meters installed in FY 2003-04 were 733 compared to a total of 192 in FY 2002-03.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ AGENDA
6. Approval of Employment Contract for the General Manager Effective July 1, 2004:
Upon motion by Aleshire, seconded by Haskell and unanimously carried, the Employment Agreement Between Valley Center Municipal Water District and Gary T. Arant was amended effective July 1, 2004, to reflect an annual compensation of $155,000, and a performance bonus payable in a lump sum in the amount of $7,500.
CLOSED SESSION
7. A Closed Session was called by President Broomell at 3:15 p.m. pursuant to:
$ Government Code '54956.9(a), Conference with Legal Counsel - Existing Litigation.
Name of Case: Sweetwater Authority, et al. v. Dynegy, Inc., et al.
San Diego Superior Court Case GIC 760743
$ Government Code '54956.9(a), Conference with Legal Counsel - Existing Litigation.
Name of Case: Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District, et al. v. San
Diego County Water Authority, et al.
San Diego County Superior Court Case No. GIC798230
$ Government Code '54956.8, Conference with real Property Negotiator
Property: APN 188-240-31, 40-44
Agency Negotiator: Gary T. Arant, General Manager
C. Michael Cowett, Best, Best & Krieger LLP
Negotiating Party: James Lovell Goodwin and Jill Marie Anderson,
co-trustees of the Goodwin Survivors Trust
RECONVENE
8. The regular Board meeting was reconvened at 4:16 p.m. No action was reported.
ADJOURNMENT
9. Upon motion by Polito, seconded by Aleshire and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at
4:17 p.m.
ATTEST: ATTEST:
_______________________________ _________________________________
President Secretary