February 22, 2011

VALLEY CENTER MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT

Regular Board Meeting
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
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. Staff members present were:  General Manager Arant, General Counsel Miller, District Engineer Grabbe, Director of Finance Jeffrey, Meter Services Supervisor LoPresti, Board Secretary Johnson, Manager of IT Pilve, Project Manager Carrillo, Wastewater Systems Supervisor Beath, and Special Counsel Coburn.

CONSENT CALENDAR

1. Upon motion by Polito, seconded by Haskell and unanimously carried, the following consent calendar items were approved:

• Minutes of the Board meeting held February 7, 2011
• Audit demand check numbers 128052 through 128166 for January 28 through February 10, 2011

ACTION AGENDA

2. Country Club Reservoir Roof Repair Project; Request for Fund Transfer:

 Project Manager Carrillo reported that the contractor, Falcon General Engineering, has been working on the Country Club Reservoir Roof Repair project since December 2010.  As construction has proceeded and with the scaffolding in place, closer examination of the existing conditions has revealed more extensive rust damage than was originally anticipated that requires immediate repair.  Three small change orders have been processed totaling $10,305.  Three additional change orders have been requested by the contractor bringing the cumulative total to $36,385, thus requiring Board approval.  The following table describes each change order:
 

CO#	Description	Cost	Time
1	Time Extension for Draining Tank	$  -	20
2	Scaffolding Changes on Slope Areas	$ 6,025	7
3	Additional 2 inch Angle Iron	$ 4,280	2
4	T&M on Truss End Connections	$ 5,000	2
5	Replace Top Chord on Rows 3,4,5, and 9	$ 16,800	8
6	Additional 2 inch Angle Iron	$ 4,280	2
		$ 36,385	41

 In addition to the contractor’s fees, inspection time by staff and time of performance will also be increased.  The new project completion date is now set for March 26, 2011.  A $60,000 budget transfer was requested to be made from the Country Club Reservoir Project [Account 01-5690.78] to the Country Club Roof Repair Project [01-5690.60].  This transfer would bring the total Roof Repair project budget to $230,000, while leaving the Country Club Reservoir Project budget with $1.6M for later use.

Upon motion by Aleshire, seconded by Haskell and unanimously carried, the following resolution, entitled:

 RESOLUTION NO. 2011-04

A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE VALLEY CENTER MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT
APPROVING CHANGE ORDERS NO. 1 THROUGH 6 TO THE CONTRACT WITH
FALCON GENERAL ENGINEERING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE
COUNTRY CLUB ROOF REPAIR [01-5690.60] AND AMENDING THE
FY 2010-11 BUDGET BY THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM THE
COUNTRY CLUB RESERVOIR PROJECT [01-5690.78]

 was adopted by the following vote, to wit:

   AYES: Directors Broomell, Polito, Aleshire and Haskell
  NOES: None
 ABSENT: Director Stone

3. Water Reclamation and Reuse Program Grant for North Village Water Reclamation Facility:

District Engineer Grabbe reported that staff had prepared and submitted a grant application to the Bureau of Reclamation for development of a feasibility study under the Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program for the proposed North Village Water Reclamation Facility.  Feasibility study costs to develop a reclamation master plan for the North Village service area, including CEQA and permitting requirements, were estimated at $188,000.  This funding grant is for 50/50 participation and, if approved, requires the District’s commitment to fund its share of the cost.

Once complete, the feasibility study would be used to apply for construction funding under the Title XVI, Water Reclamation and Reuse Program.  Under this program, the Bureau may award funding of up to 25% of the project costs for selected projects.  To be selected, the applicant must have completed and obtained Bureau approval of a feasibility study.  If the District was ultimately selected to receive construction grant funding for this project, wastewater capacity could be provided to the community service facilities (schools, library, Cal Fire, Post Office, etc.) and possibly other existing development within the service area.

To qualify for the feasibility study grant, the District must provide an official resolution from the governing body in support of the application, guarantee the amount of funding specified in the plan, and work with the Bureau to meet established deadlines for entering into a cooperative agreement.  The North Village project proponents, Herb Schaffer of Weston-Valley Center, LLC and Napoleon Zervas of Valley View Properties, LP, have both provided letters affirming their financial support of the feasibility study, up to $94,000 total, if the grant is approved.

Upon motion by Aleshire, seconded by Haskell and unanimously carried, the following resolution, entitled:

 RESOLUTION NO. 2011-05

A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE VALLEY CENTER MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT
COMMITTING TO FINANCIAL AND LEGAL OBLIGATIONS ASSOCIATED
WITH BUREAU OF RECLAMATION TITLE XVI GRANT APPLICATION
FOR THE NORTH VILLAGE WATER RECLAMATION FACILITY
FEASIBILITY STUDY

 was adopted by the following vote, to wit:

   AYES: Directors Polito, Aleshire and Haskell
  NOES: None
 ABSENT: Director Stone
 ABSTAIN: Director Broomell

4. Reycled Water Pricing Policy:

District Engineer Grabbe explained that with several wastewater projects in various levels of planning, a clear understanding of the perceived value of the recycled water is essential in developing dependable project performance projections and appropriate Recycled Water Use Agreements.

There are two types of treatment facilities being considered in Valley Center; end-of-line and skimming plants.  End-of-line facilities must have a reliable, permanent means of disposal for all the recycled water produced by the plant.  While irrigation is the preferred use and can provide additional income, care must be taken to ensure it is a permanent, acceptable disposal area.  Skimming plants exist primarily to treat a wastewater stream for beneficial use, offsetting a potable water supply.  If there are customer demand variations for recycled water, the skimming plant’s influent flow rate can be adjusted to match the current need.

Staff is proposing to develop a recycled water pricing policy that will be consistent with the demand for recycled water, encourage its use, and maintain sufficient revenue to fund recycled water operation and maintenance costs.  However, the value of recycled water depends on the recipient.  To someone who has their own groundwater supply it is of little value and there is no incentive to enter into an agreement to accept recycled water.  On the other end, to replace current potable water usage, it can be worth 85% of the imported water cost.  However, the agricultural user incurs additional costs and must buy additional recycled water in order to flush the salts.  Staff offered three conditions for consideration:

• Agricultural Use, Replacing Imported Water – 50% of Imported Water Price
• M&I Use, Replacing Imported Water – 85% of Imported Water Price
• Ag and M&I, Replacing Local Surface or Groundwater – Negotiated Price, Reflecting Cost of Local Production.

Staff was directed to draft a recycled water pricing policy with flexibility to incorporate all three conditions for Board review and approval at a later date.

5. Operational and Energy Cost Reduction Efforts, Lower Moosa Canyon and Woods Valley Ranch Water Reclamation Facilities:

Wastewater Supervisor Beath presented an overview of recently implemented operational, energy and process control changes that have reduced equipment run times, electrical consumption and chemical dosage at the Lower Moosa Canyon and Woods Valley Ranch Water Reclamation Facilities.

Prior to June 2010, the Moosa Facility required 42% more electrical energy to operate than in FY 2010-11.  The fine bubble diffuser and submersible aerator, put into service in FY 2008-09, has provided the operators greater flexibility to control the aeration throughout the biological process.  With ongoing operational adjustments and refinements, the operators were able to improve the quality of treatment and significantly reduce the energy demand.

To meet the Title 22 standards required at the Woods Valley Facility, a large amount of treatment equipment is involved that requires a substantial energy demand.  Changes such as turning off unnecessary equipment and reduced equipment run times during non peak flows have resulted in additional equipment and chemical usage reductions.  A District cost savings of approximately 38% or $18,000 per year has been achieved.

Funds have been budgeted to replace two inefficient, 34 year old, centrifugal blowers with new high efficiency positive displacement blowers, and a 13 year old dewatering system with a more energy efficient dewatering system at the Moosa Facility.  With these improvements in place, it is anticipated that an additional 20% reduction in electrical consumption can be achieved over the baseline period of FY 2007-08.

GENERAL MANAGER’S AGENDA

6. Review Miscellaneous Information Items:

General Manager Arant reported that water sales for January had increased from 929.13 acre feet in 2010 up to 1,058.81 acre feet for 2011. 

CLOSED SESSIONS

7. Closed sessions were called by President Broomell at 3:23 p.m. pursuant to:

• Government Code §54956.9(a), Conference with Legal Counsel, Existing Litigation

Name of Case: San Diego Coastkeeper v. California State Lands Commission, et al.
  San Diego County Superior Court
  Case Number:  37-2008-00092607-CU-WM-CTL
  California Court of Appeal Case No. D056421

Name of Case: United States, the States of California, et al. v. J-M Manufacturing Company, Inc.
   United States District Court
   Case Number:  ED CV06-0055-GW

• Government Code §54956.9(c), Conference with Legal Counsel, Anticipated Litigation

 Number of potential cases:  2

• Government Code §54957, Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release

• Government Code §54957.6, Conference with Labor Negotiators

        Agency Designated Representation: Gary Arant
        Employee Organization: Valley Center Employees Association

ADJOURNMENT

8. Upon motion by Aleshire, seconded by Haskell and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

ATTEST:                                               ATTEST:

____________________________   _______________________________

            President                                               Secretary