SLVWD Board Meeting Summary

October 21, 2021

Mark Dolson

Highlights:

  • Boardroom location for hybrid meetings.

  • CSDA Bylaw vote.

  • Contract award for Quail Hollow Pipeline construction.

  • Contract award for Quail Hollow Pipeline construction management.

  • Next Board meeting is at 6:30 PM on November 4.

Preliminaries

There was nothing to report from the just-concluded closed session.  Two members of the public were in attendance; nobody had any non-agenda-related comment.

 

Directors’ Reports

Director Fultz, Chair of the Administration Committee, reported that the committee had unanimously agreed to leave its recently-created vacancy to be filled by the regular end-of-the-year process that refreshes public membership on all committees.  Note: anyone interested in serving on a committee in 2022 should apply by November 22, 2021:

https://www.slvwd.com/home/news/2022-committee-application-announcement

 

Unfinished Business

Boardroom Location for Hybrid Meetings

District Manager Rick Rogers introduced this agenda item.  He reminded everyone that the Board, at its previous meeting, issued a proclamation authorizing the District to continue hold remote meetings while the current state pandemic-related orders remain in effect.  However, at some point, the District will be forced to resume meeting in person.  In order to retain the option for some attendees to continue participating via Zoom, the District has been searching for a suitable location in which to install appropriate audio-visual equipment and hold hybrid (in-person plus Zoom) meetings.  Staff has concluded that the best choice is the District's property next to Foster Freeze a.k.a. "the Johnson Building." This site will also be useful for other meetings and staff trainings.  Work can probably be completed in mid-January 2022.

Director Fultz noted that the Administration Committee voted unanimously in favor of this at its meeting on October 12th.   He noted that Staff had produced a comprehensive list of possible locations, but – surprisingly – each of these turned out to have some issue, leaving the Johnson Building as the only viable option.

Director Henry said she had previously attended meetings in the Johnson Building and believed it would be a great location.  Director Smolley, Director Ackemann, and President Mahood agreed that the Johnson Building is the most attractive option, though Director Ackemann and President Mahood expressed concern about the District’s (currently open) long-term plans for its facilities.  Rick agreed that the Johnson Building wasn’t a perfect solution but said it will get the District through the next three years.   He said the Felton Library hopes to eventually become more available.  He also suggested that the District consider a formal name change for the Johnson Building.

Director Fultz commented that parking at the Johnson Building is limited but adequate, and he further observed that the audio-visual equipment can be relocated if necessary.  President Mahood summarized by saying that the Johnson Building offered the best way for the District to prepare for the possibility that it might be required to hold hybrid meetings on very short notice.

There was no public input.  Director Fultz moved to direct Staff to proceed with preparing the Johnson Building site to support hybrid meetings.  Director Ackemann seconded.  The motion passed 5-0.

 

New Business

California Special Districts Association (CSDA) 2021 Bylaw Vote

District Counsel Gina Nicholls introduced this agenda item.  She explained that CSDA members (such as the SLVWD) have the right to vote on revisions to the CSDA Bylaws; she outlined a handful of changes that the CSDA has most recently proposed, but she said she had no particular insight into these.

Director Fultz objected to the vague criteria for acceptance of new members and said he was generally concerned about increasing mechanisms for suppressing dissenting views.

There was no public input.  President Mahood moved that the District Secretary be instructed to enter a vote of “Yes.”  The motion passed 3-2 with Directors Fultz and Smolley opposing.

 

Award of Contract for Quail Hollow Pipeline Construction

District Engineer Josh Wolff introduced this agenda item.  This project includes construction of 1.3 miles of new 12- inch ductile iron pipe main, abandonment of the existing 6-inch transite pipe main, installation of additional fire hydrants, upgrade of existing fire hydrants, installation of required appurtenances, testing of all newly installed facilities, and restoration of the project area.  Rick described this as a key project for the District which will eliminate some significant current restrictions on water movement.  Josh said that 13 bids were received and reviewed, ranging from $2,387,000 to $4,534,438; Staff recommended accepting the low bid from Granite Rock of $2,387,000.

Director Smolley, Chair of the Engineering Committee, said the committee concurred with the Staff recommendation.  Josh had informed Granite Rock that they were high on their previous bids, and they apparently reacted to this.  Director Smolley also noted that Josh discussed the road resurfacing with the County, and they will offset some of our costs.  Lastly, he warned that there is a 120-day lead time on supplies.

Director Fultz was happy to see this project moving forward and glad that Granite Rock submitted the low bid.  He asked about people living on this road who are not SLVWD customers.  Rick said the District has reached out to them (to see if they would like to connect) and will do so again.  The District is willing to waive the installation cost and offer terms on the connection fee.  Director Fultz also asked what the original budget for this project was (in the 2019 $15 million COP).  Rick said he would have to check.

Director Henry said the Engineering Committee discussed this at length, and she concurred.

There was no public input.  Director Fultz moved to award the construction contract to Granite Creek based on its bid and to authorize the District Manager to execute this contract on behalf of the District.  Director Smolley seconded.  The motion passed 5-0.

 

Award of Contract for Management of Quail Hollow Pipeline Construction

District Engineer Josh Wolff introduced this as a companion agenda item devoted to management of the project just discussed.  He said there were four bidders from $163,554 to $305,635, and Staff recommended that the District work with the low bidder, MME.

Director Smolley said the Engineering Committee agreed with the Staff recommendation.  He said he was pleased to see that the other three bids came from companies that had not previously bid on District projects.

Director Henry said she believed MME was a great firm, and she concurred.  Director Ackemann wanted to know whether the person who ends up filling the currently open Project Manager position might be able to help with this kind of role.  Rick said the tasks were too technical and too extensive for this to be feasible.  Director Fultz congratulated Josh on getting multiple bidders.

There was no public input.  The motion to award the contract to MME passed 5-0.

Consent Agenda

No items were pulled from the Consent Agenda.

 

District Reports

Rick Rogers reported that Big Basin Water had a main break on their largest transmission main.  They contacted him 24 hours into the outage asking for help, and he sent a repair crew which made the necessary repairs.  The District is also assisting with analysis for potability.  The District is charging all time and materials to Big Basin Water.

Various Staff members responded to specific queries from Directors.  Environmental Manager Carly Blanchard said the District is working with PG&E on a potential mitigation project in the Olympia area.  This involves removing around five acres of French broom.  On the topic of Conjunctive Use, Carly said the District was currently responding to comments, and the issue would be brought to the Board in November for further discussion.

With regard to the Bear Creek Road slippage, District Engineer Josh Wolff said the County is delaying construction until spring.  The District has already moved its line to the uphill side of the road and installed a bypass.

Concerning the Huckleberry Island project, Director Henry expressed concern about the potential impact of impending heavy rains on the current pipeline.  Josh said that field Staff did quite a good job of securing the pipeline.  He felt confident that it will hold up even if there is heavy rain and significant slippage.  Rick added that heavy rain will also allow the District to put Foreman Creek back in service within a day or two, thereby providing an additional backup.

There was also an extended discussion about water conservation.  Rick argued that customers were already doing a good job of limiting indoor use, so it made sense for the District to simply promote a reduction in outdoor use.  The Board expressed a preference for gathering and sharing actionable data that would enable customers to quantify their conservation with respect to a meaningful baseline.  Speaking for the public, Cynthia Dzendzel suggested: (1) giving customers a clear gallons per person per day target, and (2) making it easier to educate customers about using their bills to calculate their gallons per day usage.  Director Fultz agreed.  Director Henry also agreed, arguing that the new Badger meters (with their associated online monitoring app) provide an important improvement in this regard.  Rick said that Badger meter installation is proceeding per plan; he agreed that it is currently difficult for customers to determine whether they have a Badger meter by viewing their bill, but he stressed that whenever there is a change of meter (or account owner), the customer is informed about using the Badger meters.  He also acknowledged the current difficulty in quantifying the amount of leakage.  He reported that there was a discussion in the Engineering Committee about increasing the frequency of leak detection surveys from every third year to every other year.  Leakage from the distribution system can account for only a part of unaccounted-for water (water production in excess of billed usage), as there can also be leaks associated with tanks and there is water used in non-revenue-producing activities like water treatment, flushing, and firefighting.  Rick said quantifying system losses would be a high priority for the new Project Manager, once that position is filled.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 PM.