SLVWD 10.7.21

SLVWD Board Meeting Summary

October 7, 2021

Mark Dolson

Highlights:

New requirements for remote meetings.
Consolidation of Forrest Springs and Bracken Brae mutuals.
CIP Pipeline Project contract.
FEMA Pipeline Project contract.
Huckleberry Island Engineering Consultant contract.
Springbrook Cloud Upgrade contract.
Next Board meeting is at 6:30 PM on October 21.

Preliminaries

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

Directors’ Reports

President Mahood reported that no parties have given notice to open the existing MOUs (relating to employment terms and conditions for District employees) for negotiation. This means that the two existing MOUs will continue to apply through the coming year. (In principle, either the District or the employees could have sought to introduce changes.)

President Mahood mentioned that the recent Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency (SMGWA) public hearing on its draft report attracted only a few public comments. She found this understandable, given the length and complexity of the report. In contrast, representatives of the National Marine Fisheries Service of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife had some more substantive comments. The next SMGWA meeting (November 17th) will consider comments and complete the final version of the report for submission by January 2022.

Unfinished Business

New Brown Act Requirements for Remote Meetings Under AB 361

Legal Counsel Gina Nicholls explained that this agenda item was a follow-up to the Board discussion on September 16th. AB 361 has now taken effect, and Governor Newsome has rescinded his most recent executive order (which originally extended the October 1st deadline for the mandated return to in-person meetings to the end of 2021). This means that remote meetings can now only be undertaken by complying with the terms of AB 361.

Gina reminded everyone that the Brown Act allows remote meetings only with a quorum of Board or Committee members physically present at a location within District boundaries. Also, any remote participant must post the agenda at their remote location, and this location must be identified in the agenda. The governor’s executive order overrode this requirement during the pandemic, and AB 361 allows for an alternate override.

AB 361 allows remote meetings to continue without the Brown Act’s in-person requirements so long as the Board formally makes the following specific findings every 30 days:

A proclaimed state of emergency is in effect.
State or local officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing.
As a result of the emergency, meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees.

Gina included a resolution to this effect in the Board packet.

Director Ackemann asked about a companion bill (AB 339, which was vetoed by the governor when he signed AB 361). Gina said this bill would have had no impact on SLVWD. It would have made it a requirement for city and county governments with more than 250,000 residents to enable remote meetings.

Director Fultz asked if there was any objective criterion as to what constitutes a state of emergency. Gina said the District is relying on the governor’s proclamation that a state of emergency remains in effect.

Director Henry said she really liked in-person meetings (particularly for meeting public attendees) but that the District currently lacks a suitable space for accommodating a hybrid (Zoom plus in-person) meeting. President Mahood said District Manager Rick Rogers has been working with the Administration Committee on identifying a larger alternative meeting space. Director Fultz (chair of the Administration Committee) elaborated, saying that AB 361 buys the District some time to select and equip a suitable space. Rick added that the Administration Committee will discuss this further on October 12th and is hoping to come to the full Board with a recommendation in the next month or two.

President Mahood asked if the Board can fulfill the requirement for renewing the resolution every 30 days via the Consent Agenda. Gina said this will require further investigation and discussion.

Director Henry moved to approve the resolution authorizing the continuation of remote meetings during the pandemic, and Director Fultz seconded. There was no public comment. The motion passed 5-0.

New Business

Consolidation of Forest Springs and Bracken Brae Mutuals Into SLVWD

District Manager Rick Rogers introduced this agenda item. He explained that Forest Springs (with 128 connections) and Bracken Brae (with 24 connections) are mutual water companies (private not-for-profit organizations) located off of Big Basin Highway three miles outside of downtown Boulder Creek, adjoining the SLVWD service area. Both were severely impacted by the CZU Fire, and both purchase their water from Big Basin Water, which was also severely impacted by the CZU Fire.

Both Forest Springs and Bracken Brae mutuals have contacted the District to explore the possibility of consolidating their water systems into SLVWD. Both mutuals are located in the District’s “Sphere of Influence” and would not require annexation into the District. However, considerable distribution upgrades/replacements would be needed to ensure reliable potable water and fire flow. These include replacement of currently undersized water main pipes in the SLVWD’s system, construction of new pipelines to provide interconnections to the two mutuals, and installation of a new pump station to reach the higher service elevations. The cost of this consolidation is estimated at $4.29 million.

Both mutuals are already responsible for upgrading/replacing their own distribution/storage facilities, and the additional consolidation costs would be prohibitive without grant funding. The Department of Water Resources, Division of Regional Assistance Small Community Drought Relief Program provides grant funding for small community water systems, and the State has appropriated two hundred million dollars for this program in response to the 2021 drought.

On September 20, 2021, the District submitted a grant application to the Department of Water Resources for improvements needed to consolidate Forest Springs and Bracken Brae mutuals into the San Lorenzo Valley Water District for $4.29 million. For grant support the District has reached out to Supervisor McPherson, State Assemblymember Stone, and State Senator Laird. The Department of Water Resources should complete its review in approximately two months.

These potential consolidations are contingent on this grant being received and would probably require two years of construction. Many details still need to be hammered out, and the two mutuals have so far only asked SLVWD to explore the possibility. The District is currently moving forward with this exploration, but it has not yet made any commitment, and no grant funds will be expended until the District has full commitments from all parties. Substantial community outreach will also be needed to Forest Springs and Bracken Brae customers. This agenda item only asks the Board to approve the grant submission.

Director Fultz said he felt some concern in that the District would be, to some extent, morally committed to proceed if the grant is approved. He stated that the District’s policy regarding consolidation should be that candidates should approach the District and should have a system that already meets District standards. At the same time, he said he would very much like to see these two systems join the District provided that they do so in the right way. He recommended that the Board direct the District Manager to continue negotiations in parallel on the assumption that the grant application will be approved.

Director Henry said she was in favor of supporting our neighbors, but the District should be careful as she had yet to see a consolidation that goes perfectly. She recommended letting Rick Rogers work this out with the two mutuals and then come back to the Board with a plan.

Director Smolley agreed with Director Fultz that Rick should move ahead as quickly as possible to develop MOUs with the two mutuals in advance of the state’s response to the grant application. He asked whether the District had sufficient water capacity to support this consolidation without drawing down its wells. Rick said CEQA will flesh this out, but he believed the District could pull Bracken Brae water from other areas of its system and allow their spring source to come back to Boulder Creek.

Director Smolley also asked about the District’s staffing capacity for undertaking the necessary new construction. Rick said the District could make this work. Director Smolley asked whether Forest Springs and Bracken Brae would be able to provide any of the necessary support. Rick said the biggest workload would be in putting together the agreements. He thought that there might be some synergy with the District’s 236 project (i.e., using the same inspectors), but he acknowledged that the Staff can’t take on much more and that working with the communities will be a challenge. Director Smolley said he encouraged outside engineering resources to supplement Staff, and he suggested that this should have been part of the grant application.

Lastly, Director Smolley asked why there was no provision in the grant application for potential cost overruns. Rick said he used higher prices on pipes as a precaution. He suggested that overruns within the Forest Springs and Bracken Brae communities should be covered by them. Director Smolley asked how this would work, and Rick said the District can go back to the State for overruns within the agreed-upon scope of work.

Director Ackemann said she agreed with the concerns that had been raised. She still wanted to better understand the potential long-term costs, but Rick was unable to say much more.

President Mahood wanted to know who the District is explicitly negotiating with (i.e., what specific entities are involved, do they represent the will of the people, and is there potential for this to become a political issue?). Gina said the mutual water companies are legal entities that the District can negotiate with. It will want to see their bylaws to understand their relationship with their members, and all of this will inform the MOUs. Rick said there were a lot of questions still to be answered.

Nicole Launder Berridge, Water Commissioner for the Bracken Brae Country Club Mutual Water Company, spoke during the public input phase of the discussion. She explained that the CZU Fire resulted in the loss of seven residences, a treatment plant, and some storage (40,000 gallons, of which 20,000 have been replaced). Bracken Brae has submitted $3.5 million in damages to FEMA and has been in active discussion with its community about next steps. A straw poll his past weekend was in favor of connecting with SLVWD. A formal vote will open November 6th, but Nicole said the Board had already voted to approve the opening of negotiations. The November vote is to make sure the community is on the same page.

Director Fultz asked if they intended to complete all of their system upgrades, and Nicole said they have asked FEMA to cover this (including upgrades to their fire hydrants). She said they would need to upgrade their meters (currently used only to detect leaks) to the WiFi-connected models. Director Smolley confirmed with Nicole that negotiations can proceed immediately, and Director Ackemann thanked Nicole for being so well prepared.

President Mahood moved to authorize the District to apply for grant funding in support of the proposed consolidation and to direct the District Manager to begin negotiations immediately and to report back by the first Board meeting in November. Director Fultz seconded this motion. There was no further public input, and the motion passed 5-0.

Capital Improvement Program Pipeline Project Design Award and Contract

Engineering Manager Josh Wolff introduced this agenda item. He explained that four bids were received for the 2021 CIP Pipeline Project (which involves replacing about 1.6 miles of pipeline along with the Blue Ridge Tank). The bids ranged from $286,080 (Sandis) to $384,100 (Freyer & Laureta). Happily, the Sandis proposal was complete and thorough and went a bit beyond what the District request. Director Smolley said Sandis had really thought carefully about the project, and he concurred with Josh and Rick that Sandis was the best choice.

Director Fultz asked whether the Engineering Committee had reviewed the proposals, and Director Smolley said the timing did not allow for this. Director Fultz observed that Sandis had done good work for the District in the past but that they had seemed confused in a previous bid as to what the District was looking for. He was glad that they were able to respond more persuasively in this instance.

Director Smolley moved to direct the District Manager to enter into a contract with Sandis, and Director Ackemann seconded. There was no public input. The motion passed 5-0.

2021 Federal Emergency Management Agency Pipeline Project Design Award of Contract

Engineering Manager Josh Wolff introduced this agenda item as a sister project to the immediately preceding agenda item. It involves replacing about 2000 feet of undersized pipeline and the Eckley Booster Station. There were two bids, both from firms which have done good work for the District in the past, and the Sandis bid was the lowest ($171,00 vs. $264,00). Director Smolley added that Sandis provided a concise and responsive proposal that was not just boilerplate. He agreed with Josh and Rick that Sandis was the best choice.

Director Fultz asked if this project will be 75% covered by FEMA. Rick said the District is still awaiting FEMA’s decision.

Director Smolley moved to direct the District Manager to enter into a contract with Sandis for $171,000. Director Fultz seconded this. There was no public input. The motion passed 5-0.

Huckleberry Island Engineering Consultant Contract

Engineering Manager Josh Wolff introduced this agenda item. He explained that the District had already committed to working with MME Civil and Structural Engineers for the permanent repair discussed at the previous Board meeting. This project includes a topographic survey, plans and specifications for a new bridge crossing, and about 700 feet of 12” pipeline rerouting. The choice of MME was based on their availability, their proven track record, and the fact that they were the original design engineers on the bridge that will carry the new pipeline. This item was being brought to the Board for retroactive approval.

Director Smolley noted that the quoted cost is only for the Phase 1 conceptual plan. He estimated that there might ultimately be an additional $100,000 of design cost. He also wanted to know how long Phase 1 was expected to take. Josh said the District did not yet have a hard number but that it will be as soon as possible (i.e., this year). A survey is already scheduled for October 18th, so the project should be finished by early December. Director Smolley also asked about the status of negotiations with affected property owners. Rick said that Gina and he have met with the HOA but were still waiting for survey results to determine which easements are needed. Lastly, Director Smolley asked who owns the bridge. Gina said the District has requested documents from the HOA and that she knows of no reason that the District would not be able to get a right of way for the bridge.

Director Fultz asked if MME understood that their work product would be the property of SLVWD, and Josh said they do. Director Henry expressed concern about how long the whole process might take, particularly if the valley receives a lot of rain this winter. Rick said the District had installed isolation valves as a precaution against the possibility that the embankment might yet slump further.

Director Smolley moved to authorize the District Manager to issue a contract to MME Engineers for $44,000 for the pipeline conceptual design. Director Fultz seconded. There was no public input. The motion passed 5-0.

Springbrook Cloud Upgrade Contract

Acting Finance Manager Kendra Reed introduced this agenda item. She explained that the District upgraded its utility billing software (which includes Utility Billing, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Inventory Control, Purchase Orders, Fixed Assets, Cash Receipts, Clearing House, General Ledger, and the Work Orders modules) to Springbrook in 2015 but that no cloud option was available at that time. This has now changed, and there are numerous benefits to switching over. She particularly emphasized reduced cost (e.g., the District will no longer have to maintain and replace a dedicated server, so the total cost of ownership over six years with the cloud-based software provides a savings of almost 7%) and improved reporting (using the Tableau capability in place of the current labor-intensive Excel manipulations).

Director Fultz saw this as a very good development. He advocated for moving all the District’s operation to the cloud, not only for cost and operational benefits but also for security benefits (i.e., taking advantage of the Microsoft Azure protections). He described Tableau as a great tool and asked if it was still in beta. Kendra said she would need to find out.

Director Ackemann asked what demands the transition will place on Staff. Kendra said she had asked the sales representative about migration, and all of the new modules were said to be pretty similar. Staff will definitely need training on Tableau.

Director Smolley asked about the anticipated conversion timeframe. Kendra said it will take 3-4 months after the contract is signed for the District to be placed on Springbrook’s schedule. She didn’t know how long it might be after that. Meanwhile, the District will run concurrent systems. Director Smolley wasn’t persuaded that the District’s “discount” was anything special, but Kendra had no comment as she was not involved in the initial contract.

Director Ackemann moved to instruct the District Manager to enter into a contract with Springbrook to upgrade their software. Director Fultz seconded. There was no public input. The motion passed 5-0.

FSLVW