SLVWD Board Meeting Summary
November 3, 2022
Mark Dolson
Highlights:
Lompico Assessment District Annual Report
Foreman Pipeline Rehabilitation Project Construction Grant
Multiple User Variance Renewals for 2022-23
Next Board meeting is at 6:30 PM on November 17th.
Preliminaries
There were no actions to report from Closed Session.
There was one non-agenda-related public comment. Jenni Gomez, a former public member of the SLVWD Environmental Committee and a current member of the County’s Fish and Wildlife Advisory Commission, addressed the Board on the topic of a grant opportunity involving Lake Lompico (locally known as “Guacamole Pond”). She described the half-acre pond as stinky, stagnant, and a 50-year community blight and hazard. The pond suffers from ongoing algae issues which can only be significantly impacted by an aeration system. She said neighbors have worked with the Resource Conservation District (RCD) to develop a grant proposal for a project that would fund an aeration system along with other initiatives such as trail development and invasive plant removal. The system has been specified, and the proposal needs to be submitted this evening. The one open issue is that the only way to obtain power for the aeration system is to plug into an adjacent SLVWD supply. Roughly $7 of electricity per month is needed. Jenni therefore requested immediate Board approval for plugging in.
President Mahood said the Board was legally prohibited from making a decision on a non-agendized topic. In view of this constraint, she asked what Jenni wanted the Board to do. Jenni said she could go ahead and submit the application this evening in the hope that District approval would be received in the next few weeks. If this approval was not forthcoming, she could withdraw the grant application. President Mahood said the timing was very tight. She advised Jenni that her options were either to wait for the District to get back to her or to find another source of power. She felt that the Brown Act prohibited any further discussion at this time.
President Mahood delivered a President’s Report with two items. First, she noted two informational letters in the Board packet from Special District Risk Management Authority (SDRMA) – the District’s insurance manager – congratulating the District on not needing to pay out any Property/Liability or Workman’s Compensation claims in 2021-2022. She thanked the Staff, as this ultimately saves the District money. Director Fultz asked if SDRMA had committed to reducing the District’s premium. District Manager Rick Rogers reported (at the end of the meeting) that this was good for a 1% discount.
Second, President Mahood said she wanted to inform the audience about an upcoming Airborne Electromagnetic Survey being conducted by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) in conjunction with the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014. She said a helicopter will be flying over parts of our watershed at a height of about 300 feet towing an instrumented loop about 75 feet across for about two weeks beginning November 6th. The flights will be conducted only in daylight hours and will not pass over any concentrations of businesses or houses. The Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency (SMGWA) has proposed some specific flightlines covering parts of Ben Lomond, Quail Hollow, and Zayante; Brookdale, Lompico and Glenwood; and along Zayante and Bean Creek and Lockhart Gulch.
The 75-foot loop uses current flow to generate a magnetic field which, in turn, induces current flow in the ground below. The field penetrates to a depth of 1000 feet to create images of underground geological structures, most importantly, aquifers. This makes it possible to determine the depth of the water table, connections to surface water, and seawater intrusion. DWR is creating a statewide grid of the electromagnetic surveys of groundwater basins in overdraft (all at no cost to local communities). They have already done a lot in the Central Valley (which was prioritized due to its overdraft status). The technique has already been used in the Watsonville area to detect seawater intrusion. SMGWA’s goal are better understanding underground structures in our watershed (to see where we might best locate new groundwater production wells), understanding linkages between lakes, springs, and marshes to understand fishery impacts, and figuring out structures in rock formations that might affect the performance of private wells. President Mahood expects to see interesting cross-section results in about a year.
Unfinished Business
None.
New Business
Lompico Assessment District Annual Report 2021-2022
The LAFCO Agreement governing the annexation of the Lompico District required the voters and/or homeowners of the Lompico Service Area to raise $2.75 million to go to the District for the purposes of funding infrastructure improvements solely for the benefit of the Lompico Service Area. Lompico home‐owners’ biannual contributions to the Assessment District Fund are collected by Santa Cruz County with property taxes. As of the end of Fiscal Year 2021‐2022 (June 30th of 2022), the total amount spent on Lompico Infrastructure Projects totaled $3,858,511. The total amount SLVWD will receive from Assessment District Proceeds by 2026 will be $2,933,734. Lompico Assessment District projects have exceeded this amount by $924,777. The Lompico Assessment District Committee (LADOC) is responsible for producing an annual oversight report.
Toni Norton (LADOC Chair) pointed the Board to the report in the Board packet and said she was very appreciative of all the support LADOC had received from Rick Rogers (District Manager), Holly Hossack (District Secretary), Kendra Reed (Finance Manager), and Stephanie Hill (former Finance Manager). She said all of the allocated funds have been spent, but one project remains to be completed.
Rick Rogers said Staff was asking the Board to review, receive, and accept this report which will also be posted on the District’s website. Rick described this as a successful consolidation. He said there were technically two projects left on the project list. The Distribution System Interconnection is about a year from completion and involves installation of a new 8” mainline replacing undersized piping to the Lompico Booster Station. The other project has been moved to the Maintenance category: the District is replacing service lines from the main to the meter on an as-needed basis. Rick explained that there has been an industry-wide discovery that the original materials were not long-lasting and need to be replaced, but the rate of failure has now slowed considerably.
Director Fultz (recently appointed as Board Liaison to LADOC) said he thanked the entire team for their work and dedication. He said there were four years left on the tax roll for the assessment, and he was very glad to see these projects at their current stage. Director Ackemann similarly congratulated Staff and Lompico residents for their commitment over many years.
There was no further public input. Director Fultz said there were some things the District could learn from this experience as past delays led to significant cost escalations. He hoped this would not happen again and suggested that appropriate assurances should be built into the District’s agreement. He also requested a more detailed explanation of how the “maintenance” on the service lines would be managed. Rick said lines usually start to leak, and the District then responds quickly because a catastrophic failure is coming. This results in less advance notice to customers than a regularly scheduled replacement program.
Director Fultz asked if the District incurred any overtime or other unnecessary costs. He also wanted to know if there might be an impending mass failure. Rick said the District does full-cost-accounting on all work in Lompico, and it was replacing the service lines below the bidded cost (thereby saving money). He added that since the District has dropped the pressure via main-line regulators, problems have slowed way down. The District keeps a pretty good inventory of the required replacement material to keep ahead of any potential procurement issues.
Director Mahood moved that the Board receive and accept the LADOC report and post it on the District’s website. Director Ackemann seconded. There was a unanimous voice vote in favor.
Foreman Pipeline Rehabilitation Project Construction Contract
District Engineer Josh Wolff introduced this agenda item. He explained that after the CZU Fire, the District moved quickly to get water back into the District’s Lyon Treatment Plant. The District contracted with Van der Steen Engineering to replace the destroyed pipeline running from the Foreman intake to the Lyon water treatment plant. To expedite the construction of the pipeline, Van der Steen graded a construction bench approximately 10 feet wide for the length of the pipeline. The goal of the rehabilitation project on this evening’s agenda is to re-grade the previous work area, and install permanent erosion control measures. This work will be 90% reimbursed by FEMA.
Josh reported that seven bids were received, and the low bid was from McGuire and Hester for $764,959. Staff reviewed the three lowest bids and recommended that the Board approve a contract with McGuire and Hester.
Director Fultz was intrigued by the Tecco Mat steel mesh which will be used to stabilize the hillside and wanted to know more about it. He asked if this was a new standard for permanent erosion control. Josh said it was not, but it is a material that has grown in popularity over the past 12 years (particularly with CalTrans), and could potentially be useful in upcoming situations. Like any other galvanized steel product, it will be okay unless there is an intense and sustained fire.
Director Smolley (Chair of the Engineering and Environmental Committee) praised Josh on receiving seven bids and said he had good previous experiences with McGuire and Hester. He had Rick confirm that this was a budgeted expense.
Director Hill said he liked learning about Tecco Mat. There was no public input. Director Fultz moved to direct the District Manager to enter into a contract with McGuire and Hester for $764,959. Director Smolley seconded.
The motion passed 5-0.
Multiple User Variance Renewals for 2022/2023
Finance Manager Kendra Reed reported that the Customer Service Department has completed its mandated annual review of the accounts that have been given a variance from multiple user status. Customers are allowed to apply for a variance if they are not renting out a second dwelling unit. Those who qualify for the exemption are charged the 5/8” monthly basic fee as a single-family dwelling, while those who are multiple users are charged the 1” monthly basic service fee. Two accounts were removed from the variance list because the property changed ownership, the unit was found to be a permanent single-family dwelling for which both units are occupied, or because the owner failed to send back the necessary compliance form.
Jeff Hill (Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee) said this made sense to him. He asked how many accounts were affected. Rick said 29 of 472 multi-user accounts received variances, and President Mahood noted that the total financial impact was only about $8300.
Director Fultz sought further detail about the two accounts that were removed, but Kendra said she would have to investigate further and report back. She said the District provided two notices before removing new owners from the list; the form is routinely sent out any time that ownership changes as part of the new-account process. Rick confirmed that this was in compliance with District ordinances (as opposed to State law).
There was no public comment. Director Ackemann moved to approve the variance, and President Mahood seconded. The motion passed 5-0.
Consent Agenda
There were no requests to pull any items, so the published minutes were accepted as is.
District Manager’s Report
None.
Department Status Reports
None.
Written Communications
There was no further discussion of written communications.
The Board adjourned at 7:15 PM.