SLVWD Board Meeting Summary
January 16, 2025
Mark Dolson
Highlights:
Conducting Public Meetings (Annual Reminder of Brown Act Requirements)
Committee Appointments for Public Applicants (Engineering and Environmental Committees)
Creation of Ad Hoc Committee (for Consolidations)
Quarterly Status Reports
Next Board meeting will be at 6:30 PM on February 6, 2025
Preliminaries
All five Directors were present.
No reportable actions were taken in the preceding Closed Session.
There were no changes to the agenda.
There were no public comments on topics not on the agenda.
Presentations
Conducting Public Meetings
Christina Pritchard of White Brenner LLP read through a lengthy set of slides reviewing Brown Act requirements and good meeting practices:
Director Largay had no questions. Director Layng had multiple questions, but it was difficult to follow the exchange between Christina and her. Christina resolved one possible discrepancy by saying that legal guidance was protected from disclosure when it would affect District litigation, whereas legal guidance relating to recusal could be freely disclosed.
A question of interest to both Director Layng and President Smolley involved the right of Directors to publish opinion pieces. Christina stated that multiple Directors could freely express their personal opinions (i.e., speaking as ratepaying citizens) in newspapers (in print or online), but then she hedged her response by saying that this would only become problematic if the forum in question allowed for interaction.
There were two comments relating to the updated legal constraints on remote meetings. Director Hill opined that these were very confusing, and the legislature had done a terrible job. District Secretary Jen Torres asked how to handle a situation in which a Director wanted to attend a meeting remotely from a location that did not allow for public posting of the agenda. Christina advised that it should simply be posted on the front door of whatever space was being utilized.
Unfinished Business
None.
New Business
Committee Appointments for Public Applicants
Interim General Manager John Kunkel introduced this agenda item. The Board decided at its previous meeting to return to treating the Engineering and Environmental Committee as two separate committees. This meant that up to three (or possibly more) members of the public could be appointed to each.
President Smolley said District Secretary Jen Torres had confirmed the applicants’ preferences, and the individual Board members had submitted their recommendations. He proposed that applicants Duffy, Mikkelson, and Willliams should be appointed to the Engineering Committee, and that applicants Cleveland, Grace, and Lande should be appointed to the Environmental Committee.
One member of the public (Bill Smallman, an applicant who was attending the meeting remotely and was not on the list of recommended appointees) attempted to comment, but his audio connection did not enable him to be heard.
President Smolley moved to make his proposed appointments official (and to set the committee sizes to five), and Director Hill seconded.
The motion passed 5-0.
Creation of an Ad Hoc Committee
President Smolley introduced this agenda item. He said that Interim General Manager John Kunkel and he were in agreement that it would be helpful to create an Ad Hoc Committee to formalize and augment President Smolley’s efforts relating to the pending consolidations of Bracken Brae (BB) and Forest Springs (FS). His memo in the Board Packet provided further relevant background:
The District’s proposed three-phase plan to construct the infrastructure necessary to consolidate BB and FS into the District’s system consists of:
Phase 1 is a mainline which replaces portions of an existing four-inch line currently providing water to master meters in BB and FS. The contractor’s bid for this work is $3,253,580 and will be funded by a grant from the California Department of Water Resources and by the District. In December 2024, the Board approved a contract for Anderson Pacific Engineering for this work.
Phase 1 Bid Alternate is for the infrastructure in Bracken Brae, which includes a 10-inch pipeline and five fire hydrants. The contractor’s bid for this work is $2.2 million and is expected to be partially funded by a FEMA grant ($1.265 million). The sources for the remainder of the funding are yet to be determined.
Phase 2 consists of additional mainline piping, a pumping station and water storage tanks. The engineer’s estimate for this work is $12 million and the engineering design is 90% complete. This work would provide Fire Water service for existing District customers, along with BB & FS residents. The District has a pre-award grant from the EPA ($959,000) for the water storage tank(s). No other funding sources have been identified yet.
Phase 3 consists of the infrastructure for Forest Springs, which is estimated to cost at in the range of $5 to $7 million. The engineering design for this work is about 30% complete and funding sources have not been identified.
Bracken Brae
The Phase 1 Bid Alternate includes new water lines and fire hydrants. However, even though fire hydrants are part of this work, these will not provide sufficient water pressure or capacity to meet Fire Service requirements. This will not occur until Phase 2 construction is completed and new water storage tanks are constructed.
It is possible that the District could construct a portion of the BB infrastructure in 2025 utilizing the FEMA grant. However, before the District can consider this possibility, it needs to obtain and review the FEMA grant document in addition to obtaining easements and other documents.
Forest Springs
Forest Springs’ water system was initially installed in the 1920s and 1930s to support homes that were primarily used as summer or vacation residences. There were substantial updates to the system in the 1970s but nothing significant since that period. All of this infrastructure will need to be replaced.
Information Sources
In an effort to determine a roadmap for Consolidation, other agencies and organizations were contacted to better understand the process and seek out possible reference examples. John Kunkel and Mark Smolley met with two representatives of the State Water Resources Control Board. They provided general State guidelines and considerations for consolidations, but were not able to cite any examples of Consolidation agreements.
John and Mark also met with two representatives of Moonshot Missions (MM), a non-profit that focuses on water resources for low-income communities. MM seemed to be well versed in the various State and Federal programs that could provide support and resources to assist in the Consolidation efforts, and they are willing to provide guidance on obtaining grants or other funding. In addition, they provided a Consolidation Agreement that was used by the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) which contains information that could be useful moving forward.
President Hill commented that the Ad Hoc Search Committee with former Director Ackemann and himself seeking a new General Manager was useful, and he viewed the proposed new Ad Hoc Committee as both useful and essential.
Director Fultz agreed and asked if the Ad Hoc Committee’s responsibility would extend to establishing more general District policies with regard to consolidation. President Smolley said he hoped this would be possible.
Director Largay said he was in full support, though he was agnostic about the potential for establishing a template for future consolidations. He also questioned why this wasn’t being driven by Staff, as he preferred to rely on Staff expertise for highly technical matters. President Smolley said the District was limited in how much it can ask Staff to do. He said he himself had many years of experience doing this, but he wasn’t proposing that he be hired. Similarly, Interim General Manager John Kunkel could do this, but he is limited in the number of hours he can work. Also, President Smolley didn’t want the knowledge to leave with John when the District gets a permanent General Manager. Director Largay accepted this but noted that there were currently Staff vacancies that urgently needed to be filled.
There were three public comments. Karen Vitale of Forest Springs said she thought the Ad Hoc Committee was a good idea as an interim solution for not having sufficient staff and also to address the continuity issue. She said Staff disruptions over at least the past two years had really hampered this project, and it was challenging and frustrating to have to bring everything to Board level. She thought Staff members would necessarily be consulted on technical questions.
Nicole Launder Berridge of Bracken Brae said she was excited to have this Ad Hoc Committee to begin to pick up where things left off 15 months ago. She said Bracken Brae needed to utilize its FEMA funding.
An unidentified member of the community asked some basic questions about the current project status.
President Smolley moved to establish an Ad Hoc Committee consisting of Director Fultz and himself. He said Director Fultz brought a lot of otherwise absent historical knowledge and financial expertise. Director Fultz said he was willing to serve on the committee, and he seconded the motion. Director Layng said she would have preferred two separate motions, one establishing the committee and the other establishing its membership.
The motion passed 4-1, with Director Layng opposed.
Quarterly Status Reports
Environmental Programs Manager Chris Klier briefly summarized the Environmental report. He noted that the District had received a Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Small-Scale Efficiency Grant Program grant of $100,000 to replace 443 meters in Ben Lomond with smart meters. He also reported that the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) funded by CalOES is nearing completion: a draft plan will be released for public review in January and brought before the Board at its next meeting. Lastly, he said invasive removal at the Olympia Watershed property (funded by a CAL FIRE Forest Health Grant, managed by the Resource Conservation District) began in November and was due to complete in March.
Director Largay said he really appreciated all the work that was being performed, particularly as the Environmental Department was missing a position that he hoped could soon be filled. His one request was for a consistent labeling mechanism (e.g., the CIP identification code) to facilitate tracking of projects with the 2021 Master Plan as a reference.
Director Layng noted that the District has submitted a claim in the settlement against 3M and DuPont for the use of PFAS (“forever chemicals”) in fire-fighting chemicals. (A claim will also be submitted against Tyco and BASF. The class for these settlements is all U.S. public water systems.) She asked for more information. Chris said the District was eligible to submit a claim because it detected small amounts of PFAS at one location. Director Fultz subsequently asked how this compared to the minimum acceptable level. Chris said he didn’t know, but it was minuscule. President Smolley said the PFAS might have been detected at a well site but not the treatment plant. He asked Chris to bring this back to the Board at an upcoming meeting.
Director Layng also expressed concern about the lack of grant applications (only one submitted) in 2024. Chris said the District had recently released an RFP for a grant writer.
Director Hill asked for more details on the broom removal, citing the high potential for this to grow back rapidly. Director Fultz agreed. Chris said this would depend on the follow-up. He said the District expected to revegetate with native plants. He added that the high-value area is insulated from the edges.
Director Fultz complimented the structure of the Environmental Status report, and he asked if there was any concern about grant expiration dates. Chris said he was tracking this and requesting an extension where needed.
Director Fultz asked about potential hillside slippage below the Highland Tank. Garrett said he was in discussion with an engineer who was recommending a debris wall to stabilize the slope above the tank.
With regard to the Loch Lomond study (part of the Conjunctive Use Plan), Director Fultz asked if the District had numbers yet from the City of Santa Cruz as to what they will charge for raw and treated water. Garrett said the District was in discussion with Scotts Valley and the City of Santa Cruz (who are doing a cost-of-service study for what they will charge each other for treated water via their pending intertie). They hope to complete this in 2026, and this will inform the price for SLVWD, but only for treated water. President Smolley added that this will be discussed further in an upcoming agendized item.
Director Fultz noted that the District was now in its eighth year of a contract with Jodi McGraw for its Habitat Conservation Plan. He asked if there was an estimated completion date. Chris said he had been following up with her. He added that the Robson agreement gives the District something clearer to aim for.
Engineering Manager Garrett Roffe answered questions about the Engineering report. President Smolley and he engaged in an extended back-and-forth aimed at assuring President Smolley that Garrett would get feedback from Sandis as soon as possible re: the feasibility of the alternate bridge project for connecting to Bracken Brae (so as to avoid any wasted expenditures by Sandis).
President Smolley also asked for clarification re: the six replacement tanks that were to be funded by a $4.5 million DWR grant, given that it now appears that this funding will only cover three tanks. Garrett said there was money for the design phases, but construction funding remains TBD. Director Fultz expressed concern both about this and the worsening prospects for grant funding in general.
Director Fultz asked for further detail regarding the Felton Heights tank project. Garrett said the feasibility memo was under staff review. There was a meeting January 16th with a neighborhood representative. The owner has specific concerns, some about tax liability, some about downhill neighbors. There has been no appraisal yet, and the owner is concerned about triggering a property tax reassessment.
Director Fultz asked about the status of tank coatings. Garrett said these were awaiting design.
Director Layng called attention to the portion of the report discussing the proposed Haven housing development on Graham Hill Road. The report stated, “The District provided … review comments to County of Santa Cruz .... All four parcels do not have frontage on a road with a District water main, as such a main extension would be required for this development to be served. The specifics of such a main extension would need to be confirmed with a hydraulic analysis of the surrounding service area. This analysis must be performed by a licensed engineer and would consider existing/anticipated demand, existing pipe sizes, connection locations, available supply, and requirements for adequate fireflow. APN 061-441-05 is currently within the District’s LAFCO Sphere of Influence but not within the District’s Jurisdictional Boundary. APN 061-441-06 is currently not within either boundary. This would have to be rectified through a LAFCO boundary change prior to service. Each requirement is the sole responsibility of the developer. The District would provide informational support, infrastructure data and underground locating of District utilities. District staff would oversee all connections to existing water mains and install all water meters. Service would ultimately need to be approved by the San Lorenzo Valley Water District Board of Directors.” Director Layng said she hoped the Sphere of Influence could be examined in the Administration Committee. She also hoped the District could make progress on grants.
Director Largay said he was excited with the progress that is taking place. He remained concerned about the potential for hoses to run dry in the event of a wildfire. The Master Plan says the majority of the District’s hydrants have too little fireflow. A Felton firefighter informed him that they assume the hydrants won't work, so they bring their own water. Director Largay added that the Master Plan has a roster of maybe twenty projects to address this, but it's hard to link these to the status report. He suggested that a table would really help with tracking project progress.
There was one public comment. Karen Vitale of Forest Springs noted that the table of grants characterized Drinking Water State Revolving Fund as rejected. She asked that the Ad Hoc Committee address this. She said the money was out there, and the District may have merely initially requested too large a sum. With regard to a separate question, Garrett said he hoped to issue a notice to proceed next week.
Finance Consultant Heather Ippoliti was not available to discuss the Finance report due to illness.
Consent Agenda
There was one item on the Consent Agenda:
a. Board Minutes from 1.2.25
The Consent Agenda was deemed to be adopted by unanimous vote.
President Smolley called attention to a plaque that the District received, certifying it as a green business. Chris Klier provided some background: he said the District was recognized this week at meeting of a program run by the County. The certification is based on seven separate categories. SLVWD was certified in 2017, and it implemented further changes that led to its being recertified in 2024. President Smolley asked if the District could derive some concrete benefit from this (e.g., by citing in grant applications), and Chris said this was conceivable.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM.