SLVWD Board Meeting Summary

January 18, 2024

Mark Dolson

Highlights:

  • Low Income Rate Assistance Program

  • Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Policy

  • Integrated Regional Water Management

  • Next Board meeting is at 6:30 PM on February 1, 2024

Preliminaries

All five Directors were present.

There was no Closed Session prior to the meeting.

There were no public comments.

 

Unfinished Business

Low Income Rate Assistance Program

Heather Ippoliti (Interim Finance Director) introduced this agenda item.   She said Staff was recommending that the Ratepayer Assistance Program (RAP) discount increase from $15 per month to $20 per month effective March 1st, assuming that the rate increase is adopted.

President Hill asked how much the District anticipated spending vs. the amount budgeted.  Heather said $7260 out of a budgeted $20,000 had been spent by December 31st.   She said the budgeted amount would increase to $25,000 for the next fiscal year.  $20 corresponds to $240 per year (which would allow for 104 people with funding set at $25,000).

Director Smolley asked if any consideration had been given to changing the qualifying criteria (because it’s difficult to navigate the PG&E qualification process).  Heather said she didn’t want to put Staff in the position of determining customer eligibility.  Director Fultz also worried about the need to share Personal Identifying Information in this scenario.

Director Fultz restated his belief that the State was failing to fulfill its obligation to provide funding for this kind of program.  He urged the District to join with other districts to demand State funding.  His view was that using SLVWD funds for the RAP was basically giving the legislature a pass.

Director Ackemann said she supported the increase as a step in the right direction.  Director Mahood voiced support as well.  She saw $240 per year as a significant amount, and she supported the incremental increase from $15 to $20 as a prudent way to assess the elasticity of demand.   She said Director Smolley’s concern about accessibility had been taken up by the Budget and Finance Committee, particularly with regard to the fact that the current solution only works for property owners, so renters are currently ineligible.  She thought it might be worthwhile for the Budget and Finance Committee to investigate further.

Director Smolley moved to approve the increase from $15 to $20, and Director Ackemann seconded this.  There was no public comment.  The motion passed 4-1, with Director Fultz opposed.

 

Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Policy

Interim General Manager Brian Frus introduced this agenda item.  He said Staff was asked in December to do some general clean-up and to explicitly include Board and Committee members as subjects of the policy.  Legal Counsel added some further edits to align with the latest legal requirements.  The Staff-recommended resolution would approve the revised policy, but Brian noted that the Board Policy Manual specifies that the policy will still be reviewed annually.  Legal Counsel Barbara Brenner advised that she also wanted to remove the term “with malice” from a context in which it did not add value.

Directors Smolley and Ackemann each had questions about how Board committee members would be impacted.  Director Mahood said committee members were equally included except that they were not required to undergo the mandated training.  She also noted that the wording in the training section needed to be changed slightly to indicate that Board members would be required to complete two hours of training, the same as supervisory and managerial employees.

Director Fultz recommended further detailed revisions and raised a technical question that Barbara said she would have to get back to him on.  Director Mahood disagreed with Director Fultz’s underlying premises.  She said it was not confusing to specifically reference Directors and Board committee members in each new section because someone consulting only a single section of the document might not otherwise realize its full scope, given that those sections currently only specify employees.  She also argued that the District’s policy didn’t need to exactly match the language in existing laws; it is the District’s policy and the District is free to include what it wants, so long as it is not inconsistent with existing law.  She didn’t want the District to engage in further detailed revisions purely to achieve a perfect alignment.  Lastly, she said she appreciated the newly added examples of unacceptable behavior under the Sexual Harassment section, in particular clarifying what constituted Hostile Workplace harassment. She similarly welcomed the addition of the new section on Abusive Conduct/Workplace Bullying, and, again, the specific examples of prohibited conduct, which she thought were particularly useful in circumstances when there is an imbalance of power between supervisor and subordinate or Board member and staff.

There were two public comments.  Rick Moran of Ben Lomond observed that everyone supports this kind of policy, but he said he still wanted to read a statement that he had prepared, based on his assumption that this agenda item would be used to make accusations against Director Fultz (which it was not).  Rick argued that putting all the blame for departing Staff members on one person oversimplified the problem.  He said the District had dealt with departures in the past, and these were career decisions that were not the fault of one person.  He also said he had attended many Board meetings and witnessed many personal attacks and repetitive attempts at persuasion.  He further observed that Director Fultz has been elected to Boards in the SLV on three separate occasions, yet he has never served as chair.  Rick said this indicated that Director Fultz was not trusted.  However, Rick argued that, just as you would in raising your children, if you want people to act responsibly, you must give them responsibility.  He also suggested that Director Fultz should be receptive to feedback.   Lastly, he repeated his previous recommendation that the Board seek additional training to improve its working effectiveness.

Bruce Holloway of Boulder Creek was concerned by a statement near the end of the policy that read: “An employee or Board member who engages in unlawful harassment may be held personally liable for the misconduct.”   He asked what this meant.  Who was going to sue?  What if someone accidentally knocked over a cup of coffee on someone’s laptop?  What if a new Board member refuses to sign on to this policy?

Director Fultz applauded Bruce Holloway’s question and asked how enforcement would work.  Director Mahood explained that the "may” in that statement makes it clear that the District is not required to indemnify bad actors, and it was reasonable to alert people to this.  Director Smolley further noted that the reference to “unlawful” harassment made it clear that a Director in engaging in such behavior was breaking the law and so, of course, could be sued personally.  Barbara added that there was nothing unusual about the District’s policy in this regard.  There is always a possibility of litigation.

Director Smolley moved to approve the revised policy statement, and Director Ackemann seconded.   The motion passed 5-0.

New Business

Integrated Regional Water Management

Environmental Planner Carly Blanchard introduced this agenda item.  She explained that Staff was seeking Board approval of two related agreements.  These were a 2024 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and a Local Project Sponsor Agreement (LPSA) for a funding award with the Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) on behalf of the District.  The MOA was simply due for an update.  The LPSA was for a grant of $305,000 (with a 50% match) to fire-harden 13 pump house structures.

Director Smolley asked if the budget included a provision for matching the required $305,000.  Carly said it did.  Director Smolley congratulated her on lining up another grant.

There was one public comment.  Bruce Holloway of Boulder Creek said he was confused by one of the paragraphs, and he also complained that he couldn’t get the embedded links to work.  Other people, though, all reported that the links worked for them.

Director Mahood moved to approve both agreements.  President Hill seconded.  The motion passed 5-0.

 

Consent Agenda

There were two items:

a. BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES 12.7.23

b. GRANT RESOLUTIONS – DISTRICT MANAGER TITLE CHANGE

Neither item was pulled for discussion.  There was no public comment.  The motion to approve passed 5-0.

 

District Reports

Director Fultz sought an update on the Felton Heights Tank.  Operations Director James Furtado said the topographic survey was complete, and the next step was a geotechnical assessment of the tank site.

Director Fultz also asked about the Fall Creek Fish Ladder.  District Engineer Garret Roffe said there was a one-week delay.  Director Fultz urged the District to host an open house upon completion of the project, and Environmental Planner Carly Blanchard said one was planned.  He also said he was really happy to see so much progress on numerous engineering projects.

Director Smolley asked about a reference to Phase 2 plans for the Bracken Brae and Forest Springs consolidation.  He wanted to know what was happening and where the money was coming from.  Brian and Garrett clarified that work is proceeding only on those parts of the projects that can be paid for with grant funding already awarded by the State (about $3.2M), largely pipelines and pump stations.  Phase 2 refers to projects, mostly tanks, that would be required for a complete consolidation with these two water mutuals, but for which there is no funding in hand.  These Phase 2 projects are in the planning stage only.  Phase 2 does not include laterals in Forest Springs, for which Forest Springs hired engineers directly.

Director Smolley also asked what was changed in the new version of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Lomond Feasibility Study in order to attract more potential vendors (since none responded to the first RFP).  Carly said the time frame was extended in response to vendor feedback.  Lastly, Director Smolley asked about the status of the Environmental Impact Report for Conjunctive Use.  Carly said the memo was currently under review.

Director Fultz asked if there had been any conversations yet with the City of Santa Cruz regarding the potential cost to the District if it were to purchase treated water from the City as opposed to utilizing its contractual allocation of raw water from Loch Lomond.   Brian said he had plans to meet with, Heidi Luckenbach, the new Director when she assumes responsibility in February.

Brian presented a General Manager’s Report for the 4th Quarter of 2023.   He first summarized current activities, then offered an observation, and closed with a quick look-ahead to the next quarter.  Brian reported that everyone was working hard.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

  • 2023 Rate Study

    • Carly updated the Administration Committee January 18th on plans for the January 20th event.  This will essentially be an open house with senior staff available to answer questions one-on-one.

    • Brian personally undertook some technical analysis of specific rate effects to support outreach efforts.

  • Compensation Study

    • There were three candidates, but one was an obvious top choice (interviewed by Brian and Directors Hill and Mahood of the Budget and Finance Committee).   An agreement is being negotiated and will be presented to the Board for approval February 1st.

  • Budget Review and Reconciliation

    • Brian and Heather are currently reviewing all Capital Improvement Project budgets and funding sources.  Based on this, Brian will be prioritizing projects based on the availability of funding, the funding source and any time constraints within which grant, FEMA, or loan money has to be spent, the urgency of a project, and its importance to the overall infrastructure or to operational efficiency.

  • Big Basin Water Company (BBWC)

    • Brian is working on a draft of an agreement for operation of the emergency intertie between SLVWD and BBWC.  His promised letter in response to a request by a coalition of BBWC ratepayers that SLVWD begin consolidation with BBWC was included in the Board packet.

  • Bracken Brae (BB) and Forest Springs (FS) Consolidation

    • The focus now is to advance those elements of the project that can be funded entirely by the Department of Water Resources Small Community Drought Relief Program award of $3.2 million rather than proceeding with the entire project, which would require more funding.  This will require revisions to the plans and specifications that had been developed by consultants for the entire project.  Buy-in and agreement from BB and FS about this new approach is still pending.

OBSERVATIONS

  • Brian noted that there has been an uptick in public requests for information in association with the rate increase: seven requests have been made in the last month as compared to none in the past year.

LOOK AHEAD FOR NEXT QUARTER

  • 2023 Rate Study

    • If the Board approves the Rate Study on February 15th, Staff will encounter a significant added burden associated with required billing changes to have the new rates go into effect as of March 1, and then will have to contend with the inevitable increase in customer questions and complaints when they receive the first new bill. Brian is working on ways to make it possible for front office staff to handle this additional work load.

  • Bracken Brae and Forest Springs Consolidation

    • The next steps are to initiate the first phase of the project using awarded grant funds, execute pre-consolidation agreements, finalize the State Revolving Fund application, and continue pursuit of funding sources.

  • Emergency Interties

    • Bracken Brae:  Complete the emergency intertie connection.

    • Big Basin Water Company:  Account for District expenses thus far (water provided and emergency repairs made), and execute an emergency intertie agreement.

  • Capital Improvement Projects

    • Prioritize all projects and determine staffing needs.

  • Compensation Study

    • Execute agreement, formulate working group and commence study, anticipating completion in June or July.

  • Staffing

    • Finance Manager - Interview and onboard potential candidate.

    • Evaluate potential staffing needs and adjustments.

The Board was highly appreciative of this report.  Director Smolley called it a great presentation.  Director Mahood noted that all the staff reports had an improved format that made it easier for the Board to track projects, and that she particularly appreciated the look-ahead in the General Manager’s report. She also recognized the large amount of work it took the staff to provide these revised reports, and she thanked Brian for implementing this change. He took this opportunity to recognize all the work the staff is doing, saying, “It’s a lot.”

There was one public comment.  Bruce Holloway of Boulder Creek was confused by Brian’s reference to an uptick in public records requests.  It was explained that these requests are coming from the public, not the Board, and that no information associated with individual customers is made available but that information concerning Board members is made available.

Director Fultz asked when information about peaking calculations used in the Rate Study would be publicly available.   He said he agreed with the tiered-rate concept, but he wanted to make sure the District met all legal requirements for transparency.  He hoped this information would be provided by February 15th.

Director Fultz also asked for more Board visibility into project prioritization.  His concern was that the District has $30 million in loans, that a lot of loans have associated deliverable dates, and that lenders may now be motivated to find reasons to replace low-interested loans with high-interest loans.

Lastly, Director Fultz sought confirmation that 100% of the Bracken Brae and Forest Springs work was being covered by a grant.  James clarified that it also included FEMA funding and a contribution from Bracken Brae property owners for the laterals to their individual properties. In response to a further question from Director Fultz, James said the District was no longer providing water at a filling station for BBWC customers, because, since the construction of the emergency intertie, it is pumping water directly to their system, meaning that there are no longer do-not-boil orders. The filling facility could be reopened if needed.

Written Communications

The Board acknowledged a letter from Deb Loewen about the new rate structure and the previously mentioned letter from Brian Frus re: Big Basin.

 

The meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.