SLVWD Board Meeting Summary
February 1, 2024
Mark Dolson
Highlights:
Lompico Canyon Emergency Evacuation Route Project
Alta Via Pipeline Change Orders
Next Board meeting is at 6:30 PM on February 15, 2024
Preliminaries
All five Directors were present. Director Smolley attended remotely due to illness.
There was no Closed Session prior to the meeting.
There were two public comments on topics not on the agenda.
Bruce Holloway of Boulder Creek shared some of his recent frustrations and confusions: a reference to a stamped envelope in the District’s proposition 218 notice, lack of a District response to his email query about multi-residential water rates, uncertainty about the plan to borrow $19 million, and a reference to Salmon (as opposed to Salmonid) Habitat Improvement when there have been no salmon in the San Lorenzo River for the past 15 years. He concluded his statement by saying he felt like he was being treated like a child.
An unidentified speaker said he hadn’t previously paid attention to SLVWD issues, but he found the proposed new rate structure not to be very democratic because using two units of water will result in a 19% increase in charges vs. an 8% increase for using ten units. He added that, as one of 374 households with a 1” connection, he was going to experience a 33% increase based purely on the size of his connection. Lastly, he took strong exception to the wording in the District’s communications.
Unfinished Business
Lompico Canyon Emergency Evacuation Route Project
District Engineer Garrett Roffe introduced this agenda item. The County of Santa Cruz wishes to create and maintain an emergency route for the community of Lompico. Currently, Lompico Road is the only means of access for the community of Lompico. The proposed new emergency route connects West Drive with Newell Creek Road, but it requires an easement from the District.
At its November 3rd meeting, the Engineering and Environmental Committee recommended that the General Manager request that the County revise the Easement Agreement to incorporate District policies prohibiting use of glyphosate. Staff was further directed at the November 16th Board meeting to bring the revised Agreement back for approval with the amended language. The County will pay the District $2100 for the easement.
Director Fultz said he brought up this issue because the County has been attempting to use glyphosate on an easement in Felton. He said he was glad to see this indemnification, and he asked how the District arrived at the figure of $2100. Garrett replied that there was no formal appraisal.
The other directors agreed that this alternative access was important for Lompico. Director Smolley asked if the County had reviewed and approved the current draft, and Garrett said they had. Director Fultz sought reassurance that the authorization for the Interim General Manager to execute non-substantive modifications was appropriately limited, and Brian confirmed that District Counsel would have to confirm that any such changes were non-substantive.
There was one public comment. Bruce Holloway sought confirmation that the County was paying the District and not the other way around. President Hill confirmed this.
President Hill moved to approve the revised agreement, and Director Mahood seconded. There was no further public comment. The motion passed 5-0.
New Business
None.
Consent Agenda
There was one item: Alta Via Pipeline Change Orders.
Director Fultz wanted to check the below-ground status of the new pipeline. Garrett confirmed that it is three feet below grade across an undeveloped tract that the District has an easement for.
Director Fultz moved to authorize the Interim General Manager to approve Contract Change Orders 6 and 9 for payment to Anderson Pacific Engineering Construction, Inc. for the Alta Via Pipeline Replacement in the sum of $34,915, increasing the not-to-exceed contract amount from $2,535,064 to $2,569,979. President Hill seconded.
There was no public comment. The motion passed 5-0.
District Reports
Interim General Manager Brian Frus provided an update on the District’s outreach relating to the proposed rate increase. He said the Saturday morning (January 20th) event at Highlands Park was generally well received. The District did its best to keep this informal. It was structured more like a workshop than a formal meeting so that people could pose questions to Staff one-on-one or in small groups. There were about twelve different poster boards with Staff strategically stationed nearby, and there was also a laptop set up for live rate calculations. Brian estimated the turnout at around 115 people, and he said there was a lot of engagement. There were clearly people with concerns, and he didn’t think all of these concerns were assuaged, but he did feel that they were all addressed. He concluded by thanking all the Staff members who participated and provided support.
Environmental Planner Carly Blanchard added that the poor weather likely limited the attendance. She said three comment cards were filled out. District Secretary Holly Hossack said most people who commented to her really appreciated the one-on-one format.
Director Fultz said he was present and would characterize the attendees as maybe falling into two distinct camps. He said some people expected a more formal meeting with public Q&A, and he attributed this to inconsistent messaging from the District in advance of the event. He added that he thought it was positive to hold this kind of meeting, which the District did not do for previous rate increases.
Director Ackemann thanked and congratulated the Staff. She asked if people understood that they can still attend the separate February 15th meeting. Brian said they did.
There were two public comments. Bruce Holloway said he didn’t attend the event, but he wondered whether someone there would have answered his question about multi-residential rates. Director Mahood said these residences were subject to the commercial rate. This information was included in footnotes in every document that went to the Budget and Finance Committee and to the Board, but, unfortunately, was left off the table in the Proposition 218 flyer.
Cynthia Dzendzel of Felton said she attended the event and was very impressed with, and appreciative of, Staff's efforts. The people she observed were very engaged, both with Staff and other ratepayers. She was also happy to see directors of other water districts in attendance, seeking to learn from SLVWD. Cynthia asked if there was any potential for further adjustment to the new rate structure. In particular, she heard concerns about how to use the Ratepayer Assistance Program and how the penalties and discounts affect people at the lowest tier.
President Hill said the District seemed to have a need to upgrade its game when it comes to accuracy in communication. He urged Staff to build in a little more review time in the future to avoid any miscommunications.
Director Mahood agreed. In particular, she suggested that members of the Budget and Finance Committee might have been able to provide useful review. She said she put a lot of effort into rewriting the Executive Summary of the final report on the rate study (to be included with the agenda packet for the Proposition 218 hearing on February 15th) to improve clarity and accuracy. She added that in addition to Director Fultz, she and President Hill attended the January 20th event, but did so sequentially to avoid any possible Brown Act concerns.
Director Fultz suggested that it would have been good to have the final report available at the start of the 45-day public comment period. He found the failure to do this to be an egregious abuse of community trust. He said there was ample time to plan out the framework, but the District, for some reason, decided to wait until the last minute. He described this as standard operating procedure and said the community should be legitimately unhappy that the final report was late.
Director Mahood said she felt Director Fultz was being a little overly dramatic. She pointed out that there was a lot of Staff turnover during this time period. Carly and Brian were putting in yeoman work trying to make up for Staff shortages. President Hill agreed.
Director Fultz said the time pressure was the fault of the Board, which rejected his recommendation to delay the review process.
Written Communications
President Hill acknowledged receipt of a letter from Marc and Donna Wentzel about the new rate structure. President Hill said this would be referred to Staff for a response. This led to a dispute with a member of the public, Bruce Holloway, who insisted that he had a right to comment on this. His comment turned out to be that he found it inappropriate for the President to refer this letter to Staff, given that it was addressed to the Board. President Hill clarified that the Board could respond but that it was standard practice to first ask Staff to provide relevant information.
The meeting adjourned at 7:10 PM.