SLVWD Board Meeting Summary
July 21 2022
Mark Dolson
Highlights:
Placing delinquent water charges on the County tax roll
Response to Santa Cruz Civil Grand Jury report
Letter to Supervisor McPherson re: Boulder Creek Wastewater System
Filling open Board liaison position for Lompico Assessment District Oversight Committee
Updated Drug and Alcohol Policy
Next Board meeting is at 6:30 PM on August 4th.
Preliminaries
There were no actions to report from Closed Session.
There was no non-agenda-related public comment (and only a single public attendee).
President Mahood reported that the Administration Committee voted to try to fill its newly opened public position for the remainder of 2022. This position has been posted and advertised.
Unfinished Business
Remote Meeting Authorization under AB 361
The Board is required each month to renew its authorization for continuing to meet remotely (until such time as the Governor revokes his emergency declaration or the Board is no longer concerned about the risks that meeting in person would pose to the health and safety of attendees). Director Ackemann moved to renew the authorization, and Director Fultz seconded. There was no further discussion or public comment. The motion passed 5-0.
New Business
Delinquent Water Charges to be Placed on Tax Roll (for FY 2022-23)
District Manager Rick Rogers introduced this agenda item as a holdover from the July 7th Board Meeting (which was cancelled due to a local power outage). He reminded the Board that the District adopted a utility billing policy establishing the County's tax roll as the primary collection mechanism for delinquent water service charges. The District is pursuing accounts that have long-standing past due balances of over $500 from 12/31/2021 and prior. The total amount to go on to the property taxes is $59,751.46.
Director Fultz was surprised that the amount wasn’t higher. He asked why it was limited and if there was a way to recover it sooner. Director Smolley followed up by asking what time frame the $59,000 was accrued over. Rick said he would have to investigate, preferably after the District’s Finance Manager returns to the office (part-time) from maternity leave on August 1st.
Director Smolley also asked whether this had been done before and whether it would be done annually going forward. The answer to both these questions was yes. Director Smolley then moved to approve the resolution placing the unpaid water charges on the County tax roll. Director Ackemann seconded. There was no public comment. The motion passed 5-0.
Draft Response to Santa Cruz Civil Grand Jury Report
President Mahood introduced this agenda item. At its meeting on June 2nd, the Board asked Staff to prepare a response to the recently issued Santa Cruz Civil Grand Jury report, “Our Water Account Is Overdrawn—Beyond Conservation: Achieving Drought Resilience.” President Mahood and Director Ackemann provided input (and President Mahood noted that her input was also informed by the parallel response being developed by the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency, which she chairs). The response is formally due August 22nd.
President Mahood said she was frustrated with the Grand Jury’s lack of attention to SLVWD, but she credited Legal Counsel Gina Nicholls with encouraging her to take a positive approach in the District’s response. The prepared response repeatedly emphasized the District’s Conjunctive Use Plan and was consistently respectful of the Grand Jury’s effort. Director Ackemann said she appreciated all the work Gail, Rick, Gina, and Carly Blanchard put into this, and she apologized for not being able to contribute more of her own time. She felt that the response accurately expressed some of the District’s concerns while agreeing or partially agreeing with the report where possible.
Director Fultz said Grand Jury reports should be taken seriously, but they are also political documents. He was glad that the Board had input and included more messaging in the District’s response. He was very happy with how it turned out.
Director Hill asked what happens next. Gina said the Board must adopt a motion approving the response so that it can be sent to the Grand Jury prior to the August 22nd deadline. The Grand Jury (which has already been disbanded) will then post the response, and there will most likely be no further follow-up. She noted, though, that a Grand Jury report written about the District in 2017 led to two follow-up queries from subsequent Grand Juries. Director Hill said he was very happy with the District’s response – it explained why some of the Grand Jury’s suggestions don't make sense or are not practical.
Director Smolley recommended two minor edits and sought further background on two unrelated points in the response. President Mahood explained that the City of Scotts Valley and the City of Santa Cruz are distinct from the SLV in that they are state-mandated growth regions. Rick explained that the District did actually make use of Loch Lomond water in 1976-1977, but it found that its water treatment facility was inadequate.
President Mahood moved to accept the draft response with Director Smolley’s recommended edits. The motion was seconded, and there was no public comment. The motion passed 5-0.
Letter to Supervisor McPherson Regarding Boulder Creek Wastewater System
Rick Rogers introduced this agenda item. He explained that the District learned from an article in the Sentinel that $2 million for funding the expansion of the County’s wastewater system in Boulder Creek has been included in the 2023 Federal appropriations bill, with the goal of expanding service to areas with substandard septic systems. He noted that the District owns and operates the nearby Bear Creek Estates Wastewater Treatment Plant and has been out of compliance for 30 years. Rates are already are already pretty extreme, and the District has had many meetings, done studies, and spent a considerable amount of time trying to solve this problem for the 56 affected homes. He added that the 3.5-acre leach field is reaching its life expectancy, and the District will not be able to find another location. With this history, Rick was taken aback to learn that the County was moving forward on a related project without the District having been contacted.
The District’s letter to Supervisor McPherson reflects its hope that Bear Creek Estates will be included in the County project. The District has been very supportive of neighboring communities dating back to the Lompico merger, and the potential pending Big Basin merger is a huge new undertaking. In addition, a solution to the Bear Creek Estates problems will result in a water-quality benefit to the County. For all of these reasons, Rick felt that the County should step up to help the District. He also urged the District to reach out to other representatives. He recommended a major campaign to get this issue turned over to the County.
Director Ackemann saw the letter as a good start. She recommended adding a paragraph about the District’s desire to be a good neighbor and partner and the District’s history of working side by side with the County (e.g., Lompico, Big Basin). Independent of this, she supported the idea of further outreach (soliciting letters from Bear Creek home owners and from the City of Santa Cruz (which benefits from cleaner water)).
Director Fultz supported the letter as well. He noted that Bear Creek rates are projected to increase rapidly, and he agreed that the District should remind people of its history of working together with neighboring communities. He asked how long the pipeline would be from Bear Creek Estates to Boulder Creek, and Rick estimated the distance at five miles.
Director Smolley agreed with nearly everything that had already been said. There was some discussion of exactly now to navigate the topic of improved water quality for the City of Santa Cruz, and there was agreement on bringing this up (if at all) only in the context of a meeting requesting their support.
Rick summarized the situation by saying Bear Creek has no other options. The County will not accept an outside-the-box technical solution. The District wants the County to support it in improving our public infrastructure.
Gina said the letter did not technically require a Board vote. It was drafted to come out under the Board President’s signature, and the President merely needed to be comfortable that the letter’s messaging had the Board’s support. The Board confirmed that this was the case, and President Mahood said she would work with Rick on a final version; she wanted to keep the letter short and deliver it promptly. Director Fultz requested that the Board be apprised of any response.
Appoint Board Member Liaison to Lompico Assessment District Oversight Committee (LADOC)
Rick Rogers introduced this agenda item. He noted that the LADOC liaison post was occupied by Director Henry prior to her resignation at the end of February. Staff was requesting that the Board appoint a replacement.
President Mahood added that Director Fultz had voluntarily attended a recent LADOC meeting on short notice. She moved to appoint Director Fultz as the official liaison, and Director Hill seconded this. President Mahood noted that the committee was down to three members, and its work was nearly complete. There was no further discussion or public comment. The motion passed 5-0.
Drug and Alcohol Policy
District Counsel Gina Nicholls introduced this agenda item. She explained that it was being driven by the recent award received by the District for the Fall Creek Fish Ladder: the District is required when it accepts state grant funds to be in compliance with the Drug Free Work Act under California law. The District currently has a policy from many years ago, but Gina recommended that this be replaced with an updated version that tracks more recent State law requirements. She noted that further additions were possible, but the current draft is the minimum needed today to meet the District’s time-critical legal obligation. Rick added that this was pretty straightforward and that Staff would be apprised of the minor changes in the revised policy.
Director Fultz asked about the definition of “controlled substance” (i.e., is this defined according to federal law or state law?). Gina said this was a good question. She was using the state definition, but she didn’t have immediate access to this. Director Fultz also asked about the removal of a notification requirement. Gina said she had questions about the legality of the 1990s notification provision.
Director Ackemann asked about drug testing requirements when an employee driving a District vehicle is in an accident. Gina said it would take more time to investigate this.
Director Hill moved to adopt the resolution adopting the revised policy, and Director Smolley seconded this. There was no public comment, and the motion passed 5-0.
Consent Agenda
There were no requests to pull any items, so the published minutes were accepted without objection.
District Manager’s Report
There was no report.
Department Status Reports
Director Smolley asked about a comment in the Engineering Report indicating that the contractor has not yet begun work on the Fall Creek Fish Ladder. He asked if this was accurate and if the District was going to run out of time to complete construction this summer before the regulatory window closes. (This was a follow-on to concerns raised by Director Smolley at the previous Board meeting on June 29th.) Rick said the report was correct, and the District now had serious concerns about the contractor's ability to complete the project in time to meet regulatory constraints. He said the District was in the process of reviewing this.
Director Smolley also asked about progress on the Redwood Tank. He noted that the Engineering report says the District is still trying to locate existing and abandoned piping underground. Operations Director James Furtado said this was now complete. Rick said the pipeline is out to bid, but the District has come to a screeching halt on projects due to material supply chain issues. The District is finding itself unable to get definite delivery dates for meters, brass, steel, etc.
Lastly, Director Smolley noted that the District is now four months behind its original estimate for the RFP for Bracken Brae and Forest Springs environmental assessments. He asked if Carly Blanchard was overloaded and if something could be done to provide more support. Rick said this particular item was in his inbox and was being held up by him. He noted that the District is planning to recruit someone to backfill Carly’s previous position. President Mahood asked for an update on this, and Carly said the position would likely be posted early next week.
Director Fultz noted that the District was below expectations on both revenue and operating expenses. He asked about the source of the reduction in operating expense. Rick said this was largely due to the District being understaffed. He listed four currently open positions: water quality, assistant water quality, environmental, and construction inspector. The District is also lagging on inventory replacement. Director Fultz noted that the District’s operating margin was currently around $2 million as opposed to the targeted $3 million, and he emphasized the importance of operating margin in determining the District’s ability to borrow money and improve its infrastructure. Rick said this would be Finance Manager Kendra Reed’s top priority when she resumes work (part-time, returning from maternity leave) on August 1st.
Director Fultz noted that water extracted from South System wells was 6.2 million gallons in June, 2022 as compared to 13.7 million gallons in June, 2013. James said pumping from wells in the South System had decreased each year since surface water redistribution became feasible. Rick added that the 10” rainfall in December 2021 enabled the District to move a significant amount of water south. He said the District will be pretty self-sufficient when it is able to fulfil its conjunctive use plans.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 PM.