SLVWD Board Meeting Summary
September 16, 2021
Mark Dolson
Highlights:
CSDA Webinar follow-up.
Brookdale mainline break.
Supporting hybrid meetings.
Representatives approved for potential renegotiation of employee MOUs.
Next Board meeting is at 6:30 PM on October 7.
Preliminaries
There was nothing to report from the just-concluded closed session. Two members of the public were in attendance, but nobody had any non-agenda-related comment.
Unfinished Business
California Special Districts Association (CSDA) / Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) Webinar
Legal Counsel Gina Nicholls explained that this item was placed on the agenda to afford the Board an opportunity to comment on a suggestion that surfaced during the August 11th “Special Districts 101” webinar hosted by CSDA and LAFCO for Santa Cruz County Special Districts (such as the SLVWD). The two-hour webinar was attended by several Staff members and also some Board and Committee members. At one point, it was suggested that when a Board member requests more information from a Staff member, the requested information should be routinely shared with the full Board and relevant committee members. District Manager Rick Rogers asked the Board to comment.
President Mahood said this seemed logical to her. Director Ackemann agreed, saying this was in line with established best practices. Director Fultz agreed as well. He said this was talked about two or three years ago, and the only concern was with avoiding any violations of the Brown Act (which prohibits discussions involving more than two Board members outside of official Board meetings).
Rick agreed and said Gina and he were discussing how to implement this without promoting exchanges between Board members. He promised to bring this back to the Board in a few months. Director Fultz endorsed this and suggested that the updated process should ultimately be incorporated into the Board Policy Manual. Director Ackemann suggested using “bcc” to prevent Board replies to informational emails.
There was no public comment and no formal Board action.
New Business
Brookdale Mainline Break
Rick Rogers reported that the District received a report of a main pipeline break on Huckleberry Island in Brookdale on the evening of Friday September 3rd. This is a critical distribution line between Boulder Creek and points south, meaning that Boulder Creek was left with only about a 48-hour supply of water.
District Staff responded immediately (in some cases, interrupting travel for the three-day weekend). The District also solicited assistance from the Fire Department for the installation of emergency lighting in a heavily wooded area at night. As a precaution, signs urging water conservation were posted for the next 12 hours. The leak was found to be due to coupling damage induced by the slumping adjacent embankment. Fortunately, the District had the necessary replacement couplings in storage, and the repair was completed in eight hours.
Unfortunately, this section of pipeline remains unacceptably vulnerable to further land movement. Breaks near this location occurred in 1982 due to storm damage and three years ago when a tree fell. The fundamental problem is that this is a 50-year-old underwater crossing, and this is no longer acceptable District practice. In principle, it might be possible to build a retaining structure for the embankment, but this would be difficult both from an engineering perspective and from a permitting perspective (since this is a riparian corridor).
An engineering consultant joined the team on Monday, and the consensus was that a bypass (going over a bridge rather than underwater) is needed. This will involve approximately 700 lineal feet of pipe from the road right-of-way to the local community access road (and it also assumes that the bridge can support the 12” pipeline). The District does not yet have all the required easements, but Rick and Gina have met with homeowners’ association to begin discussing this. Some issues still need to be worked out, but the bypass solution appears feasible. The District is therefore moving forward with design of the bypass and with permission to cross the bridge and with obtaining easements. The District will issue an emergency contract for the design and will then go out to formal bidding for construction. Meanwhile, the District is notifying Huckleberry residents of what it is doing.
Gina added that the homeowners’ association president and treasurer have provided helpful information, but there are also some private parcels that will need to be crossed. Surveying is currently in progress to determine precisely whose property is involved. Director Henry worried about getting permission to cross the bridge, but Gina did not see this as an immediate concern.
Director Smolley added that he participated in a site walk with Rick and Staff earlier this week, and he concurred with Rick’s assessment. He noted that the slopes on each side of the river are at least 45 degrees, and he congratulated everyone for completing this repair so quickly.
Director Smolley asked how much additional margin Boulder Creek would have when its surface water sources are all functioning again. Rick said this would provide several additional days of supply. Director Smolley also questioned the estimated cost of $250,000, and Rick agreed that this estimate should probably be doubled.
Director Fultz agreed that the cost will be higher, and he similarly thanked everyone for the rapid response. He asked if there were other locations with similar issues, and Rick pointed to the river crossing Boulder Creek just below the District’s office. The District expects to get rid of this crossing as well, as 50-year-old underwater crossings are inherently problematic. Director Fultz noted the desirability of a comprehensive plan for addressing these old facilities.
Director Ackemann asked if this incident was symptomatic of increased stress on the District’s pipes due to drought. Rick said that the District is experiencing additional mainline leaks as the ground dries, particularly with smaller 2” pipes. The District tries to respond and make repairs within 24 hours and also to update social media as soon as possible.
There was no public input and no formal Board action.
Board Room Facilities for Hybrid Meetings
Rick Rogers noted that this item had become less time-critical with recent developments in Sacramento. The Board was originally facing an October 1st deadline for the mandated return to in-person meetings, and the District is not currently set up to support hybrid meetings (where participants can attend either in-person or via Zoom). Gina explained that a new governor’s order has now extended the October deadline to the end of the year, and AB361 (signed this week) allows remote meetings to potentially continue through 2023 if certain conditions are met.
In the absence of the above exceptions, the Brown Act currently requires at least three Board members to be physically present (and makes it difficult for the remaining Board members to attend remotely). This constraint also makes it difficult to continue the virtual meetings that many people have come to prefer. This is because it is not really feasible to have three Board members meeting in-person in the District’s Operations Room while simultaneously supporting attendance via Zoom. This kind of hybrid meeting format requires both special audio-visual equipment and a larger room.
Rick said the Staff is currently moving forward to support hybrid meetings. Remote access presents major benefits both to ratepayers (a number of whom are absentee owners who live far away) and to the Board (who may be out of town or needing to remain isolated). The required equipment (which needs to be permanently installed) will cost between $3000 and $6000, but the bigger challenge lies in identifying a suitable room in which to meet.
The District’s Johnson building potentially has a suitable space (which could also be used for trainings). The Felton Library is also a possibility. It meets requirements for size, ADA access, and parking. The Felton Community Hall has a lot of restrictions, and senior centers have a lot of conflicting activity. Staff is continuing to collect information and will ultimately produce a report which will be brought back to the Administration Committee for further review. Rick said some Board members want to return to in-person meetings while others do not.
Director Smolley asked about cost estimates and a time frame for renovating the Johnson building. Rick said this might cost $15,000 to $20,000. The District will determine in the next year whether to remodel this building as its new headquarters.
Director Fultz suggested that there could be more than one solution, depending on the size of the meeting in question.
There was one public comment: Cynthia Dzendzel said she appreciated being able to attend meetings from home.
District Reports
Directors Fultz and Henry each asked detailed questions which were referred to Staff. Director Fultz noted that the number of accounts in arrears was holding steady. He also asked for an update on plans for the Felton Heights and River Park tanks. Rick said the Legal Department had completed its review for Felton Heights, and the matter was now being reviewed by the homeowner and his attorney. The next step after obtaining the required easements will be a CEQA review. The River Park Tank will be constructed in 2022.
Director Smolley commented that having the proper fittings in place (for the Brookdale repair) was a reminder of the benefits of having a Master Plan.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 PM.