MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF ELSINORE VALLEY MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015

Transcription

1 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF ELSINORE VALLEY MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015 The Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District was held at its principal offices at Chaney Street, Lake Elsinore, California. Directors Present Phil Williams, President Harvey Ryan, Vice President Andy Morris, Treasurer Directors Absent Nancy Horton George Cambero Staff Present John Vega, General Manager Nemesciano Ochoa, Assistant General Manager Terese Quintanar, District Secretary/Administrative Services Supervisor John Brown, General Counsel Brian Dickinson, Director of Operations Margie Armstrong, Director of Strategic Programs Greg Morrison, Director of Legislative and Community Affairs Robert Hartwig, Assistant General Manager Administrative Services Jennifer Dancho, Human Resources & Safety Manager Karrie Swaine, Accounting Manager Others Present Public CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by President Williams at 4:01 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion was made by Director Morris, seconded by Director Ryan and carried unanimously to approve the Agenda as presented.

2 Minutes October 8, 2015 Page 2 of 5 PUBLIC COMMENTS The meeting was opened to public comments and there were none. Item I.0 - Consent Calendar Minute Order #5060 A. Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of September 24, 2015 B. Approval of Demands C. Investment Report, Receive and File D. Receive and File Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2015 MO #5060 Director Ryan abstained on Consent Calendar Item B, Nos , , and for sources of income. A motion was made by Director Ryan, seconded by Director Morris and carried unanimously to: 1. Approve the Consent Calendar as presented. Item II.0 BUSINESS ITEMS Item II.A - Consider Approval of 36-Month Lease Agreement with First American Equipment Finance Minute Order #5061 A recommendation from the District's IT Master Plan was for the District to lease, instead of purchase computers. Computers and other technology equipment eventually become obsolete. Leasing keeps the District's computer equipment upto-date and will reduce the amount of obsolete computer hardware that would otherwise need to be inventories, formatted, and declared surplus. The lease of computer-related equipment includes: 20 Desktops 5 Notebooks 18 Ruggedized Notebooks Mr. Hartwig explained that these items will be leased from First American Equipment Finance for 36 months. The prices are determined based on the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA). The WSCA establishes cooperative multi-state contracts where participating states may join together in order to achieve cost-effective and efficient acquisition of quality products and services. Government purchasing benefits from cumulative volume discounts. WSCA

3 Minutes October 8, 2015 Page 3 of 5 agreements primarily contain information technology goods with limited availability of services. After careful review, staff recommended the approval of a 36-month contract with First American Equipment Finance in the amount of $71, plus applicable tax for the approximate period of 04/01/15 thru 03/31/18. A motion was made by Director Ryan, seconded by Director Morris, and carried unanimously to: 1. Approve Purchase Requisition No with First American Equipment Finance in the amount of $71, plus applicable tax for the approximate period of 04/01/15 thru 03/31/18; and, 2. Authorize the General Manager to execute the appropriate documents on behalf of EVMWD. Item III.A GENERAL MANAGER S REPORT Christina Henry reported that we started issuing credits for the RARE program on the October billing. We are working on an amended version of the program. Mr. Ochoa reported that our preliminary reports show we reduced our production by 39 percent. Mr. Vega explained that during the summer we are focused on our outdoor use and during the winter we will be focusing on the indoor use, which may be a little harder. Mr. Vega reported that the temperatures will be in the triple digits next week, but a storm is expected by the end of this week. Item III.B LEGAL COUNSEL S REPORT John Brown reported that there are two major pieces of legislature pending Congress with respect to the drought situation here. One is the Western Water and American Food Security Act and the California Emergency Drought Relief Act. Both have received significant support, but neither will be expected to be acted upon this year. This is unfortunate, as the Speaker of the House was almost appointed from California. Yesterday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced that the key California reservoirs of the Central Valley Project are at 24 percent of capacity, which is 2.9M acre feet of water and in 2011 they held 9.3M acre feet. Mr. Morrison added that a testimony letter he and Don Polese and himself prepared was sent to Murkowski and Calvert this morning. It is in regard to the Drought Legislation currently pending. Legislation that would benefit EVMWD was highlighted. Mr. Morrison will forward the letter to the Board.

4 Minutes October 8, 2015 Page 4 of 5 Item IV.0 COMMITTEE REPORTS Director Williams commended Mr. Brown for his 40 years of guidance while serving the needs of EVMWD. Picture were taken of the Board and Mr. Brown in honor of this great milestone. Director Williams also reported on the Groundwater Service Accountability Program Ad Hoc meeting was held this week. We needed to choose a time when to submit our application in order for the State to announce we are in charge of being responsible and accountable for the groundwater sustainability. We had three options and chose the one we thought would be most beneficial and may apply twice to include a bigger area later on. Director Morris reported on the Wildomar State of the City event. They mentioned that they have too much industrial/commercial zoning so they discussed changing some of the mall zoning to residential area. Director Morris asked staff to try to learn more about the plan. Mr. Vega added that the Oak Creek Project in Wildomar is moving forward now and the lawsuits have been set aside. EVMWD should discuss this service area and the waterline in the near future. Item V.0 PUBLIC COMMENTS The meeting was opened to public comments and there were none. Item VI.0 DIRECTORS COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Director Ryan reported on the Region 9 teleconference, where Proposition 218 was discussed. New development was discussed and a new rate for that development. Kelly Salt was on the phone for the meeting. Tim Quinn said if we can prove we have a monthly higher cost for O&M, you can charge them the higher rate, which contradicts what Kelly Salt reported. Mr. Brown has information from Mrs. Salt in response to the discussion, which he will forward to the Board. Also, the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) may change the language so we have more flexibility with 218 that will allow us to include some funding for future infrastructure to supply water in our rates. John Brown added that we also got a favorable decision on a 218 challenge to a tourism tax levied voluntarily by hotels in Rancho Cucamonga and Ontario, which is bringing some other possibilities as well.

5 Minutes October 8, 2015 Page 5 of 5 Item VII.0 CLOSED SESSION John Brown announced that there was no need to meet in closed session. Item VIII.0 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:28 p.m. ATTEST: Phil Williams, President of the Board of Directors of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Terese Quintanar, Secretary to the Board of Directors of Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District