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BOARD MEETING MINUTES

REGULAR MEETING
SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 2007

A.    CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL

Director Sapanai called a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Stinson Beach County Water District to order on Saturday, January 20, 2007 at 9:33am, at the District Office located at 3785 Shoreline Highway in Stinson Beach, California.

Directors present:
Elizabeth Sapanai, President
Jim Zell, Vice President
Barbara Boucke, Director
Scott Tye, Director

Treasurer/Secretary present:
Lawrence Baskin

Staff present:
Toby Bisson
Christine Casper

B.    PUBLIC EXPRESSION

Director Tye stated that February 18th is the California Tour bicycle race; Panoramic Highway is slated to be closed and there is no alternative route due to the construction on Highway One. Director Sapanai voiced concern over how the closure will impact public safety. Kenny Stevens, of the Stinson Beach Fire Department, stated that the fire department is not in support of the closure and will be drafting a letter to race officials stating opposition.

C.    SETTING OF AGENDA

The Agenda was adopted with the following changes: COMMITTEE REPORTS was moved to before the closed session without objection. Item number 7 under GENERAL BUSINESS was moved to item number 2 without objection.

D.    APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Director Zell made a motion to approve December 9th, 2006 special meeting minutes, seconded by Director Boucke, and approved by unanimous vote.

Director Tye made a motion to approve December 19th regular meeting minutes, seconded by Director Boucke and approved by unanimous vote.

E.    APPROVAL OF DISBURSEMENTS

Motion to approve December 19th check run made by Director Zell, seconded by Director Tye and approved by unanimous vote. Director Boucke recommended that Deborah Brandon, the District Office gardener, weed the front landscaping at no additional charge; Toby Bisson to contact Ms. Brandon to relay that request.

December 27th and 29th check run was discussed. Director Tye questioned check #15568 for $5,201.00 to Harris for "Annual Accounting Software Support Fee"; Director Boucke stated that the Finance Committee relies upon Harris' software support. The Board decided that the Finance Committee would research and validate Harris' fee.

Director Boucke requested that check #15580 for $1,720.00 to Deborah Brandon also be researched and validated.

Director Zell made a motion to approve December 27th and 29th check run, seconded by Director Tye and approved by unanimous vote.

Director Sapanai suggested that Board Compensation Requests not be required when a special meeting is noticed and attended by all directors; suggestion agreed upon by all directors. Director Boucke made a motion to approve Board Compensation Requests for the December 9th special meeting, seconded by Director Tye and approved by unanimous vote.

F.    PUBLIC HEARING

  1. Consideration/Adoption of Draft Resolution Granting a Waiver for Property Located at 317 Seadrift Road, Account #7240, Greg and Caroline Alton, Owners: Director Sapanai stated that the Board has to consider the waiver in the absence of Rich Souza, the District's wastewater engineer. Director Zell recommended that this item be continued until Mr. Souza can answer some questions regarding his recommendations and the photocopied plans.

    Noadiah Eckman, representative for the owner, fielded some design questions from the board members. Director Tye stated that the blower system's proximity to neighboring property appears to pose a nuisance; Director Sapanai offered that housing the unit may eliminate the noise. Director Sapanai stated that the plans received by the board show that the drip dispersal field does not meet setbacks to the swimming pool or the adjacent property line. Ms. Eckman replied that plans resubmitted to Rich Souza on January 4th, 2007 meet all setback requirements; Ms Eckman handed the resubmitted plans and the corresponding cover letter to Director Sapanai who recited from the letter:
    RE: Design Changes for Property Located at 317 Seadrift, Stinson Beach, CA.

    Dear Richard, We have attached three sets of construction plans with the clarifications and changes requested in your letter dated December 12, 2006.
    1. The proposed pool has been relocated so that the leach field is set back 15 feet from the pool and five feet from the property lines. The proposed system now meets all setback requirements of Section 4.15.100;
    2. The reserve area is now located 10 feet from the Stinson Beach water main;
    3. The procedure for abandoning the existing septic tank is located on Sheet 1;
    4. The blower will be located in a pool pump house which will be insulated to reduce noise. The location is also farthest from the neighbor's home.
    Director Tye stated that since the plans indicate that the reserve system is under a recently paved portion of the yard, the owner must be prepared to remove the ground covering.

    Director Baskin made a motion to grant the waiver subject to Rich Souza drafting a letter that he has reviewed the resubmitted plans and that they do comply. Motion seconded by Director Tye and approved by unanimous vote.

    Ms. Eckman asked if it was possible to move the septic tanks into the driveway; Director Sapanai replied that it would require a variance, but that the subject is among items to be discussed as possible changes to District code.

G.    GENERAL BUSINESS

  1. Review Applications for Board Vacancy and Appoint New Director: Director Sapanai stated that the board has received only one application. Director Tye made a motion to also accept applications submitted for the previous board vacancy; motion seconded by Director Zell and approved by unanimous vote. Director Zell made a motion to appoint Larry Baskin to board of directors, seconded by Director Tye and approved by unanimous vote.
  2. Consideration/Adoption of a Draft Resolution Honoring Joe Veit: All board members agreed to move this item to a subsequent meeting when Joe Veit is present.
  3. Consideration/Adoption of a Draft Resolution Granting a Water Use Charge Reduction for Property Located at 262 Seadrift Road, Account #6750, Andrew Beckstoffer, Owner: Toby Bisson reported that he investigated the location after high use was flagged at the residence; a leak was visible beside a Cypress hedge at the south side of the property.

    Director Sapanai stated that the 68,700 cubic feet of water loss is 513,912 gallons, or half of the District's total storage capacity, and that part of the leak occurred during a high fire time (October) when it is important to keep district tanks full. Director Sapanai asked why Clint Graves, who was hired to watch the property, was not instructed to check the water meter intermittently, and added (in response to Clint Graves; statement that water is free to the District) that it is expensive for the District to refill emptied tanks with treated water.

    Arno Penzias asked what the timeline of the leak was. Toby Bisson replied that the maximum capacity of three- quarter inch pipe is 40-50 gallons per minute, or 72,000 gallons per day; thus, the duration of the leak would have been at least a week. Director Zell commented that he disagrees with the owner's statement in his letter that "the water loss has resulted from circumstances beyond our reasonable control'; Mr. Zell stated that the leak was within the owner's control or Clint's control.

    Director Tye recommended that the owner install a MDU (Meter Display Unit). Director Baskin suggested that the District write a letter to the homeowner's association at Seadrift advising them of the digital meter (MDU); Director Sapanai replied that the District has sent the MDU information to customers with their bills. Kenny Stevens reported that he has installed a solid copper line from two newly installed backflow valves to the house (one for domestic water and one for a fire sprinkler). Kenny Stevens asked the Board to consider requiring solid copper pipe for all new construction; Director Sapanai replied that she is not sure the district can impose such a requirement.

    Director Tye made a motion to approve a $6,500 (60%) reduction based upon the owner's incremental efforts to mitigate leak problems; motion seconded by Director Boucke. Director Baskin stated that he cannot support the motion due to both the District's standard policy of fifty-percent reductions and the fact that other measures could have been taken by the homeowner to prevent the leak (i.e. having Clint check the water meter and installation of an MDU). Director Tye noted that reductions in excess of fifty-percent have been approved at least five times in the past five years. Toby Bisson asked whether the bill could be altered to reduce use (not cost) by fifty percent; Director Sapanai stated that the tiered system is in place to cover the cost to the District.

    Director Baskin made a motion to grant a fifty-percent reduction including a payment plan to ease the burden on the homeowner; motion seconded by Director Zell and approved by unanimous vote.
  4. Consideration/Adoption of a Draft Resolution Granting a Water Use Charge Reduction for Property Located at 309 Seadrift Road, Account #7260, Arno Penzias, Owner: Foreman Bisson stated that a standard meter reading indicated a potential leak on the property; he investigated, turned the water off and notified the owner. Director Zell made a motion for a fifty-percent reduction on the balance of 1,259.54, seconded by Director Tye and approved by unanimous vote. Director Sapanai recommended that the owners install an MDU.
  5. Consideration of a Water Use Charge Reduction Request for Property Located at 133 Seadrift Road, Account #7695, Pauline Walton-Flath, Owner: Toby Bisson stated that a standard meter reading indicated a potential leak on the property; he immediately investigated, turned the water off and notified the owner. Director Baskin made a motion for a fifty-percent reduction, seconded by Director Zell. Ms. Walton-Flath stated that she missed the information sent in the mail regarding MDUs. Director Tye replied that the MDU information was sent in the District's annual newsletter for the past several years. Director Baskin asked Toby Bisson to resend the MDU information with the next billing cycle. Fifty-percent reduction approved by unanimous vote.
  6. Appointment of Committees for Calendar Year 2007: Director Sapanai appointed the following committees for calendar year 2007: personnel, finance, water operations, wastewater and legal. The Personnel Committee will be Director Boucke and Director Zell; the Finance Committee will be Director Baskin and Director Boucke; the Water Operations Committee will be Director Tye and Director Zell; the Wastewater Committee will be Director Sapanai and Director Tye; the Legal Committee will be Director Baskin and Director Sapanai. All committee members will be co-chairpersons.

I.    COMMITTEE REPORTS

Director Baskin stated that his negotiations with Nelson Personnel for the hiring of Christine Casper were based upon an approximate credit of 400 hours; Christine's hire date was set for January 15th. The board authorized the Personnel Committee to meet to write Ms. Casper's job description.

Raven Schauf reported that she has been reviewing financial data through September 30, 2006, then distributed corrected first quarter financial statements to the board. Raven stated that she will work with Janice Payne to produce financial statements for October, November and December. In addition, Raven indicated that she has taught Christine how to prepare financial statements (once received from Janice Payne) for board meetings, but that it is not in her contract to train Christine on other tasks such as cash flow, or the cash flow report, etc. Director Boucke stated that she is setting up a system whereby Christine will do bank reconciliations (they will be separate from the accounting function). Raven stated that she can complete second quarter financials with the hours remaining on her current contract, but that the District will have to enter into a new contract with her to train Christine for an estimated 20 hours. Director Boucke stated that Janice Payne needs to report to work more frequently to allow for ongoing training.

Director Baskin asked Raven to explain the identified problems with the September and October financials. Raven stated that payroll withholding taxes for September were incorrect and proper adjustments had not been made. In addition,$30,000 in principle paid out on one of the CSCDA bonds was accounted for as interest. Director Boucke declared that a system must be instituted whereby there is sufficient time on the part of the bookkeeper to review the numbers before financials are submitted to the finance committee; the board determined that it is essential that Janice Payne work two eight-hour days weekly.

Toby Bisson reported on his negotiations with copy machine companies for a new contract. Larry Baskin made a motion to sign a contract with Digital Office Solutions for 63 months at $183 per month, seconded by Director Boucke and approved by unanimous vote.

H.    CLOSED SESSION/RETURN TO OPEN SESSION

  1. Review of the General Manager Position: The Board met in closed session pursuant to Government Code section 54957. Board entered closed session at 11:23a.m. and returned to open session at 12:59p.m. An interview for the general manager position was conducted and discussed.

J.    ADJOURNMENT

The next regular meeting was set for Saturday, February 24th. Motion to adjourn made by Director Baskin, seconded by Director Tye and approved by unanimous vote at 1:15pm.

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