BOARD MEETING MINUTES

REGULAR MEETING
NOVEMBER 20, 2010

A.    CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL

President Lawrence A. Baskin called the Regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Stinson Beach County Water District to order on Saturday, November 20, 2010, at 9:30 a.m., at the Stinson Beach County Water District office, located at 3785 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, CA 94970.

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

General Manager present:
Ed Schmidt

Staff present:
Helma Schwendig - Administrative Assistant

B.    PUBLIC EXPRESSION

None.

C.    SETTING OF AGENDA

The agenda was unanimously adopted as set.

D.    PUBLIC HEARING

1. Consideration of a request from North Bay Corporation/Redwood Empire Disposal to raise garbage rates by 1.83% (No Franchise Fee Increase) and to be continued to the December Board meeting, to be effective on January 1, 2011.
   The General Manager introduced Steve McCaffrey, Director of Governmental Affairs, North Bay Corporation. It has been two years since the last garbage rate increase. Mr. McCaffrey's 1.83% rate increase request is based on the Consumer Price Index from August 2008 to August 2010 of 1.13% plus a 0.7% increase for the Marin County Hazardous and Solid Waste Management Joint Powers Authority program expansion. Mr. McCaffrey reported that the garbage rates in Stinson Beach are significantly lower than in other areas.
2. Discussion and possible direction to staff re: a Variance Request for installation of a new septic system within 100 feet of an irrigation well at 127 Seadrift Road, Account #7710, property owner, Garrett Seligman.
   Richard Souza, the District's Engineer, provided a summary of the proposed septic system replacement. There are currently two leach fields, which were constructed in 1981, situated on the double lot next to the Seadrift Lagoon. One of the leach fields had failed, and the owner had attempted to replace the failed portion without a permit. However, the owner immediately stopped construction when notified by District staff of his violation. He then proceeded with a design application for a new intermittent sand filter system to treat and disperse the effluent. There will not be any building additions to the existing residence.
   
   An irrigation well is located on the property approximately 60 feet to the proposed leach field area. Due to site constraints, the irrigation well does not meet the 100 foot setback requirement and therefore requires a variance to Stinson Beach County Water District Title IV of the Onsite Wastewater Management Code, Section 4.15.100. The application had previously been reviewed by the District's Wastewater Committee. The neighbor notification form has been sent to the applicable property owners. No comments have been received from the Regional Water Quality Control Board. Rich proposed to add to the Draft Resolution a condition that the irrigation well be abandoned if coliform is found at its annual inspection that exceeds the District criteria level.
   
   Garrett Seligman, the property owner, spoke of the historic usage of his irrigation well. He is an avid gardener and believes he has saved the District many gallons of potable water through the years. The well has been in use for many years and has never failed its annual inspection.
   
   Director Sapanai stated she would support the variance request if the language in the Resolution contained the condition that the irrigation well would be abandoned upon the finding of unacceptable coliform levels at its yearly inspection. Vice President Tye moved to approve the Resolution granting the variance request based on inserting this modification, and Director Zell seconded the motion. The Resolution as modified was unanimously approved.
3. Discussion and possible direction to staff re: a Waiver Request for installation of a new septic system at [REDACTED].
   Richard Souza summarized the purpose of a new alternative septic system design application which is replacing the existing septic system. The existing 1,800 square foot single family residence will be demolished, and a new single family residence of less than 3,300 square feet of habitable space and 1,771 square feet of non-habitable space will be built on two merged lots. A standard sand filter system with a raised bed dispersal field is feasible, but the owner would like to utilize a drip dispersal system instead, in order to take advantage of newer technology, which has been designed to treat and disperse 600 gallons of wastewater per day. However, the maximum daily flow rate will not exceed the existing discharge permit limit of 300 gallons. Using a drip dispersal system would require a waiver to Title IV, Section 4.14.220, Use of an Alternative Treatment System for New Construction. The waiver application was discussed at Wastewater Committee meetings held on June 21 and November 15, 2010.
   
   Vice President Tye voiced his concern to ensure that the water used for refilling the existing swimming pool goes through a meter located on the merged property and not through the meter located on the adjacent property at [REDACTED]. Mr. Tye was assured that the water would go through the meter at [REDACTED]. Director Sapanai moved to approve the Resolution granting the waiver. Director Boucke seconded the motion. The Resolution was unanimously approved.

E.    GENERAL BUSINESS

1. Discussion and possible action re: acceptance of the District's Basic Financial Statements (Financial Audit).
   The General Manager reported on the status of the SBCWD Financial Statements (Financial Audit) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, as prepared by Terry E. Krieg, CPA. The District had previously received draft copies and is still awaiting the corrected, final product from Mr. Krieg.
2. Discussion and possible direction to staff re: an amendment to the District's CalPERS Retirement Contract.
   The General Manager reported that he has been notified by CalPERS that the District is on schedule for a contract amendment for the new second tier plan of 2% at age 60. This retirement formula only affects employees hired after January 18, 2011. At next month's December 18, 2010 Board meeting, the Board will adopt the Resolution of Intention and at the Saturday, January 15, 2011, meeting, the Board will approve the Final Resolution.
3. Discussion and possible direction to staff re: membership of the Stinson Beach County Water District in the Marin Clean Energy Program.
   The General Manager described the Marin Clean Energy (MCE), a Community Choice Aggregation program created by the Marin Energy Authority to provide a higher proportion of renewable resources than provided by PG&E. MCE is only responsible for finding the source of power, whereas PG&E continues in their delivery of electricity, maintenance, billing, and customer service. The District is classified as "small commercial" by PG&E and its estimated rate increase is 4.4% starting around mid-July of next year. It was recommended that the District monitor the new rates starting next Fall, and "opt-out" of MCE in December 2011. Vice President Tye observed that the new PG&E smart meters will not work with solar panels at the present time.

F.    APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Director Sapanai moved to approve the minutes of October 16 and October 18, 2010. Director Zell seconded the motion. The minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

G.    APPROVAL OF DISBURSEMENTS

The General Manager noted that the two meeting stipends described as November 1 on the Check Run of November 4, 2010 should have been shown as November 2. Vice President Tye moved to approve the disbursements for October 20 and November 4, 2010. Director Zell seconded the motion. The disbursements were approved by unanimous vote.

H.    APPROVAL OF QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORTS

President Baskin appreciates the format of the financial reports prepared by the District's bookkeeper, Janice Payne. The next reports will show greater revenue due to the 9% water and 6% wastewater rate increases effective October 1, 2010.

I.    MANAGER'S REPORT

The General Manager discussed his monthly report. On Monday, October 18, the Wastewater Committee began its review of the District Title IV Wastewater Code, as well as the GGNRA Title 1 Report regarding the selection process for a new septic system in the Park. Director Sapanai noted that there is a parcel of land within the Park where the ground is suitable for a new septic system. However, if the system is located offsite and the waste is transported through a long pipe to the Pony Pasture, the effluent needs pre-treatment.

The District supported the County's decision to place a condition on the Allen Santos project to keep the garage/carport open on two sides.

The Finance Committee developed several changes to the check production process.

On November 1, the District held a walk-through at the Steep Ravine well site to answer any questions of the potential well drillers. Only two well drillers came. On October 29, 2010, Stetson Engineers had issued Addendum No. 1, a revision to the bid documents that the licensing requirements specified, be changed from California Class "A" contractor's license [General Engineering Contractor] to a Class "C57" license [Water Well Drilling]. Only one bid for $150,341 from K.W. Emerson, Inc., was received by the bid opening day, November 15, at 2:00 p.m. at the District Office. Since this bid was twice the estimate amount prepared by Stetson Engineers, the bid was rejected. The District subsequently received another bid in the amount of $146,125 from Nor-Cal Pump & Well Drilling, Inc. on November 17, 2010. On November 22, the Water Operations Committee will meet to revise the bid documents by issuing several additional addenda with a new response date and which will allow the mud rotary drilling method, reduce the diameter of the boring hole, and make several other changes to the bid process. These addenda will be sent by e-mail to all prior respondees. President Baskin stated the District does not want to pay to correct the specifications. Stetson Engineers will need to make the changes without charging the District.

On November 2, the General Manager and Directors Boucke and Zell met with two officials from the City of Santa Rosa to discuss Cafeteria Plans and other employee benefits. Most employees of the City of Santa Rosa have not had salary increases for several years. Many employees have agreed to additional unpaid furloughs. The Board will be presented with a Cafeteria Plan at the December 18 Board meeting.

The two new Black Rock tanks were delivered by helicopter on November 9. Due to the thorough advance preparation by the District's field staff, no problems were encountered.

Verizon has withdrawn their application for a cell tower at the Steep Ravine Tank Site. The GGNRA is still analyzing the District's easement.

The Board reviewed two proposals by Mike Clancy for landscaping and painting of the District's office deck. Director Sapanai suggested painting the planter boxes before installing the demonstration garden of plants requiring little water, e.g. poppies and succulents. President Baskin suggested that District staff do minor painting around the planter boxes at the present time and hold off on the balance of the deck painting until warmer weather in spring.

J.    COMMITTEE REPORTS

Director Sapanai reported on the status of the Employee Recognition Dinner, to be held on December 15 at the Community Center.

K.    CORRESPONDENCE

The Board did not comment on the correspondence in the Board packet.

L.    ADJOURNMENT

The motion to adjourn the meeting was approved by unanimous vote. The meeting was adjourned at 11:10 a.m.