BOARD MEETING MINUTES

REGULAR MEETING
Saturday, September 20, 2014

A.    CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL

President Boucke called the Regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Stinson Beach County Water District to order on Saturday, September 20, 2014, at 9:30 a.m., at the Stinson Beach County Water District office, located at 3785 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, CA 94970.

Directors present:
Barbara Boucke, President
Sandra Cross, Director
Morey Nelsen, Director
Jim Zell, Director

Directors absent:
Lawrence Baskin, Vice President

General Manager present:
Ed Schmidt

Staff present:
Helma Schwendig - Office Supervisor

B.    SETTING OF AGENDA

The agenda was unanimously adopted as set.

C.    PUBLIC EXPRESSION

Toby Bisson, the District's Water Supervisor, gave a brief summary of the District's Emergency Response Plan which has elicited compliments from the California Department of Public Health. On Thursday, October 16, at 9:00 a.m., the Board will meet in the District office to discuss an emergency preparedness practice drill.

D.    GENERAL BUSINESS

1. Discussion and possible direction to staff re: a request for an additional extension of a Design Approval Permit which expires September 13, 2014, for property located at 321 Seadrift Road, Acct. #7220, John Nicolai, owner.
   This is a replacement system that was initially approved on July 18, 2009 when the property was owned by the Winslows. At the November 16, 2013 Board meeting, the Board approved a proposal for replacement of the septic system [Nicolai] and approved an extension of the Design Approval Permit for 12 months retroactive to September 13, 2013. One of the conditions stipulated in Resolution No. WW-2013-05 approving the system was that, prior to the issuance of a Construction Permit, the water main shall be relocated 10 feet to the nearest edge of the septic system. To date, the water main relocation has not yet been done. A Board member noted that since portions of Seadrift Road will soon be repaved, the home owner should hire a contractor to move the water line as soon as possible.
   
   The Board passed on making a decision regarding the requested extension pending a review of the project by the District's Engineer Rich Souza.
2. Discussion and possible setting of a deadline for an approved Change of Use Request, necessary for modifications being made to the Breakers Café in Stinson Beach.
   The Breakers Café's conversion of a storage garage into a game room requires a request for a Change of Use and approval from the District. This matter was previously discussed at the September 10, 2014 Wastewater Committee meeting. Sam Temer, owner of the Café, has been requested to demonstrate that the current septic system is adequate for this use change. Mr. Temer stated he has contacted Noadiah Eckman, of Eckman Environmental, to submit a letter to the District by October 3, 2014, explaining the potential impact, if any, on the septic system and the availability of an additional leach field if his current field failed to accept an additional load. The status of the Temers' compliance will be reviewed at the next Wastewater Committee meeting on October 8.
3. Discussion and possible setting of a deadline for an approved Change of Use Request, necessary for modifications being made at the Bolinas-Stinson Beach School in Stinson Beach.
   John Carroll, Superintendent of the Bolinas-Stinson Union School District, has been advised by letter dated September 10, 2014, that a holding tank cannot be permitted by the District under its Title IV regulations for use with the portable building addition. Mr. Carroll was requested to provide a letter to the District from an approved Design Consultant stating that the following items are to be addressed: (1) The design loading from the existing and proposed use does not exceed the maximum design loading for the wastewater system; (2) The existing wastewater system passes a hydraulic load and dye test performed by an approved Design Consultant; (3) A dedicated reserve area which meets current setback criteria is feasible; (4) A plan for connection to the existing septic tank is provided by an approved Design Consultant.
   
   The Board approved a deadline of October 17, 2014 for the school to hook the drains in the portable building up to the existing school septic system. The matter will be discussed again at the October 8, 2014 Wastewater Committee meeting.
4. Discussion and possible direction to staff to purchase a seismic actuator for earthquake mitigation at the Highlands Water Tank #2.
   District staff has been investigating different types of seismic protection for the Highlands Water Tank #2. During an earthquake, the FLOLOC Seismic system would automatically signal a battery powered valve on the side of the tank to shut down the tank effluent valve and keep it from draining its 320,000 gallons of potable water. The cost is estimated to be $25,307, excluding shipping and installation. The purchase had been previously recommended by the Water Operations Committee. Toby will obtain references from other local water districts that have installed the FLOLOC Seismic system.
   
   Director Nelsen moved to direct staff to purchase the seismic actuator for a price not to exceed $30,000 as soon as possible. Director Cross seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously by President Boucke and Directors Cross, Nelsen and Zell.
5. Discussion and possible direction to staff to direct Stetson Engineers to prepare plans and specifications for bidding the remaining water lines needing replacement in the Patios.
   Due to the drought and lost water, it would be preferable to complete the replacement of the water lines in the Patios as soon as possible. The Patios Pipeline Replacement project is one of the projects for which the District submitted a $200,000 IRWM grant application. If the grant is approved, the contractor must start work by April 1, 2015.
   
   Director Zell made a motion for staff to direct Stetson Engineers to prepare plans and specifications for bidding the remaining water lines needing replacement in the Patios. Director Nelsen seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously by President Boucke and Directors Cross, Nelsen and Zell.
6. Discussion and possible direction to staff to direct Stetson Engineers to prepare plans and specifications for the location and drilling of a new potable water well at the Laurel Water Treatment Plant and work with staff to prepare an agreement for emergency use of the well on the Leonard family property.
   This project is also part of the District's IRWM grant application. This $400,000 grant component involves obtaining supplemental groundwater supplies. Director Cross made a motion for staff to direct Stetson Engineers to prepare plans and specifications for a new potable well and to prepare an agreement for emergency use of the Leonard Well. Director Nelsen seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously by President Boucke and Directors Cross, Nelsen and Zell.
7. Discussion and possible direction to staff to allocate variances over the budget to Capital Improvement Projects.
   The Board directed staff to allocate any revenue surplus to Capital Improvement Projects.
8. Discussion and possible acceptance of a revised Employee Wage & Benefits Costs spreadsheet at the request of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), adding Job Titles to the 2012/2013 Fiscal Year spreadsheet.
   CalPERS, as part of their audit, has requested that job titles be included on Employee Wage and Benefits Costs spreadsheets that are presented to the Board during the budget process. The District did not include job titles until CalPERS directed it do so. The Board accepted the revised 2012/2013 Employee Salary and Benefits statement that now includes job titles.
9. Discussion and possible approval of a revised Job Description for the vacant position "Billing/Customer Service Representative" and an update on the recruitment for the position.
   The Job Opening flyer which was posted around town, placed on the District's website and advertised in the Point Reyes Light and West Marin Citizen, has only produced two applications to date. The Board directed the General Manager to extend the application deadline for several more weeks and to advertise the position in the Marin Independent Journal as well.
10. Discussion and possible direction to staff to proceed with the process for modifying the District's "Onsite Wastewater Management Code" by adopting a graywater design process for Stinson Beach.
    The Board decided that all proposed changes to the District's Onsite Wastewater Management Code (Title IV), including the graywater design process, will be adopted concurrently. The proposed changes had been submitted to the Regional Water Quality Control Board on March 4, 2014, and a follow up letter was sent to Mr. Blair Allen on September 16, 2014.

E.    APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Director Nelsen moved to approve the minutes of August 16, 2014. Director Cross seconded the motion. The motion was approved by President Boucke and Directors Cross and Nelsen. Director Zell had been absent at the August 16, 2014 meeting.

F.    APPROVAL OF DISBURSEMENTS

Director Cross moved to approve the disbursements of August 6, August 13, and August 26, 2014. Director Nelsen seconded the motion. The motion was approved by President Boucke and Directors Cross, Nelsen and Zell.

G.    FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Finance Committee will review the final Financial Statements as of June 30, 2014, including the Cash Flow Report, prior to the October 18, 2014 Board meeting.

H.    MANAGER'S REPORT

The General Manager discussed his monthly report. The District's four grant projects are: Project A (Calles Pipeline Project), Project B (Patios Pipeline Project), Project C (Supplemental Groundwater Supplies) and Project D (Water Meters). As a condition of the grant, all projects must be ready to proceed to construction/implementation by April 1, 2015, and all construction bids will be awarded by April 1, 2015. The District is also required to have a Labor Compliance Program under Proposition 84 in place as soon as possible.

I.    COMMITTEE REPORTS

As the result of a written complaint by a local resident against a new neighbor, a revised draft Complaint form had been reviewed by the Wastewater Committee. It is the District's practice not to send a copy of the complaint to the complainant. However, as all records are a matter of public information, the District will provide the information if requested. The District will maintain a separate complaint file.

Some members of the Board may attend a desalination conference to be held in Sand City, Monterey, on October 6 and 7.

J.    CORRESPONDENCE

The Board reviewed the correspondence, including an e-mail letter from Kathleen Hurley and Erica Lowry dated September 18, 2014 concerning the Design Review Extension Application for the unimproved lot at Calle del Embarcadero.

K.    ADJOURNMENT

The motion to adjourn the meeting was approved by unanimous vote. The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 noon.