BOARD MEETING MINUTES

SPECIAL MEETING
Wednesday, March 11, 2015

A.    CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL

President Baskin called the Special meeting of the Board of Directors of the Stinson Beach County Water District to order on Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at 9:00 a.m., at the Stinson Beach County Water District office, located at 3785 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, CA 94970.

Directors present:
Lawrence Baskin, President
Sandra Cross, Vice President
Barbara Boucke, Director
Jim Zell, Director

Directors absent:
Morey Nelsen, Director

General Manager present:
Ed Schmidt

Staff present:
Office Supervisor - Helma Schwendig

B.    PUBLIC EXPRESSION

None.

C.    GENERAL BUSINESS

1. Discussion and possible direction to staff to approve the project and issue the Notice of Award to Pacific Underground Services for the Patios Pipelines Replacement Project and declare it categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) on or before March 19, 2015 and direct staff to file a Notice of Exemption from CEQA with the State Clearinghouse.
   This project is anticipated to be funded as part of the District's approved Proposition 84 Grant Projects. The District received 7 bids for the new water pipelines to be installed along Sacramento Patio, Jose Patio and Francisco Patio. The lowest qualified bid was submitted by Pacific Underground Services for $75,420. The engineer's cost estimate was $82,000. The General Manager and Allan Richards of Stetson Engineers separately contacted the references provided by Pacific Underground Services. The references checked out satisfactorily.
   
   The project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as it involves replacement of deteriorated pipelines to meet current standards of public health and safety. A Notice of Exemption will be filed with the State Clearinghouse. The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) will also be notified of the award contract.
   
   Director Zell moved to approve the Patios Pipelines Replacement Project and, pending the arrival and inventory of all parts ordered by the District, approve the General Manager to issue the Notice of Award to Pacific Underground Services by March 19, 2015 for its bid of $75,420. Director Cross seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously by the board members present, President Baskin, Vice President Cross, and Directors Boucke and Zell.
2. Ethics Training for elected and appointed officials of the Stinson Beach County Water District, as required by the State of California.
   AB 1234 requires that SBCWD Board members and its Treasurer receive two hours of training on ethics laws and principles every two years. The Fair Political Practices Commission offers free online training that requires review of ethics laws and taking periodic tests to assure retention of the information. At the completion of the online session, a certificate of participation can be printed. The Board members and Treasurer opted to comply with AB 1234 by taking the online training.

MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA

Part of the District's approved grant under Prop. 84 consists of $250,000 for Water Meter Replacements and In-line Meters. The General Manager discussed the telephone surveys he made recently regarding the water meters and utility billing software used by a dozen bay area water districts. Some of the larger water agencies still do manual meter reads. The Board members in attendance expressed their belief that the District should continue its current system where each of its 729 water meters is read by touch, using a wand. The reading is electronically transferred to the Sensus AutoRead Handheld Device. Badger Meter Touch has also gotten good reviews.

The Board felt that only the meters should be replaced, costing approximately $200 per meter. It was also suggested that the District explore the availability of companion water budgeting devices that display the water meter read in an accessible location to be available to the District's customers.

It is uncertain if a change in the District's utility billing software is covered by grant funds. Any different software that is selected must be compatible with the hand held read system.

D.    ADJOURNMENT

The motion to adjourn the meeting was approved by unanimous vote. The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 a.m.