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BOARD MEETING MINUTES

REGULAR MEETING
Saturday, December 17, 2016

A.    CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL

President Cross called the Regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Stinson Beach County Water District to order on Saturday, December 17, 2016, at 9:30 a.m., at the Stinson Beach County Water District office, located at 3785 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, CA 94970.

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

Treasurer present:
Judy Stemen

General Manager present:
Ed Schmidt

Staff present:
Rich Souza - District Engineer
Helma Schwendig - Office Supervisor

B.    PUBLIC EXPRESSION

Matters not on the agenda. The Board and the General Manager expressed their appreciation to Director Baskin for his organization of a great Employee Recognition Dinner on December 13 at the Breakers Café.

C.    SETTING OF AGENDA

The agenda was unanimously adopted as set.

D.    GENERAL BUSINESS

  1. Election of Stinson Beach County Water District Board President and Vice President for Calendar Year 2017.
    Director Baskin moved to elect Vice President Nelsen as the new Board President for 2017 and Director Zell as the new Vice President. Director Boucke seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously. Outgoing President Cross then turned the meeting over to newly elected President Nelsen.

E.    PUBLIC HEARING

  1. Discussion and possible direction to staff re: a Variance Application to install an onsite wastewater system at 281 Seadrift Road, Don Horn Corp., Owner, APN 195-320- 30.
    This design and variance application is for a new alternative wastewater system with a maximum and average daily flow rate of 300 and 200 gallons, respectively, for a single family residence with up to 1,900 square feet of habitable space to be located on a 60' x 125' vacant lot on the lagoon side of Seadrift Road. Variances are requested under the District's Title IV, Section 4.15.100 Site Criteria - Setbacks to reduce the setback from a water body to the dispersal field from 100 feet to 94 feet, to reduce the 5 foot setback to allow driveway/parking area over a portion of the dispersal field, and under Section 4.19.010 Use of Alternative Wastewater Systems Designs to utilize a recirculating textile filter.

    Based on use of the proposed raised bed dispersal field, there is over 36 inches of vertical separation from seasonal high groundwater to the bottom of the raised bed dispersal field.

    The wastewater design consists of a new 1,500 gallon septic tank, a 1,200 gallon sump tank, Advantex AX20, diversion valve, and dual leach fields. A copy of the application documents were sent to the Regional Water Quality Control Board on November 7, 2016. The Wastewater Committee had discussed the application on November 14, 2016, and neighbor notifications were sent two weeks before the Board hearing.

    Director Cross stated that the draft resolution should clearly specify that the issuance of a wastewater system construction permit by the District shall be conditioned upon the issuance of a valid Marin County Building Permit for the proposed residence.

    Director Baskin requested that a finding be added to the draft resolution stating that there will be minimal horizontal movement of the pretreated effluent towards the lagoon, since the leach field is located in sand and has a fast percolation rate. Conditions "a" and "d" on page 2 of the draft resolution should be deleted in their entirety, as they do not apply to this project.

    With these changes, Director Baskin made a motion to adopt Resolution No. WW 2016-15 Granting a Variance to the Requirements of the Stinson Beach County Water District Wastewater Treatment Regulations Ordinance No. 2014-04 to Reduce Setback Requirements to a Driveway and Water Body and to Utilize an Alternative Wastewater System for property located at 281 Seadrift Road. Vice President Zell seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously by President Nelsen, Vice President Zell, and Directors Baskin and Cross. Director Boucke recused herself as she resides within 300 feet of the project.
  2. Discussion and possible direction to staff re: a Variance Application to install a replacement wastewater system at 11 Calle del Pinos, Charles Higgins and Leela Gill, Owners, Account No. 0020.
    The variance application is in response to a failed routine inspection by District staff on March 23, 2016. A Failed System Citation was issued and the Discharge Permit revoked due to a failed septic tank.

    The following five variances to the District's Title IV are requested: Section 4.15.100 Site Criteria - Setbacks, reduce dispersal field setback to a water body from 100 to 30 feet, reduce septic and sump tank setbacks to a water body from 50 to 20 feet; Section 4.15.111 Depth to Groundwater, to allow a 24 inch vertical separation from seasonal high groundwater to driplines; Section 4.19.010 Use of Alternative Wastewater Systems Designs, to utilize an aerobic pretreatment device and drip dispersal field; Section 4.19.160 Drip Irrigation - Installation and Cover, to utilize 2 inches of native soil and 4 inches of import cover over the dripline. The project was discussed at numerous Wastewater Committee meetings and Noadiah Eckman, the designer of the system, was requested to reduce the original ten variances.

    To mitigate the proximity to Easkoot Creek, the design includes an aerobic pretreatment unit and ultra-violet (UV) disinfection to increase treatment of wastewater effluent prior to dispersal into the driplines. The proposed septic system includes a new 1,500 gallon septic tank with an aerobic pretreatment unit, 810 gallon sump tank, dual drip dispersal fields and reserve area. Since the application is for repair of a failing system, notification is not required to the Regional Water Quality Control Board or neighbors within 300 feet of the property.

    Director Cross requested that a condition be added to Page 2 of the draft resolution for attention to be given to regular surface water sampling along Easkoot Creek. Director Baskin requested that the findings of fact be enhanced to state that because this is a repair and not a new project, closer proximity to a water body will be allowed. On Page 2 of the draft resolution, condition "a" , "Questa Engineering" should be deleted and "Eckman Environmental" inserted.

    With these changes, Director Baskin moved to adopt draft Resolution No. WW 2016-17 [subsequently renumbered as 2016-16] Granting a Variance to the Requirements of the Stinson Beach County Water District Wastewater Treatment Regulations Ordinance No. 2014-04 to Reduce Setback Requirements to a Water Body and Groundwater and to Utilize a Modified Alternative Wastewater System with Imported Soil for property located at 11 Calle del Pinos. Director Cross seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously by President Nelsen, Vice President Zell and Directors Baskin, Boucke and Cross.

F.    GENERAL BUSINESS

  1. Discussion re: District Committee Membership changes by the Board President.
    Newly elected President Nelsen distributed his new committee list for 2017 as follows:

    FINANCE COMMITTEE - Director Boucke, Director Baskin

    LEGAL COMMITTEE - Director Baskin, Director Cross

    PERSONNEL COMMITTEE - President Nelsen, Vice President Zell

    WASTEWATER COMMITTEE - President Nelsen, Director Cross

    WATER OPERATIONS COMMITTEE - Vice President Zell, Director Boucke

    AD HOC DESALINATION COMMITTEE: Vice President Zell, Director Cross
  2. Discussion and possible direction to staff regarding a Letter of Intent with the Marin County Multi-jurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.
    The General Manager attended a meeting of the Marin County Multi-jurisdictional Local Hazard Planning Group on November 22. West Marin Special Districts are encouraged to participate in the Marin County Hazard Mitigation Planning effort. First identify all the hazards such as flood, drought, tidal wave, fire, earthquake, and landslide. If the District needed future FEMA assistance, it would have to demonstrate that an effort was made to develop a list of hazards and their mitigation. The General Manager will ask Toby to work on this project on an overtime basis. The District will utilize parts of its Emergency Response Plan. By consensus, the Board requested that the sample Letter of Intent confirming that the District will participate in the Marin County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Planning effort, be signed by President Nelsen and sent to Sheriff Robert Doyle. Director Cross requested that the District obtain a copy of FEMA's Local Mitigation Planning Handbook (2013).
  3. Discussion and possible decision to order compost bins with the remaining $4,600 left of the $5,000 recycling grant from Zerø Waste Marin.
    By consensus, the Board decided to reserve $400 of the remaining $4,600 recycling grant to hold another compost seminar next spring. Vice President Zell made a motion to order a pallet of thirty-six compost bins for $2,656 plus tax for the District's customers, which they can purchase for a reduced fee of $35 each. Director Cross seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously by President Nelsen, Vice President Zell and Directors Baskin, Boucke and Cross.

G.    APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A member of the Board noted that the minutes of the Special Meeting of November 17, 2016, Page 2, line 5, should be changed to read "1 gallon of water = 1/2 gallon of sea water that is twice as salty." With this correction, Director Baskin moved to approve the minutes of the Special Meeting of November 17, 2016 and the Regular Meeting of November 19, 2016. Director Cross seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously by President Nelsen, Vice President Zell and Directors Baskin, Boucke and Cross.

H.    APPROVAL OF DISBURSEMENTS

Director Baskin moved to approve the disbursements of November 15 and December 1, 2016. Director Cross seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously by President Nelsen, Vice President Zell and Directors Baskin, Boucke and Cross.

I.    MANAGER'S REPORT

The General Manager discussed his monthly report. The District's Rolling Capital Improvements Cash Flow spreadsheet shows that cash flow remains steady. Two grant reimbursements totaling $302,476 will be forthcoming from DWR. $100,000 has recently been paid to Weeks Well Drilling. Toby is working on prioritizing a list of miscellaneous capital projects to be forwarded to the Board.

John Salyers is the District's new contact person for Redwood Empire Disposal, replacing Steve McCaffrey. Letters requesting water conservation will continue to be sent to the District's highest water users.

The District received a letter of recognition from ACWA/JPIA regarding its hard work in reducing claims. A reminder will be placed in the next water bill and/or newsletter advising customers how to access their online portal and set up leak notification.

Director Baskin stated that Brian Crawford of the Marin County Community Development Agency appreciates General Manager Ed Schmidt's technical expertise and will get in touch.

J.    COMMITTEE REPORTS

None.

K.    CORRESPONDENCE

The Board reviewed the correspondence, including a Special Request for a Traditional or Innovative Proposal for Water Management Services from the Muir Beach California Community Services District.

L.    ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 11:04 a.m. in honor of former Supervisor Gary Giacomini. The next regular meeting will be on Saturday, January 21, 2017, at 9:30 a.m.

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