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FINAL MINUTES Regular Meeting Board of Directors Monterey Peninsula Water
Management District March 15, 2004 |
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The meeting was called to order at 7 PM in the Monterey City Council Chambers. Directors
present: Alvin
Edwards, Chair – Division 1 Larry
Foy, Vice Chair – Division 5 Judi
Lehman – Division 2 Kristi
Markey – Division 3 Michelle
Knight – Division 4 David
Pendergrass – Mayoral Representative David
Potter – Monterey County Board of Supervisors Directors
absent: None General
Manager present: Fran Farina District
Counsel present: David C. Laredo The
assembly recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The
following comments were directed to the Board during Oral
Communications. (1) David Dilworth,
representing Helping Our Peninsula’s Environment (HOPE) alleged that the
total acre-feet of water produced by the California-American Water Company
(Cal-Am) in 2003, plus the water represented by outstanding water permits and
water credits, and water left in the jurisdictions’ allocation, may exceed
the annual production limit set by State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) Order 95-10. He requested that
the District provide a list that quantifies the amount of water represented
by outstanding water credits and water permits for projects that have not yet
been developed, and the amount of water produced in 2003. (2) Ron Chesshire reminded the Board
that its main purpose is to augment the water supply. He urged the Board to work with the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) and local communities on development of a water
supply solution. (3) John Fischer,
resident of Pacific Grove, urged the Board to be aware of plans Cal-Am is
making for development of desalination projects in other parts of California.
(4) Michael Waxer noted that the list of Carmel Valley private pumpers
that District staff provided to the Carmel River Advisory Committee included
many clients of the Carmel Development Company including Earthbound Farms, a
company that produces organic produce, and other private water distribution
systems approved by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. (5) Patricia Bernardi, a resident of
Carmel Valley, asked that Director Potter or another Director provide an
explanation for item S-24 on the March 16, 2004 Monterey County Board of
Supervisors agenda titled Approve Letter of Intent between the Monterey
County Water Resources Agency and California-American Water Company to Form a
Partnership to Develop the Monterey County Water Supply Project. (6) Lou Haddad expressed objections
to the approval of expenditures outlined in Consent Calendar item 2, Consider
Purchase of a Multi-Function Copier for Water Demand Division; item 3,
Authorize Funds for Technical Assistance for Seaside Basin Groundwater
Management Plan; and item 4, Consider Approval of Software and Hardware
Purchases for Information Technology.
He suggested that a financial oversight committee should be
established to prevent “runaway expenditures.” (7) Sheryl McKenzie, Government
Affairs Director for the Monterey County Association of Realtors, explained
that the staff report for item S-24 on the March 16, 2004 Monterey County
Board of Supervisors agenda states that a determination of regional water
demand would be developed with input from the Monterey County Water Resources
Agency, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, Fort Ord Reuse
Authority, Castroville Water District and communities of northern Monterey
County and other water utilities. Ms.
McKenzie objected to the March 15, 2004 letter from Chair Edwards to Lou
Calcagno requesting continuation of item S-24. On a motion by Director Potter and second by Director Knight, Consent Calendar items 2, 3 and 4 were pulled for separate consideration. The remaining Consent Calendar items were adopted unanimously on a vote of 7 – 0. Approved. Director Potter offered a motion to adopt the staff recommendation and authorize an expenditure of $7,948.80 for the purchase of a photocopier and service contract. Director Potter offered an amended motion to continue this item for a maximum of 30 days, and bring back to the Board information on the cost of a lease option. Director Knight seconded the motion. It was adopted on a vote of 7 – 0. During
the public comment period on this item David Dilworth expressed opposition to
the copier purchase due to the high cost of the equipment. Director Foy offered a motion that was seconded by Director Lehman to adopt the staff recommendation and authorize funds not to exceed $22,000 to provide technical assistance for development of the Seaside Basin Groundwater Management Plan. The motion was approved unanimously on a vote of 7 – 0. During
the public comment period on this item, Patricia Bernardi stated that the
District’s involvement in the Seaside Basin adjudication lawsuit should not
be the factor used to delay this project. Director Foy made a motion that was seconded by Director Potter to approve an expenditure of $45,575 for the purchase of new, upgraded and replacement hardware and software for use at the District for various information technology functions. The motion was adopted unanimously on a vote of 7 – 0. The
following comments were directed to the Board during the public comment
period on this item. (1) David
Dilworth suggested that the item be deferred until more detailed information
was provided to the Board on the purchase of Adobe Acrobat and the associated
licenses for multiple users. (2)
John Fischer, a resident of Pacific Grove, asked if there were plans to
purchase software that could be used by District staff to conduct analyses
presently completed by consultants. (3)
Lou Haddad questioned the necessity of the proposed purchases. Approved. Approved. Approved. Approved. Approved. Approved. Approved. General
Manager Farina reported that operation of the Aquifer Storage and Recovery
Project (ASR) was halted on March 12, 2004 at the request of Cal-Am due to
failure of the pump at Cal-Am’s Pearce well.
The well should be repaired by March 17, 2004, which will allow the
District to restart operation of the ASR project by March 19, 2004. District
Counsel Laredo reported that no action was taken on item 1.A related to the
General Manager position. Regarding
agenda item 2A, Labor Negotiator Cynthia Schmidlin provided a report to the
Board on negotiations with the employee association Laborer’s International
Union of North America. No action was
taken. Regarding items 3A through 3D
and item 4, District Counsel provided a report to the Board but no reportable
action was taken. Chair
Edwards reported that he had directed staff to investigate the cost of hiring
a consultant to represent the District in the California State Legislature
concerning SB1529. In addition, staff
was directed to review the November 2, 2004 election schedule in preparation
for placing a local measure on the ballot regarding governance of the
District. He stated that if
legislation was in process that would modify the District’s governance
structure, local voters should have the opportunity to weigh-in on the
proposal. He noted that these items
would be placed on future Board meeting agendas for consideration by the
Directors. Chair Edwards also
announced that he faxed a letter dated March 15, 2004 to Lou Calcagno, Chair
of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, requesting that agenda item S-24
(Approve Letter of Intent between the Monterey County Water Resources Agency
and California-American Water Company to Form a Partnership to Develop the
Monterey County Water Supply Project) be deferred from the March 16, 2004
agenda until sometime after March 31, 2004.
He apologized to the Board for any irresponsible action on his part,
but reiterated that the District and the County should work together on
development of a water supply solution.
Director
Lehman requested that District staff prepare a list of all permitted, but not
used or not metered water uses. This
list should be distributed to the Water Demand and Administrative
Committees. Ms. Lehman expressed a
concern about the cumulative effects that could result from increased water
production when the pending water demand comes on line. She referenced a letter dated February 24,
2004 from Peter Coniglio regarding 12 unused water permits (on file at the
District office). Director
Potter stated that the full Board should have had the opportunity to consider
authorizing Chair Edwards to transmit the March 15, 2004 letter to Lou
Calcagno. He suggested that the
letter should be rewritten to reflect the concerns of the Board. In regards to agenda item S-24, Director
Potter expressed his concern that Cal-Am does not seem to be motivated to
solve the local water supply problem.
He noted that Cal-Am has not yet submitted an application for a water
supply project to any local or State permitting agency. Therefore, the County of Monterey intends
to begin the public dialogue and discourse on how to address the water supply
issues. Director
Markey thanked Chair Edwards for transmitting the March 15, 2004 letter to
the Monterey County Board of Supervisors.
She expressed concern that the Board of Supervisors planned to take
action on agenda item S-24 without providing advance notice to the District. Director
Pendergrass suggested that the letter could have been considered by the Board
as an urgency issue. He would have
preferred to be briefed on the issue before the letter was transmitted to the
Board of Supervisors. On a motion by Director Pendergrass and second by Director Foy, the April through June 2004 Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget was approved unanimously as presented in the staff note on a vote of 7 – 0. The
following comments were directed to the Board during the public hearing on
this item. (1) David Dilworth
explained that flushing flows in the Carmel River that occur after heavy
rains are beneficial to California red-legged frogs. He asked for an explanation as to why the
California Department of Health Services requested that Cal-Am’s San Carlos
Well be taken off-line due to water treatment issues. (2) Patricia Bernardi asked if the
Russell wells will be used in order to meet the proposed reductions in
pumping in June from the upper Carmel River aquifer. Director Foy offered a motion that was seconded by Director Knight to approve a water use credit of 9.063 acre-feet per-annum (AFA) for the retrofit of the Presidio of Monterey’s urinals to waterless urinals and 7.998 AFA for the retrofit of the food service facilities with SOMAT disposal systems. The motion was adopted on a vote of 5 – 2. Directors Edwards, Foy, Knight, Pendergrass and Potter voted in favor of the motion. Directors Lehman and Markey were opposed. Director Markey proposed an amended motion to approve a water use credit of 7.998 AFA for the SOMAT system and reserve determination on the appropriate water credit for the waterless urinals until water savings can be estimated based on water records obtained from water meters in buildings where the waterless urinals have been installed. The motion was seconded by Director Lehman. The motion failed on a vote of 2 – 5. Directors Lehman and Markey voted in favor of the motion. Directors Edwards, Foy, Knight, Pendergrass and Potter were opposed. The
following comments were directed to the Board during the public hearing on
this item. (1) Lou Haddad
expressed support for the U.S. Army’s request that water use credits be
granted for retrofits accomplished at the Presidio of Monterey. (2) David Dilworth, representing
HOPE, stated that the District should not measure water use in fixture
units. He asked several questions
about the proposal to issue water use credit to the Presidio. (3) John Fischer, a resident of
Pacific Grove, congratulated the Presidio of Monterey on its conservation
efforts. He noted that utilization of
actual historic water use is the best way to determine savings achieved
through retrofitting. The meeting was adjourned at 10:20 PM and reconvened at 10:30 PM. Director Foy offered a motion to approve the first reading of Ordinance No. 113 with the correction suggested by staff to amend Finding 4, line 1, by adding the word “compensation” after the words “Board Member.” The motion was seconded by Director Edwards. The
following comments were directed to the Board during the public hearing on
this item. (1) David Dilworth
recommended against adoption of Ordinance No. 113. (2) Tex Irwin spoke in support of
Ordinance No. 113, and urged the Board to develop a water supply. (3) Robert Greenwood, representing
the Carmel Valley Association, suggested that the Board compensation be
limited to $400 per month for attendance at two Board meetings and two
committee meetings. (4) John
Fischer expressed support for adoption of Ordinance No. 113. (5) Patricia Bernardi suggested that
the rate of payment for each meeting should remain unchanged at $30 per
meeting, or as an alternative, compensation could be set at $100 for each
Board meeting along with a lower rate
established for attendance at committee meetings. (6) Steve Leonard, a resident of
Pacific Grove, spoke in support of Ordinance No. 113. Director Potter made a motion to adopt the staff
recommendation, including approval of the variance request; issuance of a
Confirmation of Exemption letter; and issuance of a refund of a portion of
the $2,450 fee paid by the applicant based on the amount of staff time spent
on processing the application. The
motion was seconded by Director Knight and approved unanimously on a vote of
7 – 0. During
the public hearing on this item, David Dilworth asked why a water
distribution system permit was needed for a well that would serve one lot. On a motion by Director Pendergrass and second by Director Foy, the Board unanimously approved the staff recommendation to direct staff to finalize the text and proceed with production and distribution of the final report. The motion was approved on a vote of 7 – 0. Rick
Dickhaut, Chief Financial Officer, noted that page 201 of the Board packet
states that Cal-Am produced 11,196 AF of water from the Carmel River Basin in
Water Year 2003. That sentence should
be corrected to state that Cal-Am produced 11,131 AF of water from the Carmel
River Basin in Water Year 2003, 154 AF below the production limit of 11,285
AF. During
the public hearing on this item, David Dilworth disagreed with a statement on
page 204 of the Board packet which states that “the District strictly adheres
to federal and state regulations to ensure the protection of threatened
species such as the steelhead and California red-legged frogs.” According to Mr. Dilworth, the Carmel
River steelhead and the California red-legged frog are on the endangered
species list because the District has approved 8,000 new water connections
since 1977. He proposed that the
sentence be replaced with language that points out the District’s role in
causing over-pumping of the Carmel River in spite of heroic conservation
efforts made by the public. Director
Potter left the meeting at 11:05 PM prior to consideration of this item. Director Markey proposed a motion to adopt the resolution. Director Knight seconded the motion. It was adopted on a vote of 4-1-1. Directors Edwards, Knight, Lehman and Markey voted in support of the motion. Director Foy was opposed. Director Pendergrass abstained from voting on the motion due to a conflict of interest. Director Potter was absent from the discussion and vote on this item. During
the public comment period on this item, the following comments were directed
to the Board. (1) Robert Greenwood,
Carmel Valley Association, expressed support for the resolution. (2) Patricia Bernardi, a resident of
Carmel Valley, spoke in support of the resolution. She expressed a preference for the term
“interested parties” and said that she becomes a stakeholder whenever water
is taken from the Carmel River and transferred into the Seaside basin. (3) Tex Irwin spoke in support of
the resolution. (4) David Dilworth,
representing HOPE, expressed support for the resolution. This
item was considered at 8:15 PM. All Directors were present for this item. Director Potter proposed a motion to return this issue to the Policy and Technical Advisory committees and request that they make a recommendation to the Board on the questions raised in the staff report: (a) how much water, if any, should be considered for allocation; (b) what formula should be used to determine each jurisdiction’s share; (c) should an MPWMD Community Reserve be established; and (d) should the U.S. military be added as new jurisdiction. Director Knight seconded the motion. It was adopted unanimously on a vote of 7 – 0. The
following comments were directed to the Board during the public comment
period on this item. (1) Ron
Chesshire, a resident of Monterey, suggested that the District seek an
opinion from the SWRCB as to whether or not the District should move ahead on
making additional water available for allocation to the jurisdictions. (2) Robert Greenwood, representing
the Carmel Valley Association, urged the Board to prepare an update to the
Water Allocation Program EIR before any decisions are made regarding
development of new water sources. (3)
Roy Thomas, President of the Carmel River Steelhead Association,
encouraged the District to enhance the Carmel River Lagoon habitat during low
flow periods by supplementing the lagoon with reclaimed wastewater. According to Mr. Thomas, this protective
measure would also guard against the advancement of seawater intrusion into
groundwater resources. (4) Patricia
Bernardi, a resident of Carmel Valley, stated that the ASR project should
be part of a long-term integrated plan rather than a “quick fix.” (5) David Dilworth noted that the
Pebble Beach Company was reimbursed for its investment in development of the Carmel
Area Wastewater District/Pebble Beach Community Services District Wastewater
Reclamation Project. Mr. Dilworth
asked if Cal-Am should be allowed to profit from the delivery of water it
produces in excess of its permitted water right. At
the direction of Chair Edwards, this item was referred to the Water Demand
Committee to review the preliminary draft version of Ordinance No. 117 and
consider incorporating safeguards from Ordinance No. 101. The amended ordinance would be submitted to
the Board at the April 19 or May 17, 2004 meeting. Chair
Edwards deferred this item to the April 19, 2004 Board meeting. The
Board did not discuss these items. The
meeting was adjourned at 11:25 PM. |
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CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALLPLEDGE
OF ALLEGIANCE ORAL COMMUNICATIONS CONSENT CALENDAR 1.
Consider Adoption of Minutes of the Board Workshop
of February 2, 2004 and the Regular Board Meeting of February 19, 2004 2.
Consider Purchase of a Multi-Function Copier for
Water Demand Division CONSENT
CALENDAR 3.
Authorize Funds for Technical Assistance for
Seaside Basin Groundwater Management Plan 4.
Consider Approval of Software and Hardware
Purchases for Information Technology 5.
Approve Expenditure of Mitigation Funds to
Retrofit Pool No. 2 at the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility 6.
Consider Approval of Revised Indemnification
Provisions in Access Agreements for District Projects along the Carmel River 7.
Consider Approval of Second Quarter Investment
Report 8.
Receive District-Wide Annual Water Distribution
System Production Summary for Water Year 2003 9.
Receive District-Wide Annual Water Production
Summary Report for Water Year 2003 CONSENT
CALENDAR 10.
Receive 2002-2003 Annual Mitigation Program Report 11.
Consider Adoption of Treasurer’s Report for
January 2004 GENERAL
MANAGER’S REPORT ATTORNEY’S
REPORT 12.
Report on Closed Session DIRECTORS’
REPORTS 13.
Board Comments and Referrals PUBLIC
HEARINGS 14.
Consider Adoption of April through June 2004
Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget 15.
Consider Water Use Credit for Installation of
SOMAT Disposal Systems and Waterless Urinals at the Presidio of Monterey 16.
Consider First Reading of Ordinance No. 113 – Increase
Board Compensation PUBLIC
HEARINGS 17.
Consider Variance from MPWMD Rule 20-C-3 by
Kingmen, Inc. (Fred King): APN 103-121-002 18.
Receive Public Comment on Draft 2003 MPWMD Annual
Report ACTION
ITEMS 19.
Consider Adoption of a Resolution Declaring the
District’s Intent to Prepare a Groundwater Management Plan for the Seaside
Groundwater Basin and Adopting a Statement of Public Participation 20.
Discussion of Near Term Water Supply Concepts,
Including Reclamation 21.
Discuss Water Credit Transfer Program and Provide
Direction to Staff ACTION
ITEMS 22.
Status Report on Preparation of a Study to Update
Commercial Water Use Factors INFORMATIONAL
ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS 23.
Letters Received 24.
Committee Reports 25.
Strategic Planning Initiatives Progress Report 26.
Carmel River Fishery Report 27.
Water Conservation Program Report 28.
Monthly Allocation Report 29.
Monthly California-American Water Company
Production Report 30.
Production Report – CAWD/PBCSD Wastewater
Reclamation Project 31.
Monthly Water Supply Status Report 32.
Report on Second Quarter Financial Activity for
Fiscal Year 2003-2004 ADJOURNMENT |
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Fran Farina, Secretary to the Board
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