ITEM: CONSENT CALENDAR

12. CONSIDER AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR ALERT GAGE MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT WITH MONTEREY COUNTY WATER RESOURCES AGENCY FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003-2004

Meeting Date: June 21, 2004 Budgeted: Yes

Program/Line Item No.: 2-6-1 F

Staff Contact: Greg James Cost Estimate: $3,000

General Counsel Approval: N/A

Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee recommended reviewed this item on June 7, 2004 and recommended approval.

CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: The Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) operates nine precipitation sensors and six stream stage sensors within or near the Carmel River Basin, that transmit real-time hydrologic data to the District’s ALERT base station located at the District office. Beginning Fiscal Year (FY) 1992-1993, the District agreed to pay the MCWRA $3,000 per year to share the annual operation and maintenance (O&M) costs for the ALERT gages incurred by the MCWRA. The real-time data received from the ALERT gages support a variety of programs and studies.

RECOMMENDATION: If this item is approved as part of the Consent Calendar, staff will pay MCWRA $3,000 for ALERT O&M services during FY 2003-2004. The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on June 7, 2004 and voted 2 to 0 to recommended approval.

IMPACT TO STAFF/RESOURCES: The District's share for ALERT gage maintenance for FY 2003-2004 (July 1, 2003 - June 30, 2004) is $3,000 as indicated on Exhibit 12-A. This amount was included in the FY 2003-2004 District Budget (Summary of Project Expenditures, Program 2-6-1F). It should be noted that the MCWRA on November 13, 2003 requested that the District increase its funding level for the ALERT program from $3,000 to $38,000 to cover their additional costs of this program. The District’s December 16, 2003 response to this request indicated that the District would not be able to support this funding increase and instead intends to redirect future ALERT funding into District-owned streamflow monitoring facilities improvements.

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