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ITEM: |
ACTION ITEMS |
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14. |
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Meeting Date: |
January 26,
2006 |
Budgeted: |
N/A |
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From: |
David A.
Berger, General
Manager |
Program/ Line Item
No.: |
N/A |
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Prepared By: |
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Cost
Estimate: |
N/A |
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General Counsel Approval: N/A |
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Committee Recommendation: N/A |
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CEQA Compliance: N/A |
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SUMMARY:
As directed by the MPWMD 2005-2006 Strategic Plan adopted by the Board
at its October 18, 2005 meeting, the Board will consider whether or not to form
a new Board committee to address policy issues related to water supply,
including alternative water supply projects.
The proposed committee name is the “Water Supply Committee” (WSC) but
another name could be selected, if desired.
The proposed committee charge (Exhibit 14-A) assumes the following
attributes of the WSC, which should be confirmed or refined by the Board. The WSC would:
Ø
meet
as needed, and would not be considered a “legislative body” as defined by the
Ralph M. Brown Act;
Ø
address
policy issues related to existing and future water supply needs, which relate
to how large a water supply project(s) should be;
Ø
address
the comparison of alternative water supply projects, including a detailed
review of information provided for the MPWMD Comparative Matrix, and any
independent review of the matrix information;
Ø
recommend
which project(s) should be pursued and/or supported by MPWMD;
Ø
address
the scope of work and budget for MPWMD studies related to water supply issues,
if directed by the full Board and/or requested by the Administrative Committee;
Ø
address
any Formation Agreement with
Ø
address
other policy issues related to water supply, including agreements, contracts,
or ordinances not already covered by another committee.
The
WSC would be comprised of three Board members with at least one alternate. The members of the WSC and its chair would be
appointed by the Board Chair and approved by the Board. The MPWMD General Manager or other designated
staff member would provide support as appropriate.
The
Board discussed this item at its December 12, 2005 meeting, and continued the
item to January 26, 2006 to consider
unresolved issues such as the primary function of the committee and whether or
not the committee would be considered a “legislative body” under the Brown
Act.
Finally,
staff has added the word “ordinarily” to this proposed committee’s charge (see
Sec. 2, second sentence) for consistency with the amendment to District Meeting
Rule 7.C, which the Board approved on December 12, 2005 (Exhibit 14-B). This word also was added to the final charges
of other non-legislative body committees (i.e.Water Demand and Rules and
Regulations Review) approved by the Board on December 12, 2005.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Board take the following actions:
1.
Determine
that a new committee directed toward water supply issues should be formed.
2.
Select
the committee name. Examples include:
Water Supply Committee, Water Augmentation Committee, or Water Project
Committee.
3. Determine that the committee should not
be considered a “legislative body” as defined by the Brown Act.
4. Approve (or refine) the Committee Charge
provided as Exhibit 14-A.
5. Authorize the Board Chairperson to select
the committee members and committee chair for Board ratification at the
February 23, 2006 regular meeting.
BACKGROUND: In
the mid-1980s, the District Board formed a committee known as the “Water
Augmentation Committee” to provide policy recommendations on water augmentation
and supply issues, including detailed review of alternative water supply
projects. The committee focus was the
New Los Padres Dam and Reservoir (NLP) project description and purpose, as well
as the environmental review and permitting process for the NLP, including
assessment of alternatives. The
committee appears to have disbanded when the NLP was not approved by voters in
1995. District records indicate that a
“Project Review Committee” was formed in the 1997-98 timeframe to review
financial and permit matters related to the Carmel River Dam and Reservoir
Project proposed by California American Water (Cal-Am). In 2001, the committee also addressed Pebble
Beach Company’s proposal to return a portion of their water entitlement from
the CAWD/PBCSD Reclamation Project to the District for sale for new
construction. The committee name was
changed to the “Project and Environmental Review Committee” in April 2002, and
existed through 2004, though it was not active.
Since January 2005, no committee has focused on water supply
issues. At its October 17, 2005
meeting, the Board adopted the 2005-2006 MPWMD Strategic Plan, which included
Water Supply Objective #WS6, “Create Board Water Supply Committee and
Charge” for consideration by the Board
at its December 2005 meeting. No
direction about the specific scope of the committee was given.
IMPACTS TO STAFF RESOURCES: Technical and support staff will be affected by the
creation of a new committee. Staff
notes and related materials will need to be prepared and analyzed for the
committee meetings and minutes will be taken.
There will be another
set of agendas and packets to mail or e-mail, and the District website will
need to include the committee information.
A specific cost for these tasks is not known, but should be minor
compared to overall MPWMD expenses related to water supply.
EXHIBITS
14-A Proposed Draft Water Supply Committee Charge
14-B MPWMD Meeting Rule 7.C
U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2006\2006boardpackets\20060126\ActionItems\14\item14.doc