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ADMINISTRATIVE
COMMITTEE
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3.
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CONSIDER EXPENDITURE OF
BUDGETED FUNDS TO PURCHASE LICENSE FOR UTILIZATION OF WATER WISE GARDENING IN
MONTEREY COUNTY SOFTWARE
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Meeting
Date:
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February 17, 2009
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Budgeted:
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Yes
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From:
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Darby Fuerst,
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Program/
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4-2-2
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General
Manager
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Line Item No.:
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Prepared
By:
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Stephanie Pintar
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Cost
Estimate:
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$5,250
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General Counsel Approval: N/A
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Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee considered this
item on February 17, 2009 and recommended ____________.
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CEQA Compliance: N/A
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SUMMARY: District
staff was recently notified that the software developer of the Water Wise
Gardening for Monterey
County that their product
can be purchased for use on the Internet.
The license is $5,000 per year and allows unlimited links to the host
website. For an additional $250,
additional frames can be purchased that allow the website to track user
statistics. Monthly web traffic reports
that provide detailed information about the visitors that visit the software
are included in the license. District
staff is requesting authorization to purchase a one-year license and one
additional frame to enable implementation of the Water Wise Gardening for Monterey County
software on the Water Awareness Committee (WAC) of Monterey County
website with a link to MPWMD’s website.
WAC members expressed interest in buying in to this project at their
February 12, 2009 meeting; however buy-in may not take place until the next
budget year. District staff believes there
is some urgency for making the software available early in 2009 to facilitate
conservation activities during the spring.
The District has funds approved for educating the public that staff
proposes to use for this expenditure.
District staff will continue to work with WAC and its members to seek
reimbursement from any agency linking to the WAC site. It is anticipated that the contract will
eventually be transferred to WAC.
The District and California American Water (CAW) are presently
collaborating on a joint water conservation website. The new website will benefit from having the
Water Wise Gardening for Monterey
County software available
when it launches at the end of March 2009.
CAW is funding the website development through funding included for this
purpose in the Conservation Filing pending approval of the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) in A.07.12.010.
However, CAW has not been authorized funding for supplemental programs
for the website—hence District staff seeks authorization to purchase the
supplemental frame for the joint website as part of its conservation outreach
budget. The additional frame would
enable tracking of Water Wise Gardening statistics. Tracking use of the application is sought-after,
as multiple reporting requirements have been included in the settlement
agreements between CAW, MPWMD, and the Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA)
that are related to the conservation funding currently being considered by the
CPUC.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the Administrative Committee
approve expenditure of $5,250 and authorize the General Manager to enter into a
contract with GardenSoft to purchase a web license
and additional frame for the Water Wise Gardening for Monterey County
software. Funding is currently in the
budget for this project under 4-2-2, Educate the Public and Enforce Water Waste
Rules.
The Administrative Committee
reviewed this item at its February 17, 2009 meeting and voted to recommend __________.
BACKGROUND: In 2005, WAC
contracted with GardenSoft to develop a Water Wise
Gardening CD-ROM tailored to Monterey
County. General
distribution of the CD has occurred in all areas of Monterey County
that are served by WAC members and by participants in the project. As landscaping
irrigation generates the largest water usage on residential properties, and with
evolving County, City, and District landscape requirements and ordinances, the
information provided helps property owners be “garden smart” and reducing water
use while still meeting any landscaping requirements. This is done with the user-friendly access
and direction provided by the Water Wise software. The development of the CD
master cost $15,000, which was divided up among the project participants. The CD-ROMs were purchased at a bulk cost of
$3.15 each.
The CD-ROM provides photos of
various types of local gardens; examples of front and back yards, hillsides,
raised planters, shrub and perennial borders, walkways, parking strips, patio
areas, theme gardens, native gardens, decks, fences, gates, surfaces, benches,
trellises, low-maintenance gardens, and Mediterranean style gardens. There are hot-links embedded within the
garden images of plants which link to photography, plant or material
identification, and related information. Users are able to search for plants
relevant to specific Monterey
County areas by botanical
name or common name, by look or color, by general variety, and much more. A
brief questionnaire leads the user to the appropriate plants to solve their
gardening needs. A series of information pages are provided that list watering
tips on a month-by-month basis and general lawn and planting area instructions
for each month of the year. Finally, a
list of all cooperating agencies, cities, and groups is listed within the
software.
EXHIBITS
None
U:\staff\word\committees\Admin\2009\20090217\03\item3.doc