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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - EVWD Board of Directors - 06/25/2014 Approved July 9, 2014 EAST VALLEY WATER DISTRICT June 25, 2014 REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES The Chairman of the Board called the meeting to order at 5:31 p.m. Mr. Maestas led the flag salute. PRESENT: Directors: Coats, Coleman, LeVesque, Morales, Sturgeon ABSENT: None STAFF: John Mura, General Manager/CEO; Mike Maestas, Assistant General Manager; Brian Tompkins, Chief Financial Officer; Cecilia Contreras, Executive Assistant; Eileen Bateman, Executive Assistant LEGAL COUNSEL: Jean Cihigoyenetche GUEST(s): Members of the public SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS No supplemental information at this time. PRESENTATIONS &t CEREMONIAL ITEMS Tom Ash gave a presentation on the design of sustainable water rates, including the recovery of agency costs, establishing equitable customer allocations and driving conservation to meet State legislation; that each customer would be set up with a budget allocation of water depending on household size and irrigation size; that this would not be a rate increase but a different way of recovering costs; that when a customer goes over the allotted amount, that is when the higher rates would kick in; that this will also help the District reach the mandate for 20% deduction in water use by the year 2020. Director Coats stated that this is no different than Edison tiered rates. Vice Chairman Coleman inquired to the different size of meters and how they would be billed. Director Sturgeon stated that this was a great presentation. Director LeVesque inquired into what kind of challenges this type of billing has faced. 06-Zy"t4 Minutes: 04M/14 cmc Chairman Morales stated that this type of system would help the District meet State legislation and asked what types of revenues other Districts are seeing with this kind of rate structure. Mr. Ash responded to the Directors inquires with the following: that each account would have a fixed cost on the size of their meter and this budget rate structure would apply to the consumable amount; that a couple of Districts have faced litigation but since then, the structure has been adjusted to solve these issues; that other Districts have created education/conservation programs with the extra revenue that is coming in due to the budget rate structure. The General Manager/CEO stated that the District has been doing improvements over the past couple years to the billing software, improved IT infrastructure, and upgrades to our GIS system; that he wants to make sure that this is the direction that Board would like to move in prior to beginning the cost of service analysis. Chairman Morales requested concurrence from the Board to move forward with the cost of service analysis with the budget rate structure and the Board was in agreement. Information only. PUBLIC COMMENTS Chairman Morales declared the public participation section of the meeting open at 6:45 p.m. There being no written or verbal comments, the public participation section was closed. APPROVAL OF AGENDA M/S/C (Coats-Coleman) that the June 25, 2014 agenda be approved as submitted. APPROVE THE JUNE 4, 2014 SPECIAL BOARD MEETING MINUTES M/S/C (LeVesque-Sturgeon) that June 4, 2014 Special Board meeting minutes be approved as submitted. APPROVE THE JUNE 11, 2014 REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES M/S/C (LeVesque-Sturgeon) that the June 11, 2014 Board meeting minutes be approved as submitted. APPROVE THE JUNE 11, 2014 SPECIAL BOARD MEETING MINUTES M/S (LeVesque-Sturgeon) that the June 11, 2014 Special Board meeting minutes be approved as submitted. Ms. Bateman stated that there was a change to the minutes; that Jean Cihigoyenetche 2 Minutes: 06/25/14 cmc was present at the June 11, 2014 Special Board meeting. ItM/S (LeVesque-Sturgeon) that the June 11, 2014 Special Board meeting minutes be approved as amended. Director LeVesque stated that since he was not present at the June 11, 2014 Special Board meeting, that he is withdrawing his motion. M/S/C (Coleman-Sturgeon) that the June 11, 2014 Special Board meeting minutes be approved as amended. PROPOSED FY 2014-15 OPERATING AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM BUDGET The General Manager/CEO gave an overview of the budget; that this is a program based budget; that the effectiveness is measured by the Key Performance Indicators; that the entire budget increased 2.2% from last year's budget. The Chief Financial Officer gave an overview of operating budget and stated that there has been no significant change. The Chief Financial Officer gave an overview of the capital improvement projects; that staff has been decreased which caused an increase in contract services. He also gave an overview of the debt service, the Del Rosa site compared to the proposed 3rd and Sterling site. Chairman Morales thanked staff for the presentation. M/S/C - (LeVesque-Sturgeon) to approve the proposed FY 2014-15 Operating and Capital Improvement Program Budget. The Board took a break at 7:08 pm. The Board returned to regular session at 7:17pm DISTRICT GOVERNING BOARD MEMBER RETIREE MEDICAL BENEFIT DETERMINATION The Districts Legal Counsel gave an overview of the history of Directors benefits Legal Counsel asked the Board to consider Resolution 2011 .01 and give staff direction to what the benefits are and how long they would last. He stated the Director Sturgeon would receive these benefits and is going to abstain from this agenda item; that the recommendations will be brought back to the Board for a formal vote; that there are two people that this would affect, Director Sturgeon and former Director Steve Negrete. The General Manager/CEO stated that Mr. Negrete had not been receiving his benefits 1 I. until his payments that were in the arrears were paid and that has been taken care of. Director LeVesque inquired into who paid Mr. Negrete's arrears; that there is much potential for someone to stay on the Board because of the benefits; he suggested that a 3 Minutes: 06/25/14 cmc limit be set and the benefits be the same as employees for retirement; and that if there is a default in premium payments they are completely terminated from the benefits. The General Manager/CEO stated that Director Sturgeon made the arrears payment for Mr. Negrete. Director Coats inquired into the amount and the process of how Directors receive their benefits. The Human Resources Manager explained the benefits process for employees and Directors. Vice Chairman Coleman stated that he feels Directors should receive the same amount that employees receive regarding the retirement benefits. M/S/C (LeVesque-Coleman) to cap the current eligible directors retirement benefits to match the MOU in place with the East Valley Water District employees. Director Sturgeon abstained from this agenda item. The Districts Legal Counsel stated the he will take the comments into consideration when preparing the resolution. At a future meeting there will be a discussion regarding Mr. Negrete's benefits and to discuss the future benefits. Chairman Morales stated that this Resolution should also have some sort of cyclical review; that this should be added to the Board calendar. GENERAL MANAGER/STAFF REPORTS The Public Affairs/Conservation Manager reported on the following: the continued outreach with the wastewater reclamation study, newsletter bill stuffers have been going out and the next one should be received mid July, the first reservation has been made by the Highland Chamber of Commerce for the facility use, the drought outreach has been ongoing with a billboard coming soon. The General Manager/CEO reported on the following: the Districts offered Employee Assistance Program and the Districts insurance program with the incentive benefits that the District has received. The General Manager/CEO gave an update regarding the Water Reclamation Plant Feasibility Study. He discussed the project considerations, timeline, proposed site, infrastructure requirements, and criteria for system improvements. He invited the public to join the District at the July 23, 2014 Special Board meeting for more information and updates on the Water Reclamation Plant Feasibility Study. Information only. 4 Minutes: 06/25/14 cmc LEGAL COUNSEL REPORT No reports at this time. ORAL COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Vice-Chairman Coleman stated that he noticed there was a boy scout in the audience and that he was probably working towards his community merit badge and he was glad that he chose this meeting to attend. Director Sturgeon stated that he wanted to explain his reasons for providing the money to reenact Mr. Negrete's benefits; that since Mr. Negrete's wife committed suicide it has haunted him and this was his contribution to Mr. Negrete's family; he stated that he tries to do the right thing and it gets thrown back in his face. Chairman Morales thanked the District staff for the budget preparation and he looks forward to meeting the goals and objectives. Information only. The Board took a recess at 8:17. The Board came back to open session at 8:22 pm CLOSED SESSION The Board entered into Closed Session at 8:22 p.m. as provided in the Ralph M. Brown Act Government Code Sections 54956.9 (d)(1) to discuss the item listed on the agenda. ANNOUNCEMENT OF CLOSED SESSION ACTIONS The Board returned to open session at 8:58 p.m. The item listed on the agenda were discussed in closed session with the following action being taken: With respect to item # 8 - No reportable action taken. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:59 p.m. "�_ �— . f orates, Jr., President John J. Mura, ecretary 5 Minutes: 06/25/14 cmc 1 1 1