Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-03-17 WUCFD MINUTESWATER UTILITIES COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT (APACHE JUNCTION WATER COMPANY) CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA REGULAR MEETING MARCH 17, 2009 -The regular meeting of the District Board of the Water Utilities Community Facilities District (Apache Junction Water Company), City of Apache Junction, Arizona, was held on March 17, 2009, at the Apache Junction City Council Chambers pursuant to the notice required by law. CALL TO ORDER Vice Chairperson Eck called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Board Members Present:Vice Chairperson Eck Mrs. Robin Barker Mr. Douglas Coleman Mr. Jeff Serdy Mr. Chip Wilson Staff Present: Others Present: (Chairperson Insalaco and Mr. Dietz were absent.) Kathleen Connelly, District Clerk Frank Blanco, Water District Director David Fern, Utility Director Giao Pham, District Engineer Kay Bigelow, District Counsel John White, District Finance Manager Donna Meinerts, District Finance Dir. Bryant Powell, Assistant City Manager Hazel Randall, District Admin. Asst. Matt Busby, Assistant to the City Mgr. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MARCH 3, 2009 Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2009 Page 1 of 7 )Vice Chairperson Eck called for a motion. Mr. Coleman MOVED THAT THE MINUTES OF MARCH 3, 2009, BE APPROVED. Mrs. Barker SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous. The motion carried. EMERGENCY PURCHASE CONTRACT FOR SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS AT WATER DISTRICT BUILDING LOCATED AT 16TH AVENUE )District Director Frank Blanco briefed the board on the item. Vice Chairperson Eck opened the item to council discussion.There being no discussion, he called for a motion. Mrs. Barker MOVED THAT THE AWARD OF BID FOR THE EMERGENCY PURCHASE CONTRACT, AS DEFINED IN PROCUREMENT CODE SECTION 3-7-4-G, FOR SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS AT THE WATER DISTRICT BUILDING LOCATED AT 16TH AVENUE, BE AWARDED TO BENSON SYSTEMS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $35,000; AND THAT THE BOARD CHAIR OR VICE CHAIR BE AUTHORIZED TO SIGN THE CONTRACT PENDING APPROVAL AS TO FORM BY THE DISTRICT COUNSEL. Mr. Wilson SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous. The motion carried. DISTRICT MANAGER REPORT None. Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2009 Page 2 of 7 DISTRICT DIRECTOR REPORT District Director Frank Blanco commented the pre -job meeting for the interconnect is tomorrow and construction should begin in April with substantial completion targeted by the end of September.Testing will be in October and water delivery scheduled for November.Staff is finalizing modifications for permits from Central Arizona Project and Mesa. Vice Chairperson Eck asked if the interconnect would ultimately change what the district is paying for water. District Director Frank Blanco stated staff will come back with an analysis of the difference.It will eliminate $140,000 in wheeling costs paid to Arizona Water, along with losses of about 10% of the water taken from Arizona Water.They actually pay for 110% of the water they get from Arizona Water through the wheeling agreement.They will keep the connection open and have an agreement with Arizona Water for emergencies only. Assistant City Manager Bryant Powell asked if he would be bringing that back at the next meeting. District Director Frank Blanco stated he would.He commented the water system and storage are operating normally.The water consumption is slightly under what was used last year at this time.The district received two Homeland Security grants.One was to have incurred all costs by the end of this April in the amount of $37,782.They are using it for surveillance, intrusion detection and alarms.The other is being used for barrier improvements such as the fencing; it is for $44,983.It must be completed by September.They had performed a threat vulnerability assessment with the police department and a terrorism liaison officer to identify the improvements and best practices. Vice Chairperson Eck asked what offsite areas they had talked about. District Director Frank Blanco stated it was specifically the 16th Avenue storage site as all the water that is produced and treated goes out through that site. Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2009 Page 3 of 7 Vice Chairperson Eck asked how many cameras they are putting up. District Director Frank Blanco stated they met with the company that put up the cameras at city hall and two other vendors.All of them have good experience.Benson did the security at Westgate Mall and they were involved in the Super Bowl security. They let them decide how many cameras were needed and they suggested 13 cameras.They will be getting less than that dependent upon the cost.The Water Infrastructure Finance Authority is controlling the stimulus money.They have $55,000,000 for drinking water projects and $27,000,000 for wastewater and water collection projects.He applied online March 6 and followed up with a mailing on March 9.Additional information was requested on March 12 and submitted on March 16. He is requesting assistance on the Central Arizona Project water treatment plant design for $500,000 and a groundwater monitoring status system for $404,500.Over 200 applications were made instead of the normal 45.The total value of the projects is in excess of 1 billion dollars.They are targeting communities of 55,000 or less. Assistant City Manager Bryant Powell asked if these have to be finished by a certain time. District Director Frank Blanco stated they do.They have to be shovel ready so some of the applications will fall by the wayside because of that.It is all about creating jobs and being ready to go in 60 days.It has to be finished in 12 months.They did meet with Greg Swartz of Piper Jaffrey to talk to him about options, including amending the existing Water Infrastructure Finance Authority or applying for a new loan. This loan has 50% forgivable principle; on a $500,000 loan only $250,000 has to be paid back.The option is to either accept it or go after it with their approval; number one is to be on the list or you do not get any money.The district received a letter from the Arizona Department of Water Resources putting it on notice for too much lost and unaccounted for water from 2000 to 2006.Staff called a meeting with them and showed what had been done to fix the problem.When looking at 2008, the lost and unaccounted for water will be significantly less.Sandra House, the person in charge at the meeting from Arizona Department of Water Resources, was impressed with the steps the district had taken, asking district staff to do a case study Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2009 Page 4 of 7 presentation to some water conservation people there.It was determined that 68% of the losses were apparent, which means they dealt with data handling and meter reading errors.Only 32% were real losses like leaking storage tanks, main breaks, leaking hydrants and leaking valves.The district presentation was on best management practices which include a water system audit, a water leak location, water conservation and a new position to find water losses, a steel tank inspection, hydrant flow measurements, and comparing records on meter reads.They are hoping for only 8% in 2008.It was difficult to achieve earlier because the district had purchased 3 old systems that had not had enough maintenance and operations attention. Vice Chairperson Eck asked if the meters are being checked annually. District Director Frank Blanco stated some of them are in the Arizona Water district but they have identified all the large water meters and they have started a meter calibration testing project for water conservation.They send it out now, but Salt River Project has a program they will be looking at.They also have spare meters.The losses for 2008 were about 34,000,000 gallons, equivalent for one month's worth of water.It has been reduced by about enough water for 100 homes for one year.The estimated revenues are $125,000 annually.They hope to keep the project going even after the grant is expired. DISTRICT TREASURER REPORT Finance Manager John White stated the Red Flag Rules is an initiative by the federal government spearheaded by the Federal Trade Commission to identify, prevent and mitigate identity theft.Utilities are specifically mandated to institute the program.The formal program must be implemented by May 1, 2009. He described how the program would work internally and with outside agencies. Mrs. Barker asked who would be running the program and if it is someone we already have. Finance Manager John White stated it would probably fall to him and probably the district director and water supervisor would be included on the committee. Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2009 Page 5 of 7 Vice Chairperson Eck commented he was confused on how they would be stealing from the water district. Finance Manager John White stated he does not believe there is as much of an area of vulnerability as there would be in other areas such as banks and lending.Utilities have been specified and it is mandated that we have to come up with a program to follow. District Counsel Kay Bigelow stated a utility bill shows the address.If they have a change of address with a name, they can go in and use it as proof of identity at a bank or library service.As these things are gathered up, it looks like they are that person.They cannot get a loan in your name until they can get work records and other items. Vice Chairperson Eck commented he believed it would be hard to catch someone from district records. Finance Manager John White briefed them on the financial report, explaining the revenues and the expenditures. Vice Chairperson Eck asked if they are on track with the rate increase or will they have to do another small increase. Finance Manager John White stated they will be sitting down again to review that.They are in better shape now then they were last year when they adopted the budget.There was no contingency allocation. Vice Chairperson Eck asked if there was a contingency fund. Assistant City Manager Bryant Powell stated they would like to come back in a couple of weeks and give a broader picture of it. They do not have a contingency and they would like to look at little increases rather than a larger increase all at once. DISTRICT LEGAL COUNSEL REPORT None. ADJOURNMENT Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2009 Page 6 of 7 ) Vice Chairperson Eck adjourned the meeting at 6:45 p.m. ACCEPTED THIS 7TH DAY OF APRIL , 2009, BY THE CHAIRPERSON AND DISTRICT BOARD OF THE WATER UTILITIES COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT (APACHE JUNCTION WATER COMPANY), CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA. SIGNED AND ATTESTED TO THIS 7TH DAY OF APRIL 2009. Adn S.nsalaco Vhahairperson ATTEST: Kathleen Connelly District Clerk WATER UTILITIES COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT MINUTES CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the regular meeting of the Water Utilities Community Facilities District of the City of Apache Junction, Arizona, held on the 17th day of March, 2009.I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 20th day of March, 2009. Kathleen Connelly 64 District Clerk Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2009 Page 7 of 7