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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-12-15 WUCFD MINUTESWATER UTILITIES COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT (APACHE JUNCTION WATER COMPANY) CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA REGULAR MEETING DECEMBER 15, 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 December 15, 2009, at the Apache Junction City Council Chambers pursuant to the notice required by law. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Insalaco called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Board Members Present:Chairperson Insalaco Vice Chairperson R.E. Eck (arrived 6:15 p.m.) Staff Present: Mrs. Robin Barker Mr. Doug Coleman Mr. Rick Dietz Mr. Jeff Serdy Mr. Chip Wilson George Hoffman, District Manager Kathleen Connelly, District Clerk Frank Blanco, District Director Donna Meinerts, District Finance Dir. John White, District Finance Manager Kay Bigelow, District Legal Counsel David Fern, Utility Director Others Present:Bryant Powell, Assistant City Manager Hazel Randall, Administrative Assistant APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 17, 2009 ) Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2009 Page 1 of 7 )Mr. Dietz MOVED THAT THE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 17, 2009, BE APPROVED. Mr. Wilson SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous.(6-0 as Vice Chairperson Eck had not arrived yet.) The motion carried. CLOSING OF WATER DISTRICT OFFICES ON DECEMBER 24, 2009 AND PROVIDING EMPLOYEES WITH 8 HOURS OF TEMPORARY PERSONAL LEAVE FOR THE DAY SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS AND LIMITATIONS ) )Chairperson Insalaco called for any discussion.There being no discussion, he called for a motion. Mr. Coleman MOVED THAT WATER DISTRICT OFFICES BE CLOSED WHERE POSSIBLE ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2009; I FURTHER MOVE THAT WE APPROVE 8 HOURS OF TEMPORARY PERSONAL LEAVE FOR WATER DISTRICT EMPLOYEES FOR DECEMBER 24, 2009, SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS:THIS LEAVE WILL BE PLACED IN A SEPARATE BILLING ACCOUNT APART FROM VACATION AND SICK LEAVE; IT WILL BE CONSIDERED STRAIGHT TIME AND WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED IN THE CALCULATION OF OVERTIME OR CAUSE AN EMPLOYEE TO EXCEED 40 HOURS IN THE WORK WEEK; THIS LEAVE WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR USE BEGINNING DECEMBER 24, 2009 AND UP TO AND INCLUDING JUNE 30, 2010; THERE WILL BE NO CARRYOVER OF THIS LEAVE BEYOND JUNE 30, 2010; PRIOR TO TAKING THIS LEAVE, AN EMPLOYEE SHALL OBTAIN APPROVAL FROM HIS/HER DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR; THIS LEAVE SHALL BE EXTENDED TO NON-EXEMPT AND EXEMPT WATER DISTRICT EMPLOYEES WHO REGULARLY WORK 24 HOURS OR MORE PER WEEK; IT SHALL BE PRORATED FOR EMPLOYEES WHO WORK BETWEEN 24 AND 31 HOURS PER WEEK; THIS LEAVE SHALL BE EXTENDED ONLY TO THOSE WATER DISTRICT EMPLOYEES WHO ARE AN EMPLOYEE OF RECORD ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 24, 2009; THIS LEAVE SHALL NOT BE ADDED TO OR INCLUDED IN ANY PAY OUT Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2009 Page 2 of 7 PROVISIONS.I FURTHER MOVE THAT THE DISTRICT MANAGER IS AUTHORIZED TO MAKE FINAL ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUSTMENTS TO THESE TERMS. Mrs. Barker SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous (6-0 as Vice Chairperson Eck had not arrived yet.) EXECUTIVE SESSION )Chairperson Insalaco stated Item Nos. 5 and 6 would be later. DISTRICT MANAGER REPORT District Manager George Hoffman thanked the board on behalf of the district employees for the vote on the closure of district offices on December 24.It will be valued and appreciated. DISTRICT DIRECTOR REPORT District Director Frank Blanco commented they equal that sentiment.He gave a brief overview on the district.The interconnect pump station has been finalized.The start-up was eventful; one of the valves was discovered to be closed in the system.When they started the pumps, they were working fine but the pressure continued to climb until it reached the point where the pressure relief valve on the hydronomatic tank popped.It was loud and people scattered.They shut the pumps off, made sure all the valves were open, and restarted the pumps. Everything was operable.They discovered a leak caused by an imperfection in the casting.That pipe was replaced.Currently 29% of the water was being purchased from Arizona Water Company. Well #5 supplies 40% of the water and Well #6 supplies 31%.The average demand in the winter is 1.4 million gallons.The plan starting next week will have them using 60% of the water from the interconnect and 40% groundwater.Some interconnect water was introduced this week, starting off slowly so that they do not have any issues with blending a different source of water. They had been getting treated Mesa water earlier from Arizona Water pipeline.The water quality will not be the same when we Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2009 Page 3 of 7 start receiving it directly.Things are looking good.They are able to fill the Baseline tank or the 16th Avenue and Buena Vista tank.The Baseline tank is closer and fills at a faster rate.Today they were pumping 1,770 gallons per minute into it which is equivalent to 2.5 million gallons of water which is more than they use in a day.The 16th Avenue and Buena Vista tank they are able to pump 900 gallons per minute into.That would cover a 1.2 million gallon demand at that pumping rate. They still have some issues going into a final online so they are not starting everything up today.They want to give the contractor the opportunity to change the pressure relief valve out since it may have been damaged responding in a rapid fashion.They are also going to add a one-way valve at Baseline Road so that the interconnect water does not back up into Well #6.It will be a safeguard to allow them to fill the tanks they want to fill.It should be completed by Monday of next week. Wells #5 and #6 are operable and the boosters are operating normally.They had a meeting on the pipelines, valves and hydrants with the fire district to introduce a program they have for repairing fire hydrants and to standardize the system. There are some fire hydrants they cannot connect to as the threads are different.We are replacing some hydrants; they do not have a bunch of inoperable hydrants in a row, they are scattered throughout the system.They got a notice from the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority to move forward with the storage project. Mr. Dietz asked if that includes the repair of the other tank. District Director Frank Blanco stated it includes the repair of the other tank, a new facility and booster station modifications.He got some dialogue going with the new person from the Bureau of Reclamation who is in charge of selling the district that parcel of land at Ironwood north of the Central Arizona Project.It was discovered that the district is in the disposal process.The parcel has been acknowledged by the General Services Administration, but it has not yet been accepted.It is in the process of being accepted.All the screening has to be completed.It has been declared in excess and is ready for federal transfer.The federal screening will be done once it has been accepted and it will then be made available to a public entity, which is the district.It will Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2009 Page 4 of 7 eventually be sold by direct sale.They have found there is the possible presence of a threatened or endangered species discovered within the property limits.Research is being conducted.It was a surprise to the local game and fish department; they were not aware of the situation.They are looking into it.The suspected bird is the pygmy owl, which is generally the one in the area.However, the pygmy owl is not on the endangered list; it was removed in 2006.There is a petition to place it back on the list. Mrs. Barker asked if they could make it pygmy owl friendly. District Director Frank Blanco stated they could do that. Mrs. Barker asked if they could work with the owl instead of against it. District Director Frank Blanco stated the other one is the Mexican spotted owl and that one is endangered.The red outlines are the critical habitat for this type of owl.Pinal County is at the very bottom of the boundary; it is not within the critical habitat boundaries, but it is somewhere in Arizona and the Government Services Administration people may perhaps think it is somewhere out here.The district will hear back from them.He did make some good contacts to call.The Department of Water Resources is doing the assured water supply redesignation for the entire Phoenix active management area.It is a big endeavor.They are running the groundwater model this time instead of hiring consultants or having the applicants provide the information.They are also only allowing 80% of our treatment capacity for surface water throughout the entire active management area.The basis is that they do not believe a plant can run 100% of the time; they believe 80% is a more realistic number.If the district were to pump the water at the current rate we are predicting and serve 100% groundwater in the areas such as Apache Junction, which has some dry cells, a lot of the areas north U.S. 60 where groundwater has been historically pumped would be forecasted to be dry if they were to continue at the current pumping rate.This points to renewable supplies.The Arizona Water demands are included in their model as well as all of the other cities, even though they are not up for designation; they are up for certification of Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2009 Page 5 of 7 assured water.Going after renewable supplies will help the situation.The bad news is if the district continues to rely on just groundwater, it will not be a good thing for anyone in the entire region.He had anticipated on having the final master plan by the end of 2009 but it is still in the works.They intend to present it to the board on January 5, 2010, contingent upon the consultant being able to complete the work.He is currently ill and hospitalized.This includes infill and any future development south to the Elliot Road alignment. Chairperson Insalaco commented George picked a winner when he picked him.He really has his heart in this city, and he applauded him and appreciates all the work he has done. Mrs. Barker and Mr. Dietz agreed. DISTRICT TREASURER REPORT None. DISTRICT LEGAL COUNSEL REPORT None. EXECUTIVE SESSION ) )Chairperson Insalaco called for a motion. Mr. Dietz MOVED THAT AN EXECUTIVE SESSION BE HELD AT 6 P.M. ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2009 IN THE CITY COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSULTATION FOR LEGAL ADVICE WITH THE DISTRICT'S ATTORNEY IN ACCORDANCE WITH A.R.S. 38-431.03(A)(3)AND (4) AS FURTHER OUTLINED ON THIS AGENDA. Mrs. Barker SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous. The motion carried. Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2009 Page 6 of 7 ADJOURNMENT ) Chairperson Insalaco adjourned the meeting at 6:10 p.m. ACCEPTED THIS 19TH DAY OF JANUARY ,2010, 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 19TH DAY OF JANUARY 2010. ATTEST: Kathleen Connelly District Clerk 1 (It n irperson S. rnsalaco40 t i tzr___ S.nsalaco 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 15th day of December, 2009.I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 17th day of December, 2009. Kathleen Connelly District Clerk Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2009 Page 7 of 7