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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-12-15 WUCFD MINUTESWATER UTILITIES COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA REGULAR MEETING December 15, 2015 The regular meeting of the District Board of the Water Utilities Community Facilities District, City of Apache Junction, Arizona, was held on December 15, 2015 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 Barker Mr. Serdy Mr. Waldron Mr. Wilson Staff Present: Others Present: (Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Rizzi were absent.) Bryant Powell, District Manager Kathleen Connelly, District Clerk Joel Stern, District Legal Counsel Frank Blanco, District Director Matt Busby, Assistant City Manager Michael Loggins, District Superintendent Andria Samuels, Senior Management Assistant Evie McKinney, Utility Billing Supervisor Al Bravo, Public Information Officer APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF OCTOBER 20, 2015 Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2015 Page 1 of 10 ) Vice Chairperson Barker MOVED THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 20, 2015. Mr. Wilson SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous. The motion carried. PROPOSED RESOLUTION NO. 2015-012, DECLARING PORTIONS OF PUBLIC UTILITY EASEMENTS LOCATED ON JUNCTION STREET BETWEEN IDAHO AND OUTPOST, 2ND AVENUE BETWEEN IDAHO AND OUTPOST, EXPLORER ROAD BETWEEN OLD WEST HIGHWAY AND JUNCTION, AND OUTPOST ROAD BETWEEN 2ND AVENUE AND JUNCTION AS NO LONGER NECESSARY FOR PUBLIC USE AND BE EXTINGUISHED ) )District Director Frank Blanco stated the resolution proposes the extinguishment of an existing easement.It is 2nd Avenue east of Idaho where the future marketplace is going to be.There are public utility easements that will no longer be used and they are recommending they be extinguished. Chairperson Insalaco asked if there are any lines in there now. District Director Frank Blanco stated Arizona Water actually serves that area.They will also be required to extinguish some of the easements.He does not believe there are any public lines onsite.The only ones are on 2nd Avenue. Chairperson Insalaco called for a motion. Vice Chairperson Barker MOVED THAT RESOLUTION NO. 2015-012, A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE WATER UTILITIES COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT (CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA) DECLARING PORTIONS OF PUBLIC UTILIYY EASEMENTS LOCATED ON JUNCTION STREET BETWEEN IDAHO ROAD Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2015 Page 2 of 10 AND OUTPOST ROAD, 2ND AVENUE BETWEEN IDAHO ROAD AND OUTPOST ROAD, EXPLORER ROAD BETWEEN OLD WEST HIGHWAY TO JUNCTION STREET, AND OUTPOST ROAD BETWEEN 2ND AVENUE TO JUNCTION STREET, ARE NO LONGER NECESSARY FOR PUBLIC USE AND ARE HEREBY EXTINGUISHED, BE APPROVED. Mr. Wilson SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous. The motion carried. PROPOSED RESOLUTION NO. 2015-013, DECLARING A PORTION OF THE PUBLIC UTILITY EASEMENT LOCATED AT THE FORMER SITE OF THE TRAILWAY APARTMENTS, IS NO LONGER NECESSARY FOR PUBLIC USE )District Director Frank Blanco briefed the board on the item.This is similar to the previous one.This is for the future site of the downtown park. They are recommending the extinguishment of the easement at the former site of the apartments as they are no longer required for public use.This project also involves Arizona Water.There will be a future project coming down the road where they will assist in making it come to fruition. Chairperson Insalaco closed the discussion and called for a motion. District Director Frank Blanco stated this one does show an exhibit that shows what they are requesting to abandon.They are requesting the hatched areas. District Legal Counsel Joel Stern asked District Director Frank Blanco to explain to the board if the area between the parcels is a hatched area. District Director Frank Blanco stated the actual easements are between the hatched areas.The easements were at each lot line and it is not required or necessary to keep those easements. Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2015 Page 3 of 10 Chairperson Insalaco asked who owns the property to the north. District Manager Bryant Powell stated it is Mr. Ness and his trust.It is just south of the Shell station and in between there as it runs across. Chairperson Insalaco asked if it is for sale. City Manager Bryant Powell stated it is his understanding it is for sale and there was some interest. Chairperson Insalaco asked if it was a parking lot. City Manager Bryant Powell stated that would be an idea at some point. Councilmember Wilson commented about eminent domain. City Manager Bryant Powell stated something like another-Shoppers' Supply store was looking at it but they were justikickingithe tires. Mr. Waldron MOVED THAT RESOLUTION NO. 2015-013, A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE WATER UTILITIES COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT (CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA) DECLARING A PORTION OF THE PUBLIC UTILITY EASEMENT LOCATED AT THE FORMER SITE OF THE TRAILWAY APARTMENTS, IS NO LONGER NECESSARY FOR PUBLIC USE AND IS HEREBY EXTINGUISHED, BE APPROVED. Vice Chairperson Barker SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous. The motion carried. DISTRICT MANAGER REPORT Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15f 2015 Page 4 of 10 None. DISTRICT DIRECTOR REPORT District Director Frank Blanco stated they have an overview of non -Indian agricultural priority water.It is Central Arizona Project water they have been looking at for quite some time now. Mr. Loggins will give an update on the water treatment plant. The non -Indian agricultural priority water is a lower priority than municipal and industrial.It is also a lower priority than the Gila River Indian Community lease.The water should be available at least 66% of the time.It is at a lower cost than the Gila River Indian Community lease which is $3,000 per acre foot compared to $1,288 per acre foot.The non -Indian agricultural priority water is not a lease and it is allocated to the water district in perpetuity.It is owned by the water district. Mr. Waldron asked how the 66% is determined and if that is the minimum. District Director Frank Blanco stated it is the minimum.It is a forecast.If there is a cutback due to water levels dropping in Lake Meade and there is a declared shortage, then non -Indian agricultural water may not be available for that particular year.During times when it is available this water can be used for underground storage or for delivery to current customers. Mr. Waldron asked how much they can store. District Director Frank Blanco stated 817 acre feet per year. They do have to pay for the delivery of the water to be stored. Their strategy is not to store the entire 817 acre feet if they get approval from the board to purchase the water.They have applied for the water and the district has been recommended for an award of 817 acre feet by the Arizona Department of Water Resources.They will have an environmental assessment of $4 to $5 per acre foot in addition to the water charge per the National Environmental Assessment Act.As the water belongs to the Bureau of Reclamation, they have to do the assessment which looks at species and archeological assessments.A finding of no significant impact will allow this to be cleared for use. Central Arizona Project will offer a five-year repayment plan. It is beneficial to the district as it will not have to go out Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2015 Page 5 of 10 and get another loan if they are approved for purchasing the water. Vice Chairperson Barker commented this is a one-time payment. District Director Frank Blanco stated that is correct. Vice Chairperson Barker commented the 800+ acre feet that he is talking about goes for totality. District Director Frank Blanco stated correct, it belongs to the district forever.It is not 100 years, it is our water.The water will possibly be available in 2017 or 2018 depending on how the process goes with the Bureau of Reclamation.They have to order the water in October of every year for the upcoming year.If the decision has not been made by October, they cannot get water the upcoming year. Mr. Waldron asked how that decision is based. District Director Frank Blanco stated it is based on the Bureau of Reclamation going through all the documentation provided to them as to why the water district should be reallocated this portion of water.During the application process the district has to show a need for it, a method of payment for it, and a plan on how the water will be used by 2020. Mr. Waldron asked if part of the decision he is talking about includes how to determine to order it. District Director Frank Blanco stated it is by the Bureau of Reclamation.They have to decide by October for the district to be able to order water.The environmental assessment is only in the scoping process right now.The benefits of this water are that it is an additional renewable resource, it helps reduce groundwater overdraft, it can be recharged for future use for long term storage credits and it will belong to the water district for perpetuity. Vice Chairperson Barker asked what the disadvantages are. District Director Frank Blanco stated the cost of the water will be an issue. Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2015 Page 6 of 10 Vice Chairperson Barker commented they do not want to suddenly raise the customer prices.They have been trying to keep a gradual increase in the fee rate. District Director Frank Blanco stated they have been 5% per year.They do have a water resource acquisition fee which raised the cost of building a home in the city. District Manager Bryant Powell stated they might want to strategize the timing on when they might see the need or demand with trying to stay up on it.They want to make sure the water portfolio is not getting too far ahead.However, on the other hand, this is one of the last buckets of renewable water.He asked how many people were there that day. District Director Frank Blanco stated he has a list of recipients that he will show him.They go from a golf course to the mines.If they were to go out for a new long term lease with Central Arizona Project, the price of water is around $4,000.We paid $3,000 the last time.It is whatever they can basically get. Vice Chairperson Barker commented supply and demand. District Director Frank Blanco gave an overall view of the reallocation process including when it began, the time for public comments, the Central Arizona Project response and the setting of rates. Vice Chairperson Barker asked if the rates would go up. District Director Frank Blanco stated it is going to go up slightly because of the time delay.He continued with the reallocation process which also included Resolution 2013-002, the application submission, letters of support from other entities, the recommendation from the Department of Water Resources, the Bureau of Reclamation looking at the recommendations, the environmental assessment and then the final recommendation from the Bureau of Reclamation.They target the beginning of the year, either 2017 or 2018, as the district being able to get water.It has been time-consuming but it is moving forward.There are three active management areas:the Phoenix Active Management Area, the Pinal Active Management Area and the Tucson Active Management Area.Even though the district Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2015 Page 7 of 10 is in Pinal County it is part of the Phoenix Active Management Area.He showed them a list of 19 recipients requesting water, including the mines.The total volume of acre feet that is being reallocated per year is 46,629.It was a competitive process and the district was somewhat successful.Not all applicants received a water recommendation. Vice Chairperson Barker commented every drop counts. District Superintendent Mike Loggins gave an update on the water treatment plant.He showed pictures of the raw water pump station, the trench to the raw water pump station, the concrete slab for the building, the blue tarpaulin covering the package treatment plant, the finished water tank, the chemical tanks on the north end of the building, the next stage of the sludge management process which is the cone bottom, and the beams and the roof of the building.They are hoping the shell of the building will be complete in mid -January. Vice Chairperson Barker commented it is perfect for solar panels.It could be self-sufficient. District Superintendent Mike Loggins stated they will get there someday.He added two resolutions were approved by the board for construction management and for the costs of construction for a total of $10.2 million.With all the change orders and miscellaneous expenses they are projected to spend $9.9 million. They have spent about $3.5 million to date.They are under the approved budget and are on schedule to send water through the system as planned in August. Vice Chairperson Barker commented great job. Mr. Waldron commented they received another drone picture earlier with everything labeled.He thought that was great.It gives a great overview of everything.If Matt is not busy he could do some more of those drone shots. Vice Chairperson Barker commented they like the drone shots. District Superintendent Mike Loggins stated they get quarterly shots from a helicopter but they are a little bit further away. It was nice when he went out there and took some drone pictures. They are also doing time lapse photos as in when they built the Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2015 Page 8 of 10 tank.They are doing them every 6 hours and they will put something together at the end. Vice Chairperson Barker commented that is a wonderful idea and they had done a great job. District Director Frank Blanco stated they accomplished a lot this year.They became the first members from Pinal County in AZ Warn, they did a water economic development forum, a classification and compensation study, plans specifications bid and contract award for the plant, the water festival, their most aggressive budget year, a presentation to Arizona Water Association was made regarding the water treatment plant, the plant groundbreaking, the Ironwood waterline, several public utility and federal patented easement abandonments and extinguishments, a new sewer district agreement, the fire hydrant color coding for insurance, the development agreement for Bel Agave, a new chemical delivery agreement, and a surprise Arizona Department of Environmental Quality inspection.They did well with some minor spot repairs and were found to be in full compliance. DISTRICT TREASURER REPORT None. ADJOURNMENT ) Chairperson Insalaco adjourned the meeting at 6:38 p.m. ACCEPTED THIS /9111-DAY OF 2016, BY THE CHAIRPERSON AND DISTRICT BOARD OF THE WATER UTILITIES COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT,(CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA), SIGNED_AND ATTESTED TO THIS /C/7-714 DAY OF 4 6 6 L - 2016. John S. Insalaco Chairperson Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes .of December 15, 2015 Page 9 ofA.0 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 15th day of December, 2015.I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 4th day of January, 2015. Kathleen Connelly District Clerk Water Utilities Community Facilities District Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2015 Page 10 of 10