NEVADA COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT NO. I ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

Transcription

1 File: NEVADA COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT NO. I ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Providence B Room, Second Floor Eric Rood Administrative Center, 950 Maidu Avenue, Nevada City, California Committee Members in Attendance: Howard Stone Mike Chipchase Fritz Schulte Ed Wydra Terry Thies. This constituted a quorum in accordance with Article VIII of the Committee By-Laws. Nevada County Staff in Attendance: Trisha Tillotson, Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Brad Torres, DPW Wastewater Operations Manager Sean Powers, Director of CDA Debbie Durkin, Auditor/Controller s office. Members of the Public in Attendance: No Rollcall taken A. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 10:30 a.m. B. ANNOUNCEMENTS & INTRODUCTIONS Staff: Erica Chun, Administrative Assistant II, is no longer with the department. Selection process is nearly complete and a new AAII will be in place by the next meeting; Brad Torres, DPW Wastewater Operations Manager. Map books: Status of updating antiquated paper versions. The map books that are currently out at today s meeting are the paper versions that are used in the field by our Treatment and Collections staff. We have struggled with moving from paper to electronic. Currently these books are out in the field with our Wastewater staff being updated and redlined in order to bring them up to date to reflect the projects and changes that have been made since these drawings where originally completed back in the 60 s and 70 s. These changes will be forwarded to our provider who will be updating the books and then they will be placed on our website for customers to access. Brad Torres, DPW Wastewater Operations Manager. H:\PW\Sanitation\Sanitation District Advisory Comm\SDAC\MINUTES\SDACMIN docPrinted on Recycled Paper

2 Page 2 C. ACTION ITEMS 1. Acceptance of Minutes: The minutes from the November Meeting and today s meeting will be brought forward at the May meeting for acceptance /19 Budget Review and Recommendation for Approval to Board of Directors. Mr. Torres budget review included a Power Point presentation with verbal accompaniment. The following items were highlighted during the review: Budget overview - The Sanitation District is made up of a number of zones which over the next couple of years will see change; where some zones will be downsized, others are set to be eliminated or merged. This is an operational benefit both functionally and financially for the district. Budget review is for the entire zone with breakdowns into each of the independent zones. Budget covers a 5-year window that includes the previous year, current year and three (3) years in the future. Review will include the individual fund balances, what is affecting the fund balances as well as capital projects and equipment replacement requirements. Don t expect new growth as far as revenue so revenue remains flat, despite the fact that several zones do anticipate growth however those are not being factored in until the growth actually happens Revenue side does not yet reflect the Penn valley or Lake Wildwood Treatment portion. Will start tracking May 1 st and reconcile for the fiscal year. Does not reflect the cost savings due to Cascade Shores changes O&M Revenue comparisons between this year and last year. Increases in Operational costs due to salary increases, workers comp insurance and benefits costs, equipment maintenance, infrastructure improvements during this budget window and sizeable equipment upkeep and purchases. i. Large projects are decreasing fund balance Service trucks and fleet upgrades-many years where maintenance was being deferred. Inspection camera failure. Emissions and life expectancy issues - Recommendation is to invest in purchase of new vactor equipment rather than ongoing repairs and potential emissions violations with the current one. Asset tracking program and Work Order flow program costs. ii. LWW Projects affecting the fund include Service and upkeep, grit control, SCADA system upgrade /clarifier/ongoing investigation and repair/eq tank grit removal, Lift Station upgrades, specifically generator replacement. Questions were raised about the water quality issues at Lake Wildwood. Response provided by Ms. Tillotson: Environmental Health is still investigating the situation. Extensive water quality testing has been performed and a private

3 Page 3 firm has been brought in to help investigate. At this point there is no major financial impact to budget on this issue. iii. LOP Funding and revenue issues as previously discussed have continued however we are seeing some growth on the horizon with some home construction in the Darkhorse area and the proposed Marketplace project that is schedule to commence soon as well as the Combie Road expansion project and Tree Resort project that is still under discussions and could offer some growth potential. A number of questions were raised by Committee members. Is there any further growth potential in the Lake Wildwood Estates? Response provided by Mr. Torres as follows: There has not been much in the way of construction for that area. There has been talk of Wildwood Estates for some time however no definite plans have been proposed. Are there connection fees for the Lake Wildwood area? Mr. Torres responded by providing a summary of fees for standby and annual inspection but stated that there are no connection fees at this time. There are standby units available but the no longer are a commodity as they once were. Committee member brought up a recent news story regarding building affordable housing in the Penn Valley area due to the land being flat and able to support two story or affordable housing outside of section 8 housing and the addition of the pipeline makes it a suitable area for this type of a project. Further comment was made that if Dollar General or the housing project were to want to connect to the sewer would there be a connection fee. Mr. Torres stated that there would have to be a rate change but that ideally would be fair. Typically in the field there are connection fees for new customers. This has been discussed for some time but changes have yet to be made to this process. The Standby fee does to some affect act this way. Those looking for sewer connection make the request through the county and EDU s are no longer bought sold or hoarded for investment purposes. Public Comment was made that they had heard a similar discussion on the local radio station but it was also mentioned for the North San Juan area as well. Mr. Torres replied: North San Juan is a much different situation where the EDU buy and sell process still exists. Customers wanting an EDU are on an acquisition list and customers wishing to sell EDU s are on a relinquishment list and we try to match them up for a private transaction. The Sanitation District does not get involved in the transaction with the exception of the Board request to transfer the actual responsibility once completed.

4 Page 4 iv. MBR replacement Expected replacement costs $750,000 - $1million. Worked with vendors on cleaning methods and came up with a method using citric acid that will extend the life for approximately 3-4 more years. Still have an aging infrastructure to plan and budget for. v. Cascade Shores New treatment plant project. Funding approved December 2016 by the State Board. Issued Design Contract for the Leach Field. Geotechnical report is completed A question was raised by the Committee regarding the landside: It has been heard that a landslide occurred and residents are considering legal action against the county. Ms. Tillotson responded with the following: Residents have submitted a claim for the slide. The County has not performed any work on the area with the exception of 4-5 pits approximately 5 feet deep for purpose of soil samples. The explorations were no were near the landslide and were not the cause. The area is a 20 acre parcel and the slide occurred on the opposite end from where the work was performed. vi. vii. viii. Higgins Village Steady decrease in fund balance as previously discussed. Consider rate increase or connection to LOP zone. Board priorities are the Combie expansion project which will put sewer main right near Higgins. Undergrounding is scheduled to start in early summer and sewer by fall with completion by end of 2018 early Holiday market and Higgins Market place scheduled for opening in Fall of Other growth in LOP includes a mobile home park that is looking at connecting to the line Mount Lake Estates Consider a rate increase in the next 1-3 years. The fund is currently reasonably stable, barring any emergency, and there is enough in the bank for a few years for basic repair and maintenance however there are increases in infrastructure and maintenance in the future with a few years in the bank but will need to consider future needs for repairs and maintenance of equipment, infrastructure, etc. Penn Valley Pipeline Should be completed within 2 months. Test flows have been flowing through the pipeline for about 1 month. Working closely with contractor on the open items list. Decommissioning of Penn Valley plant possibly sell back to Cattle Ranchers.

5 Page 5 x. Line by line Budget review Mr. Torres pointed out some large costs within the budget detail and reviewed each line item of the budget answering questions posed by the Committee. Questions from the Committee on Budget When is Penn Valley Dr going to be repaved after the pipeline install? Ms. Tillotson responded that the roads are scheduled for paving this summer Will next year s budget be approximately the same? That is anticipated. What is budgeted under Vehicle costs? Even though we are a Sanitation District, fleet services are still utilized, maintenance on larger equipment and use of County pool vehicles. What has caused the Cascade Shores project to take so long? Mr. Torres responded with the following details. Early stages there was no land available. Then when the land was acquired it took over a year to complete the funding applications because you have to have the land to apply for funding. The funding loan process can take 18 months to two years. The application package, environmental studies must be performed and then we wait which can take up to two years for approval. Once funding is in place then you design your project, scope, go out for bid on contractors, etc. State oversight is on anything over 10,000 gallons per day and that is where the delays primarily are. In closing Mr. Torres reviewed his action item list as requested by the Committee. Looking for a breakdown of A81 Utilities for Lake of the Pines what constituted the projections Committee opened a motion to approve xi. SRV ordinance (Sewer Relief Valve) the existence of, location of or identification of sewer cleanout laterals at the property line is required when the following is performed on a home: 50% remodel New home built Any Sewer work The ordinance requirement that was not included was At time of home sale. Most homes have an SRV near the home however these are not maintained by the County and cannot legally be touched by the County. Many of the homes where the property line SRV s could not be located,

6 Page 6 have the SRV s, but they have been altered in some manner. Site visits to approximately 3200 homes by the Sanitation team, discovered only 1500 accessible SRV s. The remainder had been landscaped over, covered up or capped off or altered in some fashion. Will be going to the Board to request that the ordinance amended to include this additional requirement. There was further discussion on the subject with questions from the Board regarding past requirements, when requirement changes occurred, etc. D. PUBLIC COMMENT: Comment that there were some vacancies within the agencies and lack of representation by some of the communities. Rae Williamson: Resident of North San Juan. (on septic and leach). Has a background in utility management. There is currently no representation for this area. Currently involved in the Community and would be interested in being party of the committee. E. UPCOMING MEETINGS: Next meeting is proposed for May 23, 2018 at which the Committee will present a motion to approve or deny the budget after having had time to review the information presented at today s meeting and present questions, concerns or proposals for changes to the Committee. F. ADJOURNMENT: Motion to Adjourn by the Committee at 1 hour and 46 minutes after commencement or 11:46 a.m.