Lake Wenatchee Water District

Commissioners Meeting

April 19, 2012

at Station 9 Fire House

 

 

Present:  Bruce Harris, Commissioner

Bonnie Klasell, Commissioner-Elect

Absent:  Landis Bohn, Karen Dickinson (clerk)

 

Also present:  Joanne Fountain, Rod Fountain, Barb Harris, John Klasell, Karen Kornher, RH2

 

Meeting was called to order at 10am by Commissioner Harris

 

Swearing in of Commissioner

Bonnie Klasell was sworn in as Commissioner #2, to replace position vacated by Paul Shielke.  Supporting documents signed.

 

Engineering Review – Karen Korhner

Contract Amendments – as work progresses, we will continue to receive amendments to cover work for projects/expenditures, all that fall within the DWSRF funding. Contract Amendment #1 is partially completed, there is about $16,000 left to do (Mountain Park Well/Testing, Tank Site Selection).  Any money not spent reverts back to budget to be spent on other projects. Contract Amendment #2 is for Tank Site location/development, 4^th well testing/development on Brown Road, and some survey cost for $68,989.  Contract was accepted and signed.

 

ERUs – we need an absolute number of actual households drawing water in the system, and a final list of the parcels that have opted out of the LID.  This number is crucial for establishing capacity of our system, and will determine the need for the 4^th well.  Karen K. believes, based on our conversation, if our ERUs are over 129, we will need the 4^th well.

 

Brown Road Well/Mountain Park Well – Commissioner Klasell stated that she had a conversation with Karen D. that there might be owners outside the LID on Brown Road receptive to allowing LWWD to use their well.  Discussion on how to approach the owners and what is reasonable to offer.  Mark Peterson (LWWD counsel) has advised the commissioners that it’s better to give owners payment, rather than credit.  Discussion continued as to how to pay for it. The DWSRF scope of work includes development of 2 additional wells, but the budget doesn’t show an amount for that.  Karen K. feels it will have to come out of the construction portion of the budget or the contingency portion. The decision was made for Karen D and/or Commissioner Klasell to approach the Brown Road owners next week, and if they are interested, then test their wells by May 1^st – Karen K. needs a firm commitment by May 15^th in order to start the design process.  Commissioner Harris will contact owners in Mountain Park.

 

Schedule/Alternative Project list – Karen K. really stressed how important our schedule is, and that she will need to push us to stay on track for completion.  The survey needs to be done by end of June; we need to place the ad next week for surveyors.  In addition, we need to make firm decisions on what is to be completed in phase 1 of the project. Karen K. asked if there are areas to avoid replacing pipes to save funds, and move them to phase 2, we would want to do that. WPWUA pipes were installed in the 70s, with glued joints, 4” PVC, not schedule 80 …whereas there are sections of LWWUA that have newly installed pipes (within the past 3-4 years) and perhaps there are areas of pipes that won’t need replacement.  Commissioner Harris will contact Cleve Borth (LWWU president) as to what portion of their system has new pipes and share that information with Karen K.  The commissioners decided that engineering will be done for both phase 1 and phase 2 and if the bids come in under budget, then we will put in the secondary items into phase 1 construction.

 
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Storage Tank – access for construction and maintenance will be needed; we will need either an easement or permission to cross private property.  Commissioner Klasell motioned that we contact the owner for easement, Commissioner Harris seconded, motion passed   It was decided that Commissioner Bohn should contact the owner and see if he would be willing to negotiate with us. If he is unable, then Commissioner Klasell will contact the owner. The owner can contact Karen K if he needs specific information on what would be required for this road.  Karen K. said we do have other alternatives; we can try to access though USFS land as they would have to grant us access because it’s a life/safety issue, or we could move the reservoir, or reconfigure the zones, or build a tower – but access through the private property would be the most economical.  Commissioner Harris said currently WPWUA has  access to a road through USFS land under their permit with the forest service, so that it might be possible to expand the use of that road under the new permit.

 

Easements – other easements will be required on private properties in LWWU for the main pipe, so Commissioner Harris will ask Cleve Borth for assistance with that.

 

FS Permit Process

Commissioner Harris met with Amelia Anthony of the Leavenworth Forest Service office; we (LWWD) are on their calendar for processing our new (or revised) permit for the new 180K tank. The permit process has been revised since 2003 when WPWU received their permit, and the new permit requirements now include a PUBLIC review and comment period of a minimum of 2 ½ months after initial Forest Service review. We have to make the determination of our tank location and easements prior to completing the permit application. Once they receive our new permit, it should be processed this summer/fall as agreed to via Paul’s meetings. Commissioner Harris has sent her an email to confirm this, but hasn’t heard back yet.

 

Transfer Documents/Process

Asset Evaluations – Karen K has asked Dan Bannier to review what has been submitted and determine values.  Commissioner Klasell will follow up with him as well.

 

Transfer Procedure/Deadlines – Ad will be placed next week for a system operator, and once we interview/hire said person, we should be able to take over operations of all systems.  Commissioner Klasell mentioned that we will need to have rates/procedural manual in place prior as well.  We discussed asking each water group for volunteers to form a committee under a specific commissioner to create procedure/policy manual. It would be a tremendous help to the commissioners to share the workload.  As far as the legalities, Mark Peterson, LWWD counsel, has prepared draft transfer agreements for easements and water rights for each user group.  Commissioner Klasell motioned that the draft documents to be sent to each user group prior our next meeting and ask for them to review and contact us with any additions/revisions by May 15^th so that they can be executed by June 1^st.  Commissioner Harris seconded, motion passed.  Then once the operator is hired, LWWD would take over operations July 1^st for all systems.  We do need confirmation from the LWWUA, BRWUA, and WPWUA systems as to how many connections they will be transferring that do not pay water fees and/or LID assessments, and how many USFS properties they provide water to.  We still need to determine how many parcels we’ll provide water to in Lester Addition and Mountain Park.

 

Budget

Commissioners decided to create an interim budget to run the independent systems for the next 12 months until the new system is completed. Numbers presented still need fine tuning; primarily we need to get a more specific quote for insurance as right now the estimate is between $4K and $9K a year.  And the operator costs are another big unknown. A cost saving measure could be to bill quarterly and read meters monthly for finding leaks.  It might be the best to establish a flat rate for the next 12 months until meters are installed and to develop the billing. Commissioner Klasell will continue to work with Karen D. on budget amounts so we can set rates at meeting on May 3^rd.   Ideally, we should be able to notify all residents by June 1^st an advance a notice that they will owe 3 months of water by August 1^st (billed July 1^st) so they won’t be caught unaware.

 

Administration

Clerk – it is important that the clerk needs to submit her time monthly, and separate her time between operations and LID work.  Commissioners reviewed categories for website, and approve as proposed. Website is to be up and running next week.  No vouchers presented for payment.  Small works roster ad is running; the operator and surveyor ads will go in next week in Wenatchee World.

 

Commissioner Roles – Commissioner Klasell motioned that Commissioner Harris becomes President, with Commissioner Klasell Vice-President, Commissioner Harris seconded, motion passed.  Commissioner Bohn will remain as Secretary.

 

Remote meeting – Commissioner Harris presented a motion (attached) for remote meetings (including voting) via electronic measures  when commissioners are out of town.  Commissioner Klasell seconded, motion passed.

 

Meeting adjourned by Commissioner Harris at 1:40pm.

Lake Wenatchee Water District

Commissioners Meeting

April 5th, 2012

at Station 9 Fire House

 

Commissioners  Present :     Secretary ~ Landis Bohn, Commissioner ~ Bruce Harris

Commissioners Absent:      Paul Shielke (resigning)

Staff Present:   Clerk ~ Karen Dickinson

Consultants Present: Steve Nelson from RH2, Dan Bannier from RCAC, legal counsel Mark Peterson,

Guests Present: Barbara Harris, Bonnie Klasell, JoAnne Burke, Irene Miller, Dwight Burke, Mike Dickinson

 

Commissioner Harris opened the meeting at 10:00 and acknowledged a quarum exists with just the two Commissioners present.

Commissioners signed vouchers, payroll, and the minutes from March 22^nd meeting.

Commissioner Vacancy

Commissioner Harris read Paul Shielke’s letter of resignation, dated March 23^rd, into the record. (see attached) Commissioner Harris related that emails had gone out to as many members of the District as could be reached, informing them of Paul Shielke’s resignation and the need for a new Commissioner. There were no candidates either volunteering or nominated. Bonnie Klasell is a legal, though part time, resident. Mark Peterson says since she votes here, and her driver’s license is here, that she is qualified to be a candidate for Commissioner. The Commissioners agreed to vote at the end of the meeting.

Spring Source vs. Wells

Commissioner Harris made a motion to approve his written motion (from last meeting) where in the District resolves to abandon attempts to incorporate the spring as a primary water source at this time, and instead to follow the Comp Plan as it was written. Commissioner Bohn seconded it, so it was unanimously approved.

Commissioner Bohn asked Dan Bannier about the odds of getting funding for spring development. Dan was not optimistic given our communities median income levels.

Well Search

Steve Nelson from RH2 passed out maps of wells in the District. He suggests the District contact well owners to assess their willingness to allow the District to use their well. If we get a preliminary OK from a well owner, then RH2 will test the well. Depending on the test findings, the District will then enter into final negotiations with the well owner.

Dan Bannier asked how we test potential wells. Steve gave technical answer involving things like draw down, etc. Then Dan asked how the water rights work, and Mark Peterson said that shouldn’t be a problem since we would just be shifting points of withdrawal within the District boundaries.

Next step: Steve Nelson will create a letter relating the District’s needs, explaining how owner involvement might look, and how testing would happen. The Commissioners will then be in charge of contacting potential well owner(s). Finally, depending on the response from the owners and the subsequent well testing, the Commissioners will be in charge of final negotiations with owner(s).

Bonnie Klasell asked how the Mountain Park well figures in. Steve recommended it be included in the well search process. Commissioner Harris will contact Byron Dickinson for suggestions of wells to consider in the Mountain Park area.

(Steve Nelson departed.)

Water Line Replacement

Commissioner Bohn asked about the Whispering Pines line replacement being in Phase 2, except for Maple Drive. There appears to be a major loss of water that needs addressing. Bonnie Klasell related that Brown Road also has leaks. It was agreed the Commissioners would talk to Karen K. from RH2 at the next meeting.

Transfer Agreements

Commissioner Harris asked legal counsel Mark Peterson about transfer agreements. Mark said we start with the MOUs, and asked that Clerk Dickinson email copies to everyone. We then need to sort out easements, water rights, and wells/pipes/pumps etc.  There ensued much discussion of easements.

Bonnie Klasell and Irene Miller asked if the Brown Road MOU can be amended to specifically return the old pipe line to Brown Road Irrigation. Mark said that shouldn’t be a problem.

Commissioners agreed we need to have an operator, and administrative structures (billing and such) in place and running smoothly before we do the legal transfer.

Bonnie Klasell asked if Brown Road should remove the “opt out” names from their transfer documents. Mark Peterson agreed it would be best to remove the names before the transfer.

 

Insurance

Dwight Burke (ex-Commissioner still kindly volunteering his services)  gave a report on LWWD insurance. Currently, LWWD has:

1.)   Director and Officer liability for Commissioners – $10mil w/ $1K deductible

2.)   Computer/records/furniture, etc – $25K

3.)   Employee Dishonestly – $25K

Our renewal is coming up Sept 1^st, and the preparation packet needs to go out by April 15^th. (Dwight prepared the packet and gave it to Clerk for copies and mailing.) We are working with a Managing General Agreement with Cities Insurance. They need time to shop our requirements. Kim Stevens is our underwriter at Cities Insurance. Her rough guess on what our insurance will run is somewhere between $4K to $9K a year.

Another insurance point is that we need to get certificates of insurance from all our vendors. Ideally, we are named as an additional insured.

As we move towards official transfers from the Associations, we need to gather their insurance policies to see what they include.

There ensued much discussion of insurance costs vs. LWWD risks. Dwight recommend buying as much insurance as LWWD can afford. Commissioner Harris is leary of over-insuring. Barbara Harris asked if we would need so much insurance once we’ve completed build out of the new system. Dwight said we have some protection from law suits due to being a non-profit. Clerk Dickinson asked if there isn’t cheaper, industry sponsored insurance. Dan Bannier said he would check with industry associations.

Dwight explained that we need to be careful about “claims made” coverage. As the Associations join the District, either their insurance policies continue to cover claims that might arise from the periods they were insured (“extended reporting endorsement”), or else LWWD needs to make its new policy cover those possible claims.

Dwight agreed to be identified as the official insurance advisor representative.

PUD

Commissioner Harris reported on meeting with PUD: PUD and RH2 seem to be good with communicating directly with each other, without LWWD oversight. Depending on what LWWD does with pipe replacement, PUD might drop fiber in the ditches when they are open. They won’t decide until summer, but in the meanwhile, LWWD needs to keep PUD in the loop. RH2 will take care of that.

Forest Service

Clerk Dickinson will contact Paul Shielke to pick up any LWWD materials he might have, particularly any docs or info related to his contacts with the Forest Service. Commissioner Harris will take over liaison with FS.

Vacant Commissioner Seat

Commissioner Bohn motioned for Bonnie Klasell to be appointed in place of resigning Commissioner Shielke. Commissioner Harris seconded the appointment, and so it was passed unanimously. She will be sworn in at the next meeting.

Time Constraints

Commissioner Harris points out we have to much going on to meet for only two hours twice a month. He suggests expanding the meeting to 1:00 each time. Commissioner-elect Klasell agreed. Clerk Dickinson will contact Fire Station for permission to hold longer meetings.

 

Next Meeting

Postponed due to time constraints:

• Job advertising (though Clerk Dickinson is instructed to go ahead and post the Small Works Roster ad.)
• Administrative and budget review

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Meeting adjourned at 12:30