Bolinas Community Public Utility District
A Regular Meeting Of The Board
Of Directors
June 16, 2010 270 Elm Road, Bolinas
1. Call to Order.
7:33 p.m.
2. Roll.
Directors Amoroso, Kimball, Siedman and Smith present;
director Siedman presiding. Director Bender subsequently arrived at
7:45 p.m.
3. Manager’s Report.
Staff reported that the district has just received word
that it has been granted low-interest loan funding from the California Department
of Public Health (“CDPH”) to relocate the water main off of Terrace Avenue
at Surfer’s Overlook. Staff noted the topic will be discussed later
on the agenda during item 9.
Staff noted that the district’s Operations Committee met on June 4th with
the responsible property owner at 150 Horseshoe Hill Road and agreed upon
a directional boring installation approach for the extension of the water
main north on Horseshoe Hill Road. The district currently plans to
install the project this Fall.
Staff presented a report concerning district water consumption for the most
recent month – consumption is up over this same time period in 2009 for the
first time this year, but remains well below 2008 levels. Staff also
presented a copy of the district’s 2009 Consumer Confidence Report, which
will be mailed out to customers prior to the end of the month, as well as
other reports to CDPH concerning the district’s pilot plant to reduce chlorine
disinfection byproducts, the district’s Annual Report for 2009 and the district’s
ISDE Report on Stage 2 Monitoring for chlorine disinfection byproducts.
The Board reviewed a letter from the Point Reyes National Seashore concerning
a right-of-way permit for the district’s facilities located within the boundaries
of the park; the district was asked to acknowledge receipt of the letter
and concurrence with the terms of an extended Letter of Authorization pending
the issuance of the subject permit. The Board had no objection.
The Board reviewed additional correspondence including, but not limited to,
a letter to Supervisor Steve Kinsey with a water supply update and a contract
for the district’s new bookkeeper, Kaaren Gann.
Staff reported that the district, in partnership with
the Conservation Corps North Bay, has been awarded full funding for the grants
applied for to pay for fire fuel reduction work in the eucalyptus grove and
elsewhere on the district’s sewer pond property. As such, the district
will receive $125,000 in grant funding and will provide a “match” of $25,000,
for a total of $150,000. It is currently anticipated that the fire
fuel reduction work will occur during the Fall of 2011.
The Board reviewed a letter from staff to Marin County
Department of Public Works concerning the planting of the median strip between
Olema-Bolinas Road and the bike path; the district has been advised that
the strip will be planted during the Fall 2010. The Board also approved
a request from the Yellow Bike program to install a bike rack in front of
the BCPUD office building.
On the sewer side of operations, the district’s insurance
representative was on-site for training of staff on electrical safety and
during his visit he inspected the control panels at the sewer pond site and
urged replacement/upgrade of the panels. The district has retained
an electrical engineer to assess the panels and recommend next steps.
Spray season opened on April 15th, but the operations staff has deferred
the commencement of spraying until the spray fields can be mowed in July.
Flows into the system continue to be relatively modest and capacity of the
interior ponds is not a concern at this time.
-- Update on the BCPUD’s Application for Proposition 84 Grant Funds (in partnership
with the County of Marin and the National Park Service) for Projects to Enhance
the Duxbury Reef Area of Special Biological Significance(“ASBS”):
Approve Grant Agreement with State Water Resources Control Board; Approve
Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Marin, Point Reyes National
Seashore and BCPUD
Staff said that although draft documents have been circulated
and comments are being circulated as well, the grant agreement and memorandum
of understanding are not yet ready for approval. BCPUD and its partner
agencies have a phone call scheduled with the state grant manager on June
17th at 10:00 a.m. The biggest issue to be discussed is the grantee’s
need for more time to complete the grant-funded work because the state “freeze”
on spending has resulted in the loss of over 18 months of work time for the
grantees.
-- Update on the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) Accessibility of
the BCPUD Building:
Approve Request for Proposals for Construction Services.
Staff requested approval to issue the Request for Proposal for Construction
Services for the district’s office building accessibility project the following
week; the Board had no objection. Staff noted that the district is
requiring at least 5 years of ADA construction experience and a detailed
work plan in order to minimize disruption for the adjacent preschool.
A mandatory contractor site visit has been set for July 13th at 10:00 a.m.
and bids are due July 20th.
-- Drainage Project Manager’s Report
4. Community Expression.
Director Kimball said that at the top of Terrace near the road collapse there
is a giant hornet’s nest the size of a basketball. Following a brief
discussion, the Board approved staff contacting the Marin/Sonoma Mosquito
& Vector Control District to abate the nest if any public complaints
are received about the nest.
5. Public Hearing: 2010-11 Draft Budget.
Director Siedman opened the district’s public hearing
on the fiscal year 2010-2011 draft budget; he noted that no members of the
public were present. Staff reported that the only change to the budget
since the May meeting has been to add an additional $20,000 in expenditures
under the sewer/facilities planning budget to pay for the planned geotechnical
assessment of Surfer’s Overlook. Previously, staff had planned to allocate
the costs equally between the water and sewer enterprises, but now that the
district has been approved for state funding to relocate the water main,
the costs of the geotechnical assessment properly should be borne by the
sewer enterprise.
6. Discuss Maintenance of the Unpaved Neighborhood Access
Roads on the Bolinas Gridded Mesa.
Director Siedman, noting that no one from the public was present, deferred
discussion of this item until later in the meeting.
7. Discussion and Recommendations re: Marin County Implementation
of California Greywater Plumbing Code.
Again director Siedman, noting that no one from the public was present, deferred
discussion of this item until later in the meeting.
8. Approve Updated Watershed Sanitary Survey.
Staff presented the update of the district’s Watershed Sanitary Survey, which
was prepared by the district’s outside engineers, Brelje & Race.
Staff recommended that the Board approve the report for submission to CDPH.
B. Kimball/D. Smith all in favor to approve
the updated Watershed Sanitary Survey and submit it to the California Department
of Public Health.
9. Approve Agreement with Brelje & Race to Provide
Detailed Engineering Plans & Specifications for the Relocation of the
Water Main off of Terrace Avenue at Surfer’s Overlook.
Staff presented a draft agreement between the district
and Brelje & Race to provide detailed engineering plans and specifications
for the relocation of the district’s water main off of Terrace Avenue at
Surfer’s Overlook. These detailed plans and specifications are required
to support the district’s application for funding under the state’s Safe
Water Drinking Act State Revolving Fund Program and the state has set a deadline
of July 23, 2010 for submittal of the final documents. The cost of
this work will be paid for from the state funds.
K. Bender/B. Kimball all in favor to
approve the agreement with Brelje & Race to provide detailed engineering
plans and specifications for the relocation of the district’s water main
off of Terrace Avenue at Surfer’s Overlook.
10. Review Responses to BCPUD’s Request
for Proposal for Audit Services.
The Board reviewed responses to the district’s request for proposal for audit
services submitted by Fedak & Company, Riccardi & Associates and
Doran & Associates. After some discussion, the Board decided to
eliminate the proposal submitted by Fedak & Company because it was much
higher than the other two, and referred the final decision as to the successful
proposer to the Board’s Finance Committee.
K. Bender/D. Smith all in favor
to refer to the Board’s Finance Committee the final decision as to which
firm will perform the district’s fiscal year 2009-2010 audit.
Directors Amoroso and Kimball and staff agreed to meet
on June 22, 1010 at 10:00 a.m.
6. (cont. from above) Discuss Maintenance of the Unpaved
Neighborhood Access Roads on the Bolinas Gridded Mesa.
Director Siedman directed the Board back to items 6 and 7 on the meeting
agenda. Director Smith said that he requested that item 6 be placed
on the agenda because it seems the community continually has difficulty funding
adequate maintenance of the roads on the Gridded Mesa on a volunteer basis.
He said this is not fair to delivery vehicles, garbage trucks and other service
providers, among other things; he acknowledged, however, that when the roads
are improved, people tend to drive way too fast. Director Smith proposed
that the BCPUD perform “selective pot-hole filling” on neighborhood access
roads in places where the roads are out of specification as set forth in
Ordinance 30 (i.e., more than 4 inches above or below grade). Director
Smith said he thinks such work will need to be done every two years.
He noted that when Don Murch spreads gravel over the unpaved roads, he charges
$200 per east-west block; he therefore estimated that selective pothole filling
likely will cost about $50 per block per year. As such, the cost to
the district of conducting selective pothole filling on just the neighborhood
access roads (as identified on the district’s traffic plan) would be $2500
per year, assuming the district can secure additional ground asphalt.
Director Amoroso said this would be an expansion of the district’s historical
practice of improving roads only where necessary to protect the water distribution
system. Director Kimball expressed support for director Smith’s proposal;
she stated that in her neighborhood, the homeowners filled potholes with
big rocks first and then applied smaller gravel, which seems to have stopped
the potholes from reforming. Director Siedman also expressed support
and said that it would improve public safety if the access roads remain accessible
to emergency vehicles – particularly on roads such as Poplar between Kale
and Evergreen, where there are no developed properties. Director Bender
suggested that the district try this approach for one season before committing
to this policy on a permanent basis; director Kimball expressed support for
this approach.
After further discussion in support of director Smith’s proposal that the
BCPUD selectively fill potholes on neighborhood access roads, director Siedman
directed staff to place on the July meeting agenda an item for the Board
to consider a one-year pilot project. Director Smith said he thinks
the district should be more proactive about sourcing ground asphalt and suggested
that staff connect with CalTrans and local contractors for this purpose.
7. (cont. from above. Discussion and Recommendations re:
Marin County Implementation of California Greywater Plumbing Code.
Director Kimball noted that director Smith raised the topic of the state’s
new greywater plumbing code at the last meeting because the BCPUD wrote a
letter to the Marin County Community Development Agency (“CDA”) asking that
it implement the new code as soon as possible with as much discretion as
possible. Staff subsequently confirmed with CDA that this is on the
agency’s workplan. Directors Kimball and Smith feel that the district
should make a strong attempt to influence this effort to ensure the greatest
possible benefit to the community. Director Smith said that the state
completely changed its former policy against greywater because of the extended
California drought and it is now up to local jurisdictions as to how the
new code will be implemented. He recommended that the Board’s Mesa
Septic, Flood Control & Roads committee take this on and offer to work
with the County; he noted that an effective greywater program in Bolinas
will help reduce treated water consumption and reduce loads to septic systems.
V. Amoroso/K. Bender all in favor
to delegate to the Board’s Mesa Septic, Flood Control
& Roads committee the task of advocating for implementation of an effective
greywater plumbing code.
11. Review Draft Sewer System Management Plan.
This matter was deferred to the July meeting pending completion of the final
sections of the district’s Sewer System Management Plan.
12. Volunteer Committee Reports
-- Alternative Energy: Update on Inverter Problem at 400 Mesa Road
site. Director Smith reported that Satcon suspects that the fuses on the
invertors are overheating and therefore has installed a heat-sink.
Director Smith is not confident that this will solve the problem, but at
this point the district needs to wait and see.
-- Bolinas Lagoon Technical Advisory Committee: Director Amoroso said
that he missed the last meeting because the meeting date was changed, but
he talked with Ralph Camiccia, who did attend. Audubon Canyon
Ranch is now balking at removing the invasive non-native trees on Kent Island
because herons are now there.
-- Downtown Parking & Traffic Committee: Staff is following up with Liza
Crosse, aide to Supervisor Kinsey, about implementation of the district’s
downtown parking and traffic plan.
-- Resource Recovery: Staff reported that the driveway to the Resource Recovery
Center has been widened and a new gate and sign have been installed.
-- Terrace Avenue/Alternative Access Road Committee: Approve Request
for Proposals for Geotechnical Engineering Consulting Services. Staff
presented a draft Request of Proposals for geotechnical engineers consulting
services to access Terrace Avenue at Surfer’s Overlook, including comments
submitted by the County’s Department of Public Works.
B. Kimball/K. Bender all in favor to
approve the draft request for proposals, subject to staff discretion to amend
the schedule of deliverables, as needed.
-- West Nile Virus Task Force/West Marin Mosquito Control Coordinating Council:
Director Kimball reported that the task force will meet on June 21st and
the meeting will be open to the public. The Mosquito Control Coordinating
Council recently submitted reminders to the public to take steps to reduce
or eliminate mosquito habitat to the local newspapers.
13. Other Business
a. Board Committee Reports
-- Finance: The committee will meet on June 22, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.
:
-- Legal: Nothing to report.
-- Mesa Septic, Flood Control and Roads: Nothing further to report.
-- Operations: Staff reported that the committee met on June 4th to
discuss the project to extend the district’s water main up Horseshoe Hill
Road to 150 and 190 Horseshoe Hill Road. Additional engineering work
is needed to specify a directional boring installation and once that is complete,
the project will be ready to go out to bid.
-- Park and Recreation: Director Siedman reported that Mesa Park has
engaged Rob Gailey to assess the potential impact of the Mesa Park well on
nearby private wells; this analysis is a necessary part of the district’s
request to amend its reclamation grant. As for the Downtown Park,
Mesa Park has sold the available water meter for $220,000 to Ed Pohlman to
install on this property at property at Kale and Larch. A local
community group interested in a possible community swimming pool has been
attending recent Mesa Park Board meetings; this group is going to assess
community interest in such a project.
-- Personnel: Nothing to report.
-- Sewer: Nothing to report.
b. Minutes of the May 19, 2010 Regular Meeting
Director Smith offered a correction to item 7.
D. Smith/K. Bender all in favor
to approve the minutes of the May 19, 2010 regular meeting, as amended
c. Warrants.
B. Kimball/D. Smith all in favor to approve
the warrant list.
d. Scheduling of Next Meeting(s)
July 21, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
14. Adjournment
9:39 p.m.