1.
Call to Order.
7:31 p.m.
2.
Roll.
Directors Amoroso, Comstock, Godino, Siedman and Smith
present; director Siedman presiding.
3. Manager’s Report.
-- Update
on the Terrace Avenue Water Main Relocation Project.
The district filed a Notice of Completion
with the County of Marin for this project November 26th and the
final retention payment due to the contractor will be paid 45-60 days after that
date (assuming no liens have been recorded).
The district also submitted its certification of project completion to the
Sonoma District office of the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”)
on December 9th. The final
paperwork to be submitted to the CDPH is a full written disclosure of all
sources and amount of funds contributed to the project, along with a copy of
the recorded notice of completion and a final release. Staff anticipates that all documentation will
be submitted before the end of January 2014.
-- Update
on the Terrace Avenue Bluff Stabilization Project.
Staff identified three potential planning
consultants in Marin and is in the process of interviewing them to determine
whether they are interested in working on the permitting phase of the
project. Per the advice of the
consulting geotechnical engineers, David Kimball from the Bolinas Fire
Protection District board is developing a beach monitoring protocol to document
the sand level changes at the project location over the upcoming year. Finally, Supervisor Steve Kinsey was appointed
to be the Chair of the California Coastal Commission this week.
--
Update on the Wastewater Treatment Plant Pump Station and Electrical Upgrade
Project.
Bids were due yesterday at noon and the
district received two bids. The lowest responsible
bidder was Blocka Construction. Staff
and the district’s engineer are analyzing the bid and an item will be included
on the January meeting agenda for the Board to consider the bids.
--
Update on Shared Personnel Between BCPUD and Bolinas Fire Protection District.
No update; staff anticipates that
cross-training of BCPUD and BFPD staff will begin early in 2014.
--Update
on Removal of Obstructions in Zebra Right-of-Way.
Staff reported that per the Board’s direction
at the November meeting, another meeting was held at the Zebra right-of-way on
December 12th. The following
persons were present: Sue Verhalen,
Martino Magid, Don Murch, John and Erica McCrea, Bill Pierce, Lewie Likover,
Anita Tyrrell-Brown and Jennifer Blackman.
The objective of the meeting was to identify an access route within the
Zebra right-of-way to Sue Verhalen’s property.
At this point, many (but not all) of the obstructing structures, decks,
patios and materials have been removed from the Zebra right-of-way and the
McCrea property. The McCreas agreed that
the Bolinas Fire Protection District (“BFPD”) may use the paved private
driveway on their property -- for emergency purposes only -- to access the
Verhalen property. This simplifies the
access issue enormously as installing access to BPFD requirements within the Zebra
right-of-way would be very costly. Martino
Magid said that he is willing to allow the structure remaining in the Zebra right-of-way
to be moved onto his property if the County will allow it. After an extended discussion and evaluation
of the site conditions, it was agreed that the Verhalen access will be
developed off of Yucca directly next to where the structure currently is
located and uphill over an existing drainage culvert to the bottom border of
the Verhalen property.
--
Update on BCPUD’s Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan.
Staff has begun the process of categorizing
the district’s assets and the first spreadsheet documenting the water
transmission infrastructure components is in the Board binders. Staff will prepare similar documentation for
the water treatment, water distribution, sewage collection, sewage treatment,
sewage disposal, office and equipment assets. Director Comstock said that the overview of
the district’s infrastructure is very important as it will guide the district’s
budgeting and reserve planning processes.
Staff directed the Board’s attention to the water
consumption statistics in the Board books:
consumption was down slightly as compared to this time last year on the
back of the Mesa. Currently water
consumption is quite low: 70,000 –
90,000 gallons per day, which translates to an average of approximately 120-150
gallons per day per household. This is
less than the 150 gallon per day per household amount the district imposed
during the mandatory rationing period 5 years ago. In large part because of the sustained reduced
consumption district-wide since rationing was imposed, the district is in
better shape right now (in terms of its available water supply) than it was
five years ago. The fact that the
weather has been quite cold and that the days are short also are suppressing
consumption. However, as the weather
warms back up and the days lengthen, it is likely that consumption will begin
to rise. At present, the district is
drawing all of its raw water supply from the Arroyo Hondo Creek and is not
resorting to drawing from its emergency reservoirs. Staff noted that a more detailed report about
the district’s water supply will be given by the district’s Chief Operator
later in the meeting.
Staff reported that a leak was repaired today
on the district’s “booster pump line”, which is the water main that runs from
the storage tanks on Mesa Road back to the four customers west of the Woodrat
Water Treatment Plant. The leak was
caused by a failed coupling, likely due to land movement, out past
Commonweal. Staff discovered the leak
after noticing an uptick in the booster pump hours (suggesting an unusual surge
in demand for water) and then walking the line.
Meanwhile, maintenance work at the treatment plant is on-going; staff
replaced a failed membrane on one of the filters this week.
The chlorine disinfection byproduct pilot
project continues to move forward. Staff
met with consultant Jonathan Van Bourg earlier this month to discuss the preliminary
results of the membrane degradation study and reservoir management strategies,
among other things. Staff would like to
retain a reservoir management consultant from Berkeley to assist the district
at a cost of $1,000 for 8 hours of consulting.
There was no objection from the Board.
A “New Director Orientation” was held at the
BCPUD offices on Decmber 11th for new directors Grace Godino and
Lyndon Comstock. A copy of the
orientation agenda is in the Board binders. The Board reviewed correspondence from the
County of Marin concerning the Wintersteen retaining wall at the end of Oak
Road and from the Local Agency Formation Commission of Marin about an upcoming
water service study.
On the wastewater side of operations, staff
reported that the memorial bench honoring former BCPUD director Peter Warshall
was installed at a location below the lab building earlier in the month and
looks wonderful. Flows continue to be
quite low into the treatment facility and all repairs to service laterals
required by the district have been complpeted.
--
Drainage Project Manager’s Report.
No drainage report this month. Drainage Project Manager Lewie Likover is working
on updating the district’s maps of completed drainage projects.
Director
Comstock noted that Chief Operator Bill Pierce was present in the meeting room
to report during Item 13 and he suggested that the Board move that item up on
the meeting agenda. Director Amoroso
suggested that item 10 be moved up as well, to accomodate Mr. McCaffrey.
V.
Amoroso/L. Comstock all in favor to move item 13 up to the next item on
the agenda and to move item 10 to immediately follow item 13.
13. Water Supply Discussion: Contingency Planning
for Potential Water Rationing; Enhanced Water Conservation Strategies.
Chief
Operator Bill Pierce noted that the district currently is experiencing
conditions similar to the conditions it experienced five years ago when it imposed
mandatory rationing. Specifically, the
district is experiencing a very dry winter thus far, following an extremely dry
calendar year – the majority of the rains last winter were during November and
December of 2012. However, the
district’s water supply status today is not as dire as it was five years
ago. Five years ago, consumption district-wide
was much higher than it is today and the district already had used its
reservoir water sources very extensively by January 2009 because the Arroyo
Hondo Creek flows were very low – in fact, Woodrat #2 was empty and the
district had less than 6 million gallons of water in storage. At present, the district has more than 10
million gallons in storage and is able to provide all of the water necessary to
meet demand from the Arroyo Hondo Creek, largely due to the rains that occurred
prior to Thanksgiving which boosted the creek flows considerably. As staff reported earlier, consumption in the
district right now is averaging 70,000 – 90,000 gallons per day, which is
comparatively quite low. However, Bill
cautioned that conditions could change quickly – right now, it is cold and the
days are short, so people are not watering their landscaping and generally are
using less water. Bill noted that a few
months ago when the days were longer and the weather was warmer, the district
had to rely on the reservoirs for approximately 40% of the water it supplied
the community.
Bill
further cautioned that if the district rations water again this year, it may be
more difficult as he does not believe the same level of “excess demand” for
water exists today as existed five years ago due to the fact that the community
already had been practicing commendable voluntary conservation. Bill said he recently calculated that if the
creek flows hold at the levels they are now (a generous assumption), storage
remains as-is, and consumption averages a more typical 100,000 gallons per day
(requiring the district to supplement its water supply with the reservoir water
sources), then the district will be out of stored water by August 25,
2014. Although it likely will rain at
some point before the onset of the summer months, this calculation is intended
to give a sense of where the district stands vis-à-vis its water supply. In response to questions from the Board, Bill
said that the best case scenario for the district is some prolonged rains that
will fill the reservoirs and recharge the creek during the winter and
spring. Since this is far from assured,
staff will commence community outreach within the next two weeks to inform the
community about the water supply and request that customers turn off all
automatic irrigation systems and reduce or cease landscape irrigation at this
time.
10.
Request from North Bay Corporation
for Annual Rate Adjustment of 2.33% Effective January 1, 2014.
Steve
McCaffrey with Empire Waste Disposal (a subsidiary of North Bay Corporation)
was present to explain that the company is requesting its annual rate
adjustment per the formula set forth in the franchise agreement with the
district (which allows a rate increase of 85% of the local CPI), plus the
prorata surcharge imposed by the County of Marin for its Zero Waste
initiative. As such, the amount of the
rate adjustment is 2.23% effective January 1, 2014. In response to questions from the Board, Mr.
McCaffrey said that Bolinas has the lowest rates in the state; the monthly rate for the regular garbage will
be $16.49. He also noted that the
company has retained the drivers (and their routes) servicing Bolinas as
requested by the Board in earlier years.
V. Amoroso/D.
Smith all in favor to approve the annual rate adjustment
of 2.33% effective January 1, 2014.
4.
Community Expression.
Director
Siedman noted that Janet Mattingly submitted a letter to explain a recent leak
at her property and the efforts she made to repair it. The Board directed staff to assist Ms.
Mattingly to the extent possible.
5. Request that BCPUD Remove or Internally
Thin/Reduce Crown of Hazardous Eucalyptus Tree located in the Fern Road Right-of-Way
near Ocean Parkway (P. Harris)
Director Siedman summarized a letter
submitted by Paul Harris, along with an arborist report by Ray Moritz and an
estimate from Pacific Slope for the cost of removal of a eucalyputs tree in the
Fern Road right-of-way. Director Amoroso
commented that the arbortist report indicates that the crown of the tree can be
thinned and reduced to alleviate the hazard, but that will need to be
maintained so it likely is more cost effective to remove the tree at the
estimated cost of $1,900. Director Smith
also noted that the district requires a contribution from the affected
neighborhood toward the cost of any tree removal and that should be the case
here.
V. Amoroso/G. Godino all in favor to
approve the removal of the hazardous eucalyptus tree located in the Fern Road
right-of-way near Ocean Parkway for $1,900 on the condition the neighborhood
contributes to the cost.
6. Request for Financial Relief from
Quarterly Water Bill pursuant to BCPUD Resolution 553 – 99 Brighton (M.
Talucci).
Jorge Bustamente was present on behalf of the
homeowners and explained that he looks after the property. He said that a water heater malfunction had
caused a leak under the house that was not detccted for quite a while; in addition, during the summer the irrigation
system was on which also contributed to the high water use. Director Siedman advised Jorge that the
district does not allow financial relief for water loss caused by irrigation
systems and said that the Board needs a breakdown of the amount of water loss
attributable to the water heater leak vs. the amount used by the irrigation
system. Director Smith questioned why
the water heater leak was not detected immediately as a huge amount of water
was used during the quarter in question (more than 250,000 gallons) and must
have been obvious. The Board directed
staff to continue this item until such time as the homeowners are able to
verify the source(s) of the water loss and when/how the leak was repaired.
7. Request for Financial Relief from
Quarterly Water Bill pursuant to BCPUD Resolution 553 – 330 Cedar Road (J.
Bustamante).
Jorge Bustamente explained that when he
received his bill during the first week of August, he was startled as it had jumped
from $22.50 at the end of the prior quarter to over $330.00. He looked all over his property and found a
leak in an underground pipe leading to an outdoor shower. He had the leak repaired immediately after he
found it. Director Smith said that in
cases of “blind” underground leaks like this that are properly repaired, the
district historically has granted full financial relief for the amount of the
bill over the historic average bill for the same quarter.
D. Smith/L. Comstock all in favor to reduce the bill by amount of water
loss due to the leak based on the historic average water bill for the same
quarter.
8. Coastal Permit Application (14-7) and
Variance (14-2), APN # 193-151-19, 65 Crescente Avenue, Bolinas; Expanded Water
Use Permit Application (A. Saleh).
Alber Saleh was present to explain that he is
doing an extensive remodel of his residence and will be reducing the overall number
of bedrooms and bathrooms: reducing the number
of bedrooms and bathrooms and replacing all of the plumbing. He noted that the project is being done in
two phases; he appeared before the Board
previously for the first phase of the project (which is now under construction)
and this is the second phase. In
response to questions from the Board, Alber explained that the present carport
will become a garage, which explains the technical increase in square footage
noted in the County paperwork, but this is not habitable space. He said the number of bedrooms will be
reduced from 4 to 3 and the house will be used part-time; he said he also has shut off and abandoned an
irrigation system installed by a prior owner.
Director Smith observed that the water use is not likely to increase as
a result of the project and proposed approval of an unconditional expanded
water use permit.
D. Smith/L. Comstock all in favor to
approve an unconditional expanded water use permit.
9. Coastal Permit Application (14-10), APN
# 190-181-27, 380 Larch Road, Bolinas; Expanded Water Use Permit Application
(A. Patton for C. Chestnut).
Alethea Patton was present on behalf of the
homeowner to explain that the property was redtagged for removing redwood trees
that had been planted previously by the homeowner’s father and for a failing
septic system. The septic system is
being repaired and there are no changes proposed for the house at all and no
foreseeable impact on water use. An
arborist report and a biologist report were submitted to the County and a
greenlight has been given for the project.
V. Amoroso/D. Smith all in favor to approve an unconditional expanded
water use permit.
10.
Request from North Bay Corporation
for Annual Rate Adjustment of 2.33% Effective January 1, 2014.
See above.
11. Request for Reconsideration of BCPUD
Letter Opposing the Use of Rodenticides on the South Farallon Islands (G.
Geupel).
Director Siedman reminded the audience of the
BCPUD’s historic role when letters such as the one at issue here are
requested. While the district provides
water and sewer service, among other utility functions, it also serves as a
forum for the community. In the latter
role, the Board generally hears matters requested by the community and from
time to time sends in letters that are outside its utility purview. In this case, the community appealed last
month to the Board to submit a letter opposing the use of rodenticides on the
South Farallon Islands and the Board agreed to submit such a letter based on
the community input at that meeting.
Subsequently, Geoff Geupel and others asked if they could address the
Board on this subject because the district’s letter did not reflect the views of
the entire Bolinas community.
Director Amoroso commented that several years
ago, when Bolinas was annexed into the Marin/Sonoma Mosquito & Vector
Control District, many in the community were upset by that district’s proposed
use of pesticides to eradicate mosquitos.
BCPUD stepped up and took a leadership role in fighting the application
of such pesticides in West Marin, particularly because of the number of organic
farms. The National Park Service and
other entities joined the fight and a measure was placed on the 2008 election
ballot to gauge the community sentiment on this topic – 86% of voters supported
the BCPUD’s role in advocating for a non-toxic protocol and the district moved
forward and eventually prevailed.
Director Amoroso said he mentions this now as an example of the district
acting outside its usual purview at the request of the community in a similar
situation.
Geoff Geupel thanked the Board for including
this item on its meeting agenda and apologized for missing the November meeting
when the proposed use of rodenticides was discussed. Geoff said he hopes the Board will consider
issuing either a retraction of its letter or a second letter expressing the support
of other Bolinas community members for the eradication of invasive non-native mice
on the Farallon Islands. He said he has
lived in Bolinas for 33 years and, during his career with Point Blue (formerly
PRBO Conservation Science), he has worked on all sorts of conservation/wildlife
programs; in addition, he lived for a few months on the Farallon Islands. He noted that Peter Pyle, also present in the
meeting room, has lived on the Farallon Islands off and on for 24 years; he
further noted that Burr Heneman and David Ainley, as well as additional
biologists from Point Blue, also were present in the meeting room. Geoff said they have no financial incentive
in the outcome of the eradication program; they are scientists who believe
strongly in the need to remove the invasive mice from the islands.
Burr Heneman echoed Geoff’s thanks to the
Board for including the agenda item and apologized for not attending the
November meeting. He said that he has
worked in the field of island restoration via the removal of invasive alien
species for many years; the field has advanced significantly over the last 40
years and invasive alien species removal is one of the best conservation tools available
today. Burr acknowledged that there is non-target
mortality and it is important to minimize the impact of an island restoration
project on non-target species and plants.
Burr described successful island restoration programs around the world
and said he feels this is very different from the mosquito district battle
described by director Amoroso (Burr said he very much supported the district’s
position on that topic). He described
the numerous endangered island species that have been restored as a result of
the removal of invasive non-native species and urged the Board either to
retract its previous letter or write a second letter stating that many community
members in Bolinas are in favor of the invasive mice eradication proposal for
the Farallon Islands.
Peter Pyle stated that he reviewed the use of
pesticides in Marin County in 2013 to get some perspective on the amount of
rodenticides proposed for the Farallon Islands.
He said that 1/6th of a pound of rodenticides is proposed to
be used on the Farallon Islands (the rodenticides will be enclosed in pellets
that collectively weigh tons, but the actual amount of rodenticides proposed to
be used is 1/6th of a pound); in contrast, between January and October
2013, 178 pounds of pesticides were used in Marin County to eradicate mosquitos. Overall, 64,525 pounds of pesticides were applied
in Marin County during 2013, which is 390,000 times the amount of rodenticides
that are proposed for the Farallon Islands.
Peter further noted that Marin County has a higher carbon footprint than
the rest of California. Peter said that
while he would prefer no use of chemicals in Marin or elsewhere at all, this is
a rare case where use of a chemical will benefit the environment in the long
run – in other words, a relatively small amount of chemicals will be used to
achieve a huge benefit for the future.
Discussion ensued about the number of mice at
issue, the bird species identified in need of protection, the fact that
environmental organizations are split on whether to support or oppose the use
of rodenticides at the Farallon Islands, and whether the draft EIR sufficiently
evaluated non-rodenticide alternatives to invasive mice eradication. David Ainley stated that he has lived in
Bolinas since 1971, but has spent most of his time on the Farallon
Islands; he noted that the problems
posed by introduced animals have affected just about every island on
earth. He said that only since the invention
of the rodenticides has the thorough restoration of islands been possible. David expressed disappointment that the
district did no consult the many scientiests in Bolinas who are familiar with
the Farallon Islands before issuing its letter last month. He urged the Board, now that it has more
information on the topic, to either rescind its earlier letter or write a
second letter stating that there is a major scientific group within the Bolinas
community that supports the restoration of the Farallon Islands. Catherine Hickey from Point Blue echoed
David’s request.
Stockton Buck said he has been advocating the
anti-rodenticide position for years and, although he is not an expert on island
restoration, he believes that a better solution must be out there for the
eradication of the invasive non-native mice.
Director Amoroso noted that the draft EIR was prepared by the same
company that will perform the eradication, which is very unusual; he also noted
that the EPA, the American Bird Conservatory and other environmental
organizations oppose the use of rodenticides.
Director Comstock said he reviewed all of the
information provided for the Board’s consideration and concluded that although the
goal seems laudable (removal of mice from the Farallons), the proposed approach
(droppoing rat posion over the islands via helicopter) is radical. He said he feels the case has been made that
the rodents need to be removed, but a persuasive case has not been made that
the way to do it is via the use of rodenticides. Eleanor Lyman expressed her support for this
point of view and said she is very troubled by the potential use of
rodenticides – she noted that the EPA is urging that less toxic means be used.
Director Amoroso said that he is not
necessarily persuaded the Board should change its letter on this topic; he
suggested that if the issue is still in play next November that a measure be
included on the ballot to gauge community opinion. Director Smith said he learned a lot about
the topic this evening and the issues are complex; he feels the district has an
obligation to submit a second letter expressing the view of those in the
community present tonight. Director
Comstock agreed that a second letter is warranted, as did director Godino. Director Amoroso did not object. Director Siedman concurred that a second
letter would be appropriate and, based on the consensus of the Board, requested
that Geoff Geupel prepare a draft supplemental letter for the Board to consider
at the January meeting. Geoff suggested
that the letter might state that all concerned support the eradication of the
invasive non-native mice, but differ on the means.
12. Request for a Letter of Support for Marin County’s membership in
the North Bay/North Coast Broadband Consortium (NB/NCBC), and for a California
Advanced Services Fund Grant. (S. Kinsey).
Director Smith
noted that Bolinas has broadband due in large part to the tireless efforts of
former resident Tom Williard, who convinced the County to get fiberoptic cable into
this rural area; other communities are not as fortunate. He expressed strong support for Marin
County’s membership in the proposed consortium and urged the Board to approve a
letter of support.
V. Amoroso/L. Comstock all in favor to issue a letter of support for Marin
County’s membership in the North Bay/North Coast Broadband Consortium.
13. Water
Supply Discussion: Contingency Planning for Potential Water Rationing; Enhanced
Water Conservation Strategies.
See above.
14.
Volunteer Committee Reports
--
Alternative Energy: Director Smith reported that the district will
submit a claim to PG&E for the damage caused to one of its invertors as a
result of a power surge earlier this year.
--
Bolinas Lagoon Advisory Committee: Nothing to report.
--
Downtown Parking & Traffic Committee: Appoint Committee Members
Michael Rafferty, Chris Weare and Stacey
Henderson submitted written requests to serve on the committee. Remick Hart said that he also is interested
in serving on the committee. Director
Amoroso agreed to be the Board representative on the committee.
--
Resource Recovery: Nothing to report.
--
West Marin Mosquito Control Coordinating Council: Staff noted that the Board needs to appoint a
director to fulfill former director Kimball’s role on the council at the
January meeting and urged the directors to consider whether they would like to
serve in this role.
--
Sewer Pond Land Management Committee: Staff reported that the
committee held a very productive meeting at the sewer pond lease sites on
December 16th with land stewardship consultant Jeff Creque. Jeff generally was complimentary of the
Murchs’ farming approach and also very understanding of community concerns; he
said that there is an opportunity to sequester carbon and produce food locally
as well as maintain open space and walking paths for community. The committee focused on Parcels B and C and
the issues of access, erosion, drainage, and crops. All access to the lease sites will be from
outside of the spray fields, other than 1 - 2 times a year for the delivery of
compost and will be pre-arranged with the BCPUD to ensure the sprays are not on
at the time. The walking path below
Parcel C (i.e., on the Sun Festival Land) will be improved by BCPUD spreading 4
– 6 inches of wood chips about 4-feet wide and tractor access will be
separate. The fence lines and windbreak
for Parcel C were agreed upon; in addition, Judith Lowry was present and the
areas on Parcel C for her proposed restoration project were identified. The next meeting will be in late January to
finalize the lease and discuss mapping/long-term land management issues.
15.
Other Business
a.
Board Committee
Reports
--
Finance: Staff directed the Board’s attention to the
first quarter balance sheet in the Board books, which inadvertently was not
included in last month’s binders with the quarterly financial reports. Staff noted that hard copies of the
district’s 2012-13 financial statements also are in the Board binders.
-- Legal: Nothing to report.
-- Mesa Septic, Flood Control and Roads: Nothing
to report.
-- Operations: Nothing
to report.
-- Park and Recreation: Staff
reported that Bryan Lee is working on assembling the supplemental materials
requested by the County to support Mesa Park’s coastal permit application to
install the ballfield irrigation and public restroom project.
-- Personnel: Nothing to
report.
-- Sewer: Nothing to report.
b.
Minutes
of the November 20, 2013 Regular Meeting.
Staff reported that former director Kimball
submitted clarifying revisions to the November 20th minutes
concerning the West Marin Mosquito Control Coordinating Council committee
report.
D. Smith/V. Amoroso all in favor to approve the minutes of the November
20th regular meeting, as amended.
c.
Warrants
V. Amoroso/D. Smith all in favor to approve the warrant list.
d. Scheduling of Next Meeting(s)
January
15, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.
16.
Adjournment.
10:52
p.m.