1. Call to Order
8:04 p.m.
2. Roll
Directors Amoroso, Bertsch, Kayfetz, McClellan, Siedman present. Director McClellan presiding.
A minute of silence was observed for the events of September 11, 2001.
3. Manager’s Report
Directors received information from the Association of California Water Agencies urging the District to pledge an additional 15% reduction in energy consumption.
The area at the back of 270 Elm has undergone considerable improvements by the Children’s Center, as the center builds a new play area and garden. Manager Buchanan recommended undertaking some additional brush clearing, and trimming or removal of the nearby hazardous cypress trees. Director McClellan asked why the Board’s position at the August meeting on removal of hazardous trees in BCPUD rights-of-way should not be applied in this case and he asked that that issue be revisited at the October meeting. There were no other objections to proceeding with the immediate clearing of area behind the office building.
Director Bertsch will reactivate the Housing Committee to respond to a housing survey from the Marin County Community Development Agency.
Staff reported that water supply to the entire town would have had to be shut off to complete the second phase of the Alder Road line replacement project with installation of a new gate valve. The valve on Evergreen, which would have isolated the shut off to the Mesa only, is frozen open and staff have decided to repair that valve before installing the valve on Alder. The rest of the project is complete, including the installation of a new fire hydrant.
The sludge removal and composting project at the Wastewater Treatment Facility is proceeding very well. All the ingredients are now available to combine with the sludge and form the compost piles alongside the roadway inside the facility. Once the piles have been formed the subsequent turning can hopefully be done with the backhoe. The finished material can then be spread on the sprayfields. Director Amoroso asked whether the constituents that had made the sludge initially unacceptable to Redwood Landfill would be a problem in the finished compost. Since the detected amounts were not great and will have been diluted by the additional compost ingredients, it is not considered an issue. The whole project will probably cost about $9,000 and is proving a valuable learning experience.
Minor changes were made to the draft fall newsletter.
A request for comment on a Coastal Permit Application by Mike Hanley, with a deadline of September 28, 2001 was received too late to appear on the agenda.
-- Amoroso/Kayfetz unanimous to add to the agenda as Item 7b.
Each candidate will have three minutes to make an opening statement, followed by questions from the public and a one-minute closing statement at Candidates’ Night on October 24. Manager Buchanan will moderate.
4. Community Expression
The Environmental Action Committee of West Marin reports that a total ban on jet ski use in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marin Sanctuary has been enacted.
Director Amoroso noted that he has received considerable comment about the new speed humps on Terrace Avenue. He personally fears that vehicles going over the hump above the cliff may cause additional stress to the cliff as they descend. Director Kayfetz stated that if the vehicle is not airborne there is minimal additional force on the descent. He indicated that, in conversation, Supervisor Steve Kinsey had agreed to eliminate the excess signs on Terrace, leaving only one at either end, and had agreed that the engineering of the humps was flawed. Staff will write a letter to Public Works, with a copy to Supervisor Kinsey, noting Amoroso’s concern.
5. Marin Draft Development Code and Marin Countywide Plan Update
There have been widely advertised public workshops on the Countywide Plan Update, perhaps making the attendance of Deputy Director of Planning, Brian Crawford, seem superfluous, since he did not respond to an invitation to attend the September meeting. Cela O’Connor noted that an upcoming Planning Committee meeting would be addressing changes to Phase One of the Update, which would include changes of use on agricultural land, such as permitting second units, a change that is designed to increase low-cost housing availability. She added that changes to the historic qualities of neighborhoods would be addressed in Phase 2, in about four years time, and suggested giving the process some attention. Director Kayfetz revisited the issue of using private residences as conference centers, which has been previously brought before the County, and neighborhood compatibility for Bed & Breakfast businesses. Director Bertsch said the Housing Committee would undertake to look at the whole subject. A letter stating that the Housing Committee would be dealing with housing issues, and that other aspects may be of concern to the District, will be sent to the Planning Department. Kayfetz requested the item go on the October meeting agenda.
6. November 6 Advisory Measure M: 94924 Parking Plan
Phil Binley opened with special thanks to Pat Gonzales, Stacey Henderson and the whole Downtown Parking Committee for their hard work on the plan. He noted that the plan is not a detailed implementation plan but contains enough detail on what would be done, how it would work, the research and the physical details to allow an informed understanding. The community is being asked for an indication of its support for the principle of the plan.
Director Kayfetz indicated that the most negative feedback he has had is the perception that preferential parking is being created to benefit the members of the committee. Gonzales noted that the idea of prohibiting overnight parking, as suggested by Rodney Krieger at the August meeting, to prevent the monopolization of preferential spaces, was considered by the committee and rejected as being too restrictive on the community at large. She also noted that those same residents now being suspected of seeking personal parking spaces had been proponents of overnight parking prohibition when the issue of beach camping was under discussion.
Binley stated that the primary beneficiaries of the plan would be Mesa residents. He did caution that one negative outcome might be that tourists would be driven to park in prime areas such as in front of the grocery store.
7. Alternative Energy Generation Proposal: System Design
In addition to outlining the steps and costs to installing a 50kW wind turbine electric generator at Woodrat 1, which would provide net metering and eliminate the annual $16,000 electricity bill for the treatment plant, Tom Williard and Bob Gold outlined a preliminary proposal for the formation of an “energy co-op” or “community choice aggregator” which would undertake the installation of one-megawatt-plus turbines to generate enough power to meet the needs of the community. The system would be based on opt-out participation, rather than opt-in, and could naturally fall under the umbrella of the District, since sending out bills would be part of the operation. The preliminary requisite wind monitoring with an anemometer would be three times more expensive than that required for the 50kW windmill. Director Amoroso voiced concerns about the speculative nature of both proposals, noting that the co-op legislature is not guaranteed to pass into law and that the equipment under consideration has not yet been certified and won’t be until late the following year. He asked if it might not be better to wait until more elements of the proposal are official. Gold noted that the current State buydown program will match funds for projects up to 1MG until 2003 when it will drop back down to only matching 20kW, and smaller, projects. Amoroso asked if the wind study would still be necessary if a 20kW program was being considered. Yes. Staff suggested that funds could come from the water system designated fund.
-- Bertsch/Kayfetz unanimous to go forward with the installation of an anemometer at Woodrat 1 as a preliminary to installing a 50kW mill, at a cost of $3,560, with a preference for using a suitable used model if possible, and to continue to consider the idea of becoming a “community choice aggregator”
7 b. Hanley Coastal Permit Application
Staff will write a letter to the Community Development Agency noting that applicant Mike Hanley will be required to apply for an Expanded Water Use Permit, and that neighbors who would not have received notice of the Coastal Permit application in time to present remarks at the meeting, might yet do so.
8. 2001-02 District/Employees Memorandum of Understanding: revision adjusting compensation for William Pierce and revising job titles to conform to job descriptions in District Resolution No. 470
Continued.
9. Other Business
a. Committee Reports
--Finance: draft 2000-01 audit
-- Amoroso/Siedman unanimous to approve the audit subject to an absence of objections from the finance committee at its meeting
--Park and Recreation:
Director Siedman reported that funding from the State Parks Bond for both the irrigation project and the skatepark at Mesa Park is looking more promising. If possible, he will bring a draft of the grant application to the October meeting.
--Solid Waste: Resource Recovery Project: finance / operations / tree removal proposal;
Tree removal at the Resource Recovery Project site, in addition to the treework planned at the wastewater treatment facility, is awaiting a go-ahead from Brian Crawford at the Community Development Agency. Bids on the treatment facility work have been received from Chuck Oakander and Western Star.
-- Siedman/Bertsch four ayes, Kayfetz opposed to accept Chuck Oakander’s bid to clear Area 1 at the treatment facility
There were no objections to the removal of an additional 30-40 small saplings at the Resource Recovery site.
Waste Management 2002 contract negotiations update
Trish Pisenti is the new district manager at Waste Management although Ken Foley has indicated that Jim Landa will still be involved in the negotiations between WM and the District. Materials necessary for WM’s rate increase request to Stinson Beach County Water District have been submitted to SBCWD. Director Amoroso proposed moving forward on the other aspects of the negotiations that were not concerned with parity with Stinson’s rates. The other directors preferred to address all the issues at the same time. There were no objections to Director Bertsch’s suggestion to wait one more month before expressing concerns about the delay in the Stinson negotiations. Staff will forward copies of newspaper articles about WM to SBCWD.
--Sewer: eucalyptus containment committee update
Continued.
--Septic
Director McClellan reported that refining the details of the general recommendations to be made by SepTAC is now underway. Although bi-annual inspections are inevitable, since Marin County Department of Environmental Health does not have the resources to conduct them, consideration is being given to modifying the qualifications necessary to conduct the inspections, and to contracting them out to other agencies. He noted that very little data is available on groundwater conditions, except in Bolinas. He is recommending that an open-ended amnesty on formerly illegal septic system installations, rather than a finite one, should be implemented
b. Minutes of August 22, 2001 Meeting
-- Bertsch/Kayfetz unanimous to approve the August 22, 2001 minutes
c. Warrants
-- Bertsch/Kayfetz unanimous to approve the warrants
d. Scheduling of Next Meeting(s)
Regular Meeting on October 17, 2001
Candidates’ Night on October 24, 2001
10. Adjournment
10:45 p.m.