Bolinas Community Public Utility District
A Regular Meeting Of The Board Of Directors
September 21, 2005 270 Elm Road, Bolinas
Agenda
1. Call to Order 8:00 p.m.
2. Roll
Directors Amoroso, Kimball, McClellan, Siedman, and Smith
present.
Director
Siedman presiding
3. Manager’s Report
a. BCPUD Response dated September 15,
2005 to DHS letter re: MCL violation
Notices regarding BCPUD’s violation of the maximum contaminant levels (“MCL”)
for total trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids were sent to all BCPUD customers
and posted in town as of September 2, 2005, as required by the California
Department of Health Services. Notices were also published in the legal
notices section of the Marin Independent Journal on September 2, 3 and 4,
2005 and in the Hearsay on September 2 and 6, 2005. BCPUD staff received
and responded to inquiries from two district customers about the notice.
Staff sent a letter to the DHS via certified mail on September 15, 2005 to
certify BCPUD’s compliance with the DHS customer notification requirement.
The August 16, 2005 report from the district’s outside testing lab testing
shows TTHM’s at 59 and HAA5s at 41.1, well below their respective MCLs of
80 and 60. Bill Pierce has evaluated the district’s most recent 4 quarter
running average (with the last quarter ending 8/16/05) and the district is
currently at 83 for TTHMs and 64.8 for HAA5s; the low levels reflect the
fact that the district is not currently drawing on the Woodrat reservoir.
If the current trend continues, the district likely will be below the federal
MCL for both TTHM’s and HAA5s for the next 4 quarter running average.
Staff continues to evaluate pilot program options to reduce total organic
compounds in the district’s water supply.
b. BCPUD’s July 21, 2005 Public Records Act Request to
the California Coastal Commission
Staff and Director Kimball examined records responsive to the BCPUD’s July
21, 2005 Public Records Act request on September 13, 2005 at the California
Coastal Commission Office in San Francisco. Approximately 100-200 pages
of documents were identified for copying regarding the Seadrift revetment
permit and monitoring/compliance activities, including but not limited to
engineering reports. BCPUD received the copied documents via U.S. Mail
on September 21, 2005; staff will review the documents thoroughly and report
to the Board at the October meeting regarding their content.
From the preliminary review on September 13th, the file seems to indicate
that all work at the revetment has been done within the meaning of “ordinary
maintenance” as specified in the Special Conditions of the Settlement Agreement.
c. BCPUD Response dated September 1,
2005 to State Lands Commission
BCPUD has received a copy of the original lease and permit application for
the groin/seawall from the State Lands Commission; on September 1, 2005,
staff responded to the most recent letter from the State Lands Commission
requesting information regarding any monitoring and inspection program in
place for the groin/seawall, as well as a description of the effectiveness
of the existing facilities. The State Lands Commission subsequently
sent BCPUD a “reimbursement agreement” to execute, whereby BCPUD agrees to
be responsible for the costs of the Commission’s review of BCPUD’s permit
renewal application, which are anticipated to be approximately $1,000.
d. Americorps*NCCC Service Project Concept
Forms
BCPUD has submitted two project concept forms to the Americorp*NCCC Service.
One form was prepared by Director Kimball and seeks assistance for a two-phase
mosquito abatement project; the second form was prepared by Director
Smith and seeks assistance for the removal of invasive non-native species
from BCPUD land.
e. Correspondence Received:
1. August 19, 2005 from letter from the Marin County Open Space District
- This letter responds to the BCPUD’s letter of August 18, 2005 requesting
that the District work with the Marin/Sonoma Mosquito & Vector Control
District (“M&VC District”)—consistent with the protocol developed by
the West Marin Mosquito Control Committee—to abate the salt marsh mosquito
infestation in the tidal flats of the Bolinas Lagoon. The Open Space
District’s letter reports that at its request, the the M&VC District
agreed to use VectoLex WDG to control the mosquito infestation.
Joanne Towl from the M&VC District stopped by on September 21, 2005 to
follow up on their September 16th BT treatment at the sewer pond property.
Joanne set 5 traps today; lots of adults were present, but very few
larvae were present when she dip tested in the pond area. Joanne plans
to “pool” the mosquitoes caught in the traps for testing for West Nile Virus.
Joanne feels the BT treatment generally has worked well; if the weather
continues to cool, she predicts a “winding down” of mosquito activity.
Joanne plans to conduct three weeks of follow-up trapping and testing to
determine whether another BT treatment will be necessary.
2. September 1, 2005 letter from Marin County Community Development Agency:
This letter responds to the BCPUD’s letter of May 17, 2005 urging the CDA
to proceed with the Local Coastal Plan update; the letter states that
staff resources had been directed toward the Marin Countywide Plan update
(a revised draft of which has just been released) and those resources will
be moved to the LCP update. The CDA anticipates that an Administrative
Draft of key sections of the LCP will be prepared by summer 2006.
3. Revised Notice of Preparation – EIR re Marin Countywide Plan Update
2005: BCPUD received notice that the CDA is the lead agency preparing
an EIR for the Marin Countywide Plan Update 2005; CDA is soliciting views
of relevant parties on specific issues to be included in the environmental
review, with comments due on September 22, 2005.
4. Letter from Frank & Grossman Letter Dated September
7, 2005 – this letter is a follow-up to a call to BCPUD staff the previous
week from the landscape contractor for the Crane family residence at 185
Kale and documents the Crane’s efforts to reduce their water usage in compliance
with their expanded water use permit.
5. Letter from Waste Management on September 8, 2005 –
this letter requests an opportunity for Waste Management to appear before
the Board and make a brief presentation regarding enhanced recycling services.
The Board directed staff to invite Waste Management to attend the October
Board meeting.
6 . E-mail re: Marin County Integrated Coastal Watershed
Management Plan and Assessment - BCPUD received an e-mail update on the status
of Proposition 50 funding for the Integrated Coastal Watershed Management
Plan for coastal Marin County (a project proposed by the Tomales Bay Watershed
Council, in partnership with local water agencies).
7. Letter dated September 19, 2005 from California Department
of Parks and Recreation re: Mesa Park Youth Soccer & Baseball Field –
this letter apprised the BCPUD that the proposed project unfortunately was
not selected for funding.
f. Mesa Park
Mark Butler, on behalf of the Mesa Skatepark, submitted a request to purchase
water for the soil compaction stage of construction of the new skatepark,
which is anticipated to break ground in mid-October. Mark explained
that the project will be bringing in soil, which needs to be layered and
compacted, using sprayed water on-site to wet the soil during the compaction
process. Mark spoke with Fire Chief Anita Tyrell-Brown, who has authorized
the use of the Fire Protection District’s hydrant and hoses, and he requested
that BCPUD approve the sale of water to Mesa Park for this purpose.
V. Amoroso/D. Smith all in favor
to approve the addition of the Mesa Skatepark request to purchase water as
item 9(a) on the evening’s agenda.
g. Sustainable West Marin
BCPUD received an e-mail from David Williard of Inverness, as well as a follow-up
call from Donna Larkin of Point Reyes Station, inviting the BCPUD Board members
and other interested members of the public to participate in exploratory
meetings to discuss the formation of a Sustainable West Marin District.
The Board members all expressed interest in receiving information about the
meetings and requested staff to provide their individual e-mail addresses
to David Williard.
h. Training Opportunities.
Staff requested that the Board approve the expenditure of funds, not to exceed
$1,000, for staff participation in specific job-related training seminars.
J. Siedman/V. Amoroso all in favor to
approve staff request for approval of funds for the payment of job-related
training seminars.
4. Community Expression
Cela O’Connor stated that she is very concerned that the Marin Countywide
Plan Update 2005 does not sufficiently acknowledge the over-riding role of
the Local Coastal Plan and applicable Community Plans with respect to development
in West Marin. After some discussion, it was agreed that BCPUD staff would
forward a letter from Cela to the CDA and support her concerns about the
import of the Local Coastal Plan and the Bolinas Community Plan.
Tom Williard reminded the Board that prior to his death, Bob Gold was working
on a windmill energy project for the McEvoy Ranch near Petaluma. The
project has been approved by the Marin County planner; however, neighbors
have appealed the decision to the Marin County Planning Commission, where
it is scheduled to be heard on October 11, 2005. Tom informed the Board
that he had taken on Bob’s role on behalf of the project. He requested
that the Board write a letter of support for this alternative energy project,
particularly since BCPUD is actively evaluating a wind project to meet BCPUD’s
energy needs. After some discussion about the apparent neighbor
opposition to the McEvoy project, the Board agreed to send a letter to the
Planning Commission expressing general support for sustainability, local
self-determination and alternative energy projects. Tom said he drafted
a sample letter that he would send to staff for consideration.
5. Volunteer Committee Reports
-- Alternative Energy:
Director Siedman commented that in light of Bob Gold’s untimely death, Tom
Williard should be appointed to succeed him on this committee. Director
Smith stated that he is working on a solar photovoltaic project for the BCLT
garage and for the Firehouse and Clinic project.
-- Beach: Letter from County Counsel of Marin County
Director Siedman noted that the BCPUD has received a response from the Marin
County Counsel’s office to the questions posed by the Beach Committee about
the Offers to Dedicate Public Easements (“OTDs”); the letter is captioned
“attorney-client privilege”—however, since the committee needs to review
the letter to proceed with its work, Director Siedman recommended that the
Board waive the privilege and share the letter with the community.
The Board agreed to waive the privilege for this reason.
Magi Barror said that he would circulate the letter to the Committee members
and schedule a committee meeting to discuss the response.
Director Smith stated that he did not understand why the BCPUD should accept
the OTDs when doing so does not provide the district with any additional
jurisdiction over the beach or any ability to enforce activities at the beach.
The OTDs grant only an easement for “passive recreational activities” and
BCPUD therefore would not gain any control over camping and/or fires.
With respect to liability concerns if the BCPUD were to accept the OTDs,,
Director Smith said that he believes there is a state law that provides for
a liability exclusion to public property owners in the event of recreational
injury, unless the public agency creates the hazard that causes the injury.
Director Kimball suggested that the Legal Committee evaluate the letter and
provide comment; she said that she was particularly interested in the
liability issues as she would prefer that the BCPUD—rather than the County—accept
the OTD’s to preserve as much local control as possible. On behalf
of the Legal Committee, Director Siedman agreed to evaluate the liability
issues.
-- Community Paths Group:
Director Smith distributed a letter dated September 13, 2005 from the Transportation
Authority of Marin (“TAM”) which encloses a funding agreement between TAM
and the BCPUD; the letter requests that the agreement be executed and
returned to TAM by October 25, 2005. Director Amoroso suggested that
the Legal Committee review the proposed agreement. Director Siedman
suggested that the agreement could be placed on the October agenda for discussion.
After some discussion, it was agreed that in light of the need to timely
return the executed agreement to TAM, the Board approved execution of the
agreement, subject to prior review and approval of the agreement by the Legal
Committee.
-- Downtown Parking and Traffic: See Item 6
-- West Marin Mosquito Control Committee:
Director Kimball submitted copies of minutes from the committee’s July 20th
and August 6th meetings. She reported that the committee has met once
since the August 6th meeting and also has met twice with Supervisor Kinsey
and representatives of the M&VC District. The committee’s goal
is to reach an agreement with the M&VC District prior to the October
19th M&VC District Board meeting.
-- Resource Recovery:
The Board received copies of minutes of the Resource Recovery Project for
July 13th and August 10th, as well as a copy of the August 2005 financial
report.
-- West Nile Virus Task Force:
Director Kimball reported on current statistics in Marin County and California
generally for West Nile Virus and noted that the state hopefully is past
the peak of the outbreak for this year. The Task Force had a lively
discussion about opening its meetings to the public, which hopefully will
happen as of the beginning of 2006.
Stacey Henderson informed the Board that as of August 22, 2005, an agreement
between the state’s Fish & Game Department and its Health & Human
Services office permits volunteers to be permitted to pick up dead birds
and deliver them for WNV testing. Stacey reported that she is permitted
and is now “official”; she encouraged the public to call her as necessary
to retrieve dead birds for testing.
6. Presentation of the Downtown-Bolinas Parking Plan and discussion
of advisory ballot measure.
On behalf of the Downtown Parking & Traffic Committee, Leo Kostelnik
and Steve Matson presented the Downtown-Bolinas Parking Plan. The committee
commenced its work nearly two years ago by analyzing the worsening parking
and traffic issues in downtown Bolinas and reviewing the work of prior parking
committees. The committee learned that many of the concepts it would
have liked to implement were not possible for legal reasons (including but
not limited to Coastal Act restrictions), such as restricting downtown parking
for residents only or implementing a local enforcement program. Also,
the committee learned that County approval of the plan will be necessary
before it can be implemented. Thus, if the community approves the advisory
measure pertaining to the parking plan on the November ballot, the committee
will submit an application to the County for a local coastal permit to implement
the plan. Leo distributed copies of the parking plan and the draft
local coastal permit application prepared by the committee.
The parking plan is relatively simple despite its 23 separate recommendations.
The downtown is divided into three “districts”: two beach districts
(Brighton Beach District and Wharf Road Beach District ) and a commercial
district. In deference to the Coastal Act, all parking restrictions
are confined to the commercial district; the two beach districts remain unrestricted.
The plan proposes a combination of timed parking and resident-permit parking
zones for the commercial district to enhance public access to local businesses;
these parking restrictions will be in effect from 9-5 every day.
In addition, the committee worked with the Bolinas Fire Department and county
Department of Public Works to review existing traffic ordinances and the
plan proposes to revise certain of these ordinances to legalize additional
parking spaces; the newly legalized parking spaces will essentially
“offset” the parking spaces subject to the resident-permit parking zones.
In summary, the plan proposes 23 resident-permit parking spaces and 21 timed
spaces; the plan also legalizes 33 new parking spaces.
In response to questions from the public, Steve and Leo stated that the details
of the resident-permit process will need to be worked out if the plan is
approved. The County ultimately will enforce the parking restrictions,
but Bolinas likely will have an administrative role in defining eligibility
and issuing the resident-permit decals. Several in the audience questioned
why the timed parking zone in front of the post office/liquor store is one
hour; they suggested that 15-30 minutes would be more appropriate.
Leo explained that the committee proposed one hour to balance varying needs
of the public and also because a one hour limit is easier to enforce.
Director Amoroso, who serves as a member of the committee, emphasized that
the community will need to be flexible with regard to implementation of the
plan; it is a minimum plan that may need to be adjusted or supplemented
over time to meet the needs of the community. Director Amoroso also
stated that BCPUD needs to make a commitment to implement the plan in its
entirety; the resident-permit zones are complementary to the timed-parking
zones because downtown employees and others in need of long-term parking
will not be able to use the timed parking zones.
7. Whitehead New SFD Coastal Permit Application, CP 06-3, 271
Poplar Road, Bolinas
Director Siedman noted that Pam Whitehead was present to respond to concerns
about her proposed home construction at 271 Poplar Road; Ms. Whitehead
had requested to appear at the meeting because she did not receive BCPUD’s
notice of the prior month’s agenda (at which her coastal permit was discussed)
because it inadvertently had been sent to a prior address. Ms. Whitehead
has now apprised BCPUD staff of her current mailing address. Ms. Whitehead
also wrote a letter to the Board stating, among other things, her willingness
to eliminate some of the proposed parking area and to utilize gravel rather
than concrete for the driveway and parking areas; she stated that she has
no intention of selling the home once it is built and will use it initially
as a weekend residence. Her letter states that the proposed home is
within all applicable legal restrictions in terms of square footage and height.
Finally, the letter included her application for an expanded water use permit.
Director Siedman said that the expanded water use permit application would
be placed on the October meeting agenda as it was not received in time to
properly notice it for consideration at this evening’s meeting.
Director McClellan objected to continuing with the agenda item as the time
for BCPUD to comment on the proposed application has expired and he therefore
believes the discussion would be moot. Director Siedman polled the
directors, all of whom (with the exception of Director McClellan) were in
favor of continuing with the agenda item in order to provide the applicant
with an opportunity to address neighbor concern about her project.
Ms. Whitehead apologized for not attending the prior month’s meeting;
she said that as soon as she learned of the mailing error, she notified BCPUD
staff of her new address and requested to attend this month’s meeting to
speak to neighbor concerns. Director Siedman said that the size of
the project was the overriding issue; at 3,250 square feet and 21 feet in
height, neighbors feel that the proposed home is out of scale with other
homes on the Mesa. Several residents echoed this concern and requested
that she erect story poles, which Ms. Whitehead said she would do.
In response to neighbor dissatisfaction with the size of the home, she said
she was in compliance with applicable law. Others noted that Title
22 of the Marin County code states that construction should be “ as visually
unobtrusive as possible” and that the general scale of building in Bolinas
is small and sustainable, whether or not the law “permits” more elaborate
construction. Neighbors questioned why the house needs to be so big
and noted that it will be a “McMansion” as compared to other homes on the
Mesa.
Director Amoroso noted that the anticipated water consumption for a house
the size Ms. Whitehead is proposing could be a problem. Director McClellan
agreed that the Board’s governing resolution on expanded water use is the
key issue; he said it is really the only issue directly before the BCPUD
and that the anticipated water consumption for a house the size Ms. Whitehead
is proposing is at least twice the consumption that will be permitted under
the BCPUD’s expanded water use permit resolution.
Director Smith stated that the district has a very real limit to its available
water supply and he is concerned that as housing prices in the area escalate,
the people coming to the community will want bigger houses. He is very
concerned about the potential for increased water demand that the district
simply will not be able to satisfy. Finally, he noted that the water
meter that Ms. Whitehead purchased previously serviced a very small house,
and to move it now to a new property to serve a considerably larger house
does not seem appropriate.
8. Proposed drainage project: Mistle, Queen and Rosewood Roads
Staff reported that Don Murch had submitted plans for a proposed drainage
project for Mistle, Queen and Rosewood Roads. Several neighbors had
called in to express their support for the project. After some
discussion, the Board referred the proposed project to its Mesa Septic, Flood
Control and Roads Committee for evaluation and permit approval; Directors
McClellan and Smith agreed to schedule a meeting with Don to obtain additional
details about the project and complete the permit process.
9. Firehouse and Clinic Project: Request from Kim Bender re:
sewer line project
Kim stated that the Firehouse and Clinic Project is underway; the project
is out for bid and the next step is to move the Fire Department into trailers
for the duration of the 12-16 month project. One aspect of the project
is the installation of a sewer line from the project site to the sewer ponds;
Kim feels that the estimate she has received for the cost of this aspect
of the project is significantly over-stated. She therefore approached
BCPUD staff for advice as to how some of the estimated costs may be reduced;
Kim said that staff has provided extremely helpful feedback, including local
contractor recommendations and information about the existing line under
Mesa Road that the project may be able to use to eliminate significant installation
costs. Finally, Kim said that the project will stay in close communication
with BCPUD as the project progresses.
9.a. Mesa Skatepark Request to Purchase Water
Discussion resumed concerning Mark Butler’s request on behalf of the Mesa
Skatepark project to purchase water for the excavation and compaction stage
of the construction project. Director Smith, after asking Mark certain
questions relating to the scope of the project, stated that according to
his calculations the project would need to purchase approximately 10,000
gallons of water, plus or minus 30%. Director Siedman observed that
this was less than is required to fill the tanks at Mesa Park and Mark assured
the Board that Mesa Park will pay for the water—it will be metered at the
water hydrant so that an exact measure of the amount of water used will be
taken. Director Amoroso said that the timing of the water purchase
should be coordinated with BCPUD staff to ensure there is adequate storage
of water in the tanks at the time.
J. McClellan/V. Amoroso all in favor
to approve sale of water to Mesa Park, subject to staff monitoring of water
supply at the tanks.
10. Candidates’ Night: Scheduling of Date for BCPUD Board Candidate’s
Night
The Board discussed the need to schedule a “Candidates’ Night” prior to the
November 8th election. The date was scheduled for October 26th at 8:00
p.m. at the BCPUD office, with the format to be the same as the 2003 Candidates’
Night format. The Board directed staff to ask Phil Buchanan to serve
as the evening moderator.
11. Other Business
a. Board Committee Reports
-- Finance: No report.
The Board engaged in a brief discussion regarding the
details of the upcoming retirement party for outgoing General Manager, Phil
Buchanan.
-- Legal: Settlement of claim
The Board received correspondence concerning the settlement
of a claim.
-- Mesa Septic, Flood Control and Roads: No report.
-- Operations: Discuss change of Committee members
Staff apprised the Board that there likely will be several issues for the
Operations Committee to consider in upcoming months relating to replacement
of the filters and retrofitting of the control panels at the water treatment
plant, as well as implementation of the pilot program to reduce TTHMs and
HAA5s. Staff inquired whether Director Smith would like to join the
committee in light of his past interest in these issues. Director Smith
said he would be happy to serve on the committee and Director Siedman said
he had no objection to having Director Smith fill his role on the committee.
V. Amoroso/J. McClellan all in favor
to replace Director Siedman with Director Smith on the Board’s Operations
Committee.
-- Park and Recreation:
The Board received the letter from the California Department of Parks and
Recreation denying the BCPUD’s application for a grant to fund the Mesa Park
Youth Soccer and Baseball field.
-- Personnel: No report.
-- Sewer: No report.
b. Minutes of August 17, 2005 Meeting
Staff reported that typographical edits (correcting the spelling of certain
last names) identified by Director Smith had been made to the minutes.
Director Amoroso stated that an additional sentence needed to be added to
the minutes to reflect his questioning of Mark Butler regarding any potential
financial impact to the BCPUD posed by the Mesa Park Skatepark project.
V. Amoroso/D. Smith all in favor to approve
the draft August 17, 2005 minutes, subject to a sentence to be submitted
by Director Amoroso and added to the minutes regarding his questioning of
Mark Butler regarding any financial impact to the BCPUD posed by the Mesa
Park Skatepark project.
c. Warrants
V. Amoroso/D. Smith all in favor
to approve the warrant list.
d. Scheduling of Next Meeting(s)
October 19, 2005.
12. Adjournment
11:24 p.m.