MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS OF CRESTLINE VILLAGE WATER DISTRICT

May 16, 2000

The Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of Crestline Village Water District was called to order by President Olson at 3:00 PM, on Tuesday, May 16, 2000, at the regular meeting place of said Board at its office in Crestline, California. 

ROLL CALL: Present were President David Olson, Directors William Huckell, C. N. McGehee, William Valko and Alan Clanin.  Staff members present were Manager/Secretary Norman L. Hunt, Attorney Ronald Van Blarcom, Field Supervisor Robert Jobe and Office Manager Karl Drew.  Absent was Engineer Fred Hanson. 

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING: On a motion by Director McGehee and a second by Director Valko, the Board unanimously approved the minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 18, 2000 as submitted. 

PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.

REPORT ON MORMON SPRINGS VERTICAL WELL: Manager Hunt reported that Southern California Edison was in the process of bringing power to the well site.  The District had received bids for the installation of the pump and controls, but the bids were unacceptable and had been rejected.  The bids will be resubmitted.  The District will submit a source assessment to the State Health Department after the pump is set and the well has been fully tested. 

There has been no progress on the proposed Felsen well site.  Manager Hunt will review the proposed site with Mark Bulot and will be contacting the property owner.  

REPORT ON NEW 1 MG CHAMOIS STORAGE FACILITY: Manager Hunt reported that the contractor, Superior Tank, had had a problem installing the oil sand inside the ring wall.  There is supposed to 6" of Class II Base and then about 3" of oil sand inside the ring wall.  The contractor has installed about 12" of oil sand.  The contractor was also supposed to install a foundation for the center column of the tank.  The oil sand has now been removed, the foundation installed and the proper amount of oil sand reinstalled. 

Manager Hunt also discussed with the Board the pump house that is to be constructed at the tank site.  It was removed from the contract with Superior Tank and Manager Hunt has been obtaining bids for its construction.  He is considering changing the specifications for the pump house as it appears to be over designed.  

2000 MAIN REPLACEMENT JOBS - DART CANYON ROAD: Field Supervisor Jobe reported that about 1,780' of new main had been installed on Dart Canyon Road.  There was a lot of rock in the first part of the job, but they have moved out of the rock area and were making pretty good progress.  He has also had some difficulty in getting temporary help this year and that has also slowed progress down. 

Manager Hunt reported that the drawings for Highway 138, that were prepared by Field Supervisor Jobe, have been submitted to the engineers for their review and approval.  Cal Trans requires engineered drawings be submitted with the permit application.  The pipeline crew may work on the Crest Forest Drive job while the District is waiting for the Highway 138 permits to be approved.  

Manager Hunt also discussed with the Board the paving requirements for the pipeline jobs.  The County Road Department is considering a proposal to use the District's paving machine and 2 employees to pave Crest Forest Drive and South Village Lane around the new fire station.  The County would provide all materials and other workers required to accomplish the job.  In exchange, the paving work that the District is required to do on North Road and other jobs would be reduced or eliminated. 

UNCOLLECTABLE ACCOUNTS FROM 1994:  Office Manager Drew discussed with the Board the accounts that had balances older than five years.  He requested that the Board write off the balances for 26 closed accounts and 1 deactivated account from 1994, totaling $1,834.49. 

Office Manager Drew also requested that the Board consider authorizing staff to write off the balance of an abandoned account from 1996.  The owner of the property had recently contacted the District about the large balance due on this account.  As an option to the normal deactivation process where the property owner would need to pay the balance in full now and pay a reinstatement fee of $150 when he wants service reinstated, he was offered the option to deactivate the account without him having to pay anything now, providing he would agree to pay a full new tap fee, currently $1,890, at the time he wants water service reinstated.  This is a conditional offer and is subject to Board approval.  The $1,040.09 would only be written off if the owner agrees to the terms and with Board approval.  The property owner is to respond to the District by June 1, 2000 if he accepts the offer. 

On a motion by Director McGehee and a second by Director Clanin, the Board unanimously approved the writing off of the unpaid balances from 1994, totaling $1,834.49.  The Board did not take any action on the account from 1996 at this time. 

COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT TO WAGES: The Board reviewed the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the year ending March 2000.  There are actually two indexes, the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).  For purposes of calculating a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), the two indexes were averaged.  The change to the average CPI is as follows:

            U.S. City Average            3.85%

            Los-Angeles-Riverside-Orange County            3.45%

During the past few years, the District has made Cost of Living Adjustments of around 2%.  This year, the higher oil prices have been the major cause of the CPI being in the 3% to 4% range.  

Staff recommended a 3.5% Cost of Living Adjustment.  This would increase the annual payroll by approximately $27,000.  This amount is covered in the budget for 2000-2001.  

On a motion by Director Clanin and a second by Director Huckell, the Board unanimously approved a 3.5% Cost of Living Adjustment for all employees, including the General Manager, effective May 27, 2000. 

WATER SOURCE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM: Manager Hunt discussed with the Board the requirement to complete source assessments on all of the District's water sources by December 31, 2002.  The District needs to begin doing them now to have all of them completed on time.  Manager Hunt showed the Board the completed Source Assessment for Anderson Well.  Staff will make quarterly reports to the Board on the progress of the Water Source Assessment Program. 

ACWA AND ACWA-JPIA CONFERENCE REPORTS: Director Huckell reported on the meetings he attended at the ACWA Conference on May 10 through May 12, 2000 in Monterey, California.  The materials he received at the conference are on file in the District office.  He recommended the District might want to find out more about the "Little Hoover Report". 

Director Huckell also reported on the Local Agency Formation Commission meeting that was held to elect the special district's representative on the commission.  The incumbent, Gerald Smith of Baldy Mesa Water District, was reelected.  

Manager Hunt reported on the ACWA and ACWA-JPIA meetings that he attended at the conference.  He attended the ACWA-JPIA Board meeting, since Director McGehee was unable to attend.  He also attended the Trench and Pavement Restoration Committee meeting.  The problems that special districts are facing with counties and cites in regards to having water lines in the road right of ways, are not improving.  Materials that he received for these meetings and the other meetings he attended are on file in the District office.

CHANGE TO JUNE 2000 BOARD MEETING: The Board discussed changing the date of the regularly schedule Board meeting from June 20, 2000 to June 27, 2000.  Due to conflicts from medical and vacation schedules, the Board changed the meeting from June 20, 2000 to June 27, 2000 at the regular time and place. 

CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL – EXISTING LITIGATION; PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 54956.9; GABLE vs. COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO (San Bernardino Superior Court Case No. SCV 39629): The Board did not enter into closed session to discuss this item.  There was no discussion on this item. 

MANAGER’S REPORT: Manager Hunt commented that it has been several years since the District has reviewed the District's Connection Fees for new services.  With increased costs and the change in paving requirements, these charges need to be reviewed. 

Office Manager Drew shared information with the Board that Attorney Van Blarcom had obtained from the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's Urban Water Management Plan.  Their Unaccounted for Water has been 5% to 10% for most of the last twenty years.  The American Water Works Association's recommended benchmark for Unaccounted for Water is 10%.  The national average is 16%.  The District's Unaccounted for Water for the last year is 7.1%.  

DIRECTOR’S REPORT: None.  

As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:12 PM.  The next Regular Meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, June 27, 2000 at 3:00 PM.