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03/27/2000 - Minutes TIGARD WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING March 27, 2000 Members Present: Norm Penner, Beverly Froude, George Rhine, David Strauss and Gretchen Buehner Staff Present Mike Miller, Twila Willson Visitors Present None 1. Call to Order The regular meeting of the Tigard Water District Board of Commissioners was called to order by Commissioner Norm Penner at 7:02 p.m. 2. Roll Call and Introductions Commissioner Norm Penner called roll. All members of the board were in attendance. 3. Approval of Minutes Commissioner David Strauss moved for acceptance of the minutes of the February 28, 2000, meeting. Commissioner Beverly Froude seconded that motion. The minutes were unanimously approved. Commissioner Beverly Froude commented on the portion of the approved minutes requesting copies of the Intergovernmental Water Board meeting minutes. She spoke with Kathy Kaatz and made arrangements for all the Tigard Water District Board Members to be on the mailing list to receive those minutes. Kathy informed her that she would send copies as requested. Commissioner Froude also informed the members of the board that the OREGONIAN incorrectly stated that the meeting that evening was scheduled for 6:00 p.m. rather than 7:00 p.m. The posted notices were correct however. 4. Visitor's Comments - None present 5. Intergovernmental Water Board Update Commissioner Gretchen Buehner reported on the Intergovernmental Water Board Meeting. The IWB Board heard an appeal from an individual property renter. She has the paperwork if other TWD board members wished to view it. Apparently there was a leak and the citizen was granted a full relief(approximately$800.00) on the bill rather than the usual formula for relief. TWD Meeting Minutes -_1 - March 27,2000 Murray Smith and Associates reported on the System Hydraulic Study they are performing in order to determine how things are working and what needs to be fixed. A report was also presented on the on-going meetings with the various municipalities. The report from the Joint Commission will be presented at the April IWB meeting. The South Fork expansion proposal currently needs to go to vote by the participating city councils (namely West Linn and Oregon City). The plan is to complete their study by the end of summer. Ed Wegner commented to the IWB that the way the South Fork District operates is much more similar to how the IWB operates, whereas the Joint Commission is less efficient, meets only on a quarterly basis and relies more heavily on their technical staff. A question was raised as to what was going on with Portland Water; the response was that nothing has happened at this point. The wholesale buyers are trying to create a lobbyist to represent multiple members of the wholesale group in order to get Portland moving on the contract issue. Mike Miller interjected that Portland has not had a meeting since December. Commissioner Penner questioned why those facts are not being reported in the Tigard Times. Commissioner Buehner broken in at that point with information about a recent letter to the editor in the Tiaard Times which indicated that while Bull Run was down nobody went off line and the well system was able to supply everyone. The letter was filled with so much misinformation. She requested Mike Miller or Ed Wegner write a letter to the editor correcting that information and giving the facts as to how long the Tigard system was in actuality off line. Commissioner Penner stated that the general impression among the citizens is that Tigard is the one dragging their feet, whereas in truth that is not the case at all. There was a general consensus of opinion that the Tigard Water District needs a good publicist to provide information to the water users. Commissioner Buehner commented on the attendance at the Annual IWB Meeting by Mr. Jim Hansen from Citizens for Safe Water who was asking numerous questions about the presentation on the rate increase. He did not believe the information being presented by the representative from CH2M Hill with regards to the scenario on the water costs should the IWB continued to remain with Portland for their water source. Commissioner Buehner foresees a campaign by the Citizens for Safe Water in order to keep Portland water only. Also presented at the IWB meeting were the Standard Capital Improvement Projects for the coming year. The main focus at the meeting, however, was the Rate Study. 6. Utility Manager's Report Mike Miller provided members of the board with a proposed budget for 2000-2001. A discussion ensued with regards to various budgetary items and the proposed amounts. During the course of the discussion a question was broached about attorney fees during the present year. Commissioner Penner reported he had received a letter from the TWD attorney. The itemized billing that was attached was neither clear nor detailed. It indicated work through January 2000. Commissioner Penner, on behalf of the Tigard Water District, had told him to discontinue all work the end of December. Commissioner TWD Meeting Minutes -2- March 27,2000 Penner sent a letter back to the attorney requesting more detailed information. The total attorney bill for 1999-2000 was $6,306.50, which was over the budgeted amount. Mr. Miller was asked to check on the new insurance rates since the revision to the TWD insurance policy and report the new amount to the board. Commission Buehner encouraged the distribution of a newsletter to the ratepayers explaining the necessity to increase rates as the TWD is currently running on a deficit and operating on reserves. Commissioner asked Mr. Miller what the timeline for the budget should be for holding budget committee meetings. Mr. Miller indicated it could be done as late as May, however, April would be better to allow for follow up meetings to review and approve the budget. He informed the board that he would check with Craig Prosser, Finance Director, for the exact timeline. The board members continued with a discussion regarding the budget committee procedures as well as past proceedings and policies. It was agreed that a member of the Tigard Water District Board of Commissioners should be actively involved in the budget process. Commissioner Buehner moved that the TWD appoint Commissioner David Strauss as the Budget Committee Chairperson for the fiscal budget year 2000-2001. The board voted unanimously to approve that motion. Commissioner Strauss will now contact the budget committee members. It was suggested that the attorney service fees be increased. Commissioner Strauss suggested the board members review the proposed budget and further discuss it at the regular TWD meeting in April. Mr. Miller then continued with his report. He informed the TWD that the Regional Water Providers Consortium is having an open house meeting on the Transmission and Storage Strategy Report. The meeting will be Monday, April 3, 2000, at 7:00 p.m. Commissioner Froude will attend that meeting (if she has nothing conflicting on her calendar)to obtain information to bring back to report in order to keep the board informed. Mr. Miller presented a packet for their review on the territories being withdrawn from the Water District. He also presented a graph showing the 1999 Water Demands. The City of Lake Oswego transmission line is back in service and Tigard is currently buying water from them. Portland has forgiven us one month of water purchase because of the turbidity event at Thanksgiving time. The 24" line on Beef Bend Road has been completed. The project will be finalized and road opened in May. Walnut and Tiedeman project should also be completed soon. The CIP that was handed out at the Intergovernmental Water Board meeting will be changed. The change is because of the new hydraulic study and the change from a seven-year program to a twenty-year program. The CIP will be about 1.5 million per year for the next twenty years, which includes setting aside reserves for reservoirs also. TWD Meeting Minutes -3 - March 27,2000 7. General Qualifications, Operations and Organization Booklet Review Commissioner Penner asked whether all board members had reviewed the booklet they had previously been provided. All the Commissioners agreed that there was need for considerable revision. Many of the guidelines are completely obsolete. Commissioner Penner posed the question, "What does this board really do? Commissioner Strauss felt the board members acted as a sounding board and a watchdog for the water users. A discussion followed as to how the Tigard Water District Board Members could best serve their constituents. Commissioner Penner suggested they do some real soul searching to evaluate their effectiveness. Commissioner Froude pointed out that most of the constituents receive information through Cityscape on water issues. Board members expressed a desire to find out how they are to represent their constituents. Commissioner Buehner expressed the need to inform users of rate increases. Mr. Miller explained that the Water Rate Study was not complete and a meeting now would be premature. All board members agreed that a public informational meeting should be scheduled for the near future to present information and discuss issues of concern. Mr. Miller explained the process for increasing water rates. Recommendations were made to draft letters of clarification to the Tigard City Council and the Intergovernmental Water Board questioning who will be able to attend the rate increase meetings and whether the opinions of the TWD constituency will be influential in any way. Commissioner Penner will draft the letters. Returning to the topic of the General Qualifications, Operations & Organization booklet, all agreed it was outdated. Commissioner Strauss requested Mike Miller provide copies of the TWD policies to the members of the board. That information, along with the booklet and the answer to the letter they receive, might map out the course of how the TWD should proceed. Commissioner Buehner stressed that they had legal obligation to update and upgrade the booklet. Following further discussion it was decided that she would work on changes to the document over the next three to four months incorporating suggestions from all board members as well as forms used by other entities. Commissioner Buehner asked whether this board had an interest in formally asking for a reassessment of the contract of the relationship between the four entities and the City of Tigard and the IWB. It was decided that they would wait to make a decision until a response was received to the proposed letters being drafted by Commissioner Penner. 8. Water Rate Study Water Rate Scenario Updated paperwork dated March 7, 2000, was reviewed. Mike Miller will make copies and give to all board members. Mr. Miller told the board that they would be using reserves. Portland Water is charging $1.23 now whereas they were previously charging $.66. TWD Meeting Minutes -4- March 27,2000 9. Non-Agenda Items Commissioner Buehner reported on the Metro meeting two weeks ago on the proposal to annex the north half of what was Urban Reserve 49. The Metro Board said they are not going to have their final hearings and make a decision until fall. They are waiting for more information before further analyses can be made. She informed Metro of a number of projects within the Tigard area that they were unaware of. The topic.of the attorney's invoice was further discussed. The board decided to authorize payment of the bill that Commissioner Penner has had for several months. The invoice was given to Mike Miller with instructions to handle payment after Commissioner Penner receives the reply to his letter. Commissioner Penner shared a newspaper article he read while traveling in Phoenix, Arizona, that reported an election on the use of fluoride in their water. 10. Next Meeting Date The next meeting of the Tigard Water District will be scheduled for Monday, April 17, at 7:00 p.m. The budget will also be discussed further at that meeting. The Staff Recording Secretary, Twila Willson, will not be at that meeting to take minutes or record the meeting. 11. Adjournment Commissioner George Rhine moved for adjournment of the meeting. Commissioner Norm Penner seconded the motion. The vote for adjournment was unanimous. The regular meeting of the Tigard Water District Board of Commissioners closed at 9:03 p.m. TWD Meeting Minutes -5 - March 27,2000