12/14/2011 - Minutes Intergovernmental Water Board Minutes
SERVING TIGARD, KING CITY,DURHAM AND TIGARD WATER DISTRICT
MEETING DATE: Wednesday, December 14, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
MEETING LOCATION: Tigard Public Works Building
8777 SW Burnham Street
Tigard, OR 97223
Members Present:
Gretchen Buehner Representing the City of Tigard (Arrived 5:37 p.m.)
Ken Henschel Representing the Tigard Water District
Keith Jehnke Representing the City of Durham
Dick Winn Representing the City of King City
Mike Stone Member-At-Large
Members Absent: None
City of Tigard Staff Present:
Dennis Koellermeier Public Works Director
John Goodrich Utility Division Manager
Greer Gaston Intergovernmental Water Board (IWB) Recorder
1. Call to Order, Roll Call and Introductions
Commissioner Winn called the meeting to order at 5:34 p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes —November 9, 2011
Commissioner Henschel moved to approve the November 9, 2011 minutes.
Commissioner Stone seconded the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote of
the Commissioners present,with Commissioners Henschel,Jehnke, Stone and Winn
voting yes.
3. Public Comments
Bradley Anderson, 13788 SW Fernridge Terrace, Tigard, complained about the water rate
structure, advocating it should be based more on consumption and less on capacity,i.e.
the size of water meter. Mr. Anderson acknowledged he had already discussed the rate
structure with Mr. Goodrich.
Commissioner Buehner arrived at 5:37 p.m.
Mr. Anderson asserted the rate structure created an unfair burden on water customers
who have meters larger than the standard 5/8-inch meter.
The commissioners and staff made the following comments in response to Mr.
Anderson's complaint.
■ The rate structure is the same for all water customers within the Tigard Water
Service Area.
■ The rate structure was prepared by experts to meet bonding requirements and
generate revenue to pay for Tigard's share of projects resulting from the Tigard-
Lake Oswego Water Partnership.
■ There are approximately 1,000 1-inch water meters served by Tigard. This makes
up seven-percent of Tigard's residential customers.
■ The 1-inch meter is sized appropriately for the number of fixtures in Mr.
Anderson's home.
■ Meter size is dictated by the number of fixture units the meter serves and reflects
the ability to consume based on the maximum demand for the structure.
■ One-inch meter rates were determined using an equivalency calculation based on
the standard 5/8-inch meter.
■ Sixty percent of water revenue is generated by fixed charges; forty percent is
generated by consumption. In placing a greater emphasis on fixed charges,
revenue is more predictable.
4. Water Supply Update
Mr. Goodrich reported:
■ Average water use for the month of November was about 3.87 million gallons
per day (mgd). This is .1 mgd less than November 2010 demand.
■ Currently, 48 million gallons are stored aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) well 1
and 128 million gallons are stored in ASR well 2. Injection will begin in January
to ASR well 2.
■ Tigard doesn't anticipate any water quality issues with the Portland water supply.
Mr. Koellermeier discussed weather patterns and how they might affect the quality of
Portland water and Portland's use of its wells.
5. Briefing on West Linn Emergency Water Proposal
Mr. Koellermeier updated the board on the Tigard-Lake Oswego Water Partnership's
siting of a pipeline and water treatment plant in West Linn. The partnership has
experienced some resistance from the West Linn community regarding these projects.
West Linn's water treatment plant is located in Oregon City. Water is transmitted from
Oregon City to West Linn via a line under the Highway 205 bridge. West Linn's
reservoir, constructed in 1918, is nearing the end of its useful life. Given the route of the
supply line and the aging reservoir, West Linn's water supply is somewhat vulnerable.
The partnership expects to have some extra capacity in its new water system and may
offer this capacity to West Linn in the form of an emergency back-up supply, should the
West Linn system fail. The extra capacity would be available until such time as Tigard or
Lake Oswego need the water, and West Linn would pay for any water used. This would
enable West Linn to delay millions of dollars in upgrades to its water system.
Representatives from the partnership presented this proposal to West Linn's Utility
Advisory Board at a recent meeting. The board was receptive to the proposal. Mayors
from Tigard and Lake Oswego will soon brief the West Linn City Council on the
proposal.
Since West Linn stands to benefit from partnership projects, Mr. Koellermeier said he
hoped the West Linn community will look more favorably on the siting of the pipeline
and water treatment plant.
6. Briefing on 5-Year Strategic Plan for the Regional Water Providers Consortium
Mr. Koellermeier informed the board that Tigard was a member of the Regional Water
Providers Consortium. The consortium heads up the region's water conservation plan.
Consortium members, including Tigard, are in the process of developing a 5-Year
Strategic Plan. A draft of the plan is on file in the 1WB packet.
Tigard City Councilor Nick Wilson represents Tigard's interests on the consortium. He
advocated a change to the consortium's messaging by placing a greater emphasis on
peaking and water conservation in summer and the overall value of water at other times
of the year. Councilor Wilson's suggestions have been incorporated into the plan.
7. Discussion Regarding the Member-At-Large Position
Mr. Koellermeier reported that the IWB's member-at-large, Mike Stone, had been hired
as the Tigard's city engineer. Mr. Koellermeier provided the board with a legal memo
regarding the possible ramifications of Mr. Stone remaining on the board, given his
employment with the City of Tigard.
Despite the expertise Mr. Stone brought to the board, Commissioner Winn
acknowledged the possible ethical conflicts noted in the memo. He suggested the board
should accept Mr. Stone's resignation. The board discussed ways in which Mr. Stone
could continue to work with the board; it was suggested he could serve as an ex officio
member with no voting privileges.
The board discussed how it wanted to advertise and recruit for the member-at-large
position. Rather than wait for the spring edition of Know H2O, the board directed staff
to recruit candidates through a press release sent to local newspapers, citizen
participation organizations. The press release will also be sent to various IWB
jurisdictions to post on their respective web sites. Board members will subsequently
review and rank member-at-large applications individually and provide their rankings to
staff. Staff will arrange for top candidates to be interviewed at an IWB meeting.
8. Informational Items
■ Update from Commissioner Buehner on Lake Oswego/City of Tigard Oversight
Committee activities.
— Commissioner Buehner and Tigard Mayor Dirksen meet with state
legislators and Clackamas County commissioners to promote Lake
Oswego-Tigard Water Partnership projects.
— As mentioned under agenda item 5, there is a meeting with the West Linn
City Council next Monday at 6 p.m.
— A joint meeting between Tigard and Lake Oswego City Councils occurred
last month.Joint meetings will occur more frequently as partnership
projects get underway.
— Design is underway on partnership projects such as the raw water intake,
raw water pipeline, treatment plant, finished water pipeline, reservoir and
Bonita pump station. Designs should be at 30 percent by March 2012. This
will allow better cost estimates to be prepared.
— Tigard is proceeding with a resolution of necessity in the event it needs to
condemn property for the Bonita pump station.
— Project designs need to be between 10- and 30-percent complete in order
for them to be submitted for federal permitting.
— The committee is addressing issues related to energy conservation and art.
— The committee will begin reviewing the fiscal year 2012-2013 budget in
January.
9. Non-Agenda Items
There were no non-agenda items.
10. Next Meeting
January 11, 2012 at 5:30 p.m.
Public Works Auditorium, 8777 SW Burnham Street, Tigard, Oregon
11. Adjournment
At 6:39 p.m. Commissioner Henschel moved to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner
Buehner seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned by unanimous vote of the
commissioners present,with Commissioners Buehner, Henschel,Jehnke, Stone and
Winn voting yes.
Dick Winn, IWB Chair Greer Gaston, IWB Recorder
Date: _ _ Date: a. 6 4��_