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01/26/1998 - Minutes TIGARD WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING JANUARY 26, 1998 Members Present: Gretchen Buehner, Bev Froude, John Haunsperger, Norman Penner, David Strauss. Staff Present: Mike Miller, Michelle Wareing. Visitors: None 1. Call to Order: The meeting of the Tigard Water Board of Commissioners was called to order by Chair Norman Penner at 7:04pm. 2. Roll Call: All members were present. 3. Appointment of Chairperson: Chairman Norman Penner stated that he had been Chair of the Tigard Water Board for a year and that it was time for a new Chair to be appointed. Commissioner Strauss nominated Commissioner John Haunsperger. Chairman Penner seconded the motion. Commissioner Haunsperger was unanimously appointed Chair. Commissioner Haunsperger will assume Chair duties at the next meeting. Commissioner Haunsperger nominated Chairman Penner to be the alternate representative on the Intergovernmental Water Board (IWB). Commissioner Froude seconded the motion. Chairman Penner was unanimously appointed alternate to the IWB. 4. Visitors Comments: No visitors were present at the meeting. 5. Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the November 24, 1997 meeting were approved. MSP 6. Intergovernmental Water Board Update: Mike Miller stated that Murray Smith & Associates gave an overview of the Willamette water treatment plant and siting at a recent meeting. Montgomery Watson will be designing the plant and design how the water will be treated. Mike stated that the meeting had been videotaped and was available for review. Mike reported that a packet containing copies of the transparencies that were shown at the meeting was distributed. Mike stated that the City of Portland and Montgomery Watson had built a pilot water treatment plant on the Willamette River at Wilsonville a few years ago. At the meeting, Montgomery Watson discussed how microscopic organisms, pesticides and bacteria is removed from the water. The water treatment plant processing system was tested by polluting the water with extreme amounts of toxins. This test was done to simulate a chemical or sewage spill. The water treatment was able to clean the excessively polluted water to the quality level desired. 1 Commissioner Buehner stated that there is a public perception regarding the Willamette River quality. There is fear about the quality and the presentation given by Murray Smith &Associates was too technical. Tigard Water Board members need to address the issues such as deformed fish. Commissioner Buehner had concerns about the presentation and how it would be presented to the public. She stated that she asked questions at the presentation, but did not receive adequate answers. Commissioner Strauss noted that the presentation was given by engineers and that the public relations firm will present the information differently to the public. Commissioner Buehner stated that the public relations people are not scientists and that she wanted to make sure that an informative and factual package was put together. Chairman Penner asked who will be responsible for putting the public relations package together. Mike Miller stated that the City of Tigard will be partly responsible for the package. Mike noted that the parties involved in the Willamette Water Supply Agency understand and acknowledge the bad press about the Willamette and know it will be difficult to overcome it. Commissioner Froude stated that she did not know when the public relations would start. She asked if people were going to get mailings at home. She stated that the newspaper wasn't a good enough source for all the information. She asked if the Board could send out information to the Tigard Water Board constituents. The information would not be political or biased. She reminded everyone that the treatment plant will be in Wilsonville and not Portland. The City of Corvallis has a treatment plant on the Willamette. Remind people that not all of the Willamette River is polluted. Commissioner Froude asked if there is going to be a bond measure for the treatment plant. Mike Miller stated that there will be a revenue bond measure. Commissioner Froude stated that the public relations campaign needed to be done right, so there is no scandal or misperception. The public needs to be educated, so they can make an informed voted. Chairman Penner stated that the Board has money to spend and is willing to use the money to inform its constituents about the treatment plant. He asked that this idea be expressed to the City of Tigard. Commissioner Strauss stated that all the information should come from one source, so people don't become confused. The Commissioners agreed that information needs to be sent out quickly and that they were willing to pay for the mailing. Mike Miller stated that he did not know when the public relations campaign was going to start. Mike stated that Ed Wegner, Director of Public Works, was working on the Willamette project. Ed is working with the water group and newspaper reporters to disseminate accurate information. 2 The Commissioners stated that they wanted to know when the public relations campaign would start and what information was going to be sent out. The Commissioners agreed that they needed to send out information as soon as possible to their constituents. Chairman Penner, Commissioner Haunsperger and Commissioner Buehner stated that they would meet with Ed Wegner to get their questions answered. The Board will meet on February 23 to discuss the answers received from Ed Wegner and the direction they want to take on the mailing. Commissioner Haunsperger stated that he will call Ed and make an appointment. 7. Utility Manager's Report: Mike Miller reported that John Early, the City's Utility Manager, resigned in December. Mike stated that he has taken on the position. Mike noted that there is some reorganizing being done in Public Works and that the Operations Manager position will eventually be phased out and the Water Department will be whole again. Mike distributed the Tigard Water District Income Statement. Mike stated that the Commissioners could see how much money was available for them to use on the mailing for the water treatment plant. Mike distributed a hand out regarding service connections. There is about a 4% growth in connections for the total area. King City has had no growth. There are currently no plans to annex any areas in to the City, so growth should stay about the same. Mike noted that he received a newsletter from Special Districts and that there was information in it regarding the annual water conference. Mike stated that the Tigard Water District budget includes money to send a delegate to the conference. None of the Commissioners were interested in attending the conference. Commissioner Froude asked when the budget process was going to start. Mike stated that the City's departments had already started on their budgets. Mike stated that the Tigard Water Board will have a budget hearing in March and second hearing in May. Mike reported that the construction company is forming up the floor at the Menlor site. The project is still behind because of when the bid was awarded and the weather. Mike noted that once the floor is poured and sets, construction will go quickly. Commissioner Strauss stated that he was impressed with the silt levels in the Canterbury tanks that was noted in the November minutes. Mike stated that the levels have to do with where the water comes from. Mike reported that the Lake Oswego water goes through a filtration plant and that has an affect on the silt levels. Commissioner Penner thanked Mike for the tour of the water facilities. 8. Non-Agenda Items: There were no non-agenda items. 9. Adjournment: The Tigard Water District Board Meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm. 3