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11/23/1998 - Minutes • e TIGARD WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING NOVEMBER 23, 1998 Members Present: David Strauss, Gretchen Buehner, John Haunsperger(arrived late), Beverly Froude, Norm Penner Members Absent: None Staff Members Present: Mike Miller 1. Call to order: Norm Penner called the meeting of the Tigard Water Board of Commissioners to order at 7:08 p.m. on November 23, 1998. 2. Roll Call/Introductions All members present. 3. Visitors Comments There were none. 3. Approval of minutes a. September 28, 1998. Minutes were not available. b. October 26, 1998. Minutes were not available. 4. Intergovernmental Water Board Update There was no update. The next Board meeting was scheduled for December 9. 5. Utility Manager's Report • Mike advised the Board that he had filing information for the March 1999 election, mentioning that John, Norm and Bev were up for re-election. • Mike distributed an update on the Menlor Reservoir. He reported that the reservoir was on line with some data system work left to be done and the paving and planting in progress. • Mike reported that they were still scheduled on December 15 to receive the reports from Murray Smith & Associates on the Willamette River and from the City of Portland on the Bull Run.. He said that they knew that Portland's proposal did not include any new major facilities in the Bull Run watershed but rather focused on short term transmission. He said that Portland was confident that conservation would get them through to 2050. Tigard Water District Board - November 23, 1998 Page 1 Mike reported that he and the Water Conservation Program Coordinator met with Portland staff in October to discuss the South Shore welifield on the Columbia River with regards to status of capacity and contamination. He referenced his memo detailing the conversation. He reviewed the contamination found in the Blue Lake and Troutdale aquifers, noting the Portland was monitoring those wells. He noted that Portland has had contamination in the wellfield for the past 10 years. He mentioned that the wellfield was designed for a capacity of 105 million gallons per day (mgd) but was currently at 69 mgd due to contamination concerns. Norm asked if this would restrict Portland's ability to provide water over the long term. Mike explained that the welifield was originally intended as an emergency backup only but Portland was now planning to blend 20-30 mgd from the wellfield with Bull Run water during the summer months in order to alleviate the taste and discolored water problems that they ran into late last summer when they drew down the Bull Run reservoir too low. He mentioned that Portland had an aggressive wellhead protection program and 60 monitoring wells (which would be updated next spring). Gretchen expressed concerns regarding potential earthquake damage to the Bull Run system from low intensity earthquakes. Norm agreed that there was a high potential that a natural disaster would cut off Portland from Bull Run, mentioning the difficulty Portland had with the 1996 flood. Mike reviewed Portland's work to alleviate the slide problem, including installing a fourth conduit. Bev asked if Portland was still talking about filtering to address the turbidity and other problems. Mike said that Portland's contingency plan included building a water filtration plant but the plan to augment the Bull Run water with well water could postpone the plant for a while. He mentioned environmental and fish concerns that impacted how Portland handled the situation. Bev commented that what she heard Mike saying was that Portland would submit an incomplete report on December 15 that included no new major facilities in the watershed, only transmission lines, and would not provide sufficient information on which a layman could make a decision. Mike commented that a layman might interpret the report as Portland having plenty of water. Mike reviewed the concerns that staff had with the report so far, mentioning lower estimates for long term peak day demands at 2050 than Tigard gave to Portland. He noted the shift in Portland's review to consideration of a regional water system and their use of old water consumption records from the Wolf Creek Highway Water District for their Westside estimates. He commented that while those records might work for that portion of the Tualatin Valley Water District, Tigard's tracking of its water consumption showed what the true consumption was for their area. He mentioned Portland's projected growth in the Tigard water service area from 43,000 to 58,000 by 2050, a low number that worked to Portland's advantage. Bev commented that Metro has admitted that its growth projection figures were not accurate, as proven during the Western Bypass study. Gretchen reiterated the concern that the Portland report would contain sufficient errors to prevent anyone from making an informed decision. Mike mentioned that he and Ed Wegner would not officially review the Portland and WWSA reports. Instead a committee of four employees from various jurisdictions would review the report in an effort to bring objectivity to the evaluation. Tigard Water District Board -November 23, 1998 Page The Board discussed the probable reaction of the Citizens for Safe Water Committee. They agreed that the committee should be encouraged to hire their own experts (preferably people with credentials and current knowledge in the field) to review the report. They discussed strategies for a public relations campaign to advise people of the misinformation floating around and the misinformation contained in the Portland report. Mike mentioned that Portland staff did not agree with Mr. Sten's ideas of a new dam and treatment plant because of expense and lack of buy-in from the Eastside. He noted that Portland changed its statements to encouraging conservation and minor transmission fixes in order to have sufficient water in the Bull Run. Norm pointed out that people living in an area where it rained all the time were not going to conserve water. Mike concurred, and reiterated that Tigard's projections showed that their peak day demand in 2050 would be 26 mgd. He said that Portland was using a much lower number. Mike mentioned the potential for a significant increase in costs, noting that Portland could not give them a fixed cost for water under this proposal. He pointed out that Portland's rate calculations provided them with a moneymaking machine. Mike confirmed that Portland's wholesale business represented 40% of their sales. Gretchen noted that Portland charged their wholesale customers considerably more than they charged their internal customers. The Board discussed making the public aware that at some point in the future, they could end up paying 25% to 30% more than Portland's internal retail customers paid. Mike said that currently Portland charged $1.10 to its residential customers while Tigard charged $1.32 to its residential customers. Bev spoke to Mr. Sten presenting his modified position at another public hearing, especially if the message has changed that significantly. The Board concurred. The Board discussed the Wilsonville situation that might send them to the Willamette River anyway. • Mike presented the preliminary analysis on the Willamette River monitoring program. He pointed out that out of the 170 inorganic and organic compounds tested for, they detected only 17 above the minimum detection levels. He said that the one organic compound found in August was not present in the September sampling. He reviewed how the filtration process would either remove or dilute contaminants so that they were below detectable levels at the tap. Norm mentioned an argument that he thought should be made regarding the Willamette River: people routinely drank Willamette River water now and showed no side effects from doing so. He pointed out that the people who used the river every summer for recreation purposes also had no "exotic" medical conditions traceable to the Willamette. He spoke to making it clear that the pollution of the Willamette started at the upper end of Portland. Bev agreed with the need to clarify exactly what part of the river was under discussion. The Board discussed strategies for a media campaign to inform citizens regarding the facts, especially that Portland's water would no longer come solely from the Bull Run and that it was not "pure" water. They noted that cost might not be a consideration for many. Tigard Water District Board - November 23, 1998 Page 6. Non-Agenda Items John distributed a letter received from Andrew Jordan. He reported that there has been no activity since this letter and the matter was still up in the air. The Board discussed the possibility of a lawsuit with Gretchen reviewing a possible course of action on the plaintiff's part. They discussed how they could get the"rightful share" from those who benefited but never contributed. 7. Set next meeting date The Board discussed when to schedule their next meeting. Mike said that the Board would receive the same information as the Intergovernmental Water Board. He said that staff hoped to get the evaluation in time for a presentation to Council in January but he was not certain, although the target date for a Council decision was late April or early May. Dave moved to schedule their next meeting in January. John seconded the motion. Gretchen expressed concern at not meeting until January 28. Bev suggested combining their meeting with the NVB meeting scheduled for January 13. Dave amended his motion to move that the Board not meet in December. John seconded the motion. A voice vote was taken with Norm, John, Dave, and Bev voting yes and Gretchen voting no. The Board agreed by consensus to meet with the IWB on their next scheduled meeting, tentatively January 13. 8. Adjournment Norm adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m. Tigard Water District Board -November 23, 1998 Page 4 TIGARD WATER DISTRICT INCOME STATEMENT & BALANCE SHEET As of December 31, 1998 INCOME STATEMENT Accounts I I FY BUDGET 1 I Prior Y -T- D I I Monthly I I Y-T- D REVENUES 1°/0 PY Water Sales Revenue 9,300.00 0.00 Interest Earned 1,500.00 1,158.57 100.04 1,258.61 Recovered Expenditures 0.00 0.00 Total Revenues 10,800.00 1,158.57 100.04 1,258.61 EXPENDITURES Professional Services 3,580.00 162.00 162.00 Contractual Services 5,000.00 0.00 147.00 147.00 Special Department Expenses 1,300.00 0.00 0.00 Office Supplies & Expenses 0.00 0.00 0.00 Advertising & Elections 4,300.00 0.00 0.00 Dues & Subscriptions 1,010.00 476.00 476.00 Travel Food & Lodging 650.00 0.00 0.00 Education & Training 400.00 0.00 0.00 Insurance 2,000.00 0.00 70.00 70.00 Contingency/Reserve 2,700.00 0.00 0.00 Total Expenditures 20,940.00 638.00 217.00 855.00 BALANCE SHEET ASSETS Cash & Investments 0.00 39,222.57 (116.96) 39,105.61 Net Fixed Assets 0.00 0.00 Total Assets 0.00 39,222.57 (116.96) 39,105.61 LIABILITIES & FUND BALANCE Liabilities 0.00 Accounts Payable 0.00 0.00 Due Other Funds 0.00 0.00 Total Liabilities 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Fund Balance , Fund Balance 35,000.00 38,702.00 0.00 38,702.00 Excess of Revenues/(Expenditures) (35,000.00) 520.57 (116.96) 403.61 Total Fund Balance 0.00 39,222.57 (116.96) 39,105.61 Total Liabilities and Fund Balance 0.00 39,222.57 (116.96) 39,105.61 g:\Excel\TWD\Monthly\94-5isbs.xls