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12/13/1999 - Minutes TIGARD WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING December 13, 1999 Members Present: Norm Penner, George Rhine, Beverly Froude, Gretchen Buehner, and David Strauss Staff Present: Mike Miller, Ed Wegner, 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 7:04 p.m. 2. Roll Call and Introductions Commissioner Penner called the roll. All Board representatives were present. Gretchen Buehner made a special announcement regarding a death in the family of IWB member, Bill Schederich. His mother unexpectedly passed away last week. He will be out of town for the funeral, which is being held in upstate New York. Commissioner Buehner suggested that those TWD Board members that know Mr. Schederich offer their condolences. 3. Approval of Minutes Commissioner David Strauss moved that the minutes of the November 15, 1999, meeting be accepted. Commissioner Beverly Froude seconded the motion. The vote to accept the minutes was unanimous. 4. Visitor's Comments— None present Commissioner Penner brought up the topic of the inquiry for a copy of the TWD by-laws previously made by Mr. Jack Polans. The City of Tigard's staff has been unable to locate those records, nor any mention of by-laws and it is unclear whether they exist. Commissioner Penner presented a booklet that had been given to him when he became a commissioner of the TWD Board. The document is entitled Tigard Water District, Board of Commissioners, General Qualifications, Operations and Organization, dated May 1990. The Board approved it on May 8, 1990, as Resolution #7-90. TWD Meeting Minutes - 1 - December 13, 1999 The other Board members were unaware of that paperwork. It was concluded that a copy of the document was to be provided to each member of the Board for study and review. A copy was also to be made available for public record. The materials were given to the recording secretary in order to make copies for each Board member and for the TWD file records. 5. Intergovernmental Water Board Update Commissioner Buehner reported that she followed the instructions given her at the last meeting of the TWD. She indicated that some of the IWB members were 'huffy' with the decision. She indicated a study was presented to Ed Wegner two days before the December 8th meeting date which made it hard to make a good assessment in that short of time. The IWB approved the study, which will cost $30,000 and will be completed in February 2000 with a proposal. Her concern is that there is no guarantee of ownership in the plan. Commissioner Buehner indicated that a lawsuit had been filed earlier today against the City of Wilsonville by Citizens for Safe Water. Commissioner Strauss asked for Ed Wegner to explain why the City of Tigard is doing the study and not other water boards. Mr. Wegner indicated that the IWB acts in an advisory capacity except in the selection of long-term water supply and establishing a capital improvement plan. The City of Tigard is investigating in order to bring information before the IWB for their consideration. Funds for the investigation come from water revenue. Before the recent election the polls indicated fairly certain that the vote would not pass. Other options for water had to be researched. (Mr. Wegner referred to a large geographic map of the areas in question during his presentation.) The Joint Water Commission (JWC) consists of four owner entities, namely, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Forest Grove and Tualatin Valley Water District. Ed Wegner has met with each of these entities and they are all willing to work with us. The JWC is working on a Cost Allocation and Facilities Study covering 40-50 years. This would be an advantageous time to join with them and would generate good opportunities. We would be wholesale customers for 10-15 years while getting involved in water rights ownership. (Many years ago Tigard Water District used to own water rights in several areas. They gave some of the water rights to Hillsboro and didn't renew the application of water rights on others as potential members dropped out.) We would be able to receive second rights in the Hagg Lake Reservoir/Scoggins Dam. Those involved with the JWC pay for a portion of the water lines going through the area. TWD Meeting Minutes -2- December 13, 1999 • The study would show various things, i.e., how much cost is involved and how to get water to the Tigard Water Service Area from there. Mr. Wegner indicated this option would be no cheaper than the Willamette. The Portland option could go much higher as others drop out, namely, Wilsonville, Tualatin and Sherwood. The JWC option will be good to compare with our other options. Commissioner George Rhine asked how long it would take to implement this particular option. Mr. Wegner indicated between two to four years. We would need to find a good intertie. Now they have excess capacity (70mg at peak for 3 days; our peak is just over 13mg). Portland would be our back up source. Seven more years are remaining in our contract, which will be renegotiated in three years. Mr. Wegner went on to say that there could however be problems and the Tigard Water Service Area needed to have a realistic picture. Henry Hagg Lake/Scoggins Reservoir will be raising the dam 20-40 feet. Involved in this is USA, who deals with run off and storm water control, as keepers of fish and augments flow for irrigation. Also involved is Tualatin Valley Irrigation District. Problems may also arise with recreational facilities and current landowners. There is also a lot of talk about piping raw water. The distance is not great between Barney and Scoggins Reservoirs. It is not as protected an area as the Bull Run. The Capital Improvement Program will be ready the end of January and the Cost Allocation in February. Commissioner Penner read portions of an article in the Tiaard Times authored by a contingent of Citizens for Safe Water. The article clearly indicated that they were aware of this option as an alternative source of water. Mr. Wegner stated he felt this option might be more sellable to the citizens. Willamette River water has become an emotional issue due to the deformed fish issue. The campaign generated by the Citizens for Safe Water created these emotional issues and stopped the Willamette vote. Mr. Wegner continued to explain that with the continuing growth of this area, residents of the west side would be using Willamette River water within the next fifteen years. It cannot continue to run on a single source of water. The Willamette River is still an option, but one that is not being pursued in the near future by Tigard. Economically the best bet probably would be the Willamette River. TWD Meeting Minutes -3- December 13, 1999 A discussion ensued regarding Councilman Paul Hunt's request for the TWD to cooperate with the study. The JWC would allow Tigard Water Service Area to divide their water source in a better way. The main objective is to obtain a long-term water source. This option would give us bargaining potential. Commissioner Strauss proposed a motion to support the City of Tigard's request to study this option. Commissioner Rhine seconded the motion. All TWD representatives voted AYE in favor of the motion. Commissioner Buehner continued with her report on the events of the IWB meeting. The IWB has asked whether the TWD would be willing to accommodate them with a joint meeting the end of January 2000. There was a brief discussion; the final decision resulting in no objection to the request. The IWB will be able to meet January 31st at 7:00 p.m. Commissioner Penner remarked that his desire is that the IWB take a tighter hand of control. Mr. Wegner suggested the four member representatives sit with the City Council and discuss just that. Mr. Wegner is to check on the Portland contract specifics in addition to revisions to the IWB. Commissioner Buehner reported that Mike Miller also gave a report to the IWB, which she will let him report to the TWD during his section of the agenda. She also indicated there are no changes on the Menlor property. 6. Utility Manager's Report Reservoir Site Update: Mr. Miller informed the TWD that Venture Properties rejected the counter offer on the property. In anticipation of that possibility, as reported at the last meeting of the TWD, other properties have been investigated as a possible site for the reservoir tank to be located. A meeting was recently held with the school district. They are very receptive to the proposal. Different options were discussed with them. All in all it was a very good meeting. Details will continue to be discussed with them. As far as a timeline is concerned, May 2000 will be the bond election and again in November 2000 for the school district. The school construction will begin in Spring 2001 with completion of the school projected for Fall 2002. A Request for Service has been received for the 49A area. The inquiry basically wants to know what is in place and the "how to's" of acquiring service. Rate Study: Problems continue to arise. The CH2M Hill study has been delayed yet another month. The City still continues to experience problems with the TWD Meeting Minutes -4- December 13, 1999 accounting software (Springbrook). These problems hinder not only this project, but the entire City's financial reports, payroll, accrual reports, etc., as well. The City continues to work at resolving these problems. Portland update: Water service was shut down on Thanksgiving Day. The Bull Run watershed area received 18" of water in 36 hrs. This created an intense flush that scoured out the watershed creating extensive debris in reservoirs. The last comparable event was in 1931. There were also threats of slides and conduits being cut off. Portland wanted us off the system as quickly as possible because of this situation. We are still off-line with Portland. Lake Oswego receives their water source from the Clackamas River. They have not experienced any problems with their water. We have been buying water from Beaverton, which is allowing more flow into our system. The Portland wells are currently shut down. Information on this is located on the City's (Tigard) website. 7. Non-Agenda Items Commissioner Penner has received the final bill from the attorney. The total is $3,436.50. The TWD had budgeted $5,000. Payment was approved and the invoice was given to Mike Miller for processing of payment. The question was brought up about whether the TWD should rescind or ignore the letter that the TWD recently sent to the City Council. Apparently the Mayor told a reporter the TWD intended to sue the City. That information is not entirely factual. The board members were in agreement that it was better to leave things as they are, with the option still out there. 8. Next Meeting Date January 31, 2000 at 7:00 p.m. TWD will meet with the IWB. Commissioner Penner reiterated his desire for the IWB to take more initiative in speaking for all members on future issues. Mayor Nicoli should speak for the City of Tigard only and not the entire IWB. He encouraged the other members to promote the same thought with others. 9. Adjournment Commissioner George Rhine motioned for adjournment of the meeting, followed by a second nomination by Commissioner Beverly Froude. The vote to adjourn was unanimous. The regular meeting of the Tigard Water District Board of Commissioners was adjourned at 9:05 p.m. TWD Meeting Minutes -5 - December 13, 1999