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04/28/2003 - Minutes TIGARD WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF COMMISSIONER'S MEETING Monday, April 28, 2003 Members Present: George Rhine, Beverly Froude, and Norm Penner Staff Present: Dennis Koellermeier, Tom Imdieke, Twila Willson and Gary Firestone Visitors Present: Paul Owen 1. Call to Order Commissioner George Rhine called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. 2. Roll Call and Introductions Commissioner Rhine called roll and all members were present. Dennis Koellermeier introduced Gary Firestone of the City Attorney's office who would be addressing several issues from a legal standpoint during the meeting and Tom Imdieke from the Finance Department who would be dealing with budget issues. 3. Approval of Minutes — December 19, 2002 Commissioner Beverly Froude motioned to approve the minutes of the December 19, 2002, meeting and Commissioner Norm Penner seconded the motion. The vote to accept the minutes as presented was unanimous. 4. Visitor's Comments — None Commissioner Rhine requested that agenda items #5 and#6 be discussed in reverse order. 6. City Attorney Memo on TWD Dissolution Issues Dennis Koellermeier made a brief introduction regarding the subject matter of agenda item #6. As staff was organizing and reviewing dates, times, and agenda items, it became apparent that election issues also needed to be addressed. Mr. Koellermeier met with Tim Ramis and Gary Firestone of the City Attorney's office to review available options. The memo was generated in an effort to present facts so there would be an understanding of the repercussions, should the vacated seats not be filled in the upcoming election. Tigard Water District Minutes - 1 - April 28, 2003 Gary Firestone stated that the memorandum was not intended as a recommendation, but rather as an "if" the board chose to go that direction, these would be the steps. He went on to state that there were many alternatives. Some of the options would take the board out of the equation to a great extent while other options would keep the board in the equation. If at some point there is to be dissolution of the district, the board has it within its power to create greater control over the dissolution process by initiating it themselves and making certain choices as the process proceeds. The county would become involved at some level and at some point with the decision making, but the extent of involvement could depend on the action the board takes. Points of discussion included the following: • There may come a time when the remaining area of the district would be so small that there would not be enough people to serve on the board. • The board can decide when it is the right time for dissolution and can initiate the process rather than wait for the County Board of Commissioners to act on their behalf. • The formal steps would include a resolution, a plan of dissolution, findings of fact to support the plan, and either an election within the district or an action by the county board. • The board could pick and choose now, but would not be able to if the county takes over the dissolution. • The water district would dissolve and the City of Tigard would take over all the assets and obligations when the unincorporated area was annexed. • The plan of dissolution has to be reasonable and feasible. It is unknown whether any other options other than the city are available. • If the decision is made to turn the district over to the county, the county would turn it back over to the city at the time of annexation. • The timetable for the dissolution process would take from as little as three months up to as much as a year; the plan must be filed within one month of initiating the dissolution, then either an election or action by the county board would take from two to four months, then some wrap up time. • If there are not enough seats filled at the election, the county would step in and dissolve the district, which would take approximately the same amount of time, possibly a little less. • The county does not want to be in the water business and would most likely continue to let the City manage the funds. There is no guarantee the county Tigard Water District Minutes -2- April 28,2003 would negotiate so that there would be a representative from the unincorporated area on the Intergovernmental Water Board (IWB). • The IWB agreement would need to be modified before dissolution to allow for an appointment of a representative from the area. • There was a brief discussion about the cost to dissolve the water board. The largest cost would be to prepare the plan. There would be some attorney time involved, but mostly planning time by the water board members. It will cost money to close it down. Commissioner Rhine added that there was still an ongoing cost to operate anyway. • The assets of the water district include the piping, reservoir, and the account funds. If and when the dissolution happens, the money part of the plan would need to be coordinated with the founding agreement of the IWB. Board members said it was good to look at this issue. 5. Board Member Election Issues The board members discussed the election process and how to proceed for re-election as write-in candidates and which seats to run for so as not to conflict with another candidate. Only one person has filed to run for a seat. Commissioner Penner stated he was not interested in seeking re-election. Dennis Koellermeier stated that the Oregonian would be running an article about the TWD election issue. Mr. Koellermeier apologized for the confusion about the election and explained that the county did not notify city staff about the election. The county said they sent us some paperwork, but it never was received by staff. We scrambled to find out where the paperwork was, they faxed information to us after it was too late to be listed in the election and that information was incorrect. Staff checked with the City Manager and City Recorder and we were informed that notification is not done by the city staff and is considered inappropriate for staff. Commissioner Froude agreed that it was inappropriate. Mr. Koellermeier added that the dates for election are posted on the board rosters. Commissioner Rhine agreed that he was to blame in his own case by failing to put the election information on his calendar. Twila Willson added that this was the first time the elections were held at this time of year. They typically have been in March and were just recently changed to May. The board could continue to function without a full board as long as there were three for a quorum. The board members thanked Gary Firestone for explaining the issue and answering their questions. Mr. Firestone said that if there were any further legal questions, they could get information from him through Mr. Koellermeier. Tigard Water District Minutes -3 - April 28, 2003 Commissioner Rhine called a five-minute break before proceeding. 7. General Update — Dennis Koellermeier Dennis Koellermeier distributed two informational items that had previously been distributed to the City Council and IWB. Fluoridation Information - This information previously has been distributed to the IWB and City Council. Beaverton has decided to fluoridate their water, which will affect Tigard through the Joint Water Commission water that is received through the Beaverton lines. Fluoride is a controversial issue, but only one call has been received in Tigard about the issue since Beaverton made its decision to go with fluoride. The City Council has decided that this is an issue that should be handled through the IWB and the IWB doesn't see this as an issue at this time. Commissioner Penner took the position that the TWD was not in opposition to fluoridation. Bull Run Aciencv Information — This information basically states that the regional option is dead. Negotiations continue with the City of Portland on the wholesale contracts. The increases under the old wholesale contract will go up 24% this year. The new contract should go into effect before the old contract expires in 2007. Next year the increase will be at least another 10%. Fewer agencies are buying water from Portland so the costs are spread out to a smaller group. It is estimated that this will generate a 6% increase to all City of Tigard retail customers. After it has been run through the rate model, the estimate could be 8— 10%. ASR - The second year of the ASR project continues and injections began in late January. The target for this year is 120 mg compared with last year's 90 mg. Groundwater Solutions was selected as consultants during the RFP process. Turbidity has not been a problem this year as there was last year and on-line turbidity meters have been installed that will automatically shut things down should that happen. The benefits of purchasing water from the City of Portland at winter rates may not be as profitable with their new rate increases, but winter water rates will be part of the negotiations. Commissioner Froude asked for an update on the JWC. Mr. Koellermeier reported that it is a certain action that Tigard will become members of the JWC for a total capacity of 4 mgd within the next year. This will include a buy back agreement from the other agency members that would go into effect if the expansion were not possible. The first four JWC partners have prioritized rights and could need more water as their cities grow in size and would need to buy it back. De-Annexation Request— A small 6-acre portion of Tualatin Park is actually in Durham is requesting de-annexation to be annexed as part of Tualatin. Tigard Water District Minutes -4- April 28,2003 Clute Property Update — This property has been sold twice, but offers were withdrawn. The price has been lowered and is being re-marketed and it is still above the minimum appraisal. Rider School/Reservoir Prosect— Project teams have been working together on easement and intergovernmental agreement issues. Drafts of the agreements have been reviewed by the school district and by the City of Tigard. MSA has been selected as the design engineer, and also will be the preliminary engineer for the pump station and water line until those engineer are selected. Commissioner Froude requested that a sign be posted on the Rider property so that neighborhoods that are impacted can have a timeline and other important information available on that sign. Mr. Koellermeier said the land use is still being sorted out, but the project information will be posted on a special city web site. Brian Rager from Tigard's Engineering Department will be moving to Public Works as the project manager for the Rider Reservoir project. This will be a great opportunity to tie together the school district, the neighborhood, land use process, and departments within the City of Tigard. 8. Budget Process FY`03/04 Tom lmdieke reported that the announcement was submitted in the Tigard Times regarding the budget process. He reviewed the proposed calendar and other steps in the budget process and requested the board appoint a budget officer. Mr. lmdieke suggested that the budget committee should be appointed with the four budget committee members, with a motion that three of the four are required to be at the May 28 budget committee meeting. Commissioner Penner motioned that Commissioner Beverly Froude be appointed as budget officer and Commissioner Rhine seconded the motion. The motion was voted on and passed unanimously. A motion was made to appoint the four 2004 expiration members as the 2003/04 budget committee with the stipulation that at least three of the four are needed to have the budget committee. Commissioner Penner moved and Commissioner Froude seconded the motion with the vote unanimous. There was a brief discussion and clarification of the proposed budget calendar. Commissioner Froude motioned to adopt the calendar with changes to move the section to receive the budget message and proposed budget until the May 28th meeting. Commissioner Penner seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. The board members proceeded to review the proposed budget and discuss areas of interest and concern, requesting clarification of some proposed items. The board requested another line item should be added under Materials and Services to include Consultant Services of$10,000, which would be available should the issue of dissolution require further investigation, also an additional $2000 for Public Relations. These additions would increase the contingency fund as well. Tigard Water District Minutes - 5- April 28,2003 Mr. Imdieke will make the changes to the proposed budget and those changes will go out with the May 28 packet materials. Staff will contact the budget committee members and notify the board if between the four they are not able to have three attend the May 28 meeting. 9. Non-Agenda Items - None 10. Set next meeting date The next meeting will be Wednesday, May 28, 2003, at 6:30 PM for the Budget Committee Meeting and follow at 7:00 PM with the regular TWD meeting. 11. Adjournment Commissioner Penner motioned to adjourn the TWD meeting and Commissioner Froude seconded the motion. Through unanimous vote the meeting adjourned at 8:21 PM. Tigard Water District Minutes -6- April 28,2003