Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority

MINUTES MONTEREY PENINSULA REGIONAL WATER AUTHORITY (MPRWA) Director's Meeting 7:00 PM, Thursday, May 11, 2017 COUNCIL CHAMBERS 580 PACIFIC STREET, MONTEREY MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Directors Present: Director Dallas, Director Edelen, President Kampe, Director Roberson Directors Absent: Director Rubio Staff Present: Legal Counsel Freeman, Executive Director Cullem, Clerk Romero CALL TO ORDER President Kampe called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. ROLL CALL Director Rubio was absent. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE REPORTS FROM BOARD DIRECTORS AND STAFF President Kampe introduced Maryann Carbone, the new Mayor of Sand City and announced that while she is not a voting member yet she will be appointed by Sand City as Director at an upcoming City Council meeting. Executive Director Cullem said that the Separation Process Inc. (SPI) change order has begun working on a new analysis of the draft environmental impact report (DEIR) comments. He continued that the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) will review SPI’s analysis before it is brought to the Directors. President Kampe said that he and George Riley of Public Water Now (PWN) spoke and had an encouraging dialogue about the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (MPWSP). PUBLIC COMMENTS  Tom Rowley, Monterey Peninsula Taxpayers Association (MPTA), said that the amount of disinformation presented as facts during public comment is at an all time high. He said that MPTA is concerned with the increased cost of water to the ratepayers, and that the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) is getting a cut of California American Water’s (Cal Am) fees.  Michael Baer, resident, commented that the Partisan blog had an article about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).  George Riley, Public Water Now, commented that PWN is trying to educate the public about alternate water supply options, such as public ownership of the Water Company, and they are currently working on a initiative for the November ballot.  MPRWA Minutes Thursday, May 11, 2017 CONSENT AGENDA On a motion by Director Edelen, seconded by Director Dallas, and carried by the following vote, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Approved the consent agenda: AYES: 4 DIRECTORS: Dallas, Edelen, Roberson, Kampe NOES: 0 DIRECTORS: None ABSENT: 1 DIRECTORS: Rubio ABSTAIN: 0 DIRECTORS: None RECUSED: 0 DIRECTORS: None 1. Approval of Minutes from April 13, 2017 Action: Approved 2. Approve and File Authority Checks Through April 30, 2017 Action: Approved ***End of Consent Agenda*** AGENDA ITEMS 3. Receive Update Presentation on PWM/GWR Status and Schedule Action: Received update; discussed Michael McCullough, Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency (MRWPCA), gave an update on the Pure Water Monterey/Ground Water Replenishment (PWM/GWR) status and schedule. He summarized a few key points:  The notice to proceed has been issued on source water diversion structures, and project construction should begin in June.  Currently working on phase 1 injection wells in the Seaside Basin.  The advance water treatment facility received a couple of bids, but will re-bid in an attempt to lower costs.  Start construction of the Cal-Am components of the PWM project. PUBLIC COMMENT:  Tom Rowley, MPTA, said that his organization believes that the cost of GWR has been underestimated and resulted in increased water bills. He added that the MPTA is relying on the Authority to continue to monitor the progress of GWR in light of the CDO deadline.  George Riley, PWN, suggested that there should be meetings to let people talk about their concerns about PWM/GWR, and there should be more public outreach about the project. President Kampe asked Mr. McCullough how the extended bid period for the project will affect Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Director's Meeting Minutes - Thursday, May 11, 2017 2  MPRWA Minutes Thursday, May 11, 2017 the Cease and Desist Order (CDO) deadline. Mr. McCullough responded that regardless of the bid process, water will be put into the basin before the CDO deadline is reached and some construction will have been started by September of 2017. Director Dallas asked what outreach is being done to educate the public regarding what testing has been done on PWM water. Mr. McCullough said they have held tours and had tastings of the PWM water to show the public the technology and give them the opportunity to taste the finished product. He added that post test surveys showed that people were pleased with the finished product. Director Dallas asked if there is a contingency plan if lower bids do not come in within the time limit. Mr. McCullough said that they will come up with a strategy and bring it up to the TAC and Directors in that scenario. President Kampe said that some of the criticisms of PWM are the pesticides and water quality. Mr. McCullough responded that they continue to address that issue but added that the amount of pesticides is negligible compared to current drinking water levels. He said there have been misleading reports about pesticides in soil which are not related to the water quality. President Kampe said that the public would be reassured by a publicly available study showing that the PWM water quality levels are safe. Director Edelen agreed with President Kampe that there needs to be scientific evidence to show that the PWM water meets safety levels at an appropriate cost. No action was taken on this item, update was received and discussed. 4. Receive Update, Discuss, and Provide Staff Direction on the People's Moss Landing Desal Project Action: Continued to June Executive Director Cullem said that he received notice that David Balch from the People's Moss Landing Project isn't ready to give an update and requested a continuance of this item to June. The Authority agreed to continue the item until June. 5. Receive an Update on the Summary Project Schedule for the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (MPWSP) and the Status of Test Slant Well Operations Action: Received update; discussed Ian Crooks, Cal Am, gave an update on the MPWSP and Monterey Pipeline:  CDO deadlines: the first two deadlines have been met, and the third is expected to be approved next year in the Fall.  The desal project is on track to begin construction in September 2019.  GWR is expected to start delivering water by May 2018.  Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR) will be ready by December 2017.  The Monterey Pipeline construction is currently in construction phase 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS:  Tom Rowley, MPTA, said many people have concerns about recycled water but don’t realize that Disneyland uses recycled water and it's safe. He voiced concern about the cost of GWR and the Desal project, and questioned if there is going to be a cost cap for Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Director's Meeting Minutes - Thursday, May 11, 2017 3  MPRWA Minutes Thursday, May 11, 2017 these smaller water projects.  Michael Baer, resident, said that there are no safe levels established for certain pesticides in drinking water. He commented that he has been trying to get a copy of the application for the pipe bridge which is a public record.  George Riley, PWN, said that the Pine Cone published an article about GWR that was spot on. President Kampe responded to the concern about the cost of GWR, and said what is unknown is the cost of the desal project in relation to GWR. Director Edelen asked if an analysis of the Carmel River water can be tested and compared with recycled water to show to the public. President Kampe asked Mr. Crooks if he has any thoughts on horizontal directional drilling (HDD) as an alternate to slant wells. Mr. Crooks responded that HDD on the coast would pop up under the ocean floor, and requires entry into the bay and would create other complications. No action was taken on this item, update was received and discussed. 6. Consider Options for Improving Public Information and Outreach and Provide Staff Direction Action: Discussed Executive Director Cullem said that MPRWA website is simple but has good information available. He said there has been discussion regarding having articles written for the website to expand public outreach. He said perhaps the Authority should reconsider hosting another water forum as a form of public outreach. PUBLIC COMMENT:  Tom Rowley, MPTA, he suggest that instead of trying to rebut articles the Authority should focus on their mission and goals. He said community groups are better than blog articles. Director Edelen said that public forums are a good idea but the Authority must be careful. Director Roberson said that Authority should focus on the water supply project and not responding to negative press, and added that MRWPCA has the budget to do outreach on their own project (PWM). Director Dallas said that correct facts should be given and mentioned that many people believe that the Authority advocates for water rates which is not correct. Executive Director Cullem said that a public forum with all the various agencies will allow each agency to answer questions about their own projects. Director Roberson said that the best water presentations have been given by Dave Stoldt and Paul Sciuto, who already resources readily available for a forum. President Kampe said he senses the board wishes to be more proactive in the public eye in collaboration with MPWMD and MRWPCA. No action taken at this time. Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Director's Meeting Minutes - Thursday, May 11, 2017 4  MPRWA Minutes Thursday, May 11, 2017 7. Adopt the Budget for FY 2017-2018, Authorize a Return of $65,000 of Year-end Surplus Funds as Credit Against Member Contributions, and Authorize Addition of Any Remaining Surplus Funds to the Reserve Account Action: Adopted Budget for FY 2017-18 and gave direction for surplus funds Executive Director Cullem said that there is a budget surplus and suggested that the Authority some of the surplus funds towards next year’s contributions for the 2017-2018 FY budget, and save some as a reserve. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. Director Roberson voiced concerned about the County not making their fair share contribution the past couple years, and asked what the benefit of having such a large surplus is. Executive Director Cullem responded that the County has caught up with their contributions for the past couple of years and added that the budget has been pared down as low as possible, so the reserve fund would serve as a safety net. He said that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issues require extra legal support and keeping a reserve is preferred to continually asking Cities for more money. Director Roberson suggested the Authority re-evaluate the budget in the event that the County does not pay their fair share again. On a motion by Director Edelen, seconded by President Kampe, and carried by the following vote, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Adopted the Budget for FY 2017-2018, Authorized a Return of $65,000 of Year-end Surplus Funds as Credit Against Member Contributions, and Authorized Addition of Any Remaining Surplus Funds to the Reserve Account: AYES: 4 DIRECTORS: Dallas, Edelen, Roberson, Kampe NOES: 0 DIRECTORS: None ABSENT: 1 DIRECTORS: Rubio ABSTAIN: 0 DIRECTORS: None RECUSED: 0 DIRECTORS: None ADJOURNMENT President Kampe adjourned the meeting 8:16pm. Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Director's Meeting Minutes - Thursday, May 11, 2017 5 MPRWA Minutes Thursday, May 11, 2017 ATTEST: Nova Romero, Clerk of the Authority MPRWA President Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Director's Meeting Minutes - Thursday, May 11, 2017 6