MINUTES
BOARD MEETING
December 12, 2007
1. Meeting was called to order at 0900 hours by Chair E. Tretten.
The Clerk administered the Oath of Office to E. Tretten and V. Wiemeyer who
were appointed in lieu of election to serve on the Board for four years. (R. Machado had not arrived yet – he would be sworn in upon arrival).
2. Report on Closed Session
Nothing to report
3. Motion to approve the November Board Meeting Minutes.
Motion – V. Wiemeyer Second – L. Walker All in favor – Aye
Absent – R. Machado
Abstain – F. Shepard (who was not in attendance at the Meeting)
4. Board Elections for 2008
Nomination of E. Tretten for Chairperson by L. Walker with a second by F. Shepard – All in favor – Aye.
Absent – R. Machado
Abstain – E. Tretten
Nomination of L. Walker for Vice Chairperson by F. Shepard with a second by V.
Wiemeyer – All in favor – Aye.
Absent – R. Machado
5. Chief’s Report
No changes
Nothing to report
The Chief provided documentation on this group to the Board for informational purposes only.
Clerk’s Note: 0912 Hours – R. Machado arrived at the Meeting
The Chief explained that we had applied to FEMA for a grant to purchase a diesel exhaust scrubber, but had been denied.
Further, he explained that because the building is staffed daily by the CSD personnel and the public also has access to the building, that this exhaust scrubber should be installed for safety reasons. He described the units that he felt would be the most efficient and effective to operate. He also indicated that he was still pursuing grant options to defray the cost.
He advised the Board that he would be in attendance at the February Board Meeting and would report back to the Board on his progress at that time.
0925 hours – The Oath of Office was administered to R. Machado
0926 hour – The Meeting continued with the Chief’s Report
The Chief had inspected the area this AM and in 18 months since Bi State Propane had been advised of the safety concerns, what had been accomplished was that a stair platform had been installed to gain access to the shut off valve and an attempt had been made (unsuccessfully) to bolt the tank to the saddles. Nothing else has been done to address the safety issues.
The Chief reported that he had sent for and received the new propane gas codes and regulations and after review he advised the Board Members that he had found eleven additional code violations on the tank. Most important was the fact that the codes refer to the AHJ, which stands for Authority Having Jurisdiction, since the tank resides on CSD property the CSD is the designated AHJ.
After considerable discussion on this matter, the Board directed the Fire Chief to contact the District Attorney for advice and direction in pursuit of compliance with the safety issues. Further they directed the Fire Chief to ascertain the name of the supervisor above the manager of the local Bi State Propane Office and asked that he direct a letter to that individual informing her/him of the situation that has been practically ignored since our first letter to Bi State Propane in June 2006.
Further the Chief informed the Board that CAL FIRE has been contacted regarding this issue and they have been involved since the beginning of this series of events. Since they have the capability to issue citations for fire safety issues, he will make sure that they continue to be involved in this matter.
A representative from the Plumas Pines Master Association was present and indicated the Association’s support of the efforts of the CSD to address the safety concerns regarding the propane tank. He advised that the affected homeowners have been kept in the informational loop via the Homeowners Association newsletter.
0958 hours – At this time the Meeting was temporarily adjourned so that photographs could be taken of the Board and CSD staff by Tom and Maureen Forster.
1010 hours – the Meeting re-convened.
5. Chief’s Report – continued
The Chief informed the Board that the Type 3 Engine, Number 9178 had been retrieved from Burton’s Fire in Modesto, which is where it was sent to have mechanical work completed. The Chief thanked Captain Chad Castagnetti and Engineer Rich Machado for volunteering their time to make the trip to bring the engine back here. He informed the Board that the engine is temporarily being stored in the Assistant Chief’s garage. At this time the Chief stressed the point that arrangements need to be made to store the engine here at the Fire Station and that there is not sufficient room to do so at this time.
The Board, Fire Chief and General Manager discussed possible building extension ideas and possible sources of funding. This matter will continue discussion at the January Board Meeting.
6. Fire Department Length of Service Program update
V. Wiemeyer advised that the recent law passed by the State to give control of this program back to the California State Fire Fighters Association does not go into effect until January 2008, therefore he will update the Board hopefully at the February Board Meeting.
7. Groundwater Management Plan update
The General Manager advised the Board that the AB303 Grant Request documents had been sent to the California Water Resources on December 10th. There is a copy available in the office, should anyone wish to review the packet. He advised that the amount requested was $120,209 and that we should hear about their decision sometime in March 2008.
8. Goals and Objectives
Nothing to report.
9. Expenditure Request
The General Manager explained that an equipment pad needs to be installed in order to hold the drilling rig for drilling the test well at the Pine Tree Court lot. We solicited three local contractors for bids on the project. The lowest bid was $9,163.65. He requested Board permission for the expenditure.
Discussion and conclusion – Since the costs of drilling the test well could be covered by the AB303 grant, it is the conclusion of the Board that the project be put on hold until the status of the grant application has been determined.
10. Policy Update
The General Manager advised that language concerning education requirements needed to be added to the Laborer description.
Motion to revise the Laborer Section.
Motion – F. Shepard Second – L. Walker All in favor – Aye.
11. Standing Committee Reports
Personnel – nothing to report
Safety – nothing to report
Insurance – nothing to report
Fire Corps – R. Machado advised that there are informational pamphlets available from the Fire Corps Headquarters on a variety of subjects. These could be inserts that could go out with the billing. Discussion and Conclusion - pursue the matter and also post information about the Fire Corps on the CSD website.
12. Future Agenda Items and New Business
The Clerk reviewed the items that had been placed on the January Agenda.
New Business
The General Manager and Board Member Machado had completed their ethics training and the documentation was being mailed to CSDA (California Special Districts Association) today.
V. Wiemeyer advised the other Members of the Board that he will be attending a CSDA (California Special Districts Association) Board Member Training Seminar in January in Emeryville.
13. General Manager’s Report
The Board reviewed the November Financial Reports and asked a few questions about some specific expenditures that had been made last month.
Motion to approve the November Financial Reports.
Motion – F. Shepard Second – L. Walker All in favor – Aye.
Miscellaneous
The General Manager directed the Board’s attention to a draft copy of a letter to the Cleary’s, who are the customers that had funded the Ponderosa Drive sewer line extension project. The project is now complete and the CSD will now take responsibility for the sewer line.
The Cleary’s have advised the surrounding property owners of the extension and have given them an opportunity to buy into the extension for hook up to the sewer system. The General Manager asked for a sense of the Board as to how to proceed if there are owners that do buy into the extension. Discussion and Conclusion – make a notation in the customer’s records if they buy into the extension, but do not charge any CSD fees until such time as they actually tie into the sewer system.
The contract for the General Manager’s consultation services has been extended to March 31, 2008.
The General Manager informed the Board that he will be out of town from December 13th to the 18th.
The Board was informed that we were contacted by our Workman’s Comp carrier about the requirements for this bill. Basically, if you have an employee that retires, but continues to receive benefits the cost of said benefits must be budgeted for the long term expense to the District. At this time, the only person that has retired did not receive any benefits beyond the time of his retirement. Therefore we advised the Comp Carrier that we are not obligated at this time to budget for extended benefits.
The General Manager asked the Personnel Committee to review the pros and cons of extended benefits at retirement and report back to the Board on their findings.
14. Written correspondence to the Board
A member of our Fire Department and District property owner, Bob Arieta is currently on his third tour of duty in Iraq. Many members of the community have donated money so that we could purchase “goodies” to send to Bob and his unit from the Nevada Air National Guard. To date we have sent six boxes over and Board Member Machado (who is handling the money, purchasing and mailing) informed the Board that each time they receive a “goodie box”, we get a thank you e mail from Bob. Such was the case today and copies of the thank you e mail were passed out to the other members of the Board.
15. Opportunity for the Public to address the Board
No members of the public were present at this time.
16. Motion to adjourn.
Motion – L. Walker Second – F. Shepard All in favor – Aye.
The Meeting adjourned at 1204 hours.
In attendance – E. Tretten, L. Walker, V. Wiemeyer, F. Shepard, R. Machado
Respectfully submitted,
TERESA L. CUNNINGHAM
Teresa L. Cunningham
Clerk to the PECSD Board