VIRGIN VALLEY WATER DISTRICT REGULAR BOARD MEETING
VIRGIN VALLEY WATER DISTRICT OFFICE
JUNE 15, 2010

Minutes of a Regular Board Meeting of the Virgin Valley Water District Board held on June 15, 2010, at the Virgin Valley Water District Office at 3:00 p.m. Attending were President John Paul, Vice-President Karl Gustaveson, Secretary-Treasurer Kenyon Leavitt, and Board Members Ted Miller and Mark McEwen. Also present were William “Pete” Peterson Interim General Manager, Michael “Boomer” Johnson Chief Hydrologist, Bo Bingham District Legal Counsel, John Gleave District CFO and Mary Johnson taking minutes and other interested parties of agenda items.

President John Paul called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m.
Mark McEwen offered a Prayer and Karl Gustaveson led the pledge.
Public Comment – There was no public comment at this time.

Discussion: Board Comments - None
President of Board Comments - None

CONSENT AGENDA:

Karl Gustaveson made a motion to approve the consent agenda as listed below with direction to staff to ensure that Kolesar & Leatham’s invoices have included the modified fee arrangement applied before paying. Kenyon Leavitt seconded this motion and it was unanimously carried. 5-0

1. Discussion & Action - Approve Agenda

2. Discussion & Action – Approve Minutes from 5/20/10 Special Meeting

3. Discussion & Action – Approve Financial Statements for February, March & April 2010

4. Discussion & Action – Approve Bills Paid - $803,432.41

** End of Consent Agenda**

5. Discussion – Presentation by RBF Consulting on the Draft Aquifer Recharge Program

Boomer introduced the item stating that this was a final “draft” report of the Storage Feasibility Study conducted by RBF Consulting and that they have met with the ACOE in Los Angeles regarding continuation of the study and funding available for the project. Dr. Steve Webber with RBF Consulting conducted the presentation. Dr. Webber stated that this was in “draft” format because they cannot finalize document until funding elements with the ACOE has been established. Dr. Webber stated that his firm was hired to look at developing storage opportunities for Virgin River waters that are currently under permit with the District and looking forward with three objectives with their purpose statement. They looked at various sites that they could store Virgin River water within the shallow aquifer, which they define the shallow aquifer being from surface to less than 500 feet in depth. They also looked at direct injection or rapid infiltration as ways to store the water. They looked at a number of sites and narrowed the sites down to five to be considered for storage sites. Dr. Webber explained their Ranking Matrix or the evaluation criteria for each site, each being able to score a total of 1000 points. Dr. Webber then went through each site and the pros and cons of each of the sites and how they ranked. Dr. Webber further stated that after looking at the options, they felt that direct injection was the least cost effective for the District. After ranking the sites, they looked at how to move forward with the project and after working with District staff, they felt the easiest way was to seek federal funding. They believe the 595 Fund Program would work the best, but that there is other funding also available. The ACOE considers this a high ranking project for the State of Nevada. There was further discussion on moving forward with the project and what the next steps would entail. Dr. Webber then answered all questions asked by the board of directors.

6. Discussion & Possible Action – Consideration to Authorize Entering into Agreement with RBF Consulting for Continued Investigation and Project Development of the Aquifer Recharge Program

Boomer had included a memo with background information regarding this item and the previous agreement between RBF Consulting and the VVWD that had been forwarded to District Legal Counsel for approval. Boomer’s recommendation was to approve entering into a new agreement with RBF Consulting not to exceed $50,000 for continued work on this project. Bo Bingham stated that this was a professional services contract and not required to go through the bidding process.

Kenyon Leavitt made a motion to authorize the Interim General Manager to execute Agreement with RBF Consulting for continued investigation and project development of the aquifer recharge program not to exceed $50,000. Ted Miller seconded this motion and it was unanimously carried. 5-0

7. Discussion & Possible Action – Consideration of and possible action to approve changes requested by the City of Mesquite to the proposed First Amendment to Cooperative Agreement (“Amendment”) between the Virgin Valley Water District (“VVWD”) and the City of Mesquite regarding the use and other governmental entities’ use of the communication facilities and equipment at VVWD’s Scenic tank site

Bo stated that at a previous meeting the board decided to look into future communication needs of the District and didn’t know if this had been accomplished or if the County was willing to provide some assistance in this area and Mark McEwen stated that he was still working on this request. Bo further stated that the reason this issue was relevant was because we were looking into what kind of use the District may request of the City for that tower in the future and the City was willing to grant some limited use of the tower in the future. Tim Hacker, City Manager, expressed the City’s appreciation that the District’s legal counsel met with the City’s attorney, Fire Chief and himself and explained the intent of the amendments Bo had put together per the request of the board and that the City’s attorney has stated that the language is acceptable.

Kenyon Leavitt made a motion to approve changes requested by the City of Mesquite to the proposed First Amendment to the Cooperative Agreement between the VVWD and the City of Mesquite regarding the use and other governmental entities’ use of the communication facilities and equipment at VVWD’s Scenic tank site. Ted Miller seconded this motion and it was unanimously carried. 5-0

8. Discussion & Possible Action – Consideration to Augment Budget for Fiscal year Ending June 30, 2010

John Gleave began by stating that all governmental agencies need to budget their expenditures per NRS. The District is a proprietary enterprise entity, like a business, and is different than the City of Mesquite and how they would augment their budget. John explained that it comes down to what you budgeted for expenses and the amount spent; and not whether you have funds in other accounts to cover the overage spent. John’s first estimate was 9.1 to 9.9 million in expenses and we budgeted 8.9 million, but now it seems to be a lot closer. John further stated that one option would be to do nothing since it is so close and we have done that in the past. It would come up in the audit report and the State would say that you should not spend more than what you budgeted for. John handed out work papers with his estimates where the District might be at by the end of the fiscal year and reviewed them with the board. The District’s biggest expense over budget is the contracted services and mainly legal. It was further discussed on the amount that we should augment for.

Kenyon Leavitt made a motion to augment the budget for fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 for $300,000 towards operating expenses and direct staff to write up a resolution that agrees with that and to be signed by the President and Treasurer of the District Board. Ted Miller seconded this motion and it was unanimously carried. 5-0

9. Discussion & Possible Action – Consideration and possible action to accept or reject a recent settlement offer made by Vidler Water Company (“Vidler”) in connection with the public records litigation between Vidler and VVWD

Ted Miller made a motion to reject the recent settlement offer made by Vidler Water Company in connection with the public records litigation between Vidler and VVWD. Karl Gustaveson seconded the motion and it was unanimously carried. 5-0

10. Discussion & Possible Action – Consideration of and possible action to hire Kenneth Rock as the new VVWD General Manager. If the action is approved, consideration and possible action to determine Mr. Rock’s salary within the range previously determined by the board, paying for moving expenses, benefits, employment status, and other terms related to such hiring as the board may determine. Pursuant to the requirements of NRS 241.033, notice is given that this is an item that could involve a discussion of Mr. Rock’s “character” and “professional competence” as those terms are referenced in the statute.

Bo stated that Mr. Rock had signed a waiver to include in the District’s file as backup stating that he had been notified that the board could be discussing his character and professional competence per NRS. Karl reviewed the process and the people involved in this process of hiring a new General Manager. Karl further commented on Mr. Rock’s employment background and certifications and degrees. Karl further informed the board and public that he has met with Mr. Rock and Mr. Rock was willing to accept the position at the upper end of the salary range; Mr. Rock’s priorities seem to be the same as the board; and that Mr. Rock had asked if there would be any reimbursement for relocation. Kenyon commented on the process and gave a special thanks to the City and Mr. Mike Callahan for his assistance in the process. There was further discussion on moving expenses and what amount to allocate. John Gleave stated that you should make it a reimbursable amount so he did not have to claim the amount on his taxes. Mark McEwen stated that he personally did not believe we should pay for moving expenses because it set him above any other employee at the District. Mr. Hacker stated that it was customary for a position like this to help with relocation.

Kenyon Leavitt made a motion to hire Mr. Kenneth Rock as the General Manager of the VVWD with a starting salary of $95,000 annually and that we pay 50% of moving expenses not to exceed $5,000; or in other words, the District will reimburse up to $2,500 for moving expenses. Ted Miller seconded the motion and it passed by a vote of 4-1 with Mark McEwen opposed.

11. Interim General Manager’s Report

Pete informed the board that he was on vacation all last week and Mary had included a Summary of Services from the POOL PACT regarding liability and vehicle insurance and that an individual has inquired about the recently purchased Bunkerville irrigation shares and wondered if these would be put up for auction. Mary also informed the Board that there were two other requests to sell irrigation shares to the District, but we were holding these requests until the Board has made a determination of the Ordinance II and 2008 Bond Funds.

12. Hydrologist’s Report

Boomer distributed his written report and also stated that he had been on vacation all last week. Boomer informed the board that the 51 applications that were re-filed on February 1st had been protested by federal agencies, Lincoln County Water District/Vidler Water Co. and some individuals. Boomer will be traveling to Washington D.C. and meeting with Congressional delegation on Rural Nevada 595 Funding for the Aquifer Recharge Project this week. Boomer also stated that Aaron Bunker had compiled the necessary information and had produced our Annual Water Quality Report that would be mailed out later this week. Boomer further stated that well #31 has been in line for over one year and in compliance with the new arsenic standards. Pete further elaborated on the fact that the Annual Water Quality Report for 2009 only had six months of arsenic samples and shows that the District was not in compliance for the entire year, but that all water being served is well below the arsenic mandates at this time. Boomer also stated that there was a meeting tonight at 6:00 regarding the Beaver Dam Wash NCA.

13. Public Comment

Morris Workman with the Mesquite Local News questioned what the settlement offer was on item #9. Bo informed Mr. Workman that this was related to ongoing litigation and was unresolved.

J.D. Frisby with the Beaver Dam Water Company (BDWC) commented on items 5 & 6 and stated that the BDWC was all for keeping the water in the valley, but that they were concerned about the quality of the water going back into the aquifer.

14. Adjournment

President John Paul adjourned the meeting at 5:08 p.m.

NOTE): The minutes of this meeting have been tape-recorded and will remain on file in the District office for a one-year period for public examination.

•  Board Meeting Minutes: 2010-06-15 (.pdf 21.K)