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LAKEHAVEN UTILITY DISTRICT
King County, Washington
REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING
June 23, 2005
A regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Lakehaven
Utility District, King County, Washington, was held on June 23, 2005 at
the Lakehaven Center, 31531 First Avenue South, Federal Way, Washington,
98003.
President Stewart opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. and asked
Commissioner Miller to lead the flag salute. Members/officials present
were as follows:
Ed Stewart - President of the Board
Beverly Tweddle - Vice President of the Board
Don Miller - Secretary of the Board
Dick Mayer - Commissioner
Don Perry - General Manager
Bert Ross - Engineering Manager
Morgan Dennis - Director of Finance/Information Systems
Steve Pritchett - General Counsel
Upon motion of Commissioner Tweddle, which was duly seconded by
Commissioner Miller, the Board unanimously excused Commissioner
Jovanovich as he was unable to attend the meeting.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Upon motion of Commissioner Mayer, which was duly seconded by
Commissioner Tweddle, the Board unanimously adopted the minutes
of Board meetings held on the following dates: April 28, 2005, May 12,
2005, May 26, 2005 and June 9, 2005.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Upon motion of Commissioner Mayer, which was duly seconded by
Commissioner Tweddle, the Board unanimously approved the evening’s
agenda as amended below:
- Add Executive Session to discuss Collective Bargaining
It was the consensus of Board to address items on the Consent portion
of the agenda at this time.
CONSENT ITEMS
- Pump Station 32-Pump Replacements
- CPILOA Approval – Resolution No. 2005-1046
- Resolution of Commendation – Lee Schumacher, No. 2005-1047
Upon motion of Commissioner Mayer, which was duly seconded by
Commissioner Miller, the Board unanimously approved the Consent
agenda as presented.
At this time, Commissioner Miller, in his role as Secretary of the
Board, read Resolution No. 2005-1047, the resolution of commendation for
Lee Schumacher, the District’s outgoing Wastewater Treatment Plant
Superintendent, into the record and presented it to Mr. Schumacher for
over 30 years of loyal service to Lakehaven Utility District. Mr.
Schumacher then addressed the Board and the audience with parting
remarks. At that point, Mr. Schumacher was given a standing ovation for
all his hard work and accomplishments throughout his career.
CITIZENS COMMENTS
Mr. Jeff Alexander, business agent for the IUOE Bargaining Unit, read
a letter to the Board that was signed by some members of the unit. He
then read the letter, which was a letter of no confidence in the General
Manager. Commissioner Stewart expressed his shock at the issues stated
in the letter and stated his support of Mr. Perry.
Other citizens were in the audience from the North Lake community to
address the issue of determining if it would be feasible to bring sewers
to their area. Mrs. Simone Perry, who lives in that neighborhood, was
the spokesperson for the group and addressed the Board. She stated that
their neighborhood had recently been surrounded by new Quadrant Corp.
development and they wanted to ensure that the Board was aware of their
initiative. Mr. Ross noted that he had spoken to Mrs. Perry about
several different options that were available. Mrs. Perry also stated
the concern that they live in a lake neighborhood and noted that some of
the homes are on-site sewage disposal systems and are quite old.
Commissioner Tweddle suggested a community meeting in the neighborhood
to discuss sewers and answer any questions the home owners might have.
Mr. Ross agreed and noted once a map of the exact area is obtained,
staff would be able to prepare a preliminary design and estimate the
project costs, etc. and discuss these and other issues at a meeting of
the community. The Board thanked the citizens for bringing their
concerns to them.
ACTION ITEMS
#38 – 2nd Avenue SW Sewer Extension – Cottages West, 4th Place SW
Sewer Trunk Replacement - Tuscany: Wes Hill, the District’s
Development Engineer/Manager of Development Services, presented this
item. Cottages West and Tuscany are located on adjoining parcels and are
being developed concurrently by a single development company. The City
of Federal Way is requiring that the primary access to Cottages West, on
2nd Avenue SW, be improved to half-width the City standards from SW
356th Street to the southern limits of the plat. The District, in turn
is requiring the developer to extend an 8 inch sewer main in 2nd Avenue
SW at the same time. Mr. Hill then explained the history surrounding
this area and provided more recent information relating to service and
land use decisions. The extension of the 8-inch sewer main is intended
to serve both parcels and will be eligible for latecomer’s
reimbursement, subject to execution of an agreement with the District.
Mr. Hill stated that staff felt this represented the most cost effective
way of extending sewer service in this area. A discussion then followed
relative to contingencies and other items included in the draft
agreement. It was noted that this project, if approved, might not be
completed until 2006. Mr. Hill noted the project would begin in the
Cottages West development first, as there would be a detention facility
that will serve both plats. Subsequent to the discussion, the Board
considered this item.
Upon motion of Commissioner Mayer, which was duly seconded by
Commissioner Tweddle, the Board unanimously authorized staff to
amend the developer extension agreements for both Cottages West and
Tuscany projects to cover 100% of the costs for the identified
improvements required by the District. The dollar amount would not
exceed $86,125.00 for the Cottages West project, which includes a 15%
contingency and Washington State Sales Tax. The “not-to-exceed” amount
for the Tuscany improvement would be either $138,550.00 or $118,650,
depending on the type of pipe that was used – either ductile iron or
C-905 PVC, respectively. These amounts included a 15% contingency and
Washington State sales tax as well. Mr. Hill thanked the Board for
approving this item.
#39 South 336th Street/1st Way South Intersection-Interlocal
Agreement with City; Approval: Mr. Ross began by stating this was a
fairly small project. The City of Federal Way is adding a west bound
right turn lane going north bound on First Avenue South. There is a
water main located within this area that must be replaced and lowered to
meet the design of the new infrastructure. This item is for the design
of the water main relocation only. Mr. Ross added the City was fast
tracking the bidding for the work and District staff intends to perform
the work.
Upon motion by Commissioner Miller, which was duly seconded by
Commissioner Tweddle, the Board unanimously approved the
Interlocal Agreement with the City of Federal Way for the South 336th
Street/1st Way South Intersection project and authorized the
General Manager to execute the agreement on behalf of the District.
INFORMATION ITEMS
#1, Travel Authorization – American Public Works Association.
#2, Travel Authorization – Special District Institute.
#3, Travel Authorization – Association of Metropolitan Water
Agencies.
Upon motion of Commissioner Mayer, which was duly seconded by
Commissioner Miller, the Board unanimously approved amending the
agenda to add Action Item #40, Travel Authorization – American Public
Works Association, Special District Institute, and Association of
Metropolitan Water Agencies: Upon motion of Commissioner Mayer,
which was duly seconded by Commissioner Miller, the Board unanimously
approved travel for any commissioner, along with the General Manager
and General Counsel, wishing to attend any of the conferences noted
above.
INFORMATION ITEMS (cont.)
#4, Customer Relations/Conservation Outreach Program: Mr.
Pritchett stated the purpose of this item was to provide the Board with
a brief overview of the District’s Conservation Program to give them an
idea of the different functions, etc., that occur throughout the year.
Jean Gardiner, the District’s Customer Services Manager, began the
presentation by reporting that the Tacoma News Tribune had published an
article on the Conservation Garden and added the garden had also been a
topic of discussion at a City of Federal Way Council meeting. In
addition, there is a conservation banner that is posted near the
driveway in front of the Administration Building. Ms. Gardiner went on
to state the District also advertises in several publications as well as
the following: Chamber of Commerce sponsored map of the City of Federal
Way and the Federal Way School District’s sports calendars. In March of
each year District staff participate in the H20 Water Festival, which is
a class for 4th and 5th graders. This class provides two days of classes
relating to water conservation issues. This last year, approximately 250
Federal Way students participated; the District contributed $10 per
student. Two District employees work at the festival half a day each
day. In addition, two employees attend the Weyerhaeuser Plant Sale each
year. Free rain gauges and pamphlets are handed out during that
function. Ms. Gardiner noted the cost for two days was approximately
$700. She went on to provide information regarding the annual
Conservation Poster Contest that was recently completed. She reported
that the Superintendent of Schools was in attendance at the poster
contest award ceremony and was very enthused about the program. She
added that he had warned them to expect triple the number of
participants in the contest next year. It was noted that there had been
470 entries from 17 schools in this year’s contest. A calendar is
created from the poster winners and 1,000 calendars are printed at a
cost of $8 each. Each participating school receives 75 calendars and
some are provided to the businesses that support this program. In
addition, calendars are provided to the school district offices. Ms.
Gardiner went on to state that the winning posters will be displayed at
The Commons this year; staff also hoped for a much bigger display next
year. The total approximate cost for this program is $8,500 per year.
Each year the District participates in the Red, White & Blue Festival on
July 4th at Celebration Park and the District’s booth is one of the most
popular. Staff provides kites, coloring books, toy airplanes and bubbles
to people visiting the booth. This festival draws approximately 15,000
people and five District employees work at the booth from 3 p.m. until
midnight. She went on to state the District pays approximately $1,500 in
overtime for this event. Ms. Gardiner next reported staff has also
participated in the Festival Days parade at the end of August. She
stated that in 2004 the District was represented with a “Toilet
Brigade”, which requires 13 people. She noted there was a nominal fee to
rent the toilets. In addition, kites were given away during this event,
which brought the labor cost last year to over $5,000. It was noted the
District chose not to participate in the parade this year. In addition,
the number of staff participating in the Festival will be reduced from
five to two this year and it was suggested that the Toilet Brigade be
resurrected every other year at Festival Days. A suggestion for the
alternate year is to feature “Wayne Drop”, which is a costume that
requires two people. In October, District staff will participate in the
Safety Show at The Commons, which is sponsored by Fire District #39. The
District sponsors a table and conservation items are given away at that
event. Linda Kochmar, the District’s Risk Management Analyst and who is
in charge of the Conservation Program, indicated that $8,000 is spent
per year on the free items that are given away. Commissioner Tweddle
inquired if staff could ask for volunteers and Ms. Gardiner stated that
nine employees and their children made up the number needed for the
Toilet Brigade at last year’s event and added volunteers would be very
helpful. Commissioner Mayer noted it was necessary to have employees
available to answer questions at these functions. Ms. Gardiner went on
to discuss other conservation items that are available to the public and
a brief discussion followed. She then moved to possible future programs.
Customer Appreciation Week was celebrated a few years ago. Small items
were given away to customers and money was spent on signage, which could
be used again. Another idea would be packets for new owners, which had
been previously done. She went on to provide a list of possible
information that would be included to new owners. A suggestion was made
to include this information on the District’s website; staff could then
direct new owners to the website. It was noted that this information is
currently on the District’s website. A discussion followed about new
conservation ideas. The last suggestion was to include a usage graph on
the bimonthly bills, as that is a great way to compare water usage for
the different periods in the year. At the end of the presentation, the
Board thanked Ms. Gardiner for the excellent presentation. Mr. Pritchett
also thanked Max Rawson, the District’s Information Systems Specialist,
for preparing the power point presentation. He also thanked Ms. Gardiner
and Ms. Kochmar for all their hard work. He noted he felt the
conservation program was one of the most important at the District. John
Bowman, the District’s Water Manager/Special Projects Manager, provided
some comments relative to the Conservation Program. He stated this has
become a very important topic and added the Department of Health had
been assigned to develop conservation standards for the utility
industry. He added he had just received a draft of the rules, which
included three primary targets – efficiency, planning and requirements.
Mr. Bowman noted that the District already incorporates some of these
rules now. In addition, distribution leak standards are also being
proposed, which is a 10% - unaccounted for water. This is no different
than what the American Water Works Association has done in the past.
Lastly, goal setting and performance reporting requirements will be
required. He stated that each time a comprehensive plan is amended,
public meetings will be required for conservation issues goal setting.
He noted staff was planning to include reporting requirements in next
year’s Annual Water Quality report as they relate to the conservation
goals. He stated it is very difficult to determine how much water the
District’s customers are not using, which was followed by a discussion
about monitoring consumption. Subsequent to the discussion, Mr. Bowman
explained he wanted to add this piece to Ms. Gardiner’s presentation to
provide the Board information on developments on the regulatory side of
water conservation.
#5, Development Engineering Presentation and Plan for Languishing
Developer Extension Projects: Mr. Hill began the presentation with
the languishing projects, which are those considered to be substantially
complete, but have tasks remaining. It was noted that with the current
Substantial Completion policy, staff should be seeing fewer projects
that fall into this category. He went on to explain how the billing
system will have a big part to play in this issue. He then provided a
list of languishing projects and noted that three projects had gone from
“languishing” to “accepted” since he had last spoken to the Board last
spring. A discussion followed regarding several of the projects noted on
the listing. Also discussed was a proposal to move towards sending
monthly billings to developers. The discussion then moved to the school
projects noted on the list. Commissioner Mayer volunteered to speak to
the Superintendent of Schools about these projects. It was then noted
that the District does not currently charge interest on outstanding
charges and suggestions were made regarding the best way to proceed in
this area.
Mr. Hill next moved to the Program for Development Services. He began
by thanking the Development Services staff, Mr. Perry and Mr. Ross and
then went on with the presentation by first briefly reviewing the
members of his staff and their background. Mr. Hill stated that customer
service is an essential function of his staff. He summarized the
different customer service functions his staff provides to developers,
engineers/surveyors, contractors, property owners, citizens, real estate
agents/title companies and other public agencies as well as other
departments within Lakehaven. He noted that some of the tasks that are
performed are revenue generating while others are non-revenue
generators. He then provided a summary of the tasks that are performed
by his staff. These included developer extensions, service connections
(permits), availability certificates, preliminary project review and
comment, latecomer agreements/CPILOA/Early comers, capital facility
charges, hydrant permits, customer assistance, pretreatment program, a
list of authorized side sewer contractors and easement/document
recording. Mr. Hill then explained each of these tasks in more detail.
He noted his staff also provides support for Customer Service and
Operations in terms of facility and connection issues. Mr. Hill then
concentrated a portion of his presentation on timelines and other issues
that impact his staff. He noted that when a design is submitted,
reviewed and then has to be rejected, the project’s timeline is
impacted. He added that customers that fail to meet deadlines also
impact the project, as well as staff time. In addition, staff will
provide comments to the developer and there will be no response to the
comments. There seems to be a bottleneck on both the engineering and
construction side. Mr. Perry interjected at this point and commented
that the staff of Tacoma Public Utilities performs all design and
installations, in-house, thus eliminating the issues presented by Mr.
Hill.
At that point and due to the late hour, Mr. Perry asked Mr. Hill to
present the remainder of the program to the Board at a later date.
COMMITTEE REPORTS/COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
Commissioner Mayer reported his satisfaction with the General
Manager’s ethics and noted the performance reviews that have been
conducted in the last three years reflect that. Commissioner Miller
concurred with Commissioner Mayer. He added he felt the General Manager
had always been responsive when asked questions and noted he was sorry
the union was unable to find a way to negotiate. Commissioner Miller
then thanked the Board for allowing him to attend the American Water
Works Association annual conference recently. He then reviewed what had
been included in the program and commented that he felt a note should be
sent to the District’s national representative asking for support in the
District’s efforts to receive cooperation from the Bureau of Reclamation
concerning reclaimed water.
STAFF REPORTS
General Counsel: Mr. Pritchett reported a press release
had been sent to the local newspaper regarding the Conservation
Poster Contest and noted it included a photograph of Commissioner
Stewart with the Poster Contest winners. He then reported he had met
with the attorney for a development being proposed by Lloyd
Enterprises, Inc. as well as the attorney representing Pierce
County. He then provided a synopsis of the meeting. He noted he
would like direction from the Board to try and negotiate an
agreement for service in that basin. It was noted that, at this
time, it was unclear as to the size of the area in question. Mr.
Pritchett then indicated he would write a letter to Lloyd’s and ask
for clarification on this issue. Subsequent to the discussion, the
Board concurred that Mr. Pritchett move forward with a letter as
proposed.
Engineering Manager: Mr. Ross reported on the “Kick off”
meeting on the GIS Implementation project that was held earlier in
the day and added he felt the meeting had gone well. Staff was
provided with a schedule of work and how much support by staff would
be needed. Mr. Ross went on to report that a portion of the GIS
should launch in October. Commissioner Mayer had also attended the
meeting and stated the District received a commitment from the
vendor to be on time with no changes.
General Manager: Mr. Perry reported he had received the
four-party agreement from the Greater Federal Way Emergency
Management Planning Committee and noted he would provide copies to
the Board. He added he had received information at their last
meeting concerning finances. Mr. Perry next reported that the City
of Federal Way was currently going through the process to open
French Lake Park as an off-leash dog park. He then reported that
representatives from Enchanted Parks had asked District staff to
review their water and sewer connections. He went on to briefly
explain the issue relative to this item. He next stated that he had
been asked to serve on the Pre-Planning Committee for the King
County Coordinated Water System Plan. The purpose of the committee
will be to review what issues King County intends to include in the
plan. Mr. Perry next reported he had received a letter from the
Department of Health earlier in the week; they had accepted the
District’s water quality monitoring procedure that has reduced
Lakehaven’s requirement when not using Second Supply Pipeline water,
which should save approximately $4,000 per year in sampling costs.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At approximately 8:50 p.m., the regular meeting was recessed for the
purpose of conducting an Executive Session to discuss Collective
Bargaining. It was announced that the Executive Session would last
approximately 10 minutes. At approximately 8:59 p.m. the Executive
Session was adjourned and the regular meeting was reconvened.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting
was adjourned at approximately 9:00 p.m. |
