May 3, 2011

CALL TO ORDER:  The Board meeting of the Columbia Irrigation District was called to order at 6:00 pm at the District office by President Jerry Sleater.  Present at the meeting were:
                       
                        Jerry Sleater, Director                                       Keith Martin, Manager          
                        George Janicek, Director                                  Russ Pelleberg, Asst. Manager
                        Gary Hutchcraft, Director                                 Bonnie Kulp, Recorder
                        Jim Gose, Director                                            Gary Weatherly, Engineer
                        Terry Miller, Attorney  

PETITION TO JOIN LID 62:  In the April 5, 2011 Board Meeting the Board accepted Luis Ojeda’s petition to be included in LID 62.  At that time the District was unaware the property had not been added to the District when the original boundaries of the LID were set.  Manager Martin reported that Luis Ojeda submitted a petition to add his 1.2 acres of land to the District.   Jim Gose made a motion to accept the petition and George Janicek seconded.  The motion passed.                                                                                  

CONSENT AGENDA:  The following Consent Agenda was presented to the Board for approval:

1.      Minutes April 5, 2011
2.      April Vouchers
             #01     CID Revolving Fund                             $136,232.88
3.   March Financial Statement

Director Jim Gose made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda.  George Janicek seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 

GUEST:  Mr. Richard Zelmer, 2606 Ficus Drive, West Richland, attended the Board Meeting to request to opt out of the District.  Mr. Zelmer’s property is within LID #63.  Manager Martin reported to the Board about a meeting he had with Mr. Zelmer on April 19, 2011.  Mr. Zelmer presented three major concerns:  Did the CID have a legal easement across the boundary of his property; what legal provisions does CID have for a patron to opt out of an LID temporarily or permanently; and why are other properties given options to opt out of District boundaries. There is a five-foot legal irrigation easement across the backside of the Zelmer boundary. The City of West Richland installed the pipe 17 feet outside the easement. Attorney Miller stated if the pipe has been in the ground ten years and used for water, the pipe has a legal right to stay there.  Manager Martin presented the Board with a list of parcels with relinquished water rights on properties within LID boundaries.                        

Attorney Miller stated there is a distinction between relinquishing a water right and opting out of an LID.  Once an LID is established, properties within the LID are subject to maintenance charges.  Property with relinquished water rights located in an LID are assessed an annual maintenance fee.  

Manager Martin suggested the deferral of the water right to another property on Collins Road.  Mr. Zelmer would still be responsible for the construction costs associated with the LID.  Director Janicek referred to Attorney Miller for the legalities of a deferral. Attorney Miller stated a deferral of a water right is the same as a relinquishment.  The property owner would have to pay all charges associated with the construction and annual maintenance fees. 

Manager Martin brought up the fact that CID did allow properties to opt out in the North Paradise Section of LID #63 and LID #62.  Attorney Miller reminded the Board that LID #62 was sporadic when the LID was formed.Due to the complexity of the issue this matter was tabled for a workshop meeting, Wednesday, April 11, 2011.  

OLD BUSINESS: 

BOARD ROOM REMODEL:  Assistant Manager Pelleberg reported the new wiring is finished  and the L&I inspection is done. He has spoken to the City and they are waiting for the permanent furniture to be installed before they give the final approval.  CID plans to build the furniture in-house.  

Attorney Miller had questions on the files he obtained from the City on the revised floor plan.  Pelleberg informed him the revised plan had been submitted to the city the morning of May 3, 2011.  Attorney Miller also questioned outstanding issues with L & I.  Manager Martin assured him the inspection was complete and green tagged indicating approval. 

REPAIRING PRIVATE OR CID LINES:  Manager Martin stated the District is losing water deliveries due to the disrepair of the old concrete lines throughout the District.  Due to the probability the lines were installed in the early 1930’s it is difficult to know whether the lines are private or CID owned.  Manager Martin requested the Board make a determination on which lines are owned by CID.  Martin would like ownership of all lateral lines up to the property service valve considered CID owned.   Assistant Manager Pelleberg also asked the Board to make the distinction between CID lines and private lines due to the fact the  District can not work on private lines.  The District continually fields calls from patrons of the District where lines are considered private and there is not enough cooperation within the neighborhood to fix the lines.  Pelleberg stated there are several people in the District who used to have water delivered and now do not.Attorney Miller stated the way to handle these lines is to form an LID to repair those lines and charge the LID for the repairs. Miller stated if you look at the statutory authority as the authority to work on District property or LID property the only thing that distinguishes the two is the definition of an LID.  Miller stated the essence of the definition of an LID is if there are improvements that benefit a select group within the District, then it makes it an LID.   

Director Janicek asked Attorney Miller if the Board had the authority to claim ownership of the lateral pipes up to the point of delivery.  Attorney Miller stated it would be an LID and the formation would be initiated by either the Board or property owners and there is a process to be followed.   Miller stated payment for the cost is dictated by statutes but the Board has the discretion to accept installment payments.  He stated cost cannot be shared by the District.  The cost is borne by the property owners of the LID. 

The subject matter was tabled for further discussion at the work shop scheduled April 11, 2011.

IN STEP CHURCH:   Manager Martin informed the Board the billing letter has been mailed.         

SALE OF RIGHT-OF-WAY PROPERTY:  Assistant Manager Pelleberg informed the Board that Doug Dobrec (formerly reported as Doug Kubik) has not contacted him about purchasing District right of way.  Unless Mr. Dobrec contacts Pelleberg, the Board will consider the matter closed.

OAK AND BOWLES REPAIR:  Assistant Manager Pelleberg reported due to the canal taking on water from Elliott Lake all year long the District is going to have to spend more time on the repair.  The Project will be placed on the list of capital projects to be done after water season.  Pelleberg will come up with a schedule and an estimate.  The project will entail more than just lining that portion of the canal due to the amount of ground water coming off the hill.

PATRON WORK ORDERS:  The Board reviewed the lists of work orders done in their areas.

STATUS OF POLICY AND PROCEDURE DEVELOPMENT:  Manager Martin stated he had the policies and procedures finished and will have them printed out for the work shop.

SPILL RETENTION CONTAINERS:  The secondary retention containers have arrived and the item can be eliminated from the safety issues list.  Manager Martin and Assistant Manager Pelleberg are looking into the possibility of purchasing a fork lift.  If the District upgrades an existing machine with a newer modern piece of equipment there is an option to pick up a set of forks to use on the newer machine rather than having a fork lift that will only serve one purpose. 

CID SEWER CROSSING AGREEMENT:  Manager Martin asked if Attorney Miller had a chance to look at the crossing agreement form used by KID.  Miller stated it is a very abbreviated form, it does not call for signatures by anyone with authority and it is not an agreement that gives the District any protection.  Miller recommended the form we should use is the same form used previously as in the Edison Street Crossing.    Manager Martin is still looking toward WSWRA for a standardized form for all Districts.  Attorney Miller offered to provide his form to WSWRA when they begin working on a standardized form.

CID PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST FROM KID:   The request from KID was in regard to the 4 PSAs and how they are assessed.  Chuck Freeman from KID informed Pelleberg the KID does not include roads in their assessments.  There is a discrepancy in acreage as far as the water carriage contract is concerned.

NEW BUSINESS: 

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT:   Bonnie Kulp requested the removal of the 2011 assessments on two West Richland parcels considered to be inactive at the County level.  Parcels 1-0798-2BP-3650-007 and 1-0798-2BP-3650-008 are active on the CID rolls because the property is irrigated right-of-way.  The city has remitted payment directly to CID and the payment should be applied as a Miscellaneous Receipt.  Jim Gose made a motion to remove the assessment from the assessment roll on the two parcels.  Gary Hutchcraft seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 

ATTORNEY REPORT:  Attorney Miller had no noteworthy actions to report on his bill for February and March. 

ENGINEER REPORT:  Gary Weatherly reported the charges for the JUB bill were mostly associated with the canal lining project.  He stated the project is done but there is a dispute with LDF Concrete and the concrete company, hired to pump the concrete, about payment for services rendered.   Issues will have to be resolved before retainage fees can be released.  Other expenses on the bill included reviewing plans for Hyde Park, Westwood Estates and for attending a meeting with Manager Martin about a group of  property owners who would like to receive water from the District.

Manager Martin explained that property owners in West Richland would like to get       water up the hill to pieces of land 40 to 60 acres in size. They are committed to putting in a water feature reservoir and go as far as dedicating land for the reservoir and pay a large portion of the infrastructure expense with conditions.  They would like the Board to             credit them the cost of the add lands fee or defer the fee until someone buys the             developed property with a house on it. 

Martin explained when the Belmont area annexed into the District the developers agreed to annex but were unaware of the large sums of money they would have to pay upfront before they received any money back from selling the properties. 

SAFETY AND LABOR ISSUES:  Assistant Manager Pelleberg stated he would still like to track the expenses for safety and labor issues with the general canal maintenance.

AGREEMENT, REQUESTS AND CONTRACTS:   Manager Martin presented a letter to the Board from KID asking CID to control the cfs amount the canal carries for their water.  Manager Martin would like to prepare a letter to deny their request because KID does not have adequate records to prove they have the water to move.

CID has no control mechanisms to make sure KID does not exceed the water limits on hot days.  Engineer Gary Weatherly agreed with Manager Martin not to get involved with KID’s request and suggests the KID install good magnetic flow meters, flow control valves and let CID have access to them.  Director Janicek requested Weatherly give Manager Martin some specifications of what would be necessary to put in place.

Attorney Miller suggested a new agreement be written.  The original agreement drafted in 1931 is no longer suitable for the fee structure of today.   

EXECUTIVE SESSION:   Attorney Miller requested a short executive session of fifteen minutes to discuss potential litigation.  President Jerry Sleater moved the meeting into Executive 

Session at 8:00 pm.  President Jerry Sleater closed the executive session and returned to the open meeting at 8:15 PM.

Manager Martin will work with Attorney Miller to clarify pending and future legal issues.  The Board of Directors directed the main communication avenue from Attorney Miller be through Manager Martin, the responsible authority to provide assignments to Attorney Miller.

ADJOURNMENT:  President Jerry Sleater recessed the meeting until Wednesday, May 11, 2011 pm.