Minutes of the Board of Trustees – Wednesday, February 13, 2008.
Present: President, Bruce Myers; Secretary, Belen Gomez; Evan Long and Harold Dozier.
Absent: Bette George.
Staff: Manager, Michael Alburn.
It was moved by Harold Dozier, seconded by Belen Gomez, and unanimously carried that the Minutes of the January meeting be approved as mailed.
Following discussion, it was moved by Evan Long, seconded by Harold Dozier and unanimously carried that the January Bills be approved and ordered paid. See: Board Order to disburse funds No. 16, Exhibit I.
It was moved by Harold Dozier, seconded by Evan Long and unanimously carried that the February Payroll be approved and ordered paid. See: Board Order to disburse funds No. 17, Exhibit II.
None.
World Ag Expo- Going on through Thursday, February 14.
Summer Hiring – 10 to hire of which 3 will be returning. Ad will run in Visalia, Dinuba and Woodlake/ Exeter.
Continuing Education - February 28th, Holiday Inn, Visalia
Weed Treatments – Finished all pre emergent treatments. Rodeo and Roundup spot treatments will be ongoing for the duration of the season.
Source Reduction – All work to be completed prior to February 29. St. Johns yet to be started. Kings River was completed but storms downed several trees and we need to go back through and do some more clearing. Kaweah Rock is engaged in discussions to have them use their heavy equipment to do the majority of the work. A great deal of work on the property has been excavated already. Expect to complete all work on time.
Respirator replacement- 3M will replace the survive air respirators. Appointments for doctor evaluations being ordered.
Automotive maintenance is wrapping up.
Fish acquisition is ongoing. We have been trapping overnight and will collect for lab evaluation before we bring them in to stock publicly.
Home Page updated and is online. A few minor additions to go up still as we attempt to bring the page from a static display to a living document with relative information.
New Chicken Flock to be placed on Daly Ranch east of Rocky Hill. Pickup scheduled for April 1.
Annual Report will be completed during this month for future publication and distribution.
The Manager reported that he visited with Supervisor Phil Cox to explain the District’s concern about duplication of service in south Visalia. The meeting was productive toward educating the Supervisor and enlisting his help in facilitating a solution to the disparity of service between Delta VCD and Tulare MAD as the sphere of influence (SOI) review proceeds through LAFCO.
The Chairman of the Board of Supervisors has been sent two letters regarding the concern of the District without response.
A Position Paper, District Summary, and a completed LAFCO Municipal Service Review Questionnaire were provided to the commission during the month. It is expected that action will be coming which will order a municipal service review (MSR) as part of the SOI update as required in the government code.
The intent remains to have an MSR completed which will afford the commission the opportunity to evaluate the service levels provided by each district. The District recommendation for a consolidation of services would be able to be fairly evaluated as to the adequacy of services being provided. Additional recommendations included placing the Porterville, Lindsay corridor within a competent district’s Sphere of Influence so the area could potentially be annexed into that district with a successful benefit assessment election of the people. The intention being to bring about a single level of high quality service to the largest group of Tulare County citizens.
Today LAFCO delayed until March any action as County counsel was unable to advise them as to their required actions under current government code in relation to the SOI update. The next meeting is scheduled for March 12.
The Manager provided a cost comparison of the Special District Risk Management Association and the Vector Control Joint Powers Authority with respect to Liability, Excess Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Auto Physical Damage, Public Entity Property Insurance, Workers Compensation, and Excess Workers Compensation coverage.
Following a review of the coverages, the Manager recommended the District change to the VCJPA for its coverage based on a significant cost savings and the fact the District has had a stellar safety record.
It was moved by Evan Long, seconded by Harold Dozier and unanimously carried to authorize the Manager to terminate the SDRMA coverage and start the VCJPA coverage effective July 1.
The Manager requested travel to the workshop February 24-26, Seascape Resort, Aptos, CA. The VCJPA provides room and meals for one attendee and has invited Delta to send a representative. It was moved by Harold Dozier, seconded by Belen Gomez and unanimously carried to approve the travel of the Manager to the workshop.
The Manager reported that the District is going to be required to report the liability of the OPEB – other post employment benefits of its employees and retirees beginning in 2009.
The District has a liability for health insurance to retired employees. Currently we pay as we go. The District does not have to pay the unfunded amount, but can pay into a retirement benefit trust if it so chooses. The time choices available to fund any liability are 10 or 30 years. The value in doing the valuation this year and identifying the California Employers’ Retirement Benefit Trust Fund as the vehicle for the investment allows the actuary to use the assumptions of CalPERS and not the Local Agency Investment Fund. This will allow the interest to accumulate at a higher assumption and decreases the funding required by the agency. In addition, doing the work this year, a year early, allows for a sort of prefunding, thereby lowering the employer contribution. The valuation is good for three years so the District can perform one now and see what it says about our level of unfunded liability.
In March the Manager will attend the CalPERS trust workshop being held in Fresno. From which he can then bring back the information relative to using that fund for our trust.
Bickmore Risk Services, our JPA management firm is able to perform the work for $5,000 to do the actuarial and $750 to do the necessary paperwork for the Trust.
The Manager recommended Bickmore Risk Services to perform the valuation with the expectation of using the California Employers’ Retirement Benefit Trust Fund as the depository. Following discussion, it was moved by Belen Gomez, seconded by Harold Dozier and unanimously carried to approve the hiring of Bickmore Risk Services as recommended by the Manager.
The Manager requested travel authorization for the Assistant Manager and Biologist to attend the American Mosquito Control Association’s Annual Conference. It was moved by Evan Long, seconded by Harold Dozier and unanimously carried to approve the requested travel.
The Board heard the second reading to amend said policy, allowing for discretion when applying the time requirements in achieving the vertebrate and terrestrial invertebrate certifications. It was moved by Evan Long, seconded by Belen Gomez and unanimously carried to adopt for the Policy Manual.
The meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
Board Minutes approved on March 12, 2008.
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Michael W. Alburn, Recording Secretary