Minutes of the Board of Trustees – Wed, July 13, 2011.
1. Roll Call:
Present: President, Evan Long; Secretary, Belen Gomez; Larry Roberts; Richard Phillips; Bette George and Rosemary Hellwig.
Staff: Manager, Michael Alburn;
Others: Consultants, Monique Miron & Jerry Lemus, CM Construction Services.
2. Building Project:
Monique and Jerry reported on building progress; Demo for pad build up is complete, temporary fencing installed, pad has been graded and has passed all compaction tests, underground portion of gas line and re-routed water line have been installed.
Edison has released their power plan for construction. Contracts and billing are expected in approximately one week.
Cal Water has installed new hydrant and upsize of water line along Houston Ave.
Work continues on contracts to install new gas meter with Southern California Gas Co.
Parking lot is sinking in various places due to the construction equipment loads. Discussion is underway about a parking lot redesign.
Photo presentation of progress followed.
3. Approval of June Minutes:
It was moved by Bette George, seconded by Rosemary Hellwig and unanimously carried that the Minutes of the June meeting be approved as mailed.
4. Approval of June Bills:
Following discussion, it was moved by Larry, seconded by Belen Gomez, and unanimously carried that the June Bills be approved as submitted. See: Board Order to disburse funds No. 27, Exhibit I.
5. Approval of July Payroll:
Following discussion, it was moved by Belen Gomez, seconded by Rosemary Hellwig, and unanimously carried that the July Payroll be approved as submitted. See: Board Order to disburse funds No. 1, Exhibit II.
6. Deutsche Bank:
Following discussion, it was moved by Bette George, seconded by Larry Roberts and unanimously carried that the Deutsche Bank invoices be approved as submitted. See: Deutsche Bank Bills No. 3, Exhibit III.
7. Public Forum:
None.
8. Operational Report:
The Manager reported on the following operational items.
Eric Rabuse, VC Tech III submitted his resignation on Jun 22 following a one and one-half month leave of absence. The District will not put a Tech III in the zone as a cost cutting measure. John Johnson was promoted to a Tech II from a Certified VC Tech I and will work in the zone for the rest of the season. John filled in last year for much of the season as a Tech II in this area so he is competent and hard working. This winter we will analyze the work and decide if we want to collapse the zone completely or continue with the current structure.
Kings River water releases have been extraordinary. High water has made treatment difficult and we have forbid the entry into the channel while these conditions continue. Currently the fluctuations are allowing for Aedes vexans, flood water mosquito, to hatch. This is a nuisance species, and while prolific biters we are not focusing on them at this time. Surveillance continues and control efforts are underway in a safe, planned manner until the discharges resume to normalcy.
Pasture mosquitoes have had some hatches in Cutler/ Orosi and Dinuba areas. Service Requests are pretty much split between source reports and problems and dead birds.
We are continuing to work with Javier Cavazos, the new Superintendent of Alta Irrigation, with problem fields. Sharing information is greatly appreciated by Mr. Cavazos as we notify him of fields that appear to be receiving too much water from the ditch tender.
9. Fiscal Budget 2011/12:
The Manager presented the annual budget to the Board. It was recommended by the Manager that the District provided for one time compensation to all employees at 96¢/ hour worked in 2010/11 fiscal year. Following thorough discussion, it was moved by Richard Phillips, seconded by Rosemary Hellwig and unanimously carried to adopt the 2011/12 Fiscal Budget. Resolution 11-05, One Time Salary Adjustment was considered and it was moved by Better George, seconded by Larry Roberts and unanimously carried to approve the recommended adjustment.
10. WNV Report:
The Manager reported the following statistics:
No Human or Equine cases to date.
Birds 10 (9 recent, 1 chronic), 37 Statewide (Madera, Kings, Kern, Fresno, Tulare)
Mosquitoes 17, 48 Statewide (Tulare 17, Kern 10, Fresno 8)
Press release issued this day restating the Visalia positive samples found.
Populations remain low.
11. ERMA Pooled Wrongful Employment Practices:
The District can offer the following training opportunities to Trustees:
· Online training through ERMA, 2hrs of online training, no additional charge.
· Live training in Fowler on August 24th in Council Chambers from 9 – 12. Signups end August 18. No cost.
District would like staff to use the online training through Target Safety at the cost of $15.74 per trainee for unlimited training topics. We would sign up all employees and trustees for the one year contract period. Following discussion, it was moved by Rosemary Hellwig, seconded by Larry Roberts and unanimously carried to approve the contract with Target Safety.
12. MVCAC:
The Manager invited the Trustees to the Board of Directors meeting at the Visalia Marriot on July 21.
The schedule was listed as follows:
· 8:00 - 9:45 - NPDES
· 9:00 - 10:00 - Trustee Meeting
· 10:00 - 12:00 - MVCAC Board of Directors Meeting
· 12:00 - 1:00 - Lunch on own
· 1:00 - 3:00 - Mosquito Research Foundation BOD Meeting
13. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 9:10p.m.
Board Meeting Minutes Approved on August 10, 2011
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Michael W. Alburn, Recording Secretary