REGULAR BOARD MEETING
June 12, 2007, 10:00 A.M.
TUMALO IRRIGATION DISTRICT
64697 COOK AVENUE
BEND, OREGON 97701
BOARD: Bill Martin, Bob Morrow, Steve Putnam, Patricia Gainsforth, Ronald Cochran
STAFF: Elmer McDaniels, Cyndi Presnell, Jan Wickham, Ken Rieck, Bob Varco
ATTORNEY: Bill Hopp
ENGINEERS: Kevin Crew, Jon Burgi
GUESTS: Steve Moody, Ralph McNulty, Rick Silver, Greg Mohnen
Chairman Martin called the meeting to order at 10:00 A.M. and appointed Cyndi Presnell scribe.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Director Putnam made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 8, 2007 Regular Board Meeting and May 8, 2007 Executive Board Meeting, seconded by Director Morrow, motion carried unanimously.
APPROVAL OF VOUCHER LIST
Director Putnam made a motion to approve the June 2007 Voucher List, seconded by Director Morrow, motion carried unanimously.
CRESCENT LAKE WATER REPORT
Manager McDaniels said that Crescent Lake has 55,175 acre-feet and is 63% full. Manager McDaniels said that we were hoping to see it hit 60,000 acre feet, but it probably won’t. Assistant Manager Ken Rieck said that he believes the district will have to start taking water from Crescent in the next week or two. Director Cochran asked when we started taking from Crescent last year. Manager McDaniels said he thought is was mid July.
REPORT ON D.C. BILLS
Manager McDaniels said that our Senate bill has passed all of the committees and is supposed to go to floor mid- June. The House bill has been sitting. Manager McDaniels said that they are trying to get Representative Peter DeFazio (D- OR) to help pass it through to hearings.
UPDATES MEASURE 37
Attorney Hopp said that changes in Measure 37 are being referred to the voters in the fall.
OTHER BUSINESS
Steve Moody and Ralph McNulty
Steve Moody and Ralph McNulty came to the meeting to get clarification on a rumor they heard involving an eight foot chain link fence being installed on District property to house District equipment. Mr. McNulty said that he spoke to Manager McDaniels the week prior to the meeting, and Manager McDaniels told him there was no fence in the plans. Mr. McNulty said that he and his neighbors do not want to have to look at District equipment. Construction Supervisor Bob Varco said the only fence in the plans is a shared farm fence between TID property and Mr. Moody’s property. Director Putnam assured Mr. McNulty and Mr. Moody that, by attending the Board meeting, their concerns will be duly recorded in the minutes. Chairman Martin agreed and said that it is better to kill a rumor than let it go.
Habitat Conservation Plan
Attorney Hopp said that the Board discussed a Habitat Conservation Plan or HCP. He explained that NOAA sent the District a letter (reviewed at the May Board meeting) giving all of the Districts, in the Deschutes Basin Board of Control, a one year stay from being fined for any incidental taking of anadromous fish. He explained that it would not protect the District from a third party such as Trout Unlimited filing against the District. The Deschutes Basin Board of Control is working on an HCP expected to be complete and on record in as many as eight years. Upon completion, the HCP is submitted to the Federal government and the District is issued an “Incidental Take Permit”. According to Attorney Hopp, the permit shields the permit holder from suits filed by the feds or third parties. Attorney Hopp said an interim 10-J exception would shield from fines for incidental taking of “experimental” fish, but not from third party suits. NOAA is estimating approximately 18 months before the 10-J exception would be available. Attorney Hopp, Manager McDaniels, Jon Burgi and Kevin Crew have met and reviewed going it alone versus joining with the DBBC. Their recommendation is TID writing our own plan. The costs for the preliminary steps are estimated at $54,842.00. This cost would cover data gathering, pre-application coordination and many defined subtasks. The District would, at completion of the preliminary study, know whether or not NOAA will accept a report from Tumalo Irrigation District or expect the District to join forces with the other Districts in the DBBC. Engineer Jon Burgi said the cost of the preliminary study would not be lost. The information gathered would still be useful in a DBBC report. Director Morrow asked if doing the study jointly would be a different cost than going it alone. Engineer Kevin Crew compared the cost and value of a TID HCP vs. a DBBC HCP. He said joining the DBBC in creating the HCP may be less costly to the District, but the estimated time to complete the DBBC HCP is approximately eight years and the estimated time to complete a TID HCP is 18 months. Attorney Hopp mentioned having the HCP in position may be a possible value, to the District, in the search for funding for projects. Director Gainsforth asked if there was money available to help defray the cost to the District. Additionally, Director Cochran questioned the Tribe’s availability of funds to help pay the costs associated with the fish they put in the water. Engineer Kevin Crew said that from experience he believed the funding groups were more likely to give money to a District that was doing something as opposed to writing about doing something. All Board members agreed that moving forward with the study would be the best for the District. Director Morrow questioned the importance of the cold water in Tumalo Creek. Attorney Hopp said the other Districts have quantity, TID has quality. Director Putnam made a motion to initiate moving forward with the preliminary portion of the Habitat Conservation Plan. Director Morrow seconded, the motion carried unanimously.
Access Easement for Laidlaw Water District
A map of the requested easement was included in the Board packet. Attorney Hopp asked if TID even wanted to deal with this sort of thing until we knew what we are doing with the lots. Director Gainsforth asked if we knew any background on why they were asking for this easement. Manager McDaniels said that after the Hwy 20 improvements, there would not be any access off the Hwy and Laidlaw Water was probably just trying to stay ahead of game. It was agreed that the District would table the request until more information was available.
Purchase of Yukon XL
Manager McDaniels said the old Suburban was just too old and tired. The 2007 Budget included a replacement, so he approved the purchase of a 2007 Yukon XL from Murray & Holt after soliciting pricing from several major dealerships in the area.
Water Transfers
N07-001 Hughes to Bontrager ( 1.17 Acres )
N07-003 Schock to Schock ( 4.76 Acres )
Director Gainsforth made a motion to approve the water transfers, seconded by Director Morrow. Motion carried unanimously.
NEXT MEETING DATE
The next Regular Board Meeting will be Tuesday, July 10, 2007, at 10:00 A.M., at the District Office.
ADJOURNMENT
Director Morrow made a motion that the Regular Board Meeting be adjourned at 11:05 A.M., seconded by Director Gainsforth, motion carried unanimously.
RE-ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Martin called the regular session back to order at 12:00 P.M., and appointed Cyndi Presnell scribe.
Approval of letter discussed in Executive Session
Director Morrow asked if Attorney Hopp would promise that the letter would not appear in a court of law. Attorney Hopp said he would not promise that it would not appear in a court of law. He stated that any time a letter is written, it is anticipated that it may become an exhibit. Director Gainsforth requested more time to review the document. It was decided that the Board would break for lunch.
ADJOURNMENT
Director Cochran made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Director Putnam motion carried unanimously.
RE-ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Martin called the regular session back to order at 12:30 P.M., and appointed Cyndi Presnell scribe.
Continued Approval of the letter discussed in Executive Session
Chairman Martin asked for a decision on the letter discussed in Executive Session. Director Gainsforth suggested replacing as many of the “will” statements as possible. Attorney Hopp said he would just as soon go through it and make any changes so that the Board could get a vote. The entire document was reviewed and the Board agreed to make some wording changes. Attorney Hopp noted the changes. Director Gainsforth made a motion to approve the letter for Manager McDaniels signature, seconded by Director Putnam, motion carried unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT
Director Putnam made a motion that the Regular Board Meeting adjourned at 12:50P.M., seconded by Director Gainsforth, motion carried unanimously.