REGULAR BOARD MEETING
JULY 13th 2010, 10:00 A.M.
TUMALO IRRIGATION DISTRICT OFFICE
64697 Cook Avenue
Bend, Oregon 97701
BOARD: Bob Morrow, Stephen Putnam, Ron Cochran, Patricia Gainsforth, Dean Tuftin
STAFF: Elmer McDaniels, Kenneth Rieck, Bob Varco, Jan Wickham, Fran DeRock
ATTORNEY: Bill Hopp
ENGINEER: Jon Burgi
GUESTS: Jim Schlueter, Alan Unger
Vice-Chairman Morrow called the meeting to order at 10:00 A.M. and appointed Fran DeRock scribe.
APPROVE MINUTES
In reference to the June 8th, 2010 minutes, Director Cochran asked who owned the Ryan Ranch. The Ranch is owned by the Forest Service. Director Putnam made a motion to approve the minutes of the June 8th, 2010 Regular and Executive Board Meetings seconded by Director Gainsforth. Motion carried unanimously.
JULY VOUCHER LIST APPROVAL
Director Putnam made a motion to approve the July 2010 Voucher List seconded by Director Gainsforth. Motion carried unanimously.
DWA MOU-LATEST EDITION-ALAN UNGER
County Commissioner Alan Unger appeared before the Board to answer questions about the DWA. His initial statement about the DWA MOU was that the DWA is being organized to help all entities including Irrigation Districts, Cities, Counties, Tribes, etc. to work together towards a common water plan. Director Gainsforth commented that there is no equity in the DWA meetings. Per Attorney Hopp, TID, Three Sisters Irrigation and Lone Pine Irrigation are the three Irrigation Districts that have not signed on to the DWA yet. Vice Chairman Morrow commented that the DWA is just one more layer of hierarchy. Director Putnam doesn’t feel we need the DWA and fears we will eventually lose our water rights. He also commented that the irrigation districts will be in the minority of membership. There was a lot of discussion about mitigation rights and mitigation banks. Attorney Hopp noted that, even though a representative of any entity such as TID voted for a particular agenda item at the DWA, it is not binding until approved by the representative’s Board. Per Mr. Unger, he isn’t sure why the DRC is included as a member. Director Cochran stated that another organization such as the DWA is redundant. Director Tuftin stated that several groups who don’t have water rights are included in the list of members and this could be a concern for TID. Mr. Unger commented that the DWA would be bringing everyone together as a more powerful entity to deal with governments, etc.
Per Attorney Hopp, there is a DWA meeting August 3rd and a signing meeting on August 31st The Board decided that everyone should put their concerns and objections to the Alliance on paper and bring this to the District office by noon next Tuesday, July 20th, 2010. The concerns will be reviewed and edited by Director Cochran.
CRESCENT LAKE WATER REPORT
Per Manager McDaniels, Crescent Lake is at 75,365 acre feet of storage right now and the District is estimating it will have 57,500 carryover at the end of the year. This is 8,000 a.f. less than last year, but is still good. McDaniels also commented that our telemetry systems, which the District has in place now, monitor all of our irrigation district functions and our ditch riders are required to check the systems online. This is now a part of their job requirements. The telemetry gives the District up to the minute information on water flows and potential disasters along with other information.
HCP REPORT
Jon Burgi talked to Scott Carlin on July 7th. Carlin isn’t done reviewing the HCP yet. When he is finished he will send it off to Washington, DC where it will be reviewed by his higher ups. Then the process of finalizing the HCP will continue.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT UPDATE
Per Jon Burgi, the EA is currently being finalized and converted to a PDF file that is accessible to all online. It should be completed within the week.
ROAD TO THE NINE LOTS UPDATE
The Laidlaw Butte Access Road will be named Martin Road as a memorial to Bill Martin who was the District’s chairman for a number of years. The District will be taking bids on the road construction until July 27th. The work will start on August 5th and hopefully be finished by the end of September.
LETTER TO RYAN BOONE
A copy of the letter from the District, signed by Manager McDaniels, to Ryan Kim Boone was enclosed in the Board packets. It stated that his pond is too high and that is why he can’t get all of his water. It also stated that the District is not responsible for any loss materially or financially by the Boones. There has been no reply from Mr. Boone.
WATER ASSESSMENTS UPDATE
Per Jan Wickham, TIDs open assessments currently total about $183,000. That is about 23.5% of the total assessments for the year. This compares to about 16% in open assessments last year at this time. Of the total open this year, about $14,600 is delinquent.
WATER TRANSFER APPROVAL
Director Putnam made a motion to approve the transfer of 3 water acres from Francis to Dyer. . Motion was seconded by Director Cochran. Motion carried unanimously.
JIM MAZZIOTTI LETTER
The Mazziotti letter was enclosed in the Board packets. Manager McDaniels & Assistant Manager Rieck met with Mr. Mazziotti to view properties we had for sale that might be suitable for a Holistic and Wellness Center. Mr. Mazziotti is also looking at possible sights in Colorado and Arizona and this project is in a pre-planning stage. There is nothing for the District to act on at this time.
RYAN RANCH NEWS ARTICLE
The article about Ryan Ranch Meadows, enclosed in the Board packets, is just information regarding what the Forest Service wants to do with the meadows. Manager McDaniels, Attorney Hopp and Bob Main want to appoint Mike Britton of North Unit Irrigation District to be the point person with the DBBC. Mr. Main is working on the original Ryan Family information. The four gentlemen will be meeting next week to discuss strategy regarding the meadows and what will possibly happen there.
CITY OF BEND NEW PIPE AND HYDRO
The following discussion regarding the City of Bend transpired in the Executive Board Meeting and has been transferred to the Regular Board Meeting Minutes.
City of Bend is going to put in a new in-line hydro pipe. When this is in place they will measure water used and returned to the creek and it will be regulated by the watermaster. They need to have a large amount of water to get their hydro online and they are concerned about getting enough for their purposes. Discussion ensued regarding the pros and cons of City of Bend and their hydro. Potential economic benefits, if partnered with the City and others connected in some way to Tumalo Creek, were discussed.
NEW VEHICLE
The District has purchased a new/used truck to be used for ditch riding. The cost was $20,000 and the capital budget item was for $25,000. Assistant Manager Rieck requested that the additional $5,000 be moved to the operating budget for backhoe maintenance and repairs. Director Putnam made a motion to move any part of the $5,000, as needed, to the operating budget for repairs and maintenance on the backhoe. Director Gainsforth seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
NEXT MEETING DATE
Next Regular Board Meeting is Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.
ADJOURN
Director Cochran made a motion to adjourn the Regular Board Meeting at 11.37 a.m. seconded by Director Putnam. Motion carried unanimously.