Office of the Secretary Manager

Kittitas Reclamation District Board of Directors Meeting

December 4, 2018 Minutes

The Board of Directors of the Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) met in Regular Session on December 4, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. Attending the meeting were Division Four Director and Chairman Larry Bland, Division Two Director and Vice Chairman Ed Wakkuri, Division One Director Mark Hansen, Division Three Director Fred Schnebly, Division Five Director Paul Weaver, Secretary Manager Urban Eberhart, Assistant Manager Kevin Eslinger, Field Supervisor Bob Main, KRD Lands Clerk & RRA Specialist Keli Bender, KRD Treasurer Stacy Berg, Legal Counsel Jeff Slothower. Also, in attendance was KRD land owner Janeice Jump.

Director Hansen made a motion to open the Board of Equalization. A second was made by Director Schnebly, the motion passed unanimously. The audience was polled to determine if there was anyone who was requesting equalization, which there was not. Legal Counsel Slothower suggested that it remain open for the duration of the meeting in case someone came in later.   

The agenda was approved with the addition of an executive session for reasons consistent with RCW 42.30.110(1)(c) and RCW 42.30.110(1)(i):(ii) and (iii). The motion was made by Director Hansen and the second was made by Director Wakkuri. The motion passed unanimously.

The minutes for the October 11, 2018 Board Meeting were found to have an error in the total sum of the payroll and accounts payables vouchers. The correct amount should have been, $309,098.90 and were approved as corrected with a motion made by Director Wakkuri. The second was made by Director Schnebly. The motion passed unanimously.

The minutes for the November 6, 2018 Board Meeting were approved with a motion made by Director Schnebly and the second made by Director Hansen. The motion passed unanimously.

Public Comment: No comments

Water Master Report: As of December 4, 2018, the lakes are at 33% capacity which is 88.6% of average. The inflows to the five reservoirs are at 77% and releases are 68% of average. Precipitation for the water year to date is 53.83 inches which is 87% of average. Rain and snow are expected in the upcoming week.     

Maintenance Report: The maintenance crews are finishing the repairs on the remaining head gates which have been removed to be rebuilt. In November, there were 5 employees that completed a confined space rope rescue course which took place in the Sheep Dip Siphon. Simultaneous to the training there was an inspection competed on the siphon. There was only one rock that made its way into the siphon after the maintenance that was done last year. There was also an inspection of the Yakima Siphon which had some wear to the Belzona also approximately 1 yard of fine gravel was at the bottom which will need to be removed. Originally, the Belzona was expected to be a temporary fix. Damaged panels will need to be removed and replaced with new preformed steel panels. It is estimated that it will take about 3 weeks to complete this repair work. There has been a new boom system installed on the outlet end of the Yakima Siphon to allow for the rope team to access the siphon without setting up a new platform daily. The rock trap appears to be working well. Maintenance crews are in the process of repairing some of the buckled panels in the Tillman stretch down-stream from South Cle Elum. The South Branch Construction is progressing well, the construction company is on schedule. They are scheduled to start placing the Geomembrane the first week of January and the first scheduled concrete pour is scheduled the week of January 7^th.  

Secretary Manager’s Activity Report: It was presented to close the KRD Office from December 19^th-26^th. The board approved the holiday office closure.   

On November 29^th and 30^th, Mr. Eberhart attended the Columbia River Group Meeting in Spokane, WA.

Mr. Eberhart is scheduled to attend the Washington State Water Resource Association (WSWRA) Conference in Spokane, WA on December 5^th-7^th. He will be presenting as well attending several meetings.  

On December 13^th, Mr. Eberhart will be attending the Teanaway Community Forest Meeting.  

The Family Farm Alliance Conference is scheduled for the week of February 18^th in Reno, NV. Director Weaver made a motion for Mr. Eberhart and Director Hansen to attend the Family Farm Alliance Conference. A second was made by Director Wakkuri, the motion passed unanimously.

Regarding the Upper Yakima System Storage, Mr. Eberhart expressed his appreciation to the Van De Graaf’s for allowing KRD and the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) onto their property to do some drilling. The drill team had reached a depth of 191 feet in the center of the draw and hadn’t hit bedrock yet. They will move the drill site to the side of the draw to attempt to find the depth to the Basalt. The team will continue to collect further information on the site to determine its validity.

Mr. Eberhart reported that he recently spoke with Trout Unlimited to check the status of the 2018 WaterSmart Water Marketing Grant with Department of Ecology (DOE). There has been a backlog at the DOE recently which has caused the delay. It is expected that this grant will be issued in the near future.  

The Technology for Trade Advisory Group is being established at this time. There are several people in the industry including Mr. Eberhart who are on the advising committee to provide input.

KRD continues to work with Kittitas County Conservation District and the USBR on Manastash Operations reimbursements. The USBR is evaluating the best option at this time.

Kittitas County received a very high ranking on the Floodplains by Design List. The KRD is in support of this project.   

The North Branch Canal Lining Project Phase II and III will be discussed during the executive session.  

Mr. Eberhart requested permission for KRD to go out to bid for the request for materials to purchase the Geomembrane Liner. The intent is to have the product on hand and eliminate possible production delay. Subject to Legal Counsel’s final review Director Hansen made a motion to request bids for 200,000 sq ft of impermeable membrane. A second was made by Director Wakkuri, the motion passed unanimously.

Director Hansen made a motion to approve the redesign of North Branch Phase IIIA in the amount of $185,000.00. A second was made by Director Wakkuri. The motion passed unanimously.

The bid for the South Branch 13.8 / Manastash Water Ditch Association (MWDA) Connection is forthcoming.

There is a backlog at DOE which has caused a delay for the Yakima Basin Focused Managed Aquifer Recharge Assessment contract.

Mr. Eberhart discussed the need for Jacobs to evaluate a new telemetry system upgrade. Director Schnebly made a motion for a scope of work for a telemetry system in the amount of $78,000.00. A second was made by Director Wakkuri, the motion passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report: The Directors’ monthly payroll vouchers were presented for signatures. Summary Vouchers for the October 2018 expenses and the November 2018 payroll which included check numbers 42771-42842, direct deposit numbers                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             9901530 through 9901547 in the sum of $298,441.21 were approved with a motion made by Director Wakkuri. The second was made by Director Schnebly, the motion passed unanimously.

Legal Counsel Slothower reported that the publication period for the foreclosure process on delinquent accounts is coming to a close. The KRD will be going to court and setting a Treasurers Sale in January. There are three accounts remaining in this process at this time.  

A detailed review of past resolutions and ordinances is in progress and efforts are being made to have the documents made more readily available for easier access. During this process there were several policies that needed to be formally adopted, corrected or updated. When this process is complete the intent is to provide a binder containing the existing policies & procedures to each of the Directors, several copies throughout the organization, a copy at the front desk available for public viewing as well as a copy on the website. There were three resolutions that we felt needed to be acted on before the end of the calendar year. The capital assets policy was identified by the auditors as a policy that needed to be established, the procurement policy is a completely revised policy and the credit card policy. Director Hansen made a motion to approve the Capital Assets Resolution 2018-10. A second was made by Director Weaver. The motion passed unanimously. Director Hansen made a motion to approve the Procurement Policy Resolution 2018-11. A second was made by Director Schnebly, the motion passed unanimously. Director Hansen made a motion to approve the Credit Card Policy Resolution 2018-12. A second was made by Director Schnebly, the motion passed unanimously.

New Business: Mr. Eberhart presented the Cities Insurance Association of Washington Insurance Premium Invoice which included the renewal amount of $101,355.00 and an agent fee of $5,000.00. Director Hansen made a motion to pay the insurance premium and agent fee. A second was made by Director Schnebly, the motion passed unanimously.

A discussion ensued regarding the dates of the 2019 Board Meeting Dates. Director Wakkuri made a motion to accept 2019 Board Meeting Dates Resolution 2018-13. The second was made by Director Schnebly, the motion passed unanimously.

Director Hansen made a motion to set a Special Board Meeting to discuss the 2019 Budget on December 17^th at 8:00 a.m. A second was made by Director Schnebly, the motion passed unanimously.

Other Business: The Board adjourned to Executive Session at 1:50 p.m. for 15 minutes per RCW 42.30.110(1)(c) and RCW 42.30.110(1)(i):(ii) and (iii) there was a motion made by Director Hansen and a second made by Director Schnebly. The motion passed unanimously. Executive Session was extended for an additional 40 minutes. The Board returned to Regular Session at 2:45 p.m. with a motion made by Director Hansen and the second was made by Director Wakkuri. The motion passed unanimously.

The audience was polled and no one was present to discuss the Board of Equalization. Director Hansen made a motion to close the Board of Equalization 2018-14. A second was made by Director Schnebly, the motion passed unanimously.

All business having been concluded the meeting was adjourned.

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Mr. Bland KRD Board of Directors Chairman

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Mr. Eberhart KRD Secretary Manager