Office of the Secretary Manager
Kittitas Reclamation District Board of
Directors Meeting
April 2, 2019 Minutes
The Board of Directors of
the Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) met in Regular Session on April 2, 2019
at 1:00 p.m. Attending the meeting were Division Three Director and Chairman
Fred Schnebly, Division One Director and Vice Chairman Mark Hansen, Division
Four Director Larry Bland, Division Two Director Ed Wakkuri, Division Five
Director Paul Weaver, Secretary Manager Urban Eberhart, Assistant Manager Kevin
Eslinger, Field Supervisor Bob Main, Treasurer Stacy Berg, Lands Clerk & RRA
Specialist Keli Bender, Lands Clerk & RRA Specialist Sara Vickers, Legal Counsel
Jeff Slothower. Also, in attendance were United States Bureau of Reclamation
(USBR) Yakima Field Office Manager Chad Stuart and KRD land owner Janeice Jump.
The USBR Yakima Field Office
Manager Chad Stuart was introduced and provided an overview of the current
topics in the Yakima Field Office. The final EIS for the KDRPP was sent out 2
weeks ago. A committee has been drafting the standard operating procedure for
operations for the additional 14,600 acre-feet in the Cle Elum Reservoir. The
USBR is working with the Yakama Nation to deliver water to the Coho Salmon fish
hatchery in the Thorp area. The helix intake project contract was awarded. The
USBR is working with the contractor to schedule installation of the lower two
gates. The Safety of Dams Project at Kachess is continuing to be studied and is
forecast to be done at a later date. A brief overview of the drought forecast
and other associated issues was presented.
The amended agenda was
approved with the addition of an executive session for reasons consistent with
RCW 42.30.110(1)(i):(i) and (iii). There was also a change to the order of the
agenda, the allotment was moved to be acted on after the executive session. The
motion was made by Director Wakkuri and the second was made by Director Bland.
The motion passed unanimously.
The minutes for the March
12, 2019 Board Meeting were approved with a motion made by Director Hansen and
the second was made by Director Wakkuri. The motion passed unanimously.
Public Comment: There were
no public comments.
Water Master Report: As
of April 2, 2019, the five reservoirs were at 49% capacity which was 77.8% of
average. Precipitation for the reservoirs from April 1st to date is
zero. Precipitation for the water year to date is 161.53 inches, or 88% of
average. The Snotel Sites for the Upper Yakima Basin are reporting 69% of
average and the Lower Basin sites are at 92% of average.
Mr. Eberhart recommended
the water turn on date be April 15, 2019. Director Wakkuri made a motion to set
the turn on date as April 15th. A second was made by Director Bland,
the motion passed unanimously.
Maintenance Report: Mr.
Main reported that the crews are burning and cleaning ditch. A crew in upper
county has been clearing downed trees. There was Back-up Easton Dam Training
last week. The Rope Team inspected the face of Easton Dam. There were no obvious
signs of corrosion, dents, missing rivets or bolts.
There was some wear on the original
bronze seal of the drum gate but nothing of concern.
Secretary Manager’s Activity
Report: Mr. Eberhart reported that the 2019 Washington State Capital Budget
Hearings were last week. The Yakima Basin Integrated Plan Group asked for $42
Million dollars. The governor came in at $34.5 Million dollars, the house
capital budget came in at $31.5 Million dollars. The Senate budget came in at
$40 Million dollars, plus $1.896 Million dollars for the Teanaway Community
Forrest. Discussions on the budget will continue through the rest of the
legislative session.
The Marine Fisheries
Advisory Committee Columbia Basin Partnership met in Boise, ID on March 18th
& 19th. The committee has completed the initial two years of work and
has identified the ranges of all the stocks in the system. The committee is
beginning the next one-year phase to come up with an implementation plan.
The Central Washington
University Earth Day Salmon Run is on April 27th. Several KRD
employees will be participating.
The list of questions and
issues that will need to be addressed for the Upper Yakima System Storage
Project and the Wymer Gravity Fill option is being generated. Mr. Eberhart will
be working with the USBR and Ecology to determine what funds will be needed to
begin the feasibility study. Kittitas County Commissioner Wright and Mr.
Eberhart met with the Eaton Family at their request to answer questions about
the project.
The Water Marketing Project
is continuing. The website will be changing in the near future.
Yakima Basin Focused Managed
Aquifer Recharge Assessment is moving forward. The group continues to evaluate
areas that are available for ground water storage.
Funding that was awarded to
Floodplains by Design ended up being a little more than was anticipated,
projects in both Kittitas and Yakima Counties will be funded.
Mr. Eberhart asked the board
to consider increasing the temporary employee wage to $15.00 per hour. Director
Bland made a motion to increase the temporary wage to $15.00 per hour. A second
was made by Director Weaver, the motion passed unanimously.
The South Branch Canal
Lining Phase I, Change Orders #3 and #4 are substantially complete. There is
remaining work to be done outside of the canal which consists of road work and
operations and maintenance. The curbing project which was change order #5 is
complete. Change order #6 on the North Branch Lining is complete. N.A.
Degerstrom is formally requesting substantial completion for the South Branch
Phase I and change orders #1-6.
There will be some
additional fencing added from the North Branch to Boylston Road.
The South Branch 13.8
Connection to Manastash Water Ditch Association (MWDA) has been completed.
Treasurer’s Report: The
Directors’ monthly payroll vouchers were presented for signatures. Summary
Vouchers for the February 2019 expenses and the March 2019 payroll which
included check numbers 43080-43156, direct deposit numbers 9901607 through
9901626 in the sum of $1,503,893.76 were approved with a motion made by Director
Wakkuri. The second was made by Director Bland, the motion passed unanimously.
New Business: Legal Counsel
Slothower revised an agreement for water conservation between KRD, the USBR and
the Department of Ecology.
The agreements between the
KRD and the participants in Kittitas County Water Purveyors (KCWP) were
presented. Director Hansen made a motion to approve the agreements that were
presented. A second was made by Director Bland, the motion passed unanimously.
Treasurer Berg advised the
board that the USBR operation & maintenance (O&M) costs for the 2018 year were
overstated which provided a surplus in the amount of $11,296.76. The surplus was
applied to the 2019 O&M costs.
Director Weaver made a
motion to approve the disposal of equipment. A second was made by Director
Hansen, the motion passed unanimously.
Other Business: The Board
adjourned to Executive Session at 2:05 p.m. for 15 minutes per RCW
42.30.110(1)(i): (i) and (ii) there was a motion made by Director Hansen and a
second made by Director Wakkuri. The motion passed unanimously. Executive
Session was extended for an additional 15 minutes. The Board returned to Regular
Session at 2:35 p.m. with a motion made by Director Wakkuri and the second was
made by Director Bland. The motion passed unanimously.
Director Wakkuri made a
motion to set the allotment of 2.0 cfs per acre and attempt to continue the
water season through September 30th. A second was made by Director
Weaver, the motion passed unanimously.
All business having been
concluded the meeting was adjourned.
______________________________________
Mr. Schnebly KRD Board of
Directors Chairman
______________________________________
Mr. Eberhart KRD Secretary
Manager