Office of the Secretary Manager
Kittitas Reclamation District Board of Directors
Meeting
June 6, 2017 Minutes
The Board of Directors of
the Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) met in Regular Session on June 6, 2017.
Attending the meeting were Division One Director and Chairman Mark Hansen,
Division Four Director and Vice Chairman Larry Bland, Division Three Director
Fred Schnebly, Division Two Director Ed Wakkuri, Division Five Director Paul
Weaver, Secretary Manager Urban Eberhart, Legal Counsel Jeff Slothower,
Assistant Manager Kevin Eslinger, Field Supervisor Bob Main, Treasurer Stacy
Berg, Lands Clerk & RRA Specialist Keli Bender and GIS IT / Water Quality
Specialist Roger Satnik. Also attending were land owners Janeice Jump and Ralph
Kratz.
The agenda was approved
with the addition of an executive session for reasons consistent with RCW
42.30.110(1) (i):(i)(ii). The motion was made by Director Wakkuri and the second
was made by Director Bland. The motion passed unanimously.
The minutes of the May 2,
2017 meeting were approved with a motion made by Director Bland and the second
made by Director Schnebly. The motion passed unanimously.
Water Update: Mr. Main
presented the current water supply information from the United States Bureau of
Reclamation (USBR). Presently the reservoirs are at 99% capacity overall.
Keechelus and Cle Elum reservoirs are full, Rimrock is at 98% capacity, and
Kachess is expected to be full in the next ten to twelve days. KRD is currently
running 834 cfs and the storage is 111% of the average. As of June 5th the
precipitation for the five reservoirs is 0.45 inches which is 46% of the average
to date and 6% of the monthly average. Accordingly, year to date is at 219.92
inches which is 106% of average. This is the last week for the snow-tel sites
providing reports. Currently the sites are reporting 101% of average for Upper
Yakima sites and 129% for the Lower Yakima sites. Storage control date is
estimated to be in late June or early July.
Mr. Eberhart presented
photos of the experimental Whoosh system at Lake Cle Elum. The plywood chute
coming off the spillway allows the Sockeye Salmon to get out of Lake Cle Elum
which is currently only accessible when the lake is full. This year the Fish
Passage Facility will start testing the Whoosh system to see if it will be
successful in moving the fish up and over the dam. There are multiple agencies
who have taken interest in this program to see if it is an acceptable way to
move fish over high elevations and long distances without injuring them.
Maintenance Update: Mr.
Main reported that the crews are continuing with the spraying and mowing. They
began cleaning up the spoils in the Badger Pocket area and will be stockpiling
spoils for future pipeline projects. The turnouts and siphons that were approved
earlier in the year have been completed. Crews are continuing to work on the
weep drain measurements that will be used to help calculate how much is being
lost in the system. The new crew truck is being fitted with the appropriate
equipment and should be ready for field use in the next few days.
Public Comment: Land Owner,
Ralph Kratz noted that he was impressed with the involvement that KRD has in
providing water to the valley and the connections that the district has at the
local, regional and national levels for helping to improve our local irrigation
system. He also mentioned that he met last week with Congressman Dave Reichert’s
Liaison, Tyler Mackay where he provided positive feedback for the Yakima Basin
Integrated Water Resource Management Plan.
Secretary Manager’s
Activity Report: Mr. Eberhart updated the Board on Yakima Basin Integrated Water
Resource Management Plan and reviewed multiple meetings that he attended over
the past month.
The trip to Denver on May 9th
was very beneficial. There were approximately 200 of the nation’s largest
private financiers on site. KRD was mentioned multiple times and received very
good exposure.
There was a productive
meeting with Department of Ecology, Trevor Hutton. Communication is progressing
with the Water Resources Section
The Ruckelshaus Board
Meeting was reported on.
On June 24th Mr.
Eberhart gave a presentation to the Oregon Water Congress and several other
water organizations in Bend, OR with Lisa Pelly from Trout Unlimited.
Personnel:
Stacy Berg reported that Office Manager and Treasurer, Barbara Pettit is
now home and recovering nicely from her surgery.
Mr. Eberhart asked that
Treasurer Stacy Berg be allowed to attend the Washington Finance Officers
Association from September 12th through 15th. A motion to
approve was made by Director Wakkuri and the second made by Director Bland. The
motion passed unanimously.
KRD, USBR and Kittitas
County Emergency Services will be participating in an Emergency Alert
Preparedness Drill which focuses on each of the agency’s ability to meet the
emergency response criteria. There will be an evaluation on how the responding
agencies performed.
KRD has received a letter
from the Department of Ecology stating that if Washington State does not have a
budget in place by July 1st they will excise the suspension option in
their agreements with the KRD. Most of the KRD projects involved are expected to
be completed prior to July 1st.
The Rock Trap Project is
complete. The final billing is being prepared at this time.
The North Branch Lining
Project is in the final billing.
The engineering for the
South Branch Canal Lining Project Phase I is complete and the final draft is in
progress.
KRD is continuing to work
closely with the City of Ellensburg and Kittitas County on the Whiskey Creek
Project. The City of Ellensburg is in the process of purchasing some additional
property at this time.
The Initial Water Storage
Assessment has identified significant opportunities for gravity storage. KRD
plans to move forward by focusing on the more affordable and least controversial
sites. A canyon in the Reecer Creek area may be a good potential site for early
consideration.
Mr. Eberhart requested a
motion to accept the completed list of the firms who have met the qualifications
for the 2017-2022 On-Call Roster. Director Weaver made a motion to approve the
list, and a second was made by Director Wakkuri. Attorney Slothower made the
suggestion to include Secretary Manager Eberhart’s authorization to sign the
On-Call Contracts. The motion was then amended by the same Directors and the
motion passed unanimously.
Deviating from the agenda,
Director Weaver asked for clarification on the Fall Funding and Construction
Phase II of the North Branch Lining Project. Mr. Eberhart reported that KRD is
working with several agencies and groups on potential funding. There is
$240,000.00 that is expected from Salmon Recovery Funding Board. An additional
$350,000.00 has been applied for from the National Fish and Wildlife Fund. KRD
has a State Capitol Budget request through the Integrated Plan for $600,000.00;
however it is uncertain if those funds will be available. KRD is in the process
of completing an agreement with USBR for approximately $5,000,000.00 with an
allotment of $1,000,000.00 annually. There is an additional $2,000,000.00 that
has been applied for and should may be announced soon. When notification of the
awards have been made, KRD will begin the bidding process for the projects.
Mr. Eberhart reported that
Kittitas County Conservation District (KCCD), USBR and KRD have been in
continued discussions to determine if there is funding available through the
1989 Contract with the USBR to add Manastash to the agreement. It is estimated
to cost $41,600 annually to make this addition. KRD will submit a proposal to
USBR for funding and if it is successful a joint agreement will be worked on
between KRD and KCCD.
Mr. Eberhart provided a
report on stream supplementation. Tillman has 3 cfs, Manastash has 3 ½ cfs and
Taneum is not in need of supplementation at this time. Manastash has dropped
rapidly over the last week and additional water is anticipated in the future. It
is likely that the other tributaries will begin needing supplementation to be
added as the weather heats up.
The Manastash Ridge Trail
Project is continuing. Further work on this will continue after the completion
of the state historical preservation process.
The Taneum Heart K is
progressing. KRD is working with USBR to obtain a used bridge and making sure
that it meets their needs.
Mr. Eberhart asked
permission from the board to hire Mark Messner with Bivens and Wilson as a
professional accounting service on an as needed hourly basis. Mr. Messner’s fee
is $125 per hour and if applicable there is an assistant to Mr. Messner who
would perform work when necessary at a rate of $62.50 per hour. Director Bland
made a motion to approve the accounting services and a second was made by
Director Schnebly. The motion passed unanimously.
Attorney Slothower reported
that the Washington State Parks Office is requesting an Access Agreement to
continue using the John Wayne Trail for future use. Currently KRD accesses the
trail using motorized vehicles for agriculture use between Swauk to the Taneum
Confluence. The Access Agreement has been submitted.
Moving to New Business:
Director Wakkuri discussed the water supply issue at the Easton Dam House.
Currently the residence is provided water from the Easton State Park and
recently the pump malfunctioned which caused the residence to be without water
for several days while repairs were made. Further discussion was made regarding
the possibility of an existing well on the property. Mr. Eslinger advised that
he would look into the issue further.
Mr. Eberhart discussed the
payments for the 2017 USBR Semi-Annual Construction Payment of $53,998.53 and
the 2017 USBR O&M Payment of $228,444.34. Director Bland made a motion to
approve the payments and a second was made by Director Wakkuri. The motion
passed unanimously.
The Board adjourned to
Executive Session at 1:40 p.m. for 30 minutes per RCW 42.30.110(1) (i):(i)(ii)
with a motion made by Director Wakkuri and a second made by Director Schnebly.
The motion passed unanimously. The Executive Session was extended an additional
15 minutes. The Board returned to Regular Session at 2:25 p.m. with a motion
made by Director Weaver and the second was made by Director Wakkuri. The motion
passed unanimously.
Summary Vouchers for the
April, 2017 expenses and the May, 2017 payroll that included check numbers 41157
through 41246 direct deposit numbers 9901114 through 9901132 in the sum of
$528,047.02 were approved with a motion made by Director Wakkuri and the second
made by Director Schnebly. The motion passed unanimously.
The Directors’ monthly
payroll vouchers were presented for signatures and checks were distributed
accordingly.
All Business having been
concluded the meeting was adjourned.
___________________________________________
Mr. Hansen KRD Board of
Directors Chairman
___________________________________________
Mr. Eberhart KRD Secretary
Manager