Office of the Secretary Manager

Kittitas Reclamation District Board of Directors Meeting

November 6, 2018 Minutes

The Board of Directors of the Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) met in Regular Session on November 6, 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, KRD Lands Clerk & RRA Specialist Keli Bender, KRD Treasurer Stacy Berg, Legal Counsel Jeff Slothower. Also, in attendance were KRD land owners Mark Charlton and Janeice Jump.

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

The minutes for the October 11, 2018 Board Meeting were approved with a motion made by Director Weaver and the second was made by Director Wakkuri. The motion passed unanimously.

Public Comment: No comments

Water Master Report: As of November 6, 2018, the precipitation at the five reservoirs to date is 14.27 inches, or 210% of average and 35% of the months average. The water storage is 99.7% of average.  

Maintenance Report: The lease for the rope access facility was agreed upon and signed. There will be additional work done in the facility to ready it for training. Metal beams have been purchased for the training facility. The confined space rope rescue training is occurring today through Friday at the Sheep Dip Siphon and the Yakima Pressure Tunnel. The training is in conjunction with the Kittitas County Fire & Rescue Rope Team and will be a combined effort for confined space training as well as a rope rescue drill. The training will include going into the siphons and checking for repairs that may be needed.  The maintenance crews have been working on projects and additional training.

Secretary Manager’s Activity Report: Mr. Eberhart reported that he went to Vancouver, WA on October 12^th to provide a presentation to AgForestry.

The John Keys Tour was a success. It took place in mid-October and the attendees were able to tour the KRD projects. Those attending included participants who work for the USBR contracting out of the Pacific Northwest Region.

The United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) Historian Kelsey Doncaster gave an interesting presentation of “The Lost Photographs of the KRD” at the Kittitas County Museum on October 18^th.  Many of the photographs were discovered in the basement of the KRD office.

On October 26^th Mr. Eberhart attended a small group breakfast meeting with the Secretary of State and several other key people in Olympia. Directly following the meeting there was a Ruckelhaus Advisory Board Meeting.

On the October 29^th and 30^th, Mr. Eberhart attended a Columbia River Group Meeting in Seattle. The emphasis continues to be on collaboration as a way to solve resource problems in the Columbia River System.  

There will be the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan Implementation and Executive Committee Meetings on November 14^th.

The Conservation Advisory Group has a meeting scheduled in Yakima on November 29^th.  KRD is prepared to discuss future planning.  

The next Columbia River Group Meeting is scheduled for November 29 & 30^th.

The Upper Yakima System Storage Project continues to move ahead. The USBR Boise drill crew is expected to be on site and set up on the North Branch 14.7 on November 1^st. If the location at the outlet end passes the initial criteria there will be some additional drilling up above. The preliminary drilling is to attempt to find bedrock and identify faults, if successful then there will be additional holes drilled. As this process continues the site is being evaluated to see if it is feasible. If not, a different site will be considered.  

The KRD continues to work through the process for the 2018 WaterSmart Water Marketing with the Department of Ecology. There has been a backlog in the contract writing section in Ecology which has caused a delay, we are working with them to get their commitment of the match into a contract.

A draft letter to Dawn Weidmeir was presented to the board that will be sent regarding the Yakima Basinwide Tributaries Programmatic Investigation Report which states that the KRD is in support of the report.

Consultant Joel Hubble and Mr. Eberhart worked together to submit comments to the ORCA Task Force. The Yakima Basin Integrated Plan also sent a letter in support of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan as a way to help the Orca population.

As a result, of work with The Nature Conservancy Floodplains by Design, Kittitas County was awarded the number two ranking on the list for funding in the state of Washington. There is a direct correlation to the work that was done by KRD in support of the project and the level of ranking the county received.

Kittitas County Public Works and KRD worked together on the Naneum Creek HPA. Since the last clean-up there was a significant amount of debris deposited at the location. There were 36 full size dump trucks of rocks removed from the creek and KRD hauled 45 tons of large rock in to put in the creek bank. There were also some root wads which will keep the water in alignment to cross the canal where it is intended to.

The North Branch Canal Lining Projects Phase II and III were tabled to discuss during the Executive Session.  

The water is no longer being added to Manastash Creek so that the South Branch Canal can dry up and allow for the contractor to start the construction on the lining. Approximately 35 people met at the Cove Road Fire Station for a fish salvage. Due to all the recent rainfall and the ongoing supplementation program recharging the aquafer the salvage was not necessary. There are people continuing to monitor the creek to see if it will be necessary to do a fish salvage at a later time.  

Mr. Eberhart requested a motion to accept the Jacobs Construction Management Services Agreement for $175,750.00. Director Weaver made a motion to approve the agreement. A second was made by Director Wakkuri, the motion passed unanimously.

There is a pre-construction meeting scheduled for November 8^th.

The South Branch 13.8 / MWDA Connection Design Contract Package was modified to allow for steel pipe rather than plastic. The bid is expected to go out late-November.

The Yakima Basin Focused Managed Aquifer Recharge Assessment was considered at a meeting on October 31^st. The assessment will result in the recommendation of specific projects that will create ground water storage.

The Billiter Spill had original concrete tile pipe that was cracking. The KRD maintenance crew is replacing the tile pipe with hand core pipe. This replacement will also provide the ability to close steel slide gates to direct water down the spillway when necessary.

Treasurer’s Report: The Directors’ monthly payroll vouchers were presented for signatures. Summary Vouchers for the September 2018 expenses and the October 2018 payroll which included check numbers 42691- 42770, direct deposit numbers 9901507 through 9901524 in the sum of $382,886.51 were approved with a motion made by Director Wakkuri and the second was made by Director Schnebly. The motion passed unanimously.

Legal Counsel Slothower reported the foreclosure action has been filed for the Delinquent Accounts. The Treasurers Sale is scheduled in January unless the accounts are settled before.

Mr. Eberhart requested that the board approve the movement of funds from Special Projects and Short-Term Investments accounts to Operation and Maintenance fund. A motion was made by Director Weaver to approve the movement of $48,822.70 from Special Projects Investment and $99,380.99 from Short Term Investments to Operations and Maintenance. A second was made by Director Wakkuri, the motion passed unanimously.

New Business: Director Hansen made a motion to approve the payment of $53,823.04 for the second installment of the USBR 2018 Construction Debt Repayment. A second was made by Director Schnebly, the motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Eberhart advised that the consultant fee for Walter Larrick and Joel Hubble exceeded the 40-hour maximum in October. Director Weaver made a motion to approve the payment for the consultants. A second was made by Director Hansen, the motion passed unanimously.

The board was advised that the KRD staff will be working on the budget internally. A preliminary budget is expected for the December meeting and the Budget Meeting will be set at a later time.

Mr. Eberhart reported that KRD has received 3 petitions with the proper number of approved electors signing. No other petitions were received.

Director Hansen made a motion to set the board of equalization and presentation of assessment roll call at the board meeting on December 4^th. A second was made by Director Weaver, the motion passed unanimously. The notice will be publicized in the newspaper on November 7^th.

Other Business: The Board adjourned to Executive Session at 1:40 p.m. for 30 minutes per RCW 42.30.110(1)(i):(i) and (iii) there was a motion made by Director Hansen and a second made by Director Weaver. The motion passed unanimously. Executive Session was extended for an additional 30 minutes. The Board returned to Regular Session at 2:40 p.m. with a motion made by Director Weaver and the second was made by Director Schnebly. The motion passed unanimously.

All business having been concluded the meeting was adjourned.

______________________________________

Mr. Bland KRD Board of Directors Chairman

______________________________________

Mr. Eberhart KRD Secretary Manager