M I N U TE S

MONTEREY PENINSULA REGIONAL WATER AUTHORITY (MPRWA)

Director's Meeting
7:00 PM, Thursday, April 12, 2018
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
580 PACIFIC STREET, MONTEREY
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA

Directors Present: Director Carbone, Director Edelen, Alternate Director Peake, Director
Roberson, Director Rubio,
Directors Absent: Director Dallas, President Kampe

Staff Present: Executive Director Cullem, Legal Counsel Freeman, Clerk Romero

CALL TO ORDER

Vice President Rubio called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

ROLL CALL

President Kampe and Director Dallas were absent. All other Directors and Alternate Director
Peake present.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

REPORTS FROM BOARD DIRECTORS AND STAFF

Executive Director Cullem announced that the link to the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply
Project (MPWSP) Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) has
been posted at https://montereybay.noaa.gov/.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

• Tom Rowley, Monterey Peninsula Taxpayers Association (MPTA), said he is

disappointed with the judge's ruling to allow a user fee of 8.25% charges from the water
district.

• George Riley, Public Water Now (PWN), said that his group will be responding to the
EIR and will focus on discharge and sub surface intake.

• Michael Warburton, Public Trust Alliance (PTA), said he attended the meeting in Marina
and heard the City of Marina defending its water supply.

• Michael Baer, said he attended a meeting in Marina and recommended that the Mayors
watch a video of the meeting to hear the comments. He said that the PWN petition will
have enough signatures to be on the November ballot to vote for public ownership of
water.

• John Narigi, Monterey Peninsula Coalition of Businesses, said that California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary (MBMS) found that
the MPWSP would have no significant impact to the environment or the Salinas
Groundwater Basin. He said that this should make it clear to the Authority to continue to
support the project.
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CONSENT AGENDA

1. Approval of Minutes from March 8, 2018

Action: Continued

The Board unanimously recommended the approval of minutes for continuance because they
were not ready at the time of the meeting.

2. Approve and File Authority Checks Through March 31, 2018

Action: Approved

On a motion by Director Edelen, seconded by Director Carbone, and carried by the following
vote, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Approved Consent Item #2:
AYES: 5 DIRECTORS: Carbone, Edelen, Peake, Roberson, Rubio
NOES: 0 DIRECTORS: None
ABSENT: 2 DIRECTORS: Dallas, Kampe
ABSTAIN: 0 DIRECTORS: None
RECUSED: 0 DIRECTORS: None

3. Adoption of Resolution 2018-02, Approving an Extension of the Contract for Executive Director
Services with Cullem Management Services LLC at a Price Not-to-Exceed $90,000 for the
Period July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019
Action: Removed from consent; discussed; adopted resolution 18-02 and approved
contract for Executive Director Services with Cullem Management Services LLC

A request was made to remove items 3,4, 5, 6, and 7 from consent to discuss.

Director Roberson said he is not ready at this time to vote on the budget until more research is
done. He suggested the formation a subcommittee to take a closer look at the budget and see
what changes can be made to reduce costs. He said he wants the Authority to avoid mission
creeping, and said the Authority has become more of a legal water expert instead of a public
advocate. Director Edelen concurred with Director Roberson and agrees that a subcommittee
consisting of Executive Director Cullem, Director Roberson and another Director to review the
budget is a good idea. Vice President Rubio agreed that perhaps the contracts for legal
services and clerk services should have the wording “up to” $35,000 and add language to
reduce payments during the slower times instead of fixed rates. Executive Director Cullem said
that having legal counsel on retainer saves money in the long run due to the high cost of hourly
rates for lawyers. He said that clerk and financial services could be reduced to cut back on
costs.

4. Adoption of Resolution 2018-03, Approving Donald G. Freeman as Legal Counsel through June
30, 2019 and Authorizing the Authority President to Execute a Contract Extension with Perry
Freeman at a Price Not-to-Exceed $30,000
Action: Removed from consent; discussed; adopted resolution 18-03 and approved
contract for Legal Services with Donald Freeman

Discussed under item #3.

Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority

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 MPRWA Minutes Thursday, April 12, 2018

5. Adoption of Resolution 2018-04 Approving an Extension of the Agreement with the City of
Monterey for Clerk of the Board, Administrative, and Financial Support Services, and
Authorizing the Authority President to Execute a Contract Extension with the City of Monterey at
a Price of $35,000 for the Period July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019
Action: Removed from consent; discussed; adopted resolution 18-04 and approved
contract for Clerk of the Board and Financial Services with the City of Monterey

Discussion under item #3.

6. Receive FY 2017-2018 Budget Update, Adopt a $290,000 Budget for FY 2018-2019, and
Approve a Request for FY 2018-2019 Member Contributions
Action: Removed from consent; discussed; formed a subcommittee to review the
budget; received report

Executive Director Cullem suggested the Authority adopt a "draft" budget with the option to
make changes to the budget in the future. He said he needs to have a budget when asking the
cities for contributions. Director Roberson suggested adopting a $145,000 draft budget. Vice
President Rubio suggested adopting a $155,000 draft budget but to ask the cities for
contributions based on a $290,000 budget. Director Peake said that the $290,000 budget
should be presented when requesting fair share contributions and said he is concerned about
the County's budget deficit. Director Edelen said it's easier to give each city a rebate later if the
Authority doesn’t use all of the money. Director Carbone suggesting writing a letter to the
County requesting that cannabis tax money be used for MPRWA fair share contribution to
complete its mission for a sustainable water supply.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

• Tom Rowley, MPTA, said that 1/3 of Cal Am ratepayers are not represented because
the County does not show up to the meetings to represent them. He added that money
is being wasted by the MPWMD and the Authority is a cost effective organization.

• Michael Baer says that he agrees that the County should be represented on the board.
He voiced support of the preliminary budget. He suggested that the Authority spend
$10,000 on a preliminary feasibility study on the public ownership of water instead of on
Geosyntec.

• George Riley, PWN, said that the Authority should continue as a public leadership entity
and stay out of the technical aspects. He said the Authority’s strengths are in the policy
and said that the Authority can save money by not hiring consultants for technical work.

On a motion by Director Edelen, seconded by Director Roberson, and carried by the following
vote, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority Approved Consent Items 3, 4, 5, and 6,
and Approved the Formation of a Subcommittee to Review the FY 2018-19 budget:
AYES: 5 DIRECTORS: Carbone, Edelen, Peake, Roberson, Rubio
NOES: 0 DIRECTORS: None
ABSENT: 2 DIRECTORS: Dallas, Kampe
ABSTAIN: 0 DIRECTORS: None
RECUSED: 0 DIRECTORS: None

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7. Receive Copy of CPUC Filing Made by Water Authority Special Counsel on Behalf of the
Authority in Opposition to a MCWD Motion to Refer Groundwater and Harm Issues Directly to
the SWRCB
Action: Removed from consent; discussed; received report

Don Freeman gave a brief explanation of the motion filed by Russ McGlothlin regarding the
opposition of Marina Coast Water District’s motion to refer groundwater and harm issues to the
State Water Resources Control Board. He said that the main reason for the opposition is that it
would delay of the MPWSP.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

• Michael Baer said that he read the responses to the EIR on water rights and said he is
disappointed to see the Authority filing a motion against MCWD to have the SWRCB
take another look at water rights.

• Michael Warburton said that this is a serious item and people are playing fast and loose
with water rights.

The Board unanimously accepted and received the report.

AGENDA ITEMS

8. Receive an Update on the Summary Project Schedule for the Monterey Peninsula Water
Supply Project (MPWSP) and the Status of Test Slant Well Operations
Action: Received update; discussed

Chris Cook, California American Water (Cal Am), gave presentation on the MPWSP schedule.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

• Tom Rowley, MPTA, said that Deep Water Desal will be giving a presentation and
answering questions at an upcoming luncheon. He added that Deep Water Desal could
be moving forward with its project now that more testing has been done which means
there could be further diversification of the portfolio. He also said that a recent
presentation by Paul Scuito on Monterey Water One did not show the true costs of
GWR because it didn’t include the transportation of water.

• Michael Warburton said that a lecture was given at the Aquarium about the impacts on
the environment with desal and long term impacts aren't known on the aquatic
resources.

• Michael Baer asked if Cal Am will continue to provide monthly reports and questioned if
plans are being made to mitigate traffic for the pipe bridge.

• Fred Meurer said that the EIR approval shows that federal government came to the
same conclusion that the MPWSP is the way to go and commended the Authority for
keeping the project going. He said that in 2012 the original water desal project was
supposed to be in Marina but the project fell apart. He added that the genesis of the
Authority was to be a voice for the people.

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Chris Cook and Ian Crooks of Cal Am answered questions from public comment.

9. Receive Report, Discuss, and Provide Staff Direction on Authority Work Plan for the Balance of
FY 2017-2018 and for FY 2018-2019
Action: Continued

The Board unanimously continued this item to a future meeting due to time constraints.

ADJOURNMENT

Meeting adjourned 8:27 pm.

ATTEST:

Nova Romero, Clerk of the Authority MPRWA President

Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority

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