ITEM:

ACTION ITEMS               

 

14.

conSIder creation of water supply committee and charge

 

Meeting Date:

January 26, 2006

Budgeted: 

N/A

 

From:

David A. Berger,

General Manager

Program/

Line Item No.: 

N/A

 

Prepared By:

Henrietta Stern

Cost Estimate: 

N/A

 

General Counsel Approval:  N/A

Committee Recommendation:  N/A

CEQA Compliance:  N/A

 

SUMMARY:   As directed by the MPWMD 2005-2006 Strategic Plan adopted by the Board at its October 18, 2005 meeting, the Board will consider whether or not to form a new Board committee to address policy issues related to water supply, including alternative water supply projects.    The proposed committee name is the “Water Supply Committee” (WSC) but another name could be selected, if desired.  The proposed committee charge (Exhibit 14-A) assumes the following attributes of the WSC, which should be confirmed or refined by the Board.  The WSC would:

 

Ø     meet as needed, and would not be considered a “legislative body” as defined by the Ralph M. Brown Act;

Ø     address policy issues related to existing and future water supply needs, which relate to how large a water supply project(s) should be;

Ø     address the comparison of alternative water supply projects, including a detailed review of information provided for the MPWMD Comparative Matrix, and any independent review of the matrix information;

Ø     recommend which project(s) should be pursued and/or supported by MPWMD;

Ø     address the scope of work and budget for MPWMD studies related to water supply issues, if directed by the full Board and/or requested by the Administrative Committee;

Ø     address any Formation Agreement with Monterey County related to the Regional Urban Water Supply/JPA Board;

Ø     address other policy issues related to water supply, including agreements, contracts, or ordinances not already covered by another committee. 

 

The WSC would be comprised of three Board members with at least one alternate.  The members of the WSC and its chair would be appointed by the Board Chair and approved by the Board.  The MPWMD General Manager or other designated staff member would provide support as appropriate.

 

The Board discussed this item at its December 12, 2005 meeting, and continued the item  to January 26, 2006 to consider unresolved issues such as the primary function of the committee and whether or not the committee would be considered a “legislative body” under the Brown Act. 

 

 

Finally, staff has added the word “ordinarily” to this proposed committee’s charge (see Sec. 2, second sentence) for consistency with the amendment to District Meeting Rule 7.C, which the Board approved on December 12, 2005 (Exhibit 14-B).  This word also was added to the final charges of other non-legislative body committees (i.e.Water Demand and Rules and Regulations Review) approved by the Board on December 12, 2005.

 

RECOMMENDATION:   Staff recommends that the Board take the following actions:

 

1.     Determine that a new committee directed toward water supply issues should be formed.

2.     Select the committee name.  Examples include: Water Supply Committee, Water Augmentation Committee, or Water Project Committee.

3.     Determine that the committee should not be considered a “legislative body” as defined by the Brown Act.

4.     Approve (or refine) the Committee Charge provided as Exhibit 14-A. 

5.     Authorize the Board Chairperson to select the committee members and committee chair for Board ratification at the February 23, 2006 regular meeting.

 

BACKGROUND:  In the mid-1980s, the District Board formed a committee known as the “Water Augmentation Committee” to provide policy recommendations on water augmentation and supply issues, including detailed review of alternative water supply projects.  The committee focus was the New Los Padres Dam and Reservoir (NLP) project description and purpose, as well as the environmental review and permitting process for the NLP, including assessment of alternatives.  The committee appears to have disbanded when the NLP was not approved by voters in 1995.  District records indicate that a “Project Review Committee” was formed in the 1997-98 timeframe to review financial and permit matters related to the Carmel River Dam and Reservoir Project proposed by California American Water (Cal-Am).  In 2001, the committee also addressed Pebble Beach Company’s proposal to return a portion of their water entitlement from the CAWD/PBCSD Reclamation Project to the District for sale for new construction.  The committee name was changed to the “Project and Environmental Review Committee” in April 2002, and existed through 2004, though it was not active.  Since January 2005, no committee has focused on water supply issues.   At its October 17, 2005 meeting, the Board adopted the 2005-2006 MPWMD Strategic Plan, which included Water Supply Objective #WS6, “Create Board Water Supply Committee and Charge”  for consideration by the Board at its December 2005 meeting.  No direction about the specific scope of the committee was given.

 

IMPACTS TO STAFF RESOURCES:   Technical and support staff will be affected by the creation of a new committee.   Staff notes and related materials will need to be prepared and analyzed for the committee meetings and minutes will be taken.  There will be another set of agendas and packets to mail or e-mail, and the District website will need to include the committee information.  A specific cost for these tasks is not known, but should be minor compared to overall MPWMD expenses related to water supply. 

 

EXHIBITS

14-A  Proposed Draft Water Supply Committee Charge

14-B   MPWMD Meeting Rule 7.C 

 

 

 

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