[00:00:01]
I'D LIKE TO CALL THE, UH, APRIL 13TH MEETING OF THE MERCED SUBBASE GSA TO ORDER.UM, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL? OH, THAT'S KIND LOUD, HUH? WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL BOARD MEMBER GALLO? HERE.
PRESENT VICE CHAIR MARKINI HERE.
UM, SO, UH, WE, UM, UH, HAD CLOSED SESSION, UH, UH, AT ONE O'CLOCK, AND, UH, WE HAD DISCUSSION, UM, BUT THERE'S NO REPORTABLE, UH, ACTIONS.
UH, UM, MOVE TO, UM, NEXT ITEM, WHICH IS THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
LACEY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE READY PLEDGE? PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO FLAG THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY JUSTICE FOR ALL.
[4. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD]
IS NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS OUR PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
PLEASE COME UP TO THE PODIUM IF YOU'D LIKE TO SPEAK.
HELLO, I'M, MY NAME IS LESLIE MOORE, AND I REPRESENT THE MOORE PROPERTY TOLLING 176 ACRES AT 1890 Y ROAD WINTON.
I'M HERE TO CALL ATTENTION TO A SITUATION CREATED BY ESTABLISHING GSA BOUNDARIES THAT CUT ACROSS PAR PARCELS AS OPPOSED TO FOLLOWING PROPERTY LINES.
TWO OF OUR PARCELS LIE WITHIN M I U GSA, WHILE THE THIRD IS MOSTLY IN I U GSA, EXCEPT FOR 15 ACRES THAT FALL WITHIN MS. GSA BECAUSE THE BOUNDARY LINE CUTS ACROSS THIS PARCEL.
OUR ENTIRE PROPERTY, ALONG WITH THESE 15 ACRES, IS IRRIGATED EITHER BY AN AG WELL, THAT IS WITHIN M I U GSA OR BY M I D SURFACE WATER FROM THE ESCALATING CANAL THAT RUNS THROUGH OUR PROPERTY.
THIS 15 ACRE PIECE ACTUALLY HAS AN M I D LATERAL RUNNING THROUGH IT, YET IS NOT PART OF M IU GSA.
THIS MAKES NO SENSE TO ME, BUT BECAUSE IT IS, SO, WE PAY TAXES TO BOTH GSAS.
DUE TO THE RECENTLY IMPOSED MS GSA TAX RATE INCREASE, WE ACTUALLY PAY MORE TAXES FOR THE 15 ACRES ON THAT PARCEL THAN FOR THE OTHER 50 ACRES WITHIN I U GSA.
OUR LAST PROPERTY BILL, PROPERTY TAX BILL FOR THAT PARCEL INCLUDED $310 TO I U GSA AND $470 TO MS. GSA.
OBVIOUSLY, I WOULD RATHER, I WOULD PREFER TO PAY TAXES ONLY TO IU GSA.
I DON'T KNOW THE PROCESS THAT WAS USED TO ESTABLISH THESE GSA BOUNDARIES, BUT IF I WERE A CONSPIRACY THEORIST, I MIGHT SUSPECT IT WAS DONE IN SUCH A WAY AS TO MAXIMIZE TAX RES REVENUE FOR MS. GSA.
THE BOUNDARY MAP SHOWS THAT THE LINES ARE QUITE IRREGULAR.
I'M IN THIS POSITION BECAUSE THE LINE TAKES A DEEP DIP SOUTH BEFORE RETURNING TO A NORTHERN POSITION IN A HAPHAZARD MANNER.
I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY PROPERTY OWNER WITH THIS PROBLEM ON MY NEIGHBOR'S PROPERTY TO THE NORTH.
THE BOUNDARY LINE CREATES A THIN SLICE THAT ENDS UP IN MS. GSA WHILE THE REST OF THE PARAL IS IN M I U GSA.
HOPEFULLY THE POWERS THAT BE CAN MAKE TIMELY CORRECTIONS TO THE BOUNDARY LINES.
I HAVE COMMUNICATED WITH BOTH AGENCIES ABOUT THIS AND AM TOLD THAT THIS IS POSSIBLE, BUT COULD TAKE A VERY LONG TIME.
IN THE MEANTIME, I WOULD SUGGEST AND REQUEST THAT THE TWO AGENCIES CREATE AND APPROVE A REMEDIAL SOLUTION SO THAT PROPERTY OWNERS PAY TAXES TO ONLY ONE GSA PER PARCEL.
OTHERWISE, I FEEL I AM BEING UNDULY TAXED.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE MATTER UNDER CONSIDERATION.
UH, WITH THAT I'LL CLOSE, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT AND WE'LL MOVE TO, UH, ITEM
[5. CONSENT CALENDAR ]
FIVE, WHICH IS OUR CONSENT CALENDAR.UM, UH, WE HAD ONE INVOICE COME IN, UH, FROM BROWN ARMSTRONG ACCOUNTANCY, WHICH, UH, DID OUR AUDIT.
AND, UM, HOW MANY DOLLARS IS THAT FOR LACEY? IT'S, UH, IT'S A $2,000 INVOICE, AND IT'S JUST ADDING TO ALL THE OTHER INVOICES THAT YOU'RE APPROVING TODAY IN ORDER TO PAY IT ON TIME.
[00:05:01]
OKAY.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, OR COMMENT FROM THE BOARD? ALL RIGHT.
IF NOT, I'LL OPEN UP THIS ITEM FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
SEEING NONE, I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT.
WHAT'S PLEASURE OF THE BOARD? I HAVE A COMMENT ON ONE OF THE INVOICES.
UM, THE INVOICE FROM ZHA ACTUALLY HAS A PRETTY DETAILED BREAKOUT OF HOURS AND BUILD THEM OUT BY TASK.
THE INVOICE FROM EKI ENVIRONMENTAL IS MORE A SUMMARY BILL.
IT DOES INDICATE TASKING, BUT DOESN'T INDICATE HOW THOSE, UH, TASKINGS ARE DISTRIBUTED AMONG THE BILLED HOURS.
SO I'M WONDERING IF WE CAN GET AN INVOICE FROM EKI ENVIRONMENT AND WATER THAT MORE RESEMBLES THE ZHA BILLING, WHERE WE CAN SEE WHERE THAT, UH, MONEY IS ACTUALLY BEING SPENT ON THE INDIVIDUAL TASKING.
AND THE SECOND THING IS THAT IN THIS INVOICE, 63% OF THE INVOICED AMOUNT IS FOR THE SUPERVISING ENGINEER SCIENTIST.
AND TO ME, THAT SEEMS LIKE AN AWFULLY HIGH PERCENTAGE OF HAVING, UM, SUPERVISING TYPE PERSONNEL DOING WORK.
AND IT WOULD SEEM LIKE, UM, MORE OF THE WORK COULD BE PUSHED TO, UM, LOWER LEVEL PEOPLE AND, UM, HAD A LOWER BILLING RATE.
LACEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK? I, I'D JUST ADD THAT THERE'S A SECOND PAGE TO THE E K I INVOICE THAT IT INCLUDES A SUMMARY OF THE WORK THAT WAS COMPLETED FOR THAT BILLING PERIOD.
AND SO IF YOU TURN THE PAGE, THERE IS A SECOND PAGE THAT HAS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM E K I AND THEN THE SUPERVISING ENGINEER IS CHRIS HOEPPNER, WHO'S OUR, UM, PROJECT MANAGER FOR WORKING WITH THE MERCED BASIN GSA.
AND HE WORKS CLOSELY WITH US AND, UM, PROVIDES, UH, A LOT OF GOOD SERVICE, UM, FOR THE TIME THAT HE HAS SPENT WORKING ON THE LAND REPURPOSING PROJECTS THAT E K I IS CONTRACTED ON.
YES, I UNDERSTAND, LACEY, THAT THERE IS A LISTING OF WHAT IS WORK DONE, BUT THERE'S NO WAY TO BREAK OUT LIKE HOW MUCH OF THE MONEY WAS ACTUALLY SPENT ON THE BA DATA GAPS PLAN VERSUS THE LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND IN THENAND HARROW BILLING, YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF EXPENDITURE ARE BEING SPENT.
SO, CAN, UH, CAN YOU ASK EKI I FOR A BETTER BREAKDOWN NEXT TIME? I CAN ASK? OKAY.
ANYBODY INTERESTED IN MAKING A MOTION TO APPROVE THE ITEMS? I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE THIS, UH, CONSENT CALENDAR.
SECOND, IT HAS BEEN MOVED BY, UH, DIRECTOR PEDRETTI, SECONDED BY DIRECTOR GALLO.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.
[6. LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM UPDATE]
MOVE TO ITEM SIX, WHICH IS OUR LAND REPURPOSING, UH, PROGRAM UPDATE.AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO, UH, CHRIS HOEPPNER WITH E K I.
UH, I AM ATTEMPTING TO SHARE MY SCREEN HERE.
UM, CAN EVERYONE SEE MY SCREEN? GIVE, GIVE ME A QUICK SECOND, CHRIS, AS I SHUFFLE.
I'M GONNA BE GIVING A UPDATE ON THE LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM, PHASE ONE.
UM, SO JUST THREE ITEMS ON THE LIST OF TOPICS.
UM, FIRST, THE BOARD AT THE LAST MEETING REQUESTED A SUMMARY OF THE LAND PURPOSING PROGRAM AGREEMENTS THAT WERE ENTERED INTO IN 2022, UM, OR EARLY 2023.
SO FOR THIS FIRST YEAR OF THE PROGRAM, SO I WILL BE PRESENTING A, UH, SUMMARY TABLE THAT SHOWS THAT INFORMATION.
UH, NEXT I WILL PRESENT, UH, SOME OF THE POTENTIAL UPDATES TO THE PROGRAM THAT ARE, UM, BEING CONSIDERED FOR THIS SECOND YEAR.
UM, BASICALLY REFINEMENTS TO STREAMLINE THE PROCESS AND MAKE IT, UH, YOU KNOW, MORE CLEAR TO APPLICANTS, UH, YOU KNOW, CLARIFY SOME DETAILS SO THAT THINGS ARE, UM,
[00:10:01]
ABLE TO BE CONDUCTED MORE EFFICIENTLY AND SMOOTHLY, UH, NEXT YEAR OR THIS, THIS COMING YEAR.UH, AND THEN THE LAST ITEM IS JUST TO DISCUSS THE TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR, UM, THE CONTINUATION OF THIS PROGRAM INTO 2023.
UH, SO BASICALLY TALKING THROUGH THE SCHEDULE.
TABLE OF AGREEMENTS ENTERED INTO THIS YEAR, TOTAL OF EIGHT AGREEMENTS WERE ENTERED.
UM, ORIGINALLY THERE WERE TWO ADDITIONAL APPLICANTS WHO HAD SUBMITTED APPLICATIONS THAT WERE APPROVED BY THE BOARD.
UM, BUT THEY, IN THE PROCESS OF, UM, FORMULATING THE AGREEMENTS AND, AND FINALIZING THOSE AGREEMENTS, THOSE, THOSE APPLICANTS DECIDED TO NOT PARTICIPATE THIS YEAR.
UM, SO WE ARE LEFT WITH WHAT WE HAVE SHOWN HERE.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THE ACREAGES RANGED FROM, YOU KNOW, 60 ACRES ON THE LOW END, UP TO 934 ACRES ON THE HIGH END.
UM, MOST OF THE CONTRACTS ENTERED INTO WERE FOR FIVE YEAR DURATION.
UM, SEVERAL WERE FOR THREE YEARS.
UM, THE MINIMUM WATER USE REDUCTION VALUES HERE, UH, WERE DETERMINED THROUGH THE, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESS OUTLINED IN THE, IN THE AGREEMENT, WHICH IS, UM, YOU KNOW, USING THE OPEN ET DATA, UH, DURING THE BASELINE PERIOD AND CORRECTING FOR EFFECTIVE PRECIPITATION AND ANY SURFACE WATER APPLIED USE, IF ANY.
UM, AND THEN THE INCENTIVE PAYMENT AMOUNTS ON A PER ACRE BASIS ARE SHOWN IN THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN.
UM, BRAND TOTAL OF 2,353 ACRES WERE ENTERED INTO CONTRACTS THIS YEAR, UM, OR A GRAND TOTAL OF 5,050 AND CHANGE, UH, WATER USE REDUCTION.
AND THE WEIGHTED AVERAGE ON A PER ACRE BASIS IS $524 AND 12 CENTS, AND THEN ON A SORT OF PER ACRE FOOT BASIS, 2 44, UH, AND 21 CENTS.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, THE ORIGINALLY THERE WERE, THERE WERE TWO ADDITIONAL APPLICANTS, UM, WHO, YOU KNOW, HAD BEEN APPROVED AND WERE, UH, YOU KNOW, DESTINED TO BE PART OF THE PROGRAM.
BUT, BUT, UM, THEY, THEY, UM, YOU KNOW, DECLINED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE END.
UM, WITH, WITH THEM THE, UM, YOU KNOW, REFURBISHED ACREAGE WOULD'VE BEEN GREATER AND THE, YOU KNOW, CALCULATED WATER USE WOULD'VE BEEN GREATER.
AND ACTUALLY BECAUSE THOSE, UM, APPLICANTS, UM, INCENTIVE PAYMENT REQUEST WAS ON THE LOWER END, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THEM, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, IF THEY HAD BEEN PART OF IT, THE, THE SORT OF WEIGHTED AVERAGE COSTS WOULD'VE ALSO BEEN SOMEWHAT LOWER, UM, THAN YOU SEE HERE.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW THAT THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
SO, UM, THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE CONTRACTS THAT ARE IN PLACE RIGHT NOW, UM, FOR THIS, FOR THIS YEAR.
AND, YOU KNOW, GOING FORWARD FOR DURATIONS OF BETWEEN THREE AND FIVE YEARS.
UM, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.
THIS, UM, SHOWS THE POTENTIAL UPDATES TO THE LANE OF PURCHASING PROGRAM.
UM, I SHOULD SAY THAT THESE ARE UPDATES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, STILL GOING TO BE CONSIDERED, UM, BY THE AD HOC COMMITTEE.
AND THE, THIS BOARD, THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, DRAFT AND NOT FINAL UNTIL APPROVED BY THIS BOARD.
UM, UM, BUT YOU CAN SEE THEM LISTED HERE SORT OF IN FOUR DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, SOME PERTAINING TO THE APPLICATION, SOME PERTAINING TO THE AGREEMENT, SOME ABOUT THE SCORING PROCESS.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE FAQ DOCUMENT WOULD BE UPDATED TO, UH, REFLECT ALL, ALL THE CHANGES MADE TO THE OTHER THREE CATEGORIES.
UM, UNDER THE APPLICATION, OF COURSE, WE'RE GOING TO UPDATE THE DATES, UM, FOR THE SOLICITATION PERIOD, UH, AND THE BASELINE PERIOD.
UM, THE MAXIMUM DURATION GOING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, STARTING THIS YEAR WOULD BE FOUR YEARS AS OPPOSED TO FIVE.
UM, DUE TO THE DURATION OF THE, THE FUNDED, UM, THE FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM, UM, WE NOW REALIZE THAT, UH, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO, UM, ACCEPT APPLICATIONS THAT DON'T NECESSARILY, UM, COVER CONTIGUOUS LANDS, YOU KNOW, ADJOINING LANDS, THEY CAN BE, YOU KNOW, SLIGHTLY SEPARATED.
SO WE WOULD REMOVE THAT REQUIREMENT, BUT WE DO, UM, FIND THAT IT'S MORE IMPORTANT FOR,
[00:15:01]
YOU KNOW, LANDS THAT ARE CONTAINED IN WITHIN A SING SINGLE APPLICATION TO HAVE CONSISTENT REPURPOSING DETAILS.THAT IS TO SAY CONSISTENT, YOU KNOW, DURATION AND, UH, INCENTIVE PAYMENT REQUEST AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, SO THAT WE CAN SORT OF CONSIDER THEM AS ONE, UM, ONE GROUP OF LANDS, UM, THAT ALL HAVE THE SAME DETAILS THERE.
SO WE WOULD, UM, YOU KNOW, SLIGHTLY CHANGE THAT THERE.
UM, AND THEN JUST SOME CLARIFYING INSTRUCTIONS TO HELP STREAMLINE THE PROCESS RELATED TO, YOU KNOW, ASKING FOR THE, THE NAME OF THE PROPERTY OWNER, FOR EXAMPLE, AND, AND SOME MORE DIRECTIONS ON, UM, THE, UH, THE MAP DESCRIPTION THAT THAT'S REQUESTED UNDER THE AGREEMENT.
UM, POTENTIAL CHANGES INCLUDE, UM, JUST, UH, A, A NEW SECTION THAT YOU KNOW MORE CLEARLY AND EXPLICITLY STATES THE, THE BASELINE WATER USE.
UM, CUZ THAT WAS NOT, UM, A HUNDRED PERCENT, UM, EXPLICIT IN THE, UH, AGREEMENTS THAT WERE THIS YEAR.
UM, CLARIFYING THE, UM, POSITION ON IRRIGATED LANDS AND THE EX PROHIBITION OF EXPANDING IRRIGATED LANDS.
AGAIN, SOMETHING WE NEED TO, UM, HAVE THE AD HOC COMMITTEE AND THE BOARD, UH, WEIGH IN ON.
UM, RELATED TO THAT PROVISION, UM, UH, PARTICIPANTS, WE, WE WANT TO CLARIFY THAT PARTICIPANTS, YOU KNOW, DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION ON THEIR WATER USE REDUCTION.
UM, THIS WOULD NOT REPLACE OR SUPERSEDE THE MONITORING THAT THE GSA DOES REGARDING WATER USE, BUT IT'S A WAY FOR PARTICIPANTS TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PROVIDE THAT, UM, EXTRA, EXTRA DOCUMENTATION.
THINGS LIKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, IRRIGATION SYSTEMS THAT ARE DISCONNECTED OR, UH, LANDS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE CROPS ARE REMOVED, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, WE DO HOPE TO BE ABLE TO CLARIFY THE BOARD'S POSITION ONCE IT'S FINALIZED, UM, ABOUT HOW, UH, LANDS THAT ARE REPURPOSED WOULD BE TREATED UNDER ANY FUTURE ALLOCATION PROCESS.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO, UM, DISCUSS WITH THE AD HOC COMMITTEE.
UM, WANT TO ADD A DEFINITION FOR THE WORD FALLOW SO THAT EVERYBODY IS, HAS THE SAME UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT MEANS.
UM, AND THEN JUST A LITTLE BIT OF REORGANIZATION FOR CLARITY, UM, REGARDING THE SCORING PROCESS.
UM, AS IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, FOS AND, UH, COST EFFECTIVENESS OF APPLICATIONS IS A, UM, YOU KNOW, RELATIVELY HIGH PRIORITY, UH, THERE MAY BE, THERE MAY BE A CHANCE TO CHANGE SOME OF THE WEIGHTS USED FOR SOME OF THE CRITERIA TO INCREASE THE IMPORTANCE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THE COST EFFECTIVENESS CRITERIA.
UM, AND THEN AS PART OF SCORING, WE, UH, MAY, MAY WANT TO SHIFT TOWARDS A WATER USE CALCULATION THAT'S BASED ON THE OPEN ET UM, RATHER THAN THE, UM, HALEMA, UH, DROP COEFFICIENT BASED METHOD.
UM, JUST BECAUSE THE OPENING T METHOD IS, UH, MORE DIRECTLY ALIGNED TO HOW THE, UM, YOU KNOW, WATER USE, UH, IS, IS JUDGED IN THE FUTURE.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, THOSE ARE THE POTENTIAL UPDATES.
AGAIN, THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, DRAFT AND, UM, WILL BE NOT FINALIZED UNTIL, UNTIL THIS BOARD TAKES SOME SORT OF ACTION.
AND, AND BEFORE THAT IT WOULD BE THE AD HOC COMMITTEE WHO WOULD, UM, PROVIDE INPUT ON THESE.
UM, SO THE NEXT STEPS FOR THIS 2023 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAND PURCHASING PROGRAM.
UM, WE ARE UP ON THE TOP LEFT IN THE YELLOW ITEM TO BASICALLY FINALIZE ANY UPDATES TO THE PROGRAM.
AS I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT, UM, WE EXPECT THAT, YOU KNOW, IN MAY AND CARRYING ON THROUGH THE MONTH OF JUNE, WE WOULD BE CONDUCTING, UM, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC OUTREACH TO AGAIN, PUBLICIZE THIS PROGRAM.
UH, TRY AND ENCOURAGE, UM, INTERESTED APPLICANTS TO APPLY.
UM, APPLICATION PERIOD IS TENTATIVELY SET FOR, UH, ONE AND A HALF MONTH PERIOD FROM JUNE 1ST TO JULY 15TH.
UM, WE WOULD BE PROCESSING AND SCORING THOSE APPLICATIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH EARLY AUGUST, UM, GIVING APPLICANTS A
[00:20:01]
NOTIFICATION OF WHETHER THEIR APPLICATION IS APPROVED OR NOT IN MID-AUGUST.UM, IT DOES SEEM TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENTS ONCE THE, UH, UM, NOTIFICATION TAKES PLACE JUST BASED ON PAST EXPERIENCE HERE.
UM, SO WE WILL GET THOSE AGREEMENTS FINALIZED AND EXECUTED, UM, BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
AND THEN THE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE AGREEMENTS WOULD BEGIN WITH THE NEW WATER YEAR, UM, IN OCTOBER.
AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE FOR TODAY.
UH, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? NO.
WELL THEN, UM, AT THIS TIME I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR A PUBLIC COMMENT.
UH, EVERYONE, DAVE NAVO FROM STEVENSON AGAIN.
UM, ON YOUR, UH, FIRST SLIDE, I'D SERIOUSLY LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING ADDED TO THAT, UH, LAYOUT WHERE MAYBE YOU COULD, UM, SHOW US WHAT CROPS WERE BEING REPURPOSED WOULD BE HELPFUL, AND THEN MAYBE WE COULD HAVE A COLUMN ON HOW THEY SCORED SO WE KNOW HOW THEY'RE WEIGHTED.
CUZ WE ALWAYS SEE HERE AS DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF MONEY.
SOME, UH, PARCELS WERE ONLY LIKE USING ONE ACRE FOOT.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF CROP YOU'RE GROWING ON NEAR 60 ACRES OR 80 ACRES WITH ONE ACRE FOOT THAT WE'RE GONNA PAY YOU THAT KIND OF MONEY NOT TO DO ANYTHING.
IF YOU'RE GROWING A CROP FOR ONE ACRE FOOT, UM, I CAN'T BE MUCH BEING VERY PRODUCTIVE.
AND THEN SUMMER AVERAGING MAYBE TWO TO, UH, THREE ACRE FEET REDUCTION.
AND IT SEEMS THAT, UH, THAT'S MORE WHAT WE'RE INCLINED TO BE LOOKING FOR IS HIGHER REDUCTIONS.
AND THEN, UM, ONE, THE SECOND LINE SEEMS TO STAND OUT WITH $800 AN ACRE WATER, UM, STANDBY KIND OF THING.
SO IS THAT WEIGHTED HEAVIER? WAS THAT MORE VIABLE OR MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, AN AN AREA THAT'S IN MORE SUBSIDENCE THAN OTHER AREAS? IS THAT WHY THEY GET MORE MONEY? SO IT COULD BE A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE PRINTOUT COULD BE A LITTLE MORE INFORMATIVE, SO WE'RE NOT GUESSING, UH, OTHER THAN THAT, UH, THE TWO GUYS THAT BACKED OUT, I JUST WONDER IF THEY WERE AWARE OF WHAT OTHER PEOPLE WERE GETTING PAID AND DIDN'T LIKE WHAT THEY'D PUT IN THEIR PRESENTATION, BUT ARE THE OTHER MEMBERS THAT ARE GETTING PAID TO SEE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE GETTING? NOW THERE'S GONNA BE PRINTOUTS, IT'LL SEE.
SO NEXT TIME WE APPLY TO PEOPLE, THEY'RE ALL GONNA WANT THE $800 MONEY.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU WORK THAT.
ANYONE ELSE? OKAY, SEEING NONE, I'LL, UH, CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENT.
UH, THIS IS, UH, NOT AN ACTION ITEM.
UH, ANYTHING ELSE FROM THE BOARD? OKAY, THANK YOU, CHRIS.
[7. RECHARGE FRAMEWORK UPDATE]
ITEM SEVEN, THE RECHARGE FRAMEWORK UPDATE, AND I WILL TURN THAT OVER TO LACEY.SO IN NOVEMBER OF 22, THIS BOARD APPROVED A 2023 RECHARGE FRAMEWORK, WHICH SERVED TO NOTIFY GROWERS AND LANDOWNERS OF THE INFORMATION THAT THE GSA WOULD REQUIRE IN ORDER TO RECOGNIZE OR RECHARGE CREDIT OF ANY GROUNDWATER RECHARGE ACTIVITIES FOR WINTER 2223.
THIS IS AN EFFORT TO ENCOURAGE RECHARGE DURING THE WET SEASON.
AFTER THE STORMS OF JANUARY THROUGH MARCH, THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE HAS SUGGESTED SOME REVISIONS TO THE RECHARGE FRAMEWORK TO STREAMLINE THE PROCESS AND MAKE RECHARGE EASIER FOR GROWERS.
THE SUGGESTED CHANGES ARE INCLUDED IN THE RED LINE RECHARGE FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE AGENDA PACKET.
UM, MOST NOTABLY, THE SUGGESTED CHANGES REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT TO PROVE THAT THE DIVERTER OR THE RECHARGER HAS THE RIGHT TO THE WATER THAT THEY'RE RECHARGING AND PLACES THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR COMPLYING WITH ALL LAWS, RULES, REGULATIONS ON THE RECHARGER.
THE GSA IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT THE RECHARGE PROJECTS ARE COMPLIANT WITH APPLICABLE LAWS, BUT THE LANDOWNER OR THE RECHARGER IS THE GSA WILL HOWEVER, VERIFY THAT THE RECHARGE IS AS REPORTED, WHICH IS ANTICIPATED TO TAKE PLACE THROUGH A THIRD PARTY VERIFICATION PROCESS.
SINCE THE BOARD APPROVED THE RECHARGE FRAMEWORK IN NOVEMBER, THE ACTION FOR TODAY IS TO DISCUSS AND APPROVE CHANGES TO THE, ANY CHANGES TO THE RECHARGE FRAMEWORK.
[00:25:01]
ALSO CHANGES NOTED TO THE REGISTRATION FORM, WHICH WASN'T FORMALLY APPROVED BY THE BOARD AND DOESN'T NEED TO BE FORMALLY APPROVED AT THIS TIME.SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE CAN ADD THEIR THOUGHTS ON THIS ITEM AS WELL, SINCE THEY'VE HAD GOOD DISCUSSION ON THIS.
DOES ANYBODY ON THE COMMITTEE WANNA MAKE COMMENT AFTER READING THIS? UH, I HAD A COMMENT.
I, I HAD A SUGGESTION OF A CHANGE, UH, TO, UH, ITEM NUMBER THREE, PROVIDING ACCURATE MEASUREMENT INTO FACILITY USING DEDICATED CALAB CALIBRATED FLOW METER OR ALTERNATIVE MEASUREMENT METHOD.
AND THEN IT GOES ON TO TALK ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF METHOD.
AND MY SUGGESTION WAS THAT THE METHOD SHOULD BE JUST ACCEPTABLE TO THE BOARD.
IN OTHER WORDS, NOT TALK ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT METHOD, BECAUSE THERE'S VARIOUS METHODS OF MEASURING WATER AS WE KNOW.
AND, UH, THAT WOULD MAKE IT SIMPLER FOR SOMEBODY THAT MAYBE DIDN'T HAVE A PARTICULAR TYPE OF MEASUREMENT.
SO THAT WAS MY SUGGESTION, IS THAT WE CHANGED THE WORDING ON NUMBER THREE.
MIKE, WHAT IF WE ADDED A ITEM E OR OTHER METHOD AS APPROVED BY THE GSA? WHICH IS, WHICH IS FINE IF ONCE AGAIN WE WE END THE SENTENCE WITH ALTERNATIVE MEASUREMENT METHOD.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? WELL, I'M JUST SAYING RIGHT NOW THERE'S A THROUGH D THERE, WHICH ACTUALLY KINDA LISTS METHODS.
THERE COULD BE BASICALLY JUST AN ITEM E IN ADDITIONAL IT SAYS OR OTHER A METHOD APPROVED BY THE GSA.
UM, I THINK IT HELPS TO HAVE SOME DESCRIPTION FOR GROWERS TO GIVE THEM AN IDEA WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, BUT WE COULD OPEN IT UP THAT THERE'S AN ALTERNATIVE IF THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, COME UP WITH SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S ACCEPTABLE TO DO.
BUT, BUT CURRENTLY IS IT APPROVED TO JUST, UM, MEASURE WATER WITH HEAD JUST LIKE A CANAL, LIKE A IRRIGATION SYSTEM? IRRIGATION DISTRICT DOES OR NO? WELL, THAT'S WHY WE ADDED THE OR MEASUREMENT METHOD THAT PROVIDES EQUIVALENT ACCURACY.
AND SO THOSE ARE LIKE, I THINK PLUS OR MINUS 10%.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT DURING THE AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING.
WELL, YEAH, YOU KNOW, MY SUGGESTION IS LEAVING IT MORE OPEN-ENDED, UH, BECAUSE I, I WOULDN'T WANT GROWERS TO FEEL THAT THEY HAD TO HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN TYPE OF METER THAT'S CERTIFIED AND, AND EXACTING, UH, YOU KNOW, ARE, ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT LIKE A PUMP WITH A PUMP TEST, LIKE A LIFT PUMP WITH A PUMP TEST OR SOMETHING? I COULD, YEAH, LIFT PUMP WITH A PUMP TEST.
I MEAN, THERE'S, THERE'S VARIOUS METHODS OF MEASURING WATER, AND I JUST THOUGHT IT LEFT THE WRONG MESSAGE TO SUGGEST THAT YOU HAD TO HAVE A CERTAIN TYPE OF METER IN ORDER TO DO RECHARGE.
AND, AND I'M EVEN TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY PUMP THE WATER AND, AND, UH, OR, OR THEY GET FLOODED FROM, FROM A SOURCE AND, AND, UH, ESTIMATE HOW MUCH WATER THEY HAVE OUT THERE.
NOW, THE BOARD THAT THEY DISCRETION COULD SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, THIS PROPERTY COULD HAVE FLOODED ON ITS OWN, AND SO IT'S PART OF THE BASE, BUT MAYBE THE FARMER DECIDES, WELL, I'M GONNA KEEP THAT WATER ON MY PROPERTY, IT'S GONNA DESTROY MY CROP.
AND SO WE GIVE THE FARMER HALF A FOOT OF CREDIT.
I MEAN, YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? I'M, I'M TRYING TO MAKE THIS AS EASY AS POSSIBLE TO GET RECHARGE.
BUT I THINK JUST ADDING AN ITEM E AS AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD WILL DO THAT.
I MEAN, IT GIVES THEM ALL THE OPTIONS OF A THROUGH D PLUS SOMETHING ELSE IF THEY WANT TO PRESENT IT, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF, OF QUANTIFICATION.
[00:30:01]
SURE.YOU CAN'T JUST LET PEOPLE TELL YOU WHAT THEY DID BECAUSE NO, NO.
YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO QUANTIFY IT, AND IT HAS TO BE, YOU KNOW, A THIRD PARTY HAS TO CERTIFY THAT YES, THIS WAS DONE.
I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT YOU DON'T, I'M JUST LEAVING IT MORE OPEN BECAUSE IT STARTS RIGHT OFF SAYING YOU HAVE TO USE A CALIBRATED TYPE OF METER, AND THAT'S IT.
AND THAT'S WHY I THOUGHT THE LAST PART OF THAT DESCRIPTION SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF.
IT SAYS, OR E E EQUIVALENT METHOD, CALIBRATED FLOW METER OR EQUIVALENT METHOD MEANS IT'S GOTTA BE ABSOLUTELY CALIBRATED.
IF WE TOOK OUT, IF WE TOOK OUT EQUIVALENT AND PUT REASONABLE ACCURACY, WOULD THAT MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER? YEAH.
THE EQUIVALENT IS, IS IS THE WORD THAT REALLY BOTHERS ME.
I STILL THINK WE COULD ADD AN ITEM E OR ANOTHER APPROVED METHOD.
I MEAN TO, TO THE POINT OF, OF BANKS GOING OVER AND FLOODING SOMEONE'S PROPERTY.
I DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT YET.
UH, MR. GALLO, I MEAN, TO ME, RESEARCH SHOULD BE SOMEWHAT INTENTIONAL, RIGHT? I MEAN, NOT JUST ACCIDENTAL OR FIELD THAT ALWAYS FLOODS.
I MEAN, NOT, NOT TO SAY LIKE YOUR POINT, SOMEONE'S COULD PUMP IT OFF AS FAST AS THEY COULD NORMALLY, AND MAYBE THEY LEAVE IT AND MAYBE WE'LL CONSIDER THAT.
RIGHT? WELL, WELL, DIRECTOR MARKINI AT THE AD HOC WHERE I THINK AT A POINT ON THAT, LIKE NOT JUST NATURAL FLOOD, BUT IF YOUR FIELD FLOODED, YOU NORMALLY PUMPED IT OFF RIGHT AWAY OR COULD DRAIN IT AND YOU PROVED THAT YOU KEPT THAT WATER AND KEPT IT, LIKE RECIRCULATE IT OR DID SOMETHING TO KEEP THAT WATER ON YOUR PROPERTY INSTEAD OF LETTING IT FLOW BACK SEE TO A CREEK.
BUT THAT WAS KIND OF OUR THOUGHT, NOT JUST THE NATURAL FLOW.
THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE THAT YOU HELD ONTO YEAH.
I MEAN, I GOT A COUPLE RANCH ANSWERS THAT FLOOD ALL THE TIME.
AND, UH, SO I DRAIN IT OFF, SO MAYBE I WON'T THIS TIME.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? DID YOU GET THAT, CAPTURE THAT LACY? OKAY.
YEAH, I JUST WAS WAITING UNTIL WE WERE DONE.
AT THIS TIME I'LL OPEN UP FOR A PUBLIC COMMENT, SEE, AND THEN I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT AND BRING IT BACK.
I, I, I HAVE A POINT QUESTION, SO, SURE.
MIKE, YOUR PROBLEM WAS WITH THREE.
UM, DOES THAT ALSO MEAN ONE BENEATH THAT HAS TO BE CHANGED AS WELL? THE MS. GSA WILL INSPECT RECHARGE AND DIVERSION FACILITIES AND APPROVE MEASUREMENT METHOD AND YOU HAVE TO MODIFY THAT? NO.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AMENDED FRAMEWORK.
WOULD YOU READ IT, LACEY, JUST FOR THE RECORD? OKAY.
SO NUMBER THREE IS GONNA READ, PROVIDE ACCURATE MEASUREMENT INTO FACILITY USING DEDICATED CALIBRATED FLOW METER OR ALTERNATIVE MEASUREMENT METHOD THAT PROVIDES REASONABLE ACCURACY.
AND THEN WE'LL ADD E OR OTHER METHOD AS APPROVED BY THE GSA BOARD.
EVERYBODY OKAY WITH THAT? ALL RIGHT, GO AHEAD, ERIC.
UH, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR, ARE YOUR MOTIONS MADE? OKAY.
IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND IT.
WE HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR SWINSON AND A SECOND BY DIRECTOR MARTINI.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFIED BY SAYING AYE.
[8. STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT]
UH, ITEM EIGHT, WHICH IS OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT.AND I UNDERSTAND THAT GINO IS GONNA GIVE THAT REPORT.
YEAH, I'LL, UH, TAKE THIS ONE BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE SHORT AND SWEET.
UH, MOST OF THE TIME WE SPENT GOING OVER THE RECHARGE FRAMEWORK, WHICH WE JUST APPROVED.
SO, UH, THE BOARD ALREADY SAW THAT.
AND THEN WE ALSO SPENT A LITTLE TIME TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE OPTIONS FOR, UH, ALLOCATION FOR PUMPING IN THE FUTURE.
[00:35:01]
THREE DIFFERENT OPTIONS.AND AT OUR NEXT MEETING, WE'RE GONNA GO OVER THAT SOME MORE.
WE JUST GOT INTO IT RIGHT AT THE END, KIND OF SOME CONCEPTUAL STUFF, BUT NOTHING TOO IN DEPTH, UH, THAT WE'RE GONNA DIVE INTO AT OUR NEXT MEETING NEXT WEEK.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? NOPE.
I'LL OPEN UP FOR A PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS TIME.
SCENE NONE WILL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT.
[9. STAFF REPORT]
HAVE, UH, STAFF REPORT.I HAVE FIVE ITEMS FOR YOU AND I'M LOOKING FOR SOME DIRECTION ON THE FIRST ONE.
SO THIS IS RELATED TO, UH, STRATEGIC SUPPORT FOR THE GSA.
IN DECEMBER, THIS BOARD APPROVED AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONTRACT WITH Z HARROW TO SHIFT THE STRATEGIC SUPPORT THAT THEY WERE PREVIOUSLY PROVIDING TO THE GSA FROM THE MERCED COUNTY CONTRACT TO THE MERCED SUB BASIN G SSA'S CONTRACT CONTRACT Z HARROW PROVIDES STRATEGIC SUPPORT TO THE BOARD, THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE, AND THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ALLOCATION, POLICY DEVELOPMENT, RECHARGE, POLICY DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC OUTREACH, AND OTHER TOPICS.
AND ADDITIONALLY, THE Z HARO STAFF PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN HELPING PROCESS THE WELL CONSISTENCY DETERMINATIONS USING OPEN ET TO EVALUATE REPLACEMENT WELL PROPOSALS IN TOTAL GROUNDWATER USE, THE TERM OF THE AMENDMENT APPROVED IN DECEMBER IS THROUGH JUNE OF 2023.
AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, AT THE TIME OF THE AMENDMENT APPROVAL, I INFORMED THE BOARD THAT I WOULD RETURN FOR DIRECTION IN APRIL ON WHETHER YOU ARE COMFORTABLE CONTINUING TO EXTEND THE CONTRACT WITH ZHA TO PROVIDE CONSISTENT STRATEGIC SUPPORT OR WHETHER YOU WANTED TO GO OUT FOR A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR THESE SERVICES.
AT THIS TIME, STAFF IS LOOKING FOR DIRECTION ON THE Z HARO SUPPORT SERVICES, AND WE CAN EITHER AMEND THE CONTRACT TO CONTINUE PROVIDING THE SERVICES, OR WE CAN OPEN AN RFP, WHICH WOULD BE OPEN TO OTHER CONSULTANTS AND ZARA TO RESPOND TO, WHICH WE'D WANNA DO, UM, BY THE END OF JUNE.
SO WHEN THAT CONTRACT ENDS, A NEW CONTRACT EITHER WITH ZARA OR SOMEBODY ELSE, COULD START AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW FISCAL YEAR.
THE SECOND TOPIC I HAVE IS ON THE PUBLIC WORKSHOPS THAT WE'RE, THIS IS A FOLLOW UP FROM THE DISCUSSION AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING.
WE ARE PLANNING A VIRTUAL PUBLIC WORKSHOP FOR ON THE ALLOCATION PROCESS IN MAY, THIS WILL BE AN EVENING MEETING.
THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED HAVING AN IN-PERSON LOCATION FOR THOSE WHO WOULD NOT ATTEND PUBLIC WORKSHOPS VIRTUALLY.
SO WE'LL HAVE ONE IN-PERSON LOCATION AVAILABLE.
AS WE PUT TOGETHER THE PRESENTATION FOR THE PUBLIC WORKSHOP.
THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE WILL, UM, HAVE THE CHANCE TO REVIEW THOSE SLIDES AND THE INFORMATION THAT'S SHARED.
UM, THE ONLY INFORMATION THAT'LL BE SHARED IS WHAT HAS BEEN, UM, OF COURSE, PUBLICLY DISCUSSED HERE AT THE, AT THE BOARD MEETING.
UH, THE NEXT TOPIC IS ON MONTHLY MON MONITORING.
OVER THE PAST YEAR, UM, CONSULTANTS WITH QK HAVE BEEN PROVIDING MONTHLY MONITORING OF GROUNDWATER LEVELS IN THE BASIN WIDE MONITORING NETWORK.
UM, THIS WORK IS BEING DONE UNDER A CONTRACT WITH MIA GUA ON BEHALF OF ALL THREE GSAS IN THE BASIN.
AT THIS TIME, THERE IS A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS AND REPORTING OF THE MONITORING DATA THAT IS NOT CURRENTLY BEING PROVIDED BY QK IN ORDER FOR THE COORDINATION COMMITTEE TO HAVE SOME OPTIONS TO ADDRESS THESE NEEDS.
MIYA GUA AND COORDINATION FROM STAFF WITH THE OTHER GSAS, INCLUDING THIS GSA WE'LL, UM, BE SOLICITING, WILL BE SOLICITING PROPOSALS FROM OTHER CO CONSULTANTS TO PROVIDE THIS SERVICE.
AND ANTICIPATES BRINGING THOSE OPTIONS TO THE COORDINATION COMMITTEE FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION AT THE MAY MEETING.
THIS IS MORE OF A HEADS UP THAT GSA STAFF HAS BEEN COORDINATING ON THIS NEED.
AND SINCE MIA GUA HOLDS THE CURRENT CONTRACT, THEY'LL BE USING THEIR PURCHASING PROCEDURES TO SOLICIT THE PROPOSALS FOR THE POTE POTENTIAL NEW CONTRACT.
AND SO WE WANTED THE COORDINATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS FROM THE MERCED BASIN GSA TO BE AWARE THAT THIS IS GONNA BE A TOPIC COMING FORWARD FOR THEM.
NEXT IS THE WATER ACCOUNTING PLATFORM WORK GROUP.
WE ARE KICKING OFF THE MERCED SUB-BASIN G SSA'S PARTICIPATION IN THE WATER ACCOUNTING PLATFORM.
THE NEXT STEP IS GOING TO BE TO PUT TOGETHER A TEST GROUP OF GROWERS WHO ARE INTERESTED INTO LOGGING IN, LOGGING INTO THE PLATFORM TO SEE THEIR PARCELS AND THEIR WATER USE AND TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK AS THE TEAM CONTINUES TO BUILD THE PLATFORM AND MEET THE NEEDS OF THE GSA.
I'LL BE REACHING OUT TO EACH OF THE BOARD MEMBERS TO SEE IF THEY ARE INTERESTED IN BEING A PART OF THE TEST GROUP, AND ALSO FOR BOARD MEMBERS TO IDENTIFY TWO GROWERS FROM EACH OF THE MEMBER AGENCY DISTRICTS TO ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE TEST GROUP.
WE'LL HAVE A APPROXIMATELY, A TOTAL OF 20 PARTICIPANTS IS THE GOAL.
AND I ANTICIPATE THAT THE FIRST WATER ACCOUNTING
[00:40:01]
PLATFORM WORKSHOP FOR THIS TEST GROUP WOULD TAKE PLACE IN PERSON IN JUNE.SO I'LL BE REACHING OUT TO EACH OF YOU ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN THE LAST ITEM ON MY LIST HERE IS A LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR AB EIGHT 30.
YOU HAVE THIS LETTER, UM, IN FRONT OF YOU AND IT'S MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC AS WELL.
AND ALSO A INFORMATION SHEET, A FACT SHEET ON THE LEGISLATION IS ALSO PROVIDED.
EARLIER THIS WEEK, MERCED IRRIGATION DISTRICT REQUESTED THAT THE MERCED SAID BASIN GSA JOIN THEM IN SUPPORTING STATE LEGISLATION FROM ASSEMBLY MEMBER AS MARDA SORIA, WHICH STREAMLINES THE PROCESS FOR USING FLOODWATERS FOR GROUNDWATER RECHARGE ON AGRICULTURAL LANDS AND WORKING LANDSCAPES.
SINCE THE DEADLINE FOR SUPPLYING THAT LETTER WAS YESTERDAY, THE SECRETARY OF THE GSA WENT AHEAD AND SIGNED THE LETTER, AND NOW WE'RE INFORMING THE BOARD AND WE'RE PROVIDING A COPY OF THAT LETTER FOR YOU.
SO THAT COMPLETES MY REPORT AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
LACEY, DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR FIRST TOPIC AGAIN? OH, GO AHEAD.
WELL, I WAS JUST GOING TO, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, I THINK SHE REQUESTED INPUT ON THE FIRST TOPIC, RIGHT? YEAH.
I THINK, UM, GREG YOUNG HAS PROVIDED SUPPORT, GOOD SUPPORT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW, AND HE'S CHANGED COMPANIES, BUT IT'S BASICALLY THE SAME INDIVIDUAL WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH FOR SOME TIME.
I ALWAYS THINK AFTER A NUMBER OF YEARS, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO DO AN RFP AND SEE WHAT OTHER OPTIONS THERE MIGHT BE.
UM, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR OPTIONS ARE UNTIL YOU GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
AND IT HAS BEEN A NUMBER OF YEARS, AND I THINK IT'LL BE APPROPRIATE TO GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
COULD WE DO AN RFQ INSTEAD OF RFP? IS WOULD THERE BE A WE COULD DO THAT.
WE, WE COULD JUST THAT, THAT'S A SPEEDIER PROCESS, RIGHT? IT IT'S FOR QUALIFICATIONS.
ASKING FOR QUALIFICATIONS RATHER THAN A PROPOSAL OF, OF WHAT THEY WOULD, THE SERVICE THAT THEY WOULD PROVIDE.
I DUNNO IF THAT'S BETTER OR WORSE FOR THE APPLICANTS, BUT I MEAN, I AGREE WITH THERE.
I MEAN, I'M VERY HAPPY WITH GREG, BUT IT WOULDN'T, IT DOESN'T HURT TO SEE WHAT'S OUT THERE.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU DO AN RFQ, YOU FIND OUT WHO'S INTERESTED, RIGHT? AND THEN, AND THEN YOU FOLLOW UP WITH THE, A PROPOSAL.
BUT IN, IN, IN OUR CASE THOUGH, I THINK WE'RE BASICALLY DOING TIME AND MATERIAL PAYMENT, UHHUH
AND, AND IT MAKES A LOT MORE WORK FOR THEM TO GO THROUGH A TWO-STEP PROCESS.
SO I WOULD JUST GO FOR THE PROPOSAL, BECAUSE REALLY THE TECHNICAL SIDE IS REALLY WHAT YOU'RE MORE INTERESTED IN.
CUZ PEOPLE'S RATES ARE GONNA BE GENERALLY COMPARABLE.
I'M JUST, JUST MIGHT SAVE A STEP.
WE'LL GO FOR THE, A REQUEST FOR A PROPOSAL.
AND THEN, UM, I, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO ADD ON, WELL, BUT LET'S GO TO
[10. BOARD REPORTS]
BOARD REPORTS.UH, NICK, ANYTHING MIKE? NOTHING.
IT'S PROBABLY NOT THE RIGHT TIME TO BRING THIS UP, BUT BACK TO THE LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM.
DID, DID I SEE THAT THERE'S SOME THAT HAVE SIGNED UP FOR FIVE YEARS? SO I, I STARTED THINKING ABOUT THAT.
SO, SO AT SOME POINT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ALLOCATIONS AND THEN THE QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY'RE BEING PAID IS, IT MAKES SENSE FOR HOW MUCH WATER THEY'RE NOT PUMPING.
YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? BECAUSE I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE, THAT THIS WAS LIKE TWO OR THREE YEARS, LIKE IT WAS THREE YEAR PROGRAM, BUT SEEING THAT IT'S FIVE, I JUST THINK GOING FORWARD WE NEED TO CONSIDER THAT.
GREG, I SEE RAISED YOUR HAND ON, UH, ZOOM.
YEAH, I, I JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE SOME RESPONSE AND CONTEXT FOR THAT, MIKE, IF IT'S HELPFUL.
HE SAID HE, HE'S GOT SOME CONTEXT IF YOU WANT IT TO THE FIVE YEAR PROGRAM AND ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IN A WAY OR SOME MORE INFORMATION.
SO HE IS ASKING IF YOU WANTED TO HEAR IT, IF THE BOARD DOESN'T MIND.
YEAH, THE CONTEXT FOR THAT, UH, WHEN WE WERE DESIGNING THE PROGRAM, IF YOU RECALL, PART OF THE GOAL WAS TO INCENTIVIZE PEOPLE
[00:45:01]
TO EARLY ADOPT KNOWING THAT IT WOULD ALLOW THEM SOME PAYMENT INTO THE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS OF AN ALLOCATION.AND THAT'S PART OF THE INCENTIVE OF AN EARLY ADOPTION RATHER THAN JUST WAITING.
SO WE HAD DESIGNED THAT TO BE THREE TO FIVE YEAR CONTRACT.
AND THEN NOW GOING INTO YEAR TWO, IT'LL BE A THREE OR FOUR YEAR CONTRACT, AND THEN THE FOLLOWING YEAR WOULD BE ONLY A THREE YEAR CONTRACT.
BUT THE INTENT WOULD, UH, WAS ALWAYS TO INCENTIVIZE SOME EARLY ADOPTION KNOWING THAT YOU WOULD BE MAYBE A YEAR OR SO UNDER AN ALLOCATION, BUT YOU HAVE ALREADY, UH, COM COMMITTED EARLY TO SOME, UH, REDUCTION IN CONSUMPTIVE USE.
ERIC? SO I ACTUALLY HAVE THREE ITEMS. OKAY.
UM, THE FIRST ITEM IS THE, UH, MOST RECENT TWO 18 WE PASSED GENERATES FUNDING TO HIRE AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AS EARLY AS JANUARY, 2024.
AND IF THAT WERE TO TAKE PLACE, I THINK PLANNING FOR THAT EVENT SHOULD START TAKING PLACE NOW OR SOON.
AND I WAS THINKING THAT THAT COULD BE AN ADDITIONAL TASK THAT THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE COULD TAKE ON TO WORK ON, UM, POTENTIALLY STARTING IN JUNE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO I WANTED TO GET FEEDBACK FROM THE BOARD AS TO WHAT THEIR THOUGHTS WERE ABOUT.
I MEAN WE, YEAH, I MEAN, IT WAS IN THE PROP 18 RIGHT? TO START OH YEAH.
AND WELL AT LEAST TO START COMING UP WITH A MAYOR ROADMAP RIGHT OVER THE NEXT, WELL, THERE COULD BE ANOTHER COMMITTEE, BUT I'M JUST SAYING THE, THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC ALREADY.
OH, NO, NO, THAT'S A GOOD COMMITTEE AROUND.
THE, UH, SECOND THING IS I TOOK THE TIME THIS WEEK TO WATCH THE, UH, RECORDING OF THE LAST, UH, TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS I FOUND OUT WAS THAT THERE HASN'T BEEN A QUORUM DURING THAT MEETING FOR THE LAST YEAR.
SO WHEN WE GET COMMENTS FROM THAT, THERE ARE MORE COMMENTS OF INDIVIDUALS THAN A QUORUM OR A VOTE OF THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND WE'RE MOVING INTO WHAT I CONSIDER PROBABLY SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK ON GROUNDWATER ALLOCATIONS.
AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT THERE IS A QUORUM OF PEOPLE REPRESENTING A CROSS SECTION OF THE ENTIRE SUB BASIN IN THE TACK TO PROVIDE INPUT.
SO I KNOW THERE WERE TWO MEMBERS FROM, UM, THE MUR STEVENSON AREA AT THE LAST MEETING, AND I GUESS I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S REP REPRESENTATION AT THE TACK FROM THEIR AREA FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT SIX MONTHS OR SOMETHING AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, THIS ALLOCATION PROCESS.
SO THAT WAS MY ENCOURAGEMENT FOR EVERYBODY TO TALK TO YOUR FOLKS.
UM, AND LASTLY, THERE WAS A PRESENTATION BY E K I ON, UH, DATA GAP FILLING, AND THERE WAS SOME TALK ABOUT, UM, INSTRUMENTATION AND DIFFERENT OPTIONS OF, UH, MEASURING GROUNDWATER LEVELS AT NEW LOCATIONS.
AND, UM, I JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE DONE SOME WORK IN THAT AREA WITHIN THE SUB BASIN.
AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A FEW COMMENTS.
ONE IS, AS YOU, AT LEAST HISTORICALLY AS YOU GET TO THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST CORNERS OF THE BASIN, CELL PHONE COVERAGE CAN BE VERY POOR TO NON-EXISTENT.
AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO USE CELL PHONES FOR DATA ACQUISITION AND TRANSMISSION.
SO YOU JUST FIRST NEED TO CHECK AND MAKE SURE ACTUALLY THERE'S COVERAGE WHERE YOU'RE LOOKING AT POTENTIALLY USING IT.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT MOST DEEP WELLS ARE NOT STRAIGHT.
AND THAT ACTUALLY IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET THINGS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO HOW FAR YOU WANT THEM IN WELLS OFTEN.
AND, UM, BECAUSE OF THAT, THE METHOD THAT WE FOUND BEST WAS ACTUALLY TO PULL THE, FOR PUTTING INSTRUMENTATION IN WELLS THAT HAVE PUMPS, IS TO PULL THE PUMP ALL THE WAY OUT OF THE GROUND, ATTACH THE SENSOR TO THE WELL COLUMN, AND THEN YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT DEPTH IT IS AT.
OTHERWISE IT CAN GET HUNG UP PARTWAY DOWN AND YOU THINK IT'S AT 300 FEET AND IT'S AT 240 FEET AND YOU GET QUITE A DIFFERENT IDEA OF WHERE THE GROUNDWATER LEVEL IS.
SO BY DOING THAT THOUGH, IT'S SIGNIFICANTLY ADDS TO THE COST, BUT WE FOUND THAT THAT WAS THE MOST RELIABLE METHOD IN SOME CASES, THE ONLY METHOD THAT WORKED.
SO I JUST THOUGHT I'D PASS THAT ALONG TO HOPEFULLY IMPROVE THE PROCESS.
UM, ANYTHING BOB? YEAH, REAL QUICK, PROBABLY TO, TO MIKE STEELE TOO ON, ON THIS FIRST GO AROUND WORK CROPS PART OF THE EQUATION IN DOING IT OR NOT? YES, THEY WORK.
[00:50:02]
THAT IT, OKAY.UM, SO DURING THROUGH THE ALLOCATION PROCESS, ARE WE GOING TO DETERMINE PUMPING FROM BELOW THE CORCORAN CLAY VERSUS ABOVE THE CORCORAN CLAY? YES.
AND, AND IS IT THE FEELING THAT BELOW THE CORCORAN CLAY, THE WATER'S GONNA BE MORE RESTRICTED PUMPING FROM BELOW THE CORCORAN CLAY? NOT NECESSARILY.
WELL, I THINK IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHAT THE DATA BEARS.
I MEAN, THAT, YOU KNOW, LOGICALLY THAT MAKES SENSE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO WAIT FOR THE DATA TO KIND OF PROVE THAT.
I GUESS I WOULD ASK MIKE WHAT YOU MEAN BY RESTRICTED, THERE'S, THERE'S TYPICALLY MORE WATER AVAILABLE BELOW THE COR AND CLAY, SO HYDRAULICALLY THERE'S LESS RESTRICTION.
BUT I THINK WHAT YOU REALLY MEANT WAS, ARE WE GOING TO RE REQUIRE GREATER REDUCTIONS IN EXTRACTION BELOW THE COR AND CLAY? RIGHT.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE WAY THE GSP IS CURRENTLY MORE OR LESS WORDED.
THE REASON I ASK IS, IS I KNOW THAT WELLS ARE BEING DRILLED BELOW THE CORCORAN CLAY, AND, AND SO I JUST WONDER IF THOSE PEOPLE DRILLING BELOW THE CORCORAN CLAY UNDERSTAND THAT THERE MAY BE, THAT THEY MAY ONLY BE ABLE TO PUMP A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF WATER FROM DOWN THERE.
AND IF THEY KNEW THAT, WOULD THAT CHANGE THEIR MIND ABOUT DRILLING THAT DEEP? I, I THINK THE NEW PERMIT PROCESS APPLICATION SPECI LAYS THAT OUT.
THEY'RE ALLOWED TO DRILL TWO FOR ONE OR IF THEY'RE, THEY'RE TAKING THE RISK UPON DOING THAT.
SO IS THAT CORRECT, LACEY? THAT THAT'S, THAT'S CORRECT.
WHEN THEY REPLACE A WELL IN THE SUBSIDENCE AREA THAT'S BELOW THE CORCORAN CLAY, THEY HAVE THE CHANCE TO EITHER PUT THEIR WELL IN ABOVE OR PUT THEIR WELL IN BELOW KNOWING, OR PUT TWO IN KNOWING THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE, THERE IS ANTICIPATED TO BE A RESTRICTION IN THE SUBSIDENCE AREA OF THE SUB CORCORAN PUMPING.
SO WHEN REPLACING A WELL THAT MIGHT BE, UM, PERFORATED BOTH ABOVE AND BELOW, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO THAT WITH THEIR REPLACEMENT.
THEY'LL HAVE TO PICK AN AQUIFER, IT'S IN THE PAPERWORK THAT THEY SEE.
AND AS FAR, YES, AND AS FAR AS NEW WELLS, THEY'D HAVE TO DO AN E I R AND WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY AS A GSR THERE, HAVE, THERE HAVE NO BEEN NEW WELLS, NEW WELLS BELOW THE, THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE G S P.
I BELIEVE GREG HAD SOMETHING TO ADD ONLINE.
UH, JUST I GUESS, WELL, LACEY, UH, COVERED EVERYTHING OTHER THAN THE QUESTION MAYBE MIKE TO YOU, ARE ANY OF THESE WELLS, WELLS THAT WE HAVEN'T ALREADY APPROVED CONSISTENT WITH THE GSP UNDER OUR POLICY? IF SO, THEN THAT, I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WELL IS GETTING DRILLED.
SO WE, WE HAVE TO LACEY'S POINT, THE LETTERS HAVE STATED SPECIFICALLY, YOU CAN DRILL BELOW, YOU CAN ONLY SCREEN BELOW AND YOU WILL BE LIMITED.
YOU ARE BASICALLY PUT ON NOTICE THAT YOU'LL BE LIMITED INTO THE FUTURE.
AS LONG AS THEY'RE AWARE OF THAT, THEN YEAH, THAT'S FINE.
YOU KNOW, AND AS, AS ALWAYS, IF SOMEBODY'S DRILLING A WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ALWAYS LET STAFF KNOW THAT IT'S BEING DRILLED.
THEN THEY CAN LOOK UP TO SEE, MAKE SURE IT'S PERMITTED.
YEAH, I'M SURE THESE WERE PERMITTED.
AND THEN, UM, UH, I GUESS MY COMMENTS ARE, UM, THE BACK TO THE, THE LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM.
UM, THE, I I, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, I GUESS THIS WOULD BE, UM, THIS IS 5,000 ACRE FEET, WHICH IS A THIRD OF A, OF A GOAL FOR THE YEARS.
AND SO, UM, FIVE YEARS, YOU KNOW, WOULD HAVE, UH, 15, UH, YOU KNOW, WOULD HAVE 15 COMPONENTS OF A CONTRACT, RIGHT.
AND, AND THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, SO, SO THERE'S, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S 10,000 ACRE FEET GOING
[00:55:01]
FORWARD PLUS THE 10,000, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T GET THIS YEAR.SO, SO THE 5,000 ACRE FEET IS REALLY A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I JUST, FOR THE PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE ALREADY, UM, WE'VE ALREADY, UH, REALIZED THAT WE NEED TO PUT A GREATER, UH, UH, WEIGHT ON THE PRICE AND THE WATER SAVED, UH, FROM THE, FROM THE ORIGINAL, UH, PROGRAM THAT WE APPROVED.
AND SO I THINK GOING FORWARD, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU MAY GET PEOPLE, AND, AND EVERYBODY MAY APPLY AND SAY, WELL, WOW, I, I WANT $647 OR WHATEVER NUMBER.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF IT'S TOO, IF IT'S THE, IF, IF THERE'S ENOUGH PEOPLE BELOW THAT, THEY'LL GET ACCEPTED.
UM, AND, AND THEN ONE THING, UH, ONE OTHER ITEM IS THAT THE COMMITTEE HAS THE ABILITY TO REJECT ALL APPLICATIONS AND START OVER.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I FEEL, I FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT GOING FORWARD, UM, THAT THE PRICE MORE THAN LIKELY WILL COME DOWN AND NOT GO UP.
UM, SO JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT.
UH, ANY OTHER ITEMS COME BEFORE US? NOPE.
WITH THAT, I'LL ADJOURN THE MEETING.