[00:00:01]
HERE WE GO.I'LL, UH, CALL THE, UH, JULY 13TH MEETING OF THE MERCED SUB BASIN GSA.
[1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL]
UH, WOULD YOU, UH, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL BOARD MEMBER GALLO.CHAIRMAN PERRERA HERE AND BOARD MEMBER GM PAULY.
AND VICE CHAIRMAN MARTINI DID EXCUSE HIMSELF.
AND MR. CHAIR, YOU DO HAVE A QUORUM.
[2. CLOSED SESSION]
SESSION AS NEXT ITEM.UH, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE CLOSED SESSION ITEM SCENE? NONE.
WE'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT AND ADJOURN INTO CLOSED SESSION.
I'LL, UH, CALL OUR, UH, MEETING BACK INTO ORDER.
UH, WE, UM, DID JUST, UH, GET OUT A CLOSED SESSION AND, UM, STAFF WAS GIVEN DIRECTION.
UM, AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO DO THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
MIKE, WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO LEAD US? READY PLEDGE, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
UM, AT THIS TIME, I WILL, UH, TURN THE MEETING OVER TO OUR SECRETARY, WHO, UH, WILL, UH, FACILITATE ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS ELECTION
[4. ELECTION OF OFFICERS]
OF OFFICERS.AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, THIS IS THE POINT IN THE YEAR WHERE THE GSA BOARD IS ASKED, ASKED TO, UH, ELECT ITS OFFICERS.
AND OVER THE NEXT FEW MINUTES, THE BOARD WILL CHOOSE ITS CHAIRMAN, VICE CHAIRMAN, AND SECRETARY FOR THE NEXT TWO YEAR PERIOD OF TIME.
I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO FIRST, THOUGH, THANK AND CONGRATULATE OUR CURRENT CHAIRMAN, SUPERVISOR PERRERA AND VICE CHAIRMAN MARTINI, FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP.
AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO TAKE THE TIME TO THANK THIS ENTIRE BOARD FOR ITS OUTSTANDING WORK, TACKLING A MULTITUDE OF, UH, OF COMPLEX ISSUES OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
AS THE SECRETARY, I WILL CONDUCT THE ELECTION OF THE CHAIRMAN, VICE CHAIRMAN, SO AS TO ENSURE CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS.
SO AT THIS POINT, I WILL OPEN THE FLOOR FOR, UH, INITIALLY FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE CHAIRMAN, PLEASE, I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE LLOYD PERRERA.
WE HAVE A NOMINATION IN THE FLOOR.
WE HAVE A SECOND FOR THAT NOMINATION.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS ON THE FLOOR? OKAY.
HEARING NOW, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THOSE NOMINATIONS.
WE DO HAVE A MOTION FROM MR. GALLAN.
WE HAVE A SECOND FOR MR. SWENSON FOR THE, UH, TO APPROVE THE NOMINATION OF SUPERVISOR PERRERA AS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE GROUNDWATER OF THE MSGS, A FOR THE NEXT TWO YEAR PERIOD OF TIME.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
ARE THERE ANY OPPOSED? CONGRATULATIONS, MR. CHAIRMAN.
UH, SIR, YOU DO HAVE THE OPTION AS THE CHAIRMAN.
UH, YOU CAN EITHER CONDUCT THE, UH, KEEP GOING.
SO, NEXT, UH, NEXT UP ON THE LIST, UM, IS OBVIOUSLY, UH, THE, THE, UH, TOKEN, UH, NOMINATIONS FOR VICE CHAIRMAN.
UH, DO WE HAVE ANY NOMINATIONS FOR VICE CHAIRMAN FROM THE FLOOR? I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE DIRECTOR MARTINI.
WE HAVE A MOTION, UH, FOR MR. MARTINI AND ALSO A SECOND, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS FROM THE FLOOR FOR VICE CHAIRMAN? OKAY.
HEARING NONE, I WILL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THE NOMINATION PERIOD.
WE DO HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR MR. MARTINI AS THE VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE S G S A FOR THE NEXT TWO YEAR PERIOD OF TIME.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
ARE THERE ANY OPPOSED? VERY GOOD.
SO, CONGRATULATIONS MR. MARTINI.
SO, SIR, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU SO YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND CONDUCT THE ELECTION FOR SECRETARY.
UH, AGAIN, CERTAINLY WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THIS BOARD, MR. CHAIRMAN.
AND THANK YOU FOR BEING OUR SECRETARY.
UM, SO AT, AT THIS TIME, UH, WE, WE, UH, OR I'LL OPEN UP FOR, UM, FOR, UH, WELL, BEFORE I OPEN UP FOR, FOR NOMINATIONS FOR SECRETARY, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TWO CHOICES, KIND OF, WE CAN EITHER SELECT SOMEBODY FROM THE BOARD IF SOMEBODY'S INTERESTED IN SERVING OR, UH, UH, WE, WE CAN CONTINUE AS WE ARE HAVING, UM, MARK HENDRICKSON OR, UM, AND BE OUR SECRETARY OR THE, THE COUNTY BEING OUR SECRETARY GOING FORWARD.
SO, UM, WHAT, WHAT'S THE PLAN? DID I ASK A QUESTION? YEAH, SURE.
SO, YOU KNOW, ALWAYS IT SEEMS LIKE I, UH, TRY TO FIGURE OUT WAYS OF SAVING MONEY FOR THE GSA.
[00:05:02]
COULD WE NOT, UH, ASK, UH, LACY TO BE THE SECRETARY AS WELL, AND, AND, UH, THEREBY NOT HAVE ONE MORE PERSON FROM STAFF? WOW, THAT'S A GOOD POINT.UM, THAT I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO ACTUALLY.
IS JEANIE ONLINE OR MARK, DO YOU WANT TO HANDLE THAT? YES, PLEASE.
COULD BE REPEAT JEANIE? I'M SORRY.
ANY STAFF COULD BE APPOINTED AS SECRETARY.
UM, AND THEN I'LL ASK A QUESTION.
LACEY, UH, DO YOU, I MEAN, SO YEAH, SO WE WOULD HAVE ONE LESS PERSON.
YOU'RE WHAT, PROBABLY SIX, EIGHT HOURS A MONTH ON THEREABOUTS ON THAT, THAT WE WOULD SAY.
DO YOU THINK THAT IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO DO YOUR TASKS AND PLAY SECRETARY? OR DO YOU THINK YOU COULD DO 'EM BOTH.
UM, I THINK I COULD DO THEM BOTH.
I, I THINK, UH, WE WOULD PROBABLY WORK OUT IF THERE'S A BENEFIT OF HAVING YOUR SECRETARY NEXT TO YOU AS YOU KIND OF WORK THROUGH YOUR FACILITATING THE MEETING.
AND SO WE MIGHT NEED TO WORK OUT HOW THAT WOULD WORK WITH, UM, KIND OF THE OTHER DUTIES THAT I TAKE ON HERE, RIGHT.
FROM, UH, THIS CHAIR AND JUST THE TECHNICAL RUNNING, THE, THE SLIDES.
BUT PERHAPS WE CAN WORK WITH DANIELLE.
I HAVE A ANOTHER QUESTION ON COST.
AND ON THAT, SINCE MARK SAID HE'S DOING SIX TO EIGHT HOURS, ARE WE PAYING A DIFFERENT FEE, UH, COST PER HOUR FOR MARK COMPARED TO YOU? OH, YEAH.
I BELIEVE IT'S SIX TO EIGHT HOURS.
BUT I SAID, AND, AND YOU DO, YOU, YOU DO PAY DIFFERENT RATES FOR, FOR ALL THE STAFF WHO PROVIDE SERVICES AND THOSE STAFF, THAT STAFF RATE IS LISTED IN THE AMENDMENT THAT YOU JUST PRE-BLAST MONTH.
SO I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME, MR. MR. TRUE.
IF, IF I CAN, I THINK THIS IS ALSO A, UH, I THINK, UH, THIS IS A, A GOOD TIME FOR THIS, UH, FOR THIS, UH, FOR THIS BOARD TO, UH, TO CONTEMPLATE A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
UH, OF COURSE, I'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY.
THIS HAS BEEN, UH, REALLY GOOD SIX YEAR PERIOD OF TIME, SEEING THIS ORGANIZATION COULD STOOD UP.
BUT, UH, AS MY ROLE, THE COUNTY HAS CHANGED.
IT'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY, I THINK, FOR, UH, FOR THIS, UH, THIS, THIS BOARD TO GO A DIFFERENT DIRECTION AS WELL AS IT RELATES TO SECRETARY.
SO I THINK AS THE, AS THE CHAIRMAN ADEQUATELY, UM, MENTIONED, YOU'VE GOT DIFFERENT OPTIONS.
AND, UM, AND SO IT'S, UH, AGAIN, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO HELP ANY WAY I CAN.
UH, BUT, UH, IT IS NICE WHEN YOU DO HAVE, I THINK, TO, UH, TO MR. GALLO'S, UH, POINT, UH, THIS, THIS BOARD DOES HAVE MULTIPLE OPTIONS FROM WHICH TO CONSIDER.
AND THEN, UM, LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION.
CAUSE I DON'T KNOW A HUNDRED PERCENT KNOW THE ANSWER, BUT NOW WITH YOUR, UM, NEW POSITION AS ASSISTANT CEO OR ONE OF THE TWO, UM, THAT, THAT THIS WOULD CHANGE FOR YOU ANYWAYS, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'RE MOVING DEPARTMENTS.
SO IN, IN, IN, UH, IN, IN THEORY, YES.
THAT WOULD BE, UH, AGAIN, THIS WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO DO THAT AS MY, WITH MY ROLE CHANGING.
AND THEN I WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION, YOU KNOW, APPROPRIATELY.
BUT, UM, BUT YEAH, THIS WAS, THIS WOULD BE, UM, IT WOULD BE CERTAINLY FROM AN INTERNAL PERSPECTIVE, UH, PUTTING MY OLD HAT ON IT WOULD BE MOST APPROPRIATE EITHER FOR MR. MAXEY OR, UH, OR MS. MCBRIDE.
ARE ALL OF YOU ALL OF, YOU KNOW STEVE MAXEY? YEAH.
SO HE'S NOW THE DIRECTOR OF CD AND WILL, UM, UH, THEORETICALLY, OR NOT THEORETICALLY, BUT PRACTICALLY, HE'D BE TAKING MARK'S POSITION.
SO ANY INPUT ERIC
I THINK, I MEAN, I DON'T, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THAT'S A FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD FUNCTION BEING THE SECRETARY OF THE BOARD.
SO THAT WOULD SEEM TO BE JUST FINE TO ME, A PRACTICALITY STANDPOINT.
DOES THE SECRETARY LEGALLY NEED TO BE UP HERE, OR CAN LACEY DO THE SECRETARY FROM RIGHT THERE AND STILL RUN THE VIDEO SCREENS AND ALL OF THAT? YOU KNOW, SO THE, THE ONLY, WELL, FOR THE COMFORT OF THE CHAIR, YOU KNOW, IT'S NICE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A, SOMEONE RIGHT NEXT DOOR.
HOWEVER, I MEAN, I THINK MOST OF OUR STUFF IS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
AND, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, ALTHOUGH I'VE RELIED ON MARK FROM TIME TO TIME, YOU KNOW, UM, TELEPATHICALLY, I CAN SPEAK WITH LACEY AND PROBABLY GET THE SAME STUFF DONE.
SO, I MEAN, I, I THINK I'M, I THINK IT CAN WORK EITHER WAY.
SO WHAT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD? SO I NOMINATE LAIA SECRETARY.
UH, ALL UPON FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS TIME, SEE NO PUBLIC COMMENT, I'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD.
UH, WE HAVE A MOTION BY, UM, DIRECTOR SWENSON, A SECOND BY DIRECTOR GALLO TO HAVE LACEY BE OUR, UM, SECRETARY.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
[00:10:02]
CONGRATULATIONS.MR. CHAIRMAN, IF I, YEAH, GO FOR A SECOND.
I JUST WANNA CERTAINLY TAKE A MOMENT TO, UH, TO THANK THIS BOARD, UH, AND, AND PAST BOARD MEMBERS AS WELL, WHO AREN'T UP HERE IN THE DIOCESE TODAY.
I WANNA THANK OUR LEGAL COUNSEL, MS. LESI, OUR CONSULTANTS, AND NOTABLY GREG YOUNG, UM, FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THIS TEAM OVER THE LAST, UH, SIX YEARS AS YOUR SECRETARY.
AND CERTAINLY WANNA WANT TO MENTION, I TAKE A GREAT DEAL OF PRIDE, UM, HAVING BEEN JUST A VERY SMALL PART OF, OF THIS TEAM AND THIS, UH, THIS BOARD IS DOING.
UM, I, I THINK JUST EXCEPTIONAL WORK AND JUST WANNA KNOW, LET YOU KNOW THAT I, I APPRECIATE YOU, I APPRECIATE THE ROLE THAT YOU'VE PLAYED, UM, AND I CERTAINLY HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF CONFIDENCE IN YOUR NEW SECRETARY.
SHE'S GOING TO DO PHENOMENALLY WELL.
AND SO WITH THAT, MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, AGAIN, THANK YOU.
AND THEN ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, I THINK I'D LIKE TO, TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK YOU AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ALL FORGET SOMETIMES OR WE, WE, YOU KNOW, THAT SIX YEARS AGO WAS A LONG TIME AGO.
AND, UH, AND BASICALLY, UM, ACTUALLY THIS REALLY STARTED EVEN BEFORE SIX YEARS AGO, BUT, UH, FORMALLY SIX YEARS AGO.
AND WE'VE COME A LONG WAYS, AND I THINK YOU'VE BEEN AN INTEGRAL PART OF HELPING GUIDE US THROUGH THAT.
AND I THINK YOUR EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, REALLY HAS SERVED US WELL.
AND SO THANK YOU FOR THE TIME THAT YOU'VE GIVEN US PRIVILEGE.
NEXT ITEM, WHICH IS ITEM FIVE.
UH, THIS IS OUR PUBLIC COMMENT,
[5. PUBLIC COMMENT]
UH, PERIOD.AND I'LL, UM, IT'S THE PUBLIC'S OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON ANY MATTER OF PUBLIC INTEREST WITHIN THE BOARD'S JURISDICTION, UH, IN INCLUDING ITEMS ON THE BUDGET.
UH, BOARD'S AGENDA, UH, TESTIMONY IS LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES, AND AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, PLEASE FORM A LINE TO THE LEFT.
AND, UH, ALRIGHT, I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO, UM, ITEM SIX, WHICH IS OUR CONSENT CALENDAR.
[6. CONSENT CALENDAR]
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY ITEM ON THERE THAT THEY HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT OR AN ITEM THAT THEY WOULD LIKE, UH, PULLED FOR SEPARATE CONSIDERATION? AND THESE ARE FOR, UH, THE MEETING MINUTES, UH, FROM JUNE 8TH AND FOR APPROVAL OF OUR INVOICES, UH, TO PAY.AND, UM, THIS HAS EVERYBODY AWARE OF THE UPDATE.
LACEY, DO YOU WANNA THE THERE IS, THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL INVOICE TO PAY THAT WAS, UM, INCLUDED FOR ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS AND MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC IN THE BACK.
I MOVE TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THAT.
I HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR SWENSEN, A SECOND BY DIRECTOR GALLO TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FA OR DO I NEED PUBLIC COMMENT FOR EACH ITEM? JEANNIE, WE HAD PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THE WHOLE AGENDA, SO I, I DON'T THINK I DO, BUT YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
UM, I THINK IF SOMEONE WANTS TO SPEAK TO AN ITEM, THEY'LL MAKE THEMSELVES KNOWN.
ALL RIGHT, WELL THEN I'LL OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
SEEING NONE A CLOSED PUBLIC COMMENT.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
[7. SUSTAINABILITY ZONE REVISIONS]
TO, UH, ITEM SEVEN, WHICH IS OUR SUSTAINABILITY ZONE REVISIONS.AND, UH, LACEY, WOULD YOU KIND OF GIVE US A, AN UPDATED SUMMARY PLEASE? SO, IN PREPARATION FOR E K I TO COMMENCE ON A NEW TASK OF REVISING THE SUSTAINABILITY ZONES, THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE HAS REVIEWED THE EXISTING ZONES AND IS MAKING SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE BOARD TO CONSIDER AS DIRECTION TO E K I.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION OF THE SUSTAINABILITY ZONES IS TO STREAMLINE THE REVISIONS AND ENSURE E K I RECEIVES DIRECTION FROM THE BOARD WHEN UNDERTAKING THIS TASK.
SO THE GSA INTENDS TO REVISE THE EXISTING SUSTAINABILITY ZONES, BUT THIS IS THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE AS WELL, JUST TO MAKE THAT CLEAR, THAT THE INTENTION IS TO REVISE THE EXISTING SUSTAINABILITY ZONES RATHER THAN CREATE NEW ONES.
[00:15:01]
REFINEMENT IS TO MAKE THEM COMPATIBLE WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A GROUNDWATER ALLOCATION PROGRAM.SO, LOOKING AT THE SCREEN HERE, YOU SEE THE EXISTING ZONES AND SOME DIRECTION FOR E K I WOULD BE TO, UM, CONSIDER SOME REVISIONS TO THESE ZONES FOLLOWING A P N AND FIELD BOUNDARIES TO NOT SPLIT FIELDS OR A P N IN HALF.
UM, FIELD BOUNDARY MAPS ARE AVAILABLE ON OPEN ET OR USING THE MERCED COUNTY AG COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE FOR THOSE BOUNDARIES.
THE COMMITTEE IS RECOMMENDING THAT THE WATER DISTRICTS OF STEVENSON, MERCKIN COUNTY WATER DISTRICT AND LONE TREE MUTUAL WATER COMPANY ARE KEPT WHOLE WITHIN ANY ZONE THAT THEY ARE IN.
AND THAT ZONES MAY CUT THROUGH OTHER JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES.
THE, UM, THE PURPOSE OF KEEPING THOSE THREE WATER DISTRICTS WHOLE IS BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY PUMP AND MANAGE THE GROUNDWATER THEMSELVES FOR THEIR LANDOWNERS, AND THEY PUMP AND DELIVER WATER TO THEIR, UM, GROWERS AND THEIR LANDOWNERS WITHIN THEIR DISTRICT.
THE COMMITTEE IS RECOMMENDING THAT CONTIGUOUS ZONES ARE MAINTAINED RATHER THAN, UH, A CHECKERBOARD ACROSS THE GSA.
AND SO YOU DON'T SEE ZONES REACHING FROM, SAY, ONE SIDE OF THE GSA TO ANOTHER SIDE OF THE GSA.
UM, THE COMMITTEE IS RECOMMENDING GROUPING PARCELS AND FIELDS TOGETHER IN ZONES THAT ARE REPRESENTING EITHER ABOVE OR BELOW 2015 GROUNDWATER LEVELS TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE.
SO THE DATA ANALYSIS TASK THAT E K I IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON WILL HELP FEED INTO THIS RECOMMENDATION.
LOCAL DATA IS CURRENTLY BEING COLLECTED FOR A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE LOCAL GROUNDWATER LEVEL DATA WITH GROUNDWATER LEVEL CONTOURS THAT ARE DRAFTED EACH YEAR FOR THE ANNUAL REPORT.
AND SO THE RESULTS OF THAT ANALYSIS CAN BE USED FOR THIS RECOMMENDATION.
UM, THE COMMITTEE IS RECOMMENDING, UH, CONSIDERING DOMESTIC WELLS, SO OVERLAYING, UH, THE DOMESTIC WELL MAPPING FROM THE G S P TO SHOW THE DENSITY FOR DOMESTIC WELLS TO HELP SHAPE THE SUSTAINABILITY BOUNDARIES.
AND THEN THIS CAN ALSO BE USED AS THE G S A CONSIDERS MANAGEMENT ACTIONS FOR DOMESTIC WELLS, PERHAPS IN AREAS THAT ARE BELOW THE 2015 LEVEL.
UM, ALLOCATION RULES ARE INTENDED TO ADDRESS THE IRRIGATED VERSUS UN IRRIGATED LAND USE.
SO THERE IS A PRIORITY HERE FOR GROUNDWATER CONDITIONS RATHER THAN LAND USE CONDITIONS.
AND ALLOCATION RULES ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO ADDRESS THE ABOVE AND BELOW THE CORCORAN CLAY PUMPING.
SO THE A ZONE MAY INCLUDE BOTH AREAS THAT ARE WITHIN AND OUTSIDE OF THE CORCORAN CLAY, BECAUSE THOSE CONSIDERATIONS ARE GONNA BE ADDRESSED, ARE ANTICIPATED TO BE ADDRESSED THROUGH AN ALLOCATION RULE.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE DO ANTICIPATE THE COMMITTEE DOES ANTICIPATE THAT AS E K I, UH, STARTS REFINING THESE BOUNDARIES AND MAY BECOME NECESSARY TO ADD A ZONE OR TWO TO THIS.
THE COMMITTEE ISN'T LOOKING TO ADD 14 NEW ZONES, BUT A ZONE OR TWO, UM, TO THIS WOULD BE FINE.
AND SO AT THIS TIME, I'D, I'D WELCOME ANY MORE COMMENTS FROM THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE TO ADD ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS AND CONSIDERATION.
AND THEN, UM, WITH BOARD CONSENSUS, THE COMMITTEE WOULD BE ABLE TO GIVE E K I THE SIGNAL TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE SUSTAINABILITY ZONES, RE REVISIONS THE SUSTAINABILITY ZONE REVISIONS AFTER THE DATA ANALYSIS TASK HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
UH, ANY COMMENTS FROM THE, UH, STRATEGIC PLANNING, UH, COMMITTEE? SO, LACEY EKIS CONTRACT, I THINK CALLS FOR A ONE MONTH PERIOD TO DO THE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE SUSTAINABILITY ZONE BOUNDARIES.
I DON'T HAVE MEMORIZED EXACTLY THE, THE TIME PERIOD.
I KNOW THEY DID ALLOCATE THREE MEETINGS SO THEY CAN MEET WITH THOSE THREE MEETINGS CAN EITHER BE WITH THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE, THEY COULD HAVE TWO MEETINGS WITH THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE, AND ANOTHER MEETING WITH THE BOARD OR WITH THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UM, HOWEVER, HOWEVER YOU CHOOSE TO SPREAD THOSE OUT.
AND I THINK THE DATA, UH, ADDITIONAL DATA COLLECTION WAS SUPPOSED TO END JULY 1ST.
OUR DEADLINE THAT WE PUT ON IT TO COLLECT DATA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE JULY, WAS, YEAH, SUPPOSED TO BE JULY 1ST.
UM, I DID HEAR FROM SOMEBODY WHO NEEDED UNTIL THIS WEEK TO GET APPROVAL TO SHARE SOME ADDITIONAL DATA.
SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET A LITTLE BIT MORE THIS WEEK.
BUT ALL OF THAT SHOULD ALREADY HAVE COME IN BY NOW AND HAS ALREADY BEEN TRANSMITTED OVER TO E K I.
I THINK ANOTHER GOOD QUESTION IS, IF PEOPLE WANT TO PROVIDE INPUT AS TO HOW THEY FEEL SUSTAINABILITY ZONES MIGHT BE ADJUSTED, HOW WOULD PEOPLE WHO AREN'T ON THE
[00:20:01]
STRATEGIC AD HOC, UH, GO ABOUT DOING THAT? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.SO PART OF THAT, UM, IS WHY WE'RE BRINGING IT HERE TO THE BOARD.
SO WE'RE KIND OF DAYLIGHTING SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE GONNA GO TO E K I HERE IN THE BOARD MEETING.
WE DO ANTICIPATE THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE AN AGENDA ITEM FOR THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE WHEN THEY MEET IN JULY.
AND THEN THIS IS GONNA COME BACK TO THE BOARD AGAIN, UM, IF, IF NOT ONCE OR IF NOT TWICE, AND AT LEAST ONCE MORE, UM, FOR FINAL ADOPTION.
AND SO AT ANY OF THOSE TIMES, ANYBODY CAN SPEAK DURING PUBLIC COMMENT OR THEY COULD ALSO EMAIL IN ANY COMMENTS THAT THEY HAVE AFTER THINKING, SEEING THIS, THINKING ABOUT IT.
UM, THESE SLIDES ARE POSTED, ARE GOING TO BE POSTED ON THE GSA WEBSITE, AND SO THEY COULD EMAIL THAT INTO CONTACT AT MERCED.
ANYTHING ELSE? NO, THAT WAS IT.
UM, AND THEN IF, UH, IF, UH, IF A, A LANDOWNER WANTED A CONT UH, UM, CONTACT EKI DIRECTLY, COULD THEY, COULD THEY DO THAT? I, I THINK THAT IS CONCERN.
THE ORDER TO CONTROL CONTROL COSTS, WE WOULD PROBABLY WANT THEM TO CONTACT THE GSA FIRST AND JUST MANAGE THAT, THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH EKI.
SO EITHER THROUGH THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE OR, OR CON OR CONTACTING STAFF DIRECTLY.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT.
UM, I'LL OPEN UP FOR A PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, ON THIS ITEM.
I THINK ALL THOSE CONSIDERATIONS ARE REALLY GOOD.
I WOULD ADD THAT, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING THAT MI GUA IS GONNA BE HAVING THE EQUIVALENT TYPE ZONES THAT, UH, RELATE TO WHERE YOU CAN MOVE CREDITS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE ADVANTAGEOUS OF OUR ZONES CONTEMPLATED THEIR ZONES.
SO IF POSSIBLE, THEY'D MATCH UP AS FAR AS AREAS WHERE THE CORCORAN CLAY IS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
THEY JUST, WE SPEAK TO EACH OTHER AS THESE ZONES GET CREATED.
ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT? SEEING NONE, I'LL, UH, I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT AND BRING IT BACK TO THE DAIS.
UM, ANYTHING, ANY OTHER IMPORT OR DIRECTION FROM ANY OF THE BOARD MEMBERS? OKAY.
YOU GOOD, LACEY? I, I THINK SO.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A CONSENSUS FROM THE BOARD THAT THEY'RE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE? CORRECT.
THIS IS CHRIS HEPNER FROM E K I.
UM, I WAS JUST GOING TO ASK IF SOMEBODY COULD, UH, REPEAT WHAT THE PREVIOUS PUBLIC COMMENTER SAID ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, HIS SUGGESTION THAT THE ZONES AGREE WITH, AND THEN I, I MISSED THAT LAST PART.
YEAH, IT WAS JUST THAT WE HAVE COMMUNICATION WITH MIA GUA AS THEY SET UP THEIR ZONES, SO THAT, UM, WE, THAT THERE'S, THERE'S NO STARK DIFFERENCE MAYBE, I GUESS, BETWEEN WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING, THAT THERE'S JUST SOME COMMUNICATION.
SO, SO IF SOMEBODY, MAYBE IS A LANDOWNER, I GUESS THE EXAMPLE WOULD BE IF YOU HAVE A LAND OWNER THAT HAS SOME LAND IN BOTH, THAT, UH, THERE'S JUST A LITTLE BIT OF CONTINUITY IN WHAT THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
[8. LAND REPURPOSING UPDATE]
UH, WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM EIGHT, WHICH IS OUR LAND REPURPOSING UPDATE.AND, UM, I THINK, UH, THERE WE GO.
UM, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO LACEY TO GIVE US A SUMMARY.
SO THIS IS AN UPDATE FOR BOTH THE LOCALLY FUNDED LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM THAT WAS ESTABLISHED BY THIS GSA.
AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA INCLUDE AN UPDATE OF THE MULTI-BENEFIT LAND REPURPOSING GRANT THAT WAS RECENTLY AWARDED TO THE GSA.
SO AN UPDATE ON THE 2023 LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.
THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR PARTICIPANTS, THE FIRST QUARTERLY REPORT, WHICH STARTED IN QUARTER TWO, WHICH WAS JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH OF WATER YEAR 2023, DUE TO THE AGREEMENTS NOT BEING EXECUTED UNTIL QUARTER TWO WERE RECENTLY SENT TO ALL THE PARTICIPANTS AT THIS TIME, ALL THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE MINIMUM WATER USE REDUCTION REQUIRE REQUIREMENT IN THE AGREEMENTS.
THE THIRD QUARTERLY REPORT WILL BE RELEASED IN THE COMING WEEKS ONCE THE JUNE DATA FROM OPEN ET IS AVAILABLE.
UM, FOR YEAR TWO OF THE PROGRAM, WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OPEN APPLICATION PERIOD, AND OUTREACH
[00:25:01]
POSTCARDS WERE MAILED TO ALL OF THE IRRIGATED PARCELS IN THE MS GSA FOR YEAR, FOR THE YEAR TWO APPLICATION PERIOD.WE SENT POSTCARDS LAST YEAR, AND WE DID GET A GOOD RESPONSE AND FOUND THAT THEY WERE HELPFUL IN GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT THE PROGRAM.
UM, EXTRA POSTCARDS HAVE BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO THE BOARD MEMBERS.
YEAH, WE WILL MAKE EXTRA POSTCARDS AVAILABLE TO THE BOARD MEMBERS, UM, AND ALSO WE WOULD HAVE THOSE AVAILABLE TO SHARE WITH ANY INTERESTED PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE HERE.
UM, STAFF HAS BEEN FIELDING PHONE CALLS AND INQUIRIES ABOUT THE PROGRAM, AND THE GSA HAS RECEIVED ONE APPLICATION SO FAR FOR YEAR TWO.
THERE ARE STILL TWO WEEKS LEFT BEFORE THE APPLICATION DEADLINE OF JULY 31ST, 2023.
AND SO WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN IS THE POSTCARD THAT WAS SHARED, UM, THROUGH THE MAIL AND WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE IN PERSON AS WELL.
SO NEXT TO THE, UH, MULTI-BENEFIT LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM, THE GOOD NEWS THAT YOU'VE ALL HEARD IS THE MERCED SUB, AND GSA WAS AWARDED 8.89 MILLION GRANT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION FOR THE MULTI-BENEFIT LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM.
I HAVE A FEW SLIDES HERE THAT DESCRIBE THE MSGS A'S VISION FOR OUR M L R P AWARD AND THE TASKS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THE GRANT PROPOSAL.
UH, THIS IS INFORMATION THAT WE SHARED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION, AND SO I WANTED TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU GUYS AS BOARD MEMBERS AND WITH THE PUBLIC TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING TO DO WITH THE 8.89 MILLION AWARD.
UM, SO WE HAVE SEVEN PARTNERS IN THIS APPLICATION AND, AND ONE COLLABORATOR WE'RE WORKING WITH RIVER PARTNERS SCENE IS THE, UM, SOCIO ENVIRONMENTAL AND EDUCATION NETWORK.
THEY WERE, UH, PART OF UC, MERCED, AND KIND OF BUILT OUT OF UC, MERCED.
WE HAVE THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, THE EAST MERCED R C D, GREAT VALLEY SEED COMPANY, SANDY MUS MUTUAL WATER COMPANY, LA PALOMA MUTUAL WATER COMPANY.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED CITRUS INSTITUTE.
CITRUS IS A COLLABORATOR AT THIS TIME, BUT, UM, WE ARE INTERESTED IN INCLUDING MORE PARTNERS, INCLUDING UC, MERCED, IN THE FUTURE.
I THINK THEY WERE JUST WAITING, UM, TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW MANY GRAD STUDENTS THEY WOULD HAVE AVAILABLE AND, AND PROJECTS FOR THEIR GRAD STUDENTS.
SO WE WEREN'T ABLE TO INCLUDE THEM AS A FULL PARTNER AT THIS TIME, BUT THEY'RE STILL VERY MUCH A PART OF OUR APPLICATION HERE.
UM, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE GSA AND OUR PARTNERS.
UM, THEY'VE ALL WORKED TOGETHER BEFORE IN THE PAST.
UH, THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, THAT'S OUR MERCED REFUGE GREAT VALLEY SEED COMPANY IS BASED OUT OF, UH, MERCED COUNTY OUT IN THE LOS SPANOS AREA.
AND THEN OUR EAST MERCED, OUR CD RIVER PARTNERS IS A STATEWIDE NGO, BUT THEY ARE AL ALREADY DOING PROJECTS HERE IN MERCED COUNTY.
UM, AND SO WE'VE GOT REALLY GOOD, UH, COLLABORATION BETWEEN ALL OF THESE PARTNERS TOGETHER.
AND WITHOUT OUR PARTNERS, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE WOULD'VE GOTTEN SUCH A GREAT AWARD HERE.
AND SO WE WE'RE WORKING REALLY WELL TOGETHER.
THERE ARE TWO MAIN PROGRAMMATIC PROJECTS THAT WERE INCLUDED IN THIS APPLICATION.
UM, ONE IS THE LONG TERM LAND REPURPOSING, UH, FOR GROUNDWATER SUSTAINABILITY.
YOU SEE ON THIS TOP MAP HERE, THE POTENTIAL REPURPOSING AREAS.
THOSE ARE ALL OF OUR IRRIGATED AREAS WITHIN THE GSA.
UM, THESE WOULD BE INDIVIDUAL LAND REPURPOSING PROJECTS THAT THIS, UH, ALMOST 9 MILLION BLOCK GRANT WOULD THEN BE ABLE, THE GSA WOULD SUBGRANT THAT OUT TO SOME OF THESE INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.
UM, AND THE PURPOSE FOR THIS LONG TERM LAND REPURPOSING IS TO REALLY BENEFIT THE SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS THAT WERE LISTED IN THE GROUNDWATER SUSTAINABILITY PLAN TO BENEFIT GROUNDWATER LEVEL SUBSIDENCE STORAGE DEPLETION, AND ALSO WE'D WANNA PRIORITIZE THE BENEFITS TO DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.
THE SECOND PROJECT IS THE WILDLIFE HABITAT CORRIDOR.
UM, THIS CORRIDOR WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE HERE, BEFORE THE BOARD, THIS IS CONNECTING THE SIERRA NEVADA AND THE MERCED WILDLIFE REFUGE.
UM, THE PURPOSE IS TO REDUCE GROUNDWATER USE IN THAT AREA, BUT IT WOULD ALSO PROVIDE PUBLIC RECREATIONAL BENEFITS.
THIS CORRIDOR, UM, YOU SEE IT ON THE MAP HERE, AND, AND WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THESE MAPS THAT SHOW THE CORRIDOR AS THE LINES BEING VERY FUZZY, BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THE CORRIDOR WOULD BE AS WE WORK WITH LANDOWNERS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN, UM, REPURPOSING SOME OF THEIR LAND AND HELPING TO CONNECT THAT CORRIDOR, THAT'S REALLY GONNA DRIVE EXACTLY WHERE IT IS.
BUT YOU SEE, IT'S KIND OF A ALONG SANDY MUSH ROAD HERE.
UH, THE CORRIDOR WAS NOT A, UH, A PROJECT THAT WAS
[00:30:01]
DEVELOPED BY THE GSA.THIS IS ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT THE STATE HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR A REALLY LONG TIME, CREATING THESE WILDLIFE CORRIDORS ACROSS THE VALLEY.
AND WE JUST HAVE ONE HERE IN MERCED.
SO THE COORDINATION FOR THE PROGRAM, THE YOU GUYS AS THE GSA BOARD WOULD EXECUTE THE GRANT.
UM, YOU'RE ENACTING ALL OF THE LAND REPURPOSING POLICIES, AND YOU'RE COORDINATING WITH THE PARTNERS AND THE COLLABORATORS TO, UM, REALLY PUSH THIS EFFORT FORWARD.
WE HAVE A M L R P TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH YOUR USUAL TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
THIS WOULD BE COMPRISED OF YOUR GSA STAFF, YOUR PARTNERS, YOUR CONSULTANTS, AND THEY'RE GONNA REALLY COORDINATE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE APPROACHES TO MULTI-BENEFIT LAND REPURPOSING, UM, AND SOLICIT THE INPUT FROM LOCAL LAND OWNERS AND ON SOME OF THE REPURPOSING PRACTICES.
AND THEN FINALLY, YOU HAVE A MULTI-BENEFIT LAND REPURPOSING STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS GONNA INCLUDE YOUR COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES, HELP TO ADVISE ON THE OUTREACH STRATEGIES, AND CONDUCT THE OUTREACH TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITIES THAT THIS COULD IMPACT ARE ALL A PART OF THE PROCESS AS WELL.
NOW WE'RE GONNA RUN THROUGH THE SIX TASKS THAT WERE INCLUDED IN OUR PROPOSAL, UH, DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTI-BENEFIT AGRICULTURAL LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM.
YOU SEE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN THE BUDGET FOR EACH OF THESE TASKS.
THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION'S, M L R P PROGRAM REQUIRES A MULTI-BENEFIT LAND REPURPOSING PLAN TO BE DEVELOPED USING THIS FUNDING.
AND SO THE GSA AND THE PARTNERS AND THE COLLABORATORS WILL, UM, IDENTIFY THE FACTORS CRITICAL TO THE SEC SUCCESS FOR THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS, DEVELOP A PROCESS TO IDENTIFY PROJECTS AND PRIORITIZE PROJECTS THAT WOULD BE FUNDED THROUGH THIS EFFORT AND THROUGH, UM, ADDITIONAL EFFORTS.
SO WE'RE CREATING A PIPELINE OF PROJECTS AS WE GET ADDITIONAL FUNDING, NOT JUST THIS 8.89 MILLION, BUT IF WE CAN ATTRACT OTHER DOLLARS, FEDERAL AND STATE, WE WOULD HAVE THE, UM, STRUCTURE IN PLACE TO HAVE THAT PIPELINE OF PROJECTS FOR LAND REPURPOSING.
AND WE'RE ALSO HOPING THAT THIS BUILDS OFF OF THE LOCAL LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM THAT YOU'VE ALREADY PUT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT INTO DEVELOPING.
TASK TWO IS PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND PERMITTING.
UM, THIS IS WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS TO, ON THE TECHNICAL DESIGNS OF SPECIFIC PROJECTS, THE CONTRACTS, PAYMENTS, CONTRACTS, PAYMENTS, WORKING WITH THE PERMITTING, THE SE EQUA, AND THEN WORKING WITH GREAT VALLEY SEED TO ENSURE THAT THE NA NATIVE PLANT SEED STOCK IS GOING TO BE AVAILABLE FOR THESE PROJECTS.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE LEARNED AS WE'VE WORKED WITH GREAT VALLEY SEED ON THIS APPLICATION IS YOU REALLY NEED A LOT OF LEAD TIME TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE SEED STOCK AVAILABLE IN ORDER TO REPURPOSE WITH THE NATIVE, THE LOCAL NATIVE SEEDS THAT YOU WANT FOR SOME OF THESE RESTORATION PROJECTS.
TASK THREE IS PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION.
THE BUDGET IS 5.47 MILLION FOR THIS TASK.
AND THIS IS WHERE THE GSA AND THE PARTNERS WILL ACTUALLY BEGIN TO WORK WITH THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN REPURPOSING THEIR LAND AND WHO HAVE PROJECTS TO, UM, MOVE FORWARD WITH THOSE PROJECTS THAT ARE EMPLOYING THE STRATEGIES THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY DETERMINED IN YOUR PLAN TO TRANSITION, UM, IRRIGATED CROP LAND TO OTHER, UM, OTHER USES OR HABITAT RESTORATION.
UM, THERE'D BE INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR SOME OF THIS REPURPOSING.
REPURPOSING, IT WOULD BE HABITAT CREATION, PERHAPS IT WOULD BE RECHARGE INFRASTRUCTURE AND, AND OTHER STRATEGIES THAT YOU'VE DEVELOPED IN YOUR PLAN THAT YOU, THAT YOU CREATED IN TASK ONE.
UM, TASK FOUR IS SUPPORTING OUR PARTNER CAPACITY NEEDS.
THIS HAS A BUDGET OF $895,000.
SO WE HAVE ALL OF THESE GREAT PARTNERS, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN STAY, UM, AS A PARTNERS IN THIS EFFORT WITH US.
AND WE KNOW THEY'RE NOT DOING IT THROUGH ONLY IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GSA.
AND SO THE, UH, M L R THE ML R P PROGRAM DOES HAVE THE ABILITY TO ENSURE THAT YOUR PARTNERS ARE SUPPORTED IN THEIR NEEDS IN ORDER TO HELP WORK ON THESE PROJECTS AS WELL.
AND SO THE PROJECT PLANNING, THE RIVER REST, THE HABITAT RESTORATION AND THE OUTREACH, WE WOULD ALL SUPPORT THEM AS THEY'RE WORKING ON THOSE TASKS AS AS WE GO FORWARD.
UM, TASK FIVE IS OUTREACH, EDUCATION AND TRAINING.
AND SO, UM, THE, THE BASIC OUTREACH THAT, THAT WE'D WANNA COVER HERE IS EDUCATING ON THE NEEDS FOR LAND
[00:35:01]
REPURPOSING, SOLICITING FEEDBACK ON THE VISION.THE REALLY INTERESTING THING HERE IS WE WOULD BE WORKING WITH SEEN ON A LOT OF THIS OUTREACH.
THEY ARE ALREADY DOING OUTREACH ON LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM, OTHER GRANT AWARDEES DOWN IN THE SOUTH VALLEY.
AND PART OF SCENE'S OUTREACH INCLUDES WORKING WITH THE LOCAL SCHOOLS AND HELPING WORK WITH THE CHILDREN AND EDUCATING THE CHILDREN ON WHAT THESE PROJECTS ARE, AND HAVING THE CHILDREN ALSO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE TO THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR COMMUNI COMMUNITIES WHAT THE PROJECT IS, WHAT THE BENEFITS ARE AS WELL.
AND SO I THINK THERE'S A REALLY INTERESTING TIE THERE IN WORKING WITH THE EDUCATIONAL, UM, SCHOOLS AND, UH, NETWORKS THERE TO HELP DO OUR OUTREACH.
SO IT'S NOT JUST THE USUAL WORKSHOPS THAT YOU SEE THAT ARE KIND OF HIT AND MISS IN ATTENDANCE, BUT, UM, WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY IN A DIFFERENT KIND OF OUT OF THE BOX, WAY OUTSIDE OF THE BOX.
TASK SIX IS MONITORING, OF COURSE, WE WOULD WANT TO MONITOR THE, UH, PROJECTS THAT ARE REPURPOSING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE ALL PERFORMING TO WHAT THEY'VE, UH, COMMITTED TO DOING.
THIS IS THE VOLUME OF WATER SAVE THE ACRES THAT THEY'RE REPURPOSING THE WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS.
THIS INVOLVES, UM, THE COMMUNITY WITH A CITIZEN SCIENCE COMPONENT.
CITIZEN SCIENCE IS ANOTHER PROJECT THAT SEEN IS WORKING ON, UH, FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, THEIR CITIZEN SCIENCE WOULD INCLUDE EQUIPPING CITIZENS WITH THE ABILITY TO TEST FOR SALINITY OR TDS, UM, IN THEIR WATER AS THE PROJECT IS GOING ON.
SO MAYBE THEY SEE THE CHANGE IN THAT AS THERE IS LAND REPURPOSED AROUND THEIR COMMUNITIES.
THE WHAT'S REALLY NEAT ABOUT THAT IS THAT IT'S COMPLIMENTARY TO THE GROUNDWATER SUSTAINABILITY PLAN, WHICH ALSO MONITORS FOR TDS.
AND SO WE'RE MONITORING FOR THE SAME THING.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE CITIZEN COM SCIENCE COMPONENT THAT IS ALSO MONITORING FOR THAT AS WELL.
AND THAT HAS A BUDGET OF 320,000.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE HAVE, UM, THE DAC BENEFITS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE BENEFIT THE DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES IN THE GSA IS A REALLY HIGH PRIORITY OF THIS PROJECT.
IT'S ALSO A REALLY HIGH PRIORITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION.
UM, SO THE PRIMARY BENEFIT IS PROVIDING, YOU KNOW, RELIABLE, HIGH QUALITY DRINKING WATER GROUNDWATER FOR OUR DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES AND SUSTAINING THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY.
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS MAY INCLUDE IMPROVING AIR QUALITY, WATER QUALITY AND ACCESS TO RECREATIONAL SPACES.
AND THEN ON THE MAP, YOU SEE HERE, THE PINK AND YELLOW ARE THE DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE MSGS A.
SO THE NEXT STEPS WE'RE CURRENTLY, UH, REVIEWING THE AGREEMENT AND WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION ON THAT.
WE'RE HAVING, UH, OUR LEGAL COUNSEL WORK ON THAT.
UM, ONCE WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT IN PLACE, WE'LL, WE'LL MOVE FORWARD.
I THINK WE'RE NOT GOING TO WAIT FOR THE, THE AGREEMENT TO BE, UM, TOTALLY IN PLACE BEFORE WE START INITIATING PARTNER MEETINGS TO START THIS PLANNING PROCESS AND GETTING ALL OF OUR PARTNERS BACK TOGETHER.
AGAIN, WE HAVEN'T TALKED TO OUR PARTNERS SINCE BEFORE OUR AWARD WAS ANNOUNCED.
UM, AND THEN THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WE'RE COLLABORATING WITH OUR PARTNERS TO CREATE THESE LONG LASTING PROGRAMMATIC CAPACITIES THAT SUPPORTS BOTH GENERAL AND TARGETED LAND REPURPOSING GOALS.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A GOAL TO, TO INVOLVE THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO ENSURE THAT THE OUTCOMES POSITIVELY IMPACT THE BASIN.
AND SO THAT IS A REALLY QUICK OVERVIEW OF A REALLY LARGE, UM, GRANT PROPOSAL.
AND SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
ALSO, CHRIS HOEPPNER WITH E K I IS INSTRUMENTAL, HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL WITH THE M L R P APPLICATION.
AS YOU RECALL, WE DID APPLY FOR THIS GRANT A YEAR AGO AND WE'RE NOT SUCCESSFUL.
AND WE TOOK THE LESSONS WE LEARNED FOR THAT FIRST APPLICATION, UM, AND PUT HIM INTO THE SECOND APPLICATION.
AND WE WERE SUCCESSFUL THE SECOND TIME.
AND CHRIS HAS BEEN, UH, HELPING US OUT AND WORKING WITH US ALL ALONG THE WAY.
AND SO HE IS ON THE LINE AS WELL AND CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS TOO.
SO GOOD PRESENTATION, BUT A QUESTION I HAD.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TAKING THIS BACK TO NATURAL HABITAT AND PLANTING NATIVE SPECIES WITH THIS GREAT VALLEY SEACO.
I THINK I COULD SEE AN ISSUE IN THE FUTURE WITH SOME OF THESE NATIVE SPECIES.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY HOME TO EVASIVE PEST, AND THEN WHEN THEY DRY IN THE SPRING TIME, THAT PEST ENDING UP ON CROP LAND, WHICH CAN CAUSE MORE SPRAYS, MORE ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE TO FARMERS.
I THINK IF WE GO FORWARD WITH THIS, BESIDES WORKING WITH THAT SEED COMPANY, WE NEED TO LO WORK WITH LOCAL P UH,
[00:40:01]
UH, CROP PEST CONTROL ADVISORS, UH, PCA, SORRY, DRAWING A BLANK THERE, BUT PCAS ON WHICH SPECIES WILL HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT WHEN THEY DRY UP IN THE SUMMERTIME ON THE FARMLAND NEARBY.I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA, AND THAT WILL BE A PART OF THE, UH, PLANNING PROCESS, BUT IT'S A GREAT POINT TO MAKE.
UM, AT THIS TIME I'LL OPEN UP FOR, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM.
UH, BOB KELLY IN QUESTION, UH, THE ACTUAL COMPONENT FOR THE LAND REPURPOSING, UH, THE, WHAT WAS IT? HOW MANY MILLION IS THAT FOR A PERMANENT LAND REPURPOSING OR A TWO TO FIVE YEAR LAND REP REPURPOSING? OR WHAT IS, WHAT IS, WHAT ARE THE TERMS OF THE, OF LAND REPURPOSING? YEAH.
SO THE PLAN THAT'LL BE DEVELOPED WILL REALLY DICTATE A LOT OF THAT, BUT THE MINIMUM TO USE THE GRANT DOLLARS ON IS A MINIMUM OF 10 YEARS, A MINIMUM OF, OF 10 YEARS.
THAT WAS MY MY QUESTION BECAUSE IT, IT WOULD SEEM THAT WE NEED, NEED TO BE LONG TERM TO ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH, UH, ALL THE OTHER TASKS THAT ARE BEING, THAT ARE BEING DISCUSSED HERE.
UM, SO I, I, I WANTED TO KNOW THAT.
ANY OTHER, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT? SEEING NONE, I'LL, I'LL CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, I, UH, BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD IF THERE'S ANY MORE DISCUSSION.
UM, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE, UM, I GUESS THE, THE, WHAT I SEE, AND I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS WOULD BE A FOCUS OF US GOING FORWARD, IS, UM, AS, AS, AS WE FOCUS ON THIS WILDLIFE CORRIDOR, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT, UH, WE USE OUR PLAN TO ATTRACT MORE DOLLARS, UH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, UH, IF WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH THIS EFFORT AND SPEND THIS MONEY AND IT'S GONNA SAVE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE GOAL, OUR GOAL IS, OR MY GOAL IS THAT WE SAVE GROUNDWATER PUMPING, BUT, UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT AS WELL MAKE IT, UH, MAKE IT SUSTAINABLE AND THEN HAVE AS, AS, UM, MINIMAL AN IMPACT ON THOSE THAT ARE AFFECTED.
AND, UH, WHEN I SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S VOLUNTARY, RIGHT? WE CAN'T FORCE ANYBODY TO, UH, TO SIGN UP.
BUT IF WE END UP, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, RETIRING A BUNCH OF LAND THAT'S IN THE, UM, THAT WILDLIFE CORRIDOR IS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S US, UH, OR CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT AND FISH AND GAME, THAT'S ONE OF THEIR GOALS THAT WE REACH OUT TO THEM.
AND, YOU KNOW, I COULD SEE THAT THERE WOULD BE A NEED FOR A, FOR AN ANIMAL UNDERPASS UNDER SEVERAL OF 'EM UNDER SOUTH 59, RIGHT? THOSE KINDS OF THINGS THAT, THAT WE TRY TO PARLAY ALL OF THIS INTO A GREATER LONGER TERM EFFECT SO THAT WHEN THIS MONEY RUNS OUT, WE'RE STILL SAVING GROUNDWATER.
SO, UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? NOPE.
WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE ON TO, UH, TO OUR NEXT ITEM.
[9. STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT]
THE STRATEGIC PLANNING AND AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT.WHO'S GIVEN THAT TODAY? UH, CONGRATULATIONS.
I GOT NOMINATED TODAY FOR THIS.
UH, SO BESIDES THE SUSTAINABILITY ZONES, WHICH WE TALKED ABOUT A LOT LAST TIME, AND WE HAD AN ACTION ITEM ON, UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE LOCAL, UH, GROUNDWATER, UH, LEVEL DATA, UH, COLLECTION THAT EKI IS WORKING ON.
UH, THEY GOT THE INFO, WHICH LISA SAID, THERE'S STILL ONE MORE GROUP OR WAITING ON INFO FOR GROUNDWATER LEVELS.
WE'RE HOPING TO GET THAT REPORT BACK SOON AND LOOK OVER IT TO SEE WHERE THE GROUNDWATER LEVELS ARE AT.
AND WITH THE ADDED IN, UH, INFO, THE CONTOURS OF THE GROUNDWATER LEVEL OF MAPS WE'RE USING, HOPEFULLY IMPROVE THOSE.
UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON SUSTAINABILITY ZONES, LIKE I, UH, JUST TALKED ABOUT AND WE WENT OVER AT THE BOARD MEETING AND WORKING WITH E K TO REFINE THEM.
AND THEN, UH, WE'RE ALSO GONNA GO OVER AT OUR NEXT MEETING, UH, OUR, UH, THE SCHEDULE FOR THE ALLOCATION PROGRAM MOVING FORWARD.
I KNOW A COUPLE MONTHS AGO WE CAME FORWARD WITH ONE AS A BOARD, BUT ONCE WE DECIDE TO TACKLE SUSTAINABILITY ZONES, IT KIND OF CHANGED THE TIMELINE.
SO AT OUR NEXT, BY THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, OUR UH, COMMITTEE IS HOPING TO COME FORWARD WITH A DIFFERENT TIMELINE SCHEDULE THAT MORE ACCURATELY REFLECTS WHAT INFO WE'RE GATHERING RIGHT NOW AND, UH, WHAT PROCESSES WE'RE WORKING ON.
SO IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE, UH, MIKE OR ERIC, YOU GUYS ADD, OR DOES THAT COVER IT? WELL DONE.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR, UH, THE UPDATE.
I'LL OPEN UP, UH, FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE, UH, UH, STRATEGIC PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT.
SEEING NONE, I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT AND, UH, UM, THANK THE COMMITTEE FOR THEIR HARD WORK.
UH, WE'LL MOVE ON TO, UM, NUMBER 10, WHICH IS STAFF
[10. STAFF REPORT]
[00:45:01]
REPORT.AND THIS IS JUST TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE THAT WE HELD AN IN-PERSON GROWER WORKSHOP FOR THE, UM, TEST GROUP OF THE GROUNDWATER ACCOUNTING PLATFORM IN MID-JUNE.
UH, WE HAD ABOUT 10 PARTICIPANTS FROM THE GSA THAT HAD BEEN RECOMMENDED BY BOARD MEMBERS, UC.
MERCED HOSTED THIS, AND THEY HOSTED THE WATER DATA CONSORTIUM, EDF AND ES ESA, WHO ARE THE PLATFORM TEAM TO BE THERE IN PERSON.
UM, OUR PARTICIPANTS WERE ABLE TO LOG ONTO THE PLATFORM, SEE THEIR PARCELS, AND SEE HOW THE PLATFORM WORKED.
I THINK THE GROWERS GAVE SOME CLEAR FEEDBACK ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF BEING ABLE TO GROUP PARCELS OR FIELDS TOGETHER.
AND ALSO I THINK THE PLATFORM TEAM WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY A FEW OTHER SPEED BUMPS THAT GROWERS WOULD RUN INTO, UM, AS THEY START LOGGING ON AND START VERIFYING THEIR PARCELS.
SO I THINK THAT WAS REALLY HELPFUL.
I KNOW THE TEAM WAS REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE THIS, UM, TEST GROUP MEET IN PERSON AND DO THIS.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE A TEST GROUP IN THE MERCED BASIN KIND OF TEST OUT THE PLATFORM.
AND SO THEY WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UM, THE NEXT STEP FOR THE PLATFORM TEAM IS TO CONTINUE WORKING ON IT, KIND OF ADDING SOME OF THIS FUNCTIONALITY THAT THE GROWERS HAD REQUESTED INTO IT, AND THEN POTENTIALLY MEETING AGAIN IN PERSON FOR ANOTHER WORKSHOP IN THE LATE FALL.
UM, WE'LL MOVE ON TO, UH, NUMBER 11, WHICH IS, UH,
[11. BOARD REPORTS]
BOARD REPORTS.DOES ANYBODY, UH, HAVE ANYTHING THEY WOULD LIKE TO SHARE? WELL, I, I RECEIVED SOMETHING, AN EMAIL, UH, JUST BEFORE I CAME TO THIS MEETING, AND MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY BEEN PUBLISHED ON OUR WEBSITE, BUT IT'S, UH, FROM THE SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT OFFICE, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES.
WHAT DO YOU, WHAT TO DO IF YOUR WELL GOES DRY? IS THAT SOMETHING WE ALREADY HAVE PUBLISHED ON THE WEBSITE? WE DON'T HAVE THAT ON THE WEBSITE.
WE DON'T HAVE THAT ON THE WEBSITE, BUT WE CAN PUT THAT ON THE WEBSITE.
I'LL HAND IT TO YOU AS, AS I LEAVE.
UM, AND THEN, UH, AND I DON'T, UH, JUST ONE MORE THING AND IT'S ACTUALLY BACK ONTO THE LAND REPURPOSING.
UM, DO WE HAVE A, UH, LACEY DO THE PLAN OH, ALRIGHT.
SO THIS WILDLIFE CORRIDOR, DO WE PLAN ON ENGAGING THE, THE LANDOWNERS OUT THERE EARLY? I MEAN, DO WE HAVE, WE'RE GONNA SEND 'EM ALL POSTCARDS, SO LET KNOW WHAT'S THE PLAN, DO YOU KNOW? YEAH, I THINK THAT'S PART OF OUR, UM, TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE'S KIND OF GUIDANCE ON HOW TO DO THIS OUTREACH, UM, AND OUR STAKEHOLDER HOLDER COMMITTEE ON HOW TO DO THE OUTREACH.
BUT WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE DO ENGAGE THE LANDOWNERS DIRECTLY, UM, EARLY.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, LIKE, LIKE I SAID, WHEN YOU LOOK AT A MAP AND YOU SEE SOME REALLY DARK BLACK LINES ON A MAP, IT CAN BE ALARMING.
RIGHT? AND SO I, I THINK ENGAGING THEM EARLY IS DEFINITELY A PRIORITY.
AND WE'LL KIND OF DETERMINE PART OF THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM, SO.
[12. NEXT MEETING]
REGULAR MEETING IS AUGUST 10TH, UH, IN THIS ROOM AT TWO O'CLOCK.AND WITH THAT, I'LL ADJOURN TODAY'S MEETING.