Council Chamber

City of Santa Rosa

100 Santa Rosa Avenue

Board of Public Utilities

Regular Meeting Minutes - Final

Thursday, August 15, 2024

1:30 PM

1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

Chair Galvin called the meeting to order at 1:32 p.m.

6 -

Present

Chair Daniel Galvin III, Vice Chair William Arnone Jr., Board Member

Lisa Badenfort, Board Member Duane De Witt, Board Member

Christopher Grabill, and Board Member Glen Wright

1 - Board Member Robin Bartholow

Absent

2 REMOTE PARTICIPATION UNDER AB 2449 (IF NEEDED)

None.

3. STATEMENTS OF ABSTENTION BY BOARD MEMBERS

None.

4. STUDY SESSION

None.

5. MINUTES APPROVAL

None.

6. STAFF BRIEFINGS

6.1

INVESTING NOW TO SECURE OUR WATER FUTURE EDUCATION

AND OUTREACH CAMPAIGN

Staff will share the rollout of Santa Rosa Water's latest outreach

campaign aimed at educating water customers about the value of water,

the need to continually invest in our shared water infrastructure, and the

role rate setting plays in ensuring a safe and reliable water future. The

multi-media campaign highlights the people, the infrastructure, and the

environmental stewardship that are necessary to deliver high quality

water and sewer service to Santa Rosa. It will also include an overview

of the rate setting process and how customers can stay informed. The

Board may discuss this item and give direction to staff.

Elise Miller,Communications Coordinator, presented and answered

Board Member questions.

6.2

2024 WILDFIRE PREPARATION

Staff will update the Board on the Water Department’s wildfire

preparedness efforts, including an update on projects that are improving

our resiliency. The Board may discuss this item and give direction to

staff.

Joe Schiavone, Deputy Director -Water and Sewer Operations,

presented and answered Board Member questions.

7. CONSENT ITEMS

A motion was made by Board Member Grabill, seconded by Board Member

Wright, to approve Consent Item 7.1.

The motion carried by the following vote:

6 -

Yes:

Chair Galvin III, Vice Chair Arnone Jr., Board Member Badenfort,

Board Member De Witt, Board Member Grabill and Board Member

Wright

1 - Board Member Bartholow

Absent:

7.1

RESOLUTION - APPROVAL OF SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT

SPECIFICATIONS FOR VARIOUS ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AND

SERVICES FOR THE WATER PUMP STATION 9 ELECTRICAL

UPGRADES PROJECT, CONTRACT NO. C02438

RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended by the Transportation and

Public Works Department and Santa Rosa Water that the Board of

Public Utilities, by resolution, approve the sole source contract

specifications for various electrical equipment and services for the

Water Pump Station 9 Electrical Upgrades project, Contract No.

C02438.

This Consent - Resolution was approved.

8. REPORT ITEMS

8.1

REPORT - ANNUAL STORM WATER ENTERPRISE CHARGES -

MANNER OF COLLECTION

BACKGROUND: The City of Santa Rosa is required under the federal

Clean Water Act to obtain and comply with a National Pollutant

Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and Waste Discharge

Requirements for Discharges from the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer

Systems (Storm Water Permit). To comply with the Storm Water Permit

requirements and to control and reduce flooding, property damage,

erosion, and storm water quality degradation in the City, the Council, in

1996, added Title 16 to the City Code, which created a Storm Water

Enterprise and Utility (“Storm Water Enterprise”) as an agency of the

City. Under Title 16, the City Council is authorized to prescribe and

collect charges (special assessments) for the services and facilities of

the Storm Water Enterprise. The amount of the annual charges of the

Storm Water Enterprise for fiscal year 2024-25 were adopted by the

City Council on June 18, 2024. This item only considers the manner in

which the annual charges will be collected and not the amount of the

fee. Staff recommends that the Board of Public Utilities recommend to

City Council the Placement of Annual Storm Water Enterprise Charges

on the Sonoma County Property Tax Roll.

RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended by Santa Rosa Water that the

Board of Public Utilities, by motion, recommend that City Council move

forward with a Public Hearing on August 20, 2024, to adopt by 2/3 vote

the Storm Water Enterprise Charge Report and approve placement of

the Storm Water Enterprise charges on the Sonoma County Property

Tax Roll, to be collected by the Sonoma County

Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector at the same time and in the

same manner as Sonoma County property taxes are collected, unless

those charges do not meet the County minimum of $10 and/or parcel

owner contact information is known to be incorrect.

Research and Program Coordinator Katie Robinson and Storm

Water and Creeks Manager Claire Myers presented and answered

Board Member questions.

A motion was made by Board Member Wright, seconded by Board Member

Grabill, to approve the recommendation that City Council move forward

with a Public Hearing on August 20, 2024, to adopt by 2/3 vote the Storm

Water Enterprise Charge Report and approve placement of the Storm Water

Enterprise charges on the Sonoma County Property Tax Roll, to be

collected by the Sonoma County Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax

Collector at the same time and in the same manner as Sonoma County

property taxes are collected, unless those charges do not meet the County

minimum of $10 and/or parcel owner contact information is known to be

incorrect.

The motion carried by the following vote:

6 -

Yes:

Chair Galvin III, Vice Chair Arnone Jr., Board Member Badenfort,

Board Member De Witt, Board Member Grabill and Board Member

Wright

1 - Board Member Bartholow

Absent:

9. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA MATTERS

None.

10. REFERRALS

None.

11. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (AND POSSIBLE BOARD DISCUSSION)

None.

12. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

None.

13. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS

None.

14. DIRECTORS REPORTS

Director Burke reported: On Friday, August 9th, at 7:50 AM, a 16”

PVC water main on Carissa Ave broke. Our Senior Water Tech was

on our Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system

and saw alarms coming from Water Pump Station 9 indicating low

pressure in our water distribution Zone 9. At the same time we

received the low pressure alarm it was noticed two pumps were on

pumping water at a time that is highly unusual. Seeing that there was

a problem he notified a Supervisor who immediately recognized

these were indicators of a main break. These actions were taken

shortly before we started to receive customer calls reporting a large

leak on Carissa Ave. The Supervisor dispatched Water crews who

arrived shortly to isolate the damaged main from the water

distribution system. The damaged water main was completely

isolated by 8:38 AM. We lost a total of 922,600 gallons due to the

main break. This 16” water main is the primary transmission line

between Water Pump Station 9 and our two water tanks that feed

the majority of the Bennett Valley area. Due to the loop fed

distribution system, water was still able to be pumped from the

station to the water storage tanks and supply all of our customers

while repairs were being made. We sent multiple crews to start

repair work, clean up, and environmental and water quality

assessments. The water main was repaired by 9:30 PM that night.

The repaired water main was flushed, and water samples were taken

24 hours apart to ensure the water was safe for consumption. The

water main was returned to service Monday morning, August 12th.

Some of our customers at the higher elevations of the water zone

did lose water pressure for a short time. Because the distribution

system lost pressure, we consulted with the State Water Resources

Board, and they asked us to order a Boil Water Notice to the

affected customers. Water employees hand-delivered the Boil

Water Notice to the affected customers on the same day the water

main break occurred. Once the water samples came back showing

the water was safe for consumption on Sunday, August 11th, Water

crews notified the customers that the Boil Water Notice was

rescinded. The cause of the 16” PVC water main break appears to

be improper bedding of the pipe. This main was installed in 2003

and was made with very durable material. The hills east of

Summerfield Rd are made up of very rocky materials, and if the

bedding is not the correct thickness, the pipe can rest on large

rocks, causing damage.

Arrearage Program Update: Confirmation was received from the

State Water Resources Control Board that the closeout for Santa

Rosa Water’s funding under the Water and Wastewater arrearages

program has been successfully completed, with all compliance

requirements having been met. This program successfully secured

over $3 million in funding for Santa Rosa Water in compensation for

Water and Wastewater billing arrearages accrued throughout the

COVID-19 pandemic.

15. ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING

Chair Galvin adjourned the meeting at 2:30 p.m. The next Board of

Public Utilities meeting is scheduled for September 5, 2024.

Approved on: September 5, 2024

__/S/_________________

Easter Ledesma

Recording Secretary