CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Miller called the 2007 Organizational Board Meeting of the Hermiston Irrigation District Board of Directors to order at 3:30 p.m. at the Hermiston Irrigation District office. Also present at the meeting were Board Members Len Jeppeson, Mike Bergstrom and John Lybrand; District Manager/Board Secretary, Chuck Wilcox; Recording Secretary, Annette Rambel and Pat Napolitano with the City of Hermiston. Craig Coleman did not attend the meeting.

OATH OF OFFICE-DIVISION 2: Manager Wilcox read aloud the Oath of Office for the position of Director of Division 2 of the Hermiston Irrigation District. Michael Bergstrom agreed to the Oath as read, signed it and it was subscribed by the Board Secretary, Chuck Wilcox.

APPOINT DIVISION 3 DIRECTOR: Craig Coleman was unable to attend the Organizational Meeting, but did convey to Ms. Rambel that he would accept the office of director if he were re-appointed. Director Bergstrom moved to re-appoint Craig Coleman to the position of director of Division 3 for the upcoming year. Director Lybrand seconded the motion. There being no further discussion, the motion carried unanimously.

GUESTS

Pat Napalitano with the City of Hermiston requested to be heard before the Board to discuss installing a reinforced box culvert on SE 9^th St crossing the Maxwell Canal. Mr. Napalitano expressed that the City would like to replace the existing bridge by April 1, 2007, when irrigation season begins. This project would be covered by the Master Crossing Agreement between the District and the City.

Manager Wilcox explained that there is a 6’ x 6’ culvert about 1 block upstream that the City installed. At the upstream location there were much higher banks than at the 9^th St location. The reinforced box culvert would need to be a minimum of 4’ x 8’, preferably 4’ x 10’.

Mr. Napalitano explained that the Box is a pre-cast reinforced box that they will order from Portland. Once the order is placed it will take approximately 30+ days to complete the job. Director Jeppeson moved to approve the project with details to be worked out between Manager Wilcox, the City of Hermiston and personnel from the local BOR field office. Director Bergstrom seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

Mr. Napalitano left the meeting at 3:46 p.m.

MINUTES

The Board reviewed the minutes of the December 14, 2006, Regular Board Meeting. There were no changes suggested to the minutes. Director Bergstrom moved to approve the minutes as presented. Director Lybrand seconded the motion. There being no further discussion the motion carried unanimously.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS & VOUCHERS

The Board reviewed the Profit & Loss Report for December (Year End) 2006. The Board reviewed and signed the December 2006 Vouchers Report. Voucher Numbers 34051 through 34104 were reviewed and approved.

EXCHANGE AGREEMENT: There has still been no progress made on the Agreement. Manager Wilcox did receive a telephone call from Mike Bommer at the BOR, Umatilla Field Office. Mr. Bommer suggested that the District meet with personnel from the local field office to discuss the open issues of the Agreement. Manager Wilcox explained that he was willing to meet, but that unless Mr. Bommer has authority to make decision on behalf of the BOR that they were probably not going to be very productive.

DROP STRUCTURE: Manager Wilcox reported that he received notification from Anderson-Perry that a funding application has been sent to DEQ. This is not a grant, it is a low interest funding source. We can expect to hear from DEQ in 3-4 months.

ANNUAL MEETING: After some brief discussion on the matter, Director Lybrand moved to hold the 2007 Annual Meeting on February 20, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. in the HID shop building. HID will provide a steak and beans dinner at the meeting for its patrons and guests. Anita Winkler with Oregon Water Resources Congress is scheduled to speak on the water rights ownership issue for approximately 30 minutes. Director Bergstrom seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

DRAFT 2007 BUDGET: The Board received a copy of balanced proposed budget along with three wage proposals. Director Bergstrom moved to accept Wage Proposal "B", which was figured into the proposed 2007 budget. Director Lybrand seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Manager Wilcox answered a few general questions and explained that $5,000 was added to the Drop Structure expense and $5,000 was proposed to be transferred to equipment & vehicle reserve. Director Bergstrom moved to approve the 2007 Budget as presented. Director Lybrand seconded the motion. There being no further discussion, the motion carried unanimously.

ERICKSON EASEMENT: Manger Wilcox told the Board that Mr. Erickson called Attorney Hojem in response to the December 20, 2006, letter that Mr. Hojem wrote Mr. Erickson on behalf of the District. Mr. Erickson told Mr. Hojem his version of the events that took place with replacing the fence on his property. Mr. Erickson installed a 14’ gate on the front of his property that he says the District can use to access the line that runs through the back of his property.

In a January 5, 2007, letter to the District, Mr. Hojem suggested an agreement between the District and Mr. Erickson that includes a recordable document that acknowledged the District’s easement, allows the District access through the 14’ gate, and to remove the fence in a destructive manner in the event of any emergency.

It was the consensus of the Board to uphold the District’s policies and not to make an exception for Mr. Erickson.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Director Bergstrom moved to cast a unanimous ballot and to retain the current position of officers. Charles Miller shall be retained as Chairman. Len Jeppeson shall be retained as Vice-Chairman. Chuck Wilcox shall be retained as the Secretary of the Board. Annette Rambel shall be retained as the Recording Secretary. Director Lybrand seconded that motion. There being no further discussion the motion passed unanimously.

RESOLUTION OF ASSESSMENTS: Changes to the assessments were based on the 2007 federal Cost-of-Living Adjustment of 3.3%. The first acre charge was raised to $172.05. The second through fifth acre charge was raised to $69.90 per acre. The sixth trough tenth acre charge was raised to $64.50 per acre. Each additional acre beyond 10 acres is $44.85 per acre. Director Lybrand moved to accept the resolution as presented. Director Jeppeson seconded the motion. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously and the directors signed the resolution.

RESOLUTION OF BANKING: The only significant change to the Resolution was that the credit limit of the VISA card was changed from $3,000 to $4,000. Director Bergstrom moved to accept the resolution as presented. Director Lybrand seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously and the directors signed the resolution.

RESOLUTION OF FEES: Manger Wilcox explained that the significant changes to the fee schedule were that the encroachment violation amounts were added and that the personnel rates were increased to reflect current wages. Director Bergstrom moved to accept the resolution as presented. Director Lybrand seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. The motion carried unanimously and the directors signed the resolution.

RESOLUTION OF BOARD MEETINGS: The Resolution of Board Meetings states that the board meetings of HID will continue to take place on the second Thursday of each month at 3:30 p.m. in the HID board room with the exception of November which will be on the third Thursday of the month. The 2008 Organizational Meeting is scheduled to be held January 10, 2008. Director Lybrand moved to accept the resolution as presented. Director Jeppeson seconded the motion. There was no discussion. The motion carried unanimously and the directors signed the resolution.

RESOLUTION OF LOCAL PUBLIC CONTRACT REVIEW BOARD: Manager Wilcox explained to the Board that attorney Hojem drafted the document as a service to his clients. The Board was given a copy of the Resolution to review. After some general questions were answered, Director Jeppeson moved to accept the Resolution as presented. Director Bergstrom seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously and the directors signed the resolution.

WATER REPORT: The District has been diverting water through the Feed Canal since December 9, 2006, most of the time at or near capacity. At 6:00 a.m. this morning the Feed Canal was running at 224 cfs, with 191 cfs making it into CSR. CSR contains 15,919 af as of this morning.

MAINTENANCE REPORT: The maintenance crew is working on the L-line project and installed another drain tile above the area where there was a break last year on the A-Line.

FYI

The Oregon Water Coalition annual meeting will be held on January 23, 2007, at the Hermiston Conference Center. Chairman Miller and Manager Wilcox said that they would be attending.

SDAO is holding their annual conference February 9-11, 2007. No one expressed an interest in attending.

OWRC is holding a District Manager’s Workshop on January 12, 2007. Manager Wilcox is planning to attend this meeting.

The Bureau of Reclamation is holding their annual training seminar in February in Denver. No one expressed an interest in attending.

ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by Chairman Miller at 5:02 p.m.

_______________________________             ________________________________

Charles Miller                                                      Annette V. Rambel

Chairman                                                             Recording Secretary

Home