CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Charles Miller called the October Regular Board Meeting of the Hermiston Irrigation District (District) Board of Directors to order at 3:34 p.m. The meeting was held in the District office building. Also present at the meeting were Board Members Len Jeppeson, John Lybrand and Mike Bergstrom; District Manager, Chuck Wilcox; and Secretary, Annette Rambel.

GUESTS 

There were no guests present.

MINUTES

The Board reviewed the minutes of the September 13, 2007, Regular Board Meeting. There were no changes suggested. Director Lybrand moved to approve the minutes as presented. Director Jeppeson seconded the motion. There being no further discussion the motion carried unanimously.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS & VOUCHERS

The Board reviewed the Profit & Loss Report for September 2007. The Board reviewed and signed the August 2007 Voucher Report. Voucher Numbers 34642 through 34700 were reviewed and approved.

OLD BUSINESS

DROP STRUCTURE: Manager Wilcox has spoken to Jeremy Morris of Anderson-Perry. The Plans for the Drop Structure are in the final stages and are being drafted. The Board decided to hold a Special Board Meeting when the District received the Plans from Anderson-Perry.

EXCHANGE AGREEMENT: Manager Wilcox reported that there has still been no written progress made on the Agreement.

ELECTIONS: There are two open positions. No nominating petitions were received by the October 9, 2007, 5:00 p.m. deadline. The Board members reviewed the patron lists from the two divisions and made suggestions of possible candidates. Manager Wilcox explained that he would talk to potential Board members, but only after someone else approached them regarding the position.

HID 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY: Manager Wilcox spoke with Diana Cross, who does public relations for the Bureau of Reclamation. The Bureau is willing to find some pictures, gather some data, print flyers, and the like. Manager Wilcox and the Board discussed suggestions of how to handle the anniversary, how much publicity there should be, cost, etc.

The consensus of the Board was to expand the 2008 annual meeting to include the centennial celebration. A suggested topic for the 2008 annual meeting was the history of the District. We will probably have a brochure made and put a small article in the newspapers.

ELM ST PROPERTY: Manager Wilcox and the Board reviewed the Preliminary Sales Agreement between HID and the Hermiston FFA Resource Center, Inc. as prepared by attorney George Anderson. All found numerous concerns over the agreement. The Board voiced their concerns to Manager Wilcox. He will respond for the District with all of the items of concern in the current draft and he will forward the document first to Special Districts Association of Oregon’s (SDAO) legal department and then to Attorney Hojem.

FORECLOSURES-DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS: Bookkeeper, Annette Rambel presented the Board with four accounts that warranted to be forwarded to the District’s attorney, Doug Hojem. The names on the accounts were Salvador & Lourdes Orozco, Francisco & Adele Perez, Thomas Snyder and Ralph Tachella. After a brief discussion, Director Bergstrom moved to pursue foreclosures on the submitted accounts. Director Lybrand seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

AUDITOR CONTRACT RENEWAL: On September 5, 2007, the District sent out requests for proposal for a 3-year term to perform our annual municipal audit. The RFP was sent to five qualified auditing firms. The District received two proposals. One from Gerald Moro of Barnett & Moro for $5,900. The other was from Jenson, Hamilton & Spratling, LLP for $3,350 for 2007 and increasing $100 each year thereafter. Director Bergstrom moved to accept the proposal from Jenson, Hamilton & Spratling, LLP. Director Jeppeson seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

LEMMON CATTLE: Manager Wilcox reported to the Board that the cattle on Pearl Lemmon’s land are continuously in the canal, and are tearing up the canal banks and ruining the canal. HID’s Rules & Regulation’s state that the District has the right to request that patron’s fence along the District’s right-of-way to prevent damage. Chairman Miller instructed Manager Wilcox to send a letter to Pearl Lemmon asking her to restrict their livestock.

WATER REPORT: Manager Wilcox reported that water was shut off at 3:00 p.m. on September 30, 2007, with 10 af left in CSR. CSR is currently reading at 140 af.

MAINTENANCE: The field crew is working on the Feed Canal. Stanfield ID spilled some water in it. The Feed Canal is mowed with the exception of the bottom that was to wet from the spill. They have started burning, dipping and blading.

OWEB GRANT: On October 9, 2007, Manager Wilcox went to LaGrande to offer support to the grant application. The District was awarded the grant. It will be available this fall for phase two of the L-Line piping project. Staff is preparing letters to inform the patrons of the project timelines, expectations, etc.

BUREAU OF RECLAMATION-M4E MEETING: Manager Wilcox attended the Bureau of Reclamation’s Managing for Excellence meeting. He said that many states were represented and that it was a good work session in helping the BOR work on right sizing their work force.

OREGON WATER RESOURCES CONGRESS: The Oregon Water Resources Congress annual meeting will be held in Hood River on November 27-30, 2007.

ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by Chairman Miller at 5:14 p.m.

_______________________________             ________________________________

Charles Miller                                                      Annette V. Rambel

Chairman                                                             Recording Secretary

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