CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Charles Miller called the November Regular Board Meeting of the Hermiston Irrigation District (District) Board of Directors to order at 3:30 p.m. The meeting was held in the District office building. Also present at the meeting were Board Members Len Jeppeson, John Lybrand, Mike Bergstrom and Craig Coleman; District Manager, Chuck Wilcox; Secretary, Annette Rambel; along with patrons Wes Locke and Ken Eddy.

GUESTS

Patrons Wes Locke and Ken Eddy joined the Board meeting as potential candidates for Director of Division 4.

MINUTES 

The Board reviewed the minutes of the October 11, 2007 Regular Board Meeting and the October 25, 2007, Special Board Meeting. There were no changes suggested. 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 October 2007. The Board reviewed and signed the October 2007 Voucher Report. Voucher Numbers 34701 through 34782 were reviewed and approved.

OLD BUSINESS

ELM ST PROPERTY: Manager Wilcox met with Jari Boettcher of the Hermiston FFA Resource Center, Inc. (FFA). They discussed the land sale agreement at length.

The FFA wants to grant a terminal easement to the City of Hermiston for a bike path on the east side of the property. They also want to sell a 100’ wide strip through the property where a street will go in the future, in the same area as the sewer and water lines are currently located. They would like to be able to sell the land on the other side of the river and to sell up to three acres to Hermiston School District to build classrooms and such on the property. They would also like to have the property rezoned as green space.

They also discussed concerns such as using Amerititle instead of Pioneer Title, costs of the sale are to be paid by the buyer not the District, and the property is to be returned to the District if FFA is unable to pay the remaining half of the sale price, FFA has no authority to grant encumbrances beyond the life of the corporation, etc.

Per the Board’s instruction, the contract was forwarded to and has been reviewed by Special District Association of Oregon (SDAO). Although SDAO had a number of the same concerns as the BOD, the contract does meet their requirements.

The Board agreed with the suggestions that were made by Manager Wilcox and Mr. Boettcher. Manager Wilcox will contact Mr. Boettcher and he will return to the District with and amended contract.

DROP STRUCTURE: The Plans for the Drop Structure have been sent to Sonja Norton at the Bureau of Reclamation office in Boise, ID, along with a request to have any comments returned by December 15, 2007.

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

ELECTIONS: There are two open positions for director. No nominating petitions were received by the November 9, 2007, 5:00 p.m. deadline. Patrons Wes Locke and Ken Eddy introduced themselves and told the Board a little about their background. Both patrons are in division 4.

HID 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY: Manager Wilcox reported that the Bureau has started to gather pictures for a brochure. They would also like to mention water safety in the brochure.

ERICKSON EASEMENT: Manager Wilcox received a letter from the District’s attorney, Doug Hojem, stating that he discussed this matter in general with Dave Filippi and they both agree that this argument would probably not end in the District’s favor if it went to court. Since the buried pipeline has not needed any maintenance in the last 100 years, we could not show any practical interference by the fence. However, if we ever did need access to the pipeline, we would have the right to remove the fence if the Erickson’s did not do so promptly.

The BOD agreed to follow the advice of counsel and not pursue this matter any further at this time.

EMPLOYEE HOLIDAY TURKEYS: In years past the District has purchased turkeys for its employees for the holidays. Director Bergstrom moved to allow Manager Wilcox to purchase turkeys for the employees. There being no further discussion, Director Lybrand seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

WATER REPORT: Manager Wilcox reported that there is currently 626 af in CSR. The BOR has not pursued the 3,800 af mentioned in the Exchange Agreement. The District will begin receiving exchange credits on November 2, 2007. HID currently has approximately 1,100 af of exchange credits.

2008 WATER LEGISLATION: Manager Wilcox received an e-mail from Anita Winkler of Oregon Water Resources Congress (OWRC). The e-mail was an invitation to district managers and board members to attend a non-public meeting on November 19, 2007. This is to be an informational meeting about the Governor’s water supply proposal for the Umatilla area, the OASIS group’s revised concept, a statewide water supply bill sponsored by a coalition that includes OWRC, and possibly the exchange project.

All of the Board members, with the exception of out-going John Lybrand, and Ken Eddy indicated that they will try to attend this meeting with Manager Wilcox.

SUMMERS’ EASEMENT: The field crew will be starting on Phase II of the L-Line Project on November 16, 2007. There is a mobile home sitting on top of the pipeline on Dorrene Summers property. It was agreed with the landowner that the pipe would be replaced under the trailer. Barb Hill with Bureau of Reclamation will assist the District in preparing an agreement with the landowner that states that the District is not liable for any damages and that all encroachments will be removed from the easement when the property changes hands.

GRANTS: The Bureau of Reclamation made two modifications to the District’s L-Line Project grant that allowed the District to receive additional funds for the project. The District also received a grant from OWEB.

Three proposals were received for the purchase of pipe for the project. One bid was not accepted because it was not received before the deadline. The other two bids that were accepted were from Valmont and Elmer’s Irrigation. The request stated that all items must be priced individually. Manager Wilcox will review the bids further and make a decision based upon his review.

OWRC ANNUAL CONFERENCE: The OWRC Conference will be held in Hood River on November 26-30, 2007. Board members Chuck Miller and Mike Bergstrom will be attending the conference along with Manager Wilcox.

ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by Chairman Miller at 5:16 p.m.

_______________________________             ________________________________

Charles Miller                                                      Annette V. Rambel

Chairman                                                             Recording Secretary

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