CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Charles Miller called the 2008 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, Craig Coleman and Wes Locke; District Manager, Chuck Wilcox; and Recording Secretary, Annette Rambel.

OATH OF OFFICE-DIVISION 3: Manager Wilcox read aloud the Oath of Office for the position of Director of Division 3 of the Hermiston Irrigation District. Craig Coleman agreed to the Oath as read, signed it and it was subscribed by the Board Secretary, Chuck Wilcox.

OATH OF OFFICE-DIVISION 4: Manager Wilcox read aloud the Oath of Office for the position of Director of Division 4 of the Hermiston Irrigation District. Wesley Locke agreed to the Oath as read, signed it and it was subscribed by the Board Secretary, Chuck Wilcox.

GUESTS 

There were no guests present.

MINUTES 

The Board reviewed the minutes of the December 13, 2007, Regular Board Meeting and the December 26, 2007, Special Board Meeting. There were no changes suggested to the minutes. Director Jeppeson moved to approve the minutes as presented. Director Bergstrom 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) 2007. The Board reviewed and signed the December 2007 Vouchers Report. Voucher Numbers 34833 through 34903 were reviewed and approved.

EXCHANGE AGREEMENT: There has still been no written progress made on the Agreement.

DROP STRUCTURE: The District received a letter dated December 17, 2007, from the BOR office in Boise, ID. The letter indicated that they had reviewed the Plans for the Drop Structure and forwarded some suggestions on to Anderson-Perry. Anderson-Perry indicated that they had received the suggestions from the BOR and were making the changes to the Plans. Director Jeppeson indicated that he also had a few concerns that he would like to address such as permits, etc.

ANNUAL MEETING: Manager Wilcox has been in contact with the BOR. The Commissioner may be able to attend the Annual Meeting if it is held on February 27, 2008, during the day. Manager Wilcox has also been in contact with Dave Walsh, the public relations liaison for the BOR. Mr. Walsh will be coming to HID to meet with Manager Wilcox, gather information, pictures, etc. He will then use this information to create a powerpoint presentation, brochures, billboards, etc. The BOR wants to do radio ads, news clip, etc, especially if the Commissioner is going to attend the meeting. The Commissioner will probably want to tour the project while he is in the area. The Board instructed Manager Wilcox to make whatever arrangements were necessary for the Annual Meeting.

DRAFT 2008 BUDGET: The Board received a revised copy of a balanced proposed budget in their board packets and reviewed the document prior to this meeting. Director Bergstrom moved to approve the 2008 Budget as presented. Director Jeppeson seconded the motion. There being no further discussion, the motion carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS

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 as Vice-Chairman, Chuck Wilcox as Secretary of the Board and Annette Rambel as Recording Secretary. Director Jeppeson seconded that motion. There being no further discussion the motion passed unanimously.

RESOLUTIONS: The Board received a copy of each resolution in their board packets and reviewed the documents prior to this meeting.

2008 Resolution of Assessments: Changes to the assessments were based on the 2008 federal Cost-of-Living Adjustment of 3%. The first acre charge was raised to $175.60. The second through fifth acre charge was raised to $71.10 per acre. The sixth trough tenth acre charge was raised to $65.55 per acre. Each additional acre beyond 10 acres is $45.45 per acre.

2008 Resolution of Banking: There was no change to the resolution from the prior year.

2008 Resolution of Fees: Manger Wilcox explained that the only significant change to the fee schedule was that the personnel rates were increased to reflect current wages.

2008 Resolution of Board Meetings: The Resolution of Board Meetings states that the board meetings of HID will take place on the third Thursday of each month at 4:00 p.m. in the HID board room. The 2009 Organizational Meeting is scheduled to be held January 15, 2009.

Resolution of Health Care Reimbursement Plan: This Resolution was created due to the recent change in health insurance coverage. The Resolution states that the District will reimbursement current employees for the difference between the prior health care deductibles and the deductibles through the new plan.

Director Bergstrom moved to accept the resolutions as amended. Director Jeppeson seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. The motion carried unanimously and the directors signed the resolutions.

SAND HOLLOW-UMATILLA BASIN REGIONAL AQUIFER RECOVERY ASSESSMENT-

The Board members received a copy of this assessment proposed by Oregon Water Resources Department prior to the meeting. Chairman Miller spoke on the Sand Hollow issue and explained that this project is being supported by many entities including the tribes, fisheries, irrigation districts, critical groundwater taskforce, etc. They are requesting that the District send a letter of support. Last legislative session the Oasis Bill gained a lot of steam. The governor did not like that bill, but realized that something needed to be done about the groundwater situation. All of the involved parties feel that this proposed assessment is a step in the right direction. Director Bergstrom moved to support the Sand Hollow-Umatilla Basin Regional Aquifer Recovery Assessment as presented by OWRD. There being no further discussion Director Coleman seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

MOVE RESERVE FUNDS: Director Locke moved to transfer the unused funds in the amount of $1,330.00 of the Barton pipeline and the unused funds of $1,361.33 of the Minnehaha pipeline to the reserve accounts. Director Jeppeson seconded the motion. There being no further discussion the motion passed unanimously.

FAMILY FARM ALLIANCE MEMBERSHIP: The District is a member of the Family Farm Alliance and has been making annual contributions of $200. Manager Wilcox explained to the BOD that Family Farm Alliance has been a strong voice in the legislation and they are instrumental in the BOR’s Managing for Excellence program. He suggests that the District increase its annual contribution. Director Locke moved to increase the annual contribution to $400. Director Jeppeson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously without further discussion.

WESTLAND-RAMOS PROJECT: The BPA is doing some improvements on the fishway at the Feed Canal. This could potentially be good for the District, because it keeps washing out in that area.

MANAGER’S REPORT

WATER REPORT: Today the Feed Canal is running at 103 cfs, with 89 cfs making it into CSR. CSR contains 3,917 af as of this morning, compared to 15,990 af this time last year. However, the District has 15,268 af in exchange credits.

MAINTENANCE REPORT: Field Manager, Greg Dell informed the BOD that the crew has laid 7,800’ of pipe on the L-Line project. They have finished laying the 10" pipe and expect to be done with the main line by January 18, 2008. Then they will begin working on the laterals.

FYI 

OWRC is holding their board meeting and district manager’s workshop January 31 – February 1.

The BOR’s Northwest Irrigators Conference will be held in Boise, ID on February 14-15.

Three members of the field crew will be attending a flagger’s training course on January 12.

Two members field crew will be attending an O&M seminar in Ontario, OR.

Rick Hlawek will be attending the BOR Water Management Workshop in Denver, CO.

BOR INSTREAM LEASE: Chet Sater with the BOR delivered a copy of the Instream Lease Application submitted to OWRD. The proposed lease is for 65.8 acres at .85 cfs. This is a five year lease with an annual option to terminate.

BURNS SATHER SUBDIVISION: Director Bergstrom stated that Paul Burns had contacted him regarding a matter of fencing in the subdivision. Mr. Burns subdivided some property and did not put up fencing like they were supposed to. He failed to let the buyer know that the easement had to be fenced and now the buyers are not happy. Mr. Burns is requesting that the District allow the Cherry’s to use an alternate fencing agreement.

After some discussion, Director Bergstrom moved that the District allow the Cherry’s to have an alternate fencing agreement. Director Coleman seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by Chairman Miller at 5:38 p.m.

_______________________________             ________________________________

Charles Miller                                                      Annette V. Rambel

Chairman                                                             Recording Secretary

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