Hermiston Irrigation District

Board of Directors

April 17, 2008

Regular Board Meeting Minutes

 

CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Charles Miller called the April Regular Board Meeting of the Hermiston Irrigation District (District) Board of Directors to order at 4:00 p.m.  The meeting was held in the District office building.  Also present at the meeting were Board Members Len Jeppeson, Mike Bergstrom and Wes Locke; District Manager, Chuck Wilcox; Secretary, Annette Rambel; patrons Mike Crismon and Juan Guel; and Jari Boechter and Greg Juul for the Hermiston FFA Resource Center, Inc.

MINUTES:  The Board reviewed the minutes of the March 20, 2008 Regular Board Meeting.  There were no changes to the minutes.  Director Bergstrom 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 March 2008. The Board also reviewed and signed the March 2008 Vouchers Report.  Voucher Numbers 35056 through 35119 were reviewed and approved.

GUESTS:  Patrons, Mike Crismon and Juan Guel addressed the Board.  Mr. Crismon requested that he be allowed to put up gates to prevent trespassers from going on the ditch bank through his property.  Mr. Guel suggested that they at least be able to put up cable.  Manager Wilcox does not agree with Mr. Crismon installing a gate.  He did agree that barriers are needed however; the District needs to install those barriers.  Manager Wilcox stated that it is the intention of the District to install barriers on Edwards Rd, Canal Rd and Patriot Ln. These barriers will be put in as soon as water is running smoothly and the maintenance crew has time.  These barriers may be gates, cables or a combination of the two.  Manager Wilcox went on to explain that it just is not feasible to use barriers and gates during the irrigation season.  The crew needs to have access to the canals and pipelines.  There was a general discussion that followed and Chairman Miller told Mr. Crismon to give the District time to install the barriers and to let the Board know if the barriers do not solve his problem.

Mr. Crismon and Mr. Guel left the meeting at 4:15 p.m.

OLD BUSINESS

DROP STRUCTURE:  Manager Wilcox reported that the bid tabulation has been received from Anderson-Perry.  The apparent low bidder on the project was Swaggart Bros Inc.

There was discussion about the additive alternatives.  It was decided that the field crew could do the earthen canal shaping little by little throughout the season; the District can purchase and install the canal liner for less than the cost of the contractors; and that the steel plated armor is not needed.

Director Bergstrom moved to accept Swaggart Bros Inc. as the apparent low bidder contingent on permits, financing and acquisitions being in place.  Director Locke seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

Director Bergstrom also moved to omit the additive alternative options from all of the bids.   Director Jeppeson seconded the motion.  There being no further discussion the motion carried unanimously.

Manager Wilcox presented the Board with three loan proposal options.  Two options were for a 3 or 5 year Flex Lease from SDAO and another was through a local lender.

After some discussion, Director Bergstrom moved to have Manager Wilcox look into financing with a term loan through Banner Bank to be signed by two of the authorized account signers.  Director Jeppeson seconded the motion.  There being no further discussion, the motion passed unanimously.

ELM ST PROPERTY:  Jari Boechter and Greg Juul representing the Columbia Life Knowledge Center, Inc. (FFA) appeared before the BOD.  Mr. Juul gave a copy of the Life Knowledge Center’s annual meeting minutes to the Board, along with e-mail correspondence between Mr. Juul and Fred Maiocco of the school district.

Mr. Juul expressed their appreciation to the District and their desire to pursue the purchase of the property.  In their minutes it states that a resolution was made by the FFA Board to pursue the purchase of the property and a motion was made to form a three way meeting with the District, the FFA and the Hermiston School District.  The suggested meeting time is April 22, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. at the District office.

There was some discussion about the lot line adjustment.  It was decided that the District should sell the property as is because of the time that it would take to get the adjustment approved.

Mr. Juul and Mr. Boechter left the meeting at 5:20 p.m.

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

KLOEPPER EASEMENT:  Mr. Kloepper still does not have the fence moved per the court order.  The District’s attorney is aware of the situation and will continue to take action for contempt of court.

NEW BUSINESS

REQUEST FOR CHANGE OF JOB TITLE:  The District’s Bookkeeper, Annette Rambel approached the Board and requested a change of the job title to Business Manager.

Director Locke moved to change the title of Bookkeeper to Business Manager.  Director Jeppeson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

CROSSING AGREEMENT-YUNKER:  Mike Yunker has applied for a Request for a Crossing Agreement.  He is replacing a bridge that crosses the Feed Canal in Echo.  Yunker and the City of  Echo have been using the existing bridge and the District’s guard rail has been damaged.  It was reported that a contractor for the City of Echo broke the first bridge and then claimed no responsibility.  Consequently, Mr. Yunker is planning to limit traffic on the bridge with the use of a gate and lock.  He will be using one of the District’s locks.  The agreement will go to the Bureau for approval and Jerry Cheek will do the inspection.

Director Bergstrom moved to approve the Yunker Crossing Agreement as long as it meets the Bureau’s specifications.  Director Jeppeson seconded the motion.  There being no further discussion the motion carried unanimously.

MANAGER’S REPORT

WATER REPORT:  Today the Feed Canal is running at 196 cfs. CSR has 26,389 af in it as of this morning.  The District has 24,407 af in exchange credits.  By the end of this day there will be water to the end of every line and canal.

MAXWELL/NULL SPILL BREAK:  The field crew started water on April 6th.  By that night there was a break at Null Spill.  It washed out a section under the canal, similar to last year’s break.  The crew cut out a 4’ x 30’ section; they filled it in, poured cement, sealed, grouted and lined the whole section.  They also installed drains under the canal to try to prevent any further problems of this type.

UEC DIRECTOR BALLOT:  The District received a ballot to vote for director of UEC.  The two nominees were Glenn Rhode and Don Waters.

After some discussion, Director Bergstrom moved to vote for Don Waters.  Director Locke seconded the motion.  There being no further discussion the motion carried unanimously.

Director Locke moved to approve the UEC 2008 Resolution #1.  Director Bergstrom seconded the motion.  There being no further discussion the motion carried unanimously.

DAVE CLARK BENEFIT FUND:  Dave Clark is an employee of Stanfield Irrigation District.  Dave has rejected a kidney that he recently received from his sister and that same day his teenage son died in an automobile accident.  Ray Kopacz, District Manager of SID has started a benefit fund at Banner Bank.

Director Jeppeson moved to donate the Board’s earning for this meeting to the Dave & Mike Clark Benefit Fund.  Director Locke seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

BOR-CANAL/ASSET MANAGEMENT MEETING:  On April 15, 2008 the District received a letter from the BOR inviting management to a meeting regarding the assessment of canals in areas of increased urbanization.  Manager Wilcox explained that this could be a way to get the BOR more involved in this area, although with the high cost of travel, we are not sure if the District would benefit from having someone attend this meeting or not.

NWIO:  Manager Wilcox had a conference call to discuss the possibility of moving the summer tour from Calgary to another location.  The reason for the change is the extremely high cost of lodging and meals in the Calgary area along with a negative exchange rate on the US dollar.  Alternative sites being looked into are the Phoenix area and the Sacramento area.  Either location would mean that the tour would be in February 2009 rather than July 2008.

TRACTOR/MOWER:  Manager Wilcox has placed the order for the tractor/mower.  It should be in around mid-May.

CAMPBELL MOTORS ENCROACHMENT:  Campbell has built a fence right over the District’s pipeline.  They have also leveled it and covered the manhole.  The BOR wrote a letter to Campbell regarding this matter.  Campbell has retained attorney George Anderson to try to work out this matter with the District.  There is a meeting scheduled for April 18, 2008 at the District office.

CAVALLO EASEMENT:  Field Manager, Rick Hlawek was pulling tumbleweeds out of the A-Line Canal while he was flushing it out and placed the tumbleweeds on the easement on the side of the canal.  Patron, Mike Cavallo and his companion came out yelling at the Field Manager.  Mr. Hlawek called the sheriff.  In reviewing Mr. Cavallo’s deed, it appears that the District owns the easement and that his property is about 40’ back from the canal.  Mr. Cavallo has been using the District easement for access to his home.  The District is considering fencing off its easement in an attempt to avoid future problems with this patron and/or his companion.  Barb Hill with the BOR is researching this matter further.

ADJOURNMENT:  There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by Chairman Miller at 6:50 p.m.

Charles Miller                                                                    Annette V. Rambel

Chairman                                                                             Recording Secretary

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