GUESTS

Mrs. Kalberer addressed the BOD and read a statement that she had prepared. She claims that neighboring property owners have removed and altered concrete pipe from their properties that affect the drainage of water coming off of her property. She believes that an unlimited capacity drainage design has been rerouted into a limited capacity containment one. The pipe in question was never intended to be used for drainage purposes and has been abandoned.

She went on to say that Manager Wilcox has made it clear that dealing with water problems (run-off) are the responsibility of the property owner. The District has no intention of replacing the concrete pipe in question. Ms. Kalberer stated that she would not be held responsible for any water drain off from her property at anytime in the future.

Ms. Kalberer agreed to have her water hours reduced and would be willing to accept her irrigation water being delivered at 2-3 separate times during the week as opposed to all at one time.

At the end of this meeting the Board revisited the issue and Chairman Miller asked Manager Wilcox if there was a possibility of obtaining grant money to assist Ms. Kalberer with her drainage problem. Manager Wilcox said that she needs to talk with SWCD, as we have suggested to her in the past. Ms. Kalberer acknowledged that she has spoken with Teresa Walchli of SWCD. Ms. Walchli has given her a grant application and explained the current situation to her. To date, no grant applications have been turned into SWCD.

Field Manager Eicher reported that he was in Ms. Kalberer’s area today and this last season was better due to the reduced amount of water delivered to Ms. Kalberer. Although we are not running water, there is water coming from the B-Line that passes through the Humphrey’s property. During the winter months Humphrey diverts that water to his duck pond and the overflow goes into his irrigation pond, if that pond overfills it goes on to the Kalberer property.

The pipe that Ms. Kalberer mentioned earlier, that was removed from her neighbor’s property, was not a drain pipe, but a supply pipe that has not been used for about 20 years. Director Coleman very directly explained to her that water on her property is her responsibility just the same as all the other patrons are responsible for water on their properties.

Ms. Kalberer also expressed her concern about the cement pipe on her property that is exposed in some areas and has holes. She is worried that her horses could be injured and that Manager Wilcox told her that she cannot take out the pipe without permission. The pipe is no longer used and she was given permission by the Board to remove the pipe. She then stated that she doesn’t want to remove the pipe, she wants to run water in it.

MINUTES

The Board reviewed the minutes of the August 19, 2009, and September 17, 2009, Regular Board Meetings. There were no minutes for October 2009 as the meeting was cancelled. Director Jeppeson moved to approve the minutes as presented. Director Locke seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS & VOUCHERS

The Board reviewed the Profit & Loss Reports for September/October 2009. The Board reviewed and signed the September/October 2009 Vouchers Report. Vouchers Numbered 36135 through 36178 were reviewed and approved. The Board also reviewed and signed the October/November 2009 Vouchers Report. Vouchers Numbered 36179 through 36251 were reviewed and approved. The Board also signed expense checks.

OLD BUSINESS

DROP STRUCTURE: Manager Wilcox reported that the warranty issues have been taken care of with the exception of the shotcrete repair. HID has a supplemental contract in place with Swaggart Bros, Inc. (SBI) for the remainder of the warranty work to be done in 2010.

EXCHANGE AGREEMENT: Manager Wilcox reported that there has been no progress in this matter.

CAMPBELL MOTORS-EASEMENT ENCROACHMENT: Manager Wilcox reported that the fence has been moved to where it is supposed to be located. The work around the inspection hatches has not been completed, but the Bureau is still riding heard on that.

POTENTIAL ELM STREET PROPERTY SALE: Manager Wilcox reported Dennis Edwards is working on filing the boundary line adjustment with Umatilla County. Initially the property was going to be divided into 19 and 17 acre parcels, but the County said that anything under 19 acres would have to be annexed into the City of Hermiston. As a result of this information, Mr. Edwards split the properties so that each parcel has 19+ acres.

BURNS DEVELOPMENT: As discussed at the 11/4/09 Special Board Meeting, Paul Burns wanted the District to sign-off on his plat prior to having all of the engineering and requirements met. Consequently, Mr. Burns was sent a letter notifying him of the Board’s position that the same requirements for his development that were presented to the City of Hermiston Planning Commission in September 2008 in which he was represented by his engineer, Jim Stormo, are still expected. The letter also included minutes of the Planning Commission meeting, another copy of the Development Agreement and the Project Requirements Checklist.

Mr. Stormo met with Manager Wilcox this morning to go over draft plans of the development. They discussed the placement of the City’s water line, pipe, couplers, hook-ups, etc.

NEW BUSINESS

Manager Wilcox informed the Board that to date he is not aware of one single District that has signed Baker Hughes’ agreement. Baker Hughes scheduled a phone conference as a result of not receiving any agreements back from its customers. During this phone conference the users strongly expressed their disapproval of the agreement and terms.

There is an active effort to try to get labeling for Cascade and Teton, alternate products. SePro has comparable products that they are trying to sell to users.

MANAGER’S REPORT

WATER REPORT: There is currently 1,048 af in CSR. The District has about 5,133 af remaining of exchange credits from last year and has earned 329 af so far this year. The Feed Canal is not running.

TRI-STATE MEETING: The last Tri-State meeting was held in September. There was a long legislative report. They also discussed small hydro units, aquatic weed control, NPDES permits, etc. The next meeting will be held in Portland, OR on January 21, 2010.

UMATILLA BASIN COALITION UPDATE: Manager Wilcox reported that the Coalition now has their business plan together for Umatilla County, Morrow County, the Tribes, Westland Irrigation District, and Countyline Irrigation District. The Coalition still operates on the consensus theory, however in order to apply for any grants or monies they need to have a business plan. UEC’s lobbyist came to a recent meeting and handed out a booklet that stated that the Coalition supported SB 3369, which the Coalition did not support.

BOARD & MANAGER TRAINING: There is a manager/board member training being put on by SDAO in Bend on January 28, 2010.

FYI’s

Manager Wilcox read thank you cards from Cub Scout Pack 645, for the use of the port-a-potty during fair, and the Marshall’s for the replacement of a windshield that was cracked by a rock from a District dump truck.

D-LINE CANAL: Chairman Miller wanted to know about the possibility of obtaining a grant and the price of piping the D-Line canal around the Hermiston Butte. Manager Wilcox recalled that it would cost about $40k to pipe that area. Manager Wilcox does not believe that there is much of a possibility of getting a grant to pipe that area. It is possible that the City could obtain a grant because of the adjoining facilities that they have put in there. One of the problems is that there are two overflows in that area that come from City facilities. One comes from the water tank on the top of the Butte. The City has permission from the Bureau to use the facilities as an overflow. Chairman Miller is concerned with safety and reducing the vandalism to District facilities that we continue to contend with.

Chairman Miller requested the Manager Wilcox work with the City of Hermiston in a productive way to try to find a solution to this matter.

ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by Chairman Miller at 6:15 p.m.