MINUTES

A. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

B. ROLL CALL

Roll call showed the following Directors present: Eads, Whitney, Estabrook, Orth and Skezas. Also present were General Manager Williams and District Counsel Neary.

C. ADDITIONS/ ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA

None

D. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS

September 28, 1999

Director Eads moved to approve the minutes of September 28, 1999 with one change to item i 2, replacing "Board members unanimously agreed to appoint Director Whitney to the subcommittee." with "The Chair agreed to nominate Director Whitney for appointment to the subcommittee." The motion was seconded by Director Orth and passed unanimously.

E. SPECIAL PRESENTATION

None

F. PUBLIC HEARING

None

G. PUBLIC COMMENTS

None

H. ACTION AGENDA

2. REPORT BACK ON THE CONDITION OF THE PROPERTY AT 24330 AND 24340 LILAC ROAD

General Manager Williams reported that a grading permit was issued by the County on September 29th, the road cut had been re-graded to lower the slope, and additional dirt had been put around the large fir tree. Water bars were installed on the driveway cut and the gutter along the property had been cleaned out. Also, the cut slope from the actual building of Lilac Road continues to contribute silt to the gutter. Draft letters to Mr. Grishaber, suggesting installation of jute matting to prevent erosion, and to the County Department of Transportation, asking them to address the original road cut slope, were provided for the Board's review, as an alternative to the resolution considered at the previous meeting.

Director Eads asked if the property were for sale and if so, would action by the Board and the County be disclosed to the potential buyer. District Counsel Neary confirmed that it would be disclosed during the title search process. Director Eads expressed doubt that erosion from Lilac Road would drain into Lake Ada Rose, as stated in the letter to Mr. Townsend. Although he agreed that hydro-seeding would be useful on the slope, he felt that other areas that affect the watershed need to be addressed, also.

Director Whitney felt that any degradation of the environment should be a consideration, not only the affect on the watershed.

Director Estabrook pointed out that there is an old hiking trail from the Lilac area to Lake Ada Rose, and he felt that the statement "given the close proximity to Lake Ada Rose" should remain in the letter to Mr. Townsend. Also, he asked that a copy of the letter be sent to the County Department of Planning and Building, as they are the enforcing agency.

President Skezas asked that, in the letter to Mr. Grishaber, the first sentence of the second paragraph read "Would you provide" instead of "Would it be possible to provide", which would make the letter more demanding.

Director Orth moved to approve the letters, with the changes requested, and to send copies to the County Department of Planning and Building. The motion was seconded by Director Whitney and was passed unanimously.

3. CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR A BALLOT INITIATIVE SPONSORED BY THE TAXPAYERS FOR FAIR COMPETITION

Director Orth left the table due to a conflict of interest. General Manager Williams stated that this is follow-up from the last meeting wherein the Board reviewed a letter from the Taxpayers for Fair Competition asking for support of a ballot initiative which would allow state and local governments to contract with private sector engineers and architects. A Copy of the opposing point of view by the Congress of California Seniors was provided by Virginia Pohlson, who was present in the audience.

In reference to his analysis which was provided in the staff report, District Counsel Neary explained that the issue would have very little impact on the District, or any local government entity, as it is mostly a State issue having the greatest effect on Caltrans.

Director Eads pointed out one indirect effect of the measure may be timing of the receipt of state funds for the second access. However, all Directors agreed that it would be inappropriate for the Board to state a position on the initiative at this time, but may act on the item at a later date, if it appears on a future ballot.

4. STATUS REPORT ON GREEN COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

General Manager Williams reported that Susie Walker, who was appointed to serve on the Green Committee, elected not to do so prior to being sworn in. Therefore, a position remains open which is due to expire on 12/31/99. Because only one meeting is scheduled before the end of the year, Board members agreed to leave the vacancy open and appoint a member in December to serve a full three-year term.

5. CONSIDERATION OF ACTION ON MAILED BALLOT FOR SPECIAL DISTRICT REPRESENTATION FOR LAFCO

Formal notification and mailed ballot were received from LAFCO, listing four candidates for Special District Representative. Director Whitney moved to cast the vote for Charles A. Orth and authorize the President Skezas to sign. The motion was seconded by Director Estabrook and passed unanimously. Director Orth thanked the Board members for their vote.

6. CONTINUED REVIEW OF BACK-UP PLAN FOR Y2K

General Manager Williams reviewed the updated items including: 49 residences in pressure zones; to ease traffic concerns drinking water can be supplied at the District office utilizing hydrants and faucets with hoses; the availability of standby generators has been researched; and all fuel and water tanks will be topped off prior to December 31st. He also provided a brief review of preparations being made at the City of Willits, including back up generators being placed to operate the wastewater treatment plant.

Director Eads noted that January 1st is a Saturday, and suggested scheduling a short work day to inspect District facilities prior to Monday, January 3rd.

General Manager Williams also informed the Board that a representative from the Department of Environmental Health was scheduled to inspect the District facilities for Y2K compliance on October 14th. He will report to the Board on that inspection at the next meeting and continue to update the status of the Y2K planning, as well.

I. SPECIAL REPORTS

General Manager will report on significant activities within the District including but not limited to the following:

i. Significant Correspondence received since last meeting:

ii. Personnel

A request from California Special Districts Association for volunteers to serve on various committees was provided to Board members.

iii. Finance

General Manager Williams updated the Board on the efforts of the Firefighters Association and the BPOA to gain support of the voters for the Fire Tax measure. He stated that the annual report on the use of the ambulance will be provided at the next Board meeting. President Skezas asked for a full review of the ambulance contract to review Brooktrails' role as backup service to Willits, as opposed to primary carrier for the District. He also asked for information pertaining to transport of injured persons in private passenger vehicles, if the injury is deemed to be not life-threatening.

September Warrants, Accounts Payable, and Cash Flow were reviewed by the Board.

iv. Planning

General Manger Williams reported that on October 4th MCOG made note of both the District's and the County's position as a part of their review of the second access.

Also, he appeared before the County Planning Commission on October 7th to review the District's Evacuation Plan. The Planning Commission sent a memo to the County Board of Supervisors stating that evacuation of our District is a County issue, as all of the evacuation routes are outside of the District. Some of the Planning Commission's suggestions for improvement to the plan included setting up a committee at the County level, permanent signs on evacuation routes, and exclusion of Ridge Road, Huckleberry and Gooseberry trails, as they are not passable by motor vehicle.

Several people spoke to the Commission in favor of the southern second access, and one person spoke in favor of both southern and eastern. Bob Parker spoke on behalf of the Department of Transportation and stated that they could not pursue an eastern second access without weighing the pros and cons of both proposals, and they will be doing a field study as opposed to a project study report. General Manager Williams offered to provide a more detailed report on that meeting as soon as copies of the minutes are received.

v. Possible upcoming agenda items

vi. Other

Updated information on Radon regulation had been received from ACWA. Director Whitney asked that the cost for testing the District's water supply for the presence of Radon be investigated.

J. PUBLIC COMMENTS

None

K. CLOSED SESSION - District Office, 24860 Birch Street

At 8:10 p.m. the Board of Directors adjourned to closed session pursuant to Government Code Section 54957, pertaining to annual performance review of General Manager and District Counsel.

President Skezas stated that no final decision had been reached as a result of the closed session, so no formal statement would be made at this time.

L. ADJOURNMENT

Director Orth moved to adjourn and President Skezas declared the meeting of October 12, 1999 closed at 9:14 p.m.

PAUL A. WILLIAMS

Secretary to the Board of Directors

GEORGE C. SKEZAS

President