07-15-2010 MinutesMINUTES OF THE
SCHERTZ-SEGUIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION
THE STATE OF TEXAS §
COUNTY OF GUADALUPE §
SCHERTZ-SEGUIN LOCAL §
GOVERNMENT CORPORATION §
On this the 15th day of July 2010, the Schertz-Seguin Local Government Corporation (SSLGC)
convened at 1:31 p.m. in the City of Schertz Council Chambers located at 1400 Schertz Parkway,
Building #4, Schertz, Texas. The following directors being present and in attendance:
Ken Greenwald
Robin Dwyer
Patricia Ramirez
Andrew Koenig
Jim Wolverton
Betty Ann Matthies
and the following director being absent:
President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Director
Ex=Officio
' Hal Baldwin Ex-Officio
constituting a majority of the persons appointed to the Board and a .quorum for the transaction of
business, and notice of such meeting having been duly given in accordance with the provisions of
Texas law. Also in attendance were:
Alan Cockerell
Don Taylor
Susan Caddell
Johnny Bierschwale
Shawn Shimek
Emery Gallagher
Georgia Hanks
Sam Willoughby
Crockett Camp
Bill Klemt
John Winkler
Patrick Lindner
General Manager
Schertz City Manager
Seguin Finance Director
Schertz Assistant City Manager
Water System Superintendent
Seguin Water Utility Manager
Administrative Assistant
Schertz Public Works Director
Consultant/Project Manager
Hydrologist Consultant
COriSUltant (Walker Partners)
COLll1Se1 (Davidson & Troilo)
The first order of business was the Calling of the Meeting to Order.
President Ken Greenwald called the meeting to order at 1:31 p.m.
The second order of business was Public Comment.
Mr. Robert Brockman, a Schertz resident, addressed the Board during public comment. He
expressed concern regarding customers of SSLGC who currently receive excess water. He
worried that they could expect water in the future when water may not be as available., City
Manager Don Taylor assured Mr. Brockman that the Corporation sells its excess water by
contract on a year-to-year basis. Mr. Taylor resumed his comments to Mr. Brockman later at the
meeting in progress.
The third order of business was Approval of the Minutes for the Board Meeting held on
June 15, 2010.
Treasurer Andrew Koenig made a motion to approve the June 15, 2010 minutes as written.
Secretary Patricia Ramirez seconded the motion. Upon a vote being called, the motion
carried by unanimous decision.
The fourth order of business was Presentation of the General Manager's Report -
Alan Cockerell, General Manager.
General Manager Cockerell's written report was included in the board agenda packets. He added
the following items to his written report:
o GVEC. -• Mr. Cockerell reported that GVEC had retired capital credits and given
customer rebates. SSLGC received a hand delivered check in the amount of $10,292.
o Water Production. Water production and sales were down from historical amounts -for
the month of June at 71.2% of Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation
District's (GCUWCD) monthly allowable. Seasonal Pumping and Monthly Water Sales
charts were included in the agenda packets. Production for the month of June was lower
due to recent rainfall.
o GCUWCD.. A public hearing was held before GCUWCD's regular meeting July 13,
2010, in Gonzales. SAWS was granted its permits. During the meeting SAWS
representatives stated that they wanted to be treated fairly like everyone else in regard to
pump sizes. They also agreed to pay for the Hearing. Other provisions of SAWS permits
include the following:
• Wells would be restricted to 500 or 1,000 gpm
• Participation in the GCUWCD western mitigation fund
• Required. to install up to four monitor wells
Judge Vay summarized the report he had prepared regarding the SAWS Contested Case
Hearing and in the process said that the SCCS GAM appeared more accurate than the
Water Development Board GAM.
Mr. Cockerell stated that he, John Winkler and Bill Klemt planned to meet with Greg
Sengelmann on July 20, 2010 to discuss pumps sizes for SSLGC's four new wells.
At GCUWCD's regular meeting the cities of Nixon and Smiley expressed concern that
they were not included in the mitigation fund. After discussion board members agreed
that the agreement does not include municipalities. Mr. Cockerell added that to include
municipalities would have a significant financial impact on the mitigation fund and
SSLGC did not sign up for that. The board tabled approval of the mitigation fund
manual. SSLGC does not have to pay into the fund until the manual is approved. Each
participant's contribution is based on respective permitted amounts.
Canyon Regional Water Association (CRWA) reported production of 16 ac-ft of water in
May and 17 ac-ft of water in June.
o GCGCD. GCGCD held a public hearing on July 8, 2010, to receive public input on a
proposed amendment to the District's rules regarding assessment of fees based on
authorized production, fees for administrative acts of the District, payment of fees, and
permit amendment requirements. Mr. Cockerell called attention to SSLGC's written
comments regarding opposition to the proposed changes which were prepared by Counsel
Patrick Lindner and included in the board agenda packets. Counsel Lindner also
submitted a motion for continuance because he did not .receive requested information
from GCGCD in a timely manner. Another public hearing is scheduled August 12, 2010,
and a district meeting will be held in conjunction with it. Both the cities of Schertz and
Seguin and the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court have presented GCGCD with
letters of opposition to the rule change. Counsel Lindner deferred more discussion on the
subject to Executive Session.
o Grazing Leases. Ten of SSLGC's grazing leases expire in 2011. A list of the leases was
included in the board agenda packets. Mr. Cockerell proposed offering renewals to
existing tenants with a 5% increase iri the lease rate. If tenants are not interested in
renewal, the property will be put out for bid. After discussion was held regarding rates
and value of properties, board members agreed with Mr. Cockerell's proposal.
The fifth order of business was Holloman Corporation Pipeline Repair at CR 114 -Alan
Cockerell, General Manager.
Mr. Cockerell reported that on June 22, 2010, SSLGC had scheduled a repair of its pipeline on
CR114 by Holloman Corporation. The repair took longer than anticipated. Although costs of
the repair were included in SSLGC's FY2009-2010 budget, due to the change in the estimate of
the costs, Mr. Cockerell asked for approval from the Board for payment to Holloman
Corporation in the amount of $26,076.30.
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Vice-President Robin Dwyer made a motion to approve payment in the amount of
$26,076.30 to Holloman Corporation for the pipeline repair at CR 114. Secretary Ramirez
seconded the motion. Upon a vote being called, the motion carried by unanimous decision.
The sixth order of business was Rate Study and Long Term Financial Plan,
Economists.com -Alan Cockerell, General Manager.
Copies of the final rate study and long term financial plan completed by Economists.com for
SSLGC were provided to Board members and the Cities of Schertz and Seguin. Mr. Cockerell
noted that Mr. Jackson with Economists.com based his forecasting percentages on water usage
and not population growth. Resolution SSLGC R10-08 accepts the plan which uses the AWWA
cash basis of ratemaking and requires a minimum debt coverage ratio of 1.25 or greater. Mr.
Cockerell requested Board approval of Resolution SSLGC R10-08 to accept the plan.
Director Jim Wolverton made a motion to approve SSLGC R10-08 to adopt the rate.study
and long term financial plan prepared for -SSLGC by Economists.com. Vice-President
Dwyer seconded the motion. Upon a vote being called, the motion carried by unanimous
decision.
The seventh order of business was SSLGC FY 2010-2011 Budget -Alan Cockerell, General
Manager.
Mr. Cockerell referred to handouts of a budget summary and projected revenues for SSLGC's
FY2010-2011 budget and provided a brief overview of the line items. For clarification he stated
that most of the non-rate revenues consist of impact fees which have a restricted use. The budget
summary compares FY2010-2011 to FY2009-2010 and shows an increase of 2%. Mr. Cockerell
noted that the budget did not include debt service of approximately $3.5 million which is a large
part of the approximate $4.2 million difference between revenues and expenses. At Assistant
City Manager John Bierschwale's request, Mr. Cockerell agreed to' include debt service in the
budget summary. Mr. Cockerell and staff recommended Board approval of SSLGC's FY 2010-
2011 budget.
Treasurer Koenig made a motion to approve SSLGC's FY 2010-2011 budget, SSLGC 810-
04. Vice-President. Dwyer seconded the motion. Upon a vote being called, the motion
carried by unanimous decision.
The eighth order of business was SSLGC FY 2010-2011 Water Rates -Alan Cockerell,
General Manager.
Mr. Cockerell reported that SSLGC's FY 2010-2011 water rates would remain the same as FY
2009-2010. However, the method of establishing the rates has changed to a cash basis as defined
by AWWA and recommended by Economists.com. He and staff recommended Board approval
of SSLGC's FY 2010-2011 water rates.
Director Wolverton made a motion to approve SSLGC's FY 2010-2011 water rates,
SSLGC R10-O5. Secretary Ramirez seconded the motion. Upon a vote being called, the
motion carried by unanimous decision.
The ninth order of business was SSLGC FY 2010-2011 Management Services Agreement -
Alan Cockerell, General Manager.
This agenda item contains two resolutions, SSLGC R10-06, Management Services Agreement
between SSLGC and the City of Seguin, and SSLGC R10-07, Management Services Agreement
between SSLGC and the City of Schertz. Management and city staffs had reviewed the contracts
and no changes to the previous fiscal years contracts were recommended. They requested
approval of the agreements.
Vice-President Dwyer made a motion to approve resolutions SSLGC R10-06 and SSLGC
R10-07, management services agreements between SSLGC and the City of Seguin and
SSLGC and the City of Schertz, respectively. Director Wolverton seconded the motion.
Upon a vote being called, the motion carried by unanimous decision.
Mr. Cockerell said that he would attend both Seguin and Schertz city council meetings on July
20, 2010, to obtain approval for SSLGC's FY 2010-2011 budget, water rates and management
services agreements.
The tenth order of business was Award Contract for Construction of Four Wells in
Gonzales County -Alan Cockerell, General Manager and John Winkler, Walker Partners.
Mr. Cockerell called attention to bid tabulations which were included in the board agenda
packets and his written report. Seven bids were received for the drilling of four wells in
Gonzales County. The lowest bid of $2.16 million was received from Weisinger Water Well,
Inc., in Conroe, Texas. A memo from John Winkler with Walker Partners was submitted to
SSLGC on July 9, 2010, and stated, "Weisinger Water Well, Inc. is a highly experienced
company providing these services to cities and districts across the State for more than 30 years."
He also enclosed information on Weisinger's drilling rigs and representative large diameter
water well projects. Mr. Winkler presented a brief outline of Weisinger's qualifications. Mr.
Cockerell commented that Weisinger would be responsible for getting to each well, with the
exception of well 10, the Weber-Box property. SSLGC would be responsible for constructing
the road to well 10. After the contract is approved and a time schedule is received from the
contractor, Mr. Cockerell will present the schedule to GCUWCD and request special
consideration for the contractor to complete the wells within the time schedule. Mr. Winkler and
-staff recommended Board approval to award the bid to Weisinger.
Vice-President Dwyer made a motion to award the bid in the amount of $2.16 million to
Weisinger Water Well, Inc. Director Wolverton seconded the motion. Upon a vote being
called, the motion carried by unanimous decision.
s
The eleventh order of business was Water Level Measurements -Bill HIemt, Hydrologist.
Mr. Klemt's written report on water level measurements for Gonzales County was included in
the board agenda packets. He summarized his report as follows:
Carrizo water levels were measured in water-level observation wells which are located in the
vicinity of SSLGC's well field on June 2 and 3, 2010, by Mr. Klemt, General Manager Cockerell
and GCUWCD General Manager Greg Sengelmann. Mr. Klemt referred to several figures of
maps in his report which showed location of wells measured, Carrizo water-level drawdowns for
the period August-September/02 to June 2010, and altitude of Carrizo water levels, June. 2010.
The four Carrizo wells which are located within SSLGC's well field area, SSLGC (#18), Wilson
(#19), SSLGC (#22) and SSLGC (#23), had an average water-level recovery of about 15 ft for
the period September/09 to June/10. The average annual water-level decline for the period
August-September/02 to June 2010 was approximately 24 ft. The largest measured decline
(29.23 ft) was obtained from well #18. The other three wells had declines ranging from
approximately 19 to a little over 25 ft. With regard to the above four wells, for the period Aug-
Sept/02 to January 2010, the average water-level decline was approximately 23 feet. There
appears to be very little change of water levels in the vicinity of the SSLGC well field for the
period January to June 2010.
Water levels in the Carrizo (#18) and three Queen City water wells were measured in January
2010 as a part of the Carrizo water-level studies in Gonzales County. These wells are located
within SSLGC's well field and are close together. The table Mr. Klemt provided indicates that
pumpage from SSLGC's Carrizo well field has little or no effect on water levels in the Queen
City Aquifer.
Mr. Klemt reported that HDR's 2005 -GAM simulated water-level drawdowns should be about
50 feet (2002 - 2010). The average measured Aug-Sept/02 to January 2010 water level
drawdowns in wells 18, 19, 22 and 23 are approximately 24 feet.. Actual pumpage from the well
field is somewhat less than simulated pumpage which in theory would reduce simulated
drawdowns to about 35 to 40 feet. Comparison of the simulated and measured water levels
indicates that the TWDB GAM is over predicting water-level drawdowns in southwest Gonzales
County.
Mr. Klemt reported that in his opinion, based on water levels measured in the Carrizo and Queen
City aquifers in southwestern Gonzales County since the year 2000, the aquifers continue to
perform as predicted as a result of pumpage from the SSLGC well field.
The twelfth order of business was Legislative Update -Jack Fickessen, Legislative
Consultant.
In Mr. Fickessen's absence, Mr. Cockerell reported that a new chairman had been appointed to
the Senate Natural Resources Committee, Troy Frazier from Horseshoe Bay.
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Before going into executive session:
City Manager Don Taylor asked to again address the concerns Mr. Brockman had during Public
Comment. He said that the Cities of Schertz and Seguin are recommending that SSLGC enter
into two contracts with SAWS. One is for transportation and treatment of the water. The other
is for excess water when SSLGC declares that it has excess water. He emphasized that SSLGC
presently sells its excess water and to sell excess water to a large customer like SAWS would be
beneficial to SSLGC and its customers by keeping their water rates down.
The thirteenth order of business was Mutual Regional Water Supply Contract between the
Schertz-Seguin Local Government Corporation, the City of Schertz, the City of Seguin,
and the City of San Antonio acting by and through its San Antonio Water System -Patrick
Lindner, General Counsel.
President Greenwald deferred agenda item thirteen to executive session.
The fourteenth order of business was Wholesale Water Contract with the City of Converse
-Patrick Lindner, General Counsel.
President Greenwald deferred agenda item fourteen to executive session.
The fifteenth order of business was Oil and Gas Leasing Program Implementation -
PatrickLindner, General Counsel.
President Greenwald deferred agenda item fifteen to executive session.
The sixteenth order. of business was Guadalupe County Expansion Proiect -Alan
Cockerell, General Manager.
President Greenwald deferred agenda sixteen to executive session.
The seventeenth order of business was Gonzales County Expansion Proiect -Alan
Cockerell, General Manager.
President Greenwald deferred agenda item seventeen to executive session.
President Greenwald closed General Session at 2: 40 p. m.
The eighteenth order of business was Executive Session called under Chapter 551
Government Code, Section 551.071, to seek the advice of its attorney on legal matters and
Section 551.072, for deliberations regarding real estate.
President Greenwald opened Executive Session at 2: S2 p. m.
Executive Session was held from 2: S2 p. m. to 4:03 p. m.
President Greenwald left the meeting at 3:59 p. m. and Vice-President Dwyer presided over the
remainder of the meeting.
The nineteenth order of business was to Consider and Take Action as a Result of Agenda
Item #18.
Vice-P~•esident Dwyer opened General Session at 4.• 04 p. m.
As a result of Executive Session:
Agenda Item 15 -Oil and Gas Leasing Program Implementation
Vice-President Dwyer made a motion to authorize General Manager Alan Cockerell to
engage legal counsel for advice in negotiating prospective oil and gas leases in Gonzales and
Guadalupe Counties and to present any contracts or agreements to the Board for approval.
Treasurer Koenig seconded the motion. Upon a vote being called, the motion carried by
unanimous decision.
The twentieth order of business was Consideration and/or Action on Questions and
Possible Items to be ulaced on the next Agenda.
No additional discussion was held.
The twenty-first order of business was Adjournment.
Vice-President Dwyer declared the meeting adjourned at 4:05 p.m.
The next regular meeting was scheduled Thursday, August 19, 2010, an Seguin.
MINUTES APPROVED THIS `~ DAY OF , 2010.
Patricia Ramirez, Secr tary