The GSD Agrees to Provide Service to the New Hospital and Discusses Drought Contingency Plan

https://drought.ca.gov/current-drought-conditions/

The board of directors for the Garberville Sanitary District (GSD) held their monthly meeting a week earlier than originally scheduled, meeting on July 19th instead of July 26th.

SoHum Health Expansion:

A will-serve letter for the SoHum Health campus on Sprowl Creek Road in Garberville was brought before the GSD for approval. The site of the new hospital needed the will-serve letter from the GSD in order to move forward with their planning and development for the new hospital.

GSD Consultant, Jennie Short, summarized the project via phone to the board while SoHum Health Chief Operations Officer, Kent Scown, in attendance, agreed with Short’s assessment.

Currently, the district has allotted 4.76 million gallons of water per year from their total annual water capacity for the new structures that will comprise of at 28,100 square feet hospital that will house 15 overnight beds, an ER, lab, radiology as well as a kitchen with dining/vending area and a staff break room. A separate 10,200 square feet clinic with physical therapy with an additional hookup for a mobile MRI unit will also be constructed. The pre-existing building will be remodeled for office spaces, meeting rooms and the current pharmacy.

Short stated that the engineering firm hired by the healthcare district, LACO Associates, had estimated a huge range of water usage, from 5100 gallons a day up to 13,000 gallons a day. Using conventional estimation, Short estimated the proposed site’s water usage around 5700 gallons a day. Board Chair, Bryan, pointed out that the district had set aside the high end of LACO’s estimations, thereby they were covered if the new hospital exceeded Short’s estimated usage.

Short recommended that the district continue to budget the high estimation of water usage stating that any unused portion of that estimation could be set aside for future SoHum Health projects including short-term and long-term housing construction plans the healthcare district is considering though those projects have not been presented to the GSD at this time nor has any agreement been reached about service from the GSD.

The will-serve agreement between GSD and SoHum Health is set to expire in two years. Scown said it will likely be three years before any construction on the new site begins however, the architectural designs should be completed within a year. The board agreed that the will-serve agreement could be extended at a later date if needed, when the healthcare district has the design phase complete which will provide a more comprehensive estimate for its needs from the GSD. Short stated, “If things change so will some of the calculations in the will-serve letter”

The will-serve agreement will garner the district an immediate $16K in connection revenue with a $2500 deposit for project review. The total estimated connection costs to SoHum Health are estimated to be $228K.

In addition to the connection costs, the healthcare district will be required to pay the costs of upgrading the sewage infrastructure along Sprowl Creek Road to facilitate the needs of the new hospital and clinic. The current system at this time cannot meet the demands of the proposed project.

The board voted unanimously to approve the will-serve letter, three to zero, with board member Rio Anderson not in attendance. To view the will-serve letter in its entirety, click here.

Drought:

With summer heating up and river levels dropping, drought measures were a big topic as the district rework their drought contingency policy, billing during mandatory shutoffs, and water storage capacity as the district plans for continued drought conditions well into the future.

The board was very close to approving the reworded drought contingency plan as it was presented to the board. Board member, Dan Thomas asked General Manager, Ralph Emerson, to clarify the language used in Phase 3 of the drought plan before the board votes to adopt the revised policy.

The Drought Contingency Plan as it was presented to the board on July 19th:

1st phase of drought conservation plan will require all customers to voluntarily reduce water consumption. (10cfs) in South Fork of Eel River
2nd phase will be to stop all outdoor watering for everything except animals, vegetables or fruit. (7cfs)
3rd phase will require only using water on even days for even addresses and odd days for odd addresses. specific days, designated by GSD (5cfs).
4th phase requires all customers to only use water for health and safety, with no outside watering (4cfs).

Thomas wanted the language on Phase 3 to acknowledge that even and odd days of water use will be for the outdoor watering exceptions listed in Phase 2.

The Drought Contingency Plan also encourages GSD customers to have water storage for outdoor needs. Those without water storage that ignore the drought phase restrictions are subject to fines starting at $100 per occurrence per day. Those that continue to violate the drought phase restrictions may have their water connection turned off with a $1,000 reconnection fee required.

As proposed, Phase 2 of the Drought Contingency Plan will initiate a shutoff water to all ag meters in the district. Up for discussion at the board meeting was whether or not those customers would still be subject to a monthly base rate for the water meters turned off at the GSD discretion.

The board discussed the need for base rates to fund the ongoing costs of running the district but questioned whether charging a base rate for a meter that the district turned off was the right thing to do. GSD customers that only use ag water seasonally or GSD customers that go on vacation and do not use water during a billing cycle are still billed a base rate to keep the water connection active.

The board discussed lowering the base rate to $50 a month for ag meters shut off by the GSD due to drought, a policy included in the current Drought Contingency Plan that will be brought back to the board in August. Emerson expressed hesitancy of charging any base rate when the shutoff was at the due to drought measures even though he authored the proposed policy.

Thomas discussed the financial impact to the district if the base rate was eliminated in the case of drought shutoff. GSD Administrative Secretary, Mary Nieto, said that there were less than ten ag customers within the GSD with an approximate $114 base rate per month. Based on previous years, the district was in Phase 2 of their drought plan for two months, which if held true for this year, would result in less than a $2500 revenue loss for the district. Emerson said the revenue loss would possibly be recouped when drought restrictions lifted, and ag customers refilled water storage tanks.

No vote was taken though general consensus seemed in favor of eliminating base charges for those customers that the GSD discontinued service to due to drought conditions.

The updated policy regarding the filling of swimming pools was adopted by the board. GSD customers wanting to fill their swimming pool will need to do so before July 1st of each year in addition to filling out an application. The application will give applicants a rate break on the water used for filling their pool, billing at the 2nd tiered rate versus the 3rd tiered rate where pool-filling customers would undoubtedly end up paying due to the large amount of water required to fill a pool.

If the district is in a drought phase prior to July 1st, GSD customers will not be allowed to fill their pools.

The GSD is also working on making the district’s infrastructure more efficient to prevent water loss and expand their water storage capacity. The board received an update from GSD Consultant, Jennie Short, on the ongoing tank replacement project. The project, still in the planning phase, will replace old, leaking tanks with new tanks with a greater storage capacity.

The project will likely include acquisition of property for the tank placement, whether a new location altogether or to expand the footprint of existing tank locations. The board will be discussing any possible property acquisitions in future closed sessions of board meetings. Board Member Dan Thomas, Emerson, Short and the GSD Attorney, Russ Gans comprises the district’s negotiating team.

Short said that the cost of property acquisition, although not currently covered by a grant, should be included in the grant funding when the district moves to the next stage of the project plan.

Board Chair, Doug Bryan, elaborated on the need for additional storage and property, stating that moving tanks to more desirable locations will help with water system efficiency utilizing gravity flow. He also stated, “[I’m] super excited to have more water security in a town I live.”

Also of note:

-Board member Julie Lyon reported to the board that she had applied to run for the GSD board with the Humboldt County Elections Office. Lyon said that the process was quite involved, taking an hour and fifteen minutes to complete. Lyon, who is currently finishing out her first term on the GSD board, said that the elections process has changed. She joked that those applying should “bring snacks.”

Regardless of the lengthy process, Lyon said that the Elections Office staff were incredibly helpful and made the process as smooth as possible. “[I] can’t say enough about how helpful they were,” she stated.

Those wanting to run for a GSD board position have until August 12th to apply at the Elections Office in Eureka.

-The district is hammering out a joint-use agreement contract for the use of GSD equipment. Emerson brought a draft agreement to the board for consideration.

The agreement outlines liability for local agencies using the GSD equipment along with staff labor compensation. According to Emerson, all labor costs including overtime, would be paid by the renting agency.

Lyon stated that she wants to be “a good neighbor” to other districts but is concerned with the equipment not being available for district needs when they arise.

Renting the equipment would further provide the district with additional revenue however, Emerson along with GSD employee, Dan Arrequin, stated that they had concerns about the life-expectancy of the equipment being shortened due to usage-hours being accrued by other districts.

Emerson suggested only renting the equipment out in an emergent situation, noting the helpfulness of other districts in times of emergency situations and wanting to continue a collaborative relationship.

Bryan suggested to rework the agreement for emergency situations only suggesting that if the joint-use agreement worked in those circumstances, the district could then discuss whether to extend the use of the GSD equipment in non-emergency situations.

Emerson will rework the joint-use agreement and bring it back before the board.

-GSD customers who are behind on their bill can now apply for a one-time relief payment of through the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). The program will help qualified households pay off a past debt regardless of the timeframe that the debt occurred. Click on the link above to see if your household qualifies or contact Mary at the GSD for assistance.

Additionally, for those struggling to pay their GSD bill, the district offers payment plans.

-Emerson noted that an anonymous good Samaritan had paid off a past-due amount for a GSD customer who owed close to $2,000, noting the good people that reside in the community.

The next GSD board meeting is scheduled for August 23rd at 5 p.m. at 919 Redwood Dr., Garberville. (The south end of Ray’s Market parking lot.)

Please note an earlier version of this story misidentified Kent Scown’s title.

This article is written by Lisa Music, a local freelance journalist. To reach Lisa about tips, questions or comments, email her at [email protected]

NOTE: This author is a rate paying customer of the GSD.