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Water Policy Review
Commission
MINUTES
Regular meeting
April 11, 2002
Training Rooms (first floor)
Thomas C. Kelly Administration Center
123 W. Indiana Ave., DeLand
MEMBERS
Bill Scovell (present)
Fritz Behring (present)
Randy Brewer (present)
Richard Fernandez (present)
Ken Hoblick (present)
Elizabeth Layton (present)
Beth McGee (absent)
Tom McClelland (present)
Steven Provost (present)
CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order by Chair Bill Scovell at 6 p.m. with the above attendance noted. Also in attendance were Cindy Finney, County Manager’s Office, Dan Eckert, County Attorney, Tom Carey, Environmental Management, Jacob Varn and Linda Shelley, consultants for the Volusian Water Alliance.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MARCH 14, 2002 MEETING
Elizabeth Layton asked that the minutes be corrected under Issue #4 of Discussion of Final Report, to read that Mr. Hoblick made a motion that #4 be amended to say a "need for a centrally managed wholesale water production and distribution organization serving public, commercial and industrial needs for Volusia County." Also, the vote was recorded incorrectly and should read "The Commission voted 5-1 to deny the motion, with Mr. Hoblick voting to approve the motion. The motion was denied.Ms. Layton made a motion that the minutes be approved as corrected. Mr. Hoblick seconded the motion. The motion passed 8-0 and the minutes were adopted as corrected. A copy of the corrected minutes is attached.
DISCUSSION BY JACOB VARN
Mr. Scovell said he would like to divert from the agenda and asked Jacob Varn to tell the Commission what was said at the Volusia County Water Workshop earlier in the day. Mr. Varn and his partner, Linda Shelley were hired by the Volusian Water Alliance to perform an Implementation Strategy Alternatives Evaluation.Mr. Varn said he and Ms. Shelly had 90 days to get the study done. They are still fine tuning the funding side. He said they envision some type of new entity with each and every local government and the County as members. He said he had solved the problem of Deltona being a member because members would include municipalities which receive water directly or indirectly. That would also allow Oak Hill to participate. Each member would have a vote. The new entity would operate and maintain their existing facilities and construct, operate and maintain new facilities. Local governments would continue to own their existing wells and work out an arrangement, ideally a $1 a year lease. It would not interfere with any contractual relationships. It would not interfere in any way with local government's ability to continue to make money from the water business. It might even help the cities make more money. Mr. Varn said they have developed an economic model of three typical utilities in Volusia County. It demonstrates that the new entity would be able to produce water cheaper collectively than any entity by itself. Mr. Varn and Ms. Shelley will make a presentation before the VWA Friday, April 12 and Tuesday, April 16. Someone would have to operate and manage the entity, but he said he wanted to create a lean mean organization, not a bureaucracy. The number one priority is the need for interconnections between all local governments so we can wheel the water.
He said the beneficiaries ought to pay. Beneficiaries are not just the people who turn the taps on and off. Agriculture is a beneficiary. They are looking at ways to have everyone who benefits pay for water.
Tom McClelland encouraged members to be at the VWA meetings for the presentations. He said he thought the concept was great and he does not think people will have difficulty buying into the concept. He said he expected managers to ask about employees - - would they be governmental or private and how the workforce would be assembled?
Mr. Varn said he though it would vary from city to city. Mr. Varn discussed ways to attract employees and if they would be members of the Florida Retirement System.
Richard Fernandez asked if the water would be raw? Mr. Varn said as it relates to groundwater, they do not want to get into the treatment business. They want to interconnect the city's distribution systems. Mr. Varn said the wheeling part is what they need to work on.
Mr. Varn said that using the model they created, the average cost for 1,000 gallons is $1.69 in the County today. He described the different scenarios that were used in the model to determine costs. The bottom line is the entity can do it cheaper than any one municipality individually.
Mr. McClelland said the foundation of the whole thing is trust. Mr. Varn said you have to walk before you run. Do the minimal stuff, get something up and prove to people it can work so you can build trust, then do more sophisticated things such as stormwater and reuse. A discussion ensued.
Mr. Scovell asked about interconnects. Mr. Varn said they should do what was economically viable and cost effective - - for example, DeLand, Deltona, Orange City.
Mr. Hoblick said he thinks horizontal wells have a big future in the County It would be good for the County or the entity to investigate horizontal wells and eliminate withdrawal of water from the aquifer. A discussion ensued.
Mr. Hoblick asked about the time frame. Ms. Shelley said they have modeled it several different ways. They were charged with coming up with implementation options for this plan. She discussed the RAMP (Regional Aquifer Management Plan) and how its implementation would "move out" the years the County would need to seek alternative water supplies. She said it would take about five years planning and engineering for implementing the projects. Mr. Varn said they want the new water supply on hand a year before its needed.
DISCUSSION OF FINAL REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL
Mr., Scovell said the Commission had been furnished preliminary ballot questions by County Attorney Dan Eckert (attached). He asked if some of the questions being placed on the ballot should be for implementation, not advisory. Instruct the County Council, for example to implement an ordinance in regard to xeriscaping.Mr. McClelland said the proposed ballot questions were well written but would require a tremendous educational program for voters to understand what to do. He suggested that to gain trust, the Commission, with the County Council's permission, present it to the VWA and gain its support. Otherwise the trust issue may override what the Commission is trying to do.
Mr. Scovell said it has been 13 months since the Volusia Water Advisory Board made its presentation and nothing has happened. He said he had expressed his displeasure to the County Council that morning and maybe something would happen. A discussion ensued.
Mr. Scovell said the only thing that needs to be advisory is creation of a centrally managed water organization. Other things are in the power of the Council. Do they need to be instructed by the voters to do it?
Mr. McClelland said how do we get the voters to understand what we want them to do? We need to go to political entities to gain support. Mr. Scovell said he believed the newspapers would give support. He said he believes that if Mr. Varn comes up with something in his report that needs to go on the ballot, we should seriously consider it.
Steven Provost said it is difficult to educate the public and they may vote no if they don’t understand it. He said maybe there are too many items. #1 and #3 are easier to talk about and understand than #2 and whatever the Commission does with #4.
Mr. Eckert asked that in #2 the word "other" be substituted for "municipal." He noted that this fall's ballot will be busy and these questions would be at the end of the ballot.
Mr. Scovell said he thought the Commission should come to grips with what to put on as "advisory" and what to put on as "shall." Mr. Fernandez said the Commission also needs to determine the amount - - an estimated range of costs for the voters.
Mr. McClelland said perhaps the Commission should narrow the questions down to the most important. #2 is perhaps too complicated to address at this time. He discussed how a speaker's bureau could be effective in getting information out.
Mr. Eckert said since the Commission is asking for public opinion, the County does a citizens survey every year and this public opinion poll might be a way to provide feedback.
Mr. Scovell asked staff liaison Cindy Finney to find out when the next citizens survey is scheduled.
Mr. McClelland said he thought this approach would take care of issues 1 and 3 without going to the ballot and #4 should be on the ballot. For #2, he suggested letting the entity come into being and let stormwater be a part of their action.
Mr. Scovell said he thinks that might take ten years to accomplish and we can't afford to wait. Mr. McClelland said he thought the word central in #2 was misleading.
Mr. Fernandez said what #2 says is do the citizens want to establish a funding mechanism to redirect stormwater to enhance the groundwater supplies. Commissioners agreed it was a simpler way to put it. Mr. Fernandez said it would move water to where it would be more useful.
Mr. McClelland said if Mr. Varn's plan is accepted, #4 would not be necessary. Mr. Provost suggested having 1 and 3 handled by the citizens survey, let #4 take care of itself and concentrate on #2. Mr. McClelland said he thought the Commission had done all it could do based on the legal limits and time constraints. He said the Commission should focus on a good ballot question rather than a shotgun approach. Mr. Scovell said the funding for the recommendations in the plan is going to be the problem.
Mr. Scovell said anything that comes out of the Commission goes on the ballot without question. If it's adopted even as an advisory, it reflects the will of the people.
The Commission discussed its schedule for the remainder of its existence and its final report to the County Council. Mr. Scovell said the final report would be short and a lot would depend on what happens with Mr. Varn's presentation. The Commission may need to meet again after the presentation.
The Commission also discussed how they would educate the public, such as through a speaker's bureau or using the county information office. Mr. McClelland cautioned about using the County's resources, as it would be perceived as being pushed by the County. He suggested Commission members offer to serve on a speaker's bureau. There needs to be a plan to present the ballot question so it will be favorably treated.
Mr. Eckert said if a charter amendment is proposed, the full text of the charter amendment must be provided. Mr. Scovell said he felt the advisory ballot question is probably the best way to go.
ADJOURN/SET NEXT MEETING DATE
There being no further business, the Commission adjourned at 7:35 p.m. The next meeting of the Commission will be at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 9, 2002 in the Training Rooms, Thomas C. Kelly Administration Center, DeLand.back to county council home page
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