About Cambria

Published yesterday, the agenda for next week’s Cambria Community Services District meeting includes a number of important discussions and a presentation honoring John and Joyce Heller for their role in founding the Cambria Dog Park.

On the consent agenda:
A. Approve Expenditures for Month of August 2009
B. Approve Minutes of Board of Directors Meetings August 20 and September 18, 2009
C. Consider Adoption of Resolution 40-2009 Approving a 1-Year Lease Extension with Cambria Village Square Shopping Center for the CCSD
Administrative Offices for the Period of November 1, 2009 through October 31, 2010
D. Consider Adoption of Ordinance 02-2009 Electing to Have Delinquent Solid Waste Collection and Disposal Service Charges Collected on Tax
Roll
E. Consider Adoption of Resolution 44-2009 Ratifying Amendment to Professional Services Contract with Crosby & Cindrich, Certified Public
Accountants, Acknowledging Separation of Principals and Crosby Company as Replacement Contractor
F. Consider Adoption of Resolution 45-2009 Ratifying the General Manager’s Hiring of a Wastewater Operator/OIT to Fill a Recently Vacated Position
G. Consider Adoption of Resolution 41-2009 Approving a Settlement and Release Agreement between the CCSD and San Simeon CSD for Past
Project Costs Due

(All matters on the consent calendar are to be approved by one motion. If Directors wish to discuss a consent item other than simple clarifying questions, a request for removal may be made. Such items are pulled for separate discussion and action after the consent calendar as a whole is acted upon.)

REGULAR BUSINESS
A. Consider Adoption of Resolution 46-2009 Approving a CCSD Contingency Financial Plan for the Proposition 1A Suspension (State Loan from Local Government), including Participation in California Communities Prop 1A Securitization Program
B. Consider Adoption of Resolution 47-2009 Approving Capital Expenditures for Stuart Street/Rodeo Grounds Project
C. Consider Adoption of Resolution 48-2009 Authorizing Funding for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Modifications within the Western Main Street Pavement Overlay Project
D. Consider Adoption of Resolution 49-2009 Approving Addendum to CCSD Interagency Operational Agreement with Cambria Community Healthcare District Providing for ALS (Advanced Life Support) Equipment Aboard CCSD Fire Department Apparatus

Once the staff report is available, I will add more information here at aboutcambria.com.

The on again-off again plans to move the operations and ambulances of the Cambria Community Healthcare District (CCHD) to the Cambria Community Services District Fire Station on Burton Drive are off once again. Trustee Lemming reported that the August 31 meeting of the  ad-hoc co-location committee has started off well, but gradually turned sour. The ad-hoc committee is made up of CCSD Directors Clift and Sanders, CCHD Trustees Lemming and Headding and the head administrators of both districts, Tammy Rudock and Don Melendy. Fire Chief Miller also attended the committee meeting.

The CCHD trustees also heard from Administrator Melendy on the plans during a later part of the meeting. According to Melendy, there were a number of problems with the proposed plan, among them:

• insufficient private space at the fire station for CCHD crews needing “safety naps” so they can be sharp and awake when it counts
• disagreement over issues of sharing employees and chain of command
• an overall sense that the CCSD was unwilling to meet the Healthcare District halfway or be flexible
• the CCSD wanted the move to happen by this October 1

In the end, what seemed to influence the Trustees’ decision to reject the plan was that it would not even address the main reason they re-started talks about the co-location: better (or at least equal) service to the community and conditions for staff and money saved from sharing overhead costs and staff resources.  Administrator Melendy pointed out that the move as the current plan suggested would be a net loss for the CCHD, since they would be incurring costs for the move itself.

The Trustees aren’t ruling out co-location and Trustee Bates went as far as to say it was “inevitable” that  would happen someday. But all four Trustees agreed (Kristi Jenkins was absent), not with this plan.

The CCHD also discussed progress on getting an ALS (Advanced Life Support) unit put back onto the Fire Engine. More on that discussion in Wednesday night’s post.

At Tuesday’s Cambria Community Healthcare District (CCHD) meeting, the Trustees will be considering an agreement to station one of their ambulances and its crew at the Cambria Fire Department’s location on Burton Drive.  Also on the action agenda: a revised Addendum to the Interagency Operational Agreement and revised protocol for ALS equipment to be carried by Healthcare District Paramedics when on duty with the Cambria Community Services District Fire Department. Re-implementation of this program would occur when approval is received by Dr. Penny Borenstein, County Health Officer.

These two items, if approved, will affect operations and budgeting for both the Heathcare District and the Cambria Community Services District  Fire Department. They could also change the level of service available to Cambrians and everyone in the rural areas served by the CCHD, hopefully for the better.

The meeting is scheduled for 6:30pm in the Community Room at Rabobank at 1070 Main Street, Cambria.

Download the current agenda and the previous CCHD meeting minutes here.

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Friday morning’s early meeting drew about a dozen Cambrians and all 5 directors of the CCSD. On the agenda: approval of using $166,000 out of the general reserve fund to provide matching funds to the Army Corps of Engineers for the desalination project. According to board president Greg Sanders, the District will include the amount in a Capital Projects Budget (and related increase in rates) and repay the general fund reserves.
Kathe Tanner’s article in the Tribune provides more information about the meeting, if you’re interested.
The next CCSD meeting is scheduled for October 1, 2009.

The only topic on the agenda for the 8AM meeting of the Cambria Community Services District is approving $166,000 in matching funds to the Army Corps of Engineers – an amount required to take advantage of the stimulus funding “secured” earlier this year. According Kathe Tanner, the last minute, emergency meeting was needed because of a deadline for making a deposit is next Tuesday.  The District has assurances that money already spent by the District on the project would be credited toward the 25% of matching funds expected from most agencies partnering with the Army Corps of Engineers. If our agreement with ACOE was already in place, this $166,000 wouldn’t likely be needed.

The agenda specifically states:

Consider Resolution 43-2009 Authorizing Expenditure of $166,000 of CCSD Reserves Required for Local Matching Funds to Encumber Federal Appropriations for FY 2008/09 Ending September 30, 2009 for Desalination Project Geotechnical Investigation

The meeting is scheduled for the CCSD’s Suite 204, next door to their Knollwood Office, Friday morning.

Download and read the 2005 agreement between the CCSD and Army Corps of Engineers.

Read Kathe Tanner’s article online at SanLuisObispo.com

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In 1996, Cambria had a desalination plant all designed, permitted and ready to break ground. The election that year tossed out the pro-desal  Board and the new Board halted the project. Now, thirteen years later, we’re still working toward the permits required to do testing to find an appropriate location. One obvious effect of all the delays is the ongoing fear of running out of water. Another is the  list of property owners unable to build. Neither of these effects is healthy for the community, especially considering the disastrous effects of seawater intrusion and the ongoing financial liabilities of lawsuits. But Cambria’s long journey toward adding desalinated water to our supply has presented two possible benefits – the technology has improved immensely and the costs to produce potable water have been cut drastically.

The 1996 desalination plant would have had an open water intake, much more harmful to the environment than the proposed underground intake of the current project. Membrane technology improvements and energy recapturing processes have reduced the amount of energy required. If Cambria’s desalination project does ever get off the ground, these improvements will hopefully be incorporated.

These are some of the better articles from the last year on the new developments in desalination:

From Forbes.com

A better desalination membrane.

A revolutionary device with one moving part is making desalination cheaper.

From Auganomics.com

DXV Water Technologies New Method of desalination

From Aquafornia.com

New desalination process could generate electricity

Energy Recovery reduces desalination’s overall costs in Mexico

Centriforce files patent on new desalination system that is less complicated than RO and uses much less energy

CNFO delivers fresh, desalinated water at lower cost

From other sources

Salt is found to ‘stretch,’ with possible effect on desal

Engineered Osmosis: Revolutionizing Saltwater Desalination

Water Purification for the Masses?

Dr. Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute on Desalination

As Cambrians, we know the drill: no watering during mid-day (you don’t have a lawn, do you?), wash your car with a bucket, turn the faucet off when you brush your teeth, hope for regular rain, hope against seawater intrusion or MtBE contamination, watch for leaks, all with threat of surcharges  around the next corner.

On average, Cambrians use fewer gallons per person per day than in many communities in California. That’s not all that impressive, actually. But to understand water use in Cambria, let’s review a few basics.  First, water use varies greatly depending on the location, whether the water is metered, weather, landscaping choices, plumbing standards and age of the plumbing and fixtures. Water use is also affected our behavior choices and social norms (aka peer pressure).

Over the course of a year, Cambrians use an average of 90 gallons per person per day (gpcd).  This is just under the EPA estimated national average of 100 gpcd, but more than the 70 gpcd estimated by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) in 1999. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) recommends water agencies use 70 gpcd for planning and resource management.

Unless you’ve picked up one of the District’s special water monitors that shows your water use in real time, converting the number of units on your bi-monthly bill to gallons per day isn’t an easy conversion. So here is an easy to use calculator. Just enter the number of units on any CCSD bill and the number of people who live in your home and your gpcd will be automatically calculated.

The chart below is a bit dated (1999), but shows average indoor use for households in this area.

The average indoor use of 70 gpcd for a household of 2 people translates to about 11 units per billing cycle. There are opportunities to reduce indoor water use that don’t reduce your quality of life. Sure, you should avoid letting the water run when you brush your teeth, but if you have a newer shower head and efficient toilets, it’s hardly necessary to deprive yourself of a decent shower. One 10 minute shower every day adds up to 1.6 units on your water bill. Replacing an older toilet with an efficient new model can save you almost 2.4 units per billing cycle.

Why does this all matter? Because we have to be responsible and share the limited water resources here. The CCSD is working on ensuring greater reliability so new homes and businesses can be built without depleting the resource.

As noted in a recent article, by becoming a member of the CUWCC, the Cambria Community Services District signed on to voluntarily implement the Best Management Practices (BMPs)  of the Council.  Last January,  the milestones and goals of the best practices  developed by  Urban Water Conservation Council  took on new meaning. In order to be eligible for state loans and grants , the CCSD must be implementing water Demand Management Measures (DMMs).

The DMMs correspond to the 14 Best Management Practices (BMPs) listed and described in the California Urban Water Conservation Council (CUWCC) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).  Department of Water Resources has consulted with the CUWCC and appropriate funding agencies and will equate the DMMs with the BMPs described in the CUWCC MOU for loan and grant funding eligibility purposes.

Water management grants and loans include programs and projects for surface water or groundwater storage, recycling, desalination, water conservation, water supply reliability and water supply augmentation.

Yet another reason to make sure we’re on top of our water management: no plans, no results, no state money (when there is any….)

Download the DWR press release here.

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