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MINUTES OF THE ONE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIFTH
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE
MIDDLE RIO GRANDE CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
February 14, 2011
Directors having been duly notified, Vice-Chair Abeita called the meeting to order at 3:10 PM at
the MRGCD General Office. The following Directors and Staff were present:
DIRECTORS:
Janet Jarratt, Chairwoman Arrived 3:20
Eugene Abeita, Vice-Chairman
Augusta Meyers, Director
Derrick J. Lente, Director
Karen Dunning, Director
Adrian Oglesby, Director
Chris Sichler, Director
STAFF:
Chuck DuMars, Legal Counsel
Jeanette Bustamante, Administrative Officer
Leonard Utter, Engineer Associate
Ray Gomez, Assistant Engineer
Johnny Mounyo, MRGCD Socorro Division Manager
Jim Russell, MRGCD Belen Division Manager
Lawrence Troncosa, Cochiti Division Manager
Tom Thorpe, MRGCD PIO
The following names of individuals were interested viewers and/or participants:
Claudio Gonzales
Kurt Wagner, AMAFCA
John Kelly
Gary Stansifer, OSE
Jerry Ginsburg, TVNA
Sara Newton Juarez SV Alliance
Zoe Economou, Ciudad Soil & Water
Elaine Hebard
Susan White, SVI
Mike Hamman, USBOR
John Mahoney
Richard Runya, Dennis Engineering
Santiago Montoya
Vice Chair Abeita welcomed the guests and declared a quorum.
AGENDA ITEM NO. 1 – PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Vice Chair Abeita requested that Director Meyers lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
AGENDA ITEM NO. 2 – APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Vice Chair Abeita for approval of the agenda. Director Dunning made the MOTION TO
APPROVE THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. Director Meyers seconded the motion. The MOTION
CARRIED unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM NO. 3 – BILLS AND PAYROLL RATIFICATION
a. Payment Ratification – February 4, 2011
Vice Chair Abeita called for ratification of the Bills and Payroll.
Director Oglesby made the MOTION TO RATIFY THE BILLS AND PAYROLL FOR
FEBRUARY 4, 2011 AS PRESENTED. Director Dunning seconded the motion. The MOTION
CARRIED unanimously.
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b. Financial Review – July-December 2010
Steve Houser, MRGCD Secretary/Treasurer said he has included in the Board packet the
Budget to Actual for July – December 2010 and the General Fund Balance Sheet. He said this
Balance Sheet will be in the Board packet monthly because one of the audit findings was that he
should start present a little more in depth reporting. Mr. Houser went on to review both of the
schedules. Director Meyers asked when the reports would be up to date and Mr. Houser
responded they were getting there and hopeful they will get to where they are just one month
behind.
Vice Chair Abeita called for approval of the financial review. Director Meyers made the
MOTION TO APPROVAL THE FINANCIAL REVIEW OF JULY-DECEMBER 2010 AS
PRESENTED. Director Dunning seconded the motion. The MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
Vice-Chair Abeita turned the meeting over to Chairwoman Jarratt at 3:20PM.
c.
Approval of October & November 2010 Invoices for Law & Resource Planning Associates
Chairwoman Jarratt called for ratification of the invoices. Director Sichler said that he had
some questions, but they probably should be asked in Executive Session. Chairwoman Jarratt
asked Dr. DuMars if this could be deferred until the next meeting and Dr. DuMars responded that
it could. Director Sichler said his questions do not require action and so if there was time at this
meeting, they could take care of it today. Dr. DuMars said an Executive Session has not been
advertised and he said he is willing to discuss it at the next meeting. Dr. DuMars suggested in
the future if there are invoices to be approved, that an Executive Session be added to the agenda
and removed if not required. Director Oglesby said he had two questions and said on November
12th that Nate Gentry did some research regarding Board and employee duties and he is
wondering if Dr. DuMars could share the memo with the Governance Committee; which he hopes
to reconvene in the very near future and Dr. DuMars said he would.
Director Lente made the MOTION TO APPROVE THE OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2010
INVOICES FOR LAW & RESOURCE PLANNING ASSOCIATES. Director Sichler seconded the
motion. The MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
d. Discussion of W-4’s for MRGCD Board of Directors
Steve Houser said that the Board is receiving W-4’s and pay period dates. He said the
Board would recall the District did settle with the IRS and it was agreed by the Board that Board
compensation would be reported on W-2’s at year end and they would be placed into the
MRGCD payroll system. Mr. Houser then went on to explain that the process would begin with
the second full pay period in March which is March 25th and he went on to explain how the
process would work. Director Sichler inquired about insurance and could that be included and
Mr. Houser said he would look into that and report back and. Director Sichler asked about
benefits and mileage and Mr. Houser answered those questions.
AGENDA ITEM NO. 4 – APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
a. Regular Meeting January 24, 2011
Chairwoman Jarratt called for approval of the minutes for the Regular Meeting of January
24, 2011. Director Sichler had one correction on line 691 and it should read “farmers don’t want
to get rid of wildlife”.
Director Abeita made the MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF
THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF JANUARY 24, 2011 AS AMENDED. Director
Lente seconded the motion. The MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
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AGENDA ITEM NO. 5 – REPORT(S) FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
a. Bureau of Reclamation – Mike Hamman, BOR Area Manager gave the summary and bucket
report.
1. Heron Summary
Content = 224,385 ac-ft (02/10)
Azotea tunnel has no flow at present
Total SJC inflow year-to-date: 0 ac-ft
Currently releasing 0 cfs
Current MRGCD storage: 20,900 ac-ft
2.
El Vado Summary
A. Total storage (all contractors and natural) in El Vado as of 02/10:
108,158 ac-ft.
B. Native in El Vado
32,993 ac-ft. plus 0 ac-ft EDWA minnow carryover, plus 9,189 ac-ft MRGCD
EDWA and 0 ac-ft Prior & Paramount
C. MRGCD’s SJ-C storage in El Vado: 65,926 ac-ft
D. All other SJ-C contractors: 50 ac-ft
Current release is 43 cfs. Natural inflow is <50 cfs
3.
Storage in Abiquiu
Content = 181,276 ac-ft (02/10)
MRGCD’s SJ-C storage= 779 ac-ft
Snowpack Data as of 02/14/11
Rio Chama Basin
Upper Rio Grande Basin
Sangre de Cristo Basin
Jemez Basin
San Juan River Basin
85%
92%
76%
57%
95%
February Streamflow Forecast
Rio Grande @ Del Norte CO
El Vado Reservoir Inflo (Mar-Jul)
Rio Grande @ Otowi
Jemez R. below dam
Rio Grande @ San Marcial
485,000 ac-ft (91%)
205,000 ac-ft (87%)
575,000 ac-ft (76%)
22,000 ac-ft (47%)
405,000 ac-ft (71%)
Article VII restrictions are still in effect which precludes storage of native in El Vado.
Mr. Hamman said that he has been speaking with his folks in Chama and the warm weather
is starting to move a little water and so they may see some diversions a little earlier than usual.
He said he understands that irrigation for El Paso #1 will begin about mid March and then
Elephant Irrigation District will start about mid April based on their current conditions. Mr.
Hamman then gave the snowpack data and said that this is just a little less than last year, but as
they go further south the basin declines. He then reviewed the stream flow forecast and said that
El Vado was 205,000 ac-ft of which the District should be in a position to store Prior & Paramount
water and make a decision about Emergency Drought Water. He said, at this point in time, there
should be a significant amount of inflow to make some storage under the Emergency Drought
Water. Chairwoman Jarratt asked when the Emergency Drought Water agreement would expire
and Mr. Hamman responded in 2013.
b.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The BIA was not present to give a report.
Director Oglesby asked if there was another BIA/MRGCD negotiation meeting scheduled and
Chairwoman Jarratt responded there was one scheduled for the afternoon of February 18th.
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AGENDA ITEM NO. 6 – FY09/10 MRGCD AUDIT REPORT – Jim Van Der Geest, CPA – Mackie, Reid
& Co.
Mr. Van Der Geest said the audit process requires that he issue three reports; one is the
independent audit report, one is they look at items of the internal control processes and they also give a
special review and audit of the Federal funds expended. Mr. Van Der Geest then gave a brief overview of
each of these reporting models. He then went on to note and describe the deficiencies found. Mr. Van
Der Geest said he wanted to note that there was a lengthy exit conference with representation from the
Board.
Chairwoman Jarratt asked Dr. DuMars about a discussion regarding the assessment
delinquencies and did that not become part of the MRGCD collection policy and Dr. DuMars said he
believes his firm composed a memo and he would follow up and get it to the Board. Chairwoman Jarratt
said they were working toward solving that particular finding issue. Mr. Shah said there definitely needs
to be a policy so staff will have something to work with. Director Dunning asked about the retiree
healthcare insurance line item and Mr. Shah explained the healthcare that employees and retired
employees receive. Discussion followed on healthcare and the payments for retirees. Chairwoman
Jarratt said there is a resolution regarding this policy and it might be worth looking into. Jeanette
Bustamante gave a brief history as to why the District established the retiree program. Mr. Van Der
Geest then explained how the District projects their annual healthcare obligations. Director Sichler said it
seems like the issue is the District is doing ok right now, but there are a lot of municipalities that are
facing bankruptcy because of healthcare and he said his thought is the District ought to do something
along this line to ensure the District stays solvent with their retiree healthcare; whatever that might be.
Mr. Van Der Geest said there are options; maybe changing the policy, setting aside the money when it
can be afforded, maybe excess reserves of the District are set aside are allocated to a separate fund for
accrued benefits. Mr. Houser said they have discussed using a certain amount of the endowment for this
purpose and that would satisfy the audit finding. Chairwoman Jarratt said this was discussed in the
Board Audit Committee as a way to resolve that finding and still have money to pay out for retiree
obligations and she feels the Board needs to finish work on the Investment Policy. Dr. DuMars said he
would discuss with MRGCD personnel counsel and then report back to the Board. Director Sichler said
he feels this is something that staff should look into so that down the line the obligation can be met.
Director Oglesby ran through each of the findings and what the Board and staff is doing and the actions
that need to be taken.
AGENDA ITEM NO. 7 – MRGCD LICENSE(S)
a.
CONSENT VOTE LICENSE(S)
1. Special Use License SP-002-2011 – So. Valley Preparatory School – Isleta Drain
2. License 4-123-2010 – City of Socorro – Jaral Ditch
3. License 4-124-2010 – City of Socorro – Jaral Ditch
4. License 4-125-2010 – City of Socorro – Luis Lopez Drain
5. License 2-012-2011 – AMAFCA – Los Padillas Acequia
Chairwoman Jarratt called for approval of the Consent Vote Licenses. Director Lente made
the MOTION TO APPROVE SPECIAL USE LICENSE SP-002-2011 – SO. VALLEY
PREPARATORY SCHOOL – ISLETA DRAIN, LICENSE 4-123-2010 – CITY OF SOCORRO –
JARAL DITCH, LICENSE 4-124-2010 – CITY OF SOCORRO – JARAL DITCH, LICENSE 4125-2010 – CITY OF SOCORRO – LUIS LOPEZ DRAIN AND LICENSE 2-012-2011 –
AMAFCA – LOS PADILLAS ACEQUIA. Director Dunning seconded the motion. The MOTION
CARRIED unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM NO. 8 – REPORT FROM 2011 ELECTION DIRECTOR – Ernie Marquez, Automated
Election Services
a.
Discussion, Review & Approval of Early Polling Site Recommendations
Mr. Marquez said at the last meeting there was discussion on the early polling sites and he
was here to get approval on those sites. He said there is a change in the Valencia County sites
and one of the sites will now be at the Valencia County Clerks office. Mr. Marquez then reviewed
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the early voting sites. Director Lente said the two locations in Sandoval are too close together.
He would like to explore something further north and Mr. Marquez said he would research other
locations in the northern part of Sandoval County. Director Abeita said he is in agreement with
Director Lente’s concerns. Terry Rainey asked if the Pena Blanca Community Center would be
satisfactory if they could get it and Director Lente said that would be a good location. Director
Lente said he would assist.
Chairwoman Jarratt called for a motion to accept the polling locations with the exception of
Sandoval County.
Director Dunning made the MOTION TO APPROVE THE POLLING LOCATIONS AS
PRESENTED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SANDOVAL COUNTY AND ONE OF THE
PROPOSED LOCATIONS BE DROPPED AND ONE OTHER LOCATION, WITH THE
ASSISTANCE OF DIRECTORS LENTE AND ABEITA, BE SECURED. Director Abeita
seconded the motion. The MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
Chairwoman Jarratt said the Board has questions regarding the number of polling locations
to be used on Election Day. She asked if there would be extra costs and Evelyn Bennett,
MRGCD Election Officer said there would be costs for advertising, supplies, poll workers, etc in
addition to the VCC’s. She said she has shown three different options and the cost of VCC’s for
each option. Chairwoman Jarratt said that she and Director Sichler both expressed concern in
going from 60 to 20. Director Sichler said that is what he said, but Mr. Rainey had mentioned
that maybe it is better that you can always add locations and maybe they need to think about
that. He said it might be easier to cut more know and if it doesn’t work out, they can always put
more in. Terry Rainey of AES said the spreadsheet that was prepared was for the Board to see
what they would be out of pocket. He said their proposal is still that the District will be more than
sufficiently covered with fifteen grand total for Election Day. He said he is still confident with the
eight early voting sites and those roll over with seven additional on Election Day and they have
done considerable research on this proposal. Director Oglesby asked when the Board receives
the locations for Election Day, will they provide the maximum coverage and Mr. Rainey said they
are in the process of doing that research now. Mr. Rainey said they would bring those locations
back to the Board with maps. Director Oglesby said he feels that advertising should be very
organized and diligent with a good strategy. Director Dunning said AES wants to drive more
people to absentee and early voting and one of the changes is that now constituents can go to
the County Clerk’s offices and they can notarize the absentee ballots. She asked if they would
be informing the County Clerk’s of this change and Mr. Rainey said they would undertake this
task. Mr. Rainey said that advertising is important and the novelty of this election will certainly
drive more activity. Director Lente said that it does worry him because the District’s constituents
are mostly rural based and many walk to the polling sites and there are many people who want to
vote on Election Day. Chairwoman Jarratt said this election is an experiment for the District
because this is a special election and not a general election. She said in her head fifteen polling
locations total is not enough for four counties. She said until they have maps and are really
looking at the maps and looking at where they are they are not going to be able to settle on how
many polling locations there should be. Mr. Rainey said their concerns are geographical and not
location, location, location. He said they are trying to put polling sites where there are people;
there will be a trade off. Mr. Rainey said he is not sure they can accommodate everyone that is
going to walk and vote and would take that as their method of casting a ballot on Election Day;
and the District was probably not able to do that for everyone with sixty three locations. He said
they want to increase voter participation and not to disenfranchise anyone. Director Dunning
asked Director Lente if there is a notary in each of the tribal offices as a matter of course and he
responded he thought that these days most tribal offices do. Director Dunning said maybe tribal
people could walk down to the tribal office and get absentee ballots notarized easily; that might
help with Election Day. She said she would prefer to do that as a way to accommodate people’s
walking to vote rather than having a million voting locations on Election Day. Chairwoman Jarratt
said a lot of people don’t like absentee ballots and it’s voting on Election Day and it’s their right
and they view it as a community exercise. Mr. Rainey said they would come back to a future
meeting with maps of their recommendations and the different scenarios for the polling sites for
Election Day. Mr. Marquez said there will be an election in Rio Rancho on March 8th and invited
the Board to view the VCC process.
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AGENDA ITEM NO. 9 – REPORT(S) FROM THE CHIEF ENGINEER (Subhas K. Shah)
a. Introduction of MRGCD Public Information Officer
Mr. Shah said a search for a PIO has been conducted over the last several months and has
hired a PIO. He introduced Mr. Tom Thorpe and Mr. Thorpe gave a brief history of his career
and what he hoped to do in the near future to disseminate information. Director Oglesby said
that it would be useful to have Mr. Thorpe meet with the Board’s Public Relations Committee and
then it would be useful to have the website on the agenda in the next three months so the public
could weigh in on what they would like to see. Chairwoman Jarratt said the irrigation season
begins March 1st and the website could convey lots of information to the constituents.
b. Bid Abstract(s)
1. Long Reach Excavator – Socorro Division
Jeanette Bustamante, MRGCD Administrative Officer gave details of the bid abstract.
Director Oglesby made the MOTION TO ACCEPT STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR THE
LONG REACH EXCAVATOR AND BRUSH RAKE ATTACHED TO WAGNER EQUIPMENT IN
THE AMOUNT OF $176,290.00. Director Abeita seconded the motion. The MOTION CARRIED
unanimously.
c.
Water Availability Report
David Gensler reported said this report and the one from January may be some of the most
important Water Availability Reports that he has ever made. He said the District has entered a
new era in water management and the things that are done this year over the next few months
will have a big impact on the water supply for years; if not a decade or so in the future. Mr.
Gensler said the February forecast is out and generally he doesn’t pay a lot of attention to it
because normally there is a lot of snowpack. He said that this year he is paying a lot of attention
because NM is in a very dry pattern and he is not too optimistic. Mr. Gensler said the irrigation
season will begin March 1st and the river has been running 550-650 cfs and that is an adequate
flow to get started on. He said this year there might be a little hiccup; normally there isn’t any
runoff in March and then around April 1st the Jemez kicks in and then some of the lower elevation
snow starts to run and then the higher elevations begin. He said this year he doesn’t think it will
happen this way. Mr. Gensler said in mid April when the irrigators start calling for the water and it
might be a little lean for a period of three or four weeks, but by mid May some of the higher
elevations will begin to melt and then in the late summer it will be necessary to release stored
water. Mr. Gensler said as far as stored outlook is concerned, the District does have some
unused Emergency Drought Water credit water. He said that at the meeting in January Director
Oglesby had asked how it had been done in the past and if there was a plan for the future. Mr.
Gensler said he then began to think about a plan for the future and he thinks it would be prudent
this year to use a little of the Emergency Drought Water credit and a probably park a little bit of
native Rio Grande storage at El Vado; enough to get through this year with the goal of hanging
on to the San Juan Chama water. Mr. Gensler said he mentioned in January of making a plan to
stop releasing water after a certain date in the year; he doesn’t know what that correct date
would be, but the supplemental water could be kept in storage for future years.
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Mr. Gensler said he was hoping the District could make another payment on the water debt
to the City; the District has been on track for the last several years of retiring that debt.
Chairwoman Jarratt said the District tried to give them more and they wouldn’t accept it when the
District had more. She said if he is thinking about curtailing irrigation releases and paying off a
debt where the contract doesn’t actually require payment; that it might not be the best use of that
water. She said the irrigators are looking at really dry soil conditions and talking about how to
manage the water early in the season is really important. Chairwoman Jarratt said before they
talk about saving water they need to also talk about curtailing. She asked do they curtail
everybody the same in order to have water in storage or do they curtail leases and give a fuller
season to those that haven’t sold their water rights. Mr. Gensler said he agrees and this might
be something they evaluate on the fly. He said they need to determine how much is enough; a
difficult and sometimes touchy subject and they need to ensure that the water is distributed
equitably amongst all users. Chairwoman Jarratt said there is an enforcement issue and a policy
of enforcement until enforcement is lined out they shouldn’t speak about (unintelligible) leases
because the future can’t be predicted. Director Sichler said he thinks he is going to have to give
this a lot of thought, but he thinks the PIO needs to prepare an article and getting people
prepared that this is a problem. Director Abeita said there is a group in Valencia County that is
always complaining about water shortages and he doesn’t see anyone at the meetings and it
bothers him that come July they will start the complaints. He said there needs to be some
interest from the farming community and attendance at the meetings. Mr. Gensler said he just
wants to continue to point out that the District is facing some difficult and challenging years; not
impossible years. He said they need to think about how they are going to manage through it.
Chairwoman Jarratt said there needs to be enforcement of policies that are already in place.
Director Oglesby asked Mr. Gensler if he had thought about curtailment of the leases in terms of
operational reality and if that really saves water and are there other operational options i.e.
rotation, DSS, etc. Mr. Gensler said he has not thought about curtailing leases because that is a
Board decision and not a staff decision. He said he is prepared to use every tool he can lay his
hands on this spring to guess what the water needs should be and try to get people to follow
policies. Mr. Gensler said that for the March 1st startup that every year it takes two to four weeks
to get the ditches up and running. He said the biggest problem they face running the ditches is
high winds and getting filled with tumbleweeds. Mr. Gensler said the second biggest issue they
face are the irrigators who refuse to wait; they watch for the crews to leave and go behind them
an turn on the turnouts. He said as far as enforcing the rules, this would be a really important
thing next month to make sure that people understand that water delivery doesn’t start until their
Ditch Riders tell them to begin. Mr. Shah said if the Board is thinking of curtailment, they need to
decide quickly so that those on the Water Bank can be informed. Chairwoman Jarratt said her
bigger concern is finding that half the people that got the letters didn’t do anything about getting
on the Water Bank. She said those people that knowingly sold and transferred their water rights
and they don’t have an available source of water and she is concerned that the District doesn’t
have an accurate accounting of who those people are and hasn’t made adequate communication
to let them know that their gates will be locked on March 1st. Chairwoman Jarratt said the District
needs to be diligent about pursuing the enforcement of the Water Bank rules. Director Sichler
said he thinks what Mr. Shah is saying is does staff need to start telling those on the Water Bank
and implying more implicitly that yes there is a possibility they could be shut off this year and he
says he thinks this should be implied to those people on the Water Bank. Mr. Gensler said he
thinks the District will still get through this irrigation season and there certainly is enough water in
storage to do this, but the question is how much water does the District end up with at the end of
the year. Chairwoman Jarratt said that she agrees with Director Sichler that they need to begin
telling people that there is better than average likelihood of curtailment. Mr. Gensler said the
District would probably be in a position of curtailing with water still in storage and he can see that
would be a very awkward thing. Chairwoman Jarratt said she thinks that it would be appropriate
to inform those on the Water Bank that there may be a chance of curtailment. She said that staff
should also clean up records of the people that are not on the Water Bank that should be.
Director Sichler said that he would like to make a MOTION THAT STAFF SEND OUT A LETTER
TO WATER BANK CUSTOMERS STRESSING THE PART OF RULE 23 THAT WATER CAN
BE CURTAILED AND THAT THE DISTRICT IS CURRENTLY IN A DROUGHT SITUATION
THIS YEAR. Director Lente seconded the motion. The MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
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d. Rio Grande Compact Commission Meeting – Sponsorship
Mr. Shah informed the Board that the 72nd annual meeting of the Rio Grande Compact
Commission would be held on Wednesday, March 30th at the MCM Elegante Hotel in
Albuquerque. He said the District has been asked to sponsor the reception on March 29th and in
the past they have given $1,000. Director Sichler made the MOTION TO GIVE $1,500 TO THE
RIO GRANDE COMPACT COMMISSION FOR THIS EVENT Director Meyers seconded the
motion. The MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
e. Levee – Report
Mr. Shah said in 2008, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USCOE) performed a levee
inspection on the Corrales Unit of the Middle Rio Grande levees. He said the Corps wrote a
letter to the District giving the levees and unacceptable rating. Mr. Shah said the MRGCD has
completed the maintenance required and received a re-inspection last month from the UCOE
which said they were happy with the maintenance and the District received an extension of the
PL-84-99 even though they gave an unacceptable rating due to the vegetation and tree growth in
the 15’ buffer zone and they have offered to help with the temporary extension process. Mr.
Shah said the USCOE is also reviewing their flood control responsibilities and a letter is
forthcoming that they will not long certify levees even though they were designed, constructed,
and funded by the USCOE and this will make it difficult to certify and comply with FEMA
requirements and the flood insurance rates may be impacted to individual property owners in
flood areas. Chairwoman Jarratt said that basically FEMA will still consider it not compliant for
their standards for flood insurance, but there can be a four year extension of compliance
standards in order to get Federal assistance should there be an emergency. Mr. Shah said that
environmental groups have been speaking with the USCOE to modify the design of the San
Acacia Levee Project and the Middle Rio Grande Flood Reduction Project for the Belen, Isleta
and Mountain View reaches to include environmental ecosystem restoration. He said these
groups have also contact and met with Senators Bingaman and Udall and Congressman Heinrich
and if approved will increase the total project cost as well as the local sponsor cost. Mr. Shah
said the District needs to meet with the delegates and respond in writing with their views of the
Flood Control projects. He said the District can assist the environmental groups if they want to
be a local sponsor and obtain funds. Director Oglesby said he has been contact by some of
these local groups and they have realized that the levees are being reconstructed and they are
asking if there are opportunities to increase flood plain connection with the Middle Rio Grande.
He said what he has noticed is they have not identified any projects nor do they have the intent of
identifying projects, but just trying to encourage the USCOE to identify projects. Director Oglesby
said this is something they should keep their eyes on, but at this point it is more ethereal than
real. Discussion followed on certification and the 15’ setback.
Mr. Shah said the USCOE continues to make progress on the Bosque Restoration Project
and that $19 million has been appropriated and funded for the project to be used in Bernalillo &
Sandoval counties. He said there is no match required from local sponsors except for
maintenance after project construction. Mr. Shah said a project partnership has to be agreed
upon by Federal and non-Federal partners including a side maintenance agreement with the City
of Albuquerque Open Space.
AGENDA ITEM NO. 10 – REPORT(S) FROM THE ATTORNEY (Charles T. DuMars, Esq.)
a. Discussion of MRGCD Jurisdiction Over Ditches & Drains With the Village of Corrales Boundaries
& Extent & Scope of Existing Joint Resolutions Between the Village of Corrales and the MRGCD
Regarding Activities With the Bosque Preserve
Dr. DuMars said at the last meeting he was requested to look generally at Ordinance No. 11002 that was promulgated by the Village of Corrales and compare that to the Joint Powers
Agreement (JPA) that was entered into between the Village and the MRGCD. He said he was
also asked to advise the Board as to the overlapping authorities and are there areas that are not
covered by the Corrales Bosque Preserve area that still might need a JPA. Dr. DuMars said he
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looked at all these questions and he said Mr. Shah has made a map of the boundaries of the
Corrales Bosque Preserve and he distributed the map to the Board. Mr. Shah described the
boundaries. Dr. DuMars said that he has prepared a pretty extensive legal memo on this topic
and he distributed the memo to the Board. He said the reason he spent so much time on this
issue is that they have never really squarely addressed the question what is the nature of the
political public welfare powers of the MRGCD. Dr. DuMars gave explanation of both the District
and the Village of Corrales as to their delegated powers. He said clearly that the ordinance that
was passed by the Village of Corrales and normally given the hierarchy of authority, the Village
would request and negotiate an agreement as they did with the current JPA. Dr. DuMars said
that Corrales chose not to do this for whatever reason and they chose to superimpose on
MRGCD land a set of rules. He said that he and his staff went through and catalogued some of
the sources of power granted to the Conservancy District by statue which prevails over the
general public welfare entitlements of a municipality. Dr. DuMars said attached with his memo is
the Village ordinance, the Joint Resolution and a series of excerpts called Summary of Provisions
Relating to the Powers of the MRGCD. He then read some of these provisions/statutes into the
record. Dr. DuMars said that in the future there may be other municipalities that may want to do
the same thing and there will be conflicts and what he is suggesting is that he, Mr. Shah, maybe
the Chair and other Board members from that area meet with the Mayor of Corrales and their
Legal Counsel and discuss this issue and he believes that this whole thing can be worked out
and get some suggestions as to where they should go from here and what they are trying to
accomplish. Director Dunning asked until they have had the meeting with the Mayor is his memo
confidential information and Dr. DuMars said that even after the meeting the document is
confidential and is attorney-client privilege only for the Board. Director Lente said that he would
like to be part of the meeting. Director Oglesby said that he and Mayor Gasteyer had a
conversation last week and he indicated that he had a good working relationship with Mr. Shah
and he would like to speak more with the Board about resolution. He said the main topic of his
conversation with the Mayor was about trees and he said that he has the MRGCD, the USCOE,
the Corrales Fire Department all working in the Village and Director Oglesby said the District may
have some requests for water from these folks. Director Oglesby said he told the Mayor that he
would like to get all of these agencies together and have a joint meeting where they all
understand what each other is doing and he will be responsible for getting this meeting together.
Director Oglesby requested that Mr. Thorpe follow-up on the article in the Corrales Comment and
Chairwoman Jarratt said that Leonard Utter and Ray Gomez could provide Mr. Thorpe with the
necessary background.
Director Sichler said the meeting adjourns in four minutes and will the meeting be continuing.
Chairwoman Jarratt called for a motion to continue the meeting. Director Dunning made the
MOTION TO CONTINUE THE MEETING UNTIL NO LATER THAN 7:00PM. Director Meyers
seconded the motion. Director Sichler said that since the are public members here that have
Items From the Floor that the Board may want to forgo agenda items 11a and 11b until next
meeting and try to have 11c and 11d after the public session. Chairwoman Jarratt said she
thinks they can get everything in by 7:00PM and they should not be bound by the clock. The
MOTION CARRIED unanimously. Director Sichler asked for an explanation and Chairwoman
Jarratt said if they get to 7:00PM and business hasn’t been completed and rolls over to the next
meeting it will just clog up the next meeting. Director Sichler said this has been an issue since he
has been on the Board and they don’t address the problem of going on and on and he thinks
everybody on the Board agrees agenda items can be shorted. He said they voted if they had this
schedule, that they would adjourn by 6:30PM.
AGENDA ITEM NO. 11 – REPORT(S) FROM THE BOARD
a. Report on HB117-Conservancy District Powers Over Acequias – Chairwoman Jarratt
Chairwoman Jarratt said this bill after about an hour and a half debate was tabled and tabled
in a way that it is unlikely to come up again this session. She said there were some concerns
regarding the scope and the affect on the District. Director Dunning said she had a message on
her answering machine from Pat McCraw, a constituent in the South Valley, and she wanted to
let the Board know she wanted to commend Chairwoman Jarratt on her testimony in front of the
committee.
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Director Oglesby made the MOTION TO APPROVE THE REPORT FROM CHAIRWOMAN
JARRATT ON HB-217 CONSERVANCY DISTRICT POWERS OVER ACEQUIAS. Director
Dunning seconded the motion. The MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
b. Report on HB260 Mail-In Ballots for MRGCD Elections – Chairwoman Jarratt & Director Meyers
Director Meyers distributed a written report and said she attended the hearing regarding
Representative Miguel Garcia’s regarding Mail-In Ballots for MRGCD Elections. She said there
were lots of questions and concerns from those on the committee after he presented the bill and
she repeated some of those concerns. Director Meyers said that the committee requested the
Representative Garcia do some more exploration on the matter and bring it back to the table.
She said the bill was passed over. Chairwoman Jarratt said that Mr. Shah, Jeanette Bustamante
and Evelyn Bennett were at the hearing as well and there were only two people in the room that
were in favor of it. She said that the Association of County Clerks, Daniel Ivey-Soto, was also
there and they were in opposition to the bill as well and outlined their concerns. Chairwoman
Jarratt said the representative from Isleta Pueblo was there and testified against it. She said the
members of the committee sent Mr. Garcia back to speak with MRGCD and other interested
parties before it comes back to the committee. Chairwoman Jarratt said the Senate Memorial 21
Task Force recommendations were also brought up and Mr. Garcia did imply that “Senate
Memorial 21 was a worthless process and only rubber stamped what the District was doing”.
Director Dunning made the MOTION TO APPROVE THE REPORT FROM CHAIRWOMAN
JARRATT & DIRECTOR MEYERS ON HB-260 MAIL-IN BALLOTS FOR MRGCD ELECTIONS.
Director Lente seconded the motion. The MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
c.
Discussion & Take Action on Whether or Not the MRGCD Board Should Support SB312 Relating
to Conservancy District, Enacting the Conservancy District Campaign Reporting Act, Limiting
Contributions, Requiring Timely Reporting of Campaign Contributions and Expenditures;
Providing Penalties – Director Dunning
Director Dunning said she this item was on agenda at the request of Senator Feldman and
she had asked that the MRGCD placed it on the agenda because this was in response to the
Senate Memorial (SM21) and it was one of the recommendations to do campaign reporting
through the Secretary of State. She said she thinks SB312 mirrors what it is in the other law.
However, Senator Feldman added something new and this was something that didn’t come up in
all of the discussions and she wanted to get a reading from the MRGCD and that was on page 8
and Director Dunning read it into the record. Dr. DuMars said the interesting thing was the bill
would only apply to the MRGCD and no other conservancy district and it make it different from
other not only irrigation/conservancy districts, but also municipalities as well. He said there is
another bill that is similar that is sponsored by Linda Lopez, but doesn’t have the cap in it. He
said that SB312 is aimed solely at the MRGCD. Discussion followed on the different types of
contributions that might be allowed. Chairwoman Jarratt said that there was a discussion after
this committee meeting with the Deputy Secretary of State delivering the letter and requesting a
meeting with the Secretary of State. Evelyn Bennett, MRGCD Election Officer said she received
an e-mail regarding a meeting with the Secretary of State and requested the Board give some
dates/times and that meeting could be set up. Chairwoman Jarratt said as far as Board
endorsement she said it would be easy to support the concept of Campaign Finance Reporting,
but leave it where the Secretary of State could work out with the sponsor or others and it would
be difficult to endorse all the language of this specific bill. Director Lente said he was also in
support of campaign reporting, but this bill and the new language is was uncomfortable that it just
applies to the MRGCD. Director Lente made the MOTION THAT THE BOARD SUPPORT THE
CONCEPT OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTING BUT DOES NOT SUPPORT THE
ADDITIONAL LANUAGE IN SB312 THAT APPLIES ONLY TO THE MRGCD. Director
Dunning said the Board has already supported campaign finance reporting and so basically, what
they are saying is they don’t support this particular piece of legislation. Director Meyers
seconded the motion. Director Oglesby asked Director Dunning if Senator Feldman might be
willing to come up with a cleaner bill and would it be worth have discussions with her. Director
Dunning said might what she might be willing to do it make it not specific; however, she feels
very strongly that elections shouldn’t be bought. Director Sichler asked how the bill only applies
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to the MRGCD and Dr. DuMars explained that the bill only applies to districts that have a Class A
municipality of more than 500,000 and there are no other conservancy districts in that category.
Chairwoman Jarratt called for a roll call vote:
Director Lente
Yes
Director Sichler
No
Director Meyers
No
Director Abeita
No
Director Dunning No
Director Oglesby
No
Chairwoman
Yes
The MOTION DID NOT PASS. Chairwoman Jarratt asked if there was an alternative motion.
Director Lente made the MOTION TO TABLE THIS ITEM UNTIL THEY GET CLARIFICATION
FROM SENATOR FELDMAN AS TO WHAT EXACTLY SHE WANTS. Director Meyers
seconded the motion. Director Oglesby said the Linda Lopez bill may be adequate to achieve
the goals of the Task Force and maybe they should get John Lee Thompson involved because
two weeks in terms of the legislature can be an eternity. Chairwoman Jarratt said they could call
a special meeting for the discussion and this bill has not been placed on anyone’s agenda yet.
The MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
d. Discussion of Upcoming Legislation & Endorse/Oppose – Chairwoman Jarratt
Chairwoman Jarratt said there is a bill that will probably be dropped in tomorrow allowing the
filing of complaints for interfering with acequia ditch right-of-way. She went on to explain this bill
and its authority. She said this bill doesn’t impair the District or the acequia associations in any
way it just empowers individuals to try to deal with a neighbor rather than hiring a lawyer. The
Board was in consensus to support this bill.
Chairwoman Jarratt said HB258 “ to Provide for lower Assessments for Non-Irrigators in the
MRGCD” has been introduced, but not scheduled yet regarding. Director Dunning said she
thought irrigators and non-irrigators paid the same assessment. Chairwoman Jarratt said it has
to do with commercial and non-commercial and personally she is inclined to oppose to this bill.
Director Oglesby said since the time is short that he would like to make the MOTION THAT THE
BOARD OPPOSE HB258, HB442 AND HB443. He said his overall concern is that they
shouldn’t be allowing the Legislature to limit the amount of money the District is bringing in
primarily because no one knows what type of emergencies the District might experience. He
said his personal opinion is they should strive to do their best to cap assessments and drive them
down to their own good management, but he doesn’t think that is the business of the Legislature.
Director Sichler seconded the motion. The MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
Director Oglesby made the MOTION TO CONTINUE THE MEETING WITH ITEMS FROM
THE FLOOR. Director Lente seconded the motion. The MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM NO. 11 – ITEM(S) FROM THE FLOOR
Claudio Gonzales said regarding the time matter he would recommend that the Board over the next
few meetings report the actual verses the budget of time so they could better identify how much time it
exactly takes to address Director Sichler’s concerns. He said Items from the Floor has been higher up on
the agenda and his third item is the Declaration for Candidacy is not available and what they are going
through on the election process has compressed that time and his concern is for the person who is
running for the At Large to gather significant signatures to be able to meet the April 8th deadline for
election. Evelyn Bennett said the election calendar has been approved and the election forms that
include the petition form and declaration of candidacy will be approved at the next meeting on the 28th
and soon after that the candidate packet will be available. Chairman Jarratt said when the meeting time
change to 3:00PM was approved; Items From the Floor was moved so that it would occur after 5:00PM in
order to increase participation.
Elaine Hebard said the Board will soon be putting together their budget soon and as they look to the
benefits the District has for the Albuquerque area. She said they are losing irrigated lands in the valley
and so they are losing the benefits that irrigation gives to both the direct irrigation and the ditches and
drains to the shallow aquifer (unintelligible) for recharge. Ms. Hebard said her suggestion is to
commission a study as to actually how much benefit it gives and she went on to explain. She said her
second suggestion is that there is a lot of water that is lost in the Albuquerque Reach to river depletion.
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Ms. Hebard said there is a gauge at Central and Isleta Lakes; there is not a gauge above the Wastewater
Treatment facility so there is not a good knowledge of how much water is leaked from the river into that
shallow aquifer (unintelligible) between the Central gauge and the Wastewater Treatment facility. She
said it would be her suggestion to budget for a gauge that would be placed above the Wastewater facility.
Sara Newton Juarez, South Valley Alliance and Ciudad Soil & Water Conservation District distributed
photos to the Board of the Armijo Ditch at Nashville & Gateway and she said she spoke with the Ditch
Rider last year and nothing was done. She said it appears that contractors are dumping concrete in
those ditches and it needs to be removed. Mr. Shah and Leonard Utter said they will check out the
situation and see what is happening.
Santiago Montoya addressed the Board and said he and his wife farm in Valencia County. He said
that last year the Conservancy installed a turnout, but installed the turnout that is two feet below the
ground level and they are asking the District to correct the problem. Mr. Shah said they will visit the site
to correct the situation.
With no further comments, questions or concerns, Director Oglesby made the MOTION TO
ADJOURN THE MEETING. Director Meyers seconded the motion and the MOTION CARRIED
unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:20PM.
Approved to be the correct Minutes of the Board of Directors of February 14, 2011.
Attested:
Steven L. Houser
Secretary/Treasurer
Janet Jarratt, Chairman
MRGCD Board of Directors