After a long year of assessing the status of the District, setting priorities for addressing identified issues and building a budget that provide a level of funding to get things done, the Boards are taking action steps that will set the Districts on a path towards manageable sustainability.   This communication covers what is being done in the following areas:

1. New Projects
2. Staffing Direction
3. Forest-Watershed Public Access & Recreation Policy

A. Projects for the upcoming Fiscal Year

In addition to the standard ongoing operations of plant & equipment, 8 projects have been authorized and budgeted for this fiscal year (July – June) and are being undertaken by Board members and District staff.   To allow you to monitor how your money is being spent, the status of each project will be updated monthly.

See table of projects, objective and status at the bottom of this document.

B. Staffing Direction

For at least the past 15 years, the Districts have been staffed with 2 full-time employees and a part-time book keeper.  The 2 full time staff are expected to perform the functions of; a) Administrative Management – i.e., Business, Personnel, Procurement/ Contracting, Budgeting-Finance-Grants, Admin Support and Community Outreach, b) Operations Management – i.e., Planning, Scheduling & Oversight of Operating Requirements for Plant, Equipment & Projects along with Compliance & Quality Assurance and, c) Ongoing Operations – i.e. 365x24x7 compliance procedures, maintenance, operation activities and problem resolution.  Over that time, these functions have been understaffed, district management and plant maintenance activities lapsed, the work load significantly increased and a forest-watershed was purchased.  It is more than apparent that District staffing needs to be augmented. 

Here’s the new direction being set.

C. Public Access & Recreation Policy for the Forest-Watershed

Last October, based upon the results of the National Park Service lead committee and a Community Survey, a Proposed Public Access & Recreations Policy was drafted by the Board.  That Proposed Policy restricted public access and hunting to only outside of the Drinking Water Source Area (DWSA), i.e., the source of the ground water that becomes our drinking water.  That Proposed Policy was submitted to the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) for approval, which is a requirement of the Forest Legacy Program grant that was used to purchase the Forest-Watershed.

ODF has informed us that they will not approve a Policy as long as it restricts public access and hunting to outside of the DWSA, since the grant application that was submitted by the previous District Board committed to public access and hunting across the Forest-Watershed.  As such, the District is required to allow hunting across the Forest-Watershed.  The District can allow or restrict recreational activities other than hunting and can restrict allowed activities to maintained rocked roads.  However, whatever activity is allowed cannot be restricted to outside the DWSA.

At Thursday night’s meeting, the Board considered ODF’s requirements along with public comments that were submitted and adopted an updated  Public Access & Recreation Policy <<click here>>.

This updated Proposed Policy will be submitted to ODF for final approval.

APPENDIX:

PROJECT LIST

Project	Objective	Status
1. Replace Operations Control Electronics for the Water Plant	Replace the computer electronics that allow the Operator to control the plant, secure that control function behind a firewall so as to minimize the risk of being hacked and update the software to comply with state reporting requirement.  The primary control-interface panel broke several years ago and was not replaced and the “redundant” windows 7 computer is so antiquated that the vendor will not support the version of the software that is running on it.  The software currently running does not comply with state requirements. This project is absolutely critical!	Computer components and updated software have been ordered and IT installation support to do the work has been identified.
2. Replace Webb Lift Station	The Webb Lift Station, which is is long past its serviceable life, is the final link in the sewer system that collects and sends all wastewater to the sanitary plant. This project will replace the building itself and all major components including pumps, controls, generator.  The new lift station will provide more capacity to: a) support community growth, and b) allow more rainwater to enter the system as underground pipes age. This project is absolutely critical!	Grant money from FEMA has been pledged through DEQ which covers 90% of the original $325,000 estimate of several years ago when the project was delayed.  Unfortunately, the cost is now estimated at $575,000.  Work is ongoing with DEQ, and alternative sources, to secure the remaining funds. A contractor has been selected and a notice of award is forthcoming.
3. Upgrade & Bring Current the Business/ Admin Computer and Data System	Provide a standard, viable and secure Information Technology environment that will run the Districts’ business functions and give authorized access to the Districts’ information.	A local Information Technology (IT) contractor has been selected and a support agreement has been signed.  The initial set of needs has been identified (i.e., computer, printer, firewall, application licenses, auto data backup, cloud-based data access, remote access for support), a proposed design is being drafted and the purchase process in underway.
4. Find, Compile, Electronically Store and Provide Access to Required Business Documents	Find, pull together, electronically store/archive and provide secure access to the District documents , e.g., contracts, ordinances, resolutions, minutes, etc. that are required by state law and rules to be maintained	Identifying the different places where those documents may exist (e.g., file cabinets, loose file folders on desks, disk drives removed from computers and put into storage boxes, etc.) is underway.
5. Implement an Asset Management System	This project is to identify and track the Districts’ plant & equipment maintenance requirements, generate work orders, monitor their completion and provide Management Reporting to the Boards	A vendor has been selected and a software license, system configuration & training, and system support have been purchased.  Matt is beginning to pull together the equipment information to be loaded into the system.  This is likely to take a bit of time given everything else Matt is doing
6. Upgrade & Bring Current the Districts’ Web Site	This project is to migrate the current web site information to a platform that is more easily managed, supported and can be easily expanded with additional information and functions	A vendor has been selected, a build and support agreement has been signed and a point person for the implementation has been identified.
7. Inspect Water Lines for Lead	Federal mandate to inspect all lines that distribute water to meters to determine whether those lines contain lead	65% completed
8. Move Asbury Creek Intake	State mandate to move the point at which we take water from Asbury Creek upstream 197 feet.  State set deadline of September.  Once that is done, the State will remove the culvert from under highway 101 and improving the stream conditions to encourage fish passage.	Working with District’s professional engineer and lawyer to determine requirements & impact for permitting, water rights, easement