MAINTENANCE AND RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE. Minutes of the regular meeting held on March 28, 2017

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1 Approved April 25, 2017 MAINTENANCE AND RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Minutes of the regular meeting held on COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: John Drew, Division II Will Morebeck, Division IV Rem Scherzinger, General Manager Brian Powell, Maintenance Manager Monica Reyes, Recreation Manager Neysa King, Watershed Resource Planner Kristi Kelly, Management Assistant MINUTES JANUARY 24, 2017 The minutes of the regular meeting held on January 24, 2017, were approved as submitted. MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES REPORT Brian Powell, Maintenance Manager, presented the highlights from the Maintenance Activities Report: Storm Damage: Crews have been working in all types of conditions including heavy rain and snow. In addition to normal work and repair, the crews patrolled the canal system for overtopping, fallen trees, and blockage. o Storm Action Plan: Created by Maintenance and Operations and it has been implemented one time in the past five years. This year, it was implemented five times due to the severity of the storms. The plan is effective in diminishing the amount of damage tremendously. o Photographs of the storm damage throughout the District were shared with the Committee Members. Newtown Canal that feeds the Lake Wildwood Treatment Plant Cascade Canal, Diversion, Deer Creek: Basin filled twice with gravel. The screens and sprockets were damaged and are being repaired. o Emergency Notification made to Fish and Wildlife four times this season o Slides: There are many slides throughout the canal system. Lower Grass Valley had five different slides on a quarter-mile stretch of canal. Scotts Flat Campground, Gate 1 Treated Water Lines: Crews replaced the water lines. The pump station and the storage tank need to be replaced. The well head has been redone. Gate 2 will be worked on after the upcoming Recreation season.

2 Page 2 of 6 Treated Water: Hundreds of Sensus meters are being replaced with Badger meters. The Sensus meters were installed 20 years ago with MXU boxes. Overtime, the radio read MXUs fail and replacement parts have become extremely difficult to find. The Badger meter is cell read technology and provides more information to the customer. The complete system at Cascade Shores installed Badger meters which was the beta test platform. The future goal is to have customers log in to the system and check their usage. This will be beneficial for leak detection. The meter readers are being trained to install the meters. Senate AB219: The Senate is trying to pass a bill that would require prevailing wage basis for every truck load of concrete. This will add 15% to the cost of a load of concrete. Hansen Bros. and A&A have added the notification onto their bids. RECREATION ACTIVITIES REPORT Monica Reyes, Recreation Manager, presented the highlights from the Recreation Activities Report: Department of Boats & Waterways: An exchange of s has been beneficial in amending the agreement for the Quagga/Zebra Mussel Grant date to June 30, Director Drew requested a time series presentation from the initial infestation of the Quagga/Zebra Mussel to current date. Seasonal Employees: Staff is working with Blue Ribbon to make them aware of the staffing needs for the Recreation Season. Blue Ribbon also has an office in the Truckee area which would benefit the Jackson Meadow camping area and locate a camp host. Scotts Flat Gate One, tree removal: The tree removal project in the Gate One area will be completed within 30 days. Gate Two will be done in the off season. The Washington Ridge Crew has been working within Gate Two on several occasions and at all the other recreation sites to help with tree and brush removal. The crew was out at Peninsula Campgrounds for seven days for extensive clearing. Director Drew inquired about dress codes for recreation staff. Ms. Reyes reported that permanent staff will wear a blue NID shirt with campground location, name, and job title. Seasonal staff will be wearing the old stock, blue t-shirts until they run out. Next year, the shirts will have a new design. Scotts Flat: Picnic tables, fire rings, and boat parts have been ordered. BIFF s Fishin Mission: The fishing tournament is scheduled in May. Job Fair: The event was held March 17, Low turnout. Another will be held March 31, Orchard Springs: The new store layout is coming along.

3 Page 3 of 6 Season Staff: Two temporary employees began this week to assist with the excess timber that is washing up on the shore and the wood that CDF and Washington Ridge have cut. Boat Slips Long Ravine: The slips are scheduled to be delivered this week. Shipment was delayed due to equipment failure during manufacturing. Long Ravine New camp host will start next month. Peninsula: CDF and Arbor Matrix worked hard to cut and clean up the trees. Director Drew informed Mr. Scherzinger that he will submit his M&RM list of ideas in the near future. Upper Division: There have been several exchanges with the Forest Service. Many hours were spent on the 2017 Operation Plan for the Upper Division. There was communication with FERC and USFS, and the result was the issuance of the Special Use Permit. Mr. Scherzinger informed the Committee that the Forest Service believed that NID needed to pay them to run the facilities on Forest Service Land. FERC was very clear that NID is not responsible for the O&M costs to the Forest Service. This caused an immediate rethinking on the Forest Service s part. The permit was approved immediately following. Greenhorn Campgrounds Liserra: The insurance issue was brought current. The sewer system is still being worked on. Combie Dock Permits: There were two requests for dock permits. A request for a moratorium will be brought to a future M&RM Committee Meeting. Director Drew stated that there use to be signage on metal posts along the old Snow Mountain ditch trail that runs from the boat ramp to Lower Scotts Flat Reservoir. The remnants of the posts stick up above the ground and are a hazard. SAFETY ACTIVITY REPORT Don Bird, Safety Analyst, was attending the Safety Claims Education Day sponsored by SDRMA and CSDA in Sacramento along with Greg Jones, Assistant General Manager, and Jana Kolakowski, Human Resources Manager. WATERSHED AND GRANT ACTIVITY REPORT Neysa King, Watershed Planning Coordinator, presented the highlights from the Watershed Activities Report: Fire Fuel Reduction Scotts Flat: The project includes property on both sides of the dam at this point. The scope and scale were modified. Due to a time crunch, the

4 Page 4 of 6 work at Gate One is focused on hazard tree removal. PG&E has taken down trees and there is a lot of cleanup work left behind. If pressure is kept on PG&E, they will return and cleanup the brush and some of the logs, but their timeline is uncertain. Currently Robinson contracted for $24,000 to remove many of the hazard and down trees that are in the campground area at both Gate 1 and Gate 2. Trees illegally cut on NID property- Ms. King reported that Mr. Jones is now following up on this with the Nevada County Sheriff. Director Drew inquired about the trees cut down on District property. Ms. King responded that the property was on the Cascade Shores side near the boat ramp. Six cedars, six to eight inch in width, were cut. The Assistant General Manager is working with the Sheriff s Department. There were no witnesses. Mr. Scherzinger responded that the people responsible will be punished to the full extent. Grazing Lease: Ms. King is working with Mr. Jones to review all grazing leases on District property. Two of the leases have been renewed. Ms. King toured the Parker Ranch property (500+ acres) with Gene Luster last week. There are a number of areas that require trespassing signage. English Meadows: A meeting took place last month with Cal State University Sacramento, Plumas Corporation, a meadow ecologist, and US Forest Service. It was a five to six hour discussion on what was learned from the assessment work and groundwater monitoring conducted last summer, and what the plan is for this summer. The District has notified the Forest Service that the grazing lease will not be renewed for English Meadows. Last summer, there were cows grazing without permission in the meadow and they rubbed on the groundwater monitoring wells. This year, the Forest Service is building fences near Churches Camp to keep the cows out. Director Drew asked if the meadow restoration project was being publicized. Mr. Scherzinger responded that quite a few press releases and articles have been sent out on the subject. Director Drew stated that the article written by Trina Kleist was very good and objective. Ms. King added that the restoration will be added to the website under current projects. It is a fabulous opportunity, and it is one of the largest meadows in the Sierra to be restored. Mr. Scherzinger commented that English Meadows is the current focus of our meadows restoration program, and will lead to the Bear Valley meadow project in the future. After, the deal is completed for Deer Creek with PG&E, the District will be in control of half of Bear Valley meadow. The lessons and technology that are learned from Ms. King s work on English Meadows will be applied to the Bear Valley meadow. There is a large amount of forest work to be done in that area in

5 Page 5 of 6 conjunction with the BYLT and there is a large amount of District ownership along Zeibright Rd. The District property includes a large watershed area that has not been worked in, and there is tremendous opportunity to continue our work in Shotgun and Middle meadows, and work our way up to Island. They are currently in the process of transitioning from a lake to a meadow and we want to monitor that change, including water quality and water yield. There are a number of dams in the upper region that are defunct, but are perfect for measuring structures. The District s footprint can be reestablished up there and this is a very important function to release quality cold water over a longer period of time that will support the fish releases at Bowman or Jackson Meadows. Shotgun is a braided meadow which is a rare condition, and protecting this system is very important. Ms. King reported that a measuring gauge will also be installed on Forest Service land. The Forest Service stated that it will require a Special Use permit, or they may be able to install it for us. Director Morebeck asked Ms. King to explain the shift to the hydrograph. Ms. King responded to Director Morebeck s request using a printed graph. Hemphill Grant: The contract was presented and approved at the last Board Meeting. Combie Budget Change Proposal: This is currently in the Governor s budget. The District is still conducting behind the scene s work to support it so when it goes before congress for approval, the people voting will be aware of it. Sierra Nevada Conservancy Scotts Flat Project: The California Conservation Corps is completing the hand work on the Dam Access Road off of Pasquale Road. This week mastication will begin, following a change in the scope of work. We have realized the hand work was not going to get the work done on budget. The project goal is to complete an 80 acre treatment area to create a cross canyon fuel break by removing the understory, along with thinning the dense forested areas. This is crucial in case of a wildfire and produces a healthier forest. Ms. King will attend the Cascade Shores Homeowners Association meeting to speak on the project. Director Nancy Weber, Kevin Whitlock, and Monica Reyes will also attend. CABY Grant: The District is submitting an invoice. Uma Hinman is a consultant working with the Hydroelectric Department, will also consult and manage the Quagga Mussel project. This will satisfy the Fish and Wildlife Code 2302 that requires the District to monitor and assess recreational facilities for Quagga and Zebra Mussels. This effort will also dovetail in with the Aquatic Invasive Species Monitoring Plan that is required by FERC. Nevada County STEAM Expo: Ms. King, Gary King, Engineering Manager, and Keane Sommers, Hydroelectric Manager, participated and judged projects. The

6 Page 6 of 6 KK District had a table hosted by Ms. King and Mr. Sommers at the Saturday event, at which they displayed a centrifuge demo replicating the process for the Combie Remediation Project. Susan Holt also attended to take photographs and helped answer questions on the proposed Centennial project. Mr. Scherzinger informed the Committee that the Combie Budget Proposal Grant amount is currently $6.5 million.