2011-09-27 Water Board Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Chairperson Mukai asked about Mr. Dubois’s complaint about water haulers paying a much higher rate for the HOVE water. Mr. Inaba said the water haulers at HOVE pay the same rates as anyplace else. What is higher is the cost of delivery of the water, i.e., what the water haulers themselves charge. The Manager-Chief Engineer said DWS has no control over that whatsoever. Ms. Garson noted that the way that the agreement is written is that DWS has the obligation to maintain the site. If the County (i.e., DPW) contributes for certain things, it would be because DWS has worked something out with DPW. However, the way the agreement is written, DWS will be maintaining and operating the facility as if it actually owned the facility. DWS can charge for usage as if it owns the facility; it is just that DWS does not own it. Chairperson Mukai asked whether this system would increase DWS’s need to hire personnel to maintain it. He noted that the HOVE system is a large system. The Manager-Chief Engineer said currently there was no need to hire personnel. Currently, DWS can send somebody from either Hilo or Ka’u; it depends on what is needed. If the need is for electrical repairs or maintenance, a person would go out from Hilo because Ka’u does not have electrical personnel. Nine times out of ten, when things go wrong at a well, it is an electrical problem, he said. The new system will put a bit more of a burden on the Hilo personnel, but currently there is no need to hire more staff. However, Ka’u district is getting close to the point where DWS should have a dedicated electrician in Ka’u. He cited the well in Nā‘ālehu, the well in Pāhala, the booster pumps in Nā‘ālehu and Wai‘ōhinu, as well as the new system in HOVE. Mr. Perry asked if there were separate accountings for these sets of standpipes. The Manager-Chief Engineer said whenever DWS personnel go out to do work in the field, the staff member does a work order, with different codes to differentiate where and what the staff is working on. Therefore, it is easy to make a reckoning on what is done. Mr. Perry asked if DWS does contemplate a separate charge for HOVE, whether DWS would have the financial data to back that up. The Manager-Chief Engineer said yes, DWS would have the necessary financial data to back it up. Chairperson Mukai asked how to differentiate between the water haulers and the private consumers, with regards to charging. The Manager-Chief Engineer said there are 10 compartments for the water haulers, with two sets of standpipes, and each standpipe has five meters. Each meter would be individually assigned to a trucker, whereas the spigots for the general consumer will have just one meter, billed to DPW. The truckers will have their own meters, and they will be responsible for paying for their water entirely to DWS. DWS will send DPW billings for the general consumer usage just like DWS does for any other account, he said. ACTION: Motion carried unanimously by voice vote. GATE AGREEMENT WITH THE OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC.: B. In various meetings with the Hawaiian Ocean View community, many community members expressed a desire to have a locked gate at the new spigot site entrance, to reduce the potential for the site to become a place where people congregate in the evenings. If the Department of Water Supply (DWS) manages Page 14 of 29 9-27-11 ~ Water Board Minutes js