SALIDA SANITARY DISTRICT
Regular Meeting of the Board of
Directors
June 11, 2026
The
regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Salida Sanitary District was
called to order by President Gary Horton at 6 p.m. in the Salida Sanitary
District Boardroom. Other Directors
present were Gary Dew, Lana Moore and Brad Johnson. Others present were District Manager-Engineer
Antonio Tovar, and Secretary Linda Walker.
Legal Counsel, Attorney Dennis L. Hay was in attendance virtually.
Members of
the public were invited to address the Board, but no comments were made.
The
minutes of the regular meeting held May 14, 2026 were unanimously approved as
submitted.
Bills of
the District totaling $177,758.23 were presented for payment. A motion was made by Director Dew, and
seconded by Director Johnson to adopt Resolution No. 1809, “Resolution
Authorizing Payment of Bills.”
Correspondence
consisted of a letter from AT&T advising the District telephone landlines will
be discontinued on June 1, 2027. Also received, was a letter from Director
Moore, advising she will not be seeking re-election for her seat as Director
for the Salida Sanitary District, in the upcoming November 2026 Election.
District
Manager-Engineer Antonio Tovar’s staff report included the following:
1.
The
District Manager-Engineer met with a developer to discuss sewer infrastructure
for a potential 177 – unit gated community for seniors and veterans.
2.
The
District Manager-Engineer will be out of the office starting Tuesday, June 16,
2026 and returning Monday June 22, 2026.
Attorney
Dennis Hay, in response to Director Johnson’s previous inquiry, reported the
District is not subject to Assembly Bill 2561 “Local Public Employees:Vacant
Positions”, as the District does not have any labor unions.
President
Horton reported he and Director Dew attended a J.P.A/S.A.P.F.F.A meeting on
June 2, 2026. He has the agenda packet
from that meeting available, should anyone with to review it.
The
Mello-Roos bonds will be paid off in September 2028.
A motion
was made my Director Moore, seconded by Director Dew, and on vote unanimously
carried to adopt Resolution No. 1810, “Resolution Scheduling Public Hearing on
Service Charge Report.” Resolution No.
1810 schedules the Public Hearing on the Service Charge Report on July 9, 2026
at 6:00 p.m. and directs the Secretary to prepare the report, which contains a
description of each parcel receiving sewer service from the District, and the
annual amount of charges the District expects to collect from each parcel.
Director
Johnson moved to accept the renewal of the Workers' Compensation Insurance
Policy from Zenith Insurance Company. Director Dew seconded the motion, which
passed unanimously.
District
Manager-Engineer Antonio Tovar presented a schedule of membership dues, and
other information regarding enrollment
in the California Special Districts Association, (CSDA). Discussions ensued
regarding training opportunities available through CSDA and accessibility to
the CSDA website for tracking legislative matters that affect Special
Districts. A motion was made by Director
Dew to authorize membership with the California Special Districts Association. The motion was seconded by Director Moore,
and on vote unanimously carried.
District
Manager-Engineer Antonio Tovar presented a Request for Proposals for
Professional Environmental Services for the Rapid Infiltration Basins Expansion
Project, and recommended the Board authorize the release of the Request for
Proposals. Attorney Dennis Hay advised
the Board, the release of a Request for Proposals for Professional
Environmental Services for the Rapid Infiltration Basin Expansion Project
should not occur until a full set of design plans and specifications for the
Rapid Infiltration Basins Expansion Project have been prepared. No action
was taken on Agenda Item D. “Authorize the Release of the Request for
Proposals for Professional Environmental Services for the Rapid Infiltration
Basins Expansion Project. (Legal Counsel Concerns).”
District
Manager-Engineer Antonio Tovar presented a proposed Professional Service
Agreement with AYC Automation LLC, for SCADA systems integration services. Attorney Dennis L. Hay advised the Board of
many legal concerns regarding the proposed Professional Services Agreement with
AYC Automation LLC. No action was
taken on Agenda Item 7E.”Find that AYC Automation LLC (AYC) is Qualified to
Perform the Required Services Based on Their Prior Experience with
Communication Issues at the Covert Lift Station Upgrades Project, Knowledge of
the District’s SCADA system, Demonstrated Competence, and Specialized
Professional Qualifications; Cancel Purchase Order No.2026-017; and Approve the
Execution of a Professional Services Agreement with AYC in the Amount of
$9,440.00 for SCADA System Integration Services.( Legal Counsel Concerns).”
The Board
was presented with two previously adopted Resolutions regarding the spending
limit of the District Manager position.
Director Johnson led a discussion on the spending limit. The Board directed legal counsel to draft,
for further consideration, an updated Resolution pertaining to the spending
limit of the District Manager position.
A written
progress update on the Covert Lift Station Upgrade Project with a log of
project notes, was presented to the Board.
The Board was advised the Covert Lift Station Upgrades Project has been
stalled since October 9, 2025, due to failed communication between the new
Allen Bradley Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) at the Covert Lift Station,
and the District’s existing radio system, and SCADA system. The Board was also
advised, the District hired AYC Automation in October 2025, to remedy the
communication issue. AYC Automation has made several attempts to establish
communication between the Allen Bradley PLC and existing radio system, and
SCADA system, however, to date, none of the attempts have been successful. The Board, at the advice of Attorney Dennis
L. Hay, directed the District Manager-Engineer to draft a Request for Proposals
to retain the services of a licensed communications design firm, to fully
design the integration of the PLC with the Districts radio and SCADA system, to
achieve full and proper communication with the Covert Lift Station. The Request for Proposals is to be prepared in
haste, as the lack of full communication at the Covert Lift Station is an
urgent issue. The Request for Proposals should be available for the Board to
review and possibly approve, at the next regular meeting on July 9, 2026.
A written
update regarding the New Aerobic Digester Project was presented to the
Board. District Manager- Engineer
Antonio Tovar advised the final 100% design plans of the new digester are
expected to be delivered to the District in three weeks. As the District will not put this project out
to bid for approximately three years, it would not make sense for the design
engineers of Black & Veatch to provide an engineers estimate for this
project, at this time. It is unlikely that the cost projections contained in an
engineer’s estimate of today, will be valid in three years. The Board directed District Manager-Engineer
Tovar to draft an addendum to the Professional Service Agreement with Black
& Veatch, that will eliminate the task of preparing an engineer’s estimate for the New Aerobic
Digester Project. The draft addendum will be forwarded to Attorney Dennis L.
Hay for review. The elimination of this
task will result in some type of credit to the District, toward the remaining
contract balance of $65,391.08.
A written
update on the Rapid Infiltration Basin (RIB’s) Expansion Project was presented
to the Board. The Board was advised the District Manager-Engineer has changed
the location of the two new additional RIB’s, from the location noted in the
Scope of Work, that was approved by the Board on April 9, 2026. Discussions ensued on the location
change. Attorney Dennis L. Hay advised
that while the location change is beneficial to the project, the location
change was made illegally. The change was made in the field, not formally
recorded, and not approved by the Board. At the advice of Attorney Dennis L.
Hay, the District Manager-Engineer will create a change order to the previously
approved Scope of Work for the project.
The change order will note the location change, and will be forwarded to
Attorney Dennis L.Hay for review.
A written
update on the Solar Dryer Panel Replacement project was provided to the Board.
The
installation of new solar dryer panels was completed in August of 2025. During the rainstorms of Winter 2025, many
roof failures, in both Chambers were detected. A technician from Ag-Con
repaired the roof failures in Chamber A, and attempted repairs in Chamber B.
In Chamber
B, the technician discovered the end cap on the South end of Chamber B lacked
sufficient foam insulation, causing significant water intrusion. While the technician made many attempts to
repair the end cap, he suspects the water intrusion will return during the next
major rainstorm. The contract with
Ag-Con for the installation of the new solar dryer panels contained a one-year
warranty on the workmanship of the project.
It is unknown when the warranty period officially began. The District Manager-Engineer will forward
the agreement and contract for the installation of the new panels to Attorney
Dennis L. Hay, for review, so the particulars of the warranty can be
identified.
Discussions
ensued regarding the Sanitary Sewer Capacity & Peak Flow Analysis,
performed by Mid-Valley Engineering for proposed subdivisions Cottonwood and
Fallbrook. The complete analysis was
previously disbursed to all Board members.
A chain of e-mails, regarding the history of the Sanitary Sewer Capacity
& Peak Flow Analysis was also presented to the Board. The Board expressed disappointment that
Mid-Vally Engineering was allowed to place flowmeters in the District’s
pipelines. The District Manager-Engineer
previously reported the developers of Cottonwood and Fallbrook subdivisions
have made numerous requests for the Board to take action on the analysis. The Board directed Attorney Dennis L. Hay to
write a response to the developers, explaining the legal reasons why the Board
cannot take any action on the analysis.
The report from May 14, 2026 closed session
was read by Attorney Dennis L. Hay as follows, “The Board of Directors of the
Salida Sanitary District having met in closed session to consider and discuss
the SB 827 and impacts on public security, facilities, and employees arising
from critical infrastructure information have tasked Legal Counsel with
identification of any issues and providing guidance as to any identified
issues. It was the unanimous decision of
the Board Members to so instruct Legal Counsel and continue the matter to allow
Legal Counsel to perform an internal investigation and report back to the Board
at a subsequent meeting.
_________________________________
Secretary
ATTEST:
_______________________________
President
of the Board