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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - November 19, 2019 SSLODI CITY COUNCIL SHIRTSLEEVE SESSION CARNEGIE FORUM, 305 WEST PINE STREET TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019 A. Roll Call by City Clerk An Informal Informational Meeting ("Shirtsleeve" Session) of the Lodi City Council was held Tuesday, November 19, 2019, commencing at 7:01 a.m. Present: Council Member Mounce, Council Member Nakanishi, Mayor Pro Tempore Kuehne, and Mayor Chandler Absent: Council Member Johnson Also Present: City Manager Schwabauer, City Attorney Magdich, and City Clerk Ferraiolo NOTE: Council Member Mounce participated in the meeting via teleconference and joined the meeting at 7:06 a.m. B. Topic(s) B-1 Receive Update on Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Authority (PW) Public Works Director Charlie Swimley recognized Water Plant Superintendent Travis Kahrs, Utilities Manager Lance Roberts, City Attorney Janice Magdich, and Council Member Nakanishi for their hard work and efforts over the last four years attending the meetings, reviewing legal documents, and getting to this point of presenting a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP). Mr. Swimley stated this is the tenth meeting before Council on this subject, the plan is scheduled for Council adoption at the November 20, 2019 Council meeting, it will be submitted to the State, and the Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) will have the next 20 years to implement the plan and make the basin sustainable. Mr. Kahrs provided a PowerPoint presentation regarding an update on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Authority. Specific topics of discussion included timeline, public comments, and next steps. Council Member Nakanishi questioned whether any private citizens commented on the document versus organizations or groups. Mr. Kahrs stated that Jane Tyack, who was present in the audience, commented on the GSP. In response to Council Member Mounce, Mr. Kahrs stated the GSP in its entirety can be found via the hyperlink in the staff report, and Ms. Magdich added the link is in the November 20, 2019 staff report for the public hearing on the matter. Further, Ms. Magdich stated she would forward the section containing all of the public comments to Council Member Mounce. In response to Mayor Pro Tempore Kuehne, both Mr. Kahrs and Mr. Swimley stated they support the proposed GSP and would not have presented it to Council for approval if they had any discomfort with the document. Mr. Swimley added that Lodi is in a good position because it invested in both supply side projects (i.e. water treatment plant) and demand side projects (i.e. water meters), along with a strong emphasis on conservation, that benefit the community. Throughout the life of the GSP, Lodi will have to spend some amount each year, perhaps as low as $15,000 or as high as $50,000, to continue to implement the plan moving forward to meet the legislative mandate that each basin become compliant. In further response regarding potential sticking points during the process, Mr. Swimley stated it was discovered that some agencies, primarily agricultural entities, are not sustainable and will have to come up with a number of projects to get them close to being sustainable. 1 In response to Council Member Nakanishi, Mr. Kahrs stated the City also held outreach meetings in the community throughout this process, and Mr. Swimley added a meeting was held at Hutchins Street Square at which staff gave a presentation, as well as Ms. Tyack and her group. He estimated five to six members of the public were in attendance. Jane Tyack, member of the public, stated the comment she made at the beginning of this process was the need for public outreach to ensure citizens knew what was occurring and she was appreciative that the City was helpful and willing to include an outreach component. The comments she made on the GSP were related to her role as a consultant for Public Works and centered around grammatical errors, content, and policy. In response to Council Member Mounce, Ms. Tyack stated she believes the City is on the right track with the GSP and that the basin is in a good position with regard to sustainability. Lodi has a great deal of water in storage, which is not the case for other entities in the Central Valley. The Plan also includes a process to address salt water intrusion if that were to happen during the life of the Plan. Staff mentioned there is not enough data in some areas, and she agreed, adding that it should be addressed going forward. She stressed that during implementation of the plan there needs to be continued public outreach and she was hopeful there will be greater input moving forward. In response to Council Member Nakanishi, Ms. Tyack stated the public workshops were held both during the day and in the evening, however, there was very little engagement from the public. Ms. Magdich assured Council that staff made it clear to all of the other agencies what Lodi has done, such as the water treatment plant, to become a sustainable community. That message was communicated loud and clear and was included in the GSP. Myrna Wetzel, member of the public, questioned how much water is conserved with the year- round time schedule for irrigating lawns. Mr. Kahrs stated it is difficult to measure the absence of something and the purpose of setting water times is primarily for utilizing resources in the most efficient way possible, not necessarily about savings. Alex Aliferis, member of the public, responded to the comment regarding lack of citizen involvement, stating there was a time when the public got involved in various issues; however, people have given up because they feel their concerns fall on deaf ears and that government pushes its issues through, it does not care, it hears from big organizations and groups, and receives grant money. C. Comments by Public on Non-Agenda Items None. D. Adjournment No action was taken by the City Council. The meeting was adjourned at 7:42 a.m. ATTEST: Jennifer M. Ferraiolo City Clerk 2 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act & Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Authority Update November 19, 2019 The City of Lodi Public Works Outline •Recap of Previous Staff and Council Actions •Public Comments •Updates to the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) •Next Steps Timeline •February 8, 2017 JPA finalized •June 30, 2017 GSA’s formed •February 2018 GSP Consultant hired •August 25, 2019 Draft GSP public comment period ended •November 5, 2019 Final GSP published •November 14 - All Agencies Adopt GSP December 31, 2019 •January 31, 2020 Adopted GSP must be submitted to Department of Water Resources Public Comments •The draft GSP was open for public comment through August 25th, and the comments that were received varied. •The final GSP has been developed after incorporating public comments as appropriate. A sub-committee was formed to identify the best way to respond to each comment, and in many cases, resulted in amendments to specific areas of the GSP. These amendments were approved unanimously by the JPA board in October 2019. Public Comments Next Steps Next Steps •Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Basin JPA makes a recommendation to adopt- November 13th •Public hearing to consider adoption of the GSP by Lodi GSA- November 20th •Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Basin JPA adopts final GSP- January 8th •Submit the approved GSP to the Department of Water Resources by January 31, 2020 Questions?