Zone 7 Water Agency disagrees with
allegations made by the Alameda County Civic Grand Jury concerning a supposed
lack of transparency in the process of spending $18 million to acquire nearly
5000 acres of watershed land adjacent to Lake Del Valle.
The Grand Jury issued a report June 29,
objecting to what it called the lack of a public process in discussing elements
related to the purchase. The Grand Jury had no quarrel with the $18 million
expenditure itself.
The Grand Jury report said that there was no
public discussion of such details such as where in the budget the payment money
should come from, how funding $2.7 million of it from developer drainage fees
is justified, and why it is important to acquire watershed land.
The Grand Jury decided in July 2014 to
investigate, after a citizen filed a complaint in November 2013. As required by
law, the citizen was not identified.
Zone 7 is responding in an 11-page document,
which was scheduled for possible approval at the board's meeting Aug. 19, after
The Independent's deadline. The Grand Jury said that Zone 7 must respond by
Sept. 29.
The reply, which is available on the Zone 7
web page at http://www.zone7water.com/images/pdf_docs/agenda-august/8-19-15_10.pdf,
responds to each Grand Jury statement point by point.
Zone 7 says that the agency board was
transparent as much as a public agency can be in the process of acquiring
property. The land was held privately among several trusts. It was necessary to
talk to the trusts' representatives privately in closed sessions.
Lack of privacy in negotiations could have
opened up the sale to other parties, which would have raised the price. Under
the circumstances, the Brown Act allows for closed meetings, says Zone 7's
response.
The closed sessions were confined to
discussion of negotiating strategy, price and terms. The numbers of the parcels
and the names of the negotiators were printed on every agenda that listed a
closed session devoted to the discussions.
All agendas are posted 72 hours prior to a
meeting on the Zone 7 web page. People may request them via e-mail or postal
mail. No one from the public appeared or spoke at any of the meetings where the
item was noticed, says the Zone 7 reply.
The Grand Jury report said that Zone 7 failed
to follow its core values of openness, transparency and fiscal responsibility.
The Zone 7 response says that its core values
statement says communications shall be open and public, except when the Brown
Act authorizes otherwise.
The Grand Jury report stated that Zone 7
"failed to adequately disclose detailed budget information" regarding
the purchase before the adoption of the 2013-14 budget. "The purchase
included a questionable use of restricted funds," said the Grand Jury in
an apparent reference to the agency's use of $2.7 million in drainage fees as
part of the financing for Patterson Ranch.
Zone 7 says that the budget was discussed
publicly at a finance committee meeting in April 2013 and at a board meeting in
May 2013, prior to the property purchase.
The Zone 7's opinion, its reply sets the
context for the use of the $2.7 million in developer-paid flood control fees.
The Zone 7 Stream Management Master Plan (SMMP) approved by the board in 2006,
shows the connectivity of three Zone 7 duties: flood control, water management,
and environmental stewardship.
A project that improves the stability of a
flood control channel also expands the capacity to handle storm water, and
enhances groundwater recharge. In the draft letter, Zone 7 notes that the
portion that improves flood control capacity would be funded by developer
impact fees (in this instance, the $2.7 million mentioned by the Grand Jury).
The proportion that enhances water recharge would come from the water rate
fund. The proportions would be scaled according to an analysis of their
relative benefits.
RUN-OFF CONTROL HELPS QUALITY
According to Zone 7, buying the Patterson
Ranch, and being able to manage it as watershed, it will be able to control
runoff that goes into Lake Del Valle. That reduces the amount of water that
goes downstream, which is a help for flood control. Spending flood-control fees
in this way is "very cost-effective," says Zone 7.
The response also points out that there are
water quality benefits from having watershed control of the Patterson Ranch,
which will continue to graze cattle. Grazing is a land use that needs special
attention when it comes to management, with an eye toward minimizing run-off
pollution, since the land is adjacent to Lake Del Valle. The lake is a
reservoir for Zone 7 water, as well as for downstream water agencies in Fremont
and San Jose, all members of the State Water Project.
For Zone 7, when the Lake Del Valle water
leaves the reservoir, it percolates into the Arroyo Del Valle, and helps to
recharge the underground water basin. It also can be directly piped to the Del
Valle Water Treatment Plant.
On the Grand Jury's comments urging more
transparency, Zone 7 notes that it has followed the "spirit and the
letter" of the Brown Act. Further, the agency has won awards from
professional associations for its outreach and transparency. Its most recent
was received Aug. 6 from the Special District Leadership Foundation, a
professional association dedicated to improving special districts. First place
awards for outreach in 2008, 2009 and 2011 came from the Association of
California Water Agencies.
The Grand Jury also said that Zone 7
"must provide greater transparency, making archived video or audio of
public meetings available on Zone 7's web site."
Zone 7 will consider this recommendation,
says the response. However, the response notes that "Zone 7's current
approach goes well beyond the requirements of the Brown Act, the sole legal
requirement for transparency. Zone 7 respectfully disagrees that there is any
requirement to make changes in policies or procedures."
Although not mentioned in the draft letter,
Zone 7 has talked about video posting, computer streaming, or TV broadcasts
even before the Grand Jury issued its report. Currently, Zone 7 is researching
cost and effectiveness of such options.
In addition to citing the agency's awards for
transparency, the Zone 7 draft letter adds that its transparency includes
public participation at board and committee meetings, and detailed minutes,
which are posted on the web site as soon as the board approves them. People
also have the opportunity to read local news accounts about Zone 7 meetings and
activities, states the draft.
August 20, 2015
The
Independent
By Ron
McNicoll
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