Butterfield Riviera East Community Assn.

Minutes of BRECA Steering Committee Meeting, 24 Mar. 2015

BUTTERFIELD-RIVIERA EAST COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

 

DATE: March 24, 2015

PLACE:  Rancho Cordova Library, 9845 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, California

MEETING TYPE:  BRECA Steering Committee Meeting

STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT

Lori Christensen

Kelly Cohen

Bonnie Domeny

Rene Hamlin

Gay Jones

Jim Morgan

Rick Sloan

Andrea White

 

1. Welcome from Chair Gay Jones

2. Guest Speakers from California American Water Co.

Travis Peterson, Water Quality Specialist with California American Water Co. (Cal Am), discussed recent work he had done visiting people at their homes to explore water quality (sedimentation) issues.  He stated that the ground water is highly mineralized with calcium carbonate, which produces scale.  He also stated that he had flushed out the mains at several locations and did not find sediment.  He stated that people he had seen were having problems with shower heads, faucets, dishwashers, and washing machines.  It is not normal to have to clean out faucet aerators on a weekly basis.  He stated that the hot water tank makes the calcium carbonate precipitate out.  Possibly something in the plumbing is making the calcium carbonate precipitate out faster than usual.  He had tested the sediment recovered from several homes, and found that it all dissolved in acid, so was likely calcium carbonate.  He had not found any sand.  His recommendation is for people with problems to do a strong cleanout of their system, and wait one month and see if they still have problems.

One person in the audience stated that when she heated water in a teakettle it tasted like plastic.  Audie Foster, General Manager with Cal Am, stated that they could come out and look at the problem.  Another person in the audience stated that some people reported dark colored sediment, but calcium carbonate is white.  Travis Peterson stated that it is likely iron oxide or hydroxide, which also dissolves in acid.  Kelly Cohen commented that the long term solution seems to be change out galvanized house water pipes for copper.  Audie Foster stated that one can also use HDPE piping, which has been approved by the American Water Works Association.  Kelly also commented that she smells chlorine in the water.  Travis Peterson stated that there is a low level of chlorine in the water, around 0.3 to 0.5 ppm, to suppress bacteriological growth.  Some people can smell it.

Gay Jones stated that at the November meeting where Cal Am representatives spoke, there was a commitment to report on the investigations.  We would like something written down.  Audie Foster said that they would put their results on letterhead and sign it, and distribute to people here.

Another member of the audience asked how the groundwater was holding up with the fourth year of drought.  Audie Foster stated that the groundwater is basically doing OK.  They have some conservation measures in place, and will likely have more soon.  Another person asked where our wells are.  Travis Peterson stated that there is one at Bradshaw and Folsom, and another some distance to the west.

3. Minutes for February 2015

Kelly Cohen made a motion to approve the draft minutes for February 2015.  Rene Hamlin seconded the motion.  The motion was approved unanimously.

4. Updates

a. Treasurer’s Report

Andrea White, BRECA treasurer, stated that the ending balance in the BRECA checking account is $4,055.84.  She stated that she had moved the money from the Pay Pal account into the checking account.  The sum was about $59 and will show up in the next statement.

Jim Morgan made a motion to increase the amount budgeted for meeting change notifications from $13 to $39, owing to having sent out two meeting change notifications already.  Rene Hamlin seconded the motion.  It was approved unanimously.

b. American River Parkway Coalition

Kelly Cohen stated that at the most recent Parkway Coalition meeting they discussed what they want to work on.  The priorities are Parks budget, rangers, and illegal camping.  Joan Burke, of Loaves and Fishes, stated at the meeting that there has been a change in paradigm with the homeless population.  The old approach was “clean up” (drugs, alcohol) first then find housing.  The new approach is get housing, then work on personal problems.  They are working to get grants to support the new approach.

c. From the Floor

There were no updates from the floor.

5. Old Business

a. Larchmont Park Proposed Parking Lot

Rick Sloan reported that at the most recent Cordova Recreation and Park District Board meeting, on March 18, Kate Rosenleib (with College Greens East Homeowners Association [CGEHA]) and other members of the community attended (about 78 people).  Many spoke about the problem they viewed as excessive soccer use of the Park.  Rick stated that he does not expect the proposed parking lot to go forward at this time, although that is just his opinion.

Gay Jones asked whether BRECA should formally support CGEHA at this time.  Bonnie Domeny stated that we should if it comes before the Park Board again.  Lori Christensen made a motion to generally support the CGEHA position in regard to the parking lot.  Kelly Cohen seconded the motion.  The motion was approved with 6 votes in favor and 1 abstention.

b. Corps of Engineers Work on the East End of the Mayhew-Gristmill Levee

Jim Morgan reported on the document he had received from the Corps of Engineers pursuant to a Freedom Of Information Act request.  The document showed the elevations of the recently completed “plug” and surrounding areas at the upstream end of the Mayhew-Gristmill Levee.  The document showed that the “plug” does not tie in to high ground, as expected.  In the event of a flood large enough to come around the end of the plug, the Corps proposes to tear down adjacent fences and place sand bags to connect to high ground in the back yard of one of the adjacent properties.  The gap is about 17 feet long, and, at it’s deepest, about 8 inches below the “hydraulic design elevation” for the project.

There was discussion about what to do with the situation.  Some people accepted the existing situation, while others did not think it is good enough.

c. New Resident Cover Letter

No further work has been done on the new resident cover letter since the last meeting.  It was agreed to form a committee to work on the letter.  Members of the committee are Kelly Cohen (lead), Rick Sloan, Jim Morgan, and Bonnie Domeny.  They are to try to get a proposal together for the next Steering Committee meeting.

d. Sacramento County Revision of Zoning Codes, Special Planning Areas

Gay Jones stated that she did not attend the meeting at the Board of Supervisors concerning Zoning Codes and Special Planning Areas, and had no report.

e. From the Floor

Kelly Cohen stated that she had not contacted Joe O’Connor regarding changes to the BRECA web site, as she does not know how to approach him.  Discussion emphasized that Joe has done a lot of work on the site, and that we do not want him to walk away from working on the site.

5. New Business

a. General Meeting Plans

The BRECA General Meeting is to be held on April 28, 2015 (the next meeting).  The focus is to be community safety.  Supervisor Nottoli, County Sheriffs, County Code enforcement, and the new ranger for the Gristmill area are to be invited.  People volunteered to bring snacks and drinks.

b. Steering Committee Election

Jim Morgan reviewed the schedule for the Steering Committee election.  Nominations begin with this meeting, and end with the meeting in April.  Ballots will be prepared and voting is to take place between the April and May meetings.  The results will be announced at the May meeting, and the newly elected Steering Committee members take office in June.

Jim stated that one of the concerns that arose from the election last year was that one person did all the work, and that it would be desirable to have two sets of eyes on the process to insure process integrity.  Help with folding and stuffing would also be appreciated.  Rene Hamlin volunteered to help.

c. Pay Pal Button on BRECA Web Site

Rene Hamlin stated that the Pay Pal button had been removed from the BRECA web site.  She stated that Joe O’Connor (the Web Master) has security concerns that malicious code could be used to compromise the Pay Pal link.  Rene stated that she did not think this was likely.  Bonnie Domeny stated that the biggest threat is that one person could use another person’s account to purchase items.  She stated that she has Pay Pal on her web site and it is super secure.  Rene stated that she would like motion to tell Joe to re-instate Pay Pal on the web site.  Bonnie Domeny seconded the motion.  Kelly Cohen suggested this should be combined with the web site committee.  Celia (CC) Rasmussen volunteered to handle the web site if Joe O’Connor steps down.  Gay Jones stated that removing Pay Pal from the web site without consulting the Steering Committee was disrespectful.  The motion was approved with 4 votes in favor and 3 opposed.  Kelly Cohen is to contact Joe and ask him to come to a Web Site Committee meeting.

d. Membership Lists Backup

Bonnie Domeny stated that when she was preparing the flyers for the Easter Egg hunt she was unable to do a mail merge of the membership list because she could not open the file that the membership list is in.  She stated that BRECA should have a current program and the Chair and Vice Chair should have copies of the membership list.  Gay Jones stated that it is an important policy that the membership list be used only for BRECA purposes and that the member’s privacy needs to be respected.  She also noted that she has an e-mail list of members.

Jim Morgan (who handles the membership information) stated that the membership list is in a very good database program that was current when the membership database was started.  However, the program has not been updated by the manufacturer for some time, and it is now hard to get data out in electronic format for use with other programs.  Jim volunteered to try to find a current database program that can work.  Rene Hamlin volunteered to help.

e. From the Floor/Information Sharing

There were no additional items from the floor.

7. Meeting adjourned.

The next Meeting will be a General Meeting and will be held on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, at the Rancho Cordova Library.