HomeMy WebLinkAboutSSN062011CITY OF CENTRAL POINT
City Council Study Session
June 20, 2011
I. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER
Mayor Hank Williams called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
II. ATTENDEES Council Members: Mayor Hank Williams, Bruce Dingier, Allen.
Broderick, Carol Fischer, Kay Harrison, Kelly Geiger were
present. Ellie George arrived at 6:05 p.m.
City Manager Phil Messina; Assistant City Manager Chris
Clayton; Parks & Public Works Director Matt Samitore; and
Planning Secretary Didi Thomas were also present.
III. BUSINESS
A. Medford Water Commission Agreement Review
Matt Samitore, Parks & Public Works Director, advised Council that this evening he
would be reviewing the proposed agreement between the City of Central Point and the
Medford Water Commission section by section.
Negotiations on this agreement began last year and. this year we started to really look at
the agreement and found that there were limitations and restrictions on water meters. We
agreed to rerun a new water reservoir model and Medford didn't like the results so they
performed one of their own.
Utilization of the City of Central Point's water rights are an issue and although it may not
have a dramatic effect during the next five years, it could become a greater issue in the
future depending on our negotiations with the Medford Water Commission.
Mr. Samitore discussed peak usage during high demand months and the impact to
economic development that could occur with approval of the contract as presently
drafted. Allen Broderick suggested the insertion of anon-compete clause to restrict
Medford's ability to steer a potential large commercial or industrial user to the City of
Medford.
Articles 2, 3 and 4 have not changed in scope, Mr. Samitore reported. Article 5 deals
with water rights...how much do we need and how much are we willing to give up. We
have already agreed that ownership of the water rights lies with the Medford Water
Commission and we have agreed to buy water from the Commission. Given that they
own the certificates of water rights, we just want to discuss this with them. The City of
Central Point has been paying SDC fees to Medford since the 1950s and we only have
water rights for a certain population projection. There was general agreement amongst
Council members that water rights need. to be pooled for the benefit of the entire Rogue
Valley.
Although 2005 population projections have been used as the basis for calculations in the
proposed agreement, the downturn in the economy has not been factored in and at this
time, we will have enough water to serve a population of 20,000 people.
In the future, it is anticipated that we will use less water as yards will be smaller and a
greater awareness of conservation will be factored in. We'll need to do more analysis
prior to the next five year contract. At the present time, we just don't have enough data.
Everything else in the agreement is the same, Mr. Samitore said, and the Commission has
added everything that we have requested to this contract in its current form. Staff,
however, doesn't recommend that the City of Central Point sign the agreement yet. It is
not in our best interests to purchase water rights for Lost Creek, and they have a
maintenance fee attached to them as well. Mr. Samitore suggested pursuing the idea of
regional water rights.
Following discussion, it was suggested that we change the language of the last paragraph
in Article 1 to allow for more flexibility with regard to any restrictions on future
development and strike the language in Article 5 stating that the City of Central Point
would have "no legal, equitable, beneficial, otherwise claim to these rights."
IV. ADJOURNMENT
The Study Session for June 20, 201 1, was adjourned at 7:05 p.m.
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