HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-21-2026 MinutesSOUTH TAHOE PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT
Joel Henderson, Director
Nick Haven, Vice President
BOARD MEMBERS Kelly Sheehan, Director
Shane Romsos, President Nick Exline, Director
Paul Hughes, General Manager Andrea Salazar, Chief Financial Officer
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SOUTH TAHOE PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT
May 21, 2026
MINUTES
The South Tahoe Public Utility District Board of Directors met in a regular session, 2:00 p.m., at the
District Office, located at 1275 Meadow Crest Drive, South Lake Tahoe, California.
ROLL CALL: Board of Directors: President Romsos, Directors Haven, Sheehan, and Exline
Absent: Director Henderson
Staff: Paul Hughes, Andrea Salazar, Ryan Jones, Melonie Guttry, Shannon Chandler, Robert
Wakefield, Megan Colvey, Shelly Thomsen, Vincent Stagnaro, Alex Tyler, Sara Nelson, Diana
Cervantes, Ryan Lee, Greg Dupree, Chris Skelly, Brent Goligoski, Lucas Russell, Chris Skelly, Star Glaze,
Adrian Combes, Brian Bartlett, Donielle Morse, Laura Hendrickson, Matt Stevens
1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
2. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC: None
3. CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA OR CONSENT CALENDAR: None
4. ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR:
Moved Sheehan/Second Haven/Haven Yes/Romsos Yes/Henderson Absent/Sheehan Yes/Exline
Yes to approve the Consent Calendar as presented.
a. ISSUANCE OF SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR WOLLYSTAR MUSIC FESTIVAL SECONDARY EMERGENCY
EGRESS ROUTE
(Chris Stanley, Manager of Field Operations)
Approved the issuance of a Special Use Permit to Avery Hellman to allow attendees of the
Woollystar Music Festival to use an existing unimproved road across a portion of Diamond
Valley Ranch in the event of an emergency.
b. RECEIVE AND FILE PAYMENT OF CLAIMS (Greg Dupree, Accounting Manager)
Received and filed Payment of Claims in the amount of $2,947,295.63.
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES: May 21, 2026 PAGE - 2
c. REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES: May 7, 2026
(Melonie Guttry, Executive Services Manager/Clerk of the Board)
Approved May 7, 2026, Minutes.
5. CONSENT ITEMS BROUGHT FORWARD FOR SEPARATE DISCUSSION/ACTION: None
6. PRESENTATION: Megan Colvey, Adrian Combes and Andrea Salazar provided a presentation
regarding District infrastructure and long-term fiscal sustainability and addressed questions from
the Board. Shelly Thomsen provided details regarding the proposed rate increase outreach and
response. Director Haven added that he appreciates Customer Service staff who are speaking
with customers every day. He further expressed appreciation for the Capital Improvement
Program website update and ease of information available there. The District's Proposition 218
process allowed for a maximum 9.5% increase, which has been backed down to 6.5%, due to the
efforts the District is making such as efficiencies, the solar project, etc. Director Exline added that
the comments received from the community have been low. President Romsos thanked staff for
their efforts on the outreach in all areas including this presentation today. Andrea Salazar
reminded the Board that the District does have a customer assistance program and Ryan Lee
reported on progress with the program. There hasn't been a huge uptick in enrollment, but there
were a few that came out of the District Tours that took place May 20, 2026. There are currently
501 rate payers enrolled in Tier 1, offering a 25% discount; and 18 are enrolled in Tier 2, which
started in 2024, and offers a 15% discount. Director Sheehan thanked Customer Service for their
efforts with customers. Paul Hughes reported that the total response to date is one tenth of one
percent of the District's total customer base.
7. ITEMS FOR BOARD ACTION:
a. 2026 Water Meter Installation Project (Laura Hendrickson, Associate Engineer) Laura Hendrickson
provided details regarding the 2026 Water Meter Installation Project and addressed questions
from the Board.
Moved Sheehan/Second Haven/Haven Yes/Romsos Yes/Henderson Absent/Sheehan
Yes/Exline Yes to (1) Adopt the design Plans, Specifications, and Addenda pursuant to
California Government Code Section 830.6; (2) Find minor irregularities in the bid from White
Rock Construction, Inc. to be immaterial and waive immaterial irregularities; and (3) Award
Contract for the 2026 Water Meter Installation Project to the lowest responsive, responsible
bidder, White Rock Construction, Inc., in the amount of $916,350.
b. Tahoe Keys Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project (Brendan Cusick, Senior Engineer and Brent Goligoski,
Engineering Manager -Capital Projects) - Brent Goligoski provided details regarding the Tahoe Keys
Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project and addressed questions from the Board.
Moved Sheehan/Second Romsos/Haven Yes/Romsos Yes/Henderson Absent/Sheehan
Yes/Exline Yes to (1) Adopt Addendum No. 1 to the design Plans and Specifications pursuant
to California Government Code Section 830.6; (2) Find minor irregularities in the bid from
Express Sewer & Drain, Inc. to be immaterial and waive immaterial irregularities; and (3) Award
Contract for the 2026 Tahoe Keys Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project to the lowest
responsive, responsible bidder, Express Sewer & Drain, Inc., in the amount of $1,139,450.
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES: May 21, 2026 PAGE - 3
c. Tahoe Keys Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project (Brendan Cusick, Senior Engineer and Brent Goligoski,
Engineering Manager- Capital Projects) - Brent Goligoski provided details regarding the Tahoe Keys
Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project and addressed questions from the Board.
Moved Sheehan/Second Haven/Haven Yes/Romsos Yes/Henderson Absent/Sheehan
Yes/Exline Yes to (1) Approve the proposed Scope of Work to amend existing Task Order No. 3
for DOWL to provide engineering services during construction and construction inspection
services of the Tahoe Keys Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project; and (2) Authorize the General
Manager to execute Amendment A to Task Order No. 3 with DOWL in the amount not to
exceed $146,062.
d. Glenwood Rancho, Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Tahoe Mountain Waterline Project (Andrea
Salazar, Chief Financial Officer) - Andrea Salazar provided details regarding the Glenwood Rancho,
Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Tahoe Mountain Waterline Project and Megan Colvey addressed
questions from the Board.
Moved Sheehan/Second Exline/Haven Yes/Romsos Yes/Henderson Absent/Sheehan
Yes/Exline Yes to approve Resolution No. 3330-26, the Installment Sale Agreement Resolution
of the Board of Directors of the South Tahoe Public Utility District for the Glenwood Rancho,
Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Tahoe Mountain Waterline Project
e. Return Activated Sludge Pump Station Replacement Project (Andrea Salazar, Chief Financial Officer) -
Andrea Salazar provided details regarding the Return Activated Sludge Pump Station
Replacement Project and addressed questions from the Board. Megan Colvey provided
further details regarding the project.
Moved Exline/Second Haven/Haven Yes/Romsos Yes/Henderson Absent/Sheehan Yes/Exline
Yes to approve Resolution No. 3331-26, the Installment Sale Agreement Resolution of the Board
of Directors of the South Tahoe Public Utility District for the Return Activated Sludge Pump
Station Replacement Project.
8. STANDING AND AD -HOC COMMITTEES AND LIAISON REPORTS:
Director Exline reported that he met with District and City staff to review Liberty Energy and future
collaboration to reduce rates. The work the City has done is certainly more than anticipated.
Director Haven requested that if these discussions reach any milestones, that a presentation be
brought forward to the full Board. Director Sheehan provided details of the May 12, 2026,
Operations Committee Meeting that she and Director Henderson attended.
Director Haven provided details regarding the El Dorado Water Agency (EDWA). District staff have
been working as the Groundwater Sustainability Agency and EDWA is reserving funds to cover
one half of the costs of reporting these efforts while re-evaluating the District's role in Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act. He thanked Mark Seelos regarding his efforts on this
collaboration.
9. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS: Nothing to report
10. STAFF/ATTORNEY REPORTS:
Megan Colvey introduced Lucas Russell, new Staff Engineer. He has spent the last four years
working for West Yost Associates and is happy to be at the District. Adrian Combes introduced
Matt Stevens, new Heavy Maintenance Supervisor, who joined the District approximately five
years ago. He reported he is excited for his new role and looks forward to working with the Board.
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES: May 21, 2026 PAGE - 4
Robert Wakefield provided information regarding how Artificial Intelligence may affect Public
Records Requests and will report back as more information becomes available.
11. GENERAL MANAGER REPORT:
Paul Hughes reported that his retirement plans are a little earlier than expected, with a target
date of February 2027. The second week in June the Board may want to discuss the recruitment
timeline moving forward.
12. NOTICE OF PAST AND FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS
13. BREAK AND ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION: 3:14 p.m.
RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION: 3:50 p.m.
a. Pursuant to Section 54956.8 of the California Government Code, Closed Session may be held
for conference with real property negotiators prior to the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease
of real property by or for the local agency. The negotiating parties are Paul Hughes, General
Manager, Ryan Jones, General Counsel; Tech Ventures QOZB, LLC, owner of the subject
property located at 930 Tanglewood Drive, South Lake Tahoe, California; and Radley Raven of
The Oppenheim Group Real Estate, the owner's agent. Under negotiation are the price and
terms of payment.
No reportable Board Action
b. Pursuant to Section 54956.8 of the California Government Code, Closed Session may be held
for conference with real property negotiators prior to the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease
of real property by or for any local agency. The negotiating parties are Paul Hughes, General
Manager; Ryan Jones, General Counsel; Mano and Lata Murthy, owners of the subject
property located at 885 Sunset Drive, South Lake Tahoe, California; and Doug Rosner, the
owner's agent. Under negotiation are the price and terms of payment.
No reportable Board Action
c. Pursuant to Section 54956.9(d) (1) of the California Government code, Closed Session may be
held for conference with legal counsel regarding existing litigation: Yolo County Superior Court
Case CV 2021-1686, Alpine County vs. South Tahoe Public Utility District; et al.
No reportable Board Action
ADJOURNMENT: 3:51 P.M.
Shane Romsos, Board President
South Tahoe Public Utility District
v
Melorie Guttry, txecuti e Services Manager/
Boar' Clerk
South Tahoe Public Utility District