MID Board Report Archive

MID Board Meeting of Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Contact: MID Public Affairs Department, Kate Hora, 209 526-7454
The next MID Board meetings are scheduled for July 25 and Aug. 8.

Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board Meeting of

Contact:  MID Public Affairs Department, Kate Hora, 209 526-7454.
The next MID Board meetings are scheduled for July 25 and Aug. 8.

Water report

Irrigation Engineering Manager Bill Ketscher reported that orders for water deliveries are high as it is the peak of irrigation season. Water storage in the upper Tuolumne River system remains at 100 percent, while Don Pedro Reservoir is 99 percent full with an elevation of 828.41 feet. Runoff has declined slightly and is continuing to drop.

Customer billing system update

Lou Hampel, Assistant General Manager, Finance and General Services, reporting in his capacity as project manager for the Customer Billing System, indicated that 20 percent of the top 12 items have now been resolved. The returned check system should be fixed in approximately two weeks.

Informational presentations by staff

• Solar photovoltaic (PV) demonstration project - Since Jan. 12, 2006, a demonstration project on the roof of the MID downtown office building has been in operation. This solar array is capable of generating about 4,000 kilowatthours per year, about one-half the energy needs of a typical home in the Modesto area. The project is intended to give MID staff hands-on experience with the day-to-day operational characteristics of solar PV systems. If future legislation requires MID to offer customer incentives for such systems, the knowledge gained will help staff to structure programs that will deliver the greatest benefit to individual customers at the lowest cost to the entire customer base.
  
  
• Land acquisition - MID uses a variety of methods to acquire real property in the normal course of business.
  
  
  1. Most commonly an MID division contacts General Services regarding its property needs. General Services typically employs a real estate agent to find suitable property and negotiate a purchase price. A current appraisal made by a licensed professional real estate appraiser is used as the starting point for negotiations.
     
     
  2. In the case of large-scale capital projects, land acquisition is included in the project scope of work. Land acquisition experience becomes an important consideration when selecting a vendor. The chosen vendor is responsible for land acquisition under MID oversight and direction.
     
     
  3. Much less commonly, a property owner or real estate agent may contact MID directly to determine if there is any interest in a particular property that is offered for sale.

Regardless of the method used in a particular instance, the MID Board is always kept informed throughout the property acquisition process.