Attendees:

 

Immediate Past President Jim Raggio called the meeting to order at 6:55 p.m. All present recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States.

2008 Chapter Officers: Jim Raggio introduced the 2008 Chapter officers: Treasurer Tom Gibbons, Secretary Cathy Schlottmann, Vice-President Larry Meyer, and President Charlie Blair. President Charlie Blair presented a plaque to Jim Raggio acknowledging his tenure as President. The attendees introduced themselves.

Guest Speaker: Rob Almy, Manager, Santa Barbara County Water Agency: Mr. Almy said the Integrated Regional Water Management Plan was today electronically submitted to the DWR. Lake Cachuma is expected to spill tonight, and Twitchell Reservoir currently has about 5,000 acre feet of water.

Mr. Almy noted the watershed that burned during the Zaca fire, 25% of the Sisquoc watershed, 44% of the Cachuma, and 6% of the Cuyama. He commended the work of the County Public Works Department to maintain the watersheds, which started prior to the containment of the fire. Two primary areas of concern are the Santa Maria levee plus the Cachuma and Gibralter reservoirs. The 1966 Wellman fire and its recovery efforts were studied. Debris booms were set up in Cachuma, plus a pilot channel was installed in the Santa Maria River with willow removal near Guadalupe. This past weekend the Sisquoc River peaked at 8,700 c.f.s. The Cuyama River peaked at 3,800 c.f.s. Gibralter has so little capacity that it spilled with the first storm.

Approval of Minutes: Motion, second, unanimous, to approve the Minutes of December 3, 2007 as presented. There was no Treasurer’s Report.

Chapter By-Laws: President Blair said our by-laws are now posted on our website.

CSDA Report: John Fox noted he attended meetings last week, CSDA has many activities in progress. He said Santa Barbara County has the highest percentage of special districts as CSDA members.

Legislative Update: George Emerson reported CSDA is busy watching the many bills. Concerns include the State budget and the deficit.. He urged districts to visit the "Members Only" section of the CSDA website for up-to-date information. There will be two competing eminent domain constitutional amendments on the June ballot. CSDA is not supporting the Jarvis initiative, but the alternative.

LAFCO Update: It was noted the meeting of the Special District Selection Committee will be at 5:00 p.m. on February 25^th, prior to this meeting, for selection of LAFCO representatives.

May Chapter Meeting: President Blair noted our May meeting is scheduled for Memorial Day. After discussion, MOTION, second, unanimous, to move the May meeting to May 19^th.

Chapter Website: Larry Meyer asked for submittals for posting on our website. Members and others were encouraged to visit the site and to send links for their district website. Bylaws are posted under "news."

Our website (with an extra space for clarity), is: w w w . s b s d a . o r g

Send items to Larry at: m e y e r @ s b s d a . o r g

The complete chapter mailing list is: s b s d a @ s b s d a . o r g

Upcoming Meetings: Tom Vu of CSDA and Ralph Heim’s associate will be our February speaker. Gary Rice of the Santa Maria Airport District is the March speaker.

Adjournment: President Blair adjourned the meeting at 8:02 p.m. The next monthly Chapter meeting will be held Monday, February 25^th at The Meadows Restaurant, Solvang, California.

s/ Ca thy Sch lottmann

Cathy Schlottmann

Secretary, SBCSDA