FVWD 2024-25 capital program not just pipes

The Fern Valley Water District (FVWD) Planning Committee, composed of
Board Chair Jon Brown and Director Kevin Scott, met May 9 to develop the
capital improvement plan (CIP) for the draft fiscal year (FY) 2024-25
budget. This will be submitted to both the Budget Committee May 13 and
to the board of directors at its regular meeting May 16.

The total proposed capital program is $718,667. It will include
replacing most district vehicles, office renovation, a pipeline project
and several other smaller projects.

The largest expense will be replacing three trucks and the dump truck.
General Manager Victor Jimenez estimates the cost of four new vehicles
would be about $300,000. However, he has been working on the project and
believes the district can obtain about $125,000 for the trade-in value
of these vehicles.

In total, this project, which includes some accessories for the trucks
and a second loader, the total direct cost will be about $210,000.

The new vehicles will yield significant annual savings for fuel costs,
Jimenez told the committee. He also added, depending on the price of the
dump truck, that he would consider acquiring a used truck if it were in
very good condition rather than new one., which would cost more.

This is a high priority and he urged the committee to approve this
proposal. “Prices are coming down and the mileage, 30-plus miles per
gallon, is about twice what we get from our trucks,” he reported.

The pipeline project will be a replacement of the main and about 700
feet of pipeline between Wayne and Tahquitz View. The estimated cost is
$260,000.

“[This will be] difficult because there is no access for equipment and
must be done mostly by hand,” Jimenez said. “[There] have been quite a
few leaks on that line over the last couple of years. None are major,
but they have become more frequent.”

Although Jimenez thought it could be deferred to have a smaller capital
budget, the committee felt it would be effective to replace the old pipe
before a major leak might occur.

“My inclination is to do it now,” said Brown.

The third major project will be renovating the office. The conference
will be enlarged to enable greater attendance and a handicapped bathroom
installed. It will include new roofing, lighting, cabinets, carpets and
furniture.

This was initially proposed in 2018, but the cost estimates were much
greater than FVWD had planned. It has been deferred until this year.
Jimenez expects to use FVWD staff to do some of the work, which will
reduce the direct cost, and his estimated cost is $150,000.

Some of the other projects in the draft proposal include $60,000 for
buying new fire hydrants to replace smaller and older equipment. This
has been an ongoing project for several years.

Both Brown and Scott discussed how the capital budget might affect the
board’s goal of paying off the pension liability in FY 2024-25. Although
Jimenez offered to defer the pipeline project, Scott recommended that
decision on when and the amount of the liability payment could be
deferred until winter 2025, after the property tax receipts have been
received. At that time, the board can reconsider when to pay off pension
liability.

During the discussion of acquiring mapping software ($10,000), Brown
suggested the district hire a part-time college student who could enter
this data. Assistant General Manager Jessica Priefer agreed to include
this in the operating budget proposed next week.

Following the meeting, Brown summarized the committee’s plan. “We do
have a 10-year CIP plan that focuses on pipeline replacements, and that
contemplates doing them in alternating years. While that long-term plan
didn’t anticipate office expansion and dump truck replacement, it was
made flexible enough to accommodate them, as well as moving replacement
projects around as needed.

“This year’s CIP budget is higher than anticipated for a ‘low’ CIP year,
but I feel there are well-considered reasons for that and the long-term
plan remains solid.  Very happy that above-ground line replacement can
be done sooner rather than later and is going to cost substantially less
than I’d anticipated.

“We’ve tackled the worst of leaking lines over the last several years,
with this above-ground main appearing to be the last critical one. The
other lines that are well past their expected service life still need
replacement before they become critical, but I have confidence in our
ability to adjust the timing of those replacements as necessary to keep
the long-term budgets in line,” Brown said, affirming the district’s
capital plans.