Thanks for everyone who attended the Q2 member Meeting which was preceded by a Special Meeting of the Membership. The meetings were held in person at the Coupeville Library as well as over Zoom with over 50 members and guests attending, about 60% of which were at the library. This post includes a short recap followed by links to the video recording, agenda and some additional materials at the bottom of this page. We will post the formal minutes once they are available.
Special Meeting of the Membership
An attorney recently reviewed Whidbey Island Water Systems Association’s governing documents and discovered that the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws contained conflicting provisions regarding the number of directors the Association is permitted to have on its Board. The board called the Special Meeting to vote on amending the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws to resolve the conflict, as well as re-electing three Directors who were affected by the conflict. After some discussion the membership unanimously approved both amendments and re-elected Jeff Tasoff, Mitch Allen and Michael Quintus to the board. You will find links below for each of the amendments in markup form, and they will be posted shortly on the website.
Q2 Member’s Meeting
- State Revolving Fund funding Support Letter—Randi Perry discussed a request from the Washington Water Utility Council to write a letter in support of SRF funding. The current level of funding is in jeopardy due to proposed funding cuts at the federal level. The members voted to approve an action to submit the letter representing the WIWSA membership as a whole. Individual water systems are also encouraged to submit their own letters as well. We previously posted about this on the website here, where you can find additional information including a copy of a template letter. The template letter is also linked below.
- Small Water System Management Plan (SWSMP)—The members of our panel were Crystal Nuño (DOH Office of Drinking Water), Jocelyne Gray (DOH Drinking Water State Revolving Fund), Sarah Spotts (DOH/ODW) and Julie Robinson (Evergreen Rural Water of Washington). They spoke on the benefits of developing and maintaining a SWSMP and offered suggestions on resources that are available to water systems in the form of guidelines and document templates, as well as funding and technical resources. Jocelyn included a link for Technical Assistance Requests. Julie also offered that she is available to assist with the process through the Circuit Rider program at ERWoW (jrobinson@erwow.org). There was good interest in this topic among the membership for further information and training opportunities. There are links below for program guides. You can also find more information and additional links on the DOH SWSMP page.
- Hydrant Testing and Maintenance—Deputy Chief James Meek of the Central Whidbey Fire and Rescue presented Central Whidbey’s program for tracking, inspecting and maintaining the hydrants across their district along with information on Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau scoring and the Fire Service. Central Whidbey Fire and Rescue is a resource to Group A and B water systems in their district. The Fire Service will assist in keeping the hydrants operational and available to responders should there be a fire emergency in the vicinity of the hydrant. The practices discussed in the presentation are a good model for all water services but those in the North and South districts were encouraged to contact their fire service for additional guidance.
Meeting Recording (Video), Agenda & Minutes