Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board last week discussed issue related to a proposed Gravity Supply Line that would serve Upcountry customers in the Central Amador Water Project. Director Don Cooper asked for a couple of issues to be added to the agenda, including support or “representation of board decisions.” He said he wanted to clarify responsibilities as directors in relation to board decision. He said as members speak publicly, it was “easy to slip into your opinion,” as opposed to the board opinion. He noted the agency’s code of ethics that says opinions in board discussions are healthy, but once a decision is made, they should stand by the board decision. Cooper said the Gravity Supply Line “has been a clear AWA project,” so he thought board members should quantify their words as their opinion when they speak about it. Board Vice President Debbie Dunn asked Cooper the origin of his words calling the Gravity Supply Line a “project of priority,” which she said is “not anything I’ve ever heard with this board.” Cooper said the gravity line “was a project of preference because it appeared to be the most economical.” Director Terence Moore said “we have always been studying it and trying to get it built.” President Bill Condrashoff said the study was to see if the project was viable. Finance Manager Mike Lee said the Gravity Supply Line was among the AWA’s pending grant applications. He said “we applied to them initially in 2005 and came back and updated the information in 2008.” Lee said repairs to the existing pump system that serves the Central Amador Water Project were a project that was excluded from grant seeking because the project was seen as too expensive. Dunn said she did not know that the entire $13.4 million for the Gravity Supply Line was sought in grant applications, and she thanked Lee. The agency has heard from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that its application for the Gravity Supply Line will likely be awarder a $5 million grant. The board also heard form AWA Attorney Stephen Kronick, who explained how the agency uses inter-fund loans to finance studies, such as for the GSL project, on which the agency now has spent $930,000 over the years. Kronick gave a copy of a 1993 memo to the board that “provides the legal authority” for those loans. The memo also included AWA resolutions from 1993, 1995 and 2004 making such internal loans. Requirements include that funds are surplus, “fully repaid at a reasonable rate of return” and in a timely manner, and that “there is a source of money available to ensure such timely repayment.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.