Modesto Council Watch

The Modesto City Council on Wednesday:

▪  Approved a contract with the Patterson-based Del Puerto Water District to sell the district highly treated wastewater, which its farmers will use on their crops. The council also approved other key components of the roughly $100 million project. The contract calls for Del Puerto to reimburse Modesto for its costs to build a pipeline and other infrastructure to deliver the water to Del Puerto farmers via the Delta-Mendota Canal. The city also expects to earn about $500,000 annually in revenue from the water sales for its wastewater fund. The city plans to borrow the money from the state at 1 percent interest for the project. Modesto is working with Turlock on this project, which is called the North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program. Two Del Puerto board members thanked the council and city officials for their participation in the project, which will provide West Side farmers with a reliable source of water. The project is expected to come online in 2018.

▪ Approved a $2.13 million agreement with Litt Road Holdings for the purchase of roughly 47 acres on Litt Road about a half-mile north of Sylvan Avenue for a new corporation yard for the Utilities Department, which oversees the city’s water and wastewater services.

▪ Meet in closed session to discuss City Clerk Stephanie Lopez and her office regarding a change in the paperwork for Measure F, which asks Modesto City Schools voters whether the city should change its charter to let trustees be elected by district. The change resulted in the ballots being sent only to voters in the city. About 24,000 Modesto City Schools voters live outside the city. A Stanislaus Superior Court judge at the request of Modesto, Modesto City Schools and Stanislaus County issued a writ stating the Measure F vote will not be counted and a new election will be held in June.

▪ Received an update from Utilities Director Larry Parlin regarding last week’s Stanislaus Regional Water Authority board meeting. Modesto, Ceres and Turlock formed the authority to build a drinking-water plant with up to 30,000 acre-feet of Tuolumne River water supplied by the Turlock Irrigation District annually. The plant would serve Ceres and Turlock and south Modesto. Modesto now has concerns about the project’s price and says it does not need the water. Its SRWA representative last week asked the board to postpone decisions on moving the project forward to give Modesto time to talk to the other cities about what it says are cheaper alternatives. The Ceres and Turlock SWRA board members rejected that offer. The Modesto council is expected to discuss next week the city’s future with SWRA.

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 8:53 PM with the headline "Modesto Council Watch."