The Fallbrook Public Utility District board approved a change order to the contract with Filanc Alberici JV to construct the Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project. A 5-0 FPUD board vote Feb. 22 approved a change order which will add $3,389,801 to the price of the contract.
The Fallbrook Public Utility District will be acquiring a boom truck crane.
A 5-0 FPUD board vote Feb. 22 approved the purchase of a boom truck crane from Velocity Truck Centers for the amount of $314,627.03.
“The crane is critical to our work replacing valves throughout the district,” said FPUD General Manager Jack Bebee.
The annual “Be WaterSmart” student poster contest is a favorite tradition in many San Diego County classrooms, including elementary schools in the Fallbrook Public Utility District. In most years, 250 students submit entries, with the top submissions selected for publication.
But 2020 wasn’t a typical year. Remote learning challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic meant little time left for students and teachers to participate. Fallbrook PUD public affairs representative Noelle Denke normally visits every participating classroom in October for a fun, interactive water themed bingo game to teach students about water conservation and get their minds rolling on poster themes.
Fourth-grade teacher Guillermo Acevedo loves the “Be WaterSmart” poster contest. Acevedo found a way to make it work and was the only teacher in the school district whose students participated. Photo: Courtesy Guillermo Acevedo
Guillermo Acevedo teaches fourth grade at Live Oak Elementary School and loves the “Be WaterSmart” poster contest. His students have participated for 16 years, and he wouldn’t give up on the contest he loves. Acevedo found a way to make it work this year.
Thanks to Acevedo, 16 students submitted entries. They were the Fallbrook PUD’s only entries in 2021, and there were just enough to make the annual calendar come to life.
Jacqueline Rosas puts the finishing touches on her artwork, which was selected for the cover of the FPUD 2021 Be WaterSmart calendar. Photo: Fallbrook PUD
The annual contest is open to all fourth-graders in FPUD’s service area. Teachers play a key role in encouraging or requiring their students to enter. Fourth-graders are chosen because they have studied water conservation and the water cycle in earlier grades.
Since in-person classroom visits were not an option, and uncertainty remained whether students would return to the classroom soon, Denke wasn’t sure if there would be any participation.
“No participation means no calendar,” said Denke. “So I reached out to Mr. Acevedo to see if he had any ideas. Together, we brainstormed. We extended the deadline, made a video explaining the contest and sent it to all the fourth-grade teachers in the district.”
Live Oak Elementary School student Bruce Byrd. Photo: Fallbrook PUD
During a brief, two-week return to the classroom in January, Acevedo worked with his students to make their posters. All 16 submissions came from his class. All ended up being high-quality choices for inclusion in the 2021 calendar.
“This is by far my favorite contest,” said Acevedo. “As teachers, we are approached with so many contests. This one gives the kids the most recognition. They learn so much and have so much fun playing water bingo and then making their posters.”
Winning students and Acevedo were recognized at the Fallbrook PUD virtual board meeting February 22.
First Place winning poster by Jaqueline Rosas. Photo: Fallbrook Public Utility District
Second Place winning poster: Camila Palma. Photo: Fallbrook Public Utility District
Third Place winning poster by Liam Rafalski. Photo: Fallbrook Public Utility District
Additional winners include Bruce Byrd, Adrian Calderon, Edgar Campos, Annabella Cunningham, Brandon Garcia, Jocelyn Garcia, Tobin Marshall, Natalie Mendoza, Ryder Orozco, Evan Pellanda, Deisy Ramos, Ewny Sebastian, and Noah Varela.
Live Oak Elementary student Edgar Campos enjoys the creative process. Photo: Fallbrook PUD
This will be the first time the annual calendar will feature entries from just one class. It is also the first time FPUD will be producing an 18-month calendar. The free calendar can be picked up at Major Market, Northgate Market, Albertson’s, Joe’s Hardware, and the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce.
An annual contest during a pandemic is not an easy thing to conduct. With students challenged in the classroom, mostly learning from home, teachers’ time is stretched thin.
The Fallbrook Public Utility District is working with the California Public Utilities Commission to secure CPUC grant funding which will reduce FPUD’s electricity costs.
A non-voting item at FPUD’s Dec. 7 board meeting addressed FPUD’s efforts to reduce electricity expenses. The program would utilize Tesla battery walls and is expected to save FPUD more than $100,000 annually in electricity expenses.
Bonsall resident Andy Vanderlaan will chair the 2021 meetings of San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission, and he was also reappointed for another four-year term on the LAFCO board.
One 8-0 LAFCO vote Dec. 7 reappointed Vanderlaan as LAFCO’s public member. A separate 8-0 vote elected Vanderlaan as the LAFCO board chair for 2021 while electing County Supervisor Jim Desmond as the vice-chair for the 2021 meetings.
The public member’s term actually expires in April 2021. LAFCO had the option of reappointing Vanderlaan or seeking additional applicants. The reappointment of Vanderlaan was contingent upon his willingness to serve a seventh term. “I’m inclined to do that,” he said.
Earlier this year, the San Diego County Water Authority approved an ordinance adopting a Permanent Special Agricultural Water Rate and setting the eligibility criteria. On Dec. 7, the Fallbrook Public Utility District board voted 5-0 to update FPUD’s Administrative Code to incorporate the PSAWR.
“It will become a permanent SAWR program with eligibility changes,” Ken Endter, board president of FPUD, said.
Calgon Carbon Corporation was awarded the Fallbrook Public Utility District contract to provide granular activated carbon treatment system equipment. FPUD’s board voted 5-0, Dec. 7, to award Calgon Carbon a contract for $1,260,493. A separate 5-0 vote that day approved a change order to the construction contract with Filanc Alberici JV to install pipelines associated with the granular activated carbon treatment system.
The Fallbrook Public Utility District Board of Directors unanimously elected Jennifer DeMeo to serve as president, making her the first woman in the district’s history to lead the board. DeMeo was officially seated at the Dec. 7 meeting.
The Fallbrook Public Utility District held a Nov. 10 tour of the Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project.
All five FPUD board members participated in the tour. If a majority of board members are present, an activity must be noticed as a public meeting, and members of the public were also invited to join the tour.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
