MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE HARBOR WATER PUD

September 10, 2026

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The regular meeting of the Harbor Water P.U.D. Board of Directors was called to order by Vice President Tom Beene at 4:00 pm, September 10, 2026, in the administrative building, at 98069 W. Benham Lane, Harbor, Oregon
 

Board and employee Attendance was taken:
President: Dan Fraser “absent” Vice President: Tom Beene “present” Board Member: Jim White “present” Board Member: Herman Bloemsma “present” Board Member: Bill Frye “present” Superintendent: Ken Burshem “present”
District Manager: Ami Arneson “present” IT: Ariel Poston “present” Engineer: Matt Robart / Camas “absent”
 

Pledge of Allegiance was said.

No modification, addition or change to the agenda, or conflicts of interest was made. Bloemsma made a motion to accept the agenda, White seconded, the motion passed 4-0. Yes: Bloemsma, White, Frye, Beene. No: None.
Minutes from the previous board meetings held on August 13, 2026 were discussed. White made a motion to accept the August 13, 2026 minutes, Bloemsma seconded, the motion passed 4-0. Yes: Frye, Beene, Bloemsma, White. No: None.
 

September 2026 current bills, in the amount of $77,181.79 were presented, discussed, and approved. White made a motion to accept the September Bills, Frye seconded, the motion passed 4-0. Yes: Beene, Frye, Bloemsma, White. No: None.
 

Items For Action:
Jonathan Weaver presented a draft water easement for a 6-inch water main extension at their storage facility, which will include three hydrants. The draft includes a 10-foot utility easement and specifies that the company would be responsible for initial maintenance for one year before transferring responsibility. The group agreed to wait until the installation is complete before sending the draft to their attorney for review. Kim Anderson, consultant from RCAC explained the purpose and outcomes of the asset management place. The management plan is needed to complete a rate study in the future. This included the calculation amount that Harbor Water PUD should be putting aside each year for improvements. Bloemsma asked Arneson, again, if system develop fees were kept in a separate bank account. He stated that the previous management did. Arneson told Bloemsma that there is no evidence that there was a 4th bank account, there was only 3 bank accounts found when the office was taken over.
 

Superintendent Report:
Burshem reported that he will be coordinating with 5R to change out the street valve, angle stop and meter at the Court Street Mobile home park. They have a huge leak and have been contacted in regards to this numerous times. After a brief discussion the board wants to have our attorney send them a letter with a time line to fix the leaks. Next month Burshem will need approval for another pallet of radios. His team has installed 324 new radios to date. McLaughlin and Turner will be taking their Distribution 1 test in October. Burshem had a meeting with the water master, he was asking why Harbor Water wasn’t moving the intake. He claims, the repairs we are doing now are just a band aid. In the future we need to look to secure land and move the intake up the river.
 

District Manager Report:
Arneson handed out a paper with the amount Harbor Water PUD has paid to Camas Engineering and the amount we have been reimbursed as to date. There is still $105,733.55 in the Security account that needs transferred to the Revenue Fund. Frye made a motion to transfer $105,733.55 from the Security account to the Revenue Account, Bloemsma seconded, the motion passed 4-0. Yes: Frye, Beene, White, Bloemsma. No: None. Update on the Harbor Water PUD and Harbor Fire Dept Lease, Mike Maute from the Harbor Fire Dept came into the office on August 17,2026 asking Arneson to make sure and put in the lease a clause about children being allowed to stay on the property during business hours. The matter was brought up at the meeting. Kari Schultz the Board chair of the Harbor Fire Dept emailed Arneson the following; The board actually has a history of discussing kids at the fire department. Because of safety concerns, our general consensus was that the station should't be used as a hangout or a daycare. Of course, is a different story if a citizen brings their kids while doing business, or if a firefighter stops by briefly with family. However, just hanging out there was never something we agreed to. Schulz also provided Harbor Fire’s attorney suggestions of the lease:   Section 1. Term.  The lease is drafted to only allow two, 5- year renewals.  Meaning, you’ll have to do a new lease or formally agree to an extension after that time.  You could amend that to have the lease continue to renew
unless either side provides written notice not to renew. Throughout the agreement there are some provisions that require the parties to basically work together.  I am fine with that, but if you want to be more specific, we can consider that.  I am ok with it mainly because you’ve been doing this for so long. Section 6. Parking.  Do you need more specifics here?  It allows for reserved parking for emergency vehicles, but it does not specify where you park your emergency vehicles.  If it is important that you have clear spaces to park your fire/emergency vehicles, this is the section to do so. Shared expenses/utilities.  You could consider adding more specifics on who pays.  Does the water district pay all bills and the fire district reimburses?  My guess is that is how it works.  Again, if this is not an issue, then I’m not worried about it. The parking was brought up as an issue to the Harbor Water PUD Board. One of the Fire Department employee/volunteer had parked in front of the bay door where the service truck parks. This was after Harbor Water PUD hours, but Burshem was in need of the truck and was unable to get to it. There are numerous parking spots that their employees / volunteers can park. Arneson is still in contact with WAFD insurance on clarification on who covers what in the lease between Harbor Water PUD and Harbor Fire Department. Carrie from WAFD said they can’t help us till we have a signed lease between both entities.
 
Engineer:
Arneson provided the following written update from Matt Robart at Camas Engineering : September 9, 2026 Harbor Water People’s Utility District Board 98069 W. Benham Lane Harbor, OR 97415 RE: UPDATE FOR THE BOARD OF THE HARBOR WATER PUD Dear HWPUD Board, I am unable to attend the September 10, 2026 meeting of the Board of Commissioners (Board) of the Harbor Water People’s Utility District (HWPUD), but I would like to provide this progress report in lieu of a verbal report at the meeting. Ranney Collector Streambank Stabilization Regulatory The Wetland Delineation Report was approved by the Oregon Department of State Lands on August 14, 2026. All permit applications have been submitted to the agencies. This includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (August 19), Oregon Department of State Lands (August 19), Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (August 25), and Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (September 2). FEMA is in consultation with National
Marine Fisheries Service for the Endangered Species Act and Essential Fish Habitat, and I am waiting for an update on that approval. All documents were submitted to NMFS on August 4. FEMA has also recently determined that the project is exempt from review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Funding We need to have
all regulatory approvals in-hand to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of the FEMA grant. In the meantime, we will make a new construction cost estimate and submit a Budget Amendment request to FEMA through OEM to cover inflation, additional materials, and additional professional services. Jacksonville, OR 97530 P 458.229.8392 camasllc.com
680 G Street, Suite C I am preparing a budget for your review and approval for Camas services during the remainder of Phase 1 and through the entirety of construction. This will involve the engineering team to make updates to the design drawings based on the latest regulatory requirements, oversight of bidding and contracting, construction oversight, and environmental monitoring that will be required by DEQ. Timeline We remain on a comfortable track for project construction in summer 2027. We have a meeting with CCD and PPP-WA (the procurement/contracting firm) on September 22 to discuss project status and next steps in more detail. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns, or if you identify anything else that I may be able to assist with. Sincerely, Matt Robart Senior

 

Project Manager
IT Report: None
Public comments: None
 

Board comments:
Bloemsma asked Burshem if Willie Goergan got a permit for adding rocks and moving the flow of the creek off Hallway. Bloemsma stated that the City of Brookings is dumping asphalt, concrete and yard debris for fill on Goergans property. Burshem stated, he is unaware of the situation.

 

Public Revenue Fund 107,177.45
Security 206,983.08
Money Market 971,870.95
LGIP 1,528,126.18

Meeting adjourned at 4:56 PM