Rainbow MWD approves strategic plan

The Rainbow Municipal Water District board approved the district's strategic plan at the Jan. 26 board meeting.

A 3-0 board vote, with Jack Griffiths abstaining and Bob Lucy having resigned prior to the meeting, adopted the strategic plan.

"I think it's a road map for our future operations and how to deal with all the challenges we receive here in the water business," said Rainbow general manager Tom Kennedy.

The strategic plan documents Rainbow's mission statement, core values, and key focus areas and includes goals and objectives for Rainbow staff to pursue. The adoption of the strategic plan also included formalizing a draft tracking sheet for goals and objectives, although input on elements of those objectives will be sought in the future. The development of Rainbow's fiscal year 2016-17 budget will be linked to objectives included in the strategic plan.

In January 2015, the Rainbow board awarded a professional services contract to Atkins to update Rainbow's water and wastewater master plans. Master plans are typically prepared every five years, but Rainbow's most recent master plans were prepared in 2006. The master plans will serve as the basis for infrastructure decisions and capital fees and will also allow for a current analysis of capacity fees paid by developers to support the infrastructure the development requires.

The plans will consider both existing conditions and expected conditions through the year 2030 and will assess potential local water sources, including recycled water and local groundwater supply. The assessment will determine whether the district should build its own wastewater reclamation plant or continue to convey wastewater through the Oceanside Outfall.

In May 2015, the Rainbow board awarded a contract to the Tamayo Group to help facilitate the district's strategic plan. The strategic plan will provide a long-range vision to guide Rainbow's board and staff through decisions which will be made in the near future and will help determine the best options for infrastructure investment to serve new development.

Tamayo's work will allow the district to develop goals and objectives for each strategic focus area; those goals and objectives will allow Rainbow to monitor and measure its performance in meeting those objectives.

"The strategic plan has been in the process of development," Kennedy said.

The next step is for the district to finalize the specifics and break down subsets of the implementation elements. A review of the annual goals is expected to be brought to the board every three months, and the board may amend some of the aspects of the goals and objectives.

"It's a living document that will be adjusted," Kennedy said.