HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-13-2016 Legislative Committee MinutesMINUTES OF THE
LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Orange County Sanitation District
Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 8:00 a.m.
A regular meeting of the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee was called to order
by Chair Nielsen on Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 8:02 a.m. in the Administration
Building of the Orange County Sanitation District.
Vice-Chair Sebourn led the pledge of allegiance.
A quorum was declared present, as follows:
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
John Nielsen, Board Chair
Robert Kiley, Director
Peter Kim, Director
John Withers, Director
Lucille Kring, Director
Greg Sebourn, Board Vice-Chair
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:
Tom Beamish, Director
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
None.
STAFF PRESENT:
Jim Herberg, General Manager
Bob Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager
Celia Chandler, Director of Human
Resources
Jim Colston, Director of Environmental
Services
Ed Torres, Director of Operations and
Maintenance
Rob Thompson, Director of Engineering
Lorenzo Tyner, Director of Finance &
Administrative Services
Kelly Lore, Clerk of the Board
Alfredo Garcia
Rebecca Long
Mark Manzo
Kelly Newell
OTHERS PRESENT:
Kendra Carney, Assistant General Counsel
Eric O'Donnell, Townsend Public Affairs
Eric Sapirstein, ENS (via Teleconference)
Cori Williams, Townsend Public Affairs
09/13/2016 Legislative and Public Affairs Committee Minutes Page 1 of 4
REPORTS: The Committee Chair and the General Manager may present verbal reports on
miscellaneous matters of general interest to the Committee Members. These reports are for information
only and require no action by the Committee.
General Manager Jim Herberg introduced Director of Human Resources Celia Chandler
who provided an update on a recent security matter and stated that the security program
and approval of a new security services contract has been placed on the upcoming
Administration Committee agenda.
CONSENT CALENDAR: Consent Calendar Items are considered to be routine and will be enacted,
by the Committee, after one motion, without discussion. Any items withdrawn from the Consent Calendar
for separate discussion will be considered in the regular order of business.
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (Clerk of the Board)
MOVED, SECONDED and DULY CARRIED TO: Approve minutes for the
regular Legislative and Public Affairs Committee meeting held on July 11, 2016.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTENTIONS:
ABSENT:
Kiley, Kim, Nielsen, Sebourn, and Withers
None
None
Beamish and Kring
NON-CONSENT CALENDAR:
2. LETTER OF SUPPORT TO THE TRANSPORTATION AND
INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE (Bob Ghirelli)
Assistant General Manager Bob Ghirelli recommended approval of the letter and
introduced Eric Sapirstein, ENS Resources, who spoke to this item.
MOVED, SECONDED and DULY CARRIED TO: Discuss the request for
endorsement received from Congressman Lowenthal and authorize staff to send
a letter of support.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTENTIONS:
ABSENT:
Kiley, Kim, Nielsen, Sebourn, and Withers
None
None
Beamish and Kring
Director Kring arrived at 8:12 a.m.
09/13/2016 Legislative and Public Affairs Committee Minutes Page 2 of 4
INFORMATION ITEMS:
3. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE (Rebecca Long)
Senior Public Affairs Specialist Rebecca Long introduced Cori Williams,
Townsend Public Affairs (TPA), who provided a state political update regarding
bills moving through the legislative process that impact OCSD; SB 32 (Payley)
climate change bill; and the extension of the cap and trade program.
Ms. Williams provided a further update on recent amendments to AB 2022 and
the work being done with the SWRCB. The bill passed the Legislature and is
now on the Governor's desk.
Eric O'Donnell, TPA, provided a memo to the Committee regarding the Little
Hoover Commission -Public Hearing on Special Districts. Mr. O'Donnell
provided background and noted the next steps that will be taken by the
Commission. TPA will continue to track the review of special districts and keep
OCSD up to date. Ms. Williams provided additional information on the historical
makeup and overview of the Commission.
Ms. Long provided information on two bills at the state level: AB 1217 (OCFA
bill): This bill would eliminate "alternate" member participation. A letter of
opposition was sent by OCSD to the Governor on August 25. The bill is currently
on the Governor's desk; and SB 163 (Hertzberg): The author has indicated he
will be reintroducing the bill next year. SB 163 has been gutted and amended to
address bail hearings.
Mr. Sapirstein provided an update on Water Resources Development Act
(WRDA) legislation; WIFIA Program implementation advances; Fiscal Year 2017
appropriations processes; and the Department of Energy review of the
application for the grant for the AquaCritox® project, anticipating October
completion.
Ms. Long announced that OCSD will host the State of the District on Friday,
October 14 at 8:00 a.m. Vice-Chair Sebourn suggested inviting the various
Agency/City Engineers.
Ms. Long also announced scheduled items for upcoming Legislative and Public
Affairs Committee meetings:
October 10, 2016
November 8, 2016
December 13, 2016
09/13/2016
CASA will attend
ACC-OC will attend
Legislative Platform will be presented
Legislative and Public Affairs Committee Minutes Page 3 of 4
4 . PUBLIC AFFAIRS UPDATE (Jennifer Cabral)
Principal Public Affairs Specialist Jennifer Cabral provided an informative
PowerPoint presentation regarding the success of the 2016 Community Open
house and the 2016 Plant No . 2 Community Meeting .
Ms . Cabral provided a recap of 2015-16 public affairs activities including:
community and speaking events, tours, supported programs, industry experts,
agency awards, State of the District, grants received, internal communications,
social media and news releases, website update, rebranding efforts, legislative
positions, and bill tracking focuses. Ms. Cabral also provided "What's Next" in
the upcoming Public Affairs plan and asked for additional suggestions from the
Committee. Suggestions included : pharmaceutical takeback programs, series
of white papers of public policy topics posted on the website, and Community
Outreach exit surveys for significant projects.
Ms . Cabral also announced that ENS and TPA will each provide legislative
updates at the September 28 Board Meeting .
OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA
ITEMS, IF ANY:
None.
ADJOURNMENT:
Chair Nielsen declared the meeting adjourned at 9:00 a.m . to the next Legislative and
Public Affairs Committee Meeting , Monday, October 10, 2016 at 3:30 p.m.
Submitted by :
09/13/2016 Legislative and Public Affairs Committee Minutes Page 4 of 4