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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 Any items withdrawn from the Consent Calendar for separate discussion will be considered in the regular order of business. 1.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