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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-15-2000 Steering Committee Minutes,_, DRAFT Wednesday, November 15, 2000 A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District was held on Wednesday, November 15, 2000 at 5 p.m., in the District's Administrative Office. (1) The roll was called and a quorum declared present, as follows: STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Directors Present: Norm Eckenrode, Chair Peter Green, Vice Chair Pat McGuigan, Chairman, OMTS Committee Steve Anderson, PDC Committee Tom Saltarelli, Chairman, FAHR Committee Jan Debay, Past Chair of the Board Directors Absent: Jim Silva, County Supervisor (2) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR PROTEM No appointment was necessary. (3) PUBLIC COMMENTS OTHERS PRESENT: Thomas L. Woodruff, General Counsel Director John Gullixson STAFF PRESENT: Blake Anderson, General Manager Bob Ghirelli, Director of Technical Services Gary Streed, Director of Finance Lisa Lawson, Communications Manager Jean Tappan, Committee Secretary There were no comments by any member of the public. (4) RECEIVE, FILE AND APPROVE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the October 25, 2000 Steering Committee meeting were approved as drafted. (5) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR Committee Chair Norm Eckenrode reported on several items. A. Meeting with Tony Oliveira: Blake Anderson and Chair Eckenrode drove to Hanford in the middle of Kings County on November 3. Mr. Oliveira has been on the Board for several years and is very pro -farming, pro-business and relatively anti-regulation--like many of his colleagues on the board. The Kings County Board will be considering a biosolids ordinance next week. Mr. Oliveira told us that he is currently in favor of the use of Class B biosolids, as long as there are Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 2 November 15, 2000 reasonable safe guards in place. The District agreed with that and that it takes environmental stewardship seriously-including the use of biosolids in Kings County. He said that he expected the Board to approve an ordinance that includes the use of Class B biosolids, at least for the short term. He does not believe there is scientific evidence against using Class B biosolids. He also expressed personal and philosophical discomfort and concern about Orange County and Los Angeles County buying land in Kings County, but is also willing to live with the practice because it's a matter of property owners having the right to sell their land to whomever they chose. B. Chair Eckenrode reported on the two-day planning retreat of CASA on October 26 and 27 . The retreat was held at the Pardee Reservoir training center owned by the East Bay Municipal Utilities District. Jim Colston, staff member, also attended. The purpose of the meeting was to go over the internal workings of CASA. Of most significance was a decision to give full membership status to California cities that want to join CASA. Up until now, cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, and Fresno have not been allowed to have full membership and voting privileges in CASA. Only special districts had that privilege . This change recognizes the need to have a common and strong voice from all of the public agencies that provide sewage treatment in California C. Chair Eckenrode announced that the winter CASA conference is scheduled for January 17-20 in Palm Springs. All members of the Steering Committee are encouraged to attend. If there are openings, other interested directors may attend (up to seven total) if members of the Steering Committee cannot attend. D . Chair Eckenrode also reminded the Committee members about the bipartisan lunch on December 14 here at the District. He has invited elected representatives from Sacramento and Washington, D.C. The purpose of the meeting will be to conduct a bipartisan discussion of local urban runoff and upstream dairy runoff, tainted beaches, watershed management and the ground water replenishment system Invited guests include: Joe Dunn, Dick Ackerman, Lou Correa, Lynn Daucher, Tom Harmon, Loretta Sanchez, Christopher Cox, Dana Rohrabacher, Ken Emanuels (the lobbyist worked with us on consolidation issues), Ed Royce, Scott Baugh and Supervisor Tom Wilson. (6) REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER General Manager Blake Anderson reported several items of interest. A. An update was provided by Bob Ghirelli, Director of Technical Services, on Kern County and Kings County biosolids issues . No action will be taken on the purchase of Liberty Farms until the biosolids ordinance is adopted. If Class B biosolids are allowed, then due diligence will continue. The court has not ruled Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 3 November 15, 2000 on the Kern County biosolids ordinance CEQA challenge. Mr. Ghirelli reported that EPA is getting more involved with the enforcement of biosolids application requirements. The milo harvest on the District's Kings County property is almost complete . B. Lisa Lawson, Communications Manager, updated the committee on the status of the public outreach program for the GWRS project. The Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meets next Monday night to discuss financial and governance issues. Director Swan made a presentation at the last FAHR Committee meeting on the IRWD alternative proposal. Gary Streed reported on his meeting today with the project's financial consultant. A draft report has been prepared . The assumptions will be discussed at the next JCC meeting and the results will be reported at the December 2 workshop. Staff was directed to provide t ime on the workshop agenda for Director Swan to make a shortened presentation on the IRWD alternative proposal. General Manager Blake Anderson indicated that new Directors will receive special briefings on the project before the January 24, 2001 decision is made. C. The Committee received an update on the SARI line relocation project. The design is underway with construction scheduled to start in the Fall of 2001 and completion scheduled in 2003. Because some of the lots adjacent to the project are terraced and the lower portions extend closer to the river than previously thought, 69 easements will be required. Staff will be meeting with Yorba Linda city officials to discuss this and determine the best way to proceed. The biggest issue is still the funding of the SAWPA portion of the project. Mr. Anderson met with two SAWPA Board members who appear to understand the need for the project. The chair, vice chair and general manager of SAWPA have asked to meet with the District's counterparts. This meeting should take place in the next three weeks . D . Blake Anderson reported on the 2-1/2 day executive management retreat held last week to discuss the five-year business and staffing plan. He reported that the plan will move through the Board committees on its way to the Board at its February 2001 meeting for consideration and approval. E. Senate Bill 1559 was approved by the governor in July and will be effective January 1, 2001. This bill allows increases in Sanitation District Directors' compensation by a resolution of the Board of Directors. This board has not had an increase since 1986. The existing compensation is $100 per meeting and is limited to 6 meetings per month. The Steering Committee directed staff to bring the issue through the FAHR Committee in December on its way to the full Board in December. The members recommended that the compensation be increased to $170 per meeting for a maximum of six meetings per month. F. Bob Ghirelli briefed the Committee on the results of a new technical report on the Huntington Beach bacterial contamination problems that will be released to the public and announced in a formal press conference tomorrow. Mr. Ghirelli explained the results and also indicated that the District will continue with additional studies identified in the report, as well as others that are currently Minutes of the Steering Committee Page4 November 15, 2000 underway. Staff still believes that the plume is not the cause of the contamination as the report hypothesizes. A team has been formed to put together a plan for the additional studies that will begin next spring, as well as bringing in the same experts previously consulted to help develop that plan. (7) REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL General Counsel Tom Woodruff did not make a report. He indicated that there would be no closed session as nothing has developed in the Crow Winthrop claim since the last meeting. (8) DISCUSSION ITEM (Item A) A. The Agenda Items scheduled to be reviewed by the Board's working committees in December was reviewed. (9) OTHER BUSINESS, COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY There was no other business discussed. (10) MATTERS WHICH A DIRECTOR WOULD LIKE STAFF TO REPORT ON AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING There were none. (11) MATTERS WHICH A DIRECTOR MAY WISH TO PLACE ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR ACTION AND/OR STAFF REPORT There were none. (12) CONSIDERATION OF UPCOMING MEETINGS The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for December 20, 2000 at 5 p.m. The next Board Meeting is scheduled for December 20, 2000 at 7 p.m. (13) CLOSED SESSION There was no closed session. Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 5 November 15, 2000 (14} ADJOURNMENT The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m. appan te ring Committee Secretary H :\wp.dta\agenda\Steering Committee\00\Nov00\111500 SC Minutes. doc