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Home My WebLink About06-25-2003 Steering Committee MinutesDRAFT MINUTES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, June 25, 2003 A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District was held on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 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: Shirley McCracken, Chair Brian Donahue, Chairman, PDC Committee Jim Silva, County Supervisor Norm Eckenrode, Past Board Chair Directors Absent: Steve Anderson, Vice Chair Brian Brady, Chairman, FAHR Committee Jim Ferryman, Chairman, OMTS Committee (2) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR PRO TEM No appointment was necessary. (3) PUBLIC COMMENTS OTHERS PRESENT: Thomas Nixon, General Counsel Don Hughes Peer Swan Dean Albright Ryal Wheeler STAFF PRESENT: Blake Anderson, General Manager Bob Ghirelli, Director of Technical Services Carol Beekman, Communications Services Manager Jean Tappan, Committee Secretary FIL ED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECR ETARY ORANG E Cf'' "'.,.v .,. • """'"~-('""' DIST HIC1 JUL 2 3 200 3 ~\1 jJ,;K ---t;.~-, --~-····.-.·~······-~·-··· ..... ··'-''---~~~-- Dean Albright commented that the 301 (h) waiver and secondary treatment go hand in hand and that the directors should take care of the business to complete secondary treatment programs now. (4) RECEIVE, FILE AND APPROVE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the May 28, 2003 Steering Committee meeting were approved as drafted. (5) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR Committee Chair Shirley McCracken provided an update on legislation of interest to the District, including federal funding support for secondary treatment; ACA 1 0 -Stormwater Fee Exemption from Proposition 218 requirements; AB 1427, re conducting a study on the feasibility of a statewide policy for biosolids management and AB 496, a bill that would establish the Santa Ana River Conservancy. Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 2 June 25, 2003 She announced that reservations for CASA are due July 9. She also reminded the members that attendance and reimbursement for expenses for offsite meetings must have prior approval by the Chair or the Board .. Blake Anderson was asked to explain the logistics for tonight's Board meeting. He indicated that the process would be similar to the meeting on secondary treatment last July. He reported on community input regarding the user fee ordinance and said that Reed Royalty of the Orange County Taxpayers Association said that as long as it met the test of reasonableness, he would not protest it. Staff has prepared notebooks for each city that includes all of the comments/correspondences/calls received on the fee increase. Mr. Anderson announced that there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the initial portion of the GWRS microfiltration plant on July 14 at 4 p.m. at the Water District. (6) REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER General Manager Blake Anderson provided updates on the following: A. NWRI Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel for Secondary Treatment. NWRI has agreed to form this panel to verify our move to secondary treatment asking independent national experts and the public here in Orange County. Bob Ghirelli, Director of Technical Services, explained the makeup of the 15-member panel. We have been meeting with Ron Linsky, Director of NWRI, in an effort to develop a charter focusing on our progress, looking at the technical operations, and considering possible R&D projects. The NWRI Board of Directors approved a $25,000 budget for the first year. There will be no cost to the District, other than staff time. The first meeting is scheduled for September 29-30 and it will be open to the public. A report will be prepared at the end of the meeting. Mr. Linsky will be briefing the OMTS Committee at its next meeting. B. SAWPA-OCSD Mediation Process. Blake Anderson reported that Joe Grindstaff, SAWPA's General Manager, and he have been meeting with Gary Hunt of California Strategies to mediate the issues between the two agencies. The initial meeting clarified the issues. A process was agreed to that envisions three meetings. Mr. Anderson outlined the seven major issues. Mr. Hunt indicated that he will be meeting with the SAWPA board at its request. The District will also try to schedule a meeting to introduce Mr. Hunt to a sub-committee of the Steering Committee to discuss his role and the process. A biography will be requested. The members of the sub-committee are Chair McCracken, Vice Chair Anderson, and Supervisor Silva. C. Arrowhead Ill-January 9-11, 2004 Mr. Anderson announced the third Orange County Leadership Symposium that is scheduled for the Lake Arrowhead Conference Center. The executive committee is developing a budget and anticipates a 30 percent reduction from last year's cost. A new facilitator will be hired. ~) REPORTOFGENERALCOUNSEL General Counsel Tom Nixon reported that on June 13, the Court found for the Sanitation and Water Districts in the Pall Corp. vs. OCSD/OCWD lawsuit on the bid protest. Costs will be sought but attorneys' fees are not allowed. Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 3 June 25, 2003 (8) DISCUSSION ITEMS {Items A-B) A. The Agenda Items scheduled to be reviewed by the Board's working committees in July were reviewed. B. The agenda items scheduled to be presented to the Board at tonight's meeting were reviewed. A new format has been introduced for the agenda dividing committee reports into consent and non-consent items. (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 Wednesday, July 23, 2003 at 5 p.m. The next regularly scheduled Board Meeting is Wednesday, July 23, 2003 at 7 p.m. (13) CLOSED SESSION The Committee convened at 5:57p.m. in Closed Session, pursuant to Section 54957.6, to discuss the General Manager's Annual Performance Evaluation and Compensation. Minutes of the Closed Session are on file with the Board Secretary. Confidential Minutes of the Closed Session held by the Steering Committee have been prepared in accordance with Government Code Section 54957.2, and are maintained by the Board Secretary in the Official Book of Confidential Minutes of Board and Committee Closed Meetings. A report of the recommended actions will be publicly reported at the time the approved actions become final. At 6:55 p.m., the Committee reconvened in regular session. Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 4 June 25, 2003 (14) ADJOURNMENT The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m. J a Tappan S ring Committee Secretary G:\wp.dta\agenda\Steering Committee\03UUNI062503 SC Minutes. doc