HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-22-2003 Steering Committee MinutesDRAFT
MINUTES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District was
held on Wednesday, October 22, 2003 at 4 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
Steve Anderson, Vice Chair
Jim Ferryman, Chairman, OMTS Committee
Brian Donahue, Chairman, PDC Committee
Brian Brady, Chairman, FAHR Committee
Jim Silva , County Supervisor
Norm Eckenrode, Past Board Chair
Tod Ridgeway, Director, Guest
Directors Absent:
None
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(2) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR PRO TEM
No appointment was necessary.
(3) PUBLIC COMMENTS
OTHERS PRESENT:
Thomas Nixon, General Counsel
Don Hughes
Scott Baugh
Larry Kast
Eric Saperstein
Chris Townsend
Chris Massey
Mike Moore
Sonja Wassgren
Gerhardt Van Dreis
Randy Fuhrman
STAFF PRESENT:
Blake Anderson, General Manager
Bob Ghirelli, Director of Technical Services
Patrick Miles, Director of Information Technology
Carol Beekman, Commun ications Services
Manager
Jim Colston, Legal and Regulatory Affairs
Liaison
Layne Baroldi, Legal and Regulatory Affairs
Liaison
Jean Tappan, Committee Secretary
Gerhardt Van Dreis stated that he had submitted an unsolicited joint venture proposal to operate
secondary treatment processes and has not received a reply. Chair McCracken asked staff to
prepare a response.
L
Minutes of the Steering Committee
Page 2
October 22, 2003
Randy Fuhrman asked the legislative consultants to discuss how they will deal with trying to get
funding when there are so many other issues also seeking the same funds. He also asked that
alternative treatment processes be considered and stated he was interested in the directors'
compensation discussion.
(4) RECEIVE, FILE AND APPROVE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes of the September 24, 2003 Steering Committee meeting were approved as drafted.
(5) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR
Committee Chair Shirley McCracken asked Directors Brady and Anderson to provide an update on
their review of the Directors reimbursement policies. They provided a draft with only three major
changes: definition of what constitutes a meeting; how meetings are authorized; and how much
compensation is received. Blake will ask Lisa Tomko, Gary Streed and General Counsel to review
the proposed changes and it will be returned to the Steering Committee in November for further
consideration before presentation to the Board.
(6) REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER
General Manager Blake Anderson said that he was pulling agenda item 6.A. Chair McCracken
stated that Tom Woodruff will be addressing the Board on the subject in November in Closed
Session. A breakdown of litigation fees will be provided at that time.
Mr. Anderson announced that there were still seats available for the 2004 Economic Forecast
Conference for Orange County that is being held on October 28.
He reported that meetings are ongoing with SAWPA to negotiate an agreement based on the term
sheet that was approved by the Board. There is another meeting scheduled for October 24 and he
hopes to bring the agreement to the Board in November.
EMT and staff are working together on strategic planning activities. This process should take
another 16 to 20 weeks and will be used during the preparation of the 2004-05 budget.
(7) REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL
General Counsel Tom Nixon reported that the arguments were held today in the appeal hearing on
the Crow-Winthrop case was held today. The judge has 90 days to make an opinion. General
Counsel Tom Woodruff represented the District.
(8) DISCUSSION ITEMS (Items A-D)
A. Update on Biosolids Program and Costs
Layne Baroldi reported on ongoing activities and what is planned until such time
as the Biosolids Management Strategic Plan is approved. One-half of the
'Minutes of the Steering Committee
Page 3
October 22, 2003
biosolids is going to Tule Ranch at a cost of between $33-35/ton. Staff was asked to
prepare a detailed breakdown of the contract terms and costs for the November 5, 2003
OMTS Committee meeting.
B. Legislative Briefing by Consultants
Chair McCracken commented that during 2003 legislative calendar the District hired four
legislative advocates to assist the agency in forwarding its legislative agenda and
respond to legislation of interest to the District. Each of those consultants provided the
Committee with a brief update on the status of their efforts.
Our federal legislative consultants, Eric Saperstein and Larry Kast (partner of John
Freshman), updated the committee on their activities for the past year and their plans for
2004. Their consulting services focused on acquisition of federal funding for the
secondary treatment expansion through EPA assistance grants. They have been
building support for our request with the Orange County and California delegation in
Washington and will continue to work to get this project into the EPA budget as a line
item. The first year is always the hardest. Congressman Christopher Cox has asked to
keep this project in view and has indicated that he will speak to the Chair of the
Appropriations Committee to help him understand the project and the need for funding.
It is important that the message be reinforced to our Washington delegation.
Directors Jim Silva and Tod Ridgeway reported on their trip to Washington, DC. They
were accompanied by Bob Ghirelli and our federal legislative consultants. They
appreciated the work that the consultants did to set up the various meetings with the
delegates and staff members, which were very focused and effective.
Director McCracken thanked Directors Silva and Ridgeway for making the trip to
Washington last week to help sell our project. It is important that through our
consultants we are vigilant in our efforts to keep our goals in mind.
Scott Baugh reported on the state legislative initiatives he was working on and most
recently, his activities in the areas of biosolids and urban runoff funding. He will
continue to work to amend the state constitution to allow the assessing of fees to treat
urban runoff. There is a need to educate the public and those organizations that have
expressed concerns, such as Howard Jarvis and the Orange County Taxpayers. Mr.
Baugh is also working with the District on a state-wide biosolids policy, using a two-year
bill that is now "parked" at our request of the author, Ken Maddox. If the State Water
Board takes on the issue through language in its General Order for Biosolids, then the
bill won't be necessary. He also discussed budget impacts and how the governor-elect
may address these problems. There may be some special sessions of the assembly
this fall to deal with the budget issues.
Christopher Townsend and his firm are focused on acquisition of state funding for
District projects including fats, oil and greases, Santa Ana River Interceptor line and
other projects through Propositions 40 and 50 and other grant sources. He indicated
that all of the Proposition 50 money has been given to the Department of Water
Resources for distribution. They will be working to get funds identified for the District.
After a brief question and answer period, the Directors agreed that the services provided
by the three firms could not be accomplished with OCSD staff alone and felt that all
·Minutes of the Steering Committee
Page 4
October 22, 2003
were representing the District professionally and effectively. Mr. Saperstein stressed
that continued participation by the Directors will be required to make the team effective.
He also thanked the staff for their assistance and responsiveness in providing such
high-quality information for them.
B. The Agenda Items scheduled to be reviewed by the Board's working committees in
November were reviewed. Director Brady asked if the MOUs were going to be
presented to the FAHR Committee in November. Mr. Anderson said that he was happy
to report that all of the bargaining units have signed and the MOUs will be presented to
the directors in November.
C. The agenda items scheduled to be presented to the Board at tonight's meeting
were reviewed.
(9) OTHER BUSINESS, COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY
Director Eckenrode announced that he met with the mayor of Anaheim, Curt Pringle, and briefly
discussed the GWR System project. Mayor Pringle has asked to meet with the general managers of
the Orange County Water District and the Sanitation District to discuss this project and the possibility
of landscaping the settling basins.
(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, November 19, 2003 at 5 p.m.,
one week earlier than usual.
The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 19, 2003 at 7 p .m.
(13) CLOSED SESSION
The Committee convened at 6:42p.m. in Closed Session, pursuant to Sections 54957.6 to
discuss the General Manager's 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
Minutes of the Steering Committee
Page 5
October 22, 2003
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.
(14) ADJOURNMENT
The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.
a Tappan
ring Committee Secretary
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