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Home My WebLink About12-17-2003 Steering Committee MinutesDRAFT MINUTES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, December 17, 2003 A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District was held on Wednesday, December 17, 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: Steve Anderson, Chair pro tern , Vice Chair Jim Ferryman, Chairman, OMTS Committee Brian Brady, Chairman , FAHR Committee Norm Eckenrode, Past Board Chair Directors Absent: Shirley McCracken , Chair Brian Donahue, Chairman, PDC Committee Jim Silva, County Supervisor (2) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR PRO TEM OTHERS PRESENT: Thomas L. Woodruff, General Counsel Mike Moore Chris Townsend STAFF PRESENT: Blake Anderson, General Manager Bob Ghirelli, Director of Technical Services Carol Beekman, Communications Services Manager Jim Colston , Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Liaison Jean Tappan , Committee Secretary FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY ORANGE COUN Tv S!"-''TftT tON DISTR ICT Vice Chair Steve Anderson was appointed Chair pro tern. FE B 2 5 200 4 (3) PUBLIC COMMENTS BrVL~ There were no comments by any member of the public. (4) RECEIVE, FILE AND APPROVE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the November 19, 2003 Steering Committee meeting were approved as drafted . (5) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR Committee Chair announced that registrations for CASA and the Orange County Leadership Symposium are due to Jean Tappan this week. Director Brian Brady asked for staff assistance in reviewing the task force's draft and recommending options for changes to the Approval and Compensation for Directors' Meeting Attendance policy. I Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 2 December 17, 2003 (~ REPORTOFTHEGENERALMANAGER A. Legislative Update General Manager Blake Anderson asked Chris Townsend to update the directors on the California Senate Committee on Local Government hearing he attended in November that concerned special districts. He stated that the Sanitation District is a good agency but he wanted to provide information on the goings-on in Sacramento. Among things that were discussed were 1) what is a meeting? 2) putting caps on the number of meetings and 3) limits on stipend amounts. Mr. Townsend stated that he will continue to monitor this issue and will keep the agency informed. He suggested that the District continue to use CASA as an avenue and provide proactive participation through them. A discussion followed on backfilling the monies lost as a result of the reduction in vehicle license fees. Mr. Anderson reported that $1 million has been earmarked in the House VA-HUD- Independent Agencies budget for our secondary treatment expansion. He thanked Congressman Cox and Directors Ridgeway and Silva for their efforts on our behalf. Last week, Mr. Anderson met with Senator Diane Feinstein to go over several issues and discussed the ear marked funds . He told her that we would be requesting $50 million over the next decade representing less than a 20% federal share. Senator Feinstein said that she would provide support in the future. Carol Beekman and Mr. Anderson attended the a CASA legislative committee meeting in Sacramento December 5 and they submitted three separate white papers on state-wide standards for water reclamation, state-wide biosolids and urban runoff funding. Meetings will be scheduled with the Jarvis group on including urban runoff in the Proposition 218 exemptions. B. Orange County Leadership Symposium, January 9-11, Lake Arrowhead Mr. Anderson urged the directors to attend this event, which is intended to provide the electeds tools to improve dialogue on city and county issues. C. Draft NWRI Report regarding Asset Management Mr. Anderson stated that the NWRI-sponsored asset management review panel has submitted its findings. Staff is suggesting that two members of the panel present the findings to the Board in February. A summary report will be presented to the Steering Committee in January. Staff also suggests that the report be presented to all of the working committees because of the wide financial, planning, engineering and operational implications that asset management implies. Mr. Anderson suggested that the OMTS Committee be designated as the committee of jurisdiction. He then summarized the findings for the directors. D. Universal Power Industries Corporation Proposal Mr. Anderson and General Counsel Woodruff discussed an unsolicited proposal on an energy alternative. While many of the terms sound very attractive, there are still questions that need to be answered before making any commitment. It was generally agreed that the legal, financial and technical issues were too difficult to overcome and that the proposal should not Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 3 December 17, 2003 be explored further. (7) REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL General Counsel Thomas Woodruff announced that the Court of Appeals has affirmed the trial court's decision regarding Crow Winthrop. The Appellate Court issued a ruling that the District's Capital Facilities Capacity Charge Ordinance is not subject to Proposition 218 and therefore the fees imposed on Crow Winthrop were not invalidly charged. Appellate costs are to be paid by Crow Winthrop. Mr. Woodruff announced that there was a need to add an additional closed session item to the agenda which surfaced subsequent to the posting of the agenda pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2. MOVED, SECONDED AND DULY CARRIED to add an item of existing litigation to the closed session agenda. (8) DISCUSSION ITEMS (Items A-B) A. Update on the Renewal of the NPDES Ocean Discharge Permit Jim Colston updated the committee on where we are with the permit renewal. The operational plan update has been presented to the Regional Board, as well as a description of the disinfection facilities and how that system will continue to operate. Meetings continue on other aspects of the permit. Mr. Colston then outlined the scheduled. It is expected that a draft permit will be received in January or early February. There will then be 45 days for public comments. A workshop is anticipated in April or May and it will be held locally. Adoption should take place in July and after the permit is adopted discussions on the consent decree process begins. No significant changes are anticipated in the ocean monitoring program. The Communications Services Division is assisting with the public education process. A discussion followed on the definition of 'blending processes' and 30/30 secondary treatment standards. B. The agenda items scheduled to be presented to the Board at tonight's meeting were reviewed. There were no questions or clarifications required. (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. .. Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 4 December 17, 2003 (11) MATIERS 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, January 28, 2004 at 5 p.m. The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 28, 2004 at 7 p.m. (13) CLOSED SESSION The Committee convened at 6:16p.m. in Closed Session, pursuant to Sections 54956.9(a) and(b), to discuss two items. Item 12 A.2. was deleted from the agenda. Item 13.A.3. was added per the motion adopted under Item 7 above. The matter is existing litigation, WOODSIDE V. ORANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT, et al. There were no reportable actions taken by the Committee. 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 6:57 p.m., the Committee reconvened in regular session. (14) ADJOURNMENT The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6:57 p.m. Tappan t ering Committee Secretary H:\apps\agenda\Steering Committee\03\DEC\121703 SC Minutes. doc