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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-28-2004 Steering Committee MinutesDRAFT MINUTES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, January 28, 2004 A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District was held on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 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, Vice Chair Jim Ferryman, Chairman, OMTS Committee Brian Donahue, Chairman, PDC Committee Brian Brady, Chairman, FAHR Committee Jim Silva, County Supervisor Directors Absent: Norm Eckenrode, Past Board Chair Shirley McCracken, Chair (2) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR PRO TEM OTHERS PRESENT: Thomas Nixon, Counsel Don Hughes Sonja Wassgren Ana Burkhart Gerhardt Van Drie STAFF PRESENT: Blake Anderson, General Manager Bob Ghirelli, Director of Technical Services Bob Ooten, Director of Operations and Maintenance Carol Beekman, Communications Services Manager Jean Tappan, Committee Secretary Layne Baroldi, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Liaison Simon Watson, Maintenance Manager Vice Chair Steve Anderson chaired the meeting in Chair Shirley McCracken's absence. (3) PUBLIC COMMENTS Gerhardt Van Drie said that he was interested in bidding on work for the District but needed additional information. He asked for an answer on whether the District is interested in his proposal. Blake Anderson said that any information he would like that is included in our written documents would be provided. BookS Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 2 January 28, 2004 (4) RECEIVE, FILE AND APPROVE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the December 17, 2003 Steering Committee meeting were approved as drafted. (5) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR Committee Vice Chair Steve Anderson reported that Chair McCracken has had a bit of a relapse and she has been advised to curtail her activities. Vice Chair Anderson, Directors Ferryman and Silva attended last week's CASA conference and made reports. Chair McCracken has asked that the city council members, city managers and legislators be invited to attend out special workshops for new directors (February 18), the CIP update (March 31) and the GWRS update (April 21 ). Staff will be sending out invitations accordingly. (6) REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER A. In-County Biosolids Alternative General Manager Blake Anderson provided information on the in -county biosolids option identified in the long-term biosolids management plan. Two locations have been identified; Prima Deshecha in south Orange County and The Great Park in Irvine. City of Irvine staff has asked that our directors be advised of the discussions with the City and the Great Park Corporation Board on the proposed joint composting facility. The directors agreed with the concept and asked the staff to continue discussions . The OMTS committee was assigned oversight responsibility. B. Miscellaneous Committee Housekeeping Issues • The date for the July 2004 board meeting may have to be moved because of a potential conflict with a League of Cities conference. The date will be determined. • The PDC Committee meeting in April will be held on Thursday, April B. • Guests at working committee meetings will be provided meals. • The time for the working committee meetings will be discussed with the members of the committees at their next meeting. Options are breakfast, lunch, earlier in the afternoon or remain at 5 p.m. • Travel reimbursement and meeting authorization for directors was discussed. Staff is in the process of reviewing the information provided by Directors Anderson and Brady. This was discussed at several sessions at the last CASA conference. Other agencies and associations are reviewing these policies and the Finance staff, with input from Human Resources and General Counsel, will draft policies and procedures for further review by the Steering Committee. C. Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration Plans The celebrations begin at tonight's Board meeting with the unveiling of the past chairs of the Board of Directors. At the June Board meeting there will be a formal event celebrating "Proudly Protecting the Environment for 50 Years." The employees will celebrate with a beach party on the afternoon of June 10. This will be co-sponsored with the Employees Activity Committee. Book6 Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 3 January 28, 2004 D. Federal Funds Earmarked for OCSD Mr. Anderson announced that $1 million has been earmarked for the Sanitation District in this year's federal appropriations budget. This will be used to help defray secondary treatment costs. He also outlined the strategy to receive another $10 million next year and a total of $50 million over the next ten years . Mr. Anderson thanked Directors McCracken, Silva, Ferryman and Ridgeway for their efforts in seeking support for this funding in Washington, DC. Director Silva complimented Bob Ghirelli, Director of Technical Services, for his efforts and assistance. Staff will consider a comprehensive authorization bill for Orange County agencies; however, it is anticipated that appropriations would be separate. E. SAWPA Agreement Mr. Anderson reported that there are still some details that need to be negotiated and the two agencies have agreed to use the mediation services of Gary Hunt to try to reach an agreement. F. NPDES Permit Update Mr. Anderson reported that staff and General Counsel will be meeting with EPA and the Regional Board on February 24 to work out the details of the permit. Things are on track to meet the December 2012 deadline for reaching secondary treatment standards. (7) REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL Assistant General Counsel Tom Nixon provided an update on the Crow Winthrop case. Crow Winthrop has filed a petition for discretionary review of the case with the Superior Court of California. A decision on whether the Supreme Court will accept the case for review should be made within 90 days. He also reported that the City of Placentia has been dismissed from the Woodside case. (8) DISCUSSION ITEMS (Items A-E) A. NWRI Asset Management Blue Ribbon Panel Report Mr. Anderson reported that this report is the outcome of the mid-2003 direction by the Board to staff to get a third party opinion of the program and to return to the Board. Doug Stewart provided the background information and discussed the report on the Asset Management Strategic Plan document. Mr. Stewart reviewed the findings and recommendations. He said that with the Steering Committee's approval, he would like to ask several of the panel members to make a presentation at the February Board meeting and then seek approval from the Board to move forward with the staff-driven implementation plan. The Steering Committee approved the staff recommendation to present at the February 25 Board meeting. B. Regional Water Quality Control Board Order re Urban Runoff Bob Ghirelli discussed the impacts of a Notice of Violation the Regional Board filed against the Cities of Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana and Fountain Valley as well as the County of Orange regarding discharges into the Santa Ana River. This will begin an investigation to identify the sources of bacteria that are found on the beaches. The cities and County have been meeting and have asked the Regional Board to pull back the Notice to allow them to try to fix the problem first. The Corps of Engineers will be performing a study of the Santa Ana River re source control in conjunction with the Sanitation District and the cities and County would like to piggy back on this effort. This may result in more requests for diversions. Book 7 Minutes of the Steering Committee Page4 January 28, 2004 C. Biosolids Advisory Committee Mr. Ghirelli reported that the Long-Range Biosolids Management Plan was received and filed at the December Board meeting and staff is now moving forward to implement the various elements of the plan consistent with the Districts Biosolids Environmental Management System. One element is a commitment to public outreach and education and staff will be asking for help from a public Biosolids Advisory Committee to review and make recommendations on the selection of future biosolids management options. Staff will be soliciting interested stakeholders and select members of the public to serve on the Biosolids Advisory Committee. The Steering Committee agreed with the staff's course of action. D. The Agenda Items scheduled to be reviewed by the Board 's working committees in February were reviewed. E. The agenda items scheduled to be presented to the Board at tonight's meeting were reviewed. Mr. Anderson reported that because of some questions on Item 9.(c), staff has asked that the item be pulled from the agenda. No Board action will be required. (9) OTHER BUSINESS, COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY Blake Anderson announced a meeting of the Orange County Forum. The topic is an extension of some of the issues discussed at the recent Orange County Leadership Symposium and suggested that those directors that attended consider attending this function. (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, February 25, 2004 at 5 p.m . The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25, 2004 at 7 p.m. (13) CLOSED SESSION The Committee convened at 6:15p.m. in Closed Session, pursuant to Government Code Sections 54956 .9(b) and 54957.6, to discuss an item of potential litigation and to consider 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 Book 8 Minutes of the Steering Committee PageS January 28, 2004 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. (14) ADJOURNMENT The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Submitted by: Tappan ring Committee Secretary H:\dept\agenda\Steering Committee\04\Jan\012804 draft SC Minutes.doc Book 9