Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-24-2005 Steering Committee MinutesDRAFT r, MINUTES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING VVednesday,August24,2005 A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District was held on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 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 Jim Ferryman, Vice Chair Carolyn Cavecche, Chair, OMTS Committee Roy Moore, Chairman, FAHR Committee Jim Silva, County Supervisor Directors Absent: Tod Ridgeway, Chairman, PDC Committee (2) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR PROTEM No appointment was necessary. (3) PUBLIC COMMENTS OTHERS PRESENT: Bradley R. Hogin, General Counsel Director Doug Davert Don Hughes Layne Baroldi Jennifer Cabral Jim Colston Mike Moore Ryal Wheeler STAFF PRESENT: Blake Anderson, General Manager Nick Arhontes, Director of Regional Services and Assets Bob Ghirelli, Director of Technical Services David Ludwin, Director of Engineering Patrick Miles, Director of Information Technology Jim Herberg, Director of Operations and Maintenance Gail Garrett, Committee Secretary FIL ED tN THE OFF IC E OF THE SEC RETARY ORANGF ""' "'-" -.... .,.t.T intJ OISTRICT SEP 28 200 5 There were no comments by any member of the public. BY _£~---· (4) RECEIVE, FILE AND APPROVE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the July 20, 2005 Steering Committee meeting were approved as drafted. (5) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR Committee Chair Steve Anderson announced the passing today of Director Harry Dotson, whose family has requested donations to the Boys and Girls Club of Stanton for the "Teen Center" expansion. There were no details regarding funeral arrangements. Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 2 August 24, 2005 Chair Anderson also noted with sadness that Dr. Ron Linsky, Executive Director at NWRI, passed away from complications related to an acute form of leukemia. There will be a "Celebration of Life" in mid-October arranged by his family . Several Directors and District staff attended the CASA annual conference in San Diego last week. Director Carolyn Cavecche gave an update on the conference and commended Layne Baroldi for a job well done on the panel. She noted that topics discussed included work by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to develop state-wide waste discharge requirements for local sewers and privately owned sewer laterals. Staff noted that our Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), with our assistance, developed local agency sewer maintenance requ i rements for our region in 2002 and they seem to be effective and appropriate . Some local agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area region have programs for the repair of laterals at the time of the property sale. Director Carolyn Cavecche announced the Asset Management Consultant Agenda Report the Board referred back to OMTS last month will be the subject of information reports to all three committees in September. Dr. Bob Ghirelli, Director of Technical Services, presented an update on the ongoing discussions with SAWPA on the SARI line improvements and the future use of the SARI line for brine discharges and other wastewater discharges . Dr. Ghirelli provided an update on the Urban Runoff Ad Hoc Committee which met on August 3rd. Committee Chair Don Bankhead will present for board approval tonight Resolution No. OCSD05-22 supporting the county's urban runoff management program. The resolution also authorizes the chair of the board to designate a board representative to the county's urban runoff management committee for the north county area. Committee Chair Doug Davert provided an update on meetings held by the Ad Hoc Committee for the General Manager's Evaluation. a . The committee recommended that Creative Management Solutions be issued a contract at a proposed cost of $18,750 to conduct a management audit of the District. It was moved, seconded and duly carried to approve the recommended action specified in Item 5(a) above. There were no abstentions. b. The committee requested and received direction from the Steering Committee to retain Moreland & Associates to conduct a compliance audit of the Dharma contract to ensure proper procurement practices were followed. It was moved, seconded and duly carried to approve the recommended action specified in Item 5(b) above. There were no abstentions. The above recommendations will be presented to the Board tonight for ratification . General Counsel was directed to retain both consultants. Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 3 August 24, 2005 (6) REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER Dr. Ghirelli reported that SAWPA will work with District staff to explore ways to economically transport brines through the existing SARI line. General Manager Anderson and staff will meet with SAWPA staff to discuss the future of the SARI line. Dr . Ghirelli will meet with the SAWPA board members in the next 30 -60 days. Dr . Ghirelli also reported on the Disinfection program and future options . The Operations and Maintenance department is exploring changes in the District's disinfection program that may save the district up to $1 million a year in chemical costs while maintaining compliance with the bacteria and chlorine limits in our ocean discharge permit. This year's annual disinfection budget is over $7 million and the price bleach has risen by more than 30%. Staff will meet with the Regional Water Quality Control Board and with key people in the community to keep them informed. Layne Baroldi updated the committee on the status of the two bills that Senator Dean Florez introduced and the status of the initiative process that the Senator and others are attempting to achieve in Kern County for June 2006 . General Manager Anderson and Mr . Baroldi met with City of LA staff and the City's Board of Public Works President Commissioner Ruiz, at the City 's invitation, to discuss a strategy to address the Kern County ballot initiative that seeks to ban all biosolids land application in the unincorporated County areas. The ballot initiative petition is being circulated in Kern County and 15,000 valid signatures are needed to place the initiative on the June 2006 ballot. The proponents plan to collect 30,000 signatures by December 2005. The Executive Management Team held a Retreat on August 8, 2005 . General Manager Anderson reported that they are drafting a report on strategic initiates that will be provided to the Steering Committee in September. General Manager Anderson reviewed a 12-Month Summary of the District's legal fees for the period ending June 30 . AB1234 (Salinas) recompensation and ethics training which affects cities , counties and special districts will likely be approved by the legislature and signed by the governor. Ethics training will be required for all elected local officials to be conducted every two years. There are additional procedural, sunshine and reporting provisions in the bill that the Sanitation District already performs. General Manager Anderson reported that he has been elected to the CASA Board of Directors as a member at large. He noted this is a distinct advantage to the District and will add to the leadership we already exert on air quality, biosolids and public information issues. (7) REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL General Counsel Brad Hogin reported on the following: Minutes of the Steering Committee Page4 August 24, 2005 a. The Bushard settlement is final, pursuant to the Board's approval. b. General Counsel provided an update on the Pall litigation, informing that counsel will be moving forward with a motion for summary adjudication of issues. The GWR Steering Committee will meet with General Counsel on September 12, prior to the Mandatory Settlement Conference on September 16. General Counsel noted that the Pall settlement demand has dropped from $3 million to $580,000. c. Kimberly-Clarke has agreed to third-party oversight to review fees . General Counsel and staff are continuing negotiations with Kimberly Clarke. (8) DISCUSSION ITEMS (Items A-B) A. The Agenda Items scheduled to be reviewed by the Board's working committees in September were reviewed. Jim Herberg, Director of Operations and Maintenance, clarified that OMTS Item 6, Asset Management Improvement is an information only item. Nick Arhontes, Director of Regional Assets and Services, pulled OMTS Item 4, Fleet Management Software system; it will be presented to the December OMTS. General Manager Anderson announced that he will be on vacation from September 1 through September 19, 2005. Dr. Ghirelli will be the Acting General Manager during that period. B. 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 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, September 28, 2005 at 5 p.m. Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 5 August24,2005 The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 28, 2005 at 7 p.m. (13) CLOSED SESSION The Committee convened at 6:20 p.m. in Closed Session, pursuant to Section 54956.9 and 54956.8 to discuss two items. 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 6:50p.m., the Committee reconvened in regular session . (14) ADJOURNMENT The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m. Submitted by : ~~ Gail Garrett Steering Committee Secretary H:\dept\agenda\Steering Committee \2005\08\082405 DRAFT SC Minute s.5.doc