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Home My WebLink About03-22-2006 Steering Committee MinutesMINUTES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Orange County Sanitation District Wednesday, March 22, 2006, at 5 p.m. A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District was held on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 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 Darryl Miller, Chairman, FAHR Committee Tod Ridgeway, Chairman, PDC Committee Directors Absent: Carolyn Cavecche, Chair, OMTS Committee Jim Silva, County Supervisor (2) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR PROTEM No appointment was necessary. (3) PUBLIC COMMENTS OTHERS PRESENT: Bradley R. Hagin, General Counsel Don Hughes Greg Heiertz, IRWD Director of Engineering & Planning STAFF PRESENT: Jim Ruth, Interim General Manager Nick Arhontes, Director of Regional Assets and Services Bob Ghirelli, Director of Technical Services Jim Herberg, Director of Operations and Maintenance David Ludwin, Director of Engineering Lorenzo Tyner, Director of Finance/Treasurer Jim Burror, Engineering Supervisor Simon Watson, Maintenance Manager Layne Baroldi, Legal & Regulatory Affairs Liaison Gail Garrett, Committee Secretary FILED IN THE OFFI CE OF THE SECRETARY ORANGF f'f'l l ,~,.,.,, . -. ~·f'l~ nrSTR ICT APR 2 6 200 6 There were no comments by any member of the public. BY ,/) K ___ l :_ ___ ~-------- (4) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 2 March 22, 2006 Committee Chair Steve Anderson made several announcements: • On March 15, 2006, OCSD successfully completed the first of seven milestones, the new Trickling Filter Facility at Plant No. 1. The event was marked with a special celebration. Guests included representatives from the offices of Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Tom Umberg, and Congressman Miller, and guest speakers from the Environmental Protection Agency, Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board and Orange County Coastkeeper. • OCSD and OSWD are joint recipients of the third National Water Research Institute's (NWRI) Award of Excellence for the GWRS project. Director Eckenrode accepted the award on behalf of the District. • Chair Anderson attended the CIP workshop on March 15. Staff informed the committee up to $474 million in projects may be cancelled or deferred to future years. • The CASA Spring Conference will be held in Lake Tahoe, April26-29. Notify Gail Garrett by March 29 if you will attend. Washington DC Legislative Affairs Update Chair Anderson attended both the ACWA and CASA conferences. Directors Anderson, Neugebauer, Ferryman and Miller, along with General Manager Jim Ruth, Dr. Ghirelli, and our DC lobbyists represented the District at a number of meetings in Washington DC with congressional and appropriations committee staff. They discussed the importance of federal funding for the secondary treatment and the SARI line. OCSD is asking for $7 million next year for the SARI line and $3 million for secondary treatment. Chair Anderson noted that appropriations will be hard to come by considering the flow of money to Iraq and the Gulf Coast but that every effort is being made to attract funding. SARI Alternate Alignment Dave Ludwin, Director of Engineering, provided a report on his meeting with Sat Tamaribuchi, Vice President, Environmental Affairs, The Irvine Company. Mr. Ludwin explained a new concept presented by Mr. Tamaribuchi and Fusco Engineering for an alternate alignment of the SARI line which could potentially be less costly. Engineering staff will look at the feasibility, costs and potential issues involved, and provide a recommendation at the April Steering Committee meeting. Directors requested that staff prepare a diagram of the proposed alternate alignment, showing how and where the pipe will run. Finally, Chair Anderson announced upcoming standing committee meetings. (5) REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER Update on FY Fiscal Year 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 Budget Process Interim General Manager Jim Ruth reported that the budget reviews have been completed. Staffing increases are not anticipated. Lorenzo Tyner, Director of Finance, and his staff are analyzing operational and staffing needs and refining the budget, and will provide an update at next month's meeting. Public Information Manager Mr. Ruth announced that our new Public Information Manager, Bret Colson, has begun his evaluation of our PIO operations and its strategic plan. Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 3 March 22, 2006 SARI Update A meeting with County CEO, Tom Mauk, on the SARI line is scheduled for March 23. We may realize potential savings if the alternate alignment concept Mr. Ludwin outlined above is feasible. Performance Appraisal System Development of a performance appraisal system for management is progressing and will be presented to the April FAHR committee . Succession Plan Human Resources staff is working with management and executive management to implement a succession plan for the Sanitation District. The plan will be presented to the FAHR Committee and Board by the end of this fiscal year. Leadership Development Mr. Ruth will meet with a consultant on March 23 to discuss designing a leadership development program for executive and middle management. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) lease agreement Bob Ghirelli, Director of Technical Services, briefed directors on the SCCWRP proposed lease agreement for a larger office and lab space in Costa Mesa. At the September Steering meeting, staff was directed to initiate procedures to negotiate a ?-year lease contract as co-signee with SCCWRP. General Counsel is currently reviewing the proposed agreement for lease of 26,000 sq. ft. at $318,000/year. OCSD staff will be able to share meeting and lab space at the new facility as well as staff. Dr. Ghirelli expects to present the agreement for Steering and Board consideration in April. Director Darryl Miller suggested contacting Virginia Grebbian, General Manager, OCWD, whether SCCWRP can lease space at the Water District's new laboratory facility . (6) REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL General Counsel Brad Hogin did not make a report . (7) CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS a. MOTION: Approve minutes of the February 22, 2006 Steering Committee meeting. It was moved, seconded and duly carried to approve the recommended actions for item specified as ?(a) under Consent Calendar. END OF CONSENT CALENDAR (8) ACTION ITEMS a. Direct staff to prepare an annexation application to add the East Orange Minutes of the Steering Committee Page4 March 22, 2006 MOTION: Development areas, within the soon to be dissolved Santiago County Water District, to the Orange County Sanitation District within Revenue Area 14 (Irvine Ranch Water District). Engineering staff informed Directors that IRWD will be preparing the application and OCSD will prepare the resolution. The motion was therefore modified to read: Direct Staff to prepare a resolution authorizing initiation of proceedings to annex East Orange Development areas within the former Santiago County Water District to the Orange County Sanitation District. It was moved, seconded and duly carried to recommend approval of the modified motion to the Board of Directors. (9) INFORMATIONAL ITEMS a. The Agenda Items scheduled to be reviewed by the Board's working committees in April were reviewed. b. The agenda items scheduled to be presented to the Board at tonight's meeting were reviewed. (10) OTHER BUSINESS, COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY There were none. (11) MATTERS WHICH A DIRECTOR WOULD LIKE STAFF TO REPORT ON AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING There were none. (12) MATTERS WHICH A DIRECTOR MAY WISH TO PLACE ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR ACTION AND/OR STAFF REPORT There were none. (13) CONSIDERATION OF UPCOMING MEETINGS The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at 5 p.m. The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at 7 p.m. (14) CLOSED SESSION Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 5 March 22, 2006 The Committee convened at 5:55p.m. in Closed Session, pursuant to Section 54956 .9, to discuss pending litigation. Minutes of the Closed Session are on file with the Board Secretary. Confidential Minutes of the C losed 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 :10p.m., the Committee reconvened in regular session. (15) ADJOURNMENT The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6:20p.m . Submitted by: ~~~ Gail Garrett Steering Committee Secretary H:\dept\agenda\Steering Com mittee\2006\03\032206 SC Minutes FINAL. doc