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Home My WebLink About08-23-2006 Steering Committee MinutesMINUTES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Orange County Sanitation District Wednesday, August 23, 2006, at 5 p.m. A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District was held on Wednesday, August 23, 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: Jim Ferryman, Chair Doug Davert, Vice Chair Carolyn Cavecche, Chair, OMTS Committee Tod Ridgeway, Chairman, PDC Committee Jim Silva , County Supervisor Steve Anderson, Past Board Chair Directors Absent: Darryl Miller, Chairman, FAHR Committee (2) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR PRO TEM No appointment was necessary. (3) PUBLIC COMMENTS There were none. (4) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR OTHERS PRESENT: Bradley R. Hagin, General Counsel Joe Forbath, Counsel STAFF PRESENT: Jim Ruth, Interim General Manager Nick Arhontes, Director of Regional Assets and Services David Ludwin, Director of Engineering Lorenzo Tyner, Director of Finance and Administrative Services Jeff Reed, Human Resources Manager Rich Castillon, Information Technology Manager Juanita Skillman, Records Manager Karen Ramirez, Intern Gail Garrett, Committee Secretary FIL ED IN THE OFF ICE OF THE SECRETARY ORANGE r"' .... -v •· • ... ~~T '""' DISTRICT SEP 2 7 200 6 f!;C ev __________________ -= Chair Ferryman reported that Bob Ghirelli, Acting Assistant General Manager, was recovering from emergency surgery and would be returning to work in a couple of weeks. He met with Congressman Campbell who expressed general support for our Federal priorities Minutes of the Steering Committee Page2 August 23, 2006 and a willingness to support our requests for additional money for secondary treatment, GWRS, and the SARI line. The committee calendar was reviewed for the month of September. The PDC meeting will be held at Plant 2 on September 14, immediately following a tour of construction sites which will begin at 4:30. It was also noted that the CIP Workshop would be rescheduled for a future date. (5) REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER Interim General Manager Jim Ruth reviewed activities included in his August Status Report. • Staff is reviewing reports submitted by consultants on the Joint Campus Study. Recommendations will be brought to Steering for the Board's consideration next month . • Mr. Ruth will meet with Virginia Grebbien, General Manager, OCWD, next Monday to discuss the new Visitors Center, Lab, and the Open Campus concept. • The new Performance Evaluation program for management has been put into practice and evaluations completed . Goals and objectives have been submitted for the coming year. • Executive management held a retreat at the Huntington Beach Public Library on August 16 to review management goals for the year and ensure they are in alignment with the Board's goals . They will follow up with the Profession of Management training for middle management. • Jeff Reed and his staff have worked hard to develop the Succession Management Plan. The first draft was provided to employees in an effort to elicit their input. The final document will be presented for the Board's consideration next month. Mr. Ruth assured Board members that the goal is to promote from within when possible, as well as recruit from outside sources through an open competitive process. • An Open House was held on August 22 for contractors, construction management firms, and subcontractors to make them aware of the upcoming construction bids totaling $540 million. David Ludwin, Director of Engineering, said that 80 individuals from 63 companies attended. He informed that Contract Administration staff was present to address bond insurance questions. • Michael Gold, Legislative Affairs Liaison, provided an update on the proposed Design- build legislation granting OCSD the ability to utilize design-build specifications on projects over $10 million. Senator Joe Dunn has agreed to carry the bill (SB 92). Senator Ackerman has assisted in moving our legislation and supports OCSD's efforts to secure design-build authorization. Michael will provide additional information as it becomes available. (6) REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL In response to Director Crandall's request for clarification at the July Board meeting as to whether consultant contracts can lawfully be based on percentage, General Counsel Brad Hogin explained there was not a general prohibition but that, depending on the context, one may have a problem. Mr. Hog in will provide further clarification at next month's meeting re specific rules for lobbyists . Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 3 August 23, 2006 (7) CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS a. Approve the minutes of the July 19, 2006 Steering Committee meeting as drafted. MOTION: It was moved, seconded and duly carried to approve the recommended actions for items specified as 7(a) under Consent Calendar. END OF CONSENT CALENDAR (8) ACTION ITEMS Michael Gold gave an update to a bill that was discussed at the Legislative Affairs Committee meeting earlier that month. Since this meeting, AB 573 (Walk) had passed out of the Senate and on to the Governor's desk for signature or veto. Staff had already instructed the lobbyists to request a veto and letters were sent to the Governor's office. Gold explained that the bill was likely to be signed into law because no votes against the bill were registered . Director Ridgeway asked if the bill would have a major impact on District operations, Brad Hog in responded that he did not think it would impact the District significantly. a. Adopt positions on legislation as listed on the Legislative Bill Tracking Matrix, dated August 10, 2006. b. Amend Legislative Platform to include new procedures for taking positions on legislation. MOTION: It was moved, seconded and duly carried to approve the recommended actions for items specified as 8(a) and (b). (9) INFORMATIONAL ITEMS a. The Agenda Items scheduled to be reviewed by the Board's working committees in March 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 '" Minutes of the Steering Committee Page4 August23,2006 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, September 27, 2006 at 5 p.m. The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 27, 2006 at 7 p.m. (14) CLOSED SESSION The Committee convened at 5:40 p .m. in Closed Session, pursuant to Sections 54956.9(b ), (b )(3)(3), 54957(b )(1) to discuss two matters. 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 6:45p.m., the Committee reconvened in regular session . (15) ADJOURNMENT The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6:45p.m . Submitted by: ~b~ Ga1 Garrett Steering Committee Secretary H:\dept\agenda\Steering Committee\2006\Minutes\082306 SC Minutes DRAFT.5.doc