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Home My WebLink About02-28-2007 Steering Committee MinutesJ I! MINUTES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Orange County Sanitation District Wednesday, February 28, 2007, at 5:00 p.m. A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District was held on Wednesday, February 28, 2007 at 5:00 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 Mark Waldman, Administration Committee Chair Larry Crandall, Operations Committee Chair Steve Anderson Cathy Green Phil Luebben DIRECTORS ABSENT OTHERS PRESENT: Bradley R. Hogin, General Counsel Joe Forbath, Counsel Reed Royalty, OC Tax Association Jackie Nutting, Associated Builder's Contracts Mike Holton, Helix Electric Inc. Heather Dion, Townsend Public Affairs Chris Townsend, Townsend Public Affairs (2) ·APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR PRO TEM No appointment was necessary. (3) PUBLIC COMMENTS STAFF PRESENT: Jim Ruth, General Manager Bob Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager Nick Arhontes, Director of Operations and Maintenance Jim Herberg, Director of Engineering Ed Torres, Director of Technical Services Lorenzo Tyner, Director of Finance and Administrative Services Michael Gold, Legislative Affairs Liaison Tod Haynes, Engineering Manager Layne Baroldi, Legal & Reg Affairs Liaison Juanita Skillman, Records Management Specialist Norbert Gaia, IT Analyst Gail Garrett, Committee Secretary MAR 28 2007 /!1(, 8~.--~,~~------------- Public comments were made by Jackie Nutting from Associated Builder's Contracts; Mike Holton of Helix Electric; and Reed Royalty of the Orange County Tax Association with reference to the proposed design/build legislation. (4) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR Chair Ferryman reported that he, General Manager Ruth and staff met with Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez on February 20 to present a request for federal funds for the District's secondary treatment upgrade. Congresswoman Sanchez agreed to take the lead in the House on this request. Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 2 February 28, 2007 Mr. Ferryman and staff will attend the CASA conference in Washington DC March 11-14 to meet with Orange County delegates re federal funding requests. A report will be provided to the Board at the next meeting. Mr. Ferryman and staff will meet with SAWPA and County executive staff on March 8 to discuss the development of a financial plan to fund the SARI line relocation. Mr. Ruth advised that the Santa Ana Water Quality Control Board (SCCWQCB) intends to issue a cease and desist order against OCSD and SAWPA for failure to protect the SARI line. Chair Ferryman announced the upcoming committee meetings for March. (5) REPORT OF GENERAL MANAGER Mr. Jim Ruth reported on the month's status and achievements: the upgraded Annual Report; Succession Plan; Engineering's new Fast Track Team; ongoing labor negotiations; the review schedule for the CIP budget. The IT assessment has been completed and organizational options are being considered. Jim Herberg gave an update on the 1 0-year Collection System Improvement Plan EIR, which will be finalized in July 2007. He informed that LAFCO has hired a contractor to prepare a Municipal Service Review for OCSD which should address local sewer responsibilities in unincorporated areas of the County. Bob Ghirelli provided an update on the progress of the SARI line technical meetings. He informed that Herb Nakasone will retire in March -Ignacio Ochoa will be the new engineer in charge for the County. (6) REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL General Counsel Brad Hogin provided an update on the Hawk Industrial Uniform matter. He and staff have reviewed a letter from Kern County's General Counsel, objecting to the Board's approval of the Addendum to Final Program EIR for the 1999 Strategic Plan, and have concluded it does not raise any significant issues. He reported that staff recommends moving forward with Board Item No. 8(c) on tonight's agenda. (7) CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS a. MOVED, SECONDED AND DULY CARRIED: Approve minutes of the January 24, 2007 Steering Committee meeting . b. MOVED, SECONDED AND DULY CARRIED: Receive and file transcript of proceedings of the Hawk Industrial Uniform appeal hearing before the Steering Committee held on January 24, 2007 END OF CONSENT CALENDAR Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 3 February 28, 2007 8) ACTION ITEMS Michael Gold provided an update on the Sanitation District's Design-Build bill SB 645 authored by Senator Lou Correa and Assembly Member Van Tran. He introduced Sanitation ·District lobbyists Heather Dion and Chris Townsend who provided reports on Prop 84 and 1 E bond measures. Townsend & Associates staff is working to expand the definition of eligible recycled water projects to include sanitation districts -this could allow access to an additional $90 million for beach areas. A written report will be provided next month. After brief discussion by Committee members, it was: a. MOVED, SECONDED AND DULY CARRIED: Recommend that Steering Committee (1) reaffirm its sponsorship and support of design-build legislation; and (2) direct staff to provide regular updates to the Steering Committee regarding Design Build legislation. (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 the February 28, 2007 meeting were reviewed. Item 8(b) was pulled by staff. (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 Nick Arhontes, Director of Operations and Maintenance, to provide a report on the Huntington Beach Lift Station. He informed that, to date, the City of Huntington Beach staff and general counsel have not signed and returned the MOU. (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, March 28, 2007 at 5 p.m. The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 7 p.m . Director Larry Crandall announced that, due to the July Fourth holiday, the Operations Committee will meet on Thursday, July 12, 2007. (14) CLOSED SESSION The Committee convened at 6:05p .m. in Closed Session, pursuant to Sections 54956 .8, 54956.9, 54957, or 54957 .6 to discuss two matters. Minutes of the Closed Session are on file Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 4 February 28, 2007 with the Clerk of the Board. 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 Clerk of the Board 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 6:25p.m., the Committee reconvened in regular session. (15) ADJOURNMENT The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6:25p.m. Submitted by: ~~ Gail Garrett Steering Committee Secretary H :\dept\agenda\Committees\Steering Committee\2007\Minutes\022807 SC Minutes draft. doc