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Home My WebLink About06-27-2007 Steering Committee MinutesMINUTES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Orange County Sanitation District Wednesday, June 27, 2007, at 5:30p.m. A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District was held on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 at 5:30p.m., in the District's Administrative Office. T FILE0DLEINR THE OFFICE OF (1) A quorum was 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 Cathy Green OTHERS PRESENT: Bradley R. Hogin, General Counsel Jackie Nutting, Associated Builder's Contracts Sergio Olvera, Associated Builder's Contracts Kevin Dayton, Associated Builder's Contracts PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE: Eric Sapirstein, ENS Resources John Freshman , Troutman Sanders Public Affairs Group (2) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR PRO TEM No appointment was necessary. (3) PUBLIC COMMENTS There were none. (4) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR 0 -THE K OF THE BOARD RANGE COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICT JUL 18 2007 DIRECTORS ABSENT :!!__ L/ Steve Anderson BY:. __ '""t_ __ "'-_ ----- Phil Luebben STAFF PRESENT: Jim Ruth, General Manager Bob Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager Nick Arhontes, Director of Operations and Maintenance Lorenzo Tyner, Director of Finance and Administrative Services Michael Gold, Legislative Affairs Liaison John Linder, Engineering Manager Penny Kyle, Clerk of the Board Gail Garrett, Committee Secretary Federal advocates, Eric Sapirstein and John Freshman, briefed the committee via teleconference on key federal issues, including the secondary treatment funding request and the SARI line. Prospects appear slim for the secondary treatment funding request, but staff and lobbyists will continue their efforts. Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 2 June 27, 2007 On the SARI line, a joint letter of support from OCWD, SAWPA, OCSD and the County was sent to Senator Boxer requesting her support of our request to modify language within the Water Resources Development Act increasing the total project's authorization. OCSD received the Protos award for an article on the Groundwater Replenishment System published in the January 2007 issue of Pollution Engineering as well as an Award of Excellence for our GWRS multicultural outreach program. Mr. Ferryman has appointed himself as the OCSD representative on the board of National Water Research Institute. The CASA 2007 Annual Conference is scheduled for August 15-18 in San Diego, CA. Steering Committee members were asked to notify Gail Garrett if they plan to attend the conference. Chair thanked Steering Committee members and staff for making the trip to Sacramento a success. He also thanked Townsend Public Affairs, our state legislative advocates, for coordinating, organizing and participating in individual meetings as well as the "meet and greet". Representatives from Platinum Advisors also participated. Mr. Ferryman, Director Davert, and staff met with Jolyn Murphy, Congressman Ken Calvert's district director, to discuss OCSD's request for $6 million for secondary treatment upgrades. Mr. Calvert fully supports our request. Mr. Ferryman announced the upcoming committee meetings for July. Because of the League of Cities conference in July, the next board meeting will be held a week earlier on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 6:30p.m. The Steering Committee will meet that same day at 5:30p.m. (5) REPORT OF GENERAL MANAGER Jim Ruth briefly reported on the month's activities and achievements: staff recommends approval of the SARI Line financing plan amendment; an EMT Retreat to identify a new strategic plan is scheduled for July 16 followed by a series of board workshops in August and September. Susan Walker has been appointed as Safety and Health Manager. The IT System and Operations Manager position is expected to be filled by July 15. (6) REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL General Counsel Brad Hogin provided updates on three matters. He advised that OCSD has prevailed in opposing the petition re Polk v. OCSD; mediation in Andino, et al. v. OCSD has been continued; Tulare County has asserted jurisdiction over the OCSD v. Kern County dispute and a schedule for resolution of the matter has been established. (7) ACTION ITEMS a. MOVED, SECONDED AND DULY CARRIED: Approve draft minutes of the May 23, 2007 Steering Committee meeting and the May 30, 2007 Steering Committee special meeting . Minutes of the Steering Committee Page 3 June 27, 2007 b . MOVED, SECONDED AND DULY CARRIED: Recommend that the Board of Directors: (1) Revise the previously approved Santa Ana River Interceptor (SARI) Line Loan and Repayment Agreement No. D07 -042 with the Orange County Flood Control District (OCFCD) to provide a no-interest loan until July 2018 (revised from 2016), of 60% of the successful bid amount for improvements to the SARI Line, for an amount not to exceed $60,000,000 in a form approved by General Counsel; and (2) Authorize the release of $35,000,000 to OCFCD immediately after the award of the contract, and to allow the remaining balance to be released 12 months later. c. Michael Gold briefed the Steering Committee on the RFP schedule and plan for state and federal legislative advocacy services and outlined general objectives. He requested input from the Board members and names of potential firms in Sacramento or Washington, D.C. d. MOVED, SECONDED AND DULY CARRIED: Approve the Board of Directors Workshop Schedule for establishing the Level of Service for the next Capital Facilities Master Plan through Year 2030 (Schedule A or Ssi;Je€l~s~le Ia) Penny Kyle informed that Board members were polled and 13 out of 17 responses favored Schedule A. (8) INFORMATIONAL ITEMS a. Legislative Affairs Report: Michael Gold provided a brief update on the Senate and Assembly bills staff has been tracking. He noted that SB 645 Design-build will be heard on July 3 in Assembly Local Government. b. The Agenda Items scheduled to be reviewed by the Board's working committees in July were reviewed. c. The agenda items scheduled to be presented to the Board at the June 27, 2007 meeting were reviewed. (9) OTHER BUSINESS, COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY There were none. (10) 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. ( Minutes of the Steering Committee Page4 June 27, 2007 (13) CONSIDERATION OF UPCOMING MEETINGS The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 18 27,2007 at 5:30p.m. The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. (14) CLOSED SESSION The Committee convened at 6:10p.m. in Closed Session, pursuant to Sections 54956.8 , 54956.9 , 54957, or 54957.6 to discuss one matter. Minutes of the Closed Session are on file 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 6:30p.m., the Committee reconvened in regular session. (15) ADJOURNMENT The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6:30p.m. Submitted by: Gail Garrett Steering Committee Secretary H :\dept\agenda\Committees\Steering Committee\2007\Minutes\062707 SC Minutes-DRAFT.doc