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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-25-2008 Steering Committee MinutesJ' MINUTES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Orange County Sanitation District Wednesday, June 25, 2008, at 5:30 p.m. A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District was held on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, at 5:30p.m ., in the District's Administrative Office. (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 Don Bankhead Phil Luebben DIRECTORS ABSENT Ken Parker OTHERS PRESENT: Bradley R. Hogin, General Counsel Juanita Skillman Ryal Wheeler (2) PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments. (3) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR 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 Penny Kyle, Clerk of the Board FILED IN THE ~F~Yfo2~o oRl~~E ~'aD~~ ~~~TION DISTRICT JUL 23 2008 '!< 8~:--~~--~~------- Chair Ferryman reported on the outcome of the meetings held with the Orange County legislative delegation earlier that month. Directors Davert and Crandall, as well as Bob Ghirelli and Michael Gold attended the meetings. As a result, a letter has been prepared for Directors' signatures to be mailed the following day to Sacramento requesting the State leave the District's property taxes alone during budget deliberations. Minutes of the Steering Committee June 25, 2008 Page 2 (4) REPORT OF GENERAL MANAGER Jim Ruth , General Manager, reported that staff was continuing to evaluate and establish the criteria to defer connection fees for large building developments as requested by the Builders Industry Association at the May 281h meeting , and the recommendation should be ready for approval at the July meeting . It was also reported that the meeting with Orange County Water District and the County of Orange to collaborate strategies to protect local revenues was rescheduled to July 2"d . (5) REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL There was no report . (6) ACTION ITEMS A. MOVED, SECONDED AND DULY CARRIED : Approve minutes of the May 28, 2008 Steering Committee meeting . B . MOVED , SECONDED AND DULY CARRIED: Recommend to the Board of Directors to approve out-of-country travel for a maximum of two Directors to accept the Stockholm Industry Water Award in Stockholm, Sweden, in connection with the Groundwater Replenishment System project, and authorize travel, lodging and per diem costs to be paid by the Sanitation District. (7) INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Legislative Affairs Report: Michael Gold provided an update on State and Federal priorities . In Sacramento, he reported that there continues to be a stalemate over the State Budget and now the Governor is holding hostage funds from previous bonds (including Proposition 84) until a new surface water storage bond is placed on the November 2008 ballot. It is likely that the State budget stalemate will continue through the summer. In Washington , D .C ., Gold reported that Congressman Ken Calvert released the list of projects he is requesting to be funded in FY09 and his list includes two of OCSD's priority projects : SARI relocation and secondary treatment upgrades. This is significant because Mr. Calvert is a member of the House Appropriations Committee . However, because some in Congress are working to increase oil drilling off coastal waters and tying these proposals to funding bills, it is unlikely anything will move through Congress before the election . Minutes of the Steering Committee June 25, 2008 Page 3 (8) CLOSED SESSION The Steering Committee convened at 6:10p.m. in Closed Session, pursuant to Government Code Section 54957(b)(1) to discuss one matter. 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. At 6:20p.m., the Steering Committee reconvened in regular session. (9) OTHER BUSINESS, COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS. IF ANY There were none. (10) ADJOURNMENT The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, 2008. The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 6 :20 p.m. Submitted by: Penny M.?.lkyle ;J ( Clerk of the Board H:\dept\agenda\Steering Committee\2008\0708\ltem 04 .062508 SteeringMinutes.docx