HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-17-2008 Steering Committee MinutesREVISED
MINUTES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING
Orange County Sanitation District
Wednesday, September 17, 2008, at 5 :30p.m.
A meeting of the Steering Committee of the Orange County Sanitation District was held on
Wednesday, September 17, 2008, at 5:30 p.m., in the District's Administrative Office .
A quorum was declared present, as follows:
STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
DIRECTORS PRESENT:
Doug Davert, Chair
Larry Crandall, Vice Chair
Ken Parker, Operations Committee Chair
Mark Waldman, Administration Committee
Chair
Bill Dalton
Phil Luebben
DIRECTORS ABSENT
Jim Ferryman
OTHERS PRESENT:
Ryal Wheeler
Eric Sapirstein
John Freshman
PUBLIC COMMENTS
There were no public comments .
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR
STAFF PRESENT:
Jim Ruth, General Manage r
Bob Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager
Nick Arhontes, Director of Ope r. & 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
Lilia Kovac, Associate Clerk of the Board
Jeff Reed, Human Resources Manager
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Chair Davert reported that the Strategic Plan meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday,
October 151
h from 5 :00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Chair Davert also announced that he would be
attend ing the California Special District Association conference to receive the Chairman of the
Year award for the GWRS project, and acknowledged credit was due to his predecessors,
Directors Jim Ferryman and Steve Anderson.
REPORTOFGENERALMANAGER
Jim Ruth, General Manager, deferred to Director of Engineering, Jim Herberg for a verbal report
on an emergency repair project presented to the Board for approval. Mr. Herberg stated that
the SARI line between the OC line and SA VI is subject to catastrophic failure if Santa Ana River
' Minutes of the Steering Committee
September 17, 2008
Page 2
flows undermine the pipeline where it crosses under the river. He indicated that from 2005-
2007 our survey indicated that soil cover protecting the line had increased as a result of the
installation of protective rock grade stabilizers following heavy storm flows in 2005. However,
this year's annual survey shows that we have experienced a loss of earth cover over the pipe
and undercutting of the rock grade stabilizer which has left the pipeline vulnerable to failure in
three locations . Mr. Herberg indicated that consultation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
resulted in a recommendation to install additional rock to protect the pipeline prior to this
November 151h which requires that the Board grant emergency purchasing authorization in lieu
of the normal bidding process.
Mr. Herberg also noted that SAWPA is responsible for 76% of this maintenance cost and OCSD
is responsible for the remaining 24%. Director Ferryman asked staff to look into the availability
of FEMA funding for this work.
REPORT OF GENERAL COUNSEL
There was no report.
ACTION ITEMS
1. MOVED, SECONDED AND DULY CARRIED: Approve minutes of the August 27, 2008
Steering Committee meeting.
2. MOVED, SECONDED AND DULY CARRIED: Recommend to the Board of Directors to
adopt Resolution No. OCSD 08-_, Establishing Award Acceptance Protocols.
INFORMATION ITEMS (3)
3. Legislative Affairs Report -Government Affairs Manager, Michael Gold, presented an
overview of the State budget adopted by the Legislature earlier that week. While the
adopted budget did not take property taxes away from special districts, Gold cautioned
that the deficit was not resolved and the District would be under threat of property tax
take-aways next year.
Federal Lobbyists Eric Sapirstein and John Freshman discussed a possible Washington DC
trip before the end of the year and recommended that unless there is dramatic progress
made on the budget and other issues, the trip should probably occur in early 2009. The
close Presidential election has tied things up in the Capitol and few bills are expected to be
passed this year.
(8) CLOSED SESSION
There was no closed session .
. Minutes of the Steering Committee
September 17, 2008
Page 3
(9) OTHER BUSINESS, COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY
There were none.
(1 0) ADJOURNMENT
The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 22, 2008. The Chair
declared the meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.
Submitted by:
Associate Clerk of the Board