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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-26-2011 Steering Committee Agenda Packet Wednesday, October 26, 2011 Orange County Sanitation District 5:00 P.M. Regular Meeting of the 1 - Administration Building Steering Committee Conference Rooms A & B 10844 Ellis Avenue ti Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (714) 593-7130 AGENDA DECLARATION OF QUORUM: PUBLIC COMMENTS: If you wish to speak,please complete a Speaker's Form and give it to the Clerk of the Board. Speakers are requested to limit comments to three minutes. REPORTS: The Committee Chair and the General Manager may present verbal reports on miscellaneous matters of general interest to the Directors. These reports are for information only and require no action by the Directors. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1. Approve minutes of the September 28, 2011 Steering Committee Meeting. ACTION ITEMS: No action items. INFORMATION ITEMS: 2. Public Affairs Report 3. Strategic Plan Update ACTION ITEMS: No action items. 10/26/11 Steering Committee Agenda Page 1 of 3 CLOSED SESSION: During the course of conducting the business set forth on this agenda as a regular meeting of the Board, the Chair may convene the Board in closed session to consider matters of pending real estate negotiations,pending or potential litigation, or personnel matters,pursuant to Government Code Sections 54956.8, 54956.9, 54957 or 54957.6, as noted. Reports relating to(a)purchase and sale of real property;(b)matters of pending or potential litigation;(c) employment actions or negotiations with employee representatives; or which are exempt from public disclosure under the California Public Records Act, may be reviewed by the Board during a permitted closed session and are not available for public inspection. At such time as the Board takes final action on any of these subjects, the minutes will reflect all required disclosures of information. Convene in closed session. (1) CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL RE. INITIATION OF LITIGATION (Government Code Section 54956.9(c)) Number of Potential Cases: 1 Potential litigation against the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority to collect unpaid invoice amounts. Reconvene in regular session. Consideration of action, if any, on matters considered in closed session. OTHER BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATIONS OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS, IF ANY: ADJOURNMENT: The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 16, 2011, at 5:00 p.m. 10/26/11 Steering Committee Agenda Page 2 of 3 Accommodations for the Disabled: Meeting Rooms are wheelchair accessible. If you require any special disability related accommodations, please contact the Orange County Sanitation District Clerk of the Board's office at(714)593- 7130 at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. Requests must specify the nature of the disability and the type of accommodation requested. Agenda Posting: In accordance with the requirements of California Government Code Section 54954.2,this agenda has been posted outside the main gate of the Sanitation District's Administration Building located at 10844 Ellis Avenue, Fountain Valley,California,not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting date and time above. All public records relating to each agenda item,including any public records distributed less than 72 hours prior to the meeting to all,or a majority of the Board of Directors, are available for public inspection in the office of the Clerk of the Board. NOTICE TO DIRECTORS: To place items on the agenda for the Committee Meeting, items must be submitted to the Clerk of the Board 14 days before the meeting. Maria E.Ayala Clerk of the Board (714)593-7130 mayala(o)ocsd.com 10/26/11 Steering Committee Agenda Page 3 of 3 STEERING COMMITTEE Meeting Date To Bd. of Dir. 10/26/11 AGENDA REPORT Item Number Item Number 2 Orange County Sanitation District FROM: James D. Ruth, General Manager Originator: Michael Gold, Public Affairs Manager SUBJECT: Public Affairs Update GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION Information only. SUMMARY This report is the monthly Public Affairs Division update that includes legislative and political information from Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, lobbyists' activities, and outreach education and communication programs to member cities, employees and the public. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Public Affairs Update Community outreach The Public Affairs team continues our ongoing outreach to community and civic groups. The goal is to discuss who we are and what we do to protect public health and the environment. The addition of the recently published annual report and general information brochure is helping educate the public about OCSD. The following is a list of recent presentations. ( Brea Rotary ( Brea Kiwanis ( Yorba Linda Rotary ( Tustin Kiwanis ( Placentia Rotary Tustin Chamber of Commerce Tustin Lions Staff will also inform Board Members when our team is in your community via email. Page 1 of 4 The Public Affairs Team is also working with the Environmental Compliance Division on our annual holiday outreach to Tustin for the fats, oils and grease (FOG) program. There is one area of Tustin that is unique because OCSD owns the local sewer lines so we provide outreach to prevent sewage spills. Residents receive a kit with tools to prevent FOG from getting in the sewer system. Other communities in Orange County can provide these tools to their residents directly through a cooperative program with our member cities. Grants update Staff reviewed possible opportunities and discussed Federal grants with Eric Sapirstein. The feeling in Washington is that once they get through the "Super Committee" discussions and focus on budget matters, there may be select grant opportunities available for infrastructure or energy-related projects. Staff will continue to watch for every available opportunity to seek grant funding. Federal Legislative Update Legislative Advocate: Eric Sapirstein, ENS Resources Congress returned to work on October 10 following another break and the big question is whether the Super Committee can finalize their work and develop recommendations on revenue and spending measures by November 23. The focus on the November 23 deadline for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (Super Committee) to report its plan to Congress to reduce federal spending by $1.2 trillion has obscured a key point in the process to assemble the deficit plan. By October 15, House and Senate congressional committees must report recommendations on how to slice and dice the federal budget and with it implicitly state what the future policy priorities should target over the next decade. However, this path to provide input is the only clear element of the approach. Partisanship within congressional committees likely means that Republican and Democratic ranks will develop separate reports to submit to the Super Committee. The Super Committee with its twelve members will probably have limited opportunity to consider the input since it is expected that it will need to develop a final plan in early November to ensure that it will meet the November 23 deadline to report to Congress. Rumors abound about Super Committee ability to meet deadline Washington's rumor mill is rife with thoughts about the Super Committee meeting its November 23 deadline to report a $1.2 trillion deficit reduction plan. Among the speculation is thinking that a deadlocked committee will seek an extension of perhaps six months to finalize a plan. While this approach may at first blush seem like a face- saving way to avoid a collapse of negotiations, Wall Street angst, and further erosion in the economy because of despair over Washington's ability to establish a budget plan, it is not so simple. Any action to extend the deadline would likely require an amendment to the Budget Control Act and subsequent agreement by the President to sign the extension into law. Page 2 of 4 Unlike recent budget debates, the White House may have the upper hand on the issue. The mandate of the budget agreement provides that if Congress fails to arrive at a plan that reduces the deficit by $1.2 trillion over ten years, the President must impose across-the-board spending cuts on defense and domestic spending to achieve the $1.2 trillion mark while protecting entitlement spending from any reductions. This provides the White House and its congressional allies with powerful leverage to secure an overall agreement. In conclusion, the ability to extend the deadline may not be easy to achieve. Congress keeps the lights on On October 4, the House of Representatives voted 352 to 66 to adopt a measure that will keep the government running for another six weeks through November 18. Fifty- three Republicans and thirteen Democrats voted against the funding measure. The action followed Senate passage last week and was signed into the law by the President. The turn of events buys time for lawmakers to cobble together a final spending agreement for fiscal year 2012 that began October 1. The House and Senate must reconcile the twelve appropriations bills, which is a herculean task given the political tensions between the House and Senate. The House approved six spending bills and the Senate has passed just one measure. House Committee prepares for hearing into infrastructure financing options On October 6, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, John L. Mica (R-FL), announced that a hearing would be conducted on October 12 on President Obama's infrastructure bank proposal, which is included in his American Jobs Act. Chairman Mica stated, "While I support innovative financing to meet our nation's infrastructure needs, the multi-billion dollar, Washington bureaucracy-based infrastructure bank President Obama is advocating raises many concerns." He went on to say that he believes a better approach would be to build on existing state infrastructure banks, as opposed to creating another federal agency. State Legislative Update Legislative Advocates: Christopher Townsend, Heather Dion and Casey Elliott, Townsend Public Affairs End of legislative session The legislative session ended a month ago with Governor Brown facing a stack of bills awaiting signature or veto. Here are some of the key bills we have followed: Page 3 of 4 SB 293 (Padilla) has been signed by the Governor. This measure limits the amount of allowable retention proceeds in public works contracts to five percent (OCSD and current law allow up to ten percent). This five percent retention requirement in SB 293 has been an ongoing battle for at least a decade with three previous governors vetoing similar measures. OCSD and CASA, along with several other local government and education organizations, as well as hundreds of individual public agencies, submitted letters of opposition throughout the legislative process, expressing serious concerns over limiting retention proceeds in public works contracts. Ultimately, the major contractor and subcontractor groups supporting the measure won the battle this year, arguing that in this down economy, a ten percent requirement prohibited many of them from bidding on public works projects. SB 482 (Kehoe) has been signed by the Governor. SB 482 transfers primary jurisdiction for the beach water quality monitoring program from the Department of Public Health to the State Water Resources Control Board. OCSD worked very closely with CASA and the author's office (along with the State Water Resources Control Board) to carefully craft amendments to alleviate some of our concerns. By the time the bill was sent to the Governor, we removed our opposition and went neutral on the bill. AB 646 (Atkins) has been signed by the Governor. The bill allows local public employee organizations to, among other things, request fact-finding if a mediator is unable to reach a settlement within 30 days of appointment. OCSD and CASA, as well as several other local government organizations were opposed to the measure which was sponsored AFSCME and AFL-CIO, and supported by other unions. What is next? The legislature is now adjourned through the end of the year. The big question remaining is the status of the redevelopment funds since the cities filed suit. If the court supports the cities' claims, the state will lose $1.7 billion. Many think the State will be grappling with another budget hole at the end of this year or early next year, meaning they will have to meet to figure out reductions or revenues. PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS N/A ADDITIONAL INFORMATION N/A CEQA N/A BUDGET / DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY COMPLIANCE N/A Page 4 of 4 STEERING COMMITTEE Meeting Date To Bd. of Dir. 10/26/11 AGENDA REPORT Item Number Item Number 3 Orange County Sanitation District FROM: James D. Ruth, General Manager Originator: Robert Ghirelli, Assistant General Manager SUBJECT: Strategic Plan Update GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION Information only. SUMMARY Staff will provide the Steering Committee with a summary of the 2011 Strategic Plan Update Workshop that took place October 19, 2011. PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS N/A ADDITIONAL INFORMATION N/A CEQA N/A BUDGET / DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY COMPLIANCE N/A Page 1 of 1