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Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Board of Directors Study Session
290 Paularino Avenue, Costa Mesa
9:30AM
A. OPENING ITEMS
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Public Comments
B. ITEMS OF STUDY
1. New CMSD Employee Introduction: Erick Caldera, Wastewater Maintenance Worker I
2. August 2017 CEO Report
3. Website Statistics
4. Consider Establishing a Citizens Advisory Committee
5. Organics Tonnage Report
6. Solid Waste Diversion Report
C. CLOSING ITEMS
1. Oral Communications & Director Comments
2. Adjournment
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Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Board of Directors Study Session
290 Paularino Avenue, Costa Mesa
9:30AM
A. OPENING ITEMS
Subject 1. Call to Order
Meeting Sep 12, 2017 - Board of Directors Study Session
Access Public
Type Procedural
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A. OPENING ITEMS
(If absences occur, consider whether to deem those absences excused based on facts presented for the absence – such
determination shall be the permission required by law.)
Subject 2. Roll Call
Meeting Sep 12, 2017 - Board of Directors Study Session
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Type Procedural
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A. OPENING ITEMS
This time has been set aside for persons in the audience to make comments on items within the subject matter
jurisdiction of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District that are not listed on this agenda. Members of the public will have the
opportunity to address the Board of Directors about all other items on this agenda at the time those items are
considered.
Under the provisions of the Brown Act, the Board of Directors is prohibited from taking action on oral requests but may
refer the matter to staff or to a subsequent meeting. The Board of Directors will respond after public comment has been
received. Please state your name. Each speaker will be limited to four (4) continuous minutes.
Subject 3. Public Comments
Meeting Sep 12, 2017 - Board of Directors Study Session
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Type Procedural
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B. ITEMS OF STUDY
Subject 1. New CMSD Employee Introduction: Erick Caldera, Wastewater Maintenance Worker
I
Meeting Sep 12, 2017 - Board of Directors Study Session
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Type Presentation
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B. ITEMS OF STUDY
File Attachments
August 2017 CEO report.pdf (921 KB)
Administrative File Attachments
August 2017 CEO report.doc (2,931 KB)
Subject 2. August 2017 CEO Report
Meeting Sep 12, 2017 - Board of Directors Study Session
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Type
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B. ITEMS OF STUDY
Summary
The Board of Directors requested that staff provide an overview of the District website's visitor statistics. Below is an analysis of visitor
statistics from the time period of August 2015 to August 2017, as provided by the District's webhost, Siteground.
Staff Recommendation
That the Board of Directors receive and file this report.
Analysis
The District's website is hosted by a company called Siteground and is managed through Siteground's Joomla content management
system. Theresa Kasprzyk, the District's contracted website service provider, conducts regular website maintenance and content
updates. Additionally, District staff conducts minor content updates. As seen in the attached document entitled "Website
Statistics," Siteground provides its customers with 2 year's worth of visitor statistics. Staff has prepared the attached statistics to provide
an overview of the number of monthly website visitors and information that is commonly sought by visitors. Below is staff's analysis of the
attached data.
Website Visits (page 1 of attachment)
From the period between August 2015 to August 2017, the District's website received an average of 3,385 unique visitors and
6,116 visits per month. The number of unique visitors refers to the number of distinct individuals (or individual IP addresses)
visiting the District's website, regardless of how many times they have visited the site. Based on the data provided by Siteground,
the District's website experienced its highest traffic during following months:
January 2016 (likely due to visitors seeking information about the Christmas Tree Recycling Program)
July 2016 (likely due to visitors seeking information about the Holiday Trash Delay for Independence Day)
January 2017 (likely due to visitors seeking information about the Christmas Tree Recycling Program)
March 2017 (likely due to visitors seeking information about the Large Item Pickup Program, as a result of promotion
through the Spring Newsletter)
Top Page Visits (page 2 of attachment)
For the purposes of this data set, the website's homepage and search function were not included here (since they are consistently
the most visited pages on the website). Besides the homepage and search page, the most commonly visited pages between
August 2015 and August 2017 were the Large Item Collection Program, Christmas Tree Recycling Program, Career
Opportunities, Report An Issue (GovOutreach), Board of Directors, Organics Recycling Program, and Upcoming Projects pages.
During 16 of the 25 months recorded, the Large Item Collection Program page was the most viewed page on the website
with 10,957 total page visits.
Siteground also provides visitor statistics in the form of page hits. A hit is a request that is made to a website's server each time a
visitor downloads a page, clicks a hyperlink, views a graphic, or performs any other function on a website. Therefore, a visitor can
create several hits by visiting a single webpage, depending on the number of elements it contains. In contrast, a visit is recorded
as a single session of continuous activity by one visitor. Visits are generally seen as a better indicator of a website or webpage's
popularity.
Top Document Downloads (page 3 of attachment)
The District's website has many useful documents and resources that are available to download in PDF format. The most
commonly downloaded documents are the Large Item Collection Tag, District press releases, Sewer Plan Specifications, and the
Organics Recycling Program Flyer.
Commonly Searched Phrases (page 4 of attachment)
Staff compiled a list of the most commonly searched phrases that led visitors to the District's website between August 2015 and
August 2017. These phrases indicate that visitors generally come to the website seeking information about solid waste programs,
the trash collection schedule, sewer regulations, Board of Directors and election information, and employment opportunities.
Board Meeting Video Page Views
Lastly, upon request, staff gathered the number of page views for the District's "Board Meeting Video" page. This page allows
website visitors to watch video recordings of past public meetings, such as Regular Board Meetings, Study Sessions, Special
Meetings, and Liaison Meetings). The rise in page views beginning in January 2017 can be attributed to the website
Subject 3. Website Statistics
Meeting Sep 12, 2017 - Board of Directors Study Session
Access Public
Type Receive and File
Goals 4.0 Community Outreach & Communications
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reorganization, which made the Board Meeting Video page accessible from 3 other webpages: the Board of Directors, District
Clerk, and Transparency webpages. Additionally, greater interest in the District's public meetings may have been generated
through its new agenda management system (BoardDocs) and increased outreach through social media, the District newsletter,
and community events.
Month Year Website Page Views
August 2015 45
September 2015 54
October 2015 45
November 2015 44
December 2015 49
January 2016 51
February 2016 65
March 2016 81
April 2016 23
May 2016 49
June 2016 59
July 2016 44
August 2016 74
September 2016 42
October 2016 56
November 2016 34
December 2016 77
January 2017 161
February 2017 165
March 2017 243
April 2017 393
May 2017 264
June 2017 240
July 2017 242
August 2017 201
Legal Review
Not applicable.
Environmental Review
Review of the District's website visitor statistics is an administrative matter and not a disturbance of the environment similar to grading or
construction and not a project under CEQA or the District’s CEQA Guidelines.
Financial Review
Not applicable.
Public Notice Process
Copies of this report are on file and will be included with the complete agenda packet for the September 12, 2017 Board of Directors
Study Session meeting at District Headquarters and posted on the District’s website.
File Attachments
Website Statistics.pdf (108 KB)
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B. ITEMS OF STUDY
Summary
Establishing a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) will give citizens an opportunity to get involved in their community while at the same
time assist the Board on decision making issues. Attached are the proposed mission statement, operating guidelines and a list of
responsibilities for a CAC at CMSD.
Recommendation
That the Board of Directors consider establishing a Citizen Advisory Committee and direct staff to bring this item back to the September
21, 2017 Board of Directors meeting.
Analysis
Establishing a Citizens Advisory Committee can achieve four objectives:
1. Give citizens an opportunity to get involved in their community.
2. Citizens serving on the committee will become knowledgeable about CMSD and how the organization is operating to meet its mission,
vision and core values.
3. Citizens can serve as ambassadors to CMSD, helping disseminate information like new and existing programs.
4. Make recommendations to the Board of Directors on key decision making issues.
Attached are the proposed mission statement, operating guidelines and a list of responsibilities for a CAC at CMSD. The proposed
committee will consist of eleven CMSD citizens representing the community's cultural diversity and varied interests. The CAC will
conduct its meetings as consistent with Roberts' Rules of Order and they will comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act. Meetings will also be
video taped and stored on CMSD's website for public viewing.
In the beginning, CAC will meet several times in a few months to get acquainted with CMSD by going on tours at CMSD's Corporate
Yard, Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) treatment facilities, the Orange County Water District (OCWD) groundwater
replenishment facility, and CR&R's transfer station, Material Recovery Facility and anaerobic digestion facility. After the tours, the CAC
will meet on a quarterly basis, but they may establish a sub-committee for a specific topic and meet more regularly. Topics the CAC could
discuss include, but are not limited to, the following:
New and/or existing solid waste diversion programs
Wastewater operations, including pipeline cleaning and pump station maintenance
Strategic Plan goals
Policies and procedures
Finance
Community outreach
Solid waste and wastewater rates
Legal Review
District Counsel has reviewed and commented on the proposed mission statement, operating guidelines and list of responsibilities for
CAC.
Environmental Review
Establishing a citizens advisory committee is not a disturbance of the environment similar to grading or construction and does not
constitute a project under CEQA or the District’s CEQA Guidelines.
Financial Review
Subject 4. Consider Establishing a Citizens Advisory Committee
Meeting Sep 12, 2017 - Board of Directors Study Session
Access Public
Type Action
Fiscal Impact Yes
Recommended
Action
That the Board of Directors consider establishing a Citizens Advisory Committee and direct staff
to bring this Item back to the September 21, 2017 Board of Directors meeting.
Goals 3.00 Partnerships
4.0 Community Outreach & Communications
5.0 Administrative Management
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Seed money is needed to pay for tours, such as transportation and food, but when tours are complete staff does not anticipate
establishing a CAC will have a fiscal impact on CMSD. Staff is recommending $3,000 be appropriated to CAC.
Public Notice Process
Copies of this report are on file and will be included with the entire agenda packet for the September 12, 2017 Board of Directors study
session meeting at District Headquarters and on District website at www.cmsdca.gov.
Alternative Actions
1. Do not approve establishing a Citizens Advisory Committee.
2. Direct staff to report back with more information.
File Attachments
CAC.pdf (110 KB)
CAC Responsibilities.pdf (29 KB)
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B. ITEMS OF STUDY
Summary
A total of 887.68 tons of organic waste were collected and recycled in August 2017.
Analysis
Below is a graph depicting the total tonnage of organic waste collected during each month of FY 2015-16, FY 2016-17
and FY 2017-18.
Subject 5. Organics Tonnage Report
Meeting Sep 12, 2017 - Board of Directors Study Session
Access Public
Type Receive and File
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Legal Review
Not applicable.
Environmental Review
Consideration of the Organics Tonnage Report is an administrative matter and not a disturbance of the environment
similar to grading or construction and not a project under CEQA or the District’s CEQA Guidelines.
Financial Review
Not applicable.
Public Notice Process
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File Attachments
August Organic Tonnage.png (18 KB)
Tonnage Summary.png (55 KB)
Copies of this report are on file and will be included with the complete agenda packet for the September 12, 2017 Board
of Directors Study Session meeting at District Headquarters and posted on the District’s website.
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B. ITEMS OF STUDY
Summary
A total of 2,167.81 tons of solid waste were collected and recycled in July and 2,338.97 in August 2017.
Analysis
Using data from CR&R's Recycling Report and OCC's Recycling Center Recycling Report, staff has calculated the
diversion rate for the last two months at 60.77%. A total of 7,841.97 tons of solid waste materials have been
collected, of which 4,765.45 tons have been diverted away from landfills. In addition to curbside collection from CR&R,
CMSD offers a variety of other waste diversion programs including large item pickup, where white goods are collected,
the total tonnage for the month of August was not available in time to include in this report. Attachment A is the fiscal
year 2017-18 diversion rate support.
Legal Review
Not applicable.
Environmental Review
Consideration of the Solid Waste Diversion Report is an administrative matter and not a disturbance of the environment
similar to grading or construction and not a project under CEQA or the District’s CEQA Guidelines.
Financial Review
Not applicable.
Public Notice Process
Copies of this report are on file and will be included with the complete agenda packet for the September 12, 2017 Board
of Directors Study Session meeting at District Headquarters and posted on the District’s website.
File Attachments
CRR-OCC Diversion.pdf (65 KB)
Subject 6. Solid Waste Diversion Report
Meeting Sep 12, 2017 - Board of Directors Study Session
Access Public
Type Receive and File
Goals 2.00 Solid Waste
2.4 Develop Strategies for 75% Waste Diversion
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C. CLOSING ITEMS
Subject 1. Oral Communications & Director Comments
Meeting Sep 12, 2017 - Board of Directors Study Session
Access Public
Type Procedural
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C. CLOSING ITEMS
THE NEXT STUDY SESSION OF THE COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL BE HELD ON
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2017 AT 9:30 A.M. IN THE DISTRICTS BOARD ROOM, 290 PAULARINO AVENUE, COSTA MESA.
Subject 2. Adjournment
Meeting Sep 12, 2017 - Board of Directors Study Session
Access Public
Type Procedural