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Minutes - Board - 2021-09-14COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 NOTE: THIS MEETING WAS CONDUCTED UTILIZING TELECONFERENCING PURSUANT TO GovERNMENT CODE SECTION 54952.2 AND THE GOVERNOR'S EXECUTIVE ORDERS IN EFFECT WAIVING SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THAT SECTION. Members present Arlene Schafer, Art Perry, Bob Ooten, Brett Eckles, Mike Scheafer Members absent None Staff present Scott Carroll (General Manager), Noelani Middenway (District Clerk and Public Information Officer), Kaitlin Tran (Finance Manager), Mark Esquer (District Engineer), Gina Terraneo (Management Analyst II), Nabila Guzman (Management Analyst I), Lieu Tran (Accountant), David Griffin (Facilities Maintenance Worker & Acting Code Enforcement Officer), Tanisha Tingling (Administrative Assistant II), Andrew Wong (Engineering Technician) Others present Mike Carey, CR&R Jim Mosher, District resident Judy Gielow, Citizens Advisory Committee and District resident Timothy McLarney, True North Research Meeting called to order at 8:00 A.M. A. OPENING ITEMS Procedural: 1. Roll Call - (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.) COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 2 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 President Ooten called the meeting to order at 8:00 A.M. District Clerk and Public Information Officer, Noelani Middenway, noted that President Ooten, Vice President Scheafer, Secretary Schafer, Director Perry, and Director Eckles were present at this time. B. PUBLIC COMMENTS Procedural: 1. Public Comments President Ooten opened public comments. District resident, Jim Mosher, reminded everyone at the meeting to use their microphone. He noted that the agenda should state where the meeting is being held. He commented on Senate Bill (SB) 1383 and asked if the District has received the total tonnage amounts collected by the Cities of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. He stated that paper and cardboard are considered organic waste according to SB 1383. He asked about the District's most current estimate of cardboard tonnage. General Manager, Scott Carroll, and President Ooten stated that the District will respond to Mr. Mosher with the requested information. Hearing no additional comments, President Ooten closed public comments. C. ITEMS OF STUDY Procedural: 1. Introduction of Engineering Technician, Andrew Wong — Oral Report District Engineer, Mark Esquer, introduced the District's new Engineering Technician, Andrew Wong. Mr. Wong introduced himself to the Board. The Board welcomed Mr. Wong to the District. There was no further discussion. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 3 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Action, Receive and File: 2. August 2021 Code Enforcement Officer Report Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receives and files this report. Acting Code Enforcement Officer, David Griffin, provided report details. Director Eckles asked if Mr. Griffin is tracking identifying information for repeat offenders. Mr. Griffin stated that he has identified one repeat offender. He noted that he has not witnessed other repeat offenders. Director Eckles suggested taking action against repeat offenders. Mr. Griffin stated that he will take direction from the Board for those cases. He stated that he currently threatens repeat offenders with a citation. As a result, he noted that activity has decreased. Secretary Schafer inquired about enforcement articles being translated into Spanish in the District's newsletter. Mr. Carroll confirmed that everything included in the newsletter is translated into Spanish. Secretary Schafer discussed trash complaints related to the Organic Recycling Carts. Mr. Griffin stated that he will patrol the areas that are experiencing trash issues. Vice President Scheafer stated that there were many scavengers looking through trash carts after Labor Day. He commented on the issue of missed trash pickups. Director Perry asked about homes without enough space to store their trash carts. Mr. Griffin reported that there are some homes without enough storage space, especially multifamily homes. He noted that some residences can COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 4 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 have up to eight carts on one property. He stated that he is addressing this issue on an as -needed basis. Discussion followed regarding the City of Costa Mesa-s requirement for trash enclosures. Director Perry stated that, if the District must transition to a three -cart system, then some properties will not have enough storage space, especially since some properties do not currently have enough space to store two carts. President Ooten requested for Mr. Griffin to research the City's ordinance related to trash carts in alleyways. He stated that there are rules requiring access for fire trucks and other emergency vehicles. He suggested providing Mr. Griffin with outreach materials in Spanish to assist him with engaging with Spanish speakers. Mr. Griffin stated that he will follow up with the City to obtain more information on their ordinance. He shared that he uses Google Translate to help him communicate with non-English speakers. Secretary Schafer asked if the District has been reviewing plans for condominium and townhome complexes to ensure that there is enough roadway access for police and fire vehicles. Mr. Carroll confirmed that the District reviews such plans and issues will - serve letters before the City approves of new developments. Director Perry asked who represents the District at City planning meetings. Mr. Carroll stated that Mr. Esquer and Mr. Wong represent the District. There was no further discussion, and the report was received. Action, Receive and File: 3. Received and File Report from Steve Cano, Wastewater Maintenance Superintendent and Joel Ortiz, Wastewater Maintenance III for Attending the Tri-State Seminar in Las Vegas from August 9-12, 2021 Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receives and files this report. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 5 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Mr. Carroll introduced the item and noted that Mr. Cano and Mr. Ortiz are unavailable to present the report as they are currently working in the field. The Board decided to continue this item to a future Study Session so that Mr. Cano and Mr. Ortiz are available to present the report. There was no further discussion. Discussion: 4. Provide Comments and Questions for the 2021 Community -wide Citizens Survey Recommendation: That the Board of Directors provide comments and questions for the 2021 Community Wide Citizen Survey. Mr. Carroll presented report details. He shared that the District selected True North Research to conduct the 2021 Community -wide Citizen Survey. He stated that True North Research will be surveying 1,000 ratepayers via phone, email, and text messaging. He added that this item was presented to the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) and that the staff report includes sample questions submitted by CAC Chair Elodie Katz. He introduced the President of True North Research, Timothy McLarney. Dr. McLarney shared a presentation about the survey. He discussed the survey requirements, including validity, reliability, and representation. He reviewed survey challenges, including language barriers, Spam filters, mode effects, busy lifestyles, measurement error, subgroup response bias, and habitual call screening. He stated that True North Research's approach includes stratified random sampling, recruitment by email, text messaging, and telephone, and collection of telephone and online data. He described the survey process and timeline. Director Perry asked if True North Research will be informing respondents that the survey is from the District. Dr. McLarney confirmed that they will state that the survey is from the District to guarantee legitimacy and trust. He added that all correspondence must be approved by the District before the survey process begins. Director Perry asked if True North Research needs to hire a third party to email and text respondents. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 6 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Dr. McLarney stated that they will be working with their data collection partners who have over 20 years of experience in this field. Vice President Scheafer asked if True North Research has a set schedule of times and dates for calling respondents. Dr. McLarney stated that they will be calling during the week in the early evening hours of 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. He noted that they will be calling people on the weekends during a broader range of hours. He added that if someone does not answer the call, then they will call them again at a different time. Discussion followed regarding the timing of phone calls. Secretary Schafer asked if there is a timeline for the survey process. Dr. McLarney shared his timeline and stated that they are about to enter the design phase of the survey process. Secretary Schafer asked if the Board will be reviewing the final survey before it is published. Dr. McLarney stated that he will be sharing the final survey with District staff to review and provide edits. He added that, after it is approved, the final survey will be placed on a meeting agenda as a "receive and file" item with a verbal report presented to the Board. Secretary Schafer asked when the Board can submit questions for the survey. Dr. McLarney stated that the Board can submit their questions today. Director Eckles asked how many people True North Research will be calling in order to reach 1,000 respondents. Dr. McLarney stated that it depends on the response rate. He shared details from a recent project for which they reached out to triple the number of respondents. He noted that response rates can vary between 5% to 20%. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 7 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Director Eckles asked if there is a need to incentivize people to respond to the survey. Dr. McLarney stated that he generally does not find the need to incentivize people, especially for government surveys. He noted that people are more likely to respond to surveys regarding their community and local services. Director Eckles suggested sharing a few survey questions so that True North Research can create a rough draft of the survey. He recommended reviewing the rough draft via email rather than scheduling another public meeting. President Ooten stated that the Board will review the survey before it is published. He commented that the District has been working diligently to improve their communication efforts. He asked if True North Research would be willing to share or help enhance the District's email and text message communications. Dr. McLarney discussed a couple different methods for enhancing email and text message communications. He noted that the survey will provide insight into how District customers prefer to be contacted. He recommended for the District to enhance their database of customers by including their phone numbers and email addresses. President Ooten shared that there is a low percentage of people interested in District functions. He asked if True North Research will contact previous respondents who are more receptive to taking multiple surveys. Dr. McLarney stated that they do not contact the same respondents. He noted that they carefully sample a different mix of people for each survey. He added that there are certain types of people who are more likely to take surveys. He stated that they will be monitoring the demographics of their sample to ensure that they are surveying a variety of respondents. Director Perry asked if there is already a rough draft prepared. Mr. Carroll stated that there is a rough draft of questions prepared. He noted that some of the questions originate from the 2019 Citizen Survey while some are more focused on transitioning to a three -cart system. He instructed the Board to share their suggested questions with District staff. He added COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 8 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 that there will be questions regarding the Orange Coast College (OCC) Recycling Center and recycling behaviors. Discussion followed regarding the timeline to submit additional questions. Vice President Scheafer discussed the survey questions submitted by CAC Chair Katz. He discussed the confusion regarding the phrase "green waste carts." He noted that all District trash carts are green and recommended for a new phrase to describe the green waste carts. Mr. Carroll noted that the green waste carts are organic waste carts, but some customers do not know what "organic waste" means. Vice President Scheafer requested to include questions assessing customers' awareness of how to report missed trash pickups or sewer issues. President Ooten shared that, because of the previous Citizen Survey, the District hired a communications consultant, Tripepi Smith, to help with their communication efforts. Director Eckles suggested including questions assessing customer satisfaction with trash service, understanding of sewer laterals, customers' responsibilities, items that can or cannot be poured down drains, and the possibility of transitioning to a three -cart system. Director Perry suggested including questions regarding all services provided by the District. Mr. Carroll instructed the Board to submit their suggested questions by the end of the day tomorrow. Director Eckles suggested including questions regarding trash and sewer rates. President Ooten suggested including questions assessing citizen concerns. He noted that the survey is a good opportunity to educate their customers on District services. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 9 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Director Eckles recommended using CR&R's performance metrics to draft survey questions. Mr. Mosher stated that he submitted comments regarding the previous Citizen Survey's validity. He commented that the research firm selected respondents from the voter list for the District's service area. He expressed concern that many voters may not be District customers. He stressed the importance of verifying that respondents are District customers. He recommended asking respondents if they place their trash cart at the curb to determine if they are a District trash customer. He suggested cross referencing respondents' addresses. He stated that, for rate -related questions, it is important to survey the person who is paying the property tax bill. He noted that the previous Citizen Survey did not ask these types of questions. He added that it is common to ask if a customer has any thoughts on how to improve District services and to provide a method for submitting suggestions after the survey concludes. He expressed concerns about the previous survey's results, reliability, and accuracy. Dr. McLarney stated that, for every property on their survey list, they are aware of the services that the property receives. He added that they will know in advance if the respondent receives service and which types of service. He noted that they may ask clarifying questions during the survey to ensure that the respondents receive appropriate and relevant questions. He discussed the sample size and stated that, when it gets broken down into subgroups, the margin of error increases because it is based on subgroup size rather than the overall sample size. CAC Member and District resident, Judy Gielow, asked if the Board received CAC Chair Katz's letter. President Ooten confirmed that it was received. CAC Member Gielow stated that she shares some of the questions listed on CAC Chair Katz's letter and is eager to see them included in the survey. There was no further discussion. Discussion, Receive and File: S. Receive and File Quarterly Legislative Report — Quarter 3 COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 10 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receives and files the Quarterly Legislative Report. Mr. Carroll introduced the item. Management Analyst II, Gina Terraneo, presented report details. She shared that last Friday was the last day for the state legislature to pass any bills that would be passed on to the Governor. She noted that the Governor has until October 10th to sign or veto the bills. She stated that, if the Governor is recalled, then the new governor would assume the position 38 days after the election, which is October 22nd. She discussed a few notable bills that have passed and are awaiting action by the Governor. She discussed Assembly Bill (AB) 818 which would require wipes to contain specific labeling with the phrase "Do Not Flush." She noted that this bill is supported by the District and by the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD). She discussed AB 1201, which would prohibit manufacturers from selling products that are labeled compostable or biodegradable unless they meet certain standards or have received certification. She discussed AB 1276, which would prohibit distributors from giving out single -use foodware and condiments except upon request. Vice President Scheafer stated that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most food establishments removed their condiment stations. Ms. Terraneo stated that people may request single -use products like straws and condiment packets. She discussed SB 244, which would prohibit lithium - ion batteries in trash containers and require trash haulers to conduct specific trainings on how to handle battery -related fires. Director Perry asked if SB 244 is already a regulation. He stated that the District does not allow lithium -ion batteries to be placed in trash carts. Ms. Terraneo stated that SB 244 would create more repercussions for disposing of lithium -ion batteries illegally. Vice President Scheafer asked CR&R representative, Mike Carey, if CR&Ws Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) staff is well -trained on lithium -ion batteries. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 11 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Mr. Carey stated that CR&R is well -trained on how to recognize and label lithium -ion batteries. Ms. Terraneo discussed SB 594 which would update the deadline for redistricting to April 17, 2022. Director Eckles asked about the District's opposition to AB 59. Ms. Terraneo stated that AB 59 was stuck in committee, but she will verify its status. Director Perry inquired about congressional bill HR 535 regarding the Essential Services Act. Ms. Terraneo stated that there has not been any recent movement on HR 535. She noted that it is aimed at securing funding for special districts as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act. Secretary Schafer shared that information about SB 594 is available on the California Special Districts Association's (CSDA) website. Director Perry asked if redistricting will affect the next election cycle in 2022. Vice President Scheafer stated that it will affect 2022 elections if the District decides to revert back to District -wide elections. Mr. Carroll confirmed that District Counsel, Alan Burns, recommended for the District to continue with elections by division. Director Eckles asked if SB 594 will require the District to redraw their division boundaries. President Ooten stated that the District will have to redraw their division boundaries based on the 2020 Census data. Discussion followed regarding redistricting. Mr. Mosher asked if there is a law prohibiting "dirty" MRFs that accept and sort mixed waste. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 12 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 President Ooten stated that SB 1383 may impact the current operations of MRFs. Mr. Carroll stated that SB 1383 does not prohibit mixed waste carts. However, he noted that the materials placed in a mixed waste cart must be transported to a high diversion facility. He added that the District is waiting for CalRecycle to define "high diversion." Discussion followed regarding CalRecycle's diversion rates and SB 1383 implementation. There was no further discussion, and the report was received. Discussion, Receive and File: 6. Receive and File CR&R's Benchmark Measures Progress Report Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receives and files this report. Mr. Carroll presented report details. Vice President Scheafer asked if the July data was affected by the 4t' of July holiday. Mr. Carroll stated that the report contains data for the whole month of July and that the July 41 trash delay was a factor regarding missed trash pickups. President Ooten asked about a measure that refers to an annual or semiannual criteria for missed trash pickups. Mr. Carroll stated that the Board directed District staff to present six months' worth of data regarding CR&R's performance. He stated that District staff currently has two months' worth of data and that, by January 2022, they will have six months' worth of data. Director Eckles stated that the total benchmark number for missed trash pickups in a six-month period is set at 174. He added that, in two months, CR&R has received 130 missed trash requests. He inquired about the timeline regarding the City of Newport Beach's transfer station. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 13 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Mr. Carroll stated that the City of Newport Beach and CR&R have not provided a definitive answer regarding the transfer station. He noted that there is an issue with the scales. Discussion followed regarding scales and the City of Newport Beach's transfer station. There was no further discussion, and the report was received. Procedural: 1.Oral Communications and Director Comments President Ooten asked about the next Solid Waste Ad Hoc Committee meeting. Mr. Carroll stated that District staff is in the process of setting up the next meeting. President Ooten commented that the District discontinued their monetary support for OCC Recycling Center's collection of light bulbs and other items. He inquired about how much money was saved from this decision. Mr. Carroll stated that $50,000 was saved. He shared that customers can have their items picked up curbside through the District's Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Program. He noted that most of the people who were dropping off HHW items at the OCC Recycling Center were not District customers. President Ooten commented that is it easier for him to drop off his items at the OCC Recycling Center than to schedule a pickup with CR&R. Director Perry asked about the cost per HHW pickup. Mr. Carroll stated that the HHW Collection Program is included in the District's trash rate and not an additional cost. Director Perry shared that he scheduled an HHW pickup with CR&R and it was very easy. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 14 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 President Ooten stated that this topic would be a good article for the District's newsletter. Vice President Scheafer expressed recognition for the District's social media presence, and its promotion of its Large Item Collection Program. He asked for data regarding the number of large item pickup requests. He shared that his relative experienced some issues with scheduling a request. Mr. Carroll stated that District staff is aware that there are some issues with scheduling large item pickups. There were no additional comments by the Board. Procedural: 2. Adjournment President Ooten adjourned the meeting at 9:37 A.M. Arlene Schafer Secretary 0 1 k1l" " - Bob Ooten President