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Minutes - CAC & Board - 2025-09-10 ASN SANITgAYO ® b.ORfORAiEc A• COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT MINUTES OF THE JOINT BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 • Board Members present Michael Scheafer, Bob Oaten, Nicole Wiltshire, Shayanne Wright Board Members absent Art Perry CAC Members present Jeff Arbour, Cindy Brenneman (attended via teleconference), Xerxez Calilung, Dickie Fernandez, Craig Holmes, Paul Lancaster, Sue Lester, Brooke Natzke, Michael Tou CAC Members absent Rosemarie Chora Staff present Scott Carroll (General Manager), Noelani Middenway (District Clerk/PIO), Gina Terraneo (Senior Management Analyst), Marissa Pereyda (Solid Waste Manager) Others present Adam Probolsky (Probolsky Research) Meeting called to order at 6:00 P.M. A. OPENING ITEMS Procedural: 1. Call to Order COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 2 MINUTES OF THE JOINT BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 Board President Mike Scheafer called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Procedural: 2. Roll Call District Clerk and Public Information Officer, Noelani Middenway, conducted roll call for the Board of Directors. She noted that all Board Members were present, except for Secretary Perry who was absent and excused. Ms. Middenway took roll call for the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) and noted that CAC Members Arbour, Brenneman, Calilung, Fernandez, Holmes, Lancaster, Lester, Natzke, and Tou were present, while CAC Member Chora was not present. Procedural: 3. Public Comments - Speakers will be limited to three minutes. The three minutes per speaker time allotted may be extended for good cause by a majority vote of the committee. President Scheafer opened public comments. CAC Member Holmes suggested that the District consider biweekly recycling collections, since some customers do not have much recyclable waste. General Manager, Scott Carroll, shared that the District looked into this but found that it was not cost effective. Vice President Ooten noted that customers can put their carts out for collection biweekly if they do not have enough recyclables for weekly service. Seeing no other commenters, President Scheafer closed public comments. B. ITEMS Action, Minutes: 1. Approve the Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes of July 9, 2025 COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 3 MINUTES OF THE JOINT BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 Recommendation: That the Citizens Advisory Committee approves the meeting minutes as presented. CAC Chair Lester introduced the item. Motion: To approve the meeting minutes as presented. Motion by Michael Tou, second by Cindy Brenneman. Final Resolution: Motion carries 8-0-1-1 Ayes: Jeff Arbour, Cindy Brenneman, Xerxez Calilung, Dickie Fernandez, Craig Holmes, Paul Lancaster, Sue Lester, Michael Tou No: None Abstain: Brooke Natzke Not Present: Rosemarie Chora There was no further discussion. Action: 2. Consider Approving Citizens Advisory Committee FY 2025-26 Workplan Recommendation: That the Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee: 1. Review and comment on the proposed FY 2025-26 Workplan 2. Approved the FY 2025-26 Workplan that include any amendments to the plan from tonight's meeting. Mr. Carroll introduced the work plan and requested comments. Vice President Oaten commented that there is inconsistency between the topics themselves and the language used to describe various topics within the CAC Work Plan, the District's Strategic Plan, and the General Manager's Goals. He requested that staff make these documents consistent. Motion: To approve the FY 2025-26 Workplan and bring it back for consideration at the CAC's November meeting with any amendments made to address Vice President Ooten's comments. Motion by Michael Tou, second by Sue Lester. Final Resolution: Motion carries 9-0-0-1 COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 4 MINUTES OF THE JOINT BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 Ayes: Jeff Arbour, Cindy Brenneman, Xerxez Calilung, Dickie Fernandez, Craig Holmes, Paul Lancaster, Sue Lester, Brooke Natzke, Michael Tou No: None Abstain: None Not Present: Rosemarie Chora There was no further discussion. Discussion: 3. Formulating Questions for the 2025 Communitywide Citizen Engagement Survey Recommendation: That the Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee formulate questions for the 2025 Communitywide Citizen Engagement Survey. Mr. Carroll introduced the item. He noted that the District went through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process and Probolsky Research was selected after the evaluation. He requested feedback about the survey questions from the Board and CAC. Discussion followed regarding the timeline for preparing and conducting the survey. Vice Chair Tou recommended including questions to gauge perception of the 3-Cart System and identifying challenges that customers may be facing to incorporate into education and increase compliance. Chair Lester suggested including questions about fines and non-compliance as it relates to Senate Bill 1383. CAC Member Natzke noted that her ideas can be submitted in writing and added that a potential focus of this year's survey can be an open-ended future vision for respondents to contribute ideas to. Discussion followed regarding framing language about fines and citations around the fairness and value of programs, and including questions about awareness of the District's newsletter and how residents prefer to receive information. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 5 MINUTES OF THE JOINT BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 Chair Lester recommended including information about District events like the Eco Expo and Composting and Shredding events. Discussion followed regarding how respondents are selected. CAC Member Calilung asked if the District includes enough questions related to its sewer services. Mr. Carroll noted that the survey focuses on solid waste because it is a more visible service; however, questions about sewer services are included also. Vice President Ooten noted that his suggestions were submitted to Mr. Carroll. He added comments about the Sewer Master Plan and available waste cart sizes, and noted that debt may be a topic we want to include as it relates to the Elden Force Main project. CAC Member Calilung suggested asking if customers want a waste sorting guide in the form of a magnet. Discussion followed regarding when the Board will review the survey questions and the survey sample size. There was no further discussion. Discussion 4. 2025-26 Alkaline Battery Recycling Program Recommendation: That the Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee provide program feedback and suggestions. Mr. Carroll shared that the program has begun and solicited feedback from the CAC. CAC Member Calilung suggested expanding the display of yard signs to students' homes and Newport Boulevard. Discussion followed regarding the City's policies about signage. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 6 MINUTES OF THE JOINT BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 Chair Lester noted that CAC Member Brenneman suggested inviting the top 3 schools to a Board Meeting to present their awards and share it on social media and CMTV. CAC Member Arbour suggested that the District present the awards at the schools instead. Discussion followed regarding some of the challenges the District faced with presenting the awards at the schools in the past. Additionally, discussion followed about promoting the program through PeachJar and the Liaison Committee Meeting. Director Wright suggested bringing a garbage truck to the winning school. Vice President Ooten commented that many trucks catch fire due to improper disposal of batteries. He suggested a pilot program for the District to distribute battery collection buckets to customers. CAC Member Natzke suggested incorporating a student program ambassador who receives a scholarship amount in return for getting more schools to sign up for the program. Discussion followed regarding incorporating fire prevention into the program messaging. Chair Lester suggested sharing program flyers with the Fire Department to distribute during fire prevention week events. Director Wiltshire suggested conducting a controlled fire demonstration. CAC Member Natzke suggested having a battery education booth at next year's Eco Expo. There was no further discussion. Receive and File S. CMSD's 4th Annual Eco Expo COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 7 MINUTES OF THE JOINT BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 Recommendation: That the Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee receive and file this report. Senior Management Analyst, Gina Terraneo, shared details about the upcoming Eco Expo event and noted that District staff implemented the CAC's feedback, including activities like the "Make and Take" booth, free ice cream for attendees, and providing indoor waste sorting guides. CAC Member Fernandez suggested inviting Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) to host a booth. Vice President Ooten suggested extending the event into other parts of the Headquarters building. Chair Lester praised the event and encouraged everyone to attend. CAC Member Natzke offered to request a raffle donation from Fermentation Farm. Director Wright confirmed that the event was advertised to the school district. There was no further discussion. C. CLOSING ITEMS Procedural: 1. Committee Member Comments None. Procedural: 2. Board/Staff Comments President Scheafer thanked the CAC for their participation. Vice President Ooten commented regarding the topic of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE S MINUTES OF THE JOINT BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 CAC Member Fernandez offered a tour of OC San. Procedural: 3. Adjournment CAC Chair Lester adjourned the meeting at 7:12 p.m. Art Perry Mi e Scheafer i Board Secretary Board President J 0A Sue Lester Citizens Advisory Committee Chair