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Minutes - Board - 2025-11-24 ' ,,,,"R', COSTA MESA i41 F ,��k, l - SANITARY DISTRICT COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING November 24, 2025 Members present: Michael Scheafer, President Robert Ooten, Vice President Arthur Perry, Secretary Nicole Wiltshire, Director Shayanne Wright, Director Members not present: None Staff present: Scott Carroll, General Manager Noelani Middenway, District Clerk/PIO Gina Terraneo, Senior Management Analyst Marissa Pereyda, Solid Waste Manager Mark Esquer, District Engineer Kaitlin Tran, Finance Manager Dyana Wick, Administrative Services Manager Alan Burns, District Counsel Others present: Sue Lester, Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Chair and District customer Milo Ebrahimi, Midway City Sanitary District Cindy Brenneman, CAC Member and District customer A. OPENING ITEMS 1. Call to Order 2 President Scheafer called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance President Scheafer led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. Invocation Vice President Ooten led the Invocation. 4. Roll Call District Clerk and Public Information Officer, Noelani Middenway, conducted roll call and noted that all Board Members were present. 5. Announcement of Late Communications None. 6. Ceremonial Matters and Presentations None. B. PUBLIC COMMENTS President Scheafer opened public comments. Sue Lester, CAC Chair and District customer, noted that her comments tonight are made as a resident and not as CAC Chair. She commented that there has been no advertisement of the current CAC vacancy and about the upcoming discussion on Board Member benefits and compensation. Additionally, she commented regarding a teleconferencing policy that appears to be expiring and shared a complaint about a safety hazard that was reported 2 weeks ago and has not been rectified. Ms. Middenway noted that the CAC vacancy will be advertised shortly. District Engineer, Mark Esquer, noted that staff is in the process of identifying a contractor to rectify the safety issue. District Counsel, Alan Burns, noted that the teleconferencing law does expire this year, but has been extended to 2030. Cindy Brenneman, CAC Member and District customer, commented in response to Mr. Esquer that hand railings can be put up within a week. Additionally, she shared a complaint regarding a missed trash pickup and the resulting correspondence with CR&R and the General Manager. 3 President Scheafer closed public comments. C. CONSENT CALENDAR Moved By Secretary Arthur Perry Seconded By Vice President Robert Ooten Motion: To approve the Consent Calendar, except for Item C4, as presented. Ayes: (5): President Michael Scheafer, Vice President Robert Ooten, Secretary Arthur Perry, Director Nicole Wiltshire, and Director Shayanne Wright Carried (5 to 0) 1. Approve the Board of Directors Study Session Minutes of October 14, 2025 2. Approve the Board of Directors Regular Meeting Minutes of October 27, 2025 3. Adopt Warrant Resolution No. CMSD 2026-05 Approving District Warrant Registers 4. Directors' Compensation and Reimbursement of Expenses Vice President Ooten pulled this item for discussion. He noted that his compensation form was modified after submission and he did not find out until recently. He noted that this item can be discussed further during next month's Study Session. Director Wright commented that there is confusion about which meetings are compensable and which are not. President Scheafer opened public comments. Ms. Lester asked where the Board Members' meeting notes, which are referenced in the October Board Meeting minutes, are submitted. Ms. Middenway noted that she receives the Boards' written notes and they are kept on file and available for the public. Director Wright requested more information during the next Study Session regarding what is expected from the written reports. Mr. Burns noted that the government code requires a report for expenses, but not necessarily for meetings. 4 Moved By Vice President Robert Ooten Seconded By Secretary Arthur Perry Motion: To approve the compensation and reimbursement of expenses as presented. Ayes: (5): President Michael Scheafer, Vice President Robert Ooten, Secretary Arthur Perry, Director Nicole Wiltshire, and Director Shayanne Wright Carried (5 to 0) 5. Approve Payroll Transparency Disclosure for October 2025 6. Approve the Preparation of a Warrant to CR Transfer for $198,120.22 and to CR&R, Inc. for $6,789.59 in the November 2025 Warrant Register for October 2025 Recycling and Disposal Services 7. Receive and File October 2025 Tonnage and Diversion Report 8. Approve the Occupancy Count of 23,263 and Direct Staff to Prepare a Warrant to CR&R Environmental Services for$408,963.54 in the November 2025 Warrant Register for October 2025 Solid Waste Collection Services 9. Receive and File October 2025 Contracts Signed by the General Manager D. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. E. GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORTS 1. Receive and File Report on CMSD Solid Waste Collections at Multi-Family Units Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file this report. General Manager, Scott Carroll, presented an overview of the District's solid waste service for multi-family properties. He noted that District customers have carts rather than bins or dumpsters. He explained that the majority of multi-family properties in Costa Mesa fall within the jurisdiction of the City, while the District primarily services properties with 4 units or less. He added that the Board requested to look into taking over service for all multi-family properties in the past, but the City was not amenable to the idea. Secretary Perry requested to notify the City that their approved haulers should pick up Christmas trees after the holidays. Director Wiltshire inquired about large item pickup services for City customers. 5 Discussion followed regarding the various bin configurations for multi-family properties. Director Wright inquired about whether the District's hauler is covering some of the City haulers' responsibilities. She emphasized the importance of communicating with renters who receive the District's service. Mr. Burns commented that the District can share messaging for the greater good, such as messaging for proper cooking grease disposal. 2. Discuss and Consider Adopting Proposed Pay-As-You-Throw Program for Solid Waste Collections Recommendation: That the Board of Directors direct staff to continue researching the Pay As You Throw program and to bring back this item at a later date for adoption consideration. Mr. Carroll presented the proposed Pay-As-You-Throw program details and requested feedback. He added that customers were asked for their feedback on the program during the Communitywide Survey, and staff will bring that back to the Board next month. He shared the potential challenges associated with implementing this program, including coordination with renters, billing and customer service needs, cart misuse, and data management among involved parties. He added that a way to address some challenges would be to allow CR&R to bill customers directly. Lastly, he noted that he presented the program to the CAC and they expressed support for pursuing it. Secretary Perry noted that District Counsel once stated that tiered rates are not allowed under Proposition 218. He added that he does not support taking the District's fees off the property tax bill. Mr. Carroll noted that if the Board supports moving forward, the program will be reviewed by District Counsel. Vice President Ooten commented that most of the past surveys have indicated that the community sees the District favorably, and this program may cause a lot of concern. He noted that this would be a substantial change and he requested to know how long it took other jurisdictions to implement this program and what the associated costs were. President Scheafer commented that this discussion is premature and he would like to see this brought back for discussion once staff has information about the costs. Discussion followed regarding using the program to reduce waste, the potential impacts on District revenue, and outreach needs. Director Wright shared that she looked into tiered water rates for comparison. She commented that it seems daunting given that the District would need to change its revenue structure. She commented that it may be premature to implement another s large change so soon after rolling out the 3-cart system. She shared other initiatives that should be discussed prior to this, including identifying successful outreach avenues and imposing fines. President Scheafer opened public comments. Ms. Lester asked why more of the CAC's comments about how to address challenges were not shared with the Board. She shared that the CAC discussed giving residents with minimal waste a cost break and the importance of eventually using fines to impact behavior. She indicated support for pursuing the program, and recommended capping the amount of times a customer can change cart sizes. President Scheafer closed public comments. Director Wright requested that staff include the CAC's minutes with reports, when applicable. The Board directed staff to gather more information and bring this item back to them with the survey results and with their questions addressed, particularly the costs associated with the program. President Scheafer requested that this item be brought to the Solid Waste Ad Hoc Committee if the Board decides to pursue the program. F. ENGINEER'S REPORTS 1. Receive and File the District Engineer's Monthly Report and Capital Improvement Projects Status Recommendation.- That the Board of Directors receive and file the report. Mr. Esquer provided updates about projects 346 and 630. He noted his upcoming time off. 2. Consider Approving a Memorandum of Understanding with Midway City Sanitary District for Sharing Costs to Develop Updated Sewer Standard Plans and Specifications Recommendation: That the Board of Directors approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the Costa Mesa Sanitary District and the Midway City Sanitary District for sharing costs associated with updating the Sewer Standard Plans and Specifications. President Scheafer requested that this item precede the General Manager's reports. Mr. Esquer presented a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the District and Midway City Sanitary District for the Board's approval. He explained that the MOU would update the Sewer Standard Plans and Specifications, which is outdated and does not reflect current practices. He shared that the District would be the lead agency in the process, and will therefore contract with the engineering firm. Lastly, Mr. Esquer noted that the contract will be approximately $60,000480,000 and Midway City Sanitary District will pay their share of the cost. Discussion followed regarding the purpose of Plans and Specifications, how the partnership with Midway City Sanitary District came to be, and issues that might result from an outdated Plans and Specifications document. Director Wright asked how long the new document will last. Mr. Esquer noted that the updated document should be ready by next June, and it should last between 5-10 years. He noted that Midway City Sanitary District has already approved it. Moved By Vice President Robert Ooten Seconded By Secretary Arthur Perry Motion: To approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the Costa Mesa Sanitary District and the Midway City Sanitary District for sharing costs associated with updating the Sewer Standard Plans and Specifications. Ayes: (5): President Michael Scheafer, Vice President Robert Ooten, Secretary Arthur Perry, Director Nicole Wiltshire, and Director Shayanne Wright Carried (5 to 0) G. TREASURER'S REPORTS None. H. ATTORNEY'S REPORTS 1. Ralph M. Brown Act, Gov Code 54952.2(c)(4) District Counsel read from the government code an exception to the noticed meeting requirement that allows more than a quorum of members of a governing board to attend a meeting of another body of a local agency that has not been noticed as a meeting of the board, so long as less than a quorum speak on matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of that body during the meeting. I. LOCAL MEETINGS 1. Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) - (Vice President Ooten) Vice President Ooten provided details about the last OCSD meeting, including a report from the Operations Committee. 8 2. Santa Ana River Flood Protection Agency (SARFPA) - (Secretary Perry) Secretary Perry provided details about the last SARFPA meeting, including hiring the new director. 3. Independent Special Districts of Orange County (ISDOC) - (President Scheafer) President Scheafer noted that ISDOC discussed rates and membership. 4. California Special Districts Association (CSDA) - (President Scheafer) None. 5. Special District Risk Management Authority (SDRMA) -(President Scheafer) President Scheafer noted that SDRMA has been discussing selecting a permanent Executive Director. 6. Other Meetings Qualifying for Reimbursement under CMSD Ordinance No. 55, Operations Code Section 3.01.030 Vice President Ooten reported about the Water Advisory Committee of Orange County (WACO). President Scheafer reported about Orange County Council of Governments (OCCOG). J. OLD BUSINESS None. K. NEW BUSINESS None. L. CLOSING ITEMS 1. Oral Communications and Director Comments President Scheafer inquired about a property within the Fairview Development Center that utilizes Waste Management as its hauler. He confirmed that December 16 at 11:30 a.m. will be the District's holiday luncheon. Vice President Ooten requested to see a future report about waste characterization studies.