02 - Minutes Study Session 2013-09-09 DRAFT
C OSTA M ESA S ANITARY D ISTRICT
M INUTES OF B OARD OF D IRECTORS S TUDY S ESSION
S EPTEMBER 9, 2013
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1. C ALL TO O RDE R
The Board of Directors of the Costa Mesa
Sanitary District met in study se ssion on
September 9 , 2013 at 9 :55 a .m. at 628 W.
19 th Street, Costa Mesa.
2. R OLL C ALL
D IRECTORS P RESENT : James Ferryman, Robert Ooten, Art Perry ,
Arlene Schafer , Mike Scheafer
D IRECTORS A BSENT : None
S TAFF P RESENT : Scott Carroll, General M anager; Anna
Sanchez, Administrative Service Manager;
Noelani Middenway, Deputy Clerk of the
District; Robin B. Hamers, District Engineer;
Javier Ochiqui, Management Analyst ;
Elizabeth Pham, Management Assistant ;
Steve Cano, Sewer Maintenance Supervisor
O THERS P RESENT : Dean Ruffridge, CR&R; Lawrence Jones,
CR&R ; Jim Mosher, Resident ; Derek
Sabori, Costa Mesa Community
Foundation; M ary Fewel, Costa Mesa
Community Foundation
3. P UBLIC C OMMENTS
Mr. Jim Mosher expressed appreciation of staff for posting an improved map of the
trash service area, suggested that a link to the map be placed on the District’s Solid
Waste , and commented on the website’s multi -lingual translation feature. Mr. Mosher
announced the City of Newport Beach and OC Goodwill’s upcomi ng e-Waste event,
discussed Brown Act noticing requirements and requested confirmation that the posting
of the meeting agenda met the noticing requirements .
Seeing no one further, President Ferryman closed public comments.
President Ferryman requested a res ponse to Mr. Mosher’s comment regarding the
agenda posting.
ITEM NO. 02
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Ms. Noelani Middenway, Deputy Clerk of the District, responded to public comment and
indicated that the agenda was physically posted on the District’s notice board and made
available on the District website by 9:00 a.m. on Friday, September 6.
Director Ooten questioned if the 72 -hour notice requirement is counted in calendar
days.
Mr. Alan Burns, District Counsel, confirmed that the hours are counted in calendar days,
however, since the study session s are special meeting s it is only required to be noticed
within 24 hours of the meeting.
4. I TEMS O F S TUDY
A. Sponsorship – Costa Mesa Community Foundation
Recommendation: That the Board of Directors discuss the sponsorship levels for
Concerts in the Park and how being a sponsor will serve the District’s purpose.
Mr. Scott Carroll, General Manager, introduced the item and noted that representatives
from the Costa Mesa Com munity Foundation were present and requested direction from
the Board.
P resident Ferryman requested comment from the Board.
Director Perry suggested that the Costa Mesa Community Foundation representatives
be given the opportunity to provide comments.
President Ferryman invited the Costa Mesa Community Foundation represent atives to
address the Board.
Ms. Mary Fewel, President of the Costa Mesa Community Foundation, addressed the
Bo ard and felt that sponsoring the Costa Mesa Community Foundation would fall in line
with the District’s purpose.
Discussion followed regardin g staff time involved in being present at such community
events, educational material to support the goal of educating the public in ways to
reduce trash tonnage and whether it was effective.
General Manager Carroll indicated that the public education wa s effective.
Director Schafer questioned how many organizations the District sponsors annually.
General Manager Carroll noted that the District sponsored three events in 2012 and the
number of sponsorships varies .
Discussion followed regarding the c oncerts in the park attendance, advertising the
events, the cost of sponsorship and the expected interaction of District staff at the
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event .
Mr. Derek Sabori , Costa Mesa Community Foundation sustainability expert, noted that
the sponsorship would be a gr eat opportunity to educate the public on services provided
by the District.
Discussion followed regarding advertising opportunities and staff ing availability.
Vice President Scheafer noted that the benefit to sponsoring the event would be the
ability to advertise the District’s message and programs .
Discussion followed regarding the appropriate expenditure of funds to promote District
programs.
There were no additional questions or comments.
The Board of Directors requested that this item be placed on the upcoming Board
meeting agenda for consideration.
B. Project No. 101 – Westside Pump Station Abandonment Project
Recommendation: That the Board of Directors discuss District Engineer’s
estimate for this project.
General Manager Carroll requested t hat this item be pulled from the agenda and
continued to a future meeting.
C. Permit Office Operations – Organizational Changes
Recommendation: The Board of Directors give feedback to staff regarding
reclassifying the Permit Technician position to Associat e Engineer and
consider the additional appropriation request to fund the position.
Ms. Anna Sanchez, Administrative Service Manager, provided report details, discussed
the cost comparison of maintaining a contract employee versus hiring internal staff,
ad dressed the issue of the contractors l imit ed scope of service per what is provided in
the contract, and provided examples of staffing challenges the District may encounter
by maintaining a contracted employee in the Permit Technician position.
Director Perry requested details regarding the District’s need to comply with the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
District Counsel Burns responded to Director Perry’s inquiry and discussed the need to
make CEQA findings for each project and noted tha t doing so had not been common
practice in the past, but should be gin making CEQA findings on projects moving forward
as it is a requirement.
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Director Ooten clarified that District Counsel’s input was to formalize the CEQA finding
process.
District Cou nsel Burns indicated that the hiring of an engineer to conduct CEQA findings
would not be necessary.
Discussion followed regarding who would be responsible for making the CEQA findings
and the inability to adopt the CEQA guidelines until that individual was determined.
General Manager Carroll expressed concern that the individual making the CEQA
findings should be a professional and not in the capacity of a Permit Technician.
Director Perry questioned if the District Engineer could make the CEQA findi ngs.
General Manager Carroll confirmed that the District Engineer could make those
findings.
Discussion followed regarding the frequency of need to making CEQA findings.
District Counsel Burns indicated that not every project i s required to have CEQA
findi ngs.
Vice President Scheafer clarified that the recommendation is to remove the Permit
Technician position and replace it with an Associate Engineer, which would not create a
new position, but would expand the responsibilities of the position currently in place.
Vice President Scheafer also requested confirmation that it would be less expensive to
hire an individual to fill the position as opposed to contracting the position out.
Ms. Sanchez confirmed that Vice President Scheafer’s comments were correct.
Discussion followed regarding the current duties of the Permit Technician and the
proposed expanded scope of work for the position , the fully burdened cost of a full -time
Permit Technician versus the cost of the contracted Permit Technician.
Director Ooten expressed concern about making an organizational change when a
budget is already in place .
General Manager Carroll noted that the need to make CEQA findings was brought to his
attention by District Counsel after the budget had been approved.
Dir ector Ooten stated that the Board’s opposition was due to staff’s recommendation of
hiring an Associate Engineer to fulfill CEQA needs .
General Manager Carroll clarified that the recommendation would allow for the
expansion of du ties for the Permit Techn ician, including, but not limited to, making
CEQA findings. The expansion of duties would include serving as Alternate District
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Engineer and review ing FOG plans, which would eventually save the District money
because both functions are currently being perf ormed by contractors .
President Ferryman expressed favor of requesting the District Engineer to make the
CEQA findings and suggested that the Permit Technician position be reinstated.
Director Perry questioned if a part -time Permit Technician position would be
appropriate.
Vice President Scheafer suggested that staff bring back a job description for the Permit
Technician with expanded duties to include CEQA review.
District Counsel Burns indicated that staff could be sent to a CEQA course and be
qualified to make the findings and that there would be a fail -safe with the attorney
review of the staff reports.
General Manager Carroll noted that a Permit Technician position does not require a
college degree and felt that someone with a higher level of education would be better
qualified to make the CEQA findings.
Director Perry agreed with Vice President Scheafer’s suggestion.
Discussion followed regarding the difference in terminology of an Associate Engineer
and an Engineering Associate.
The Board directed staff to bring back a revised job description with expanded duties
and salary schedule for the Permit Technician, to request the District Engineer to
perform CEQA findings, and to send staff to CEQA training.
There were no additional ques tions or comments .
Vice President Scheafer exited the conference room at 10:40 a.m.
D. Personnel and Salary Committee
Recommendation: That the Board of Directors give staff direction.
General Manager Carroll introduced the item and noted that he address ed concerns
and provided recommendations in his staff report.
Vice President Scheafer re -entered the conference room at 10:42 a.m.
Director Perry questioned District Counsel Burns on how guidelines would be set for the
proposed committee.
District Cou nsel Burns indicated that this topic would require discussion at length and to
ensure that rights are not being given where they were not intended to and to ensure
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that the Board oversaw policy.
Director Perry noted that he provided a draft policy for th e Board’s consideration .
District Counsel Burns encouraged the Board to review the draft policy and determine
what would be applicable.
Discussion followed regarding whether or not to create an ad hoc committee or a
standing committee.
President Ferr yman encouraged that the committee focus on a specific scope.
Director Perry suggested the recommendation to bring the item back for finalization.
Director Ooten suggested that a list be prepared of suggested subjects that the
committee would discuss.
There were no further questions or comments .
The Board of Directors requested that this item be brought back to the Board meeting of
September 26 for further discussion.
District Counsel Burns excused himself from the meeting at 10:45 a.m.
E. CMSD 70 th Anniversary in Newport Mesa Magazine
Recommendation: That the Board of Directors give staff direction.
General Manager Carroll provided details of advertising the District’s 70 th anniversary in
the Newport Mesa Magazine.
Discussion followed regarding th e circulation of the Newport Mesa Magazine, and
suggested items to be distributed to the public in celebration of the District’s 70 th
anniversary.
Director Ooten expressed support of advertising the District’s 70 th anniversary without
spending excessive funds.
Vice President Scheafer also expressed support of advertising in the Newport Mesa
Magazine as it the publication is circulated to over 50,000 residences.
President Ferryman suggested a review of the budget for the 70 th anniversary budget
and to d etermine what the focus would be to celebrate the District while educating the
public.
Discussion followed regarding the need to create an ad hoc 70 th anniversary committee
or branding committee.
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General Manager Carroll suggested scheduling a study ses sion to discuss the District’s
70 th anniversary.
There were no additional questions or comments and the report was received.
F. Recycling & Waste Diversion Reports
Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file the report.
This item was p ulled from the agenda.
G. Ordinance Enforcement Officer Report
Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file the report.
Director Ooten expressed that he felt that the District is spending excessive time on
scavenging which is more of City f unction.
Vice President Scheafer discussed the possibility of doing a public education outreach
regarding scavenging.
Mr. Ochiqui indicated that information on scavenging would be included in the upcoming
District newsletter.
There were no additional questions or comments and the report was received and filed .
H. District Meals, Travel and Conferences Expense Report
Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file the report.
General Manager Carroll provided report details of the analysi s of the Board of Directors
and staff’s reimbursements for meals, travel and conference expenses from 2011 and
2012. Mr. Carroll noted that the total amount is slightly over $85,000 in a two year
period .
Dir e ctor Perry questioned how much was budgeted annually for reimbursements.
General Manager Carroll noted that $40,000 is budgeted annually.
Vice President Scheafer noted that he requested that this item be placed on the agenda
and indicated that the Boar d is very aware of their expenses when traveling on
business.
Director Ooten suggested that the report be placed on the District website and reported
by individual years.
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Vice President Scheafer expressed appreciation for staff’s time in preparing the report.
There were no additional questions or comments and the report was received and filed.
I. District Cost Savings in the Last Three Years
Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file the report.
General Manager Carroll indicated that this item is one of his goals and noted that most
of the savings came from the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) with a saving of
nearly 2.4 million dollars.
There were no questions or comments and the report was received and filed.
J. Quarterly Report – Rewards Idea Program
Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file the report.
General Manager Carroll noted that the Board has approved seven ideas since the
program was started in 2012, which has saved the District over $93,000 and that $3,000
has been awarded to staff.
Director Ooten thought that this item was going to address whether or not managers
would be eligible to participate in the program.
General Manager Carroll indicated that item would be discussed at the upcoming Board
meeting.
Vice President Scheafer complimented Sewer Maintenance Supervisor, Mr. Steve
Cano, and his team on developing the ‘Sewer Slayer’ coloring tri -fold.
Mr. Cano indicated that the coloring tri -folds are being distributed.
Director Perry suggeste d that the coloring tri -folds be distributed at public events and
encouraged staff to print additional material if needed.
There were no questions or comments and the report was received and filed.
K. Future study session items
Recommendation: That the B oard of Directors provide staff with direction
on the type of items to be placed on future study sessions.
Nothing to request at this time.
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5 . A DJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Board, President Ferryman
adjourned the meeti ng at 1 1:05 a.m.
_________________________ _________________________
Art Perry James Ferryman
Secretary President