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01 - Minutes Study Session Meeting 2014-03-18 C OSTA M ESA S ANITARY D ISTRICT M INUTES OF B OARD OF D IRECTORS S TUDY S ESSION M ARCH 18 , 2014 ______________________________________________________________________ C ALL TO O RDER The Board of Directors of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District met in study s ession on March 18 , 2014 at 9:3 0A .M . at 628 W. 19 th Street, Costa Mesa . R OLL C ALL D IRECTORS P RESENT : D IRECTORS A BSENT : James Ferryman, Robert Ooten, Art Perry, Arlene Schafer Michael Scheafer S TAFF P RESENT : Scott Carroll, General Manager ; Rob in Hamers, District Engineer; Noelani Middenway, District Clerk; Steve Cano, Maintenance Supervisory; Elizabeth Pham, Management Assistant O THERS P RESENT : Lawrence Jones, CR&R; Jim Mosher, Resident ; P UBLIC C OMMENT President Ferryman invited members of the public to address the Board. Seeing no one, President Ferryman closed public comments. I TEMS OF S TUDY 1. Recycling & Waste Diversion Reports Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file the January and February 2014 report. President Ferryman invited Mr. Mosher to provide comments on the item. ITEM NO. 01 C OSTA M ESA S ANITARY D ISTRICT P AGE 2 M INUTES OF THE B OARD OF D IRECTORS S TUDY S ESSION H ELD M ARCH 18 , 2014 ______________________________________________________________________ Mr. Jim Mosher commented on the recycling and waste diversion report, noted that the composition of what is being recycled has been updated, and discussed the percentage of recycling for Santa Ana Heights. Mr. Mosher expressed that he is unable to correlate the figures shown in the report versus what was identified by consultant Mr. Mike Balliet and provided examples of his discrepancies. Director Ooten encouraged staff to look into considering the use of the methodology used by Mr. Balliet’s study as it seemed more accurate than the waste characterization methodology that is currently used. President Ferryman noted that the waste characterization is an estimate and not a perfect sc ience and questioned the frequency of when waste characterizations are conducted. Mr. Lawrence Jones, CR&R, indicated that the contract does not stipulate the frequency of waste characterizations to be conducted and that the results from Mr. Balliet ’s st udy are basically the same as what is stated in the current report, however, the allocation of each commodity had changed, which has been updated and reflected in the new recycling and waste diversion reports. Mr. Jones indicated that the last waste charac terization study was performed four months prior. There were no additional questions or comments and the report was received. 2 . Ordinance Enforcement Officer Report Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file the report. General Ma nager Carroll noted an increase of reported trash cans in public view which were being reported on the District ’s mobile app. Discussion followed regarding scavenging and how scavengers are being approached. There were no additional questions or commen ts and the report was received. 3 . CMSD/Boys & Girls Club E -Waste Event Update (Oral Report) Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file the report. Ms. Elizabeth Pham, Management Assistant, indicated that staff contacted the Boys an d Girls Club (BGC) of Costa Mesa to inquire about partnering in an E -Waste event and noted that the BGC of the Harbor Area expressed interest in partnering for the event and offered to use their location free of charge. Ms. Pham indicated that staff is cur rently research ing vendors. Discussion followed regarding when the event will be held, possible challenges with parking and dropping o ff items, and utilizing an e -waste vendor who would provide part of the proceeds to the BGC. C OSTA M ESA S ANITARY D ISTRICT P AGE 3 M INUTES OF THE B OARD OF D IRECTORS S TUDY S ESSION H ELD M ARCH 18 , 2014 ______________________________________________________________________ There were no additional q uestions or comments and the report was received. 4 . Solid Waste Citizen Academy Update (Oral Report) Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file the report. Ms. Pham provided background o n how the program was advertised and indicated that only two participants were able to commit to the proposed two week, two hour sessions, but had conflicting schedules and were unable to participate . Ms. Pham noted that a number of participants expressed interest in touring the Anaerobic Digeste r (AD) Facility or the recycling center in Stanton. Ms. Pham indicated that staff recommends ending the proposed Solid Waste Citizen Academy program if less than seven participants fully commit to the academy, and/or propose a tour of the recycling center in Sta nton. General Manager Carroll noted that this matter is a goal identified in the Strategic Plan and it could either remain as a goal and be condensed to a one day academy with a minim um of seven people or the District can focus more on promoting tours. Discussion followed. The Board of Directors directed staff to focus on promoting tours There were no additional questions or comments and the report was received. 5 . District Facebook Page Update (Oral Report) Recommendation: That the Board of Direc tors receive and file the report. General Manager Carroll introduced the item, indicated that the Distr ict has successfully created a website as an informational tool for the public and expressed interest in creating a Facebook page for the District as a n additional social me dia tool to inform the public of special events and programs. Mr. Carroll noted that a social media policy is being review ed by District Counsel and will be ready for adoption should the Board direct staff to move forward with the use of the Facebook page. Ms. Pham noted Facebook’s privacy setting improvements , provided an overview of what the proposed Facebook page would look like, and discussed what items would be promoted on the page. Mr. Mosher questioned if there would be cont ent only available to Facebook account holders. Ms. Pham responded and indicated that anyone would be able to access the information. Ms. Pham noted that staff would administer the page and that she would update the Facebook page. Discussion followed. C OSTA M ESA S ANITARY D ISTRICT P AGE 4 M INUTES OF THE B OARD OF D IRECTORS S TUDY S ESSION H ELD M ARCH 18 , 2014 ______________________________________________________________________ Members of the Board expressed support of creating a Facebook page. There were no additional questions or comments and the report was received. 6 . Quarterly Legislative Analysis Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file the report . Ms. Pham provided an update on six legislative updates including SB 270 (Padilla, de Leon, and Lara) regarding the phasing out of single -use grocery bags , and recommended that the Board support the bill. Director Perry expressed favor of supporting the bill . Ms. Pham discussed AB 194 (Campos) regarding the Brown Act concerning public criticism of a legislative body and recommended that the Board oppose the bill ; AB 323 (Chesbro) regarding solid waste recycling, concerning green materials and noted that the bill died in the Assembly . Discussion followed regarding AB 323. Ms. Pham discussed AB 158 (Levine) regarding solid waste, concerning single -use carryout bags and noted that the bill died in the Assembly ; AB 1031 (Achdijan) regarding local governme nt, concerning open meetings and noted that the bill died in the Assembly ; and SB 405 (Padilla) regarding solid waste, concerning single -use carryout bags and noted that the bill was returned to the Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56 . Mr. Mosher expressed that he would assume that the member Districts of the California Special Districts Association (CSDA) would lean in the direction that the CSDA would take its position and questioned why CMSD is opposed to SB 594 pertaining to the use of public funds and did not know why CSDA opposed the bill. Director Perry agreed with Mr. Mosher. Ms. Pham indicated that there was no update on that senate bill. General Manager Carroll noted that the District typically sides with the CSDA’s position and tha t the District opposed the bill to show support of CSDA. There were no additional questions or comments and the report was received. 7 . Organics Recycling Program Implementation (Oral Report) Recommendation: That the Board of Directors d ecide when to implement the Organics Recycling Program and direct staff to proceed. General Manager Carroll requested direction from the Board in order to work with CR&R on a timeline to educate the public on the Organics Recycling Program to prepare for the rollout . Mr. Carroll noted that Vice President Scheafer had indicated his preference of beginning the program in January and suggested creating flyers in both C OSTA M ESA S ANITARY D ISTRICT P AGE 5 M INUTES OF THE B OARD OF D IRECTORS S TUDY S ESSION H ELD M ARCH 18 , 2014 ______________________________________________________________________ English and Spanish and to provide information cards to gardeners reminding them to place green waste in to the organics carts . Discussion followed. Dir ector Ooten expressed support of beginning the program in January and suggested that English and Spanish verbiage be placed on the trash cart lids. Director Perry requested to have a discussion with CR&R and the Board on how the rollout would take place. Mr. Jones indicated that CR&R will provide the requested information at a future study session meeting. There were no additional questions or comments and the report was received. 8 . Inflow and Infi ltration (I&I) Calculations from February 28 th Storm Recommendation: That the Board of Directo rs receive and file the report. Mr. Robin Hamers, District Engineer, discussed inflow and infiltration (I&I) and noted that the District is affected by inflow which can be r educed by plugging and sealing manholes. Mr. Hamers explained how inflow is calculated, indicated that the Orange County Sanitation District has requested member agencies to reduce I&I to less than two percent and noted that CMSD has successf ully done so. Discussion followed regarding re -plugging of manholes after time, types of plugs used for manholes, purchasing of alternative covers that will require less plugging , and the budget for the manhole plugging program. Director Ooten discusse d the function of the Elden pumping station and enc ouraged staff to measure where hydrogen s ulfide is located in the system. Mr. Hamers suggested putting in the plans and specifications for plugging and sealing the 102 category five manholes. General Ma nager Carroll indicated that covers with one pick hole and no vent holes would be used. Discussion followed. Mr. Mosher questioned if the I&I calcu lations were an inexact science and expressed that he felt there were discrepancies in the report . Direc tor Oo t en clarified that the report included historical flow values which Mr. Hamers included to identify historical values of rainwater in the system, indicated that Mr. C OSTA M ESA S ANITARY D ISTRICT P AGE 6 M INUTES OF THE B OARD OF D IRECTORS S TUDY S ESSION H ELD M ARCH 18 , 2014 ______________________________________________________________________ Hamers ’ calculations were the best they could do , and noted that the calculations are an estimate at best. There were no additional questions or comments. 9 . SCADA Technician/Industrial Electrician Position Recommendation: That the Board of Directors : 1. Tentatively approve the SCADA Technician/Industrial Electrician job classification; 2. Direct staff to report back on March 27, 2014 to officially approve the job classification and appropriate $120,295 to fund the position in Fiscal Year 2014 -15; and 3. Direct staff to begin the recruitment process. General Manager Carroll provided report de tails, noted safety concerns for one field staff member who works alone on pump stations, and strongly concurred with the results of t he safety survey conducted by La pidus Consulting that recommended having two individuals working on the pump stations. Mr. Carroll discussed alternatives of utilizing the current field staff but noted that there would always be one individual working alone . Mr. Carroll also discussed the option to hire a contractor and provided the Board with the breakdown of costs, as well a s the option to hire a part -timer for 20 hours a week. Mr. Carroll believes a SCADA Technician/I n dustrial Electrician position will improve operational efficiencies and provide the necessary safety for field staff and recommend ed that the Board approve the recruitment of this position . Discussion followed regarding the length of the recruitment process, calculation of the salary range, work schedule of the field staff, and cross training ability. Director Ooten expres sed support of the position and recr uiting an individual with entry -level experience. Discussion followed. President Ferryman directed staff to change the job description to include cross training. Discussion followed regarding the position requiring more expertise than a Maintenance W orker I. District Engineer Hamers suggested including the District’s assets on the recruitment flyer. General Manager Carroll provided the salary ranges for the Maintenance Workers I, II, and III to provide a salary range comparison. C OSTA M ESA S ANITARY D ISTRICT P AGE 7 M INUTES OF THE B OARD OF D IRECTORS S TUDY S ESSION H ELD M ARCH 18 , 2014 ______________________________________________________________________ The Board of Dire ctors directed staff to place this item on the March 27, 2014 Board meeting agenda. There were no additional questions or comments. 1 0 . Future study session items Recommendation: That the Board of Directors provide staff with direction on the type o f items to be placed on future study sessions. Director Perry requested to discuss the valve issues at the Elden pumping station and the need for allocation of funds. Mr. Hamers noted that a change order for that project ha d been placed on the March 27, 2014 Board meeting agenda for approval. Director Schafer requested clarification on how items are placed on the agenda. General Manager Carroll explained that this section of the agenda is the opportunity for the Board to indicate what items they would like to discuss at future study sessions . Director Perry req uested to have a discussion about CR&R ’s implementation plan for the Org anics Recycling Program . Director Schafer announced that Midway Sanitary District will hold an open house for its 75 th Anniversary and encouraged the Board to support the event. There were no additional questions or comments. A DJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, President Ferryman adjourned the meeting at 1 1:18 A.M. _________________________ _________________________ Art Perry James Ferryman Secretary President