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Minutes - Board - 2011-03-17• 1 r COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING MARCH 17, 2011 Directors Present: Robert Ooten, James Ferryman, Mike Scheafer, Jim Fitzpatrick, Art Perry Staff Present: Scott Carroll, General Manager Joan Revak, Officer Manager /Clerk of the District Robin B. Harriers, District Engineer Others Present: The Board of Directors of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District met on Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 11:00 a.m., in the Board Conference Room at the Costa Mesa Sanitary District, 628 W. 19th Street, Costa Mesa, California to consider Outsourcing and Branding. President Ooten opened the meeting at 11:00 a.m. I. Outsourcing Mr. Carroll shared the results of a street sweeping survey he obtained through CSDA resources. Mr. Carroll learned only one sanitary district — the Vallejo Sanitation Flood Control District, whose Board of Trustees is also the City Council — is considering taking over the street sweeping services. The City would continue to do the work and the district would collect the fees and manage the contract. They would bill the residents monthly and receive no revenue from property taxes. If they choose to take it over they would seek an increase in rates. Vice President Ferryman pointed out that the city of Vallejo is bankrupt which Mr. Carroll acknowledged and stated that is the reason they are considering taking over this service. The directors are not elected at large as is the case with the CMSD. (Protecting our community's heafth and the environment 6y providing soCuf waste andsewer coffection services. costamesasanitaryd strict. org Costa Mesa Sanitary District Page 2 MiinutesW Special Meeting Held March 17, 2011 • Mr. Carroll reported meeting with Tom Hatch, City of Costa Mesa CEO and Paul Shoenberger, General Manager of Mesa Consolidated Water District on the subject of outsourcing and stated both entities are open to any ideas on the subject. One of the services discussed was street sweeping. Mr. Carroll stated he consulted with District Counsel, Alan Burns, who researched the matter and believes the CMSD can provide the service under the Health and Safety Code. It could mean a rate increase. Director Ferryman questioned if the City was issuing an RFP for the service and stated it would be a benefit to the City. Director Scheafer stated the City receives revenue from parking violations and they most probably would not be willing to giving it up. Discussion was held on the mechanics of how it would work and the benefit to the CMSD. Mr. Carroll stated there was interest by the City and MCWD in outsourcing IT services. The Board directed the General Manager to send letter to Tom Hatch stating the District would consider being part of the dialog on sending out a RFP for street sweeping and IT services. The City wants to unburden itself from pension funding for its employees by outsourcing their services. Mr. Carroll stated in the meeting with the City CEO, he was very open to discussing any outsourcing. All entities need facts and data to assess any outsourcing. Previously, the City was unwilling to participate in a survey on commercial trash hauling. Mr. Carroll was directed to question the City on what they want from CMSD on the commercial side — what kind of fee can City pay CMSD for administering trash hauling. It was suggested one or two CMSD Board members along with Mr. Carroll meet with the City of Costa Mesa CEO on the subject of commercial trash hauling and President Ooten suggested Vice President Ferryman and Director Fitzpatrick. Vice President Ferryman stated the need to resolve the Board's general emphasis and have a game plan before going into meeting. Mr. Carroll stated he is looking into District having its own in -house inspector and not using the services of the District Engineer's employees. Mr. Carroll will propose such at the budget meetings. It was agreed the District needs to examine.benefit to residents in making any of these changes. (Protecting our community's health and the environment 6y providing solid waste and sewer coif ction services. costamesasanitarydistrict. org Costa Mesa Sanitary District Page 3 Minuteslof Special Meeting Held March 17, 2011 • II. Branding Mr. Carroll gave a PowerPoint presentation on Branding. Reputation is built by word of mouth and that is basically what Branding is. Branding is both simple and complicated; simple, because it is a mere impression and complicated because a lot of different experiences, marketing, communications and behaviors have gone into making that impression. Branding is the process an organization embarks upon to change, refine or improve what people say about you. Branding is an understanding: Most time consuming and labor intensive research is conducted to understand your organization's physical attributes; opinion of stakeholders; determine perceptions of current and prospective customers; and identifying demographic and psychographic information such as attitudes, values, lifestyles and opinion. Understanding, plain and simple, is to know your audience and what they think of you. Insights translate all those research facts into emotional sparks that can bring your brand to life; insights are fact -based emotional truths about the District and these insights build to a conclusion that is your brand strategy. Imagination is creativity that breathes life and character into the insights and reveals a strategy ' "What is our message ?" It is not enough for creative work to be cleaver; it must also be on- strategy. • Imagination is commitment — protecting the environment; serving the public and excellence. Creativity breathes life and character into the insights and reveals a strategy — "What is our message?" • It is not enough for creative work to be cleaver; it also must be on- strategy and Strategy must be relevant to the District's situation. Implementation is the most critical and sometimes the most challenging aspect of branding. Without a thoughtfully- considered plan for implementing a brand, it is often reduced to a logo and tagline. Implementation is sharing and introducing the brand to the outside world via District vehicles, CR &R trucks, bus stop shelters, OC Fairgrounds, South Coast Plaza, business cards, letterhead, website, adopt a highway. Strategic implementation falls into four distinct categories: organization, infrastructure, community and business. Not having an organizational structure to support branding efforts is a critical mistake. Brands cannot grow and thrive if no one takes responsibility for them. Successful implementation of branding requires accountability, passion, understanding and respect for the branding effort. It also requires cooperation and partnership with other organizations and individuals within the community. Ideas are to assemble a marketing team; appoint a brand manager; create a brand presentation; take the District's show on the road. (Protecting our community's health and the environment 6y providing solid waste and sewer colrection services. costamesasanitarydr arict. org Costa Mesa Sanitary District Page 4 Minutes,of Special Meeting Held March 17, 2011 • Critical is getting the community involved, such as the sewer lateral assistance program, composting workshops, recycling and green initiatives. When the public is involved they go out and sell the District. Director Ferryman stated another opportunity is delivering the checks to the schools in the telephone book recycling program and presenting information about the District. Director Scheafer stated educating the public on our identity is making it known the District is a separate entity and not part of the City of Costa Mesa. Mr. Carroll stated this should be a continual effort to make the District visible to the public. The first step, according to Mr. Carroll, is to gather data from the stakeholders and to do that is to hire a consultant to conduct a survey and take that information to learn how the public perceives the District. From that, the District creates its "Branding ". Mr. Carroll recommended creating a "Branding Committee" to meet bi- monthly to develop and implement a plan. After the Board approves a plan, the District would have constant evaluation to ensure the plan is meeting the objectives. Vice President Ferryman asked about the budget and Mr. Carroll stated he did not have one but estimated a consultant would cost around $30,000 for a survey. Director Fitzpatrick stated it sounds a little steep and predicted the survey would come back showing the District is part of the City. Director Perry stated it should be something permanent in the community. Director Scheafer suggested using college students to conduct such a survey by taking this on as a project. Students from OCC or UCI could be utilized and the cost to the District would be minimal. Director Scheafer suggested offering a grant to a school to enable a student to conduct a survey. Director Perry suggested a budget for Branding. Vice President Ferryman stated the District has little success in getting the press involved in promoting CMSD events and programs and needs to make personal contact with the Daily Pilot and the Register to enlist their efforts in publicizing District programs and events. Director Fitzpatrick requested a calendar of events, such as the telephone book recycling program, composting workshops, etc. so the Board is aware of the timing of these events. Director Perry suggested Director Scheafer chair a Committee on Branding. Director Fitzpatrick requested the phone number for CR &R to contact them about CMSD signage on their trucks. Mr. Harriers stated he believed the CR &R agreement calls for changing the signage quarterly. Suggestions were made for wording on • signage on CR &R vehicles that service the District. (Protecting our community's health and the environment 6y providing solid waste and sewer collection services. costamesasanitarydistrict. org • L� • Costa Mesa Sanitary District Page 5 Minutes of Special Meeting Held March 17, 2011 Vice President Ferryman suggested engaging an intern for the Branding project. Mr. Carroll stated direction he was given is to go forward in establishing a Branding Committee; putting together an event calendar and communicating with OCC, UCI and Vanguard on involving students in conducting a survey. ADJOURNMENT President Ooten adjourned the meeting at 12:40 p.m. Approved by: ) ecretiry .. _ _ t q-(-Q (&,Zt President (Protecting our community's health and the environment 6y providing solid waste and sewer collection services. costamesasanitarydistrict. org '