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Minutes - CAC - 2018-06-06 SANIN, Iwo PoRATE_ COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT MINUTES OF CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING JUNE 6,2018 Members present Albert Graham, Jr., Andrew Nielson, Elodie Katz, Jana Oak, Mike Carey, Mike Mcllroy, Monte Fields, Phil Marsh, Shayne Smith, Tom Brenneman Members absent Sue Lester Board of Directors present Arlene Schafer, Art Perry, Bob Ooten, Jim Ferryman, Mike Scheafer Staff present Scott Carroll (General Manager), Alan Burns (District Counsel), Noelani Middenway (District Clerk), Gina Terraneo (Management Analyst II) Others present Deborah Diep (Cal State Fullerton Center for Demographic Research), Jim Mosher (resident) Meeting called to order at 6:02 P.M. A. Opening Items 1. Call to Order Chairman Carey called the meeting to order at 6:02 P.M. 2. Roll Call - (If absences occur, consider whether to deem those absences excused based on facts presented for the absence —such determination shall be the permission required by law.) District Clerk, Noelani Middenway, conducted roll call and noted that Albert Graham, Jr., Andrew Nielson, Mike Carey, Mike Mcllroy, Phil Marsh, Shayne Smith, and Tom Brenneman were present. B. Public Comments 1. Public Comments - This time has been set aside for persons in the audience to make comments on items within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Costa Mesa Sanitary COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 2 MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING HELD JUNE 6, 2018 District that are not listed on this agenda. Members of the public will have the opportunity to address the Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee about all other items on this agenda at the time those items are considered. Under the provisions of the Brown Act, the Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee are prohibited from taking action on oral requests but may refer the matter to staff or to a subsequent meeting. The Board of Directors will respond after public comment has been received. Please state your name. Each speaker will be limited to four (4) continuous minutes. Chairman Carey opened public comments. Seeing no one wishing to speak, he closed public comments. C. Public Hearing Procedural: 1. Open Public Hearing Chairman Carey opened the public hearing. He invited General Manager, Scott Carroll, to provide an update to the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC). Mr. Carroll addressed comments and suggestions made by CAC Members. First, he noted that the City of Costa Mesa's and Mesa Water District's voting district maps were added to the District's FAQ webpage in response to CAC Member, Sue Lester's suggestion. Then, Mr. Carroll noted that a map of the District's pump stations was added to the District's website in response to CAC Member, Tom Brenneman's suggestion. Lastly, he explained the purpose of the District's pump stations. Ms. Middenway noted that she did not call for CAC Member, Elodie Katz, during the roll call and she verified that Ms. Katz was present. Presentation: 2. Receive a Presentation from Demographer, Deborah Diep, Director of Center for Demographic Research, on the Voting Rights Act and the District's Existing Conditions, Receive Input Regarding Potential Transition to By-District Elections, and Release of Public Participation Kit Deborah Diep of the Cal State Fullerton Center for Demographic Research provided a recap of the presentation given during the first Public Hearing regarding the District's existing conditions, utilizing the 2010 Federal Decennial Census and Citizens Voting Age Population (CVAP) data. She explained the difference between census blocks, census block groups, partial block groups, and census tracts. CAC Member, Jana Oak, entered the meeting at 6:07 P.M. Ms. Diep noted that the 1,269 census blocks in the District's service area were consolidated into 80 census block groups in order to make the redistricting process more manageable. She shared maps depicting the difference between the Costa Mesa Sanitary District and Mesa Water District service areas. Ms. Diep COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 3 MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING HELD JUNE 6,2018 reiterated the goal of achieving a nearly equal target population within each voting district and provided an overview of the recommended redistricting criteria. She presented the District's demographic data, including service area maps depicting concentrations of racial and ethnic groups. Additionally, Ms. Diep shared a map depicting concentrations of owner-occupied households within the District's service area. Lastly, she provided an overview of the District's Public Participation Kit and explained how the public can provide input regarding proposed voting districts. She reiterated that the deadline for submitting input is Friday, June 8, 2018. CAC Member, Monte Fields, entered the meeting at 6:23 P.M. Ms. Diep provided an overview of the districting schedule, including upcoming public hearing dates. Procedural: 3. Receive Comments Following her presentation, Ms. Diep invited questions and comments. CAC Member, Andrew Nielson, asked for clarification regarding the target population within each voting district. Ms. Diep explained that it is required by law that each voting district is nearly equal in population. She added that there may be slight variation in population size, but the District should be able to provide reasonable explanations for any deviation. CAC Member, Elodie Katz, asked if there has been any litigation against agencies regarding the process used to create voting districts. Ms. Diep noted that she is not aware of any such litigation. She reiterated the recommendation to make each voting district as close to the target population as possible and noted that any deviation that is near or above 10% should have a reasonable explanation. Mr. Nielson asked that Ms. Diep further explain the concept of minority majority districts. Ms. Diep explained that creating a voting district with a protected class majority is a way of addressing voter dilution. District Counsel, Alan Burns, noted that within the context of the District's anticipated litigation, the District would be analyzed based on its transition from at-large to by-district voting, as well as the creation of voting districts with near- equal populations. Mr. Nielson verified that only 1 proposed voting district map has been submitted to the District by the public. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 4 MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING HELD JUNE 6,2018 CAC Member, Jana Oak, inquired about the possibility of splitting an area with a protected class majority in an effort to create multiple minority majority districts rather than a single minority majority district. Ms. Diep noted that this is a possibility, but added that splitting the area may be considered voter dilution if the protected class' population is not large enough to constitute a majority of multiple districts. Discussion followed regarding the use of CVAP data as supplemental information in order to create a minority majority voting district. Chairman Carey asked if the District is looking to receive an ideal or minimum number of proposals from the public for the districting process. Ms. Diep noted that there is no ideal or minimum number of proposals required. Mr. Burns reminded the CAC that they are subject to the Brown Act and noted that any collaborative efforts to provide input on the districting process must be done during public meetings. However, he noted that individuals may submit individual proposals. Ms. Katz asked what would occur if nobody within a voting district ran for a Board of Directors seat. Mr. Burns responded that there is an appointment process for that situation. There were no further questions, comments, or discussion from the CAC and the presentation was received. Procedural: 4. Close the Public Hearing Chairman Carey closed the public hearing. D. Closing Items Procedural: 1. Oral Communications & Director Comments Mr. Nielson asked if any CAC Members intended to submit proposals and asked if a CAC member would have the opportunity to present their proposal at a future public hearing. Chairman Carey noted that CAC Member proposals would be treated the same as public proposals. Chairman Carey opened public comments. Jim Mosher, a resident, provided comments. He noted that he was unable to find a law that specifies the number of Board Members that the District can have and COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 5 MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING HELD JUNE 6,2018 commented that this information may be useful. Mr. Mosher commented that he is unsure of whether or not redistricting would be a positive change for the District and questioned whether there may be other options available to the District. He shared that he reviewed some of the supplemental information on the District's FAQ webpage, including the concept of cumulative voting. Additionally, Mr. Mosher commented that it may be useful to know how much trash and sewer revenue comes from each area within the District, as well as the number of registered voters. He commented that he struggled with creating logical voting districts and suggested that the District simplify the public input process by allowing the public to use a computer program to generate voting district maps. Lastly, Mr. Mosher asked what the consequences would be if the District did not finalize its redistricting process by August 6th. Seeing no one else from the public wishing to speak, Chairman Carey closed public comments. Mr. Burns responded to Mr. Mosher. He commented that the District is encouraging the CAC to maintain a 5 seat Board of Directors and noted that it is theoretically possible to utilize cumulative voting. However, he added that the Orange County Registrar of Voters advised that they would not process cumulative voting. Lastly, Mr. Burns commented that some agencies have made the argument that they are making good faith efforts, but noted that this strategy is usually met with litigation. He noted that this does not mean that the District cannot make a good faith argument, but he commented that this has not yet proven to be successful. There were no further comments. Procedural: 2. Adjourn Chairman Carey adjourned the meeting at 6:52 P.M. r4 4 Mike Carey Citizens Advisory Committ-e Chair