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Minutes_2020_05_13_Engineering ServicesProtecting our community's health and the environment by providing solid waste and wastewater collection services. www.cmsdca.gov Costa Mesa Sanitary District ….an Independent Special District Engineering Ad Hoc Committee 290 Paularino Avenue Costa Mesa, California 92626 (Teleconference Meeting via Zoom) Note: This meeting was conducted utilizing teleconferencing pursuant to Government code Section 54952.2 and the Governor’s Executive Orders in effect waiving some of the requirements of that Section. MINUTES May 13, 2020 8:30 a.m. Committee members present: President Jim Ferryman, Vice President Bob Ooten, General Manager Scott Carroll, District Clerk & Public Information Officer Noelani Middenway, Finance Manager Kaitlin Tran, Engineering Technician Bao Vong, Office Specialist Angela Colunga Committee members absent: None Others present: None 1. Call to Order President Ferryman called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. 2. Roll Call No roll call was taken. 3. Public Comments There we no members of the public in attendance. 4. Review of RBH, Inc. Engineering Services General Manager, Scott Carroll, stated the purpose of the Engineering Ad Hoc Committee and provided a brief update on the District’s current engineering services. He noted that Interim District Engineer, Michael Benesh, of Robin B. Hamers & Associates (RBH) does not have extensive, institutional knowledge of the Policy Review Ad Hoc Committee Minutes May 13, 2020 Page 2 of 4 District’s sewer system. He discussed the current challenges the District is experiencing with Mr. Benesh as Interim District Engineer. He suggested implementing a hybrid method for the District’s engineering services, in which the District hires an in-house District Engineer who manages the District’s engineering contracts. He noted that the District would continue to contract with private engineering firms for special projects. He compared the hybrid approach to the current engineering services of Orange County Sanitary District (OCSD). He explained the benefit of having an in-house District Engineer who will retain institutional knowledge regarding the District’s sewer system. He reviewed the District’s finances for engineering services and explained the District’s budget for hiring an in-house District Engineer. Vice President Ooten expressed support for Mr. Carroll’s hybrid method for the District’s engineering services. He recommended researching OCSD’s method of contracting with engineering firms for specific projects. He commented that the process of recruiting, hiring, and training an in-house District engineer is a lengthy process and a complex transition. Mr. Carroll and Vice President Ooten discussed the District’s decision to continue engineering services with RBH. Mr. Carroll stated that RBH currently maintains many of the District’s sewer system’s files. Vice President Ooten inquired about the District’s ability to secure their sewer system files if the District terminates engineering services with RBH. Mr. Carroll stated that RBH is required to provide the District with all District-related files. He noted that District Counsel, Alan Burns, can assist with the transition process. He emphasized the importance of transitioning the District’s engineering services in-house as soon as possible. District Clerk & Public Information Officer, Noelani Middenway, commented that due to the status of the state’s economy, the District may have an advantage in recruiting a highly experienced engineer. She discussed her experience of working with RBH to acquire District-related files. She added that the District has not obtained District- related electronic files from RBH. She noted that the District can subpoena records if necessary. She recommended that the District centralizes all records and expressed support for Mr. Carroll’s hybrid method for District engineering services. Finance Manager, Kaitlin Tran, expressed her support for Mr. Carroll’s hybrid method for District engineering services and discussed the benefits of having in- house engineering services for auditing purposes. Policy Review Ad Hoc Committee Minutes May 13, 2020 Page 3 of 4 President Ferryman inquired about the District’s transition process for engineering services. Mr. Carroll stated that, for the remainder of the year, the District will be focusing on the recruitment process for an in-house District Engineer while maintaining their contract with RBH. He noted that the District will contact RBH for engineering bid proposals. President Ferryman emphasized the importance of securing all District-related files from RBH. Vice President Ooten inquired if the District has office space for RBH at District Headquarters. Mr. Carroll stated that the District is not allowed to provide office space for a contracted service provider. Ms. Tran stated that it would be a conflict of interest for the District. Mr. Carroll shared that Mr. Burns issued a memo regarding the conflict. Vice President Ooten inquired if the in-house District Engineer position is a project management role rather than a role focused on performing engineering duties. Mr. Carroll stated that the District is interested in having an in-house professional engineer who will review and approve sewer plans, administer capital improvement projects (CIP) and inspections, and oversee the District’s Engineering Technician position. He noted that the in-house engineer will not be required to draft engineering designs. Engineering Technician, Bao Vong, stated that having an in-house District Engineer to approve sewer plans and permits would significantly increase the approval rate of projects. He noted that it typically takes one to two weeks for RBH to approve sewer plans. Vice President Ooten stated that the District may have to extend their contract with RBH for another one to two years since they are involved with District CIPs. President Ferryman inquired about the financial impact of an in-house District Engineer. Mr. Carroll discussed the current rate the District’s pays for contracting with RBH. He stated that the in-house District Engineer is projected to cost $215,000 annually. He noted that the District’s engineering budget will be sufficient for the transition of engineering services. Policy Review Ad Hoc Committee Minutes May 13, 2020 Page 4 of 4 Vice President Ooten stated that the services performed by RBH will continue during the transition process of recruiting, hiring, and training an in-house District Engineer. He expressed concern over the budgeting process for engineering services. Ms. Tran stated that the costs for RBH have been increasing every month since January 2020, with the month of March 2020 costing the District $36,300. Mr. Carroll stated that a decent amount of services that are performed by RBH will be transferred to the in-house District Engineer and Engineering Technician. Vice President Ooten commented that the costs for having an in-house District Engineer to hire a private engineering firm for services will be substantial and will not result in significant savings for the District. President Ferryman inquired about how the District will obtain District records from RBH. Mr. Carroll stated that he will discuss the matter with Mr. Burns. Ms. Tran stated that she expects RBH to propose an increased rate for extending their contract with the District. Vice President Ooten expressed support for RBH’s Sewer Master Plan Update. He stated that District’s transition to in-house engineering services will slow down the rate of CIPs. He suggested spending more of the District’s engineering budget on CIPs. President Ferryman stated that the District needs to prioritize its engineering services and CIPs to ensure that the necessary sewer system updates are being completed. The Engineering Ad Hoc Committee directed District staff to provide a staff report regarding the hybrid method for engineering services at the June Regular Board Meeting. Vice President Ooten and President Ferryman recommended consulting with RBH about the District’s transition process for engineering services. 5. Adjournment - 9:07 a.m.