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Minutes - CAC - 2023-09-13COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 CAC Members present Cindy Brenneman, Rosemarie Chora, Dickie Fernandez, Dean Fisher, Sue Lester, Francesca Normington, Michael Tou CAC Members absent Jeff Arbour, Daniel Baume, Annette Watson Board Members present Art Perry, Michael Scheafer Staff present Scott Carroll (General Manager), Noelani Middenway (District Clerk & Public Information Officer), Angela Colunga (Administrative Assistant I), Marissa Pereyda (Management Analyst II), Mark Esquer (District Engineer) Others present Adam Probolsky, Probolsky Research Khoa Nguyen, Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative Fellow Jasmin Tutor, Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative Fellow Meeting called to order at 6:03 P.M. A. OPENING ITEMS Procedural: 1. Call to Order Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Chair Lester called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 2 MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 Procedural: 2. Roll Call District Clerk & Public Information Officer, Noelani Middenway, conducted roll call. She noted that CAC Members Brenneman, Chora, Fernandez, Fisher, Lester, Normington and Tou were present, while CAC Members Arbour, Baume, and Watson were not present at this time. General Manager, Scott Carroll, introduced the District's Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) fellows, Jasmin Tutor and Khoa Nguyen. Procedural: 3. Public Comments - Speakers will be limited to three minutes. The three minutes per speaker time allotted may be extended for good cause by a majority vote of the committee. CAC Chair Lester opened public comments. Ms. Middenway stated that the District received written comments from District resident, Jim Mosher, which have been disseminated to the CAC. Hearing no additional comments, CAC Chair Lester closed public comments. B. ITEMS Action: 1. Approve the joint Citizens Advisory Committee and Board of Directors Meeting Minutes of July 12, 2023 Recommendation: That the Citizens Advisory Committee approves the meeting minutes as presented. CAC Chair Lester introduced the item. CAC Member Brenneman provided clarification regarding CAC Chair Lester's request for the CAC to discuss upcoming District events and volunteer opportunities. Motion: To approve the meeting minutes as presented. Motion by Cindy Brenneman, seconded by Michael Tou. Final Resolution: Motion carries 6-0-1-3 COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 3 MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 Ayes: Cindy Brenneman, Rosemarie Chora, Dickie Fernandez, Sue Lester, Francesca Normington, Michael Tou No: None Abstain: Dean Fisher Not Present: Jeff Arbour, Daniel Baume, Annette Watson There was no further discussion. Action: 2. Board of Directors Term Limits Recommendation: That the Citizens Advisory Committee provides direction to staff. Mr. Carroll presented report details. He provided information regarding election codes. He compared the Board of Directors' compensation benefits to other locally elected officials. He shared that, from the past 11 Board elections, there were five instances in which an incumbent was unopposed. He noted that the financial section of the staff report contains information about the cost of a special election. President Scheafer clarified that Board members are paid a stipend per meeting. He stated that, according to the Health and Safety Code, Board members are compensated for up to six meetings per month. CAC Chair Lester noted that Board members typically attend more than six meetings per month. CAC Member Chora stated that the community has been re-electing Board incumbents. She commented that the District is currently well -operated. She suggested that, to make elections more competitive, the District can increase Board benefits, but she would rather have those benefits be invested in the District and staff. She added that Board incumbents have more experience, expertise, and well -established relationships with other community members. CAC Member Fisher commented that there is no mechanism to determine how to proceed with this issue. He suggested surveying the public to receive feedback on term limits. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 4 MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 CAC Member Brenneman stated that term limits will help bring new ideas to the District. She stated that people may be discouraged from running for an elected seat due to the name recognition associated with the current Board members. CAC Vice Chair Tou discussed the timeframe for placing an item on the November 2024 ballot for the general election. He stated that the District should provide ample time for those who are interested in running to consider their options. CAC Chair Lester stated that the District should bear the cost of placing term limits on a ballot. She thanked Mr. Mosher for his written comments. Discussion followed regarding the Board's retirement contributions. CAC Chair Lester expressed her support for term limits for all elected bodies and for placing this item on the general election ballot. CAC Member Fernandez stated that the CAC recently voted to remove term limits for CAC members. He noted that it would be hypocritical to place term limits on Board members but not CAC members. CAC Chair Lester stated that CAC members are appointed by the Board and can be removed at their discretion. She stated that she would support term limits for the CAC if it also resulted in term limits for Board members. Motion: That the Board continue to pursue the topic of implementing term limits for the Board of Directors. Motion by Sue Lester, seconded by Cindy Brenneman. Ayes: Cindy Brenneman, Dean Fisher, Sue Lester No: Rosemarie Chora Subsequent motion was presented prior to conclusion of the vote for the initial motion. Substitute motion: That the Board continue to pursue the topic of implementing term limits for the Board of Directors, and thus also COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 5 MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 implement term limits for the Citizens Advisory Committee to achieve consistency between the governing and advisory bodies. Motion by Sue Lester, seconded by Cindy Brenneman. Final Resolution: Motion carries 5-1-1-3 Ayes: Cindy Brenneman, Dickie Fernandez, Dean Fisher, Sue Lester, Francesca Normington No: Rosemarie Chora Abstain: Michael Tou Not Present: Jeff Arbour, Daniel Baume, Annette Watson There was no further discussion. Action: 4. Discuss and Draft Questions for the 2023 Community Survey Recommendation: That the Citizens Advisory Committee provides recommendations and survey questions to the Board of Directors for consideration in the 2023 Community Survey. Mr. Carroll requested to discuss Item B4 prior to Item B3. He introduced the item and Adam Probolsky of Probolsky Research. Mr. Probolsky provided information regarding the format of the Community Survey and how it will be conducted. CAC Vice Chair Tou inquired about the timeline of the Community Survey. Management Analyst II, Marissa Pereyda, stated that survey results will be presented to the Board and CAC in November 2023. CAC Vice Chair Tou asked how many questions will be included in the survey. Ms. Pereyda stated that the survey has a time limit of 20 minutes. CAC Member Chora stated that she is interested in questions that differentiate customer service satisfaction between the District and its waste hauler, CR&R. She also suggested including questions regarding Senate Bill (SB) 1383 and its environmental impact. She shared that trash customers COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 6 MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 may not be connecting the benefits of SB 1383 to the changes affecting the District's trash services. CAC Member Fisher suggested that the survey should assess customer awareness with SB 1383 and the need to switch from a two -cart system to a three -cart system. CAC Chair Lester suggested that the first question of the survey should ask if customers know the name of their waste hauler since some people may have a different hauler than their neighbor. She asked if the survey results will include partial survey responses. Mr. Probolsky stated that, although they have the capability to capture that information, it will not be included in the survey results. He noted that Probolsky Research is contracted to conduct 1,000 completed surveys. Discussion followed regarding the overall scope of the survey, which includes assessing customer service, trash service, and sewer service. President Scheafer suggested asking customers about service fees. CAC Vice Chair Tou stated that the previous survey references the cost of District services. There was no further discussion. Action: 3. Removal of Trash Containers Policy Recommendation: That the Citizens Advisory Committee makes recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding CMSD's removal of trash containers policy. Mr. Carroll presented report details. He stated that the Board has some concerns regarding the current policy on trash carts in public view and how it will affect the District's transition from a two -cart system to three -cart system. He shared that the current policy contains a hardship exemption in which trash customers who do not have enough space to store their trash carts out of public view can receive an exemption from the policy. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 7 MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 Discussion followed regarding the process of informing customers of the hardship exemption waiver. CAC Member Chora recommended informing the City of Costa Mesa of this policy. CAC Chair Lester shared that residences with dumpster service are required to obtain a permit to store their dumpster in public view. She discussed the various scenarios that may affect this policy. CAC Member Chora recommended considering more cart sizes so that residents can store them more easily. Mr. Carroll shared that different sizes will be available under the three -cart system. CAC Vice Chair Tou suggested discussing this item with the City/Districts Liaison Committee. He recommended ensuring that the District's outreach materials regarding this policy contain inclusive language. CAC Chair Lester suggested informing the City of Costa Mesa about the District's Code Enforcement operations regarding trash service so that the City's Code Enforcement Department does not interfere. There was no further discussion. C. CLOSING ITEMS Procedural: 1. Committee Member Comments CAC Vice Chair Tou asked District staff to remind the CAC members of any volunteer opportunities and upcoming events that the District is sponsoring. He commented on CR&R trash truck issues. CAC Chair Lester reminded the CAC to complete the District's town hall locations survey and that CAC members are required to attend at least one Board meeting per year. She discussed the CAC's policy regarding meeting attendance and absences. She requested a reoccurring agenda item to discuss upcoming events. She also asked to have the District iPads available for CAC meetings. She complimented the new trash cart stickers. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 8 MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 Discussion followed regarding CR&R's new trash cart stickers. Ms. Middenway confirmed that the stickers have been mass produced by CR&R for all trash carts. There was no further discussion. Procedural: 2. Board/Staff Comments Ms. Middenway shared that the Board approved the Newport Bay Conservancy's sponsorship application for the Coastal Cleanup Day. She encouraged CAC members to sign up for the event via Eventbrite. She stated that she sent an email to the CAC regarding the District's Eco Expo event on November 1, 2023. CAC Chair Lester stated that CAC members can volunteer for the Eco Expo event for however long they are available. Ms. Middenway stated that the District would like to thank the CAC by hosting a dinner in November prior to the holiday season. There was no further discussion. Procedural: 3. Adjournment CAC Chair Lester adjourned the meeting at 7:04 p.m. and stated that the next CAC meeting is scheduled for November 8, 2023. Sue Lester Citizens Advisory Committee Chair