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Minutes - Board - 2023-11-14COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION NOVEMBER 14, 2023 Members present Arlene Schafer, Bob Ooten, Brett Eckles, Mike Scheafer Members absent Art Perry Staff present Scott Carroll (General Manager), Noelani Middenway (District Clerk and Public Information Officer), Marissa Pereyda (Management Analyst II), Angela Colunga (Administrative Assistant I), David Griffin (Code Enforcement Officer), Mark Esquer (District Engineer), Tony Gomez (Interim Wastewater Maintenance Supervisor), Alan Burns (District Counsel), Kaitlin Tran (Finance Manager), Dyana Bojarski (Administrative Services Manager), Tanisha Tingling (Management Analyst I) Others present Mike Balliet, Michael Balliet Consulting Mike Carey, CR&R Meeting called to order at 8:02 A.M. A. OPENING ITEMS Procedural: 1. 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.) President Scheafer called the meeting to order at 8:02 A.M. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 2 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD NovEMBER 14, 2023 District Clerk & Public Information Officer, Noelani Middenway, noted that President Scheafer, Vice President Schafer, Vice Secretary Ooten, and Director Eckles were present, while Secretary Perry was not present. B. PUBLIC COMMENTS Procedural: 1. Public Comments President Scheafer opened public comments. He stated that written comments from District resident, Jim Mosher, have been distributed to the Board. Hearing no additional comments, President Scheafer closed public comments. C. ITEMS OF STUDY Action, Receive and File: 1. Receive and File October 2023 Code Enforcement Office Report Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file this report. Code Enforcement Officer, David Griffin, presented report details. He shared that he made contact with four scavengers and issued 204 violation notices for trash carts in public view in the month of October. Discussion followed regarding trash carts in public view violation notices. Mr. Griffin provided an update on trash cart issues affecting Placentia Avenue and details regarding a repeat scavenging offender. Vice Secretary Ooten inquired about customers who are repeatedly in violation of placing their trash carts in public view. Mr. Griffin stated that, after receiving a warning tag, customers tend to comply for a few months before repeating the offense. Vice Secretary Ooten suggested for Mr. Griffin to personally contact repeat offenders to ensure compliance. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 3 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD NOVEMBER 14, 2023 Mr. Griffin shared that he recently attended a waste conference which discussed various enforcement measures. Vice President Schafer expressed her appreciation for Mr. Griffin's efforts. There was no discussion, and the report was received. Action, Receive and File: 2. Receive and File Waste Composition Studies #3, #49 #5 and #6 from Michael Balliet Consulting Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file Waste Composition Studies #3, #4, #5 and #6 from Michael Balliet Consulting. General Manager, Scott Carroll, introduced the item and Mike Balliet of Michael Balliet Consulting. Mr. Balliet provided report details and discussed the methodology and sampling process. He presented the results of each study. Discussion followed regarding prohibited container contaminants. Vice President Schafer asked if residential gardeners have been educated to use the Organics Recycling Cart for yard waste. Mr. Balliet discussed self -haul requirements for landscapers. President Scheafer stated that homeowners are responsible for educating their gardeners about using the correct cart. Mr. Balliet shared that most gardeners will dispose of their yard waste at the same facility where they buy mulch. Vice President Schafer suggested hosting a meeting to help educate the local gardeners. Discussion followed regarding study results and compliance with Senate Bill (SB) 1383 regulations. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 4 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD NOVEMBER 14, 2023 Mr. Balliet stated that the State's goal is 75% diversion, which implies that the District's contamination goal should be 25% or less. He discussed program recommendations to further improve customers' recycling behaviors. Director Eckles asked how the District's performance compares to neighboring districts and cities. Mr. Balliet stated that 22% contamination is the average across all programs. He stated that since the District's two -cart system has been in place longer than most other programs, it's contamination levels tend to be below 20%. He noted that targeted education and monitoring will help reduce contamination. President Scheafer discussed the District's education efforts. Vice Secretary Ooten asked if the same methodology is used to analyze the City of Costa Mesa's waste. Mr. Balliet stated that the City is focusing on implementing its organics program and has not completed any waste composition studies. Vice President Ooten asked if there are any benefits awarded by the State for jurisdictions achieving less than 25% contamination. Mr. Balliet noted that the State does not reward organizations that exceed the contamination goal. Discussion followed regarding multifamily properties within the studies. Vice Secretary Ooten requested more information on how the District intends to educate low -performing areas. Discussion followed regarding SB 1383 reporting between the District and the City. Vice Secretary Ooten suggested implementing pilot programs to improve the District's targeted outreach efforts. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 5 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD NOVEMBER 14, 2023 Management Analyst II, Marissa Pereyda, shared that the District is drafting targeted letters for the low -performing areas of the waste composition studies. Vice President Schafer shared how she recycles her food waste. Director Eckles discussed SB 1383 contamination regulations and expressed concerns about other jurisdictions that are not diverting enough waste. Mr. Balliet noted that the State has the ultimate fining authority for organizations found in noncompliance. He commented that it will be difficult to levy fines on organizations that have implemented organics recycling but are not meeting that State's diversion goal. Vice Secretary Ooten shared that the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) may be more likely than the State to enforce SB 1383 regulations. There was no further discussion, and the report was received. Action, Discussion: 3. SB 1383 Contamination Monitoring and Enforcement Recommendation: That the Board of Directors direct staff on how to proceed with the District's SB 1383 contamination monitoring and enforcement plan. Mr. Carroll introduced the report. Ms. Pereyda presented report details. She stated that, per SB 1383, jurisdictions are required to monitor and provide education. She noted that they may impose fees or fines, but they are not required for residential contamination. She added that waste haulers may impose contamination processing fees that are independent of jurisdiction -imposed fines. She stated that the District's agreement with CR&R outlines a contamination monitoring protocol and fee schedule and that the District's Operations Code outlines an SB 1383 notice of violation and administrative citation schedule. She provided a summary of the District's proposed enforcement schedule. Director Eckles asked why an enforcement schedule is necessary. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 6 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD NOVEMBER 14, 2023 Ms. Pereyda stated that the District is required to conduct contamination monitoring and education. She noted that it is up to the Board's discretion to issue contamination citations since it is not required by SB 1383. She clarified that CR&R's contamination processing fees are separate from the District and are built into their existing contract. Director Eckles asked if CR&R's fees are subsidizing contamination by other jurisdictions. Ms. Pereyda stated that the District retains 80% of CR&R's contamination processing fees. She noted that the fees will only be issued to customers who are contaminating their carts. Discussion followed regarding CR&R's enforcement measures. Ms. Pereyda explained that customers will receive three courtesy notices prior to receiving a contamination processing fee from CR&R. Director Eckles expressed concern regarding contamination fines. Mr. Carroll stated that the enforcement measures will help change recycling behaviors and encourage source separation. Director Eckles stated that, based on the waste composition studies, customers are already changing their recycling behaviors. Discussion followed regarding contamination levels and diversion goals. Ms. Pereyda clarified that customers will only receive notices and fees if their carts are 25% contaminated. Director Eckles stated that he does not support issuing fines for contamination. President Scheafer stated that the District's enforcement schedule is fairly lenient in that customers get three notices prior to a citation. He expressed COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 7 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD NOVEMBER 14, 2023 support for the District's goal of 75% diversion. He recommended reassessing the fining process after the first year of enforcement. Mr. Carroll stated that the District's SB 1383 plan requires an enforcement element. Vice Secretary Ooten inquired about CR&R's enforcement process. CR&R representative, Mike Carey, stated that CR&R will be tagging and documenting contaminated carts. He noted that cart contamination levels are typically below 15%. He added that CR&R's goal is to help educate customers to increase the rate of diversion. Director Eckles asked how CR&R will be monitoring contaminated carts. Mr. Carey stated that it will be challenging to monitor contamination, but it will be supported by photo documentation. He added that trash truck drivers and route auditors will both be tracking contaminated carts. Vice Secretary Ooten stated that contamination may become less of a concern once the recycling cart is implemented. Mr. Carroll suggested revisiting the District's enforcement plan after the three -cart system is implemented. He shared that trash cart enforcement will also be discussed at the District's townhall meetings scheduled for next year. President Scheafer recommended creating an ad hoc committee with the Board, District staff, and CR&R to discuss SB 1383 enforcement. Vice Secretary Ooten inquired about other jurisdictions with a three -cart system. Mr. Carey stated that contamination may increase after the introduction of the three -cart system since customers will have to learn which items belong in the recycling cart rather than the trash cart. _ COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 8 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD NOVEMBER 14, 2023 ......._..__---- Director Eckles confirmed that the Board has not approved the enforcement schedule and will be reviewing it next year. President Scheafer suggested for the ad hoc committee to also discuss other waste haulers' enforcement and fining processes. There was no further discussion. Action, Receive and File: 4. Mitigating Odors at Elden and President Pump Stations Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file this report. President Scheafer adjourned for a break at 9:09 a.m. and reconvened the meeting at 9:11 a.m. Mr. Carroll provided report details. He presented the District's plan to mitigate sewage odors at the President Pump Station and Elden Pump Station. He stated that the Wastewater Department plugged and sealed a few upstream manholes near the Elden Pump Station that were contributing to the sewage odors. Discussion followed regarding the neighborhoods surrounding the Elden Pump Station. District Engineer, Mark Esquer, explained how the charcoal canisters help remove foul odors. He shared that the Wastewater staff built each canister. Interim Wastewater Maintenance Supervisor, Tony Gomez, stated that he installed a piece of copper wire in each canister to determine the presence of hydrogen sulfide. Discussion followed regarding system procedures and repairs. Mr. Esquer stated that the charcoal canisters are a temporary solution until other repairs are completed. There was no further discussion, and the report was received. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 9 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD NOVEMBER 14, 2023 .._.___.._.._-- Action, Receive and File: 5. Permanent Generator at Harbor Pump Station Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file this report. Mr. Carroll presented report details. He shared three different generator choices for the Harbor Pump Station. Director Eckles inquired about the cost difference between a diesel and natural gas generator. Mr. Esquer stated that there is about a 20% or less cost difference between the two generators. He provided more details regarding fuel cell generators. Discussion followed regarding property space for a generator near the pump station. Director Eckles expressed support for a natural gas generator since it is quieter than a diesel generator. Discussion followed regarding natural gas generators. Vice Secretary Ooten inquired about the need for a generator at the Harbor Pump Station. He noted that this pump station has never had a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO). Mr. Carroll stated that this pump station has experienced a few power outages over the last few months. Discussion followed regarding staff response times during high flow events and cycle times. Vice Secretary Ooten requested more information regarding the pump station's performance. Mr. Esquer stated that the station pumps 1,600 gallons per minute. He noted that this project will take about two to four years to complete. Vice President Schafer expressed support for a natural gas generator since it is better for the environment. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 10 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD NOVEMBER 14, 2023 There was no further discussion, and the report was received. Action, Discussion: 6. Review and Comment on Proposed Ordinance for Repealing and Reenacting Chapter 4.04 of CMSD's Operations Code Pertaining to Purchasing Procedure and Authority Recommendation: That the Board of Directors: 1. Review and comment on the proposed ordinance; and 2. Direct staff to bring the proposed ordinance to the January 10, 2024 Citizens Advisory Committee for review and comments; and 3. Direct staff to bring back the proposed ordinance to the January 22, 2024 Board of Directors meeting for adoption consideration. District Counsel, Alan Burns, presented report details. He remarked on Mr. Mosher's written comments. He noted that this is a conceptual draft of the ordinance that is not ready for adoption. He provided details regarding the General Manager's approval authority for public project bidding. President Scheafer expressed support for the draft ordinance. Director Eckles stated that the staff report includes an approval authority of $60,000 for the General Manager. Mr. Carroll stated that, as of yesterday, he has decided to adjust that figure to $30,000. Discussion followed regarding changes to public bidding procedures and purchasing ordinances. Director Eckles suggested presenting this item to the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC). There was no further discussion, and the report was received. D. CLOSING ITEMS Procedural: 1.Oral Communications and Director Comments COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 11 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STUDY SESSION HELD NOVEMBER 14, 2023 None. Procedural: 2. Adjournment President Scheafer adjourned the meeting at 10:02 A.M. Art Perry Secretary z Mike Scheafe President