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Minutes - Board - 2005-08-11 Ap 0 , COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING AUGUST 11, 2005 CALL TO ORDER The Board of Directors of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District met in special session on August 11, 2005, at 6:00 p.m. at 1845 Park Avenue, Costa Mesa. President Ferryman called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Director Perry led the Pledge of Allegiance. INVOCATION Director Woodside gave the invocation. ROLL CALL DIRECTORS PRESENT: James Ferryman, Greg Woodside, Art Perry, Arlene Schafer, Dan Worthington DIRECTORS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Robin B. Hamers, Manager/District Engineer; Alan Burns, Legal Counsel; Tom Fauth, Assistant Manager; Joan Revak, Board Secretary/Program Manager/Clerk of the District; Wendy Davis, Treasurer; Sherry Kallab, Accountant; Denise Gilbert, Permit Processing Specialist OTHERS PRESENT: None PUBLIC HEARING - CONSIDERATION OF ANNUAL TRASH COLLECTION CHARGES TO BE COLLECTED WITH THE GENERAL TAXES Mr. Burns gave a brief overview outlining the process for consideration of annual trash collection charges, explaining Proposition 218 procedural rules will be followed for the proposed increase. ID , COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT APT SI MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING AUGUST 11,2005 0 PAGE 2 Mr. Burns read the requirements necessary to increase the trash rate: 1. Revenues derived from the fee or charge must not exceed the funds required to provide the property related service. 2. Revenue from the fee or charge must not be used for any purpose other than that for which the fee or charge is imposed. 3. The amount of a fee or charge imposed upon any parcel or person as an incident of property ownership must not exceed the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel. 4. The fee or charge may not be imposed for service unless the service is actually used by, or immediately available to, the owner of the property in question. Fees or charges based on potential or future use of a service are not permitted. Standby charges must be classified as assessments and must not be imposed without compliance with the proportionality requirement for assessments. C5. No fee or charge may be imposed for general governmental services such as police, fire, ambulance, or libraries, where the service is available to the public in substantially the same manner as it is to property owners. PRESENTATION OF REPORT Mr. Hamers presented a report stating trash collection charges for 2005-06 are $239.41 per dwelling unit per year for the 2005/06 annual trash collection charge. The charge meets the substantive requirements of Proposition 218 as follows: 1. Revenues derived from the fee or charge do not exceed the funds required to provide the trash collection service. The charges are calculated by adding together the cost of components necessary to provide the service and then apportioning this to those receiving trash collection services. No components other than those directly related to providing service are used to establish rates. The components include trash collection, recycling, education and special programs, and administration. 2. Revenue from the fee or charge is not used for any purpose other than for which the fee or charge is imposed. The revenue is to be used only for the components of providing trash collection service as outlined in Paragraph 1 above and as 0 identified in the District's yearly budget. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT 9 MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING AUGUST 11,2005 0 PAGE 3 3. The amount of a fee or charge imposed upon any parcel or person as an incident of property ownership does not exceed the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel. The amount of the yearly charge is determined by dividing the cost of all the components of providing service by the number of parcels receiving service, as the vast majority of parcels produce an approximately equal amount of solid waste and all parcels enjoy the benefits of the public education and have an opportunity to participate in the special programs. The District considered implementing a variable charge program based on the number of trash containers at each residence, however, the cost of implementing and maintaining the system will exceed the potential savings to the residents. 4. The fee or charge is not imposed for service unless the service is actually used by, or immediately available to, the owner of the property in question. Properties not receiving trash collection service or that receive service from other entities providing trash collection, are not charged. 0 5. No fee or charge is imposed for general governmental services such as police, fire, ambulance, or libraries, but is only imposed for trash services. The District provides only trash collection and sewer service and all fees collected for trash collection are used only for that purpose. Mr. Hamers stated he determined the rate increase is necessary due to the required increase in the contractual agreement to contractors regarding the Consumer Price Index increase. Additionally, 88% of the cost for solid waste is attributed to trash collection and recycling. President Ferryman verified from Joan Revak, Clerk of the District, that all required notices were duly published. Ms. Revak reported the District received 1 protest to date from a total of 17,696 parcels notified. OPEN PUBLIC HEARING President Ferryman opened the public hearing, requesting each speaker to limit their comments to three minutes and advising participants that, by law, only a written protest will count. The following protests were received: 0 COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT tvir MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING AUGUST 11,2005 PAGE 4 Mr. Arthur E. Goddard, 2901 Palau Place. Mr. Goddard protested the increase in trash rates stating that no property owner should pay more than his or her proportional share of the total cost. CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING President Ferryman closed the public hearing. DETERMINATION REGARDING PROTESTS President Ferryman directed Ms. Revak, Clerk of the District, to tally the number of protests. Ms. Revak determined there was 1 protest filed from a total of 17,696 parcels. President Ferryman determined the protest failed. ADOPT RESOLUTION No. 2005-713 CONFIRMING AND ADOPTING THE REPORT AND DIRECT CLERK TO FILE WITH COUNTY AUDITOR Director Schafer motioned to adopt Resolution No. 2005-713, A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT OF ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, DETERMINING THAT A MAJORITY PROTEST DID NOT OCCUR WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPOSED CHARGES FOR TRASH COLLECTION, ADOPTING THE REPORT ON FILE WITH THE CLERK OF THE DISTRICT AND DIRECTING THE CLERK TO FILE THE REPORT WITH THE AUDITOR. Director Woodside seconded. Motion carried 5-0. PUBLIC HEARING - CONSIDERATION OF ANNUAL LIQUID WASTE CHARGES TO BE COLLECTED WITH THE GENERAL TAXES Mr. Bums gave a brief overview outlining the process for consideration of annual liquid waste charges. Mr. Burns explained the substantive requirements of Proposition 218 will be met. Mr. Burns read the requirements of Proposition 218: 1. Revenues derived from the fee or charge must not exceed the funds required to provide the property related service. 2. Revenue from the fee or charge must not be used for any purpose other than that for which the fee or charge is imposed. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT OP MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING • AUGUST 11, 2005 0 PAGE 5 3. The amount of a fee or charge imposed upon any parcel or person as an incident of property ownership must not exceed the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel. 4. The fee or charge must not be imposed for service unless the service is actually used by, or immediately available to, the owner of the property in question. Fees or charges based on potential of future use of a service are not permitted. Standby charges must be classified as assessments and must not be imposed without compliance with the proportionality requirement for assessments. 5. No fee or charge can be imposed for general governmental services such as police, fire, ambulance, or libraries, where the service is available to the public in substantially the same manner as it is to property owners. PRESENTATION OF REPORT Mr. Hamers presented a report on the liquid waste disposal charges for 2005-06 showing his review of the proposed rate per category, the rates being the total of the 0 base charge plus the fats, oils and grease (FOG) control program recovery fee as shown below:: Single family residence per year $31.37 + $2.31 Multi-family residence per year $24.16 + $2.31 Commercial w/o food service per year $18.25/1000 sf + $2.31 Commercial w/cold food service per year $18.25/1000 sf + $60.00 Commercial w/hot food service per year $18.25/1000 sf + $150.00 Industrial per year $53.76/1000 sf + $2.31 Other per year $16.17/1000 sf + $2.31 The proposed charges are an increase over the previous fiscal year. Additional funds are also necessary to operate and maintain the sewer system in conformance with the Regional Water Quality Control Board's Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR). Mr. Hamers outlined how the charges for liquid waste disposal meet the substantive requirements of Proposition 218 as follows: 1. Revenues derived from the annual sewer fee charges do not exceed the funds required to provide the sewer service. The base sewer charges are calculated by adding together the costs of all the components of providing the service and then apportioning the required funds to each of the properties connected to the system. The components of providing the service include the yearly capital Creplacement projects, the maintenance and operation costs of maintaining the system and administration costs. A variable level charge was added to each of the property categories to recover a portion of the costs of the comprehensive COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING AUGUST 11,2005 PAGE 6 fats, oils and grease control program that is required under the WDR. These charges are also shown in the Engineer's Report. 2. Revenues from the charge are not used for any purpose other than for which the fee or charge is imposed. No funds collected from the charges are used for expansion or augmentation to the sewer system, only the purposes as designated in the applicable statutes. Similarly, no funds derived from the charges are used for solid waste collection, recycling or administration thereof. 3. The amount of a fee or charge imposed upon any parcel or person as an incident of property ownership does not exceed the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel. Each parcel connected to the system falls into a property category type, which has a related estimated maximum sewer flow. The maximum estimated sewer flow is based on actual flow metering tests along with flow rates calculated and established by other sewer agencies. The total estimated maximum sewer flows and acres of property developed are used to determine the funding contribution from each property category type. Each individual parcel, based on the actual number of residential units or commercial/industrial/other square footage, is assigned its proportional share of the required funds of each property category type. In addition to the base sewer charges, a variable level charge was added to recover a portion of the costs of the new grease control program. Therefore, each property contributes its proportional share. 4. The fee or charge is not imposed for service unless the service is actually used by, or immediately available to, the owner of the property in question. Properties are only charged if they are physically connected to the sewer system. Vacant land or properties with storage or other buildings not receiving sewer service are not charged. 5. No fee or charge is imposed for general governmental services such as police, fire, ambulance, or libraries, but is only imposed for sewer services. The District provides only trash collection and sewer service and all fees collected as sewer charges are used only for related expenses. President Ferryman verified from Joan Revak, Clerk of the District, that all required notices were duly published. Ms. Revak reported the District received 1 protest to date from a total of 24,219 parcels notified. Ms. Revak also reported receipt of a letter from Mr. Steven C. Kiser, Counsel to Park Mesa Village expressing his clients' objection to lack of information and justification concerning the proposed sewer service rate increases. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT 4d MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING AUGUST 11,2005 0 , , - PAGE 7 OPEN PUBLIC HEARING President Ferryman opened the public hearing, requesting each speaker to limit their comments to three minutes and advising participants that, by law, only a written protest will count. Mr. Arthur E. Goddard, 2901 Palau Place. Mr. Goddard protested the increase in sewer rates stating that no property owner should pay more than his or her proportional share of the total cost. Mr. Mark Abrams, 174 Broadway, protested the increase for multi family residence stating the increase was too much and should be proportional to actual use. Mr. & Mrs. M. Velastegui, 2060 Placentia Avenue questioned the method of calculating the rates. Mr. Hamers stated the only true way to measure flow would be to install a meter at each parcel and the cost of doing so would be too costly to the residents and business owners. CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING President Ferryman closed the public hearing. DETERMINATION REGARDING PROTESTS Vice President Woodside directed Ms. Revak, Clerk of the District, to tally the number of protests. Ms. Revak, noting that by law only written protests may be counted, determined there was one protest filed from a total of 24,219 parcels. President Ferryman determined the protest failed. ADOPT RESOLUTION No.2005-714 CONFIRMING AND ADOPTING THE REPORT AND DIRECTING THE CLERK TO FILE WITH THE COUNTY AUDITOR Director Woodside motioned to adopt Resolution No. 2005-714, A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT OF ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, DETERMINING THAT A MAJORITY PROTEST DID NOT OCCUR WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPOSED USER FEE FOR LIQUID WASTE DISPOSAL AND ADOPTING THE REPORT ON FILE WITH THE CLERK OF 0 THE DISTRICT AND DIRECTING THE CLERK TO FILE THE REPORT WITH THE AUDITOR. Director Perry seconded. Motion carried 5-0. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING AuGuST 11,2005 PAGE 8 ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mr. Hamers expressed his appreciation to District Staff for their diligent efforts in the rate setting process. ADJOURNMENT At 6:39 p.m., President Ferryman adjourned the meeting. • • ��' ,/ SECRETARY PRESIDENT c c