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Minutes - Board - 2012-03-07• • Item VII. A. 1. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT MINUTES OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING MARCH 7, 2012 CALL TO ORDER The Board of Directors of the Costa Mesa ROLL CALL PUBLIC COMMENT DIRECTORS PRESENT: DIRECTORS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: Sanitary District met in special session on March 7, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. at 628 W. 19th Street, Costa Mesa. Robert Ooten, James Ferryman, Mike Scheafer, Jim Fitzpatrick, Art Perry Scott Carroll, General Manager; Teresa Gonzalez, Accounting Manager REVIEW DISTRICT'S STRATEGIC PLAN AND CONSIDER REVISIONS Discussion followed regarding multi - family street - sweeping and the Banning Ranch project being part of the strategic plan. General Manager Carroll addressed goals including exploring partnerships with other utilities, which has been greatly improved since development of the strategic plans. He stated partnerships with the Gas Company as well as Southern California Edison (SCE) and reported the District now has a liaison with SCE. Mr. Carroll reported that the Gas Company has been videoing cross -check lines and fixing sewer laterals in the City. He stated that a good relationship has been established with Mesa. Staff has worked to strengthened ties with local municipalities including Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and the County of Orange and listed relevant activities. Discussion followed regarding the City of Costa Mesa outsourcing their fleet COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 2 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING HELD MARCH 7, 2012 maintenance and seeking input from other cities, including Midway City, which maintains their own fleet, and the need to keep local. Mr. Carroll reported that the District has reached out to the City of Newport Beach and they have been very cooperative and also addressed working with the County of Orange. Director Fitzpatrick. stated he would like to see "activities" changed to "accomplishments" while still specifying the activity, including how often to meet with the various municipalities. Discussion followed regarding Newport Beach service areas and whether or not LAFCO would be involved. Director Fitzpatrick commented that he would like to see more shared services to seek efficiencies and suggested that Board Members should have objectives as well. General Manager Carroll addressed strengthening ties with State legislators and listed methods of involvement but noted there's always room for improvement. Mr. Carroll felt that a better job can be done on the Federal side. • Director Scheafer noted through his involvement in various committees he receives updates of Federal activities and declared he would forward those to the General Manager. Discussion followed regarding being aware of and working with Federal and State legislative staff, locally. Director Fitzpatrick requested clarification of 3.1 and 3.2 and recommended having clear Board objectives that are specific, measurable and reported to the Board. He indicated he'd like to see Board Members become active in meeting objectives. He inquired regarding the District's objectives with OCSD. President Ooten reported Director Ferryman has a fiduciary responsibility and is active in the Administrative Committee as well as Strategic Planning and policy- making. He suggested the Board understand and specify how it wants the interaction to occur and set objectives. Responsibilities need to be defined. Director Ferryman noted that objectives will vary from year to year and project to project. He noted it is his duty to interact with OCSD on anything that affects CMSD. He presented an example for clarification. President Ooten stated the tactic will be for the Board to take time to establish clear • objectives and clarify how to interact with the various agencies. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 3 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING HELD MARCH 7, 2012 • Mr. Carroll addressed the goal of participating actively with professional associations from staff's perspective and stated appreciation for the Board's support. He listed the conferences attended on a yearly basis and noted staff will be submitting a list of conferences and workshops for the next fiscal year, to the Board. Discussion followed regarding the status of the Special District Institute. Staff will look into the matter. General.Carroll reported on the goal of participating in Chamber of Commerce activities noting participation of Board Members and staff. Discussion followed regarding the possibility of sponsoring a breakfast at the Chamber of Commerce and having someone speak about what the District is doing and possible topics including the FOG program. President Ooten directed staff to return with possible topics for discussion at a future Chamber of Commerce meeting in the fall. Discussion followed regarding the possibility of speaking regarding sewer rates. Director Ferryman reported he also attends the Legislative Committee meetings at the . Chamber. Director Fitzpatrick addressed the importance of having a relationship with schools. He felt many of the District's success stories are relative to schools which are not represented in the list of goals. He specified establishing relationships with school Boards. General Manager Carroll noted there is a section regarding community outreach but if the Board desires, it can be specified as to schools. Director Fitzpatrick noted he always refers to OCC as a District partner and that Goodwill is also forming a partnership with the District as well. Regarding targets and measured outcomes, Mr. Carroll suggested returning to the Board with measures and outcomes. Discussion followed regarding allowing staff to return with the item and including specific measures, responsibilities and objectives for Board Members to achieve those measures. In addition expansion of partnerships as well as a schedule of meetings with specific partners should be delineated as well as desired outcomes, and staffs . evaluation as to how much it can achieve and /or whether additional staff will be needed. It should include the costs and ramifications of expanding those partnerships. • Regarding public relations (i.e. Facebook©), Mr. Carroll reported the goal is on hold, • COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 4 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING HELD MARCH 7, 2012 takes significant amount of staff time and presents some legal issues. Director Fitzpatrick suggested keeping it but limiting activities and monitoring Mesa Water District which has obtained a consultant to evaluate social media strategies and contemplates the legal issues. Members of the Board concurred. Relative to developing user surveys to incorporate into the District's website and Facebook©, Mr. Carroll reported the survey is complete and there have been forty -four (44) responses. He acknowledged it is a good tool but takes staff time but recommended continuing the survey on the District's website. He distinguished between the survey on the website and the phone survey and presented a brief update on the latter. Brief discussion followed regarding the Sewer Lateral Assistance Program (SLAP) Mr. Carroll reported that some progress is being made on District Branding and noted an upcoming meeting. Discussion followed regarding the possibility of conferencing in Director Scheaffer while he is on vacation. Ensuing discussion pertained to branding the logo or emphasizing separation of the District from the City. Mr. Carroll reported the primary intention was for the District to distinguish itself apart from the City as well as promoting the various District programs. Discussion followed regarding focusing on promoting available programs and important events rather than distinguishing the District from the City. Director Ferryman commented on his efforts to educate the public during his presentations regarding the distinction. Members of the Board agreed with the comments and discussion followed regarding the possibility of changing the District's logo so that it doesn't look like the City's. Mr. Carroll addressed the goal of ensuring a high level of customer service through effective management of contracts and noted that many cities hire a contract manager for that specific task. He stated it is worthwhile but he hasn't had much time to focus on it. President Ooten commented on the matter,. noting inspection is paramount to make contractors do what they are supposed to do. He indicated he would like to understand what is reasonable in terms of inspection and monitoring contractors. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 5 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING HELD MARCH 7, 2012 Director Ferryman indicated District Engineer Hamers must manage the contracts in which he is involved. Discussion followed regarding maintenance contracts and the duty of the District's Inspector as well as the latter's regular reports. Brief discussion followed regarding the possibility of a future contract administration position, focusing on the largest contracts and instituting a random audit schedule. Ensuing discussion followed regarding unsatisfactory reports received, notifying the Board regarding issues with contractors, hours budgeted for inspection by the District's Inspector, assessing the possibility of hiring another inspector and evaluating whether the District's resources are being deployed efficiently. Mr. Carroll reported on award applications noting the District continues to submit these as deadlines approach. Discussion followed regarding including the issuance of awards by the District (i.e. Awards for Environmental Excellence). Mr. Carroll noted he will return to the Board with measures under this goal. S Regarding administrative management and updating the Operations Code, Mr. Carroll reported that the Code is updated continuously as needed. He stated the goal is complete and this will be another opportunity to develop another goal. Brief discussion followed regarding exemption of the five (5) year limit for legal and solid waste contracts. General Manager Carroll reported that progress has been made on the goal of enhancing the records management program. He noted that staff is now scanning documents and has set aside a specific location for easy accessibility for critical files and records. He added that staff is going in the right direction. Discussion followed regarding legislative mandates for records retention in addition to the Board's set schedule and off -site storage of records. Mr. Carroll reported staff does a very good job at staying informed on applicable State regulations, acknowledged the Board's help in staying informed on Federal regulations and addressed regional regulations. Mr. Carroll reported that IT management is a work in progress and referenced the SCADA, GIS and CMMS systems. He reported the new SCADA system seems to be working well. He noted that if it is decided to implement the new SCADA system, there will be a loss on the books but there is a need for good, reliable data. COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 6 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING HELD MARCH 7, 2012 Discussion followed regarding the TRC contract. It was noted the GIS and CMMS systems are now complete. Mr. Carroll addressed the enhancement of existing safety plans; noted staff has been working on it for the last two years and commented on risk preparedness and the emergency operations center. He noted that two AED's have been budgeted for the upcoming fiscal year and that training will be provided. Mr. Carroll addressed an illness and injury prevention program as well as a heat illness prevention program, both of which are required by Cal OSHA. Discussion followed regarding CPR and first aid training and regular meetings with District staff on safety issues. It continued regarding possible safety issues with the office's front porch and installing a fence around the transformer. General Manager Carroll reported staff is coordinating with other cities and agencies on mutual aid and other emergency preparedness operations. Regarding updating personnel rules and administrative regulations, Mr. Carroll addressed the Employee Handbook update noting it will be presented to the Board for consideration and adoption once it has been completed. He also stated that the Board will be presented with a report on how the District evaluates employee performance. He added that evaluation is conducted on a yearly basis and that new employees are currently evaluated at six months but with adoption of the new Handbook, it will be changed to yearly. Mr. Carroll reported on the succession plan for the District and commented specifically on the recent retirement of the District Clerk. He noted that most special districts in California do not have a Clerk position, but rather an Executive Assistant position. He reported consideration of reclassifying the Clerk position will be presented to the Board at its regular meeting in March. Discussion followed regarding recruiting for the position and assigning authority to the General Manager as backup for signatory purposes until the Executive Assistant position is filled. Mr. Carroll listed the duties specified for the Executive Assistant position and reported that recruitment will be external. Discussion followed regarding the possibility of contracting out help until the Executive Assistant position is filled in order to avoid getting behind. It was noted that if staff is overloaded, the General Manager has the authority to hire temporary staff. Mr. Carroll reported that during the last budget process, a comprehensive salary study was completed so the goal has been achieved. He added that the periodic evaluation • of an organizational chart is a work in progress and that in addition to the job change in the District Clerk, a proposal will be presented for another staff person to help out on COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 7 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING HELD MARCH 7, 2012 • some of the programs and goals. He reiterated the organizational chart is constantly being evaluated. Discussion followed regarding evaluating outsourcing opportunities. Mr. Carroll reported the District conducts a survey of employees every year and that the next one is due soon in an effort to promote employee satisfaction. Discussion followed regarding conducting exit interviews, as appropriate. Mr. Carroll addressed finance - related goals including quarterly budget reports, developing financial reports for the website and developing an asset management program which, he stated, has been completed and will be presented at the time of budget consideration. Discussion followed regarding the need for a new vactor truck and the possibility of including it in asset management. It was noted this will be included in the vehicle replacement category. Discussion continued regarding the differences between Asset Management and Asset Replacement. Accounting Manager Gonzalez reported on an Asset Management model developed by a consultants Brown and Caldwell which analyzes asset inventory, costs for replacement or repair and how much needs to be placed in reserves to account for those costs. Mr. Carroll presented information on the development of a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) noting it has been completed and commending Accounting Manager Gonzalez for the great job she has done on this objective. Discussion followed regarding effects to the Asset Management account with repairs taking place. It was noted this is an on -going task. Ensuing discussion followed regarding the status of Mark Davis's contract and it was noted he reviews cash balances and makes related decisions on a daily basis. General Manager Carroll addressed an evaluation of an appropriate reserve program and stated the Board has accomplished that in setting a reserve at $5 million. Director Fitzpatrick requested reflection of a five (5) year budget in the strategic plan goal. Staff noted that a ten (10) year projected budget has been provided. The adoption of a two (2) year budget was suggested, if the Board approves, so that the budget would be reviewed every two years. • Discussion followed regarding rate increases, visibility of the future for justification of COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT PAGE 8 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING HELD MARCH 7, 2012 • rate increases and identifying what and where the reserves are. Ms. Gonzalez reported that fund balances are analyzed on an accrual basis, that the Board has adopted reserves for solid waste and liquid waste as a percentage of the operating budget. She addressed an earthquake reserve and an operations reserve She offered to explain the different schedules to those who are interested. Discussion followed regarding establishing appropriate policies to ensure the Board receives adequate information at key intervals. Director Fitzpatrick requested a policy requiring a formal communication from OCSD for larger Capital Improvement Projects (CIP), during the budget and mid - budget processes, listing the status of various projects. He asked for a formal policy for a post- mortem evaluation of practices related to change orders as well. He reiterated direction regarding multi - family street - sweeping and the Banning Ranch project. Specifically, he stated the exploration of contract management for multi- family street sweeping in Costa Mesa and exploring the expansion of administrative service areas relative to the Banning Ranch project. Discussion followed regarding the timeline for the Banning Ranch project and the need to become more active regarding the project. • General Manager Carroll suggested scheduling a meeting with LAFCO regarding the Banning Ranch project and whether Board approval is necessary to service the City of Newport Beach. President Ooten,declared the importance of continuing to understand the project and whether CMSD can service Newport Beach as well as an evaluation of the EIR and including the OCSD. Director Fitzpatrick requested a written document listing the objectives and related actions and strategies needed to reach the desired outcome relative to Banning Ranch. President Ooten acknowledged that should be developed, but that it will take time. Director Ferryman agreed with the need to work closely with OCSD but first, as a Board Member, attend to their needs then to the home needs (Special District and /or City).. ADJOURNMENT President Ooten adjourned the meeting at 10:56 a.m. r 1 U COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING HELD MARCH 7, 2012 • 7��94 L Secr tary • PAGE 9 %r President