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HomeMy WebLinkAbout25.b. Committee Minutes-Administration 11-20-18 Page 1 of 10 Item 25.b. CENTRALSAN CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT December 6, 2018 TO: HONORABLE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FROM: KATIE YOUNG, SECRETARYOF THE DISTRICT SUBJECT: NOVEMBER 20, 2018 -ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE - CHAIR MCGILL AND MEMBER WILLIAMS Attached are minutes of the above Committee meeting. Strategic Plan re-In GOAL ONE: Provide Exceptional Customer Service Strategy 1 - Build external customer relationships and awareness ATTACHMENTS: 1. Administration Committee Minutes 11-20-18 December 6, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 181 of 202 Page 2 of 10 ol&)i Cwil ENTRAL SAN CONTRACENTRAL • IMHOFF PLACE, MARTINEZ, CA 9AS53-A392 REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA JAMES A.NEJEDLY SANITARY DISTRICT President ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE DAVIDWILLIAMS Presiddent Pro Tem PAUL H CA USEY MINUTES MICHAEL R.MCGILL TAD J PHECKI Tuesday, November 20 2018 PHONE: (925)222-9192 + FAX.- (921)372-0192 8:30 a.m. www.centratsan.org Executive Conference Room 5019 Imhoff Place Martinez, California Committee: Chair Mike McGill Member David Williams Guest: John D. Bakker, Principal — Meyers Nave Staff.- Roger S. Bailey, General Manager Katie Young, Secretary of the District Kenton L. Alm, District Counsel (left after Item 4.a.) Ann Sasaki, Deputy General Manager Phil Leiber, Director of Finance and Administration Emily Barnett, Communications and Intergovernmental Relations Manager (arrived during Item 4.b.) Danea Gemmell, Planning and Development Services Division Manager (left after Item 3.c. and returned during Item 4.a.) Teji O'Malley, Human Resources Manager (left after Item 4.a.) Dan Frost, Senior Engineer (left after Item 3.c.) Donna Anderson, Assistant to the Secretary of the District 1. Call Meeting to Order Chair McGill called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m. 2. Public Comments None. December 6, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 182 of 202 Page 3 of 10 Administration Committee Minutes November 20, 2018 Page 2 3. Items for Committee Recommendation to Board a. Review draft Position Paper to authorize the General Manager to execute a two-year professional services contract with Kenton L. Alm, Esq., to provide Counsel for the District services effective January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2020, with an option to extend the contract for two additional one-year terms Mr. Bailey introduced this item and stated that it is related to Item 3.b. He explained that he would like more time to sort out some of the unresolved issues related to retainer hours, specifically the allocation of retainer hours between Mr. Alm and Meyers Nave, and to address succession planning. Therefore, he proposed that the current contract with Meyers Nave be extended for three months with the stipulation that as of December 31, 2018, Meyers Nave would no longer be providing District Counsel services, but instead would provide adjunct services to Mr. Alm, who would continue serving as District Counsel under a new contract as a sole practitioner. Mr. Bakker said Mr. Bailey's proposal was acceptable to Meyers Nave. Mr. Alm said he fully agreed with the proposal, stating that the retainer hours in the existing contract with Meyers Nave are based on the fact that he covers most of them. However, under the new arrangement, he would be open to adjusting his number of hours. In order for this new proposed arrangement to work at the best level, he said it is important for Meyers Nave to have a regular presence at Central San. That means adjusting Mr. Alm's retainer hours down, with the difference made up under a new arrangement with Meyers Nave. Member Williams asked what occurs when the 74 retainer hours under the current contract with Meyers Nave are exceeded. Mr. Alm said in that case the firm does not receive any additional revenue. Some months the hours have exceeded 74 hours. On balance, it has come out slightly more than 74 hours per month. Mr. Alm explained that Meyers Nave spends three half days per week at Central San under the current contract. He covers two-thirds of those hours and his associate, Thomas L. Smith, covers the remainder. He said he would expect similar retainer hours to continue under the new proposed arrangement, but a three-month period would allow time to work out the details of how much time Meyers Nave would be on site. December 6, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 183 of 202 Page 4 of 10 Administration Committee Minutes November 20, 2018 Page 3 Chair McGill recapped his understanding of what staff is trying to accomplish with the proposed arrangement: 1) staff wishes to retain Mr. Alm's expertise and historical knowledge of the District by locking in a certain commitment as he heads into retirement, and 2) Central San needs to consider succession planning for continuity of legal services. In his opinion, there may not be enough substance in the proposed contract with Meyers Nave to achieve the second goal. Mr. Bakker said he provided some mark-ups on the existing contract with Meyers Nave, which constitutes Meyers Nave's initial proposal. In the current proposal, it is unclear how often Meyers Nave would have staff on site. Mr. Bailey said a three-month extension to review the agreements would allow time to sort out the arrangement and clarify the issues that have not yet been clearly addressed. In response to a question from Chair McGill, Mr. Alm said he is partially responsible for the ambiguity with regard to the proposed arrangement. The initial proposal was too simple, especially given the fact that succession planning is important to the Board. While he can be available as much as needed, he and Mr. Bailey concluded that may not serve the long-term needs of Central San. Chair McGill inquired as to who has paid for Mr. Alm's attendance at California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) conferences. Mr. Alm said his CASA expenses have always been paid by Meyers Nave and he has never billed Central San for his time in that regard. However, under the proposed arrangement, his expenses would be covered by Central San. Mr. Bailey noted that the District benefits from Mr. Alm's attendance and participation in the CASA conferences. Chair McGill suggested that Items 3.a. and 3.b. be brought back at the next meeting to allow time to clarify some of the ambiguities. Mr. Bailey said staff could return at the next meeting with a proposed contract with Mr. Alm and a letter from Meyers Nave clarifying an interim arrangement, both of which could be presented to the full Board before year end, when the current contract with Meyers Nave expires. This interim arrangement would allow time to sort out how best to make the proposed arrangement work for all parties. COMMITTEE ACTION: Items 3.a. and 3.b. were continued to the next meeting. December 6, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 184 of 202 Page 5 of 10 Administration Committee Minutes November 20, 2018 Page 4 b. Review draft Position Paper authorizing the General Manager to amend and extend the contract for legal services with Meyers Nave effective January 1 , 2019 through December 31 , 2019 See above. COMMITTEE ACTION: Continued to next meeting. C. Review draft Position Paper to consider adopting new Board Policy No. BP 038 - Climate Change Ms. Gemmell stated that having a Board policy on climate change could help achieve a higher score on the application for a loan from the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) related to the Solids Handling Facility Improvements Project, District Project 7348. Staff is working toward submitting an application for an SRF loan on the Project before year end. Member Williams proposed a few wording changes, and Chair McGill concurred. Ms. Gemmell noted that, if adopted, the new policy would be reviewed every two years. Mr. Alm noted that Central San is involved in a number of creative projects with respect to recycled water and wondered if they should be mentioned in the proposed policy. Ms. Gemmell responded that staff refrained from mentioning specific projects so as to avoid becoming a plan versus a policy. Chair McGill said that, from a policy perspective, he was comfortable with the proposed policy in that it states that the Board wants the enumerated items to be considered as projects are evaluated. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval with minor proposed wording changes. Ms. Gemmell and Mr. Frost left the meeting. 4. Other Items a. Update on transition to CaIPERS Healthcare Mr. Bailey said the anticipated effective date of the transition is July 1, 2019, commensurate with the start of the next fiscal year. December 6, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 185 of 202 Page 6 of 10 Administration Committee Minutes November 20, 2018 Page 5 Ms. Sasaki said there are two parts to the transition: 1) the actual transition to Ca1PERS Healthcare, and 2) setting up the Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs). Informational meetings with employees will take place next week regarding the transition, and HRA meetings have been scheduled with each of the bargaining groups. Staff is working on a draft scope of work on a Request for Proposal (RFP) for an HRA administrator. The goal would be to issue an RFP in January. Initially, the amount in the HRA will be approximately $300,000 annually. Finding a vendor to administer that amount of money may prove problematic. Staff is reaching out to other agencies to see how they are addressing this issue. Mr. Bailey said if an administrator cannot be engaged before the July 1 transition, he would recommend that the Board put the funds aside with appropriate restrictions until such time as an administrator is engaged. Chair McGill asked if the District's current plan administrator, 1CMA, would be willing to serve as interim administrator. Ms. O'Malley said that is not an option because 1CMA does not offer an HRA. Chair McGill asked if setting up a reserve would work as an interim measure. Mr. Alm said yes; short of setting up a trust, a reserve with a defined purpose should suffice in the interim. Chair McGill noted that in the absence of a trust, a reserve can be subject to the Board's discretion. He supported the idea of making a strong commitment to only use those funds for their intended purpose. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the update. Ms. O'Malley and Mr. Alm left the meeting. Ms. Gemmell rejoined the meeting. b. Discussion of Central San's practices regarding customer surveys, as requested at the November 6, 2018 Administration Committee meeting Ms. Barnett recapped the customer survey history over the last several years, stating that Katz and Associates conducted stakeholder surveys as early as 2015 in conjunction with development of the Comprehensive Wastewater Master Plan (CWMP) with a finalized report provided to the Board in January 2016. Central San contracted with FM3 to conduct customer research via telephone surveys and focus groups. The results of both the stakeholder survey and telephone survey were presented to the Board in January 2016. December 6, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 186 of 202 Page 7 of 10 Administration Committee Minutes November 20, 2018 Page 6 The Fiscal Years 2016-18 Strategic Plan included the following key success measures: • Conduct and track outreach for the CWMP • Survey customers and conduct research to assess customer expectations (FY 2017-18) • Develop a public outreach strategy associated with the rate study and its recommendations Given that the Board was looking at adopting rate increases in early 2017, rates threshold testing was included as part of the surveys reported in 2016. In December 2017 customers were also surveyed by phone. The Fiscal Years 2018-20 Strategic Plan includes the following key success measure: • Continue public outreach associated with the rate study and its recommendations • Perform research to assess customer awareness, satisfaction, desire to learn more about the District, and methods of best receiving information In July 2018, a communications channel survey was done to assess how customers best receive information. Rates threshold testing will take place in early 2019 so the results can be shared with the Board prior to considering any rate increases. Member Williams said he would prefer surveys that provide benchmarking so staff can track trends. To do that, however, the questions must be fairly uniform throughout the survey process. Ms. Barnett said roughly 60% of the survey questions are the same baseline questions covering such topics as name recognition, customer satisfaction, and what they know about Central San. However approximately 40% of the questions are customized depending on current needs and wants. For example, in 2016 the non-baseline questions focused on the CWMP. Those were followed by more rates threshold testing and questions focusing on the Household Hazardous Waste Facility because of its upcoming 20th Anniversary. In 2018 some of the input gathered helped focus the website design in advance of the launch of the new website. In 2019, the questions will again include baseline questions with a focus again on rates threshold testing. Ms. Barnett said trending data based on the baseline questions will be shared with the Committee and Board in 2019. December 6, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 187 of 202 Page 8 of 10 Administration Committee Minutes November 20, 2018 Page 7 Ms. Barnett was asked to provide the Committee with the baseline questions used for benchmarking. Chair McGill commented that the wording of questions is very important. He also noted that customers in Central San's service area care deeply about environmental protection but there are many who still misunderstand what Central San does. Ms. Barnett noted that Central San is somewhat disadvantaged in that it collects charges on the property tax roll as opposed to frequently billing customers by mail. That can be problematic when trying to disseminate information to the customer base. It takes many years to build name recognition, which is achieved by very systematically repeating the same message. In response to a question from Chair McGill, Ms. Barnett explained the difference between stakeholders and customers. Stakeholders are leaders and elected officials in the community who tend to be more informed about what Central San does. Therefore, when the Board speaks and makes presentations to stakeholders, in-depth information is provided. On the other hand, the average customer wants to know that nothing is going to break and have confidence that the money they pay to Central San will allow this to be so. Most customers have neither the time nor inclination to receive in-depth information. COMMITTEE ACTION: Discussed and provided input to staff. C. Discussion of Central San's practices regarding the process in which staff handles emails for Board Members, as requested at the November 6, 2018 Administration Committee meeting Ms. Young noted that several emails were recently sent directly to Board Members via a link on the new Central San website. This raised the question of how best to handle emails to Board Members, especially when the inquiries more appropriately should be handled by staff or to prevent delayed responses when a Board Member may be unavailable. The website has since been changed so that emails to Board Members are first received by the Secretary of the District, who then forwards them to the Board Members. Mr. Bailey said that from a transparency standpoint he was not an advocate of filtering emails to the Board Members. December 6, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 188 of 202 Page 9 of 10 Administration Committee Minutes November 20, 2018 Page 8 A discussion took place clarifying that only three emails have been received up to this point. The Secretary of the District does not screen or filter the emails, but acts to have customer inquiries or issues resolved by staff quickly and then can inform the Board Member if the matter has been handled by staff. Chair McGill said he was fine with emails being routed through the Secretary of the District, as long as every email is forwarded to the respective Board Members. Mr. Bailey asked if it was possible for emails to go directly to the Board Members with a copy going to the Secretary of the District. Ms. Barnett said that was a possibility. Chair McGill suggested that staff continue with the present system and consider providing the Board Members with options that are workable from an IT/website perspective so they may select what works best for them. COMMITTEE ACTION: Suggested that staff continue with the present system for the time being and investigate possible options the Board Members might have for selecting their preferred method of receiving emails generated by the Central San website. e. Receive list of future agenda items COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the list. 5. Announcements a. Biennial review of Board Policy No. BP 027 - Energy(to be delayed) Ms. Gemmell explained that staff would like to delay biennial review of BP 027 for approximately six months to allow staff time to complete its review of the best overall use of the District's buffer properties. The Committee Members agreed that the Energy policy should be sufficiently high level that its biennial review would not be affected by the outcome of the buffer properties'review. b. Chair McGill stated that earmarks may occur if democrats are elected. In that case, staff should prepare for pursuing earmarks that would benefit Central San as it evaluates potential funding alternatives for the capital program. C. Chair McGill also announced that the CoCo San Sustainable Farm has begun harvesting vegetables; he ate his first radish recently. December 6, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 189 of 202 Page 10 of 10 Administration Committee Minutes November 20, 2018 Page 9 COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the announcements. 6. Future Scheduled Meetings a. Tuesday, December 11, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. 7. Suggestions for Future Agenda Items None. 8. Adjournment — at 10:17 a.m. December 6, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 190 of 202