Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOARD MINUTES 04-14-11MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE DISTRICT BOARD OF THE CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT HELD ON APRIL 14, 2011 The Board of Directors of the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District convened in a special meeting in the Board Room, 5019 Imhoff Place, Martinez, County of Contra Costa, State of California, at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, 2011. President Hockett called the meeting to order and requested that the Secretary call roll. 1. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Members: McGill, Menesini, Nejedly, Williams, Hockett ABSENT: Members: None a. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG The Board and staff joined in the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments. 3. REPORTS /ANNOUNCEMENTS a. GENERAL MANAGER The following written announcements were made at the meeting: 1) User Feedback Survey customer complaint 2) South Orinda Sewer Renovations Project (Phase 5), District Project 5989 — public workshop to be held April 19, 2011, 7:00 — 8:00 p.m. in the Orinda Community Center's Founders Auditorium (28 Orinda Way) 3) Advertisement on April 14 and 19, 2011 of the South Orinda Sewer Renovations (Phase 5), District Project 5989 Book 60 — Page 274 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of April 14, 2011 b. COUNSEL FOR THE DISTRICT ' District Counsel Kent Alm announced that the closed session regarding Items 6.a. and 6.b. is not needed. C. SECRETARY OF THE DISTRICT Secretary of the District Elaine Boehme announced that a draft Teleconferencing Policy had been distributed to the Board Members and will be considered at the May 5, 2011 regularly scheduled Board meeting. d. BOARD MEMBERS 1) Board Member reports on recent meetings for which they received the stipend* meetings or conferences for which the District paid their expenses: and future meetings or conferences for which they will receive the stipend or for which the District will pay their expenses Member McGill Member McGill reported on the April 7, 2011 Contra Costa Mayors' Conference hosted by the City of San Ramon at which Bob Doyle, General Manager of East Bay Regional Parks District, spoke. He also reported on the April 11, 2011 Contra Costa Special Districts Association Meeting /20th Anniversary Event at which Mark Peterson, Contra Costa County District Attorney, spoke. Member McGill also provided a written report covering Announcements. Member Neiedly Member Nejedly reported on the April 7, 2011 Contra Costa Mayors' Conference hosted by the City of San Ramon. Member Williams Member Williams noted that he was unable to attend the April 11, 2011 Contra Costa Special Districts Association Meeting /20th Anniversary Event. He also announced that he will not be able to attend the April 21, 2011 Board meeting. President Hockett President Hockett reported on the April 7, 2011 Contra Costa Mayors' Conference hosted by the City of San Ramon. Book 60 — Page 275 a. CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of April 14, 2011 4. CAPITAL PROJECTS BOARD WORKSHOP ' OVERVIEW OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2011 -2012 DRAFT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET AND DRAFT TEN -YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN Director of Engineering Ann Farrell stated that she would review the planned Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 -12 Draft Capital Improvement Budget (CIB), selected FY 2011 -12 capital projects, the proposed Draft Ten -Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), future challenges facing the District in terms of capital projects, and the next steps in the capital budgeting process. She also referenced the revised draft Executive Summary which explains the capital program and asked the Board to review it and provide any input before it is finalized in June. Ms. Farrell stated that the FY 2011 -12 CIB recommendations total $25.9 million, which will require Board authorization of roughly $29.8 million in order to cover previously authorized projects carried into the next fiscal year, as well as new projects. The recommended expenditures for the various programs are as follows: Estimated FY 2011 -12 Program Program Expenditures Treatment Plant $ 7.1 million Collection System 12.8 million ' General Improvements 5.4 million Recycled Water 0.6 million TOTAL $25.9 million The total of these recommended expenditures is roughly $3 million less than earlier projections due to the Environmental Protection Agency having relaxed the anticipated sewage sludge incinerator Section 129 regulations. Expenditures for the entire Ten - Year CIP are roughly $345 million, or an average of $34.5 million per year, and allow for funding all necessary improvements that have been identified at this time. TREATMENT PLANT PROGRAM Ms. Farrell said staff is carefully reviewing what the future looks like in terms of sewage treatment technology and evaluating how the District might position itself to participate in emerging technologies. When originally constructed, the District's existing treatment approach was state of the art, recovering /reusing energy during the incineration process and recovering phosphorus by reusing ash from the incinerators. New technologies are emerging that emphasize anaerobic treatment and resource recovery. Before making expensive renovations and improvements to the existing treatment plant, it is important to properly weigh the District's current treatment approach against potential plant modifications. This will involve taking a comprehensive look at how to sustainably treat ' wastewater for the next 50 plus years, and incorporating findings of the greenhouse gas (GHG) study of incineration versus anaerobic digestion. Staff is considering an Book 60 — Page 276 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of April 14, 2011 approach where consultants will be invited to develop and submit concepts for the District's treatment plant of the future and a phased approach to get there. Ms. Farrell said it is important to know where the District is headed in order to make the most sensible investments in the current CIB and CIP. Ms. Farrell said the District has built a comprehensive model to analyze its GHG emissions under different scenarios for planning purposes. The base model simulates GHG production and energy usage /cost under current operating conditions. Model scenarios include switching to fluidized bed incinerators, making modifications to the existing cogeneration system, progressing to a higher level of treatment (nitrification/ nutrient removal), and switching to anaerobic digesters. The model also takes into account the costs of electrical power, natural gas, landfill gas and CO2 allowances to test the sensitivity of the different scenarios to energy prices. Member Williams commented that he was pleased to see that digesters are incorporated into the model because there are potential revenues from tipping fees and a possible resource recovery program, which would allow gas generation, potential renewable energy credits that could be sold on the open market, and the sale of cap and trade offsets. Doing so places the costs of switching to anaerobic digestion on a plane that might be competitive with staying with incineration. Ms. Farrell agreed and reiterated that one of the goals of the "plant of the future" is to minimize net energy usage. With regard to planned renovations at the treatment plant, Ms. Farrell said staff is ' performing condition assessments on the various plant components to determine the likelihood of failure and /or the remaining life of the asset. A similar approach is being developed to assess the treatment plant mechanical equipment, including the sedimentation tanks, scum spray system, tank baffles, and grit handling facilities. Ms. Farrell also reviewed the status of the dry/wet weather bypass structure, which must be in service before the Outfall Improvements Project can get underway; current expectations are that the project will be delayed until mid 2012. Several abandoned primary tanks are taking up valuable space on the treatment plant site and continue to deteriorate, and the abandoned lime silo also should be removed. The Ten -Year CIP includes a budgeted $1.3 million for demolition of the abandoned primary tanks and lime silo in FY 2015 -16, but that project will most likely be accelerated due to delay of the Outfall Project and a favorable bid climate for demolition work. Ms. Farrell concluded her remarks on the treatment plant program by stating that $146 million (42 percent) of the $345 million Ten -Year CIP is dedicated to the treatment plant, including $63 million (18 percent) for renovations and $71 million (20 percent) for an ammonia removal project in response to new regulatory requirements. Ms. Farrell briefly explained how ammonia removed through the "nitrification" process is converted to nitrate. In order to accomplish this, the volume of the aeration basins will need to be doubled; correspondingly, the demand for oxygen /aeration will also double. Staff is in the process of examining other approaches that could require less tank space and /or less power. In response to a question from Member Williams, Ms. Farrell said that ' while this nitrification process could be expanded to achieve nutrient (nitrogen and Book 60 — Page 277 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of April 14, 2011 phosphorus) removal in the event it becomes mandated by future regulatory requirements, the cost of doing so has not been included in the proposed Ten -Year CIP. COLLECTION SYSTEM PROGRAM Ms. Farrell presented a breakdown by project of the $12.8 million capital expenditures proposed for the collection system program during FY 2011 -12. She noted that all 6 -, 8- and 10 -inch sewer mains in the District have been evaluated via televised inspection. To date, over 30 miles of sewer mains have been fully renovated, with 53 miles remaining. Renovation of the remaining sewer pipe is included in the capital budget for completion over the next six to seven years at an estimated cost of roughly $280 per foot. This focused effort on pipe renovations has had a corollary effect on reducing sewer service overflows within the District; the downward trend in overflows has been significant since the piping renovation program began. Ms. Farrell concluded her remarks on the collection system operation by stating that $172 million (50 percent) of the $345 million Ten -Year CIP is dedicated to the collection system program, including $125 million (35 percent) for piping renovations, $14 million (4 percent) for pumping station projects and $20 million (6 percent) for eight high - priority capacity projects. RECYCLED WATER PROGRAM Ms. Farrell said that $310,000 of the $550,000 budgeted for the recycled water program in FY 2011 -12 is allocated to planning activities for the Zone 1 Recycled Water ' Continued Expansion, and $240,000 is allocated for planning other projects, including Industrial Concepts Planning and the Concord Naval Weapons Station. Two recycled water projects were excluded from the FY 2011 -12 CIB: the Concord Landscape Irrigation Project and the Martinez Refinery Recycled Water Project. With regard to the former, it appears that Title 16 funding is very unlikely; as to the latter, various funding options are being pursued. For either project, if State or Federal funding is received, the District's share of the construction cost is not included in the current budget. GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM The majority of the $5.4 million general improvements budget for the coming fiscal year is dedicated to the completion of the Collection System Operations Department (CSOD) Facility Improvements Project ($2 million) in Walnut Creek. Construction is well underway and completion is anticipated in mid 2011. Ms. Farrell said $510,000 has been allocated to begin seismic improvements at the Headquarters Office Building (HOB) in Martinez. She presented a slide showing the proximity of the Concord Fault to District facilities (less than a mile) and explained how this has impacted design criteria for seismic upgrades of the HOB, the Solids Conditioning Building, the Pump and Blower Building, and the Plant Operations Building. Staff has looked at the cost to replace each of these buildings versus the cost of seismic upgrades and determined that it is far more cost effective to perform seismic upgrades. A total of $12.7 million has been included in ' the Ten -Year CIP for retrofitting various buildings over the next several years to provide increased safety for personnel and the protection of plant processes. Book 60 — Page 278 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of April 14, 2011 Ms. Farrell concluded her presentation by reviewing the projected Sewer Construction Fund revenues of $22,246,000 for FY 2011 -12, which takes into consideration the proposed $30 rate increase. She noted that even with this increase, capital cash flow estimates indicate that approximately $3.6 million will be drawn from the Sewer Construction Fund in FY 2011 -12. Without the $30 rate increase, this drawdown would be roughly $10 million. She said staff will be coming back to the Board in June to consider (1) adopting the proposed FY 2011 -12 CIB, which will mean authorizing $29.8 million to fund the capital program for next year, and (2) the Ten -Year CIP. Referring to the page in the draft Ten -Year CIP regarding authorizations, Member Williams noted that there is a hidden cost in bringing various items to the Board for approval (i.e. staff time to prepare position papers, etc.) and he wondered if, the;'.Boa d -_ might wish to consider broadening some of the existing authorization Ievels:YO.reduce, at . least a portion of these hidden costs. President Hockett noted that the Humari-- . Resources Committee recently did that with regard to authorizations under the-,purview of that Committee and she was in favor of considering similar proposals in•other areas. . - Member McGill noted that while authority limits should be periodically adjbstedfor "' inflation, there is a quality control component to bringing items before the - F�toard. Also, - it is important to keep in mind the anticipated retirements of experienced emplcyees; .. ' which will lead to less seasoned staff preparing items for Board review. All things' considered, however, he said he was supportive of looking into Member Williams' suggestion and would entertain feedback from staff in this regard. 5. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS None. No closed session was held. There was no report out. 6. CLOSED SESSION 7. REPORT OUT OF CLOSED SESSION Book 60 — Page 279 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of April 14, 2011 8. ADJOURNMENT ' There being no further business to come before the Board, President Hockett adjourned the meeting at 2:58 p.m. �'awA Barbara D. Hockett President of the Board of Directors Central Contra Costa Sanitary District County of Contra Costa, State of California COUNTERSIGNED: Elaine R,. Esyehrr%a; CIVIC :Secretary of the Ventral Contra Costa ,"'Sanitary District,-,County of Contra Costa, ,State of California Book 60 — Page 280