Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOARD MINUTES 07-05-12MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE DISTRICT BOARD OF THE CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT HELD ON JULY 5, 2012 The Board of Directors of the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District convened in a regular meeting in the Board Room, 5019 Imhoff Place, Martinez, County of Contra Costa, State of California, at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 5, 2012. President Nejedly called the meeting to order and requested that the Secretary call roll. 1. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Members: Hockett, McGill, Menesini, Williams, Nejedly ABSTAIN: Members: None a. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG The Board and staff joined in the Pledge of Allegiance. b. INTRODUCTIONS None. The Board welcomed the following new employees: Noe Meza, Chathura Abeyrathna, Liana Olsen, and Damasio Zepeda Aragon, all Staff Engineers in the Capital Projects Division, and Robert Hess III, Staff Engineer in the Plant Operations Department. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS 3. CONSENT CALENDAR General Manager Ann Farrell announced that an expenditure in Item 3.b., a manager and professional expense reimbursement for a former employee, has been repaid to the District. President Nejedly requested pulling Item 3.e. off the Consent Calendar for separate consideration. He stated that he believed it to be premature to hire someone so quickly, without more assurance that there are no better qualified candidates available for the position. It was moved by President Nejedly and seconded by Member McGill to adopt Items 3.a. through 3.d. as recommended, with the change to Item 3.b. described by General Manager Ann Farrell. Motion passed by unanimous vote of the Board. Book 62 Page 1 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of July 5, 2012 Following discussion, it was moved by Member McGill and seconded by Member Menesini to adopt Item 3.e. as recommended. Motion passed by the following vote of the Board: AYES: Members: Hockett, McGill, Menesini, Williams NOES: Members: Nejedly ABSTAIN: Members: None a. Approve minutes of Board meeting held June 7, 2012. b. Approve expenditures dated July 5, 2012. Reviewed by Budget and Finance Committee. C. Receive May 2012 Financial Statements and Investment Reports. Reviewed by Budget and Finance Committee. d. Adopt Resolution 2012 -048 appointing Thea Vassallo as Finance Manager, Pay Range M -29 ($9,798.57 - $11,910.24), effective July 18, 2012. e. Adopt Resolution 2012 -049 appointing Teji O'Malley as Human Resources Manager, Pay Range M -33 ($8,881.64 - $10,795.72), effective July 20, 2012. None. 4. CALL FOR REQUESTS TO CONSIDER ITEMS OUT OF ORDER 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS a. CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER ADOPTING THE FOLLOWING FOR THE VISTA DEL ORINDA CONTRACTUAL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT (CAD) NO. 2010-2 IN ORINDA, DISTRICT PROJECT 6499: (CONTINUED FROM JUNE 21, 2012.) 1) RESOLUTION 2012 -045 CONFIRMING AND LEVYING FINAL ASSESSMENTS: 2) RESOLUTION 2012 -046 DIRECTING THAT THE FISCAL YEAR 2012 -13 ASSESSMENTS BE PLACED ON THE CONTRA COSTA COUNTY PROPERTY TAX ROLL FOR COLLECTION: AND 3) UNCODIFIED ORDINANCE NO. 273 TO ESTABLISH REIMBURSEMENT FEES FOR THE PROPERTIES WHICH COULD DIRECTLY CONNECT TO DISTRICT PROJECT 6499 (VISTA DEL ORINDA CAD NO 2010 -2) Book 62 Page 2 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of July 5, 2012 General Manager Ann Farrell stated that this item, whose resolutions require four affirmative votes to adopt, was continued from the June 21, 2012 meeting, when only three Board Members were present. Engineering Assistant III Russ Leavitt stated that the total project cost is $166,440, and there is one set of final assessments and reimbursement fees to be considered for approval. Six property owners are initial participants, and one of the six (Assessment Number 10) has agreed to cover the four non - participants' costs. These non - participants will be subject to paying a reimbursement fee upon connection. The public hearing was opened and closed without comment. Member McGill noted that, when the Capital Projects Committee last reviewed the CAD Policy, it did not do so in the framework of the policy exceptions that have been proposed since then. He suggested that the Committee look at the policy again in a broader sense. It was moved by President Nejedly and seconded by Member Williams to adopt Resolution 2012 -045 confirming and levying final assessments; Resolution 2012 -046 directing that the Fiscal Year 2012 -13 assessments be placed on the Contra Costa County Property Tax Roll for collection; and uncodified Ordinance No. 273 to establish reimbursement fees for the properties which could directly connect to District Project 6499 (Vista Del Orinda CAD No. 2010 -2). Motion passed by unanimous vote of the Board. 6. BIDS AND AWARDS a. REJECT SOLE BID SUBMITTED FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE 2012 CIPP (CURED -IN -PLACE PIPE) SLIPLINING PROJECT, DP 8405. Assistant Engineer Wesley Adams described the project, whose scope includes renovating approximately 13,000 feet of 18 -inch to 42 -inch pipe by CIPP and spiral - wound construction methods. The project would have four sites: the M5 line on Shell Refinery property, South Main Street, Lancaster Road, and the Treatment Plant property from Junction Structure 3 to Headworks. On June 20, 2012, responsive bid was received. Another bid was received late and not accepted. The responsive bid was from SAK Construction, in the amount of $4,875,718. The Engineer's Estimate was $2,600,000. Mr. Adams identified several disadvantages to bidding the project at that time: (1) there are only three spiral -wound contractors in California; (2) the outfall project delayed the construction start date of a portion of the project until 2013 and incurred remobilization costs; and (3) the City of Walnut Creek severely limited work hours. He stated staff's recommendation to renegotiate some of the construction constraints and rebid the project at a more favorable time in early 2013. Book 62 Page 3 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of July 5, 2012 It was moved by Member Williams and seconded by Member Menesini to reject the sole bid submitted for construction of the 2012 CIPP (cured -in -place pipe) Sliplining Project, DP 8405. Motion passed by unanimous vote of the Board. 7. REPORTS a. GENERAL MANAGER 1) Update on permit counter and connection fee collection matters and proposed fee recovery plan. This matter was reviewed by the Budget and Finance Committee at its July 2, 2012 meeting. The Committee concurred with staff's recommendation to proceed with sending notification letters for fees owed, with some situations being brought to the Board for input. Senior Engineer Tom Godsey stated that field inspection, research, and sign - off on application -by- application worksheets is ongoing; 104 Septic Conversion applications are being cross - referenced with sewer TV inspection results; 88 sites have been identified for follow -up with local building departments and inspection by appointment; the collection process has commenced for some applications; and staff's meeting with the Building Official at the City of Concord has been rescheduled to late July. Senior Engineer Thomas Brightbill reported that there are no applications yet to be reviewed, and, of 1,762 total applications worth $21.4 million, 1,499 worth $19.2 million show no fees owed, and 263 worth $2.2 million show connection or septic conversion related fees possibly owed. He outlined the proposed collection program steps, to (1) confirm the fee is actually owed; (2) determine the discovery date; (3) determine the responsible party; and (4) send a notification letter to gauge reactions and begin cleaning up the fees. Mr. Brightbill noted that, given the amount of time that has elapsed since connection, homeowners may not react positively to the notification letters. Also, staff plans to charge fees at the current rates, as allowed by the District Code. If payment is not received, the District can file a Notice of Unpaid Charges and hold a public hearing to place the charges on the property tax bill, if less than four years has passed since discovery and the property owner has remained the same. General Manager Ann Farrell described her vision as a two -step process of (1) sending notification letters and (2) determining the feedback and grouping it into categories and returning to the Board before taking the next step. One objective would be to see how many people fall into the category of those not involved in the original permit application. She stated that policy decisions will have to be made, but staff does not yet have the data on which those Book 62 Page 4 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of July 5, 2012 decisions would be based. Once the first notification letter is sent, staff will gather the data and return to the Board with some of the situations for direction on how to proceed. The Board concurred with staff's plan to update them in September 2012 with next steps and categorized feedback from the letters. In response to a question from Member Williams about the 263 fees possibly owed, Mr. Godsey replied that some were in the queue and the parties have been notified. Member Williams stated that, during the next update, he would be interested in the bifurcation of those that have been run to ground and those that are still possible, including the dollar values. Member McGill asked to see the fees broken into categories of circumstance, such as, whether they resulted from an additional room being built, or from a septic to sewer conversion, to determine how they came to be unpaid and how the District can better track the fees. President Nejedly estimated that the District is out $3 million and will spend $1 million just trying to retrieve it. He stated his belief that the District will not be able to recover all of the funds, with numbers changing constantly, determining to whom the fees should be charged, and resistance from homeowners. He stated that tracking every fee should have been an automatic action, and there is a serious problem at the Permit Counter for this to happen. He called for culpability in the matter and stated that the Permit Counter made a significant mistake. He noted that he felt strongly about the matter. The District will be going after people who have been sitting on sewers, not just people who built additions to their homes, and getting proverbial black eyes in the process. Notification letter recipients will be caught off guard, staff will have to perform inspections and site visits, and those who are willing to pay will likely have to do it in installments, raising the question of how much to charge and at what interest rate. He asked the Board to make hard and fast decisions to resolve the matter quickly so as not to prolong the matter. Member Hockett noted that perhaps the computer system should be remedied and the fees let go, or just focus on the fees that were due in the past 2 or 3 years. She acknowledged President Nejedly's comments regarding the energy expended on the collection efforts, and suggested looking at the costs and benefits of continuing the efforts. She noted that it is real money and real time at stake and asked if what is planned is where the District wants to go with this matter. She stated that the District ought to look at that. A mistake was made but the issue is who pays for it and what the price is. She stated her belief that she did not want to see the District beat itself up or have negative effects on its public over the matter. 2) Announcements The following written announcements were included with the agenda packet: Book 62 Page 5 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of July 5, 2012 a) Recent Personnel Advancements - Anthony Fernandez to Plant Operator III b) Temporary Hiring Back of Retired Laboratory Superintendant Bhupinder Dhaliwal c) 2012 Plant Cleanup Day d) Cogeneration Incident Update e) Facility Plan and Site Characterization Work Plan f) District Partnership in California Alliance for Sewer System Excellence (CASSE) g) Federal Reimbursement for Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP) Approved h) Annual Summer Student Picnic on July 18, 2012 i) Plant Operations Division Manager Ba Than's Attendance at the 2012 National Association of Clean Water Agencies ( NACWA) Summer Conference in Philadelphia and Acceptance of 2011 NACWA Platinum Peak Performance Award j) Human Resources Analyst Selina Zapien's Attendance at the 2012 NeoGov Training Conference in Las Vegas There were no additional written announcements made at the meeting. b. COUNSEL FOR THE DISTRICT In addition to the written reported contained in the agenda packet, District Counsel Kent Alm reported that the District has filed a writ, and a briefing schedule has been set in Ryan Schaeffer, et al v Gregory Village LP et al., Contra Costa Superior Court Case No. MSC11- 01307, for the District to challenge the State Court's exercise of jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) cause of action. C. SECRETARY OF THE DISTRICT No reports. d. BOARD MEMBERS 1) Board Member reports on recent meetings for which they received the stipend; and meetings or conferences for which the District paid their Book 62 Page 6 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of July 5, 2012 expenses, 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 July 2, 2012 Budget and Finance Committee meeting and summarized the Action Summary. He noted that the procedure for Committee and Board review of expenditures works well, citing the unreimbursed expenditure that was found by the Committee and corrected for approval at the Board level. The Board received the report without comment. Member Hockett left the Board Meeting at 3:23 p.m., during this item. 2) Provide direction to Member McGill, the District's representative and voting delegate for the Contra Costa Chapter of the California Special Districts Association (CSDA), on how to vote at the upcoming CSDA Election for Representative of Region 3, Seat A. Member McGill stated that there is one candidate for the seat, and his candidate statement was enclosed in the Board agenda packet. The Board concurred with Member McGill's intent to vote for Mr. Vincent Ferrante, the sole candidate, at the CSDA Election. 3) Announcements Member McGill submitted a written report covering Announcements. 8. BUDGET AND FINANCE a. APPROVE RECOMMENDATION OF DEFERRED COMPENSATION COMMITTEE TO CONSOLIDATE MANAGEMENT OF 457 AND 401(A) DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN ASSETS UNDER ONE CARRIER, ICMA -RC. This matter was reviewed by the Budget and Finance Committee at its July 2, 2012 meeting. The Committee recommended postponement until the Deferred Compensation Plan and Fee Benchmark Study results are received in mid -late July 2012. The Study will examine the management fees of the District's past three providers and compare them with outside providers' to determine if ICMA -RC's fees are the lowest. Member Williams suggested that staff include other public agencies in the study. Member McGill stated that the approach is consistent with Budget and Finance Committee's recommendation to perform internal and external comparisons to ensure the best possible deal for the District and its employees. Book 62 Page 7 None. CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of July 5, 2012 It was moved by Member Williams and seconded by President Nejedly to defer the item to a future meeting. Motion passed by the following vote of the Board: AYES: Members: McGill, Menesini, Williams NOES: Members: Nejedly ABSENT: Members: Hockett 9. EMERGENCY SITUATIONS REQUIRING BOARD ACTION 10. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Member McGill added to his earlier suggestion during consideration of Item 5.a., that the Capital Projects Committee review the CAD policy, by requesting an update on a possible Board portal at the Capital Projects Committee level. He also noted that, once he has reviewed the information he received on Rosenberg's Rules of Order, he would like to place consideration of adopting a parliamentary procedure on a future Board agenda. 11. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, President Nejedly adjourned the meeting at 3:33 p.m. Jas A. Nejedly / President of the Board of Directors Central Contra Costa Sanitary District County of Contra Costa, State of California COUNTERSIGNED: r', 0 Elaine R. Boehme, CIVIC Secretary of the District Central Contra Costa Sanitary District County of Contra Costa, State of California Book 62 Page 8