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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOARD MINUTES 12-19-13MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE DISTRICT BOARD OF THE CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT HELD ON DECEMBER 19, 2013 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, December 19, 2013. President Nejedly called the meeting to order and requested that the Secretary call roll. 1. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Members: Causey, McGill, Pilecki, Williams, Nejedly 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. CONSENT CALENDAR a. Approve minutes of Board meeting held November 21, 2013. b. Approve expenditures dated December 19, 2013. Reviewed by Budget and Finance Committee. It was moved by Member McGill and seconded by Member Causey to adopt the Consent Calendar as recommended. Motion passed by unanimous vote of the Board. None. 4. CALL FOR REQUESTS TO CONSIDER ITEMS OUT OF ORDER 5. BIDS AND AWARDS a. AWARD A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT IN THE AMOUNT OF $122,400 TO B &M BUILDERS, INC., THE LOWEST RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER Book 63 — Page 22 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of December 19, 2013 FOR PROVIDING NONDESTRUCTIVE POTHOLING OF UNDERGROUND UTILITIES SERVICES FOR A ONE -YEAR PERIOD WITH AN OPTIONAL EXTENSION FOR TWO ADDITIONAL ONE -YEAR PERIODS (FOR A TOTAL OF $367,200 FOR THREE YEARS) CONTRACT 041008ENG General Manager Roger Bailey stated that on December 4, 2013, the District received three bids for the contract for nondestructive potholing of underground utilities services, Contract 041008ENG. The blanket contract will be used for several Collection System renovation projects. He said staff had reviewed the bids and recommended awarding the project to B &M Builders, Inc. for approximately $122,400 for one year, with an optional extension for two additional one -year periods, which, if extended for both years, would bring the total contract amount to approximately $367,200. It was moved by Member Causey and seconded by Member McGill to find that the project is exempt from CEQA; award a construction contract to B &M Builders, Inc. under the terms described; and authorize the General Manager to execute contract documents subject to submittal requirements. Motion passed by unanimous vote of the Board. 6. REPORTS a. GENERAL MANAGER 1) Announcements The following written announcements were included with the agenda packet: a) Recent Staff Promotion — Gregory St. John promoted to Land Surveyor b) Action on District Annexation 168C — Alhambra Valley continued indefinitely The following additional announcements were made at the meeting: c) Revision to announcement in Item 6.a.1)b) above d) Recent Lateral Transfer - Associate Engineer Nathan Hodges transferred from Capital Projects Division to Environmental Services Division e) Recent Personnel Advancement — Nancy Parker advanced to Engineering Assistant II in the Environmental Services Division fl Pollution Prevention Signage to be placed at Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facility Book 63 — Page 23 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of December 19, 2013 b. COUNSEL FOR THE DISTRICT District Counsel Kent Alm reported that a closed session would be held for Items 11.a. -c. C. SECRETARY OF THE DISTRICT None. 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 expenses; future meetings or conferences for which they will receive the stipend or for which the District will pay their expenses Member Causey Member Causey reported that a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee re CoCo San Sustainable Farm was held on short notice on December 10, 2013, just prior to the Capital Projects meeting. He reported that while he and Member Pilecki attended both meetings, only one stipend was paid to each of them. He reported that Earth Island Institute has withdrawn its support for the Farm. Staff met with Dr. Phinney and explained she needs a sponsor and needs to prepare a response to the District's terms of the lease agreement Member McGill Member McGill reported on the December 5, 2013 Contra Costa County Mayors Conference hosted by the City of Pittsburg. Member McGill and President Nejedly reported on the December 9, 2013 Enterprise Committee meeting, as well as the December 16, 2013 Budget and Finance Committee meeting, and summarized the Action Summaries. The Board received the reports, and confirmed its support that the revised draft letter proposed for joint signature by the East Bay Municipal Utility District ( EBMUD) be sent to customers affected by errors in water usage data provided by EBMUD used in calculating Fiscal Year 2013 -14 commercial sewer service charges. Member Pilecki Member Pilecki and Member Causey reported on the December 10 and December 17, 2013 Capital Projects Committee meetings and summarized the Action Summaries. Member Williams commented that, from a policy perspective, he did not need to know which and when capital projects were being reprioritized to replace other Book 63 — Page 24 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARYDISTRICT Board Minutes of December 19, 2013 budgeted projects. He said those determinations should be left to the discretion of the District's professional staff. Member McGill agreed, noting that a number of factors can affect the original budget, including changes in project scope, especially for projects that span multiple years, or accelerating or delaying projects based on staff availability, etc. These factors can make it difficult to compare project costs with the original budget. He and Member Williams said these processes would be the subject of further discussion early next year. 2) Approve new Board Committee structure consolidating seven existing committees into the following four committees effective January 1 2014 President -Elect Williams: • Administration Committee (formerly Policy Development and Internal Operations, Human Resources, and Outreach Committees) • Finance Committee (formerly Budget and Finance Committee) • Engineering & Operations Committee (formerly Capital Projects Committee) • Real Estate. Environmental & Planning Committee (formerly Environmental Services and Enterprise Committees) President -Elect Williams stated that the above recommended Board Committee structure resulted from discussions held at the Board retreat held last October. It was moved by Member McGill to adopt the new four - Committee structure as proposed. Noting that Board Committees play vital role in reviewing information for Board, Member Pilecki expressed concern that having just four committees would diminish the involvement of some Board Members because every year at least two Board Members will only be involved in one Committee. As possible alternatives, and as a means of equalizing Board Member involvement, he suggested: (1) creating five Committees; (2) disallowing the Board President from serving on Committees; (3) eliminating the concept of requiring progression of members in Committee succession (e.g. moving from Committee Member to Committee Chair after serving one year); and /or (4) disallowing members of the Finance Committee from serving on other committees (due to the anticipated frequency of Finance Committee meetings). President -Elect Williams stated that Committee appointments should not be driven by equity of appointments. He also said the progression from Committee Member to Committee Chair should be a goal, not a mandate. Given that all matters of significance come to the Board anyway, he said he was supportive of the Committee structure as proposed. Book 63 — Page 25 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of December 19, 2013 President Nejedly noted that it is always difficult to make committee assignments due to Board Member time constraints, interest areas, and familiarity with subject matter. Nevertheless, he said he was in favor of the proposed four - committee structure, and he seconded the motion made earlier by Member McGill. Member Causey suggested adding operational issues and non - regulatory issues to the purview of the proposed Engineering & Operations Committee, to which all Board Members concurred. In response to questions from several Board Members, Mr. Alm said that if the Board approved the four - committee structure at this meeting, the new structure could take effect January 1, 2014, even though the draft Committee charters will still be in process. Protocols for how each committee would operate and the general subject matters to be brought to each committee could be spelled out in charters, which he said were in process. He recommended that the draft charters be presented to the full Board for consideration early next year. Once finalized, the charters could be adopted by resolution, which would indicate specific authority delegated by the full Board to the Committees, if any. It was moved by Member McGill and seconded by President Nejedly to adopt the new four - committee structure as proposed in the agenda materials, effective January 1, 2014. Motion passed by unanimous vote of the Board. 3) Receive and approve 2014 Board Committee and other assignments President -Elect Williams presented the following listing of proposed 2014 Board Committee and other assignments: Standing Committees Administration Committee Chair: McGill Member: Williams Engineerinq & Operations Committee Chair: Pilecki Member: Causey Real Estate. Environmental & Planning Committee Chair: Nejedly Member: McGill Finance Committee Chair: Causey Book 63 — Page 26 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of December 19, 2013 Member: Nejedly Representatives to Outside Agencies California Special Districts Association - Contra Costa Chapter Representative: McGill Alternate: Williams Board Liaisons to Cities and County Concord, Contra Costa County Nejedly Alamo, Danville, San Ramon Causey Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek McGill Martinez, Pacheco Pilecki Moraga, Orinda, Lafayette Williams Member Causey suggested adding an item under "Representatives to Outside Agencies" indicating the District's representative to the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA). With that addition, it was moved by Member McGill and seconded by Member Causey to approve the proposed 2014 Board Committee and other assignments. Motion passed by unanimous vote of the Board. 4) Discuss frequency of holding Board Committee meetings in 2014 — President - Elect Williams President -Elect Williams recalled a discussion that took place at the October 2013 Board Priorities Workshop in which it was agreed that the Board should focus on the ends, not the means, when it comes to the District's business. In his view, that meant holding as few committee meetings as possible, just enough to be able to provide direction to staff on policy. To do otherwise would risk (1) holding meetings with "light" agenda items, possibly leading to the unintended consequence of Committee Members focusing too much on the means as opposed to the ends; (2) paying stipends needlessly; and (3), most importantly, creating extra burden for staff to prepare for and attend the meetings. Thus, he proposed that the frequency of Committee meetings be kept to a minimum. He questioned the need for the Finance Committee to continue meeting twice a month, proposing instead that it regularly meet twice per month in the first few months of 2014, tapering off to once per month if possible. He proposed that the Administration Committee; Engineering & Operations Committee; and the Real Estate, Environmental & Planning Committee (REEP) each regularly meet once per month. In closing, he noted that regular meetings of all Committees may be may be cancelled if they are not needed, and special meetings may be added as deemed necessary. Book 63 — Page 27 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of December 19, 2013 President Nejedly and Member Causey said they were comfortable with back - to -back meetings on the same day. A discussion took place in which the benefits of more frequent meetings of the Finance Committee were pointed out, not the least of which was to review expenditures. Member McGill pointed out that there is educational value in holding more frequent meetings of the Finance Committee, especially in terms of getting up to speed on more complex financial issues such as pensions and benefits. President Nejedly also noted that twice monthly meetings of the Finance Committee have proven very effective with regard to reviewing expenditures. Member Causey expressed support for moving toward monthly meetings of the Finance Committee. District Counsel Kent Alm said there is a statutory requirement that the Board approve all expenditures, so monthly meetings could prove problematic in that respect. It was moved by Member Pilecki and seconded by Member Causey to schedule regular meetings of the four Board Committees generally as proposed by President -Elect Williams -- Finance Committee twice per month in 2014, and all remaining Committees once per month. Member McGill commented that the Administration Committee should meet twice per month initially to sort out benefit and Affordable Care Act issues. Member Pilecki amended his motion to reflect that the meeting frequency established by his original motion should be the goal, and that meetings of any of the Committees may be cancelled or added as needed. Member Causey seconded the amended motion, which passed by unanimous vote of the Board. 5) Discuss process for establishing Board Committee charters — President -Elect Williams General Manager Roger Bailey suggested the following two options for establishing charters for new four Board Committees: a) Authorize staff to draft the charters and route them through the respective Committees for recommendation to the full Board, or b) Authorize staff to draft the charters and bring them directly to the full Board for review. Various ideas were discussed by the Board, including the best way to reduce overlap in terms of subject areas, and whether charters were needed, given that there have been none in the past. President Nejedly opined that the reason for Board Committees is to help the Board make informed decisions, because the Committees have no authority per se. All matters eventually come to the Board for consideration. Book 63 — Page 28 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of December 19, 2013 District Counsel Kent Alm said charters are not required, but if the Board is going to delegate any authority to a Board Committee, it must be spelled out, usually via charter or resolution. If no authority is delegated, no charter is necessary. President -Elect Williams said the Board could take a passive approach (by adopting charters) or an active approach (no charters) to the Committees. He said he was ambivalent about whether or not to adopt charters. Member Causey said he would like to adopt charters. President Nejedly said he was not opposed to adopting charters, as long as the full Board continues to receive information about all items and every item continues to be considered by the full Board. Member McGill noted that the new process of including Committee Action Summaries in the agenda packets is very helpful, and it would be beneficial if staff can keep that in mind when scheduling Committee meetings. He said he was less concerned with charters than with making sure informative materials are received in a timely manner. It was moved by Member McGill and seconded by President -Elect Williams to authorize the General Manager and staff to draft charters for each of the Board Committees with the understanding that the charters focus on policy rather than operational issues, and that the draft charters be brought back to the full Board for review as soon as practicable. Motion passed by unanimous vote of the Board. 6) Announcements Member McGill provided a written report covering Announcements and other meetings. 7. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET PLANNING WORKSHOP a. RECEIVE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSS DEVELOPMENT OF DRAFT FISCAL YEAR 2014 -15 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET (CIB) AND 2014 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP) This matter was reviewed by Capital Projects Committee at its December 10, 2013 meeting. Capital Projects Division Manager Andrew Antkowiak presented a proposed Ten - Year Capital Improvement Program totaling $295,813,000. Since nitrification has moved from the ten -year window, the totals are lower than the previous year's. The proposed Fiscal Year 2014 -15 Capital Improvement Budget funds the Treatment Plant at $9.0 million, Collection System at $12.3 million, General Improvements at Book 63 — Page 29 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of December 19, 2013 $2.9 million, and Recycled Water at $0.7 million. As requested by Board Members, the TV Inspection Program has been moved to the Operations and Maintenance (O &M) Budget. Mr. Antkowiak described projects funded by the preliminary Ten -Year Plan, including the Primary Sedimentation Tank Renovations, Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) Tank Renovation, Centrifuge and Cake Pump Upgrades, Piping Renovation, Treatment Plant Planning, Cost of Contaminated Soil Remediation if nitrification needs the footprint, Seismic Retrofit Program, Concord Landscape customer connections, and Martinez Refinery Project. He presented a chart showing that the Sewer Service Charge (SSC) is a critical funding source for the Capital Program, representing $6,628,000 of a total of $25,243,000 for Fiscal Year 2013 -14 Capital Revenues. Member Williams asked if the projected Sewer Construction Fund balance on June 30, 2014 of $36.4 million is available to spend down to zero, and, if not, if there is a target reserve to which the money may be spent. District Counsel Kent Alm responded that he was not aware of a Board - adopted policy that would prevent spending the entirety of that amount; however, a minimal amount that is collected for Capital Projects must be spent on Capital Projects. General Manager Roger Bailey stated that staff would determine if the $36.4 million is earmarked for purposes other than Capital Projects and bring information back to the Board. Member Causey suggested looking into bond covenants on the payments, which is usually 125 percent of the annual payment, meaning that $6.5 million must be available somewhere to assure payment of the bonds. Mr. Antkowiak stated that the Capital Program has been deficit spending since Fiscal Year 2004 -05, and SSC revenue has been diverted from the Capital Program to balance the O &M Budget. The current Residential Unit Equivalent is $405. Member Causey and Member Williams expressed concern with the current practice of borrowing against capital needs to fund O &M. Mr. Antkowiak stated that the preliminary Ten -Year Plan has found that a Fiscal Year 2014 -15 SSC increase is needed to fully fund the Capital Program and O &M. The Fiscal Year 2014 -15 Capital Program budgeted total expenditures was $24.9 million and total revenue was $23.4 million, for a negative variance of $1.5 million. The projected Sewer Construction Fund Balance on June 30, 2014 was $36.5 million. On June 30, 2015, it was projected to fall to $34.9 million. Member McGill recalled a comment made by Member Pilecki at an earlier meeting, asking whether it was possible to have less of a rate increase than planned if the Capital Program were managed differently, and asked whether that issue could be explored by the Engineering & Operations Committee. General Manager Roger Bailey stated that, on January 23, 2014, the Board will discuss rates and suggested that the Board discuss that issue in more depth at that time. He noted that Finance Manager Thea Vassallo has been asked to look at total Book 63 — Page 30 None. None. CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of December 19, 2013 costs on an annual basis for Capital Projects and O &M, total revenue projection, fund balances, and trends. It was moved by Member McGill and seconded by Member Causey to receive the report. Motion passed by unanimous vote of the Board. 8. EMERGENCY SITUATIONS REQUIRING BOARD ACTION 9. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 10. ANNOUNCEMENT OF CLOSED SESSION District Counsel Kent Alm announced that a closed session was needed for Items 11.a. -c. He suggested Item 11.c. be considered first. 11. CLOSED SESSION The Board recessed at 4:10 p.m. to reconvene in closed session in the Caucus Room regarding the following matters: a. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54956 9(a): • Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriffs Association et al v Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association (CCCERA) et al., Contra Costa County Superior Court Case No. MSN12 -1870. b. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - ANTICIPATED LITIGATION - SIGNIFICANT EXPOSURE TO LITIGATION PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54956.9(b): • One Potential Case — California River Watch C. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - ANTICIPATED LITIGATION - SIGNIFICANT EXPOSURE TO LITIGATION PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54956.9(b): • One Potential Case — Bulldog Gas & Power The Board recessed at 5:44 p.m. to reconvene in the Board Room in open session. Book 63 — Page 31 None. CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT Board Minutes of December 19, 2013 12. REPORT OUT OF CLOSED SESSION 13. ADJOURNMENT President Nejedly expressed gratitude to his fellow Board Members and staff over the last two years, and acknowledged that Member Williams will assume the duties of Board President in January. There being no further business to come before the Board, President Nejedly adjourned the meeting at 5:45 p.m. c J s A. Nejedly President of the Board of Directors Central Contra Costa Sanitary District County of Contra Costa, State of California COUNTERSIGNED: Elaine R. Boehme, CMC Secretary of the District Central Contra Costa Sanitary District County of Contra Costa, State of California Book 63 — Page 32