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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdministration MINUTES 12-11-18 Page 2 of 6 C ENTRAL SAN CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT 5019 IMHOFF PLACE, MARTINEZ, CA 9A553-4392 REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD FDIRE TR 0 o cos. CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA JAMES A.NEJEDLY SANITARY DISTRICT President ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE DAVIDWILIIS President PrrooTTemern M I N U T E S PAUL H CA USEY MICHAEL R.MCGILL TAD J.PILECKI Tuesday, December 11, 2018 8:3 0 a.m. PHONE: (925)228-9500 FAX.- (925)372-0192 www.centralsan.org Executive Conference Room 5019 Imhoff Place Martinez, California Committee: Chair Mike McGill Member David Williams Staff. Roger S. Bailey, General Manager Katie Young, Secretary of the District Kenton L. Alm, District Counsel Ann Sasaki, Deputy General Manager Phil Leiber, Director of Finance and Administration Teji O'Malley, Human Resources Manager Donna Anderson, Assistant to the Secretary of the District 1. Call Meeting to Order Chair McGill called the meeting to order at 8:36 a.m. 2. Public Comments None. 3. Items for Committee Recommendation to Board a. Review draft Position Paper to authorize the General Manager to (1) execute a professional services contract with Kenton L. Alm, Esq., for District Counsel services effective January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2020 with an option to extend the contract for two additional one-year terms, and (2) amend and extend the existing contract for legal services with Meyers Nave for three months through March 31, 2019 December 20, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 164 of 168 Page 3 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes December 11, 2018 Page 2 Mr. Bailey briefly recapped the discussion from the prior meeting, noting that the proposed terms for a contract with Mr. Alm has been modified, and Meyers Nave has proposed changes to its July 9, 2015 letter contract with the District to coincide with Mr. Alm's new contract. Mr. Alm noted that he has reduced the time in his proposed contract by 10 hours per month to ensure that someone from Meyers Nave will hold office hours once a week and provide backup on those occasions when he is not available. The expectation is that Meyers Nave attorney Thomas L. Smith will continue his weekly office hours at Central San. Mr. Bailey reiterated that over the next three months, he, Mr. Alm and Meyers Nave will evaluate the new arrangement and work out the details for a proposed new contract with Meyers Nave, which will be brought back to the Committee for review and recommendation. The new contract will cover providing backup to Mr. Alm in his capacity as Counsel for the District and specialty legal services on an as-needed basis, for purposes of continuity and succession planning. Member Williams said he supported the interim arrangement, but raised the following issues: 1. He asked for clarification with regard to the proposed 3% annual rate increase in Mr. Alm's proposed contract. It was agreed that the proposed rate increase would be removed in favor of wording to the effect that the Board will review Mr. Alm's hourly rate on an annual basis. 2. He suggested the addition of a reference on the proposed Meyers Nave letter contract (Attachment 2) indicating that it is the July 9, 2015 contract with modifications. 3. He sought clarification on the "Legal Assistance"line of the proposed Rate Sheet. Mr. Alm clarified that in the unlikely event he would need to hire someone for legal assistance, it would be via a subcontractor that he would hire himself. 4. He also sought clarification of the language in the first paragraph of the Rate Sheet regarding what constitutes a "full week." Mr. Alm said that it was intended to cover Monday through Friday with the idea being that if he were to be gone for one or two weeks, he would reduce his retainer for that month proportionately. 5. He asked what would be included under the retainer services with regard to attendance at California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) conferences. Mr. Alm said his travel time and December 20, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 165 of 168 Page 4 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes December 11, 2018 Page 3 hours spent preparing for CASA conferences (including legislative conferences) would be part of the retainer services. 6. Finally, with regard to litigation matters, Mr. Alm said the idea was that litigation is separate from retainer services. He added that he is not anticipating working very much on litigation matters going forward. Chair McGill reiterated what is intended to be accomplished by these contracts: 1) retaining Mr. Alm's expertise and historical knowledge, and 2) grooming someone to take over once Mr. Alm permanently retires. He asked Mr. Alm his thoughts in that regard. Mr. Alm said he assumes he will be serving as District Counsel for the next two years at least. A lot will depend on how well this new arrangement is working for all parties. In terms of planning for transition, he said the Board and staff should not plan on him being here after five years. He said he will work with the Committee and Mr. Bailey over the coming months to determine who at Meyers Nave would be best suited to the District's needs going forward. He also pointed out the increasing need for an attorney well versed in construction law, given the increased capital projects program. He said a number of agencies have both a general counsel and an attorney dedicated to construction law because the latter requires a very detailed skill set. He added that Meyers Nave has a full team of experts in that regard. Chair McGill said it sounded to him like staff has a good handle on the near-term needs of Central San, by utilizing Mr. Alm's history and vast experience as Counsel for the District, as well as the need for developing access to Meyers Nave's experts for potential construction law issues. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval. b. Review draft Position Paper to authorize the General Manager to execute a two-year extension in the amount of$115,000 per year to the contract with Alliant Employee Benefits to provide employee benefits broker services Ms. O'Malley recapped the Position Paper stating that staff has been extremely pleased with the quality of service provided by Alliant the last three years. In addition to negotiating rates with carriers, Alliant has worked with staff on developing requests for proposals (RFPs) and cost- effective solutions, provided creativity regarding benefits available to Central San, and been instrumental in helping with legal compliance issues. Alliant also has been very helpful in preparing for the transition to Ca1PERS Healthcare. A two-year extension will enable staff to continue utilizing Alliant in all these areas. December 20, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 166 of 168 Page 5 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes December 11, 2018 Page 4 Given that Central San will no longer require Alliant's services for negotiating rates with healthcare providers going forward, Ms. O'Malley said Alliant has agreed to a cost reduction over the next two years, although the exact amount has yet to be determined. Ms. O'Malley said the original 2015 contract was for a two-year period with options to extend for three additional years. The third-year option has been exercised. If the proposed two-year extension is approved by the Board (for a total of five years), it is staff's intention to issue an RFP for employee benefits broker services once the two years are up. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval. 4. Other Items a. Discuss East Bay Times article regarding CaIPERS lawsuit, as requested at the November 6, 2018 meeting COMMITTEE ACTION: Recognized that the litigation will not affect Central San. b. Review Gantt chart of activities related to the transition to CaIPERS Healthcare Ms. Sasaki said staff has just completed group sessions with all active employees and retirees to explain the upcoming transition to CaIPERS Healthcare. With regard to the Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs), she said two meetings have been held with the labor/management committee representing the two bargaining groups, which are advisory only. She said the process has been very consensus based and is going smoothly; the committees have suggested some good changes to the plan documents. With regard to hiring an HRA administrator, Ms. Sasaki said staff had been working on an RFP but has since learned that the District's current plan administrator, ICMA, may be able to serve as administrator. Staff is now in the process of working with representatives of 1 CMA so the HRAs can be set up to coincide with the July 1, 2019 transition to CaIPERS. COMMITTEE ACTION: Reviewed the chart. C. Receive list of future agenda items COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the list. December 20, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 167 of 168 Page 6 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes December 11, 2018 Page 5 5. Announcements a. Mr. Bailey announced that an item will be added to the December 20, 2018 Board agenda for the Board to provide clarification of the Fiscal Year 2018-19 Goal assigned to him regarding a staffing analysis for the Engineering Department. b. Chair McGill said he attended the recent CALPELRA (California Public Employers Labor Relations Association) conference and appreciated that Ms. Sasaki and Ms. O'Malley were there as well. He encouraged more Board Members and staff to attend in the future because it is an outstanding conference that provides an overwhelming amount of new information on what is transitional in the Human Resources industry. C. Member Williams referred to an editorial in today's East Bay Times about the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) taking to task the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) for inappropriate use of public funds to promote their political agenda. 6. Future Scheduled Meetings (2019 meeting schedule to be determined) 7. Suggestions for Future Agenda Items a. Chair McGill asked if there was interest in considering adopting a Buy American policy. Member Williams said he was open to the idea of becoming more informed on the issue but generally does not lean toward protection of this type. Mr. Alm said he would be glad to bring back information for the Committee's discussion in terms of what is and is not permissible under the law. b. As an outgrowth of the discussion about the recent CALPELRA conference, it was suggested by staff and the Committee that a future item be agendized fora Committee update on compliance issues regarding constructive receipt. 8. Adjournment— at 9:52 a.m. December 20, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 168 of 168