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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.a.2 written announcements Agenda Item 6.a.2) Board Meeting of Julv 15. 2010 Written Announcements: Staff Conference Attendance a) Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference The Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference is being held from October 2-6, 2010, at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center. This is the largest such exhibition in the world and offers a wide array of information from technical papers to demonstrations of new technology. The deadline for early registration discounts is July 15, 2010. Associate Engineer Craig Mizutani has had a paper accepted describing our mercury removal pilot test on the incinerators and staff is recommending that he attend. In addition, Board Member Barbara Hockett, General Manager Jim Kelly, Director of Engineering Ann Farrell, and Plant Operations Division Manager Randy Grieb plan to attend. Ms. Farrell, who is on the Water Environment Research Foundation Board, has been asked to attend by the Foundation. Mr. Kelly, Ms. Farrell, and Mr. Grieb will use their professional reimbursement account funds. Legislative Update b) California Water Bond (Proposition 18 - 20101 The California Water Bond, Proposition 18, is on the November 2,2010 ballot in California as a legislatively-referred proposition. If voters approve, the water bond proposition will allow the state government to borrow $11.1 billion to make improvements to the state's water system. On June 29,2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzeneger stated that he was going to ask the California State Legislature to pull Proposition 18 from the November ballot due to a lack of support from the electorate. The Governor will need a 2/3 vote of the legislature to pull it. District staff have been holding off bringing a revised position paper to the Board to take a formal position on the Bond while we gathered information on what positions others are taking. Due to the possibility that the Bond Proposition will be pulled from the ballot, many other jurisdictions are taking a wait and see approach and have not adopted a formal position. Staff's recommendation is that we wait another month or two before bringing back a position paper regarding the bond while we see what action the legislature takes. Project Update c) Advertisement of the Treatment Plant Elevator Replacement. DP 7281 The existing elevators on the Treatment Plant site were installed in 1975. They frequently require repairs and are near the end of their useful life. Failure of any of these elevators would cause safety and Plant reliability issues. This project will upgrade the electronics and controls for both the passenger and freight elevators in the Solids Control Building. Additionally, both will be updated to current fire code standards. This project will be advertised on July 30 and August 6,2010. The bids will be opened on August 18, 2010. The construction cost is currently estimated at $500,000. More information will be presented when the Board is asked to approve the construction contract at the September 2, 2010 Board Meeting. General Updates d) CCCSD Standard Specifications for Desian and Construction. 2010 Edition The District's Standard Specifications for Design and Construction were last updated in 1993. Staff comprehensively reviewed and reformatted the document to make it more user-friendly and to incorporate the latest information on new materials, methods, and technology. During this period, a number of interim revisions covering specific technologies and practices, such as pipe bursting and directional drilling, were issued. The updated document "CCCSD Standard Specifications for Design and Construction, 2010 Edition" is now ready for publication. Staff has conducted an extensive outreach program to inform and solicit input from interested engineers, contractors, developers, and other like agencies. A public hearing for the Board to receive comments and consider adopting the new document is scheduled for August 5th. e) Cooperative Bid with the Bav Area Chemical Consortium for Sodium Hvpochlorite The District is participating in a cooperative bid for sodium hypochlorite. The Bay Area Chemical Consortium (BACC) is a cooperative group of public agencies acting collectively to seek competitive sealed bids for the supply and delivery of sodium hypochlorite. Sealed bids were received on June 11, 2010. Olin Chlor Alkali Products was the low bidder at $0.639 per gallon. Four vendors participated in this bid and the bids ranged from $0.639 per gallon to $0.869 per gallon. If our usage remains consistent with previous years, the District will save approximately $20,000 over the next year for the supply and delivery. f) Status of the Martinez Easement ACQuisition Proaram When the Martinez Easement Acquisition Program began in the late 1980's, approximately 200 existing sewer segments on private property were identified as not having easements of record. Since that time, the number of segments where easement rights need improvement has been reduced to less than 50. The reduction was accomplished through pursuing prior phases of this program in collaboration with the City of Martinez; relocation of some sewers from backyards to street alignments; easement evaluation and acquisition for a number of sewer renovation projects; and through title research that located easements of record for several segments. Staff has begun discussions with the City of Martinez to initiate the next phase of the program for resolution of the remaining sites. Priority if being given to segments that will be included in upcoming sewer renovation projects.