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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdministration MINUTES 09-29-20 Page 2 of 6 Arlai CENTRAL SAN CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT 5019 IMHOFF PLACE, MARTINEZ, CA 9,4553-A392 REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: MICHAEL R.MCGILL CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA President SANITARY DISTRICT TAD JPILECKI President Pro Tem ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE PAUL CASEY JAMES A.NEJEDLY DAVID R, WILLIAMS MINUTES PHONE: (925)228-9500 FAX. (925)372-0192 Tuesday, September 29, 2020 www.centralvan.org 8:30 a.m. Executive Conference Room 5019 Imhoff Place Martinez, California (All attendees participated via videoconference) Committee: Chair David Williams Member Mike McGill Guests: W. Daniel Clinton, Esq. — Principal Counsel, Hanson Bridgett, LLP (left after Item 4.a.) Jennifer Martinez, Esq., Partner— Hanson Bridgett, LLP (left after Item 4.a.) John D. Bakker, Esq., Principal — Meyers, Nave, Riback, Silver & Wilson (left after Item 4.b.) Staff. Roger S. Bailey, General Manager Katie Young, Secretary of the District (left after Item 8.) Kent Alm, District Counsel Phil Leiber, Director of Finance and Administration (left after Item 8.) Jean-Marc Petit, Director of Engineering and Technical Services (left after Item 8.) John Huie, Information Technology Manager Teji O'Malley, Human Resources Manager (left after Item 8.) Tim Hiteshew, Information Technology Supervisor (joined during Item 7.) Christina Gee, Management Analyst (left after Item 8.) Donna Anderson, Assistant to the Secretary of the District (left after Item 8.) 1. Public Notice Regarding COVID-19 This meeting was held in accordance with the Brown Act as in effect under the State Emergency Services Act, the Governor's Emergency Declaration related to COVID-19, and the Governor's Executive Order N-29-20 issued on October 15, 2020 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 85 of 89 Page 3 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes September 29, 2020 Page 2 March 17, 2020 that allowed Board Members, District staff, and the public to participate in and conduct the meeting by teleconference, videoconference, or both. The agenda included instructions for options in which the public could participate in the meeting. 2. Call Meeting to Order Chair Williams called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. 3. Public Comments — None. 4. Agenda Items a. Provide direction on District labor and employment-related counsel services succeeding the retirement of principal counsel W. Daniel Clinton, Esq., in 2021 It was noted that Mr. Clinton has decided to retire in 2021 and cease actively working at the end of March 2021. Thereafter, he will continue to be associated with Hanson Bridgett in a different role, including as a resource for Jennifer Martinez and any other attorneys working for Central San. Given Mr. Clinton's decision, Ms. O'Malley explained that the District essentially had two options for proceeding to fill the void caused by Mr. Clinton's retirement: (a) Continue contracting with Hanson Bridgett, with Jennifer Martinez, Esq., as principal counsel to the District; or (b) Issue a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) or Request for Qualifications (RFQ). Ms. O'Malley said it was her understanding that Hanson Bridgett was prepared to submit a proposal as part of any RFP/RFQ process. Last year, Mr. Clinton identified Jennifer Martinez as someone who would be a very good fit to succeed him at Central San. He said she has been with Hanson Bridgett for eight years, the last two as a partner. In his opinion, her advice is wise and practical, something he believes is critical for the District, and something that he has provided over the years. He introduced Ms. Martinez, who spoke briefly about her background. She said she believed Central San would benefit from her breadth of experience in collective bargaining, arbitration, disciplinary actions and litigation, as well as her approach to providing counsel and mitigating risk. October 15, 2020 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 86 of 89 Page 4 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes September 29, 2020 Page 3 The Committee thanked Mr. Clinton for his many years of exceptional service and wished him well in his retirement while acknowledging that his absence will be a tremendous loss to Central San. The Committee recommended, in the spirit of transparency and good governance, that an RFQ be conducted. The Committee also recommended that the contract with Hanson Bridgett, currently set to expire on December 31, 2021, be extended six months, to June 30, 2021, to allow for Mr. Clinton's services to continue while the RFQ takes place. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval of a six-month extension of the existing contract with the District's labor and employment-related counsel Hanson Bridgett LLP and principal counsel W. Daniel Clinton, Esq., through June 30, 2021, to allow time for completion of an RFQ process. b. Review draft Position Paper to authorize the General Manager to execute a one-year extension to the existing contract for legal services with Meyers Nave, effective January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021 Ms. O'Malley explained that Meyers Nave offered to extend its current contract to provide adjunct services to District Counsel Kent Alm through 2021 to coincide with Mr. Alm's contract extension through 2021, as approved by the Board on August 6, 2020. The Committee discussed the merits of keeping the current team of Mr. Alm and Meyers Nave in place until Mr. Alm's informal search for a successor was concluded. The option of hiring a second firm in addition to Meyers Nave to train under Mr. Alm and help with knowledge transfer also was discussed. Member McGill suggested the possibility of extending the Meyers Nave contract for four or five years while the search for a new District Counsel takes place. Ultimately, it was recommended that a one-year extension of Meyers Nave's contract was preferable to allow time for Mr. Alm to conduct an informal solicitation for a new sole proprietor or small law firm to succeed him. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval. C. Receive update on implementation of Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system Mr. Huie reviewed the presentation included with the agenda material and responded to several questions from the Committee on the following topics: October 15, 2020 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 87 of 89 Page 5 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes September 29, 2020 Page 4 a) Electronic Invoices: Mr. Huie said most vendor invoices are now being received electronically at an email address set up for that purpose. b) Auditor Input: Mr. Leiber stated that professional standards require that auditors not get too involved in ERP implementations; however, a separate independent accountant did provide valuable input to the new chart of accounts. c) Two-Year Budget: Mr. Huie said the new ERP could be configured to accommodate a two-year budget, should the decision be made to adopt that practice. Mr. Bailey added that transitioning to a two- year budget would be considered in coordination with the development of the next two-year strategic plan for Fiscal Years 2022-24. In conclusion, Mr. Huie said the ERP implementation is still in the initial stage, and there will be opportunities for further improvements. Several key modules have been implemented, with a few more expected in the coming months. He said one of the nice things about Oracle is that updates are done quarterly, which means staff can keep abreast of new capabilities and implement those considered beneficial to Central San. He acknowledged that there will be some hiccups to address while staff becomes comfortable with all the processes. Overall, Mr. Huie said the new ERP would increase efficiencies at Central San while providing improved controls. The Committee expressed their appreciation to Mr. Huie, his IT staff, and all staff involved with the implementation process. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the update. 5. Announcements — None. 6. Suggestions for Future Agenda Items a. Receive list of upcoming agenda items and provide suggestions for any other future agenda items COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the list and provided input to staff. 7. Future Scheduled Meetings Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. — Due to a conflict, the Committee agreed to move this meeting to October 20, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, November 3, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. October 15, 2020 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 88 of 89 Page 6 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes September 29, 2020 Page 5 Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. 8. Announce Closed Session At 9:35 a.m., District Counsel Kent Alm announced that a closed session would be held for Item 9.a. The Committee took a three-minute break before convening in closed session. 9. Closed Session a. Closed session pursuant to Government Code Section 54957(a) — Threat to public services or facilities 10. Report Out of Closed Session — No report. 11. Adjournment— at 10:00 a.m. October 15, 2020 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 89 of 89