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HomeMy WebLinkAbout14.b. Committee Minutes - Real Estate, Environmental & Planning CommitteePage 1 of 6 Item 14.b. LCENTRAL SAN May 2, 2024 FROM: KATIE YOUNG, SECRETARYOF THE DISTRICT SUBJECT: APRIL 16, 2024 - REAL ESTATE, ENVIRONMENTAL & PLANNING COMMITTEE - CHAIR WEDI NGTON AND MEMBER HOCKETT Attached are minutes of the above Committee meeting. ATTACHMENTS: 1. REEP Committee minutes 04-16-24 May 2, 2024 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 50 of 55 Page 2 of 6 110ENTRAL SAN BOARD OF DIRECTORS: MARIAHN. LAURITZEN President REGULAR MEETING OF THE MICHAEL R. MCGILL CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA President Pro Tem SANITARY DISTRICT BARBARA D. HOCKETT TAD J PILECKI REAL ESTATE, ENVIRONMENTAL ELORENCET WEDINGTON & PLANNING COMMITTEE PHONE: (925)228-9500 FAX.- (925) 372-0192 MINUTES www.central.van.org Tuesday, April 16, 2024 8:30 a.m. (:nmmittaa Chair Florence Wedington Member Barbara Hockett Staff. - Katie Young, Secretary of the District Greg Norby, Deputy General Manager — Operations Qoined during Item 3.a.) Philip Leiber, Deputy General Manager — Administration Danea Gemmell, Planning and Development Services Division Manager Edgar Lopez, Capital Projects Division Manager (arrived during Item 3.a.) Lori Schectel, Environmental and Regulatory Compliance Division Manager Damasio Zepeda, Senior Engineer (left after Item 3.a.) Kim Stahl, Development Services Supervisor (left after Item 3.a.) David Wyatt, Household Hazardous Waste Program Administrator Karen DeLong, Administrative Services Assistant 1. Call Meeting to Order Chair Wedington called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. 2. Public Comments None. May 2, 2024 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 51 of 55 Page 3 of 6 Real Estate, Environmental & Planning Committee Minutes April 16, 2024 Page 2 3. Agenda Items a. Receive Quarterly Permit Counter/Plan Review Report Ms. Stahl reviewed the report included in the agenda materials. She remarked that in February staff went live with the new module in the Oracle software, which is still under development by the vendor and there have been challenges. At this point, they are working through the issues with the new system. She expects the next report to be in the Fall. In response to Member Hockett's remark that the transition seems to have been difficult, Ms. Gemmell stated that Ms. Stahl and the team have had many issues with the software. Member Hockett asked if Oracle has been responsive with correcting the issues. Ms. Gemmell replied that while Oracle has worked on the list of issues, this too has been challenging, as some of the problems were intermittent, and some software issues have taken up to two months to resolve. It has been more difficult than anticipated. She praised staff and their perseverance and willingness to work through the transition. Member Hockett recognized that this project is asking for effort over and above the norm from staff because of these challenging software issues. In response to Chair Wedington's question on whether the result will be more productive for customers, Mr. Leiber stated that these implementations are often have a J shaped curve of satisfaction, which means that user satisfaction typically worsens upon go live, before improving over time. He opined that the financial side of the ERP has improved but it has taken two to three years, and that the permitting application is not a mature product. He stated that the team has really worked hard and, even with the challenges, they still have remained committed to moving forward. Ms. Gemmell added that they have not yet gone live with the public facing portal, as staff wants to make sure it is stable before making it available to the public. She stated that she believes the concept and potential of the public portal is worthwhile, but that adequate testing and stability are necessary to avoid confusion by the public. Staff is acclimating first, so that they can assist the public when the time comes. Both Chair Wedington and Member Hockett expressed sympathy for the struggle and great appreciation for the team. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the report. May 2, 2024 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 52 of 55 Page 4 of 6 Real Estate, Environmental & Planning Committee Minutes April 16, 2024 Page 3 b. Receive update on the most recent meeting of the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA) Ms. Schectel advised that a special meeting was held on April 4, 2024, and the next meeting will be Friday, April 19, 2024, along with an internal Nutrient Management Strategy meeting. The purpose of the special April 4 meeting was to meet with Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. to request a cost analysis for BACWA to update the numbers from the 2018 study that was part of the first Watershed permit. BACWA is requesting a watershed -wide rate impact analysis to understand the magnitude of impacts of proposed requirements on rate payers with various timelines. BACWA is using data from the largest agencies to work on the cost impact analysis for ten-year and twenty-year compliance periods. The analysis should be complete in time for a report to be given at the next meeting of this Committee. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the report. C. Receive verbal update on the Nutrient Watershed Permit Ms. Schectel provided a verbal update on the Nutrient Watershed Permit and informed the Committee that a tentative order was issued on Friday, April 5, 2024. Public comments are due on May 6, 2024, and the adoption hearing is scheduled for June 12, 2024. BACWA will supply talking points on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 to the member agencies. Central San will provide comprehensive comments, to get information on the record. Key components of the permit include: • Final Bay -wide limit of 40 percent reduction from 2022 levels. The last major algae bloom and fish die -off event occurred in 2022, which is why the State has selected this as the baseline for reductions. • Final individual Central San discharge limit of 2300 kg/day dry season average. Interim individual Central San limit of 4300 kg/day, which can be readily met. The permit terms are five years, but the compliance schedules are ten years. There are many variables with potential future requirements and permits. Staff is working diligently on creating the best set of comments to be on the record. The effective date of the permit has been postponed to October of 2024, so the first dry season will be 2025. There are many efforts ongoing to identify flexibility and adaptability within the limits and compliance outcomes to ensure that we have the best permit possible. Ms. Schectel stated that BACWA has been leading a communications effort with the public. The Water Board was required to do outreach, and Central May 2, 2024 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 53 of 55 Page 5 of 6 Real Estate, Environmental & Planning Committee Minutes April 16, 2024 Page 4 San is looking for creative solutions and will continue the efforts with public outreach as well. Member Hockett asked if the Dublin San Ramon Service District -East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) Recycled Water Authority (DERWA) project would provide a benefit to Central San's rate payers, to which Ms. Schectel estimated that it will result in some nutrient reduction. Mr. Norby responded to Member Hockett's concern that a while a small project may not give Central San rate payers everything that they need, the District should not discard any project until it has been determined it is not feasible. Mr. Norby stated that in the absence of change in the draft permit as it stands today, it is the broad consensus that it will have a huge impact financially across the Bay Area if a middle ground is not found. There will be single purpose investments instead of multiple -benefit projects that define success. The opportunity cost that the public will pay is losing bandwidth to pursue optimal projects. Central San is at an important crossroads as the path forward is navigated. This investment is the single biggest in the Bay Area in 50 years, with tremendous long-term detriment vs. opportunities. Ms. Schectel agreed and noted that in the 1970's most of the cost was funded by the federal government, while for the nutrients compliance there is nothing similar in terms of funding assistance. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the update. d. Discussion on how to increase level of service to Rossmoor Mr. Wyatt reviewed the presentation included in the agenda materials. Member Hockett inquired why the median age was included and could this be interpreted as ageism. Mr. Wyatt responded that it may be indicative of ability to drive or more people homebound, which have been predominantly the reasons for utilizing door-to-door collection services in Rossmoor. Mr. Wyatt responded to Chair Wedington's inquiry regarding competition, that Central San's goal is pollution prevention and that there is not competition with other agencies, so much as an unwillingness to be in the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) business. Chair Wedington asked why there was an abrupt ending of services in 2018. Mr. Wyatt responded that the company stopped providing the service entirely. He said there used to be approximately fifteen companies doing this kind of work but now there are only two or three, due to mergers and buy -ups over the years. He added that historically, local public agencies have not wanted to sponsor a collection program in Rossmoor. May 2, 2024 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 54 of 55 Page 6 of 6 Real Estate, Environmental & Planning Committee Minutes April 16, 2024 Page 5 Ms. Schectel clarified that this report was informational only, and not intended to recommend any project, to which Mr. Wyatt concurred. Chair Wedington said she would like to see what opportunities there are in both Rossmoor and San Ramon for a program to help the community and make sure they are aware of HHW options and figure out how best to serve them. A discussion of a door to door (D2D) versus mobile events followed, including potential costs, logistics, and challenges for both, as well as any possible social justice concerns. Chair Wedington and Member Hockett both expressed gratitude and appreciation for the report and agreed that it was very informative and helpful to understand the logistics and the work involved. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the information and discussed the item. 5. Announcements Ms. Gemmell stated that the Mt. View Sanitary District Request for Proposals (RFP) was released yesterday, and responses can be expected on June 5, 2024. 6. Suggestions for future agenda items a. Receive list of upcoming agenda items and provide suggestions for any other future agenda items None. 7. Future scheduled meetings Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 16, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. 8. Adjournment — at 9:48 a.m. May 2, 2024 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 55 of 55