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Home My WebLink AboutBOARD MINUTES 11-21-24110ENTRAL SAN MINUTES* REGULAR BOARD MEETING Board Room Thursday, November 21, 2024 2:30 p.m. Open Session — Board Room (Video recorded) ROLL CALL BOARD OF DIRECTORS: MARIAHN. LAURITZEN President MICHAEL R. MCGILL President Pro Tern BARBARA D. HOCKETT TAD J. PILECKI FLORENCE T. WEDINGTON A regular meeting of the Board of Directors was called to order by President Pro Tem McGill at 2:30 p.m. Secretary of the District Katie Young called roll: PRESENT.• Members: Hockett, McGill, Pilecki, Wedington, Lauritzen ABSENT.• Members: None PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Board, staff and audience joined in the Pledge of Allegiance REPORT OUT OF CLOSED SESSION FROM 11/07/24 District Counsel Leah Castella stated that there were no reportable actions from the Closed Session at the November 7, 2024 meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD No comments. REQUESTS TO CONSIDER MATTERS OUT OF ORDER None. These summary minutes are supplemented by a corresponding video recording available on the District's website at centralsan.org. Book 72 — Page 140 CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT November 21, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes - Page 141 AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS Receive the 2024 Excellence in Information Technology (IT) Practices Award from Municipal Information Systems Association of California (MISAC) Information Technology Manager Charles Mallory introduced Gaurav Garg, Chief Information Officer of the City of Santa Clara, who provided opening remarks and presented the award. Mr. Mallory reviewed the presentation included in the agenda packet. BOARD ACTION: Received the award. CONSENT CALENDAR 2. Approve the following: a. November 7, 2024 Board meeting minutes 3. Approve updated Board Policy No. BP 017 — Fiscal Reserves 4. Approve proposed revisions to Board Policy No. BP 037 — Delegation of Authority to General Manager 5. Authorize the General manager to execute an agreement in an amount not to exceed $330,000 with the Orinda Country Club to relocate a private sewer under Lake Cascade Sewer Relocation, District Project 100072 6. Authorize the General manager to execute two professional engineering services agreements with 1) Mark Thomas and Company, Inc. (Mark Thomas) in an amount of $650,000; and 2) LCC Engineering and Surveying, Inc. (LCC, Inc.) in an amount of $350,000 to provide as -needed land surveying services for District projects 7. Adopt attached side letter with Public Employees Union, Local # 1/AFSCME (Local 1) establishing Union Leave for elected and appointed union members in accordance with Senate Bill 1085 8. Approve proposed salary increases of fiver percent for the classifications of Instrument Technician and Electrical Technician; and two and one-half percent for the classification of Electrical/Instrumentation Supervisor 9. Authorize the General Manager to make an annual contribution to the Employee Activities Organization (EAO) 10. Adopt Resolution No. 2024-040 approving biennial updates to the District's Conflict of Interest Code and directing the Secretary of the District to submit the updated 2024 Conflict of Interest Code to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors for approval CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT November 21, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes - Page 142 Member Wedington requested that Item 3 be removed from the Consent Calendar for further discussion. Member Pilecki requested that Items 5 and 8 be removed from the Consent Calendar for further discussion. BOARD ACTION: After receiving no public comments, a motion was made by Member Lauritzen and seconded by Member Hockett to approve Items 2, 4, 6-7 and 9-10 of the Consent Calendar as recommended. Motion passed by unanimous roll call vote. Regarding Item 3, Member Wedington stated that the Position Paper included some clarifications that she believes should be included in the actual policy, specifically that installments are received in October for unsecured property taxes but the true - up is not received by Central San until the following June. BOARD ACTION: Motion was made by Member Wedington and seconded by Member Pilecki to approve Item 3 of the Consent Calendar with suggested amendments. Motion passed by unanimous roll call vote. Regarding Item 5, Member Pilecki had a question regarding the cost per foot of the sewer relocation as he felt the justification for higher costs was not clear in the Position Paper or the minutes from the Engineering & Operations Committee discussion held on November 6, 2024. Capital Projects Division Manager Edgar Lopez explained the higher cost is relative to the extent of the work, which has grown from an anticipated length of 150 feet to the full length of a completely new side sewer, as well as extensive restoration of other structures in the system. He stated that Central San will continue to look for cost savings as possible, but because the completion of the project is time critical, opportunities to explore other areas in which to save costs may be limited. BOARD ACTION: Motion was made by Member Pilecki and seconded by Member McGill to approve Item 5 of the Consent Calendar as recommended. Motion passed by unanimous roll call vote. Regarding Item 8, Member Pilecki asked Human Resources and Organizational Development Manager Teji O'Malley if a total compensation study had been completed and what is the justification for the proposed 5 percent increase in salary. Ms. O'Malley confirmed that a total compensation study was completed in October 2024 and both classifications were found to be approximately 1.5 percent below base salary compensation and approximately 4 percent above median total compensation in the relative labor market. Past practice has been to consider if Central San's salary level is at the median of the relative labor market and if so, the salary is considered competitive. In this case, the proposed increase to approximately the 60th percentile of median of the relative labor market is because there is such a limited number of candidates that have the requisite skill set and there have been a number of past recruitments that have been unsuccessful. CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT November 21, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes - Page 143 General Manager Roger S. Bailey recognized the Board for consistently appreciating the work that staff performs and their commitment to all Central San staff classifications being compensated fairly and competitively. He also stated that upcoming negotiations with all labor groups will be a collaborative effort that includes total compensation studies, the outcome of which will be presented to the Board for further conversation. BOARD ACTION: Motion was made by Member Pilecki and seconded by Member Wedington to approve Item 8 of the Consent Calendar as recommended. Motion passed by unanimous roll call vote. OTHER BOARD ACTION ITEMS 11. Receive Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Pre -Audit Year -End Financial Statement Summary Report and consider alternatives for handling various pre -audit budget variances Mr. Lopez reviewed the Capital Projects portion of the presentation included in the agenda packet Member Pilecki commented that some of the carryover amounts represented in the presentation were impacted by supply chain issues and other extenuating circumstances. Deputy General Manager — Administration Phil Leiber reviewed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Budget Variance presentation included in the agenda packet. Mr. Bailey stated that the Board has many good options concerning what to do with the year-end favorable variance balances and none of them is bad. He stated that the Pension Prefunding trust continues to move toward being fully restored from past shortfalls and encouraged the Board to persist with that practice going forward. Member Wedington asked Mr. Bailey what amount would be needed to make the Pension Prefunding trust fully funded. Mr. Bailey deferred to Mr. Leiber, who stated the amount would be approximately $13 million dollars and while the amount suggested in this recommendation does not meet that level, it continues to address the shortfall issue while providing the District the most flexibility and a potentially higher return on investment. In response to Member Wedington's question about possibly switching the recommended amounts in the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) rate stabilization fund and Pension Prefunding trust fund, Mr. Leiber acknowledged that option is one that is available to the Board and the decision is theirs to make. Mr. Bailey stated that it can be tempting to change the transfer or contribution amounts recommended by staff but that such changes do not necessarily achieve a better outcome and that staying the course to have pension funding at 100 percent is a sound choice. CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT November 21, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes - Page 144 Member Pilecki opined that timing, and the current year valuation of the funds, will likely have an impact different than what is represented in the presentation because the dollar amounts are based on past FY 2023-24 values. Member McGill stated he supports staff recommendation as written because staff has the most knowledge on the situation and the topic was discussed thoroughly at the committee level. President Lauritzen stated that she supports the suggestion made by Member Wedington to switch the amounts to be contributed or transferred to the O&M rate stabilization fund and the Pension Prefunding trust. BOARD ACTION: After receiving no public comments, a motion was made by Member McGill and seconded by Member Pilecki to receive the Pre -Audit Year - End Financial Statement Summary Report and distribute the FY 2023-24 net budgetary variances totaling $16.7 million as follows: 1. Receive the Pre -Audit Year -End Financial Statement Summary Report and direct staff on the following FY 2023-24 net budgetary variances totaling $16.7 million: o O&M Fund favorable budgetary variance of $5.8 million designated for the following purposes, • $3.3 million - Retain in O&M working capital reserves consistent with adopted FY 2024-25 budget; - $1.5 million - Contribute to O&M rate stabilization reserve account; - $1.0 million - Transfer to Pension Prefunding trust. o Sewer Construction Fund favorable budgetary variance of $10.7 million to be retained in working capital reserves; o Self -Insurance Fund favorable budgetary variance of $0.2 million to be retained in working capital reserves consistent with the adopted FY 2024-25 budget. 2. Amend the FY 2024-25 O&M Fund budget to increase appropriations by $1.0 million to facilitate an unbudgeted contribution to the Pension Prefunding trust ($1.0 million). Motion passed by unanimous roll call vote. Ms. Castella clarified that the motion passed directs staff to contribute $1.5 million to the O&M rate stabilization reserve account and transfer $1.0 million to the Pension Prefunding trust. REPORTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 12. General Manager — Reports CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT November 21, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes - Page 145 a. Review new Administrative Policy No. AP 113 —Employee Participation on Specified Internal Committees Ms. Young advised that the item was presented to the Board simply as an informational item as the Board does not have the authority to vote on administrative policy, but staff welcomes the Board's input or opinions. Member Pilecki stated that the item has been brought for review by the full Board because it involves potential additional paid staff absence time and can impact staff cost. Mr. Leiber acknowledged that Member Pilecki's statement is true but that the General Manager has the authority to award Administrative Leave in certain situations in conjunction with Human Resources investigation and approval, AP No. 113 simply extends that traditional use. BOARD ACTION: Reviewed the report and provided feedback. b. Receive Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Risk Management Annual Report Risk Management Administrator Shari Deutsch reviewed the presentation included in the agenda packet. In a response to Member Pilecki's request for clarification, Ms. Deutsch confirmed that a Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) claim settlement is logged in the year in which the claim was filed, not the year in which the claim is settled. BOARD ACTION: Received the report. c. Receive update of the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Program Ms. Deutsch reviewed the presentation included in the agenda packet. BOARD ACTION: Received the update. 13. General Manager —Announcements a. Announcements — November 21, 2024 No further announcements were made during the meeting. BOARD ACTION: Received the announcements. 14. Counsel for the Distri No report. CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT November 21, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes - Page 146 15. Secretary of the District Ms. Young announced the following upcoming Committee meetings: Administration — Tuesday, December 3 at 8:30 a.m. Engineering & Operations — Wednesday, December 4 at 8:30 a.m. Board Meeting — Thursday, December 5 at 2:30 p.m. BOARD ACTION: Received the announcements. 16. Board Members - Committee Minutes a. November 5, 2024 — Administration Committee — Chair McGill and Member Hockett b. November 6, 2024 — Engineering & Operations Committee — Chair McGill and Member Wedington BOARD ACTION: Received the Committee minutes. 17. Board Members — Reports and Announcements Board Member reports on recent meetings or conferences for which they received the stipend or for which the District paid their expenses. a. Member Hockett Member Hockett announced that she will be absent for the December 5, 2024 Board meeting. Member McGill • November 14, 2024 — Mayors Conference, Centre Concord, 928 Clayton Road, Concord, CA Member McGill also provided a written report covering his announcements and other meetings. Member Pilecki • November 14, 2024 — Mayors Conference, Centre Concord, 928 Clayton Road, Concord, CA Member Wed ington • November 14, 2024 — Mayors Conference, Centre Concord, 928 Clayton Road, Concord, CA President Lauritzen • November 13, 2024 — Contra Costa Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), 1025 Escobar St. Martinez, CA CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT November 21, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes - Page 147 • November 14, 2024 — Mayors Conference, Centre Concord, 928 Clayton Road, Concord, CA BOARD ACTION: Receive the reports and announcements. 18. Board Members - Requests for Stipend/Reimbursement or Conference Attendance No requests. EMERGENCY SITUATIONS None. REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS None. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 4:02 p.m. Mariah N. Lauritzen President of the Board of Directors Central Contra Costa Sanitary District County of Contra Costa, State of California COUNTERSIGNED: Katie Young,Wj. IV C )CMC Secretary of the District Central Contra Costa Sanitary District County of Contra Costa, State of California