MINUTES OF THE
REGULAR MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS OF THE
IRONHOUSE
SANITARY DISTRICT
June 7, 2016
The Board of Directors of the Ironhouse
Sanitary District (ISD) met in regular session on Tuesday, June 7, 2016, in the
Board meeting room at ISD’s offices at 450 Walnut Meadows Drive, Oakley,
California.
1. Call to Order
The
meeting was called to order by President Doug Scheer at 7:00 p.m.
Mr.
Davisson led the pledge of allegiance.
Roll
Call
Directors present: David Contreras, Susan
Morgan, Doug Scheer, and Michael Painter.
Members absent: Chris Lauritzen
Staff/Consultants Present:
Chad Davisson, General Manager
Susan
Walde, District Secretary
Michael
Welty, Financial Officer
Louis
Solana, Maintenance Superintendent
Chris
Christean, Plant Manager
Adrian
Vazquez, Plant Operator III
Victor
Benitez, Plant Operator II
Roni
Gehlke, Outreach Consultant
Interested Parties: Stan Caldwell, Contra Costa
Special District’s Association
Patty
Finfrock, Department of Water Resources
Randy Mager,
Department of Water Resources
Pledge of Allegiance: Led by Chad Davisson
2. STAFF RECOGNITION - New Employees Adrian Vasquez and Victor Benitez
Staff introduced the two new employees
at the Water Recycling Facility. Victor
Benitez, Plant Operator II, was an Operator in training and a volunteer at the
facility previously, and Adrian Vazquez, Plant Operator III. President Scheer welcomed them to the ISD
staff.
3. PRESENTATIONS –
3A.
District Transparency Certificate of
Excellence presented by Special District Leadership Foundation.
Mr. Stan Caldwell, Board of Directors of
California Special Districts Association (CSDA) and Special District Leadership
Foundation (SDLF), on behalf of SDLF, stated he is proud to present this
District Transparency Certificate of Excellence to Ironhouse Sanitary District
in recognition of the District’s completion of all transparency program
requirements. This Certificate of
Excellence is designed to promote transparency in operations and governance to
the public and other stakeholders. He
commended the District for their outstanding Outreach Program and has used ISD
as an example in the newsletters with their outreach endeavors. President Scheer accepted the award on behalf
of the District.
3B. Update on the Dutch Slough Restoration
Project by the State Department of Water Resources.
Ms. Patty Finfrock of the Department of Water Resources
(DWR) gave a presentation to the Board on the Dutch Slough Tidal Marsh
Restoration Project. The project will restore
tidal marshland in the project area creating habitat for native species. Ms. Finfrock discussed that DWR is proposing
access to the vineyards through ISD property using the Parks and Recreation Department’s
bridge to access the property. General
Manager Davisson stated that he has met with DWR representatives on this issue
and will keep the Board apprised of developments. The Board thanked DWR staff for the
presentation and the update with the progress of the project.
4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
M/S D. Contreras,
S. Morgan and the Board voted to approve the agenda.
In favor: D.
Contreras, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer.
Opposed: None. Absent: C.
Lauritzen.
5. APPROVAL
OF THE MINUTES of the May 3rd regular meeting,
the May 17th special meeting and the May 24th special meeting.
M/S D.
Contreras, S. Morgan, and the Board voted to approve the minutes of the May 3,
2016 regular meeting of the Board with amendments given to the District
Secretary.
In favor: D.
Contreras, S. Morgan, and D. Scheer.
Opposed: None. Absent: C.
Lauritzen. Abstained: M. Painter.
M/S D.
Contreras, S. Morgan, and the Board voted to approve the minutes of the May 17,
2016 special meeting and the May 24, 2016 special workshop meeting of the Board
with amendments given to the District Secretary.
In favor: D.
Contreras, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer.
Opposed: None. Absent: C.
Lauritzen.
6. PUBLIC
COMMENTS.
Communications
from the public on subjects not on the agenda.
There were no
comments from the public in attendance.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR –
7A. Approval
of Payment Order, Report on Financial Position & Operating Performance.
7B. Approve
the Financing of Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) for FY2015-16. (B.O. 16-42)
7C. Approve
a contract with Larry Walker and Associates to provide environmental consulting
services on an as-needed basis through FY 2016/17, in an amount not to exceed
$50,000. (B.O. 16-43)
7D. Approve
a contract with V.W. Housen and Associates to provide engineering support
services on an as-needed basis through FY 2016/17 in an amount not to exceed
$120,000. (B.O. 16-44)
7E. Receive
and accept the 2016 updated Ironhouse Sanitary District “Policy and Procedure
Manual” as required for the Special District Leadership Foundation’s “District
of Distinction” certification. (B.O. 16-45)
M/S D.
Contreras, M. Painter, and the Board voted to approve the Consent
Calendar.
In favor: D.
Contreras, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer.
Opposed: None. Absent: C.
Lauritzen.
8. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD
8A. APPROVE
THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2016/17 OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE BUDGET. (ESTIMATED
10 MINUTES)
Mr. Welty presented the Board with the proposed
budget. This budget had been reviewed at
the Budget workshop on May 24, 2016.
Staff pointed out that there were two changes made to the proposed
budget since the workshop. 1) An increase to the budget for a service agreement
related to pond maintenance in the amount of $20,000 and 2) the proposed
expense line related to the Telemetry system was decreased by $40,000. A memo was provided to the Board discussing
these proposed changes. The changes
increase the net income from $813,776 to $833,776. Mr. Davisson reported on the proposed Employee
Wellness item expense line item of $15,000.
Staff will be defining a program and bringing it back to the Board prior
to expenditure.
M/S M. Painter, D. Contreras and the
Board voted to approve and adopt the proposed Fiscal Year 2016/2017 Operating
and Maintenance budget.
In favor: D.
Contreras, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer.
Opposed: None. Absent: C.
Lauritzen.
8B. CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 16-07, CALLING THE
GENERAL DISTRICT ELECTION ON NOVEMBER 8, 2016 FOR THE ELECTION OF
DIRECTORS. (Res. 16-07) (ESTIMATED 10
MINUTES).
Mr. Davisson reported that the District is an even
year election. In accordance with the
elections department, ISD Directors need to call for the General District
Election on November 8, 2016 and request for Consolidation pursuant to
Elections Code Section 10400; the District has three seats for election this
year. The Official filing period begins
July 18, 2016 and extends to August 12, 2016.
In accordance with EC 15651, the Board will need to
determine the action taken in the event of a tie vote: Options include: 1) the
winner shall be determined by a draw lot at a time and place designated by this
Board or 2) the governing Board shall call a run-off election on the sixth
Tuesday following the election at which the tie vote occurred.
There was considerable discussion clarifying the scenarios
in which a tie vote would require action by the Board. It was noted by Board Member Morgan that not
all instances of a tie would require action by the Board and that the Board
should only employ action in the event that a tie vote effects the outcome of
the election. Discussion was held on the
process of determining a draw by lot in the case of a tie vote that requires
action by the Board. Staff recommended
the Board adopt Resolution 16-07 calling the General District Election on
November 8, 2016 for the Election of Directors.
Determine an action and instruct the District Secretary to report the
outcome to the elections department.
M/S S. Morgan, D. Contreras and the Board voted to
adopt Resolution No. 16-07 a Resolution Ordering Even-Year Board of Directors
Election; Consolidation of Elections; and Specifications of the Election
Order. Instructing the District
Secretary to complete the election report in reference to EC 15651, determining
the action to be taken in the event of a tie vote that effects the outcome of
the election as: In the event of a tie vote, the winner shall be determined by
lot at a time and place designated by this Board.
In favor: D.
Contreras, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer.
Opposed: None. Absent: C.
Lauritzen.
8C. ESTABLISH AN AD HOC COMMITTEE TO REVIEW AND RECOMMEND LEGAL
SERVICE FIRMS FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE BOARD.
Mr.
Davisson reported that the District received 13 proposals for the Request for
Proposal (RFP) for legal services. It is
the recommendation of staff to appoint an Ad Hoc committee to work with the
General Manager to review and rank the proposals received.
M/S
D. Contreras, M. Painter and the Board voted to establish an Ad Hoc Committee
of the President and Vice President of the Board along with the General Manager
to participate in the review and ranking of the proposals received as part of
the recent RFP solicitation process for legal counsel services.
In favor: D.
Contreras, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer.
Opposed: None. Absent: C. Lauritzen.
9 GENERAL MANAGER AND
STAFF REPORT
Staff reports were provided in the Board packet.
Mr. Davisson reported to the Board on alternatives to
the Marsh Creek Project. He has been
working with Denova Homes to evaluate the value of the property. Denova identified two major issues with the
land. 1) The 100 acres are in a FEMA
flood zone and would need levee construction.
2) The accessibility issue – Access to the District property would be a
major consideration and therefore Denova representatives determined it would
not be cost effective for development. Use
of property for mitigation banking is another possible option when considering
the use of this property.
Mr. Davisson reported he met with the City of Oakley
and discussion was held on a possible larger undercrossing to have access to
the Walnut Meadows development as an alternative access. He will be reporting more back to the Board
after further research and will notify the Department of Water Resources (DWR)
in three months of the intention of the District for the Marsh Creek project.
Mr. Davisson reported he would be out of the office on
Monday and Tuesday June 13 and 14 for a General Manager’s leadership
conference.
10. BOARD
MEMBER ADVISORY REPORTS
Written reports submitted.
Director Morgan
– Director Morgan provided a report on the June 6, 2016 Fire Board meeting by
the Task Force. Items of discussion were
to go out and poll the community of potential support for a proposed user utility
tax for fire and medical services. She
provided a power point summary of the presentation made to the Board by the
Task Force.
Director Contreras – Director Contreras reported the District will be having two booths
at the City Celebration on July 2, 2016.
The event will be from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. He reported he would like to
see more Board members present to help support the District at the event. The Insider newsletters are in the mail and
should be received in a day or two.
11. Future Agenda Items for Consideration
There
were no future agenda items discussed.
12. ADJOURNMENT
President Scheer adjourned
the regular meeting at 8:59 p.m. until Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. for
the Regular Meeting in the Ironhouse Sanitary District offices at 450 Walnut
Meadows Drive, Oakley, California.