MINUTES OF THE
REGULAR MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS OF THE
IRONHOUSE
SANITARY DISTRICT
July 7, 2015
The Board of Directors of the Ironhouse
Sanitary District (ISD) met in regular session on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, in the
Board meeting room at ISD’s offices at 450 Walnut Meadows Drive, Oakley,
California.
1. Call to Order
President
David Contreras called the meeting to order at 6:17 pm.
Roll
Call was taken with Directors Contreras, Lauritzen, Morgan, Painter and Scheer
present.
The
pledge of allegiance was led by Bob Henn.
At
6:18 p.m., President Contreras announced that the Board would go into the
Closed Session shown as Item 2 on the meeting’s agenda and addressing Item 2B
as the first item.
2. CLOSED
SESSION
2B. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL
COUNSEL – EXISTING LITIGATION
(Paragraph (1) of Subdivision (d) of Section 54956.9)
Name of case: Ironhouse Sanitary District vs. Harrison Engineering
et al (No. C13-010903).
In
attendance All Directors, P. Batchelor, R. Henn and J. Skrel
2A. CLOSED
SESSION. Both: (a) PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54957:
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENT; and
(b)
CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS.
Agency designated representative: Interim General
Manager
Title
of position to be filled and of employee who is subject of negotiations:
General Manager
In attendance All Directors, P. Batchelor and R.
Henn
At
6:50 pm, the Board reconvened in open Session and took a short Break.
At
7:03 pm, the Board reconvened.
3. Announcement of Action Taken in Closed Session, if any
There
was no reported action taken out of closed session.
Roll
Call
Directors present: David Contreras, C. Lauritzen,
S. Morgan, Michael Painter and Doug Scheer
Members absent: None
Staff/Consultants
Present: Phil Batchelor, Interim General
Manager
Jenny
Skrel, District Engineer
Susan
Walde, District Secretary
Bob
Henn, District Counsel
Michael
Welty, Financial Officer
Chris Christean, Plant Manager
Roni
Gehlke, Outreach Consultant
Interested Parties: Vanessa Perry, Councilwoman
4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
M/S M. Painter, C.
Lauritzen, and the Board voted unanimously to approve the agenda.
In favor: D.
Contreras, C. Lauritzen, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer. Opposed: None. Absent none.
5. APPROVAL
OF THE MINUTES of the May 19, 2015 Special
Workshop Meeting and June 2, 2015 Regular
Meeting of the Board.
M/S D. Contreras, M.
Painter and the Board voted to approve the minutes of the May 19, 2015 Special
Workshop Meeting and the June 2, 2015 regular meeting with noted corrections to
the workshop meeting made by President Contreras.
In favor: D.
Contreras, C. Lauritzen, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer. Opposed: None. Absent none.
6. PUBLIC
COMMENTS. Communications
from the public on subjects not on the agenda.
There were no
public comments.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR -
7A. Approval
of Payment Order, Report on Financial Position & Operating Performance.
7B. Approval
of Amendments to Two Bylaws.
7C. Review
And Approval of District Policies Manual.
7D. Approval of Agreement
with R&G Promotions for Public Outreach Services for an amount not to
exceed $60,000.
M/S D. Scheer, M. Painter
and the Board voted to approve the Consent Calendar.
In favor: D.
Contreras, C. Lauritzen, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer. Opposed: None. Absent: None.
8. BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD
8A. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT FOR NEW GENERAL MANAGER.
Mr. Batchelor stated that the Board contracted with
BHI Consulting to perform an executive search for the GM position. 28 potential candidates were presented to the
Board. The Board appointed an ad hoc recruitment
committee consisting of Directors Contreras and Scheer to work with the interim
GM and the District’s attorney, which over the last month or so has worked to
negotiate with Chad Davisson, GM in Richmond.
The committee recommends setting parameters for the contract for
employment of three years with 60 day notice and at a base salary of
$175,000. He will receive retirement,
health, vision and dental benefits on the same basis as other District
employees.
M/S C. Lauritzen, M. Painter and the Board voted
unanimously to approve the three-year employment with Mr. Chad A. Davisson to
serve as the General Manager of ISD beginning July 13, 2015.
In favor: D.
Contreras, C. Lauritzen, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer. Opposed: None. Absent: None.
8B. ASSESSMENT STATUS REPORT
Mr.
Phil Batchelor gave a report to the Board on the process of the Assessment. On
June 2, 2015, the Board approved proceeding with the 202 recommended actions
items contained in the assessment and requested that a monthly status report be
provided. Mr. Batchelor provided an
update on the status of the items completed on the assessment report.
Staff’s
recommendation is to accept this report that provides information on assessment
tasks that were due to be completed on or before May 31, 2015.
President
Contreras thanked Mr. Batchelor for this assessment report and the hard work
that staff have put into the process.
The Board also thanked Mr. Batchelor for the General Manager bulletins
that are informative for the employees as well as the Board.
M/S
D. Scheer, S. Morgan and the Board voted unanimously to accept the Assessment
Report with items completed on or before May 31, 2015.
In favor: D.
Contreras, C. Lauritzen, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer. Opposed: None. Absent: None.
8C. ADOPTION OF PAID SICK
LEAVE FOR PART-TIME AND TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES.
Mr. Welty
stated that the CA Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 became
effective July 1, 2015. The law requires
employers to provide paid sick leave to all employees, including part-time and
temporary employees who are on the job 90 days and work at least 30 days per
year in California. The policy has been
reviewed and approved by our labor law attorney Joan Pugh Newman of Wiley Price
& Radulovich, LLP. Staff recommends
adopting the policy effective July 1, 2015.
M/S
C. Lauritzen, D. Scheer and the Board voted unanimously to accept and adopt the
Paid Sick Leave Policy for Part-Time and Temporary Employees.
In favor: D.
Contreras, C. Lauritzen, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer. Opposed: None. Absent: None.
8D. WRF STAFF
REORGANIZATION.
Mr. Batchelor presented
the Board with recommended changes to the organization and operation of the
Water Recycling Facility. 1) Approve the
consolidation of the duties and responsibilities previously held by the
Operations Superintendent, the Environmental Process Compliance Manger and the
Operations Supervisor positions into a new position of Plant Manager. 2) Approve the elimination of the
classifications of Operations Superintendent, Operations Supervisor, and
Environmental Process Compliance Manager.
3) Approve establishing a 5 percent differential that will be paid to
one Plant Operator III position that will act as a lead to assist in the
training and oversight responsibilities and who will be in charge when the
Plant Manager is absent. 4) Approve
establishing a career ladder classification series of Plant Operator I / II /
III in lieu of the current classification of Operator in Training/Operator I
and Operator that currently exist. 5)
Approve establishing a career ladder classification series of Plant Maintenance
Specialist I / II in order to have a staff member certified in mechanical and
electrical and instrumentation repair.
6) Approve the reclassification of the Electrical and Instrumentation
Technician into a Plant Maintenance Specialist I in order to recognize the need
to have a position certified in mechanical, electrical, ad instrumentation
repair. 7) Approve the proposed new job descriptions and associated salary
ranges for the proposed classifications.
These
recommendations are being proposed by staff and the HR/Personnel Committee.
Director Painter
voiced his concern that the District is promoting an employee to a status that
he may not be ready for. Mr. Batchelor
stated that he has been working with staff and feels they are ready for the reorganization.
Director Lauritzen
stated his concern that we hired an employee not qualified for the instrument
technician position. Mr. Batchelor
stated that this employee will need certification in mechanical and
instrumentation.
President
Contreras reported that the employee has been in training and will
continue. The committee recommends filling
the instrumentation need at the facility with a consultant.
M/S M. Painter, C.
Lauritzen and the Board voted unanimously to approve the changes to the
organization and operation of the Water Recycling Facility and approve the job
descriptions and associated salary ranges for the reclassifications.
In favor: D.
Contreras, C. Lauritzen, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer. Opposed: None. Absent: None.
8E. RECLASSIFICATION OF DISTRICT SECRETARY/ASSISTANT TO THE GENERAL
MANAGER/ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER.
Mr. Batchelor stated that this issue has
evolved over time with the retirement of the admin services manager, accounting
technician and other positions have come and gone. Due to the limited number of administrative
positions at ISD there are very few individuals that are available to assist
with the many duties and responsibilities that must be handled on a daily basis
by the District. During the past several
years, the District Secretary has been asked to assume responsibility for an ever-growing
number of administrative assignments in addition to her duties as the District
Secretary that prepares the agendas for the Board of Directors, attend and
records the proceedings of the Board meetings and assists the members of the
Board with admin needs. The position has been paid as a district secretary and
not for the additional responsibilities she has taken over. He stated he has looked over four comparators
with three being larger districts and one a smaller district. The recommended salary
range is comparable to the smaller District.
The recommendation of staff and the HR/Personnel Committee are to 1)
Recognize that several administrative positions have been eliminated, leaving a
void as to who should be responsible for these managerial functions. 2)
Acknowledge that many of these unassigned administrative duties have been
assumed by the District Secretary. 3)
Approve the reclassification of the District Secretary position to reflect the
duties and responsibilities currently being carried by the incumbent and adopt
the expanded job classification of District Secretary/Assistant to General
Manger/Administrative Officer. 4) Approve proposed salary range for the
proposed classification that reflects the expanded duties and responsibilities
of this position.
M/S M. Painter, C. Lauritzen and the
Board voted unanimously
to approve the General
Manager and HR/Personnel Committee recommended actions.
In favor: D.
Contreras, C. Lauritzen, S. Morgan, M. Painter and D. Scheer. Opposed: None. Absent: None.
9. STAFF REPORTS
President Contreras asked
about the status of work being done by Knife River. Ms. Skrel responded that the work has been
delayed due to an abandoned PG&E pipe.
Knife River was able to work on a nearby job and will resume work. President Contreras asked about Dave Smith’s
staff report regarding the 4 possible illegal hookups on Main Street. Ms. Skrel reported that the property owner
has been notified and 4 units were added to the tax roll.
President Contreras asked
about the UV system that went out. Chris
Christean reported that staff are currently working on the issue. Staff have
one unit up and working and are programming the second unit. Discussion was held on MBR filter testing.
Jenny Skrel – Ms. Skrel stated she is working with Constellation
to help determine the outcome of the solar project. She contacted PG&E regarding an optional
program that could save us 8%. The solar
project is costing us 4% more than it did before the solar project
started. She stated that our plant is
non-traditional. Traditional plants do
not use extra power in the non-solar times. Constellation asked for all the information
that Really Good Solar (RGS) provided us at the time of the project
start-up. Staff will provide a report to
the Board at the August Meeting and the contractor, Constellation, will be
providing a report in August/September.
Director Lauritzen asked Ms.
Skrel about the 212 connections and how that will affect the 150 projected
connections for FY 15/16. Ms. Skrel
stated that the Emerson project come on sooner than expected and staff have
made calls and we are on track with anticipated connections for the 15/16 FY.
President Contreras thanked
Ms. Skrel and all staff for all their help in getting the Water Recycling Fill
Station operable.
Phil Batchelor - Mr. Batchelor reported that staff brought in a new
tank and the project will be over budget.
We are also tying up staff time running a water truck back and forth to
fill up the tanks. Ms. Gehlke reported
that the new pump would arrive in the morning for staff to install and be
operable by the afternoon for water distribution. Mr. Batchelor also reported that the
commercial station is operable and the contractors have not scheduled yet.
Outreach
Roni Gehlke – Ms. Gehlke reported
on the 70th anniversary event on August 22, 2015. The planning for the event is similar to the
grand opening for the WRF held in 2011.
The Lions Club will be hosting a chicken lunch, and there will be a kid’s
area. Steve Moore, State Water Recourses
Control Board has been asked to speak at the event. Marv Lindorf will help provide some history
on the district. The committee will be unveiling a bronze plaque honoring the
District’s founding fathers and directors.
Discussion was held on the
availability of the residential fill station on the day of the event. Director Lauritzen recommended we provide a
way for the fill station to be open on the anniversary event.
10. BOARD
MEMBER ADVISORY REPORTS
Written reports submitted.
11. Future Agenda Items for Consideration
12. ADJOURNMENT
President Contreras
adjourned the regular meeting at 8:36 p.m. until Tuesday, August 4, 2015 at
7:00 p.m. for the next regular meeting in the Ironhouse Sanitary District
offices at 450 Walnut Meadows Drive, Oakley, California.
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