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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-03-14 - Board of Directors Meeting Minutes2024-024 MINUTES OF THE YORBA LINDA WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING Thursday, March 14, 2024, 8:30 a.m. 1717 E Miraloma Ave, Placentia CA 92870 1. PARTICIPATION INSTRUCTIONS Were included on the agenda. 2. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Director Hernandez led the pledge. 4. ROLL CALL DIRECTORS PRESENT STAFF PRESENT Trudi DesRoches, President Mark Toy, General Manager Tom Lindsey, Vice President Doug Davert, Assistant General Manager Brett R. Barbre Delia Lugo, Finance Manager Gene Hernandez Lori Thompson, Human Resources and Risk Manager Rosanne Weston, Engineering Manager DIRECTORS ABSENT Joanna Gonzalez, Public Affairs Officer Phil Hawkins Bree Jozwiak, Assistant Board Secretary Freddie Ojeda, Operations Superintendent ALSO PRESENT Andrew Gagen, General Counsel, Kidman Gagen Law LLP 5. ADDITIONS/DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA (None) 6. AB 2449 TELECONFERENCE REQUESTS (None) 7. INTRODUCTIONS and PRESENTATIONS 7.1. Elected Official Liaison Reports Leandre Blades, President for PYLUSD, discussed concerns with a hydrant out of service near the school at the southwest corner of Yorba Linda Boulevard and Fairmont Boulevard. It was determined that the hydrant belonged to Golden State Water Company. The Board requested staff contact Golden State and offer assistance if needed. Minutes of the YLWD Board of Directors Regular Meeting Held March 14, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. 2024-025 7.2 Introduction of New Hires General Manager Toy introduced the following newly hired employees: Brianna N. De La Cruz, Public Affairs Specialist Daniel Watts, Public Affairs Intern 7.3 Overview of Pure Water Southern California and Status of Diemer Plant Heli- Hydrant Project John Bednarski, Chief Engineer at Metropolitan Water District, reviewed key components of the Pure Water program and the status of the heli-hydrant project. Topics included the water supply strategy, challenges with import Water supplies, and wastewater collection, treatment, and groundwater recharge in the County of Los Angeles. Mr. Bednarski also reviewed the benefits and phases of the Pure Water program, program partners, associated project budget, and project schedule. He then provided an overview of the key activities and tentative schedule for the heli-hydrant project and responded to questions from the Board. The Board requested staff look into whether a shutdown of the Diemer Plant would be necessary to connect the treated water to the heli-hydrant. 8. PUBLIC COMMENTS (None) 9. CONSENT CALENDAR Director Barbre inquired about an expense under Item No. 9.1. related to the purchase of a truck body and requested to remove Item No. 9.5 from the Consent Calendar for separate action. Vice President Lindsey also requested to remove the same item. Director Hernandez made a motion, seconded by Director Barbre, to approve the remainder of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 4-0-0-1 with Director Hawkins absent. 9.1. Payments of Bills, Refunds, and Wire Transfers Recommendation: That the Board of Directors ratify and authorize disbursements in the amount of $1,961,393.80. 9.2. Budget to Actual Statements for the Period Ended January 31, 2024 Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file the Budget to Actual Reports for the Period Ended January 31, 2024. Minutes of the YLW D Board of Directors Regular Meeting Held March 14, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. 2 2024-026 9.3. Cash and Investment Reports for the Period Ended January 31, 2024 Recommendation: That the Board of Directors receive and file the Cash and Investment Reports for the Period Ended January 31, 2024. 9.4. Terms and Conditions with F&P Agahi Irrevocable Trust Recommendation: That the Board of Directors approve the Terms and Conditions for Water and Sewer Service with F&P Agahi Irrevocable Trust for 4682 Lakeview Avenue, Job No. J-2024-08. 9.6. Notice of Exemption for Well No. 5 Rehabilitation Project Recommendation: That the Board of Directors consent to filing a Notice of Exemption (NOE) with the Orange County Clerk Recorder's office for the Well No. 5 Rehabilitation Project, Job No. J-2023-55. 9.7. Notice of Exemption for Well No. 19 Rehabilitation Project Recommendation: That the Board of Directors consent to filing a Notice of Exemption (NOE) with the Orange County Clerk Recorder's office for the Well No. 19 Rehabilitation Project, Job No. J-2023-44. 9.8. Notice of Exemption for Elk Mountain Booster Pump Station Leak Repair Project Recommendation: That the Board of Directors consent to filing a Notice of Exemption (NOE) with the Orange County Clerk Recorder's office for the Elk Mountain Booster Pump Station Leak Repair Project, Job No. J-2023-33. 9.9. Notice of Completion for Imperial Waterline Improvement Project Recommendation: That the Board of Directors authorize staff to file the Notice of Completion for the Imperial Waterline Improvement Project, Job No. J-2021-46. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR FOR SEPARATE ACTION Vice President Lindsey clarified that he had intended to request removal of Item No. 9.4. from the Consent Calendar as he had some related questions. He then inquired whether the terms and .conditions in this case were indicative of what other customers desiring sewer service might need to comply with. Staff indicated that this situation was more complex. 9.5. Ratification of Emergency Procurement for Well No. 5 Rehabilitation Project Director Barbre inquired as to whether this request qualified as an emergency in accordance with the District's purchasing policy and expressed his concern regarding a potential loophole. General Counsel Gagen and staff reviewed the circumstances resulting in the determination. Staff is preparing proposed revisions to the purchasing policy to address Minutes of the YLW D Board of Directors Regular Meeting Held March 14, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. 2024-027 these situations for Board consideration. Director Barbre suggested staff prepare a broad authorization for wells for Board consideration. Director Barbre made a motion, seconded by Director Director Hernandez, to (1) make a finding based on evidence presented by staff that the General Manager's expenditure for the rehabilitation of the Well No. 5 Rehabilitation project was necessary, and (2) to waive the provisions set forth in Section 10.0 of the District's Purchasing Policy. Motion carried 4-0-0-1 with Director Hawkins absent. 10. ACTION CALENDAR 10.1. Amending Board of Directors Policies and Procedures Manual Staff reviewed the proposed revisions to the manual. Director Barbre distributed a copy of MET's Board rules of conduct and proposed alternate revisions to the manual. The Board reviewed the handout and discussed what verbiage should be revised, if any. Scott Tiedemen, Partner for Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, commented on the proposed alternate revisions to the manual and advised that some of the language being considered was unnecessary and could potentially create confusion. Mr. Tiedeman then responded to questions from the Board. Director Barbre made a motion, seconded by Director Lindsey, to approve Resolution No. 2024-XX amending Sections 4.2(A) (3), 4.2(G), 4.2(I), and 4.2(J) of the Board of Directors Policies and Procedures Manual with the addition of language in section 4.23(A) (3) (b) stating that the investigation shall be fair, thorough and unbiased. Motion carried 4-0-0-1 on a roll call vote with Director Hawkins absent. 10.2. Format of Interviews for General Legal Counsel Services The Board discussed whether to allow the firms to provide a presentation as part of their interviews and if so, the associated time limit. The Board also discussed requesting the firms be present in the room for their respective interviews only and confirmed that all interviews_ would be conducted in open session. Director Barbre made a motion, seconded by Director Lindsey, to give the firms the option of providing an approximate 5-minute opening statement, to be followed by questions from the Board, and ending with a closing statement. Motion carried 4-0-0-1 with Director Hawkins absent. Minutes of the YLWD Board of Directors Regular Meeting Held March 14, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. 2024-028 10.3. Guidelines for Incident Notification to the Board of Directors Staff provided an overview of the draft guidelines. President DesRoches requested that the words "after -duty hours" be removed from the first sentence of the document. Director Barbre requested that posting an emergency landing page on the District's website be included as part of the social media emergency notifications. Discussion touched on the Directors' preferred method of contact for emergencies. General Manager Toy agreed to contact the Board using multiple methods to ensure the message gets to them as soon as possible. Director Barbre requested Board notification of public records requests be added. Staff will look into automating the notifications to the Board via email. President DesRoches inquired if social media would be updated as emergencies are happening. General Manager Toy confirmed that all outlets would be updated to the best of staff's ability. Director Hernandez suggested that Google alerts be created to notify individual Board members of relevant content on the internet when published. Director Barbre made a motion, seconded by Director Hernandez, to approve the guidelines for incident notification to the Board with the following revisions: eliminate the language in the guidelines regarding after- hours notifications, include the creation of an emergency landing page on the District's website when appropriate, and include Board notification of public records requests. Motion carried 4-0-0-1 with Director Hawkins absent. 10.4. 2024 YLWD Infrastructure Tours Staff reviewed the proposed plan for infrastructure tours during the 2024 calendar year. Director Hernandez shared highlights of his meeting with staff to discuss community outreach efforts and infrastructure tours and commended staff on the activities already taking place. He shared that staff was obtaining cost and time estimates for the installation of QR codes at District facilities. Director Barbre suggested conducting fire -hardening tours in the fall and potentially involving CAL FIRE and OCFA. Director Hernandez noted that this was included as part of the discussion. Discussion continued regarding including costs of the facilities on the tours, which months would be best to conduct them, and having the Directors personalize their tour routes if desired. President DesRoches commended staff on the proposed plan and their efforts. Minutes of the YLWD Board of Directors Regular Meeting Held March 14, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. 5 2024-029 Director Barbre made a motion, seconded by Director Hernandez, to approve the plan for infrastructure tours with revisions as noted in the discussion. Motion carried 4-0-0-1 with Director Hawkins absent. 10.5. Rescheduling Regular Board Meeting on Thursday, May 9, 2024 Due to Conflict with ACWA Spring Conference Staff noted that the May 9, 2024 Board meeting conflicts with the ACWA Conference that key staff and a Director will be attending and proposed moving both May meetings forward one week, with the new dates for the Regular Board Meetings to be May 16, 2024 and May 30, 2024. Discussion followed regarding the Directors' individual schedules. Director Hernandez made a motion, seconded by Director Lindsey, to approve rescheduling the May Board meetings to Thursday, May, 16, 2024 and Thursday, May 30, 2024. Motion carried 4-0-0-1 with Director Hawkins absent. 11. DISCUSSION ITEMS 11.1. Travel and Expense Reimbursement Policy Comparison Staff reviewed a comparison of the District's travel expense reimbursement policy with those from the City of Brea and City of Yorba Linda. Staff discussed the three options by which an agency may have a travel expense reimbursement plan, including an accountable plan, an unaccountable plan, and a per diem or other fixed allowance plan. Staff indicated that the District currently follows an accountable plan that requires receipts and submission of an expense report. Staff also noted that both the City of Brea and the City of Yorba Linda operate under a type of accountable plan, which requires the submission of receipts and expense reports. Staff then reviewed the daily meal allowances for each agency and asked if the Board desired to make any revisions to the District's travel expense reimbursement policy. Director Hernandez asked if credit card statements would suffice as receipts. Staff advised that a statement would not suffice as a receipt as the District's policy requires itemized receipts under the accountable plan and IRS requirements. Discussion continued regarding lodging rates for conferences and amounts for meals during travel. Finance staff will review Directors' expense reports before being submitted to the President/Vice President for review and approval. No revisions to the District's policy were requested at this time. Minutes of the YLW D Board of Directors Regular Meeting Held March 14, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. 6 2024-030 12. REPORTS, INFORMATION ITEMS, AND COMMENTS 12.1. Director's Reports The Directors reported on their attendance at recent meetings and events. Vice President Lindsey noted that the Financial Review Group had moved its meetings from the second Tuesday of the month at 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. He also noted that Captain De Anne Wigginton from OC Sheriff had been appointed as the Chief of Police Services for the City of Yorba Linda and requested staff invite her to a future Board meeting. He then requested staff provide the Board with information regarding a community meeting to discuss wildfire insurance scheduled Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. Vice President Lindsey then requested staff work on scheduling a committee meeting with the City of Yorba Linda to discuss permitting procedures between both agencies. Lastly, he requested an update on scheduling the renaming ceremony for the PFAS Water Treatment Plant. Staff reported that the event was scheduled for Tuesday, April 16, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. The Directors continued reporting on their meeting attendance. 12.2. General Manager's Report General Manager Toy referenced his report included in the agenda packet. He highlighted the strategic plan and explained that the assigned teams would be reaching out to individual Directors to finalize any remaining edits. The final draft will be presented for Board consideration at the meeting scheduled Thursday, April 11, 2024. General Manager Toy and staff then responded to questions regarding the exploration of a hybrid work schedule, staff attendance at a SWRCB workshop on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, the State's proposed cuts in water consumption for 2025/2030/2035, the access road at Highland Reservoir, and the status of implementing ACH payments to vendors. Director Barbre suggested having a video produced with President DesRoches and a representative from CAL FIRE regarding the Wells Fargo Heli-hydrant and asked when the District's contract with Comm LAB was set to expire and whether the Board should consider issuing an RFP for these services. 12.3. General Counsel's Report (None) 12.4. Future Agenda Items and Staff Tasks Director Barbre requested staff schedule a CIP tour for the Board. Minutes of the YLWD Board of Directors Regular Meeting Held March 14, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. 7 2024-031 13. COMMITTEE REPORTS 13.1. Interagency Committee with MWDOC and OCWD DesRoches/Lindsey 13.2. Joint Agency Committee with City of Yorba Linda Lindsey/DesRoches 13.3. Joint Agency Committee with City of Placentia Lindsey/Hernandez 13.4. Joint Agency Committee with City of Brea Barbre/Hernandez 13.5. Joint Agency Committee with Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District Hernandez/Barbre 14. BOARD OF DIRECTORS ACTIVITY CALENDAR 14.1. Meetings from March 15 - April 30, 2024 President DesRoches noted that no Director was assigned to attend the Brea City Council meeting on April 16, 2024. Staff will contact Director Hawkins to see if can attend. 15. CLOSED SESSION The Board entered Closed Session at 11:32 a.m. 15.1. Liability Claims Pursuant to Subsections 54956.9(d) and (e) (3) of the CA Government Code Claimants: Pascal & Ludwig Constructors and Mike Bubalo Construction Agency Claimed Against: Yorba Linda Water District 15.2. Public Employee Performance Evaluation Pursuant to Section 54957 of the CA Government Code Title: General Manager Minutes of the YLW D Board of Directors Regular Meeting Held March 14, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. 8 2024-032 16. REPORT FROM CLOSED SESSION The Board returned from Closed Session at 11:49 a.m. General Counsel Gagen reported that the Board took reportable action on Item 15.1 to reject the claim jointly submitted by Pascal & Ludwig and Michael Bubalo Construction. General counsel will provide a written response memorializing this action. 17. ADJOURNMENT 17.1. The meeting was adjourned at 1 1:50 a.m. Annie Alexander Recording Secretary Minutes of the YLWD Board of Directors Regular Meeting Held March 14, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. 9