EAST PALO ALTO SANITARY DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES September 8, 2016

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1 . EAST PALO ALTO SANITARY DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES 1. Call to Order A Regular Board Meeting of the East Palo Alto Sanitary District was called to order by Director Savage on Thursday,, at 7:02 p.m. The meeting was held at the East Palo Alto Sanitary District Office located at 901 Weeks Street, East Palo Alto, California. 2. Roll Call Directors Present Goro Mitchell Glenda Savage Dennis Scherzer Joan Sykes-Miessi Betsy Yanez Staff Present Karen Maxey, Interim General Manager Malathy Subramanian, Legal Counsel Micheline Wegem, Accountant 3. Board Member Excused/Unexcused Absences Director Sykes-Miessi reported that there were no unexcused absences since the last meeting. 4. Communications from the Public There were no communications from the public. 5. Agenda Amendments There were no agenda amendments. 6. Consideration/Approval of Board Meeting Minutes a) July 7, 2016, Regular Board Meeting Motion; Director Sykes-Miessi moved, seconded by Director Yanez, to approve the minutes of the July 7, 2016, Regular Board meeting. Motion unanimously approved. b) August 1, 2016, Regular Board Meeting Motion: Director Sykes-Miessi moved, seconded by Director Yanez, to approve the minutes of the August 1, 2016, Regular Board meeting. Motion unanimously approved. 7. Consideration/Approval of Resolution No Approving Withdrawals and Authorizing Payment of Bills Motion: Director Sykes-Miessi moved, seconded by Director Yanez, to approve Resolution No Approving Withdrawals and Authorizing the Payment of Bills (Request Orders 01-17, 02-17, 03-17, 04-17). Motion unanimously approved. Page 1

2 8. Review/Discussion of Battery Storage Technology Ms. Maxey advised this item was placed on the agenda at the request of the Engineering Committee. Director Scherzer provided a report, pointing out that he heard about this at a CASA meeting in August; Napa had an agreement with Tesla using Tesla car batteries being recharged from a solar grid; and electricity from PGE is used at night, and the batteries are used during the day. He will report back with additional information at a future meeting. 9. Consideration/Discussion of San Mateo County s Cottage Industry of Sanitary Districts Grand Jury Report Response Ms. Maxey advised that the time was near to submit the report to the Grand Jury. Director Mitchell suggested a special meeting, prior to the due date, and in time for approval by the Board. He recommended including that the Board is one of the best educated and also is a Gold Standard as far as leaks and spills. The Board set Thursday, September 22, for a Special Board Meeting. 10. Consideration/Approval of Amendment 6 to Contract Restatement and Amendment No. C237 between the City of Palo Alto and the East Palo Alto Sanitary District Director Scherzer recalled that the Board had considered waiting until receiving a response to the Board s letter to the Mayor from Legal Counsel; he is unsure the District has received direct communication from the decision makers of the City of Palo Alto, and the District s attempts to share information has not been successful. He added that he and Director Savage met with Council Members and staff, he brought up the fact that the City s Environmental Impact Statement did not talk about greenhouse emissions. Director Mitchell advised that the District received a letter from the Mayor of Palo Alto stating that anaerobic digester was not set in stone. Director Scherzer pointed out that the Board, at its last meeting, authorized a letter from the Board President to the Mayor of Palo Alto requesting that the District be allowed to present information to the City Council. Director Savage stated the letter was not sent. Director Scherzer recommended that the District stand up and demand that the District, as a partner at the table, to offer what the District knows as factual information. Director Mitchell recommended extending the process of review. Phil Bobel, Assistant Director, Public Works, City of Palo Alto, explained that when the incinerator is retired, there will be a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gasses. He presented a fact sheet on greenhouse gasses. The City changed the anaerobic digestion to an alternate technology. He added that any of the alternate technologies are better than the current incinerator. He explained that the State has informed the City that there are many projects that applied for low interest loans, and the City might miss out on the loan and would have to go a utility type bond. He further added that the incinerators are 45 years old and starting to fall apart, which results in increased maintenance costs. Page 2

3 Director Scherzer questioned whether the incinerators had been completely rebuilt or refurbished. Mr. Bobel explained that money was spent in 2000 on refurbishing; most of the money was spent on air pollution control. Mr. Bobel suggested it would be helpful if the Board adopted a motion that said if there were a proclamation by the City, the Board would approve it. He added that the agreement could be modified that Palo Alto and the District agree that the City is not making a decision to go forward with anaerobic digestion. Ms. Subramanian suggested that Legal Counsel work with the City Attorney s Office and bring back the amendment referenced by Mr. Bobel and bring it to the Board at its next meeting for review and approval. Motion: Director Sykes-Miessi moved, seconded by Director Yanez, that the Contract Restatement and Amendment No. C237 between the City of Palo Alto and the East Palo Alto Sanitary District include revisions suggested by Mr. Bobel and bring it back to the Board for review and approval at the next meeting. Motion passed by roll call vote: AYES: NOES: Directors, Mitchell, Scherzer, Yanez, Sykes-Miessi, Savage None. Mr. Bobel recommended that Director Scherzer request to give a presentation to the City Council after the September Board Meeting. Director Savage called a recess at 7:55 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 8:02 p.m. 11. Consideration/Approval of Revisions to Employee Handbook Ms. Maxey advised that the Human Resources Committee has worked on the Employee Handbook and is ready to recommend approval of the revisions. She added that upon approval, the document will go to Legal Counsel for review prior to final approval by the Directors. Motion: Director Scherzer removed, seconded by Director Yanez, to approve the revisions to the Employee Handbook. Motion unanimously approved. 12. Consideration/Approval of District Reorganization Ms. Maxey advised that the Human Resources Committee had been working on the District operation and was ready to present a proposal for District Reorganization. Stephanie Griffin, Accounting Assistant, explained her duties since 2006 that include Accounting, Payroll and Human Resources. She questioned how the Human Resources Committee and Interim General Manager determine that the Office Manager and Accounting Assistant positions should be eliminated. She requested a copy of the salary, wages, and employee benefits data from the comparison agencies that were evaluated to make the determinations. She also requested the Human Resources Committee recordings for February 25, March 10, March 19, March 30, April 14, April 23, May 12, July 21, August 15, and August 25. Rodney Ryce, Office Manager, agreed with Ms. Griffin about making the Human Resources Committee recordings of the meetings available to staff, per the Brown Act. He acknowledged the experience and knowledge that Ms. Griffin has regarding Payroll, Human Resources, Legislative, Page 3

4 Maintenance, and Travel; he believed it would be a disservice to remove Ms. Griffin prematurely. He explained that he is the Human Resources Manager for the District and discussed his qualifications. He also asked for information on the Compensation Study that was prepared. He added that he was aware there had been a concern about his salary; he presented to the Board copies of the announcement for his position in 2011; he has received annual COLA increases that were approved by the Board. He also presented a copy of an Organization Chart that was approved by the Board on September 5, 2013, which listed his current job title of Office/Human Resources Manager. He believed that the new General Manager should have the right to establish his/her own organizational structure. He disagreed with the statement that there was not enough work for the Office Manager and the Accounting Assistant. Jackey Wilson spoke about the work of the Maintenance staff and the lack of morale; he spoke about the importance of the District to remain competitive. Director Mitchell asked for additional information from similar sized Districts and a discussion in open session. Director Sykes-Miessi advised that the Human Resources Committee spent many meetings discussing the District organization and had to look at the efficiency and cost effectiveness. She explained that the District wants to continue to provide necessary services and believes that can be done with the proposed changes, adding that personnel and benefit costs will rise in the upcoming years. Director Savage commented that the rate payers expect the District to be fiscally prudent and they will have to pay more for anticipated future expenses. Director Yanez recommended that the Board move forward, based on the Human Resources Committee work and recommendation. Director Mitchell again asked for additional time to discuss the reorganization adding that the Board needs to owe it to the employees that to make sure the proposal is best for the District. Director Sykes-Miessi indicated that in prior jobs, she never had the opportunity to speak up for her position. Director Savage advised that she and Director Sykes-Miessi spent many hours at many meetings discussing the reorganization and believed they came up with the best proposal. Director Scherzer expressed concern for the two positions being proposed for elimination and pointed out that the two people in those positions have always provided good results when he has asked for information. He recalled two prior positions that were eliminated two weeks before Christmas in Motion: Director Sykes-Miessi moved, seconded by Director Yanez, that the Board accept the recommended District Reorganization proposed by the Human Resources Committee; the two incumbent positions would be laid off effective October 8, 2016, and benefits would continue to the end of November, with the severance package referenced in the staff report. Motion passed by roll call vote: AYES: NOES: Page 4 Directors Yanez, Sykes-Miessi, Savage Directors Mitchell, Scherzer

5 13. Manager s Report Ms. Maxey reported that the District received notification from County Counsel that Coastside County Water District submitted a resolution to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors requesting even numbered year elections for the Board of Directors and asked whether the East Palo Alto Sanitary District would be interested. Ms. Subramanian advised that the letter was just received and a response was asked for prior to the Board s next meeting. Ms. Maxey reported that she placed new thermostats with lock boxes were placed in the lower level offices and the settings are set at a commercial temperature and will be checked by an independent contractor on a quarterly basis. She added that she received notification that Mr. Kelley will be retiring at the end of the year. 14. Committee Reports No Committee Reports Director Scherzer asked for an item for the Engineering Committee s October meeting regarding damaged laterals. a) Engineering b) Finance c) Human Resources d) Intergovernmental e) Public Relations f) Directors Reports on Attendance at Conferences/Trainings Director Scherzer reported that he would be attending a CASA Climate Change Committee meeting on October 4, in Walnut Creek. Director Yanez reported attending a Water Conference 15. Oral & Written Communication There were no oral or written communications. 16. Future Agenda The next meeting was rescheduled from October 6 to October 13, Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:52 p.m. APPROVED: Board President Board Secretary Page 5