| A special meeting of the Board of Directors of the Santa Clara Valley Water District was held in the District Headquarters Board Room, 5700 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, California, at 8:30 a.m., on October 23, 2001. | Spcl Mtg |
| 1. Board members in attendance were R. C. Kamei, S. Sanchez, R. Santos, L. Wilson, G. Zlotnick, and T. Estremera, Chairperson presiding, constituting a quorum of the Board. Director Judge was absent. | Pres Bd |
| Staff members in attendance were S. M. Williams, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), A. C. Bennetti, General Counsel, R. Callender, D. J. Chesterman, J. Fiedler, S. Fitts, B. Goldie, M. Hamer, M. Klemencic, J. Micko, and W. Wadlow. Deputy Administrative Officer O. Martin Steele represented Chief Administrative Officer E. O. Willis. | Staff |
| 3. Chairperson Estremera moved the agenda
to Item 3 and opened the meeting for public comment on any subject not on
the agenda. There was no one present who wished to speak. Chairperson Estremera returned the agenda to Item 2. |
Pub Comment |
| 2. The Board discussed the District operations
update. Ms. Rebecca Cuffman, President, SCVWD Chapter/AFSCME Local 101,
expressed concern that a recent request from a District mailroom employee
for a face mask was not responded to by management, and stated that masks
would be provided to mailroom staff at union cost if the District failed
to provide masks. She requested assurance that the District would allow
employees to wear the masks if they wished to do so. She expressed concern
that no action was taken by management to educate staff on how to minimize
their risk of exposure to mail contamination until October 19, 2001, which
was two days after the Employee Association distributed information to its
members. She requested that the Board initiate a process for dealing with
potential threats immediately. Ms. O. Martin Steele, Deputy Administrative Officer, confirmed that a special security task force had been formed for discussion of current issues and evaluation of the resulting policies being implemented by other agencies. Relative to the threat of mail exposure, Ms. Steele confirmed that training has been provided to mailroom staff by the District Health and Safety Manager as well as by the Mailroom Unit Manager. She stated further that the District is implementing procedures provided by other agencies and that gloves had been provided to mailroom employees. She said that she was not aware of the employee=s request for a mask. Director Kamei expressed her disappointment with staff=s lack of communication to the Board relative to communication with the public impacted by security measures. Mr. Walter L. Wadlow, Chief Operating Officer, confirmed that an outreach message was distributed to residents around the vicinity of the Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant and that staff continues to receive and respond to public calls. Chairperson Estremera encouraged staff to work with the bargaining units and to recognize their contributions as an asset to the organization. Director Santos requested that staff investigate televising public service announcements relative to measures the District is taking to protect the public water supply. Mr. Stanley M. Williams, CEO, confirmed that the District is working with County, State, and Federal officials on a daily basis; and reported that special training for managers of water utility enterprises and an upcoming conference specifically addressing terrorist threats to public water supplies were planned. Mr. Wadlow confirmed that the District was active in attempts to secure federal legislation relative to increased security funding for water utilities and that staff was working with local county parks and recreation departments relative to supplemental funding and resources for reservoirs. He clarified that Board members should refer constituency issues to him; questions relative to particular locations to Ray Yep, Deputy Operating Officer, Water Utility Operations Division; questions relative to internal procedures to Ms. Steele; and questions related to public outreach to Ms. Susan Fitts, Chief of Public Affairs. |
Security Update Appear R Cuffman AFSCME |
| Director Sanchez requested that staff send copies
of the security updates to the Morgan Hill City Councilmembers in response
to concerns they expressed about San Pedro ponds. (Board Member Request
No. 01-099).
Chairperson Estremera moved the agenda to Item 4. |
Bd Mbr
Req 01-099 |
| 4. Chairperson Estremera convened the Second
Annual Regulatory Summit and read into the record the attached welcome statement.
At Mr. Williams= request, panel and audience members introduced themselves (see attached list) and Mr. Williams appointed Mr. James M. Fiedler, Deputy Operating Officer, Watershed Management Division, to serve as summit moderator for Case Study No. 1. |
Opn Reg Summit |
| 4ai. Mr. Ngoc Nguyen, Senior Project Manager,
Project Management Unit, reviewed the background of Case Study No. 1: multi-year
permits for routine stream maintenance and the Joint Aquatic Resource Permit
Application (JARPA) Process. Mr. Fiedler opened the panel discussion relative to measures the District and agency policymakers could take to ensure timely review of permit applications and the use of JARPA. Also, panel discussion was opened on how agency policymakers can assure better coordination, and streamline review and issuance of permits for projects that require permits from different regulatory agencies. The panel discussion is summarized in the attached flip chart notes. Chairperson Estremera declared a brief recess. Upon reconvening, Mr. Williams appointed Mr. Beau Goldie, Assistant Operating Officer, Office of Countywide Watershed Manager, to serve as summit moderator for Case Study Nos. 2 and 3. |
Rev Multi-yr
Permits for |
| 4aii. Mr. Dave Drury, Senior Engineer,
Countywide Watershed Programs Unit, reviewed the background of Case Study
No. 2: mercury in the Guadalupe Watershed and funding challenges for development
of a comprehensive Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).
Mr. Goldie opened panel discussion relative to actions the District and agency representatives could take to secure financial support for development of the TMDL and what state and federal sources of funding can be made available to support development of the TMDL. The panel discussion is summarized in the attached flip chart notes. |
Rev Merc in
Guad Wtrshd & |
| 4b. Mr. Goldie introduced Ms. Sarah Young,
Special Program Administrator, Watershed Management Division, who reviewed
the background of Case Study No. 3: improving the effectiveness of the Watershed
Management Initiative (WMI) and related regulatory process issues.
Mr. Goldie opened panel discussion relative to what actions the District and agency representatives can take to build successes in the region; how the WMI process can be improved to meet the needs of regulatory agencies; and what the WMI=s role is in the JARPA process. The panel discussion is summarized in the attached flip chart notes. |
Rev WMI |
| Chairperson Estremera thanked participants for their attendance and suggested pursuing a biannual summit meeting in 2002. The summit attendees were invited to attend the CEO Environmental Stewardship Awards Luncheon commencing at 12:30 p.m. in the District Headquarters Building Prefunction area. | CEO Env
Stwdshp |
| 5. There was no other business. | Other Bus |
| 6. Chairperson Estremera adjourned the meeting in the memory of Adelaide Florence Di Marco at 12:25 p.m., to the regularly scheduled meeting of November 6, 2001, at 9:30 a.m., in the District Headquarters Board Room, 5700 Almaden Expressway, San Jose. | Adjourn |
Elizabeth A. Ellis
Deputy Clerk/Board of Directors
Approved:
Date: 11/20/01
1Audiotapes of the proceedings of this meeting are available in the
Clerk of the Board office if you require further information about any item
on the agenda.