Interim Manager’s Report

July 2008

 

  1. Risk Manager/Safety Officer – One of several new positions in the FY 2008-2009 Budget is the Risk Manager/Safety Officer.  The vector control products handled by our people make a specialist position in this area a logical addition to the staff.  However, I have asked that recruitment for this position not be initiated until I have the opportunity to do the following:  a) review the safety audit that prompted the creation of this new position in the first place; b) complete a review of what other agencies have in the way of similar positions; c) look at the salary ranges for these positions in other agencies; and d) review the job description developed by staff for this position.  I plan to have a report on this matter to the Board at your August meeting.

 

 

  1. Employee Separation – During “Public Comment” at the July Meeting, the Board listened to comments from a member of the audience involving the separation of an employee for failing to pass one of the certification tests for his position.  I have been assured by staff that the rules applicable to this situation were followed.  The Union who represents this employee disagrees with this position and may still opt to file a grievance, but has not done so as yet.  The employee involved called me after your last Board Meeting to ask if he could participate in the recruitment process underway to fill his former position.  After checking our Personnel Policies and Procedures, the Human Resources Manager and I could find nothing that would preclude this individual from reapplying for his former position and competing in the process.  He has been so advised.

 

 

  1. Work Plan – At your August meeting, I plan to provide the Board with a “Work Plan” containing about 20 projects currently being worked on by staff.  These Work Plan Projects include several funded in the FY 2008-2009 Budget. (The Table of Contents follows this report which identifies the assigned projects.)  The format used for these Work Plan Projects assigns specific completion dates for each along with designating Project Managers and Project Teams to follow these Projects through to completion.  (A sample “draft version” of one such Project also follows this report to give you an idea of what to expect.)

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

PROJECT OBJECTIVES:

 

1.                                    REMODEL RIFA AND OPS FACILITIES – Project Manager John Schroeder

 

2.                   REVISE PERSONNEL POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL – Project Manager Diane Glanz

 

3.                                    SALARY SURVEY – Project Manager Anita Jones

 

4.                  EMERGENCY ABATEMENT PROCEDURE – Project Manager James Saulnier

 

5.                                    GENERAL MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION – Project Manager Anita Jones

 

6.                  DEVELOP NEW PERFORMANCE EVALUATION FORMS FOR MANAGERS, SUPERVISORS, PROFESSIONALS, AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT CLASSIFICATIONS – Project Manager Ray Griest

 

7.                  REVISE THE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION FORM FOR CSEA REPRESENTED EMPLOYEES – Project Manager Diane Glanz

 

8.                  CERTIFICATE OF AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN BUDGETING – Project Manager David l’Anson

 

9.                  TEN YEAR GROWTH & FINANCIAL RESOURCES STRATEGIC  PLAN – Project Manager Ray Griest

 

10.             CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY – Project Manager James Saulnier

 

11.             ALTERNATIVE DISTRICT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES – Project Manager Ray Griest

 

12.             SOLAR ARRAY – Project Manager John Schroeder

 

13.             REPLACE COMPUTER NETWORK SERVERS – Project Manager Edward Prendez 

 

14.             MONTHLY BOARD TRAINING UPDATES – Project Manager Anita Jones

 

15.             PURCHASING POLICY AND GUIDELINES – Project Manager David l’Anson

 

16.             THERMAL FACILITY REMEDIATION – Project Manager John Schroeder

 

17.             YARD FACILITIES IMPROVEMENTS – Project Manager John Schroeder

 

18.             DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS RENOVATION – Project Manager John Schroeder

 

19.             LABORATORY FACILITY – Project Manager John Schroeder

 

PROJECT NO.  2 

FY 2008-2009

 

REVISE PERSONNEL POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL

 

Project Manager:  Diane Glanz, Assistant to the General Manager                  

 

Project Team:  Anita Jones, David l’Anson, Branka Lothrop, James Saulnier, District legal counsel, CSEA representatives                          

 

Scope of Work:  Revise Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual (PPPM) dated April 8, 1997 to address current terms and conditions of employment for all employees.  This is a major project because of the volume of benefit information and rules regarding the administration of benefits that are contained in the Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual.  Add to this the problem created by the fact that different bargaining units in the District may have slightly different benefits and the difficulty involved with completing this project is multiplied.

 

The best approach may well be to divide this project up into phases.  The first phase involves gathering data and developing a table of contents outline of the material to be included in the new PPPM.  Staff will attempt to find at least 10 public agencies comparable to ours that have recently adopted new Personnel Policies and Procedures.  In addition, staff will ask the League of California Cities; City Books Division (916-658-8257) to send a copy of their Model Personnel and Procedures Manual for cities if it is still in print.  Staff will then collate the contents of these by topic and take the best from the available samples to use as the basis for developing our Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual.  The next step in the process will be to forward our draft document(s) to legal counsel for review and approval.  The final step will be to submit these documents to the various District bargaining units and meet and confer as required.                              

 

Cost:  Staff time                                   

 

Benefit:  Revising the Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual is a priority for the Board of Trustees.  Adoption of the revised Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual will provide the District as well as its employees with an up-to-date compilation of current information about various terms and conditions of employment including but not limited to hours of work, sick leave, vacation leave, disciplinary procedures, and grievance procedures.                                            

 

Target Completion Date:  June 30, 2009                         

 

Current Status:  Current 1997 PPPM circulated to supervisors the week of May 12th and to CSEA on June 10, 2008.                      

 

 

Community Outreach Program

 

Our Community Educator presented to 19 classes at James Workman Middle School May 28 through May 30.  On June 5 and 6, presentations were made to nine classes at the Julius Corsini Elementary School.  Presentations were made to nine classes of the Mountain Vista Elementary School on June 9 and 10.  The presentations were attended by 583 seventh grade students, 348 second grade students and 15 teachers. 

 

On June 17, Community Educator Maria Kylis met with 38 Coachella Valley Girl Scout Troop Leaders to talk about the District’s Mosquito Control Patrol “Fight the Bite” merit badge program.  The troop leaders were very excited about the program and will be scheduling their troops to participate.  There are approximately 2,000 Girl Scouts in the Coachella Valley.

The District’s Community Outreach Department also released a number of articles to the media:  May 21 - District’s Fire Ant Success Noted at Conference; May 28 – Young Maries March to Vector District; June 5 - Toll-free number available for Mosquito District; June 10 – Stop:  Mosquitofish at Work – No Bleach; June 19 – Vector Board Elects New Officers; June 20 – Vector Control District Works with USDA and Navy to Test Insect Repellent; June 26 – Vector Control District Reminds that Sanitation Equals Fly Control.  A letter was also sent the week of June 26 to area schools regarding how they could help with fly control through specific sanitation practices.

 

The Press Enterprise wrote a featured article on the District’s biocontrol methods, speaking with Fishery and Environmental Biologist Gerald Chuzel and Assistant Biologist Gabriela Harvey. It appeared in the paper’s Friday, June 20, edition.  They also conducted a video shoot of Biologist Chuzel stocking a green pool with mosquitofish and deploying the first mosquitofish at work buoy. The video was featured on their website. 

 

Scientific Operations Manager Dr. Branka Lothrop was featured on CBS 2 Palm Springs with Courtney Dwyer.  The topic was West Nile virus, mosquitofish, and of course, our new mosquitofish buoy was introduced to their viewers. 

 

The District’s Outreach program distributed 300 mosquito repellent wipes to the La Quinta Parks and Recreation Department for distribution at their Summer Family Fun Night programs.  The cover design, layout, and printing of the 2008-09 budget was also completed for distribution at the July Board of Trustees meeting.

 

Our District’s innovative, green pool, mosquitofish buoys have caught the attention of other districts in the state. Requests for additional information on the program arrived from the Alameda and Orange County Vector Control Districts. Anticipating interest from other districts, Claudia Erickson, Health Education and Communication Specialist for the California Department of Public Health, wrote “may I share this information with the other agencies and public health departments?  Many of them have been looking for these.”

 

 

Our Department is also pleased to welcome Interim Public Information Officer, Felice Chiapperini.  Felice began work at the District on June 23 and brings with him an extensive background in public relations, graphic arts, and marketing. His recent experience includes three years as Public Information Office at JFK Memorial Hospital. Felice has also worked closely with many of the Valley’s non-profit organizations and local chambers of commerce. 

 

Community Outreach for                                May – June 2008

Group Presentations

Est. Audience

Civic and Community Groups

 

Girls Scouts of America, Coachella Valley

38

Schools  

 

James Workman Middle School

586

Mountain Vista Elementary

184

Julius Corsini Elementary

176

Events 

 

Total Individuals Reached  

984

                  2007-2008 Totals

FINANCE

 

The financial reports included in the packet show the balance sheet, receipts and the revenue and expenditure report for the month ending May 31, 2008. The revenue and expenditure report shows that total expenditure for July 1 to May 31, 2008 is $8,222,711; total revenue is $9,121,937 resulting in excess revenue over expenditure for the year to May 31, 2008 of $906,226. This item is reported on the balance sheet as Excess Revenue over (under) Expenditures.

 

The bar chart shows the District’s main sources of revenue and the estimated distribution date, the actual revenue received is plotted against the budgeted amount. In January and May, the main disbursements from the County of Riverside for Property Tax and Benefit Assessment are shown. A quarter of the District’s revenue is received in the month of May; the actual revenue for May follows the expected budgeted revenue distribution pattern. In December, half way through the budget year, the District received less than 30 % of the budgeted revenue, with over 50 % of the budget expended. For the period up to December, the District draws from the General Reserve, which is normal procedure.

 

 

 

The District’s investment fund balance for the period ending May 31, 2008 is $14,810,913; the portfolio composition is shown in the pie chart. Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) accounts for 37 % of the District’s investments; the Riverside County Pooled Investment Fund is 28 % of the total. The LAIF yield for the end of May, 2008 was 3.07 %, the Riverside County Pooled Investment Fund was 3.28 %; this gives an overall weighted yield for District investments of 2.79 %.

 

District Investment Portfolio 5/31/2008

 

 

 

FIELD OPERATIONS

 

The prevailing hot weather during the past several weeks has aided in reducing adult vector mosquito abundance in the Valley, especially in the rural areas.  Psorophora (floodwater mosquito), however, are now becoming very abundant and a nuisance in the agricultural areas were flood irrigation is applied.  

 

The District’s annual duck club source reduction meeting was held on June 20th.   Water and vegetation management issues were presented and discussed with the few representatives of the clubs that attended.   Meetings with the club owners at their clubs are now being scheduled to directly address specific issues at each club in order to obtain improved compliance to reduce mosquito breeding conditions.

 

Meetings with local farmers to reduce the potential of Psorophora mosquito breeding in various agricultural settings continued during the month to obtain improved cooperation between the farmers and the District to obtain.

 

Urban mosquito surveillance and control activities, as always, remain a high priority in order to continue to protect residents from the threat of West Nile virus infection.   Mosquito abundance suppression through continual surveillance and treatments (86 percent of the treatments and 89 percent of the surveys) is ongoing. 

 

Although most Salton Sea marsh habitats have dried out, some areas such as around the gun club and Salton Sea State Park on the north shore and Avenue 81 at Johnson Street, continue to have water providing habitat for mosquito breeding.  A fifth aerial treatment was conducted in late may using Altosid pellets (a long tern control product). 

 

The urban problem of green swimming pools related to residential foreclosures continues to be a major problem.  Another urban aerial reconnaissance of all the Valley cities was conducted in late May to update the District’s efforts to control mosquitoes from these sources.  To date, the District is involved with 450 green pools that were breeding and are now under control.  Each flight typically adds at least 200 additional problem pools to the data base.

 

Country club and agricultural eye gnat and fly trapping programs are well underway with 36 country clubs (1,583 collar traps established) signing contracts for eye gnat control service.  Fly and eye gnat disposal bottles are also being placed and baited in many of the agricultural fields to assist in reducing abundance.  To date, 6,047 bottles have been set and are being maintained with bait.  Additional traps continue to be added.  During the past month, 2,500 gallons of bait solution has been used in baiting the traps.

 

MOSQUITO CONTROL ACTIVITIES:

 

16

FIELD EVALUATIONS BY SUPERVISORS

3

SERVICE REQUEST EVALUATIONS

4

OPERATIONAL MEETINGS

3

FIELD SAFETY CHECKS

12

STANDING WATER REQUESTS

68

GREEN POOL ADVISORIES RECEIVED

7

MEETINGS WITH OWNERS/REPRESENTATIVES

7

NEW MOSQUITO BREEDING SOURCES

82

MOSQUITO SERVICE REQUESTS

4,228

FIELD INSPECTIONS BY TECHNICIANS

1,139

MOSQUITO TREATMENTS (Larval)

0

URBAN/SUBURBAN ACREAGE ADULTICIDED

3,497

RURAL ACREAGE FOGGED

17

ADULTICIDE NIGHTS            10 Ground   7 Aerial

3

AERIAL LARVICIDE TREATMENTS    

4

MAJOR MOSQUITO SOURCE REDUCTION ACTIONS

 

 

COMPARATIVE MOSQUITO HABITAT ACREAGE TREATED

 

TREATED THIS MONTH

 ACREAGE TREATED MAY-JUNE 2008

ACREAGE TREATED   MAY-JUNE 2007

 

 

 

LARVACIDING      

ADULTICIDING     

        330 Acres

          0 Acres   

 244 Acres             

0 Acres

 

 

 

FISCAL YEAR TOTALS

LARVACIDING

ADULTICIDING

2007/2008 YTD

            3,717Acres

13,486 Acres

2006/2007

 2,294 Acres

5,075 Acres

2005/2006

 2,073 Acres

20,172 Acres

 

 

PERCENTAGES OF MOSQUITO HABITAT ACREAGE TREATED

 

HABITAT

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

 

 

 

Acres

%

Acres

%

Acres

%

 

Salton Sea

5

3

40

18

34

10

 

Duck Clubs

55

34

6

3

2

1

 

Residential

64

40

90

40

87

26

 

Agriculture

37

23

89

39

207

63

 

Totals

161

100.00

225

100.00

330

100.00

 

 

 

MOSQUITO INSPECTIONS

 

HABITAT

April 2008

May 2008

MJune2008

 

 

 

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number