COACHELLA VALLEY MOSQUITO AND VECTOR CONTROL DISTRICT

Board of Trustees’ Meeting

 

December 11, 2007

 

Call To Order:

Vice President Fuschetti called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

 

Pledge of Allegiance:

Trustee Underwood led the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

Roll Call:

Those present at roll call: Vice President Fuschetti, Secretary/Treasurer Underwood, Trustees Baker, Henderson, Laflin, Lock, Macknicki, Nigosian, and Walker.  Also present were General Manager Donald Gomsi, Assistant to the General Manager Diane Glanz, Administrative Assistant Anita Jones, Scientific Operations Manager Branka Lothrop, Operations Manager James Saulnier, Finance Administrator David I’Anson, Fleet/Facilities Supervisor Schroeder, Field Supervisors Chamberlain, Teran, Boeing, and Wolfs, and Legal Counsel Lisa Copeland.

 

1.                  Confirmation of Agenda:

General Manager Gomsi reported that the Agenda had been revised on December 7, 2007. Trustee Laflin made the motion to confirm the Agenda as amended. The motion was seconded by Trustee Underwood and carried unanimously.

 

2.                  Minutes

A.                 Approval of Minutes for November 13, 2007, Board Meeting.

 

Trustee Henderson made the motion to approve the minutes of the November 13, 2007, Board Meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Lock and carried unanimously.

 

3.                  Public Comment:

Public comment made by Laura Lord.

 

4.                  Announcements:

Vice President Fuschetti announced that on behalf of the Board he would like to congratulate Trustee Baker, who was elected to the Desert Hot Springs City Council. He also announced that William Bizell passed away, a past President of the Board of Trustees who had served on the Board in the latter part of the 1990s. General Manage Gomsi announced that President Duran was unable to attend the Board Meeting due to his wife’s surgery earlier in the day, and he expressed best wishes to Carmen, his wife. General Manager Gomsi also announced that Trustees had a copy of the 2008 District Calendar at their seats; he also offered additional copies for their city councils if they desired them.  General Manager Gomsi reminded everyone of the President’s Luncheon Thursday, December 13th at Woodhaven Country Club. He then introduced Ariana Zaragoza, the new Office Assistant, and Bill Wolfs, the new Field Supervisor for the Red Imported Fire Ant Program. He went on to announce the changes in the field supervisory staff wherein Bill Wolfs was assigned to the Red Imported Fire Ant Department and Victor Teran was moved to the Mosquito/Operations Department.

 

5.         Correspondence:

As in board packet.

 

6.         Approval of Expenditures for November 14-30, 2007, and December 1-11, 2007:

Trustee Underwood made the motion to approve the expenditures for November 14-30, 2007, and December 1-11, 2007. The motion was seconded by Trustee Henderson and carried with eight (8) Fuschetti, Henderson, Laflin, Lock, Macknicki, Nigosian, Underwood, and Walker approved and one (1) opposed (Baker).

 

7.         Committee Reports

A.                 Finance Committee

 

Trustee Underwood reported that the Finance Committee met before the Board Meeting and that the minutes of the November 13th meeting are in the Board packet. For the month of October, the District had cash disbursements of $415,000 with receipts of $132,000. The largest receipt in October was quarterly interest from LAIF for $69,000. The largest check disbursement was to Carlson Solar Electric Systems for the solar panels. The Finance Committee discussed proposals from auditing firms and will make a recommendation at the January 8, 2008, Board meeting.

 

B.                Executive Committee

 

Trustee Fuschetti reported that the Executive Committee met on Friday November 30th. The committee moved to investigate Trustee medical benefit options by engaging a benefit attorney to work with legal counsel, Administrative Assistant Anita Jones, and Finance Administrator David I’ Anson to determine the options, feasibility, and financial impact. A report was requested for the next Executive Committee meeting. A second item was a motion to publish an RFP for a Communications Firm which includes the scope of work that was approved by the Board of Trustees at their August 14th meeting.  The top three responses will be returned to the Executive Committee for their consideration and recommendation to the Board of Trustees.

 

C.                Strategic Planning Committee

 

Trustee Lock reported that the Strategic Planning Committee had not had a recent meeting.

 

D.                Personnel Committee

 

Trustee Nigosian reported that the Personnel Committee met earlier in the day and Legal Counsel Copeland added that the results will be discussed in Closed Session.

 

8.         Report of District Activities:      

A.                 General Manager

B.                District Programs; progress and events since last Board meeting. 

Reports by:

                                                            1.      Admin/Fleet/Facilities – Anita Jones

                                                            2.      Laboratory and Biocontrol – Branka Lothrop, Ph.D

                                                            3.      Operations – Jim Saulnier

                                                            4.      Community Outreach – Diane Glanz

 

Short program updates given by General Manager Gomsi, Administrative Assistant Jones, Scientific Operation Manager Lothrop, Operations Manager Saulnier, and Assistant to the General Manager Glanz.

9.         Informational Items:

A.                 Lagenidium giganteum – A Useful Biological Control Agent against Immature Mosquitoes

 

B.                Team Reports

 

Legal Counsel Copeland identified the handout of personnel notification procedures that was placed before as developed by their Team; the intent is to have it included in the next revision of the Trustee Manual. Also, she stated that the Proposition 218 seminar would be held at the next Board meeting at 4:30 p.m. due to the unavailability of the consultants to attend the December meeting.  A discussion ensued.

 

C.                Report from Administrative Assistant Anita Jones regarding attendance at the California Public Employers Labor Relations Association Conference in Monterey, CA, November 14-16, 2007

 

As in board packet.

 

D.                Report from Trustee Underwood regarding attendance at the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) 2007 Fall Conference and Exhibitions, in Indian Wells, November 27-30, 2007

 

Trustee Underwood gave a brief report on the Association of California Water Agencies 2007 Fall Conference and thanked the Board for allowing him to attend.

 

 

10.       Consent Calendar:

A.                 Approval for Trustees desiring so to attend the CSDA Board Member Training, March 6-7, 2008 in Long Beach.  Amount not to exceed $2,500.00 from Fund #6120.01.250 – Trustee Support. (Pg. 75)

 

B.                Approval for Trustee Walker to attend the AMCA Annual Meeting, March 2-6, 2008, in Sparks, Nevada.  Amount not to exceed $1,500.00 from Fund #6120.01.250 – Trustee Support. (Pg. 79)

 

C.                Approval for District to renew membership in the California Special Districts Association (CSDA) for the year 2008.  Amount not to exceed $3,561 from Fund #6050.01.225 – Dues and Memberships. (Pg. 80)

 

Trustee Lock requested to pull item 10A from the Consent Calendar. Trustee Henderson made the motion to approve the Consent Calendar without 10A. The motion was seconded by Trustee Nigosian and carried unanimously. Trustee Lock questioned how the not to exceed amount for item 10A was calculated. Administrative Assistant Jones responded.  General Manager Gomsi added that the amount could be changed if more Trustee’s showed interest in attending. A discussion ensued. Trustee Baker questioned if the District gets reimbursed or credited when registered persons are unable to attend trainings. Administrative Assistant Jones responded. A discussion ensued. Trustee Henderson made the motion to allocate funds for item 10A. The motion was seconded by Trustee Lock and carried unanimously.

 

11.       Old Business:

None.

 

12.       New Business:

A.                 Discussion and/or approval to engage Participation Works to facilitate reviews of progress toward the goals established as part of the 2007-08 Strategic Plan in an amount not to exceed $1,000 from Account #6120.1.250, Trustee Support.

 

Trustee Lock made the motion to engage Participation Works as stated in their proposal letter of November 12, 2007. The motion was seconded by Trustee Henderson and carried unanimously. Trustee Henderson made the motion to schedule the 6-month review of the strategic planning progress for Tuesday, April 8th at 3:30 p.m. The motion was seconded by Trustee Lock and carried unanimously.

 

13.       Closed Session:

A.                 Closed Session Pursuant to Government Code section 54957 – Public Employee Performance Evaluation – General Manager

 

Returning from Closed Session Legal Counsel Copeland stated that there was no reportable action.

 

14.       Trustee Comments:

None.

 

15.       Adjournment:

Vice-President Fuschetti adjourned the meeting at 8:06 p.m.