COACHELLA VALLEY MOSQUITO AND VECTOR CONTROL DISTRICT

Board of Trustees Meeting

 

June 10, 2008

 

Call To Order:

Secretary/Treasurer Underwood called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

 

Pledge of Allegiance:

Trustee Nigosian led the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

Roll Call:

Those present at roll call: Secretary/Treasurer Underwood, Trustees Baker, Henderson, Hobart, Howell, Keck, Lock, Macknicki, Nigosian, and Walker. Also present were Interim General Manager Raymond Griest, Assistant to the General Manager Diane Glanz, Finance Manager David I’Anson, Administrative Clerk Crystal Garcia, Information Systems Analyst Edward Prendez, and Interim Legal Counsel Kathy Jenson. Trustee Gilbert was absent.

 

1.       Confirmation of Agenda:

Trustee Baker made the motion to approve the Agenda. The motion was seconded by Trustee Walker and carried unanimously.

 

2.         Minutes:

A.                 Approval of Minutes from May 13, 2008, Board Meeting.

 

Trustee Macknicki made the motion to approve the minutes of the May 13, 2008, Board Meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Lock and carried unanimously.

 

3.         Public Comment:

Public Comment made by Mike Martinez and Dale Wissman.

 

4.         Announcements:

None.

 

5.         Correspondence:

As in Board packet. Additional correspondence included a letter from the City of Desert Hot Springs reappointing Trustee Baker until December 31, 2010.

 

6.         Approval of Expenditures for May 10-31, 2008, and June 1-10, 2008:

Trustee Nigosian made the motion to approve the expenditures for May 10-31, 2008, and June 1-10, 2008. The motion was seconded by Trustee Howell and carried unanimously.

 

7.         Committee Reports

A.               Finance Committee

Secretary/Treasurer Underwood reported as follows. The April 30th financials show the District had cash disbursements of $716,862, with cash receipts of $429,326.  The largest receipt in April was the Current Secured Property Tax revenue from the County of Riverside for $318,880.43. He announced that there are currently three open bids for security enhancements, an electric forklift, and for control products. The Finance Committee met three times in May to review the fiscal year 2008/2009 budget. The minutes for the May 13th meeting are in the Board Packet on page 47. 

 

B.                Strategic Planning Committee

Trustee Lock reported that there was discussion in the Finance Committee of the feasibility of combining the Strategic Planning Committee with Finance Committee, at least until the Capital Budget is defined.

 

Trustee Henderson questioned if Moreland & Associates had worked with the Finance Committee regarding the budget. Trustee Howell responded that they weren’t involved in the budget per se, but they reaffirmed the way the Finance Committee was already working on it. A discussion ensued.

 

8.         Report of District Activities:      

A.                 Interim General Manager

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

                                                            1.      Human Resources – Anita Jones

                                                            2.      Laboratory and Biocontrol – Branka Lothrop, PhD

                                                            3.      Operations – Jim Saulnier

                                                            4.      Community Outreach – Diane Glanz

                                                            5.      Fleet/Facilities – John Schroeder

 

Short program updates were given by Interim General Manager Griest, Scientific Operations Manager Lothrop, Operations Manager Saulnier, Assistant to the General Manager Glanz, and Fleet/Facilities Supervisor Schroeder.

 

9.         Informational Items:

A.                 Article – “Why We Need Mosquito Control”

B.                Team Reports

 

As in Board packet. 

 

Trustee Baker questioned if the Team reports were going to be updated. Secretary/ Treasurer Underwood responded that it is something that needs to be addressed and that he believed they were supposed to have an update from the consultants that led the Strategic Planning. A discussion ensued.

 

10.       Consent Calendar:

A.        Approval for Trustee Underwood to attend the Special District and Local Government Institute Board Secretary Workshop June 28, 2008, in San Diego in an amount not to exceed $500 from Fund #6120.01.250 – Trustee Support

 

Trustee Nigosian made the motion to approve the Consent Calendar. The motion was seconded by Trustee Howell and carried unanimously.

 

Trustee Baker requested an updated list of conferences, trainings, and seminars be included with the next agenda. Secretary/Treasurer Underwood responded that a list was created and handed out to all of the Board Members but can be redistributed. A discussion ensued.

 

11.       Old Business:

A.        Report Regarding Past Payments to Trustees Pursuant to Resolution No. 2006-02; Consideration of the Adoption of a Resolution of the Board of Trustees Adopting a Revised Travel and Expense Reimbursement and Payment Policy and Rescinding Resolution No. 2006-02

 

Trustee Baker made the motion to approve Item 11A. The motion was seconded by Trustee Walker and carried unanimously.

 

12.       New Business:

A.        Discussion and possible action by the Board regarding a proposed “Scope of Work” to be included in a Request for Proposals for an outside audit of District operations. - Ray Griest, Interim General Manager

 

Trustee Lock made the motion to table this matter for now and direct the Interim General Manager to complete an audit of the District’s organization and to implement appropriate changes to address the issues outlined in the Scope of Work set forth in his report.  The motion was seconded by Trustee Baker and carried unanimously.

 

B.        Approval of Fiscal Year 2008-2009 Draft Budget – David I’Anson, Finance Manager

 

Presentation given by Finance Manager I’Anson.

 

Trustee Baker made the motion to approve Item 12B. The motion was seconded by Trustee Howell and carried with nine (9) approved (Baker, Henderson, Hobart, Howell, Keck, Lock, Macknicki, Nigosian, Underwood, and Walker) and one (1) abstained (Hobart).

 

C.        Discussion and approval of Resolution #2008-09 intention to levy assessments for fiscal year 2008-09, preliminarily approving engineer's report, and providing for notice of hearing for the CVMVCD mosquito, fire ant, and disease control assessment. -  David I’Anson, Finance Manager

 

Trustee Baker made the motion to approve Item 12C. The motion was seconded by Trustee Howell and carried unanimously.

 

D.        Discussion and/or approval to go out to bid and purchase (4) Toughbook laptops and (4) Toughbook riser laptop mounts from lowest responsible bidder not to exceed a total of $17,000 from Fund #8415.01.210– IT Capital Outlay.- Jim Saulnier, Operations Manager

 

Trustee Lock made the motion to approve Item 12D. The motion was seconded by Trustee Baker and carried unanimously.

 

E.         Discussion and/or approval to purchase RIFA and mosquito control products from the lowest responsible bidder from Fund #7800.1.500 in an amount not to exceed $930,000.00. - James Saulnier, Operations Manager

 

Trustee Walker made the motion to approve Item 12E. The motion was seconded by Trustee Macknicki and carried unanimously.

 

F.         Nomination of Officers. – Nominating Committee

 

Trustee Macknicki reported that the Nominating Committee recommended Trustee Underwood for President, Trustee Henderson for Vice-President, and Trustee Lock for Secretary/Treasurer to serve until December 31, 2008. Trustee Baker nominated Trustee Hobart for Vice-President. Trustee Hobart declined the nomination. A discussion ensued. Trustee Macknicki made the motion to approve the nominations. The motion was seconded by Trustee Nigosian and carried unanimously.

 

13.       Closed Session:

A.        Conference with Interim General Counsel Regarding Pending Litigation, CVMVCD v. City of Desert Hot Springs, California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Case No. E044384, Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(a)

 

B.        Closed Session – Conference with labor negotiators. Pursuant to Section 54957.6 Agency designated representatives: Ray Griest and Jeffrey Freedman. Association organization: CSEA.

 

Interim General Manager Griest requested to add an additional Closed Session item regarding an Evaluation of Performance of the Interim General Manager – Pursuant to Section 54957 since it relates to an issue with the Interim General Manager’s time commitment. The issue arose after the agenda was posted and needs to be addressed before the July Board Meeting. Trustee Baker made the motion to add the item to the agenda. The motion was seconded by Trustee Lock and carried unanimously.

 

Returning from Closed Session, Interim General Counsel Jenson reported that during Closed Session, regarding Item 13A, a motion was made by Trustee Hobart, seconded by Trustee Walker, and carried unanimously to provide direction to the law firm of Rutan & Tucker to finalize a Settlement Agreement with the City of Desert Hot Springs; to authorize the Interim General Manager to execute the Settlement Agreement, provided that the final settlement is consistent with the terms discussed earlier that day with the Desert Hot Springs City Attorney and reported to the Trustees by Ms. Jenson, and that once that document was finalized and executed to make it available for public distribution.

 

14.       Trustee Comments:

Trustee Henderson requested the Interim General Manager Griest to ask the Clerk of the Board to please start a new page after each Board Report.

 

15.       Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned by Secretary/Treasurer Underwood at 10:03 p.m.