HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet - EVWD Board of Directors - 12/13/2016SPECIAL BOARD MEETING
December 13, 2016 at 9:00 AM
31111 Greenspot Road
Highland, CA 92346
AGENDA
CALL TO ORDER
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ROLL CALL OF BOARD MEMBERS
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Any person wishing to speak to the Board of Directors is asked to complete a Speaker
Card and submit it to the District Clerk prior to the start of the meeting. Each speaker is
limited to three (3) minutes, unless waived by the Chairman of the Board. Under the State
of California Brown Act, the Board of Directors is prohibited from discussing or taking
action on any item not listed on the posted agenda. The matter will automatically be
referred to staff for an appropriate response or action and may appear on the agenda at a
future meeting.
1.Board Communication Training
REPORTS
2.General Manager/CEO
3.Legal Counsel Report
4.Board of Directors' Comments
ADJOURN
P ursuant to Go vernment Co d e S ectio n 54954.2(a), any reques t fo r a dis ability-related modific ation or
ac commod ation, inc luding auxiliary aids or s ervic es , that is s ought in order to participate in the abo ve
agendized pub lic meeting s hould be d irected to the Dis tric t Clerk at (909) 885-4900.
EAST VALLEY WATER DISTRICT
Communicating to Achieve Our Goals
December 9, 2016
2
AGENDA
Session A (50 minutes)
–Introductions & Goals (5 minutes)
–Camera Exercise (20 minutes)
–Mindfulness 101 (10 minutes)
–Tips for Communications Excellence (15 minutes)
Break (5 minutes)
Session B (40 minutes)
–Current SNRC Messaging Review (15 minutes)
–Presentation Exercise (20 minutes)
–Wrap-up & Feedback (5 minutes)
3
GOALS
Review basic tips and tricks for effectively communicating with media,
stakeholders and external audiences
Understand the principles behind communicating to deliver messages vs.
simply answering questions
Develop familiarity with latest SNRC messaging
Practice putting knowledge “to work” via a variety of exercises
4
CAMERA EXERCISE
Elvis vs. The Beatles
Which are you? Why?
5
Tips &
Tricks
6
“If one morning, I walked on top of the water across the
Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read:
‘President Can’t Swim.’”
d
– President Lyndon B. Johnson
“Wooing the press is an exercise roughly akin to
picnicking with a tiger. You might enjoy the meal,
but the tiger always eats last.”
d
– Maureen Dowd
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MINDFULNESS 101
Mindfulness: The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.
Being mindful of a situation can help us to determine the correct communications
tools and messages to use to get our story across.
Be mindful of your LOCATION: Understand how your surroundings might
impact the way you communicate.
Be mindful of your AUDIENCE: Know what messages will speak most clearly
to the audience at hand.
Be mindful of your TONE AND BODY LANGUAGE: Your non-verbal cues can
communicate more than you may think.
Be mindful of your ROLE: Recognize the role you are playing in each situation
and be cognizant of how that may impact your messages or communication style.
Be mindful of your GOAL: Remember your ultimate goal in your communications
and ensure that your messages always tie back to that goal.
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COMMUNICATIONS FORMULA
This rule applies regardless of the media
outlet, the reporter, the subject of the
interview or the audience. It’s easy to
understand, but can be difficult to employ.
FIRST: Satisfy your own objectives.
Get your messages out.
SECOND: Help the reporter. Give him/her
a story. Speak in reporter-friendly language.
REMEMBER: Anyone can answer a question.
You are there to deliver messages.
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REMAINING IN CONTROL
Remaining in control of your interview means staying one step ahead of the
reporter or audience. Here’s how:
Memorize your messages
•It isn’t enough to have a “general idea” of what you want to say.
•Practice your messages and commit them to memory. Unless you are speaking
by phone, don’t hold written messages in your hand.
•Don’t worry if you can’t remember your messages verbatim.
Anticipate questions or topics
•What are the questions you’ve heard before?
•What are the questions that you’d as if you were the journalist or audience?
•What are the questions you hope you don’t get? (MOST IMPORTANT)
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REAL LIFE INTERVIEW EXAMPLE
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REAL LIFE INTERVIEW RESULT
12
Key SNRC
Messaging for
Rehearsal
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PROJECT OVERVIEW
Cost and Space: $126 million modern facility built on 14 acres.
Location: Located on North Del Rosa Drive between East Fifth and East Sixth Streets in Highland.
Water Treatment: Will treat up to 10 million gallons of wastewater daily and recharge the Bunker Hill
Groundwater Basin while meeting all water quality requirements.
Reliable Water Source in Dry Years: Creates opportunity for hundreds of millions of gallons of water to
be stored for use in times of drought.
Environment: Creates a new habitat for the Santa Ana Sucker fish and new riparian habitat within City
Creek.
Community Resource: Provides a community resource and educational center for local residents.
Regulatory Requirements: Ongoing and extensive public process to comply with regulatory
requirements and seek community input.
Little or No Change in Sewer Fees: It is anticipated that sewer fees will remain the same with the new
facility, and that customers will enjoy significant savings over time compared to current costs .
No Odors: Technology and design elements result in no odors from the processes; successful projects
have blended into neighborhoods around the nation.
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COMMUNITY BENEFITS
Economy: The project will provide an opportunity for temporary construction jobs (800)
and an injection of $126 million into the local economy which will indirectly support 1,400
new, permanent positions.
Community space: The project’s Multi-purpose Administrative Center will be designed to
create a space that helps to inspire a sense of community while serving as a resource to
residents beyond water recycling.
Education and training: SNRC paves the way for a strong local workforce by offering a
variety of educational opportunity for local students and residents. By training local
students in the unique skillset of wastewater treatment, members of the community couple
be hired to fill technical positions.
Neighborhood improvements: SNRC will include improvements to the surrounding area
such as: water lines, wastewater lines, storm water system, street paving, street lighting,
and curb, gutter and sidewalk.
Environment: SNRC will establish a new population of the endangered Santa Ana
Sucker fish in the local mountains and create a new riparian habitat within City Creek for
the benefit of natural wildlife including two endangered bird species.
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PRESENTATION EXERCISE
You’re speaking about the
Sterling Natural Resource
Center in a public forum. Your
goal is to merchandise the
project’s value to the
community. You have two
minutes.
Give us your best
presentation.
16
Let’s Discuss
17
Messaging
Appendix
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CURRENT MESSAGING – COOPERATION
Project Ownership: SNRC is a Valley District project, performed in cooperation with
EVWD. In 2015, Valley District and EVWD entered into a framework agreement laying the
groundwork for regional recycled water projects and promoting a collaborative effort
between Valley District and EVWD to pursue water replenishment projects.
Current Agreement: EVWD currently pays to have its wastewater treated by the San
Bernardino Municipal Water Department. The agreement states that EVWD has no
ownership rights to any San Bernardino treatment facilities; it allows EVWD to send
wastewater to the City of San Bernardino or provide these services to their customers
through other options.
Current Wastewater Treatment Costs: $7 million is paid annually to the San Bernardino
Municipal Water Department by EVWD customers for wastewater treatment.
Opportunity for Recycled Water: Six million gallons of recycled water are currently lost
to our region each day.
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CURRENT MESSAGING – WATER QUALITY
Importance of Water Recycling: Valley District is responsible for ensuring water supply
reliability and managing groundwater storage. SNRC helps to meet this important
responsibility. Water recycling is a sage way to preserve natural water resources. In fact,
water agencies have been recycling wastewater since 1912 to benefit communities across
the world.
Water Quality Is a Top Priority: SNRC will employ state-of-the-art technology, using
Membrane Bioreactors to produce water that meets or exceeds all requirements for
groundwater recharge.
–MBR utilizes membrane filters to produce treated water that is up to 10 times cleaner
than secondary-treated water.
–A recent WateReuse association study found that “the MBR process produces
superior water quality, compared to conventional wastewater treatment.”
–MBR technology is a vast improvement over traditional wastewater treatment
processes, producing water cleaner than conventional tertiary wastewater treatment.
–There will be regular water quality testing to ensure on-going safety of both the water
produced and water supply.
Project Approvals: To protect long-term drinking water quality, all recycled water projects
must receive complete approvals from the Regional Water Quality Control Board prior to
operation.
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CURRENT MESSAGING – FINANCING
Funding Sources: SNRC has the opportunity to be funded through a combination of
grants, low-interest state loans, impact fees assessed on new development, and monthly
wastewater rates.
Cost Savings vs. Current Plan: SNRC will save current and future EVWD customers an
estimated $127 million over the next 20 years when compared to operational costs under
the current wastewater treatment arrangement with the San Bernardino Municipal Water
District.
Cost Savings vs. Clean Water Factory: Construction of the SNRC will result in an
estimated savings of $316 per connection per year for EVWD. Participation in the Clean
Water Factory, as suggested by the City of San Bernardino, would increase the cost to
EVWD ratepayers by $257 per connection per year over the same 20 year period.