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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet - Legislative & Public Outreach Committee - 09/21/2018LEG ISLAT IVE A N D PUBLIC O UT REA C H C O MMIT T EE September 21, 2018 - 1:30 PM 31111 Greenspot Road, Highland, C A 92346 AGE N D A C A LL TO O RD ER PLED G E O F A LLEG IA N C E PUBLIC C O MMEN T S N E W B U SI N E SS 1.Approve the J uly 13, 2018 Committee meeting minutes 2.Legislative Update 3.Emergency Preparedness Update 4.Outreach Update 5.Set the day and time for holding recurring committee meetings 6.Director's Comments 7.Staff's C omments AD J O U RN P LEAS E NO T E: P urs uant to G overnment C ode S ec tion 54954.2(a), any reques t for a dis ability-related modification or ac commodation, including auxiliary aids or services, that is s ought in order to partic ipate in the above- agendized public meeting should be direc ted to the District C lerk at (909) 885-4900 at least 72 hours prior to said meeting. 07-13-2018 etb minutes Subject to approval EAST VALLEY WATER DISTRICT July 13, 2018 LEGISLATIVE & PUBLIC OUTREACH COMMITTEE MINUTES Kelly Malloy, Director of Strategic Services, called the meeting to order at 1:02 pm. Mr. Smith led the flag salute. PRESENT: Directors: Carrillo, Smith ABSENT: None STAFF: Kelly Malloy, Director of Strategic Services; Eileen Bateman, Senior Administrative Assistant GUEST(s): None PUBLIC COMMENTS The Senior Administrative Assistant declared the public participation section of the meeting open at 1:02 pm. There being no written or verbal comments, the public participation section was closed. APPROVE THE MAY 4, 2018 COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Ms. Bateman noted that the minutes for May 4, 2018 should reflect that the Committee approved the minutes for March 2, 2018 and not December 21, 2017. M/S/C (Carrillo-Smith) that the May 4, 2018 committee meeting minutes be approved as amended. CONSERVATION UPDATE Ms. Malloy stated that the District is in compliance with state regulations and has reported a 22% reduction in water usage to date. The District has addressed concerns from customers regarding Home Owner Associations regulations now that there is not a drought emergency; that the Weather Based Irrigation Controller Direct Install program is a great success with 310 units installed to date. Ms. Malloy stated that the District is looking for options for customers to continue conservation efforts. That there is a 2nd toilet distribution event scheduled on September 22, 2018 at the Sterling Natural Resource Center site. Information only. COMMUNICATION UPDATE Ms. Malloy stated that the District is working with Idea Hall to complete a long-term strategic communications plan; that we are also working on internal communications with a group of employees from each department to better inform employees of District operations to date; that we are creating a video library to share news of past, present, 07-13-2018 etb minutes and future milestones of the District. Ms. Malloy also provided information regarding outreach efforts for the Sterling Natural Resource Center. Information only. DIRECTOR’S COMMENTS Director Smith inquired about a change in the time of the committee meetings; he would like discuss this at the next meeting. Information only. STAFF’S COMMENTS There were no comments at this time. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 1:50 pm. ______________________________ ______________________________ Chris Carrillo David E. Smith Director Director S TAF F R E P ORT Agenda Item #2. Meeting Date: S eptemb er 21, 2018 Dis c ussion Item To: LEG I S LAT I VE AND P U BLI C O UT R EAC H C O MMI T T EE F rom: P ub lic Affairs Manager Subject: Legis lative Up d ate R E C O MME N D AT IO N: T his item is fo r info rmatio n o nly. B AC KGR O UN D / AN ALYS IS : T he 2018 Legis lative s es s io n is quic kly c o ming to a c lo se. Augus t 31 marked the last day fo r eac h house to p as s b ills , with S eptemb er 30 the d eadline for the G overnor to sign o r veto bills. T he District maintained ac tive p artic ip atio n in the s es s io n, foc us ing energy o n the various vers io ns of the water tax and the s ervic e d is connectio n limitations . Working clos ely with the AC WA c oalition, the District’s legislative advo c ates ac tively participated in fac e-to- face dis cus s io ns with legislato rs as it related to the vario us versions of the water tax. W hile the Dis tric t is lis ted o n the AC WA letter of o p p o s ition, we took a more p ers onal ap proac h s p eaking with key elec ted that c o uld make or b reak the forward pro gress of the legislatio n. W hile the Dis tric t s up p o rts all res id ents o f C alifo rnia having ac cess to s afe d rinking water, the proposed functio n o f funding and program administration are in direc t conflict with the current Legis lative P latfo rm. T his lo b bying is es p ec ially impo rtant when the item is c o nsidered in various committees , which c o uld prevent the item as a who le from making it to the floor for a formal vo te. T he o ther p ressing legis lative item was S B 998, whic h wo uld imp lement s evere res tric tion on the ab ility to d is connect water s ervic e fo r pas t d ue ac c ounts, when the c usto mers imp ac ted are d is ad vantaged. T he Dis tric t was actively involved in d isc ussions regard ing this item and pro vided feed b ack througho ut the s es s io n. As of the p o s ting of this staff rep o rt, the item has b een sent to the G overnor. T he Dis tric t is reques ting that the G overnor veto the bill. T hro ughout the vario us d is c ussion we have b een highlighting the p o tential P rop. 218 violations if regulations were enforc ed fo r o nly a s p ec ific c usto mer type, the p o tential c o nfusion with up to three billing cycles at vario us s tages o f delinquenc y, and the overreach of the Attorney G eneral and S tate Water R esources C o ntro l Board fo r enforc ement o f this item. O n a p o s itive note, we have b een ac tively trying to keep o ur loc al elected o ffic ials updated o n the incredible p ro gres s of the S terling Natural R es o urc e C enter. R ec o gnizing that the project will benefit c us tomers outs ide of o ur s ervic e area, we have als o been up dating S enator Leyva and As s emb lywo man R eyes on this issue, in ad d ition to S enato r Morrell and As s emb lyman S teino rth. T hro ughout thes e legis lative ac tivities, the District continues to partner with T he O nate G roup and T he Q uintana C ruz C o mp any. T hey have fac ilitated d ialo gue on many different levels , partic ip ated in work gro ups o n o ur R es p ec tfully s ubmitted : Kelly Mallo y Directo r o f S trategic S ervices C ruz C o mp any. T hey have fac ilitated d ialo gue on many different levels , partic ip ated in work gro ups o n o ur b ehalf, and carried o ur vo ice o n c ritic al to p ic s . Both c ontracts are sc heduled fo r rec o ns ideration this fall. AG E N C Y G O ALS AN D OB J E C T IVE S : G oal and O b jectives I - Implement Effec tive S o lutio ns T hrough Visionary Leadership (C ) - S trengthen R egio nal, S tate and Natio nal P artners hips F IS C AL IMPAC T T here is no fis cal impac t as s o c iated with this agend a item. S TAF F R E P ORT Agenda Item #3. Meeting Date: S eptemb er 21, 2018 Dis c ussion Item To: LEG I S LAT I VE AND P U BLI C O UT R EAC H C O MMI T T EE F rom: P ub lic Affairs Manager Subject: Emergency P reparedness Up d ate R E C O MME N D AT IO N: T his item is fo r info rmatio n o nly. B AC KGR O UN D / AN ALYS IS : T he District maintains a numb er of p lanning doc uments that facilitates a high level of prep ared nes s as it relates to p o tential emergenc ies within the service area inc luding an emergenc y res pons e plan, hazard mitigation plan, and vulnerability asses s ment. T he Emergenc y R es p o ns e P lan id entifies procedures that will b e implemented in the event o f an emergenc y. T his plan is d es igned to p ro vide maximum o p erational flexibility, kno wing that all emp lo yees may not be available during an emergenc y. T his plan is d ivided into F ed eral Emergenc y Management Agency (F E MA) recognized sec tions, s o that any trained emp lo yee c o uld pic k up the plan and maintain a basic level o f o p eration. T his p lan also considers the req uirements fo r reimb ursement, s hould the emergenc y reac h a s cale that wo uld allo w fo r c o s ts to bec o me eligible on either the state o r federal level. T he Dis tric t’s Emergenc y R es p o nse P lan is tec hnically c urrent, it needs to b e up d ated to reflec t rec ent c hanges in fac ilities , s taffing levels, and different communicatio ns tools availab le fo r us e. T he Hazard Mitigation P lan identifies the p o tential emergencies that could take p lac e within the s ervic e area, p o tential operatio nal impac ts o f tho s e emergencies and measures that need to b e taken to minimize the effects of tho s e emergenc ies . T his plan must be up dated every five years and sub mitted to F EMA for approval, the Dis tric t’s plan is currently valid thro ugh O c to b er 2020. T he Vulnerab ility As s es sment cons id ers the po tential threats to the health and s afety of the community s erved b y the Dis tric t. O nce the vulnerab ilities of the organization have been id entified, then a matrix can be developed to mitigate these is s ues . T his plan is due for an up d ate. Ad d itionally, as p art of the Dis tric t’s emergenc y p rep arednes s pro gram a quarterly training exerc is e is ho s ted to reinforc e the proc esses and p roc ed ures in plac e to eas e the transitio n fro m d ay-to -day o p eratio ns to an emergenc y. T he mo re that we p ractic e, the mo re confid ent emp loyees will feel that they have the to ols and res o urc es available to d o what need s to be d o ne to maintain water and was tewater services d uring emergenc ies . P revious trainings and d rills have inc lud ed fac ility evacuations, emergenc y communicatio ns, and sec tion spec ific classes . All emp loyees rec eive the minimum F EMA c ertific ations, with s upervis o rs p artic ip ating in more ad vanced c ourse. In light o f rec ent events , s taff has req ues ted ad d itional trainings to be p rep ared for active R es p ec tfully s ubmitted : Kelly Mallo y Directo r o f S trategic S ervices ad vanced c ourse. In light o f rec ent events , s taff has req ues ted ad d itional trainings to be p rep ared for active s hooter s ituations . T he s afety and the pub lic and s taff is o ur to p p rio rity. We c o ntinually evaluate opportunities to imp rove the Emergenc y P rep arednes s P rogram. In o rder to maximize the timelines s o f the plan updates and maintain o ur training p rograms , the Dis tric t will b e s eeking a p ro fessional cons ultant to as s is t with this proc ess. By us ing experts with knowled ge o f the b es t management practices id entified in this field, will allow for the mo st us er- friendly and effec tive d o c ument up dates . As with all doc uments p rep ared by the Dis tric t, they will be d eveloped in a way that sup p o rt operatio ns and c an b e p ractically ap p lied whenever pos s ib le. AG E N C Y G O ALS AN D OB J E C T IVE S : G o al and O bjec tives I V - P romo te P lanning, Maintenanc e and P res ervatio n o f Dis tric t R esources (A) - Develop P ro jec ts and P ro grams to Ensure S afe and R eliable S ervices (B) - Enhance P lanning Effo rts that R es pond to F uture Demand s F IS C AL IMPAC T T here is no fis cal impac t as s o c iated with this agend a item. S TAF F R E P ORT Agenda Item #4. Meeting Date: S eptemb er 21, 2018 To: LEG I S LAT I VE AND P U BLI C O UT R EAC H C O MMI T T EE F rom: P ub lic Affairs Manager Subject: O utreac h Up d ate R E C O MME N D AT IO N: T his item is fo r info rmatio n o nly. B AC KGR O UN D / AN ALYS IS : T he District c o ntinues to fo c us energy on effec tive c ommunicatio n, whic h inc ludes p ro jec t spec ific o utreach, enhanc ed p lanning effo rts, and imp ro ving exis ting p ro grams . A c urrent p ro jec t requiring extensive o utreac h efforts is the S terling Natural R esourc e C enter. R ec ent outreac h effo rts have inc luded an up d ated hand o ut to reflect the current projec t status, updated webs ite c o ntent, p rep aration for a trans ition in s o c ial media, and c oo rd inatio n o f the upc o ming gro undbreaking event. Ad d itionally, effo rts to d evelop the miles tone films have b een und erway. S taff is c urrently preparing for the creatio n o f a community group that can rec eive informatio n and provid e valuable input as the p ro ject progres s es . T his fac ility is intend ed to b e a c o mmunity res o urc e, whic h makes c o mmunity input even mo re important. In ad d ition to the S NR C , s taff has b egun c o o rd inating with Idea Hall to develo p a S trategic C ommunicatio ns P lan. T his d o cument will b e d eveloped in a p ractic al manner that will s erve as a guide for staff thro ughout the Dis tric t. It will c larify and artic ulate the District’s b rand and p ro vide guid anc e as to the ho w it sho uld be interwoven with all pro jects and p rograms . It will also develo p p ro cedures fo r effective outreac h and mes s aging that can be applied in outreac h material. Las tly, a highlight o f the District’s outreac h effo rt inc ludes a full redes ign o f the offic ial web s ite. T he c urrent s tyle has b een in plac e fo r roughly five years and is d ue for an up d ate. S ince the original launch, the Dis tric t’s s tyle and to ne has b ecome more dis tinct, and s hould be reflected in the webs ite. Elements o f foc us will be to make the s ite mo re mo b ile devic e friend ly, ease the overall s ite navigation, and a refres h o n the s ite c ontent. O utreac h efforts c o ntinue in other areas as well. T he Internal C ommunic atio ns C o mmittee is s erving as a valuab le s o und ing b o ard fo r effective efforts that will help p ro vid e informatio n to s taff o r new ways to engage with c usto mers . S ince all dep artments have at least one rep res entative p res ent, c andid disc ussions ab o ut the p racticality o f communicatio ns metho d s and the d ifferences in p references has p roved to be very helpful. C urrently the gro up is foc us ing efforts on the best way to p rovid e regular p rojec t updates and the web s ite red es ign. AG E N C Y G O ALS AN D OB J E C T IVE S : R es p ec tfully s ubmitted : Kelly Mallo y Directo r o f S trategic S ervices F IS C AL IMPAC T T here is no fis cal impac t as s o c iated with this agend a item.