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REPORT: 

Administrative Committee

SYNOPSIS: 

The Administrative Committee met Friday, November 19, 1999, and reviewed the proposed agenda for the December 10, 1999 Board meeting. The Committee also discussed various issues detailed in the Committee report. The next Administrative Committee meeting is Friday, December 17, 1999, at 9:30 a.m., in Conference Room CC-8.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and file.

Norma J. Glover, Chair
Administrative Committee

Attendance:
Present were Committee Chair Norma Glover; Committee Members Beatrice LaPisto-Kirtley and, participating via videoconference, Roy Wilson. Committee Chair Glover appointed Dr. William Burke, also participating via videoconference, as an ad hoc Administrative Committee member for the meeting of November 19, 1999 only. Absent were Members Hal Bernson, Cynthia Coad and Mee Hae Lee.

DISCUSSION ITEMS:

1. Chairman’s Report of Approved Travel: None
   
   
2. Approval of Compensation for Board Member Assistant(s): None
   
   
3. Out-of-Country Travel: Dr. Wallerstein, Executive Officer, advised the Committee of the invitation from the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas requesting an AQMD Board Member participate in a group that will travel to Germany, Norway and France to explore activities underway in Europe to develop and commercialize electric vehicles. Other participants will be congressional, administration and industry representatives. Dr. Burke has asked Vice Chair Glover to represent AQMD. Dr. Wallerstein commented that he was very impressed with the coordination efforts of this Association in the past and expects the proposed trip would be an excellent fact-finding mission that will be very beneficial. Included in the itinerary will be a visit to the Pugeot-Citroen electric vehicle demonstration project. Moved (LaPisto-Kirtley), seconded (Burke) and unanimously recommended for approval.

DECEMBER AGENDA ITEMS:

4. Execute Contract to Purchase Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectometer for Liquid and Headspace Analysis: Mel Zeldin, Assistant DEO, Science & Technology Advancement, reported that this recommendation is to replace the current instrument that is over 15 years old and for which parts are no longer available for its maintenance and repair. The unit is primarily used for solvents and toxics analysis. Based upon the determination of the evaluation panel, it was recommended to execute a contract with Thermo Quest Finnigan, the firm that substantially met all of the specifications at the lowest price of the technically acceptable bids. Moved (LaPisto-Kirtley), seconded (Glover) and unanimously recommended for approval.
   
   
5. Recognize and Appropriate Revenue from California Air Pollution Control Officer’s Association for Purchase of Equipment: Jack Broadbent, DEO, Planning, Rule Development & Area Sources, introduced Lee Lockie, Director of Area Sources, who briefed the Committee on the equipment that was being proposed for purchase. The hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) data receiver and recorder would be used for the enhancement and implementation of Environmental Justice Initiatives No. 8 and 9. The equipment will help staff in conducting field inspections to precisely map the relative positions of sensitive receptors and sources; for example, open burning and construction site emissions. In response to Mayor LaPisto-Kirtley, Ms. Lockie confirmed that the GPS would be useful in locating dirt and dust blowing from construction sites and construction vehicles. Mr. Broadbent noted that these are pass-through funds from California Air Pollution Control Officers’ Association, which were received from EPA. Dr. Wallerstein added that when the permitting was being done for the Bob Wondries Collision Repair Shop, for example, there was a question about the distance to the nearest school and a contractor was hired to use GPS technology to make that determination. Moved (LaPisto-Kirtley), seconded (Glover) and unanimously recommended for approval.
   
   
6. Approve Implementation of Regionwide Smog Alert Program through Pagers and Other Telecommunication Devices: Chris Marlia, Acting Director of Information Management, informed the Committee that, as part of the Inland Empire Initiatives, AQMD tested a pilot program of the Air Quality Alert Pager Service. This program provided information through personal pagers on smog warnings and forecasts. After completion of the pilot project, staff received positive feedback from volunteers and participating pager companies and is recommending expansion of the program. AQMD would provide the information to those pager companies that choose to participate who then would relay the information to their subscribers through the pagers. Dr. Burke asked what the economic impact would be, and Mr. Marlia responded that one of the pager companies has requested that the District provide funds until its subscriber list is large enough to make the program profitable. AQMD has not agreed, at this point. The amount of $10,000 has been budgeted for possible use for the program, but it has not been committed. The program would involve approximately one day of staff time. Moved (Glover), seconded (LaPisto-Kirtley) and unanimously recommended for approval.
   
   
7. Approve Firm as Prequalified to Provide Classification and Compensation Services: Eudora Tharp, Acting Director of Administrative and Human Resources Services, reported that staff is recommending the firm of Koff & Associates, the one bidder that had directly relevant experience at reasonable cost, to be prequalified and also that staff be authorized to re-release the RFP as needed. Moved (LaPisto-Kirtley), seconded (Glover) and unanimously recommended for approval.
   
   
8. Audit Report of AB 2766 Fee Revenue Recipients for FYs Ending June 30, 1996 and 1997, and Set Public Hearing January 14, 2000 Regarding Final Resolution of Unresolved Audit Findings and Recommendations: Rick Pearce, Chief Financial Officer, explained that this audit of the revenues subvened from the Department of Motor Vehicles is of AQMD’s share, MSRC’s share, and the local governments’ share. The Health and Safety Code requires any agency that receives these revenues be audited once every two years. The results of the audit showed that the MSRC has no findings and AQMD has no material findings. However, the statement was unavailable since it was still being completed by the auditor. It will be included in the final Board package.
   
   With respect to the local governments’ share, there are currently 157 cities throughout the basin that are receiving funding from the Agency. In response to Mayor LaPisto-Kirtley, Mr. Pearce advised there are approximately 187 cities total but not all have requested the funding. Approximately 47 of the cities were audited, and there were 49 findings. Nineteen of the findings were related to tardiness in submitting reports and financial statements, and the remaining thirty findings were related to exceeding their administrative cap, unallowable expenditures, not providing supporting justification for expenditures, not allocating interest to the funds appropriately, or lacking a plan for spending the excess in the fund. All of the findings have been resolved except for the City of Duarte which spent $5,733 to purchase methanol fuel. In the opinion of AQMD and ARB, that is an inappropriate expenditure since the funds would be used for ongoing operations. Duarte disagrees and a Public Hearing will be set in January 2000 to allow the City to bring its concerns to the Board. The Board will have the opportunity to make the decision to allow or disallow that cost. If it is disallowed, the expenditure amount would be deducted from future disbursements. In all of the resolved cases, the affected cities have either agreed to pay back their own trust fund or have the monies deducted from future disbursements.
   
   Committee Chair Glover noted the District is providing the cities with technical assistance and asked about providing administrative assistance, as well. Mr. Pearce responded that staff has provided substantially more guidance. Mayor LaPisto-Kirtley asked if cities could submit their proposals in advance for staff’s review to determine if they were appropriate expenditures focusing on measurable emission reductions. She expressed her concern that if the money was not spent wisely, the State could eliminate the program. Lupe Valdez, DEO of Public Affairs and Transportation Programs, reported that the AQMD technical team can advise the cities; however, AQMD should not give the perception that it is approving or disapproving a proposal. Mayor LaPisto-Kirtley suggested that Board Members could intervene when they are aware that a city has questionable expenditures. The city’s elected official may be unaware of the proposal since it may be handled by someone on staff. She requested that AQMD provide Board Members with a report that identified those cities with questionable expenditures so they could contact the elected official to discuss what is being proposed. Moved (LaPisto-Kirtley), seconded (Glover) and unanimously recommended for approval, with caveats as discussed.
   
   
9. Report of RFPs and RFQs Scheduled for Release in December: Mr. Pearce reported on the two items listed on the report: (1) Issue an RFP for Independent Audit Services, for the purpose of selecting an auditor (to be interviewed and selected by the Administrative Committee) for AQMD financial audits, and (2) Issue an RFQ for Lab Based Gas Chromatograph, which is part of the PAMS program that is funded by EPA 105 Grant. Moved (LaPisto-Kirtley), seconded (Wilson) and unanimously recommended for approval.
   
   
10. Establish Board Meeting Schedule for Calendar Year 2000: Dr. Wallerstein reported that the proposed schedule moves the Board meetings from the second Friday to the third Friday of the month and indicates future dates of Administrative Committee meetings. There has been a request that the Stationary Source Committee meetings be held prior to the Administrative Committee meetings. Dr. Wallerstein said that staff will address the concern that rulemaking items be reviewed by the Stationary Source Committee review prior to the Administrative Committee by establishing the appropriate dates for the Board committee meetings in the year 2000. He advised that a proposed schedule of Board Committee meetings will be prepared for the December Board meeting.
    
    Committee members discussed the starting time of the Board meetings with respect to avoiding travel to the District during peak commuter traffic. Mayor LaPisto-Kirtley suggested considering changing the starting time to 9:00 a.m. Dr. Burke requested that staff survey the other Board Members regarding their preference regarding the starting time then bring the results to the Administrative Committee at its next meeting.
    
    Committee Chair Glover stressed the importance of establishing a schedule and adhering to it so Board Members and members of the public can plan accordingly.
    
    Moved (LaPisto-Kirtley), seconded (Burke) and unanimously recommended for approval.
    
    
11. Review December 10, 1999 Governing Board Agenda: Dr. Wallerstein advised the Committee that staff has been working on a project where the agency would purchase a continuous emissions monitoring device with the asphalt industry and proposed providing the Board letter to issue the RFP to the Board Members for review at their Millennium Retreat scheduled for December 2-3, 1999. Since it is a time-sensitive item, it would then be added to the December 10 agenda.
    
    Dr. Wallerstein recommended moving Item 2261 – Establish Board Meeting Schedule for Calendar Year 2000, to follow Item 2082 – Minutes of November 5, 1999 Meeting.
    
    
12. Other Business: Committee Chair Glover requested that Mr. Pearce schedule a meeting of the Finance Committee to discuss the signage on the AQMD building.
    
    Dr. Wallerstein presented his Executive Secretary Denise Whitcher with her 10-Year Service Pin and presented Rick Pearce, Chief Financial Officer, with a watch to commemorate his 20 years with the District.
    
    
13. Public Comment: None

Committee Chair Glover adjourned the meeting at 10:31 a.m.

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