BOARD MEETING DATE: July 9, 2010
AGENDA NO. 31

REPORT:

Administrative Committee

SYNOPSIS:

The Administrative Committee met on Friday, June 11, 2010. The Committee discussed various issues detailed in the Committee report. The next Administrative Committee meeting is scheduled for Friday, July 16, at 10:00 a.m. in Conference Room CC-8.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

Receive and file.
 

Mayor Dennis Yates, Vice Chair
Administrative Committee

Attendance: Attending the June 11, 2010 meeting via videoconference was Committee Member Marion Ashley. Present at AQMD were Acting Committee Chair Dennis Yates and Committee Member Jane Carney. Committee Chair William Burke, Supervisor Gonzales, and Supervisor Loveridge were absent due to conflicts in schedules. 

ACTION/DISCUSSION ITEMS:

1. Board Members’ Concerns: None.
   
   
2. Chairman’s Report of Approved Travel: None.
   
   
3. Approval of Compensation for Board Member Assistant(s)/Consultant(s): Mayor Yates introduced the Board Member Assistant proposals for Councilman Cacciotti for Allis Druffel, Glen Duncan, William Glazier, and Ron Ketchum.
   
   Moved by Carney; seconded by Ashley; unanimously approved.
   
   
4.  Report of Approved Out-of-Country Travel: None.
   
   

JULY AGENDA ITEMS:

5. Recognize Revenue and Appropriate Funds for PM2.5, NATTS and Enhanced Particulate Monitoring Programs, Recognize Revenue and Reallocate Unspent Funds for PAMS and U.S. EPA Community-Scale Air Toxics Monitoring Programs, and Issue Purchase Order and RFQs: Dr. Chung Liu, DEO/Science & Technology Advancement Office, reported on staff’s recommendation to recognize revenue and appropriate funds for this effort on enhanced particulate monitoring including continued efforts conducted for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
   
   Moved by Carney; seconded by Ashley; unanimously approved.
   
   
6. Issue RFP for Installation and Maintenance of Air Filtration Systems in Wilmington Area Schools: Dr. Chung Liu provided a brief background on this item’s previous review before the Administrative Committee, wherein the RFP was recommended for broader outreach to increase the pool of potential bidders. In response to the Committee’s request, staff learned the low number of bids on the previous RFP was primarily the result of lack of existing data on the effectiveness of the different filtration technologies. Accordingly, staff bifurcated the project to conduct preliminary testing of filtration technologies with UCR CECERT for inclusion in the RFP, thus allowing for a greater number of eligible, qualified contractor applicants under the RFP for the installation and maintenance of the systems.
   
   Moved by Carney; seconded by Ashley; unanimously approved.
   
   
7. Update of Green Team Actions: Jill Whynot, Director of Strategic Initiatives, reported on the activities of the Green Team, which consists of executive management, middle management and line staff representatives from each division. Since the last update in January, the Green Team has met three times, staff have provided some very interesting suggestions, and efforts are currently underway with regard to battery recycling, reducing paper usage, reducing plastics use in the cafeteria, LED lighting projects, and drought-tolerant landscaping plantings. Further discussion by the Green Team encouraged evaluating the replacement of courtyard benches with environmentally friendly products, use of low-VOC janitorial equipment and supplies, and the recommended use of water-saving toilets in bathroom facilities. The Green Team will continue to meet quarterly, update the Committee on future activities and will come to the Board if any of these suggestions would result in significant expense. Upon the suggestion of Committee Member Carney, Ms. Whynot confirmed that AQMD already purchases recycled printing paper for routine printing, and further reported that staff is also working with vendors to minimize packaging.
   
   
8. Proposed Procedures for Mandated Brown Act Cost Reimbursement by the State of California Controller’s Office: Michael O’Kelly, Chief Financial Officer, reported on the Open Meetings/Brown Act Reform Cost Reimbursement Program, which requires the State to reimburse AQMD for costs related to agenda preparation based on one of three methods, Flat Rate, Standard Time, and Actual Time. Based on staff evaluation of the methods for reimbursement, the auditability of the methods, and the low likelihood of actually receiving such reimbursement from the State, staff recommended the use of the Flat Rate method for claiming annual costs of approximately $12,000/year as the most prudent method. Mr. O’Kelly further advised that staff would report on this matter again in February 2011, with a status report and an update on the method for reimbursement. The Committee concurred with staff’s selection of the Flat Rate method.
   
   
9. Appropriate Funds and Authorize Amending of Existing Contract with Special Outside Counsel to Assist with Litigation Regarding SB 827 and AB 1318 and the Internal Bank: John Olvera, Principal Deputy District Counsel, introduced this item to seek approval to amend the existing contract with Bingham McCutchen to add $800,000, allowing the firm to assist AQMD with legal services related to various State and Federal litigation, as well as the CEQA document regarding operation of the internal credit bank.
   
   Supervisor Ashley abstained from voting on this item as Bingham McCutchen was a campaign contributor. Therefore, less than a quorum was present; the Committee Members present expressed their concurrence that this item be recommended for approval by the Board.
   
   
10. Report on Major Projects for Information Management Scheduled to Start During First Six Months of FY 2010-11: Mark Henninger, Technology Implementation Manager, reported on the kick-off of FY 2010-11 major projects for Information Management in the total amount of $1.1 million, not including custom software development activities during that period which will be determined as projects are scoped and defined. Upon inquiry by Vice Chairman Yates, Mr. Henninger reported that a contract for the Chairman’s proposed database project is currently being negotiated.
    
    
11. Authorize Purchase of Electronic Document Management System Upgrade and Migration: The Committee waived the staff presentation and discussion of this item.
    
    Moved by Carney; Seconded by Ashley; unanimously approved.
    
    
12. Authorize Purchase of PeopleSoft and Oracle Software Support: The Committee waived the staff presentation and discussion of this item.
    
    Moved by Carney; seconded by Ashley; unanimously approved.
    
    
13. Authorize Purchase of Off-Site Storage and Destruction Services: The Committee waived the staff presentation and discussion of this item.
    
    Moved by Carney; seconded by Ashley; unanimously approved.
    
    
14. Evaluation of Potential Costs of Expanding AQMD Staff Resources to Include Janitorial Services: Bill Johnson, ADEO/Administrative & Human Resources, reported on the potential of shifting AQMD janitorial services to in-house staff, using comparison labor rates of Los Angeles and Riverside Counties and the City of Riverside, which indicate that the cost to AQMD would approximately double. Committee Member Carney appreciated the staff analysis and understands the recommendation; however, Mrs. Carney reiterated her strong conviction that AQMD should pay a “living wage,” which this competitive bid process would not support. Therefore, Mrs. Carney recommended the matter be referred to the full Board for its consideration on whether to bring the services in-house, absorbing the additional cost, or to refer it out for contract via RFP. With the concurrence of Vice Chair Yates and Supervisor Ashley, the item was deferred to the September 10^th Board Meeting.
    
    
15. Report of RFPs and RFQs Scheduled for Release in July: Mr. O’Kelly advised that this is a written informational report and noted, however, that the Janitorial Services RFP previously discussed was one of the RFPs recommended in the report. With the previous action, Vice Chair Yates moved that the Janitorial Services RFP be held pending Board direction in September, and that the remaining items be approved.
    
    Moved by Yates; seconded by Carney; unanimously approved.
    
    
16. Amend Contract with Cal Poly Pomona Foundation for Additional Funding for Student Intern Contracts: Oscar Abarca, DEO/Legislative & Public Affairs, reported that every year AQMD provides opportunities for Cal Poly Pomona college students to perform an internship; this has proven to be a very positive program for both the AQMD and the students. This program has previously been separately budgeted by each department, coming before the Administrative Committee with sequential requests for separate programs by department. Mr. Abarca advised that this Board item seeks to consolidate such requests into a single contract, places the effort on a common timeline for Board review, and authorizes staff to appropriate funds accordingly.
    
    Moved by Carney; seconded by Ashley; unanimously approved.
    
    
17. Issue RFP for Signature AQMD Video: Sam Atwood, Media Manager, advised that this item is in response to the recent request of Councilman Cacciotti to develop an RFP for a signature documentary video for AQMD. The resulting RFP calls for a 15-20 minute video intended to be of a transformative nature with strong visuals and graphics, as well as having emotional appeal to motivate viewers to take personal actions to reduce air pollution. In addition, Mr. Atwood described the concept of including four “plug-in” videos, which would be shorter videos to be incorporated into the main feature. Each of these “plug-in” videos would focus on the challenges and success stories of the four major regions: Eastern and Western Los Angeles county, the Inland Empire, and Orange county. The RFP is proposed for an amount not to exceed $400,000, and would be funded via a recent Walmart penalty settlement of $2.5 million out of which $950,000 is to be set aside for public outreach projects. Mr. Atwood further reported that the RFP calls for cost-sharing, awarding points for a commitment to provide in-kind services or cost-sharing such as provision of stock film footage. The RFP is proposed for release following the July Board meeting, with proposals due in August, allowing the Administrative Committee to interview the final candidates at its September meeting, and final Board approval of the contractor at the October Board meeting. Discussion followed relative to the benefits of including separate “plug-in” videos for Riverside county and San Bernardino county, rather than a single Inland Empire “plug-in,” given the distinct features and air pollution and environmental justice issues particular to each county. Further discussion followed regarding a possible increase to the RFP/contract amount to provide funding for the additional proposed “plug-in” video; however, the Committee ultimately recommended the RFP for the production of the video include five “plug-in” portions, and be produced at a cost of not to exceed $400,000.
    
    Moved by Ashley; seconded by Carney; unanimously approved.
    
    
18. Local Government & Small Business Advisory Group Minutes for the
    April 9, 2010 Meeting: Anupom Ganguli, Public Advisor, advised that the item was an informational item only; there were no questions by the Committee.
    
    
19. Draft Environmental Justice Advisory Group Minutes of the April 23, 2010 Meeting: Mr. Ganguli reported on a minor amendment to this item, as requested by Dr. Joseph Lyou. Dr. Lyou recommended a revision at the top of page 3, changing: "Ms. Nakamura explained that indirect sources are stationary sources that are indirectly associated with the operation of business," to "Ms. Nakamura explained that indirect sources are sources that . . ." (i.e., remove "stationary" from the sentence). 
    
    
20. Review July 9, 2010 Governing Board Agenda: Elaine Chang, DEO/Planning, Rule Development & Area Sources, advised that the SOx RECLAIM item will move from July to September. The remaining hearing items were not anticipated to generate significant controversy for the July Board meeting.
    
    
21. Public Comment: None.
    
    

Meeting adjourned at 11:44 a.m. 

Attachments (EXE, 138k)

Minutes from the April 9, 2010 Local Government & Small Business Assistance Advisory Group meeting;
Minutes from the April 23, 2010 Environmental Justice Advisory Group meeting