ITEM:		CONSENT CALENDAR
7.	CONSIDER AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS TO CONTRACT FOR LIMITED-TERM FIELD POSITIONS DURING FY 2013-2014
Meeting Date:			June 17, 2013		Budgeted:	Included in FY 2013-2014 Budget
From:			David J. Stoldt, General Manager		Program/Line Item No.:	Riparian Mitigations 2-1-3 C/Aquatic Resources Fisheries 2-3-2 B, C, F & 2-3-4 C
Prepared By:				Cynthia Schmidlin	Cost Estimate:	Up to $71,702
General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on June 10, 2013 and recommended approval.
CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: The District has funded limited-term positions to assist District staff in the completion of field activities for many years. These positions are not on the District organization chart and their incumbents are not included in the District bargaining units. The schedules for these positions are part-time and largely seasonal in nature. Contracts are for six-month periods of time or less. However, limited-term employees may be offered subsequent contracts. Funding for these positions is included in the 2013-2014 Fiscal Year (FY) budget.

Authorization is requested to hire one limited-term Field Biology Assistant, for up to 999 hours, during FY 2013-2014. The incumbent of this position will complete riparian habitat mitigation tasks, assist in a variety of Carmel River resources monitoring activities, and provide general project support to Planning and Engineering and Water Resources Division staff. Duties include creating Geographical Information Systems (GIS) maps for public presentations and analysis of trends in the riparian corridor related to groundwater extraction. The Field Biology Assistant would be paid $16.25 per hour and cost up to $18,002.

Authorization is also requested to hire four part-time limited-term Water Resources Assistants. One of the Water Resources Assistants will work up to 999 hours during FY 2013-2014. This position will assist with the District’s fisheries and aquatic resources program. A second Water Resources Assistant would be hired for up to 309 hours of work at the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility from July through December. This position would prevent the accrual of excessive compensatory time and overtime for higher level regular full-time positions. Two more Water Resources Assistants would be hired for a total of 776 hours for reviewing film from the DIDSON camera in the lower Carmel River. This work is the District’s share of a grant to develop a steelhead run-size counting station to replace the existing station at San Clemente Dam, which will be removed within the next two years. The Water Resources Assistants would be paid $14.75 per hour and cost up to $34,100.

Additionally, authorization is requested to hire up several part-time limited-term Fisheries Aides for up to a total of 970 hours of work during FY 2013-2014. These individuals will assist staff in the intensive rescues of steelhead juveniles, smolts and adults in the lower Carmel River that take place during the summer season, as well as performing other fisheries tasks required to prepare for rescues. They may also assist in the release of reared fish from the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility later in the year. The Fisheries Aides would be paid $13.75 per hour and cost up to $14,800.

A final authorization would be for an on-call Fish Rescue Crew Leader for up to 113 hours. The position, requiring a biologist with fish rescue experience and knowledge of electro-fishing technology is necessary for the District to be able to perform crucial weekend fish rescues. The Fish Rescue Crew Leader would be paid $40.00 per hour and cost up to $4,800.

RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the expenditure of funds to hire one limited-term Field Biology Assistant for up to 999 hours of work, four limited-term Water Resources Assistants for up to a total of 2084 hours of work, several Fisheries Aides for up to 970 hours total, and one on-call Fish Crew Leader for up to 113 hours between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014.

IMPACTS TO STAFF/RESOURCES: The total cost of the limited-term contracts described above would not exceed $71,702. Hourly rates have not increased for the past three fiscal years. In fact, the Field Biology Assistant wage has decreased with a newly hired employee. It should also be noted that limited-term employees receive no District benefits in addition to their hourly wages, and additional costs to the District are limited to legally mandated payroll taxes and workers compensation insurance premiums. The FY 2013-2014 budget includes $75,700 for these limited-term field positions. They are listed in the Project Expenditures section, under the Riparian Mitigation Program and Aquatic Resources Fisheries Program.

BACKGROUND:

A. Field Biology Assistant: Since the summer of 1992, the District has hired Field Biology Assistants to conduct biological monitoring tasks for riparian mitigation projects. In addition to assisting with vegetation monitoring tasks, these limited-term employees support staff in all aspects of the irrigation and erosion protection programs. More recently, the Field Biology Assistants have also provided general project support to Planning and Engineering and Water Resources Division staff. This includes assisting in the grant application process by creating maps and tracking trends in the riparian corridor using GIS, as well as monitoring depth to groundwater. It is important that this position is continued through FY 2013-2014. The cumulative impact of shifting their duties to other District staff, or not being done at all, would limit the District’s ability to acquire grants, obtain permits for river activities, analyze and report District data related to riparian monitoring, pursue ordinance violations along the Carmel River, and conduct outreach work with the public and other agencies and organizations. Limiting these tasks would adversely impact the scope and quality of work required by the District’s Mitigation Program. The duties of the Field Biology Assistant are listed in the job description attached as Exhibit 7-A. This employee will work in the Planning and Engineering Division and be supervised by the Riparian Projects Coordinator.

B. Water Resources Assistants: This job classification was created in December 1998 to assist staff in the Water Resources Division with field and administrative tasks, including rescuing of juvenile steelhead in the lower Carmel River, surveying of steelhead spawning habitat, and monitoring of groundwater and surface water resources within the Monterey Peninsula Water Resource System. It is needed to help ensure that tasks for the District’s Fisheries Mitigation Program are completed on schedule. They have also been integral in conducting the California Stream Bioassessment Procedure, developed by the Department of Fish and Game as a rapid bioassessment protocol and method to track overall stream health. Without the assistance of limited-term help, the ability to conduct these tasks would be severely impacted. Additionally, the Water Resources Assistants will support regular staff with lagoon water quality monitoring and grant projects. The duties of the Water Resources Assistants are listed in the job description attached as Exhibit 7-B. These employees will work in the Water Resources Division and be supervised by the Senior Fisheries Biologist.

C. Fisheries Aides: During the past sixteen years, District staff has initiated rescues when streamflow receded below ten cubic feet per second at Highway One. This has occurred anytime between April 1 and September 3. Rescues of steelhead began this year in May. The District will be rescuing and transporting three groups of steelhead, including smolts, kelts (spawned-out adults) and juveniles. The smolts and kelts will be transported downstream to the lagoon or ocean, while juveniles will be transported upstream to the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility or permanent habitats above the Narrows. As rescues have begun earlier than in recent years, additional help will be needed to successfully perform this critical function. If staff attempted to conduct rescues with fewer workers, more fish would be lost because a smaller crew cannot effectively keep up with the number needing rescue and cannot work fast enough to keep up with the retreating river front. Shifting staff to rescues would compromise the maintenance and operations schedule at the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility. It would also increase the risk of on-the-job injuries for people working too strenuously as they attempt to complete two critical jobs in the same period of time. The duties of the Fisheries Aides are listed in the job description attached as Exhibit 7-C. The incumbents of this position will work in the Water Resources Division and be supervised by the Senior Fisheries Biologist.

D. Fish Rescue Crew Leader: The Fish Rescue Crew Leader position was created in 2009, when the District began weekend fish rescues. The regular crew leader and other fisheries staff members qualified for this role are not able to work full-time during the week and also on the weekends. This year is particularly critical with the rescues being performed on both Saturday and Sunday.

EXHIBITS

7-A Field Biology Assistant Job Description

7-B Water Resources Assistant Job Description

7-C Fisheries Aide Job Description

7-D Fish Rescue Crew Leader Job Description

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