|
COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE |
||||
|
|
||||
|
3. |
Review Committee Charge,
Meeting Procedures, and Committee Report Development/Format |
|||
|
|
||||
|
Meeting Date: |
February 6, 2007 |
Budgeted: |
N/A |
|
|
|
||||
|
From: |
David A. Berger, |
Program/ |
N/A |
|
|
|
General Manager |
Line Item No.: |
||
|
|
||||
|
Prepared By: |
Same |
Cost Estimate: |
N/A |
|
|
|
||||
General Counsel Approval: N/A |
||||
Committee Recommendation: N/A |
||||
|
CEQA Compliance: N/A |
||||
SUMMARY: The District’s newly-formed Citizens Advisory Committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting on February 6, 2007 to review and consider various organizational and procedural matters. This report contains information District staff has assembled related to the Committee’s assignment (or “charge”) from the Board of Directors; meeting procedures that I’m proposing in my Board-assigned capacity as Committee chair; and District staff’s recommended approach for the Committee to gather factual information and develop its report to the Board that is due by September, 2007. The next item on the Committee agenda (item 4) will cover the proposed meeting schedule. During this initial Committee meeting there will be no substantive discussion of the alternative water supply projects that the District Board has asked its members to study.
RECOMMENDATION: The Citizens Advisory Committee Members should discuss and provide their input, as appropriate and needed, on each of the topics listed below. Endorsement of proposed Meeting Procedures and Decorum Rules (Exhibit 3-C) is requested.
BACKGROUND: The remainder of this report is presented in the sub-item order shown on the February 6, 2007 Citizens Advisory Committee meeting agenda.
A. Citizens Advisory Committee
Charge
The District Board decided to form a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), and adopted its charge (Exhibit 3-A), at the December 11, 2006 Board meeting. The Board ratified each of the Directors’ two appointments to the CAC at its January 25 meeting (Exhibit 3-B). Please note that the CAC Charge is specific and narrow: The CAC assignment is to meet monthly to review each of the seven water supply projects contained in the District’s Comparative Matrix of Water Supply Options (Matrix). In each of its monthly meetings, the CAC would use the Matrix as the basis for discussion of facts and information needed to prepare a report to the Board summarizing its members’ comments on the seven projects, including relative advantages (or merits) and disadvantages (or drawbacks) of each project, in terms of its capability to address the Monterey Peninsula’s water supply need. In addition, District staff proposes that each project proponent be requested to make a brief presentation and answer CAC member questions. The adopted charge directs the CAC to refrain from making a recommendation on any of these projects, nor does it allow for other topics to be addressed by the CAC. The Matrix can be downloaded from the District website at: http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/asd/board/boardpacket/2006/20061016/13/item13.htm. District staff will distribute copies of the Matrix to each CAC member at the February 6 meeting, and provide a brief overview of its structure.
B. Meeting Procedures and
Decorum Rules
As noted in its charge, the CAC is considered a “legislative body” under the State law that regulates meetings of elected and advisory committees of local public agencies, i.e. the Ralph M. Brown Act. As required by the Brown Act, the agenda for this initial--and all future, CAC meetings will be publicly noticed so that citizens can attend, observe and comment. Also, the Brown Act forbids a majority (i.e. eight or more) of CAC members from communicating in between meetings by e-mail, if such communication could result in a collective consensus on any matter related to the CAC charge.
The CAC charge assigns the District General Manager the responsibility to serve as CAC Chair; and my role is limited to facilitating CAC meetings to ensure that they run smoothly, efficiently, and in accordance with the Brown Act and the Board’s adopted CAC charge. I will not offer opinions regarding the advantages or disadvantages of any Matrix-listed project, nor on substantive aspects of the CAC report to the Board. As Chair, I intend to facilitate CAC meetings in accordance with standard public meeting conduct and parliamentary procedures (Exhibit 3-C), and will expect CAC members and citizens to adhere to those procedures, in order to ensure that appropriate decorum is maintained consistently during meetings.
C. Agenda Format and Meetings
Schedule
District staff has developed a proposed agenda format for each monthly CAC meeting in which a Matrix-listed project would be presented and discussed (Exhibit 3-D). This agenda format will need to be modified for the subsequent meeting(s) when the CAC will be discussing and deciding on its report to the Board.
District staff also has developed a proposed CAC meeting schedule (Exhibit 3-E). The order of Matrix-listed projects shown on the schedule is based on those that will require relatively less preparation by project proponents being presented earlier, and those requiring greater effort being scheduled later. For example, Phase 1 of the District’s Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project is now under construction; and limited information is currently available on future ASR phase(s) currently in early discussion with California American Water. Conversely, the Seawater Conversion Vessels (SCV) project is shown last, due to the fact that the District Board has not yet decided to engage an independent, expert analysis of SCV, similar to that which the District obtained last year on the three desalination projects. District staff proposes that CAC members send to staff in advance of the next scheduled meeting, any initial questions they identify, either from the Matrix or other materials, regarding the water supply project scheduled for presentation at that next meeting. Staff will forward these questions to the project proponent, in order to assist them in providing timely and complete responses at the CAC meeting. The proposed schedule shows the proposed deadlines for CAC members to provide initial questions to staff. Proponents’ written responses to additional questions that cannot be answered at the meeting would be provided to CAC members by mail.
D. Approach to Developing Report
and Report Format
One of the key process issues for the CAC to discuss on February 6, is the most efficient and effective method for CAC members to generate and document their individual opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of each Matrix-listed project. District staff is proposing that CAC member advantage/disadvantage opinions initially be expressed orally during the respective meeting during which that project is presented and discussed. Each CAC member would be responsible for forwarding her/his initial, written comments on each project to District staff for compilation, by the dates indicated on the meeting schedule (Exhibit 3-E). Committee members could later send to staff their revised or additional, advantage/disadvantage comments, if they obtain new information subsequent to the CAC meeting at which a particular Matrix-listed project is discussed.
Following the July meeting on the last of the seven Matrix-listed projects, CAC members would hold two meetings to develop and finalize its report that is due to the Board for review at its September 17 regular meeting. The CAC should discuss and decide at the February 6 meeting how it intends to draft and finalize its report. For example, it may wish to assign a sub-committee (Brown Act limits to not more than seven members) to develop the draft report. District staff has prepared a suggested table the sub-committee could use to compile comments submitted by individual CAC members (Exhibit 3-F). To further assist in this process, staff has prepared a suggested outline and format for the report that the CAC should initially discuss at the February 6 meeting, if time permits (Exhibit 3-G).
E. District Staff Support
In addition to serving as CAC
Chair, the charge directs me to provide appropriate staff support. I’ve assigned the District’s Planning &
Engineering Division, led by District Engineer
3-A Community Advisory Committee Charge
3-B List
of CAC Members
3-C CAC
Meeting Procedures and Decorum Rules
3-D CAC
Agenda Format
3-E Proposed
CAC Meeting Schedule
3-F Table
for Compiling CAC Member Comments on Matrix-listed Projects
3-G Suggested
CAC Report Development Approach and Format
3-H Action Minutes Sample Format
U:\staff\word\committees\CAC\2007\20070206\item3.doc