REPORT:

Administrative Committee

SYNOPSIS:

The Administrative Committee met Friday, October 24, 1997, and reviewed the proposed agenda for the November 14, 1997 Board meeting. The Committee also discussed various issues detailed in the Committee report. The next Administrative Committee meeting is scheduled for Friday, November 21, 1997, at 9:30 a.m., in Conference Room CC8.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Approve this report.

Norma J. Glover, Chairman
Administrative Committee

Attendance:

Present were Chairman Norma Glover, Vice Chairman James Silva, Richard Alarcón, Mee Hae Lee, Wayne Nastri, and Nell Soto. Michael Antonovich was absent.

Administrative Committee Discussion Items:

1. Status of EPA’s Proposed Standards Regarding Ozone and PM_2.5: Acting Executive Officer Dr. Barry Wallerstein reported that the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) meeting was held October 9-10. Director of Applied Science and Technology, Mel Zeldin, gave a presentation on the preliminary analysis of the level of emission reduction required to achieve the new EPA ozone and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) standards. The District will participate at the FACA meeting in December and future meetings and report back to the Committee. In response to Councilman Alarcón’s request, a report outlining the strategy to address the estimated 2% shortfall from federal sources will be provided to the Committee at a later date.

2. Chairman’s Report of Approved Travel: Unanimously approved.

3. Approval of Compensation for Board Member Assistant(s): None.

4. Out-of-Country Travel: None.

5. Advisory Group Appointments: The Committee reviewed the draft Board letter: Establish Membership of Local Government & Small Business Assistance Advisory Group; Delegate Authority to Make Additional Appointments From Time to Time; and Report of Board Chair Appointment of Replacement Member to AQMP Advisory Group. Under the proposal portion of the draft Board letter, Dr. Wallerstein added the following: "Item D: the Local Government and Small Business Assistance Advisory Group’s duties will include review of those rules most significantly impacting small business and local government." In addition Dr. Wallerstein distributed a draft charter for the Environmental Justice Task Force which described the proposed general structure of the task force. Unanimously approved.

6. Amending Contracting and Purchasing Policy and Contractor Selection Policy: General Counsel Peter Greenwald introduced Sr. Deputy District Counsel Gloria White-Brown who distributed two documents: Proposition 209 Options and Contracting & Purchasing Policy Options. Ms. White-Brown explained the Federal and State Enterprise Zones and the Labor Surplus Areas and identified which cities in the South Coast Basin belonged in those categories. Councilman Alarcón suggested moving forward with analyses of how the District can provide geographical preference points based on economics and offered that pertinent statistics based on economics, not ethnicity, can be obtained from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) data, obtainable from the Census Bureau or the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission. Staff was directed to report back to the Committee at its November meeting with a specific proposal based on CDBG information. Unanimously approved
   
   Staff was directed to follow-up to ensure that the Mobile Source Review Committee be consistent with the District in implementing the Contracting and Purchasing Policy and Contractor Selection Policy.

Staff Recommendations for November 14, 1997 Board Meeting

Recommended for Approval by the Administrative Committee:

7. Execute Contracts for Employee Relations Litigation and Negotiation Services: Sr. Deputy District Counsel Kurt Wiese gave a brief history of this matter and advised that the RFP had been provided to various minority bar associations. He explained that the results of this reissued Request for Proposals (RFP) were similar to the results from the RFP released in March, 1997; namely the recommendation that contracts be awarded to three firms: Gutierrez & Preciado for litigation ($50,000); Best, Best & Krieger for negotiation services ($20,000); and Goldstein, Kennedy & Petito (GK&P) for in-progress employee relations matters in which they have previous experience ($30,000). A handout identified matters being handled by GK&P (which should be resolved by the end of June 1998), and a chart that illustrates the amounts paid annually to GK&P since 1994. The past performance of GK&P was discussed with some members expressing dissatisfaction and requesting that that firm be eliminated altogether. Mr. Greenwald reviewed the RFP process in detail and stated GK&P was the most cost-effective choice for the two in-progress cases only. Mr. Alarcón moved approval of the staff recommendation, and requested staff to provide a report which explains the reason for technical disqualification of the firms which were excluded. Unanimously approved.

   Ms. Soto requested that the motion be amended to provide that the GK&P contract not be extended after its June 1998 expiration. The motion was seconded by Alarcón and failed 4-2, with Ms. Glover, Ms. Lee, Mr. Nastri and Mr. Silva voting no.

1. Execute Contract for Janitorial Services at Diamond Bar AQMD Headquarters: Unanimously approved.

2. Execute Contracts with Additional Vendors to Competitively Provide Short- and Long-Term Systems Development and Maintenance Support: Moved (Lee), seconded (Silva), and passed 5-0, with Mr. Alarcón abstaining.

3. Amend Contract with Stradling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth for Specialized Legal Services: At Mee Lee’s request for further clarification, the Committee was advised that the total cost of this contract over three years was $115,000. Unanimously approved.

4. Recognize and Appropriate Funds from U.S. EPA for Enforcement Strategies for Market-Based Programs Task Force: Unanimously approved.

5. Authorize Purchase of Network File Servers: Unanimously approved.

6. Issue RFP for New Finance Accounting System: Unanimously approved.

7. Issue RFQ to Purchase Fourier Transform InfraRed Microscope and Workstation Upgrade: Unanimously approved.

8. Issue RFQ to Purchase Laboratory-Based Gas Chromatograph with Mass Spectrometry Detection: Unanimously approved.

9. Remove Various Fixed Assets from Inventory: At the recommendation from staff, it was moved to withdraw this item and continue it to the December agenda. Unanimously approved.

10. Review November 14, 1997 Governing Board Agenda:
    Public Comment: John Billheimer, representing the Small Business Coalition, commented on Agenda Item #957, Rule 212 - Standards for Approving Permits suggesting that the District establish a de minimus level to avoid public notification for equipment near schools.

- Advisory Group Appointments, as discussed earlier in the meeting.

- Resolution of support for the reauthorization of the Technology Advancement office, as recommended at the October 24, 1997 Legislative Committee.

- Request to confirm approval of $100,000 for the Californians for Clean Air Progress Campaign which is also being sponsored in part by CARB as recommended by Dr. Burke.

- Placement on the November Board agenda of the election of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the AQMD Governing Board, whose terms are to begin in January 1998, as recommended by Supervisor Antonovich.

- Issue two Requests for Proposals for legislative representation in Washington, DC and Sacramento as recommended at the October 24, 1997 Legislative Committee.

Report on Board Member Travel Authorized by the
Chairman (October 24-November 21, 1997):

Public Comment: None, other than as referenced under the Review November 14 Governing Board Agenda, by John Billheimer.

The Committee meeting adjourned at 11:42 a.m.

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