Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California (MVCAC) Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

May 2, 2013

Embassy Suites Ontario 3663 East Guasti Road

Ontario, CA 91761 Attendees D. Andrew Cox, Tehama County MVCD Craig Downs, Contra Costa MVCD Joel Buettner, Placer MVCD Ken Bayless, Greater LA County VCD Matt Ball, Butte County MVCD Erik Hawk, Marin/Sonoma MVCD Leonard Irby, Madera County MVCD Lloyd Douglas, East Side MAD Branka Lothrop, Coachella Valley MVCD Pete Esraelian, Consolidated MAD Staff Catherine Smith, Executive Director Simone Parker, Meetings & Membership Specialist Ralph Heim, Legislative Advocate President D. Andrew Cox called the meeting to order at 8:07 a.m. Roll was called and a quorum was confirmed. President Cox announced that directly after the Board meeting there will be a regulatory and NPDES update. Director Erik Hawk moved to approve the February 6, 2013 Board of Directors minutes as presented; seconded by Director Ken Bayless. Motion carried. President Report No report. Executive Committee Report Director Joel Buettner briefly reviewed the moving forward summary and plan of action. On March 19, 2013 the Board and MVCAC committee chairs participated in a planning session to identify areas of improvement for the association. The group developed three action items:

• Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of current consultant scopes of work and contracts. • Develop evaluation tools for consultants, including evaluation metrics, and methods of conduct evaluation of

consultants. • Define at what level of the organization, consultant evaluations will be done.

Director Buettner requested that feedback be submitted through the drop box by May 13, 2013. The Board hopes to have the final RFP distributed by July for the revised scope of services.

Staff Report Executive Director Catherine Smith announced that all NPDES Annual reports were due on March 1, 2013; to date headquarters has received all but nine reports. The membership was invited to review the printer proof of the 2013 MVCAC Yearbook. Smith briefly reviewed the 2013 conference survey results included in the agenda packet. Smith announced that MVCAC was invited by CASQA to participate on the BMP committee, with representatives from the north and south. Staff was asked to email out a PDF of the yearbook to districts for review before printing. Treasurer’s Report Treasurer David I’Anson reviewed the MVCAC financial statements as of March 31, 2013. He pointed out that the financials currently show a surveillance credit; the credit will be issued to districts in the next month. I’Anson reviewed the MVCAC PBB as of March 31, 2013; pointing out a number of budget adjustments. I’Anson reviewed the 2013-2014 FY Budget as presented in the agenda packet. Given that California state law prohibits charging fees for credit card use, staff and the committee will review how to offset the anticipated $5,000 in fees for 2013-2014. I’Anson reviewed the investment matrix as of March 31, 2013. He announced that one of the bonds will be cashed out to offset the $45,000 expense. Director Bayless moved to approve the March 31, 2013 MVCAC financial statements, MVCAC PBB, NPDES Financial Statements, NPDES PBB and Investment Matrix as presented; seconded by Director Pete Esraelian. Motion carried. Director Leonard Irby moved to approve the 2013-2014 FY budget as presented; seconded by Director Buettner. Motion carried. To date the NPDES Coalition has only spent half off their budget. Director Craig Downs asked if MVCAC expects any outstanding URS bills. The URS bill for the annual report has been received but no other large bills are expected. Trustee Council Report Director Pete Esraelian was happy to report that the entire Trustee Council is present at the Spring meeting. Finance The Finance Committee is currently looking at the MVCAC Administrative Policies and the Investment Policy. The committee is drafting an amendment to the administrative/investment policy to fix a compliance concern. Information Technology Peter Bonkrude announced that the committee will meet today at 3:45 p.m. There are still some issues with downloading the CE files. The committee discussed sending out a simpler salary survey. In addition, they are looking to develop something similar to CSDA for HR files allowing member districts to access the information. Currently there is a HR drop box with some of the Shasta HR files, Pete encouraged that the membership to use the information. Individual Drop Box committee accounts will be developed and distributed. The committee will look at providing GoToMeetings as an option for committees meetings. A written report was submitted by Bborie Park regarding the PART Proposal. Integrated Vector Management Jamie Scott reported that the committee will be meeting at 3:45 p.m. today.

Legislative Matt Ball announced that the committee will meet this afternoon. Public Relations Ada Barros announced that the PR Committee website is currently being finalized; they are working on populating the website with information. The committee will meet today to talk more about the website, legislative day and mosquito awareness week. Training and Certification Charlie Smith reported that the two year CE cycle is due to end on June 30, 2013. The committee has been busy pulling together last minute educational sessions. He reviewed the live and webinar training available this year. The committee held a workshop yesterday to help educate how to use the webinar software. Vector & Vector Borne Disease The committee will meet today. They are going to talk about the adult mosquito report and the current risk assessment model. Dave Brown requested that the committee look at developing parameters on how data was gathered for the Gateway. Executive Director Smith and Committee Chair Susanne Kluh will work together to develop questions for legal counsel regarding data ownership. Vector Control Research Paula Macedo encouraged districts to provide feedback on research needed when the survey is sent. The committee will be talking about the roles of the committee once MRF starts reviewing research applications. Resistance testing will be conducted in June in Sacramento where different districts can conduct testing. Nominating The committee will have a slate of officers to present at the summer meeting. Bayless asked for volunteers to fill the board position. NPDES Alston + Bird re scheduled to meet with the State Water Resources Control Board staff regarding the NPDES Annual reports. At this point, MVCAC NPDES Coalition members still need to monitor application, but no physical monitoring. The State Water Resources Control Board is also looking into how to add new pesticides to the permit. Reeves New Investigator Award No report. Regulatory Affairs Chair Dave Brown gave an update on a number of issues the Regulatory Affairs Committee is reviewing. The committee will be meeting later. Ad hoc RT-PCR/In house Testing Piper Kimball reported that the proficiency panel results, CVEC workshop was very effective and provided great results. Southern

The Southern region met on April 25, 2013, their focus was on the moving forward document. Southern San Joaquin Written report was submitted. Director Irby informed the board that Becky Cline provided feedback on the survey and has been issued to Director Buettner. Northern Written report submitted. Sacramento A written report will be submitted. Matt Ball announced that Sutter-Yuba District Manager Ron McBride will retire in June; Mike Kimball will be the new District Manager. Coastal The Coastal region met on April 25, 2013. A written report was submitted. CVEC William Reisen reviewed his written report included in the agenda packet. CDPH/VBDS Vicki Kramer reported that CDPH has updated the mosquito awareness document, they will be working on the vector borne disease committee; feedback is welcome. They are all set for the West Nile season, the West Nile hotline is up and running. CDOG us working with Yosemite on cooperative agreement for this year and maybe even five years, thru PFHE. CDPH is working on filling two positions in the Elk Grove office. VCJPA Eliminated Medicare; VCJPA can now handle this internally. AMCA A written report was submitted by Becky Cline. CSDA Jon Blegen attended the last CSDA board meeting. A number of legislative bills were reviewed. One bill of interest was AB894. PERS rates are going to double in the next three-five years due to underfunding. It is unlikely there will be any major CEQA reform this year. CCDEH No report. Mosquito Research Foundation Director Downs reported that this is MFR’s third year of providing grants for research. MRF will conduct a national campaign sending out donor letters this year. This year MRF plans to review research applications. New Business Downs informed the board that his agency was responsible for giving back their redevelopment money.

Having no further business to discuss Director Esraelian moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:21 a.m.; seconded by Director Matt Ball. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted by, Simone Parker, CMP Meetings & Membership Specialist

MVCAC Moving Forward

Summary and Plan of Action

April 30, 2013

MVCAC Moving Forward

2

Background On March 19, 2013 the Board and Committee Chairs of MVCAC were invited to participate in a facilitated planning session to identify areas to improve the MVCAC leadership and organization to better meet the current needs of the association. Based on a pre-meeting survey of invitees, “Executive Leadership” and “Regulatory Affairs” were identified as the most important areas to update. Challenges for leadership under the current organization were identified as: Internal Leadership – Consists of annually rotating Board and

Executive Committee; creating limited continuity from year to year for executive and topic-specific committee leadership.

External Leadership –The group expressed the desire to have a consistent outward “face” of the MVCAC that will provide consistency of message and provide a point of contact for other agencies, regulators, legislators, and other stakeholder groups.

Action Items

Action Item Description Document Responsible Party

Deadline

1. Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of current consultant scopes of work and contracts to assess the following:

a. Do they accurately define MVCAC expectations? b. Do they describe how the consultant is expected to report

their services performed as a basis for general reporting and or compensation?

c. Do they describe how expectations will be evaluated? d. Do they describe how performance deficiencies will be

addressed?

Comp Scope DRAFT.xls

Executive Committee, Joel Buettner With input from Board and Committee Chairs

Spring Mtg

2. Develop evaluation tools for consultants, including evaluation metrics, and methods to conduct evaluation of consultants.

Board and/or Executive Committee

TBD

3. Define at what level of the organization, consultant evaluations will be done including but not limited to the following variables:

a. Individual review or committee review? b. Unilateral decisions about performance or group

discussion / decision? c. Who should have input?

Board and/or Executive Committee

TB

The participants agree unanimously that they would like MVCAC to stay on a forward trajectory of growth and improvement regarding how MVCAC conveys its message and engages with regulators and legislators.

MVCAC Moving Forward

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ACTION ITEM #1

Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of current consultant scopes of work and contracts to assess the following:

a. Do they accurately define MVCAC expectations? b. Do they describe how the consultant is expected to report their services performed as a

basis for general reporting and or compensation? c. Do they describe how expectations will be evaluated? d. Do they describe how performance

deficiencies will be addressed?

PROBLEM STATEMENT Currently, the scopes of work for contract services hired by the MVCAC are in need of review and updating to include more specificity about contractor expectations, reporting requirements, and method of evaluation. This action item will review and revise all the scope of work items for all contract services together. The recommendation of the facilitator was to identify the entire scope of work needed by the MVCAC, then parse out “who does what” as a secondary process. The goal is to more clearly understand and articulate the specific needs of the Association, then look for the most effective and economical way to meet those needs. STATUS The Executive Committee has asked Joel Buettner to compile a preliminary draft comprehensive scope that addresses the items in Action Item #1 by the Spring Meeting (May 1). This preliminary draft will be posted to a DropBox folder which will allow the Board and Committee Chairs to provide input and feedback to the draft.

MVCAC Mission Statement To provide quality public information, support comprehensive mosquito and vector-borne disease surveillance, support training to high professional standards, and provide effective legislative advocacy on behalf of California mosquito and vector control districts.

MVCAC Moving Forward

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ACTION ITEM #2

Develop evaluation tools for consultants, including evaluation metrics, and methods to conduct evaluation of consultants.

PROBLEM STATEMENT The evaluation standards for contractor work are currently not consistently applied. The recommendation is to adopt an evaluation tool that clearly identifies standards of work, reporting expectations, evaluation metrics, and a clear process for evaluating contractors. It is further recommended that the evaluation process be included as part of all service contracts. STATUS The facilitator suggested looking at other similar-sized organizations in order to see if there was a contractor evaluation process that could be adapted for use at the MVCAC. As the comprehensive scope is fleshed out including evaluation standards for each scope item, we will be better able to select an appropriate evaluation method. The goal is to have an evaluation process selected and integrated into prospective contracts by June 2013.

MVCAC Moving Forward

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ACTION ITEM #3

Define at what level of the organization consultant evaluations will be done including but not limited to the following variables:

d. Individual review or committee review? e. Unilateral decisions about performance or group discussion / decision? f. Who should have input?

PROBLEM STATEMENT Currently, there is no formal assignment of who is responsible for consultant evaluations. While a very open process has been used in the past where all members were asked to provide input via a survey or during a board meeting, it was recommended by the group that while input was helpful, a formal evaluation that considered input from the membership in addition to formal performance standards and metrics was more effective. The goal is to identify who in the MVCAC member leadership (board, executive committee, officers, etc) should be responsible for conducting consultant evaluations. STATUS In the context of whatever evaluation process is selected in Action Item #2, MVCAC leadership needs to assign individuals responsible for delivering evaluations to each consultant to ensure terms of their contracts are being met. It was discussed that those designated as evaluators should include input from the membership, committees, and others in order to evaluate specific criteria defined in the evaluation process.

MVCAC SOUTHERN REGION, SPRING QUARTERLY MEETING Thursday, April 22, 2013

10:00 a.m.

Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District 43-420 Trader Place

Indio, CA. 92201

Minutes

1. Call to order: Branka Lothrop, Southern Regional Representative, called the meeting to order

at 10:00 A.M. Roll Call: All attendees gave their name and affiliation (List attached)

2. Announcements: Branka Lothrop (CVMVCD) announced that emails would only be sent to

managers and that managers should forward to whomever they deem necessary.

3. Approval of Minutes: Min-Lee Cheng (WVMVCD) moved to approve the minutes. Ken

Bayless (GLACVCD) seconded the motion. The minutes were approved.

4. Approval of Additional Agenda Items: The “Proposal to Monitor Susceptibility to Microbial

and Insect Growth Regulator Larvicides in Southern California” was added to the agenda.

Branka Lothrop (CVMVCD) reported that it was not an actual proposal, just the background on

what needs to be done. She requested it be moved to the lab directors of the Southern Region to

review and have them bring back to the Southern Region Managers. Steven Su (WVMVCD) will

initiate contact and email to lab directors to put together an actual proposal.

Suzanne Kluh (GLACVD) added that the Dr. Reisen Proposal still needs to be funded. A few

Districts have pledged contributions; $26,000 is needed. She will be sending an email to lab

directors to help move the item forward.

5. Moving Forward Report: Branka Lothrop (CVMVCD) reported that all documents, in regards

to the Moving Forward Report, can be found in the dropbox. While it was acknowledged that

the reports are very well put together and Joel Buettner did an excellent job, it was concluded

that the report needs more specific timelines defining exact times of project accomplishments,

and that those specifics would help better define expirations, reporting requirements and

methods of evaluation for external Executive Leadership of the association. Min-Lee Cheng

(WVMVCD) concurred that the report needed to be specific. Ken Bayless (GLACMVCD)

commented that a timeframe is need and that it needs to be more specific of what real

expectations are. Branka Lothrop (CVMVCD) inquired what stance should the southern region

take. Everyone should give input but the final evaluation should come from the executive body.

Contract should give details and have a specified scope of services. David I’Anson (CVMVCD)

stated that Mosquito and Vector Control Association Administration Manual should spell out

how to prepare a report and should be used for all. Ken Bayless (GLACMVCD) stated that,

general guidelines should be in the Manual, however each individual contract should be given

details and have a specified scope of services. Jared Dever (OCVCD) inquired if Smith &

Moore was considered the face of the Mosquito and Vector Control Association. Branka

Lothrop (CVMVCD) stated that, at the Moving Forward meeting, it was specified not to focus

on the “face”/ Smith & Moore, but to define and list what the association wants and how to get

there before determining who will be the face of the association. Jared Dever (OCVCD)

commented that they should hire someone who is respected and well known. Everyone was

directed to submit any comments to Branka Lothrop (CVMVCD) by 4:00pm, Tuesday, April

30th. She will summarize and report them at the Board of Directors Meeting.

6. 2013 Yearbook: Jared Dever (OCVCD) stated that the new yearbooks had been printed and

contained the same mistakes as the previous year. Branka Lothrop (CVMVCD) responded that

it would be looked into. Crystal Moreno, Administrative Assistant from CVMVCD, contacted

Justin Lewis, who indicated that 2013 Year book has not been printed. It was recommended that

the Public Relations Committee suggest a better way how to present the list of key staff from

each district that is listed in the Yearbook and to include that information on the website.

2013 Conference Review: Jared Dever (OCVCD) recommended that MVCAC adopt the same

technology that AMCA uses for their conferences, to make it easier to navigate where sessions

are located. Min-Lee Cheng (WVMVCD) liked the idea of cutting out the banquet and having a

luncheon instead. Jared Dever (OCVCD) recommended adding an additional day to the

conference to be able to take in more concurrent sessions. Ken Bayless (GLACVCD) stated that

because locations are chosen years in advance adding a day isn’t possible. Branka Lothrop

(CVMVCD) recommended cutting down on the plenary session to make more time for the

concurrent sessions.

California Stormwater Quality Association: (CASQA): Ken Bayless (GLACVCD) nominated

Mark Daniels (GLACVD) to serve as the Southern California Liaison.

7. MVCAC’s Treasurer Report: David I’Anson (CVMVCD) gave a brief update. Min-Lee

Cheng (WVMVCD) inquired what the reserves were. David I’Anson (CVMVCD) responded

$870,000. Min-Lee Cheng (WVMVCD) inquired if the Districts will have to pay towards the

NPDES Coalition. David I’Anson (CVMVCD) responded that current indications are that they

would not have to.

8. Trustee: Doug Walker (CVMVCD), southern region representative, stated that the Trustee

Council is trying to compile a list of all of the District’s trustees. Their goal is to get contact

information and names of all Trustees. Branka Lothrop (CVMVCD) asked Truc Dever

(GLACVCD) to add that to the PR Committee and possibly make that information available to

all Trustees at the MVCAC website/Members only.

9. District Reports: Mark Daniels (GLACVCD) reported recent control efforts in San Gabriel

County and will be looking at what works well and what doesn’t and will be sending out a

report with their findings. Robert Cummings (OCVCD) reported that the SOVE journals have

been put into PDF version and will be available on the SOVE website. Jeremy Wittie

(CVMVCD) reported that a warrant has been obtained to deal with neglected pools. He also

reported that, at a meeting with the County Public Health Department, the County stated that

they were not aware of West Nile Virus Awareness week and that hopefully they will be

informed earlier next year. Jared Dever (OCVCD) reported that they have already had positive

human cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Pacific Coast Tick Fever. Dottie Merki

(RivCo EHS) reported that a rodent has tested positive for Hantavirus and two of their

technicians are retiring. Min-Lee Cheng (WVMVCD) reported that ERMA is doing very well

and they are looking into returning money to the Districts. Branka Lothrop (CVMVCD)

inquired if the terms of the Executive Committee should be extended to two years. Min-Lee

Cheng (WVMVCD) responded that it should not since it is really a five year commitment. Ken

Bayless (GLACVCD) concurred and stated that it would be a disservice to the Districts since it

requires a lot of time.

10. Reports from Other Agencies: Renjie Hu (CDPH/VBDS) gave a West Nile virus update and

reported that there has been one positive dead bird detected in Los Angeles. He also reported

that CDPH has been sending out tweets all week in regards to West Nile Virus Awareness Week

and that interactive maps, regarding ticks and hantavirus, will soon be available on the CDPH

website.

11. Adjourned at 11:55 P.M.

Attendees

Mark Daniels, Ops. Director, GLACVCD

Min-Lee Cheng, Director, WVMVCD

Truc Dever, Director of Community Affairs, GLACVCD

Steven Su, Vector Ecologist, WVMVCD

Jared Dever, Dir. Of Communications, OCVCD

Suzanne Kluh, STD, GLACVCD

Doug Walker, Trustee, CVMVCD

Jeremy Wittie, Sci. Op. Manager, CVMVCD

Ken Bayless, GM, GLACVCD

Dottie Merki, Staff, Riverside Environmental Health Services

Robert Cummings, Lab Director, OCVCD

Branka Lothrop, GM, CVMVCD

David I’Anson, AFM, CVMVCD

Jill Oviatt, PI Manager, CVMVCD

Call In

Kenn Fujioka, DM, SGVMVCD

Mitch Weinbaum, DM, Compton Creek MAD

Kelly Middleton, PIO, SGVMVCD

Jason Phillippe, DPH San Bernardino County

Sarah Biliter, CDPH/VBDS

Renjie Hu, Supervisor, CDPH/VBDS

Joe Burns, CDPH/VBDS

Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California

Northern San Joaquin Region Meeting

April 25, 2013

Meeting Minutes:

The Model Region met at an undisclosed location, in or near Modesto, CA and was called to order at 9am. Present: Ed Lucchesi and John Fritz of San Joaquin County MVCD; Lloyd Douglass of East Side MAD; David Heft and Roger George of Turlock MAD; Greg Hebard of Saddle Creek CSD; Mike Niemela of CDPH The region discussed the agenda items for the upcoming MVCAC Spring quarterly meeting in Ontario, CA. All agenda items were discussed and approved.

• Ed Lucchesi reported on the status of the legislative committee and upcoming legislation.

• John Fritz reported on the NPDES status. • David Heft reported on the regulatory affairs committee issues. • Mike Niemela reported on surveillance and activity data throughout the State. • Every manager present discussed issues regarding their district.

There being no further business, meeting was adjourned as if nothing ever happened. Submitted by Lloyd Douglass

AMCA Report Notes – May 2013

Legislative Relief for NPDES: We are still fighting to get legislative relief from

the duplicative NPDES Permit requirement for applications of pesticides to Waters

of the US. On March 4th

a group of bipartisan lawmakers introduced H.R. 935, the

Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2013. This bill would amend FIFRA and the

CWA to clarify Congressional intent and eliminate the NPDES permit

requirement. This is the same bill (H.R. 872) that passed the House last year and

then stalled in the Senate.

On April 23rd

, Senators Kay Hagan and Mike Crapo introduced a companion bill in

the Senate. This bill is also the same as one introduced last year . I don’t have a

bill number yet. We will keep you updated.

On May 7th

, we will be in Washington D.C. talking to our legislators about this

issue and these bills. We will leave every option on the table (including the Farm

Bill) to try to get this language adopted into law.

We still need your input and your help. Joe Conlon, Dave Brown, Ed Ruckert and

others continue to try to make the argument that we need legislative relief from the

NPDES Permit requirement. And we do need legislative relief because this is

going to get worse in the future. Those other states haven’t seen anything yet….

We have asked all of you for information regarding the impacts that the new

NPDES requirement has had on our ability to continue to perform your job. We

have had very little response.

I realize that most of us did not respond because we felt that the impact was really

not significant at this point or else we were just too darned busy to get to it. In

reality, the impact has been substantial nationwide when you total it all up. Even if

each entity that is now required to have a permit was impacted by only a few

hundred dollars, the total would be in the billions.

So, if you haven’t done so, please take a little time to figure out how much this

permit cost you during the last season. Include your dues to the coalition, your

time to do all the paperwork to actually apply for the permit, your time to develop

forms and databases, your time to train your field staff, your extra fuel to do those

post treatment visual checks (before they were discontinued) and everything else

that came along with this permit.

When you do this, you will find that most of you really did have a substantial cost

and everyone had some cost. So, even if your cost was only $200, please let us

know because all of those $200 costs add up to a huge cost nationwide.

Ultimately, every penny (including your time) spent on this permit is a penny

diverted from your real job.

Get that information to me or to Joe Conlon as soon as you can. THANK YOU!

Renew your AMCA Membership: It is time to renew your AMCA Membership.

When you do, please consider upgrading to a sustaining membership. The

sustaining membership dues help to fund our legislative advocacy program.

Become a Member: If you are not currently a member of AMCA, please consider

joining. The benefits are many and the cost is low.

Customized materials: AMCA and Fairfax County have partnered to provide

customized materials for your agency. You can order calendars, children’s books,

brochures, posters and more, all with your logo and agency/district information

printed on them.

Budget now for the 2014 Annual Meeting: Our Annual Meeting will be back on

the West Coast! It is a little earlier than normal so put the date on your calendar

now! Details will be posted on the AMCA website as they become available: http://www.mosquito.org/annual-meeting Seattle, Washington.

Feb. 2 - 6, 2014 at the Sheraton Seattle

$157 per night

Upcoming Annual Meetings:

2015 Annual Meeting: New Orleans, Louisiana.

March 29 – April 2, 2015 at the Hilton New Orleans

$169 per night / single or $189 per night / double

2016 Annual Meeting: Savannah, Georgia.

Feb. 7 - 11, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency Savannah - $163 per night single /double

OR – Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa - $219 single/double

2017 Annual Meeting: San Diego, California.

Feb. 13 - 17, 2017 at the Town & Country Resort and Convention Center

$179 per night, single/double

Meetings dates shift from Sunday – Thursday to Monday – Friday in order to

accommodate the vendors.