BOARD OF PORT COMMISSIONERS
REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY – March 14, 2007
MINUTES
I. CALL TO ORDER
CALL TO ORDER: 8:00 A.M., Chairman Jack Castle, presiding.
Commissioner Garcia led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Commissioners Present: Larry R. Aikins; Ralph A. Garcia, Jr.; Secretary Richard A. Dodge; Vice Chairman Lewis D. Miller; Chairman John J. Castle
Commissioners Absent: None
Staff Present: Executive Director Michael J. Giari; Special Counsel to Port, Francois X. Sorba; Director of Finance & Administration, Cynthia D. Hampton; Manager of Operations, Donald K. Snaman; Manager of Economic Development, Steven Wright; Assistant Manager of Operations, Eric Napralla; Executive Assistant, Rita Artist
At this time Chairman Castle moved to Item III. CLAIMS, followed by Item IV-A, RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE CITY OF REDWOOD CITY 2007 SUMMER CONCERT SERIES.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
A Motion to Approve Minutes of Regular Meeting of January 24, 2007 was made by Commissioner Dodge and Seconded by Commissioner Miller. Commissioner Garcia abstained and the motion passed by a unanimous voice vote of all commissioners present at the January 24th meeting.
A Motion to Approve Minutes of Special Meeting of February 21, 2007 was made by Commissioner Garcia and Seconded by Commissioner Miller. Commissioners Aikins and Dodge abstained. The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote of all commissioners present at the February 21st meeting.
At this time Chairman Castle moved to Item IV-B, RESOLUTION APPROVING SIXTH AMENDMENT TO SUBLEASE AGREEMENT – (Portside Investors – Phase I Lease Agreement) – (EXP PRODUCTIONS, INC.) and continued through the rest of the Agenda items in sequence.
III. CLAIMS:
A Motion to Approve Claims was made by Commissioner Dodge and it was seconded by Commissioner Aikins. The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote of all Commissioners present.
IV. RESOLUTION
A. RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE CITY OF REDWOOD CITY 2007 SUMMER CONCERT SERIES
Executive Director Giari explained that Warren Dale, Chairperson of the Civic Cultural Commission, was unable to attend today’s Port Commission meeting and requested that the Board postpone action on this item until a future meeting. Mr. Dale would like to be present in order to give a short presentation and be available to answer any questions the Port Commissioners might have. Chairman Castle passed on this item.
At this time, Chairman Castle returned to Item II., MINUTES. (Refer to Item II above.)
RESOLUTION
B. RESOLUTION APPROVING SIXTH AMENDMENT TO SUBLEASE AGREEMENT – (Portside Investors – Phase I Lease Agreement) – (EXP PRODUCTIONS, INC.)
A Motion to Adopt was made by Commissioner Garcia. It was seconded by Commissioner Miller. The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote of all Commissioners.
RESOLUTION
C. RESOLUTION APPROVING STANDARD SUBLEASE AGREEMENT – (Portside Investors – Phase I Lease Agreement) – (PERITUS PRECISION TRANSLATIONS, INC.)
A Motion to Adopt was made by Commissioner Miller. It was seconded by Commissioner Aikins. The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote of all Commissioners.
V. PRESENTATION:
By John Bruno, Redwood City Industrial Saltworks, LLC
Click here to view the powerpoint presentation for this item
John Bruno, Vice President and General Manager of Redwood City Industrial Saltworks, explained that RCIS is a new company formed by Cargill and DMB Associates of Scottsdale, AZ. Cargill owns the 1433 acre site east of Highway 101 and adjacent to Seaport Boulevard. Cargill will be closing their salt making operation on this site over the next couple of years and is conducting a comprehensive community outreach to determine future uses of the property. Bruno explained that this is the last large track of land in Redwood City and that RCIS is engaging in a host of activities to elicit the thoughts, ideas, and suggestions of Redwood City residents in order to identify community goals for this industrial site. More than 4,500 responses have been made and they have received hundreds of ideas for future use including: parks and recreation facilities, schools, a variety of housing, trails, open space, transit and transportation improvements, and more.
Bruno commented that DMB Associates has a lengthy track record of developing community-based partnerships and creating sustainable, legacy communities, each tailored to reflect the public’s goals and values. They are committed to community outreach and feedback; and, together with Cargill will ascertain the community’s needs and priorities for this land.
Commissioner Miller commented that housing was mentioned as a possible future use for the site and stated that Redwood City now, even with recycled water, is over their water allotment from Hetch Hetchy. Miller asked if they had considered how to find water for housing. Bruno responded that they are aware that water is an issue in Redwood City and explained that since they do not have a plan or project at this time, they have not focused on specific demands and needs. DMB will institute best practices when it comes to sustainability so that they are able to be very conscientious about the demand on any resources required.
Chairman Castle commented that the Port Commission is very interested in a buffer and suggested that they have future discussions about a buffer for the Port.
VI. PUBLIC COMMENT:
Clem Molony, employed by Lyngso Garden Materials and resident of Menlo Park, thanked the Port for its community contributions in past years. He said that he is on the Board of Directors for the Sequoia Y.M.C.A. and that over 2,000 students in 10 Redwood City elementary schools are receiving fitness training activities as part of their afternoon curriculum, which is funded by donations to the community’s sport campaign. Molony explained that the Port has traditionally supported the Y.M.C.A. programs and requested that the Commission consider doing so again this year.
Mr. Molony, as Secretary of the Seaport Industrial Association, reported on a presentation made to SIA members last September by one of John Bruno’s associates. SIA members subsequently discussed the idea of a buffer and land use planning principles, which emphasize that incompatible land uses should not be adjacent to each other. Commercial uses would be appropriate. A minimum 1,500–2,000 foot buffer along Seaport Boulevard was suggested. SIA members had many diverse opinions on the use of the property.
VII. MATTERS OF BOARD INTEREST:
Chairman Castle thanked Commissioners and Cynthia Hampton for their participation in the Sequoia Awards, at which $120,000 in scholarships was awarded to 26 students. Castle praised the quality of the interview process and the manner in which the students responded. During the past 16 years the scholarships have increased from $500 to $120,000 annually.
VIII. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Click here to view the staff report for this item
A. Executive Director Giari reported that full scale excavation of contaminated soil at the LBT began on Monday. Over 126 truckloads have been hauled away during the past two days and they are continuing at a rate of about 60 truckloads per day.
Don Snaman, Manager of Operations, gave a status report on the LBT Clean Up Project. He reported that all of the above-ground tanks were disposed of as recyclable shredded scrap metal at the SIMS Metal Richmond facility. Nearly 50,000 gallons of hazardous wastes contained in the pipelines and small tanks contents were recycled at a facility in southern California. Crushed concrete rubble was disposed as rip rap at the newly constructed Westpoint Marina. Over 150,000 gallons of groundwater and nearly 5,000 gallons of free product has been treated and discharged. This activity removed a significant portion of the free product and source of potential nuisance odors. URS, as the Port’s engineer, has been supervising and overseeing the operations for conformance with the work plans and compliance with health and safety regulations. They also have been taking confirmation sampling to make sure that the remaining material in the ground is clean enough to remain behind.
Snaman stated that the most sensitive issue to date has been nuisance odors from the free product in the trenches and potholes. URS has been performing air monitoring; and, although there were odors, there were no instrument readings taken to indicate office tenants were being exposed to hazardous levels of organic compounds. The Port, Cleveland Wrecking Company, and URS worked with DTSC and drafted a Fact Sheet that was distributed to all office tenants and others on the Public Participation Plan contact list.
In the contract documents oily wastewater had a bid quantity of 5,000 gallons. Potential contractors were informed that the pipelines were assumed to be full of liquid oily wastes. In fact, the pipelines, filters, and small tanks had a capacity in excess of 75,000 gallons. There resulted 42,913 gallons of additional volume over the bid quantity of 5,000 gallons, which caused an increase in the overall cost of the contract of approximately $100,845.
Snaman explained that Cleveland Wrecking is to perform all characterization sampling for the disposal of contaminated soil. The results of the sampling have indicated that most of the soil will be acceptable to a Class II landfill, Forward Landfill, in Manteca, CA. However, the disposal and transportation costs are higher than the Class II Altamont Landfill rate, which was quoted in their bid. Although there will be a change order for an increase in disposal costs, Cleveland has managed the disposal costs so that there should be no net increase for all soil disposal from the site.
Another change order that Cleveland is pursuing is for increased labor costs for the removal of hard packed solid wastes in pipelines during demolition. The contract documents indicated the presence of liquid oily wastes. In fact, some of the pipelines were full of dry, caked solids that required additional subcontract labor.
Snaman estimates that they have approximately another four weeks of excavation, backfill, and grading to complete. There is a request from Cleveland to give them some extra days due to a delay in getting the sewer permit and the grading plan from the City. However, there is no increase in the contract price so it does not present an issue to allow the extension.
Snaman closed by saying that Commissioner Miller has been attending weekly progress meetings to better understand the challenges of the project and that there has been significant progress made to date at the LBT.
Commissioner Dodge asked where the fill will come from once the excavation is complete. Snaman responded that there are a couple of quarries that have suitable material and Cleveland is trying to find some nearby sites to use instead of a quarry source.
Commissioner Garcia inquired as to whether or not these costs would be covered by the original $10 million bond and asked for an accounting of how the bond funds were used. Giari replied that most of the proceeds from the $10 million bond were used for the removal and treatment of the 10 million gallons of hazardous waste left in the tanks. The $1.6 million contract that we have with Cleveland is being paid for from the Port’s reserves.
Chairman Castle commented that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is being paid to put dirt onto Bair Island. Giari responded that it seems to him that if the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service can use fill material from an excavation to restore a salt water marsh that will have Bay waters flowing over it, then the Port should be able to use the same material to fill an excavation at the LBT. Snaman’s memo, included in the documents for this agenda item, includes additional information.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT
B. Executive Director Giari reported that on Monday, March 12, the Port distributed a Notice of Determination for a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Eagle Rock Aggregate Terminal Project that will be located on the LBT site. The draft document has been completed and after its 30-day review by the agencies and interested parties, the MND will be brought before the Board for consideration by the end of April.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT
C. Giari also reported that the Tall Ships, Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain, are visiting the Port. They have had good publicity, good weather, and their visit has been very successful with 4,600 school children from the Peninsula scheduled for educational tours, and additional tours open to the general public. The ships will be at the Port through Monday, March 19. For further information visit www.historicalseaport.org or call 1-800-200-LADY.
Commissioner Dodge commented that he had taken two of his grandchildren on a Battle Sail aboard the Lady Washington. He was impressed with how the ships could maneuver in practically no wind at all and learned a great deal about sailing. With much enthusiasm the children were allowed to handle the lines and all found it to be very interesting. Commissioner Dodge highly recommended going on one of the Battle Sails.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
At 9:09 a.m. Chairman Castle requested that the Commission adjourn to its next regularly scheduled Meeting of March 28, 2007. The Meeting was adjourned by unanimous voice vote of all Commissioners.
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