[0:01] All right, let's call to order the Board of Directors workshop meeting, the Illinois Empire Utility Agency. Denise, will you please conduct a roll call?

[0:10] Yes, Dr. Camacho.

[0:12] Dr. Hofer. Dr. Tulay.

[0:15] And President Eli.

[0:16] Here.

[0:19] All right,

[0:21] let's go to the Flagselu Planning and Environmental Compliance Intern, Cathy Cordoba.

[0:26] We'll lead us in the Flagselu today.

[0:28] May

[0:31] in the pledge of allegiance, are they begin?

[0:34] I pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic of which is passed.

[0:41] Well, nation, under God, indivisible.

[0:44] With the reading and justice.

[0:46] Thank you.

[0:48] Thank you.

[0:52] Any public comments?

[0:54] I did not receive any request for public comment.

[0:56] And there's no outside callers on the line.

[0:59] Okay.

[1:00] Any additions to the event?

[1:01] Kevin Marty.

[1:02] There are no.

[1:03] There are no.

[1:03] Okay.

[1:04] Great.

[1:04] Let's go to action item 1A.

[1:06] Approved joint exercise of power's agreement to join.

[1:09] Celebrity in a water in power of 30.

[1:11] Kevin, Marty, whoever's saying with.

[1:14] I'll handle this one, Mr. President.

[1:16] But before the board today is a proposed joint powers agreement for I.E. way to join as

[1:23] a member of the San Bernardino water and power authority.

[1:26] This is a public financing entity that was created earlier this year in April between the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and Fender Gap Mutual Water Company.

[1:42] As the board may recall on July 15, the board approved a resolution expressing intent to participate as a member in this joint powers authority for purposes of putting forward projects to raise finances towards power related projects, water related projects, things of that nature.

[2:09] So as such, we can just join the JPA blindly, we have to be invited, and we have to make

[2:17] sure that the terms and conditions are palatable, so since the approval of this intent

[2:23] to join, we have been effectively invited, and the terms and conditions are identical to

[2:31] initially presented to the board. As such, staff's recommendation is for the board to

[2:39] authorize signature and execution of the joint powers agreement and join and

[2:45] authorize the general manager to sign on with no substantive changes and I'm

[2:52] happy to answer any questions. Questions? No questions but I want to thank our staff

[2:59] for bringing this to us in a timely manner.

[3:02] We've seen some things now in the state.

[3:04] Most recently, there's going to be,

[3:05] we see our utility bills are going to go up

[3:07] because the utilities are now,

[3:10] they're really going to come to Welfare mitigation and things.

[3:12] So the cost to this agency overall, I think,

[3:15] although that's not directly related,

[3:16] we'll have an impact.

[3:18] And so the fact that we're going out

[3:19] and exploring these potential opportunities

[3:21] for cure our own energy, our fantastic,

[3:24] and I really want to thank Staff for bringing

[3:25] this to us in the timely manner.

[3:32] I don't know if you mention it, are there others that are joining, and that was at the top.

[3:41] Currently, it is the county, San Bernardino County, the Fender Gatmuchua Water Company,

[3:47] and I don't know that there's been a formal joiner of anyone else yet, but I think that others are very interested in planning to move forward shortly.

[3:57] Is the representative here that is, I know there was a name on it that was kind of spearheaded

[4:04] with the San Bernardino County. Is that representative here?

[4:08] Not that I'm aware of today.

[4:11] So just for the board's information, I'm informed that at least two other entities are planning

[4:17] on putting it on their agenda this month, Victor Vali, and probably San Bernardino

[4:26] I'll make a motion to a proof stop recommendation.

[4:29] OK, we'll take it back.

[4:31] Let's see as our second.

[4:32] I'll second the motion.

[4:34] Go ahead.

[4:35] There.

[4:36] Is there like we will be a part of structuring it and will there be something where we would have

[4:44] to pay at any point in time or which is waiting till these contracts are developed and then we

[4:50] will be at the table, the impartial formative, is that so it works.

[4:55] So it will, the entity will be governed by a board, a board of directors.

[5:00] Actors comprised of the members. So the Board President of IUA will nominate a member to serve on that board when it's time to get everything together and get the ball rolling right now.

[5:12] We're trying to get more members incorporated at this time. So I don't know how often the board is meeting, but we will have a vote at the table and it will be a project basis. So it's it's volitional. It's opt-in opt-out.

[5:27] The members of this JPA that join are able to terminate and leave if they don't want to operate.

[5:36] And the only thing that would hold you back is if you owe money, you've participated in a project and you still have an outstanding debt.

[5:44] I have a question for you, Kevin.

[5:47] What is the resources of staff that you see that may be engaged?

[5:52] As a good question, so the way we've sort of been playing this one is basically, we will

[5:58] staff up once we, once we establish if we're going to go down that path, so you're aware we're

[6:02] doing the energy study right now. As soon as those energy studies come back, we're going to end

[6:08] in, so the energy study is going to tell us a little bit more about sort of the direction we're

[6:11] going to go with our energy consideration. This JPA allows us the option for financing of some of

[6:18] equipment and other things through that, as we consider projects, one of them might be that

[6:22] type of a project. We would actually staff up at that time, and also we would actually want

[6:28] consultant help on that as well just because we need that experience with the energy markets

[6:33] in those type of things. Is it impact, is there be an impact to the budget? Not to the but not to

[6:48] considered now the road is having it part of that JPA, right? So it's sort of like we do with the IERCF,

[6:56] where we have a staff that's tied to a specific, let's say, if it instead of composting, it would

[7:02] be for energy. So it would be a separate staff for that.

[7:08] Thank you.

[7:12] One, one, I add to that.

[7:13] So in the energy, during the energy study with that identify, I'm sure it'll identify opportunities

[7:18] is where this JPA could be beneficial to IEUA?

[7:23] The study that we have right now is not telling us exactly that, but we can add that to

[7:29] that if we need to.

[7:30] Thank you.

[7:32] And I think we had talked about identifying possible pockets or energy pocket loads or things

[7:37] that could potentially impact our operation long term.

[7:40] So if we can incorporate, I know there's some subland that we have that we could possibly

[7:45] here with the JPA, and what that would look like, but if we could look at that, maybe that

[7:50] would be a benefit to us as well.

[7:51] Yeah, the idea that we have is, is to look specifically at if we were going to generate our

[7:56] own power from our own gas, as a separate entity, this financing approach would allow us either

[8:03] to bring in operations, sort of, like, your question, separate of ours, could we just don't

[8:07] have the staff to run a power plant, if you will, for example, we would need to staff up and

[8:12] build up that organization to be able to do that.

[8:14] The other thing is, is we would be looking at our own land as a potential option for where to put that with this potential option for this JPA.

[8:24] So, most of the JPA right now is mostly from a, is mostly to support a financing option, where you can bundle financing opportunities together, and potentially in our case, be in a position to actually bundle together, for example,

[8:38] in the county with us, where we may be able to supply them power if we have excess from our gas

[8:44] or if we have excess capability to generate power here locally, and it's needed.

[8:50] It's something called Edison indicates that they're in need of power in this area.

[8:54] So if we could generate power from our bile gas, then it would be a great option for us.

[8:58] And that would help us as to our bile gas that we're flaring at.

[9:03] And then the windmill that will make our way, that we are not getting value from.

[9:07] So we'll be able to be part of maybe consideration.

[9:12] Yeah, I mean, I don't know.

[9:14] The big picture for us is we want to get value for our bio gas.

[9:18] We're not doing that right now.

[9:19] This provides us that opportunity to be able to, you know,

[9:22] to look at ideas or options for our bio gas to be able to do this.

[9:26] Was this the only option that was presented to us and we going with it or whether

[9:30] are the options that we were considered through the study at all?

[9:35] This is this this was not part of the study from that standpoint. So I don't think there was this this is an option it has come forward to us through San Bernardino County.

[9:46] And then like you'd say it's invite only type of a situation but knowing that us Victor Valley some of the other ones that have very similar gas production issues.

[9:54] And same thing right the city of San Bernardino Riverside all of them where we have this excess bio.

[10:00] We're not getting any value for it. This right now is just an idea to see if there's a way for us to get value for that, and reduce our actual power costs, and ultimately our rates to our customers.

[10:11] Would you see the timeline for us to be? How long, you know, joining us as part of

[10:18] JPA, them inviting others and being online, being prepared in a year from now to or...

[10:25] I don't believe it. I don't believe it. I don't believe it. I don't believe it.

[10:27] We have a schedule. We don't. We do not have a schedule for that. Director Halls did this point.

[10:32] Okay, thank you. Kevin, is it fair to say that staff believes this is a potential opportunity

[10:39] that will develop as the next few months go by.

[10:43] Yeah, yeah, I think over the next year for sure, it'll give us a chance, so at least see

[10:48] if there's a way to jointly finance larger scale energy production from the bio gas within

[10:55] the region.

[10:56] That's ultimately objective, and if we can help our rates to be honest with you.

[11:01] And there could be other opportunities that we're not aware of yet that the county and

[11:04] or the others in all of their working on.

[11:06] Correct.

[11:07] Okay.

[11:07] Thank you.

[11:08] Any other questions?

[11:11] All right.

[11:12] We have a motion in a second, all in favor.

[11:15] Aye.

[11:15] Any opposed?

[11:16] Distain.

[11:17] Extain.

[11:18] Did you note that, Denise?

[11:20] Okay.

[11:20] Thank you.

[11:24] All right.

[11:24] Workshop 2A engineering update.

[11:29] All right.

[11:29] This morning, we're going to have acting manager of engineering.

[11:32] Julianne for Beesio.

[11:33] Present this item.

[11:34] Good morning, Julianne.

[11:41] Good morning, President Eli and members of the board.

[11:43] My name is Julian Ferbizio, Acting Manager of Engineering, and today I'll be presenting the engineering update.

[11:52] So first we'll take a look at our performance over the 25-26 fiscal year.

[11:59] This is for the entire department, which includes the Engineering Unit, the Asset Management Unit, and the Chino Basin Program.

[12:05] So, on the left side of the slide, you have the budget performance.

[12:10] So the department spent $98 million or 63% of our $154 million budget, in the middle of

[12:19] the slide, you have the project schedule.

[12:22] So of our 72 active projects, we had 48 projects on time, 17 pending resolution and 7

[12:28] behind schedule.

[12:30] And to the right, we have our project completion.

[12:33] This last fiscal year we completed 15 projects which was one more than the previous year and we currently have three projects in substantial completion.

[12:45] So this is a recent picture of our staff allocations within the engineering department.

[12:50] So from the previous slide where you saw the Capital Improvement Program execution rate of $98 million this was actually supported by the 63 staff here in the first two columns,

[13:01] which is represented by the four units,

[13:04] engineering, asset management,

[13:06] Chino Basin Program,

[13:07] and our administration's administrative services.

[13:11] I would like to point out that for the Chino Basin Program,

[13:13] while we have three full-time employees,

[13:16] they are supported in partnership with Jacobs Engineering

[13:19] as you know, which is not,

[13:21] they're not represented on here.

[13:24] In addition and unreported support

[13:26] that we also have at RP-1 and RP-5,

[13:29] our two largest projects is supported by our K-DIS.

[13:34] In addition, the Department Mentors 18 interns and this provides development and training

[13:40] opportunities for engineering students.

[13:43] And then we have nine-baked positions.

[13:45] This has been a unique time for us in the department due to retirements and movement throughout

[13:51] the department.

[13:53] All nine of these positions are actively in recruitment and will be filled by the end of

[13:57] fiscal year. And once those positions are filled, the department's total staffing level will

[14:04] be at 90 positions.

[14:10] Every cap of our Kia accomplishments the last fiscal year for the unit, the engineering unit

[14:15] itself. We had 10 goals that we achieved, but I just want to highlight the top three.

[14:22] We expanded our member agency outreach and coordination with our consultants and contractor

[14:28] outreach and we did this through we had a couple of IUA open houses. We participated in construction

[14:34] network quarterly events as well as participation in networks. So we had an increase in our

[14:40] industry engagement and competition and you may have seen them seen this evident in our recent

[14:47] more actions that have come through over the last months. We've had a lot of increased numbers in

[14:55] proposals. So one of those examples that we presented was the emergency incident.

[15:00] Small Project Construction Master Services Contract. So on that one, we received 37 submittals and 14 of

[15:08] those 24 qualified contractors that were awarded were actually new to the agency. So this is kind of a picture

[15:15] of the outreach and the effect that's having on our projects.

[15:20] Just a comment. I appreciate that very much because one of the issues I've identified over

[15:27] years is that we tend to use the same people over and over and there are a lot of qualified

[15:33] people out there. So Kudos to you all for getting all the more additional interest, if you

[15:40] will.

[15:45] Second on the list, we improved our partial project close-out process for capitalizing

[15:51] our assets as the inter-beneficial use and this allows depreciation to begin promptly and

[15:57] And this is important because it improves our timeliness and our accuracy when we do our financial

[16:02] reporting.

[16:04] And third, we improved our capital call cash flow performance metrics to more realistic forecasting

[16:13] and this lengthens our financial planning as we move forward helps our finance department.

[16:19] And we'll see some of the results of this on the next slide.

[16:24] So again, this is for the engineering unit itself.

[16:26] This is our monthly cash flow projections versus our actual spending over this last fiscal year 2526.

[16:35] This is actually different than the first slide that you saw which actually reports are spending related to the budget.

[16:44] So this is spending related to our projections.

[16:48] So the purpose of tracking this metric is to have accurate project expenditures,

[16:53] and it allows the agency or the finance department specifically to keep our investments earning interest

[16:59] longer while ensuring that our projects are project funding is available when we need it.

[17:05] So, the blue bars here represent our cash flow projections and the green bars show actual expenditures.

[17:10] The goal is to have the two match as close as possible.

[17:14] So, for the first two quarters of the fiscal year, our cash flow projections were they were estimated

[17:19] optimistically and our actual expenditures were less than what we're projected.

[17:26] So for the first six months of the year, we had an average execution rate of 61%.

[17:32] So we kind of went back as a department worked with our teams to refine the process

[17:38] for 1.4 and we were able to improve our execution rate to 88% for the second half of the year.

[17:47] I just would like to mention also that we had our recent cash flow report for August, and we were at 103% for execution, so that was a good win for us.

[18:00] Overall for the department, though, we executed 77 million dollars or 74% of the 104 million dollar capital call for the year.

[18:11] So looking ahead to 26 fiscal year 2627, this is for the entire department, so all units were projected to deliver

[18:21] $140 million of capital work. This is actually $14 million less than last fiscal year, so this is a little bit more realistic for us based on our current staff and capacity.

[18:31] The engineering unit itself represents the largest share with a $109 million project to

[18:37] be spent over the year, and I'd like to point out that approximately $63 million of

[18:43] that is actually allocated to three projects, which is RP5, the expansion project, our RP1

[18:57] So we have some significant investments being made for our projects to improve our infrastructure.

[19:08] Overall, this spending plan aligns with our tenure capital improvement plan.

[19:15] Our goals for this coming fiscal year really primarily is to improve our project execution rate of our critical projects.

[19:22] So, focusing on our budgets, and our schedules, and our cash flow projections, and utilizing

[19:29] our project controls, which you actually saw recently as a board item that came, these

[19:36] consultants will help us with our forecasting and our reporting, our estimating and our scheduling.

[19:41] So we'll be working with them to strengthen these metrics.

[19:45] In addition, we do want to focus on our staff development, providing opportunities, training

[19:51] opportunities for their growth and expansion, developing some key performance indicators

[19:58] to track our project.

[20:00] Proverbs and implementing accountability metrics for not only our staff but our consultants and our contractors.

[20:10] So now we'll highlight 2 projects for you here. The first one is the Wineville and the Groupour Force Main and Problance project.

[20:18] So this project is the six of 7 projects identified in the Recharge Master Plant update, and this is completed in partnership with the June basis of Watermaster.

[20:27] So, the purpose of these projects is to capture stormwater flows that would otherwise leave

[20:33] the region and divert the flows to support groundwater recharge.

[20:37] So, for the wineville basin project, the project constructed a new 30-inch pipeline that

[20:43] connects wineville and heropopasins.

[20:46] They install the new rubber dam, which is shown in the center of picture, and they build

[20:50] the new pump station with two new pumps to maximize the stormwater capture for the groundwater

[20:54] recharge, which is the picture on the right.

[20:58] And for her rubble basin, the project

[21:00] improved the diversion structure from the Sands of In-Channel

[21:02] and expanded the existing pump station with an additional pump

[21:06] for the same purpose of capturing storm water

[21:09] and conveying it to RP3.

[21:12] So for this project, it was 100% funded by Gino Basinwater

[21:15] Master and the project also utilized grant and state

[21:19] revolving fund financing with reimbursements

[21:22] made to the agency.

[21:23] So, this project was completed before the grant deadline of March 30th earlier this year.

[21:29] I would also like to mention that soon you should all be getting a save the date invitation

[21:34] for the ribbon cutting for this project, which is scheduled for November 10th.

[21:43] And our second project to highlight?

[21:46] Thank you.

[21:48] Question on this one.

[21:50] I know our stormwater catcher tends to be relatively low.

[21:53] I think 9-12 percent is what we tend to catch a year over here.

[21:58] Do you know what the impact would be?

[22:01] I know it's hard to tell, right, because every season is a little bit different, but

[22:04] do we have estimates of what we anticipate this will contribute to our basin in terms

[22:10] of that percentage?

[22:12] I don't have the answer to that, but I will go back.

[22:15] It's probably another question for water, as far as I was just curious, and I know it's

[22:19] something that we've been trying to work towards as a region for a long time, and just curious

[22:23] if we can track how this is going to benefit us in the future.

[22:27] Just on a follow-up, I see, we're project closed out, so is it operational or when will it be,

[22:33] so that?

[22:34] Okay.

[22:34] Is it as operational?

[22:35] They're protecting this crazy storm this weekend, so who knows?

[22:39] All right.

[22:39] Thank you.

[22:45] So our second project, which is the RP-1 secondary system rehabilitation project.

[22:50] So, for this project, the existing parks and diffuser panels have reached the end of their useful life.

[22:57] They know they're no longer being supported by the manufacturer.

[23:01] And so, what's critical about these diffusers is that there are key component in our iteration process

[23:07] and they remove nutrients from our wastewater and it's essential for us in order to meet our permit requirements.

[23:12] So the scope of this project primarily is to replace these panels with SSI disk diffusers,

[23:20] which is shown on the right, and this is currently standardized across the agency.

[23:25] They're currently operational at RP4 and RP5.

[23:29] While we're in the basin doing this work and it's offline and the flows are being diverted,

[23:37] we will also be replacing other critical equipment that is at the end of their useful life.

[23:41] So this will include valves, actuators, mixers, and analyzers.

[23:46] So this project is currently in the final design phase.

[23:50] The 90% design submittal is completed.

[23:52] So we're working towards 100%.

[23:57] And that concludes my presentation.

[23:58] I can answer any questions.

[24:05] Thanks.

[24:14] All right.

[24:14] Acting manager of Human Resources, Sheila.

[24:16] As far as a human resources officer,

[24:18] Maggie West and Baker Tilley project director,

[24:21] Annie Rose, a favor.

[24:23] We'll present this item.

[24:47] Good morning, President Eli and members of the Board.

[24:51] I'm Sheila Sparza, Acting Manager of Human Resources, and today's presentation will

[24:55] be a collaborative presentation with Maggie West, HR Officer.

[24:59] and

[25:00] Our consulting partner, Baker Tilley, who has been working closely with the agency to assess our workforce needs, and develops strategic recommendations that are reflected in the workforce development plan that will be presented today.

[25:14] Today's discussion is centered on how the agency is proactively preparing for the future of its workforce through workforce master planning, which recognizes people as a critical component of agency's long-term infrastructure strategy.

[25:28] The agency plans for a critical infrastructure, technology, facilities, and capital assets.

[25:35] The agency workforce should be planned with the same intentionality.

[25:39] The workforce master planning is about ensuring IUA has the people infrastructure necessary

[25:44] to support long-term service delivery.

[25:47] The master plan is supported by three coordinated initiatives, and today's presentation will

[25:53] highlight each initiative in its role.

[25:57] Workforce Master Planning is about ensuring agency has a workforce needed to support agencies' infrastructure.

[26:05] The integrated staffing plan focuses on workforce capacity, helping us understand what resources are needed to meet future demands.

[26:12] The classification and compensation study focuses on workforce structure by ensuring positions are organized in the way that supports operational effectiveness, employee growth and market competitiveness.

[26:24] The workforce development plan focuses on workforce capability by preparing employees through training, leadership development and succession planning.

[26:34] Collectively, these initiatives form the foundation of the agency's people, infrastructure strategy,

[26:40] and help ensure we are prepared for future workforce needs while continuing to deliver reliable service to our communities.

[26:48] The first major milestone is a workforce development plan which was finalized in August.

[26:54] The plan establishes a long-term strategy for attracting, developing, and retaining the talent needed to support agencies' workforce needs.

[27:03] Additional details on the plan and its key recommendations will be discussed in the following slides.

[27:09] Building on that foundation, the integrated staffing plan is intended to provide a comprehensive agency-wide assessment of current and future workforce needs.

[27:18] While every effort was made to maintain the original project schedule, the strategic importance

[27:24] of the work and the value of incorporating meaningful input from a costly organization

[27:29] warranted additional analysis and engagement over the past several months, department

[27:38] managers, senior leadership, and consultant team have participated in extensive discussions

[27:44] to evaluate organizational priorities, operational interdependencies, and long-term staffing needs.

[27:51] This collaborative approach has helped ensure that recommendations are well informed,

[27:56] strategically aligned, and reflective of the agency's delivery needs. The plan is

[28:01] anticipated to be finalized later this year and incorporated into the agency's upcoming

[28:06] cost-of-service study. The final phase is the classification and compensation study.

[28:11] The classification component is anticipated to be completed in March 2027, followed by the compensation analysis which will be completed in March 2028, marking the end of the project.

[28:24] Together, these efforts will help ensure positions are appropriately structured, clearly defined, and competitively aligned with labor market, supporting the agency's ability to attract and retain a high performing workforce.

[28:37] The integrated staffing plan focuses on workforce capacity, and it helps ensure agency

[28:44] evaluate what resources are needed to not only sustain service levels, service levels,

[28:50] but also respond to future demands.

[28:53] The findings from the integrated staffing plan will also serve as a key input into the agencies

[28:58] of coming cause of service study, ensuring future workforce needs are considered a long

[29:04] side long-term financial planning and service delivery requirements.

[29:09] As a result, the recommendations from this effort will be incorporated into the broader

[29:14] agency planning framework rather than being presented as a standalone board action item.

[29:20] I will now turn it over to Maggie West Human Resources Officer to provide an update on the

[29:24] classification and compensation study.

[29:35] All right, good morning President Eli and members of the board, my name is Maggie West Human Resources

[29:40] officer. As discussed earlier, the classification and compensation study represents the

[29:46] organizational structure component of the workforce master planning and helps

[29:51] ensures positions are organized in a way that supports operational effectiveness,

[29:57] employee, development, and long-term system.

[30:00] Signability. Since our last update in August, we have continued to advance the study and are currently in the department review phase.

[30:08] Proposed classification recommendations have been shared with agency leadership and are being refined through collaboration with directors and department management to ensure they reflect operational needs and organizational priorities.

[30:22] While the timeline has extended beyond the original estimate, the additional time ensures that classification structures support the agency's long-term needs and provides a strong foundation for the next phase of the project the compensation study.

[30:38] The classification phase remains anticipated for completion in March of 2027 at which time the

[30:46] project will transition into the compensation phase with overall completion anticipated for March

[30:51] of 2028. I will now transition to an update on the workforce development plan which focuses

[30:57] on the capability components of the workforce master planning.

[31:03] The workforce development plan has now

[31:05] and finalized. And we are pleased to present the completed plan and strategic roadmap

[31:10] developed in partnership with Baker's Tilly. At the, as the workforce capability component

[31:17] of the agencies workforce master planning efforts, the plan focuses on ensuring employees

[31:21] have the skills, leadership development opportunities and succession strategies needed to support

[31:28] the agency's future workforce needs. Guide it by stakeholder input and organizational analysis,

[31:34] the planning includes recommendations for talent development, recruitment and retention,

[31:39] leadership development, succession planning and knowledge transfer.

[31:43] I will now turn the presentation over to Annie Rose from Baker Tilley.

[31:57] Good morning, President Eli.

[31:59] Members of the board.

[32:00] Thank you so much for your time today.

[32:02] I'm really looking forward to sharing more on this important project.

[32:07] So, in terms of this, the purpose of this work,

[32:10] As has been mentioned earlier, this project was really designed to take a comprehensive look

[32:15] at the agency's current workforce development activities, understand where the current

[32:20] strengths, where the challenges gaps and help to fill those in.

[32:24] And so this really focused in on succession planning, career ladders, employee development,

[32:30] talent pipeline, and that long-term workforce sustainability.

[32:36] In terms of the deliverables, there were five different pieces that we were working on here,

[32:40] but it really began with this needs assessment,

[32:43] where we were looking to understand the current landscape

[32:47] where again, where there are risks,

[32:49] where there are opportunities for improvement.

[32:52] And I will share a little bit more in detail

[32:54] some of the recommendations that came out

[32:56] of that needs assessment in one slide here.

[32:59] Once we got through the needs assessment,

[33:01] then the project really transitioned

[33:02] into practical application.

[33:05] We wanted to develop a succession planning toolkit,

[33:08] recommended guidelines and guidance around career ladders that can be developed, workforce

[33:14] development committee charter to help refine the purpose and use of that group as well as

[33:20] all of this culminating into an full implementation plan because there's a lot of different pieces

[33:24] here and we wanted to put them all together and have them in a phased approach so that you can be

[33:30] tackling that over the next couple of years here. So I'm going to share more on each one of these

[33:37] starting with the recommendations from the Needs Assessment

[33:40] and Voila that pink is coming across real bright today.

[33:44] So we have kind of four areas

[33:46] that our recommendations were grouped into.

[33:48] The first is on recruitment and talent pipeline.

[33:51] And the Needs Assessment resulted in these recommendations

[33:54] that are all very interconnected with each other.

[33:58] So we wanted to present them together here.

[34:01] In terms of the recruitment and talent pipeline,

[34:03] there are certainly opportunities

[34:05] to be more intentional about understanding which recruitment activities are really producing useful

[34:11] results for the agency. There's a ton going on in this space. You have a really fantastic team doing

[34:16] this work, but we want to be a thoughtful and strategic about how those resources are being used. So that's

[34:23] one that I would highlight there. There's also more of a focus on building talent internally through

[34:28] more structured things like establishing an apprenticeship program, other more structured cross-training

[34:35] opportunities, particularly for specialized roles where it's going to be very difficult to just

[34:40] hire someone directly into those positions. If, for example, that role does not have a higher education

[34:49] program that would directly feed into it in a very obvious way. So we also speak in the recommendations

[34:55] about identifying some of those positions themselves.

[35:00] In terms of training and development, the recommendations really emphasize leadership, development, power skills, and a lot of the work that would be needed to help ensure that as leaders are coming up through the agency that they are getting that understanding of the organization wide perspective.

[35:18] You have a ton of folks who are real specialists in their particular departmental area and their technical function.

[35:23] So, a lot of the training opportunities are around how do we bring in that coordination and make sure that it's happening in a non-silode way.

[35:32] The assessment also identified career ladders and employee development as areas where we could provide some more structure.

[35:38] Again, this is happening. This work is certainly taking place across the agency, but recognizing that some more structure and some more tools will help ensure that employees are having really consistent experience in those areas.

[35:52] In terms of our second set of recommendations, these were focused on succession planning and organizational effectiveness.

[36:00] And the major recommendation here is to establish an agency wide succession planning program.

[36:06] Again, there is certainly succession planning happening within individual departments, different leaders have this in mind.

[36:12] It's not that this is an area that's been forgotten in any way, but we want to have more structure around that and more consistency.

[36:19] And so I'm going to talk a little bit more on the next slides about some of what that looks

[36:24] like, especially within a public sector setting.

[36:27] In terms of organizational development, we also really wanted to recognize and this will

[36:32] be a theme that you'll hear in a couple different places, but workforce development is not

[36:37] an initiative that is owned solely by HR.

[36:40] This is really an organization wide activity and we want to be thinking about how we're building

[36:45] the structures to make sure that we're supporting that. And the workforce development committee

[36:50] is meant to be this cross-functional body that brings together representatives from across the

[36:55] entire agency to help support this work and make sure there's strong communication happening there.

[37:01] So I'll talk a little bit more about that charter and how we are working to expand and develop that

[37:07] group a little bit further. And then finally, it could not end this without really recognizing the fact that

[37:13] are you have a team that is very mighty and has a ton on their plate and this work is going to

[37:20] add more to that plate and so we really want to recognize and balance between how do we ensure

[37:26] that we're moving this work forward while also doing that within the capacity of in particular

[37:32] your HR staff but also all of the other members of staff that are going to have to engage in this work

[37:37] and so I'll speak to that a little bit more when we talk about implementation planning.

[37:43] So, succession planning, the first thing that I want to highlight here before we talk about the planning process that we did co-developed with the HR team is that succession planning is not about cherry picking a particular individual to go into a particular role.

[38:03] That is absolutely not the focus of public sector's succession planning.

[38:08] Succession planning is really about workforce readiness and employee development,

[38:14] so that when a role opens up, you have a really strong pool of internal candidates

[38:19] who are all potentially prepared to step into that.

[38:22] So again, the focus is very much unemployed growth rather than picking individual candidates for a role.

[38:29] So this process starts in general by identifying high priority positions that we need to be focusing on.

[38:37] Because you can't do succession planning for every single role within the agency, it wouldn't be a good use of resources.

[38:44] So we start there with a scorecard to understand what are those rules that are going to be very difficult or a high risk if they are open.

[38:52] Then we move through to think about what are those course skills and competencies that would be needed to be very successful in that role.

[38:58] And then we evaluate your talent pool, and that's when we're really understanding within our current folks that we have available who could potentially move into this role,

[39:08] where are they today, and what would they need to do in order to get to that next level so that they're really well prepared?

[39:14] And that's where those career development plants come into play.

[39:17] And then that moves into implementation planning, making sure that there's some very tangible actions and outcomes to help those employees develop.

[39:25] And then it becomes this continuous cycle where you're tracking that employee growth and reporting out on these efforts.

[39:32] So you'll see here this is very much meant to be a cycle and meant to be a continuous process.

[39:38] But the thing I want to stress is that again, we're not looking for a list of successors.

[39:42] That is not the end goal here. We are looking for a deeper, more prepared talent pool.

[39:47] And that's what all of this process is set up to do.

[39:51] As part of that, we developed a planning toolkit that ideally can be used in a collaborative

[39:58] process between your...

[40:00] HR team and the departments that they are working with to go through this process. So these tools are developed to help identify again what are those roles, what are the means here in terms of particular skills understanding what your current pipeline strength is and then going into that career development and implementation planning.

[40:24] Finally, there is a reporting element to this as well, so we have a sample dashboard here

[40:30] around making sure that especially when things are coming back to this group or to other senior

[40:35] leaders within the agency, we have a good sense of where are we at in terms of upcoming retirements

[40:40] preparation, some of those items, so that you can be seeing this holistically across the agency

[40:46] rather than just positioned by the position or department by department as well. So these tools will

[40:53] that repeatable process that HR and the departments will be able to go through on a regular basis.

[40:59] So who, for example, besides HR, would have access to this dashboard that you're just showing here?

[41:06] Yeah, so in terms of the dashboard, I imagine that HR will be really in charge of ensuring that the data

[41:11] is going into that dashboard, but we've certainly seen that done in agencies where that can be shared fairly

[41:17] broadly because it is an aggregate of data. So there's no particular employee name listed on that

[41:24] or anything like that, so it should be able to be shared. So, answer, is this dashboard actually implemented

[41:30] yet or now that this is a suggested dashboard? It is a suggested dashboard, but we know that all of

[41:35] the data is available, so it's figuring out the process to make sure that it can get to data.

[41:40] Because it's a delicate balance as to who it's available to, right? I mean, you want people

[41:46] to understand what the process would be and then to succeed and move up in the organization.

[41:51] But you also don't want a two-wide spread that, you know,

[41:55] A gets confusing and B is not really, this too much information for some people.

[42:01] Yeah, absolutely. And I would say for that report, it is very high level.

[42:06] So it really wouldn't, I don't think, be super meaningful data to an individual staff member beyond the general

[42:14] of kind of like water or retirement trends looking like across the agency as a whole, that type of thing.

[42:19] In terms of the rest of the planning tool kit though, one of the important things to note

[42:23] is that this is meant to be done in collaboration. So it's not we drop the tool kit off with

[42:27] the department, the department does this on their own. This is meant to be collaboration where you

[42:32] have your HR experts who are working directly with the department to help them go through this process

[42:38] and to ensure that it's going to be consistent and fair and all the rest of that and get

[42:43] useful meaningful results for the agency too.

[42:46] So the toolkit itself will be something that will be really

[42:49] held by department leadership and HR.

[42:54] Vice President, I had a question on this one, but I think.

[42:57] OK, sorry, so I understand with the aggregate of the information,

[43:01] but what I'm seeing here is that there's also a succession

[43:03] profile in career development plans that may be offered to the

[43:06] individual, employee themselves, and as they complete.

[43:10] Yes, so when we get to the career development planning place,

[43:13] that again starts with the department directors and department leadership, but then obviously that will

[43:19] be eventually communicated out to those individuals of saying and having those important career

[43:23] conversations as part of annual performance management. So those tools would fit into some of

[43:30] your current processes there. Thank you.

[43:36] Great.

[43:39] I wanted to briefly touch on career ladders as well

[43:42] because one of the things that came up in the needs assessment is that there are certain roles

[43:46] within the agency that have very clear career ladders in terms of how to move up, and there

[43:51] are certain positions where there is a lack of clarity or there's many, many different possibilities

[43:56] in terms of how someone could move within the vertical of their department or even horizontally

[44:01] across the agency as well into other roles within other areas.

[44:06] And so as part of that, we wanted to both put together a process for how to identify when career ladders

[44:12] need to be developed, as well as focus in and develop specific career ladders for some of

[44:17] those high priority positions. So we worked with the department feedback and HR to identify

[44:23] some of those roles that really lacked clarity around where could this role go, and also thinking

[44:30] about how important is it for a particular roles to be able to see the future. So for example,

[44:36] when we're thinking about employee retention, this is a really important piece that we want to

[44:40] in there in terms of saying this is this is where your future could be within the agency.

[44:46] We assigned priority ratings to each of those roles and then for the top priority ones,

[44:51] we identified is there any current career ladder or idea of positions that we could be basing this

[44:56] on, and are there other ideas of who to go?

[45:00] What we could bring into that career ladder. We did utilize some of the initial information from the class

[45:05] and comp work that is ongoing as well because there will be an element of that work that will help support when we're thinking about as someone moves up the formal structure of how those rules will be put into place.

[45:17] And then we've put together a series of career ladder recommendations for specific roles with the goal that as we get those fully implemented and put into branding for the agency itself.

[45:29] that that will be something that can be shared out with staff,

[45:33] it's who are in those positions,

[45:34] and staff that might be interested in this information,

[45:36] so that again, we can start seeing a lot more

[45:39] of what are those future pathways within the organization.

[45:45] I talked a little bit about the Workforce Development Committee

[45:48] earlier, and I did want to clarify that this is a group

[45:51] that has already been brought together.

[45:53] So this is a group that is in progress right now,

[45:56] and the focus of developing a charter was really to understand

[45:59] How can we formalize the work that's happening here and make sure that there's a lot of clarity and intentionality around how we're using the time of everybody who's part of this work?

[46:10] And so this is the team that is meant to bring people together from across the agency to coordinate on workforce development initiatives, share information back and forth and share best practices and they may also be helping to implement certain elements of the workforce development plan.

[46:28] So the charter really just describes what is the purpose of this group, what are the roles and responsibilities and those have been shifted and expanded a little bit based on feedback?

[46:38] How the committee is going to operate and what the committee is going to focus on. So I'm very excited to see where this group goes in the future as well.

[46:47] And then finally, I want to talk about the implementation plan and I'm not going to go into detail because it is a very large plan at this point.

[46:56] But I do want to highlight that we have identified through this work.

[47:01] We started with the recommendations then under each one implementation steps.

[47:05] We prioritized all of those items thinking about impact on the agency, but also the dependencies

[47:12] with many of these other initiatives that are going on and where they'll need to fit, looking

[47:18] at estimated timelines for each of these and also estimated hours or level of effort that will be

[47:26] our staff or staff in other areas of the organization, and also thinking about implementation

[47:32] roles, who's going to lead this work, who's going to support this work, and how will we

[47:37] know if we have been successful in this work as well? So that's all the elements that have gone

[47:42] into this implementation plan, and we have identified multiple years of work that are coming out

[47:48] of these recommendations. Our goal is not to tackle every single recommendation all at once,

[47:53] both for the sake of your HR team and for the sake of the rest of your employees.

[47:57] We really want to make this realistic and sustainable and make sure that we are pacing the

[48:03] release of some of these new tools so that folks have time to really bring them in, integrate

[48:08] them into regular areas of work.

[48:11] And some initiatives obviously will need to come before others.

[48:15] So we need to make sure that we're also spending that time.

[48:18] we have the implementation plan as it sits today,

[48:21] but as new elements come into the HR world

[48:24] as new initiatives come up,

[48:26] we imagine that this is gonna be really a working document

[48:29] that will continue to shift and adjust over time

[48:32] to also account for some of those emergent needs.

[48:36] So again, focus here is on developing

[48:38] not prioritized implementation plan

[48:40] that reflects your capacity while also continuing

[48:44] to make sure that the agency is really

[48:46] making good substantial progress on all of these elements moving forward.

[48:51] So that's the final area that I wanted to touch on today, but our hope is that this project

[48:57] is really going to give IUA both kind of that current snapshot of where you are, but also those

[49:02] sustainable tools that you'll be able to bring in and use on a regular basis to make sure that you

[49:07] have really strong workforce development practices in place and that you are kind of capturing

[49:13] all the excellent work that is already happening and bringing it together in a consistent and

[49:18] sustainable manner as well. So that's all I have for you any additional questions based on anything

[49:24] that I just shared.

[49:33] Thank you.

[49:39] So as we look at these efforts collectively, they are all part

[49:43] of the broader strategy to align workforce with the agency's long-term direction. Master planning

[49:49] identifies where the agency is going and these HR initiatives help us ensure we have the people

[49:55] organizational structure and workforce development strategies in place to support.

[50:00] Court that vision. This work also positions the agency for the upcoming 2027 rate study by providing a clear understanding of the future workforce needs, organizational capacity and resource requirements, helping ensure staffing and service levels remain aligned with long-term operational and financial objectives.

[50:20] This concludes my presentation and I'm happy to answer any questions.

[50:23] Thank

[50:26] you.

[50:29] Appreciate all the hard work that goes into that.

[50:35] All right, General Manager's comments.

[50:41] All right, just a few comments.

[50:44] The bear

[50:48] with me just a moment.

[50:52] Just a comment on what you just heard the long-term reliability for our agency requires strong infrastructure

[50:58] and workforce prepared to deliver and sustain our business.

[51:03] This clearly we have a lot going on with an agency and a lot of planning.

[51:07] We are planning intentionally for both an IUA is strengthening its capacity to meet future

[51:12] needs and continue delivering value to the region.

[51:17] Additional items compliance wise, there's no compliance or safety issues that are, sorry, no

[51:25] updates on those compliance or safety issues today.

[51:27] The only comment that I want to make and I'm going to highlight it here is I'm going to share

[51:33] with everybody and Scott sitting there smiling.

[51:37] We had at the Water Reaves California Conference, IUA staff competed in the inaugural

[51:42] reuse rumble at high energy challenging, testing the technical skills and teamwork required

[51:48] to support advanced water treatment operations.

[51:50] I want to thank the board and President Eli and Director Hall for attending with us as well.

[51:58] After battling through a series of the four time challenges against teams that included Monterey

[52:03] One Water, Jake Gibbs, so-called Creek, our team, Trans-Membrane Pressure, and one other team, I don't remember the other one.

[52:12] We actually claimed the title, so that was the highlight.

[52:15] The team included Ryan Love and Scott Lenning as our coaches, Noah Ball, Manual Estabes, and Carl Semantello, and myself were the team mates, and we're coached strongly by Ryan and Scott, and as we had some proud supporters, including Rival and Liz Herz that were there as well, and really a heartfelt appreciation to President Eli and Vice President Hall for attending and providing support.

[52:43] really, it was a lot of fun and actually being the inaugural one was a great, great, great to

[52:49] sort of rub it in a little bit to some of the other folks that were there, so appreciate that.

[52:54] Oh, well, you've never seen Vice President Hall so excited to carry him that sign,

[52:57] hearing you guys on. So that was, you know, that was, it was really fun.

[53:04] And yeah, they needed a cheerleader.

[53:06] Well, there you go. And now it was really fun. And in fairness, our Jacob's partners actually were

[53:13] rooting for our team a little bit louder than their own.

[53:17] So our royalty really showed and besides the weakest

[53:21] link General Manager, the rest of the team was spectacular.

[53:27] And yeah, I mean, you slowed them down a little bit

[53:29] kept it, but you made up for it with your guzzling

[53:32] of that water.

[53:33] I don't know where you're learning that skill.

[53:39] But it's not all over the world.

[53:41] It was really a fun thing, I've never been in a conference with anything like that I'd ever

[53:45] happened before, so it was a unique conference and the intermingling of operators, managers,

[53:54] board members, etc., at that conference, and that event was spectacular.

[53:59] So congratulations to our team and I suggest you guys retire and not do it again.

[54:04] That's right.

[54:05] That's right.

[54:05] Well, thank you.

[54:06] Leave them wanting more.

[54:16] Do we have any requested future agenda items from anybody in the board?

[54:21] Okay.

[54:22] Oh, God.

[54:23] Yes, I have one.

[54:24] So yes, yesterday at the Ontario board meeting under the consent items, they offered six acres under the SLA of the surplus land.

[54:33] And it's located here off of Philadelphia Street near the 60 freeway.

[54:38] And I'd like to explore if that's a property that the agency can possibly,

[54:44] If it would benefit us, I know we have some resources and some of the ground pipeline that are already in that area that may traverse through that.

[54:51] It's adjacent to the soccer fields, correct?

[54:55] Which is right by whispering like...

[54:56] Like by whispering like, yeah.

[54:57] And I would suggest that if we do go that route, it would...

[55:00] We'd be used either as a property for the JPA, for linear generators, but more importantly, I think it's better

[55:07] use would be as a repository, possibly to create a library for a lot of historic documents

[55:12] in the upper sentana watershed. I think that date back to the 1800s, a lot of these agencies have

[55:18] a lot of these documents in boxes. And just don't have the resources to really consolidate them

[55:23] so that would be, I think, a central place outside of a fire zone that we can historically preserve

[55:29] that documentation, but we can also work with the conservation districts to create a demonstration

[55:35] facility or an educational facility, possibly some recharge and maybe a safe harbor for the

[55:41] Santa Ana sacred fish under the HCP. I'm looking at the awkward news letter right now and

[55:47] then it's talking about collaboration in our region and I think that would further kind of cement

[55:52] that collaboration that we've been doing such a good job with. So that would be my request for

[55:56] So but I guess let me crystalize that that's kind of a request to staff, but is it something you won't brought back to the board or how do you want that Frank?

[56:04] Yes, I think brought back to the board at well first of all the explore the opportunity

[56:08] For the available land and then then the other part of it was just me suggesting uses for that land

[56:15] Yeah, yeah, thank you for yeah for that. Okay

[56:21] Any any board comments?

[56:23] So, we'll move time to five.

[56:26] We're good.

[56:27] We're good.

[56:27] Thank you.

[56:28] I'll also get more comments.

[56:29] More comments.

[56:31] It's heard a rumor.

[56:32] And then I heard that it's actually officially true.

[56:35] So I want to thank Lisa for your years of service here at IUA.

[56:39] I know you're moving sounds like congratulations are in order to let out.

[56:46] But so thank you for your years of service here and congratulations.

[56:49] Thank you very much.

[56:51] It's really been my privilege to serve the board and the exceptionally talented staff at you.

[56:57] Thank you.

[56:58] Thank you.

[56:59] It didn't occur to me that we won't see what a board meeting you can.

[57:02] At least in that seat.

[57:04] Sorry.

[57:05] Well, thank you again.

[57:07] Don't be a stranger.

[57:09] Appreciate it.

[57:10] Appreciate all you've done in your service to our agency.

[57:13] Thanks for reminding me.

[57:15] Okay.

[57:17] Alright, with that, we will move to closed session. We have one item.

[1:17:17] Reporting at a close session, Marty.

[1:17:19] Thank you, Mr. President. During close session, the Board discussed item 6A on today's agenda with no reportable action.

09-02-2026 IEUA Board of Directors Workshop Meeting

Agenda

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