Questions for Candidates for the Novato Sanitary District Board

By Jerry Peters

1. Why are you running for a seat on the board, and what experience makes you qualified?

Because I want to see good governance and management decisions made in an important environmental area of Novato. The District must continue to protect the environment through an effective facilities operation with an aggressive capital improvement program while seeking efficiency to minimize costs. With my experience and background, I think I can help the Board make decisions in the best interests of the entire community.

Education and Experience:

• BA and MBA in Business, San Francisco State University
• Planning Commission member, Novato Planning Commission 1995-98
• President, Novato Chamber of Commerce 2005
• Board of Directors, Novato Chamber for 13 of the last 14 years
• Honored as Novato Citizen of the Year for 2007
• Downtown Novato Revitalization Plan committee, Art & Festival, Leadership Novato, Paint the Town Red, 4th of July Parade Committee, Novato Save the Depot Task Force and other local committees and activities
• Currently co-Chair of the Chamber Government Affairs Committee
• 26 years in the airline industry, 21 years in management or executive positions
• 20 years in facilities and property management, Brayton Purcell, LLP

A. The District has incurred and is incurring debt to accomplish its needed plant and collection system modernization and water re-use expansion. It must now operate a good debt management program to keep customer rates at customer affordable levels.

B. The District needs to closely monitor its Public/Private Partnership with its contracted plant operator to ensure the system continues to run effectively and be able to make a good decision at the end of the contract whether to continue or begin a new partnership or take the operation in-house. All options would require considerable planning.

C. The District needs to determine how to best repair the sewer system laterals, and how the work will be best financed, Leaks in the laterals will result in pollution, especially during the dry months, and in excessive flows into the treatment plant during the wet months. A consideration is that the needed work may not be easily affordable by many individual customers.

3. Name a commendable decision made by the current board. Name one in which you think they blew it.

A. It is commendable that the Board and District staff selected contractors, a contract, and project supervisory help to get a huge $90 million plant construction and improvement project completed on time and on budget with only 2% in change orders.

B. The Board "blew it" in the process for naming a replacement for retiring member Jim Fritz. It was clear that the most qualified candidate for that position was Jean Mariani. The Board should have promptly appointed her. Instead, a partisan struggle ensued -- very unbecoming to the board in the public's eye. The public has said repeatedly it wants public boards and elected representatives at all levels to get along and get things done.

4. Is the $2 million NSD budgeted per year sufficient to upgrade aging pipes and other infrastructure?

Based on a collection system valued at $100 million and a 50+ year life, the budgeted $2 million appears to be a reasonable amount to maintain and upgrade the system. But the cost and length of time for lateral repairs may not be adequate until the system is inspected and evaluated completely. The determination of how and who will pay the cost of those repairs may also change that $2 million figure.

5. The current board has earned a reputation for infighting. Do you feel you can work compatibly, even when disagreeing, with all the other board members?

Yes. I think I have a long history of working cooperatively in many different settings not only in business, but with the Chamber, the Planning Commission, and in non-profit areas as well. It is important to first determine the areas we agree on, and then work on the things remaining. This about getting things done, the public will stand for nothing less.

6. Like many sanitary districts with aging pipe systems, Novato Sanitary has suffered multiple spills in recent years, incurring stiff fines from the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board. Could this have been prevented?

Probably, but it would be speculative for me to comment on the nature of previous Boards constraints and decisions without considerable research. The important thing here is the future. We must work toward Zero Spills. Thus far we have had no spills this year vs. 22 last year.

7. The Department of Justice last year abandoned its investigation into alleged illegal sewage dumping by the NSD. The probe was launched following an anonymous tip-off from a "whistleblower"--who some contend was an employee with an ax to grind. What kind of lingering effects can such behind-the-scenes political games have over the district and its customers?

Behind-the-scene games, if they exist and if they continue, can have a very corrosive effect on any organization. With the zero spill record this year, hopefully things are going better for everyone.

8. Do you believe the new $90 million treatment plant would be better off under the operation of district employees, or an outside contractor more experienced with such state-of-the-art plants?

For the new plant start up, the District did not have the expertise or the State-required operators needed to directly operate the plant. Industry experts pointed out the alternatives and recommended a choice that would save taxpayers over $7 million over five years. I believe that was the correct decision. The voters narrowly approved that decision and thus far Veolia's operation of the plant has been exemplary. Most importantly there have been no plant spills.

9. Do you consider the hiring of Veolia Water to run the plant, and the subsequent Measure F results, to be settled business--at least until Veolia's contract is up in four years?

Absolutely! The voters have spoken. The contract is legally binding. The District must monitor Veolia to determine its performance. When the contract is up, the District should decide how to proceed based on that performance. The decision should be objective and based on providing the best service to the District's customers and to the community.

10. After years of turbulence, a district board member earlier this year told the Sun he hopes NSD will finally "slip back down into the obscurity we deserve." How would you help the board slip back into a more sanitary-district-like level of obscurity?

The Board must work together to provide quality sanitary district services to its community. Board members must make decisions objectively, based on facts. There must be no hidden agenda's among Board members. The interests of the community must guide decisions. We must listen closely to the public. When things run smoothly, effectively and efficiently, when needed projects get done, everybody is happy.