City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 10/25/2010 Item Number: A-1
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Appointment of a Culver City Representative to the
Los Angeles County West Vector Control District to Fill the Remainder of a Two-
Year Term Ending December 31, 2010 and for the Two-Year Term Beginning
January 1, 2011 and Ending December 31, 2012.
Contact Person/Dept.: Eric Mirzaian/PW Phone Number: (310) 253-6410
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (E-mail) Meetings and Agendas – City Council (10/20/10)
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson(10/14/10)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (10/19/10)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by N. Kimball) (10/20/10)
City Manager Approval:
John M. Nachbar (10/20/10)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council appoint Elena Sweda-Neff to the position of
Trustee on the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles County West Vector Control
District to fill the remainder of a two-year term ending December 31, 2010 and for
the two-year term beginning January 1, 2011 and ending December 31, 2012.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Culver City is entitled to appoint a representative (Trustee) to the Los
Angeles County West Vector Control District. The Vector Control District is
empowered to undertake and carry out a number of abatement and control duties
under the California Health and Safety Code pertaining to mosquito and vector
control. This position was previously filled by Lupe Mercado with her term ending
December 31, 2008. The position has been vacant since that time. The Trustee is
required to be a resident and registered voter of the City.
DISCUSSION:
Since the position became vacant on December 31, 2008, the City has advertised
for this opportunity and received no interest until Elena Sweda-Neff approached staff
and expressed interest in serving as a Trustee. Mrs. Sweda-Neff is a resident of the
City and a registered voter as required.
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
There is no fiscal impact to the City. Trustees are paid a stipend in the amount of
$50 per meeting to compensate them for their time and expenses in attending bi-
monthly meetings of the Vector Control District. This stipend is paid by the Vector
Control District.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Fact sheet regarding appointments to the Los Angeles County West Vector
Control District.
2. Application for the position of Trustee representing Culver City on the Los
Angeles County West Vector Control District Board (with personal
information redacted).
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1. Appoint Elena Sweda-Neff to fill the remainder of a two-year term ending on
December 31, 2010 and for the two-year term beginning January 1, 2011 and
ending December 31, 2012.
FACT SHEET
TRUSTEE APPOINTMENT
The Los Angeles County West Vector & Vector-Borne Control District
6750 Centinela Avenue
Culver City, CA 90230
Tel # (310) 915-7370 Ext. 223 Fax # (310) 915-9148
Executive Director: Robert Saviskas
1. A Trustee must be a resident and an elector (registered to vote) of the city from which
he/she is appointed.
2. The California Health and Safety Codes restricts the appointment of a Trustee to a two (2)
year term.
3. Term periods are permanently preset for each city to provide evenly spaced turnovers on the
Board of Trustees.
4. The term period for Culver City starts on January 1, 2009 and ends December 31, 2010.
5. Your new appointee will be filling out the end of the city's cycle that ends on December 31,
2010.
6. On December 31, 2010, a reappointment or new appointment needs to be made by your city
council for the next term period of January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2012.
7. The regular meetings of the Board of Trustees are held:
- Once every two months on the second Thursday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the
District's headquarters, 6750 Centinela Avenue, Culver City.
- Meetings last approximately 1-2 hours
- There are a total of six (6) meetings per year (January, March, May, July, September,
November).
- A yearly schedule will be provided.
8. Trustees who attend the regularly scheduled meeting are compensated with a payment of
$50 in lieu of expenses. By law, Trustees must attend the meeting to receive this
compensation. There are rarely additional special meetings during the year.
9. If a reappointment is not made prior to the end of the Trustee's term, the Trustee will
continue to serve and represent that entity until officially reappointed or replaced. The
District will notify the city when the term is scheduled to expire.
10. Appointments need to be put on the agenda and made at a regularly scheduled city council
meeting. After the item is addressed in open session and a vote is taken to confirm,
verification of the appointment is required by written notice certified by the city clerk and
mailed to the District for filing.THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
HISTORY OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY WEST VECTOR &
VECTOR-BORNE DISEASE CONTROL DISTRICT
AND
MOSQUITO AND VECTOR CONTROL IN CALIFORNIA
POLICY 1000-1010
THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
1010.10 General
The Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles County West Vector & Vector-Borne
Disease Control District is empowered to undertake and carry out a vast number of
abatement and control duties under the California Health and Safety Codes. The
District has established administrative and procedural guidelines to separate the
functions of Trustees from those of Management. The main function of the Board of
Trustees is that of general oversight and budget decision-making. The Executive
Director executes these policies and guidelines on a daily basis.
1010.20 Administration
The array of powers given to District Boards is listed in the California Health and
Safety Code, Section 2270. The primary function of the Board of Trustees is the
establishment of policies and guidelines. The Board employs the Executive Director
and delegates the authority to the Executive Director to execute these policies and
guidelines on a daily basis. The Executive Director communicates with the Board
and provides the information necessary to make intelligent decisions regarding such
matters. By law, once policies are set, Trustees, both individually and collectively,
are required to recognize and respect the separation of the functions of the executive
(Executive Director) and the policy makers (the Board). Individual trustees cannot
be involved in the day-to-day operations or act independently to change policies or
guidelines. All policy and guideline changes must be an act of the full Board.
11000.70 Trustee Responsibilities and Liabilities
As public officials, Trustees are obligated to perform their duties in compliance with
all applicable laws and, as fiduciaries of a public trust, to act in the best interests of
the public that they serve.
As has been indicated elsewhere in this manual, Trustees are limited to acting
collectively as a body at properly called meetings of the Board, and have no
individual authority relative to District staff or the public. All contacts with staff and
the public should be governed accordingly.
Trustees must conduct themselves in compliance with the Brown Act and with the
Political Reform Act of 1974, two bodies of law that have particular significance to
public officials and affect them on a daily basis. Trustees should spend special
attention to the requirements of both of these laws and seek advise from the
Executive Director should they have questions or concerns about compliance.
Trustees who act in good faith and perfoim their duties in accordance with the
guidelines set forth in this manual are generally shielded from personal liability in the
event that they are named in lawsuits brought against the District. The District may
properly use public funds to defend and indemnify Trustees under those
circumstances. Personal liability arises only when a Trustee commits a wrongful or
malicious act outside the scope of his or her duties.|1010| 3POLICY 1040
PERSONNEL RELATIONS
1040.10 General
Responsibilities of the Board in the area of personnel relations are prescribed by
statute and by procedures adopted by the District as part of its Personnel Policies for
administrative purposes. These involve dealing with compensation and benefit issues,
and grievance and disciplinary appeals.
1040.20 Employee Representation
All employees of the Los Angeles County West Vector Control District, including
the Executive Director, are classified as governmental workers (civil servants). As
such, they are covered by employee rights legislation at both State and Federal levels.
Some District employees are represented by unions. Presently, the majority of the
employees of the Los Angeles County West Vector Control District have no
employee association and only one classification is represented by a union. The
Board of Trustees is the governing body of the District, and has the overall
responsibility to comply with the applicable statutes, utilizing the guidance and
assistance of District management and legal counsel.
1040.30 Staff and Personnel Matters
The Executive Director is responsible for the planning, organization, direction,
evaluation, supervision, administration and execution of the operations of the
District. The Executive Director is empowered to define the organizational structure,
and to assign functions and lines of authority to employees to carry out the objectives
of the District.
In connection with personnel matters, the District's overall goal is to provide its
employees with a positive and fair work environment. The District's personnel
policies are designed to promote these goals, and to allow for orderly processing and
resolution of personnel issues.
In the personnel area, as in other matters, the Trustees, both individually and
collectively, must recognize and respect the separation of the functions of the
executive (the Executive Director) and the policy makers (the Board). Under the
3District's policies, personnel matters, including hiring, promotions, assignment of
responsibilities, discipline, evaluations, and terminations, are the responsibility of the
Executive Director. Absent a timely appeal or grievance by an employee, these
actions are not subject to review by the Board.
Trustees are not to become involved in personnel matters except when their official
duties require them to participate in an established District procedure. The District
has detailed procedures for employee disciplinary actions, grievances and appeals to
the Board of Trustees. Employees have the right to appeal certain decisions of the
Executive Director to the Board through the Board's Personnel Subcommittee, which
is authorized to conduct an appeal hearing and issue a recommended decision to the
full Board. The full Board's decision concerning any such appeal is final and
binding. Accordingly, it is critical that individual Trustees not have direct contact
with employees regarding District business or personnel matters, and that Trustees
not become involved in personnel issues in advance of their presentation to the
Personnel Subcommittee or to the full Board. Any premature involvement by a
Trustee in such matters is in direct violation of District policies, and could provide
the grounds for a court to void any District personnel action, if subsequently
reviewed by a court.
The purview of the Board is limited to District business matters and District business
only. Trustees are cautioned not to discuss the off-duty private activities of District
employees. The discussion, review or scrutiny of an employee's private life or off-
duty activities by Trustees, that do not directly affect the employee's job
perfoimance, may be considered an invasion of privacy and create substantial
financial liability for the District. For example, if an employee engages in an
alternative lifestyle, participates in political activities, or distributes religious material
door-to-door on their own time, it is not a matter of concern for the District as long as
the conduct does not affect their job performance or the District's operations.
Trustees should not discuss District business directly with members of the staff. All
such inquires are to be made through the Executive Director to maintain the proper
lines of authority and structure within the organization.
4HISTORY OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY WEST VECTOR &
VECTOR-BORNE DISEASE CONTROL DISTRICT
AND
MOSQUITO AND VECTOR CONTROL IN CALIFORNIA
District Formation
The Los Angeles County West Vector Control District (District) was formed in 1944
and contained about 5 square miles. Over the next 65 years, there have been a
number of annexations to the District. At the present time, the District covers
approximately 680 square miles and contains 23 cities and unincorporated territory of
the County of Los Angeles. Serving a population in excess of 4,100,000 people, the
Los Angeles County West Vector Control District is the second largest vector control
district in the state of California.
The District includes the cities of Agoura Hills, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, Culver
City, El Segundo, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Hidden Hills, Inglewood, Lawndale,
Lomita, the westerly portion of Los Angeles City, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Palos
Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills
Estates, Santa Monica, Torrance, West Hollywood, Westlake Village, and
unincorporated territory of the County of Los Angeles.
The primary function of the Board of Trustees is general oversight and budget
decisions. The Board employs the Executive Director and delegates the authority
to the Executive Director to execute the District's policies and guidelines on a daily
basis. Individual Trustees cannot act independently to change policies or guidelines
and cannot individually participate in the day to day operations. Trustees under the
Health and Safety Codes are restricted to policy making. All policy and guideline
changes must be an act of the full Board. Each has a right to appoint one
representative. The District's primary disease and control work is with mosquitoes
(West Nile virus, etc.), Africanized honeybees, ticks (Lyme disease), and Red
Imported Fire Ants (along with other vectors).
Robert Saviskas has been the Executive Director of the District for the past 20 years.
Mosquitoes, Vectors & Public Health
The primary objective of mosquito and vector control is to preserve or create an
environment favorable to humans and animals by lessening the effect that mosquitoes
5and other vectors have upon our lives. California Health & Safety Code has defined
"vector" as any animal capable of transmitting the causative agent of human disease
or capable of producing human discomfort or injury, including, but not limited to,
mosquitoes, Africanized honeybees, ticks, midges, or other insects but not including
any domestic animal.
Even mosquitoes that carry no transmissible disease but are present in sufficient
numbers to produce intense annoyance and distress to humans and animals are
recognized as a public health problem. Public health, more than the mere absence of
disease, includes the right to an environment free of mental and physical discomforts
that destroy its positive values. For more than two generations, the control of pest
mosquitoes has been a recognized function of mosquito and vector control agencies.
Within this concept the role of mosquito abatement and vector control districts has
expanded to include the control of biting midges and blackflies, Africanized
honeybees, Red Imported Fire Ants, and ticks.
The history and importance of mosquito control are founded on the direct
relationship of mosquitoes to the health, comfort, and economy of man. In early
historic times some societies undertook drainage projects to remove the sources of
mosquitoes and other biting insects that plagued them.
Today, mankind is most aware of and concerned about mosquitoes, ticks and other
vectors for their disease transmission potential that are of great significance
throughout the world. Malaria, yellow fever, Dengue fever, filiariasis, and the
encephalitides (West Nile virus, St Louis encephalitis, and Western Equine
encephalitis) are well known infections of man that are transmitted by mosquitoes,
but less well known are many prevalent diseases of domesticated animals such as
equine encephalitis, heartwoirn of dogs and blue tongue of sheep.
Other vectors and carriers, such as cockroaches, filth flies, biting flies, ticks, fleas,
and rodents are involved in the transmission of diseases such as dysentery, Lyme
disease, relapsing fever, leptospirosis, and plague.
And other vectors, such Africanized honeybees and Red Imported Fire Ants can
cause severe allergic reactions, pain and is some cases death from their stings and
bites.
Economic Importance
Vector- transmitted diseases which affect mankind incur an expenditure of time or
6money or loss of health and productivity and lower the economic potentials of a
community.
Economic losses from mosquitoes and other vectors are measured in reduced human
and animal productivity, increased medical care expenses, and possible loss of life.
Additional economic losses are incurred by reduced tourist trade, recreational
activities, real estate values, and land development.
The control of mosquitoes and other vectors can be expensive in that it requires
public education, utilization of applicable physical, chemical, and biological control
measures, and the employment of trained technicians and support personnel. All of
this is paid for by a portion of each citizen's tax dollar.
Initial Mosquito Control Action in California
The first recorded mosquito control efforts in California were under the direction of
University of California professors and employed against the salt marsh mosquitoes
of the San Francisco Bay marshlands at San Rafael (1904), and at Burlingame
(1905).
First Antimalaria Control Efforts
The devastating effects of malaria in California's central valley in 1908 led to an
education and demonstration program on malaria and anopheline mosquito control
conducted by Professor William B. Henns of the University of California, Berkeley,
and sponsored by the Southern Pacific Railway. The first organized antimalaria
program was undertaken at Penryn in the Sacramento Valley in 1910, and later the
same year an anti-malaria program was started in nearby Oroville.
First Legislated Abatement Agencies
Enabling legislation for the creation of organized mosquito control agencies was
passed May 29, 1915, when the Mosquito Abatement Act was approved by the State
Legislature. The Mann, Three Cities, and Oroville Mosquito Abatement Districts
were formed in 1915-16, with the Los Molinos, Pulgas and Dr. Morris (Kern) MADs
being established in the following year.
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