Board approves revisions to policies 101–110, updates agency seal and policy review cadence

The South Bay Water board approved revisions to Policies 101 through 110 at its Jan. 22 meeting, including an updated official seal and a clarification that routine policy review be conducted annually.

General Manager Nick Quintero explained the packet had been reviewed by legal counsel and described the changes as largely minor. The most substantive edit was to Policy 101, which replaces the agency's older seal: the draft updates the agency name to “South Bay Water” and substitutes a heart icon in the previous design with five circles intended to represent the divisions. Directors asked staff to adjust the spacing of the text on the new seal (the line that reads “Organized March 1951”), and to include an accessible visual-description string for ADA purposes.

Directors also discussed Policy 103’s language on periodic review. Board members said “periodic” is ambiguous; on the record staff and one director recommended an annual review. The board accepted a friendly amendment to specify an annual review cycle and directed the general manager to initiate those reviews.

On the roll call for the motion (agenda item 8.2), President Castaneda and Directors Cox, Vergara and Martinez voted in favor; Director Martinez Perez was absent. The board approved the packet as amended. The board secretary was directed to correct dates shown on review/approval lines in the policies before final posting.

The changes were described on the agenda as housekeeping and formatting updates, with Policy 101’s seal update and Policy 103’s clarified review schedule called out for the board’s attention.