Sacramento Area Sewer District approves consent calendar; engineering staff presses to cut $750,000 monthly solids cost

The Sacramento Area Sewer District on Oct. 22 approved its consent calendar (items 1 through 7) by unanimous vote and heard an engineering update about a project intended to reduce ongoing solids-disposal costs.

"The sooner we can get off of that supplemental harvest, the more money we can save," said Christophe Dobson, district engineering presenter, describing the rationale for moving a dedicated land-disposal unit forward. Dobson said the supplemental harvest is "to the tune of about 3 quarters of a million dollars a month."

Board members had no public comment forms on file for the meeting. A motion to approve the consent items was made and seconded; after the remaining members cast their votes the chair announced the motion passed unanimously.

Dobson said staff is trying to advance the dedicated land-disposal unit as quickly as possible so the district can stop relying on the supplemental harvest process that is adding substantial monthly costs. He also noted the district will meet once in November (Nov. 12) and once in December; no additional engineering agenda items were brought forward at this meeting.

The meeting included routine notices about broadcasting the session (Metro Cable Channel 14 and livestream) and a required verbal disclosure of board-member compensation under California Government Code section 54952.3. No formal action beyond the consent calendar vote was recorded on the engineering item at this meeting.