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SAC Sewer board approves consent items and hears several staff presentations
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Summary
At its Nov. 12 meeting the Sacramento Area Sewer District board approved consent items, received a staff update on revised employee benefits documents (motion moved; vote not recorded in transcript), heard a pilot pollinator garden presentation and recognized the Operations Challenge team.
The Sacramento Area Sewer District board convened Nov. 12 and approved its consent calendar covering items 1 through 6, with the clerk recording the vote as unanimous among members present.
Board members heard staff presentations on two substantive items. Carolyn Balazs, the districtenvironmental sustainability coordinator, described a pilot pollinator garden installed at the Hovnanian Drive pump station in Natomas adjacent to Blackbird Park and a community garden. Balazs said the project replaces high-water landscaping with drought-tolerant California native plants, is organized into four planting zones (habitat hedgerow, nectar bank, oil-and-resin resources, and a grassland buffer), and includes a 24-by-32-inch sign with a QR code scheduled for installation on the 20th. She said the pilot was installed in June and staff will track plant health, pollinator abundance and diversity, and public interest via QR-code visits to determine whether to expand the program.
Directors asked about pollinator behavior and long-term maintenance. Balazs said many of the target species are native solitary bees that may nest in nearby bare ground or forage at nearby gardens; she said the site is on the district landscapermaintenance list and that the installing contractor will provide an initial maintenance period ending in June 2026, after which routine maintenance will continue and staff will monitor outcomes and adapt plant selection as needed. Chair Krupinski Costa suggested Director Kaplan help monitor the pilot site; Kaplan agreed.
Staff also introduced revised employee benefits documents for unrepresented employee groups 4, 6 and 9 and explained the approach (use of an existing compensation study and a third-party review of key human resources classifications). A board member moved the staff recommendation and another seconded; the transcript records the motion and second but does not include a recorded vote or final outcome for that item.
The board recognized the SAC Sewer Operations Challenge team. David Lamer, maintenance and operations assistant superintendent, described the Operations Challenge (a Water Environment Federation program) and reported that the districtteam placed well in regional competitions and finished fourth overall at nationals in their division, including a first-place finish in the maintenance event. Lamer named team members and invited board members to observe practices.
The meeting concluded with miscellaneous director matters, including updates on educational field trips and a potential constructed-wetlands project, and the board adjourned after receiving the file.
