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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04232013 - SD.5RECOMMENDATION(S): 1. CONSIDER waiving the 180 day “sit out” period for Mr. Marcellino Abundis, Public Works Resources Assistant in the Maintenance Division of Public Works; 2. FIND that the appointment of Mr. Abundis is necessary to fill a critically needed position on a part-time basis until a recruitment can be concluded; and 3. APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE the hiring of County retiree Marcellino Abundis as a temporary County employee for the period of April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013, as recommended by the Public Works Director. FISCAL IMPACT: No additional fiscal impact. Salary costs are included in the Department’s operating budget. BACKGROUND: The Public Employee Pension Reform Act of 2013 requires that active members who retire on or after January 1, 2013 must wait 180 days after retirement before returning to work as a temporary employee. The Act also allows the Board, based on a finding that the appointment APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 04/23/2013 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS Contact: Stacy Ruthrauff, 925-313-2108 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: April 23, 2013 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: , Deputy cc: SD. 5 To:Board of Supervisors From:Julia R. Bueren, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer Date:April 23, 2013 Contra Costa County Subject:Temporary Hire of County Retiree - Waiver of 180 day "sit out" period BACKGROUND: (CONT'D) is necessary to fill a critically needed position, to waive the 180 day "sit out" period. Mr. Abundis retired from the Public Works Department effective March 29, 2013. He served as the Public Works Resources Assistant within the Maintenance Division. The Resources Assistant position within our Maintenance Division completes many important tasks that are critical to the County and our Department. Mr. Abundis has served in this position for 8 years. The position of Public Works Resources Assistant is a single position classification. Therefore, we do not have another employee who can step in and fulfill Mr. Abundis’ position. We anticipate having Mr. Abundis work part time (1 or 2 days a week) on these critical tasks and reassigning or delaying his other responsibilities until a hiring process can be completed. One critical part of his duties is to receive and investigate encroachment complaints that pose a potential safety hazard within the public road right of way. Encroachments such as overgrown vegetation from private property create potential liability when they block sidewalks or create sight obstructions and clearance issues for pedestrians, motorists or bicyclists when the vegetation extends too far into or hangs too low above the roadway. Mr. Abundis has investigated many complaints and will issue trimming notices to the fronting property to address the issue(s). He follows up with additional notices as needed according to California Streets and Highway Code Section 1480 to 1485. If the property owner is not responsive after the required noticing, Mr. Abundis schedules the work for our crews to abate the encroachment hazard and attempts may be made to recover costs from the property owner. As we head into the spring growing season, vegetation encroachment issues become more frequent and peak during the summer months. It is important that all encroachment issues be dealt with in a timely manner and Mr. Abundis is needed to address these issues during these critical months when vegetation grows at its greatest rate and trees fill out with leaves causing them to obstruct sight and hang lower over the roadways and sidewalks. Given his expertise in dealing with these issues and the extremely limited office staffing within the division, it is not feasible to backfill, train and execute these responsibilities with anyone else within the Department at this time. Another area of responsibility Mr. Abundis has is to remove low-level hazardous waste illegally dumped along the road right of way. Mr. Abundis and his immediate supervisor are the only two individuals currently trained and certified to remove hazardous materials. With his Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) 40 hour certification, he removes and properly disposes of car batteries, containers of paints, pesticides, and other hazardous materials dumped along the roadside which can be a hazard to anyone running into the material or a pollutant to the environment if the containers should leak. Litigation research is also a task that Mr. Abundis has responsibility for. Responding to litigation related document requests can take up a significant amount of Mr. Abundis’ time. He has an in-depth knowledge of the files and documents kept at our Maintenance Division which helps him accomplish these requests in a timely manner. Given his expertise and unique knowledge of the files and process, Mr. Abundis is by far the most effective person to complete these tasks until we can hire new permanent staff and train them. We are currently reviewing and pursuing the most expedient way to complete a recruitment effort to fill this position as quickly as possible and as previously stated, we have already reassigned to other staff several responsibilities that Mr. Abundis did as the Public Works Resources Assistant. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: Failure to receive Board approval will not allow the Department to properly manage the critical tasks done by this position and could create potential safety concerns on our public roadways. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: Not applicable. CLERK'S ADDENDUM Speaker: Rollie Katz, Public Employees' Union, Local 1.