Weekend Quick Hits: City Council Retreat, PBF Refinery Fine, Marathon Fire Investigation, Teachers Contract Impasse and more
Also, projected costs for Marina seawall project spike; City Council member lands new day job
Some quick hits from Martinez News and Views for your weekend.
City Council retreat
The City Council and City Hall leadership will hold their annual retreat from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at John Muir Elementary School’s Multipurpose Room. More informal than a typical City Council meeting, the retreat is open to the public and will feature city leaders discussing the city’s priorities and challenges for the coming year. Members of the public will have an opportunity to comment, just as they do at regular meetings, and are free to come and go as they’d like during the three-plus-hour retreat (last year, there was free food!).
The agenda for the retreat can be found at this link: https://granicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.com/martinez/a4138dde48193caa8cc439c4940d2fd20.pdf
PBF fine for Carquinez Strait water violations
Last month, I reported that PBF Energy was in negotiations with the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board over an Administrative Civil Liability assessment in the amount of $13.8 million for allegedly exceeding effluent limitations into the Carquinez Strait from its Martinez refinery and failing to submit climate change adaptation information.
According to PBF’s recently published 2023 annual report, the company and water board have agreed on a reduced assessment of approximately $4.5 million, half of which could be in the form of an Enhanced Compliance Actions settlement (“ECA”), Supplemental Environmental Project (“SEP”) or a combination of the two. The settlement still needs to be finalized and approved by the water board, according to the report.
A spokesperson for the water board said the agency could not yet comment on the matter as it remains under negotiation.
Marathon refinery fire investigation
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which is investigating a major November fire at the Marathon refinery on the outskirts of Martinez that left a worker badly injured with burns, recently issued an update on the cause of the blaze. The CSB pinned the blame on a ruptured metal tube within a reactor charge furnace that released hot renewable diesel and hydrogen.
Said CSB Chairman Steve Owens, “The CSB is continuing to investigate this terrible incident to determine its cause, but we are issuing this update now to keep the public informed of the status of our investigation. Like here, many of the incidents that have been investigated by the CSB have occurred during start-ups when conditions at a facility can change quickly. These situations can present a unique set of safety hazards that must be carefully managed and controlled.”
The November 2022 spent catalyst accident at PBF’s refinery also occurred during a start-up procedure, in that case involving the refinery’s Catalytic Cracking Unit. No one was injured in that incident, which spewed at least 20 tons of toxic dust on surrounding neighborhoods. A preliminary report from the independent investigation into that incident faulted PBF for inadequate training, worker fatigue and a failure to implement adequate safeguards.
The CSB update on the Marathon fire can be viewed at this link: https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/6/marathon_martinez_inv_update_final_final.pdf
MUSD contract stalemate continues
A mediation session held Thursday between the Martinez Unified School District and its teachers union failed to bring about a resolution, with the stalemate now set to move on to the “fact finding” process. Both sides will present factual evidence to a panel that will make recommendations for a settlement.
The two sides have remained far apart in their negotiations throughout the process, as the school district faces growing budget woes amid declining state revenues and the impacts of 19% employee pay raises granted over the past two years. The union has pushed to another hefty raise similar to what was granted over the past two years, arguing that it is necessary to attract and retain quality teachers in an area with steep living costs, while the district has countered that the money simply doesn’t exist with it facing over $2 million in budget cuts heading into the 2024-25 school year.
MUSD’s “last, best” offer to MEA was for a 4% total compensation increase (3% in salary and 1% in health and welfare benefits contributions) for the current school year. The union wants a 9.5% salary increase.
If the fact-finding process doesn’t yield a settlement, the district says that a “second impasse” will result and the parties will “have completed their legal duty to negotiate.” At that point, the school district can impose its last, best offer on the union, and the union will have the right to strike.
The fact-finding process typically takes from three to six months, according to the district. The district’s update on the current situation can be found at the following link: https://www.martinezusd.net/negotiations
Meanwhile, the school board is set to discuss making roughly $2.3 million in budget cuts for the 2024-25 school year at Monday’s board meeting. The cuts could result in the loss of 19 certificated full-time equivalent (FTE) positions and nearly eight classified positions. If MUSD voters pass a parcel tax renewal in next month’s election, 5.6 FTE positions would be saved, according to the district.
Even with the cuts, the district still anticipates having to resort to deficit spending in coming years as projected expenses continue to outpace revenues. Declines in enrollment and attendance-based funding, along with the expiration of one-time funds and rising special education costs, have hammered MUSD’s finances.
The agenda for Monday’s board meeting can be found at the following link: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/SB_MeetingListing.aspx?S=36030321
Marina seawall update
The City Council’s Waterfront and Marina Subcommittee (consisting of Jay Howard and Debbie McKillop) will get an update Monday on planned repairs and renovations to the Martinez Marina seawall and breakwater.
According to a staff report for the meeting, estimated costs for the project “came in much higher than previously anticipated due in large part to a dramatic increase in the cost of steel.” As a result, the consultant hired to plan the project has “identified a reconfigured and reduced footprint to the Martinez Marina.” The city has allocated $250,000 for the design phase of the project.
The agenda and staff report for Monday’s meeting can be viewed at the following link: https://granicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.com/martinez/4d7bee9a73bd501d86b27a87c37c9c770.pdf
New day job for City Council member
The Contra Costa Community College District (4CD), which is headquartered in Martinez, announced this week that it has hired Martinez City Council member Satinder S. Malhi as its new director of communications and community relations. Malhi most recently served as a legislative advocate for the California State University (CSU) Office of Advocacy and State Relations.
“We are delighted to welcome Satinder to 4CD,” Chancellor Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said in a news release. “His extensive knowledge and background of the higher education landscape, along with his experience of having successfully implemented a government and community relations program at a public university, will serve as a tremendous asset to 4CD.”
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