Hazardous Materials Commission

Agenda (26 items)

• —Chair: Marielle Boortz Vice Chair: Jamin Pursell
• —Agenda Items: Items may be taken out of order based on the business of the day and preference of the Committee
• 1.Roll Call and Introductions
• 2.CONSIDER approval of the June 12, 2026 Hazardous Materials Commission Operations Committee meeting minutes.26-3498 · Discussion Item ·
• 3.Public comment on any item under the jurisdiction of the Committee and not on this agenda (speakers may be limited to two minutes).
• 4.DISCUSS any updates to the Hazardous Materials Commission priorities for 2026 and the work plan for studying priorities assigned to the Operations Committee, including inviting potential speakers.26-3499 · Discussion Item ·
• 5.DISCUSS any updates on the logistics of planning a September 17th public forum and CONSIDER making recommendations to the full Hazardous Materials Commission.26-3500 · Discussion Item ·
• 6.REVIEW the flyer from last year’s public forum and CONSIDER revising and approving a new flyer to share as a “save the date”.26-3501 · Discussion Item ·
• 7.DISCUSS and work on developing a draft syllabus for student intern expectations to add to the collection of Operations Committee process documents.
• 8.Announcements from commissioners on items of commission interest.
• 9.Plan next meeting agenda.
• —The next meeting is currently scheduled for September 11, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
• —Adjourn
• —The Committee will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities planning to attend the Committee meetings. Contact the staff person listed below at least 72 hours before the meeting. Any disclosable public records related to an open session item on a regular meeting agenda and distributed by the County to a majority of members of the Committee less than 96 hours prior to that meeting are available for public inspection at 4005 Port Chicago Highway. Suite 120 Concord, CA 94520, during normal business hours. Staff reports related to items on the agenda are also accessible online at www.contracosta.ca.gov. If the Zoom connection malfunctions for any reason, the meeting may be paused while a fix is attempted. If the connection is not reestablished, the committee will continue the meeting in person without remote access. Public comment may be submitted via electronic mail on agenda items at least one full work day prior to the published meeting time.
• —For Additional Information Contact: Adam Springer at 925-941-3616
• —The meeting was called to order at 10:05 AM.
• —Commissioners Present: Marielle Boortz, Aaron Winer, Lou Flores, Tim Bancroft, Maureen Brennan Present Online: Cheryl Sudduth, Jennifer Quallick Staff Present: Nicole Heath
• —The commissioners present voted to approve the June 12, 2026 Hazardous Materials Commission Operations Committee meeting minutes. Motion: Aaron Winer Second: Maureen Brennan
• —There were not any comments made by members of the public.
• —The commissioners present discussed the priorities assigned to this committee. Commissioner Brennan has started creating a document relating to hydrogen generation to share with the full commission as well as having at the public forum. This information has been collected by her from attending webinars on this topic; she will work to add on citations for this information. Commissioner Flores inquired about the state of the Hazardous Materials Commission webpage considering that the Hazardous Materials Programs have merged with Contra Costa County Fire Protection District; he noted it is not urgent but feels this committee should work towards making the website more user friendly. Nicole Heath noted that there were some issues with the replication of some of the website materials while transferring the materials over to the CCCFPD website and that they have already been identified and shared with their tech teams; they are also continuing to work forward with making all materials online compliant with accessibility requirements.
• —The public forum planning ad hoc committee met to work on planning logistics. Commissioner Flores expressed that considering postponing the event may be the best course of action unless other committee members opposed this idea. He felt that it was a bit last minute to be securing guest speakers and also felt it was not necessarily fair to offer some presenters the option to present via Zoom versus having told some that they must come in person. He suggested considering having all speakers present remotely and holding the event in a hybrid webinar format instead - this would increase likelihood of obtaining speakers and improve attendance ability all around. The plan had been to host the forum at the IBEW union hall, but there was some difficulty obtaining the proper insurance documents so the forum would have to be moved to the CCCFPD building. Nicole noted that the fall can be a difficult time to host an event as the schools are freshly back in session and there are a lot of sporting events; she suggested that taking time to survey and outreach with the community and identify topics of interest for the public and postponing until spring may be a good idea. Commissioner Boortz agreed and also noted that a webinar may make planning the event easier as there would be less concern on the venue (ie location, parking, etc). It was suggested to have staff compile a list of county venues for the forum where insurance would not be a barrier. It was also suggested to create a forum planning ad hoc committee of the full commission to increase the number of members that can be involved with the process. Commissioner Brennan made a motion to recommend postponing the public forum to a later date, possibly the spring of 2027; Commissioner Winer seconded this motion and the committee members present unanimously agreed.
• —This item was not discussed considering the recommendation to postpone the public forum.
• —The commissioners present reviewed five expectations from previous years: select a topic and give a presentation to the full commission, conduct an interview with a commissioner, check in consistently with a dedicated staff member to give progress reports, shadow a hazardous materials programs staff person, and learn how to utilize the EnviroStor system. They discussed the best options for interns to select a topic: freedom to choose a topic of their own interest, limit them to the current commission priorities, create an ad hoc committee to develop a list of topic options, assign the topic directly. Cheryl Sudduth made a comment as a member of the public and suggested posing a question for the interns to research and find an answer to as opposed to simply learning more about a topic of interest. The committee members also discussed additional logistics such as the timeline for soliciting interns, interviewing and when they present; they also inquired about the availability of a stipend and if Career Pathways could still be utilized for recruiting interns given that the hazardous materials programs are no longer under the health services umbrella.
• —There were not any announcements shared by commissioners.
• —The meeting was adjourned at 11:24 AM.
• —Full meeting recording can be found here: https://contra-costa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx