SAM Board Cuts Pipeline Outreach Contract to $40K After Fee Scrutiny

The Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside board wants residents informed during an 18-month force main replacement along Highway 1. It is not willing to pay premium consulting rates to do it. On Sept. 28, 2026, directors voted 6-0 to authorize a $40,000 public outreach contract, down from the proposed $75,000. They also steered a long-stalled strategic plan toward a January restart.

• Outreach contract trimmed to $40,000 from $75,000 after directors challenged a $325 hourly rate and add-on fees

• Unanimous 6-0 vote keeps Kastama Strategic Consulting on the force main job, with any spending over $40,000 coming back to the board

• Directors ask to see outreach materials; the general manager calls meeting-by-meeting reporting "micromanagement"

• Strategic plan restart eyed for January after Tripepi Smith pitches a 10-week, $23,250 process

Outreach Contract Survives, but Smaller

The basics: In August, SAM hired McGuire and Hester under a progressive design-build contract to replace its force main, the pressurized pipeline that carries sewage to the plant. The board authorized the contract Aug. 10, 2026, and it was signed Aug. 31. Staff has held a kickoff meeting and ordered long-lead pipe.

Kastama Strategic Consulting (KSC) handled public outreach during Phase 1, which covered design, potholing and staging. That work produced magnet cards, roadside boards, Nextdoor posts and website updates.

Why it matters: Construction will run along Highway 1 shoulders for about 18 months. Directors want residents to get proactive notice, but they also want visible deliverables and tighter control over what ratepayers spend on consultants.

Where things stand: Staff asked the board to let General Manager Kishen Prathivadi contract with KSC through June 30, 2028, for up to $75,000. That was the amount budgeted when the project's guaranteed maximum price was approved. Services would be used only at the general manager's discretion. The proposal set a $325 hourly rate, a 5% overhead and technology charge, and a 17% commission on printed materials.

Director Deborah Ruddock led the pushback. She noted that engineering principals bill $220 to $363 an hour and suggested a request for proposals could find communications firms at $100 to $200 an hour. She also questioned the need for aggressive outreach when most of the pipe work is away from homes.

"It seems to me $325 an hour plus 5% overhead and a 17% commission on collateral seems excessive to me," said Director Deborah Ruddock.

Another director asked whether a local, less expensive provider could replace the Oakland-based firm. Director Paul Nagengast raised cost and local-knowledge concerns. He noted the pipeline sits in the shoulder rather than the roadway and floated a lower cap.

Vice Chair Nancy Marsh said the rate buys more talent than the job needs and that monitoring all weekly project meetings over 78 weeks was unnecessary. She also pointed to the Harbor District staging-agreement blowup as evidence that proactive communication pays off. Her sharpest objection was to the markup on printing.

"So I do object to commissions on that work," said Vice Chair Nancy Marsh.

The other side: Director Scott Boyd called outreach an investment against suspicion and misinformation. He welcomed the rule that services are used only when the general manager calls for them.

"It's running about $130 an hour for an FTE. So I wouldn't expect to see a consultant below an FTE overhead price," said Director Scott Boyd.

Board Chair Kathryn Slater-Carter cited Half Moon Bay's roughly $130,000 communications salary, the need for road-closure information and the coastal rumor mill. She urged coordination with Coastside Buzz for outreach.

"I would not ask an engineer to do communications work," said Board Chair Kathryn Slater-Carter.

Director Barbara Dye asked that directors receive samples of mailers and door hangers. "It would be nice to have us be aware of the messaging that was going out to our community," she said. Ruddock added that the prior contract did not specify deliverables.

Allison Kastama said her Phase 1 deliverables went to staff and that she bills only as needed. She offered to have the district pay printing costs directly instead of through her commission.

General Manager Kishen said the deliverables exist and pointed to weekly reports and a project status webpage. "I can pass on the minutes to the board, but I think that is micromanagement," he said.

Public comment split. Kevin Sniecinski of Coastside Allies supported the original amount: "I thought $75,000 for 2 years or not to exceed $75,000 was very fiscally responsible." He later said Dye was asking for a simple recap of deliverables, not claiming none existed. Public commenter Cyd Young likened the technology fee and commission to "junk fees." She asked whether other bids were sought and urged an all-inclusive hourly rate.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The general manager offered the compromise himself. "If the board thinks that $75,000 is too much right now, then we can have a not-to-exceed $40,000, and we can bring it back to the board if it exceeds $40,000," he said.

Marsh moved the $40,000 cap and asked staff to stretch it across the next 18 months. Boyd seconded. The motion passed on a roll call vote (For: 6, Ruddock, Dye, Boyd, Nagengast, Marsh, Slater-Carter; Against: 0; Absent: 0).

Highway 1 residents should still get construction notices. KSC keeps the work but with less room to bill, and any overrun brings the contract back into public view.

What's next: Any spending beyond $40,000 requires a return to the board.

Strategic Plan Restart Pointed Toward January

The basics: SAM adopted its strategic plan around 2016-2017. An update with the same firm was halted by litigation among the member agencies. SAM is a joint powers authority, or JPA, serving Half Moon Bay, the Granada Community Services District and the Montara Water & Sanitary District.

Why it matters: A new plan would set shared goals and measurable performance targets for SAM and its general manager. That work comes ahead of possible board turnover and a review by the county's Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), which periodically evaluates local service providers.

Where things stand: General Manager Kishen framed the item as a check on where the board stands. "We're not doing any recommendation today," he said.

Mark Pulone, a director at Tripepi Smith and former Yorba Linda city manager, outlined a roughly 10-week process with a proposed fee of $23,250. It would include:

• A staff kickoff and a board questionnaire

• One-on-one interviews with each director

• A public workshop of up to four hours and a staff planning session

• A final report with measurable goals for adoption

Ruddock asked whether the firm had planned for a single-function district like a sewer authority. "I'm not aware of a specific strategic plan for a special district or single-purpose agency, as you described," said Mark Pulone, Director, Tripepi Smith. He said the process is the same and cited the firm's work with the Yorba Linda Water District and the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority.

Marsh called it a standard operational-alignment exercise that is useful for setting goals for the general manager but not urgent. She urged a costlier 10- to 40-year look later at climate, sea level rise, regulation, finances and plant capacity.

The chair pushed to start now. She framed a 5- to 10-year plan as transparency for a skeptical public and pointed to the cost of the litigation years. "We had many, many delays on approving projects, which added up into millions of dollars," said Board Chair Kathryn Slater-Carter.

The other side: Marsh and Dye urged waiting because of a busy fall and possible changes in who member agencies appoint to the board. Nagengast also cited a busy year ahead.

"So I wouldn't start something before then so that we get a year with a consistent board," said Vice Chair Nancy Marsh.

In public comment, Kevin backed starting now that the lawsuit has ended. He asked for Nextdoor visibility and plain-language metrics, and he cited a county memo on 10-year JPA planning cycles. Sid pointed to the upcoming LAFCO Municipal Services Review as a reason to have a plan.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The board took no vote. "I'd like to propose that we kick it off in the second meeting in January," said Director Scott Boyd. Consensus formed around that timing, which leaves any new appointees in the room when goals are set.

What's next: The general manager will bring back a strategic planning proposal. Directors suggested it arrive early enough for work to begin in January. Staff will circulate links to prior plans, and Tripepi Smith will share sample plans.

• Contractor database: Staff is building a list of qualified contractors by the end of October. The effort follows the governor's statewide El Niño emergency proclamation and precedes king tides on Nov. 24-26, Dec. 22-25 and Jan. 20-23. Ruddock warned SAM may have to pay a premium.

• Local trades portal: Kevin Sniecinski of Coastside Allies asked the board to agendize next month a portal for licensed local contractors to bid on smaller SAM jobs.

• Infrastructure pushback: Marsh rebutted "aging sewer infrastructure" campaign claims. She said SAM has invested about $38 million over seven years, including $21 million replacing nearly every pump and moving part.

• Consent agenda: The board approved the Sept. 14 minutes, the Sept. 28 disbursements and the expense report through Aug. 31 by voice vote (Dye motion, Boyd second). At least one "nay" was heard, and no tally was recorded.

• Plant operations: Marsh summarized a steady month: "So the boilers are online and the effluent pumps are online."

Looking ahead: At Ruddock's request, the board scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. on an Army Corps of Engineers project. The Corps' San Francisco District found a federal interest in the project, and cost-sharing, likely about a third in-kind, could fall on SAM and its member agencies. "And it's time sensitive because it's attached to a federal appropriation that actually hasn't been approved yet," said Director Deborah Ruddock. Len of One Shoreline is expected to present, and One Shoreline is expected to take up the item Oct. 26. SAM's next regular meeting is also Oct. 26.