By-Laws

Membership

Members serving on the CAP shall be selected jointly by the City of Benicia (City) and Valero in accordance with the requirements of the Good Neighbor Agreement, executed between the City and Valero on September 25, 2000. Members shall be current residents of the City, owners or regular employees of businesses that are located within the City of Benicia.

The following organizations shall each be represented by one member:

Benicia Chamber of Commerce
Benicia Industrial Park Association
Benicia Unified School District
Benicia City Council
Good Neighbor Steering Committee

In addition, the community-at-large shall be represented by three members. Selection of the three community-at-large members will be made between the Refinery & City Manager.

Terms

The members of the CAP shall serve an initial two-year term. Terms are set in a calendar year format. If a member is appointed within a calendar year, he/she will complete that calendar year and complete one full year, thereafter. Upon completion of the initial two-year term, the member's representative organization will review for the extension of additional terms or designate another member to replace the existing member.

Filling of Vacancies

In the event a member cannot complete a full term and must withdraw from membership in the CAP, a replacement shall be selected as follows:

For a member representing an organization, the affected organization shall select a replacement
For a member-at-large, Valero and the City, in consultation with the CAP, shall select a replacement.

The individual appointed shall fill only the remaining unexpired term of the member who has withdrawn.

Chairperson

The CAP shall select a chairperson by means of a majority vote. Elected officials serving as members of the CAP shall not be eligible to serve as chairperson. The chairperson shall hold the position for two years and is eligible to serve additional terms by decision of the current membership.

Election of the CAP chairperson shall be held at the last meeting of the calendar year that is the end of the chairperson’s term of the office. The chairperson shall also serve as spokesperson and media contact for the CAP.

Meeting Agendas

The chairperson, working directly with the Valero Refinery Manager or his/her appointee, shall send out an agenda for the meeting by regular or email. Agenda items may include matters requested by CAP members for inclusion at a prior CAP meeting, matters communicated to the chairperson during the interval between the prior meeting and the date of mailing of the agenda, or matters added at the beginning of the meeting at the discretion of the chairperson.

Meeting Schedule

The CAP shall continue to meet on our present schedule. 6 times a year for 1 hour on the 2nd Tuesday of the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December.

Meeting Location

The CAP meetings are to be held at 610 Industrial Way in Benicia, CA. Entrance is thru the gate at the west side of the building and the room is located on the farthest door at the east end of that building. Please do not enter through the main entrance at the front of the building. Signage will be posted to assist in finding the location.

Attendance

The CAP shall invoke an attendance requirement for all CAP members of attending a minimum of 4 of the 6 meetings in one calendar year. Those unable to meet that standard should submit their resignation to allow another representative to be appointed to their respective group. An exception to this rule is if a member misses a rescheduled meeting.

Substitution

On occasion, a group’s representative may be unable to attend a meeting and the group wishes to send a substitute. In that event, notice should be provided in advance to the Chair with the understanding that the substitute will be allowed to attend and that they will have a voice but not have any vote should an item require a vote. This rule would not be applied to the at-large members (i.e., at-large members are not permitted to send a delegate on their behalf).

Conduct of the Meetings

At the beginning of each meeting, the chairperson shall call for approval of the minutes of the previous meeting, and shall review the agenda items, including additions or deletions. Meetings of the CAP shall be issue-oriented, and shall primarily focus on review of key programs that pertain to refinery operations, in accordance with the provisions of the Good Neighbor Agreement. The CAP shall make every effort to address matters that come before it by working to achieve a consensus. Matters that cannot be resolved by a consensus shall be determined by a majority vote.

CAP Member Updates

CAP members are required to actively communicate with their respective groups on matters of interest that relate to refinery operations and their impact on the community. We require that members solicit feedback and, most importantly, bring said feedback to the CAP. An open dialogue is critical to supporting community needs; intentionally refraining from this dialogue is a detriment to the community and mission of the CAP. Non-engagement and uncomplacent behavior by members may result in revocation of the CAP’s membership, should they fail to meet these requirements. CAP members will be provided time in each meeting to share key information and each member is encouraged to contact the Chair and schedule additional time to discuss critical issues. We ask that this time be used only for items that pertain to your work in obtaining community feedback on/for Valero.

In Person Access

All CAP meetings shall be open to the public subject to the following conditions:

All public guests are required to sign-in to each meeting for the purpose of providing an ability to account for their presence should any emergency occur and to allow the CAP to have contact information should a guest submit any questions that need a response.

Remote Access

Remote access is not currently available, but the CAP has directed that a study be conducted to determine the feasibility of providing remote access at some future date.

Annual Report

The CAP shall prepare an Annual Report after the end of each calendar year summarizing its key activities and accomplishments. This report shall be presented to the members at the February meeting. Copies of this report shall be posted on the CAP website.

Amendments to the By-Laws

Amendments to these By-Laws shall be approved and incorporated upon the majority vote of all members.