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District starts year with full board participation

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For the first time in about 1-1/2 years, the five seats of the Ramona Municipal Water District board of directors were filled at a meeting.

The two new directors on the board did not shy away from asking questions and voicing suggestions or opinions at the 3-1/2-hour Jan. 13 public meeting. Arnie Cares, who was appointed by the board in December to fill the Division 3 seat vacated by Rex Schildhouse, submitted two of the agenda items.

Cares, who has a background in finance, was elected treasurer of the board. The other offices will remain the same as last year: Darrell Beck, president; Joe Zenovic, vice president; and George Foote, secretary. Jim Hickle, who became the Division 2 director in the November 2014 election, will serve as director-at-large.

To familiarize Cares and Hickle with district operations, staff presented an overview with descriptions of each department, as well as projects under way or planned.

Cares said he would like to see a strategic plan showing where the district is today, where it sees itself in five to 10 years, and what it needs to get to that point.

Pulling the November 2014 financial report off the agenda consent calendar, Cares asked if staff could prepare a one-page summary for future financial reports with comparisons to the previous month and same month of the previous year.

Hickle said he reviewed the 138-page financial report line by line to see where the district is spending its money. Cares said the summary could be in addition to the full report.

District General Manager David Barnum suggested Cares meet with him and Chief Financial Officer Richard Hannasch, adding that the public agency is different from a private business.

Cares said he also wanted to discuss with Barnum how accounts payables are presented, prompting Zenovic to comment, “The board needs to be reminded that we’re here to set policy, not deal in the minutia or day-to-day operations.”

Cares agreed but added that his requests would better help him set the policies.

In one of Cares’ agenda memos, he asked for board approval to set up a Division 3 email address so his constituents can communicate with him.

Possible problems Zenovic and Foote mentioned were misinformation to the public and the need to retain emails to comply with the California Public Records Act. Barnum said the district offers an email address that constituents can use but is not specific to each director.

Cares suggested that option be made public.

“I feel strongly that I want my constituents to get a hold of me...and tell me what’s on their minds,” he said.

Beck and Zenovic noted past troubles for the district included the censuring of a director after privately corresponding with a customer, and two grand jury investigations (1986-87 and 1990-91).Hannasch said he would not want the board involved in any customer billing disputes.

“I don’t recommend this,” Barnum said, an opinion echoed by Zenovic and Beck.

“All I want to do is get the lines of communication open, more than they’re open today,” said Cares.

Hickle moved that the district display on its website the available email to contact directors. The motion was seconded by Cares and passed 3-2 with Zenovic and Beck opposed.

Cares’ other agenda item asked for board oversight of the replacement and upgrade of the district’s information systems. The current system is considered obsolete and under assessment. Cares and Hickle said they would like to serve on an ad hoc oversight committee once the assessment is completed.

The board delayed a decision about purchasing an approximately $110,000 five-yard dump truck to replace a 1990 model that no longer meets the California Air Resources Board diesel emissions standards. Funds are available in the budget, reported the district, but directors said the amount seemed high, especially when regulations change, and suggested further analysis.

Barnum announced that the district has received five to 10 proposals from law firms interested in serving as legal counsel as Best Best & Krieger is transitioning out. Staff is reviewing the proposals and will present a list of qualified candidates to the board at next month’s meeting, he said.

Directors were appointed to Ad Hoc Committees:

•Board of Directors Role During Emergencies—Zenovic and Hickle

•Spangler Peak/San Diego Country Estates/San Vicente Road—Foote and Zenovic

•Undocumented Sewer Legislative Cole & EDU Charges—Zenovic and Beck

•Santa Maria Recycled Water and Related Plant Upgrade—Hickle and Zenovic

•San Vicente Recycled Water & Related Plant Upgrade—Beck and Cares.

Following the meeting, the board met in closed regarding litigation by Eugene Plantier against the district.

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