By Mark Dolson
Updates on SLVWD Staffing, Infrastructure, and the Proposed New Rate Structure
The San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD) Board has met three times (November 2nd ,
November 9th, and November 16th) since my last report, and there were several notable new
developments.
The November 2nd meeting was the final Board meeting for retiring District Manager Rick
Rogers, and a number of people (including County Supervisor Bruce McPherson) shared
recollections and their appreciation for what Rick has meant to the District and to the SLV
during 38 years of highly dedicated service. The Board also approved a six-month contract for
newly hired Interim General Manager Brian Frus. Brian is a Registered Civil Engineer who has
lived in Felton for 25 years and has worked for the City of Salinas as the Manager of the Water,
Waste, and Energy division since 2017. The search for a new permanent General Manager
remains open with Brian as a candidate.
The Board also had a lengthy discussion about next steps for replacing the 1.3-mile Peavine
raw-water pipeline destroyed in the 2020 CZU Fire. Staff presented a long-anticipated cost
estimate for replacing the pipeline with above-ground flexible plastic pipe. At approximately $2
million (roughly 90% of which should be reimbursed by FEMA), this solution was viewed by
most Board members as clearly preferable to the buried steel pipeline alternative. The latter
solution would be far less vulnerable to fire but would cost five times as much (and be
reimbursed at a lower percentage). It would also be more at risk from earthquakes and
landslides, be much more logistically challenging, and be far more environmentally disruptive.
The Board ultimately voted 4-1 to proceed with the above-ground replacement, beginning with
hazardous tree removal, trail/bench rebuilding, and environmental review. Director Fultz
opposed the motion, arguing that the District should explore an intermediate alternative
involving hand-trenching, but the two geologists on the Board did not see this as a realistic
option in view of the underlying granite.
The November 2nd meeting also featured the first presentation of the proposed new rate
structure for 2024-2028. The District had already determined that its total revenue for water
delivery would need to increase by 10%, 10%, 7%, 7%, and 7% in successive years. Its goal with the new rate structure was to minimize the negative impacts on low- and moderate-use
residential customers. It accomplished this by steeply tiering the rates so that most of the
impact of the rate increase falls on high-use customers (but not on the school district or mobile
home parks). The Board was concerned that there has been little public engagement with the
process as yet, so it agreed to delay its vote on the new rates until its December 7th meeting.
This will allow more effort to be devoted to public outreach prior to this decision. The District is
also planning a public workshop in January, after formal notices are mailed to ratepayers.
Both the special Board Meeting on November 9th and the regular Board Meeting on November
16 th featured extended and quite detailed discussions of proposed payments to contractors for
unanticipated changes in the work they were performing for the District. The Board ultimately
approved two of these but not the third. It was clear that recent disruptions in staffing (e.g.,
the death of the District Engineer in June and the premature departure of the District Manager
in November) had made it challenging for Staff to cope with all of the associated issues.
Lastly, Board President Mark Smolley provided an informational update on recent SLVWD
involvement with the Big Basin water system, and on his conversation with the court-appointed
receiver. The District is now selling water to Big Basin via a pipeline connection, and the
receiver expressed interest in paying SLVWD to perform emergency repairs on the system. The
Board was highly sensitive to the potential for SLVWD to incur uncompensated expenses (both
for salaries and overhead). By a vote of 3-1 (Director Fultz opposed) the Board approved a
motion directing the Interim General Manager (whose first day of work was November 20th) to
work with the Budget and Finance Committee to develop a compensation agreement.
