Idyllwild Water appoints two directors: Geoffrey Caine, Peter Szabadi fill board

At a specially called board meeting last week, Geoffrey Caine and Peter Szabadi were both appointed to fill vacancies on the Idyllwild Water District Board of Directors.

Directors John Cook and June Rockwell resigned in December, bringing the number of directors to three from the authorized board of five members.

Three people applied to join the board; however, the third applicant was ineligible because she is not a district resident.

Both Caine and Szabadi were appointed unanimously, 3-0, and will have to stand for election during the next election in August. Cook’s term expires in December, so that candidate can run for a four-year term. Rockwell was elected in August 2015 and served only one year of her term. Whoever replaces her will stand for election for a two-year term until the full term expires in 2019.

President Dr. Charles Schelly and Vice President Vic Sirkin, who were appointed by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, also will have to stand for election in August.

Both new appointees are lawyers by education. Caine is a former member of the Idyllwild Chamber of Commerce and served as president in 2008. Szabadi is currently a member of the board for the Art Alliance of Idyllwild and is still an active member of The State Bar of California.

They will take their positions at the IWD regular meeting Wednesday, Jan. 18.

In other business, a choice of a new general counsel has been delayed until the February meeting. The two firms who were interviewed, Best, Best and Krieger and Varner and Brandt, both of Riverside, had potential conflicts with IWD, since they each represent a water district on the Hill.

Either Caine or Szabadi will join Sirkin on the committee soliciting a new counsel.