With Idyllwild Water District General Manager Leo Havener absent from the board of directors meeting Wednesday, Sept. 15, the directors may have set a record for a meeting time of about 30 minutes compared to two or more hours.
The board met again at the Idyllwild Library with Director Steve Kunkle also absent while the meeting room at the office is undergoing renovation. Chief Financial Officer Hosny Shouman reported that the floor has been replaced with rebar and cement, and that the goal is for the board to meet back at the meeting room at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20.
He also reported that a new weather station at the office is now online. Visit https://www.weatherlink.com/embeddablePage/show/73035ada1c9a496a868129e4d277de39/fullscreen.
IWD’s water flow between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 was .088 million gallons per day compared to a 10-year low of .082 and a high of .118. In July and August 2021, the first two months of the fiscal year, the flow has averaged .087.
Havener’s General Manager’s Report showed total water storage for August at 443,422 cubic feet. The total consumption for the month was 1,275,690 cubic feet. IWD is now relying completely on wells as Foster Lake is dry and neither Strawberry nor Lily creeks are flowing.
Havener will recommend meter replacements at the October meeting. He also plans to present the personnel manual to the board then.
IWD completed the California COVID-19 Relief Survey to seek reimbursement from the state for customers who sought assistance for water bills, said President Charles Schelly. He said the state wants to make sure those people qualify as customers who were truly impacted by COVID-19.
Schelly also reported that IWD is evaluating opportunities with landowners to run pipe through their property for the Strawberry Creek Pipeline Project.
And, he reported that staff is working with auditors for the annual financial audit. For this FY, revenues were $2,245,451 versus $2,048,642 in expenses.