Havener out as IWD manager; town rallies around fired employees

More than 30 members of the public made for standing room only at the Jan. 17 meeting of the Idyllwild Water District (IWD) Board of Directors. News had spread of Tuesday night’s special meeting, at which the board, during closed session, voted unanimously to terminate General Manager (GM) Leo Havener, placing him first on 30 days administrative leave.

This is a detail of Havener’s contract with the district: IWD must give him 30 days’ notice of termination, but the board is able to sideline him with administrative leave. Later in the meeting, President Charles Schelly clarified that there was also an option for immediate termination, but the board did not choose that option.

This means that Chief Financial Officer Hosny Shouman, for the third time since his hiring, is now acting GM. Discounting Shouman’s caretaking intervals, Havener was the district’s sixth GM in the last 20 years.

Although Havener’s termination was on everyone’s mind, his performance and behavior were barely mentioned. Instead, the bulk of public commentary was aimed at IWD’s Chief Water Operator Joe Reyes. It was Havener’s failure to address Reyes’ behavior that led to his ouster. After Schelly read IWD’s mission statement, the public was invited to comment.

Public comments took up most of the meeting, but were generally brief, and mostly absent rancor for the directors. The audience was supportive, as visibly moved members of the community recounted their sometimes traumatic encounters with Reyes. Among the first to speak were two employees whom Havener fired after they filed complaints.

The first of these was Brian Wilson. He read a letter and gave copies to the board and the Crier. Wilson began by expressing “appreciation” for the directors, the “important role they fill in the community,” and the “difficult and “unenviable” circumstances they now find themselves in. Wilson went on to say that the board has been “subjected to lies, liability, bad faith and probable criminal conduct by the former GM, and … a rogue chief water operator.” He referred to “foul play by bad actors” and called Havener’s firing a “desperately needed step in the right direction” but warned it had “provided an opportunity for Mr. Reyes to escalate his actions from adversarial, retaliatory and negligent to that of a clear and present danger to the community.”

The district, he continued, “is in crisis” and “barely operational.” He “implore(d)” the board to take “immediate action to protect” themselves, “the district and the community.”

Striking a conciliatory tone, Wilson called for “resolve, wisdom, empathy, moral character, diligence and fortitude.” He said he was not there to threaten but to “extend forgiveness … and again offer aid in righting the ship and resolving this crisis.” He presented documents to the directors and legal counsel and requested a closed session as soon as possible.

Tyla Wheeler was the other recently terminated employee and the next to speak out. She said she had worked for IWD from February 2020 until Jan. 11, 2024. She pointed out that that she and Wilson are among the eight employees in that time that left or were fired “since the promotion of Joe Reyes to chief water operator and Leo Havener filling the position of general manager” (in March 2020).

She described being “chased down by Joe Reyes who was driving an IWD work truck,” and being “yelled” and “cussed” at. Wheeler’s husband later added that they were in their own vehicle with their infant son when Reyes came within inches of their bumper.

Wheeler said Reyes “blamed” and “cursed” at her over water quality complaints coming into the office around the time of last May’s discussion of rate hikes. “I loved serving my community, and my job, however, a few individuals made that work environment very toxic and hostile.” After she complained, she said that Havener terminated her, and in his notice to her (which the Crier has seen) said she was “not a good fit for this organization.” Apparently, Havener believed that Reyes was a good fit and declined to discipline him. “What is it going to take to get rid of this individual who is causing so much harm and threat to our community and your district?” she said.

Idyllwild Fire Protection District (IFPD) Chief Mark LaMont spoke next. He told of hearing Reyes berate IFPD Administrative Assistant Rachel Teeguarden in the fire station office. When he attempted to calm him, Reyes “told me to F off and drove away in a company vehicle, ran two stop signs, by the way, as he pulled away.”

This story was later retold by Teeguarden herself, and by Idyllwild Community Center President and IFPD Commissioner Stephanie Yost. The disagreement between IFPD’s and IWD’s leadership seems to stem from small details, like LaMont closing a hydrant “abandoned by a water district employee, the same water district employee, while they were flushing that hydrant.”

Another issue LaMont aired was the district’s “estimates” for IFPD’s water use from hydrants. This estimate,100,000 gallons per month, was not charged to IFPD, but has skewed the monthly GM’s reports, and was included despite Lamont’s attempts to correct it. “We haven’t used any Idyllwild Water for training since such time as we made our agreement with Fern Valley Water District [FVWD]” IFPD now saves and reuses water from hydrants and reuses it during training. LaMont congratulated the board for “working towards quality outcome.” He expressed his support for Wheeler and Wilson and said “we are looking forward to a better working relationship” with IWD.

Yost spoke highly of Wilson, whom she described as “helpful, cooperative, [and] kind.” She told the board that she was present during the episode at the firehouse that LaMont and Teeguarden described; “If that happened with any of my staff … at a minimum that person would be severely reprimanded, it would go in their file, that would be grounds to be fired. Instead, he is still employed and these two people are the ones who got booted … I would urge you to bring them back and I would urge you to get rid of the person who clearly is a problem in the community …”

Larry Donahoo spoke of his support for Wilson and Wheeler, his experience as a local employer and the difficulty in retaining good employees. “I hope you folks will think differently about” their firings. He also spoke of Havener’s unresponsiveness to his many attempts to resolve issues after he sold IWD the right to drill a well on his property. His requests for the district to help him maintain the well house (even at his own expense), create an easement recognizing this relationship and provide proof of insurance went unanswered. He announced that he will no longer allow IWD employees on his property until a certificate of insurance is provided.

Leslie Schelly, the president’s wife, had a number of requests. She acknowledged that the board could not itself rehire Wheeler and Wilson, but asked that the board choose a manager who would do so. She asked that the new manager have a relationship with IFPD more like that it has with FVWD. She hoped the new manager would hear what has been said about Reyes.

“Idyllwild is a closely connected community and we need a manager that understands that our community means something to each other,” she said. “When we have an individual who does not reside here permanently, [who] seemed to be able to wreak havoc with those who do, it’s frustrating …”

Amy Hawley, a local business owner and former IWD employee, noted the “revolving door of managers, local personnel and women, in particular.” She also called for the board to be held accountable by the community, and added that “the buck stops at Hosny Shouman” who “happens to be the highest paid employee in the district.”

A visit to publicpay.ca.gov shows that although none of the local water district mangers make near what the managers of larger districts like Lake Hemet Municipal earn, Shouman’s total compensation is listed as 4.7% more than the GM of FVWD and almost 25% over that of Pine Cove Water District (PCWD), with the caveat that these numbers include noncash “perks,” and that the other two districts have a more desirable (and expensive for the district) PERS retirement system. IWD also is unlike the other two local agencies in that it also runs a sewer system.

Teeguarden spoke not only of Reyes’ behavior but of Havener’s apparent approval of it. Of the fired employees, she said that they love, care for and support this community. But Reyes “has actually openly stated how much he hates this community and how much he thinks we are not well educated. It’s very difficult for me to understand how those two can be let go, and yet he can still have his job and continue to be allowed to do what he can do.”

Kevin Holldber of Idyllwild Heating and Cooling said he had “asked a few people in town, ‘Who is that guy driving the IWD truck?’ I have a few guys who drive company vehicles, with company commercial insurance. I tell every single one of them how important it is to drive respectfully through this town. You do not speed, you stop at all stop signs, you obey the law, you have to. Why? Yeah, it’s the law, [but] you represent the company that you wear the shirt for … All it takes is one missed stop sign … to have something a lot bigger than what we’re talking about right now.” Holldber also expressed his hope and prayer that “we rally together as a community when things are hard.”

A discussion ensued among the directors about the process for hiring an interim GM. Legal counsel Ryan Guiboa, present via internet, explained that as long as Havener was on leave, this would have to wait. On further questioning by Szabadi, Guiboa confirmed that yes, the board could hire a consultant who could assist the Shouman and other staff during the transition to an interim GM, who would then serve for less than a year. The process of hiring an interim GM is quick, but hiring a permanent GM requires a public and lengthy process. An interim GM would be allowed to submit an application for the permanent position.

Schelly said he had already contacted a candidate. “They could be here within three days. But it would take much longer to negotiate a contract … for the board to decide on something like that.” He added a few details; the candidate would get along well with IFPD because he has been a national incident commander, and has worked with both the Forest Service and water. “We need to look at other people also.”

Schelly spoke of his desire to meet again with the board and to speak with counsel; “I think that there are a lot of things we could accomplish in that 30 days that could be finalized on day 31.”

At the end of the meeting, this reporter asked Schelly whether acting GM Shouman could fire Reyes, and he replied that as far as he was concerned, the acting GM had that authority. The next day the Crier spoke with Shouman, who stipulated that he was willing to answer any questions about the operations or finances of the district but could not comment on a personnel matter, and one in which attorneys have already become involved.

But he explained that to his understanding, the board can hire and fire GMs but not other employees, including the CFO; this must be done by the chosen GM. And as acting GM, he believes he himself does not have that authority. When asked about this difference of opinion by text message, Schelly could only thank this reporter for “checking all perspectives and opinions.”

Reyes’ response to the allegations to the Town Crier was, “Good day sir, none of these allegations are true. Thank you and have a nice day.”