IWD meeting exposes fabricated water loss figures

The regular meeting of Idyllwild Water District’s board of directors
included revelations regarding two aspects of IWD’s operations: water
loss and personnel. Interim General Manager Curt Sauer told the board
and public that the former GM’s figures for water loss were
“fabricated,” and the second half of the meeting was a hearing during
which former Chief Water Operator Joseph Reyes appealed his recent
termination. Personnel matters are normally confidential, but Reyes’
choice to request a public hearing drew back the curtain on events and
decisions that have only become widely known since January, and then
only in outline.

The board approved minutes from meetings since January, earlier versions
of which had been repeatedly rejected. The version presented at the last
meeting did not include the fact of Interim GM Sauer’s hiring, although
that was announced after the board came out of closed session at their
January 27 special meeting. Director Steve Kunlkl noted a few
grammatical errors, but the board found the intent clear now and
approved them.

As finances were discussed, Vice President Peter Szabadi said he was
“very concerned by increased expenses…. under the current interim
manager.” He called the district’s legal fees “unbelievable.” He also
said he had been “told by the financial officer that for the first time
in a long time we have to go into our savings.” His third area of
concern was how “so often we turn to outside consultants in place of
doing the job ourselves.”

At this point president Schelly recognized CFO Shouman, who noted that
water sales were down, in his estimation, by 14%. His financial report
shows April’s water sales down almost 18% from an average budget month,
and the year-to-date sales figure almost 12% below budget. Szabadi
referred to JP Crumrine’s recent reporting in the Crier on the general
decrease in water use, due to conservation, that has affected all three
local districts. Szabadi said that the next budget needs to reflect
this.

Schelly addressed these issues. He said he had just done a seven month
review, finding the district spends about $238,000 monthly. “When Mr
Sauer came on we started to actually accomplish some things. We paid for
an easement, [for the Waste Water Treatment Plant project] that was
$57,000. That put us up slightly above that $238 [thousand] number, but
that easement was part of our CIP [Capital Improvement Plan] so it’s
really not something that Mr Sauer did, but something we had to do and
something we should have accomplished. The next month we spent $110,000
repaving up at the lake, once again not something that Mr Sauer did, but
something we had to do, and part of our CIP. This month we actually did
pay a $37,000 legal fee, not because of Mr. Sauer, but for a very
expensive investigative report that had to be done before Mr Sauer got
here. The bill finally came in now….[W]hat’s happening is that this GM
is paying for things that were already approved in the budget, and in
the 5 year rate plan it was said that we would go dip into savings
slightly and then come out of it at the end as the rates increase.”

As to the consultant fees, Schelly admitted that Sauer was spending
$10,000 monthly for two outside consultants. These consultants have been
discussed in previous meetings, and were brought in by Sauer one day a
week to help with training field workers and updating the computer
system that controls the district’s treatment plants. They have also
helped the district to function as it seeks qualified water operators.

As discussion shifted to the operations report, Kunkle questioned the
17% water loss figure. Sauer said he had gone over the figures for water
pumped, sold, and used internally in the past month, and still found the
17% loss. He also said he has gone over past reports, starting in
December 2022, and found errors, beginning with the report of 100,000
gallons IFPD unmetered usage, a figure that we have heard repeatedly
should be “zero” after IFPD began to exclusively use Fern Valley Water
hydrants for training. The figures for use, loss and pumping did not add
up, Sauer said, leading him to conclude “these figures were fabricated”
and the monthly reports “cooked..We will research them and give you
correct answers.” He concluded that during the last 3 months the
district may well have been suffering 14-17% losses.

The interim GM updated the board on the other major projects underway:
the WWTP, the Strawberry Creek Diversion, and the lower adminstrative
office rehab. He said that the lower administrative office building
rehab is on schedule and should be ready for move in by June 7. A
separate list detailed rehabilitation projects at the existing WWTP
plant.

Although the long term goal is to build a second plant next to the
present one, keeping existing structures as back up, this will take at
least two years and the old system has many areas of deferred
maintenance. Operator 3 Danny Campbell gave the Crier a tour of the
plant last year and pointed out many of these problems. Among these was
one of the large pumps used to keep the main treatment tank circulating,
a Return Activated Sludge (RAS) pump. We were told that during earlier
attempted repairs a wrench had been dropped into the pump housing and
that a 6 foot thick concrete slab would have to removed to complete the
repair. The pump has now been repaired and re-assembled. Another problem
was the underground line that brought air from a pair of large blowers
to the treatment tank. It had rusted out long ago and was replaced with
a large diameter flexible hose that wound above ground, across stairways
and asphalt. Now a new line has been welded and is ready to install. The
old line was dug up before Sauer’s arrival, and the open trench is now
dry enough to work in. A new blower is also in the building and ready to
install.

Two formalities were dispatched quickly, public hearings to continue
existing $30 standby fees for undeveloped parcels within the district
for water and sewer. The board then reviewed and approved a new Conflict
of Interest Code which requires financial disclosure filings for GM,
CFO, and Board members. President Schelly also announced a workshop,
open to the public, on Wednesday June 5 to discuss the capital
improvement plan and annual budget.

During a recess the room was rearranged for Mr Reyes’ appeal hearing.
Tables were set up for interim GM Sauer on the left and Mr Reyes on the
right. Reyes chose to bring his wife, Diana, and his two daughters to
join him at his table. The district had three lawyers present.

Members of the public spoke both for and against Mr Reyes, and Reyes and
his wife both made statements during public comments. The hearing lasted
almost two hours.

Sauer presented the charges against Reyes, beginning with the findings
of the third-party investigative report prepared for the district before
his arrival. The report was initiated after another employee, Brain
Wilson, filed a grievance against Reyes.

According to Sauer’s summary, the report found that Reyes “subjected Mr
Wilson to inappropriate comments about alleged sexual acitivities” of
other IWD employees, members of the community, and employees of other
local water districts; that Reyes “improperly limited Mr Wilsons ability
to communicate with” Office Administrator Tyla Wheeler; and that Reyes
retaliated against Wilson by reducing his hours after Wilson filed a
complaint against Reyes. Wilson and Wheeler were both fired by the
former GM and brought back after Sauer’s hiring.

Sauer said that he “determined that each of the conduct violations in
and of themselves supported the decision to recommend termination,” and
issued a notice of intent to terminate Reyes on March 12.

Reyes submitted a petition with, he said, forty signatures from members
of the community expressing their “unwavering support” for him and
describing him as a “dedicated servant of the community.” He spoke of
his nine years at IWD and his dedication to the district. Reyes said
that he was not well prepared for the hearing because CFO Hosny Shouman
had told him he would get a settlement. Shouman was not present during
the hearing and was not called as a witness.

Reyes admitted to having said “some stuff I shouldn’t have said but that
was talking to Brian as a person between me and him.’ He claimed to be
defending himself against Wheeler’s attempts to get him fired, and also
that his warnings to field workers to limit their time in the office and
not communicate with Wheeler were at the direction of his supervisors,
CFO Shouman and then-GM Leo Havener. As to the question of retaliation,
Reyes casts his decision to take Wilson off of “call duty” as motivated
by concern for Wilson’s health after he became ill on the job.

Those who spoke in support of Reyes pointed to the lack of “mentorship”
and “leadership” within the district that put Reyes in a supervisory
position without adequate training or instruction.

We also heard that the district’s personnel files were kept in an
unlocked filing cabinet in the Courtyard office, and that many documents
were missing. Sauer said that “Many of them do not have hiring
documentation. Many of them do not have evaluations. Many of them are
missing other personnel actions that should be there, and are even
referenced in other personnel files…”

Sauer admitted that while he “believes” that Reyes was “written up”
once, he testified that the file only states that “he talked Leo into
giving him a verbal warning rather than writing him up,” and that the
incident in which IFPD Chief LaMont alleges that Reyes told him to “keep
your f-ing hands off my hydrants” was not included in his file. Reyes
insists that LaMont, Executive Assistant Rachel Teeguarden and IFPD
Commissioner Stephanie Yost are all lying about that incident.

Reyes promised to take his case to court if the decision is upheld and
he is not offered a settlement.

President Schelly communicated to the Crier via text that the Board’s
final decision on Reyes’ appeal will be available on June 5, at the
budget and CIP workshop.

The next regular meeting will be Wednesday, June 19.