IWD bids farewell to interim GM Curt Sauer, welcomes new leadership

Idyllwild Water District spread their regular meeting over two evenings,
gaveling in briefly on Wednesday June 19, a holiday, then adjourning and
reconvening Thursday. The sole item on the agenda was the the
consideration and approval of the employment agreement for a new General
Manager, but the Thursday session was also.a standing room only send off
for interim GM Curt Sauer.

The meeting marked a full circle from the January meeting in which the
public learned of the dismissal of General Manager Leo Havener, and
vented their disapproval of then-Chief Water Operator Joseph Reyes. Now
the staff and public had gathered to praise interim GM Curt Sauer and
see him off. Sauer’s wife and granddaughter had been tipped off, and
their appearance added to the element of a surprise party for him.

The public part of the meeting consisted mostly of speeches, often
emotional, as members of the community and IWD staff praised Sauer’s
leadership. IFPD Chief LaMont and Fern Valley Water’s GM Victor Jimenez
both expressed. thanks to the board for bringing Sauer on board. Both
lauded him for instilling a sense of cooperation between the crew of IWD
and their agencies, and for the district’s accomplishments in the the
last 4 and a half months.

Acting Chief Water Operator Brian Wilson expressed gratitude to the
board for the decisions they had made over the last six months. He
recalled that 5 months ago he had addressed the board and asked for
“resolve, wisdom, empathy,. moral character, diligence and fortitude,
and you guys have answered so well.” He called leadership “at its best a
perfect balance between power and responsibility” and said that “caring
is something that cannot be taught or easily described, but can only be
felt.” He said that he and the staff look forward to serving with Rojas
as they had served under Sauer.

Another crew member re-hired by Sauer, Tyler Pluckett, thanked him on
behalf of his family. and expressed the consensus that Sauer had done
what he came to do, and built camaraderie inside the crew and with other
agencies.

Board President Charles Schelly praised Sauer for his ability to
establish face to face relationships with the important players, and his
deep network of knowledgeable and experienced colleagues. Schelly read
from a list, which he said was not exhaustive, of the district’s
accomplishments during Sauers short 4 1/2 months at IWD: comprehensive
orientation and training of employees; fostering relationships with Fern
Valley Water and IFPD; orchestrating the return of Water Operators and
an Administrative Assistant; replacing “fear and frustration with care
and confidence in the employees;” bringing in experts to update the
outdated SCADA software that monitors the Water Water Treatment Plant;
overseeing the rehab of the downstairs office; completing repair of 15
non-operational hydrants; establishing an industry-compliant system for
flushing water lines; beginning work on the state’s new copper and lead
surveys; restoring the district’s radio system; establishing
communication with the grant writer for the WWTP project and the
engineer for the Strawberry Creek Diversion; renewing lapsed licenses
for the WWTP and Radio system. The complete list was longer.

Schelly’s main point was that he’d been on the board for about 8 years
and hadn’t seen as much progress as in the last 4 months. Szabadi
seconded the comments made by Schelly, expressed his personal
appreciation for what Sauer had done, and personably congratulated
Schelly for bringing Sauer in “under very difficult circumstances.”

Sauer’s own comments were, as usual, brief. He thanked IWD’s employees
and board, IFPD, and the Pine Cove and Fern Valley Water Districts. He
joked that “It’s just been a wonderful four and a half… years .” He gave
credit to the two consultants he brought in, Randy Little and Bill
Rojas. Lastly he thanked his wife for supporting him in the decision to
come out of retirement for the third time.

After the open session, the board continued on in closed session.
President Charles Schelly texted the Crier that, in open session, the
Board voted 5-0 to retain Bill Rojas as IWD’s new GM. His contract,
Schelly said, was for 3 years at about $150,000 a year, and Rojas will
be an at-will employee. He will have some “transitional days” until
Sauer finishes on the 28th.