Editor’s Note: The 2024 Presidential Election will be Tuesday, November 5. The Idyllwild Water District has three Board of Directors seats to fill. While there are four candidates on the official ballot, one, Steve Kunkle, has already withdrawn from the race and announced that he will not accept a Board seat even if he is one the three candidates with the most votes.

The three candidates seeking election are incumbent Board President Dr. Charles Schelly, incumbent Board Vice President Peter Szabadi and challenger Jessica Priefer. All three have consented to an interview with the Town Crier. Since he no longer is seeking a seat on the IWD Board, there is no interview with Kunkle.

Jessica Priefer is the only candidate seeking a seat on the Idyllwild Water District Board of Directors who is not an incumbent. But she is a long-time resident of Idyllwild.

Born in Banning, her family moved to Idyllwild when she was only a year-old. She attended Idyllwild School and graduated from Hemet High School. Both of her children took the same path and are now college graduates. Her husband, Brennen, teaches at Idyllwild School.

Currently, Priefer is the assistant general manager of the Fern Valley Water District. She has been there 18 years.

She is a resident of the Idyllwild Water District and has been attending meetings for several years. Her work experience at FVWD is what originally brought her to the IWD, but her concern over the District’s direction is what caused her to seek a Board seat.

“I have knowledge of the industry. I have worked with a water board for years. Consequently, my biggest strength which I can bring to the Board is understanding the finances and their relevance,” she stated.

While this is her first effort at an elective Board seat, Priefer has previously expressed interest when the Board has had to fill a vacancy. Then and now, there are some who question whether an employee of one water district can serve on the board of another district.

California Water Code section 35000 only specifies that water district directors “. . . whether elected or appointed, shall be a voter of the district.” There are no other criteria.

When asked if she feels that there is a conflict working for FVWD and serving IWD, Priefer without hesitation replied, “I don’t see one. I live in IWD and it affects me personally. There is not much crossover between my work and role of director. I can keep them separate, but if an issue arose that involved Fern Valley, I’d discuss it.”

Water issues and customer service draw her attention to serving on the IWD Board. While she did identify any problems caused by climate change, she noted that “We’ve [IWD] been able to pull water from the stream [Strawberry Creek] longer than normal. Our well levels are high and continue to climb.”

IWD’s infrastructure is what concerns her, especially the District’s pipelines and adequacy of water hydrants. “One of my biggest concerns is their condition, not just their age,” Priefer stated and added. “Is there a real capital program? Even attending meetings, I look for money for infrastructure. There is money in reserves to do more capital improvements.”

She feels the maintenance program has been sporadic and inadequate. While she agrees with the effort to rebuild the wastewater treatment plant, she feels that project should have been done years ago.

Priefer wants to avoid a similar situation with the District’s pipelines. The are frequent leaks, which can be seen on the street just driving around the district. A more organized leak detection system would be an important start, she stressed.

IWD has had seven general managers in the past decade. Its neighboring districts – Fern Valley and Pine Cove – have had only two. She admitted that gives her concern about the Board’s ability to recruit and to select good staff.

“Not much more I can say about that!” she replied.

Regarding the ubiquitous question of consolidation of the three local water districts, Priefer replied, “I’m not strongly for it. It’s complicated. Two districts were created under the County laws, and one is a State district. There would be concerns over financial issues, such as benefits and compensation. Right now, they are all working together.”

Over the past few months, one issue that has been on the IWD agenda several times is the level of compensation for directors. Priefer does see a need for an increase.

“I’ve thought about it a lot personally. I’m not doing this for the increase,” she said, “I want to be proud of my service.”

The issues on which she will initially focus are employee relations and retention and the District’s infrastructure. “I want to see us going in the right direction,” she concluded.

Other areas where she has been involved include the Idyllwild School Parent-Teacher Association and Girl Scouts. “I show up and help where I’m needed,” she said.