IWD board announces scholarships, plans public tour in May. Schelly addresses letter writer

The April meeting of the Idyllwild Water District board began with the awarding of prizes to the winners of the district’s Water Education Scholarship poster and essay contest, conducted in partnership with Idyllwild School. The winning posters and essays will be posted on the IDW website. The essay winners were Polina Rasskazova, first, and Quinnlyn Carpenter second. The poster winners were Maude Collins, first, and Valeria Ramirez Maldonado second. First-place prizes were $500, and second-place $250. Idyllwild School counselor Derrick Zimmerman noted that participation was greater than last year, and that school staff judged the essays.

General Manager Bill Rojas reported that water loss was at 5 %, a number that director Steve Olson called “awesome,” and board president Charles Schelly described as the “low end of very good.” Last month, the loss was reported at 3%, with the low number attributed to the repair of leaks misidentified as springs and better metering on wells.

Rojas reported that staff completed the repair of a leak on Strawberry Valley Drive When staff tried to turn the water off last month, the stem of a valve broke, and the work had to be delayed. Shutting off a larger area would require interrupting service to the Idyllwild School, and so the work was done during spring break.

Pine Cove Water provided essential collaboration for the repair; Rojas showed a photo of PCWD GM Jeremy Potter down in the ditch, and PCWD’s Maintenance Worker II Jensen Beri, who is certified as a welder, did the welding. As a result, the repair was done in a single day and at considerable savings over hiring a contractor. Other leaks on McKinney and Marion were repaired in one day, with “minimal” interruptions to service.

The contractor for the Strawberry Creek Diversion project, ELCO, has received the encroachment permit from the county, and is on track to start work in June. Replacements for two of three inverters on the solar power system at Foster Lake have been ordered at a cost of $52 thousand, and should be installed in the coming month. Director Mitch Davis asked why the third inverter was not also being replaced; Rojas explained that it was still providing 95% power. CFO Hosny Shouman added that the vendor, Hot Purple Energy, has extended the warranty for the new units to 10 years.

Rojas reported that he has been working with Michael Sims of the California Rural Water Association on a source water protection plan for district. This will take about six months, he said. Sims was in Idyllwild last week and spent a day visiting well sites and evaluating the local watershed. The plan will be linked to the already completed plans of FVWD and PCWD.

Schelly addressed accusations in a letter to the editor, published by a local newsletter, which questioned IWD leadership decisions. He began by clarifying that, contrary to the letter’ assertion, IWD is not a Riverside County special district, does not submit a budget to the county, and does not receive any funding from them. Therefore, he said, the county will not write grants for free for IWD.

Addressing the letter’s mention of employee “issues” and “poor community relations,” Schelly asked GM Rojas about employee morale. Rojas said that during his tenure, which began in June of last year, there have been no complaints from employees, resignations, or firings, and that staff has been gaining the certifications that enable them to take on more responsibility. Rojas also said that IWD has good relations with FVWD, PCWD and IFPD, and that community relations have also improved. Rojas reported no new customer complaints in the last year, and said ratepayers have appreciated the district’s efforts to notify residents before flushing lines.

Schelly then addressed financial matters mentioned in the letter, asking CFO Shouman if the schedule of rate increases approved in 2023 were intended to fund the rehabilitation of the wastewater treatment plant, and Shouman answered that the increases were to maintain service and “put something towards capital improvement.” At the time, then-GM Leo Havener told the board and rate payers that a financially strong district was more likely to qualify for grants.

The Town Crier asked Schelly a few questions about another issue the letter touched on: the district’s recent purchase of a house to serve as short-term housing for staff and visitors, and as an investment. Schelly said that the Brown act allows a board several options for handling real estate transactions. They can appoint a committee, or hire an agent— IWD did both, appointing Directors Olson and Davis to the committee. “We authorized our agent to negotiate. We always contact our lawyer to make sure we are in compete compliance with all requirements. We were able to give the agent authority to negotiate the purchase.”

Schelly noted that the district intends to drill a well on the property, and that the house is close to the district’s “very productive” Oakwood well, and another private well, also very productive. After the meeting, Schelly texted that the directors present at the closed session for real estate negotiation were Olson, Davis, Harsha, and Schelly. —addressing another concern raised by the letter, as the property belonged to family of board member Jessica Preifer’s husband, and Priefer was thus not present during the sessions where the purchase was discussed.

Schelly asked that the agenda next month include a discussion of the purchase of a lighted message board sign for the district office. This could communicate weather information and other public notices, as the Idyllwild School’s sign does.

There will be a budget workshop at 10:00 a.m., May 17, 10 am at the IWD office. The board will meet and then take a tour of district facilities, ending with a picnic lunch at Foster Lake. The event is open to the public. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21.