Commentary: Lompico water board speaks out

• Editor’s Note: This commentary was written by the board of directors of the Lompico County Water District: Lois Henry, Robert Hansel, Chris Kilgus and William Smallman.
Many in our community are concerned about what is happening with changes in the Lompico County Water District. We want to bring you up to date on the system and finances and assure you that operations are continuing normally during reorganization.
We have worked closely with the Department of Public Health, which manages water district compliance, throughout our transition. With public health approval, the board has hired local independent water manager John Ekizian of California Environmental Consulting, who meets proper certification requirements to oversee our water testing, treatment and distribution. He will work with our full-time certified technician, Scott Harmon, and technician Ricardo Villa will move to full-time, as both get additional training and certification to improve services.
We owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who has stepped up to keep the district going in these challenging times. We have received many offers to help from other water districts, our community in Lompico Canyon and former employees. So far, there have been the usual service calls, line breaks and emergencies, all of which have been handled by our regular technicians promptly and efficiently.
Changes are being developed for oversight of the business side of the district. We are hiring a secretary temporarily to keep the office open while we move forward to create a permanent office manager position. Applicants will be reviewed once the job is announced.
The finances are a somewhat different matter and are our area of greatest concern. Looking back, it is apparent that oversight problems began about eight to 10 years ago. Board president Lois Henry has been reviewing records to ascertain our financial status, to prioritize payments to vendors and assure creditors that old past-due bills from last year will be paid and government fines paid or negotiated, and to bring some sense of order to the office.
The county auditor-controller’s office has been helpful and supportive, and for a set time will continue to pay current payroll, even though the district is in the red. Over time, with lean spending, sharp cuts in payroll and real oversight of expenses, the board intends to bring the district’s finances back to a state of health — but it will take time.
As usual, people in the canyon have come through wonderfully, offering kind words, volunteer time, supplies and support in so many ways — the true spirit of Lompico.
If you’d like to help:
• If you hear a rumor about the district that disturbs you or that you don’t understand, call the office at 335-5200 and ask for clarification.
• Pay your bill promptly — the more we bring in, the more we can close the financial gap.
• We’re making a wish list of things we need during reorganization until we’re back in the black. If you’d like to help, call and ask what we need, or stop by.
The board wishes to act as though our water district will continue for the next 100 years. The primary job of the board is to consider every option to keep our water available, clean and affordable. This includes reorganizing our staff for better efficiency and hiring out some or all of our services to independent professionals or other water districts.
An additional option being looked at is consolidation with the San Lorenzo Valley Water District — whether in the near or distant future, this tends to be the trend for small water districts such as ours to survive in times of ever-growing regulations and costs. This is simply an exploration in its first stages, and we have many questions and concerns, like you.
Another possibility proposed is a temporary assessment, perhaps $100 every six months for two years.
If you have other constructive ideas, we’d like to hear them. Whatever the preference or decision, we’d like this to be a reasoned, open discussion by the stakeholders — all of us.
We’d like to hear from you. Write to the board of directors, Lompico County Water District, 11255 Lompico Road, Felton, CA 95018. Please sign your letters, as we are unable to accept anonymous letters.
It’s going to take time and work to get through the present difficulties — they didn’t just happen overnight, and they won’t be solved overnight. We’re working hard to get there, and we appreciate your patience, your faith and your help.