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CCWD candidates share goals, but not approach
By Stephen Crane | Posted: Friday, October 17, 2014Â
Calaveras Enterprise
Neither candidate running for the directorâs seat in Division 2 of the Calaveras County Water District â which includes Mokelumne Hill, San Andreas, Valley Springs and Burson â had much experience with water issues prior to seeking the position.
Incumbent Scott Ratterman was appointed to the position in July 2011 and heâs clearly learned a lot since that time.
âIâve learned how valuable (water) is as a commodity and a resource, and how important it is to maintain its quality and availability,â the San Andreas resident said. âIâve learned a lot more about the complexity of water systems and wastewater systems.â
But his reason for seeking the appointment wasnât necessarily water.
âIâve always been involved in things going on in my community, and I wanted to be an active participant,â Ratterman said. âThat was my main goal.â
Mike DellâOrto, who hails from Mokelumne Hill, is driven by that same desire for community involvement, and his resume is packed full of positions and titles heâs held in a wide spectrum of organizations in Calaveras County. However, that same resume is light on water issues and agencies, but he felt now was the time to take the plunge.
âIâve had a concern for CCWD for years and an interest in getting them to move forward on our water rights, which are at risk,â DellâOrto said.
Over the years, he never felt the timing was right.
âThere wasnât a board that you could fit into and get something done. But now, it looks like a potential major change on the board,â he said, alluding to the fact that four of the five director positions are up for election this year.
The top priority for DellâOrto, were he elected, is to secure the water rights the county has in place.
âWe have the right to get it if we can take it, hold it, use it,â he said. âWaterâs in demand right now and has been for a long time, and weâre faced with really big players. Weâre kind of like tiny voices in a big, big place.â
Ratterman has gotten an inside view on the water rights in place here in Calaveras, and he cited the recent water bond that will be on this yearâs ballot as an important step in protecting the stateâs water supply, and thus, the water rights of Calaveras County.
âAdditional storage in California is very, very important,â he said. âWe have three rivers that flow through our county, and thereâs an abundance of water here.â
But at the end of the day, âwe are the mercy of the state board,â Ratterman conceded, referring to the California Water Resources Control Board. He noted the boardâs move in June to temporarily suspend junior water rights due to the drought.
While itâs still some years down the road, he pointed to the relicensing of the North Fork Project on the Stanislaus River as an important step in ensuring the countyâs water interests are protected. CCWD owns the power generation sites that are run by the Northern California Power Agency, which receives most of the benefits from it, Ratterman said.
âThey are collecting millions. We are collecting pennies,â he said.
âWe want to make sure that is being looked at and worked on and not set aside,â Ratterman said. âItâs time to be preparing for it and looking at it.â
In the meantime, Ratterman would like to find new ways for the water district to generate revenue, citing water sales to outside agencies as the âbig oneâ and hydroelectric projects as another potential way for the district to make money.
DellâOrto, however, questions the current boardâs effectiveness.
âMy impression is that the board has been rather arrogant,â he said, citing the lack of collaboration with other utility districts in the county and beyond. âWay back when the district was formed, (utility districts in the county) thought (CCWD) would be the ones to lead the charge of protecting our water rights, and it appears they havenât done well on that.
âThey all pay taxes, of which a part of the taxes go to CCWD. ⦠I think they need to consider what services they are providing for that tax money.â
Ratterman acknowledged that CCWD hasnât always managed its assets well, but heâs seen a different tone since joining the board in 2011.
âHistory is history,â he said. âIâm not a historian and gone that far back with CCWD, but I have heard of some stupid things theyâve done. ⦠But thereâs nothing that fits into that category anymore; itâs been taken care of; Itâs been rectified and addressed.â
Ratterman said that despite the improved condition heâs seen during his time with the water district, the public perception somehow persists that CCWD is poorly run. That perception was in full view last summer, when the water district voted to increase its rates for water and sewer amid strenuous public outcry.
Both candidates readily admit that much of CCWDâs infrastructure was in need of repair and upgrade, but the magnitude of the rate hike is still in dispute.
âWith the problems weâve had with the district and the breakdowns, thatâs being addressed now,â Ratterman said. âOne of the great things that came from the rate increase or in conjunction with it, we put together a capital improvement fund, which guarantees all new money goes into the fund and canât be used for anything else. Thatâs very positive.â
But DellâOrto questions the very payment structure of those improvements, wondering if the amount of the increase was even necessary.
âYou have to pay for your services,â he said. âBut I think the thing they need to look at is, what unit of time are they looking to pay for the infrastructure? ⦠Infrastructure, itâs usually multiple people and more in the future. I donât know that you have to pay it off as quick as you can.â
DellâOrto would have preferred a lower rate that stretched payments over a longer period âso the people coming in are paying for it as well.â
The rate hike was implemented while former General Manager Mitch Dion was still at the helm, but he has since been fired by the board, which is now looking to hire a new general manager. The current board is holding interviews and hoping to hire a new manager before any new directors take their seat on the board, which doesnât sit well with DellâOrto.
âI think itâs unwise for two reasons,â he said. âOne, the new board members may not be pleased with the selection. Two, the candidates (for general manager) may look at that and say, âHow many GMs have they gone through in the last eight years? And Iâm going to have a whole new board a month after I go to work?â ⦠They donât need to be in a constant state of turmoil.â
But Ratterman insists that he was appointed to the board to do a job, and hiring a new general manager is a part of the job description.
âThis is a pressing issue within the district that I personally feel is something that I would rather not saddle the next board with,â he said. âI do not think waiting for the next board to be set is what we were hired to do.â
The applications have already come in, the interviews will soon take place, and Ratterman is optimistic about the process.
âThere are some excellent, highly paid, highly credentialed people who have already applied for the job,â he said, adding that he would âabsolutely seek input from the incomingâ directors if the hiring decision were to come after the election but before the new directors were officially put in place.
DellâOrto hopes that regardless of academic degrees and areas of study, the person is qualified for the job.
âFor me, a general manager would be somebody whoâs skilled at business management and people,â he said. âAnd that is usually a hard qualification to meet if you are an engineer or an accountant.â
Whoever may be hired will be at the helm of a water district thatâs guaranteed to have at least two new faces on its board of directors.