Small water district votes against consolidation

Put this 'action' in context: The City of San Bernardino won a suit against the Conservation District blaming the District for high water in basement of City Hall, etc. Since it is geology that caused this high water phenomenon, 'who ya gonna believe'?

Years ago, Conservation was run on a shoestring. They did a great job banking the surplus water that comes into this valley. Taxpayer cost was minimal. Conservation is now bulked up. Directors junket all over the country. They bought their own office mall. They are paying this Neufeld guy $200,000 a year, yet they bank less water than in the past.

By consolidating, taxpayers will get relief from 7 (seven) Board members and an expensive, superfluous General Manager, while staff and operations resume under the aegis of Muni.

(Neufeld was last in this area as the proprietor of a skate shop in a strip mall catty corner from the Conservation offices. He participated in a flight of fancy at the San Bernardino airport, trying to 'redevelop' it with a roller skating rink.)

This decision by the Water Department in San Bernardino typifies a dysfunctional city.

The Board of Water Commissioners made a decision to reverse their prior support for consolidation on the basis of the following: (1) reductions in the Conservation District's administrative costs; (2) re-energized leadership at the Conservation District; and, (3) the role that the Conservation District has historically played in balancing the actions of the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District.

There was only one organization that spread free water this year -- the Conservation District. This basin is in overdraft. The basin needs recharge water. The Municipal Water District has, to date, been reluctant to bring in state project water to replenish the basin (and certainly has hesitated to do so on its dime).

P.S. The teaser headline is misleading. The Water Department for the City of San Bernardino is not a "small district." We serve over 150,000 people and we are a municipal utility.

It's far time the "Good Ole Boys" with their big beer bellies put aside their self-serving agendas, lack of compassion and devious ways and do what is right for the people. Wow! What a novel idea.... Human beings behaving humanely and responsibly. Whatever happened to being a true servant to the people. Last time I checked, a leader is the ultimate servant, fulfilling the needs of those who are truly in need. Whatever happened to showing respect, actively listening, showing genuine concern for those you serve and soliciting feedback to ensure that those you serve are fully understood. Good luck SBVWCD, you will need it!!!!! Mr. Neufeld do what is right in the eyes of God!! Who knows more about being a servant than Him?!! Trust in Him for direction and take care of those who support you!!!

Note to Stacy Alstadt:

The job of the Conservation District IS to spread the 'free water'. Only a bureaucrat could talk about water being 'free' and ignore the hundreds of thousands of dollars (maybe a million?) of overhead that Conservation imposes by having its bloated structure.

I appreciate that Muni is also terribly wasteful. But do we really need to fund one expensive special district to countervail another?

I'd be happy if all the water operations of this valley (including SB City Water Department) be combined into one large regional entity. Or privatized.

Water and Bunker Hill Basin are badly mismanaged. Lakes and Streams are an expensive hoax to justify interminable meeting fees and superfluous staffing.

San Bernardino City Water Department owns a recharge line that's never been used despite a surplus of water in the high pressure zone, and despite allowing surface water to flow over the Dike.

San Bernardino is a failing city. It's time to junk old ideas and the old leaders who possess them.

I have always been amazed by individuals who do not have the decency or the courage to use their own names when they attack an agency or a person. To me, that says a lot about the character and credibility of the person making those allegations and statements. Readers of this Blog will hopefully understand that when they see the comments made by Sam Bernardino. Sam made some outrageous and untruthful comments in his response to this Blog and a response is required. Let me say as someone who is very familiar with the Conservation District and Mr. Neufeld that he is not being paid $200,000 as alleged by Sam, the number is significantly less than that amount and had Sam bothered to check he/she would have known that. Mr. Neufeld’s former private business ventures have nothing to do with his qualifications to be the General Manager for the Conservation District. We here at the Conservation District are extremely fortunate to have Mr. Neufeld as our General Manager, he has tremendous leadership skills, innovative thinking, has the ability to reach out to the local community and lead, regardless of who wants to stay in the mud. Our only regret is that we didn’t get him on board 5 years ago. It is also unfortunate that Sam doesn’t understand that “Taxpayer cost” is still minimal at the Conservation District ranging $40,000-$60,000 a year in comparison with the TENS OF MILLIONS that Muni rakes in from the taxpayer annually.

Like the “Dirty Politics” that seem to surround us constantly, it is very easy for mudslingers like Sam to make misleading and false statements when they do not have to identify themselves.

Sam’s contention that the District is not spreading as much water as in the past shows his/her lack of knowledge of the inner operations of water spreading in the San Bernardino Basin. I would refer him/her to the 2009 Basin Management Plan for the San Bernardino Basin Area as it outlines the parameters for Basin Management Requirements. The Conservation District is limited in the amount of water that it can spread due to the agreements outlined in the Basin Management Plan and by oversight by the Basin Technical Advisory committee and last but not least by the amount of water that is available annually from the Santa Ana River and from Mill Creek.

As President of the Board, and on behalf of my Board of Directors here at the Conservation District. I want to thank the City of San Bernardino’s Board of Water Commissioners and specifically their General Manager Stacey Aldstadt for their support and look forward to a continuing and long standing partnership with them and other water agencies in the San Bernardino Basin. We are in perilous times with the on going drought and if there was ever a time to work together to ensure Water Conservation it is now. I invite Sam to join us.

Finally, the Consolidation effort between the Conservation District and Muni will not produce any savings to the local community and in fact will cost the taxpayers of the area up to $300,000 in the first year if it is approved. Sam should also have taken the time to learn that expenses for travel and conferences by the Conservation District have decreased significantly since 2005 and are (and have always been) paltry in comparison to Muni’s management fees and director fees.

I caution the readers of this Blog to look carefully at the information that is represented here. The Conservation District can document and support every point made in their information, I suggest that Sam is blowing in the wind with his remarks.

Melody McDonald, President of the Board, San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District