The San Juan Bautista City Council has approved its appeal to
the federal Economic Development Administration for terminating a
$3.8 million construction grant for the Mission City’s water
infrastructure project and billing the city $53,188.
San Juan Bautista – The San Juan Bautista City Council has approved its appeal to the federal Economic Development Administration for terminating a $3.8 million construction grant for the Mission City’s water infrastructure project and billing the city $53,188.
The council approved its appeal early Thursday morning, and the appeal today should be in Washington, D.C., said City Manager Jan McClintock.
McClintock and other county leaders said they’re also looking at different ways for the city or the San Benito County Water District to move forward with the infrastructure project.
The water project has been managed by Mark Davis of The M.S. Davis Co. At its meeting Thursday, the City Council approved a new contract with Davis, under which he will be paid an hourly wage for his work on the water project and the South of San Juan Project. The contract ends in June 2010 and caps his salary at $125,000, McClintock said. Previously, Davis was paid a flat monthly fee for his work.
“People didn’t feel comfortable with that, so we changed it,” McClintock said.
Councilmen Ed Laverone and Robert Paradice voted against Davis’ contract.
As for the city’s appeal, McClintock and EDA spokesman Matthew Crow have said they can’t comment until it’s resolved. The EDA’s $53,188 bill to the city – required, according to the EDA, due to “project management overpayments … plus appropriate interest charges for the city’s failure to properly utilize EDA reimbursements” during past grants – is part of that appeal, McClintock said. So she declined to comment on it.
The EDA set a payment deadline for 30 days after the Sept. 14 receipt of its letter. When asked if San Juan Bautista has written the EDA a check, McClintock said, “Not yet.”
The EDA grant was originally awarded to the city and the water district. In its letter, the EDA stated that the water district can continue with the project on its own or with any agency other than San Juan Bautista.
The water district’s board of directors and the San Benito County Board of Supervisors have both created committees to continue investigating the water project and grant.
“There’s no question that we have this grant on a fishing line, and it’s a matter of reeling it in,” said Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who sits on the county committee. “To fail to do so would be a tremendous loss.”
Water District Manager Lance Johnson said the district and San Benito County will be “looking together” at several possibilities, including “whether we or the county would get involved again.”
Johnson said the committee members also told him to “re-initiate a dialogue” with the City of San Juan Bautista.
“We’ve requested additional documentation from the city, and we will be reviewing that as it comes in,” he said.
The EDA construction grant was awarded in February 2005, but was suspended a year later after negotiations broke down between the water district and the city. Neither McClintock nor Johnson were involved in those discussions.
McClintock confirmed Thursday that the water district and the city are talking again.
“We had a pleasant meeting with the water district the other day,” she said.
The city is also looking for other sources of funding to continue the water project on its own, McClintock said. If the project doesn’t continue moving forward, San Juan Bautista could face substantial state fines, she said.
As discussions continue, Johnson said it’s important to remember that through the water district, all county taxpayers are considered recipients of the grant.
“If something were to go haywire, we’d be responsible,” he said.
