San Juan Bautista
– A $3.8 million federal grant intended to fund improvements to
the Mission City’s water infrastructure could be in trouble.
San Juan Bautista – A $3.8 million federal grant intended to fund improvements to the Mission City’s water infrastructure could be in trouble.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of the Inspector General recently completed an audit recommending that the EDA consider “terminating the award … and putting the funds to better use.”
Although the city is ailing financially and failed to reach an agreement with the San Benito County Water District – which shares the grant – in 2005, neither issue was offered to justify the recommendation.
Instead, the audit report states that city officials just didn’t provide the information needed to evaluate San Juan Bautista’s ability to manage the grant.
When asked about the audit, City Manager Jan McClintock emphasized that the EDA will be making its own decision on the grant and is not required to follow the inspector general’s recommendation. Despite the fact that the EDA has not made a final decision on the grant, McClintock said the city will be moving forward with its plans.
The audit states that the Department of Commerce gives financial assistance only to “those recipients who are competently managed, responsible and committed to achieving the objectives of the awards they receive.”
It goes on to list several instances in which the auditor was denied access to critical documentation and personnel, leaving the auditor “unable to assess whether the city was a responsible recipient, capable of achieving the objectives of the EDA award.”
McClintock said she did the best she could to comply with requests, but she said the auditor didn’t understand small local governments.
“She’s used to dealing with a big organization that can give her a special office and make all their staff available to her,” she said. “We don’t have that situation, and that’s just the reality.”
A representative at the Office of the Inspector General said the agency’s spokesperson was unavailable.
The $10.4 million water project includes the construction of a new water treatment plant as well as new pipes and other infrastructure.
The grant was originally awarded in February 2005 to both San Juan Bautista and the San Benito County Water District. However, negotiations between the city and the water district broke down, leading to the grant’s suspension in August of 2005.
Since then, the water district has written to the EDA saying it is withdrawing from the grant, but will still contribute $2.2 million to the project.
Former City Councilman Chuck Geiger has been a vocal critic of the city’s management of the grant. He said Thursday that he has not read the report, but he’s hoping the audit forces the city and the water district to work together.
Part of the funding is also comes from increased water and sewer bills which were approved earlier this year. Geiger said the city should hold off on the increases until the situation is resolved.
“Why make people pay for a project that may not happen?” he said.
But San Juan Bautista needs to keep moving forward with the project, McClintock said, because of the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board’s cease-and-desist order. If the city doesn’t make progress towards improving its water quality, it could face huge fines, McClintock said.
“We’re moving ahead,” she said. “We have to.”
McClintock said that if the EDA terminates the grant, the city will have to look for funding from other government agencies. And in the worst-case scenario, McClintock said, the city can still complete the project without federal funding. She said the city will have to eliminate non-essential components, such as the installation of new fire hydrants.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
ah*@fr***********.com
.
