The Hollister City Council held a special closed-session meeting
Thursday night to discuss a lawsuit threatened by the San Benito
County Water District for the city’s planned construction of a
seasonal storage pond.
The Hollister City Council held a special closed-session meeting Thursday night to discuss a lawsuit threatened by the San Benito County Water District for the city’s planned construction of a seasonal storage pond.
After the Council spoke with City Manager George Lewis and City Attorney Elaine Cass, Cass announced that the Council directed city staff to return with a report on the issue at another special meeting Monday at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 375 Fifth St. The meeting will be open to the public.
“They want us to go back and look at the information further,” Lewis said.
The county and the water district sent separate letters to city officials this week threatening litigation to halt the storage pond project, claiming it does not fit the state Environmental Quality Act’s definition of emergency.
The Council requested more information on the emergency aspect of the pond for Monday’s meeting.
If construction is delayed, the city may not be able to meet a Jan. 1 completion deadline for the storage pond imposed by the Regional Water Quality Control Board and would be forced to pay a $150,000 fine to the state.
