While SJB faces a $53K fine from EDA, San Benito water district
may work with them yet
The loss of $3.8 million in federal funds does not mean that an
ambitious effort to bring San Juan Bautista’s water system into
21st Century standards is doomed. A spokesman for the San Benito
County Water District indicated the agency is still committed to
seeing the project through.
While SJB faces a $53K fine from EDA, San Benito water district may work with them yet
The loss of $3.8 million in federal funds does not mean that an ambitious effort to bring San Juan Bautista’s water system into 21st Century standards is doomed. A spokesman for the San Benito County Water District indicated the agency is still committed to seeing the project through.
However, the two agencies may face an uphill battle on the $10 million project since the EDA is imposing a fine against the city, which has just reappointed Mark Davis as the water project manager.
Last week the EDA issued a statement indicating that they agreed with the inspector general’s office’s finding in August that San Juan had not met the requirement of the grant assurances to allow access to records, books, papers or documents related to the project. The EDA decided that the documents submitted by San Juan in response to the audit indicated that the city lacked sufficient institutional, fiscal and administrative ability to adequately administer and manage the project they are at tempting, according to documents released by the EDA.
Additionally, the EDA has reported that the city of San Juan owes the EDA an additional $53,188 for project management overpayments made to the city and interest charges for San Juan’s failure to properly utilize EDA reimbursements. The money is due to the EDA within 30 days.
The city convened an emergency meeting Oct. 11 to discuss approval of an agreement for water project management with the M.S. Davis Company. There was a new contract awarded to Mark Davis after a 3-2 vote by the city council. The council also voted to authorize the city to move forward on an administrative action appeal, though City Manager Jan McClintock declined to say what the appeal was about. Another lawsuit was scheduled to be discussed by but McClintock said no reportable action was taken.
After the August audit, the EDA decided it would terminate the grant with the city.
The EDA did not, however, pull the grant from the San Benito County Water District, originally named as a co-recipient.
With a new SBC Water District Manager, the city and water district may yet be able to work together. Lance Johnson, the new manager, said that the San Benito County Board of Supervisors and the water district have created an Ad Hoc committee to explore the possibility of re-teaming with San Juan in order to build the water improvement project.
“We’re attempting to re-establish a dialogue,” Johnson said. “We haven’t even spoken to them yet, but I’ve emailed [San Juan City Manager] Jan McClintock and requested a meeting between the two of us.”
Anthony Botehlo, District 2 county supervisor, is part of the Ad Hoc committee.
“The supervisors talked about the EDA issue and expressed hopes that the water district would continue to move forward with the project,” Botehlo said. “We need to keep the grant alive for the sake of San Benito County, not just San Juan. It would be a considerable loss if the grant were to go away.”
The water district was directed to meet with the city of San Juan and look at its finances to see if they had the financing to conduct such a project, Botehlo said.
“I think we’re all kind of hoping to bury some of the problems from the past and move forward,” Botehlo said.
For more than a decade San Juan officials worked to obtain an EDA grant worth $3.8 million in order to upgrade the archaic and inadequate water system that services the town of 1,700 people. The city finally landed the grant in 2005.
In August of that same year negotiations between the city and the water district broke down, leading to the grant’s suspension.
By 2006, the two agencies had parted ways and San Juan continued to pursue the water improvement project on its own.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of commerce’s office of the Inspector General completed an audit recommending that the EDA consider terminating the award.
It is unclear how the debt or Davis’ reappointment to the project could affect relations between the city of San Juan and the water district, but Lance Johnson has previously stated that the water district was willing to work with San Juan if the city had the funds.
