The San Juan Bautista City Council formally declared it will
move forward on its own regarding a $3.8 million grant that would
improve its water system despite warnings that it could lose the
money if it fails to cooperate with the San Benito County Water
District.
San Juan Bautista – The San Juan Bautista City Council formally declared it will move forward on its own regarding a $3.8 million grant that would improve its water system despite warnings that it could lose the money if it fails to cooperate with the San Benito County Water District.
Council members voted unanimously at a meeting this week to approve a resolution stating that while the city has been unable to reach an agreement with the water district to provide an additional $3.1 million in funding, it will pursue other grants and bonds to secure the rest of the money for the project.
The grant is intended to repair San Juan’s leaky and dilapidated water and sewer system, which hasn’t been updated in decades. Part of the government’s agreement to award the $3.8 million grant was that the city and the water district work together in financing the project – which will cost more than $7 million by the time it’s complete. The water district had agreed to match the federal grant with about $3.1 million in grants and loans.
While the city believes it can move forward on its own, Paul Weldon, project manager with the Public Works Division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, said if an agreement between both parties isn’t reached the EDA will most likely terminate the grant.
Weldon said the agencies are co-grantees, and if one begs out, the other loses the grant opportunity. Weldon had not received the resolution Friday and said at this point, nothing concerning the suspension or possible termination of the grant has changed.
Mayor Arturo Medina said the resolution was in response to a letter that Water Board President John Tobias sent to the EDA last month, notifying the agency that both parties had failed to reach an agreement and the city was modifying the government’s terms of the grant agreement by itself. Tobias did not return phone calls Friday, however that letter prompted the EDA to suspend the grant until an agreement is reached.
Medina said it was the city’s responsibility to formally announce its commitment to move forward without the district’s help and let the EDA know it was pursuing other funding sources – although Tobias said those sources were never outlined in the original grant application.
But Medina dismissed the possibility that the EDA might pull the grant altogether if it determines the city cannot modify the terms of the grant and go alone like it would like.
“What-if’s, what-if’s. You can what-if all day long,” Medina said. “We need to have something like that in writing because if the water district is telling them we can’t come to an agreement we need to let the EDA know that we still plan on going forward.”
Weldon said he didn’t know if the city could move forward on its own because he hadn’t received any notification from the city yet and had not researched that question.
But the city’s independence and the fact that the two organizations have not come to an agreement when such a large amount of money is concerned is troubling to Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who represents San Juan. Botelho has offered to facilitate meetings between the city and the water district, but hasn’t been able to bring the two together.
“I think it’s absolutely critical that it’s a joint effort, because the water district has some areas of expertise the city of San Juan doesn’t,” Botelho said. “The overall costs to the rate payers in the long run would be cheaper if the water district contributes to the project. When it comes to water, the city should be working with the water district as far as the best delivery.”
After receiving the federal grant to overhaul the water system in February, San Juan city leaders spent months negotiating a contract to administer the grant with water district board members in the hopes of securing another $3.1 million in loans and grants from the district to help pay for the project.
The negotiations fell apart in July when the water district sent the city a letter asking for more control over the project because of the city’s shaky financial situation, and what district officials say is a history of governmental mismanagement.
Although more than $7 million is needed to revamp the city’s infrastructure, San Juan’s leaders believe bonds, funding commitments from Caltrans and other agencies such as the state Department of Health Services will allow it to secure the matching funds, according to the resolution.
Water district officials say they are willing to continue negotiations with the city as long as San Juan’s water project manager Mark Davis not attend. But City Manager Jennifer Coile said it’s the district that refuses to sit down with the city and she won’t come to the table without Davis.
“I have heard random comments by Supervisor Botelho that if he were to arrange a meeting of the Water District and the City, the District has told him that they would prefer that Mark Davis not attend any meeting,” Coile stated via e-mail. “Mark Davis, as project manager, has served as an extension of City staff on this project since 1999. I’m smart and a quick study, but since I have only been in the job a few weeks and am still reading files, I believe any sensible city manager in my position would want their project manager available at a meeting to answer technical questions and be able to recap historical development of the project which may have a bearing on today’s decisions.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
