The City of San Juan Bautista presented the San Benito County
Water District with a new proposal last week detailing how the two
agencies might collaborate on funding the city’s $9 million water
infrastructure project.
San Juan Bautista – The City of San Juan Bautista presented the San Benito County Water District with a new proposal last week detailing how the two agencies might collaborate on funding the city’s $9 million water infrastructure project.
Should both parties approve the agreement, San Juan and the Water District would once again have access to a $3.8 million grant issued by the Economic Development Agency which has been suspended since Aug. 2005, after negotiations between the two over project management and fiscal responsibility took a turn for the nasty.
Under the terms of the proposal, the water district would pay for a portion of the project’s construction with a $2 million grant, only after the project was completed and certified by the Department of Health Services, a move designed to minimize any financial risk to the district.
“We really wanted to address the monetary issues and risk, which is what they (the water district) really care about right now,” said San Juan City Manager Janice McClintock.
Under the terms of the original grant agreement, the water district was to provide $3.1 million in funds to supplement the EDA’s grant, leaving the city to come up with just over $1 million on its own. However, instead of asking the water district for the full $3 million in grants and loans, the city has found other outside loans with more favorable rates and is asking only for one grant from the district, according to McClintock.
“We haven’t had a change to discuss it as a board, but this is very important to all of us, I think,” said water board member Sonny Flores. “We all want to reach an agreement.”
San Juan’s proposal specifically names the mission city as the lead agency in the project, and identifies the district as a supplemental water supplier and grant funding agency, which has been a point of contention in the past. Due to this, San Juan City Councilman Chuck Geiger says he is skeptical that this form of the agreement will be warmly received by the water board.
“I really think that the Regional Water Quality Control Board and the EDA should come down and force a mediation between the city and the water district, so that the residents of San Juan don’t have to suffer any longer,” he said.
The proposal makes no mention of lease agreements, operation or other points of contention between the two agencies, the idea being that details can be negotiated once San Juan has the funding guaranteed and the project has begun in earnest, said McClintock.
“We felt it was important to simplify the process as much as we could and take the proposal back to ground zero,” she said.
The proposal was initially revealed at a town hall-style meeting in San Juan last Tuesday night, and the proposal was presented to the water board the following Wednesday evening during the public comments portion of the meeting, because San Juan did not have enough time to put the proposal on the agenda officially. The city offered to return to the water board’s next meeting and discuss the proposal at length during the next meeting, but have not heard back one way or the other, said McClintock.
Should the board approve the agreement, it will go back to the city for one final sign-off before it becomes official.
Water board members declined to comment until a consensus had been reached regarding the proposal’s merits.
“We’re working on it as fast we can,” said board member Ken Perry.
The San Benito County Civil Grand Jury conducted an investigation of the grant’s suspension and released its report on the matter at the end of February. Both parties were required to respond in writing to the report within 90 days. McClintock says that her office is wording the response now but exactly what it reads will depend largely on what the water board decides to do.
The project was slated to officially begin this month with San Juan officially going out for construction bids. This has since been postponed until “early summer,” said McClintock.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
