LAKE ARROWHEAD COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT — Change at the helm

By Mary-Justine Lanyon
Editor

 

Change is imminent at the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District.

Catherine Cerri has been the general manager of the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District for the past nine years. Prior to that, she was the LACSD finance manager for six years.

Cerri will retire from LACSD on April 3.

The new general manager taking the helm is a familiar face to the district: Ryan Gross, who both worked at LACSD and served on its board of directors.

That transition from finance manager to GM was not a difficult one for Cerri, she said as she reflected on her career as she prepares to retire.

She began her career in the oil industry as a project manager in the engineering department. She also worked at one point for Coca-Cola.

“My whole career has been related to some sort of liquid,” Cerri quipped.

She had gotten pulled to the finance side of oil and learned that side of the operation “on the fly.”

Cerri was living on the mountain and working for a venture capital company dealing with mergers of smaller oil companies when she learned of the opening as finance manager at LACSD.

What changes has she seen in her 15 years of service? “I’ve seen a lot more regulation,” Cerri said. She added there have been infrastructure challenges that they are still working on.

“We’ve made some good improvements in 15 years,” she said. And she points to the increase she has seen in the pride the staff takes in their work and the product they provide.

The recent attention being paid to PFAS has “been a challenge we didn’t see coming. The water quality of Lake Arrowhead is so pristine,” Cerri said. “We have always been so proud of the product we serve so this has been hard on the staff. Our water is still very high quality.”

It was the Environmental Protection Agency that set the regulations. “They want PFAS as close to zero as possible. The realization is it’s probably always been there but now we know about it through advanced testing.”

She and Gross are working together during a four-month transition period.

Gross began work at LACSD as the district engineer in January 2005, working in that position for 7.5 years. For a brief time, he served as the acting GM. He left LACSD in 2012 to become the GM at the Running Springs Water District.

He was elected to the LACSD board of directors in 2013 and served on the board for nine years.

Running Springs offers the same water and wastewater services as LACSD – at one-third the size – but also provides fire and emergency medical services, Gross noted.

He brings with him the experience he gained previously at LACSD as well as his Running Springs experience. “I’m fortunate to have this transition period,” he said. “It’s the perfect situation.”

He also has the advantage of inheriting experienced staff members. “The organization is in great shape, thanks to Catherine. The staff is amazing. The financial condition is amazing. It made it an easy choice to come back,” Gross said.

Addressing the issue of the staff, Cerri acknowledged there have been times when “it was hard to get good people. But we benefit from having the reputation of being a good employer. We have done a good job of improving the hiring process. We are proud of being able to provide a wage and benefit package that people can raise a family on.”

Gross doesn’t anticipate making any changes. As staff members retire, he hopes to promote from within. “I’ll continue with what’s in place,” he said. “There will be no big shocking changes.”

“Ryan is coming at a good time,” Cerri said. “We will start planning our five-year capital plan. He’s here just in time to start fresh with a new plan and budget.”

Gross graduated from Rim of the World High School, after which he earned an environmental engineering degree from UC Riverside and then a master’s degree in engineering water resources.

Cerri pointed to something that has helped her succeed: having such a supportive board. “They have been really supportive of me, trusting me in the position.”

Gross is very familiar with working with the board, having already been on both sides of that interaction.