By Mary-Justine Lanyon
With the resignation of Director Bruce Reynolds from the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District board, the board interviewed a candidate to take his place at the Feb. 24 meeting.
Eric Chappell told the board he is a Rim High graduate who had been a firefighter with San Bernardino City Fire for 36 years until it was disbanded. He then worked with San Bernardino County Fire.
Chappell also noted he had started his career with the Running Springs Fire Department prior to Ryan Gross, who is now the LACSD general manager, being there.
The four sitting directors – President Steve Boydston, Vice President John Wurm, Michelle Ambrozic and Jacqueline Brown – all approved Chappell’s appointment to the board. He was sworn in after the meeting was adjourned.
Board secretary Marisa Meads swears in Eric Chappell, the newest director on the LACSD board.
The board gave special recognition to Engineering Manager Scott Schroder, who is retiring on March 20. Schroder, who has been with LACSD for 26 years, noted he had started as a Grade 1 maintenance worker in Field Operations. He went to night school, taking classes for 10 years and earning a certificate in water supply technology and a degree in water supply engineering.
Schroder told the board he had started the sliplining project in 2003. “We are finishing the last phase of it this spring. I’ve been there for every piece of it.” He listed several of the other projects he has been involved with: the Burnt Mill tank, the recycled water pipeline to the golf course, the North Bay intakes.
“This has been an excellent career,” Schroder said. “The next chapter will include spending time on the lake in the summer and spending winters in the low desert. It’s been an honor to serve the district for 26 years. I leave with full confidence this team will continue to reach new heights.”
President Boydston told Schroeder that “it has been the district’s honor to have you on board.”
In his monthly report, Operations Manager Matt Brooks said the January 2026 numbers are very similar to last year’s. Consumption was down 9.4 percent – 61.39 acre-feet compared to 67.74 a-f. Lake draw was also down: 42.01 a-f versus 47.10 a-f. CLAWA purchase was down: 5.29 a-f versus 12.40 a-f.
Well production, on the other hand, was up: 14.61 a-f compared to 9.00 a-f last year.
In his general manager’s report, Ryan Gross said staff had met with the state Division of Drinking Water and the state Division of Financial Assistance. The design for the PFAS treatment process is complete; the state had a few design modifications which will eliminate the need for a lengthy pilot testing period.
Both state divisions agreed to finalize the funding agreement with these modifications included. The estimated construction cost is $18 million, which will be fully funded.
Gross also reported that outgoing GM Catherine Cerri has applied for a California OES grant for LACSD to prepare a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan to assess the service area and identify activities that can reduce risk to life, property and infrastructure from a full range of natural hazards. Having this plan in place, he said, would make LACSD eligible for certain capital improvement projects in the future.
In his comments at the end of the meeting, President Boydston noted that Cerri “has saved the ratepayers of this community millions of dollars over the years. She goes out looking for grants so ratepayers don’t have to cover the costs. We need every penny.
“We’ve had GMs in the past who didn’t do anything like that,” Boydston added. “Catherine has been very diligent in saving money, finding money.”
0 Comments