By Mary-Justine Lanyon
The July 28 meeting of the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District board of directors was held at their new corporation yard on Rouse Ranch Road. The reason: So General Manager Ryan Gross could give the directors and community members in attendance a tour of the new facility.
After passing a bank of computers – which the field operations crew use to file their daily reports – Gross pointed out a conference room and an IT room.
Then Field Operations Manager Nathan Porter took over as we entered the mechanical maintenance department and bay. What we saw was a lot of parts and equipment the LACSD field operations crew uses to make repairs. “They are constantly fabricating things in here,” Porter said.
The trucks in this bay respond to water and sewer maintenance and repair needs.
From there we moved into the bay that houses the sewer and water repair trucks. Porter told us what each truck is used for. The emergency response truck for sewer has a giant vacuum on it. The mechanical router sends a rod down a sewer. A hydro jet truck is used to clean sewers with high-pressure water. The water repair truck goes out to any water leaks. The valve maintenance truck services hydrants. Racks along the wall were filled with parts.
When we went outside, Gross noted they plan to put in a fuel depot. Porter said that then they will have any fuel needed for emergencies and to run their generators.
Prior to the tour, Porter had recognized Ricky Castillo, a member of his Field Operations crew, as the employee of the quarter. “Ricky consistently goes above and beyond,” Porter said. “He volunteers to come in on holidays. On the July 4th weekend, he was at the lift station and got it back working. He has been with the district for three years.” Castillo was on vacation and so was not recognized in person.
In his quarterly report to the board, Porter noted they are doing more in-house repairs. The Field Operations crew recently replaced 210 feet of aging two-inch steel water main with new, durable plastic pipe. This infrastructure upgrade, Porter said, will improve water flow, increase system reliability and help prevent future water main leaks in the area.
The crew also replaced 400 feet of aging sewer main with new six-inch plastic pipe and rehabilitated two manholes. These improvements will increase the reliability of the sewer system and reduce and need for frequent maintenance and cleaning.
Vice President John Wurm noted that, in the past, the pipe replacement “would have been outsourced and cost us more money.” Porter’s reply was that “we have more equipment now that allows us to do it in-house. Our goal is to replace lines before they’re super bad.”
The board heard an appeal from a customer, Mr. Welden, who had discovered he was paying a higher sewer charge than his neighbor. He told the board he has been charged for two EDUs (sewer equivalent dwelling units) for 32 years.
Up until 2001, single-family residences with 45 to 59 plumbing fixture units were charged for two EDUs. Mr. Welden’s home was initially charged correctly for two EDUs.
The regulations were changed in 2001, reducing the two EDUs to 1.5. They were again changed in 2004, charging just one EDU for homes with up to 74 plumbing fixture units.
When LACSD sent someone out to check the fixtures in Mr. Welden’s home, they counted 55, below the 74 threshold.
“I’m told your records go back 10 years,” Mr. Welden told the board. “That’s the minimum refund I’m willing to accept.”
“I had offered to refund for a three-year period, the limit of my authority,” Gross told the board. “Mr. Welden would like to appeal that.” He added that Mr. Welden was billed correctly up until 2001.
Finance Manager John O’Brien said the district has no legal liability beyond one year. After some discussion by the board, Director Eric Chappell moved to refund Mr. Welden for 10 years’ worth of overpayment – $6,583.23. With a second by Jacqueline Brown, the board approved the refund by a vote of 4-1 with John Wurm voting no. Wurm had agreed that Mr. Welden had been overcharged but argued the district is only liable for three years.
The district agreed with Mr. Welden that the number of sewer units should be printed on the bill. And Gross said they are looking into the bills of other customers who may have been overcharged.
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