CSD Board Changes Leadership at Special Meeting
Dec 11, 2024 10:39AM ● By Gail Bullen River Valley Times Reporter
Audience member Tom Shewchuk urges the board to form a new water committee. Courtesy photo
RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - A Rancho Murieta Community Services District special board meeting on Dec. 6 was special in more ways than one. In addition to being an extra meeting, it also marked a significant shift in the board’s leadership.
Over the past four years, Directors Tim Maybee, Randy Jenco and Martin Pohll held the majority with 3-2 votes. However, following the results of the November pass-through election, the new majority now consists of Directors Stephen Booth, Linda Butler and John Merchant.
Pohll, Jenco and Maybee previously served on the Rancho Murieta Association Board before running for the Community Services District Board in 2018. Pohll lost to Butler in that election but was appointed to fill a vacancy in 2020. After Pohll opted not to seek another term in the November election, Merchant and Booth were the only candidates to file for the two vacancies.
Over the past four years, Butler often found herself in the minority on key board votes, initially alongside Merchant until his resignation in fall 2022, and later with Booth, who was appointed to fill Merchant's seat. During this period, the board tackled a wide range of issues, with the community’s water supply being among the most critical.
Butler and Merchant are longtime members of Save Our Lakes & Open Spaces, a community action group advocating for responsible development, with Merchant serving as its vice- president. Merchant also led a recent petition drive urging the board to impose a water moratorium on new development. Booth, meanwhile, has repeatedly voiced serious concerns during board discussions about the community’s future water supply.
A notable example of the board’s prior division occurred during the August meeting, when members debated whether to provide water to 240 lots in two subdivisions approved by Sacramento County about 20 years ago. District counsel Patrick Enright recommended issuing the will-serve letters to avoid potential litigation. However, he clarified that the situation with the Rancho North subdivision was entirely different, as the county has not yet granted it entitlements.
Jenco moved to approve the issuance of the will-serve letters, reasoning that opposing them would be futile. He argued the district would likely face a lawsuit the following week and ultimately be compelled to provide water, incurring significant litigation costs that would burden the district and its ratepayers. Butler and Booth advocated for either denying or postponing Jenco’s motion until the completion of the Integrated Water Master Plan, but they were outvoted 3-2.
Elections, Appointments
The special meeting began with the election of board officers despite the absence of Jenco and Maybee. With Butler, Stephen Booth and John Merchant forming a quorum, they voted unanimously to elect Booth as president and Merchant as vice president.
Booth also announced the assignment of directors to established board committees.
“I will personally email each of the directors, asking them to serve in the capacities that I’ve outlined,” Booth said.
Booth then proposed the establishment of a new ad hoc committee to serve as a liaison between the board and staff in six areas. The first is the completion of the annual audits; the second is conducting a peer review and completion of the Integrated Water Master Plan; the third is seeking alternate potable water sources for the community; the fourth is preparing CSD to become an urban water district; the fifth is the already initiated security realignment; and the sixth, “any implementation that may be sought of Water Code 350.” (The code is a legal provision that empowers the governing board of a public water agency to declare a water shortage emergency.)
Following the unanimous approval of the ad hoc committee, Booth announced that he would appoint himself and Merchant to serve as its members.
Enright inquired about setting a term limit for the ad hoc committee, as such committees are typically temporary. Booth responded that they would establish a six-month term and then assess whether to extend it if any tasks remained incomplete.
Audience member Tom Shewchuk expanded the discussion on ad hoc committees by suggesting the creation of a community water ad hoc committee. His proposal included representatives from CSD, the Rancho Murieta Association, the Rancho Murieta Country Club and the broader community, with the potential addition of business owners and developers.
“At the least, we need to get more structure between RMA, CSD and RMCC about the water. … With the water situation and the social media attention it’s been getting, I think we need to do something other than what we have been doing for the past X years,” Shewchuk said. “I think the way to show the community we’re doing something about it would be to form this ad hoc committee that spans all three organizations.”
Board Workshop/Community Outreach
Booth responded to Shewchuk by “sharing a couple of thoughts.” He noted that the previous practice of regular meetings between the general manager and board president from all three entities had recently lapsed. Booth said he had asked Community Services District General Manager Mimi Morris to reach out to the other organizations but doesn’t anticipate the meetings resuming until after the new year.
Booth also mentioned plans to schedule a strategic planning session for the board, describing it as “a workshop for us to identify the priority issues and develop some strategy on how to tackle those issues.”
Booth told Shewchuk that some of the issues the board will discuss in the workshop will overlap with Rancho Murieta Association and Rancho Murieta Country Club, “and we will have to see where that takes us.”
Booth noted that he had not previously shared his final point with the board or anyone else.
“At our strategic planning meeting, I’d like us to talk about the formation of some sort of community outreach group,” he said.
While uncertain about the exact structure, Booth expressed interest in inviting community members to meet with a few board members to “help us with that strategy in terms of moving forward.”
“I’d like to ask members of our community to really help share the good things that are going on here,” Booth added. “We still have some bumps in the road, and we still have some snags. But some good things are going on here.”
Regarding Shewchuk’s request for a water committee, Booth said the timing of the proposal “was most appropriate.” He explained that the board had already embraced the concept on several levels and that it would be included in discussions about creating a vehicle for fostering greater community engagement.
“Everything you said is great,” Shewchuk responded, “but it doesn't cover what I think is needed at the working level.”
Merchant told Shewchuk he agreed with his points but noted that structuring such a group would take time. Merchant referenced to a series of meetings that Sacramento County planners convened in 2016 with the Rancho North developers and other stakeholders, down to the ranchers.
Shewchuk said that sounded more like what he wanted, although he appreciated what Booth had said.
“I want some time to think that through and talk to some folks, particularly at the club and the RMA, to see where they are,” Merchant told him.
When Booth invited further public comments, Bill Gere approached the podium and questioned why public planning meetings were not being held.
Merchant clarified that county planning was not yet involved because Rancho Murieta Properties still needed to finalize its application for the Rancho North development. He added that once the county deems the application complete, it will request a water supply assessment from the Community Services District (CSD). This assessment will rely on data from the Integrated Water Master Plan to evaluate whether the community’s water resources are sufficient to support the development.
“That’s where we officially notify the county, by law, what the position of the CSD is,” Merchant said.
He noted that the county planning process would move forward after receipt of the assessment.
Merchant then reminisced about a series of community meetings he and former General Manager Ed Kraus organized in 2005 to explain “exactly who we are and what we do.” He suggested the possibility of creating a “CSD Academy” for current residents to provide similar insights.
“You would find it amazing if you really gain a complete understanding of what a district of less than 3,000 residential connections actually does, which is a lot more sophisticated and complicated than some of our surrounding neighbors,” he said.
Booth wrapped up the meeting by announcing that he would be unavailable to collaborate with Morris on setting the agenda for the Dec. 18 board meeting and requested Merchant’s assistance.
“That will be the new approach on a journey,” Booth said.