Hews Media Group-Community News has learned that certain members on Central Basin Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors, for the sake of political retribution, are blocking implementation of large revenue- generating recycled water projects. The water agency is cash-strapped.
Central Basin has a massive recycled water system that runs through parts of Los Angeles. It is fairly simple to connect a new customer to the recycled system’s pipes, almost as easy as a local plumber connecting a new sink in your house.
When Tony Perez was General Manager, he recognized the potential sales, hiring Jonathan Tat to oversee the recycled water system and manage retail sales for Central Basin.
Mr. Tat was the Operations and Engineering Manager, but he was a hybrid engineer. He “enjoyed selling water” to potential clients.
Messrs. Perez and Tat painstakingly identified 260 potential customers in Central Basin’s area.
Both went to companies and conducted sales presentations. All were ready to be hooked up to Central Basin’s system.
Water-guzzling customers included Biola University, Whittier College, El Rancho Unified School District, L.A. County Sanitation, Aramark Uniform, Kaiser Aluminum, Cintas Uniforms, 7-Up Bottling, Union Ice, Presbyterian Hospital, Monterrey Park Golf Course, and Montebello Golf Course,
The list also included 50 parks and 70 schools.
Click here to view a PDF of the customer list.
The reason for the 100 percent sales closure rate was simple: Customers save money and the installation works for both large and small customers.
Studies show that using recycled water will, at a minimum, save a customer 50 percent on water costs.
Of equal importance is when a customer cannot afford the installation, Central Basin will bear the cost for the connection by allowing the company to pay off the installation costs through the savings on their water bill.
Finally, recycled water is a more reliable source than fresh water, so in times of drought, recycled water is more readily available.
Messrs. Perez and Tat sold the customers, and they were ready for installation as soon as possible.
However, then Central Basin President James Roybal and Directors Leticia Vasquez and Bob Apodaca unceremoniously fired Mr. Perez, a firing that has cost the agency over $250,000 to defend and was just recently settled for an undisclosed amount.
Mr. Tat left months later due to personal reasons that Central Basin sources said was related to the stress he was put under by Mr. Roybal, Ms. Vasquez and Mr. Apodaca.
What is most shocking, and a situation that could raise the ire of state lawmakers, is that customers who were ready to connect are now languishing in wait since the Perez firing and Mr. Tat’s departure.
An indignant Central Basin Director, Art Chacon told us that he and Central Basin Director Phil Hawkins have approached Central Basin General Manager Kevin Hunt several times talking about recycled water and getting out there and approaching these customers and signing them up. But since Perez and Tat have left, nothing has been done.”
Now, apparently hearing the message from Directors Chacon and Hawkins, months later Mr. Hunt is finally acting on the lucrative customer base. But Mr. Hunt is taking a completely different path than his predecessor Mr. Perez.
And, at least on the surface, it looks as if the Calderon-type awarding of long-term contracts is returning to Central Basin.
At the last Board meeting, members were presented with three options to increase recycled water sales.
What Is Best Choice?
Option one was to hire an individual much like Mr. Tat at an annual cost of $180,000, with $120,000 in salary and $60,000 in benefits.
Central Basin currently has an employee who replaced Mr. Tat, but Mr. Hunt is looking to hire additional personnel.
Option two was to hire a consultant at $175,000 per year to work for 1,000 hours plus administrative and management fees.
Option three was to hire a consultant, and at the same time train an entry-level staffer, which would cost $225,000 per year.
Mr. Hunt is advocating option three, hiring of two additional people at substantial additional costs, to do the job that Messrs. Tat and Perez did on their own.
The consultant would earn $150,000 per year and the employee $50,000 plus $25,000 in benefits per year.
And looking eerily similar to the Calderon contracts given out by disgraced former General Manager GM Art Aguilar, the consultant would be under contract for five years, taking those five years to train the entry-level staffer, “reducing consultant hours as needed.”
Sources are telling us that Mr. Hunt already has a person chosen for the consultant position.
“Phil and I are not going along with option three,” Mr. Chacon said. “We are in tough times financially. We don’t need to create more positions. Let’s use the staff we have now to sell our recycled water system. We have customers waiting to be sold, and systems waiting to be installed. There is money on the ground out there.”
Even if they chose option three, the consultant would run into roadblocks in attempting to complete some of the projects.
High-level sources have told us that large recycled water projects are being blocked by directors purely for political reasons.
They said that companies who donated money to losing candidates in past elections are getting penalized by the directors that won their election.
Mr. Hews may be contacted at loscerritosnews.net
