DANA POINT : Consultants Hired to Run Water District

The Capistrano Beach County Water District board of directors recently hired a San Juan Capistrano firm to act as district general manager, ending nearly a yearlong search.

The Meadows Consulting Group, the firm that had been acting as the district’s interim manager on a part-time basis since the spring, was hired full time Dec. 15 by a vote of the directors.

Under the terms of the new contract, the two-person company was hired as an independent contractor for one year at $55 an hour for an estimated 40 hours a week. No benefits or car allowance are included in the contract.

The contract calls for the firm to be paid for mileage and expenses at cost, but “we don’t anticipate having any expenses,” said Bill Meadows, one of the owners.

The district has struggled to find a new general manager since February, when the newly elected board fired Dennis Erdman, a local engineer who had also served as manager of the Capistrano Beach Sanitary District. Last June, the district was also the subject of criticism by the Orange County Grand Jury for its lack of emergency, safety, maintenance and strategic planning programs.

But district directors say they have worked on their problems and cite the hiring of the consulting firm as a way to bring stability to the staff.

“I think we now have two extremely qualified people who are not only experienced, but who know of the history of the whole valley, and this district,” said Director Bonnie Streeter.

The district will also need the company’s experience in consolidation of water districts, said Director Jim Hayton. The county is studying a merger of all water and sewer districts in Dana Point and a recommendation by a county commission could come as early as April.

“Since they are consultants, I think they will be able to study consolidation objectively,” Hayton said.

The Capistrano Beach County Water District serves about 8,000 customers in Capistrano Beach, Dana Point, Dana Point Harbor and a small portion of north San Clemente.