COSTA MESA : Water District Shields Workers From Fees

Directors of the Mesa Consolidated Water District passed a resolution this week designed to protect agency employees, including board members, from having to pay legal costs if they are sued on the job.

Board Vice President H. Jack Hall, who asked the district’s attorney to draw up the measure, said that such resolutions are routine for public agencies and private corporations alike.

Mary Urashima, spokeswoman for the agency, said a sexual harassment allegation earlier this year was one of the reasons that the board took action.

Two former employees lodged complaints, she said, stating that they were sexually harassed while employed at the district. Each woman received a $85,000 settlement earlier this month, Urashima said.

In introducing the measure at Thursday’s meeting, Hall said it also would protect board members if they faced litigation, for example, because their status as residents of the district, and therefore their eligibility to hold office, were questioned.

The board’s president, Tom Nelson, has been challenged by water district customers who allege that he does not reside within district boundaries, as required by law. In response, the board instructed its legal counsel in early May to conduct a review.

Nelson has said he does own a home in Seal Beach but maintains his primary residence in Costa Mesa. He said he has converted part of an office in a non-residential area of the city into an apartment and spends most of his time there.