3 Challenge Water Board Incumbents

Backed by a new citizens group angry about years of rising water rates and other fees, three candidates filed papers Friday to challenge incumbents for seats on the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District board in the Nov. 3 election.

In District 2, real estate broker Dana Levy is seeking incumbent Glen Peterson’s seat. Vernon Padgett, a retired doctor who participated in a recall effort against two board members in 1996, is challenging board President Harold “Hal” Helsley in District 3. Retired Air Force Col. Thomas Paskell is vying for the District 5 spot, now held by Ann Dorgelo.

“The idea is to get three new people in there who understand that their job is to make sure that water users get the best possible quality water at the least possible cost,” said Brian Boudreau, a founder of Citizens for Lower Water Rates, the group backing the three challengers.

The water district serves 65,000 people in a 122-square mile area, said Norm Buehring, the agency’s director of resources conservation. It is governed by a five-person board whose members serve four-year terms. Two of the seats are not up for election this year.

The water district has irked some residents by enacting a land-parcel tax, increasing connection fees for new homes and repeatedly raising water rates during the last decade.

Critics charge that it has also spent money carelessly, opting for state-of-the-art facilities it could not afford. The district built a $50-million composting facility in 1994 and $8-million headquarters in 1996.

The district now has $56 million of outstanding debt, according to Sandra Schmidt, the district’s director of finance and administration. After refinancing in April, the agency is paying $3.8 million a year in debt service.

Schmidt defended the decision to build the composting plant, which turns sludge into fertilizer, saying it was “the environmentally correct thing to do.”