Mesa Consolidated Water District

When directors of the Mesa Consolidated Water District voted earlier this month to share their fossil collection with Orange Coast College, they did not allocate funds to create the display. Officials said they felt that the estimated $1,400 required to arrange the displays and hire a paleontologist to write a narrative describing the specimens was simply too much.

Members of the Coalition for Clean Water-Costa Mesa asked the City Council this week to take immediate steps to take over the Mesa Consolidated Water District. The group said consistent cost overruns on district projects and mounting debt have contributed to higher water rates for Mesa Consolidated customers. Bert Ohlig, a member of the Coalition for Clean Water board, said he believed the public would be better served by the city because it is more closely scrutinized than the water district.

The fossils unearthed during construction of Mesa Consolidated Water District's new reservoir will go on permanent display at Orange Coast College and in the lobby of the water district, officials said this week. Though they set no date for the displays, directors of the water district voted Thursday to split the collection between its own headquarters and OCC.

In a joint meeting with members of the City Council this week, Mesa Consolidated Water District board members said they oppose a merger with the city. "Consolidation should be beneficial to both agencies and to the ratepayers and taxpayers, not to accommodate the desires of a few individuals," said Trudy Ohlig, Mesa Consolidated board president. Mayor Joe Erickson said the city agreed to the meeting because it is city policy to discuss any issues brought forth by Costa Mesa residents.

At the urging of a citizens watchdog group, officials from the Mesa Consolidated Water District and the city of Costa Mesa have agreed to meet today to consider having the city take over water operations. Mayor Joe Erickson said the city agreed to the meeting because it is city policy to discuss any issues brought forth by Costa Mesa residents.

A plan to reduce the management staff of the Mesa Consolidated Water District won approval Thursday from the agency's board of trustees. But the staff reduction, to four managers from seven, did not go far enough, some residents and board members said. "That was not streamlining or downsizing, to my way of thinking," said board President Trudy Ohlig, who voted against the plan.

After weeks of discussion, the board of directors of the Mesa Consolidated Water District may vote today on a proposal to reduce the size of its management staff. District General Manager Karl Kemp has proposed eliminating three of the seven department managers' jobs. But critics of the district and board members have pointed out that two water district managers have resigned in recent months and they have not been replaced, so in effect only one position is being eliminated.

Mesa Consolidated Water District's new reservoir has won a positive review from an independent engineering firm. Members of a citizen watchdog group had expressed concern that the design of the reservoir would lead to drainage problems and tainted water. But a report presented to the district's board of directors Dec. 21 by Corrao and Brady Group indicates there is little cause for concern.

Michelle Jackson, secretary for the Mesa Consolidated Water District, has resigned. Jackson said this week that she will leave at the end of January to pursue opportunities in Northern California. As secretary, Jackson headed the water district's administrative staff. Jackson, a longtime public employee in Costa Mesa, has been with the water district since 1989. She is also a former employee of the Costa Mesa Police Department. She is the agency's second senior manager to step aside this month.

The Mesa Consolidated Water District has agreed to dip into its emergency reserves and spend $1 million to help pay for repairs to the San Joaquin Reservoir, which was damaged in last winter's rains. The agency's budget has been squeezed by higher costs to buy water from suppliers and the expense of construction projects, officials said. The agency's board of trustees has been debating how to pay for repairs to the reservoir, which was damaged by mudslides.