SLVWD Board Meeting Summary
August 6, 2026
Prepared by Mark Dolson for FSLVW
NOTE: Provided purely as a public service — NOT the official SLVWD Meeting Minutes.
Highlights:
General Manager Contract Review
Maggoira Contract for Pasatiempo Rehab
Big Basin Public Water Initiative
Next Board meeting will be at 6:30 PM on August 20, 2026
Preliminaries
Four directors were present. Directors Fultz attended remotely, and Director Layng was absent.
President Russ said the Board took no reportable actions in the just-concluded Closed Session.
There were no changes to the agenda.
There were no public comments on non-agenda topics.
New Business
General Manager Contract Review
This agenda item was addressed in Closed Session at the Special Board Meeting on July 21st. However, the Board was required to formally restate its conclusion in the Open Session of a regularly scheduled Board Meeting.
Director Largay said he was comfortable with the proposed maximum-allowed 5% merit increase, retroactive to the anniversary of his hiring date. He said the District was in the best position it has been in for quite a while, thanks to Jason’s leadership.
Director Smolley concurred.
Director Fultz said it was difficult but important to recognize the good work the General Manager has done while also recognizing that continuing to increase Staff compensation at the current rate will make it impossible for the District to fulfill its infrastructure plan. He said Jason is doing precisely what he is expected to, which has not been the case with General Managers in recent years. He said the District was in good shape today, but it won’t be if spending continues to increase. Therefore, he said he would vote against the increase. He said he could have supported a lesser increase.
President Russ said he supported the full 5%. He felt that Jason has done a fabulous job. He agreed that it will be important, going forward, to ensure that the District has sustainable financial goals, that all parts work together, and that SLVWD delivers value to ratepayers.
There was no public comment.
Director Smolley added a clarification: He said, according to the agenda, the Board would discuss both the compensation amount and the setting of goals and objectives. However, the Board’s intention this evening was to discuss only compensation. Legal Counsel Gage Marchini confirmed that the Board was not obliged to discuss goals and objectives, though members of the public were still free to address this.
President Russ moved that the Board should retroactively apply a 5% merit increase to the General Manager’s compensation dating back to the anniversary of his hiring date, pursuant to his existing employment contract. Director Largay seconded. The motion passed 3-1, with Director Fultz opposed.
Maggoira Contract for Pasatiempo Rehab
Operations Manager Jesse Guiver introduced this agenda item. His memo provided the following background:
In December 2025, a windstorm damaged a PG&E transmission line, which ultimately caused a power surge that destroyed the pump motor and variable frequency drive (VFD) at Pasatiempo Well 8. Shortly thereafter, Maggiora Bros. Drilling was mobilized to perform emergency repairs.
While the contractor was onsite, staff determined that pulling Pasatiempo Well 7 for inspection would be both prudent and cost-effective. Staff recommended the inspection due to the well's consistent decline in production and its maintenance history.
Following the inspection, staff found a significant accumulation of iron biofilm in Pasatiempo Well 7 and a moderate accumulation in Well 8. The biofilm buildup had substantially reduced the production capacity of both wells. Pasatiempo Well 7's pumping capacity declined from its normal production of approximately 150 gallons per minute (GPM) to about 80 GPM. Similarly, Pasatiempo Well 8's production decreased from approximately 250 GPM to about 200 GPM. Staff subsequently solicited multiple quotes for rehabilitation of both wells.
The proposed rehabilitation includes air scouring and high-pressure jetting of the well screens with the application of an acid treatment using WaterSafe AR to dissolve and remove the remaining mineral and biological deposits. This process is expected to restore well capacity and improve overall pumping efficiency.
During the rehabilitation, it is estimated that approximately 50,000 to 100,000 gallons of water will need to be discharged from each well. Due to the environmentally sensitive Sandhills habitat the wells are sited on, onsite discharge is not feasible. A similar rehabilitation project was successfully completed in 2018, during which the discharge water was conveyed through approximately 3,000 feet of temporary above-ground pipeline to the Hanson Quarry pond. Staff has determined that utilizing the Hanson Quarry pond is the most feasible and environmentally responsible discharge strategy for this project;
Because the temporary pipeline will traverse protected Sandhills habitat, appropriate environmental permitting and protection measures will be implemented to mitigate environmental impacts and ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements. To this end, a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Notice of Exemption (NOE) has been filed as SCH# 2026071061.
A proposed agreement with Jodi McGraw Consulting will cover the preparation of species avoidance and minimization measures, emergency project notification to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, pre-project surveys and seed salvage, worker environmental awareness training, project monitoring and inspections, and the development of a restoration plan for the site. This agreement scope does not include implementation of the restoration plan, as the extent of the restoration work will not be known until the project is completed.
The proposal submitted by Maggiora Bros. Drilling represents the most cost-effective option for the rehabilitation of Pasatiempo Wells 7 and 8. The District has worked extensively with Maggiora Bros. on previous well rehabilitation and drilling projects, consistently achieving successful results.
The combined cost of the two Maggiora Bros. contracts is $105,000. An additional $15,000 has been included in the not-to-exceed amount to cover unforeseen costs that may be required during the rehabilitation process.
The project also requires approximately 3,000 feet of temporary above-ground pipeline to convey discharge water to the approved discharge location at Hanson Quarry. The pipeline is expected to be rented for approximately 2 to 4 weeks at an estimated cost of $8,000.
Based on the competitive pricing, proven experience, and familiarity with the District's facilities, staff recommends awarding the contract to Maggiora Bros. Drilling for the rehabilitation of Pasatiempo Wells 7 and 8 in an amount not to exceed $120,000. Staff also recommends awarding the contract to Jodi McGraw Consulting in an amount not to exceed $17,000 to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Including the cost of the Maggiora Bros. contract, the Jodi McGraw Consulting contract and the temporary pipeline rental, the total estimated cost of the project is $145,000.
President Russ asked if PG&E paid for any direct damages to SLVWD equipment due to their power surge. Jesse said they did not, nor were they in the habit of doing so. He said the District has more recently added additional surge protection.
Director Fultz asked if the rest of the District’s pumps are surge-protected. Jesse said some were, but not all. Director Fultz recommended that this be addressed.
Director Fultz agreed that Maggiora has done good work for the District in the past, but he wanted to know if others had been invited to bid. Jesse said the District received three proposals, and Maggoira’s was by far the lowest.
Director Fultz repeated his question with regard to bidding for an Environmental consultant. Environmental Programs Manager Chris Klier said Jodie McGraw is the resident Sand Hills expert, and she would help the District to work with Fish & Wildlife. Director Fultz asked if there was really nobody else, and Chris said there used to be one other, but Jodie is currently the only recognized expert in the area. Director Fultz said he hoped she would do a better job on this project than on helping to create the District’s Habitat Development Plan.
Director Largay suggested that it might have been helpful to include a table summarizing the three bids. President Russ agreed. Director Largay also checked to make sure that there was no option to reinject the water into another well. Jesse confirmed that this was not viable.
Director Smolley asked if there were any special conditions for disposing of the water. Jesse said Maggoira will make sure they have neutralized it. Director Smolley also asked if the discharge pipe would be laid on top of the ground. Jesse said it would. Lastly, Director Smolley asked a series of questions aimed at determining whether it would be cost effective to routinely assess wells on a shorter schedule. Jesse said Well #7 is particularly iron-rich, but there are plans for tighter monitoring.
President Russ said the District should routinely monitor degradation in well production. Jesse said this was planned.
Director Largay recounted his own experience with environmental experts and suggested that, with only one expert remaining, it would be ideal if he District Staff could absorb some of this expertise and develop increased ability to handle this in-house. Director Fultz observed that a monopoly position is already potentially problematic.
There was no public comment.
Director Smolley moved to approve the contract with Maggoira not to exceed $120,000 and the contract with Jodie McGraw not to exceed $17,000, and to approve the associated budget revision. President Russ seconded. The motion passed 4-0.
Big Basin Public Water Initiative
General Manger Jason Lillion introduced this agenda item. Jason said the Board had authorized a Letter of Intent (LOI) from the District on June 18th confirming its willingness to consider consolidation with Big Basin. On July 23rd, Big Basin issued its own letter. The letter before the Board this evening supports the Big Basin letter and further emphasizes the necessity of State funding through the State Water Board's Division of Financial Assistance (DFA) to any successful
consolidation. Without State funding, the consolidation will not be financially viable, and the letter is intended to reinforce for Big Basin customers and the State Water Board that securing this funding remains the single most pivotal factor in whether the consolidation can move forward.
Director Smolley asked why this new letter was needed. Jason said the goal was to get out in front of any potential public misunderstanding by making it as clear as possible that consolidation hinges on state funding. President Russ added that the District specifically wanted to preempt any misunderstanding in the press or amongst Big Basin customers.
Director Fultz said he had encountered some optimism on social media on the part of Big Basin advocates based on the LOI, which he said he would have voted against, had he been present on June 18th. He said the District’s position is basically unchanged from six years ago. Everyone needs to understand this. He said he didn’t want the LOI to become a vehicle for the District to be targeted with blame. This letter addresses this concern.
Director Largay agreed with Director Fultz that it was important for the District to promote as much clarity as possible. The District’s heroic contribution will be in its role as a willing partner, not as a source of funding. He suggested that the letter could also mention the roughly $80,000 per connection that may be required, but there was general agreement that it would be premature to reference a specific dollar amount when the state’s initial assessment still remains to be performed. Director Fultz said another future consideration will be a determination of how rates will be applied.
President Russ said he supported the letter. He thought it was well-written and important to share with local press.
There was no public comment. Director Smolley moved to direct Staff to post the letter as presented. President Russ seconded. The motion passed 4-0.
Consent Agenda
There was one item on the Consent Agenda:
a. Board Meeting Minutes 7.21.26
The 7.21.26 Board Meeting Minutes were approved by unanimous consent.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 PM.