Water District: Generator purchase sparks more questions

The opposition says it’s not necessary. Water-district managers say it can help assure water is available during a power outage.

In a letter he wrote to the Eldorado Area Water and Sanitation District board of directors this week, Lucian Niemeyer questions why the district needed to spend more than $41,500 for a new generator when the district already owns four generators.

“It’s symbolic of all of their purchases,” Niemeyer said. “Everywhere I turn around there (are) major problems in everything they buy.”

The district keeps generators on hand to operate the water system in the event of a power outage. Backup power also is needed to keep the water system running in the event of a wildfire.

Niemeyer said the generator purchase is part of a pattern of cost overruns and unneeded purchases that indicate to him flawed management practices. Water district engineer George Scott said the purchase had been planned for years.

“This was on the capital-improvements list when I showed up,” Scott said. “I knew they had one big generator. I had seen it. It looks like a piece of junk.”

The district also has some smaller generators, but the district wanted to be sure it had a reliable generator ready to power the district’s largest pumps, Scott said.

Niemeyer said he found the same generator the district purchased available for $4,000 less than the district paid. Scott said former district vice president Bill Robens had earlier asked Operations Management Inc. to arrange the purchase of a new generator, but the board later determined the purchase should be put out to bid in accordance with state procurement laws.

The district hired Scott in November to oversee engineering operations outside the scope of the district’s contract with OMI, which manages day-to-day operation of the water system. At the time, volunteer members of the district board were actively overseeing district contracts and purchases.

Though they were not paid, directors brought extensive professional experience to the board. Robens had worked previously as a consultant to water districts on the West Coast, and current vice president Jerry Cooper had worked as a civil engineer.

Niemeyer approached the board earlier this year with his concerns about the district’s management practices after it proposed a rate hike that would increase the average Eldorado water bill by 35 percent and would more than double some water bills. He said his professional background includes turning around failing operations for an automaker.

Niemeyer and Eldorado contractor John Hawkins led a petition drive that forced the district to prepare a detailed presentation to the Public Regulation Commission to justify the proposed rate increase. The district is preparing its response while recruiting new legal counsel to advise the district.

Frank Coppler, a partner in the firm Coppler and Mannick PC, whose attorney John Appel handled most of the district’s legal work even before the district was established by voters in 1997, announced in May the firm would break its ties with the district. Coppler cited growing criticism of his firm’s relationship with the district.

The firm’s departure followed Niemeyer’s public comments about the district in April in which he slammed district policies he described as harsh.

To the best of his knowledge, Niemeyer said the Eldorado water system has never been powered by generators during its nearly 30 years of operation. The chance that a wildfire would isolate Eldorado from rental companies that could supply emergency equipment on demand is extremely low, he said.

“That’s an absolutely incredible scenario,” Niemeyer said of the district’s concern about wildfire.

Scott said the large generator already on hand might be large enough to run the district’s largest pumps, but he could not tell for certain if it is 80 or 100 kilowatts because the specification plate has worn away after repeated cleanings.

The generator on order is an 80-kilowatt diesel unit. After getting board approval to purchase the generator, Scott learned that a $13,500 electrical connection was needed to hook it up. The board approved the additional cost.

Contact David Collins at 995-3893 or dcollins@sfnewmexican.com.