The Nye County Water District Governing Board is officially back in business, holding two meetings this May to allow the newly appointed board members to get their feet on the ground and address a few necessary key items.
With no employees to help run the district and a looming budgetary deadline, discussion regarding both a manager and the final budget for fiscal year 2022-2023 were top priority for the board at its most recent meeting, held Wednesday, May 18 in Pahrump.
Though the advertisement seeking letters of interest from those wishing to take on the role of water district general manager was still active, the district had already received three such letters by the May 18 meeting. For water board member Michael Lach, this represented an opportunity to consider selecting one of those applicants immediately, at least in an interim manner.
Board chair Helene Williams agreed wholeheartedly, stating, “The office is closed, no one has answered any phone calls, no one has answered any emails. The website, access to some things is starting to shut down… I am very frustrated as a board member…We’ve got to do something, please.”
Member Bruce Holden, however, said he felt it would be premature to contract with anyone just yet, remarking that the district had been essentially inoperable for almost a year. As such, in his mind, a few more weeks wouldn’t have a great impact and he’d prefer to wait until the application process was officially closed.
But Lach wasn’t to be dissuaded, proposing the board contract with someone on a 90-day interim basis, after which the board could re-address the contract and either choose a new applicant or extend the contract with whomever was picked that morning. Member Ed Goedhart said he wasn’t feeling strongly either way but he thought giving the contractor a test drive of sorts would be a good idea.
The three applicants included: Pahrump resident Brett Fish, whose background is in real estate; Mount Charleston resident Jimmy Alderson, the current manager of a small public water system in Camp Lady of the Snows in Lee Canyon; and Dann Weeks, a longtime local journalist and former editor of the Pahrump Mirror newspaper.
Only Weeks was present at the meeting that morning and the board asked him to come forward to speak. Weeks detailed that he is a lifetime Nye County resident and had grown up in the valley. Throughout his career as a journalist, water issues have always been a focus for him. His knowledge of the subject is deep, he explained, and he also comes with plenty of administrative, communication and technological skills.
When asked by Lach, “It seems that the pleasure of this board is to have a manager who will respond to the needs of the board, not a manager who tells the board what they need to do. Would that be any problem for you?” Weeks responded with a firm “no.”
In the end, the board voted 4-0 to contract with Weeks for a temporary 90-day period.
During the same meeting, the board also held a public hearing on its final budget for the coming fiscal year.
The Nye County Water District operates primarily on a $5 per-parcel fee assessed on each property in Nye County, which garners the district roughly $300,000 per year. Added to the projected ending fund balance for the current fiscal year, the district is set to have $906,913 in cash in its general fund.
The final budget for fiscal year 2022-2023, prepared by the Nye County Finance Department, outlined expenditures of up to $563,338 in the next 12 months, of which the bulk is filed as money for services and supplies. The water district has six existing contracts, which total $131,300, for items such as legal services, professional engineering reports, financial audits and technical support.
The next meeting of the Nye County Water District Governing Board is set for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 21. The agenda will be posted at least three days prior to the meeting and can be found at www.nyecountywaterdistrict.net
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com