Amador County – Amador Water Agency’s new President Director Gary Thomas assigned committees for 2012 last week, with input from directors.
Past president Director Don Cooper said he and Board Clerk Cris Thompson made a draft list, and Thomas said he didn’t want to assign committees without input.
Director Robert Manassero said at least one committee member should carry over, for continuity. Cooper said the draft had the “member” becoming “chair,” the “alternate” becoming “member” and “a new person flips into the new alternate slot.”
Thomas said “ad hoc committees have to go away.” Grants & Funding ad hoc was removed, with those duties moved to the Budget & Finance Committee/Rates committee, to be chaired by Manassero with Director Art Toy as member. Vice President Director Paul Molinelli Senior was penciled in as alternate, but asked that Cooper become alternate because he has experience. An Amador Regional Sanitation Authority ad hoc committee was changed to have representatives appointed, those being Manassero and Thomas.
Manassero also took the Public Relations committee chair and asked that it be renamed the Community Outreach committee. That was agreed.
Thomas chaired the Ione Outreach committee, and Molinelli requested being a member, saying he is in Ione every day. Molinelli will also chair Personnel and Jackson Outreach committees.
Manassero will also chair committees on Sutter Creek Outreach; and Central Amador Water Project/Upcountry Outreach.
Toy will chair committees on Engineering & Planning; Plymouth Outreach; and La Mel Heights Outreach. Toy also requested several regional special assignments, including Mountain Counties Water Resources Association; Cosumnes River & Dry Creek Watershed Group; Integrated Regional Water Management Plan; Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority; and Association of California Water Agencies.
Thomas will chair the Joint Water Committee, with Molinilli as member. Thomas will also chair committees on Policies; Ione Outreach; and Camanche Outreach.
Other special assignments: Thomas and Molinelli were assigned to Jackson Valley Irrigation District. Manassero and Molinelli agreed to attend Regional Planning and Amador Business Council meetings.
AWA directors will also attend city council board of supervisor and customer organization meetings in accordance with agency policy, when an item subject of the meeting “will have a very significant impact to the agency in the future.”
Cooper said he would also like to see staff schedule meetings, and he suggested having meetings “as needed” but not standing committees.
AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said standing meetings are public and need to be noticed, per the Brown Act. He said they can be canceled, but it sets up the image that they are canceling meetings.
Cooper said sometimes documents are not available, the meeting is canceled, and the president should have that power. He suggested they divert the issue to the policy committee for review.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
