Gail Fry | IE Voice
After years of battling board members, litigation and an unfavorable audit from the California State Controller’s Office as previously reported by the IE Voice and Black Voice News, and the recent resignation of two members of the board, the three remaining Directors of the West Valley Water District (Channing Hawkins, Michael Taylor and Greg Young) have appointed new directors to replace Kyle Crowther and Clifford Young, and have implemented changes to address the state audit, claiming they are moving forward on behalf of its ratepayers.
Both West Valley Water District (WVWD) Directors Michael Taylor and Greg Young cited the high cost of holding a special election to fill the vacant positions as the reason for having the district appoint applicants to fill the vacancies.
At the February 17th meeting WVWD appointed Kelvin Moore to replace the embattled former chair and Division 3 Director Clifford Young. A healthcare executive at Kaiser Permanente, Moore is also a civic leader in the city of Rialto and former candidate for the Rialto City Council.
At its January 14th meeting WVWD appointed Angela Garcia to replace outgoing Division 1 Director Kyle Crowther, who submitted his resignation letter on November 8, 2021, to accept an out-of-state job opportunity.
Angela Garcia, wife of Fontana City Council’s Mayor Pro Tem Peter Garcia, brings over 20 years of government agency experience, is a professional engineering geologist with a bachelor’s degree from California State University Fullerton and master’s degree from California State University Los Angeles in Geology with an emphasis in Environmental Hydrogeology.
“As water demand rises and sourcing additional water becomes ever more difficult,” newly appointed director Garcia explained, “It’s my priority to connect with local ratepayers and utilize every resource we can to improve water reliability.”
Because Crowther resigned in the first half of his term of office, under Government Code Section 1780(d)(2), Garcia will be required to run in this year’s November election.
On January 3, WVWD Division 3 Director Clifford Young notified WVWD via email of his resignation from the board simply stating, “I resign my position as Director of the West Valley Water District.”
Director Greg Young shared his belief that Clifford Young’s resignation was due to his own health issues and the death of his wife Jackie a year ago. Director Michael Taylor explained he discovered Clifford Young had sold his home and as a result, he may have no longer lived in the district as the reason for his resignation.
WVWD Director of Government & Legislative Affairs Naseem Farooqi explained that the method for filling vacancies on the board is provided in Water Code Section 71254 and Government Code Section 1780, which state the vacancy will be filled by “a qualified person” who is a resident of the vacant division.
Reflecting on the June 2020 audit
Director Greg Young stated he was really proud of all WVWD’s directors including Dr. Young, Dr. Taylor, Mr. Crowther along with director Channing Hawkins, for putting together a plan to address the issues raised in the June 2020, state audit. Director Young explained the district has come a long way in addressing a lot of the issues exposed by the audit.
As a bright spot for the district, Young praised Congresswoman Norma Torres for assisting the district in obtaining the funding needed to expand the capacity of WVWD’s Oliver P. Roemer Water Filtration Facility by 16 million gallons per day to meet the district’s future water needs coming from its rising peak summer usage and the growing development north of Rialto and Fontana expected in the next two years.
“Since Clifford has left the board, we’ve come together as a team now and things are better,” Director Taylor advised, explaining that WVWD’s new board member, Garcia, will be a huge benefit to the district with her knowledge of the nuts and bolts of the water industry.
An optimistic perspective
Director Taylor said he would tell WVWD’s ratepayers, “Things are well over at the water district, our finances are in great order, the employees, as far as I know, are all very happy, love their work and are committed to doing a great job for the ratepayers that they service.”
Taylor further explained that while the State Controller’s Office found some things WVWD did wrong, and called out certain board members no longer on the board, they only made recommendations, with no punitive damages being assessed to the district.
To address some of the State Controller Office’s recommendations, WVWD completed the Special District Leadership Foundation’s District Transparency Certificate of Excellence program in June 2020, which requires special districts to meet and complete basic transparency, website and outreach requirements.
“In 2019, we implemented the live streaming of the Board of Directors meetings via YouTube and Facebook which remain online for public viewing,” Farooqi stated, adding, “As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we began live streaming on Zoom to ensure ratepayers have access.”
Links to the live-streamed and past meetings of the WVWD Board of Directors are now prominently displayed in the top section of the agency’s homepage. In addition, Instructions are available on how to watch the meeting via Zoom on each of the Board of Directors meeting agendas.
Currently, WVWD offers three options for public comment including via Zoom or by calling (888) 475-4499, Access Code: 840-293-7790 during the meeting or by submitting an email to Board Secretary Peggy Asche at peggy@wvwd.org.
Farooqi affirmed, “West Valley Water District remains committed to transparency and being accessible to our ratepayers.”
According to agency press releases, in October 2020, WVWD approved 10 major reforms that included rigorous accounting and financial reporting measures, a new board policies and procedures manual, and new water sustainability and efficiency projects.
In addition to these accomplishments, the board approved and established the Inland Empire Water Career Pathways Program, which will help fill a critical skills gap and provide jobs for local students and residents.
A look back
WVWD’s troubles began in late 2017, when fellow board members accused each other of abuse of power, misappropriation of public funds, nepotism, discrimination, intimidation of employees and conflicts of interest, and WVWD management staff accused then WVWD President Clifford O. Young, Sr. of having a pattern of “improper spending and hiring practices.”
In February 2019, WVWD former Director Dr. Clifford Young, Chief Financial Officer Naisha Davis and Assistant Board Secretary Patricia Romero filed a whistleblower lawsuit against WVWD directors Taylor and Crowther, general manager Mansell, Jr. former assistant general manager Ricardo Pacheco, risk manager Deborah Martinez as well as several law firms and individuals accusing them of financial improprieties.
The whistleblower lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court as case no. 19STCV05677 was basically dismissed on September 17, 2020, when the court found “Qui Tam [Whistleblower] Plaintiffs have not established how their lawsuit would accomplish more than what the Controller’s audit has already done in exposing financial impropriety at the District.”
Based on court records, Plaintiffs were never held responsible for payment of Defendants’ legal fees and costs totaling $50,878.40, and there are no further court filings.
On December 1, 2020, the law firm Albright, Yee, and Schmit, APC (Plaintiffs) filed a lawsuit against Dr. Young, Chief Financial Officer Davis, Assistant Board Secretary Romero, and the law firm Zweiback, Fiset, & Coleman, LLP, and its attorneys, Michael Zweiback, Rachel Fiset and Erin Perez-Coleman (Defendants) for their filing of the frivolous whistleblower lawsuit.
In a July 26, 2021, ruling on a motion to strike the complaint filed by Defendants, the Court upheld Plaintiffs’ cause of action for malicious prosecution, and struck the Plaintiff’s causes of action for abuse of process, defamation, negligence interference with economic advantage, and intentional interference with economic advantage.
On September 24, 2021, Defendants filed a notice of appeal of the court’s decision. On November 10, 2021, Plaintiffs filed a cross-appeal against Defendants.
Additionally, several former WVWD employees filed lawsuits against the district, many of which are ongoing. WVWD reached an employment severance agreement with Mansell for $459,000, settled a case with former WVWD Director Clifford Young for $16,000, through mediation reached a settlement with its former general manager Matthew Litchfield, settled with former WVWD Executive Board Secretary Shanee Smith’s complaint of harassment and discrimination involving Dr. C. Young for $68,000, and settled a claim with former CFO Marie Ricci against Dr. C. Young alleging unfair hiring practices for $52,000.
WVWD’s General Counsel Robert Tafoya estimated the total amount paid out in settlements to various former employees was about $900,000. This does not include legal fees incurred by WVWD.
On January 17, 2020, WVWD’s former chief financial officer Naisha Davis filed a complaint against WVWD and Clarence Mansell for harassment, discrimination and retaliation in San Bernardino Superior Court. A further trial setting conference has been scheduled for March 24, 2023.
On October 26, 2020, WVWD’s former board secretary Romero filed a lawsuit in San Bernardino Superior Court for wrongful termination. Trial is scheduled for March 26, 2023. WVWD’s counsel Robert Tafoya told the IE Voice and Black Voice News that WVWD does not intend to settle with Romero.
On June 3, 2021, WVWD’s former Water Resources Manager Nadia Loukeh filed a lawsuit against WVWD, Dr. Clifford Young and Patricia Romero for wrongful termination in San Bernardino Superior Court where a demur by WVWD former board secretary Romero was heard as well as a further trial setting conference on February 8, 2023. A demur does not dispute the truth of the allegation but claims it is not sufficient grounds to justify legal action.
On July 23, 2021, WVWD former Asset Manager Diana Gunn filed a lawsuit against WVWD in San Bernardino Superior Court alleging wrongful termination. A further trial setting conference is scheduled for February 18, 2022.