Sustainable Ramona will kick off a series of free Zoom meetings on sustainability with a Water Conservation Resources series set for Sept. 20-24.
Future Zoom series will cover resources for homes and businesses; transportation, including electric vehicles and public transportation; agriculture, including information on farming using solar energy, called agrivoltaics; sustainable gardening, including composting and worm farming.
Ramona Municipal Water District directors unanimously agreed Tuesday to refund Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church $27,343, acknowledging that there was a lack of clarity in determining how and when building projects should be assessed for emergency services.
The decision brings closure to a request the church has been making to the water district since November 2019.
Ramona Municipal Water District directors will review the 2021-22 budget over the next month to decide, among other things, if the district should hire more staff and follow through on sewer rate increases.
Although the water district directors approved the budget in June 2020 as part of a two-year budget package, they will consider making updates based on staffing impacts from General Manager David Barnum’s retirement earlier this year and the decision to phase out the untreated water system to save the district $42 million in deferred maintenance costs and $1.2 million in annual maintenance costs.
Ramona Municipal Water District directors unanimously agreed May 11 to appoint Director Gary Hurst as a delegate to the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors.
Hurst will replace the water district’s former general manager, David Barnum, in that role. Barnum had served as the district’s representative to the County Water Authority for several years before he retired in March 2021.
The County Water Authority is the regional wholesaler and sole provider of water to the Ramona water district. Currently, The water district has 1.5 percent of the County Water Authority voting rights.
The Ramona Municipal Water District has unveiled a new mobile phone app that allows customers to view and pay bills and to review details of their account, including their water consumption history.
(Editor’s note: The Ramona Municipal District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
With an eye on improving the Ramona Municipal Water District’s accounting and financial reports, the district’s board of directors unanimously agreed Jan. 12 to appoint a two-person Ad Hoc Financial Reporting Committee, though the committee’s goals and objectives are being debated. The committee is tasked with reviewing and recommending potential changes to the district’s accounting practices and the contents and format of its financial reports, district officials said. The intent is to report the findings and make recommendations if appropriate to the board on Feb. 9.
A labyrinth of aging water pipes is putting the Ramona Municipal Water District on the hook for the costs of repairing water leaks and conducting emergency repairs on water mains, which are among the district’s primary responsibilities, but also for costs related to repaving roads after the pipe work is completed.
The Ramona Municipal Water District Board of Directors hopes to appoint a candidate early next year to fill a vacant Division 3 board seat for the next two years. The board is on a fast track to find a replacement for incumbent Director Thomas N. Ace, one of two candidates who was running for a four-year seat.
The Ramona Municipal Water District Board of Directors at its Nov. 10 meeting unanimously agreed to adopt the county’s defensible space for fire protection ordinance and accepted an auditing report that gives the district a favorable “unmodified” rating.
The Ramona area will continue to receive backup support from the county of San Diego during fire and medical emergencies with approval of a mutual aid agreement that brings the area nearly $2.5 million in benefits over roughly five years.
The Ramona Municipal Water District Board of Directors gave unanimous approval to the mutual aid agreement on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Director Jeff Lawler was absent.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
