Press Release
September 19, 2005
Vandenberg Village Community Services District (CSD) will soon be debt free. The district has placed $1.1 million on deposit with a lending institution and revenue bonds will be paid off November 1, 2005.
In 1988 the district borrowed $5.4 million to purchase water and wastewater facilities – largely consisting of wells, tanks, pumps, and pipelines – from Park Water Company. These bonds were refinanced in 1996 and were not scheduled to be paid off until 2008.
“The district has been conservative with ratepayer funds and we’ve accumulated enough money in our reserves to redeem our bonds three years early,” said Director Don Rowland, finance officer on the CSD board. According to Rowland, the district will pay a one-percent redemption premium of $10,900 but will save three years of interest payments totaling $115,905.
Director Bob Wyckoff, president of the CSD board, said that the bond payoff was the main financial issue discussed in developing the District’s annual budget this year. “The directors have considered it in some fashion at about half of our recent meetings. We’ve done our best to inform people and I believe most of them support this course of action.”
In November, village residents will see bond charges disappear from their utility bills. However, the amounts of those charges, $11.36 for water and $3.69 for wastewater, will be incorporated into service charges where funds will be used to replenish reserves and pay for upgrades to the Lompoc Regional Wastewater Reclamation Plant.
This reallocation of charges requires the district to conduct a public hearing, which will be held at the next regular monthly board meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 4. The meeting is at the CSD office, 3757 Constellation Road, Vandenberg Village, and is open to the public. Wyckoff emphasized that customers will not see any change in the total amount of their bills as a result of this action.
Vandenberg Village CSD is an independent special district that provides water and wastewater services to a community of 6,000 people in northern Santa Barbara County. It is governed by a five-member, elected board of directors.
October 8, 2004
The Vandenberg Village Community Services District Board of Directors is currently soliciting Letters of Interest from Village residents wishing to be considered for the Board position vacated by the resignation of Bob Trevino. Qualified candidates must reside within the service boundaries of the District and be a registered voter.
It is the intent of the remaining Directors to appoint a person to this vacancy at the meeting of the Board on November 3, 2004, at 7:00 p.m. The term of this appointment will be from November 3, 2004 through December 1, 2006.
Letters should be submitted to the District General Manager no later than 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 27, 2004. All letters from candidates will be delivered to the Board members. It is suggested that letters of interest include your reasons for wanting to serve, any experience and qualifications that relate to the position of Director, and any other information that you feel might be of benefit to the selection and appointment by the Board of Directors.
If you have any questions, please contact Joe Barget, General Manager.
September 2, 2004
Water is the source of life, but it's how you get it that's key. The community of Vandenberg Village has a new keymaster in Joe Barget.
As the new general manager of the Vandenberg Village Community Services District, Barget will oversee the operation of providing water and sewer services to the community's nearly 6,000 residents.
Barget said he is looking forward to the job ahead and the challenge of distributing water and collecting wastewater as "efficiently and as effectively as possible."
"We have a small but exceptionally talented and dedicated staff," he said. "I'm proud to join them and I look forward to working with them in the future." Barget, who succeeded former Village general managers Leo Havener and Tommy Keller, took up the Village management position two weeks ago.
He inherits the implementation of a strategic master plan designed by his predecessors that includes improvements and enhancements to the Village's water and sewer system. Barget said he wants to finalize the plan and set its course for the next six years.
The plan calls for the district to replace old pumps, update the computer system that controls water distribution and sewer collection, install automatic meter readers and possibly hire additional staff, Barget said. Advertisement
The district also may address a long-standing community concern with hard water by the possible construction of a water softening plant, Barget said. The possible plant would cost just "over $1 million" and would be funded from a reserve budget or from state Proposition 15 money which addresses water quality issues, he said.
"It's been long recognized that our water is hard and our rate-paying customers would like to have softer water," Barget said. "So we're looking at constructing a centralized water softener water treatment plant that would soften the water source before it goes into the system."
Barget will also help manage the Village's burden of sharing the cost to upgrade the Lompoc Wastewater Treatment Plant to be completed in 2008. The annual operating budget this year for the Vandenberg Village Community Service District is $1.8 million.
"The district must pay its cost share of the Lompoc wastewater treatment plant upgrade project at a cost of about $8.5 million or 17.8 percent (of the plant's usage)," Barget said. "We will be financing our share of that using a combination of our reserves and increasing sewer rates. It wouldn't be a one time thing. We'll be financing this over a period of time."
Barget, a 1975 graduate of West Point, served as a major in the Army Corps of Engineers for 20 years before working as the facilities manager for the Port San Luis Harbor District from 1995 to 2004.
December 12, 2003
On December 2, 2003, Vandenberg Village Community Services District celebrated 20 years of service to the residents of Vandenberg Village. At their anniversary celebration held on December 9, 2003, the District received a Certificate of Recognition from the California Senate for that dedication. Vandenberg Village Community Services District was established in 1983 as a local government agency under California Government Code Section 61000, et. seq., for the purpose of providing water and wastewater services to the community of Vandenberg Village, an unincorporated area of Santa Barbara County north of Lompoc.
November 18, 2003
Vandenberg Village Community Services District has reached a full and complete settlement with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System regarding Finding #3 of the 2000 PERS Audit. This settlement provides that neither the District nor Mr. Keller will owe PERS contributions on any of the funds paid to Mr. Keller post-retirement nor will any administrative expenses be assessed. Moreover, PERS will not seek to reinstate Mr. Keller nor seek recovery of any of the retirement benefits he has previously received. The District also avoids the cost associated with the scheduled February 4, 2004 hearing regarding this finding and any subsequent litigation regarding the outcome of that hearing
June 4, 2003
The Vandenberg Village Community Services District Board of Directors appointed Mr. Leo Havener as General Manager at their June 3, 2003 regular Board meeting.
Mr. Havener is leaving his position as Water Resources Planner at the City of Salinas to accept the position with the District. Prior to his employment with the City of Salinas, he was the General Manager of an irrigation district in Nevada and was a Water Resources Specialist with Modesto Irrigation District for 19 years.
He currently holds a B.A. in Political Science and is pursuing a Masters degree in Public Administration at San Jose State University.
Mr. Havener’s employment will begin on Monday, June 23, 2003. He looks forward to putting his experience and education to use for the District and is excited about moving to the area.