Ukiah to administer Ukiah Valley Basin groundwater agency under new agreement

The Ukiah City Council on Feb. 5 approved a contract for the City of Ukiah to provide administrative services to the Ukiah Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA), shifting day‑to‑day administration from county contractors to city staff.

City Water Resources Director Sean White told the council the change follows several years of work by the city on basin studies and was prompted by board interest in reducing consultant costs and increasing local control. "The item for you before you tonight is a contract ... to essentially perform the administrative services for the Groundwater Sustainability Agency," White said.

The council approved the agreement after the GSA board had already signed off on it in January. The contract establishes the city as the GSA administrator and sets a target annual budget of about $140,000, billed back to the agency on an hourly basis to cover staff time and related expenses. According to White, that sum is an approximate budget rather than a fixed cap; the city will invoice for actual hours worked.

Under the agreement, Blake McAdams, the city's chief resilience officer, will serve as the GSA general manager; White said he will provide oversight. "Blake will actually be functioning as the general manager. I'll review things. Our clerk staff will clerk meetings," White said. McAdams, who also spoke at the meeting, thanked White and said he "look[s] forward to taking on this stewardship role of this really important, natural resource."

Council members asked about workload and potential conflicts of interest because the city is a major groundwater diverter. Council discussion stressed that the current phase of the GSA's work is implementation — with studies, fee structures and plans already completed — and that much of the on‑the‑ground work will continue to be done by consultants and contractors. White said the administrative role will be largely clerical and contract management and that the shift should save money compared with the consultant arrangement the GSA used previously.

The contract is between the GSA (a joint powers agency) and the City of Ukiah; the county is not a signatory. White said continuing county financial services may be acknowledged in the administration transition but the county will not be a party to the new services agreement. The GSA board approved the contract at its Jan. 9 meeting; the city council approved it on Feb. 5 by roll call vote.

Council members voting in favor were Council Member Roden, Council Member Chris, Council Member Orozco, Vice Mayor Schurr and Mayor Crane. The motion passed unanimously.

The change moves the GSA into what city staff described as a lower‑cost, locally controlled administrative phase while consultants continue to support technical implementation of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan.