McKinleyville board agrees to probe limited assistance for Big Lagoon water district, seeks liability and exit-plan safeguards

The McKinleyville Community Services District board on Sept. 4 directed staff to pursue next steps for providing limited administrative and meter-reading assistance to the neighboring Big Lagoon Community Services District, while insisting on written limits, liability clarifications and an exit plan.

General Manager Pat Kaspari told the board staff had prepared a task list and a cost spreadsheet showing the work could be performed “at cost” with no intended profit to McKinleyville ratepayers. Kaspari said staff estimated roughly 22 additional finance and meter-reading hours per month and about 53 hours per year for the operations director and reporting work.

Director Dennis Mayo said he was “extremely supportive” of cooperative help for neighboring districts but pressed staff to answer key questions about legal counsel and liability. “First of all…does Big Lagoon have legal counsel?” Mayo asked, noting shared counsel could create conflicts. He added support but said safeguards were needed before any commitment.

Director Orini urged the board to be clear about individual staff exposure. “Our operators would not be responsible for things that happened to their system as long as…they were reporting what they were supposed to report,” Orini said, while also emphasizing that MCSD ratepayers are the board’s primary responsibility.

Richard Mayor, who identified himself as the accountant for Big Lagoon CSD, said his district was seeking a temporary bridge while it develops a longer-term solution. “This is something we need to address…we currently have a D1 operator who does all of our testing and maintains our system; his license will run out in 2028,” Mayor said, adding Big Lagoon is willing to pay for services or a temporary hire to meet the estimated meter-reading workload.

Board members repeatedly raised the need for conflict waivers with shared legal counsel, clear language in a service agreement to limit MCSD’s obligations, and confirmation from the district’s liability provider. Director Bitman said his chief worry was spreading already-thin staff too far and said he wanted the questions answered before any formal commitment.

The board stopped short of a formal vote. Instead members instructed staff to seek written guidance from MCSD’s risk manager (SDRMA/JPIA), have legal counsel prepare conflict waivers and draft a time-limited service agreement that specifies responsibilities and financial arrangements, set up a job number to track costs, and return to the board with clarified recommendations at the October meeting.

Kaspari said staff would pursue the liability and insurance questions, and would involve Big Lagoon in drafting the documents. The board emphasized that any arrangement should be explicitly temporary and that MCSD would focus first on administrative and billing tasks, with careful limits on operational or repair responsibilities.

Next steps: staff will consult SDRMA and MCSD legal counsel, draft contract language and waivers, and report back to the board at the October meeting.