Established by the Joint Powers Agreement, the Paso Robles area groundwater authority conducted its first meeting last night.
The authority is formed from directors of each groundwater sustainability agency in the county, with the exception of the San Miguel Community Services District.
The purpose of the authority is to manage the Paso groundwater basin to be compliant with the state’s sustainable groundwater management act. Actions taken this first meeting related to election of officers, meeting formats, approving the 2023-2024 annual report for water, and appointing an ad hoc committee to select executive director and legal counsel for the authority.
For officers, Matt Turrentine of the Shandon-San Juan water district was elected as chair, mayor John Hamon of Paso Robles as vice-chair, and Jerry Reaugh of the Estrella El-Pomar Creston water district as secretary and interim treasurer.
The authority approved the proposed meeting calendar by staff – the authority will meet bimonthly on a Wednesday at 4 pm in the Paso city council chambers.
Two special meetings in April and May will have their dates finalized to discuss the rate study for authority, and the board agreed to likely not charge de minimis users for its future established rates.
The next regular meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 28th at 4 pm.
