A Message from Karen
I’ve found my first full year as your NID director to be both challenging and enjoyable. NID is a very complex organization with many facets. The District has huge strengths and some significant challenges. Being able to work with others to influence positive change and help prepare us for the future is very rewarding to me.
I have had the opportunity to get to know the NID management team and am impressed with their capabilities, insights and professionalism. I find them to be highly committed professionals who work with the best interests of the customers and District in mind.
I’m also pleased with how we interact as a board. While we don’t always agree (who does?), we have respectful dialogue and as a result have positive outcomes regardless of the issue being discussed. Overall, my board service has made for a very interesting and rewarding experience.
Here are some of our major accomplishments:
- The hiring of General Manager Jennifer Hansen stands out as one of our most important Board activities this year. Jennifer is a strategic thinker with strong analytical and technical skills. She has excellent fiscal management skills and is focused on making some important changes in this area. She also has good interpersonal skills and is focused on building relationships with the community. With a strong NID management team and board, we can do great things!
- We negotiated a very complex labor contract and were able to address some important recruitment and retention issues.
- CMMS, the computer management system for maintenance, is in beta testing and will be rolled out to the entire organization in the coming months.
- We completed the Combie canal upgrade replacing the antiquated (and leaky) wooden flume with 9,100 feet of concrete pipe. This multi-year project that cost over $20 million greatly enhances water reliability for south Nevada County and Placer County.
- We received funding for a forest clearing project near the Rollins Reservoir.
- Developed and used an innovative way to remove mercury from the Combie Reservoir.
- We’ve responded vigorously to the mitigate threat of possible damage to the watershed by rain after the River fire.
- We completed two lengthy plans required by the state of California – the Agricultural Water Master Plan and the Urban Water Master Plan. With this behind us, we now are moving into the Plan for Water which will guide NID investment decisions for the next 50 years.
- Based on board feedback, NID management developed an enhanced approach for capital planning that provides more information about projects, risk evaluation and rationale for prioritization of investment.