OPUD, Reclamation District 784 clash on projects

Hangups between public agencies on a pair of projects in south Yuba County were on the way to being resolved Wednesday, after the Olivehurst Public Utility District and Reclamation District 784 took steps to communicate better.

At a special OPUD board meeting, directors voted to send two sharply worded letters to the reclamation district and Yuba County expressing the utility district's stance on impact fees for a well and an easement for a park in Plumas Lake.

But two board members appointed to work with RD 784 said they were confident the disputes between the two agencies would be resolved soon.

"We all have the same customer base, and that includes Yuba County," said board member Ron Dougherty.

Earlier this year, RD 784's directors took issue with two OPUD projects: A new well called Well 34 and Donahue Park in Wheeler Ranch. According to reclamation district officials, they had a right to charge drainage impact fees for the well and wanted an easement for a detention basin near the park.

Yuba County officials wouldn't issue a grading permit for either project until the two agencies resolved the disputes.

In the two letters formally approved Wednesday, the utility district laid out why it didn't agree with the reclamation district, though board members stressed they wanted to work in an attitude of cooperation, not acrimony.

The letter to the reclamation district stated OPUD would pay $5,000 in drainage impact fees, albeit under protest because district counsel suggested the reclamation district didn't have authority to charge such fees. The letter to the county said OPUD would grant an easement, but had never been asked to do so before.

"I don't have a problem extending the olive branch, but it goes both ways," board member Catherine Hollis said before voting.

But also before the vote, RD 784 board member Jeff Phinney distributed copies of state government law to the board, with highlighted areas he said justified his agency's position.

"I'm curious if you actually read the law, or you're just going by what your attorney says," said Phinney, who is running for an OPUD seat in the Nov. 2 election.

Board members Dougherty and Larry King, who plan to meet with reclamation district board members to resolve the dispute, said they would take Phinney's materials into consideration.

The disagreements stopped work on both projects, and OPUD General Manager Tim Shaw said there are consequences if the disputes aren't resolved. A construction company is ready to start work on the well and the district hopes to make substantial progress on the park before rains come, Shaw said.

"If the spirit is there, we can do this," he said. "Where there's a will, there's a way."

CONTACT Ben van der Meer at 749-4709 or bvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com.