Mavy seeks to unseat Wollan in District 5 Placer County Water Agency board election
Applegate resident Ben Mavy is taking on 20-year Placer County Water Agency Director Otis Wollan for the 5th District seat. “After 20 years it’s time for some new blood,” Mavy said. Mavy, who has lived all his 30 years in Applegate, has a business administration degree from Sacramento State University and currently owns a Colfax investment advisory firm that specializes in financial planning. His earlier schooling included graduation from Colfax High School. The main reason for his run against an incumbent who has previously beaten all challengers is grounded in the upcoming federal relicensing of the Placer County Water Agency Middle Fork project, he said. With some estimates placing annual revenues as high as $90 million or more, Mavy said he’s intent on ensuring profits go toward repairing and replacing water and sewer infrastructure instead of seeing the money filtering through into the general fund. “We have a historic chance to secure our water revenues for water projects,” he said. “We have been paying taxes to PCWA for over 40 years and we finally have the chance to realize the benefits. The 20-year incumbent at the agency has told us to buzz off and go ask the county for help.” Wollan hasn’t been representing the interests of the water agency at all, Mavy said. Mavy said he has been attending water board meetings and while he hasn’t met all the directors, they seem “like nice fellows, including Otis.” “But I’m not running against his personality,” Mavy said. Mavy’s stance on spending Middle Fork revenues echoes current District 5 Placer County Supervisor Bruce Kranz, who has also been pushing for a policy that would keep profits away from general fund uses. So far, Kranz hasn’t won support of other board members. Mavy said he admires Kranz’s stance on the project, only met the supervisor when he was appointed to the Weimar-Applegate-Colfax Municipal Advisory Commission, and hasn’t sought his endorsement. Mavy said he hasn’t sought other endorsements although he did win the support of the Republican Central Committee, and voted in favor of endorsing himself. He’s an appointed member of the central committee. As well as the MAC work, Mavy is a member of the Applegate Civic Center Club. When not working or involved in those groups, Mavy said family keeps him occupied. He has a wife and three children. While inexperienced in politics, Mavy said he does bring experience as a financial advisor balancing budgets, making tough decisions and implementing investment strategies that benefit both the short- and long-term needs of his clients. “We have a chance in this election to change course,” Mavy said. “And I’m running because I have the skills and experience to bring that change about.” The Journal’s Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.-com.
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I'm confused, is this about the water board or trying to get himself some new clients?
Hi PlacerPal,
I will be watching the mailbox for a bill from the Auburn Journal for the nice advertising, but in all seriousness there are some important issues that are not being addressed.
Why are Middle Fork Project revenues being split 50/50 and sent to the respective general funds of the County and PCWA? Those of us from California know that if the we allow the revenues to make it to the general fund they will be ripe to abused for bloated administrative salaries, Taj Mahal administrative buildings, and a little going toward infrastructure projects. There is a proposal to keep 100% of the funds in the Joint Powers Authority, but the County and PCWA will not consider it.
Every property owner in the County has been paying taxes into PCWA for 40 years (regardless where they get their water); and now that we have a chance to realize the benefits, entrenched politicians are prepared to throw it away.
Let's use water revenues for water projects.
I wonder how many of the hundreds of FERC relicensing meetings over the past 4-5 years Mr. Mavy attended (open to the public); his inexperience and entrance into this race speaks more about who is backing him. He and some other politicians love JPA's because then there is no public power--only electeds and/or their appointed pawns make decisions.
Otis Wollan has been a conservative guardian of PCWA's water rights. He has made certain that what belongs to PCWA stays with PCWA. At the same time, he has become an expert in water consequences due to even the slightest of climate changes, and he's been a player in the complicated FERC relicensing process. The entire county is fortunate to have someone as dedicated, intelligent, and well-versed in water issues, ESPECIALLY AS WE FACE A DROUGHT serving on the PCWA Board.
Don't be fooled by this sly, not-so-subtle attempt to usurp one of the best run public agencies in the nation--one in which Wollan has played an important role. Let the new kids on the block learn their lessons first. Attend meetings, do the work before trying to unseat a master. Vote for the best--Otis Wollan for PCWA.
Jim,
I can't recall ever meeting, but you seem to already have a pretty strong opinion about who I am. I'd be happy to sit down to discuss. My contact info is on my campaign site, www.benmavy.com
In case I didn't make it clear in the above post, I am comletely opposed to the current arrangement between the County and PCWA which is a pact to split MFP revenues 50/50 and spend it through their general funds. You and I both know if this is allowed to happen, the biggest benefactors will be administrators instead of the taxpayers of the County.
My opponent, and apparently your friend, supports that arrangement. Politicians tend to lose touch with their constituents, perhaps that is what has happened at PCWA. Either way, after 20 years it's time for some new blood in District 5.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Many Meadow Vista residents will remember that I spent almost 4 years with the help of an amazing coalition of neighbors, teachers, local clergy, MAC members, firefighters, business owners, local water executives and other fine citizens trying to bring water into the Applegate area via MHAAA. This failed through no lack of trying but I never really got chance to thank all of them before moving to Arizona. It failed because of a total lack of political will on the part of PCWA which runs in my view largely on its own steam. The only supervision, supposedly that exerted by its Board members, is totally ineffective.
For those wondering how many PCWA meeting I might have attended by the way, the answer is many, including being the ONLY member of the public at an almost full day session of the PCWA Strategy Session and some of the early meetings of the Middle Fork JPA - before it was even properly constituted. I suspect I’m probably the ONLY person that also has a 3 hour CD recording of that meeting where the written transcript shows Wollan congratulating me on having figured out PCWA’s financials. I quote:
BEGIN QUOTE
“1.41.45 – Otis Wollan – PCWA Director
Bless John Sellers. The guy in Meadow Vista whose well ran dry. And he organized the people in Applegate and they’re trying to figure out how to get Weimar Water through Midway Heights to do some kind of a deal down there and he has identified that pot of money and has figured out that it’s only logical that we immediately leverage our future revenues and put the pipeline in for Applegate. There are people who have figured this out already. He’s an astute retired business guy - he’s really smart. And he came up with some smart questions that I was impressed with – a list of questions he asked Dave [Brenninger] and Joe [Parker] - about how this you know what are our fiscal policies and all kinds of good stuff. It was really an impressive list. He put two and two together and he’s just a guy from Appplegate [laughter]. You know so – it’s honest.”
END QUOTE
This happened because some of MHAA’s almost 100 paid up members will also remember that, as a seasoned Wall Street energy and project finance investment banker of 30 years, I had no trouble penetrating the mirrors of PCWA’s financial reporting. At that time three years ago their financial plight was quite strained. After a recent detailed review of their finances today, with the almost total disappearance since then of one time connection charges, it is in my view even more serious.
This is compounded by their mad dash to secure the license for the Middle Fork from PG&E. The current leadership of PCWA seeks, without a partner, to become a power company, a highly risky business, and in effect repeat the disastrous folly of the Bear Sterns supported lawsuit between PCWA and PG&E 25 years ago. Their financial position is such now that even I, normally viewed as somewhat creative financially, cannot imagine a means for them to extricate themselves from this situation.
Based on my financial projections based on PCWA’s own recent debt proformas for the 2008 COIP offering, I believe these prove PCWA will not be able to accept any reasonable offer to renegotiate the 2013 PG&E water contract – even if they wanted to. This is because of restrictive debt covenants in these and earlier recent debt offerings which now involve Zone3/ District 5 water revenues being pledged to bondholders as well.
Electors only hope is to effect change at the Board level. The present incumbent, Otis Wollan, is gloriously described in the company’s debt prospectuses as the most senior Board member - being there for 20 years. Yet clearly from his recent public statements about PCWA not having increased its debt, he never read P62 of PCWA’s 2007 Annual Report.
“There is virtually no debt” – Source - Otis Wollan - The Auburn Journal September 14th
P 62 shows water debt almost tripling from $34 million in 1998 to $85 million in 2007. That’s not including Middle Fork Debt borrowed from the schools etc via the JPA which amounts to probably another $25 million but does not even show up AT ALL – at least as debt in PCWA.
The best way to do this is to get to know Ben Mavy whose ethics and community spirit will not disappoint
Contact details:
595 Robin Drive, Prescott, Arizona 86305
Tel: 928-277-1262
Fax: 928-277-1308
Cell: 928-310- 8220
Email: jasellers@cableone.net
Web site: www.jsellers.co.uk