MID did well to raise water sale price. But that’s about all they got right | Opinion

The Modesto Irrigation District board met the absolute minimum needed to sell water to outsiders without devaluing its own customers. But the vote did little to reassure those whose confidence was shaken by a chaotic lead-up to Tuesday’s rush job.

Right away, the board’s Bob Frobose suggested setting the price at $200 an acre-foot for surface water offered to growers just outside MID boundaries. That’s what I — and several others in various meetings, letters and emails — recommended as a starting point.

It’s a sight better than the original June proposal of $80 an acre-foot for the first 12 inches, dropping to $60 after, which would represent an illegal gift of public funds and an affront to all district ratepayers, I argued in two previous columns. Both questioned who had come up with such an asinine below-market price, and why.

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I also recommended that Board President Larry Byrd “cleanly, publicly and transparently explain all connections — business, political and otherwise — between himself and prospective buyers,” including his neighbors and business partners on the east end of Stanislaus County. Such transparency should come easy to someone with nothing to hide.

That didn’t happen Tuesday. Nor did anyone explain the origin of the ridiculous $80-$60 price. Nor did Frobose give any basis or justification before changing it to $200 an acre-foot.

A packed board room and all watching remotely were left to speculate about all three things. That’s not what we want or expect from public servants.

The motivation behind the third point — upping the price — comes down to public pressure. The Modesto Chamber of Commerce, attorneys and others sent letters demanding that MID charge market value. Modesto Councilman Nick Bavaro on Tuesday asked the same, as did a Stanislaus County environmental resources representative and others in the audience.

Board members said they received numerous calls and emails, and they responded accordingly. They get points for recognizing how concerned people were at the prospect of selling water at less than the market price, particularly if there were unanswered concerns over who might benefit from a collective loss to the district of more than $7 million a year — the difference between the lower initial price and the one settled on Tuesday.

Modesto Irrigation fumbles contract

But numerous other aspects of the proposed contract remained unsettled, including its duration and concerns for small growers who might find it difficult to compete against large farms on a first-come, first-served basis.

Bob Fores, a Modesto attorney litigating business contracts for 38 years, called this “one of the weaker ones I’ve reviewed” in terms of protecting MID and its customers. He asked that the district take more time to tighten the language of the contract. So did others, including board members Janice Keating and John Boer.

When you take the time to do things right the first time, Keating noted, you reduce the chance of getting sued. “I seriously think we should pump the brakes,” Boer agreed.

Nothing could stop the good ol’ boys’ freight train, though. Nick Blom initially favored postponement but eventually joined Byrd and Frobose for a 3-2 win over Keating and Boer on everything but the price.

Time will tell whether this risky business with a precious community resource — called the Groundwater Replenishment Program — does anything to replenish our groundwater. Thanks to intense public pressure, at least MID will get something closer to a fairer price.