Month: January 2022

Crestview president doubles down on secrecy but allows director contact with shareholders.

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President Sol Chooljian opened the January 27 board meeting by stating that shareholder questions will be “taken under advisement” and not answered in real time.  In practice, this has meant most will never be answered. At the October 28, 2021 meeting, Chooljian imposed a 3-minute limit on each shareholder’s public Continue reading Crestview president doubles down on secrecy but allows director contact with shareholders.→

What to expect in the Crestview board meeting at 4PM on Thursday, January 27 

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Crestview spent $383,000 on Well #7 in 2021.  Total expenditures on Well #7 were $880,000 (exclusive of land).  Since the project was killed by the Board of Supervisors, that will have to be written off as a charge to earnings. The project to lower the pump in Well #4 got Continue reading What to expect in the Crestview board meeting at 4PM on Thursday, January 27 →

The trial to determine our groundwater pumping rights has been delayed for probably six months. 

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The trial in the groundwater adjudication lawsuit to confirm the partial settlement agreement confirming the pumping rights of Crestview shareholders, has been put on hold by the Court of Appeal until after a hearing scheduled for May 11, 2022.  Apparently, a law firm is appealing a trial court ruling that Continue reading The trial to determine our groundwater pumping rights has been delayed for probably six months. →

Crestview’s budget for Well #8 is delusional, and the contract with Calleguas is much more onerous than Crestview admits.

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We discover Crestview’s revised budget for Well #8 is delusional and that the website description of the Calleguas contract for Well #8 is materially false. Crestview’s revised budget for Well #8 omits major cost items.  Crestview has presented this grossly inadequate budget to the Department of Water Resources in a Continue reading Crestview’s budget for Well #8 is delusional, and the contract with Calleguas is much more onerous than Crestview admits.→

The board’s failure to budget for eminent domain costs is financial mismanagement that continues to risk Crestview’s solvency.

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Crestview threatened several times to big-foot Well #7 into being by using its power of “eminent domain” or “condemnation.”  However, it never acknowledged that when a water utility takes private land for a public purpose it has to pay fair value.  Those compensation costs would have made the company insolvent Continue reading The board’s failure to budget for eminent domain costs is financial mismanagement that continues to risk Crestview’s solvency.→

Two more misstatements in Crestview’s latest letter to shareholders

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The letter with our January water bills states that the groundwater allocation lawsuit, going on since 2018, ís “directly responsible for 20% of the necessary rate increase.”  To the contrary, 100% of the increase pays for additional water purchases made necessary by the board’s negligent stewardship of Well #4, and Continue reading Two more misstatements in Crestview’s latest letter to shareholders→

What shareholder Dave Stephenson is doing to reduce his water consumption

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With my water bill going up, I’m considering conservation options more seriously.  I am sharing here information about smart sprinkler controllers, turf removal, artificial turf, and costs.  I’ll post again when I know how fast the water cost reductions will repay my installation costs. Constant Manual Adjustments Cal Water estimates Continue reading What shareholder Dave Stephenson is doing to reduce his water consumption→

Can we help with your water conservation plans? 

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Recently, three shareholders have told us they are considering replacing their lawns with artificial turf, or have already done so.  As we drive around, we see other homes with drought-tolerant yards. What about you, dear readers, are you considering any conservation measures—big or little?  Would you be willing to share Continue reading Can we help with your water conservation plans? →

Open letter to Crestview’s president, Sol Chooljian

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Dear Mr. Chooljian, Crestview Watch has been posting twice weekly about Crestview Mutual Water Company since October ­­2021.  Our most recent post in two parts, here and here, reviewed the good, the bad, and the ugly of 2021.  We reported that nothing good had occurred and summarized the other kinds Continue reading Open letter to Crestview’s president, Sol Chooljian→