Regrettably, Crestview achieved nothing good in 2021, but plenty of bad and ugly.
January: A Crestview shareholder (who is also a respected CEO of a large public company) advised the board that he had met with opponents of Well #7 and advised that Crestview needed to make significant concessions about the septic system and CC&R issues. He said Crestview should resolve these issues before the Supervisors’ hearing, but president Sol Chooljian indicated there would be no change of course.
February: Well #6 was restarted February 17, but the startup of Well #4 was delayed due to the lack of groundwater recharge. The water table was at an all-time low for February.
March: President Sol Chooljian stated that Crestview would no longer answer shareholder questions or provide copies of any documents except those required by law to be disclosed, and that Crestview would not negotiate about the timing of disclosures. Legal counsel said he was working on a report to shareholders (who are the actual owners of the rights) about the status of the groundwater adjudication. (No such report was ever released, but Crestview Watch provided an update here.)
April: The annual meeting of shareholders was held April 22. The general manager reported the static water level in Well #4 was at an all-time low and estimated there was a 60% chance of water shortages and rationing in 2022–if not sooner. President Sol Chooljian said Crestview would no longer work with neighbors of Well #7 and Well #8 to pin down the noise impacts because measurements taken of an actual drilling rig in December and January were too high. Instead, Crestview would require the driller to be responsible for compliance with the noise ordinance. He also said no locations outside Crestview’s service area would be considered for alternatives to Well #7, but gave no reasons for that arbitrary restriction.
May: The general manager told the board that the water level in Well #4 was declining at a rate that would require shutting it off about August 1, and that Well #6 would be shut down at the same time to avoid mixing well water with imported water.
June: The general manager reported that drilling contractors would do their own noise analyses and noise abatement plans, which would be reviewed along with other information in their bids. (If any such analyses and plans were ever submitted, they were never made available to shareholders or the County.) In a discussion of possible conservation measures, president Sol Chooljian stated, “We are only in an advisory position re: demand management; we are not the ‘water police’.”
Part 2 will be posted on Wednesday.