Kathleen Coates-Hedberg

READER'S EDITORIAL: LAST NIGHT'S BOARD MEETING ON HELIX WATER DISTRICT WATER RATES 5-YEAR PLAN

 

By Kathleen Coates-Hedberg, Helix Water District board member

October 10, 2015 (La Mesa)--I got to the Board Room at 4:30p.m. and the parking lot was filling up and I parked on the street. When the meeting started at 5 p.m. it was a full house, every seat was filled and the people were lined outside the door and people were standing in rows near on the sides. At least 150 members of the public were in attendance, several TV crews (KFMB, KUSI & FOX that I saw) and we all echoed the pledge of the allegiance to the flag together. I was hopeful and optimistic that the meeting was going to go well...oh how wrong I was.


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LAKE JENNINGS CAMPGROUND SPARED: HELIX WATER BOARD VOTES DELAY ACTION FOR A YEAR

 

By Miriam Raftery

June 18, 2015 (La Mesa) – After hearing testimony from a Boy Scout leader and other users of the Lake Jennings Campground who pleaded to keep it open, the Helix Water Board voted to delay action on possible closure for one year.  But the long-term future of the campground is not yet secure, despite recent financial gains.

Since Helix took back ownership of the lake in 2008, the campground had been losing money at $200,000 a year – but that’s dropped to only $24,000 a year today, nearly a break-even point.


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HELIX WATER BOARD MAJORITY OPTS TO KEEP LAKE JENNINGS CAMPGROUND OPEN...FOR NOW

 

By Miriam Raftery

September 5, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)—In light of improved revenues and reduced losses at Lake Jennings, the majority of Helix Water District board members on Wednesday opted to support keeping the lake and its campground open for another year in hopes that it will become financially sustainable.


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MURKY WATERS: HELIX LIMITS INPUT OF DIRECTORS AND PUBLIC IN HIRING GENERAL MANAGER

By Miriam Raftery

 

"How they will conduct the search is a decision that the full board is entitled to vote on. " - Terry Francke, general counsel, Californians Aware

 

Transparency in this case is not only questionable but sends the wrong message to the voters…Does the selection process pass the smell test? The voters should decide that.” – La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid

 

October 27, 2011 (La Mesa)— Without calling for a vote, Helix Water District Board Director DeAna Verbeke announced during the October 19 board meeting that a subcommittee of two board and two staff members, not the full board, will handle screening applications to replace retiring General Manager Mark Weston. Verbeke then appointed herself and board member Chuck Muse (who was absent), to comprise the subcommittee charged with narrowing the field of applications to a handful for the full board to review.

 

Her announcement drew gasps from the audience and was made over the persistent objections of board member Kathleen Hedberg and the public.

 

Taking the action without a vote puts the jurisdiction in legally murky water, an attorney specializing in open government laws has informed ECM.


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NEW SOLAR PANELS POWER UP HELIX WATER’S OPERATIONS CENTER

 

March 17, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – A solar project installed at the Operations Center for Helix Water District has been fully certified by SDG&E and begins producing energy starting today, with an official ribbon cutting ceremony planned for March 30th.

 

"This solar project is a great benefit for Helix using clean, renewable natural resources,” said Kathleen Coates-Hedberg, director on the Helix Water District Board.


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