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Hollister City Council voted unanimously to renew its wastewater treatment plant operations agreement with its current contractor.
The contract with Veolia Water West Operating Services Inc., which provides water and wastewater services, is set to expire Aug. 2. Councilmembers Tim Burns, Dolores Morales and Rick Perez directed legal counsel Mary F. Lerner to negotiate the contract from a six-year term to a two-to-four-year term.
Mayor Mia Casey and Councilmember Rolan Resendiz were in favor of renewing the contract as-is for five years at an estimated cost of $1.5 million.
“I’m not convinced that we’ve always gotten stellar service from the current service provider,” Burns said. “So for me, it sounds like we’ve got very little to lose, and everything to gain. So, I would support the city attorney following up with their legal counsel.”
Hollister Director of Community Services William Via said the city does not currently employ wastewater treatment plant operators. It would cost the city about $1.1 million to hire positions to operate the plant, Via said.
“It’s difficult to hire a grade five [operator] in the state of California because they are highly sought after,” he said. “They have to have a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge.”
Councilmember Tim Burns expressed frustration.
“These are conversations that should be had well before three months or four months before a contract of this magnitude is going to expire,” he said.
Other council business
The council voted 4-1, with Resendiz opposing, to rescind its current campaign contribution policy. This is the first reading following the council’s initial step toward repeal at its April 15 meeting. The council will hear the second reading at a later date.
The city’s current ordinance requires candidates to report all donations of more than $1 and sets a contribution limit of $250 per individual or entity to each candidate per election.
If the current policy was repealed, the city would default to the terms of AB 571, setting a limit of $5,500 per contributor for each candidate and requiring disclosure of donors who give more than $99.
During council deliberations, Casey said that there were instances of hidden funding sources and corruption.
“I think that there is a huge loophole when it comes to self-funding,” Casey said. “Because while I believe that some have, on this council, self-funded, I also believe that that’s where corruption can lie because you don’t know where that money’s coming from. They can say ‘I’m self funding,’ but they may be taking cash.”
Though Casey did not identify which council member she was referring to, Resendiz described himself as self-funded during the April 15 council meeting.
Resendez claimed Casey’s campaign treasurer spoke during public comment in favor of rescinding the policy.
Casey indicated that her campaign treasurer was in attendance, and highlighted her past transparency with campaign donations. Hollister City Council campaign contributions can be found here.
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