In San Simeon’s latest governmental setback, two recent resignations have left the diminutive town’s community services district with only three board members and no manager.
After a closed session at the San Simeon Community Services District board’s special July 30 meeting, the directors requested temporary management assistance from the county while the CSD again searches for an interim general manager.
In the open meeting, Supervisor Bruce Gibson told the board the county can provide the interim help, under provisions of a statewide mutual assistance agreement for water and wastewater districts.
That request doesn’t obligate the district to accept the help, only to receive information on what it could include and how much it might cost, the board’s counsel Nubia Goldstein told the directors. They could decide at a future meeting if they want to accept the temporary help, she said.
Neither Gibson nor the attorney explained how the county’s temporary assistance would differ from what San Simeon’s board has been negotiating for in the past year — permanently handing off to the county either the district’s major services or the entire district operations.
“Basically, the SSCSD has asked for some short-term assistance, and the county will be meeting with them to see what exactly that might entail,” Gibson told The Tribune.
“My expectation is that this will be administrative oversight of SSCSD operations until they can secure the services of an interim general manager,” he said. “With an interim on board, we and they can also proceed to do the plan of services study that is part of the process for their dissolution ... which is still in process.”
What triggered the CSD’s request?
Interim General Manager Geoff English and Director Jacqueline Diamond both resigned in mid-July.
That left acting Chairperson Karina Tiwana and board members Holly Le and Michael Donahue totally in charge of the agency that provides the town’s visitors, businesses and a few hundred residents with various services, such as water and sewage treatment.
The board now also oversees the work of bookkeeper Kathy East and administrative assistant Ruth Montgomery, and operations of the tiny office that’s open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
Technicians from Fluid Resource Management of San Arroyo Grande run and maintain San Simeon’s water and wastewater plants.
With so few residents in San Simeon — just about 300 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Census Reporter tool — the district often has had a tough time getting enough candidates to fill a five-member board.
The town straddles Highway 1 on its way north to Hearst Castle and Old San Simeon Village, the elephant seal rookery and — when there’s no landslide blocking the way — Big Sur.
After several years of upheaval over a host of management issues, there’s been an exodus of directors, with four having resigned since 2020.
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