Iid

Jim Ohland has seen a 70 percent reduction in his energy bill through the summer months since solar panels were installed on his home in June. Ohland said he decided to install roof-top solar panels in order to be more energy efficient in his home and to reduce his energy bill. “It is a huge out-of-pocket expense that not maybe everyone can justify,” Ohland said. “But once installed it has become a faster payback than I thought it would be.” The system that Ohland said was installed was a 14.8-kilowatt system (that is the average daily production)

The Imperial Irrigation District is inviting residents to come and celebrate "A Century of Service" with a dinner in Imperial. The event is free to the public to commemorate IID's centennial. Today's event takes place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Imperial Valley Fairgrounds, Casa de Manana Building. For more information, please visit www.iid.com/centennial .

For some of us who care for our fellow man, it saddens us to see how the Imperial Irrigation District treats the water construction employees. The current IID management seems to have hostilities against this group along with some other IID work groups. I have seen many IID groups receive wage increases; this group has been left out. Their supervisor is very abusive towards them, insulting them and demeaning them Because they demanded fairness, he has retaliated against them and reduced them to the lowest menial task of pulling weeds when we all know equipment is available to perform the task quickly.

So many of the same people who are suing the Imperial Irrigation District and costing its ratepayers millions in legal fees are now campaigning against the current IID directors on the platform that those directors are spending too much in legal fees. How quaint. To join the discussion and add your comments to this story, please click here to be directed to Facebook.

A man well-known at Imperial Irrigation District meetings was honored Tuesday as a “great man to the city of Brawley and the Imperial Valley as a whole.” The board unanimously approved a resolution in remembrance of Orbia Hanks, who died Sept. 2. Hanks was a well-known former Brawley mayor, educator, coach and businessman, as well as advocate for water rights. “(Orbia) so loved his community and the preservation of Valley life that he became an ardent advocate for the protection of water rights, attending numerous Imperial Irrigation District board meetings and asking many pertinent and pointed questions concerning this subject area and the financial outlook of the district,” read the resolution approved with a 5-0 vote.

At least seven local restaurants were targets of a telephone scam today, the Imperial Irrigation District reported.  Somebody claiming to be an IID customer service representative is calling local restaurants and telling them they are behind on their bill, and they need to make an immediate payment to avoid disconnection. The IID notifies customers in writing before service is disconnected due to non-payment. Individuals and businesses who feel they may be victims of a telephone scam can call the IID at 1-800-303-7756.

EL CENTRO - An Imperial Irrigation District meter reader hit a bicyclist about noon Monday in El Centro, causing traffic to slow slightly and the bicyclist to be taken to the hospital. Limited information was available at the scene. The investigating officer couldn't comment as per department policy. However, an IID official was able to give some information regarding the incident. The IID employee had just finished reading the meter at a business on the corner of Fourth Street and Orange Avenue and was heading to another location, said Kerry VanBebber, IID's officer of security, claims and investigations.

An upcoming vote for Imperial Irrigation District hourly employees at an election scheduled for the end of April will allow them to choose whether to pay dues or an agency fee. The vote is known as an agency shop election, said Dan DeVoy, IID human resources manager. Employees have been informed by postings on bulletin boards throughout the district. To find out more about the vote, please read the Imperial Valley Press print edition or E-Edition for April 21, 2011. To find a newspaper rack near you, click here .

The amount of water that the Imperial Irrigation District is expected to pay back to the Colorado River keeps rising. In addition to nearly 180,000 acre-feet of water that the IID ordered in excess over the last two years and a projected overrun for 2013 estimated at 13,000 acre-feet of water, the IID is also expected to repay nearly 47,000 acre-feet of water it put in the Salton Sea for environmental mitigation in 2010. “The 46,546 acre-foot depletion of the Colorado River system requires prompt responsive action to address this situation,” said Bureau of Reclamation Regional Director Terrance J. Fulp to IID General Manager Kevin Kelley in a strongly-worded letter.  “A depletion of this magnitude, without prompt responsive action, has the potential to tip the system into shortage earlier than might otherwise occur, with IID at the focal point of such a destabilizing event,” Fulp wrote.

There was a near consensus at the local utility organization's meeting Tuesday: it's a step forward and about time. The Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors showed support for an economic-based wheeling rate, the first district officials say they have ever seen. However, a vote will have to wait 60 days while the district gets stakeholder input on an adjusted charge on renewable energy developers, said Chief Financial Officer Greg Broeking. Concerns have been raised about the wheeling rate - a charge to transport electricity across IID power lines to areas outside the district's service area - specifically about whether the district's fee would be “pancaked” on to the California Independent System Operator's existing rate.

> > 50 Years Ago   - EL CENTRO - Imperial Irrigation District directors today approved a contract with a Texas firm for the development of steam wells for electric power on district property. The contract stipulates the IID will get a percentage of the profits the firm gains from the extraction of minerals from the steam. It is expected the firm will make a substantial profit from potash extracted from the wells. The IID board was told a half carload of brine is taken from the two wells currently in operation.

During last year's election for the Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors, Bruce Kuhn pledged to protect and serve the people of Imperial County. He also affirmed he would take a common-sense leadership approach to dealing with the IID. Steve Benson's campaign talked about spending cuts, the reduction of power rates, honesty, integrity and commitment. Norma Sierra Galindo didn't promise much but got elected on the coattails of Kuhn, Benson and the support of I.V. First.

The amount of water that the Imperial Irrigation District is expected to pay back to the Colorado River keeps rising. In addition to nearly 180,000 acre-feet of water that the IID ordered in excess over the last two years and a projected overrun for 2013 estimated at 13,000 acre-feet of water, the IID is also expected to repay nearly 47,000 acre-feet of water it put in the Salton Sea for environmental mitigation in 2010. “The 46,546 acre-foot depletion of the Colorado River system requires prompt responsive action to address this situation,” said Bureau of Reclamation Regional Director Terrance J. Fulp to IID General Manager Kevin Kelley in a strongly-worded letter.  “A depletion of this magnitude, without prompt responsive action, has the potential to tip the system into shortage earlier than might otherwise occur, with IID at the focal point of such a destabilizing event,” Fulp wrote.

The Imperial Valley Press recently questioned the return of Frank Barbera and Arn Lahde to assist the energy (department) in its efforts to improve its operations for the benefit of the public. My question is, what political purpose is the newspaper's questioning serving. As a board member for many years, my relationship with both Mr. Barbera and Mr. Lahde gave me insight into two gentlemen that not only have the highest degree of integrity, but also keen intellects, extensive knowledge of IID and a willingness to serve the public at the highest level possible.

The nearly 1,000 rank-and-file Imperial Irrigation District employees can expect a $900 lump-sum payment and 2 percent salary increase. The terms are part of a memorandum of understanding between the IID and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 465 that the IID Board of Directors approved Tuesday. “This is a three-year agreement expiring in December of 2015,” said human resources manager Dan DeVoy. Negotiations were “drawn out, sometimes pretty nasty,” said Paul Kovacic, IBEW business representative.

The Imperial Irrigation District and county of Imperial have agreed on a list of terms that would radically transform the Salton Sea if implemented. Some of these terms include the development of the Salton Sea's geothermal resources through public-private partnerships. Both agencies would also seek a state commitment to expand the IID's electricity transmission capabilities and purchase power agreements to export up to 1,400 megawatts of renewable energy from the Salton Sea. Additionally, they will seek long-term funding from federal, state and local sources to implement the 2006 Salton Sea Authority Restoration Plan.

A number of items that may have far-reaching implications are on the agenda at today's Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors meeting. The board will consider renewing General Manager Kevin Kelley's contract in closed session. His current two-year contract expires May 17. The board will also weigh the county of Imperial's terms in the coordinated Quantification Settlement Agreements lawsuits. The county and the IID are in the process of negotiating a settlement in the decade-long QSA lawsuits, and district officials hope that a settlement with the county leads to a settlement with all parties.

> > 50 Years Ago   - The El Centro Recreation Annual Junior Tennis Tournament was held last Saturday on the tennis courts of Wilson School and Central Union High School. William Valenzuela, last year's “13 and under” champion defeated Jack Gresser who is a member of the high school tennis team in the first round of the tournament and went on to be semi-finals to meet and defeat Tommy Gilbert. Valenzuela is a student of Wilson Junior High School.   > > 40 Years Ago   - Darryl Bisi of the Imperial Tigers set a tourney dead lift record and was the most Valuable Lifter at a Power Lift Contest staged at Central High School Thursday.

His supporters call him a visionary. His detractors call him a megalomaniac. All agree that he is determined. And now that he is no longer the minority voice in a 3 to 2 voting bloc on the Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors, James Cleo Hanks may be the most powerful man in the Imperial Valley. While he is just one of five directors, IID officials and observers say it is Hanks who is the driving force behind the current board's direction. The number of changes the new board has made in the five months that it has been in session is dizzying.

While I concur with John Dantice (“SOS: Save Our Sea,” April 30) that restoration of the Salton Sea is as vital to the long-term health of the region and its residents as was the Great Depression-era construction of the All-American Canal, the onus of paying for that restoration cannot be borne by citizens of the Imperial Valley. By law and, arguably, under provisions of the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement, that distinction rests squarely with the state of California, although it has so far exhibited neither the political will nor the requisite attention span to make good on its responsibility.