Water board challenger calls for lower rates

Glen Longarini

Glen Longarini, a Westlake Village resident who has a master’s degree in business, says Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) needs a director on its board with strong financial sense if water rates are ever to come down.

Longarini, 35, is challenging incumbent Ken Rufener in the Nov. 7 election to represent Division IV of LVMWD, a region that includes Westlake Village.

"People who understand the district’s aggressive use of funds and high water fees with respect to the rest of the state, I think they’d be interested in someone like me who wants to get in there and really tighten the belt financially," said Longarini, an 11-year veteran of the real estate and development industry.

Longarini received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cal State University Northridge and his MBA from Pepperdine.

Citizens for Lower Water Rates, a group that backed incumbent Vernon Padgett in his successful 1998 election bid, will support Longarini and fellow challenger Charles Caspary in next month’s election.

If elected, Longarini hopes to take over Rufener’s job as board treasurer.

"There are very few organizations that don’t have a little bit of fat," Longarini said.

"From what I’ve seen walking the facilities, there’s a lot of fat. You know they’re spending some serious money."

Longarini said he opposes a district proposal to spend up to $2 million refurbishing the Rancho Las Virgenes Compost Facility in Calabasas.

"That would really frighten me to think of pouring more money into that thing," Longarini said.

"I toured it about a month ago and it’s a beautiful facility, and it’s state of the art, but the fact of the matter is it doesn’t make financial sense. To consider the payments on $50 million in bonds, that hauls a lot of sludge. It certainly hauls way more sludge than is being produced by the sewer system."

Instead of allowing LVMWD’s sludge waste to be shipped away on trucks, the Rancho plant makes compost, considered to be an environmentally friendly, but perhaps more costly method of dealing with the byproduct.

Longarini favors transporting the sludge out-of-county and putting the compost facility out to lease.

"There may be some day [hauling sludge] is not feasible. But right now it is feasible and it’s the most cost effective manner," Longarini said.

"Even if you’re able to do it for another five years it’s more cost effective than keeping that facility running."

Longarini said when he volunteered with the Santa Clarita-based Association to Aid Victims of Domestic Violence, the group’s board of director’s wanted to buy land and build new buildings. Longarini, a board member, recommended putting the money into programs and services instead.

That’s what LVMWD should be doing, he said.

"I would like to start by analyzing all the facilities and find out where they are and realistically how much money needs to be reserved for those kinds of things."

Longarini said even though the district is in dire need of infrastructure repair, water rates still have room to come down.

"I’m not happy with the status quo. I want to see them go down. I want to see some serious reconsideration of facilities and management in order to effectively reduce water rates," Longarini said.

The Acorn will profile Longarini’s opponent in the water board race, Ken Rufener, in an upcoming issue.