City and DWP to Discuss City Charter Amendment for Board Requirements

Department of Water and Power customers outside of the City of Big Bear Lake, some of whom have long campaigned for opportunity to serve on the DWP Board of Commissioners, will be pleased to know that a meeting will be held on Monday morning, during which time an amendment to the city charter will be discussed. At present, only those who live in Big Bear Lake are eligible to serve on the DWP Board, though the water company’s service area extends to Lake Williams, Sugarloaf and Fawnskin. After much petitioning from East Valley residents, among them Bob Ybarra, Leonard Chaidez and Marge McDonald of Sugarloaf, at a September City Council meeting, both Mayor Rick Herrick and DWP Chairman Steve Foulkes agreed to move forward with the discussion which, now, will take place on December 21 at 9am. Those on the Charter Amendment Sub-Committee include Herrick (no longer mayor, but on Council and a past DWP commissioner), Foulkes (a past Council member), City Manager Jeff Mathieu and DWP General Manager Joel Dickson. The meeting takes place at the city offices at 39707 Big Bear Boulevard and is open to the public. The City of Big Bear Lake’s charter, as it pertains to the DWP appointments, was established in the ’80s and, as DWP Chairman Foulkes noted before Council on September 14, “We’ve existed like this for 20 years, and I think maybe it’s time to expand.”