Rendering of administrative building: ECWCD Commissioner Desmond Barrett, left, and Chairman Nate Stout, hold up a rendering of the new administrative building that will be constructed this summer and fall on E. County Lane as the permanent home of the water control district. Photo by Mel Toadvine

The East County Water Control District quietly passed its 20120-2013 operating budget with an assessment rate of $105.15 per acre, the same rate for the past three years. The assessment rate is for one acre of land and is broken up to quarter and half acres sums. If a person lives on a quarter-acre lot, his or her assessment would be one fourth of the total assessment fee or $26.29.

The vote took place at the ECWCD’s monthly meeting on July 18 following a few weeks of budget deliberations with its financial advisory committee. The commissioners also passed a resolution approving the East County Water Control District’s Capital Improvement Plan for 2012-2016, which is done each year prior to adopting the next annual budget.

The plan is only a guiding tool that details how staff anticipates that these projects will be brought to the Board of commissioners for future action.

As stated in its Overview for the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), Fiscal year 2012 projects are either already approved by the board or recommended by staff as a necessity. As the CIP moves further into the future, the project reality and timing becomes less clear because of the unpredictability of the funding, design and permitting needed to proceed with each project.

Michael Cook, the assistant director, told the board that the new administrative building is on line for construction and falls within the $850,000 budget allotted earlier. He said building permits hopefully will be awarded the water control district by August 1 and that in his opinion, the project could be finished by December.

Currently the ECWCD staff and crew work out of of a rented building on Williams Rd. in front of Town Lakes.

The new maintenance building is nearly completed at the site on E. County Lane and David Lindsay, the executive director of the ECWCD, suggested the board plan an open house for the public maybe in January.

“That’s something to think about,” said Nate Stout, the ECWCD’s chairman.

Supervisor David Deetscreek said he thought a one-time grand opening celebrating the two openings of both the administrative building and the nearby maintenance building would be a good idea and Supervisor Mike Bonacolta agreed.

Near the end of the meeting, Commissioner Desmond Barrett, who has been on the board for 11 years announced his intent to resign in September.

The announcement was no surprise to his fellow commissioners because Barrett has been working toward getting a degree from a Church of the Nazarene Bible College in Colorado. He graduated recently and began looking for church in which to serve.

Barrett later said he had been offered a church in Bristol, Va. At the meeting, Barrett said that 13 years ago he had attended his first water district board meeting, “looking towards the future.”

“I had recently graduated high school and wanted to pursue my dream of entering politics at the local level What I learned quick is that if you are to enter the ‘arena’ you must be willing and ready to take a stand and not back down when the going gets tough. That regardless of age or gender, if you run , you must be willing to stand on your record regardless of what others say.”

Barrett said that the first time he spoke before the board as a member of the public, he was told by Supervisor (Marion) Parker “‘to sit down little boy, I am going to give you an education tonight.'”

Within a year, he was elected the youngest member ever up until Bonacolta was elected to the board.

“As I turned 22 three weeks before the election, the most that any one had ever spent on a water board race up until that time was $250. By the end of my first campaign where I knocked on more than 500 doors, put up my large campaign signs with my 67-year-old grandmother in the rain, and waved to countless motorists on every major street corner for 30 days, and would go on to spend $2,400,” Barrett said.

He went on to say each campaign seemed to get “more expensive and nastier” with the personal attacks and innuendoes.

“But with the help of Frank Lohlein leading the campaign effort and Barbara Wallace helping raise money, providing encouragement and sign locations, I ran a near perfect campaign back in 2000 and was elected to the first of three landslide victories to serve on this commission,” he said.

Barrett said he served with 10 separate supervisors/ commissioners during the time, none longer than with Chairman Nate Stout. Barrett served the board twice as its chairman in 2005 and 2009 and has held every office except treasurer which he said he never sought.

“I voted to cut debt, and to increase it. I voted not to build an administration headquarters, and fought four and half long years to get one built. I have voted to expand and build parks and pushed for linear trails and adopt a canal program. I have been a tireless defender of the workers of this district, pushing hard for each collective bargaining agreement that was balanced and fair for the rate payers and not balanced on the backs of the workers,” he said.

He also said the District had risen from the depths of great turmoil of the late 90s to being recognized by the State and other governmental bodies and associations as one of the best special Districts in the state.

“I am proud that I was able to be part of that process of turning the district around.”

As he read a verse by Robert Frost’s Stopping by (the) Woods on a Snowy Evening, he had to refrain from speaking as tears came to his eyes as he read:

“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep. But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep.”

“It is with that look towards the future that I formally announce tonight that I am resigning as a member of the East County Water Control District Board of Commissioners effective Sept. 2, 2011 … and as Frost wrote so long ago, ‘While the woods are lovely, dark and deep, I have promise to keep and miles to go before I sleep.

Barrett made his resignation official when he wrote the Division of Elections in Tallahassee to say he was resigning his elected position effective Sept. 2, 2011. The letter is dated July 19.

Each supervisor – Mike Welch, David Deetscreek, Nate Stout, and Mike Bonacolta praised Barrett’s devotion to his position on the board.

In his Facebook account later that night, Bonacolta wrote: “The Water Control District tonight passed a no nonsense, common sense budget. The Board also was told by Commissioner Barrett it will be his last meeting next month. He has served the district well for over 10 years, and is the person who first got me interested in serving on the board. He was once the youngest elected official; he will now leave after helping the newest youngest official get on the board.”

Nobody from the public attended the meeting.