MID backtracks from plan to meet in secret with Modesto City Council

Rather than explain why the public would be shut out of a rare joint session with the Modesto City Council, the Modesto Irrigation District abruptly canceled a private event that had been scheduled for Friday.

MID on Thursday posted a notice saying leaders from both agencies – among the most important in Modesto – would meet in “CLOSED SESSION ONLY” at the end of a windy mountain road 35 miles east of Modesto, at La Grange Dam.

When agencies exclude the public, California state law requires them to say why. MID’s listed reason: “THREAT TO PUBLIC SERVICES OR FACILITIES.”

Asked to clarify, leaders from both agencies said they’re working on closer relations and want to understand each other better. So MID offered to host a friendly and informative tour of its La Grange Dam, through which water passes on its journey from the mountains to taps in Modesto.

“It’s a goodwill gesture,” said Councilman Bill Zoslocki.

He was surprised, however, to learn that MID had announced that the public was not welcome.

Logically, the city – which operates under the same Brown Act open-meeting requirements as MID – would post a similar meeting notice. But City Clerk Stephanie Lopez, who would handle that posting, said Friday morning that she had heard nothing about it.

MID had decided to close the meeting because La Grange Dam can’t accommodate large crowds, MID board chairman Nick Blom said.

“The entire City Council wants to see it, but we can’t let the public go back in there. It’s a secure area,” he said.

MID’s attorney, Ronda Lucas, did not respond Friday to inquiries about the agenda and the unidentified threat. She was out of the office, MID spokeswoman Melissa Williams said.

“There could be litigation,” Williams said. She referred to state officials’ plan to reallocate water rights, boosting spring river flows to benefit fish at the expense of farmers and cities.

Blom cited the same issue, adding that federal officials also could change MID’s yearly share of the Tuolumne River in the ongoing process of approving new hydropower licenses for La Grange and the larger Don Pedro Reservoir a bit upstream. MID owns both with its larger partner, the Turlock Irrigation District.

“If we lose that facility, we’ve got huge problems,” Blom said. As would the city, which recently doubled its capacity for buying river water from MID; it’s treated in a plant near Waterford and mixed with groundwater before arriving in city taps.

Those threats routinely have been cited as among the most critical and far-reaching facing the valley. They’ve been publicly aired and debated in myriad meetings for several years. Why the sudden secrecy?

A few hours after The Modesto Bee asked, the meeting was canceled.