Musical chairs give Modesto Irrigation District a new leader

Modesto Irrigation District General Manager Roger VanHoy, a below-the-radar type compared with predecessor Allen Short, will switch places with one of VanHoy’s assistants after nearly three years at the helm as he winds down toward retirement.

Greg Salyer, a 25-year employee, is the district’s new interim general manager, the MID board announced Tuesday after a closed-door meeting.

Salyer, 55, seems to be taking the same promotion path as 57-year-old VanHoy; both were assistant general manager over electrical resources before ascending to the helm of the 450-employee utility. VanHoy had the interim designation for several months before taking the job permanently, and the MID board has no plan to recruit someone other than Salyer.

VanHoy rose to the top when Short retired under a cloud in late 2012 after leading the district for 19 years. The board had investigated Short for an undisclosed reason; he had become a lightning rod for proposing to sell water to San Francisco, implementing steep electricity rate increases and expanding services beyond MID’s core area, among other unpopular ventures.

The political atmosphere at MID has settled down under VanHoy and new board leadership; unrest two years ago prompted nine people to run for three seats, while no candidate emerged this year to challenge board members Larry Byrd or Nick Blom.

VanHoy has not identified a retirement date. The downward move will decrease his salary 5 percent to $227,250; he is expected to continue mentoring Salyer, who will make $201,400 in the interim role.

VanHoy also will continue working on MID’s effort to win a new federal hydropower license for Don Pedro Reservoir, and will help on negotiations with Modesto City Hall. MID and the city recently agreed to put on hold a costly legal dispute over which agency must pay $9 million in extra costs for botched work during the expansion of a water treatment plant.

Salyer previously worked for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and has 32 years of experience in the electric utility industry.

James McFall, MID’s resource planning and development manager, will fill the vacancy created by Salyer’s promotion, also in an interim capacity.

MID supplies 115,000 customers with electricity and brings Tuolumne River water to 60,000 acres of farms. The district also provides about 30 million gallons of water each day to the city, which mixes it with a like amount of groundwater for delivery to drinking-water customers.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Musical chairs give Modesto Irrigation District a new leader."