Kings County water agency expands its leadership ranks, looks to hire new chief executive
- Editor’s note: Monserrat Solis covers Kings County water issues for SJV Water through the California Local News Fellowship initiative.
The board of the Kings County Water District got the ball rolling Wednesday in its quest for candidates to fill its newly created chief executive position.
The district, which covers Hanford and surrounding farmlands, had relied solely on General Manager Dennis Mills to oversee all district operations from personnel to maintenance. Mills will remain as general manager overseeing operations.
Duties under the new chief executive, or chief operations officer, will be developed by Melissa Eurton, hired by the board Wednesday, March 25, to write up the job description, recruit and interview candidates.
Board members did not give the anticipated pay for the position, but said a salary range would be included in the job posting.
The leadership addition came up during a Feb. 5 board meeting as a means to allow Mills to ramp up the district’s focus on infrastructure.
At that meeting, Director Paul Gillum noted Mills often doesn’t have time to attend to certain issues.
Director Chip Mello agreed, saying that the district’s Riverside Ditch “…looks like hell.”
Directors Brian Medeiros and Gillum will work with Eurton to develop the job description.
Eurton said at the March 25 meeting she would conduct initial candidate screenings before handing over the bulk of the interviewing to the board.
Eurton expects the whole process to take about three months and not exceed $8,500.
“I like the fact that you put a cap on it,” Mello joked. “I’m Portuguese, so we like to know what we’re getting ourselves into.”
The Board also directed Mills to hire a second ditch tender, limiting the hourly wage to $19 to $25.
Interested persons may contact the district at kcwdh2o@sbcglobal.net or call at (559) 584-6412.
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