Des Moines Water Works member calls out plan for private meeting on regional utility

Even before it is officially formed, Central Iowa Water Works already is under fire.

The complaint: According to Des Moines Water Works board member Graham Gillette, its backers have scheduled a private meeting to make plans for the eventual public entity.

"There is a small group of people who are getting together to decide the fate of the new regional entity, and they're doing this outside of the public light," Gillette said during a Des Moines Water Works board meeting this week. "That is a problem. We should all be concerned about that."

The CIWW would be a new, regional water authority, purchasing water produced by Des Moines Water Works and utilities in other member communities, then selling it back to its members at an exclusive wholesale rate for distribution to their customers. Buy-in rates start at $1.5 million, Polk City's bill, and top out at almost $16 million for Ankeny.

Backers say CIWW would allow members to pool resources to address issues such as water quantity and quality, helping ensure the adequacy and safety of water supplies for the fast-growing Des Moines region.

Most anticipated members have voted to join, with some already designating the trustees who will represent them on the CIWW board. After it's formed, it would be a public body that is subject to open meetings and public records requirements under Iowa law.

Jody Smith, a trustee with West Des Moines Water Works, distributed an agenda to designated CIWW board members on Jan. 17 for a meeting to be held Jan. 29. Grimes and Warren Rural Water, which have not yet formally joined CIWW, were included.

More: Who will make decisions about central Iowa's future water supply? Here's what to know.

Gillette, however, said at Tuesday's meeting that he did not initially receive a notice of the meeting, instead hearing of it secondhand. He called attention to the gathering, identifying Smith as the "anointed chair" of the CIWW board.

"It's inappropriate. It sends the wrong signal to the community," he said. "As a believer in public meetings, openness and government, it disturbs me greatly."

Correspondence shows plan for meeting goes beyond what's described

Fellow Des Moines Water Works board member Diane Munns, who did receive a notice despite not yet being appointed to the CIWW board, told Gillette the meeting was called to set the schedule for future meetings and handle administrative tasks ahead of the authority's creation.

Munns was appointed later in Tuesday's meeting as the primary trustee for Des Moines Water Works. Also appointed were other recipients of the notice: Vice Chair Susan R. Huppert as second trustee, Chief Financial Officer Amy Kahler as first alternate and CEO Ted Corrigan as second alternate. Gillette was not appointed.

Jamie Buelt, spokesperson for West Des Moines Water Works, when contacted by the Des Moines Register, echoed Munns' description of the Jan. 29 meeting.

"There is a meeting, but it's a meeting to plan a meeting," Buelt said. "There will be an agenda for a real meeting that will occur, but there's no agenda for this meeting."

But in a copy of the correspondence obtained by the Register through a public records request, Smith, the West Des Moines Water Works board member, outlined that the group would also discuss bylaws, make arrangements for the board to have legal counsel and draft letters to member agencies to collect startup costs.

The email also referenced a "micro-group" of individuals that "are willing to assist the new CIWW Board on the start-up tasks," with Smith signing off on behalf of the group. In the Des Moines Water Works meeting, Chair Andrea Boulton said that the micro group has been meeting privately as needed.

The micro group also authored early reports and proposals for the formation of the regional water authority.

More: Is Iowa's water cleaner after ten years of state efforts? It depends who you ask.

"Whether it's a perceived or actual alliance there that's going forward, I fear that information among (them) is more important than information shared with this board," Gillette said during meeting discussion.

"Those concerns about the perception of a collaboration that is not beyond those communities has also been one that I've had," Boulton responded. "I want to ensure that moving forward, that we are cognizant of that perceived or actual reality of alliances between those groups."

Smith said in an emailed statement that he is excited to keep working with his partners to form the regional water authority. Buelt said Smith was not available for an interview or to answer questions as to why the meeting was arranged privately.

Are the CIWW's founding board members breaking the law?

Iowa's open meetings law stipulates that a governmental body must provide advance notice of the time, date and place of each meeting, with an agenda.

Randy Evans, executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, said that, technically, those rules don't apply to the appointed CIWW board members if the authority isn't a recognized body yet.

"This is kind of a Catch-22," Evans said. "The Central Iowa authority doesn't exist yet. It would not be a violation of the law for members who are going to serve on it to be meeting, but it certainly goes against the spirit of the public meetings law."

However, the language requiring open meetings does not include what the law describes as "purely ministerial" gatherings where there is no discussion of policy. Even if the CIWW board was already a formal entity, if no actions are taken, the Jan. 29 meeting could still be exempt from Iowa law.

But that doesn't mean ratepayers should be left out of those conversations, Evans said.

"I think it sends a bad signal to the public for these kinds of sessions to be held without public notice," he said.

In an email he sent to members of the Des Moines Water Works board Wednesday morning, Gillette asked that the proposed meeting be canceled and that any future meetings of CIWW appointees be posted, held in open session and appropriately documented.

"I'm not suggesting that anything dirty is going on here. I'm a firm believer that a regional plan is good for our community," Gillette told the Register. "However, I'm perplexed at why the foot is on the gas pedal. Why do we have to make these appointments before we sign the documents and before other communities have even decided to join?"

Who will make decisions for central Iowa's future water supply?

The initial board is to consist of 14 trustees. Any member utility that serves a population of 100,000 or more would be entitled to an additional representative, meaning that Des Moines Water Works has two.

Clive, Johnston, Urbandale Water Utility and West Des Moines Water Works boards have all appointed members and alternates to the new CIWW board.

Previously: Des Moines Water Works sees record demand, warns of possible water shortage this year

The first formal CIWW board meeting is expected to take place early in the second quarter of 2024, with a goal of the water works being up and running on Jan. 1, 2025. Of the 12 founding agencies, only Grimes and Warren Rural Water haven't taken formal action to join the CIWW. It's expected they'll approve their respective agreements in February.

Addison Lathers covers growth and development for the Des Moines metro. Reach her at ALathers@registermedia.com and follow her on Twitter at @addisonlathers.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Can planners of the public Central Iowa Water Works meet in private?