Napa Valley Register-Thompson steps up pressure on Berryessa

The ongoing turmoil over management of Lake Berryessa's resorts reached the floor of Congress on Thursday night, as Napa County's Rep. Mike Thompson secured bipartisan pledges to find a fix.

While short on specifics, Thompson's three-minute remarks before a House Appropriations subcommittee will surely step up pressure on the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) as it enters mediation with the contractor operating five of the seven resorts at the lake.

Since the bureau entered into a contract with the Arizona-based Pensus Group two years ago, redevelopment of the resorts has been plagued with setbacks and delays, stifling the flow of tourists to the lake during peak recreation seasons and cutting off dollars to businesses there.

The bureau has issued Pensus a notice of possible termination, alleging that it violated terms of the contract by falling too far behind on work to redevelop the resorts. Area Manager Mike Finnegan told the Napa Berryessa Resort Improvement District last week that the company fell behind schedule last summer on developing plans and conducting environmental review, before stopping the process in the fall.

Bureau spokesman Pete Lucero wrote in an email Friday that details of the mediation are still being worked out, with more information potentially forthcoming next week. Finnegan told the district's transition committee he hopes to have a decision, including possible termination of the contract, this year.

In his remarks before the committee and in a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar last month, Thompson has pinned blame for the delays on the bureau, accusing it of poor oversight, failing to respond quickly to the delays, and conducting an inefficient bidding process on the contract for the resorts.

“Now, (the bureau) is entering into mediation, which means even more time to dispute the concessionaire's shortcomings and provide yet another second chance,” the St. Helena Democrat told the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.

“Mr. Chairman and Members, enough is enough. Reassurances and placations from the Board of Reclamation that they're fixing the problem is no longer enough. We need the matter resolved.”

Subcommittee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, a New Jersey Republican, told Thompson that the committee took the concerns seriously.

“We take seriously our obligation of ensuring that Reclamation is efficiently using its appropriated funds to maximize the taxpayer return on investment, and I would be happy to work with (Thompson) to continue congressional oversight of the actions at Lake Berryessa specifically,” Frelinghuysen said. Rep. Peter Visclosky, an Indiana Democrat, agreed.

“I expect the Bureau of Reclamation to take immediate actions to right these wrongs and to take steps to prevent a similar situation in the future,” Visclosky said.

Lucero said in a statement that the bureau will work with Thompson.

“Reclamation stands committed to working with Congressman Thompson, Napa County, the public and our contractors to resolve the issue at Lake Berryessa and will continue to ensure that commercial concession contractors are accountable for timely completion and safe operation of quality facilities for the benefit of the recreating public,” Lucero said.

In a statement posted to its website last week, Pensus said it planned to move forward with the contract and blamed the bureau for the delays. Pensus said it was “almost impossible to make any progress over the last two years, which has resulted in substantial financial losses,” according to the website.

But Thompson's strong words aside, his preferred course of action in resolving the issue wasn't clear Friday. Thompson was flying back to California and was unavailable for comment. In his remarks before the subcommittee, Thompson asked for help in correcting the bureau's past error and in changing how the resort contracts are put out to bid.

In interviews, Thompson has gone further and stated that his preference is that the Bureau of Land Management take over management of recreation of the lake from Reclamation. That would end almost four decades of management, as Reclamation took over that duty from Napa County in the early 1970s. Napa County had managed the seven resorts since the lake was officially opened to public recreation in the late 1950s after the completion of Monticello Dam.

In his letter to Salazar, Thompson called the bureau's management of the lake “an embarrassment to the federal agency.”

“I have heard endless assurances from (the bureau) at every turn that they are handling this situation and that plan is in place to move forward,” Thompson wrote. “However, these assurances have never come to fruition and it is difficult for me to believe they will now. As part of a longer term solution, I believe there needs to be a complete overhaul of the process and I will pursue that legislatively.”

Napa County Supervisor Diane Dillon said the mediation and potential termination have come at a difficult time for residents in Berryessa Highlands, a subdivision on the south end of the lake that's preparing for a crucial assessment vote on July 10 to borrow approximately $11 million to fix and upgrade its ailing water and wastewater treatment systems.

Water and sewer hookups at the Lupine Shores resort, one of the five Pensus operates, once accounted for almost a third of the costs of operating and maintaining the system. With the mediation ongoing, and a state-ordered building moratorium in place that won't be lifted until the improvements are made, the residents will have to shoulder more of the costs themselves, which is disheartening, Dillon said.

“My particular frustration had to do with the timing of all this,” Dillon said. “We didn't know the bureau was heading for this notice of termination. For them to get this notice â€" to get this notice at this time â€" it's pretty disheartening. It just represented an insensitivity to those residents.”

Dillon, who has lobbied on behalf of the district and other residents of the lake several times in Washington, D.C., in the last several years, said Thompson's preference that the bureau turn over management may be warranted.

“In Congress, this is a significant step,” Dillon said. “Maybe one way to get that to work is to go to BLM â€" who knows?”