Willits Extends Brooktrails Wastewater Agreement, Discusses Cost Sharing for New Solar Array
Public Works Director Davey Bowles said he found no record of the city ever discussing sharing the costs of the solar project with Brooktrails.
WILLITS, Calif. — Willits sewer customers are paying the full $5.2 million cost of a new solar array at the city's wastewater treatment plant, and one council member said those same ratepayers may be covering repair bills the neighboring Brooktrails Township Community Services District is contractually obligated to help pay.
On Oct. 14, the Willits City Council voted 4-1 to extend its long-lapsed wastewater disposal agreement with Brooktrails, then held a separate discussion on whether the district should share the cost of the solar project. The council took no action on the cost-sharing question, which Mayor Tom Allman said he would place before a joint ad hoc committee at the next meeting.
Interim City Manager James Conner presented the extension as continuing the status quo. The city's agreement with Brooktrails — which sends its wastewater to the city plant for treatment and disposal — expired in June 2025, leaving the two agencies operating without a contract for roughly a year and a half. The amendment is retroactive to that expiration and runs through the end of the next fiscal year, leaving about 18 months on the clock. It holds the existing flat rate of $35,000 a month, a figure Conner said began at $22,000 when the arrangement was first set about 12 years ago. He said the extension is intended to give a future permanent city manager breathing room to negotiate a long-term deal.
Council Member Bruce Burton cast the lone no vote, objecting to the amendment's Section 4. The provision addresses both the cost-sharing of capital work at the plant and how the city must notify Brooktrails about it. Under the existing agreement, Burton said, the city is already required to tell the district of improvements, changes, or capital expenditures — the kind of work Brooktrails is obligated to help pay for. Burton argued adding the items to the agenda of a public meeting was sufficient notice — the amendment requires noticing in advance of the meeting.
A request from Burton to strike Section 4 was declined, and the amendment passed as written. Vice Mayor Matthew Alaniz noted the agencies have had about six and a half years under the prior agreement to resolve their outstanding issues.
Next up was the solar array. Public Works Director Davey Bowles walked the council through the council-approved project to offset electricity costs at the wastewater plant. The project cost $5,201,000 — including about $203,000 for PG&E interconnection equipment and $70,000 in special and geotechnical inspections — and came online this spring. Bowles said the city expects a 40% federal tax credit, roughly $2 million, in early 2027, combining a 30% energy credit with an additional 10% for a disadvantaged community. The array is projected to pay for itself in about 10 years and save the city $5 million to $7 million over time, depending on energy prices.
Bowles said he found no record of the city ever discussing cost-sharing on the solar project with Brooktrails, which he said indicated that the city's intent has been to keep the savings for itself and not to share the costs. He recommended no action on the item, instead urging the council to form the ad hoc committee to work through future communication on capital projects.
Burton pressed a broader financial concern. He asked Bowles what the wastewater enterprise fund holds today; Bowles said he did not have the figure and would need to look it up. Burton said the fund held about $4 million in reserves in June, and that after paying for the solar project — with roughly $1 million down — the city "could have conceivably paid out close to $4 million" to finish it. He said he worried the reserves were now depleted enough to put the city out of compliance with its bond covenants, which could let bondholders call the debt in default.
Burton also pointed out Brooktrails is obligated under the existing agreement to share the cost of capital expenditures the city has absorbed alone — a $100,000 gate replacement last year, a $90,000 ultraviolet project, a tractor for the plant, and a server replacement — and that Willits ratepayers have been covering the district's share. Bowles agreed the cost of those projects should be shared with Brooktrails and said that, with both agencies having now approved the extension, the ad hoc committee was the place to take them up.
Two people spoke during public comment on the solar item. Nici Caldwell asked whether the array offsets electricity for city departments beyond the wastewater plant; she also asked whether Brooktrails had been told of the project and its cost before the contract was signed. Tamara Alaniz, general manager of the Brooktrails Township Community Services District, said her board approved the settlement agreement the previous night and supported forming the ad hoc committee rather than hashing out the credits and debits in open session.
Tamara Alaniz is married to Willits Vice Mayor Matthew Alaniz, who voted to approve the amendment. Allman said the council would take up creation of the ad hoc committee at its next meeting.