Two longtime employees are taking over operations at the Kern County Water Agency in an interim capacity.
The agency named Nick Pavletich and Craig Wallace as co-managers while it conducts a search for a new general manager.
Flashback: Last week the Kern County Water Agency announced that it is letting General Manager Tom McCarthy go after five years on the job.
- McCarthy’s contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of June, and the agency said he will not continue to work through the remainder of his contract.
- Board President Eric Averett said in a statement last week that the board believes that this is the right time to take the leadership of the agency in a new direction and did not provide any specifics as to why McCarthy was ousted.
The big picture; The agency named Pavletich and Wallace as the new co-managers after a special meeting on Tuesday, according to a report from SJV Water.
- Pavletich is the Administrative Operations Manager and has been with the agency for 24 years. Wallace is the State Water Project Manager and has been with the agency for a decade.
- Pavletich will oversee all local activities in his interim role, with Wallace taking over all statewide activities, including a special focus on the proposed Delta tunnel.
Zoom out: The Kern County Water Agency is the second largest contractor with the State Water Project with around 60 employees and a $365 million budget.
- The agency owns rights to the Kern River and shares control of the Kern Water Bank. It also shares governance of the Kern River Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
