A CLOG IN THE DRAIN
The current Mono City water system is old. Really old. In fact, it’s 55 years old, and leaking.
So, the nonprofit in charge of providing water to the area, the Lundy Mutual Water Company (LMWC), got a grant from the state to replace the infrastructure, and it’s got a contractor in the field working on it right now.
It all sounds great… except for one problem. LMWC doesn’t have the cash in its pocket yet, and the contractor is due for payment.
The state grant promises to reimburse the money, not pay for it outright. And with a small budget and no collateral, not a single financial institution agreed to front the cash. So, on Tuesday, the Mono County Supervisors approved a $511,500 gap loan on the project.
The motion to approve the funds was approved 4-0, with Supervisor Rhonda Duggan absent from the vote.
All present Supervisors were in general approval of allocating the money, so discussion centered instead on removing the proposed 5% interest rate for the loan. The board ultimately agreed to do away with it.
“I’m just really thankful that the county moved quickly and did not get brought down by any bureaucracy,” Tony Dublino, LMWC Board President said in an interview with the Sheet Wednesday.
That speed was essential for LMWC because the organization was in complete panic mode. Why? Well, let’s rewind a bit.
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) awarded its grant in January 2023. Throughout 2024, LMWC worked with DWR to design, permit and complete the planning and review process for the project. It was put out to bid in May 2025, and LMWC awarded a contract in June 2025.
During that time, LMWC had been in communication with a lending institution that specializes in bridge loan funding for undercapitalized rural districts. It was LMWC’s impression that, if its application was timed correctly, this lending organization would front the cash.
By the way, that ‘perfect timing’ was right when the contract was awarded, assuming the money would flow in 60-90 days thereafter. In other words: right before construction.
Here’s where it all falls apart.
“When that time came and we applied, they told us they were in a financial crunch,” Dublino said. “Suddenly, they had suspended loan approvals for the time being. So that was it. We had put all of our eggs into that basket and were out of luck.”
LMWC started scrambling for another funding source to no avail.
The only things LMWC has to its name are two oddly shaped lots with water infrastructure on them and jurisdiction over soon-to-be-replaced pipes in the ground. So, it had no way of proving it would actually repay its debts.
The organization’s total annual revenue is $77,850, and it was asking for upwards of half a million. The DWR grant wasn’t enough evidence for traditional lenders, and nobody was taking the bait.
Except, that is, the County.
“I started thinking, ‘who actually has a million dollars?’ Because not very many people do, most businesses don’t. I don’t know any kind of entity that has that kind of money just sitting around,” Dublino said. “Then, I started talking to [Supervisor Paul McFarland] and it turned out that this was something that the Board has done before.”
Hence Tuesday’s decision. The loan was presented to the board with a 5% fixed interest rate through January 2026, with complete repayment due in January 2026.
The action had two letters of written public support towards it. The Supervisors were also decidedly enthusiastic about supporting LMWC, as they refused to accept the interest term.
“Is there any way to put into this [agreement] that they don’t have to pay any interest at all?” Supervisor John Peters asked the staff.
The other Supervisors were pleased by this suggestion, and ordered staff to add an amendment to keep the LMWC loan from accruing any interest at all.
With these funds, the project, currently under construction, is still on track to be complete by November.
The fate of other water districts in the Eastern Sierra, however, are still up in the air.
Mono City isn’t the only district with aging water infrastructure. Lee Vining’s infrastructure is up for an expensive renewal alongside its anticipated highway project. June Lake’s water infrastructure hasn’t been updated since the 1930s, the Sheet reported in November.
“[These water districts] are all reaching their end of life,” Dublino said. “Nobody wants to increase rates. And as a result, there’s no money left over. There’s a need for million dollar projects that are increasing in price every single year. And all of those projects are going to need to happen at some point.”
“And so,” he continued. “We’re really lucky. LMWC is extremely lucky.”
