New director appointed to Santa Fe Irrigation District board

Last month the Santa Fe Irrigation District swore in incumbent board members Michael Hogan, Sandra Johnson and Andy Menshenk, who all ran unopposed in the November election, and welcomed an additional new board member, Ron Magnaghi. Director Magnaghi was appointed by San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer to represent Division 1, which includes areas of east Solana Beach and Rancho Santa Fe.

Magnaghi replaces Ken Westphal, who was appointed by the board last February to fill the remainder of Frank Creede’s term.

At the board’s organizational meeting, they also unanimously voted to approve Director Hogan as president and Director Dana Friehauf as vice president. This is Hogan’s eighth term as board pesident and Vice President Friehauf’s first term.

“It is my honor to serve as president of this board once again, and I appreciate the support and confidence from my colleagues,” said President Hogan in a news release. “Our district has a big year ahead of us in 2023, as we prepare to celebrate our 100-year anniversary, finalize our cost of service and rate structure, and deal with the ongoing drought. We are all dedicated to providing our customers with a sustainable, cost-effective, and reliable water future for our customers.”

This will be Hogan’s 15th year on the board—he will continue to be a member of the executive committee and serves as the SFID representative to the San Diego County Water Authority, the region’s wholesale supplier.

Vice President Friehauf, elected to the board in 2020, will also sit on the executive committee and as vice chair of the Association of California Water Agencies Region 10 Board, which represents San Diego and Orange Counties.

Magnaghi, the board’s newest member from Solana Beach, is the senior managing director at Newmark, a commercial real estate company. During his 31-year brokerage career in San Diego he has focused on representing business service, high-tech, educational and other growth-oriented companies.

Santa Fe Irrigation District is in the process of setting new water rates for its 20,000 customers in the city of Solana Beach and portions of Rancho Santa Fe and Fairbanks Ranch. The board anticipates having its public hearing to approve the new rates in March.