Bongio in 2022. | Screenshot.

Two years after derogatory and racist remarks derailed his local political career, construction company owner Alan Bongio is hoping to regain a seat on the Humboldt Community Services District’s board of directors.

Bongio is one of four candidates running for three available seats on the government agency, which provides water distribution and sewer collection services for the greater Eureka area, including Freshwater, Fields Landing and Humboldt Hill.

The other three candidates — Heidi Benzonelli, Joe Matteoli and Michael Hansen — are all incumbents seeking re-election.

Bongio served more than two decades as an elected member of the HCSD board and 10 years on the Humboldt County Planning Commission (many of them as chair) before finding himself embroiled in scandal over his behavior during the Planning Commission meeting of Aug. 18, 2022.

In a hearing to consider permit violations on a doomed mansion-building project off Walker Point Road, Bongio railed against interference by “the Indians,” referring to objections that had been raised by both the Blue Lake Rancheria and the Wiyot Tribe. He went on to accuse tribal representatives of lying and manipulating the process. At one point he appeared to invoke a racist phrase by alleging that the tribes had gone back on an agreement, saying, “I have a different term for it but, you know, whatever.”

His comments sparked significant offense among local tribe members and the broader public. Wiyot Tribal Administrator Michelle Vassel described the proceedings as “a shocking abuse of power and display of discrimination,” and the tribe later filed a formal complaint. 

Bongio argued that his remarks had been misconstrued and that the term “Indians” is not considered offensive by many Native Americans. But the scandal did not go away. The following month, the Board of Supervisors unanimously censured Bongio and asked him to step down as chair. 

The following November he lost his seat on the HCSD board, placing third in a race for two available seats. Shortly before Christmas of 2022, Humboldt County Supervisor Rex Bohn, who had appointed his friend to the Planning Commission a decade earlier, announced that Bongio had resigned.

Reached via phone on Friday, Bongio said he’s running again “because I spent 21 years there and I feel that I bring a lot of knowledge to the position.”

He also said he doesn’t agree with the current board on certain decisions, including a big rate increase passed via a 3-2 vote last year. 

“I’m not denying that [rate increases] need to happen, but a 112% increase on connection fees is ridiculous,” he said. 

The rates approved by the board call for an increase of 88% over a five-year period, but Bongio said he’s aware of one proposed project, a 34-unit apartment complex, that had its quoted rate more than double under the new charges.

“It has all but shut down development in the district,” he said. “There have been only two permits taken out this year because [developers] can’t afford to make it happen. They [the district’s board] have made it too expensive.”

HCSD General Manager Terrence “T.K.” Williams told the Outpost that Bongio appears to have gotten that “two permits” figure from a report covering only July and August of this year. The full annual report, listed on pages seven and eight of the board’s Sept. 10 agenda, show that the connections have not dropped dramatically.

“In the year and two weeks since the capacity charge increase, there have been 11 new water connections and 12 new sewer connections,” Williams said via email. “This is statistically similar to every one of the past ten years of new connection data for the District.”

It’s actually below the average of 15.8 water connections and 15.4 sewer connections, based on the numbers provided, but the figures are within the range of year-to-year fluctuations.

Regarding the rate increases, Williams said the district approved them at the end of a two-year process that included “multiple public workshops,” following guidelines from the American Water Works Association and the recommendations of a rate study consultant “who is an expert in the field.” (The consultant’s water rate and capacity charge study can be found here.)

Williams said rates vary from one project to another. 

“The current capacity charges are higher than they were before September of 2023,” he said. “[Whether] they increased by 112% is difficult to say because the District changed how capacity charges are calculated; I can’t confirm or deny that value. The increase varies depending on the specific situation.”

Regardless, he said the rates are based on the amount necessary for the district to cover expenses. In other words, capacity charges reflect the calculated cost to buy into the system.

“If capacity charges are set lower than what is recommended by the American Water Works Association Model, the rate payers are subsidizing new construction and development,” he said.

Members of the HCSD board receive $100 for each regular meetings and $50 for any ad hoc meetings or when representing the district with other boards, such as those of the Redwood Region Economic Development Commission (RREDC) and the Humboldt Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo).

Directors also receive health, dental and vision insurance, an employee assistance program and a $10,000 life insurance policy. Last year, the five board members’ wages ranged from $2,050 to $3,150, and the value of their benefits packages ranged from just over $10,000 to $41,581, according to data from the State Controller’s Office.

We asked Bongio if he has anything to say regarding the end of his term on the Planning Commission and the scandal from two years ago. “I don’t have anything to say,” he replied. A beat later, he added, “It’s called liberalism.”

Bongio declined to say anything further while on the record.

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