That the City Council approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the proxy for the election of Donald J. Hannah, Jr. to continue as Director to the California Domestic Water Company (CDWC) Board of Directors at its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on November 21, 2025.

The City of La Habra is one of three majority shareholders in the California Domestic Water Company (CDWC). The City's status as a shareholder allows it to purchase wholesale water from CDWC to provide to La Habra water customers. Each year CDWC sends its shareholders a proxy nomination prior to its Annual Meeting of Shareholders for the election of candidate nominees to its Board of Directors. The CDWC Board of Directors is a six-member board elected by the shareholders. As one of the three majority shareholders (the City of La Habra, the City of Brea and the Suburban Water Systems), the City of La Habra has the opportunity to nominate two individuals to the six-member CDWC Board of Directors. The two Directors currently serving as La Habra nominees are Mr. Donald J. Hannah (term expiring in 2025) and Mr. Richard Jones (term expiring in 2026).

This year there are three open board positions and the nominees, each to serve two-year terms, include:

· Donald J. Hannah (proposed nominee for the City of La Habra) 
· Thomas J. Prenovost, Jr. (proposed nominee for the City of Brea); and,
· Richard J. Rich (nominated by Suburban Water Systems).

Nominee Donald J. Hannah
Mr. Hannah was first nominated to the CDWC Board by the La Habra City Council in May 2017, to replace Mr. John Price who had previously represented the City on the CDWC Board of Directors. On June 23, 2017, the CDWC Board of Directors took formal action to approve the appointment of Mr. Hannah as a member of the Board of Directors for the remaining unexpired term ending in November 2019. Following his appointment to the Board of Directors, Mr. Hannah was selected by the Board to the position of Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee where he led CDWC's strategic planning process and development of strategic initiatives to meet future goals and challenges on behalf of CDWC shareholders. In November 2020, Mr. Hannah was selected by the Board to serve as Chair of the CDWC Board of Directors, which is a position he continues to serve in.

Mr. Hannah was a Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Human Behavior from the United States International University and earned his Masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. Prior to that, he graduated Magna cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Recreation Administration from California State University, Long Beach, and earned an Associate of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Rio Hondo College. He is a graduate of the Law Enforcement Executive Management Training at Southwest Command College, and from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Mr. Hannah retired from the City of La Habra in 2013 where he served as the City Manager and Assistant City Manager for nearly eight years. Prior to that, Mr. Hannah served the City of Whittier Police Department for 27 years and retired as Police Captain. Mr. Hannah was also an instructor in the Public Services Department at Rio Hondo College for 30 years and served as an instructor for the Delinquency Control Institute at the University of Southern California for 27 years. He has many years of service on other boards, including the Board of Directors for the Greater Whittier Area YMCA, the Board for the Finance Committee Strategic Planning Taskforce, the Board of Directors for the La Habra Community Resources Care Center, and on the Rio Hondo College Foundation.

Nominee Thomas J. Prenovost, Jr.
Thomas J. Prenovost, Jr. has served on the CDWC Board of Directors since 2015 when he was nominated by the City of Brea. Mr. Prenovost is an attorney who practices law in the fields of banking, bankruptcy, real estate, and commercial/civil litigation. He has a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School (Los Angeles), an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach, and graduate studies in architecture and urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles. Mr. Prenovost served on the City of Brea Planning Commission from 1998 to 2014. He also served as a Judge Pro Tem in Orange County Superior Court and previously taught as an Associate Professor at Chapman University.

Nominee Richard J. Rich
Richard J. Rich has served on the CDWC Board of Directors since 2011 when he was nominated by Suburban Water Systems. Mr. Rich possesses more than 25 years of experience in the water industry. Before transferring to Suburban Water Systems in 2008, he held the position of General Manager for New Mexico Utilities, Inc. There he managed and oversaw the daily operations, accounting, and regulatory compliance of a regulated water utility with over 17,000 water and 16,000 wastewater connections with annual revenues in excess of $10 million. He then became the General Manager of Suburban Water Systems where he managed the daily production for a regulated utility with more than 70,000 connections before being appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of Southwest Water Company. Mr. Rich earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting in 2006 from the University of New Mexico and his Masters degree in Business Administration in 2017 from the University of Southern California.

If approved by City Council, the City's proxy will be executed and returned to CDWC by or before Monday, November 17, 2025, in order for it to be considered at the CDWC's Annual Meeting of Shareholders on November 21, 2025.

There is no fiscal impact for this action; however, CDWC board members receive a $200 stipend per meeting for up to eight meetings per month, with a maximum cap of $1,600 per month depending on the total number of meetings attended. CDWC board members also receive an additional fixed stipend of $600 per month from CDWC's wholly owned subsidiary, Cadway, Inc. The City currently holds 2,582.25 shares of CDWC Capital stock and 912.85 shares of CDWC Class A Preferred stock.