Erected 1854. Superior Court of the State of California County of Mariposa F. Dana Walton

Recommendations 7

• R1
  Instruct Public Works Department to aggressively search for and find the written technical report describing the improvements to the Yosemite West WWTF completed in 2006. This report is mentioned in the February 24, 2006 Mariposa County letter signed and stamped by former Director of Public Works Dana Hertfelder, and referenced on /7 "File Review Summary" of the August 30, 2012 NoV. It is important to note that the February 24, 2006 Mariposa County letter certifies that the improvements to the Yosemite West WWTF were constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications developed by Psomas Engineering and that the system is capable of disposing of an average daily flow of 100,000 gallons.
• R2
  Instruct Public Works to determine if the system is in compliance with the permitted average daily flow of 60,000 gallons. Replacing the broken flow meter is the best method. As an interim method, the amount of water pumped from the well can be used. Request Public Works and the Clerk of the Board to locate and make available the Psomas Engineering "Yosemite West Inflow and Infiltration Report" of June 2000, and the Psomas Engineering "Yosemite West Subdivision Build-Out Report" of April 2, 2001. (According to the Engineer's Report for Assessment District No. 01-1, these reports are on file with the Director of Public Works, the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, and Psomas.)
• R4
  Request County Counsel to provide a written explanation of a determination to pursue or not to pursue legal action against Psomas Engineering for damages to the County and to the Special District resulting from design flaws in the Yosemite West WWTF, noting that this must be addressed immediately to avoid an issue with the statute of limitations.
• R5
  A complaint concerning the process surrounding a conditional use permit issued by the Planning Department. By the time we received this complaint the complainant had actually received all the necessary permits to proceed with their plans. We reviewed the permitting process with the Planning Department and they did acknowledge mistakes in handling the case. We are confident they will make every effort to avoid similar errors going forward.
• R6
  A complaint concerning a blog published by the President of the Lake Don Pedro Community Service District. Here we concluded that the complainants had a range of legal options which they could pursue against the individual involved and their specific issue was beyond the scope of our mission to examine the procedure operations of county agencies and special districts.
• R7
  A complaint concerning the management and third party recommendations regarding a conservatorship case. Because matters relating to the judicial system do not fall under the purview of the Grand Jury, we were not able to address this complaint. Brief Reports Over the course of the spring, the Grand Jury conducted a number of interviews and site visits which we will briefly report upon here. In every instance we were acutely aware that we were only seeing what our hosts wanted us to see. These brief reports should in no sense be confused with full investigations where a more complete picture of a county agency or special district is examined. The Jury is required by law to annually inspect all correctional facilities within the County. A visit to Juvenile Hall is scheduled, and we visited the County Jail and the Mount Bullion Conservation (Fire) Camp. In both instances we observed what appear to be well run facilities where the correctional theme is to treat the inmates with respect and to expect the inmates to, in turn, respect the officers and the institution. With the implementation of AB109 which mandates that an increasing number of convicted persons be held in county jails, the Mariposa jail is becoming crowded. The present jail was designed for men and women being held pre- trial and serving sentences of generally less than one year. Now more people who would have otherwise been sent to serve their time in state prison are being held here for longer sentences. The Mt. Bullion fire camp is a 110 bed minimum security facility administered by the California Department of Corrections. The inmates provide several services for not only Mariposa but surrounding counties also, as part of the Cal Fire umbrella for Mariposa, Merced and Madera. The camp maintains 5 fire teams that work in conjunction with Cal Fire and provide relief for the regular State Fire Fighters. Some of the alumni have secured full time employment with Cal Fire upon release from custody. The inmates also provide assistance to the Department of Public Works on projects such as road clearing and brush clearing, thereby saving the county substantial funds on these annual projects. The facility offers several programs for the inmates including the hobby shop where the inmates, who provide their own tools, can make all sorts of hobby projects as gifts and such. In contrast to the County Jail, Mt. Bullion would prefer to be fully occupied in order to maintain five full crews. However, the impact of AB109 is that non-violent felons are now serving time in county jail instead of state prison. By reducing the number of inmates sent to state prison the pool of inmates available for fire camps is diminished. Very few of the inmates "walk off" or violate the rules as this results in being returned to higher security state facilities. Members of the Grand Jury interviewed two representatives of the JC Fremont Hospital, a special district of the County. On separate occasions they spoke with the CEO and one of the directors. JCF Hospital consists of 3 Rural Health Care facilities, 18 swing beds, for either short term or long term care, a 24 hr. Emergency Room, 16 skilled long term care beds, Hospice, and Home Health Care. The Federal Government designates that a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) consists of 24 beds or less and is 27 miles from another hospital or medical facility. JCF falls within this designation. Reimbursements to Critical Access Hospitals are paid at the rate of actual cost to the provider, not at the usual MEDICARE or MEDI-CAL rates. Day to day operations are good, but the facility is still cash strapped. Small, standalone health facilities like JCF are concerned about the percentage paid by MEDICARE and MEDI-CAL being cut and the cost for patient care will most likely increase. The hospital district's annual net revenue is about $16 Million and expenses are near $18 million. Over $2 million comes in from "non-operating revenue" such as grants and donations. Eighty percent of all patient revenue is paid by either Medi-Cal or Medicare. The hospital also receives about $1.8 million from property and sales tax revenue. The district has a need for a grant writer to assist them in reviewing all financial avenues that might lead to an increase in income. The hospital is trying to partner with an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) or other health care facilities to increase services. If all county residents have some form of insurance the hospital can manage acute care and have less emergency room episodes costing thousands of dollars. The 16 bed Ewing Wing for long term care is losing money. The California State Earthquake code mandates that by 2030 part or all of the hospital be rebuilt. The hospital is hoping for some exceptions and is waiting for another review. It is difficult to hire and retain doctors because the pay at rural hospital is lower than in urban areas and most new doctors have large student loan debts to repay. As an incentive, the hospital has helped some new hires by repaying part of their student loans. That might encourage some. Overall, the hospital is needed in the community, but faces some big challenges in the future.
• R8
  Create a web-based platform for sharing maintenance-related information, such as Yosemite West Maintenance District Advisory Committee agendas and minutes, important documents, and technical data (e.g., monthly data for water usage, wastewater flows, etc.)