Grand Jury Felton Fire Protection District's Surplus Land Sale 1 message

Felton Fire is in violation of California Government Code §50569 which requires each government agency to annually inventory their property and make available to the public a description of excess property. AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The referenced California Gov. Code states: “On or before December 31 of each year, each local agency as defined in section 54951 shall make an inventory of all lands held, owned or controlled by it or any of its departments , agencies or authorities to determine what land, including air rights, if any, is in excess of foreseeable needs. A description of each parcel found ti be so in excess of needs shall be made a matter of public record. Any citizen, limited dividend corporation, housing corporation or non-profit corporation, shall upon request be provided with a list of said parcels without charge.” The subject property in question was never considered “excess” until the Fire District was approached with an offer to purchase the subject property and it was determined that we would be willing to sell the property. As a result, we were unable to make a determination by December 31st of the prior year that the subject property should be so listed.

Felton Fire violated California Government Code §§54220-54233 and §65402 which govern the manner by which Special Districts must conduct sales of surplus properties and which require confirmation that proposed uses conform with the county’s general plan. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree):

By not openly advertising the Subject Property or obtaining an independent appraisal of the property’s value, the Board did not establish market value and may not have obtained the highest price for the district. AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The Fire District consulted with a local real estate agent and found comparable properties in the neighborhood, near the subject property that sold at comparable sales prices per square foot.

Felton Fire did not maintain impartiality by permitting the Fire Chief to transact the sale with a colleague. AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion X DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The Fire Chief coached football with the buyer in 1999 which would certainly not be considered by most people as a current “colleague”. Impartiality was not compromised as the Board make the decision to sell the subject property and not the Fire Chief.

The Board did not account for the value of all of the District’s land holdings on its balance sheet, denying its constituents a full accounting of the District’s assets and liabilities. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE – explain the disputed portion DISAGREE – explain why Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): However, this has never been ask for or required by our auditor.