Trinity County Grand Jury • 2008-2009

JUN 2 9 2009 Superior Court of California County of Trinity By: DONN,t. i:..:PJTv Clerk Trinity County Grand Jury

Published: June 08, 2009 9 pages
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Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F8, F9, F10

Findings and Recommendations 8 findings

F1
The Special Districts Committee found that the PMPUD Board meetings have often been out of control.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The board should adopt a set of rules for meetings that should be posted on the wall. A suggested set of rules could be: 1. The chairman will post an agenda. 2. Discussion will be limited to the current agenda. 3. Raise a hand and ask the chair for permission to speak. 4. Keep message to 3 to 5 minutes. 5. No one will speak twice until everyone has had a chance to speak once. -122- 6. Respect the person speaking by not talking with side conversations that will keep others from hearing. 7. No boisterous behavior, shouting or profanity shall be permitted at any board meeting. 8. The chair may eject any person or persons making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks, or refusing to abide by a request from the chairman. 9. The chairman may order the room cleared and complete the meeting in private. If the room will not clear, the chair may adjourn the meeting. After clearing the room the chairman may permit re-entry of those not involved. 10.The chair may declare a short recess, as opposed to conducting the rest of the meeting in private.
F2
The Post Mountain PUD is not getting things done. Such as, equipment maintenance and repairs, snow removal and road repairs. Problems are not being solved. A few years ago the Board ftmcti efficiently. Response to Filidam #2 We find #2 hard to respond to due to the small number of Board members and the responsibilities allotted to so few, with unwilling participants. So much of our snow removal and road maintenance is done mostly by donation and some grant money when obtained, our feeds can be limited for work The Board does not agree that the PUD always worked efficiently in past years, this information was received from a prior board member. We rid hold a "Town Hall Meeting" inAngust that did bring out new faces and needed volunteers for Board members and other offices and firemen_
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Go back to what did work. Find competent people or people who are willing to be trained. Have a town hall meeting to involve more of the community. Use a facilitator to handle the meeting, possibly from another volunteer fire department, community services district, or the Fire Chiefs' Association.
F3
The organization of the Agenda might be leading to part of the lack of follow- through and disruption.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Put the public comment at the end of the agenda. Add "action items", with responsible parties associated, to each meeting's agenda to follow up on previous meetings' items.
F4
All the equipment, both for roads and fire, is in a state of disrepair. This should not be allowed, since it affects the safety of the people in the district. The water system in the firehouse has not worked for a couple of years. This could affect the health and safety of firefighters who may be exposed to hazardous materials. The district does not have drivers qualified to drive some of its vehicles. -123-
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Take immediate steps to make sure all equipment is repaired and fully operational. Ensure that the district has qualified and licensed drivers for all the equipment.
F5
Board meetings are frequently cancelled due to weather or lack of a quorum.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The current state of affairs of the district cannot be ignored for two months. Reschedule the cancelled meetings to make sure there is a meeting every month. Hold special meetings more frequently to make sure that business is being taken care of. Hold a town hall meeting of citizens to rally support and get volunteers to fill the board.
F6
The PMPUD Fire Department is too understaffed to be able to go off-district to work on CalFire or Forest Service jobs. This is a major loss of revenue to the district and the firefighters.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Recruit and train enough volunteers to staff all fire trucks. Use a town hall meeting to generate support.
F7
Most of the experienced people on the board and the fire department have resigned, leaving less than a full board and an understaffed fire department. The new board does not have a lot of experience and is getting very little help from the people who do have experience. There is a faction in the community that feels the board is not being run properly, but prefers to complain rather than step up and help. The group believes that the Grand Jury can solve all their problems, but this is not true. The Grand Jury does not have any power to dictate any resolution to their problems; it can only investigate and recommend a possible solution.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
The members of the community need to forgive each other and learn to work together. Everyone has to volunteer to help solve the problems if PMPUD is going to survive. -124- CONCLUSION: The Post Mountain community needs to start fresh, look to the future, and all work together for the common good of the community. Post Mountain is a beautiful place to live. The community has a lot of equipment and facilities, which, if maintained and managed properly could provide the services needed. The community has potential for a great future. Cooperation and united effort can make this happen. It is imperative that they start right away. RESPONSES REQUIRED: Entity Finding/Recommendation Respond in Board of Supervisors 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 90 days Post Mountain PUD 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 60 days TRINITY COUNTY Board of Supervisors P.D. BOX 1613, WEAVERVILLF., CALIFORNIA 96093 PHONE (530) 623-1217 FAX (530) 623-8365 TO: The Honorable James Woodward, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court FROM: Trinity County Board of Supervisors SUBJECT: Response to Recommendations of 2008-09 Grand Jury Special Districts Committee Post Mountain Public Utility District Final Report DATE: October 6, 2009 The GGrraanndd Jury Special Districts Committee has requested a written response to their final report on the Post Mountain Public Utility District. The Board of Supervisors' response is as follows: Response to Findings 1 - 7: We agree with findings 1-7. Response to Recommendations 1 - 7: Recommendations will require monitoring by future Grand Juries to assure compliance. We understand recent changes have improved the situation in the Post Mountain Community, but follow-up will be necessary to maintain progress. JUDY PFLUBGER JUDY MORRIS ROGER JAEGEL HOWARD FREEMAN WENDY REISS DISTRICT 1 DISTRICT 2 DISTRICT 3 DISTRICT 4 DISTRICT 5 —126— POST MOUNTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT Post Office Box 1026, Hayfork California 96041 November 5, 2009 RECEIVED Jim Woodard, Presiding Judge NOV 9 - 2009 Trinity Superior Court PO Box 1258 TRINITY COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT Weaverville, CA 96093 Dear Judge Woodard, This is our written response to the Grand Jury Special Districts committee Final Report on its investigation of the functions of Post Mountain Public Utility District
F11
En JUN 2 9 2009 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF TRINITY BY: DONN,t. i:..:PJTv , 2009 -121- 2008-2009 TRINITY COUNTY GRAND JURY SPECIAL DISTRICTS COMMITTEE FINAL REPORT POST MOUNTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT PURPOSE: The Trinity County Grand Jury is charged each year with reviewing fiscal activities and operations of entities under its authorized purview to assure that residents are being well served. The Special Districts Committee chose to investigate the functions of the Post Mountain Public Utilities District (PMPUD). BACKGROUND: Based on information received from citizens, the Special Districts Committee started looking at the functioning of the PMPUD. We later received a written complaint and the 2007-2008 Trinity County Grand Jury Final Report that mentioned the dysfunction of the PMPUD board. METHOD OF INVESTIGATION: Interviews were held with members of the Post Mountain Board of Directors. Members of the committee attended the PMPUD Board of Directors meetings and reviewed the facility and the equipment. The committee interviewed a concerned citizen who had made a complaint, and reviewed written materials presented. FINDING #1: The Special Districts Committee found that the PMPUD Board meetings have often been out of control.
No recommendations for this finding

Conclusions 3

No Responses Found 2

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

Post Mountain Public Utility District Special District
Trinity County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office