Trinity County Grand Jury
2023-2024
Findings & Recommendations
2 findings
F1:
Private rooms and a portable 'office on wheels' seem to be available at Trinity Hospital for Behavioral Health staff to use in the care and placement of crisis patients, however these resources are not being utilized and it is unclear why.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
Trinity Hospital ER staff make it known to Behavioral Health staff that they have a private room with 'office on wheels' available when appropriate, on a regular basis.
F2:
Trinity County Behavioral Health and Trinity Hospital are dependent on each others cooperation to ensure the needs of crisis patients are being met. It appears that there is a lack of cooperation or miscommunications on the responsibilities of each partner.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
Prioritize the implementation of the memorandum or understanding (MOU) that is pending between Trinity Hospital and Trinity County for crisis patient processing.
Findings & Recommendations
12 findings
F1:
Not all the old bins that need to be replaced have been switched out. There is no coordinated time of delivery and no notification to the gate attendants of the date of delivery.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1:
A) Develop a master plan to have all new dumpsters placed in their appropriate locations. B) As part of the master plan, communicate with each gate attendant as to when and where their dumpsters will be installed. C) Make sure that all bin pockets are cleaned thoroughly before placement as part of the master plan.
F2:
A lack of fire breaks around some of the transfer sites with a large accumulation of slash and yard debris creates a fire hazard. The Morbark tub grinder is underutilized because of a lack of qualified personnel.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
A. Train and qualify additional personnel to operate the tub grinder. B. If Trinity County Solid Waste is unable to train additional personnel, sell the used Morbark tub grinder and contract with a local contractor to dispose of all yard waste and slash each spring.
F3:
Big Bar, Hobel and Hyampom transfer sites do not have proper shade coverings for the gate attendants as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Related Recommendations (1)
R3:
Construct proper permanent shade cover for Big Bar, Hobel and Hyampom to meet OSHA standards.
F4:
The entry gates at Burnt Ranch transfer site allows for illegal dumping.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4:
Relocate the gate to deny any illegal dumping.
F5:
Some transfer sites have unclear signage indicating their entrances, which creates a dangerous condition especially for those on major highways or major county roads.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5:
A) All transfer sites that utilize a major highway or County Road should be clearly marked with signage from both directions. B) All signage should meet Caltrans specifications for size and distance from the entrance.
F6:
Due to the local bears having access to garbage from in ground bins, the bears have carried large amounts of trash to surrounding areas of the transfer sites. This has created not only an unsightly mess around the transfer site, but a dangerous environment for the gate attendants who fear for their safety.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6:
A) Clean up and maintain all areas that have trash that has been spread by the bears. B) Create procedures for gate attendants and supervisors to report bear issues using Wildlife Incident Report (WIR). This will allow everyone to know about active bears in the area. It also adds the capability to create a revocable bear depredation permit from Fish and Wildlife providing for bear removal.
F7:
Each transfer site has inadequate signage. There is no ability to clearly read the hours of operation or any other information that the public needs to know.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7:
Trinity County Solid Waste needs to install large easy to read informative signs indicating: 1) Hours of operation. 2) Accepted materials for disposal. 3) Acceptable items for recycling. 4) Hazardous waste information. 5) Contact phone numbers. 6) Website information.
F8:
Due to the shortage of gate attendants at the Hayfork transfer sites, there is a concern about items being properly disposed of in the metal, and yard waste areas.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8:
A) Assign a dedicated gate attendant to oversee the placement of all metal and yard waste to their correct locations. B) All metals should be removed every 90 to 120 days.
F9:
There is an issue with securing the transfer sites and containers from ongoing theft and vandalism problems.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9:
A) Install security doors and screens using proper security hardware. B) Broken windows in any kiosk should be repaired or replaced and install a commercial security film.
F10:
There is a lack of first aid supplies at all transfer site kiosks.
Related Recommendations (1)
R10:
A) Trinity County Solid Waste contract with a medical supply company to fully stock each kiosk with proper eyewash stations, bandages, etc. to be able to take care of any unforeseen medical emergencies. B) The transfer site supervisor should be required to visit each site monthly to make sure safety practices are being adhered to and that safety supplies and security equipment are stocked and not expired. A record of these visits should be kept on site.
F11:
Most kiosk sites have an inability to communicate with first responders or emergency crews in case of unforeseen events. The Trinity County Grand Jury recognizes that Burnt Ranch has received a satellite phone, based on reporting from the Trinity Journal.
Related Recommendations (1)
R11:
Where cell service is unavailable, issue all kiosk gate attendants a satellite phone and train them on the proper use of the satellite phone.
F12:
When a gate attendant is unable to show up for their shift the transfer site closes to the public creating a hardship on the community it serves.
Related Recommendations (1)
R12:
A) Update Trinity County Solid Waste process to reflect what happens when transfer sites are not covered. Include the following: 1. When an attendant is unable to work their shift, provide an alternate gate attendant. 2. If the alternate gate attendant is unavailable, the transfer site supervisor should cover the shift so that the site is open to the public. B) keep the website up to date with current pertinent information for the community.
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.