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SCSD Board / Management
Violate Water Code
by James G. Barrett
Once again the
Salton Community Services District Board of Directors and General Manager Thomas
Cannell have decided to ignore the districts obligations under State Law by
refusing to comply with reporting requirements of the Porter-Cologne Water
Quality Control Act as it pertains to the new Salton City Wastewater Treatment
Plant.
On June 5th, 2009 a
letter was delivered to the SCSD Board of Directors by Director James G. Barrett
which describes in detail the districts illegal behavior. The letter
states:
Greetings Fellow
Directors,
I recently had
several conversations with Christine Gordon at the State Water Board Office of
Operator Certification in the Division of Financial Assistance.
( 916-341-5835
cgordon@waterboards.ca.gov ).
Her department is
responsible for determining the grade of operator that is needed for individual
wastewater treatment plants in California. Section 3675(a) of the California
Code of Regulations states; “the Division (of Operator
Certification) shall classify all wastewater treatment plants…”
I had her pull the
file for the SCSD to see when the last time the district updated any wastewater
plant information with her department was.
The results of the
investigation are as follows:
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The Chief Plant Operator listed for
the Salton City Ponds (old) and the Desert Shores Ponds is Danny Jewell
(Sr.). Since Mr. Jewell has not been employed in this capacity for several
years the district is in violation of section 3676(b) of the California Code
of Regulations. This section required the district to notify the Office of
Operator Certification “in writing within 30 calendar days of a change
in the employment of the person designated as Chief Plant Operator”.
The records show
that the last time the Office of Operator Certification was contacted by the
district was way back in 2003.
The SCSD is in
violation of section 3676(b) several times over since the Chief Plant Operator
at the districts two facilities has changed frequently since 2003.
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The district has failed to comply
with section 3676(a) for not providing the Office of Operator Certification
the required information regarding the new Salton City Wastewater Treatment
Plant. 3676(a) requires that “within 30 calendar days after a plant
begins operating, each agency shall submit to the Division (of
Operation Certification) a description of the plant’s treatment
processes, a design flow of the plant, an organization chart, and job
descriptions and duty rosters for plant personnel”
The records show
that the district has never submitted the required information.
The SCSD has been in
violation of section 3676(a) for over eight months as the required information
has yet to be submitted.
As I have brought up
the subject of getting the new Salton City Wastewater Treatment Facility
classified several times at several public meetings, I did not feel that it was
necessary to get any approval from the Board or from Management to contact the
Office of Operator Certification to obtain information on the district.
Once again the SCSD
Board of Directors and General Manager Thomas Cannell has refused to comply with
State Law regarding the operations of its wastewater facilities, and as such the
wellbeing of the residents of the district is being compromised.
As I have discussed
with Christine Gordon, I will be filing a complaint with her office, as a SCSD
Director, against the SCSD, General Manager Thomas Cannell, Directors Palmer,
Neal, Butler, and President Medders for violating the State Water Code.
The SCSD has already
been given ample information and time to file the required paperwork but as an
additional professional courtesy I will wait 15 days after this letter is
tendered to file the aforementioned complaint.
What is so hard
about following the no-cost, simple, 3rd grade education level
instructions that the State has given the district for submitting the required
information?
Could it be that the
General Manager was using a make believe grade requirement as a way of creating
a job title that only his son-in-law would qualify for? This has resulted in a
violation of the seniority clause of the Collective Bargaining Agreement with
the Union as it pertains to promotions. There were two other employees that
were first in line for the promotion, that of coarse was up until the time the
General Manager rigged the game.
An additional Union
Agreement breach occurred when the General Manager gave his son-in-law a $4.87/
hr raise, for going from Grade I to Grade II Operator, when the Agreement only
allowed for less than a $2.00 raise unless the Board voted for it.
What does this mean
to other employees when they get certified by the State to Grade II Operator
Status? Will they get the $6,000 a year raise like Thomas Cannells son-in-law
did or just the base minimum? I think we all know the answer to that.
The Board has had
ample opportunity over the last 6 months to remedy this matter and has refused
to do so. As such I feel that as a Public Servant it is my responsibility to
inform the citizens of the district and the Employees Union about this unlawful
behavior and I will certainly do so.
Sincerely and with
the Best Long Term Interests of the District in Mind,
James G. Barrett
Director
Salton Community
Services District
SCSD Board Conspires to Commit Fraud
by Charles Mayhew
Despite having no
legal authority to do so the SCSD Board of Directors and General Manager Thomas
Cannell have positioned themselves to commit a theft by deception on 1,834
property owners in the district to a tune of almost $40,000.
Director James G.
Barrett has made every attempt to thwart this illegal activity but has been
outnumbered by the other four directors that appear to think that the districts
need for this money outweighs the rule of law for this rouge governmental
agency.
At the May 19th,
2009 Board Meeting Directors Palmer, Butler, Neal, President Medders, and
district legal counsel Robert Patterson of BB&K sat stoically by as Director
Barrett read a motion to repeal
Board Resolution 87-3, via Resolution
2009-05-02, which the General Manager has been using to collect a $21/year
Standby Fee on unsewered lots for over 20 years. This charge appears on the
yearly Imperial County Property Tax Bill, and has led to the imposition of more
than $700,000 in fraudulent Standby Fee Assessments since 1987.
Under Section 5471
of the Health and Safety Code, Section 54984.1 of the Uniform Standby Charge
Procedures Act, Section 61124 of the Government Code as well as Section 4 of
Article 13D of the Constitution of the State of California this is not allowed.
This fact has been
reiterated to the Board recently through a district commissioned
engineering
study on Sewer Standby Charges that stated, “The CSD (per governing statutes)
may only charge those parcels which receive special benefit from the repairs,
replacements and maintenance of the sewer systems. Therefore, only vacant
parcels which have access to the sewer system at this time will be assessed for
those system facilities and maintenance items that provide special benefit to
the properties.”
This engineering
study by the firm of Koppel & Gruber was ordered by the Board of Directors, at a
cost of almost $25,000, for the purpose of imposing an additional $10/year
standby fee on properties within the district that are undeveloped but have
sewer immediately available to them at this time.
The four rouge
directors, through their refusal to repeal a board resolution that they know is
illegal, have in effect conspired to approve a resolution at the June board
meeting that will once again impose this fraudulent fee on these 1,834
properties for the tax year beginning July 1st, 2009.
Additionally,
General Manager Thomas Cannell’s knowledge of this illegal behavior makes him
culpable in this tort as he is the person that is ultimately responsible for
forwarding the Sewer Standby Fee Assessment Request to the County of Imperial
Tax Collector for it’s placement on the Tax Roll.
Ignorance of the law
can not be used as a defense by the these charlatans as the public record
clearly shows that they have been thoroughly educated on the matter through the
engineers report as well as the back-up material for the
Resolution 2009-05-02
agenda item.
Ponzi Scheme Hits
SCSD,
District Faces Bankruptcy
by J.
F. McGuire
Just like so many
other institutions hit hard by the current banking crisis and the scandals
surrounding financing Guru George Madoff, the Salton Community Services District
now sees itself facing bankruptcy due to unsound business practices and shell
game money shenanigans.
As the end of Fiscal
Year 2008-09 approaches on June 30th, 2009 a close look at the SCSD’s books
shows that the district lacks sufficient capital to fulfill its’ financial
obligations not only to its’ vendors and utility suppliers, but also to its
employees.
The reason for the
SCSD’s financial situation is a combination of bad financial planning,
irresponsible policy making, and as many have orated, just plain
incompetence.
Bad Financial
Planning
The Fiscal Year
2008-09 budget that was approved by the Board of Directors on June 17th, 2008
had all the Tea Leaves needed for any individual that was even slightly versed
in the reading of Tarot Cards or Bones to see that the future of the district
did not appear very bright at all. With the General Fund projected to be only
$6,200 in the black and the Sewer Maintenance Fund forecasted to run a $258,000
deficit it was evident even back then that this crisis was going to hit, and hit
hard it has.
But instead of
trying to implement sound business solutions to avert this crisis the Board of
Directors offered up only one solution; “borrow” from the money that was still
left unclaimed in the Fire Department / Street Lighting Impact Fee Refund
Account, money that the district had no legal right to at that time and of which
the district had no mechanism or means to pay back. Couple this with the fact
that the district refused to accept any applications for refunds from the legal
owners of these funds for over eight months in 2008 and you can only imagine how
many of the directors and management already had their eyes on this pot of money
during the budget process.
As far back as April
of 2007, Director James G. Barrett foretold this crisis at Study Sessions and
Board Meetings that were being held to set the Sewer Maintenance Fee charged to
users tied into the sewer system. At those meetings Director Barrett time and
time again insisted that the rates be set according to the actual costs of
running the system and not by what would be palatable to the ratepayers. His
point was that it costs what it costs to run the sewer system regardless of what
those costs were. The other directors paid no mind to this proper business
thinking and instead voted in a set of three yearly incremental increases that
has now snowballed into a quarter of a million dollar deficit in the Sewer
Maintenance Fund. Even with the scheduled $3 a month increase to sewer
customers that will go into effect on July 1st, 2009, next years financial
picture is just as gloomy for the Sewer Maintenance Fund.
As a side note, at
one of those meetings former Director Stanley Rouhe asked if they were going to
charge what was needed or just what they could get away with. Directors Shirley
Palmer and Robert Butler quickly and as a matter of factly answered in the
affirmative that they were just going to charge what they could get away with as
opposed to what was actually needed. This meeting took place just a couple of
months before Directors Palmer and Butler would run for re-election.
As a consequence of
undercharging for sewer service the General Fund is now facing insolvency even
though the 2008-09 budget shows a surplus of $6,200 in this fund. The reason
for this is because the General Fund was slated to receive about $281,000 from
the Sewer Maintenance Fund to compensate for all the office overhead incurred in
running the Sewer Maintenance Department. But since the Sewer Maintenance Fund
is short over $258,000 this year the General Fund will not be receiving all of
its allocated funds for office overhead and as a result the General Fund will be
depleted before the end of the fiscal year. (more)
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SECTIONS
The Next
SCSD Board Meeting is:
June 16th, 2009
7:00 PM
NOTICE
The SCSD budget for Fiscal Year 2008-2009 has an
operating deficit of over $250,000.00 for its' Sewer Maintenance Department.
This shortfall will more than likely have to be made up for by increasing
your sewer rates in July of 2009 by as much as 50%.
The years and years of skimming one-third of the
interest off of the Sewer Construction Fund by the Board of Directors to
subsidize the General Fund has finally come to a climax. Open wide!
It's time to swallow the bitter pill that our elected officials have
prescribed.
EVENTS
Golf, Golf, Golf
Golf Park Update
At the May 19th, 2009 SCSD Board
meeting the board voted to take water service at the Golf Course out of the
districts name on June 1st. The Board did however give the Golf Club
the option of putting the water meter in their name until the districts golf
course land lease with IID runs out in October of 2009.
The Board also gave the Golf Club
its' 30 day notice that the districts $700/month maintenance agreement with
them will terminate on July 1st.
At the March 2009 Monthly Meeting
of the SCSD Board of Directors a motion was passed which will allow the
expiring land lease with the Imperial Irrigation District to expire.
What this means is that after
October of 2009 the district will no longer have use of the IID owned lands
upon which the Golf Park, Nature Trail, Salton City Dry Camp, and Johnson's
Landing are located.
This will not effect the Boat
Launch or the eastern third of the public parking area as this is land that
the district leases under a separate contract with the Bureau of Land
Management.
Word has it that a local
developer is in negotiations with IID to acquire its own lease of the
Johnson's Landing properties and to expand the occupancy size of the RV Park
located there. How this expansion will affect the current residents of
the park is unclear. And since the park is a "temporary occupancy"
park, the residents are not protected by certain State Laws concerning
evictions from Mobile Home Parks.
Fire Department Buys Brush Truck
On September 4th, 2007
the SCSD Volunteer Fire Department took delivery of a Brand New "Brush
Truck" that will be utilized to fight fires in off-road areas that are
inaccessible by normal Fire Engines.
The cost of this truck was
approximately $53,000. The United States Department of
Agriculture donated $30,000 to the cause and $20,000 was utilized from the
2007/08 Fire Department Budget that was previously allocated for vehicle
acquisition The other $3,000 came from a capital reserve account that was
established a few years back from the sale of Borrego Springs Bank stock.
There is currently around $55,000 left of the General Funds' portion of
that stock sale.
Thanks again to all the Volunteer
Firefighters for your time and devotion to a truly noble cause!
(more)
More to Follow!
Every Drop Counts
Protest Held
by Torri Barrett
January
1st, 2008 was the first day of many more to come for the Every Drop
Counts Protest founded by Mr. Rick Davis of Salton City. Mr. Davis wants to let
Sacramento know that the people of Southern California don’t approve of the
State’s plan to dry up almost 60% of the Salton Sea.
The
State’s “preferred plan” is to make a small saline lake at the north end of the
current sea and a salt marsh at the south end, drying up everything in the
middle. This would leave the residents of all of the communities surrounding the
Sea victims to what ever has been dumped into the Sea over the last 100 years as
the winds would kick up the dry lake bottom thus polluting the air with all
manners of substances including selenium a highly toxic substance.
At 11am
sharp over 100 concerned residents poured 100 gallons of clean water into the
dying sea to protest the States inaction and empty promises. Petition
gatherers also passed out petitions demanding that the Lawmakers restore the Sea
ASAP.
Mr.
Davis a long time resident of the area started the idea that Every Drop Counts
when it became obvious to him and many others that the politicians in the rest
of the State don’t care about this dying ecosystem that is so vital to so many
species of migrating birds as well as its’ human inhabitants.
Every
Sunday Mr. Davis will be pouring 7 gallons of fresh water into the sea.
Click to see
photos
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NEW WEBSITE FEATURES!
Director Agenda
Packets-
Have you ever wondered
what backup information is used by Directors when they vote on an agenda
item? Well wonder no more! As a courtesy to the public, Salton Sea West
will be posting EVERYTHING that Directors see in their
Agenda Packets online, FREE!
Click here to see all of
the June 16th's info
Did You Know? -
Short, Sweet and to the Point Blurbs about
District Shenanigans
Click to View
Quotes of Note-
They said what?!
Read and HEAR for
yourself the latest quotes from around the district
Click here for the latest sound bites
"Statement of Economic Interests"
Directors Form 700-
Click
here
Approved Budget for 2008-2009
Click here
2006-2007
SCSD Audit
Click here
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Ad of the Week |
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New Owners Same Great Place!
Now With A Hot Mineral Spa
Fed From Our Own Artesian
Well ! |
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Gardening Tips For June
by Torri Barrett |
Everyone has heard the
saying ”an apple a day keeps the doctor away” But what do you eat to keep your
heart healthy? The answer is Vegetables! And you can grow them yourself.
Bell Peppers, Broccoli,
Carrots, Peas, Spinach, and Tomatoes are chock full of nutrients for a healthy
heart and easy to grow. Try some in your fall garden and eat for your health.
June is the month to start
pouring over the seed catalogs for fall planting.
To order a Burpee Seed Catalog:
website
www.burpee.com or call (800)333-5808.
To order a Stokes Seed Catalog:
website
www.stokeseeds.com or call (800)263-7233.
For more hints and tips pick up
a copy of Lush & Efficient Gardening in the Coachella Valley at the CVWD office
85-995 Avenue 52 in Coachella, last time I checked it cost around $20.
Spotlight of the Month:
My
spotlight of the month is Sweet Potatoes. They are very easy to grow and they don’t
come from seeds. They reproduce by way of shoots called "slips" that you plant
to create the sweet potato vines, which ultimately produces the sweet potatoes.
To grow your own slips, follow this simple rhyme; bulbous bottom, tapered top.
The tapered top end actually produces the slips. It's the narrow, pointed end
where the sweet potato was attached to the mother plant. The bulbous bottom end
is the growing point that produces the roots and is usually a little larger.
Fill clear glass tumblers or clear glass jars one-half full with water. Put the
bottom end of each sweet potato in the water. The level should just come up and
cover the bottom third of the root (you may need to insert toothpicks in the
sweet potato, extending over the edge of the glass, to keep the sweet potato at
the proper depth). Set each glass in a sunny window. Then wait and watch, in a
few weeks roots will begin to appear. And shortly after that, little sprouts
“the slips” will break forth from the top and sides of the potato. Harvest the
slips when they are 6 to 8 inches long, by cutting just above the surface of the
sweet potato, leaving a green stub. Put the slips in another glass of water for
2 weeks to produce good strong roots. I use old coffee mugs as slip starters.
Keep an eye on the water level in your slip starter cups, they like water and
drink very quickly. Your slips will be ready for planting in just 2 weeks. Leave
the roots of the mother plant in place, and more slips can be harvested off and
on for months.
For planting slips, loosen the soil to a depth of 18 inches,
and then plant the slips 1 foot apart. You can start to harvest in about 120-150
days from planting of your first slip. Out here in the Southwest Sweet Potatoes
can be grown year around. Sweet potatoes like sandy or clay soils with very
little organic matter. If you think your sweet potatoes need a little help use a
fertilizer high in Phosphorus and Potassium, but very low in Nitrogen. This is
for the same reason that sweet potatoes don’t like a lot of organic matter in
the soil, organic matter produces nitrogen. Phosphorus promotes root growth and
Potassium promotes the setting of the fruit or vegetables.
Planting
Hot weather is upon us now and
your garden is going to need a little help. Straw and Peat Moss is your best
bet, both will help you conserve water but are used in different applications.
Peat Moss is mixed into your soil to absorb water and slowly release moisture
back into the soil. Straw also absorbs some water but is used to cool the soil
with air pockets and slow down evaporation. If using Peat Moss and Straw
together check for boggy spots. If you find one just remove some of the straw
covering it to let a little more sunshine in.
Best basic soil amendment is:
2 parts garden soil, 1 part manure, 1 part Peat moss by the shovel full, mix
well. Blend this mixture with the soil from your garden area (make sure to
remove any rock). Your soil will become light and fluffy and ready for
planting.
If your garden area soil is
mostly clay add 1 part sand to the basic soil amendments for better drainage.
You may even want to remove some of the clay soil from the area on a one wheel
barrel of old soil to one wheel barrel of amended soil basis.
If you
have any questions/comments about Sweet Potatoes or gardening please feel free
to e-mail me at
gardening@saltonseawest.com or visit the gardening web pages at
www.saltonseawest.com.
Vegetables:
Plant Seeds
Cantaloupe, Carrots, Cucumber, Eggplant, Honeydew, Summer
Squash, Watermelon
Plant Transplants
Sweet Potatoes and any of the above vegetables from the
nursery
Roses:
Fruit Trees:
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Cover fruit trees with
netting to protect from birds
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For
Palm trees water newly planted or young trees weekly and established ones
every other week through the summer
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Protect young fruit trees from sunburn by wrapping the trunk in cardboard or
whitewash branches and trunk portion that are in direct sunlight.
Use a solution of one part white latex paint to nine parts water then apply to
exposed bark.
Landscape Plants:
Annuals transplants to plant
this time of year:
Cosmos, Lisianthus, Madagascar Periwinkle, Marigold,
Portulaca, and Zinnia
Annuals seeds to plant:
Arizona poppy, Mexican Sunflower, Sunflowers, and Zinnia
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Happy Planting!
Old Peg Leg
A plaque is dedicated to Thomas L. Smith, better known as Peg Leg Smith,
1801-1866, he was a mountain man, prospector, and spinner of tall tales. Legends
regarding his lost gold mine have grown through the years...(more)
Sun Catchers
An artist can use anything as a medium, and I do mean anything. From
painting fine art on beans seeds to assembling junk into great towering
sculptures. (more)
Red Sky at Night
Is the old adage“Red sky at night, sailors delight.
Red sky in morning, sailors take warning”
true, or is it just an old wives’ tale?
(more)
Bird Watch / Nature Trail
Receives Funding from SCSD
by James G. Barrett
At the December 19th, 2006 Board meeting the Directors
unanimously approved over $3,000 worth of funding for repairing and
upgrading the
Salton City Nature Trail & Bird Watch, which is located between the
West Shores Golf Park and the Salton City Dry Camp.
The Nature Trail & Bird Watch is maintained strictly by
dedicated volunteers, usually with donated cash and materials. This
month however the Board stepped up to the plate and took a swing at helping
the volunteers' efforts with some much needed funding.
We here at Salton Sea West applaud all the volunteers
that have struggled to maintain this sometime Board ignored part of the
Districts Park and Recreation System.
Thanks go out to Joe & Rachel, and Dean & Carlene (hope
we got the names right) and everyone else that has donated their time and
resources over the past years. Thanks!
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